Safe and Golden Investigators

Dear Friends and Family,

So what a week!  we had a brown out but it wasn't bad and we really didn't get hit hard by the storm so don't worry about me I am doing just fine.  just for all of you to know where I am I am on the western coast in Bataan province I think so see if you can find it on Google maps. 

Now for my week.  we have a new family of investigators and it started out as one little girl who wanted to learn about our message.  she lives by Nanay Nora and Nanay Carina, in fact she is a referral of sister Carina so golden!  we went there and I was so scared, I think I wrote about this last time but oh well.  the dad look hung over and he smoked and I don't want to say I judged but i was scared.  the lesson turned out alright and we went back a couple times during the week and then yesterday.  

so yesterday was epic.  we has so much member support so here is the story.  we was originally going to go to a different but then sister Lourdes Samson said that she was going to go to Wawa and visit Nanay Carina and see their house because hopefully we will have a service project there to fix it, the floor is on a slant and that is where they sleep.  anyways and our other recent convert Nanay Nava wanted to go there to.  they have become really good friends because they were baptized on the same day and it has been so cute to see how they interact with each other.  so we ended up working with sister Samson, her daughter, and her granddaughter, and then sister nave and went to Wawa.  it was so cute and to help sister Nava see that he life is not really that hard.  I think she sees the blessing in her life now.  but the point was to build relationships and to keep them going strong even after I leave. that is now our problem with sister Jessica and Angelina who are now gambling.  that is hard for sister Carina because they barely have enough money as it is.  we are working on that. 

So the lesson with the Perez family or princess. we are teaching their whole family and she is a little slow to understand but her dad is ok with her being baptized and we hope to get the whole family which consists of 7 kids 12 and up I think.  one of the boys cried after our lesson and we are not sure why maybe he was touched by the spirit and was trying to be manly who knows but i really see some potential here.  

we are also working on converting a part member family.  the husband has been sealed with his immediate family but the wife and him are 1) not married and 2)she is not a member.  the lesson went really well and I really felt the spirit hopefully testify to her that I knew that the prophet Joseph smith was a true prophet.  

Speaking of the prophet smith, we had a great lesson with sister Mary Jane on Tuesday.  I went in there not sure what we were going to share but then I realized that she really didn't have a testimony of the prophet Joseph smith and so I decided that since she hasn't been reading the book of Mormon we would read the Joseph smith history.  lets just say a light bulb went on. she wants to bare her testimony but doesn't if she doesn't know that it is true.  she says that the Tagalog is hard for her to understand  but she understood the story of Joseph smith and really want to keep reading and I was so excited.  I felt the spirit deep within my heart and I felt peace that this is what she needed and this will help her testimony.  wow!! 

lastly I want to share what I learned this week about a testimony and faith.  I had to give a talk yesterday and this was my topic.  it really helped me this week learn how to keep the faith.  in Alma 32 it talks about faith as a seed and that seed and the tree are like our testimony.  we need to nourish it and take care of it by continually learning and becoming more like Christ.  when we don't take care of it we don't get to reap the rewards of the tree and it fruit.  sometimes people don't know what a testimony feels like and the same with the spirit, well in Alma 32:28 I think or 21 it describes it as a S-swelling E-enlightenment E-enlargement in your heart D-delicious which is kind of like the fruit on the tree of life.  we will want to continue to grow it in our life and to grow it we need to have faith which is believing, having a desire, and then opening out heart and mind to receive it through the spirit.  lets just say Alma 32 was my best friend this week and I encourage you all to read it and find out how your testimony is doing.  

Thank you all for your support I know I say it a lot but you all help me get through the week.  if you would like to write me personally dear elders are the best and I will try to write you back.  thank you all and I hope that you all have a great week. I know I will.

Love you,

Sister Snow

 A note from Brittnys mom and some of the email messages in real time;

 I have been in contact with Sister Samson's sister, Sarchin Davis, she and I have wonderful conversations she gets to see and speak with Brittny each week when she talks with her sister.  the sister missionaries come for Sunday Dinner.  She has watch as the missionaries squat over buckets doing their laundry, she comments on how happy Brittny is and how she is getting much better at the language. When she speaks with her in English Brittny responds in Tagalog and she even uses the proper respect verbiage for the area.

Mom-Sister Davis, she just loves you and is so impressed that you are speaking Tagalog so well. she said she would talk to you in English and you would respond in Tagalog. She is so sweet she always describes you and how beautiful you are. and that you are happy and loving your mission.  she was funny because she said that it seems that in the Philippines even the animal speak a different language.  the roosters, frogs, dogs, cow and cats all sound different from here.

Brit-oh my goodness there are roosters everywhere you would love it but I hate it because they DONT SHUT UP!! one rooster next door starts making noise at 3 am and I am going to kill him because the house here are literally so close.  ahah! she is so fun she asked me what I wanted to say to you and I couldn't decide because I could go off but then I would cry and the other things I wanted to say are what I was going to write to you today.  she is the best and I love the Samson family.  I love that president is keeping you updated and so is she.