Tender Mercies from Heavenly Father!

Kamusta? So it literally feels like I just emailed yesterday. This week flew by so fast. Hot season is almost over so like thank goodness! The people are so funny though like they think if the sun even touches them they will get dark and tan (they really want to be white).

They always have umbrellas and wear long sleeves! Hahah I love it. I also went on my first exchanges as STL. It was ight. One of their areas is at a home for the blind. So we visited a lot of them and when they heard my voice 'Maayong hapon!" they'd be like "Oh Sister Respicio you have a new companion! And she is African American!" hahah we just laughed so hard cause like you know, I'm white.

Me at the seventh fall

Yeah so many wonderful things happened this week(: mga tender mercies from Heavenly Father! He loves us. so much. We've been struggling in find new investigators lately. So we've just been praying every night that Heavenly Father would help us to find even just one family to teach. On Thursday we got a text from a man and he told us that he gave a ride to some sister missionaries to the apartment one time and they gave him a pamphlet with a number on it and he never texted because he was shy but lately he felt so impressed to just text the number, so he did and we visited him and his family the next day!! They are the family that was being prepared for us(:

Selfie with S. Tatireta at the seventh fall! 

I know it. When we ask for specific things God will give us specific answers. We don't get what we don't ask for right? Its such a privilege to be apart of His work. Miracles are so real. We just have ask and seek for them. I love you all and I love being a missionary and I love Heavenly Father, he's the man. Kbye stay fresh!!!

Me and S. Taterita at the first fall.

Hahah our tour guide was so into taking pictures for us.
He was posing us and everything!
I thought this picture was just too funny to not sned!!

Just a pretty picture.

S. Tatireta washing her face in the water!
It was so so clean you could drink it. 

This crazy kid just jumping off rocks. I miss it. 

-Picture crossing river! 

The sisters resting because we're all out of shape for the insane hike. haha

-Do we look like a girls band right here or what? 

Crossing a hanging bridge 

-CARABAO!!

All the sister posing before we went back down!

In front of the lake is right after we come down from the falls.

The Plan of Salvation!!!

Hey!! So this week was so so busy and stressful. But it was wonderful. Stress is wonderful. Without stress we don't improve, one thing I'm so grateful I learned from my mission so far. We had our Zone Conference this week.

It was combined with another zone and our mission president was there and his assistants so I was like way super nervous. I haven't been that nervous since state drill or state track! Like the rush was real but then I threw up and the nervousness went away so its all good. We also had the baptism of Sister Marigold and Ely(:

They were so unsure about baptism when I first got here, like they were so prepared and had a testimony about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon but still so unsure and I was just so confused why! But then I noticed that they were never taught the plan of salvation!!! Guys, I testify that the plan of salvation changes hearts and it is the most perfect plan. After they were taught the plan of salvation thats when their doubts left! It was so amazing to see(: Like when we understand our purpose here and what we are working for right now its not hard to accept the gospel and all it has to offer for us! They were like okay I'll get baptized after haha. Ah I love this work. Its the most satisfying work ever.

So like when I was still pretty new it the mission I thought it was going to get easier when I was old, it doesn't, its still just as hard but I love it gihapon(: I love being a missionary so much. kbye stay fresh!!



A note from Elder & Sister Mower:

Hello Brother & Sister Schimbeck, my wife and I are serving in the Bacolod Mission as senior missionaries.  We love your daughter--she is a wonderful missionary and doing great!

Elder & Sister Mower

Zone Confrence, Icecream MMmmMM

Mother's Day Skype

This week there was no weekly letter but we do have some clips from Michelle's Mother's Day Skype:

Question: What is the grossest food you have eaten so far?

Share your testimony in Ilonggo:

And Some Photos:

Me and Sister Molejon at MLC (mission leadership council)
 it starts at 7:30 and goes until 3:00 and its
just listening to trainings the whole time

The beach!!! the beach is actually really ugly here but in this picture its kinda cute

Bacolod South Zone!! 

