All you need is Love!

With Sis Narag at the Manila Temple 

This is Margie and in the Philippines it is culturally acceptable to touch a pregnant woman's belly! 

With Sis Bernadetta! 

This is the Ho couple that worked with us to teach Jerry!  On Saturday, the Ho's from the 4th ward took me and Sister Narag to seriously the nicest restaurant I have ever been to in my LIFE! Its called Buffet 101. It was this huge buffet that had the NICEST and BEST food! Oh my gosh... who would have thought on a mission to the Philippines, I would go THERE?!

This is May with her children 

She is also pregnant so of course.... 

The best zone EVER! 

Dear Family, 

Hello from MAKATI! I found out yesterday that I get to stay here another transfer!! I am so excited and so relieved! All week, I was just praying asking for another transfer to stay. I didn't think it would happen because Sister Narag is done with her training and she has been here a shorter time than me, but I am being blessed to stay!  I will be getting a new companion on Wednesday.

This week was another really great week to be a missionary. We saw so many miracles, and we have really been able to see the Lord working in the lives of those we are teaching. 

The first miracle was JERRY! He is our new investigator from China.  We taught him and he accepted the invitation to be baptized! Our first lesson went really well, but there still is a language barrier with his English. Luckily, though, we were able to teach with Brother and Sister Ho, and they worked as kind of our translators. The spirit was so strong as we listened to them learn together in Chinese. 

The next miracle was May!! A couple of months ago, Sister Narag and I went to teach the Berdin family, and we started up a conversation with their neighbor, May. After a few minutes, she said "I was Mormon before." Of course-we were all over that! She was baptized as a kid in the province and her family was actually sealed in the temple, but since she moved out she hasn't been back to church. She has 3 little kids and another on the way, and the Lord really led us to her. But, over the past 2 months, she hadn't worked up the courage to return to church. We continued to love her and visit her...and yesterday.. she came!! I seriously don't know that anything makes me more happy than seeing a family come to church for the first time. And, she brought Nellie with her! Nelly is the mom of Tom Berdin, who has been less active and hadn't been back to church yet. Seriously, Sister Narag and I were on fire. 

We also have been continuing to work with Bernarditta, and a member referral named Carol! Tita is doing well, and we are just loving life!

I'm so happy to hear Nathan's surgery went well! I was praying a lot for him, and felt really great peace in the temple last Tuesday. Nate and TJ are both keeping me updated on the NBA! Go Cavs!!

We haven't had any flooding yet! But...it will come. The city floods super super bad. 

Even though I am SO excited to be staying in Makati.. I am a little nervous because I was just called to be a Sister Training Leader. Sister Training leaders are like the zone leaders, but just for sisters. So I will be going on exchanges with other sisters, and helping out with zone meetings and things like that. When President Ostler first texted last night.. I was freaking out. I barely slept just thinking about all that I am going to have to do, and how our area is going to need to change and how I really need to step it up... I was just overwhelmed and feeling pretty inadequate. Then, this morning in personal study, I started by reading in the white handbook all of the attributes leaders are SUPPOSED to have...but that I didn't necessarily feel that I had. As I continued to study though, I was lead to a talk in the last general conference called "Good without Guile." The talk reminded me of the leaders that I have had to set examples for me. My heart turned in particularly to many of my leaders when I was a youth. I remembered their humble example of kindness to me. All of the leaders that came to my mind, had one thing in common, and it was love. They weren't necessarily master gospel teachers, or leaders with any sort of amazing statistics. But, they had what really counted and what made a difference to me: love. 

Tears came to my eyes as I remembered Heidi Klein, my beehive adviser. Shortly after we moved to Ohio, the day of basketball tryouts, she came over to our house with a plate of cookies and cheerfully asked, "Are these for congratulations or condolences?" I remembered Bishop Bingham at my tennis matches, screaming at the top of his lungs, "Heck yeah, Kal ya!" Hahaha. I thought of Tanya Headrick, always only a text away no matter what hour of the night. Until today, even a thousand miles across the world, I still receive letters of support from Sister Herron and Sister Larson. These leaders were never after having a perfect ward or seemingly perfect lessons. They just loved me, and I have been changed because of them. I am so filled with gratitude for all of them plus so many more, who taught me what it means to be a real leader. 

My area may not be perfect, I still may not speak Tagalog fluently... But at least I know one thing I can do.. I can love! And I know that if I just try my best to love these sisters with all my heart.. and love our less actives and investigators.. Heavenly Father will make up the rest. 

