Day 211 Carcar, Philippines CHRISTMAS!

Best present of the day! - talking to both my missionary girls at the same time filled my heart with such incredible joy. They were so funny to talk and listen to. Amanda bore her testimony in both Cebuano and Waray Waray. Ashley then bore hers in Spanish (she just got transferred to an area where almost everyone is speaking Spanish). They proceeded to argue about who was more mature - and kept us all laughing.

Christmas presents! Sis Zamora gave me a hat one of our investigators knitted.

Lunch appointment on Christmas day---they gave the sisters necklaces!

Newletter - Update on the Tacloban Mission

Dear Elders and Sisters,

I am sending this newsletter to all. I am very much thankful to all of you. Our mission will be back soon and I want all of you to be of diligent, discipline and exactly obedient missionary. It is not where we are now but how we serve the Lord. I want all of you to be the light to others, the effect of what you have learned as a FTM of Tacloban mission will testify to others that you are a strong missionary and exactly obedient missionary. Always remember the holy habits, share those things you’ve learned in the mission and I know you can be a big help to others. Sister Andaya miss you all. She miss giving  solution to  your health concern. Wait until the time Tacloban Mission will return, the famous word of McArthur, “I shall return”. We are in Maasin as of the moment, Mission home in Tacloban is under repair. Maasin is the temporary mission home. We love you all.

President and Sister Andaya

Dear Tacloban missionaries:

We all know of your interest in what is happening within the boundaries of the Tacloban Mission so you will receive, from time to time, an update of what is happening with the members, the Church buildings, the effort being made to have you return and the general community.

Letter from the Philippines Area Presidency

Dear Tacloban missionaries,

Thank you for your continuing prayers for the people of Tacloban. They are being answered as we see the nations of the world respond in a most generous way to meet the needs of the people. The Church has also responded in a very personal way to meet the immediate needs of the members and others by supplying food, water, clothing, cooking utensils and temporary shelter. Millions of pesos are now being used to meet the long term needs of the members which includes housing and creating employment opportunities. You will be pleased to know that we have our own self reliance specialists helping the members to create employment for themselves so they can once again provide for their daily needs.

Our Facilities Management people have been working hard to restore our chapels to their former glory with cleaning and reroofing projects. Your very own Mission home has been receiving a lot of attention and has been cleaned from top to bottom to rid it of the water stains and mud that ran through the bottom floor. There is no power yet in Tacloban but with generators to provide electricity and a lot of hard work a lot has already been accomplished. We write of these things as we want you to know that the Tacloban Mission will open again. We have said, as General McArthur said, “You will return” and return you will, just as quickly as we can make it happen.

Thank you for the work you are doing in the missions you have been temporarily assigned to. What is of greatest importance in life is how you serve so we encourage you to continue to serve with all of your heart, might, mind and strength. No matter where you are in the Philippines at the moment, you have a lot to offer to the people and it now includes the rich witness of the watchful hand of the Lord.

Please be assured of our love for you and of our continued effort to have you return to the Tacloban Mission as quickly as possible.

The Philippines Are Presidency and wives.

Letter from President and Sister Andaya

My Dear missionaries,

I want you to know that the priesthood keys given to his servants are real and authentic. After the typhoon devastation, I felt an assurance from the Spirit who spoke to my soul that all of the missionaries were safe and protected. Helaman experienced this with his stripling warriors, “That the Lord our God did visit us with assurance that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith…” Alma 58:11. I had the same feeling when my daughter Anabelle, at the age 10, was taken to the  ICU in Dagupan. The peace that I felt at that time was an assurance that she would be back to normal and that is what happened. I did not  have any worries about my daughter when she went to the hospital and I didn’t  have any worries about my missionaries. I had confirmed to me as your Mission President, as did with Sister Andaya, that the 204 missionaries were all safe. The Lord speaks to us in peace.  I know that God is real.

What I learned from the typhoon is to listen to the prompting of the Spirit and the Spirit of service. The day before the typhoon, the Spirit prompted me to e-mail Elder Nielson and ask permission to buy food for the members to distribute after the typhoon. We packed it in the office with the Assistants, Office Elders, STL sisters and Sister Andaya. I did not  have any idea at the time but the Lord was preparing these goods for the missionaries. We survived with that and the 72 hours kit that we had by eating one full meal a day.

The second experienced occurred when the typhoon was over.  I was pondering how I could communicate with the Area Presidency. I prayed and asked for guidance and the Lord prompted me to go the City hall of Tacloban. I asked my Assistants (Elders Johnson & Nath) and Elder Parsons to go with me to the City hall. When we got there, the DSWD personnel were installing satellite communication. I opened my mouth and I got the chance to e-mail the Area Presidency and also to offer service to pack goods for the people. I know the Lord directed me and it gave us the opportunity to serve even though we were also affected. The Spirit of Service is always intact.

Another experience  of service occurred after the typhoon when we took some sisters from their apartment and while we were walking. Elder Tofilao asked me if we could help an old man with a cut in his head and on his foot who was soaked and shivering. Without any hesitation, I told him okay and we took him to the chapel where I applied first aid and Bishop Lim of Tacloban 1^st Ward took care of him.

               

I know many miracles happened during the typhoon. Elder Parohinog who is from Mindanao shared with me his experienced during his exit interview. He told me that this devastating typhoon showed the hand of the Lord’s work. For 22 years, his biological mother left him to his grandmother and he unexpectedly met her in the Patron Housing where he was sent to stay. A member from Sta. Rosa, Laguna know his mom and he told her of her son. Even though the typhoon separated him from his mission it united him with his mother.

Many things happened to the missionaries and now you are separated from the mission but, “if so, we do not desire to murmur” Alma 58:35. I know the Lord takes care of us and He stated in D&C 100: 16, “For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness.”

