Merry Christmas!

Hello One and all and merry Christmas! everything is decked out now for Christmas! haha! how are you? well I hope you are great! I cannot wait to tell you about the best week ever!! Even though I have been sort of sick and fighting off a cold, we have just had such a blessed week.

So President Monahan has given us council that we need to have members present to more of our investigator lessons! And this week we had 16 lessons with a member present! The members have been so awesome this week. We have been also using less active members as fellowshippers. It is so great when they work because they are strengthened at the same time! It is amazing even though me and sister Velasco are running around like crazy people we are still able to maintain our area and help it progress. The Lord really does help us and give miracles when we are diligent!

We were so blessed this week to hear conference! I was so so so inspired this conference. I know everyone who spoke did so by the power of God. I love the messages about teaching and missionary work. I know this IS the time that the Lord has chosen to hasten his work! we are all in this together members missionaries. we are one!! We need to re-activate and Baptize these children who are waiting for us!

This week we had the wonderful Baptism of Brother Jeffrey and Brother Bong! They were also confirmed on the same day and were so so happy! They know this is the true church and that they have made the right decision. They know this will effect their eternal salvation! I know Heavenly Father is so so happy for them. 

Me and sister Velasco are doing great here we are just anxious to know what will happen this next transfer. Who knows if I will be transferred or not! haha!! we will see. 

sorry this is so short. I am so bad at thinking of details! Let me just tell you I am still working hard and people keep asking me what do I feel like now that I am almost going home! I don't feel like I am going home yet! maybe it will hit me when I have a few weeks left I will work hard to the end. I know this is His work. I know it needs to be done now. I am so grateful for the faith I have grown and the things I have learned here. I am looking foreword to learning more the next 2 transfers. 

Love you!

Sister Stapp

Exchanges and More...

LAST WEEKS EMAIL:
Hello all you wonderful people!!!

I am happy for the opportunity to be able to communicate with you again. I am so grateful for people like you who love me. I love you!

This week we have been, of course, running everywhere at once! We went to Dagupan for exchanges and also had exchanges with our house mates. I love having exchanges and being able to meet new people and see new places. The only thing about traveling i don't like is having to eat fast food a lot. I ate McDonald's twice this week!!@!

Anyway me and sister Velasco are so happy because we have a new investigator that is super amazing!! maybe I told you about her...sister Ronna. She is a referral that lives in Papaguyen. that is like the furthest barangay in our area! Anyway her boyfriend who is a member referred her. Before we even started teaching her she had been to church like 5 times and watched like all the church movies! It is awesome we really are just instruments. The spirit is converting her. We are just trying to see if she really wants to be baptized for the right reasons and not just because she is in "love." we think they are pretty serious though and they will be married in the temple. haha! Anyway, we extended an ibd to her for Nov 9. she is so happy and excited. She is cute and stylish and has braces. and 24. 

Our Ibds brother Bong and Jeffery are still excited for their baptism. we sort of lost contact this week with bro Jefferey because he went out of town...but we are trusting in the Lord that everything will work out. It is funny when you have investigators or recent converts, they become like your babies. Remember Brother Joven who was baptized in June? yesterday he didn't come to church! so of course we visited him. We were ready to chastise him! haha! turns out he got two front teeth pulled and is in extreme pain! I felt so bad I wanna hug him and buy him ice cream! but I cant....well maybe I can get the ice cream :)

We are half way through the transfer now who knows what will happen after this! will I be transferred? will I stay here for the rest of my mission!? no one knows! Pres Monahan is really unpredictable when it comes to transfers. I know his transfers come from the Lord. 

Me and sister Velasco have only traveled to the usual places, alaminos, lingayen, dagupan...nothing new. We did go though a new city Bugalion (sp) it has really pretty beaches....no pics because we were in a bus that was probably going 100 miles ab hour. sometimes I feel like I am on a roller coaster when I ride the buss. we eat mcNuggets when we are in the buss. 

The sisters in our zone are all so sweet and amazing....sometimes though....when we are on exchanges I really miss my companion! I love sis velasco so so much! we finish each other's sentences. She has been such a great example to me and I have learned so so much from her about how to be a preach my gospel missionary. I hope we never have to be transferred haha!

I have been reading this week in my personal study about the second coming! I am in the Isaiah chapters of 2 nephi. It is all so exciting! it is amazing how the prophets of old prophesied about our day and missionary work and Joseph smith and everything! the book of Mormon blows my mind everyday. I love the words in 2 nephi 9:40. It talks about the wicked and the righteous. The wicked hate the truth and take it to be hard. the righteouse Love the truth and are not shaken! Let us all stand firm so we will Not be shaken! let us choose eternal life! Let us be Christlike and kind to one another each day. I know I am trying each day to be more like my savior. I love him so so much.  If we are trying to be like Jesus and we love him...it means we will not be selfish and keep the gospel to ourselves. we are to share! At the Relief broadcast I learned a lot about covenant keeping. If we are covenant keepers we will spread the gospel and not leave it only to the missionaries!!! Lets go! we can do it! The Lord loves us and we love him..

I love you all so so much! Thank you for everything!

Sister Stapp

Trunky Trunky

FROM LAST WEEK (MOM IS A BIT BEHIND)

Dear family and people...I am NOT trunky! haha! you will know why this is the topic later on in the email.

 

I cannot believe it is going to be October tomorrow!!! The time is sos os os fast!! Sister Velasco and I are having a great busy week. The weeks seem so fast now that we travel so much! like last week feels like years ago but at the same time I feel like is just happened...time is just so weird on the mission. had lots of exchanges with sister this week and traveled to the far land of alaminos again. 

On Wednesday we went to Urdaneta for our monthly leadership meeting. it was so great. We learned more about how to do missionary work the Lords way by using the members as much as we can! Members really make all the difference! we cannot do this work without them. We are really taking time to teach the members to help them be strong and catch the wave of missionary work. They really are wonderful, the ward members. They are giving us referrals and also returning with us to their referrals! Give the missionaries lots of referrals family!!! They will love you!

After the MLC we went to the office of course to pick up supplies and mail......and there low and behold was.......my Trunky Letter!!!! No!!!!!!!!!!! the trunky letter is something we get when you have like 2 transfers left in the mission. It is just a paper that you have to fill our all your info and stuff about the airport in your hometown. I am dreading filling it out. I really thought I was extended till Feb but I am not after all. oh well!

 

So Sister Velasco and I have a baptism coming up on Oct. 11! We are so excited for brother Jeffrey and Brother Bong. They are so amazing! every time we finish a lesson with them, it's like we want to cry because they are so prepared by the Lord! Basically we can give them a pamphlet and the next time we come, they are the ones who teach us about the principle! They are really living it too! They know how to recognize the spirit and feel the difference from their previous life and their new life as a disciple of Christ. brother Jeffrey has twins and one of them is severely autistic. They are sooo cute names are Jethro and Jotham. They run around like crazy during the Lessons but brother Jeffery isn't even distracted. The spirit helps him concentrate even though his kids are wild. his wife is working abroad and will be coming home soon. he is excited to go to church with her.

 

Questions:

Tell me more about your companion? she is so loving and reminds me of Rachel with how she looks and acts.

  How long has she been out? about a year now.

 What are her good qualities besides making you laugh? she is very smart and remembers things...unlike me. She is organized and clean....unlike me. haha!!! she has a lot of good qualities. 

 What will she do after the mission? she wants to get married and be a mom! or go back to nursing.

   Do any of the members try to go to BYU-Hawaii after their missions?  ya there are lots of missionaries here that studied there before their missions. 

anyway my time is running out ahhhh!

I love you and I love Jesus Christ!!

Sister Stapp