Maupay nga kulop everyone!
This is last week of my first transfer in the Philippines! I can't believe newbies are going to be here in a few days. That means it's transfer week, gihap (also). I'm 99% positive that I'll still be with my nanay (mother), Sister Clark. :) I definitely still need her to learn the ropes around here. I feel like I still have so much to learn. I'm looking forward to see how I will continue to grow these coming weeks. Even though last week was a rough time, I LEARNED SO MUCH. Truly, the harder the times, the stronger you can become, only if you choose to learn and change.
So this past week we were in Tacloban yet again. I think I've been there almost every week, haha. We spent five days there just doing some checkups for my comp. We only expected to be there one night, but things kept working out for us to stay longer. I forgot to bring a towel so I used my skirt, hahahahaha. But they have a washing machine in the STLs' apartment so it was all good, haha. Basta, my comp switched doctors and has been diagnosed with diabetes. I can't even imagine what that must be like for her, especially away from home and friends. We'll be going back tomorrow for who knows how long. Hopefully, her condition isn't too severe.
Now I totally understand how boring the mission office is. We spent most of the week just sitting around, waiting in the office. Now I get why Christian was so antsy to get out, haha. I pretty much just read or slept most of the time. But I did get to meet a lot people, since a lot of missionaries come through each day. AND I finally got to see Sister Malietoa again!!! After she recovered from her surgery, she flew here by herself. I think she got here two weeks ago. I talked to her for almost 3 hours before we dropped her off at the hospital. Her health has dropped again. :( I miss her so much! Such a sweetheart.
Last week I forgot to write about an awesome family we're visiting. Since we weren't able to teach any lessons since the last time I emailed, I'll write about them. :) The Pilande family has been investigating the Church for a while now, but haven't been able to be baptized. Brother has a previous marriage he just recently annulled and now we're waiting for them to get married. They are such dedicated members and are SO excited to get baptized!! They've been actively attending church for the past 2 years now. Talking to Sister about her desire to get baptized has really made me appreciate the importance of baptism.
We haven't been able to visit the super cool investigators yet, but hopefully I'll have stories about them next week! :) I can't wait to followup with them.
I'm continuing to study charity like crazy and I'm still learning so much! Charity is incredible! So I was reading Nephi's Psalm (2 Nephi 4) and I came across a verse that meant something different to me in the context of charity than it usually does. In verse 21, it talks about how Nephi is filled with God's love "even unto the consuming of [his] flesh." Just like we are encouraged to do in Moroni 7:48, Nephi desired to be filled with charity. The footnote for "consuming" leads to D&C 84:33 which talks about sanctification and renewing of the body by the Spirit. So, charity is how we are to overcome the "natural man." Cool stuff to think about.
I still can't believe school is starting up again! So weird!!
DAD: HAAAAAAAAPPPY BIIIIIRTHDAAAAAAAAAAYYY! :D :D :D :D :D Don't worry, you still have something special coming in the mail. :)
LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!
Sister Amanda Smith
Monday, August 26, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Day 74 Carigara, Philippines one month in the field. . . a rice field
Kamusta inyo?
Today marks Day 77 on my mission and exactly one month in the field. :) I am starting to get used to looking out for low clotheslines and doorways so I don't wack my head every few minutes, haha. And I need my spoon. I can't go back to eating with just a fork. I'm becoming accustomed to being swarmed with children yelling SISTER!! or rather SEESDER! Haha, too cute.
So I know you're all probably wondering why I haven't been talking much about investigators, etc. Well, there was a point where we hadn't taught a lesson in over two weeks, due to many factors. BUT, don't worry, I have plenty of stories for you this week. We've been really productive the past few days.
Last Tuesday morning something scary happened. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my companion missing. It turns out the other Filipina sister in our apartment was gone too. I woke up Sister Sousa---it was only 5:15 am----and we found a cellphone our companions had left behind. There was one text saying to close up the house because they were at the hospital. All the lights were still on and the front door was wide open. We called the zone leaders when our comps wouldn't answer the phone. They were with our comps in Tacloban, an hour away. At midnight, my comp stopped breathing and Sister Talatagod rushed her to the local hospital, and then to the doctors in Tacloban. The doctors told her she stopped breathing because she's too stressed. My comp spent two days recovering and she seems to be feeling a lot better now. In the meantime, please please keep her in your prayers! The doctors have no idea what's wrong with her. They've guessed everything from kidney stones to diabetes to a heart condition. But it started on her mission and it gets worse when she's stressed.
We contacted a referral from our ZLs yesterday. We ended up teaching the man's son because he wasn't home, but got back right as we finished the lesson. Basta (anyways,), the son---in his mid-twenties---was really receptive to our message. Our discussion with him was really short, but powerful. I started out by introducing the BoM. I've gotten into the bad habit of not asking enough questions because I can't understand their answers, but this time I started out by asking him several questions. One of them was: Why do you read the Bible? My comp told me he said he reads it to search for what God wants him to do in his life. I was then able to teach him how the BoM can do just that. It really helped to understand his needs and how to make such a simple lesson more personal and direct for him. He seemed really interested and sincere. As we were leaving, he was already thumbing through the first pages. I can't wait to go back!
Thursday was the first real day in our new area, since we switched with the Elders in our ward. I love it already! It's closer in the city and all the houses are fairly packed together, so it's actually a lot easier to do missionary work. People become very familiar with who we are and see us all the time. Just in three days, we got 10 new investigators! And 9 of them attended church. :)
Part of that new group of investigators are what my comp and I call the Visoria boys---Visoria is a barangay (neighborhood). There's 7 teenage boys who came to church with two of our Less Actives last week for ward conference. They support and remind each other to come to church and come to our lessons. It's exciting to rekindle the LA's testimonies as they help their friends learn about the gospel.
Most of our work is with Less Active families to prepare them to come back to church or be sealed in the temple. We're very focused on families.
My comp is really good with the people here. She can get in almost any door. I wish I knew what she was saying to figure out how to do the same, haha. But we've taught 13 lessons in the past three days! I love LOVE staying busy, especially after weeks of nothing. It really helps me to lose myself in the work. With the challenges that I'm facing right now, it helps so much to just forget what's happening and become so involved and consumed in the work.
Have you read The Bonds That Make Us Free yet? I've been thinking about it a lot with the things I'm going through. It helps me remember to keep a wide perspective about everything.
I've never heard more fervent prayers than in the Philippines. And I've never said more fervent prayers. So I've been learning a lot about how to really plead with the Lord and turn our routine prayers in to conversations. There is power in prayer.
I'm adjusting to the food just fine. I eat a lot of rice, but I'm actually used to it now. I need my rice, haha. The bugs, yes they eat me alive. Especially my legs. When I wake up in the mornings, I find lots of new bites from during the night.
Congrats Alex on your Triathalon!! I want to see pictures! :)
And Moo: send me your notes from Education Week! I love Education Week!!
Oh, so one of our investigators offered me some candy. I looked at it and it turns out it was cough drop, basically. They call it "Menthol Candy" haha. They eat them here for dinner mints.
Basta. . . (anyways)
Salamat for everything you do! Your help is helping me get through this rough patch. LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Sister Amanda Smith
Today marks Day 77 on my mission and exactly one month in the field. :) I am starting to get used to looking out for low clotheslines and doorways so I don't wack my head every few minutes, haha. And I need my spoon. I can't go back to eating with just a fork. I'm becoming accustomed to being swarmed with children yelling SISTER!! or rather SEESDER! Haha, too cute.
So I know you're all probably wondering why I haven't been talking much about investigators, etc. Well, there was a point where we hadn't taught a lesson in over two weeks, due to many factors. BUT, don't worry, I have plenty of stories for you this week. We've been really productive the past few days.
Last Tuesday morning something scary happened. I woke up in the middle of the night and saw my companion missing. It turns out the other Filipina sister in our apartment was gone too. I woke up Sister Sousa---it was only 5:15 am----and we found a cellphone our companions had left behind. There was one text saying to close up the house because they were at the hospital. All the lights were still on and the front door was wide open. We called the zone leaders when our comps wouldn't answer the phone. They were with our comps in Tacloban, an hour away. At midnight, my comp stopped breathing and Sister Talatagod rushed her to the local hospital, and then to the doctors in Tacloban. The doctors told her she stopped breathing because she's too stressed. My comp spent two days recovering and she seems to be feeling a lot better now. In the meantime, please please keep her in your prayers! The doctors have no idea what's wrong with her. They've guessed everything from kidney stones to diabetes to a heart condition. But it started on her mission and it gets worse when she's stressed.
We contacted a referral from our ZLs yesterday. We ended up teaching the man's son because he wasn't home, but got back right as we finished the lesson. Basta (anyways,), the son---in his mid-twenties---was really receptive to our message. Our discussion with him was really short, but powerful. I started out by introducing the BoM. I've gotten into the bad habit of not asking enough questions because I can't understand their answers, but this time I started out by asking him several questions. One of them was: Why do you read the Bible? My comp told me he said he reads it to search for what God wants him to do in his life. I was then able to teach him how the BoM can do just that. It really helped to understand his needs and how to make such a simple lesson more personal and direct for him. He seemed really interested and sincere. As we were leaving, he was already thumbing through the first pages. I can't wait to go back!
Thursday was the first real day in our new area, since we switched with the Elders in our ward. I love it already! It's closer in the city and all the houses are fairly packed together, so it's actually a lot easier to do missionary work. People become very familiar with who we are and see us all the time. Just in three days, we got 10 new investigators! And 9 of them attended church. :)
Part of that new group of investigators are what my comp and I call the Visoria boys---Visoria is a barangay (neighborhood). There's 7 teenage boys who came to church with two of our Less Actives last week for ward conference. They support and remind each other to come to church and come to our lessons. It's exciting to rekindle the LA's testimonies as they help their friends learn about the gospel.
Most of our work is with Less Active families to prepare them to come back to church or be sealed in the temple. We're very focused on families.
My comp is really good with the people here. She can get in almost any door. I wish I knew what she was saying to figure out how to do the same, haha. But we've taught 13 lessons in the past three days! I love LOVE staying busy, especially after weeks of nothing. It really helps me to lose myself in the work. With the challenges that I'm facing right now, it helps so much to just forget what's happening and become so involved and consumed in the work.
Have you read The Bonds That Make Us Free yet? I've been thinking about it a lot with the things I'm going through. It helps me remember to keep a wide perspective about everything.
I've never heard more fervent prayers than in the Philippines. And I've never said more fervent prayers. So I've been learning a lot about how to really plead with the Lord and turn our routine prayers in to conversations. There is power in prayer.
I'm adjusting to the food just fine. I eat a lot of rice, but I'm actually used to it now. I need my rice, haha. The bugs, yes they eat me alive. Especially my legs. When I wake up in the mornings, I find lots of new bites from during the night.
Congrats Alex on your Triathalon!! I want to see pictures! :)
And Moo: send me your notes from Education Week! I love Education Week!!
Oh, so one of our investigators offered me some candy. I looked at it and it turns out it was cough drop, basically. They call it "Menthol Candy" haha. They eat them here for dinner mints.
Basta. . . (anyways)
Salamat for everything you do! Your help is helping me get through this rough patch. LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Sister Amanda Smith
 |
| a throng of little girls that follows me around my area SO CUTE. And behind them is the wall of death. We have to walk across this stony wall across the swampy area and it drops off a good 10 feet on either side. Scary stuff, dad. |
 |
| my comp and the two sisters in my apartment Sis Talatagod, Sis Clark (my comp), Sis Sousa, me |
Monday, August 12, 2013
Day 67 Carigara, Philippines and the weeks fly by!!
Maupay nga kulop!
This week went by really really quickly because we spent three days in
Tacloban. My comp had some testing to get done at the hospital so we
stayed at the STL's apartment (sister training leaders). It was a good
change in pace, environment, etc. And I got to see someone from my
batch (someone who came in the same day i did).
Christian knows about the certain struggles I'm going through
currently and he was able to give me advice while he taught our zone
in our zone training, since there really is no time for one-on-one
conversations. He and his companion gave an awesome training about
unity. He said to start with the "inner vessel" first before you work
on companionship stuff. It gave me hope that there is something I can
do about my situation; I can't change anyone but myself, so I might as
well be learning something and changing from this experience. The ZLs
also interviewed me and my comp---they usually interview all the new
missionaries. Christian's companion said something like "we're so
excited to get to know you" and then I looked at Christian and we both
busted up laughing; it was hard to stay serious the whole interview,
haha.
Oh I got more letters through pouch this week! Dad, your DearElder
came on August 7th!!! Super quick if it was sent July 29th like you
said it was. Sweet.
I was studying using my hymnbook this week and I came across a hymn
I've never heard before. It's called School Thy Feelings (336). I
really like the first part of the fourth verse:
"Rest thyself on this assurance:
Time's a friend to innocence,
And the patient, calm endurance
Wins respect and aids defense."
So have you been to the temple recently?? I heard there's a new temple
video. What are your impressions?
We had ward conference this past week. The ward choir sang two songs
and I accompanied, of course. :) I've had to become a lot more
confident in my singing because they prefer to learn songs by hearing
someone sing rather than the piano. I love meeting and getting to know
the members.
I'm not sure if we're going to do our open house thingy for
investigators. Our bishop isn't too keen on the idea. So we'll see.