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

President and Sister Andaya

Tacloban Mission

Other news:

Two Tacloban missionaries joined President Andaya in Tacloban on Friday, the 6^th December. Elder Mark Muñoz and Elder Marvin Rivera will assist in recovering the belongings of missionaries left in apartments and have them delivered to the Tacloban Mission home where they will be stored in anticipation of the return of the missionaries who will claim them on their arrival.  

In early January, a formal review of all areas where missionaries once served will be conducted by President Andaya and a former General Authority to assess the timing of the return of missionaries to the Tacloban proselyting areas. Some areas already have electricity (Maasin, Hilongos, Sogod and Catarman to name just four) and water restored and therefore we anticipate a January return of some missionaries to some areas.

In a few weeks calls will be again be made to missionaries from the Philippines and other nations to serve in the Tacloban mission.

Priesthood leaders are meeting and responding to the needs of the members. Recently, Elder Pajaro met with the Coordinating Council and a marvelous experience was had as ideas were shared and acted upon.

We still have some chapels being used to house individuals. Some are staying at night and are out rebuilding during the day so there is a decreasing number of people staying in the chapels.

We have established a temporary Mission Home in Maasin for President Andaya and his family. Their children will attend a school in Maasin and all are very pleased to be able to return to the mission.

Sacrament meetings are being held and we have reports of good attendance by those who remain in the area.

Day 203 Carcar, Philippines Christmas is next week???? what?

My apartment in Carcar on the right- everything is blue inside and out

I'm already halfway through another transfer. Where in the world does the time go?

Since my area has been split a few times, we've really been focusing on finding new investigators. I think finding is one of my favorite things to do as a missionary. It's so exciting to be guided by the Spirit, being led to people who are prepared and elect. We had an awesome OST (on the spot teaching, where we are invited to come inside and teach). I felt like we should talk about Joseph Smith and his experience with finding the truth. We taught these two ladies named Z and P and they were all ears. Even though they were Catholic jud (really), they were truth seekers. They already had their doubts and confusion about the Catholic beliefs, and were searching for answers. We had answers to everything they wanted to know about: the Godhead, baptism for children, etc. At the end of the lesson, they committed to be baptized! We'll see if they come to church on Sunday. ;) Before we left, they thanked us fervently, saying they just didn't know the truth before, but know they've found it.

M and I continue to be awesome. They really make our job as missionaries so easy. They set their own commitments and change all by themselves. For example, we gave them the Law of Chastity pamphlet to read. A week later, we followed up on their understanding about chastity. Sister I gave a perfect explanation AND she had changed her entire wardrobe to be modest! She even asked if her shorts were supposed to come below her knees. Sister Zamora and I were so impressed that she learned the law of modesty without us even discussing it AND she acted upon her new understanding. For her birthday this past Sunday, I gave her some skirts since she really didn't have much. (I'm soooo glad there's been extra donations! I've been giving away stuff like crazy!) We took M and I on a temple trip! They got to meet President and Sister Schmutz and ask lots of questions. They are STOKED for the day that they can enter and then serve missions. They're on fire!

This past Monday was our Christmas Devotional and Talent Show! Guess what everyone! My apartment of four sisters performed a Filipino native folk dance, ahaha! It was sooo fun, even though we forgot the steps on stage. One of the members in our ward taught it to us. :) The Devotional was awesome. We watched videos of the Piano Guys and had missionaries narrate the Christmas story. Our President taught us about the importance of having the Christmas Spirit always in our hearts. Because when we go home, our purpose will not change. Christ is still the center of our lives. He is the light and life of the world. Despite the many changes that occur in this world, He remains constant. He is our example. He too had to learn line upon line. Not everything was handed to Him; He learned to work and study to obtain knowledge about Himself and His divine mission.

I think the Lord is really teaching me to treasure up the words of life. Instead of relying on notes or how I mark my scriptures, what matters most is how I apply and commit to memory the things I learn. What use is revelation or journals or notes if they aren't put to USE?

As we were teaching one of our investigators the plan of salvation, she asked how we can prepare now to enter the Celestial kingdom. (Love those kind of questions). I answered her with a scripture about repentance and baptism. She was like, ok then how do I repent? I love how she just broke down the steps to exaltation and just started with the very beginning. It's really that simple: use the Atonement and continue to repent and participate in all the ordinances. If we continue to improve and accept Christ as our Savior, then is His grace sufficient for us.

LOVE YOU ALL! MERRY CHRISTMAS! AND TALK TO YOU NEXT WEEK!!!!!! :D :D :D

there was a little girl that named her Barbies after us, haha.

this is a picture of I and M! at our temple trip. LOVE THEM

Day 196 Carcar, Philippines Bisdak ko. 6 months!!!!!

What a crazy awesome long week. We had ZTM (Zone Training Meeting), CSP (service), and exchanges with the Sister Training Leader (there's only one, but her comp is Sister Sousa!!!). Plus, the Christmas package from the ward came!!! Thank you everyone for being so thoughtful! It totally made my day. I love the pictures from the Primary, especially. And I can't believe how many missionaries there are in our ward now! Wow! Thanks for remembering me on the other side of the world, haha.

My area had been closed from 1987 to 2007 and then opened with Elders. So i'm the first foreigner sister to speak Cebuano in my area! Everyone here is pretty shocked, haha. Sister Zamora opened it with her previous tri-panionship, and then I came with the two other new sisters in my apartment (Sister K and Sister Minguez).

While I was writing in my journal this week, I was reflecting back on a few of my thoughts while I was waiting on the roof during the typhoon. Since we waited and laid there for several hours, I had a lot of things running through my mind as you can imagine. I remember looking out into the storm and seeing all the destruction, seeing the school full of families, and other people stranded on rooftops too. Then I was thinking about how many other thousands of people seeking shelter from storm, or the many who were unable to find safety. I began to think about the Atonement. Jesus Christ has experienced all the fear, pain, desperation, and terror of the typhoon. Not just for one person, but for every single person that experienced the typhoon. Then, I thought about all the natural disasters that have ever been since the creation of man. Then, all the different types of pain, sin, and trials that man can experience. My mind was blown open to just how infinite the Atonement really is.

We really had just an AWESOME week. It was the kind of week where Sister Zamora and I would jump up and down in excitement after leaving each lesson. Our investigators are really progressing. We're looking to have four baptisms in January! :D When I came, there were two investigators with a baptismal date, but they had stopped progressing. We felt like there were other people ready to hear the gospel, so we stopped visiting them as much and had faith that we could find the elect. Soooo, this past week we went finding and . . . found two new investigators who now have baptismal dates for January! It just goes to show that people are being prepared all the time for us to teach, we just need to let go of our comfort zone, of what we can see, and have faith that the Lord will lead us to those that are ready.

So MC is golden. His sister I too. At first, they were unsure about baptism and set the last week in February as their goal. Last night we returned and asked him how they were feeling about their baptism. M responded that he wanted to be baptized the first week of January FOR SURE! bahaha! Sister Zamora and I laughed at how excited he and his sister were. Both of them really really want to go on missions too. They're incredible with the gospel. They attended church this past Sunday and took notes during Sacrament Meeting and the other classes! Can you say GOLDEN?! We also got permission to take them a trip to the Cebu temple! I'm sooooo excited! I absolutely love talking with them about the gospel because they have the most genuine desire to learn and apply. They're the kind of investigators where I really don't have to do much but open my mouth. They ask the perfect questions, read and pray about the Book of Mormon, etc. Love them.

Meagan share the coolest scripture with me in her Christmas letter. She shared Alma 26-----the same chapter where the lyrics of my mission song are from! I don't have time to explain everything this week, but read the first seven verses. SO COOL! The first five verses are lyrics to the Tacloban mission song and verse 6 and 7 talk about how the storms and whirlwinds cannot destroy the people and that they are in the hands of the Lord. 

I almost forgot: I'VE PASSED MY 6 MONTH MARK!!! Craziness. Life goes by too fast.

Song of the week: Hymn 230 The lyrics are really good. :)

Love you all!

the best coolest CSP ever!!! Planting rice :)

where we planted rice, which also happens to be the place where the coconut fell and splashed me.

our beautiful legs :)

Christmas tree! I love all the decorations soooooo much! it finally feels a little more like Christmas now. :)

Day 188 Carcar, Philippines wait. what. it's DECEMBER????

Soooooooo, it's still green here. And hot. And I'm still getting sunburned. But it's Christmas time! My mind is boggled. I'm sweaty, but I have weird desires to drink hot chocolate and bundle up next to a fireplace. :)

Sorry last week's email was so short. This one probably will be too. It was just an ordinary week. Just a normal week of PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL! :) And yes, you guessed right, nothing much for Thanksgiving. I wrote a few thank-you letters to some people but that was about it. BUT my suitcase came that day!!! Um, mom you sent way too much stuff! I can't believe there were so many donations! I'm blown away by how much people want to help. Thank you thank you thank you to everyone!

We're teaching this brother named Matt who's a volunteer choir conductor at the local Catholic church. He's only 21, but he's super involved in the community and church and stuff. We've taught him several times and he's way receptive! Right now, he's committed to baptism and has a date for next month. We've been teaching him about the priesthood and it's really starting to click with him. He asks great questions like "Is there a hell?" or "How can I prepare to be baptized?"---the kinds of questions missionaries love to answer.

I've really been enjoying FTE-ing and OST-ing: Finding the Elect and On the Spot Teaching. We've found some really elect and prepared people. At the close of one of our OSTs, the investigator asked God all the questions answered in the Plan of Salvation pamphlet: Where did I come from? What is my purpose? Where am I going? I couldn't help but grin during the prayer. She told us she missed hearing the word of God. We're finding so many people that have been missing the word of God---really, so many people keep saying it! I think since we're a newer area, the people haven't been used to missionaries yet, so they're open to hear what we have to say. We're paving the way for so many lives to be touched! It's so exciting. Finding is definitely my favorite (especially when we go to a really bukid area where they haven't really seen white people before and their faces are sooooo shocked! i can't help but laugh every time).

I got splashed by a coconut the other day. I was walking in a darkish area along a little path next a rice field, when i hear this giant crash. Then I realize i'm covered in mud! Turns out, a coconut had fallen and splashed me! My glasses were covered, so we stopped by a member's house to hose off. The member was like WHAT HAPPENED?? funny stuff.

I feel more or less back to normal, whatever normal is. I know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ has all power to heal us, no matter what we have been through. I know I can do all things with his strength, understanding, and enabling power. I was reading the Living Christ during my personal study, and I just can't think of a better explanation of the meaning of Christmas. :) Read it again!

LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH! :)

My bukid area with Sister Zamora! Yes those are goats in the background :)

The Baran family's tricycle. :)

The long awaited PART 2 :)

Pasensya (Patience/sorry) everyone that I was unable to write part 2 last week, haha. So I'll try and get through as much as possible this week!

So here's the last paragraph of where I left off last week:

One sister dived underwater to unlock the front door, but the pressure from the water on both sides of the door sealed it shut. By this point, all the sisters were in the water. I think there was about 3-4ft of air left---I distinctly remember scanning the room to see how much air I had left. I was praying the whole time, but I remember praying that if not me, God would inspire someone else to find the way out. Many of the sisters were panicking at this point and I just had to breathe to stay calm.

To continue:

I backed away from the door towards the kitchen, on the other side of the house. My companion saw Sister Malietoa dive under our giant fridge which was floating and blocking the entryway into the kitchen and laundry area. My comp was yelling her name for a few minutes until we heard someone else yelling from that same direction---Sister Schaap, Sister Malietoa's comp. We gathered all the sisters over and made our way over to the kitchen and then down the long hallway of our laundry room. I was the first one to enter the laundry room. At the end of the room, I saw that Sister Malietoa and her companion Sister Schaap had found a way out! Sister Schaap had already gotten out and was helping her comp climb up.

