Hey Bef-f!

^It's like BFF but how Kith says it- she's 4 and my best friend. She calls me "Elsa" or just "Zollinger" and nothing else. We were teaching her dad and big brothers

I got transferred again! I'm in La Carlota 2nd Branch now! I'll be in a trio with SISTER NANLABI for the next few days and on Thursday I'm picking up my new trainee!! Super exciting stuff. Sister Nanlabi and I screamed for joy when we found out we were going to be sharing a branch and a house :) This is her last 6 weeks. I'm really really sad to be leaving Bacolod 2nd. Last transfer was the most successful miracle filled transfer ever. We were just blown away every single week. God is so good. 

Caleb! I'm near the volcano! I'll try to take a good picture this week and send it to you! 

This was another miracle filled week! 

 

So I think 3 weeks ago I emailed that we found a family from pumping their water. Well we found out they're old time friends with a recent convert couple who were baptized in March w/ Sister Schenk- Dan & Gamay. So now they've been coming with us to all the lessons to the Jara family and it's been so great and helpful and this Sunday the whole family came to church!! Even though it was crazy raining and half our area flooded they still came! The dad didn't come because he had to work but he was the one who brought the rest of the family to church so we have hope! It was so cool. Their kids are 22, 19, 17, & 8 and they were all there and loved it. We've taught them the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration now and they're keeping the commitments and I'm so super excited for them. 

Kenneth and Sergio are getting baptized this Saturday! They both passed their interviews and are super excited. They're also both the last member in their family to be baptized and both families have plans to be sealed in the temple next year! Sergio has one 5 year old son too who hasn't been baptized but other than that their families are complete! So exciting.

Jeffery is my hero and best friend. This week we made short jokes to each other for like 20 minutes. I think he's 4'9" haha The best one was he said it's okay if we fall because the ground is so close it won't hurt. Ahay I'm really going to miss him. Sister Christensen and I called him our son. He's such a good example and he's doing what's right even when all his friends want to be wild and party and drink he just leaves and goes to sell buko pie or hides in the house and reads the Book of Mormon. I'm pretty sure he's an angel sent from heaven. He's doing everything he can to turn his life around it's so awesome. He has a goal to be ready for baptism in 5 weeks! Right now we're looking at September 7th or 14th for him. ALL THIS FROM A PASS ALONG CARD! I'm still so shook. Jeffery was another 1 of 30 people that actually made it to church this Sunday despite the crazy rain and floods. So proud of him.

Here's the funniest story of my life- So Kenneth read 1 Nephi 8 for his reading assignment about Lehi's dream and he was explaining what he learned for us and he said yeah then there was people that got lost in the darkness they went to Mexico. whahahhahaha. I thought Sister Christensen and I were going to die laughing. His mom was looking at us like we were crazy hahaha.  

I went to Silay West this week for exchanges with Sister Batalla! My last exchange as an STL :) We met lots of new people and I learned a ton from her. They're having a lot of success in their area right now. I'm really grateful for my time as a Sister Training Leader and all the different areas and people I got to see and the blessing to get to know so many sisters and to stretch and grow and learn how to train and solve problems and really be humbled and rely on the Spirit every time. I learned and grew and changed so much. I'm excited for this next adventure to train a new missionary again and white wash and area and be in a branch! yay my first branch 

I took 9000 pictures this week so there might be a few follow up emails with just pictures. 

 

Coconut is not a nut it's a very big nut

My coconut delivery guy is letting me down.  But the members are coming through so all is well zion still prospereth. 

Anyways this week was marvelous!

Miracles:

This member came up to us and said hey my granddaughter has been coming to church with me for a year and hasn't been baptized yet and really wants to can you teach her? UM YES!! 

Jeffery came to church again, is reading the Book of Mormon and the New Testament, and referred his best friend and his sister to us!! YAY!

Jomarie, Terrance, Sergio, and Kenneth all have baptismal interviews this weekend!!

The Jara family read from the Book of Mormon and accepted an invitation to come to church this Sunday! Plus we found out they're great friends with Dan and Gamay who were baptized this March and they came with us to the lesson and it was MAGIC!

Another part member family wants to be taught by us again and agreed to come to church again too! 

Dan and Gamay worked with us all day on Sunday and gave us like 10 referrals and found like 4 part member families for us! Gamay was a disciple of Christ all day long and literally talked to everyone. We felt like we were on exchanges with the best missionaries. 

Kenneth fasted for the first time!

We learned the word for chicken pox!

I had exchanges with Sister Baczuk and we got Bible bashed!! 