I love you!! I am beyond thankful for you! I pray for you always! Keep our investigators in your prayers!!

Love, Sister Lockwood 

To Wear His Name!

 This is our Japanese Book of Mormon for Jerry! (even though he's Chinese, he prefers Japanese) 

 The girl scout cookies finally arrived!  Do you get it? Yumm soo good (: I've shared them with my Kabahays and I'll be surprised if we don't eat them all by the end of the night. Thank you so much! I am the luckiest missionary (: 

The best zone activity ever! 

I got a package!!  (visiting the mission office) 

This is Rose

Dear Family, 

I am so thankful to be a missionary!! Some days, though, it is really hard. Like yesterday on our way to zone meeting, I heard some girls talking about Cleveland and basketball and I just missed Nathan and TJ so bad and always having ESPN on at home!! And sometimes in taxis I hear new Taylor Swift songs and I just feel like I might die. Sometimes.. I am riding in a taxi and all of a sudden a cockroach starts crawling up my leg... or we will be teaching a lesson when I see a ginormous rat run across the room. And other days, we leave the apartment at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and all of our appointments fall through, so we are left in the burning sun, while everyone seems to be taking a nap, to try and find someone to share the gospel with. Missionary work is not easy, and to those who don't understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, they might wonder how am I not completely miserable.

Yesterday at zone meeting, an Assistant to the President bore his testimony as he will be going home next week. What he said really hit me. He said, "I wish that on my mission, I could have realized that none of this was about me. None of the work was about me at all. But that I could have remembered that it is about Jesus Christ. And now that I am at the end of my mission, I just wish I had more time to wear His name." He talked about the days where he felt like he wasn't good enough at the language, when people who didn't keep commitments frustrated him. And how some days the mission that he had pictured for himself, didn't seem to be happening at all. 

I felt so much like him as he was bearing his testimony.. Some days I wonder why more people aren't baptized. I get frustrated that I'm not better at Tagalog.. I forget the reason that I am really here... to wear His name. I only get 18 months to wear the name of Jesus Christ on my chest. I only have this time to spend every hour of every day serving Him. In the year that I have served here, I have come to know Him in a different way than I ever could have before. I have felt His love for me. I have felt His open arms as I have repented and changed and come unto Him. I have experienced immeasurable joy as I have watched others accept Him and take upon themselves His name. 

Being a missionary isn't about a position you hold, how many baptisms you have, even if you hit the goals you have set for yourself. Its about wearing the name of Jesus Christ on your chest for 18 months, and loving Him with all your heart. I still have so far to go, but I just hope you know that every sacrifice that I've made, every Taylor Swift song I don't know, every Cavs/BYU game I've missed out on, every mosquito bite, every drop of sweat has been swallowed up in the joy and blessing of getting to wear His name. I am so thankful that I still have time left here, and I plan on spending the next 6 months enjoying every second of it. 

This week was seriously one of the best weeks on my mission! I know I say that all the time, but I experienced so much LOVE and JOY!!! Sunday at church, Sister Narag and I were one of the first 2 in the chapel. We began to greet people as they came in 1 by 1. The first was a man named Jerry!! He is from CHINA! He ran into the missionaries on Saturday and he had come to church an hour early because he was so anxious to learn about the gospel! He said that he had heard things about Mormons in China, but because of the laws there, he couldn't explore it further. Now, he has been here for 5 years, and finally talked to Elders this week, and is now investigating the church. I am seriously SO PUMPED for him! And I can't even explain how lucky I feel to get to teach him! After Jerry, the whole Berdin family arrived.. and then Shane and her grandma, Hershey, Rose and her family, and Reza. It seemed like the chapel was full of recent converts of sister Narag and I, or the missionaries that have gone before us. It was such a blessing to get to literally see the fruit of our labors right there in the chapel. I was overwhelmed with the spirit. And THEN.. another chinese woman walked into the chapel!! Her name is Anna! She introduced herself, and said that she had a friend of a friend that she heard was Mormon, and so on Saturday, she decided to text her and ask what time her church started!! And so there she was.. lead by the hand of God to our chapel on Sunday morning. 

I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ lives! He knows each of us. Heavenly Father is leading His children to Him from all over the world. I know that it was no coincidence that Anna and Jerry came to church on Sunday. They were prepared and guided by the hand of our Father in Heaven. 