Earlier in the storm, the wind had broken a hole in the wall of our laundry room. (The way our laundry room is built is kinda like a green house: there's a hard, plastic outside and then decorative wooden paneling inside to form the structure.) Sister Schaap had punched and kicked the wooden bars and made a hole big enough for us to climb up and out of. As I climbed up, more wooden bars broke off so it made the hole bigger for everyone behind me, haha. I could taste the water as it was gushing in and it was salty, so it was seawater! That's crazy that the ocean had come in so far. Tsunami! (Turns out, Tacloban city is the only place that really flooded since we had the storm surge and the eye wall.)

I later found out that when we couldn't open the front door, Sister Schaap remembered the hole the wind had made earlier in the laundry room. But when she got over to the door, it was still bolted shut with a metal bar. She managed to remove the bar and then open the door against the flood. She told me she felt people pushing with her. There's no way she could open the door by herself.

Once I climbed out, I was standing near the roof on what I think was a rain gutter. The water level outside was much higher than inside the apartment, so the water was kinda covering where I was standing. Once everyone was out, we walked along the rain gutter to a lower level of the roof, and unto a higher level. There were things to hold unto so I wasn't balancing or anything (which was good because my glasses were all fogged up and wet so I couldn't see much). We all sat on the roof, in the middle where there was a kinda smallish enclave of some sort. We huddled together for warmth and protection against the wind and the rain.

As I looked around us, I was blown away by what I saw. All the houses around us were just torn apart. There was a giant tree infront of our house that only had its trunk and a few large branches left. I could see metal pieces from roofs just bent in half. All the other trees and plants were gone. No green at all. I couldn't see much further because of the fog. I think by this point, in our area most of the debris had stopped flying around because it was covered in water. So we were incredibly blessed to not have anything hit us while we were exposed on the roof. The first thing we did was pray when we got to the roof. We begged that the waters would stop rising. With the rate the flood was rising, a few minutes or so more and we would have to search for higher ground. And the nearest structure higher than our building was across the street and down a few houses.

We all repeated Our Purpose as missionaries, Doctrine and Covenants Section 4, and the Standard of Truth to keep us calm and sane. After a few minutes, we checked the water level to see that it had not risen any more! I think after that we were able to relax slightly and then focus on how we were each doing. A few of the sisters had gone into shock. We gathered around them to keep them warm and awake. With the wind blowing, the rain still coming down strong, and being soaked, many of us were starting to shiver uncontrollably. We had no idea how long the storm would last. After a little while, we rearranged so that we were all laying down, hugging our companions and back to back with the next companionship, as close as we could. I think we laid there for at least two hours. We would occasionally check the water level and our surroundings for signs of any change.


That's it for this week. To be continued! Yet again! I'll probably take a couple weeks. . . so much happened.

Sister Amanda Smith

Day 181 Carcar, Philippines My first area. . . again

I seriously feel like I've just started my mission over again. . . so weird.

Anyhoo, for all those who are worried about me and how i'm doing, ayaw kabaraka! (don't worry!) I'm actually doing great. Yes, things are different and I've been experiencing a lot of change, but I really feel happy. I have no doubt in my mind that this is where the Lord needs me to be right now. I can feel the influence of Satan trying to pull me down and get me discouraged or distracted, but I know I am his target right now, after all I've been through. Because I can testify that I know there are still miracles today, he wants to prevent me from sharing the gospel. I know that God gave me these experiences for a reason---so I can bear powerful testimony that I KNOW God will deliver us as we put our trust in Him. He is a God of miracles, of mercy. He will never leave us comfortless. There are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason. I know that He is mindful of us always. There is a plan of happiness for each one of us. All we have to do is act and follow it. I feel happier than ever, strangely, seeing the gospel in action.

My companion is Sister Zamora from Butuan mission, Mindanao, Philippines. She's a dancer and she loves to sing. She is a recent convert of five years now and she's the only active member in her family.  I'm senior companion, so I'm her follow up trainer! She just barely finished her 12 weeks. She's a fireball with lots of energy and spirit. Love her. She doesn't know much English, so she was nervous to get a foreigner companion. I told her that I want to be a Filipina and that I can more or less understand Cebuano. She gave me the biggest hug and speaks almost straight Cebuano to me ever since. So I'm catching on really fast to the language. My mind is blown away at how much I can remember from the MTC, especially since I don't have my notes or study materials anymore. I'm able to teach and have conversations already in Cebuano. It was hard to switch all my "H"s to "S"s and all the pronouns and stuff, but it's easily to switch when i can just copy what I hear all around me. The best way to learn is to mimic.

My new area is in Car-Car, about an hour bus ride south of Cebu. It's gorgeous bukid all around the city, and it's fairly near the ocean. I'm the first foreigner in my area (this area is newly reopened). Everyone is so shocked that I can speak Bisaya and people gather around me to hear me speak, haha. Which is perfect when I go finding! Also, there's a lady in my ward, Sister Mildred, who can speak Waray2x!! So we speak to each other only in our secret language and everyone else gets upset because they can't understand. It's pretty funny.

Also, sorry to everyone that wrote me letters in the past month or two. I got them and responded, but now they're gone. . . so everyone email me their addresses so I can write you all back! :)

Sorry this is so short. . . I've been trying to read all the emails that i've gotten. Next week! I love you all!

Sister Smith

The B family

Sis Zamora and I

the most EPIC and MIRACULOUS week of my life!!! PART 1

For those of you who have been living under a rock for this past week, there was a SUPER TYPHOON that hit the Visayas region of the Philippines, mostly affecting and obliterating MY mission: the Philippines Tacloban Mission (which no longer exists, as all the missionaries have been pulled out). It was 3 1/2 times the size of hurricane Katrina and was the strongest landfall storm ever!!! My area was hit by a 50 ft tsunami and the north wall of the eye of the storm. AND the typhoon funneled up into my area because of the geography.

