Not conversion to the church, but to Jesus Christ

Hello again!  We just got back from a wonderful zone activity! We went bowling and it was a blast, I attached a few pictures :)

As for this week, It's been a good week despite a lot of challenges coming my way.  I was able to push through them and search for the good that is happening around me.  How could I not be happy when I am in the service of God right?  Its a joyous cause to be a part of :) Having the opportunity to hear from the apostles, prophets, and leaders this weekend was absolutely wonderful as well.  I received so many answers to prayers, guidance, and faith that I needed.  I love President Monsons talk about Christlike attributes.  I remember that my farewell talk was about Christlike attributes.  I listed when I gave my talk a few of the attributes the I really wanted to develop in my mission.  I am still striving daily to gain those Christlike now and make them a part of who I am :)  I know that developing Christlike attributes is a lifelong journey and takes patience, faith, diligence (those being Christlike attributes haha).  While I've been here, I've also noticed Christlike attributes that I thought I did pretty well on, but realized they are really my weaknesses.  Throughout the experiences that I've had though on my mission, I have seen my "weaknesses turn into strengths" just as it says in the scriptures, Ether 12:27.

To give you an update on the work, our investigator Reylanie will be getting baptized this Saturday!  We have been teaching her ever since I got transferred here to Quezon City.  She would already read and pray, but would not come to church because she is a strong Catholic and would go with her mom to church.  As we continued to read the Book of Mormon with her, she started to gain a testimony about Jesus Christ and His true church.  She began attending church, but would not get baptized because her mom was against it.   She is 18, so she has the choice, but she still questioned her decision.  We still continued to visit her, share messages, and read the Book of Mormon with her. In the past few weeks, I have seen so much progression in her conversion.  She started to get excited about her baptism, and she had gained faith to follow what the Holy Ghost was telling her was right, and that was to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the proper authority.  I am so excited for her because she is taking this wonderful step in her life to accept Jesus Christ's gospel.  As D Todd Christofferson said "We do not strive for conversion to the church, but to Jesus Christ."

Next week I will also not be emailing till Tuesday because it is transfer week :)  I have no idea what is going to happen!  I'm excited to let you all know next week! Sure love you all and I send you my prayers and love.

-Sister Latham

8 months

Hello Family and Friends! It's been a crazy week with a lot of meetings, a zone conference, womens conference, and a temple tour! It feels like we did not have much time to proselyte this week, but I feel spiritually uplifted from the experiences I have had this week, and also the talks that I have heard. 

Wednesday was zone conference and I'm always so grateful every time that I get to hear from President and Sister Revillo.  We discussed about the sacrament and about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  As it says in Preach My Gospel, as our testimony of the Atonement increases, our desire to share the gospel will increase.  As I've been studying the Atonement lately, I've truly come closer to Jesus Christ and as Sister Revillo said, everything good we do is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  I'm grateful that every day I gain a stronger and stronger to go out and invite others to come unto Christ and to let His atonement work in their lives.  I made three goals for myself after zone conference which are to 1)Talk to more people 2)seek a better understanding of the atonement and 3)stretch myself because I know that through Jesus Christ, I can do all things :)  Those are my goals that I am working on right now and I know that through diligence, faith, and obedience, I can accomplish them.

This Saturday we also had the opportunity to take Des, our recent convert, and Reylanie, our investigator who will be being baptized on October 17, to the temple :)  It was a wonderful experience.  We were able to share our testimonies and let them feel of the peace, joy, and happiness that we feel when we stand on sacred ground.  We also had the opportunity to go to the MTC.  Des was so so excited!  She kept telling President Trask that she would be coming here!  She is so excited to serve in hopefully a year, and her family is supporting her so much.  Her parents said to just make sure she comes home first to see them before she goes out and serves.  Sister Reylanie, also wants to serve after she saw the MTC and felt the spirit that was there.  Later on that afternoon she had her baptismal interview and she is ready to be baptized :)

Next week we will be able to watch conference and I am so excited to hear from the Lord's servants and their inspired revelation from God.  It is such a wonderful opportunity :)  I only have one more conference to watch while I'm here on my mission!  Time is flying.  10 more months :)  Thank you for all the support, prayers, and love you continue to give me.  I'm so blessed.

Love, Sister Latham

1)my anak(companion) with her mother(trainer) and father(district leader) in the mission

2)Des at the temple

3)MTC

A week of Miracles!

