New Beginnings

Well, this past week has felt like three weeks in one! One week was in Sto. Tomas with Sister Maagad.... and then I was TRANSFERRED!!!!!!!!!!

So the second week was in my new area Barra, with Sister Vaka as my companion! Yes, it is THAT Sister Vaka. My old housemate! The OTHER one that Sister Williams trained. Crazy, right? 

Then of course, the third week was General Conference which was awesome! I loved it! My favorite Talks were by Elder Holland and Elder Uchtdorf. I feel like General Conference gets shorter and shorter the longer I'm on my mission! It used to feel like 12 hours per session, now it feels like 12 minutes! I wish it could be longer! It's far too short! :) 

So... here's the details about those three weeks. 

First, Sister Cox left after completing her 18 month mission. Dang, I'm going to miss her so much! She is such a fun housemate. And because she left, I became companions AGAIN with Sister Williams. (We were in a threesome for 4 days). It was so fun! I loved every minute of it! We have both changed so much in our teaching styles- She is such a good teacher! (Haha, not like she wasn't before.) I really learned alot from her... again! 

So, work was really good in Sto. Tomas and our investigators were all progressing toward baptism when.... I was transferred! I was literally stunned when I got the call. It was 50/50 between Sister Maagad and I transferring, so I wasn't so surprised that I transferred, just where and who with! I never thought Sister Vaka and I would be companions, but we are so happy and have loved every minute together. 

Barra is on the other-side of the mission. I took a three hour bus just to get to the zone boundary. I feel like I just crossed borders and entered a new mission. It's so crazy! I've never been this far from the mission home before. Barra is a very small little fishing village in the middle of nowhere. We live 45 minutes away from our area because the water isn't safe in Barra. The houses are all made of bamboo wood and they literally live right up against the ocean. When I saw the ocean for the first time, I went running toward the beach... only to be caught in a wave hitting the beach. My feet up to mid calf were soaked! :) I walked around with sand in my shoes for the rest of the day, but I didn't care.It was so worth it! 

Only after did Sister Vaka tell me that their are insects in the beach water that bite Americans like crazy... don't worry, I wasn't bit. 

Everyone calls us Sophia here. I finally asked Sister Vaka why. She told me that there was an American nun who came to the Philippines and then ran off with a tricycle driver. She said that they think we are Sophia "in disguise." So that's great. :) 

Well, overall I love my new area and I love my new companion.

And I love you all! Hanggang sa muling makikita! 

(Till we meet again!)

-Sister Beaumont