6 Month Mark!!!

Kumusta!:) Namimiss ko kayo!

Wow, 6 months done and over with already. Crazy to say only 360 days more:( It is too fast. We have a joke here in Villasis. Whenever we see a plane we say "Hey Sister, do you know how far away that plane is?" and the response usally is "No Sister, how far?" and we respond with "360 days!". It is a lot funnier in person than it is over email:( Well anyways, so this week has been pretty productive. We found 4 new investigators! And 2 of our progressing investigators attended church. Pero, only relief society dahil may gagawin nila:( Church is different here. Sacrament is the last thing. First relief society, than gospel principles, then sacrament. Iba. But, they came to church so that was great!:) I am sending pictures for dad so he will be happy. The first picture is me and my companion:) The second picture is my Ayaw ko Iglesia Ni Cristo picture haha. We have a lot of fun while proselyting haha. So, For my 6 month mark in the mission I decided that it was time for me to eat balot. And actually...amazingly...it wasn't that bad haha. It was actually pretty good. A member in the ward here told me that before I transfer in May (Because I know that Sister Alvarez and I are transfering in May) we are going to have a balot eating contest haha. I am pretty excited about that. And no...I haven't eaten dog. That one is still a HECK NO NOT GONNA HAPPEN haha. I love Villasis so much I really don't want to transfer in May. I have met so many great people and just love everyone here:( Sayung I wish I could serve a Villasis mission haha. So the 3rd picture is for all of your because I love you all haha:) And lastly yung mga member sa ward dito sa Villasis pagkatapos Half Day Mission last week. So, that is a little update on my life here. Everything is going great. The work of the Lord is the best. I love my companion. I just love it all. I am so blessed to be here. And Tagalog is coming along well too:) So yon, Can't get much better than that haha. I love you all and I will talk to you next week!:) Have a safe and wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Ramsey

Long Week Here in Villasis...

So this week we had Zone Interviews on Saturday and they went super great! I love our mission president. His workshop that he gave was exactly what I needed to hear to help make me a better missionary. It was about being confident in the things we teach. I find myself at times being afraid to say something because I don't want to be wrong or something. But, I know that the lord is the one prompting me to open my mouth and speak so I need too. His workshop really opened not only my heart but my eyes to the work of the Lord. I am so sorry that this email is going to be super short:( but, I am doing great here in Villasis. I love my area and my companion and I will talk to you all next week! Mahal Kita!:) -Sister Ramsey

Transfer Week

Hoy, has this been a tough and stressful week. My companion and I were SO sure that we were going to be getting transfered...well guess what. nope . We are both together for another transfer which I am really happy about. Pero, at the same time I am super sad because this transfer I lost 3 really close friends that I have made here in the mission. My best friend here in the mission is going home after this transfer and she got transferred to Mangaldan...therefore I will not see her again until we meet in the Celestial Kingdom. So, I have been pretty down about that. And My absolute favorite STL Sister Merrill finished her mission and went home on Tuesday so wala siya ngayon. It has been really hard. Pero, my wingman Sister Lee transferred just to a different area within the zone so we still get to see each other every Monday and Tuesday:) So that is a plus. Pero, I can already tell that this transfer is going to be a difficult one so please please please keep me in your prayers. I know that I will be able to endure it though because I have the help of the Savior each and every day. I am so lucky to be here on a mission...I can't believe that on the 23 I will have 1 year left. Sobrang mabalis yung oras. I love each and every minute of mission life because I can see the changes that are happening all around me. In members, my companionships, investigators, and myself. I love this life. I wouldn't change it for anything! Have a wonderful week everybody! Mahal ko kayo! -Sister Ramsey

Transfer Week! 4/7/14

NAKU! This week is transfer week and may feeling ko na ang kasama ko and I are getting pulled out of our area. Actually...I know we are because a person came to check out our apartment to rent...and we saw the rent check and it was only for this month while the other apartment was paid for another 3 months. So, yeah. I am pretty sure we are leavin. I am hoping that I go to DAGUPAN! I am so excited...because actually I have a feeling that I am. But, we will find out on Wednesday where:) I will let you all know on Monday saan:) As for this week...it has been incredible! We had an amazing baptism on Saturday and he is just great! The next day he provided us with 4 referrals and he came and visited them all with us and bore testimony at the end of each lesson. He is so astig...I know that he is going to be an amazing future missionary. We keep telling him that if he has a desire to serve God, he will be called to the work. So sana in a year he will be heading out on his mission. I plan on keeping in contact with him to send encouragement and see how preparation is going. I am so sad to leave Villasis...I love it here. I hope that I will be able to come back here and serve again before I leave...but after I become fluent in Tagalog haha. Anywho...sorry for the short email this week...and every other week haha but I love you all and I hope you have a safe and happy week! MAHAL KO KAYO!:) -Sister Ramsey

