Happy Easter!

Easter in the Philippines is 5 days long! It starts on Wednesday and ends on Sunday. They celebrate or recognize all the stages of the last days of Christ's life. This is actually only Catholics but there are a lot of them.
So starting Wednesday, they sing prayers and tell the story of Jesus on loud speakers until Friday at 3pm, cuz that is when Christ dies, then they prepare this glass casket with a very decorated manican (called: Rebolte) that looks like the dead Jesus and walk in a procession all around town.
Then all is quiet, till Sunday evening when they set off fire works!

This whole time they are fasting from meat so there are very few people in the markets, or in there shops cuz it's a holiday as well.

Also on Friday, a few chosen people in the very catholic areas will afflict pain upon themselves with whips and even crucify themselves. They believe that through this they come closer to Christ because they have felt his pains and that they are making a covenant with God that if he grants them something that they need (like healing) they will do something in return (like quite smoking or drinking or some other sin).
I didn't see any of this except small bits on the tv as we entered homes. But I spent a lot of time teaching how this is wrong, how Jesus suffered for US, so that we do NOT have to suffer IF we already FOLLOW the commandments and REPENT of our sins. And, if we wish to make a covenant with God, Christ teaches that we should be baptised by water and Spirit, NOT in our own blood, this is the true teaching of Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer!
Hope you had a Happy Easter! :)
--Sister Stephens

new transfers!!

blog: 1st shout out Happy Birthday to evan and Cody i didn't forget i just didn't write it last week!!! 2nd General Conference was awesome!!! it was all about having love and charity and helping each other!!! it was great!! So next week starts a new transfer! i'll be staying here in Malanday ward, Valenzuela stake companions with sister Schostak. we have lots to do and finish here so we are both glad to be staying! we should have 5 baptisms in May! I'm lovin' the work but the city doesn't really love me back, but that's okay! things are going so well. love you all hope to get news from you all at home. write me!!!
-Sister Stephens

crazy week!!

Blog: This week will be the last week of transfer! and transfer day changed from thursday to tuesday!!!! but of coarse we have no idea what will happen till next week! but this transfer went by so fast, and i only have FOUR left!!!! that's why i'm asking President for an extension! hopefully i'll get it i'll gladly extend six more months!
we had a crazy week this week! we went to the temple on tuesday to attend a session, it felt so good inside, I could really feel Gods love. then we went back to the temple on saturday as tour guides for the temple tour for investigators, we stood in the sun for about 5 hours straight and took peoples pictures in front of the temple and helped them feel welcome, it was so nice to see all there smiling faces filled with the spirit of christ and gods love for them! but my companion and i did get a little sunburned. then there was sunday the busiest craziest sunday ever! first we had 7 investigators!!! 5 were filipino, 1 was chinese, and 1 was korean!!! so we had to arrange who was sitting with who so that no one sat alone and who was going with them to class, the chinese lady needed a translater and our bishop's nephew happen to be visiting and he happens to be recently back from his misson in Taiwan and speaks mandarin chinese so that was aranged, the korean girl stayed with her friend but after sacrament told us she was going to start going to church closer to her house. i happen to have acquired a korean Book of Mormon, but had left it at the house cuz we had not seen her for a few weeks, so once every one was settled in suday school: gospel principles class, sister Schostak and i slipped away, went back to our apartment got the Book of Mormon and went back to church. after we gave it to her, she was so excited and happy she cried and promised she would read it. then we had to arrange with the chinese lady when we could visit her and find out where she lived exactly, which took two sisters tagalog, english, and chinese and the bishops nephew to finally get directions written and a map drawn!!!! after it all sister schostak and i sat down and looked and felt like we just came out of a whirl-wind! is was awesome! love this work, love this people, and love that i know know at least 2 langueges so i can know what is going on!!!!
love you all! write me!
-Sister Stephens