Eyes to See

Night view of Manila from on top of convert's apartment complex.  Cool, huh?! 

boiling water for the bed bugs!

Dear Family,

Another week another adventure here in Manila!  This week's adventure: Bed Bugs! Haha, turns out that's what me and Sister Narag's mysterious bites have been coming from.  So, when we finally figured it out, we chucked the mattresses, and had to wash everything we had in the apartment with hot water. Haha, it wouldn't have been so bad if there was a such thing as "hot water" here. So we spent hours boiling water and soaking our clothes, curtains, and sheets in hot water.  Luckily, though the itchy bites are starting to disappear! 

This week we had really great lessons and General Conference was AMAZING! Annie and Samantha, our investigators who can't come to church on Sunday, were able to attend the Saturday sessions and it was really powerful.  We have been praying that Conference would give them the courage to change their circumstances to come to church on Sunday. Hoping for a miracle!! Another family that was able to attend conference was Melonie and Chris! Ahh, this was SO exciting for us. They are less active and we have been visiting them since I got here. They have wonderful testimonies, but have let things get in the way of them attending church.  They attended the Sunday morning session, and seriously those talks were on point! As they were leaving they said "we are going to start coming to church every Sunday." Ah- a missionary's favorite words!! Hershey, a recent convert of ours who hasn't been at church in a while was also able to come! And the Berdin family and Shane also attended, and are getting so excited for their baptisms!! Pray for Shane this week, and that the ward will follow through on these upcoming baptisms. 

Listening to a living prophet this weekend was such a great experience for me and for our less active members and investigators. There is real power that we can feel as we listen to his voice. I know that He is a prophet of God.  It was clear to me, in the faces of our investigators, that they could feel it too. 

Some of my favorite talks were President Uchtdorf and Elder Causee. It seems like President Uchtdorf always has something to say about JOY in the gospel! He is always counseling us to be happy and be obedient.  I have learned here on the mission more than ever before, that happiness really does come as we are obedient to the commandments.  I loved Elder Causse's because he reminded me that this gospel is AMAZING. And we should see it that way! I think that that really just applies to the whole world around us.  No matter if there are lice or bed bugs or whatever, there is so much joy and so much amazement to been seen every day if we will just look around. 

That is something I am so thankful for- the tender mercies and blessings that are hidden every day here in the Philippines. In the first verse of first Nephi, he talks about how he has seen tribulation in his days, but nevertheless being favored of the Lord in all his days.. We are that way too! We may have tribulation all of our days, but we have tender mercies and blessings every day too. 

"And when the Jews heard these things they were angry with him; yea, even as with the prophets of old, whom they had cast out, and stoned, and slain; and they also sought his life, that they might take it away. But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of theLord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."

Love, Sister Lockwood 

(Exxplanation:  General Conference is a meeting held twice a year in Salt Lake City where the prophet and the 12 apostles speak along with other church leaders from all over the world.  This meeting is broadcast via satellite to all of the members of our church in many different countries and translated into many different languages.  It was actually broadcasted last weekend but in the Philippines, they watch it a week later due to the time zone difference.  If interested, these meetings can be viewed at anytime by going to lds.org and clicking on the link for General Conference.)