Last Week of March 3/30/14

Wow this week has gone by sooo fast. It feels like just yesterday was P-Day. Crazy. Anywho, this week hasn't been all that eventful. I mean, we did find 7 new investigators! Yeah SEVEN! Pretty good...our goal was 10 but its ok we will get that this week:) We are so determined! We also have a baptism this Saturday for Brother Raymund Dela Pena. He is so magaling. I am pretty sure I said that in my last email pero sobrang totoo siya! He even has a desire to serve a mission! How astig is that? SOBRA! I know that he is an elect soul and he is so ready for baptism:) I started teaching him when I first got here with Sister Gonzales and I have seen the change of heart that he has obtained and grown since I have been here. It was an amazing change to see:) I know that he is going to be a faithful member to the church and that he is going to bless the lives of many with his conversion story. I also had the opportunity to go on exchanges with the STL's to one of my previous areas and I got to visit Sister Obando one of the recent converts that I have. I have missed her and her family so much because they haven't been to church in a month and I wasn't able to visit because it's not my area anymore. But, she came to church ka hapon and I know that she will continue to come to church now because she really knows the importance of church attendance. So, this email is going to have to be cut short because I am out of time, but I love you all and I will talk to you next week:) MAHAL KITA! -Sister Ramsey:)

Five Months Already! Where Has the Time Gone? 5/23/14

Well, yesterday marked my FIVE MONTHS mark on my mission. Holy cow the time goes by sobrang bilis. By this time next year I will be packing to come home...NOOOO!!! I don't want to come home haha. Well, not yet at least haha. There is still so much work to be done:) So this week we did a lot of things. We had Zone Conference on Thursday...but actually it was called Quad Zone Conference because 4 zones got together for the conference because there are so many zones it couldn't be all of them. It was Urdaneta, Urdaneta North, Rosales East, And Rosales. I am in Rosales...transfers are in 2.5 weeks and I am hoping/praying that I get transferred to Dagupan!:) I don't want to serve a Rosales mission like my companion haha. She has served in Carmen, then Villasis A, then Carmen again, and now Villasis B. She is halfway done with her mission and she is still in the same zone she was in when she got here haha. Kawawa siya. Anyways, so at conference we learned a lot regarding the Atonement and about our time here as missionaries. It really is a short time and every second really does count. That is why this week we really focused on finding new investigators because the Lord has been preparing people for us so we need to find them. We found 7 new investigators this week:) We are so excited to continue visiting them and help bring them unto Christ. We also put on a wonderful fireside on Saturday. It was a musical fireside. I really wish that I had pictures to send but my SD card is currently under repair so I have none. Siguro next week I can steal pics from the other sisters:) Anyways, it was a really fun and spiritual fireside. The topic was come unto Christ and we taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We invited different members to give 5-10 minute talks on each topic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then after each talk was a musical number given by others such as the YW, the YSA, Primary and so on. Then us 6 missionaries performed a musical number. Our song was Mountains to Climb, it was so great! And we had a great turn out:) Our ward is really turning around since day one. It is so nice:) So yeah, that has been my week:) I love you all and I hope you have a great week:) Talk to you next week sana! Love, Sister Halley Ramsey

Long Week Here in the Philippines 3/16/14

Well, this week we did not go out on Wednesday and Thursday because my companion was sick with the flu. So, I got to play nurse:) It was pretty fun, I think that I am going to do that as a career. I think haha. I was able to accomplish a lot in those two days haha. I cleaned...and cleaned...and well, cleaned some more haha. I also learned how to cook tamarin? I have to say, I am getting pretty magalin at making Filipino food;) haha joke! Pero totoo haha. Well, not much has really happened this week. Except we extended two IBD's and we had Half Day Mission kahapon. Both of which were really great! We have two super astig investigators. I mean all of our investigators are amazing but we have two in specific that are progressing outstandingly! Raymond Dela Pena and Brother Orlando. They are just super astig. I don't know how else to describe how awesome they are haha. Well, I am going to have to make this email short because I don't have much time left. I just want to leave saying that things with my companion and I and the other sisters are great:) We are getting along great and the spirit is always with us in lessons and it is just great. I LOVE IT HERE!:) I am so blessed to be on a mission serving the Lord...like talaga. Hindi joke lang. I would not change this for anything...not even marriage(mom) haha. I love you all and I look forward to hearing from you next week! Have a good week!:) Mahal Kita!:) -Sister Ramsey