It hit early morning on Friday, November 8, 2013. A few days before the super typhoon, we were instructed by our mission president to prepare enough food, water, load (prepaid texts/minutes), brownout lamps, and rope for the next few days. Also, Thursday evening sister missionaries from Alang-Alang and Palo evacuated to my apartment in San Jose, Tacloban, Leyte. So there were 10 sisters staying the night in my apartment: myself and my comp Sister Henshaw, Sister Schaap and Sister Malietoa (my former MTC comp), Sister Guy (who had been visiting for the previous week and just sent her sick comp home two days earlier!) and Sister Hernandez (a brand-spanking new branch missionary from San Juanico, a nearby area), Sister Lindsay and Sister Loertscher (both from nearby Alang-Alang), and Sister Sorronda and Sister Dial (from Palo).

We honestly didn't think much of the storm and just expected to stay inside all day writing letters and cleaning. And we expected to be safe since other sisters had been evacuated to our area. So I wasn't worried much. Well, the next morning, the power was shut off at 3am and the storm became rather strong at about 5am so none of us could sleep. We went outside to grab all our shoes inside so they wouldn't blow away and closed all the windows so the rain wouldn't come inside. Haha. Then past 6am the wind became so strong that the doors wouldn't stay closed so we shoved suitcases and heavy bags in front to keep them closed. Then, the wind broke a hole in a wall in our laundry room so we grabbed some clothes out of the long, narrow room and bolted the door shut with a metal bar. After closing all the windows as best we could, the ten of us gathered into the central room upstairs with the fewest windows---three. I brought my bag and my journal into the room so I would have something to do. As the house began to shake and we could hear houses being torn apart around us, we said a prayer and started to sing hymns to calm our nerves (Sister Guy's idea---she sings all the time ;) ). We sang hymns like Master the Tempest is Raging, etc. After 4-5 hymns or so, Sister Lindsay was inspired to look out the window.

We ran to the window to see a flood rising extremely fast---the water level on the outside of our 10ft gate was much higher than inside. We were already on the second story, but the water would soon reach the window. I went outside the room and looked at the first story: the water had already flooded up to the top of the stairs so that it was level with the second story. Seconds later, the flood gushed the second story. Our first thoughts were to stack the bamboo bedframes on top of each other, but we soon realized that there would be no way out of the second story, since there are metal bars/guards on all the windows. After putting my journal on the highest shelf and my bag on the dresser, I walked downstairs, into the water with nothing but my PJs, glasses, and nametag. Since our apartment was a split story, there was still air downstairs, even though it was flooded  on both levels at this point. Some sisters started to bring their bags, but abandoned them because it was hard to swim with. One sister even had to take off her pants because they were too heavy to swim with. Three sisters couldn't swim, but it was easy to float because it was seawater and the mattresses were floating so there was something to hold onto. I couldn't touch, so I treaded water to the front door.

One sister dived underwater to unlock the front door, but the pressure from the water on both sides of the door sealed it shut. By this point, all the sisters were in the water. I think there was about 3-4ft of air left---I distinctly remember scanning the room to see how much air I had left. I was praying the whole time, but I remember praying that if not me, God would inspire someone else to find the way out. Many of the sisters were panicking at this point and I just had to breathe to stay calm.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK (when I have time to type, haha)

Sister Savanah Henshaw 
Sister Hannah Schaap  
Sister Maina Malietoa 
*Sister Rebekah Guy
Sister Chiara Maria Hernandez
Sister Jessica Lindsay
*Sister Heidi Loertscher
Sister Gale Sorronda
*Sister Camille Dial

Day 174 CEBU!!

First off, I am now in CEBU with President Schmutz! My P-day is now on Wednesdays because i have a temple in my mission (which I've already been to TWICE)!!! 15 of us Tacloban missionaries flew into the gorgeous and HUGE city of Cebu Sunday morning. I think three more are coming later. :) I slept 13 hours straight that first night. At first I was just going to take a nap at 5pm so i didn't change clothes, but i was sooooo tired that i slept straight through the night! I already love it here in Cebu. It's really different from Tacloban, but I think i will get used to it soon. Cebu is just enormous compared to Tacloban. There are three zones off-island on Negros, bordering Bacolod mission. I've been assigned to Car-Car with Sister Zamora, who I'll meet tomorrow. I'll be senior companion, even though I don't know the area or the language, so it'll be an adventure. :)

Since being in Cebu, I've ran into so many people from Leyte! One man was returning to Carigara (my first area) to look for his family. We were able to help him out and tell him where to look and told him to look for the church. At the Cebu temple patron housing, i've seen members from the wards i've been serving in! And I saw Sister Hernandez, the branch missionary who was with Sister Guy during the typhoon! So now all ten of us sisters from the roof are out of Tacloban and safe. I've been running into a lot of relief groups heading to Tacloban, which is comforting to know that supplies and help is continually on the way. Please keep my members and investigators in your prayers!

I read the article by Deseret News, haha. They made it seem pretty dramatic and some things are exaggerated, which is to be expected from a news story.

After the waters had receded a bit, Pres Andaya came with the AP's to find us.
This is outside my apartment on the right.

We later went back to see what could be recovered. This is inside my apartment.
You can see the water level on the wall behind me.

My apartment

This is a link to someone's blog that explains some more of the typhoon and how the geographic regions are set up: http://www.michaeldsellers.com/blog/2013/11/13/our-hometown-of-lawaan-eastern-samar-where-exactly-is-it/

Dad's perspective

For those of you expecting something from Amanda, sorry to disappoint you. This is about me. :0) I don't keep a journal and this is as close as it will probably get but I wanted to record my thoughts and feelings during the week of Yolanda. Liz suggested that I post it here.