Soooo, have you ever tried using just sweetened condensed milk for
syrup??? Um, YUM! Over here, they use sweetened condensed milk like
crazy. They even put it in spaghetti sometimes. Also, my apartment
made that mango float stuff we tried (the mango, cream, and graham
cracker frozen stuff). Super yummy, liwat (also). I also tried a
lychee shake. They put corn in it. But it was good. ;) (lychee is a
type of fruit. idk how to describe it. . . it tastes like candy
though.)
Since I spent a lot of time in the waiting room at the hospital this
week, I got a lot of extra study time in. One of the coolest things I
learned was about charity. I was reading in 1 Nephi 19:9-10 where the
Savior is being persecuted by the world. He was able to endure
"because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the
children of men." In other words, the secret to endurance is CHARITY.
I think this Christlike attribute is sooooo overlooked. It's tied to
everything if you really think about it. Charity is more than service
or friendly actions. Charity runs so much deeper---it's who you are.
I also studied fear. I studied the relationship between love and fear.
1 John 4:18 teaches that "perfect love castest out fear." If I am
scared or afraid to do something, then I don't have enough love. Love
should be the motivating factor behind everything I do, for so it was
with Jesus Christ. Also, love should be able to motivate me to do
whatever necessary to become more Christlike. The key to overcoming
fear is learning to perfect your love and charity for others. It means
overcoming the natural man. It means turning outwards in love and
service, rather than inward in fear, pity, and selfishness. It means
having the character of Christ. (if you haven't looked up that talk by
David A. Bednar, you need to.) "THEN shall thy confidence wax strong
in the presence of God." (D&C 121:45)
And then there's my mission scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7. God has given us
His Spirit, charity, and knowledge to overcome anything we fear. Also,
study D&C 67:3, 10. Good stuff, gihap (also).
Missions are awesome. It's mind boggling how much I've grown in just
these few weeks here. God is truly in charge. And He has the power to
change us if we'll let Him.
Well, love you all! Send me pics of Moo and Alex's wisdom teeth
experiences, haha. :)
Gugma,
Sister Amanda Smith
This week went by really really quickly because we spent three days in
Tacloban. My comp had some testing to get done at the hospital so we
stayed at the STL's apartment (sister training leaders). It was a good
change in pace, environment, etc. And I got to see someone from my
batch (someone who came in the same day i did).
Christian knows about the certain struggles I'm going through
currently and he was able to give me advice while he taught our zone
in our zone training, since there really is no time for one-on-one
conversations. He and his companion gave an awesome training about
unity. He said to start with the "inner vessel" first before you work
on companionship stuff. It gave me hope that there is something I can
do about my situation; I can't change anyone but myself, so I might as
well be learning something and changing from this experience. The ZLs
also interviewed me and my comp---they usually interview all the new
missionaries. Christian's companion said something like "we're so
excited to get to know you" and then I looked at Christian and we both
busted up laughing; it was hard to stay serious the whole interview,
haha.
Oh I got more letters through pouch this week! Dad, your DearElder
came on August 7th!!! Super quick if it was sent July 29th like you
said it was. Sweet.
I was studying using my hymnbook this week and I came across a hymn
I've never heard before. It's called School Thy Feelings (336). I
really like the first part of the fourth verse:
"Rest thyself on this assurance:
Time's a friend to innocence,
And the patient, calm endurance
Wins respect and aids defense."
So have you been to the temple recently?? I heard there's a new temple
video. What are your impressions?
We had ward conference this past week. The ward choir sang two songs
and I accompanied, of course. :) I've had to become a lot more
confident in my singing because they prefer to learn songs by hearing
someone sing rather than the piano. I love meeting and getting to know
the members.
I'm not sure if we're going to do our open house thingy for
investigators. Our bishop isn't too keen on the idea. So we'll see.
Soooo, have you ever tried using just sweetened condensed milk for
syrup??? Um, YUM! Over here, they use sweetened condensed milk like
crazy. They even put it in spaghetti sometimes. Also, my apartment
made that mango float stuff we tried (the mango, cream, and graham
cracker frozen stuff). Super yummy, liwat (also). I also tried a
lychee shake. They put corn in it. But it was good. ;) (lychee is a
type of fruit. idk how to describe it. . . it tastes like candy
though.)
Since I spent a lot of time in the waiting room at the hospital this
week, I got a lot of extra study time in. One of the coolest things I
learned was about charity. I was reading in 1 Nephi 19:9-10 where the
Savior is being persecuted by the world. He was able to endure
"because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the
children of men." In other words, the secret to endurance is CHARITY.
I think this Christlike attribute is sooooo overlooked. It's tied to
everything if you really think about it. Charity is more than service
or friendly actions. Charity runs so much deeper---it's who you are.
I also studied fear. I studied the relationship between love and fear.
1 John 4:18 teaches that "perfect love castest out fear." If I am
scared or afraid to do something, then I don't have enough love. Love
should be the motivating factor behind everything I do, for so it was
with Jesus Christ. Also, love should be able to motivate me to do
whatever necessary to become more Christlike. The key to overcoming
fear is learning to perfect your love and charity for others. It means
overcoming the natural man. It means turning outwards in love and
service, rather than inward in fear, pity, and selfishness. It means
having the character of Christ. (if you haven't looked up that talk by
David A. Bednar, you need to.) "THEN shall thy confidence wax strong
in the presence of God." (D&C 121:45)
And then there's my mission scripture: 2 Timothy 1:7. God has given us
His Spirit, charity, and knowledge to overcome anything we fear. Also,
study D&C 67:3, 10. Good stuff, gihap (also).
Missions are awesome. It's mind boggling how much I've grown in just
these few weeks here. God is truly in charge. And He has the power to
change us if we'll let Him.
Well, love you all! Send me pics of Moo and Alex's wisdom teeth
experiences, haha. :)
Gugma,
Sister Amanda Smith
 |
| French toast with bananas |
 |
| Downtown Tacloban |
 |
| Pedicab |
Monday, August 5, 2013
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
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
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| kids I taught my first lesson to |
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| Sister Clark's 20th birthday |
 |
| a picture of all the words related to rice in my dictionary, lol |
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| my crazy study mode |
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| me in the beloved CR:) yes, it's really that tiny |
Monday, July 29, 2013
Day 53 Carigara, Philippines the work continues;)
Maupay nga kulop! (good afternoon)
Has is really been a week??? Sorry last week I didn't get to write everything i wanted. So much had happened that I completely spaced on writing details and about CHRISTIAN!!! So I briefly saw him for the first time at the terminal in Carigara because I was traveling with his new companion. I didn't see him come up to us, so when i turned around he was right there! We just kinda looked at each other and then I wanted to hug him so bad but Sister Andaya had told me I couldnt since we're wearing our missionary nametags. So we just awkwardly shook hands. And then we didn't even get to talk because we both needed to get going. BUT I've seen him a lot since: at our zone activity, district meeting, and zone interviews. It's super nice to just talk with him and catch up. :) It's nice that he already knows my companion, the area, and everything so I can ask whatever i want. I"m sad he'll only be here til October.
My companion Sister Clark used to live in Manila going to school for neuroscience. she's super smart and wants to go to BYU after. She speaks Tagalog but her English is really good. I'm living in the city of Carigara, but my area includes some rural areas. However, by the end of August I'll probably be switching areas with the elders in my ward to a safer area so we can stay out later.
I usually email at an internet cafe. we usually go there at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, my time. The internet connection is pretty slow, but not too bad.
it's nice to be busy and I feel like I'm progressing. However, I feel like at times that I'm not helping very much or that I don't know how to contribute since I can't speak Waray very well. The people are shy sometimes so it makes it hard to connect to them when i teach lessons, but i'm learning to do what i can with the little language I do know. I'm really grateful for music because it helps me feel needed and less of a burden. I play piano for Sacrament meetings. zone meetings, ward choir, and Christian asked me to put together a musical number for our zone interviews with President Andaya. Lots of people want to learn how to play piano and they love it when I sing. We start off each of our lessons with a song, so I usually start off the song (in the Philippines, to start off a song a cappella you sing the first line of the song and say; andam? canta!--ready? sing!). Music is the one thing I know how to do here, haha.
I've met so many people here! But I still can't remember how to get to their houses. Most people are receptive to us or at least want someone to talk to. There's one lady who's making things difficult for us though. She's an apostate RM who is fighting against the church because of some things in her past. She employs two of our investigators and she canceled our appointments with them! Also, her brother in law is our new ward mission leader so we're worried about her influence on him. In the meantime, we are trying to give her to the elders, but she wants to just argue the whole time.
I went finding a lot this week. my companion had me do them all by myself, and then she would fill in if I couldn't understand. It's hard because i speak really slowly and I feel like the people here can't understand me yet. Also, they are intimidated by foreigners sometimes. BUT i found two investigators who invited us in and we taught them a short message and set up another appointment. We'll see how that goes. For the most part, we are focusing on less actives.
I went on splits with a sister in the Primary presidency in my ward on saturday for my ward's half day mission. she hardly spoke a word of English and I had no idea what was going on because we hadn't planned for a half day mission (and i have no idea what it is). my companion told me the sister knew where to go and what to do, but she was just as clueless as i was, haha. We did end up teaching two lessons, though. It was fun and helpful, even though it was stressful at the time because it forced me to communicate only in Waray and try to teach and conduct the lessons by myself.
There was this birthday lunch that I went to yesterday. So cool. There was this giant pig they cooked called lechon. And the food was soooo good! since there were so many people there, we ate with our hands, haha. Filipino style. :) I also tried a bunch of Filipino delicacies: suman, puto, moran, and maha. AND AND AND i was offered ido. aka: DOG. No i did not eat it. we all just stared at it. Only my bishop ate it, haha. Apparently they also eat rat here.(I've seen enough rats here to last a lifetime. they're HUGE) You know what else is actually really good? Avocado shakes. Weird ingredients, but good (it has cheese and sugar in it.)
The first three people i invited to be baptized said yes, but only one of them came to church yesterday. The nanay has no one to watch her shop for her so she can't leave it unattended. we're trying to find someone from the relief society to fellowship her. It's amazing to see how loving and accepting these people are. They really love their families and would do anything for them.
I had a cool experience as we were teaching a sister attending college to be a school teacher. She was crying because she couldn't attend church for several months because her classes were only on the weekends. Sister Clark asked me to share an experience where I was willing to do something and really wanted to do it, but wasn't able to do so. i shared what i was going through right now: I really want to learn the language and teach well, but right now I can't. I bore my testimony to her that as she continued to pray, read the Book of Mormon and live the standards of the church, God would provide a way for to be comforted and uplifted each week until she could go to church again.
Sorry to anyone I haven't been able to respond to yet. I really appreciate all the mail-- it helps me so much!
I love all the news from home!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Sister Amanda Smith
Has is really been a week??? Sorry last week I didn't get to write everything i wanted. So much had happened that I completely spaced on writing details and about CHRISTIAN!!! So I briefly saw him for the first time at the terminal in Carigara because I was traveling with his new companion. I didn't see him come up to us, so when i turned around he was right there! We just kinda looked at each other and then I wanted to hug him so bad but Sister Andaya had told me I couldnt since we're wearing our missionary nametags. So we just awkwardly shook hands. And then we didn't even get to talk because we both needed to get going. BUT I've seen him a lot since: at our zone activity, district meeting, and zone interviews. It's super nice to just talk with him and catch up. :) It's nice that he already knows my companion, the area, and everything so I can ask whatever i want. I"m sad he'll only be here til October.
My companion Sister Clark used to live in Manila going to school for neuroscience. she's super smart and wants to go to BYU after. She speaks Tagalog but her English is really good. I'm living in the city of Carigara, but my area includes some rural areas. However, by the end of August I'll probably be switching areas with the elders in my ward to a safer area so we can stay out later.
I usually email at an internet cafe. we usually go there at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, my time. The internet connection is pretty slow, but not too bad.
it's nice to be busy and I feel like I'm progressing. However, I feel like at times that I'm not helping very much or that I don't know how to contribute since I can't speak Waray very well. The people are shy sometimes so it makes it hard to connect to them when i teach lessons, but i'm learning to do what i can with the little language I do know. I'm really grateful for music because it helps me feel needed and less of a burden. I play piano for Sacrament meetings. zone meetings, ward choir, and Christian asked me to put together a musical number for our zone interviews with President Andaya. Lots of people want to learn how to play piano and they love it when I sing. We start off each of our lessons with a song, so I usually start off the song (in the Philippines, to start off a song a cappella you sing the first line of the song and say; andam? canta!--ready? sing!). Music is the one thing I know how to do here, haha.
I've met so many people here! But I still can't remember how to get to their houses. Most people are receptive to us or at least want someone to talk to. There's one lady who's making things difficult for us though. She's an apostate RM who is fighting against the church because of some things in her past. She employs two of our investigators and she canceled our appointments with them! Also, her brother in law is our new ward mission leader so we're worried about her influence on him. In the meantime, we are trying to give her to the elders, but she wants to just argue the whole time.
I went finding a lot this week. my companion had me do them all by myself, and then she would fill in if I couldn't understand. It's hard because i speak really slowly and I feel like the people here can't understand me yet. Also, they are intimidated by foreigners sometimes. BUT i found two investigators who invited us in and we taught them a short message and set up another appointment. We'll see how that goes. For the most part, we are focusing on less actives.
I went on splits with a sister in the Primary presidency in my ward on saturday for my ward's half day mission. she hardly spoke a word of English and I had no idea what was going on because we hadn't planned for a half day mission (and i have no idea what it is). my companion told me the sister knew where to go and what to do, but she was just as clueless as i was, haha. We did end up teaching two lessons, though. It was fun and helpful, even though it was stressful at the time because it forced me to communicate only in Waray and try to teach and conduct the lessons by myself.
There was this birthday lunch that I went to yesterday. So cool. There was this giant pig they cooked called lechon. And the food was soooo good! since there were so many people there, we ate with our hands, haha. Filipino style. :) I also tried a bunch of Filipino delicacies: suman, puto, moran, and maha. AND AND AND i was offered ido. aka: DOG. No i did not eat it. we all just stared at it. Only my bishop ate it, haha. Apparently they also eat rat here.(I've seen enough rats here to last a lifetime. they're HUGE) You know what else is actually really good? Avocado shakes. Weird ingredients, but good (it has cheese and sugar in it.)
The first three people i invited to be baptized said yes, but only one of them came to church yesterday. The nanay has no one to watch her shop for her so she can't leave it unattended. we're trying to find someone from the relief society to fellowship her. It's amazing to see how loving and accepting these people are. They really love their families and would do anything for them.
I had a cool experience as we were teaching a sister attending college to be a school teacher. She was crying because she couldn't attend church for several months because her classes were only on the weekends. Sister Clark asked me to share an experience where I was willing to do something and really wanted to do it, but wasn't able to do so. i shared what i was going through right now: I really want to learn the language and teach well, but right now I can't. I bore my testimony to her that as she continued to pray, read the Book of Mormon and live the standards of the church, God would provide a way for to be comforted and uplifted each week until she could go to church again.
Sorry to anyone I haven't been able to respond to yet. I really appreciate all the mail-- it helps me so much!
I love all the news from home!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!
Sister Amanda Smith
 |
| Doing laundry |
 |
| My room |
Dear Brother & Sister Smith,
Sister
Smith has arrived safely in the Philippines Tacloban Mission. We have enclosed
a copy of a photograph of her with Sister
Andaya, me and her trainer. Your greatest contribution to your missionary’s
success can be made by:
- Praying for, and remembering her in your monthly
fast.
- Writing to your missionary weekly. Any letters or
packages should be sent to the following address:
Sister Amanda
Marie Smith
Philippines Tacloban Mission
511 Maharlika Hwy. Fatima Vlg.
Tacloban City
6500 Leyte , Philippines
- Writing encouraging letters and leaving out
discouraging things.
- Not visiting or telephoning your missionary
without the mission president’s approval. Christmas and Mother’s Day will
be approved times for your missionary to have a visit with your family by
telephone. This call is to be paid by your family and not out of the
Missionary Support money given to your missionary.
- Contacting me in an emergency using your
international calling code at:
09175364836
(President Andaya’s number)or 2012855@ldschurch.org (email).
6.
Please do NOT
send money through the mail. If your missionary has a personal debit card,
there should be a minimum of $100 or 1,000 Php in it for emergency purposes.
You may add funds to this account for any personal items such as medical
co-payments, pre-existing medical expenses, and pictures. These personal
expenses should be kept to a minimum. If your missionary does not have a
personal debit card, you can send money through approved money transfer
services i.e. LBC, Western Union, etc.
Please
encourage your missionary to only use www.myldsmail.net and not other websites
such as Facebook. We know that through obedience to this, your missionary will
receive a greater portion of the Spirit and will become more effective in
bringing more souls unto Christ.
Thank
you for preparing your missionary. She will make an important contribution to
the work of the Lord in our Mission. It
is a great blessing to have her in our Mission.
Sincerely,
Jose V. Andaya
Philippines Tacloban
Mission
Monday, July 22, 2013
Day 46 I'm in the PHILIPPINES!!!!
Kamusta pamilya?!
Can you believe I'm in the Philippines???? I feel like I've been here forever already. So much has happened!
Well, for starters, you'll be happy to know that all my luggage was exactly the weight limits, haha so I didn't have to pay extra. Also, they never weighed my carry on for any of my four flights. :) Traveling here was really tiring. It was so weird to be on a flight for 9 hours and have it be perfectly bright outside the entire time. When it was nighttime in Utah, I would keep checking outside the airplane window to see if the sun was setting yet, but it was still so bright! My poor body and mind was so confused those first two days of traveling--especially when we had dinner 3 times in one day, haha. All my flights went really well and we had the perfect amount of layover time between each so things could go smoothly. The Narita, Japan airport is really nice!! Except for we all forget that they use bidets and squatter holes in the restrooms. . . fun stuff, lol. Our flight to Manila was during a lightning storm so the plane had to circle around for a while before we could land. It was so cool to see all the fisherboats in the ocean. I was glued to the window the entire time we were traveling :)
Sorry I didn't get to call home again in Manila---things were crazy going through customs, immigration, etc and finding our drivers to take us to our hotel. So our hotel is not what I expected at all. I was expecting a small, humble motel with lizards on the walls and stuff. Nope. We stayed in this crazy fancy hotel with chandeliers and waterfalls!!! We were all shocked out of our minds; we thought the driver had taken us to the wrong place.
After staying the night in Manila, we flew out of this tiny airport to Tacloban. In the airport, we met all the Filipino missionaries going to Tacloban! I became good friends with all the Filipinas--they're so friendly! We stayed in the mission office the first day to be interviewed by President Andaya and check our health. We were are really antsy just waiting inside the mission office all day, but we got to talk to some Filipino kids. :) The next day was orientation. The office missionaries and the APs taught us about our budget, etc and we took pictures at the General McArthur Memorial. And the next day we met our trainers and found out where we would be serving.
Drumroll. . . .
I'm serving in Carigara---the same zone where Christian is a zone leader!!! (for those who don't know, Christian is Amanda's cousin - this is what he said in his letter home : Also i got to see Sister Smith! it turns out that she is in my zone!! We went to pick her up from the bus terminal and it was really weird... im sure it was awkward for her cuz it was really awkward for me... I had no idea what to do! I thought, hey, she is family so maybe i can give her a hug... then i thought...well we are both missionaries so maybe not.... i had no idea what to do! So i did what came natural. I shook her hand. Its really nice to have her here. She is going to be a great missionary. She will have a great time here.)
AND I have a Filipina companion named Sister Clark. I love her to death already: she works really hard, pushes me to learn the language quickly, and is very outgoing and energetic in talking with everyone. I seriously could not have asked for a better companion. Carigara is only a 1 hour bus ride away from Tacloban, so I was blessed to not have to travel all day. I was really looking forward to unpacking and finally settling somewhere for a little while. My apartment is adorable! All the walls are pink and we have pink flower curtains. :) I also am blessed to have one of the nicer apartments. We have a living room, dining room, kitchen, CR (comfort room=bathroom), and a shower room downstairs, and upstairs we have two bedrooms and a study room. It'll be nice to start out in a nicer area so I can ease into the culture and living condions. I've only seen one cockroach in my apartment (they're HUGE here!!), but no rats or spiders yet. :) My apartment is close a Catholic church which plays the same song at 5am every morning and plays it all day on Sundays. .. . haha. We live with two other sisters, one American and one Filipina. It's really nice to have another American here. I ask her a ton of questions cuz the Filipinas don't really know the difference with a lot of things.
Surprisingly, I don't really have jetlag. It only took like a day or two to adjust to the time and climate here. Also, it's not as hot here as I expected. Most of the day is actually pretty cool. Last night I was even cold! My companion laughs at me because I love the fan in our room.
I wish you could hear and smell everything here--well, maybe not smell. . . But pictures can't do this place justice. It's seriously an adventure everyday here. In the city, the houses are built close together so you have to duck down and walk through the alleys between to get places. After a really hard rainstorm one day we had to jump from rock to rock, cross logs, and hop on tires that made the pathway to a member's house. It was crazy! It's so humbling to see how people live here. That family lived in a stilt house with bamboo floors. Their house was practically empty and they wear the same thing everyday. Then, we see them at church! It's incredible to see how these destitute families sacrifice to come to church. If you came to my ward, you'd see well-groomed people and you'd never guess how they live. Despite their circumstances, the people here live cleanly and do everything they can to look nice and presentable.
We usually walk or ride pedicabs or "tricycles," which only cost P5 or P10. I'm starting to get the hang of how expensive things are here using pesos. My area is partly city and partly rural. I only see the ocean when I go the market.The landscape here is so pretty---especially with the rice patty fields and palm trees.
I've met so many members already! Luckily, many of them have English first names so I'm able to remember them. My companion thinks I'm catching onto Waray fast so she tells everyone I speak Waray, but I can never understand when they talk so fast! I'm getting really good at their way of showing confusion: opening your mouth big. It looks really funny, especially if you don't know what if means, lol. They have a lot of different gestures here: pointing with their lips, saying yes with their eyebrows, etc.
Moo, you would love it here! There's so many animals everywhere! So far I've seen kittens, puppies, chicks, roosters (I hate them in the mornings, haha), pigs, goats, and caribao. :) It's surreal to be teaching a lesson in someone's house and then have a cute little chick walk right by your feet!
The food here is awesome. I've already found my two favorite places to eat: the Julis bakery (they also have a little cart that goes around every morning playing the same song) and the Raq Farm. I love their lumpia, mango shakes, and curry dishes. MmmmmMmmm. :) I've also tried siapao, palabok, chicken bread, jackfruit, and pili nuts. And the bananas here are definitely better---I eat them for breakfast with a cup of hot Milo (hot chocolate with oatmeal and vitamins).
Saturday night I gave the spiritual thought for a family's FHE. Luckily they knew a lot of English so I didn't have to only use Waray. We played a lot of games and they fed us spaghetti.:) Also on Saturday we met with Bishop Rolando Ragsag and the two Elders also over our ward. I was clueless the whole meeting because our bishop only speaks Waray, but his body langauge and tone of voice is easy to understand. He's really sarcastic and funny, and he has high expectations of us as missionaries. When I met him the first night at his house, he asked me to help with the choir for ward conference, and of course he wants me to always be prepared to speak if needed. I gave my first talk this Sunday! I prepared a few sentences in Waray to say to introduce myself before mixing in English, but I ended up accidentally meshing the sentences together, so I was speaking nonsense, lol.
Funny story: as I was walking along a path to meet one of our recent converts, I saw a little boy ahead. I greeted him in Waray and kept walking when I heard my companion call out to me. I turned and around and realized I had just walked past the very person we were going to teach, haha. I think my companion forgets sometimes that I don't know anyone or where anything is yet, haha.
I'm really enjoying my study time in the mornings--especially personal study. I haven't really had a normal schedule yet, though, so sometimes we don't get back til late .
Anyhoo, I'm out of time, so in the meantime, take care and I love you all!
Sister Amanda Smith
Can you believe I'm in the Philippines???? I feel like I've been here forever already. So much has happened!
Well, for starters, you'll be happy to know that all my luggage was exactly the weight limits, haha so I didn't have to pay extra. Also, they never weighed my carry on for any of my four flights. :) Traveling here was really tiring. It was so weird to be on a flight for 9 hours and have it be perfectly bright outside the entire time. When it was nighttime in Utah, I would keep checking outside the airplane window to see if the sun was setting yet, but it was still so bright! My poor body and mind was so confused those first two days of traveling--especially when we had dinner 3 times in one day, haha. All my flights went really well and we had the perfect amount of layover time between each so things could go smoothly. The Narita, Japan airport is really nice!! Except for we all forget that they use bidets and squatter holes in the restrooms. . . fun stuff, lol. Our flight to Manila was during a lightning storm so the plane had to circle around for a while before we could land. It was so cool to see all the fisherboats in the ocean. I was glued to the window the entire time we were traveling :)
After staying the night in Manila, we flew out of this tiny airport to Tacloban. In the airport, we met all the Filipino missionaries going to Tacloban! I became good friends with all the Filipinas--they're so friendly! We stayed in the mission office the first day to be interviewed by President Andaya and check our health. We were are really antsy just waiting inside the mission office all day, but we got to talk to some Filipino kids. :) The next day was orientation. The office missionaries and the APs taught us about our budget, etc and we took pictures at the General McArthur Memorial. And the next day we met our trainers and found out where we would be serving.
Drumroll. . . .
I'm serving in Carigara---the same zone where Christian is a zone leader!!! (for those who don't know, Christian is Amanda's cousin - this is what he said in his letter home : Also i got to see Sister Smith! it turns out that she is in my zone!! We went to pick her up from the bus terminal and it was really weird... im sure it was awkward for her cuz it was really awkward for me... I had no idea what to do! I thought, hey, she is family so maybe i can give her a hug... then i thought...well we are both missionaries so maybe not.... i had no idea what to do! So i did what came natural. I shook her hand. Its really nice to have her here. She is going to be a great missionary. She will have a great time here.)
AND I have a Filipina companion named Sister Clark. I love her to death already: she works really hard, pushes me to learn the language quickly, and is very outgoing and energetic in talking with everyone. I seriously could not have asked for a better companion. Carigara is only a 1 hour bus ride away from Tacloban, so I was blessed to not have to travel all day. I was really looking forward to unpacking and finally settling somewhere for a little while. My apartment is adorable! All the walls are pink and we have pink flower curtains. :) I also am blessed to have one of the nicer apartments. We have a living room, dining room, kitchen, CR (comfort room=bathroom), and a shower room downstairs, and upstairs we have two bedrooms and a study room. It'll be nice to start out in a nicer area so I can ease into the culture and living condions. I've only seen one cockroach in my apartment (they're HUGE here!!), but no rats or spiders yet. :) My apartment is close a Catholic church which plays the same song at 5am every morning and plays it all day on Sundays. .. . haha. We live with two other sisters, one American and one Filipina. It's really nice to have another American here. I ask her a ton of questions cuz the Filipinas don't really know the difference with a lot of things.
Surprisingly, I don't really have jetlag. It only took like a day or two to adjust to the time and climate here. Also, it's not as hot here as I expected. Most of the day is actually pretty cool. Last night I was even cold! My companion laughs at me because I love the fan in our room.
I wish you could hear and smell everything here--well, maybe not smell. . . But pictures can't do this place justice. It's seriously an adventure everyday here. In the city, the houses are built close together so you have to duck down and walk through the alleys between to get places. After a really hard rainstorm one day we had to jump from rock to rock, cross logs, and hop on tires that made the pathway to a member's house. It was crazy! It's so humbling to see how people live here. That family lived in a stilt house with bamboo floors. Their house was practically empty and they wear the same thing everyday. Then, we see them at church! It's incredible to see how these destitute families sacrifice to come to church. If you came to my ward, you'd see well-groomed people and you'd never guess how they live. Despite their circumstances, the people here live cleanly and do everything they can to look nice and presentable.
We usually walk or ride pedicabs or "tricycles," which only cost P5 or P10. I'm starting to get the hang of how expensive things are here using pesos. My area is partly city and partly rural. I only see the ocean when I go the market.The landscape here is so pretty---especially with the rice patty fields and palm trees.
I've met so many members already! Luckily, many of them have English first names so I'm able to remember them. My companion thinks I'm catching onto Waray fast so she tells everyone I speak Waray, but I can never understand when they talk so fast! I'm getting really good at their way of showing confusion: opening your mouth big. It looks really funny, especially if you don't know what if means, lol. They have a lot of different gestures here: pointing with their lips, saying yes with their eyebrows, etc.
Moo, you would love it here! There's so many animals everywhere! So far I've seen kittens, puppies, chicks, roosters (I hate them in the mornings, haha), pigs, goats, and caribao. :) It's surreal to be teaching a lesson in someone's house and then have a cute little chick walk right by your feet!
The food here is awesome. I've already found my two favorite places to eat: the Julis bakery (they also have a little cart that goes around every morning playing the same song) and the Raq Farm. I love their lumpia, mango shakes, and curry dishes. MmmmmMmmm. :) I've also tried siapao, palabok, chicken bread, jackfruit, and pili nuts. And the bananas here are definitely better---I eat them for breakfast with a cup of hot Milo (hot chocolate with oatmeal and vitamins).
Saturday night I gave the spiritual thought for a family's FHE. Luckily they knew a lot of English so I didn't have to only use Waray. We played a lot of games and they fed us spaghetti.:) Also on Saturday we met with Bishop Rolando Ragsag and the two Elders also over our ward. I was clueless the whole meeting because our bishop only speaks Waray, but his body langauge and tone of voice is easy to understand. He's really sarcastic and funny, and he has high expectations of us as missionaries. When I met him the first night at his house, he asked me to help with the choir for ward conference, and of course he wants me to always be prepared to speak if needed. I gave my first talk this Sunday! I prepared a few sentences in Waray to say to introduce myself before mixing in English, but I ended up accidentally meshing the sentences together, so I was speaking nonsense, lol.
Funny story: as I was walking along a path to meet one of our recent converts, I saw a little boy ahead. I greeted him in Waray and kept walking when I heard my companion call out to me. I turned and around and realized I had just walked past the very person we were going to teach, haha. I think my companion forgets sometimes that I don't know anyone or where anything is yet, haha.
I'm really enjoying my study time in the mornings--especially personal study. I haven't really had a normal schedule yet, though, so sometimes we don't get back til late .
Anyhoo, I'm out of time, so in the meantime, take care and I love you all!
Sister Amanda Smith
 |
| Travel Companion - Sis Stoehr |
 |
| With my companion and President and Sister Andaya. |
 |
| This is Elder Origines --- He knows Gloria!!!!! He came and found me and asked me if I lived in Minnesota. He said Gloria told him to watch for me. :) (Gloria is a Filipino friend from our ward in MN) |
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Day 37 Last few days in the MTC
Well I leaving on Monday!!! I took a picture of my travel plans so you have exactly what I have. :) Except, on my plans, it doesn't even have Tacloban on there! We fly from Salt Lake City, to Seattle to Tokyo to Manila. Then it says 6 weeks later we fly to Hong Kong. Soooo I'm assuming the airport for Tacloban is super small so it's not on our travel plans. The travel office here assured us that we won't be staying 6 weeks in Manila; we all had a panic attack here when rumors were flying that we would be staying in the Philippines MTC. So I have no idea when I'll be in the mission field. Probably sometime on Wednesday. :)
One of my companions, after several hospital trips, is getting surgery for her gall-bladder today! I really happy that they found out what was wrong with her; she's been really sick for the past year. The sad part is that she won't be flying with us to Tacloban. :( :( :( We're all super sad, but all the sisters in my district are going to the hospital with her today while she has her gall-bladder removed. Please pray for her that she may be calm and have a speedy recovery!!
Going to the hospital with her is really weird. I forget that the MTC is in Provo, or even in Utah. We seriously live in a bubble. Last week at the hospital I brought a bunch of study materials while my companion was in her appointment. I was studying one of my Cebuano language guidebooks along side my Cebuano PMG. The thought dawned on me how unusual and remarkable the things missionaries do. We are learning crazy foreign languages, dedicating a portion of our lives completely to this work, and spending our time teaching others in a country we've never been to before. I also realized how strong the Spirit is in the MTC. Everyone is focused on the work and everything around us is uplifting and clean.
This past week has been really weird. I've been treasuring every shower, laundry machine, etc. It's still so strange to think that I haven't even gotten to the Philippines yet! By this time next week, I'll be on the other side of the world. Craaaaaazy!
If you were wondering what we did for the 4th of July, our devotional turned out to be awesome! We sang a bunch of patriotic songs, a speaker briefly addressed us, and then we watched 17 Miracles! Since there are many international missionaries here, they focused more on the Restoration of the gospel and how America was the only country at that time with sufficient religious freedom. It was the coolest Independence Day I've ever had! After the movie, the MTC gave us ice cream and let us stand outside by the fences to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. They even let us stay up til 11, haha. I got the package the day after, but now I'll have a shirt for next year, haha! Thanks soooo much!
This week, my district played volleyball against another Cebuano district during our gym time. We weren't keeping score, but. . . I'm pretty sure my time won, haha---no thanks to me, though. Gym time here is everyone's favorite part of the day, no matter how athletic or fit you are. It's so nice to have a change of scenery up at the sand volleyball courts. I'm going to miss all the gyms, equipment and facilities they have here. I played bocce ball (i think that's how you spell it) with Sister Tueller and thought of you all! During gym time, we try to speak only Cebuano. It's really helped me learn words not related to the gospel.
So my companionship hadn't taught anyone for like a week and a half until finally this last Saturday, when we taught 5 lessons in one day, haha. We had the opportunity to teach our teacher Brother Young as a district. Our lesson ended up being almost two hours because we all wanted to keep going. By the end, we were all emotional and in tears. The Spirit was so strong! It was cool to see how the Spirit worked through us to tell us exactly what our teacher needed to hear.
It's going to be really strange/nice to go from a trio to just one companion. No matter who my companion is, I know that the experiences I've had here with my companions has prepared me for just about anything. I'm really excited to have a trainer! I've learned sooooooo much from my companions here. I've learned that I need to be prepared for anything that could happen. I've become very self-motivated here, as there is no one making me do anything. This MTC experience has really stretched me and I'm so grateful for it---hard as it was.
I've met several people of the Philippines here! I even met an Elder Abuyog from Tacloban!!! He showed us where he lived on Google Earth where he lived. It's really cool talking to him, except when he doesn't understand certain phrases/words we've learned here, which makes me nervous.
Last Sunday, I watched a recorded talk by Elder David A. Bednar from an MTC Christmas Devotional called: Character of Christ. If you can find it, it's definitely worth the watch! He talked about how Christ's character is the reach outward towards others, when we would feel selfish, victimized, and self-pity. I bought a pocket size BOM and started marking it specifically for how to "put off the natural man and become a saint." So far, I've really enjoyed studying the BOM by topic. It really helps me see my life in a different perspective, and I'm constantly thinking about how to apply it in different aspects of my life.
So, Dad, I've been bragging about you to my district and I showed them pictures of your new hawk!! :) :) We have some suggestions for you for names: Horus, Amen-Rah, Peter, and Commando. Yeah.
I love you all and thanks for everything!!! :D
I'll email again as soon as I get to the mission field, woot!
Kasingkasing,
Sister Amanda Smith :)
One of my companions, after several hospital trips, is getting surgery for her gall-bladder today! I really happy that they found out what was wrong with her; she's been really sick for the past year. The sad part is that she won't be flying with us to Tacloban. :( :( :( We're all super sad, but all the sisters in my district are going to the hospital with her today while she has her gall-bladder removed. Please pray for her that she may be calm and have a speedy recovery!!
Going to the hospital with her is really weird. I forget that the MTC is in Provo, or even in Utah. We seriously live in a bubble. Last week at the hospital I brought a bunch of study materials while my companion was in her appointment. I was studying one of my Cebuano language guidebooks along side my Cebuano PMG. The thought dawned on me how unusual and remarkable the things missionaries do. We are learning crazy foreign languages, dedicating a portion of our lives completely to this work, and spending our time teaching others in a country we've never been to before. I also realized how strong the Spirit is in the MTC. Everyone is focused on the work and everything around us is uplifting and clean.
This past week has been really weird. I've been treasuring every shower, laundry machine, etc. It's still so strange to think that I haven't even gotten to the Philippines yet! By this time next week, I'll be on the other side of the world. Craaaaaazy!
If you were wondering what we did for the 4th of July, our devotional turned out to be awesome! We sang a bunch of patriotic songs, a speaker briefly addressed us, and then we watched 17 Miracles! Since there are many international missionaries here, they focused more on the Restoration of the gospel and how America was the only country at that time with sufficient religious freedom. It was the coolest Independence Day I've ever had! After the movie, the MTC gave us ice cream and let us stand outside by the fences to watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks. They even let us stay up til 11, haha. I got the package the day after, but now I'll have a shirt for next year, haha! Thanks soooo much!
This week, my district played volleyball against another Cebuano district during our gym time. We weren't keeping score, but. . . I'm pretty sure my time won, haha---no thanks to me, though. Gym time here is everyone's favorite part of the day, no matter how athletic or fit you are. It's so nice to have a change of scenery up at the sand volleyball courts. I'm going to miss all the gyms, equipment and facilities they have here. I played bocce ball (i think that's how you spell it) with Sister Tueller and thought of you all! During gym time, we try to speak only Cebuano. It's really helped me learn words not related to the gospel.
So my companionship hadn't taught anyone for like a week and a half until finally this last Saturday, when we taught 5 lessons in one day, haha. We had the opportunity to teach our teacher Brother Young as a district. Our lesson ended up being almost two hours because we all wanted to keep going. By the end, we were all emotional and in tears. The Spirit was so strong! It was cool to see how the Spirit worked through us to tell us exactly what our teacher needed to hear.
It's going to be really strange/nice to go from a trio to just one companion. No matter who my companion is, I know that the experiences I've had here with my companions has prepared me for just about anything. I'm really excited to have a trainer! I've learned sooooooo much from my companions here. I've learned that I need to be prepared for anything that could happen. I've become very self-motivated here, as there is no one making me do anything. This MTC experience has really stretched me and I'm so grateful for it---hard as it was.
I've met several people of the Philippines here! I even met an Elder Abuyog from Tacloban!!! He showed us where he lived on Google Earth where he lived. It's really cool talking to him, except when he doesn't understand certain phrases/words we've learned here, which makes me nervous.
Last Sunday, I watched a recorded talk by Elder David A. Bednar from an MTC Christmas Devotional called: Character of Christ. If you can find it, it's definitely worth the watch! He talked about how Christ's character is the reach outward towards others, when we would feel selfish, victimized, and self-pity. I bought a pocket size BOM and started marking it specifically for how to "put off the natural man and become a saint." So far, I've really enjoyed studying the BOM by topic. It really helps me see my life in a different perspective, and I'm constantly thinking about how to apply it in different aspects of my life.
So, Dad, I've been bragging about you to my district and I showed them pictures of your new hawk!! :) :) We have some suggestions for you for names: Horus, Amen-Rah, Peter, and Commando. Yeah.
I love you all and thanks for everything!!! :D
I'll email again as soon as I get to the mission field, woot!
Kasingkasing,
Sister Amanda Smith :)
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| These are friends I saw on my temple walk :) Sister Leishman, Sister White, Sister Hulet,and Elder Wittwer. Salamat kaayo!!! |
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| Sister Malietoa's Birthday |
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