Hello from Las Pinas!

 Transfer day at the office

 My beautiful new companion outside our house!! Sister Lagrimas (:

The outside of our apartment 

Sister Lagrimas made me this sign for when I arrived (:

Dear Family, 

Hello from Las Pinas! (It actually has a tilde over the n, so like las pinyas). I LOVE it here!! It was such a crazy week, and so hard for me to say goodbye to Makati, but I really just feel so blessed to be in this new area. 

My last days in Makati were a bit crazy.. Turns out I am severely allergic to squid. Apparently, my body developed an allergy for it! After eating dinner at the bishops house, we had quite the crazy night of rashes and stomach aches and breathing problems. But, of course, Heavenly Father never leaves his children, and especially not his missionaries, alone. Everything turned out to be okay, and now I get a cool epi pen just in case I accidentally eat it again! Then on Tuesday my companion, Sister Pamesa, got sick, so we were stuck in the apartment all day. It was so sad because it was my very last day to work in that area. I felt like Makati 3rd/4th was my baby! I remember back in February, when Sister Dewan and I shot gunned that area. I'll never forget my first Sunday going to church for 6 hours and being totally stressed and lost when we would try to find investigators houses! Then, after 6 months of working hard every day and praying and fasting and just falling in love with those people, it was just such a heart breaker to leave. The last prayer Sister Pamesa and I said together for Robert, Jerry, Carol, Berdin, Mary Ann, Melonie and Chris, Aisha... I just bawled. I never knew it would be so hard to say goodbye to those people!

But, on the plus side I get to see Sister Teo and Sister Pamesa frequently and they can keep me updated!! I saw them last week and they showed me a text from Robert. He went to the temple for the first time this week!! Ah, he LOVED it! I literally could not be more happy for him. So even though I'm not in Makati, keep praying for those amazing people!

After the emotional roller coaster of my last few days in Makati, I have just been falling in love with Las Pinas, and especially my new companion. Sister Lagrimas, who is an angel. She is so obedient and hard working and is so kind to me. I can just feel that we're gonna have a great transfer together. She's been out in the mission for about 10 months, so we are about the same age in the mission too, which is fun. We're STL's together, so we will be going on exchanges with all the Sisters here in Paranyaque. 

So- the new people in this area!! Ah- we started teaching a family this week who is SO AMAZING. They are the Doloroso family.. literally the coolest. They have twin sons who are named Dwight and Dwyane. And yes, that is as in Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade. Their mother is not a member yet, and Yvonne is their 10 year old daughter. Dwight and Dwyane are 6. They started coming to church a few weeks ago, and just have so much faith! They are amazing, and I am so pumped to keep teaching them.

Some of the other amazing people are Sister Liezel and Brother Efren. Sister Liezel started being taught by the missionaries last April! She has been coming to church on and off, but has had a smoking problem. When Sister Lagrimas first came here 4 months ago, she said that she was down to 6 sticks a day. But-my very first lesson with her-we committed her to ZERO! Ah- it is amazing! She has been working so hard for so long and is now finally there! I love to think about the Sisters who started teaching her last April. If only they could see her now...

The ward is also so awesome! The bishop is so on top of things and I just feel so at home already.

Well I am almost out of time! I love you so much!! Have a great week!!

XOXOXOXO

Sister Lockwood

ps.  These are pictures taken at the mission office and posted by Sister Northrup, who is a missionary who works in the office.