Alright family, This week has been absolutely beautiful. Since we now have our district/zone meetings on Monday, p-day, I have the transfer announcement! :) This was the BIG announcement when the mission will officially be split and as I had thought I am staying on NEGROS!!! WOO HOOOOOO! I am so happy about that. President has told me in every interview "Sister Stadler, prepare yourself, because I'm going to need you in the mission." So I felt I would definitely be staying on Negros. woohoo! I'm also officially the senior companion, but thank heavens I am not training yet. But I am 90% positive I will be next transfer. I'm so excited that I am staying in Victorias 2nd ward for at least one more transfer too! Yesterday was one of those teaching days on the mission where you get home and want to collapse and you just fall to your knees and say, "Father, I get it now! This is why I'm here!" We were blessed to have 5 investigators who were at church, 2 new investigators, 9 lessons, we spoke in church, I had the play the piano AND sign every meeting to our deaf investigator. We then were able to invite 4 people to commit to be baptized and THEY ALL COMMITTED THEMSELVES!!! We taught one of the greatest law of chastity lessons to Analyn that I have ever taught. It was the most in depth L of C lesson I have ever taught and we were a little wary going into it. The 4 people with baptismal dates now are Rocky, DenDen, Annalyn, and Emalyn (The family I told you about that their dad wasn't happy about them listening to the lessons). Well we are having FHE with them tonight AND...their father said he wanted to go to church yesterday, but he had work...so hopefully this next week we'll be able to teach him for the first time.) The gospel is so true! I love all of them, but I have a special connection with Sister Annalyn. She is 20 years old, has a daughter who is 15 months, isn't married. Her boyfriend works in another area of the Philippines and won't be able to come visit until December. So we knew going into the lesson that she would either have to get married to him first, OR she would have to decide to get baptized now and when he returns, have no sexual relations with him at all. WHICH...is a huge temptation. So..we started teaching. My companion led the lesson and explained about sexual relationships and then I was suppose to teach about homosexual relationships and continue on from there. I felt like I needed to go back and take the sexual relationships topic into deeper detail. So I opened my scriptures to Alma where he's teaching his son about how serious the transgression is before the Lord and before God. I can honestly say that this week I have been led more by the spirit than at any other point in my mission. I honestly don't remember how or what I said, but I do remember sitting there and watching the weight of her sins hit her. She started crying and I started crying as I testified of our Savior's Atonement and of what she would need to do to become clean again. As we all sat there crying, pouring over the word of God I felt unbelievable love for her. I cannot express how much I wanted to just take her in my arms and rejoice because the Atonement is real! Christ lives! As we continued with the lesson she had many other issues that needed to be dealt with. She had a 3rd piercing, and she took it out on the spot and said, "What else?" The experience was remarkable, someday I'll share it with you in detail if you want. Her baptismal date is July 24th. I'm so excited for them all. I started teaching piano lessons on Saturdays and the girl is ridiculously fast! She didn't even know what a note was and by the end of the lesson she was playing the right hand to "Come Follow Me"....it's insane! Bishop said he would like to take lessons too! haha! That should be a blast. Um...what else....Oh, the whey powder mom was in the zip bag. Tell her not to send nuts....because the nuts didn't make it. there had all these bugs in them. Yeah..I don't know what happened. Knowing the Philippines my box was probably left in the rice field somewhere for 3 days because it got to me. hahaha! Um....OH! Had a gang of drunk and smoking children come and other us while walking home one night. That was cool. I thought my comp was going to be burned by the had girl's cigarette...I have never thought I would have to hit a child in my life..but I thought I was gonna have to take on a group of children...luckily..the Lord took care of it AND....while we were leaving I taught a mini word of wisdom lesson! haha! Then we move on to the woman we affectionately refer to as BUANG..meaning..Crazy in Ilonggo. She is literally insane. I do not know why she isn't in a mental hospital. She is homeless and lives about a 5 minute walk away from our home in a makeshift tent thingy she made. She has been seen eating cats....yep..just sinking her teeth into a cat. Anyway....she never gave us trouble in the past. Well..this week we apparently developed a strong hate for Americans. She ran up to us one morning and stood 5 inches from my face screaming that she was going to kill me and that she would have her husband kill me because I was an American and all Americans are evil. I don't know why she didn't touch me...probably because an angel was standing in between us. I thought nothing of it, told her "Take care sister, God bless you." and we kept walking. Well later that night as we returned she was nowhere in sight. Then the next thing I know I see her crouched down by a building and she gets this devil possessed look on her face and grabs a huge rock and starts running towards us. So my comp starts to freak! HAHAHAHAHAHA! She's running and screaming and the ward missionary is running and screaming for me to run and fast ....now all of you that know me know I'm not one who remains calm, and yet at that moment I could not have been more calm. I had the thought, "stay where you are, do not run." and so I did...I stayed right where I was, faced her and waited. She stopped and chucked the rock right at me...impeccable aim I tell you...that HUGE rock came right at my head and ..if I had been running and not paying attention to where she was and the rock was...it would have most likely pelted my head causing..a bit of damage. Instead, I stepped to the side about a foot watched the rock fly over my shoulder and just stared at the woman. She turned around and went into her tent screaming, and didn't bother us. My comp was freaking out and asking why I didn't run. I don't know why, but I'm glad I listened the the prompting and stayed. Why was she not afraid to keep running towards me at that moment when I stood and faced her? I HAVE NO IDEA! Maybe there were unseen forces around me that I was unaware of, but she was frightened and retreated. She was outside of the church today too. She hates me and I have no idea why. BUT...it's ok! We've started varying our path. AND...I do have permission that if I need to..I can punch the woman and beat the tar out of her for self defense. haha! I think I'm just gonna see if I can get some pepper spray. haha! Anyway..I'm not afraid. Life is awesome! I have never been this happy in my entire life! My body is getting thinner, but I've got some nasty tan lines, tons of scars and bud bits, scrapes, scabs, little or no hair left, there are permanent dark circles that form from and dark areas on my knees from kneeling so much that WILL not come off no matter how I scrub and use the pumice stone...and yet I am in a state of blissful peace and calm. Christ lives! He loves us! He knows us and HE IS COMING AGAIN! That day is near, and how excited I am to be a part of this latter-day work and watch the beauty of His Atoning sacrifice play out before my eyes. I love you all. I pray for you and I see the effects of your prayers for me daily. Keep writing me...mail is golden. Teach the gospel, love the gospel, live it! Life here is so short! Let us all dedicate ourselves to the Lord and press forward. I love you all! Until next week, with my new companion, GOD SPEED!
All my love, kisses, hugs and happiness,
Sister Stadler
P.S. HUGE congrats to Katie on the engagement! and to Jefferson! As for the choir, it went really well, and our duet went pretty well too. We have plans to sing together in the future again...he's staying in Negros too. I think that was all the questions...oh! ALSO....I almost forgot....
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope your root beer float was a blast! I'll have to make you a strawberry rhubarb pie or something when I get home! Love you tons and I pray for you and think of you often! XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX