War?

Hey y'all, we're short on time this week so I'll just share a funny story from my companion. It's the Filipino version of a good ole Southern, trailer park style throw down. 

Sister Cork and I were out working and Sister Cork really wasnt just feeling the greatest. But she told me that she wouldnt go home if we didnt get one more lesson in. There was one name that popped into my head, but I did not want to go there! They are always bad. But they were just right on the way home. So really I had no other choice. So, we went. We walked up, and our less active was sitting there on the ground having her afternoon cup of coffee. Great start. We sit down and start talking to them. We actually find out that there has been a fight. These kids in the compound were totally fighting! It got so bad that the moms even got into it. This little boy now has scars on his face from it all. But really it was bad. The mom proceeds to tell us the story of what happened, and she is going so fast in Tagalog. It was a long story, then her voice got raised at this one part. It was way deep Tagalog, and something that I had never heard before. So I just thought to myself, "well, I dont know what that means...." Then the lady raised her hands next to her face in a claw grasp with beady eyes yells, in English, "this is war!" I just said, "Well, I know what they means now....." I then look to Sister Cork with a look on my face of what in the heck are we gonna teach these people?! She proceeds to take out her Book of Mormon while I open up the lesson. I then pass it over to Sister Cork and she has us open up to 3 Nephi 13:14-15. My heart drops. Boom. Forgiveness. Basically giving them a slap in the face. As they read it and Sister Cork explains it, I'm just praying really hard. One, for them to understand. And Two, for me to really know what to say. As its my turn to speak words come out and i don't remember what I said. But lets just say that at the end of the lesson, they were laughing and smiling. Knowing that they had to work on their forgiveness. We even left with the high fives and half hugs. Sigh of relief. 

Love y'all!

Sister Cork

Brr...

Hey y'all! It's been chilly here lately. Yesterday it rained all day long and it was 74 degrees. I wore long sleeves, a sweater, and a scarf! The Philippines is making me a weakling, how am I going to go back to school in Utah? Last week was so busy. We had transfer announcements, P-day, a day spent in Manila (which led to a superb free lunch), a last minute workshop, Mission Leadership Council, moving into a new house, and a city-wide fiesta. Whew, I am loving my bed each night. 

I read this quote this week from one of my favorite BYU teachers and absolutely loved it, maybe you will too.

"Jesus doesn't make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling the gaps. It is about filling us." -Brad Wilcox

Good stuff, right? We don't have to be perfect in this life, we just have to strive to become like our Savior. His grace is sufficient to cover any weakness or shortcoming that we may face.

Ingat kayo,

Sister Cork

Checking In

Hey y'all! Hope you're having a great start to 2015. This week was a fast one. We are staying busy with all of our different responsibilities. This week we got to go to the province, up to Baliwag, to give a workshop about Christlike attributes. I don't know if I'm any good at giving workshops, but I loved it. After that we helped President and Sister Bertin clean a new apartment for our new senior couple missionary that gets here tomorrow. Sister Clark and I even got a few minutes and laid on their mattress. Not a foam pad, but yes, a real mattress. It's the little things in life. We also went on a little hiking adventure this week to a beautiful part of our area. I love seeing Heavenly Father's hand through the beauty of the earth. Makes me miss my camera! 

I hope y'all have a great week. Read up on Christlike attributes and use them to shape your goals for this new year. All my love,

Sister Cork

Congratulations to BeeJay and Jordan. Welcome to Mission Life!

Goodbye to Elder Barillas, my zone leader. 

Tree of Life, complete with mists of darkness

Welcome to the Sto. Nino Palenke