blog: Teaching and learning walk hand and hand, as we teach we should also learn and some of the best teachers are children. Right now we are teaching a few part member kids and it has been fun. They naturally want to learn to follow Jesus, they are so humble, and open. A young man named Jackson, is so smart and asks good questions and is so willing to learn. Another, named Alex came with us to the temple with his brother and loved it so much and felt it's importance so strongly that he told us he wanted to change his whole life, stop fighting with his brother and start listening to his mom, and spend more time at home, and not on the street, and that he wanted to go to church. The #1 thing he wanted to do with his life was to prepare to be worthy to enter the temple and to serve a mission. Alex did a beautiful 180 with his life so he can follow Jesus, Alex is 9 years old. All of these kids love the Lord and know he is real and have seen miracles already in their young lives. I know that if we watch children, under the direction of the Holy Ghost we will see the best teachers we can have and if we follow THEIR small simple examples we to can see miracles in our lives through our faith. If we become child-like: humble, meek, brave, trusting, loving, firm in mind, and the most important, obedient to God's commandments, I know we will be blessed.
love you all,
mahal po kayo,
--sister stephens

testimony

blog: This week was full of doctor appointments and ... rest for my companion. but on Saturday we did go to the temple with our investigators, who it seemed made a big impact on them, as we toured around the outside of the temple, even though they are so young, they were well behaved and they both came to church Sunday! i know that all the temples all over the world are houses of the Lord and that power is there and the ordinances or promises we make in the temple through the holy priesthood is for time and all eternity. i know that there is no other way for our families to reach eternity except through the temple of God. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that through him the key to heaven or the priesthood has been restored to the children of God here on the earth. and i know that it is through that priesthood Christ performed miracles and Peter and John continued to perform miracles and that only through the priesthood we can enter the gates to the Kingdom of God.
Love you all, Mahal ko kayo,
--Sister Stephens

Oh really, it's nothing!

Blog: Well, these last few weeks have been spent at the appartment, on splits with the other sisters, and going and coming from doctors appointments. Why? Oh, nothing really, one sister's ear started bleeding, my companion slipped and hurt her ankle, and I pinched my tendon in my right shoulder. Then my companion started getting dizzy spells and vomiting... oh man and it's not MY cooking, she's the one who cooks, cuz I'm too lazy. But everything has been mostly worked out, the anti-biotics worked well and her ear is going to be fine and I got an injection straight into my tendon of thick white syrum of about 3cc's which hurt like, holy-guacamole- shoot-me-in-the-face -patay-ako-dyan!!!! and it still hurts but Doc says in 3 days there wont be any more pain. My companion has an MRI appointment tomorrow for her ankle... yeah...
we are struggling but we do have some good investigators, most of them are kids of part-member families. My favorite is Jackson, the smallest 12 year old ever, but he is so smart and asks good questions and you can tell he really wants to understand and learn before he makes the commitment which to me is fine, it insures a quality convert! I also have my fair share of challenges here, besides all the ailments we are teaching a 9yr old who is definitely ADHD so I have to come up with very creative ways to teach so he pays attention and remembers what we teach, but it's all little by little.
Oh, and Sister Ockey and Sister Smith and I are all going home together, Oct 20, we are excited!!! they get to leave me at LAX or I'm leaving them... hahaha!!!
well that's all for this week, till next,
--Sister Stephens
PS shout-out: Thanks to Sister Amanda Hawkes for the letter, and ... Sister Ockey pala!

new area, yet old

blog: So, yes I have been moved again... back to SJDM!!!!! or San Jose Del Monte! Back in February I was here with sister Ockey and now I'm back but in the neighboring branch of Pangarap! I'm having fun here with my follow-up trainee. It is fun to see old friends again here. I hope to keep working hard for my trainee, to teach her how to be a good missionary and do the work of the Lord!!!! I hope I do a good job. I don't want to be trunkee ever but it's hard when everyone keeps asking when you're going home and keeps reminding you how soon it is! I wish they wouldn't ask and let me focus on just working hard!

Next week I'll try to have more stories for you all! Now starts a new chapter in Sister Stephens mission BUT it is not yet the last chapter!


love you all,
--Sister Stephens