Sister Amanda Marie Smith: Day 60 Carigara, Phillippines two months into my mission!!

Today marks two months into my life as a missionary! And almost 3 weeks in the Philippines. Time zooms by here.

I'm surprised by how fast my body adapted to the heat and humidity here. I don't even think it's very hot. I wear my hair down and sleep with the fan off. I am going to FREEZE when I get back!

This week was ok. I feel like we could be working a lot harder. We only taught seven lessons this entire week. And most of our actuals (reporting numbers) are big fat zeros. I've been told I'm in a difficult area, but I don't believe it. The low numbers are from not using time wisely; the people are just fine. :) I know the Lord will bless us as we continue to strive to be obedient. But He can only bless us as we both do our part. I'm praying for ways to help motivate and encourage without seeming overbearing.

I've really come to appreciate the power of prayer here. We pray so much! We open and close with a prayer in everything we do. And since most of them are audible prayers, my conversations with my Father in Heaven are becoming more real. I can really feel my reliance on Him. I know I'm speaking with someone who listens and answers. I had an experience this week where I desperately needed His help. I decided to pray. I felt Him there, feeling exactly what I was feeling, and understanding completely. He knew exactly how to help and comfort me. By the end of the day, I could hardly believe that only that morning I had gone through that struggle.

So the picture I sent of the dictionary page was something I came across during my language study, haha. I had to laugh at how many words they have related to rice. Also, the word for rice here is kan-on which literally translates to mean "the thing we're going to eat." True story. Rice, rice, for every meal! (actually, I eat peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast, haha). But we got a rice cooker this week! It makes things so much quicker for cooking, since we only have one burner to cook on.

I love the food here!! Especially the bakeries. There's this bread cart that rides by every morning (it's attached to a bike) playing the same song. You just call from the window: Julie's! (the name of the bakery) and buy breakfast. Super cheap. Super yummy. :) They have these rolls with coconut and sugar inside called panicoco. My favorite---or at least one of my favorite. Also: orange juice + grape juice =DELISH. (the orange juice might have been Tang, though. . .). Try it and let me know what you think. :)

Part of my zone is putting together an open house called "Meet the Mormons" in order to create a friendly environment to find investigators less aggressively. For decor and exhibits, I get to help make posters and life size paintings/drawings of prophets and stuff. I'm pretty excited. I also got to help a lot with the ward choir this week. I love working with the members and teaching them music.

I discovered a new favorite hymn: Truth Reflects Upon Our Senses, 273. It has good words and it sounds good a capella. :)

I have a question: is it impossible to be exactly obedient? That is my goal as a missionary, but I've been told that I'll never be able to achieve it as a missionary. It was discouraging to hear, but I don't believe it. God would not give us commandments unless they were all possible to keep.

Tomorrow, we'll be switching areas with the Elders in our ward. That means goodbye beautiful rural areas, but hello to a fresh clean start. It'll be really nice to start off without any former expectations. Also, the people in that area really want Sisters, so it'll be nice to have members willing to work with us.

I went on exchanges with a Sister Training Leader this week. It was a nice change in my schedule. I was able to ask any questions I wanted. Sister Fina'i helped to boost my confidence in myself as a missionary. At the end of our exchange, we had a self-evaluation where I talked about how I perceive myself as a missionary. It really helped to take a step back and see how much I have accomplished and how much I need to learn. It was a very positive experience.

I love my life as a missionary in the Philippines. I get to spend time talking about my favorite thing in the whole wide world, people love me for my white skin and large nose, and I don't have to worry about money each month. I get to spend my days talking about the gospel of happiness, comfort, and peace. Seriously, what's better than sharing the gospel? Soooo, I would like to stress the importance of members in missionary work. Members are CRUCIAL in finding, teaching, and fellowshipping people. You first need to bear your testimony so we have a chance to bear ours. :)

LOVE YOU ALL!! Thanks for the emails/letters! (Thanks Brie Johnson for your letter!! it was the first one I've received so far!) Sorry if it takes super long to respond, haha.

Love,
Sister Amanda Smith