"Schimbeck like a diamond!"

So this week was a good week! Like it rained and rained but aside from that it was perfect weather(: tender mercies. I forgot how much I loved the sound of rain on their tin roofs. I felt the joy I felt when I first got here to the Philippines. I've realized lately that I've gotten used to the Philippines now and all the things I once thought were so cool and brought me so much joy! So it is so much fun to be reminded of those joys again. Like the people here. They are so different in every area I go to. But they are all so full of love for missionaries(: they're so funny too,

-Justin is the cutey with pigs tails(:
yes he is a boy. Just has girly hair. 

I'll never get tired of it. Like we have one recent convert family that I just adore. Their son Justin is 3 years old and every time he sees me he sings "Schimbeck like a diamond!" haha you know like that one annoying song, shine bright like a diamond. We were also reading in the English Book of Mormon with a family one time and we read in 1 Nephi 14:10 talking about the great and abominable church and how 'she is the whore of all the earth'...."Sister Schimbeck, what is whore? HAHAHA I didn't even know how to explain this to them. Also like when it gets really hot here I'll start to like blush you know like all white people do when its hot and they'll be like "oh you're color pink!" They always put 'color' before they say a color, its so funny. I also forgot I get called Joe on the daily. "Hey Joe!" "Whats up Joe?" I don't know why they do it but they do it to everyone that's white. So fun remember these little things that brought me so much joy at one time again(:

-Sister Tatireta using the bomba to wash her feet
with some carabao taking a mud bath in the background(: THE PINES! 

I was also thinking like sometimes we get that way with the gospel too. We forget the joys of the gospel that we felt at one time. Like oh I've read the Book of Mormon all ready I don't need to read it again. I study the restoration everyday I don't need to study again for Maricel. I was starting to feel this way in my studies!! It was awful, like I though I knew it all but I definitely do not!! I read that talk again from general conference that was about like not getting tired of discovering gospel truths again. It's such a joy to study everyday and add more to what I know and to feel the joy I once felt when I first started learning such amazing truths. This gospel is soo true. I become more converted to it everyday. I love this work, I love being a missionary and stay fresh!

Sister Swift

 Our house. I love our house! its a good size and I can use the shower hose thingy! Its so nice! And very clean!

-I love carabao. They were just so happy when it rained
 so they could take a mud bath! 

April 26, 2015

Hello everyone! So this week was cool I guess. It went by so fast and I don't remember much. But I do remember how hard change is for me. Transfers feels like literally moving from your hometown. But the people of Sum-ag are so loving! I feel very loved here(: easiest transfer to adjust for me!

Me and Sister Pattillo
before we separated ways.

All I have to say this week is I'm so grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Its comforted me in so many ways. My soul literally is calmed from the affects of that powerful act.

Edwin and Maria Delia(: 

Yesterday in Sacrament meeting a Brother was speaking about family and the role of the father and his love for his family and went on to talk about the atonement of Jesus Christ and how hard it was for Him, that He asked to have the bitter cup removed but have we ever thought of how hard it was for Heavenly Father? He could have suffered even more having to turn away from His Son. How great is His love for all His children. I love my father I have here on earth and my father in Heaven.

FHE in Balabag, our prettiest area in Santa Fe

They're combined love is so embracing. (I love my Nanay too of course) well yeah this work is the best, I love being a missionary so much. I would never trade this experience for the world. Stay Fresh!

Sister Schimbeck

Me and Sister Tatireta at the Philippines MTC!! 

Jared a ward missionary! He's getting ready to go
on a mission so he always worked with us! 

Dinner appointment and they cooked squid!!
It was delicious. (I also ate duck the other day)

FHE in Balabag! FHE is so fun here because
they so crazy!! Hahah so funny too.

