Day 362 Allen, Philippines "What desirest thou?"

What happened this week. . . . .. um, I went to a fiesta! The Catholics celebrate their saints on Fiesta Days, but the members here just use the day off to spend with family and eat tons of food and go swimming. I still don't understand sweet spaghetti. Or their fruit salad: carrots, onions, apples, green mangoes, with vinegar and sugar. It's really good though.

We did a combined district CSP at a local elementary school. It's vacation right now so there weren't any kids. We swept and burned the leaves covering the pathways and grass. Man, the school is so cool! It's on hillside going into the jungle. THere are giant trees and cool gardens and stuff. NINDOT! (cool!) Hopefully, the teachers there will be more comfortable talking with the missionaries since they've seen us in normal clothes and helping them prepare for back to school. We were invited by the principal. :)

Sister Mier and I had a cool conversation about desire and how it is necessary if we are ever going to accomplish anything in this life. I studied about how we all generally have good desires and hopes and dreams for the future. But, there are good desires, and then there are better and best desires. We must learn to align our desires with what our Father desires for us. When we keep His commandments and serve Him, it is not enough to just have good behavior. We must have good natures.

So Stephen Ferrera is going to be baptized this coming Saturday! He is 16, but he has a really strong desire to serve a mission. He's really active with all the activities and hopefully he'll be a strong addition to the ward.

Speaking of strong additions to the ward, we have a new RM! Bishop's son (Ailyn's brother); Alvin Oldem. He's super on the ball about helping the missionaries. He's already been set apart as the Ward Mission Leader. He was a zone leader for more than half of his mission so he knows what he is doing. The ward really needs him because our recently returned priest (who is our only priest) just left for Manila to find work.

I miss working with senior couple missionaries. They are such a help to the mission! We worked with them a lot in Cebu mission, but there aren't any here. I really encourage all the couples considering whether or not to serve to take this opportunity to be more actively involved in the Lord's work. It's amazing!!

Last night i read through the destruction that happened in the Americas at the time of the death of the Savior. I had a few hours to read and ponder since we went home a little early (Sister Mier wasn't feeling well. :/) Ever since the typhoon, it's been more difficult emotionally to read and try to understand really what that must have been like. That destruction was real. It really happened. And then to have 3 days of darkness after all that. And THEN to hear the voice of the Savior! What a contrast! Christ truly is the light and life of the world! He sustains life. We are completely dependent upon Him. The world looks so much more fragile to me after seeing so much destruction. Everything we have is temporary and of little eternal significance, other than who are and who we are becoming. Remember what truly matters most!!!

LOVE ALL!!! Good luck at Graduation Moo! Have a good last week of school Alex and Jared! And a good last week of your mission, Ashley!!

Day 355 Allen, Philippines Taga Utah. . or is it yuta?

So after I Facetimed you all last week, I went downstairs and popped my head in on a Skype session with a missionary serving in Ogden who is from Allen. He gave me a bunch of referrals from his family. He had skyped his relatives and asked them if they wanted to be together for all eternity and if they would listen to the missionaries. This missionary's cousin did the same thing. So now we're working with a bunch of part-member families! We first contacted the grandpa and at first he was super hard-hearted, but once we mentioned his family, he softened a bit and even agreed to let us come back again and again to teach him. I take for granted how blessed we are to know the plan of salvation. Many people think death is the end. "Wara na"---there's nothing more. But we have the hope that we can live again and rise above the troubles of this mortal experience.

We've also been working with another referral from a member in our bishopric. His name is Stephen. He's been playing basketball at the church since he was a little kid, but no one invited him to come inside until now. He has a desire to serve a mission already! He's scheduled to be baptized on May 31st. :) He's awesome and texts us questions about his reading, which is surprising for a 16 year old.

Due to some problems in companionships in the Districts in Allen and Lavezares, the ZLs came and did a combined training for the districts here. Of course they spoke about unity in our companionships, but they focused on how to the use the Atonement to change. No matter what happens, it's so important to realize that Satan desires to destroy our relationships and isolate us.While we are trying to build up Zion, Satan would seek to pull apart any unity. To try to combat that, we are implementing something that Cebu Mission does: Shining Moments. Each night, each companion tells each other something well they did that day. I've been doing this since i've returned to Tacloban since my companions have been reassigned in Cebu/Cebu East missions. It really helps at the end of a stressful day.

We started teaching a couple who are 7th Day Adventists. I was grateful to see another religion that actually requires something of their members: they go to church all day on Saturday, pay tithing and fast offerings, read the Bible daily, etc. It also built my testimony of the Book of Mormon---how crucial it is to our religion. It is the keystone. It is what makes us unique and set apart from the world. Without it, our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ would crumble.

Random: When people ask me where I'm from, I say i'm from Utah, which in the language translates to I'm from the earth/ground. I get funny looks sometimes. . haha.

Oh and I sort of tried balut this week. We accidentally bought a 19-day egg instead of a 15-day egg so we didn't eat the bird part, just the egg and whites. Feathers aren't terribly appetizing. . .My stomach wasn't so happy the next morning. . . I like the yolk part though. It has a softer and lighter flavor than normal eggs.

In sharing the gospel, you can't just immediately bring up the subject, obviously. In my mission we call it BRT. Build a Relationship of Trust. Then we ask them the "questions of the soul" (see Preach My Gospel, the chapter about the Book of Mormon for sample questions) based on clues we see about them. Maybe invite them to a place where there would be more church related stuff to talk about, like a ward activity or mention the temple being build in Payson. Try and get a feel of what aspect of the gospel would most appeal to them. Share experiences in your life so it doesn't come off as pushy. But most of all, just seek the guidance of the Spirit to know what to say and how to act. Let me know how things go! :)

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

stake conference at catarman

the spider was HUGE. like palm-of-your-hand big

and i ate part of the balut. i didn't eat the bird part, haha. it already had feathers. 

Day 348 Allen, Philippines Mother's Day

No letter this week, but we got to talk to Amanda for Mother's Day. Can't beat that!!!! She showed us that her hair is now down past her waist - crazy long. When Amanda was about 3, she had curl in her hair. That went away after her first real haircut. You can't really tell from this picture, but some of her curl's come back with all the humidity. That's a blessing since the extra fullness disguises all the hair loss she's had. She was so happy and giggly  - made us all smile.

Day 341 Allen, Philippines 11 months na ko. . .

I finally got to see the whole Tacloban Mission!!! We all came together for Mission Tour—this was the first time since we separated in Manila that I’ve seen a lot of the missionaries. We’ve all been separated in our reassignments or I’ve been up in the middle of nowhere in Catarman Zone. President Nielsen (Area President) spoke with President Andaya and their wives for the last time. They are all leaving this year. L We stayed the night in Tacloban. . . .next to my old apartment!!! I didn’t get to see my apartment at all, but the other sisters were telling me it’s completely rebuilt and renovated!!  There aren’t any sisters in Tacloban zone yet, but there are elders.

The Conference was about how the typhoon wasn’t a punishment for the wicked but rather a manifestation of God’s power. Because of all the pain and hardship, people have the opportunity to experience the healing and saving power of the Atonement that they couldn’t in any other way. Also, there is physical and spiritual in the stakes of Zion. So true! I have never had such a strong testimony in the organization of the church until now. This church is so inspired! Sister Nielsen talked about finding the “holiness in everyday life” based on a book she read as a young mother. No matter the chaos around us, if we change our perspective we can see it as God does.

Thanks for the birthday package!!! It was the best package ever! I made the mistake of opening it during our 6 hour van ride back to Allen from Tacloban. . .. I yelled YUUSSSSS! Or NO WAY! Every two seconds or so as I pulled everything out of the box. I shared the candy with the other 11 missionaries in the van so they wouldn’t all hate me haha. Don’t worry about sending me another journal. This new one should last me the rest of my mission. J

Can I just say that I love America? I love the established Church. That’s all.

Oh guess what? I finally sent the letters! I persuaded the office elders while I was in Tacloban to send them for me since there’s no postage for months up in Northern Samar.

We didn't work a whole lot this week because we had Mission Tour, then ZTM and a baptismal interview for a part member family. Transfer calls are this Thursday! We haven't been able to go back to the Mayor because he's been in Manila, but he texts us back and stuff. Soon!!

I had an awesome personal study about our Heavenly Father. It opened my mind a little bit about how real He really is. I read from the teachings of Brigham Young:

“He has passed the ordeals we are now passing through; he has received an experience, has suffered and enjoyed, and knows all that we know regarding the toils, sufferings, life and death of this mortality, for he has passed through the whole of it and has received his crown and exaltation and holds the keys  and power of this kingdom.” –Brigham Young

Often, we just focus on Jesus Christ but fail to realize how our Father in Heaven knows us perfectly because he is a Man of Holiness. He is a human being who is now perfected and glorified. The more we understand who our Father is, the more we can see our potential and the actuality of us becoming perfected and glorified through His Son, Jesus Christ. God is so real! He lives! God would not send us to experience something that He would not be willing to do or has not already passed through. His plan is perfect.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! :D :D :D

P.S. oh we went to Cabacungan again earlier today. #sunburnedagainbutawesomeselfies

With Sis. Webber and my birthday package