Apolonia and Edgardo came to church again on their own! Plus the members told Apolonia about the word of wisdom last week and she asked about it on Thursday so we taught it and she committed to stop drinking coffee and hasn't had any since! And Edgardo's son read 10 pages of the Book of Mormon.

Marjean also came to church again and she's reading from the Book of Mormon!  

We trained in Zone Conference about the Holy Ghost & missionaries and the Holy Ghost & People we teach. It was fun we used all the scriptures. We also finished our last district council training of the transfer so we can actually attend our real district for the first time! Yippee 

There was about a million more too but I just feel so blessed to be able to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ every day and watch it change lives. It's so amazing and I love the people here so much. Sister Christensen feel like we're just racing the clock everyday trying to see all the people who are progressing right now because there's so many and they're all so precious to us. It just seems like time flies when we're out working its so crazy!! We wish we could teleport to everyone's houses. This is the best transfer ever we're having such a good time with everyone and everyone's heart is really in it we don't have to do much convincing at all they're all just so prepared! I love to teach. I want to be a missionary for the rest of my life. 

Okay again next week. Lovey

Sister Zollinger

Machete not included

I have a coconut delivery guy!!! Later today I'm buying a machete. I need all those coconut nutrients.

This week was wonderful! I had two exchanges I worked with Sister Sales and my mission grandchild Sister DeGuzman! Yippee! 

I've been changing the way I teach a lot recently and really focusing on asking a lot of questions and finding their needs and what they really want and need to know and it's been amazing. Also really focusing on helping people understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ where they are with their faith and repentance and what they need to do next to keep progressing. People have been opening up to us so much more and I've felt a lot more free to just teach from the heart instead of just following a lesson plan. Lately we've been asking people if they have any questions in their lives that haven't been answered yet and we've been able to answer ALL with the Book of Mormon it's been really magical. Some examples

• When will the money come? - Jacob 2:18-19, Alma 32: 12-13

• Why is there so much sadness in the world?- Alma 41: 5 &10, Mormon 2:12-13

• Why do we make the same mistakes over and over?-  Ether 12:27

• Why does my family fight?- 2 Nephi  2:27

• How can I access Christ's help?- Alma 7:11-15

• What is my real purpose here on earth? 2 Nephi 2:25, Mosiah 4:6-8, Alma 34:32, 3 Nephi 27:16 & 20 

There's tons more but my testimony of so many things has grown from this:

1. The Book of Mormon can answer ALL questions of the soul

2. When we do our job and study the Holy Ghost WILL bring to our remembrance the right words in the right time

3. Heavenly Father is preparing his children everywhere to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ 

4. We can have confidence in the promise that if we follow the Spirit and Open Our Mouths they will be filled and we can be as Nephi of old (Doctrine & Covenants 33: 7-10)

Also we've been teaching the Plan of Salvation a ton lately especially in first lessons because that's what the majority of the people have questions about. Another truth found in the Book of Mormon : Alma 12:32 Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the Plan of Redemption. 

 

So many more people have been willing to have a second meeting and do our invitations after they've heard the Plan of Salvation or had their questions of the soul answered from the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is so cool. 

We've been seeing so many miracles in our area lately. This Sunday we had 13 people at church! We were pretty floored and so grateful. All our part member families are going strong and are set for baptism on August 3rd! Yippee again!! 

Also my man Jeffery aka pass along card miracle guy came to church!! And accepted a baptism date for the end of September. He is paying so much attention to the light of Christ. I love something it says in Preach My Gospel that reminds me of Jeffery. 

 

 “The light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost. The light of Christ will lead the honest soul who ‘hearkeneth to the voice’ to find the true gospel and the true Church and thereby receive the Holy Ghost” 

He is definitely hearkening to the voice! Also Alma 5: 38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.

Christ knows His sheep and they are numbered and when we're doing what we need to be doing He'll lead us to them. 

This is probably long enough. I love you all. "Bless up & God Bless" 

Sister Zollinger 

Pineapple plant.  Only 1 at a time.

MIRACLES

This is how I prepared for the 4th of July #It'sMoreFunInthePhilippines!

Diolinda from Cadiz is getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best news ever :')

This Wednesday we had a new MLC and it was another wonderful call to repentance :) Also we watched a video from Elder Ballard from this last new mission presidents seminar and it was basically a call to repentance for all the missionaries in the world to stop forcing baptismal invitations & to make sure the people being taught have a testimony first. So that's exciting stuff!! I think people will be more willing to refer their friends and family just to listen to the message of Jesus Christ. Less pressure and worry that the missionaries are going to extend baptism before people are ready. 

 

Also Jovelyn got baptized this Saturday! This Saturday morning we did a service project at the church with her and her big sister and their family and they got there an hour before us and were almost done by the time we got there! She's the sweetest. I'm glad I got to be here for the last few weeks of the teaching process :) 

We found Jeffery!!! So this is like my favorite story EVER. We've been giving out hundreds of pass along cards the past few weeks and nothing has really come of it yet BUT THEN! On Saturday night this guy texted us and said I gave him a pass along card on the Jeepney and he wanted to come to church! He asked us what he was supposed to wear and we just said just wear pants and a shirt! (He didn't come because he only has shorts and thought that wasnt okay :( fail on our part) But anyways he texted us a bunch on Saturday and said he wants to know who he is to God and what his purpose is in life and we were so blown away! All this from just a pass along card. We got to meet him yesterday and he invited 3 of his friends to join the lesson! They were all so receptive!! They all wanted to know how to be more spiritual. They said they feel like they have no direction in their life and no one has ever helped them out before :( No other missionaries have ever talked to them. They all look for work just any where every day and they just want to be happy. They also all wanted to know why there's so many churches. They've all gone to a bunch but didn't stay for various reasons. Anyways they all committed to come to church this week and they said they have more friends that want to listen! ALL FROM A PASS ALONG CARD. The church is true. Also Jeffery is letting us cut his hair later and we're pretty excited about that haha. 

Also on Saturday we found a new person to teaching before we even left the gate of our subdivision which was a miracle! She's 22 her name is Marjolina and she said we can come teach their whole family! 

ALSO SATURDAY! We saw these two sisters pumping water at the well thingy and asked if we could do if for them and they let us and we got to talk to them and then pretty soon their whole family was there watching me pump water (it's funny because I'm a little white kid) and then their whole family said we can come teach them!!! YES! After that we walked by another water pump and a 3 year old was pumping the water and having a rough time so we helped him out too and then when we were done he splashed us with the water so that was fun hahaha. 

ALSO AGAIN SATURDAY!! (Best day ever) A family was reactivated!! After the baptism on Saturday we told our bishop and the ward mission leader that we had an FHE planned with a less active part member family and they were like "oh can we come" and we were like "yeah if you bring the rice" and so they came a brought the rice! And then they brought their families and some other members and we had a party!!! We all just rallied around the sweetest family and just loved them and ate and talked about God and played games. It was so much fun and the spirit was so strong and they came to church the next day as a complete family! We got the little boys ties and new white shirts and Bishop tied their ties for them it was so precious. One of the happiest moments. 

Okay now Sunday! We had 4 complete less active/ part member families at church. That was like the coolest ever! Also they all have the same baptismal goal date for August 3rd so that's gonna be a party. We also got a referral from one of the pioneers in the ward. She brought her caretaker to church and she's super nice and receptive so we're excited about that. :)

We're basically floating right now. Some lady yelled at us too on Saturday but it just made the day even better because we know we're in the right work! 

I love you all! The church is true never doubt! And miracles are alive and WELL!!! 

Sister Zollinger

This is how I find new people to teach...  

"Diin kamo magkadto haw?" "Kay Jesus!"

The finger sign is a heart... means I love you.

"Where are you going?" "To Jesus!"(Translation)

We saw a bunch of little kids pushing this sicad (a bicycle with a little side car attatched) and we asked them where they were going and that's what they said it was so precious. 

This week I'm just overwhelmed with gratitude to be counted worthy to be an instrument in the hands of Heavenly Father. We had so many opportunities to serve, and lift, and comfort, and help, and listen, and be a friend. I really feel like the Lord is leading us and we are on His errand. We just keep ending up in the right place at the right time and it's so wonderful. 

Jovalyn passed her baptism interview on Saturday and will be baptized this Saturday! Also after the interview we had a big FHE with their whole family and it was a blast. We brought tons of fish to eat I was in heaven. 

We were teaching Justin this week who's 18 and we were sitting outside by a tiyangge (little store in someones house) and this lady came to buy something and just stared at us for a long time so we invited her to join the lesson and she just started sobbing- she's had some crazy trials lately. Justin came with us to help her and was helping us testify and comfort her and it was the coolest thing ever. He's so Christlike and it was like he was a missionary too. He has a baptismal goal date for the first week of August :) 

I just feel really blessed to be a missionary this week. It's the greatest calling ever and I'm just trying to cherish every moment. 

I love you all 

Sister Zollinger