Panado Family in Balabag, less actives that returning!
They were so funny and brother talked so fast sometimes I couldn't understand him! Haha

Baptism candidates last last Saturday in Santa Fe

Edwin
Aleman(:

Alysa Esparas(:

Edwin and Maria Delia(: I love this picture. They are just glowing(:

Transfer...Sum-ag in the Bacolod South Zone

Surprise! I got transferred. Yeah this week was just like Alijis back in December. So my companion is going home so we think I'll stay in the area but instead I get pulled out of our area. It was so hard to leave Santa Fe. The people there were so wonderful, I just couldn't say good bye to them! But yeah, I'm in Sum-ag now. With Sister Tatireta!! She is batch when we came to the Philippines! But she will go home a transfer ahead of me (she had to stay an extra week in the MTC because she had ear surgery) She is from Kiripati!! If any of you know where that is or how to pronounce that I'll give you one high five. Haha I'm also a STL (sister training leader) and my STL companion is Sister Molejon!!! (my companion sadto  in Sagay) this transfer is going to be so great!(: I'm so excited to serve in Sum-ag and to serve all the Sisters in Bacolod South Zone(:

Brother Edwin Aleman was baptized on Saturday(: he is so so so so so wonderful. My most favorite ever!! His is a part member. His wife and all his children are less actives. He has never been interested in the church. Missionaries have been teaching him for years and he just wasn't interested, he liked his beer and his cigarettes. But when we found him he was just so touched by the spirit and he was baptized four weeks later(: he stopped his smoking and drinking the week we contacted him!! Each day we visited him you could just see his countenance changing(: He just glowed with the spirit!! Ah I love this work so much! And I love being a missionary!! Bye stay fresh!

Maayong aga!

Maayong aga! People always say that here when they pass by on the streets and stuff like they they're so nice. They remind me of the Walmart greeters!! (Walmart greeters are the only people in America I know that say good morning to everyone that passes by)

Me and Sister Schults when we went on exchanges. She's so great.
And our ward mission leader brother Roy.
He's also really great.

So this week I was able to watch general conference!! Oh my gosh it was just like Christmas. I love it so much. I love those brethren too. I just know they are called of God, they're so powerful. I glad they continued with the talks in their native languages! I think that's so cool. I'm just waiting for the day they have one in Hiligaynon. I'd flip out. So probably one of my favorite talks was Wilford W. Anderson's, "I can teach you how to dance but you have to hear the music" at first I was just like ano? But then his analogy (I think that's what you call it, analogy?) was so perfect! Like I think it might just maybe be because I'm a dancer but this talk just rocked my world. The steps don't make sense until you can hear the music, until you can feel the music. We learn the steps and we practice the steps over and over but until you have the music it won't take state. The gospel is such beautiful music and when we are dancing with it, life is beautiful too. I love Dieter F. Utchtdorf, he is the man.

-Sister Schults and I hold cute like chicks,
yes they are color green and pink!
The Philippines man.

His talk about grace was so absolutely perfect. "Do we understand our indebtedness to Jesus Christ?" that line hit me so hard. Because we are truly saved by His grace but we are so indebted to our great mediator!! Grace should change us to have the desire to do bad no more, its refines us and helps us become our best selves. "..we're saved by the grace of Christ after all we can do." I love how he switched 'because' for 'after'. Because of all we can do. What a blessing grace is!! I could go on with what I loved but I won't haha(:

And the best part of this week, the baptism of Brother Rolly Ramos

-Baptism of Rolly(: the tall brother next to me!

(: he was the hardest investigator. He's been taught off and on since he was 17 years old (he's 56 now) and he loved learning but he just didn't want to get baptized. We finally shared Alma 9:25-26 and we're like okay brother so whats gonna happen if the second coming is before you get baptized? he knew exactly and 4 weeks later he was baptized(: He's gonna be such a powerful leader someday! I'm so thankful for these priesthood holders in my life! Especially Thomas S. Monson. Words can't describe the love I have for him. I love this work so much, its changing lives. I love being a missionary, its changing me. Bye stay fresh!!

Sister Schimbeck

-The Ditchon Family(: I love them! 

Santa Fe district!