Another week has passed, time is flying! Well family, this week has been wonderful!

First off, we had our baptism on Saturday and it was a wonderful baptismal service.  Des and Kim were baptized and I've never seen them so happy!  In the week leading up to their baptism, we were able to visit them almost everyday.  Sister Des shared a wonderful experience with us that she had one night.  One night as she was reading in the scriptures, she read about Lehi's dream and the fruit from the tree of life.  She asked Sister Tess, who works with her, what it meant.  Sister Tess described that the fruit is the gospel, true happiness. Sister Des really related to this scripture as she thought about all the blessings that she has received from the time the missionaries began teaching her.  She said that all she wants to do now is to share it.  To invite her family to partake of the goodness of this gospel, to share the happiness and joy that comes from accepting Jesus Christ and His Atonement into our lives.  She said at that moment, she knelt down and prayed to Heavenly Father and promised Him that she would serve a mission.  To bring the same joy and blessing that she has received, to others that so desperately need it.  She plans to go and teach her family and then go and serve the people to where she will be assigned.  I was amazed as she shared this story and this beautiful prayer and promise that she made with Heavenly Father as she prayed to Him.  

Brother Kim was also able to share his testimony in a lesson that we had with his friend.  He had such a strong, sincere, and loving testimony about the Book of Mormon.  I have seen him apply the teachings in his life and come closer to Heavenly Father through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He also is sharing the gospel as he posts everyday on Facebook.  A member in our ward showed us his facebook page and he is sharing the blessing and his testimony to all of his friends.  They both have truly partaken of the fruit that Lehi described in his dream and have such a strong desire to share it with those around them :)

On the day of their baptism, they both showed up so early, even before us because they were so excited.  They had prepared all of their clothes about 3 days before.  But as I walked in and saw Kim, he had the biggest smile on his face and said "I'm ready!" and then as I went up to Des, she said "It's here!" Haha  I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for preparing these two people to accept the gospel into their lives.  I'm also grateful to Heavenly Father for giving me the opportunity to share the gospel with them.

I also experienced another miracle yesterday that I want to share with you.  On saturday night as we were planning for the next day, I opened up the area book which has all the information about our area and it opened up to an investigator that was taught about 4 years ago.  As I looked at the name and the information, I suggested to Sister Tropia that we should go and visit them.  The information that we were given was that her husband, Brother Morada,  is a LA and  they had two kids who now would be about 12.  So, we planned to go and visit them.  As we traveled to where they lived, we asked around if they knew where these people lived.  One man pointed to another man and said "that is him."  So we went over and he said "Sisters! How are you?" and then he welcomed us into his home to share.  As we shared with them about families, Brother Morada said he wanted to share a story.  He said that a few days ago he had seen us walking, but didn't say anything.  Then Saturday night, the night that we saw his name in the folder, he had a dream.  In his dream his mother, who used to be a member but passed away a few years ago, came to him and told him that he and his family need to return back to church.  He said that he was amazed that the next day, we showed up and have invited him back to church. He knows that the church is true and wants his family to join as well.  We gave his wife and daughter a baptism date and we are hoping that the father will be able to baptize them when the time comes.  I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of us, and that he prepares people for us as His representatives to go and visit people at the right time and right place.  I know that it is not a coincidence that Brother Morada had that dream the night before we came to visit him and his family.  It truly is a miracle and a blessing :)

The work is progressing and it is a blessing to be a part of the Lord's work here on earth at this time and in this wonderful place, the Philippines :)

Thank you family for all of your love and support, I love you all and am so blessed! 

Love, Sister Latham 

P.S. I reach my 8 months this upcoming Sunday :)))

Good news about the Apartment :))))

Hello everyone!  Another week has passed!  It's been a crazy week!  Every night when I got home this week, I was completely exhausted.  I think part of it might be because of the drastic changes in the weather, and we worked our tails off this week.

A hard thing though this week was Sister Tropia got blisters all over her feet, because she was wearing new shoes, and we walked like crazy, and her shoes are not really made for the weather here.  I felt so bad for her, but we went home one night, released all the pus and liquid from her blisters, and then I let her borrow my crocs, and since then she has started to feel better.  She is such a trouper for continuing to work and give it her all in the teaching.  She also gave her first successful bap date to an investigator.  So this investigator came as a referral from the bishop's wife.  She was at the grocery store this week and this lady approached her.  She said that she was a member that was baptized about 10 years ago, but that she had gone inactive and wanted the missionaries to go and teach her and her husband who is not yet a member.  So, we went to teach them and they are a wonderful family.  They have 3 kids, 2 of them being twins and they are the cutest.  He is really interested in the gospel, wants to get sealed as a family in the temple, and they even came to church right away yesterday :)  Another miracle :)

We also had our two baptism interviews for Des and Kim, and they will be getting baptized this upcoming Saturday! I am so excited for them, and they are so so excited! Sister Des came out of the interview and just hugged me, she was so so nervous, but she said that it went really well.  I said "umiyak ka ba? " which means did you cry and she said "Malapit na" which means that she was close to it and then she just hugged me again!  I love Sister Des so much, and I am so grateful that she has converted herself unto the Lord :) A member also showed us that Kim has been posting all of these mormon messages and sharing his testimony of Facebook so that all of his family and friends can see.  I was amazed!  These are two wonderful people who are soon to be members of this wonderful church :)

So lastly about the apartment,  Sister Revillo really wants us out so she called the Landlord, and we have to be out by the end of October...so we better find an apartment or else we will be homeless...hahaha But we found 2 apartments this week that are really nice and we will be showing pictures to Sister Revillo this week at trainer/trainee meeting!  Pray that everything will work out for us!  By the time we actually move, there is a possibility that I could already be transferred haha but at least the new missionaries won't have to experience all that we have experienced there!

Well, that is about it, Hopefully I have more to say to next week and pictures to also send!  I didn't take any pictures this week..whoops!  Anyways, love you all! And thank you for everything :)

-Sister Latham

I'm so blessed to be apart of this work :)

Hello Family and Love ones :)

It has been a wonderful week here in the Philippines!  It is still hot as ever, there are still mice in the house and cockroaches in the shower, but I am loving being a missionary and an instrument in the Lord's hands :)

So, you all are probably wondering how training is going? Who is my new companion?  So I will give you a little background.  My companion is Sister Tropia, she is from Pangasinan Philippines.  She studied at BYU-Hawaii for three years so her English is really good, but we mainly talk in Tagalog.  One of the many wonderful things that I have seen so far in her, is that she immediately loved the people.  She didn't so much love the apartment, or the city, but she loved the investigators, members, and less actives from the moment she met them.  It showed in her teaching and listening that she cares about them and wants to help them come more unto Christ.  We worked really really hard this week.  When I first picked her up from the mission home, our numbers were really low, but we worked hard, talked to a lot of people, met new wonderful investigators, and taught powerful lessons where the Holy Ghost was present and testified to the people we were teaching, that our message was true and from Heavenly Father.

I want to share a thing that I studied this week.  I decided to study about the Sons of Mosiah and the mighty change of heart that they experienced.  I loved following their story and their coversion process.  In the beginning the Sons of Mosiah were trying to tear apart the church, to pull people away from the truth.  However, they experienced a mighty change of heart and were converted unto the Lord through repentance and living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Because of the testimony and desire that they had gained, they were called to preach the gospel amongst those that were against the church.  In Alma 23:5-6 we read of the success that they had amongst those people.  It says in these scriptures that thousands were converted unto the Lord  and never did fall away.   

While being here in my mission, I have seen this mighty change of heart.  I've seen it in investigators, less actives, and also in myself.  Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, WE can CHANGE.  One of our investigators, Des, will be having her baptism interview this Saturday.  Throughout teaching her, I have seen a mighty change of heart.  And she has told us that she is going to prepare to serve a mission so that she can help others experience the change, joy, and peace that she has experienced through her conversion.  Like the Sons of Mosiah, Des experienced a change of heart, and now wants to go and serve the Lord and His children.  I know that if we apply the gospel in our lives, and let the Atonement change us for the better, we will experience the joy and peace that Heavenly Father will give us :)

Thank you so much family for everything, I love you so much and I'm grateful for all the support you are giving me.  This is such a short amount of time to serve the Lord, but I'm grateful to share my experiences with you :) Love you all

-Sister Latham

I'M TRAINING

Hello Family! Well to let you all know, transfers are here again! Time is just flying, I can't believe it. I got a call from the AP's yesterday letting me know that I would be training! I really am so excited to train and be able to  lead by example for a new missionary. It's funny because my trainer(nana) in the mission leaves this wednesday to go home, and then I was called to be a trainer! I'm grateful that Heavenly Father is trusting me with this calling and I'm excited for what this transfer has to bring :)

As for Sister Duque, she is very sad to leave, but we got a call this morning that she is transferring to TayTay, the exact ward and area where I came from!  I'm excited for her to continue to teach the people that I taught there and to help build up the ward and area over in TayTay!

