Well, it happened! I've been transferred officially, the good news is, I'm not a senior yet! HOORAY! I am officially a junior now and I'm excited to see where this transfer goes. I am currently in Victorias City, still on Negros Occidental and I am in the 2nd ward. The population of Victorias is roughly 85,000 with only 15,000 households! That's averaging around 5.5 people per household. Holy cow no??? It's beautiful here, still a city for sure, but there is 85% of the land here used for agriculture. My new companion is Sister Cortes. She is a Filipina and she doesn't speak much English. WHICH...has been wonderful for me and hard at the same time! We only speak Ilonggo to each other because that's the only medium for us to communicate. Keep praying! Hahaha! I've realized though that I knew way more than I thought I did, now that I'm being forced to use it. I didn't think leaving Bago would be a huge deal to me, I had been there for so long, but I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. I wonder about our investigators there and our recent converts all the time! I guess our righteous warriors and the ward members there all grabbed Sister Flores on Sunday and said, "Where is Sister Stadler????? I miss her so much!" Made me feel good...and made me want to cry at the same time. I finally realized last night while praying that the possibility of me ever coming back here is very small. It is so incredibly expensive, I lost it. haha! I adore these people! I'm talking, I'm head over heals in love with the people of the Philippines. In Bago the people are a lot more laid back than they are here in Victorias. Our ward is so small here! Both of our wards in Bago averaged 100-115 reach week for attendance, while our ward here, on a good week, has 50. PLUS...I counted yesterday and of those 50 there, we only had 23 adults/teens. The rest were children. I am officially the ward pianist there and I guess they have....get ready for this....an organ locked up somewhere!!!!!!! WHAT??????? I couldn't believe it! So on Tuesday I'm gonna check it out and see where my skills are. Who would have thought,I when was learning how to play the organ at 12 years old, that one day I would be playing a RANDOM organ in the middle of the Philippines!? It's crazy! Our ward is small, but I adore them already. Bishop Villegas is so solid! I'm excited to continue to work with him. Our relief society had a giant attendance of 5. Yeah...we're pretty much huge. From October 2009-May2010 there has been one baptism in the ward. While I was sitting on the stand on Sunday looking over the ward I had this huge feeling of love overwhelm me. I had the thought that I may be here for quite awhile. I know we can accomplish a lot here! I think missionaries get set in this rote way of teaching and finding, and I'm breaking us out of the box. I'm letting the spirit guide and giving it my all. In the last 3 days we have done more work than they did in the full last week with the last companions. We cover the outskirts of the city, so it takes about 30 minutes to walk to our next appointment, sometimes longer. Our investigators are in the middle of nowhere and we have to return to the apartment by 6:30 at the latest usually because our areas are not very safe at night. The other ward (we have 4 sisters in our apartment) covers the city area and their ward is huge! Our ward is made up of a lot more wealthy people. GET THIS....one of the highest paying careers here is....drum roll please.... A TEACHER!!!!! WHAT? I'm talking...Medical and education are almost even. Isn't that insanity!? Anyway...found that interesting. I love this gospel and I can't wait to see what this city has to hold. I'll tell you what though, there is a huge advantage to being an American here. You get so much attention! It's beautiful for OYMing. My companion keeps referring to me as her advantage now. haha! I'm her first American companion. She is incredibly sweet and oh so patient with me! I love her already! My health is great, life is good, I love this gospel! How is everyone's missionary work going? Well, gotta take off. Being strictly obedient. I pray for you often and I consistently feel great peace when I pray for each of you. I Love you all so much. Keep pressing forward, stay strong in the faith and share the gospel! Till next week, God speed! Halong kamo ah?
All my love,
Sister Stadler
P.S. Britt, I got your phatty letter!!! DANG...I was so excited! thanks! Thanks to Ian and Ariel and Tara for emails permy too! : )