I know that Heavenly Father can and does do the same for us as we let Him. He guides us where we need to be. Sometimes, we may feel like the path we are on is full of sadness and trials and wrong turns. But I know that as we keep our covenants... the path will always lead us back to Him. 

I am so thankful to wear the name of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful to be a missionary!! 

I love you!!

Love, Sister Lockwood

Rain!

  I got my hair cut too this week. Talk about a scary experience! I sat down in the chair and the guy gets out a razor! Like the kind you use to shave a guys head! I was like,  "Uhh...what is that for?" And he just cut a straight line (well...not straight but whatever) across the bottom of my hair! Then when he put my hair back in front of my shoulders so I could see, it was totally 2 different lengths! I was horrified... luckily he fixed it and now my hair is just passed my shoulders!...And that is a  75 cent hair cut.

Marmee's box finally arrived...months late...and she sent a Dr. Pepper!

Dear Family, 

Happy JUNE! Can you believe how fast the time goes? Next month will be a whole YEAR since I left home!! I realized this week that missions are actually super short! It makes me want to spend every second of the rest of the time I have here giving my all to the people here. 

Its now rainy season!! Rainy season is the best because its not so hot! Now, there will just be floods! Last rainy season, I was over on Palawan, so there weren't really floods, just lots of mud. Now, rainy season in Manila is going to be a different story.. Mud may seem gross...but floody streets in Manila are actually way grosser. Just to give you a picture...swimming cockroaches.. the smell of sewer... Yeah its gonna be awesome! But, on the bright side it won't be hot! So life is still good!! 

Yesterday we had lots of people come to church so I am sooo happy!! Bernarditta is doing well and progressing... Tita is seriously a rockstar! She came to the ward activity, and meets us to go to church every Sunday (: Her family is the issue right now.. they don't want her to be baptized so keep her in your prayers! Yuri also was not able to come to church again, but we are not giving up! 

One spiritual experience that I had this week was in our lesson with Bernarditta. She is one of our investigators in the 4th ward, and her husband is currently here from Oregon. She has been taking the lessons for a while now, but shared this week about a change that has occurred. She said that in the beginning, she would read the Book of Mormon with her husband just to make him happy, that she wouldn't really listen or internalize it. But she shared that as time has passed, she has found herself reading it on her own. She comes to church even when her husband is gone, and is recognizing the light and spirit that is coming as she does these things. 

Many of our investigators start out and really don't know what we're talking about! Many Filipino's listen politely, and continue to let us into their homes for various social reasons, whether it be because we are foreigners, or because they don't want to hurt our feelings. But, those who have been prepared by Heavenly Father, those who begin to really read the Book of Mormon, and make their way to church, a change happens! They transform from polite listeners to hungry searchers. The Holy Ghost works in them and they come to know that our message is true. 
I love watching this change take place in the hearts of the people. The gospel of Jesus Christ is real! This is His true church, and those who study it with real intent WILL come to know of its truth because it is true! 

This week was one of those weeks that I was just so grateful to be a missionary! My life has been blessed SO much from the gospel, and I cannot even begin to repay my Father in Heaven for all of the blessings that I have received. I have found that every time I give my efforts or my time to my Heavenly Father, He just ends up blessing me even more!  But, I am here because I love Him. I may not ever be able to pay Him back, but I can give all that I am to Him and His work for the short time that I am here. 

I love you all! I am so thankful for your support and for your love and prayers! 

Love, Sister Lockwood

ps.  Next week I will not be emailing until Tuesday because we get to go to the temple!  Yay!

You can do it!

ME AND SISTER TEO!!! 

I love her (: (: Seriously, seeing her I felt like Ammon when he saw Alma and his fellow missionaries after a long time and was overcome with joy. Ah, I was so lucky to be her companion! 

Dear Family, 

This week we had zone conference! It was sooo good to be with President and Sister Ostler, and to see all my missionary friends! Now I know that I am old because I know so many people at zone conference. Of course, I was so pumped to see Sister Teo! She updated me on the Segovia's and the Lopez's and Joy and said that they are all doing great (: Ah- seriously the joy was SO REAL! I am so grateful for all that I learned in Santa Monica with Sister Teo. We went through so much together, and learned and grew so much.  I learned from her what it really means to be obedient, and how to give EVERYTHING to this work. I haven't met a missionary who gives more heart to this work than she does. I am so thankful for her and was so happy to see her doing well!!

In our mission right now, we are starting a new vision! We are really focusing on conversion, and helping investigators and less active members become fully active in the gospel, and making it to the temple. In order to help us do that, we are going to be focusing more on helping investigators really focus on baptism, helping recent converts get callings and involved in visiting/home teaching, family history work. Then, we are going to really help the families who have been baptized make it to the temple. It is really exciting!! 

It is also going to be a challenge! Missionary work is not easy, and conversion is certainly not easy. In order for us to accomplish our goals, its going to take exact obedience and being fully dedicated to this. Sister Narag and I are really pumped about it!!

As far as our area goes.. This week was good and bad. It was rough because Shane moved to Baguio! We are not sure if she will be coming back... but we are praying that she will or that she will find member support there in Baguio. Keep her in your prayers!

One really really exciting thing was Brother Reyes got the Melchezidek Priesthood!! He was baptized with his family last summer, and this weekend was stake conference, and we were so thrilled to hear his name!! The joy of seeing their family so active in church is such a blessing. Rose is her name, and she is the one who spoke at Shane's baptism about how the day the Sister missionaries first talked to her on the street (: So awesome!

Well... this week was another great week! I learned a lot about hope. Even though it was great and exciting, there were some nights that I really felt filled with doubt. Satan knows when you embark on an important journey, or when you decide on a new goal, and it doesn't make him happy. I really felt the importance of what we are starting as a mission, and some things that I am working on personally, because I felt the adversary opposing it so strongly.  I am so thankful, though, for the scriptures. I love having a whole hour every morning just to see what messages Heavenly Father has for me. A couple of nights felt hopeless this week, but the next morning always brought new light as I opened my scriptures and the words of the prophets. One message that really touched me was in the talk "You Can Do it Now" by President Uchtdorf. In it he said, "Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward." In proverbs we read "hope deferred maketh the heart sick." But in Ether we are reminded that as we have hope, it maketh an anchor to our soul. 

We all have things in our life that we want to accomplish! We have things that we know we need to change. We all can picture in our minds the kind of person that we want to be. We can do it! I am so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Through Him and His strength, I know that we really can do ALL THINGS. NOTHING is impossible with His help. As we are believing, we can DO IT!

 9 Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.

 10 And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them. (Mosiah 4:9, 10 in the Book of Mormon)

I love you all so much! Thank you so much for your support and love and prayers! I am the luckiest missionary in the world! (: 

XOXOXOXO 

Sister Lockwood

Life is SO good!

With Lex.  She's awesome!! 

With Tita!  We love her! 

Working on the lice 

With Samuel who is from Ghana.

This is Yuri and that is a petty cab! We ride them sometimes when we are in a hurry or really tired :p

This is sister Halisema! She is from Tonga...and we both go home in December.. so we have a nice little Christmas tree to decorate our apartment.. hehe :D Not that we are trunky or anything...

Dear Family,

Okay, have I told you that I am the luckiest missionary in the world?! I seriously am. This week was such a blast and I feel so blessed! 

Last transfers, the Elders left the 4th ward just to Sister Narag and me. And so this week, we inherited all of their old investigators/referrals! So the 4th ward is made up of anyone who has a foreign visa and lives in Manila. Its area covers the entire mission, and so we get people from all over! Just this week we taught people from Ghana, Switzerland, England, and Sweden!! They all have amazing stories, and I just feel like the most spoiled missionary for getting to work with them.

Samuel is from Ghana. He left Ghana last November and went to Singapore looking for work. He was only there for about 2 weeks, but while he was there, he met the sister missionaries! They invited him to church...and he went!! He said that he felt something different, and so a week later when he came to Manila, he showed up at church! In December he was baptized. He is a rockstar! He is now in Alma in the Book of Mormon and knows so much already! We love Samuel.

Lex is from Switzerland! She is actually a referral from Sister Jensen! She lives in their condo complex, and we have been teaching her English lessons along with a little bit of the lessons. She came to church again yesterday with her boyfriend!! She has a new baby, and has really been seeking direction in her life. We are having a ton of fun with her and she is making great progress. I think she's going to come to the ward activity on Saturday too!

Paul is from England! He is married to a Filapina and they come to church every Sunday (: We are praying that he will be able to be baptized soon! 

The last, Noah, is from Sweden! He is actually going to be heading to the United States soon, but comes to church with his friends from school. 

AND..on top of being so lucky to be in the 4th ward.. the work in the 3rd ward is so great too! Our 2 favorite investigators are Yuri and Tita. Yuri is a petty cab driver and I just know that he is going to come to church next Sunday. He is super smart and I am so glad we have finally started teaching him! For the longest time, we would walk by and he would call out, "Mormons! Teach me!" But...we thought he was drunk maybe. Turns out he wasn't drunk and he was taught by the missionaries back in his province!

And TITA! Awe, she is so cute. She is like 60+, and we are like her best friends. Last week, she came to church with us, so this week we told her that she had to come by herself. We weren't sure if she would do it...but when we turned down a street on the way to church, there she was in her Sunday best!! When we asked "Where are you going Tita?!" She replied "To the house of the Lord!" 

I am the luckiest (:

Other random fun things about the week...  we taught Rochelle... the only daughter of Sister Corrales that is not a member in sign language! She is deaf, but I remembered the song we learned in primary, and we looked some stuff up on lds.org. It was so amazing. The spirit was so strong.. Heavenly Father really does know and speak the language of each one of His children.

Life is SO good here in Manila!! I love being a missionary!!

XOXOXO

Love, Sister Lockwood

Happy Day!

This is Angelo and Andrew Berdin! We visited them while they were taking a bath (: so cute deba?

This is the view from Bernardittas house (:

Dear Family, 

Hello from mainit Manila! Mainit is hot in Tagalog.. It was so good to see your faces and hear your voices this morning!! Ah, I love you! 

This week was really great! We picked up Tita for church and she had a great time! The Berdin family moved into a new house in our ward! They are being so blessed since their baptism. 

We have some really exciting lessons scheduled this week! 

Not too much is new. Life is more fun in the Philippines! Its weird.. I feel like I've gotten to the point in my mission where being a missionary and living in the Philippines is just totally normal. I don't feel homesick much at all, I like the food, and I am used to the showers and living with a companion. The heat is still heat... But really the only thing that makes me want December to come fast is music. :D Here in Manila there is always music EVERYWHERE and I just want to sing and dance to it so bad!!! 

Love you!!

Sister Lockwood

Also... fun fact!

The YSA devotional that happened last night... that was in the chapel that I go to church in every day! Buendia chapel in Manila. Sweet huh?

Kayla's email is so short because we just talked to her via Skype about 4 hours prior to her email time.  She is so happy!  She got to Skype us from a home of Americans who are living over there and she said it is just like being in a home in the United States.  THEY HAVE DR PEPPER!  This family knows of a store that sells imported goods and they happened to have Dr. Pepper which Kayla had not been able to find over there for the past 10 months.  
She also shared that she has lots of opportunities to teach in her mission.  They teach more than 20 lessons a week.  Her favorite food over there is octopus and she we got to hear her talk a little in Tagalog.  She's afraid she does not remember much Spanish but hopefully, that will come back later when she is not so focused on Tagalog.  She is grateful to have a shower with a shower head even though now the water is very warm.  They cannot control the water temperature and when it is cooler outside, the water comes out cold and when it is hot outside, the water comes out very warm.  She said one day last week the heat index was 124 degrees!  For example, right now the weather channel says it is 87 degrees there but feels like 100.  When she says it's hot, she means it hot! Her apartment does not have air conditioning.  
She said that she feels like the luckiest missionary because she has had gotten to serve on Palawan Island and now in 2 different areas in Manila which has given her such a varied experience.  We are so grateful that she is safe, healthy, and happy!  

Walking on Sunshine!

Berlin Family Baptism!

with the freezer door open!

Cookies at Sister Jensen's house!

