Home??

pictures:
*She arrived in Long Beach at 9:33pm on Sunday night
*She is doing lots of service projects here (she helped my mom make masks for medical workers)
*The only picture from her crazy travels. They were asked to not take any for safety reasons.  This was in the SLC Airport.

Her email remains the same: sydney.stewart@missionary.org

AHHH this has all been crazy! I have been sent home due to the corona virus outbreak and am now serving my mission from my very own home (or at least trying to--I'm not very tech-savvy). 

It all started last Tuesday with a text that said all foreign missionaries will be returning to their home land and should be ready to go at a minutes notice. I was in total shock! The next morning, after a sleepless night, we were taken in a shuttle back to the MTC and then one day later to a fancy hotel... all the while worrying about everyone we're leaving behind that we didn't get to say goodbye to. It wasn't until Saturday that we left the country. 

So now, here I am, in my own home surrounded by my family, with a nametag on, awaiting my future. What does the future hold? I could get reassigned to a mission in the States or just get released. I don't know yet. Right now, I'm contacting people from my old areas with FaceBook and whatever else I can figure out. 

I miss the Philippines so much and my heart is pained, but I know that God has a plan and that plan is perfect. I will return to the Philippines, but not as a missionary, and that's okay. I am eager to see what Heavenly Father has instore for me. He's always been good at keeping me on my toes!

Words can't describe how grateful I am for the opportunities that I have had in the Philippines. My heart is there with the culture and the people. Yes, I will still be eating rice as much as possible!

Thank you for your prayers. I will keep you updated on my reassignment or release.

I love you all!

Sister Stewart

Miracle Baptisms in the Midst of Chaos!

pictures:

*Before life got really crazy, they had Zone Conference last week.  The highlight was Mexican Food!!! A rare treat in the Philippines and Syd's favorite! 

* As you will read in her email, they were able to baptize her three friends from the factory on Sunday.  

Yesterday (her Monday), she was able to FaceTime us from an internet cafe (they tried 2 others first that were closed).  Everywhere they went, police were holding borders closed to other parts of the city and they would check their temperatures at every store entrance.  I woke up to word this morning that she is now on complete lockdown.  We have zero communication and have no way of knowing when we will hear from her again.  Her mission president will be checking on them daily (she does have a flip phone for Filipino calls), they did get 2 weeks worth of groceries, and she has 2 other sisters right across the hall from her and her companion.  Please keep them in your prayers. Boredom will be their biggest enemy (no tv or computers).  Airports are closed too, so she's a full fledged Filipino now.  HaHa

HELLOOOOOOO!!!! I'm physically healthy and still working hard. We had a devastating text come through that said all church meetings were canceled, including baptisms, and our hearts just SANK. Man, that was hard news to hear. BUT a couple hours later there was another text saying that only baptisms were allowed. PHEWW!!!! 

Lino, Edu, and Bores were baptized and confirmed! It was amazing. My companion and I had one of the most stressful/hardest weeks of our lives, but we were able to enjoy their baptism and take a nice, reassuring, deep breath! Heavenly Father's work will continue, no matter what happens in the world:)

Word of the Week: "daw" This word is GENIUS!! It means he, she, or they said. So if you don't feel confident about your own opinions, just add "daw" to the end!! Example: "the world is gonna end daw."

Love you all! Stay safe, healthy, and happy!!

Sister Stewart 

Coronavirus?

 Edu, Lino, & Bores at church (from the factory). They get baptized this week!

 Brother Mark's baptism with his cute family

 Tatay Rufino with his wife and grandchildren (he's the one that read the BofM in 6 days)

 Sister Tampis & Sister Stewart

 Sydney's mission work is on fire and so is her hair 😉

A typical modeling session in their tiny apartment

Hellllllllooooo!! Everyone, I am so uneducated about everything. We only know what is told to us. Like how two months ago we thought it was World War III... and it wasn't. So, I don't know a lot about the coronavirus, but I am praying for everyone affected and I hope you are all safe and healthy back home. They confirmed a case right next to our area in Cainta, so my companion and I are doing our best to stay vigilant. We as missionaries are not allowed to touch anyone, including handshakes (and each other) which has proved to be very difficult! Especially with old people because to show respect you take the back of their hand and press it to your forehead. A couple times I have felt very rude denying people handshakes but hopefully they understand!

Brother Mark was baptized!! WOOOHOOO he's awesome! Their family can now be sealed in the temple for all eternity in one year. I am so happy for them!

Tagalog is a genius language by the way. They have words that explain things perfectly that are hard to convey in English, so I've decided to make all of your English speaking lives easier by doing a "word of the week" for you to implement in your everyday language HAHA.

Word of the Week: "kawawa" which means kind of like poor baby. It can be sarcastic or serious. Example: "she's so kawawa" 

You're welcome. ;)

Sister Stewart

Just pics this week

I love getting sweet picture surprises from members (Andrhea)

Sister Stewart was talking with some men when another man approached and said (in Tagalog), "You look just like my goddaughter!"  Just then his goddaughter walked up and everyone freaked out at their similarities (I don't really see it🤷‍♂️).  It just so happens the man was the Mayor of Taytay and Sydney is even more popular now because she talked to the 'celebrity'!  She plans on teaching him this week.  We shall see how that goes. 

Sister Stewart trying out a new look 👓

The factory worker friends at church

Valentine's Day in Taytay

A sweet member (Mercedita) of the Siniloan Branch that served a mission back in 1992

email:

sydney.stewart@missionary.org

mail:

Sister Sydney Stewart

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Antipolo Mission Office

Ligtasan St., Brgy. San Roque

Antipolo City 1870, Philippines