As for our apartment, it is a big problem....hahaha We found a wonderful apartment this past week, contacted the owner and made an appt with her to lay a downpayment, and then the day of our meeting she texted us and told us that she gave it away...We were very upset and frustrated because it was a wonderful apartment and we were sure that we were going to get it.  Oh well, we will continue to keep on trying.  

The work here is going really well!  We have a few really progressing investigators.  They are gaining really strong testimonies, keeping the commitments, and truly applying the Atonment in their lives.  We have one investigator who has had a really really rough past.  She is in her teens, and from the moment we began teaching her, she has began to change her life, to repent of past mistakes, and change her actions.  The power of the atonement is so real and I have a testimony that if we apply the teachings of the gospel, repent and change, our lives will change for the better and Heavenly Father will help us in becoming who He wants us to be. 

I also received wonderful news today from my recent convert Nicole Calapati from TayTay.  Her younger brother was just baptized a few weeks ago, she has been studying in institute, and her mother has begun to come back to church.  It's wonderful to hear news of how someone who is new in the gospel, is inviting others to come unto Christ and partake of the happiness and joy that comes from it.  When I read her email just a few minutes ago, it brought tears to my eyes to see the progress that she has made and the things that she is doing to come closer unto Christ.  I am seeing miracles every single day :)

Also, a little fun side note.  Now that we are in the "-BER" (septemBER) months, Christmas music is being played, and Christmas decorations have begun to be put up!  It is a party here in the Philippines! Hahaha

Also, One year ago, this week, I received my mission call to serve here.  I will always remember that day and how excited I was to serve here, and I'm grateful that I still have that same excitement and joy with me here :)  It feels like only a few months ago that I opened my mission call, but it really has been a year on the 12th! So crazy :)

Well Family, I love you so much! I'm excited to let you know about my new companion and how being a trainer is :)  Love love love ya!

Miracle Baptism : )

Hello Family, sorry I do not have a lot of time today, but I want to share an experience that has strengthened my testimony about the power and importance of the Holy Ghost. On Saturday I got to witness Marechel enter the waters of baptism. She is a miracle. I remember meeting her my first Sunday here in Quezon City. I asked Sister Duque about her and she said she had not yet taught her. I asked why and she began to explain the situation. Sister Marechel is deaf, can't read, speak and also does not know sign language. However, from just meeting her for the first time, I could see her desire and I told myself that we would figure out a way to teach her and a way for her to get baptized. I first did not know how, but I knew that there was a way. 

Through a lot of acting, pictures, and drawings, we were able to teach her the gospel principles simply and she was able to understand.  Throughout all of this, I learned a powerful lesson which is that we are not the teachers, but the Holy Ghost.  we probably did not explain the lessons the best, but we sure tried our hardest and worked with what we had considering the situation.  Through the power of the Holy Ghost, we were able to see conversion taking place.  The Holy Ghost testified so strongly about the truth to her and she was so in tune with the spirit, because that is ultimately all she could rely on.  What a strong testimony I have now obtained through this experience that Heavenly Father has given me.  I know that the Holy Ghost is real, that it testifies of truth, and that it is the real teacher.  We are nothing without the companionship of the Holy Ghost in our teaching and in our investigators learning.  I'm so grateful for that powerful lesson that Heavenly Father has taught me.  I know that no thing is impossible for the Lord and that He provides a way for all things to be accomplished IF we rely fully on Him and put our trust in Him.  Below I have attached a picture of sweet sweet Marechel who I have never seen happier and more filled with the light of Christ than at this sacred event of her baptism :)

Another big thing is happening next week, TRANSFERS! I can't believe that transfers is already here, the time is just flying by!  I also have my interview with President Revillo tomorrow and I am so excited for that!  So I will not email until Tuesday next week and I will let you know what is happening.  I think that I am most likely staying here, but as for my companion we still don't know!  

I love you so much family, thank you for all your love and support.  Also thank you to everyone back home, especially the Young Women from the stake.  I received all of the sweet sweet letters from them this week :)  Hopefully I will be able to go back to girls camp in the upcoming years and encourage those sisters to serve missions because it is the best thing ever :) Love you all, sending my love from the Philippines!

Love, Sister Latham