Sister Missionaries' Video on the Gospel and Basketball Goes Viral

How do you get to almost 30,000 shares on a video about your testimony of Jesus Christ in just 24 hours?

Two Filipino sister missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Philippines Cavite Mission shared their faith through a Facebook video that instantly went viral on social media.

The video that was posted on Sunday, July 12, showed Sister Estioco and Sister Soriano on a Church basketball court shooting hoops as they talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ. What continued to impress the netizens was Sister Soriano's superb shooting skills on the court.

In the video, Sister Soriano is shown to be doing a wide array of impressive shots. Whether it was behind the court, from the three-point range, from near center court, or even when attempting a no-look shot - the 19 year-old Caviteño simply did not miss a beat.

Sister Soriano, who was part of her school’s basketball varsity team prior to becoming a missionary, shared that she and her companion planned out the concept and got inspiration from another similar video created by two American elders. 

“We didn’t expect for the video to go viral,” said Sister Soriano. “At first, we even had to tag a lot of fellow missionaries in the hopes that we would get at least one person to view the video. We really had no idea it was going to go this big.”

With their video continuing to draw more people in, both Sister Estioco and Sister Soriano expressed how they feel humbled and touched from the positive messages and reactions that they have been receiving.

“Lots of people are reaching out to us and asking us questions,” shared 21 year-old Sister Estioco. “It feels really good to know that even through technology, we are fulfilling our purpose as missionaries which is to invite everyone to come closer to Jesus Christ.”

As of July 13, the video has garnered over half a million views, with more than 26,000 likes and reactions, and over 28,000 shares.