----

Wednesday November 6 we heard of a tyhpoon headed toward the Philippines. Looking at the trajectory of the storm it seemed it would pass right through Leyte island near Tacloban where Amanda was assigned. Being the map freak that I am I looked up as much information as I could on where the storm was and where it would go, not really worrying about Amanda's safety as I was just collecting information. But as the storm got closer to her I heard more about it being a super storm and the biggest storm on earth so far this year and winds reaching incredible speeds. Then I started watching as a concerned parent. Where would the strongest part of the storm hit?

Thursday morning I tracked the storm and watched it get closer and closer to land. The eye wall was supposed to hit land at 2pm our time in Guiuan and then Tacloban by 4pm. I watched on the radar as the eye passed just south of Tacloban which means that the eye wall where the strongest winds would be was right in the middle of Tacloban city. I didn't know anything about storm surges or what that meant or what to expect. Liz and I went to a Relief Society dinner that night not worrying very much. We felt she was ok.

Friday morning Liz heard from another missionary mom that the news reported that all missionaries in the Philippines were accounted for. So we relaxed. But later in the day we started to wonder because we didn't see the same story on the LDS news room site. There was nothing at all. So we started to worry and wonder. Later that day we saw the church post that all missionaries were accounted for except those in the Tacloban mission. Ok. Time to worry.

We heard nothing from the church or anybody that day. There were facebook groups for missionary families for the Philippines so we joined a couple of those to see what news people had.

Saturday morning one of the people in the facebook group mentioned finding an email address of an Elder Ferrin and that they sent him an email and he called them with information. We needed to drive down to Moab to take Alex to his race so before we left we sent an email to Elder Ferrin asking what he might know about Amanda and left my cell phone number. He called within 20 minutes while we were driving into Spanish Fork canyon. He told us that Amanda was safe and with the mission president. That was all the information he had. Nothing about her health or conditions or whereabouts or what resources she had available to her. We just knew she was alive and under the care of her priesthood leader. This helped the rest of the drive to Moab and the rest of the day go by very much more relaxed.

We still trolled the facebook groups looking for additional news or information. We saw pictures of missionaries in downtown Tacloban handing out food and water to people.One of the sisters looked like she could be Amanda but we realized it wasn't her. Saturday night we got a call from what must have been Sister Ardern (with a NZ accent) telling us that Amanda was safe. They were just double checking that we had been contacted. Sunday afternoon we got another phone call from the missionary department in SLC saying that Amanda was safe and her needs were being met regarding food and water, etc. That helped a little bit more but it was still just generic information, no details or knowledge about her.

Tuesday morning I woke up one minute before my alarm and checked my phone to see what time it was and saw a missed call from 1 minute earlier that was a Philippines number. Right then the home phone started to ring and we bounced out of bed to grab it. Liz ran faster than me and got to the phone and it was Amanda! It was 9pm her time, they had just arrived in Manila an hour before. We talked for about an hour and then she skyped with us that night from 11pm to 1am. It was such a joy to see her and hear her and know for sure that she was ok. After talking with her that morning the song "My Kindness" came to mind and it was in my head all day and I listened to it in the car and looked up the scripture in 3 Nephi that part of it comes from. I could imagine Amanda having that song go through her head while she was up on the roof in the storm.

Wednesday we talked with Amanda again and she told us she was having a hard time with other missionaries that had been really traumatized by the whole experience. Some of them couldn't stand to be around Amanda anymore because every time they saw her they got flooded with the feelings and emotions of the storm and aftermath. Of course this made Amanda really upset to be shunned by those she loved so much. This broke our hearts and made us feel even more worried at that point than we had through the whole storm and the waiting to hear from her.

Thursday morning I got up and went to look at facebook and saw another missionary parent saying how excited they were they got to talk to their missionary. For some reason I just couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to see any of it anymore. I think maybe I was finally having the emotions break through to the surface that had come from the previous week and from feeling so badly for Amanda and her current trial. I quit the facebook groups I had been following for information on the missionaries. I didn't want to see any more happy posts or sad posts, just wanted to get away from all of it. I was near tears off and on at work throughout the morning and just feeling emotionally drained. At the end of the day I told my boss I was going to leave early for a mental health break. I took my camera and drove down to the dike that surrounds the Provo airport and took pictures just south of the runway. There's a nice marshy, reedy area with open water and the sunset reflects in it very nicely. I listened to Utah Valley Children's Choir music the whole time and on the way home was finally able to break down crying. Though it's difficult to full on sob while driving on the freeway it was good to get it out. Kinda like throwing up I guess. I felt better after that and have since.

Since then it's been a slow coming down off the emotions and intensity of the previous week. Seeing Amanda on the news and the internet in various forms, Liz getting together things for Amanda to replace what was lost, etc.

With Amanda starting a new day in a new place and a new assignment we are also able to begin to move on and get back to a normal life. Though there are so many thousands of others whose lives will not be normal for months or years to come.

UPDATE on Amanda

For those who don't know, on Thursday November 7th at approximately 5pm, typhoon Yolanda or Haiyan made landfall in the Philippines. The storm was 3 1/2 times the size of Katrina and had wind gusts up to 235mph. It is reported to be the strongest storm in recorded history. The storm devastated the island Amanda was on and the death toll continues to rise. This area now resembles the effects of a tsunami.

11/11/2013 -As of 6am this morning, this is what we know.

We have been contacted by the church 3 times and this is what we've been told:

- Amanda is safe and being provided with clean water and food.

- They were unable to tell us where she had been relocated to.

- The mission home was hit by a 12'storm surge and is now under 8' feet of water and the mission cars are under 6' of water.

- There is no electricity, cell or land line service. Only a few satellite phones are in operation which the church had brought in.

- There are still missionaries that have not been contacted, but the church is confident they are safe. They are using all means available to get to them and confirm this: boats, helicopters, etc. (as of 12 November 2013 - 9:28 am Philippine Time = 6:28 pm UT time - the church posted ALL Tacloban Missionaries safe and accounted for!!!!)

This is what we have read or been told by others but not confirmed by the church:

- Some missionaries are or have already been transferred to different missions like Cebu and Manila at least temporarily until there are safe places they can stay with food, water, and electricity (they are declaring marshal law in some areas where looting, lawlessness and shootings have occurred). They are going by boat and then plane.

-  This was posted on one site then quickly removed (but I copied it before it was and also wrote to the poster asking if it was valid - he said yes, but that it was removed in consideration of all the families who still had not news of their missionary):

LDS Philippines

Emailed By TACLOBAN MISSION PRESIDENT, read by Elder Brent H. Nielsen, Philippines Area President

During the stake Conference at Cauayan.

"The missionaries are safe. Our mission home was flooded, we have no current (electricity), no water, no clothes, no garments, and no food. But we help each other members by wearing yellow vest helping hands.

Please pass for help."

I asked the poster if that meant the missionaries needed clothing and garments and he said yes.

- At least 2 days prior to the typhoon, missionaries were told to have a 72hr bag ready to move. Our guess is that did not change and that is why some have little else. We are guessing Amanda was one of those that lost almost everything - her apartment was close to the mission home and airport where there is little left and her apartment was on the ground floor with big windows. Some of the zones that are being transferred out only have those 72hr kits with them. (Her apartment was 1/2 mile from the mission home and 2 1/2 miles form the airport)

- We've heard there was a temporary spot set up in Tacloban for internet access, but it is not safe for the missionaries to go there.

- We saw pictures  in Tacloban City with the mission president, his wife and other missionaries passing out supplies to the people that included missionaries that were in Amanda's apartment.

- As of 2 days before the typhoon, Amanda was still sick but had received a blessing: this info was given to us by Sis Resolme, a sister that was in her apartment and went home on a medical release 2 days before the typhoon.

Amanda's apartment in Tacloban

A) shows where Amanda's apartment is B)shows where the mission home, mission office and chapel are. Out on the peninsula is where the airport and runway are.

Helping Hands in Tacloban City
Sis Andaya (with the water bottle in her pocket), Sis.Malietoa, Sis.Schaap

Pres Andaya is in the front right in the yellow shirt with the backpack and name tag.
Sis.Guy (with the red headband and shirt), Elder Parsons, Elder Tofilao 

Tacloban Airport

Day 161 Tacloban, Philippines November already???

Time is flying waaaaay too fast. Tomorrow is my 5 month mark!

First off, I am DYING of laughter looking at the Halloween pictures---especially the one of Jared. :)

There was one day this past week where we were super blessed with crazy cool experiences. The Spirit was soooo strong in all of our lessons! We usually teach R at the church with his girlfriend A. When we got there, there was someone in the room where we usually teach. It turns out he's a recent convert named E so we invited him to join the lesson. During the lesson, he brought up a concern that actually was the same as R. It helped to have him there to give R someone to relate to. E had a lot of his questions and worries answered during our lesson. He told us he's not even from the area, but his feet just carried him to the church. It's amazing to see how God works.

We met a less-active man and taught him an awesome lesson about the power of the Atonement. At least I thought it was awesome----I couldn't understand a word he was saying because he spoke Cebuano. But as we taught, I somehow understood what he meant and was able to know what to say. It's such a testimony to me that the Spirit is the teacher and interpreter.

There's lots of cool names here. Like Cinderella, or LaLa or Queen Elizabeth, or JohnJohn. :)

We didn't work a ton this week because of Election Day and Saints Day when we weren't allowed to go outside after 6pm. And then I got sick. But we have a baptism next week! Sister R had her baptismal interview on Saturday and she is sooooo ready to be a member!

Sister Henshaw gave me a cool idea to try with my patriarchal blessing. She told me to identify all the actions I need to do to obtain the blessings. So I made two columns: action and blessing. I made soooo many more connections and learned a ton about my patriarchal blessing. You should all try it. :)

Funny: So Sister Henshaw and I both woke up sick one morning, so we laid in bed for an hour or so. Then our cellphone rang and it was President Andaya!! Turns out he just wanted to talk to someone else in our apartment, haha. We were both like, "Really?! the one day we sleep in?" We had a good laugh.

Sorry this week's letter is sooo short. I'm still sick so I don't feel like typing much, haha.

Scripture of the week: Alma 27:10

Hymn of the Week: 145

LOVE YOU ALLL!

Day 154 Tacloban, Philippines Election day in the Philippines!

Happy Election Day in the Philippines! Everyone practically is out of town to go vote in their hometowns, so it's going to be rough finding people to teach this week. The streets are crowded with people who have been out of town for work.

First off, my shoes came that you sent me!! Salamat hin duro! (Thanks so much!) They fit perfectly and I'm wearing them right now. ;) Good timing too, because my reddish-brown flats that I wear all the time are about worn out. I don't really wear the Dansko shoes because they're heavy and aren't easy to take off and on when we go inside people's houses.

We had such a great week! We taught R., the investigator who told us he wanted to be taught 3 times a week. He's incredible!! I love meeting people that are so crazy prepared for the gospel that they are so willing and ready to keep commitments. He's easy to understand (plus we can slip in a little English since he's a college student) and we can easily tell if he has questions or is confused. He told us at the beginning of one of our lessons that he feels like Joseph Smith---he's so curious and hungry for the truth. During our lessons, he just drinks it all in and really thinks about it. He's already reading the Book of Mormon, attending institute, and sacrament meeting. :) I love watching the light click on in his mind or when he learns something new. I can't wait to hear what experiences he has while he continues to investigate.

We found an active teenager that we want to help reactivate to serve a mission. We decided to not ask about his scripture study and prayer, but rather just build him up. We asked him to pick a picture from our gospel art book and then we'd tell him how it applied to his life. He picked the 2,000 stripling warriors. Since our scriptures are in Tagalog, we had him read it and then explain it to us in Waray2x. I think it gave him confidence to be able to explain the scriptures to us. We also had him accompany us to an FHE with new investigators. It was exciting to see him teach alongside us and rekindle his testimony.

Sister Henshaw had a cool idea of how to go finding. We were exhausted one night and weren't successful in our attempts at finding. So my comp was like let's ask that nanay (mother) if she can teach us how to make chicken curry. Turns out it was a perfect ice breaker where we were able to get to know the whole family and share a little bit about the gospel as they gave us the recipe. (The chicken curry was delicious, by the way. We used fresh coconut milk squeezed from lubi!)

We did a lot of experimenting with food this week. I found out I really like eggplant. We eat it all the time here. I'm still not quite used to cheese in my fruit salad though . . . But I think I've developed an addiction to choco swirl peanut butter. And mangoes. And I love cucumbers. :)

There's a lot of crazy people on the streets. It's sad to see there's not much help for those with mental diseases/disabilities. 

I can't wait for the General Conference talks to come out in the Liahona! My comp and I have been studying this past spring conference and the talks are so awesome! I highly recommend studying talks from past conferences, especially as a family. :)

Funniess of the week: We were teaching a family of investigators about the temple and showing them the special edition of the Liahona/Ensign all about temples. An investigator walked in late, halfway through the lesson, and saw a picture of the celestial room. He looked at us and asked, "what does the kitchen look like???" My comp and I just about died trying to keep in our laughter! It was even funnier because he said it in English.

Sooooooo pretty much life is great. :) We have the best area, the best investigators, the best ward, the best companionship, and the best experiences. Every day is an adventure because we're still both very new to the area, but we die laughing whenever things go wrong. (like getting caught and soaked in the rain, getting lost, trying to figure out how to cook Filipino food, etc) We've found that it's really our attitude that turns everything into an adventure. When bad things happen, if we learn to just laugh at ourselves and our ridiculous circumstances, things don't seem so bad.

"Improve the shining moments;

Don't let them pass you by.

Work while the sun is radiant;

Work, for the night draws nigh.

We cannot bid the sunbeams

To lengthen our their stay.

Nor can we ask the shadow

To ever stay away."

-Hymn 226

LOVE YOU ALL!

cleaning the CRs at the church for CSP

cutest Filipino boy  :)

Day 147 Tacloban, Philippines this girl is on fire

Since we're whitewashing our area, we've been having a lot of adventures trying to figure out our area (both the people and the actual roads/pathways). We feel like we're brand new missionaries because we both actually feel like missionaries now. We've had a few lessons that we even got to teach in English! It feels so weird to talk in English now about the gospel. I kept wanting to revert back to Waray2x.

I forgot to mention Sister Henshaw is from Holiday, UT. We actually have a few friends in common and we even took the same religion classes at BYU! We pretty much have the best companionship in the mission. Super crazy united. We have the same thoughts and inspiration, we transition well in lessons, we have the same goals, we're open with each other. . . =bliss.

We've had so many referrals! This past Sunday, we had an investigator come up to us and ask us if he could be taught three times a week! We were like, ummm SURE! Of course!! So many of the members are willing to give us referrals now. Both Sister Henshaw and I have realized that we shouldn't be dragging anyone to church but that those who are ready for the gospel will keep their commitments. We have certainly been blessed with so many new and receptive people to teach. It's crazy.

The nice thing about being in Tacloban is that a lot of people speak English so they aren't as naawod (shy) about talking with us. People actually come up to us to talk to us now---especially since they want to practice their English on us, ahaha. 

We had Zone Conference and Exchanges this past week. This is the second time that I've gone on exchanges with a brand new STL (as in, I'm their very first exchanges) and I'm brand new to the area. So we both have no idea what we're doing. But, things always work out, amazingly enough.

I've never really been in an earthquake before. I expected it to be more rumbley and shakey but it was more like we were swaying and dizzy. It was weird to feel the whole house moving and see the power lines swaying back and forth outside. Have you heard about how much damage there is in Cebu?

I'm learning how to lead a lot more with Sister Henshaw. We take turns leading each day (leading out in lessons, studies, finding, cooking, etc) as advised by our mission president. I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach more, even though I don't feel as comfortable with my teaching skills yet. It's really helped me to see how much I need to improve.

We contacted one of our new referrals this week and we ended up sharing the 1st Vision with her. After I explained Joseph Smith's experience, I asked her how she felt and what her thoughts were. I expected her to be like that's crazy or disbelieving, but she just thought for moment and then said, "Hopeful." Then she went on to explain how she likes the idea that he was able to get an answer in a world full of religious chaos---that God continues to speak to us today. Then, we went on to explain that either the 1st Vision happened, or it didn't---which also means Christ's church has been restored or it hasn't; there's no gray area. When we said that, she whispered to herself: "it happened." Sister Henshaw and I looked at each other like "no way! so coooool!" We super excited to continue teaching her.

Funny story: So this morning as we were preparing to leave for P-day shopping, Sister Henshaw had a feeling like she forgot something. I joked and said she forgot to give me chocolate. She said, "well we do have some chocolate in the fridge!" In the fridge, she found her P1000 that she had been searching for forever that she needed for grocery shopping. So my chocolate craving was an answer to her prayer. Yay chocolate. :)

There's soooo many cultures mixed into the Filipino heritage. I don't think I would be able to recognize a Filipino right away in America. Some Filipinos look super Chinese or Korean, while others look Hispanic. And others look Polynesian. They're so diverse! 

A few more thoughts from our past General Conference:

We need humility to more fully understand and recognize our answers to our prayers. We also need more humility in order to help others become humble and softened.

I also really loved how Henry B. Eyring reminded us that God has designed means to save each one of us and given angels charge over us. I've heard this before, but when he said it, it really struck me more personally. There is a specific plan for ME and each of my investigators to return to live with God.

And as our prophet said, "may you ever be found doing the work of the Lord."

Zone Conference October 2013

exchanges with Sister Quijada 

puddle hopping! tracting and traveling to our appointments is NEVER boring. we usually follow little kids and have them show us the best way around the puddles. super muddy.