Dear Family, 

Hello from a very happy sister missionary! This week was one of the best of my mission! We had so many miracles happen, and I was filled with the Spirit. The highlight of the week, was of course, the baptism of Margie and Angel. All week they were SO excited for their baptism. Even though they were an hour late, and I think I might have died from the stress in that hour, it was such a spiritual experience for all in attendance. Tom baptized both Angel and Margie, and all were in tears. Margie then shared her testimony and talked a lot about prayer and the members of the church. In her words "The second time I came to church, I knew that Mormons were true." Hehe she is the cutest (: And then their whole family sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". It was so beautiful! They're eyes are set on the temple!! Their goal is next May, and I know that they can do it! They have changed so much just in the 12 weeks that I have been teaching them. They have made hard changes with the Word of Wisdom and things like piercings and the sabbath day. Bigger than these changes though, is the change that is so visible in their faces. They GLOW! They are so happy and so clean! I LOVE their family so much!! What I was most touched by, though, was the testimony of Brother Berdin in sacrament meeting yesterday. He expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to baptize his wife and daughter. He has been pretty quiet in a lot of the lessons, but he shared such a beautiful testimony of the gospel. He is the father of their home, and bringing the gospel back to them has been the greatest decision he has made for them. I feel like he really has become a man, and the kind of father that he needs to be. 
One of my greatest desires before I came on my mission was to see people really change, and that desire has been fulfilled with the Berdin family. I am so grateful.
Another great experience we had was with the grandmother of Shane, our convert who was baptized a few weeks ago. When we were re-teaching Shane lesson 1, Virige, the grandmother, expressed to us that she did not have a testimony of Joseph Smith. We had been focusing so much on Shane, that we had not fully recognized the needs of Virgie. The next day, we returned and shared a powerful lesson on the Book of Mormon, and where our testimonies come from. The spirit was present, and she committed to start from 1 Nephi 1 and read until she finished. She said this would be the first time for her to finish the Book of Mormon. The next day, Virgie's smile was as big as it has ever been! She was SO excited to tell us that she read through chapter 3! She said, "So this is the story of Nephi!!" Oh, the joy that comes when you see the light of the gospel enter their lives is just priceless.
The last miracle that I wanted to share started a couple of weeks ago in weekly planning. We, as a district, were really focusing on member referrals. And for us being in the 4th ward, we really have to rely on member referrals. So Sister Narag and I decided that every prayer we say-whether personal study, before lunch, or before leaving the apartment- we would pray for member referrals. And this week, they came!!! They came from everywhere! It seemed like every day a new member surprised us by introducing us to their friends. Ah, we have been so so blessed. One of my favorite referrals was from a youth in the fourth ward who we had visited. She came up to us yesterday and said, "Sisters, I took your advice! I shared the gospel with my friend and he is coming to church with me next Sunday!" I know that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. 

If I recall correctly, I think that last week I wasn't feeling so happy and hopeful when I emailed home. Sometimes the mission is really hard and some days I let it get to me. But if there is one thing that I think I have really come to realize this week is how much my Savior loves me, and how involved He ALWAYS is in my life.  This week was a great high, but not every week has been like that. Some weeks I feel discouraged and alone. Sometimes we experience rejection and things don't turn out the way we want. But, in the weeks that are like that, Heavenly Father is still there, and is just as involved as He was this week. He knows the blessings that are in store, and He knows how everything will always work out. He understands the lessons that I need to learn from the hard times I go through. Sometimes, I think in the storms of life, when I feel alone and sad, I forget how involved Heavenly Father is, and I forget about the blessings that will come. The scriptures promise that He will never leave us comfortless, but He will come unto us. He will always bring peace. The peace and the blessings may not always come immediately, but they always come. Now, I need to remember this when the storms do come, to hope for sunshine and remember that it is always around the corner! So when there are lice, or its 100 degrees outside and nobody wants to let us teach, I can take hope that there are brighter and cooler days ahead (; 

I love you so much! I know that the gospel changes people. I know that God lives. I know that He loves us perfectly and wants our happiness even more than we do. I know that as we trust Him, and have hope and gratitude even in the storms of life, we will find peace. 

XOXOXO

Sister Lockwood

John 14:18 "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

(Answers to my Mom's questions) My new apartment is WAY close to my proselyting area.. I LOVE it. It is really tiny though, and pretty hot. But, so are all the apartments in Manila. Its now clean though and we are settled in! There are no cockroaches or bed bugs. And I don't think I have lice anymore! Yay! They have Kwell shampoo which is really good and kills them all. no worries! Yes, my roommates are Polynesian, from Tonga! They are affectionate and never sarcastic or mean but always laughing and fun (: Its good! Transfers are this week though, so we will probably be getting one new kabahay (roommate).

I am so happy that Sister Bowen texted you!!! She is so sweet, I love being in the 4th ward sooo much! Hahaha, yesterday was so funny...

Sister Northrup comes in and was like, "Who is Margaret Tate?" And I said my gradmother! She said that she added her on facebook. Then, I talked with the Bowens and got a picture with them, and THEN Sister Jensen came and gave me a big mom hug and asked if we could come over for dinner and cookies after church (: 

I was overwhelmed with grattitude in love. In just one day, Heavenly Father sent so much love to me from my family, from all the way around the world! I felt so close to you and so loved (: 

I really think I am the luckiest missionary in the world!

To continue...

President Ostler also came into church and said that Sister Teo sends her love! He came back from Palawan this week... It was seriously so much love in one day (: