Jessica's Seventy First Email! February 22nd, 2015

This week was one of the best of my mission!!!!! We worked So hard, had So much fun and made the best of EVERY minute!!!!

We came to Naga this morning and are here running errands and stuff then at 5 we will go to the mission home and Sister Salima will stay there and I will have a temporary companion and will stay with her in Naga tonight. Then tomorrow we will go to transfer announcements and I will get my new companion and bring her back to good ol' Pamplona where we will be together for 6 weeks. Only 6 weeks. This is my last transfer! I cannot even believe it. Part of me doesn't want to believe it, but then part of me (maybe the bigger part?) is SO excited to see you all!!!!! But don't worry, we'll be working hard every day for the next 6 weeks!

So remember last week when I told you we set our weekly goal for 40 lessons?? Well we had a ton of other high goals as well, like referrals and new investigators and stuff like that. Well here's the crazy part. We passed up almost every goal. Or all I think!!!! The Lord was sooo good to us this week! Like we saw such miracles. Usually after weekly planning we only get a few lessons for that day because we have to plan and study like half the day... well this weekly planning day we got to go teach like 7 of our investigators this week. And these were quality lessons, let me tell ya! Like these people are just so great! You just gotta love them! Of course a lot still hide from us, lie to us and walk away from us while we are in the middle of a sentence (hahah happened a lot this week actually) but the others, SO KIND!

There was this one family we tracted into! So nice!!! The dad was actually trying to get me to agree to marry his son... and his son is married and has a baby.... haha but yes, super nice family! And at the end we had the dad pray, explained the steps and that this is just the way we talk to our Father in Heaven and all of that. Then he started praying... to us. Hahha it was so weird and he was like talking to us as if he was praying and had his head bowed and all. We both were so confused and then just got up and left real quick after. Turned the corner and just started DYING laughing!! Like we tried to interrupt him 3 times to tell him to talk to God, but he kept doing it.

Another hilarious thing that happened this week! So we got on the jeepnie and then like 2 minutes later this little girl and her grandpa got on. From the second she saw me while she was walking up the steps she just started yelling "CANA, CANA," like Americana. And she was laughing SO hard. And when she could finally catch her breath from laughing so hard she would yell Cana again. And she came and sat right next to me and her grandpa was on the other side of the jeep. She kept pinching my arm and laughing and trying to touch my face. It was totally outta control. And EVERYONE was just staring at me and I didn't know what to do. Sister Salima was on the other end of the jeep also and she was just dying laughing. It lasted the whole time till we got to our street, like 8 minutes maybe?? And then right before we got off she started TICKLING me hahah. Like full on. And everyone was laughing including me cause this little like 5 year old girl not only knows what a Cana is but was yelling it the whole time. I wish it were on video. Sorry, that was really long, hard to explain.

Ahh sorry, one last story! We went on splits the other day with two girls in the branch. So it was night and me and Alona were walking past this house out in the middle of NOWHERE! Like no houses and far from the highway and stuff. Sister Salima had told me about that guy so I was telling Alona that the guy who lives there is a drug attic and used to stalk the sisters and stuff. Right when I finished my sentence he yelled from the house SO loud like demanding us to go in. So we were SO freaked out and literally started running to try and get to where people could see us, or at least out of the forest. I think that was the first time I've ever been so scared on my mission that I ran, but it was kinda a sketchy situation. Well like 10 seconds after we started running, a tricy pulled up behind us and we jumped in! It was Sister Salima and Ghen! They had been in the tricy going the other direction towards home and they saw us running so they had the driver turn around to get us. I'm sure nothing would have happened really if they didn't stop, but what timing! The Lord is protecting us! :)

The branch was super nice with Sister Salima leaving! Saturday night there was a branch FHE and we had like 5 investigators show up! It was so good! Then on Sunday we both had the privilege of speaking in sacrament meeting. I spoke on obedience and Sister Salima talked about the idea of "Remember who you are." Of course I couldn't stop from laughing thinking of dad's edition "Remember who you are, just don't let it get you down." Hahaha. Oh how I miss father! Speaking of the guy, HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL DAD!!!! I love you so much! Enjoy the applesauce spice cake! Also Happy Birthday to miss Meleah!!! Love you all so much! Looking forward to meeting the new kasama, (companion) but I'll really miss Sister Salima! I am happy and excited to give this last transfer all I've got!!!! Have a great week!!! Praying the Don gets called to NAGA!!!! That would be too epic!

Love, Sister Richmond


Top 10
1. Passed all of this week's goals!
2. Had 5 investigators at church yesterday!
3. Got to ride a roller coaster this morning! Well actually we just got to stand on the bus the whole drive from Pamplona to Naga, but just as fun!
4. Emi's first email! KILLINGIT.COM, So happy for her!
5. Get to spend the whole day in SM! My first P-day in SM.
6. Everyone loves Sister Salima so the elders cooked for us as her farewell gift and gave it to us this morning!
7. The tricy driver who said "I'm so and so, 7th day Adventists... sabbath day keeper" as his introduction after we introduced ourselves.. weird hahah
8. 1 day till I meet my new companion
9. This whole shop is full of just missionaries! I love missionaries!
10. Sister Salima and I took photo booth pics at SM this morning hahah, classic!

hahah Sister Salima's not so sly photographing skillz. 

Packed bus! Stools in the aisle!

Punishment for losing the game at FHE. Scissor punishment.

The District

Sister Salima's last Saturday! Branch FHE

haha how many transfers we have left

President Cedron and family!




THESE ARE PICS FROM LAST WEEK FROM OTHER MISSIONARY'S CAMERAS: