Stories

Holy cow, bombardment of emails but I loved every second of it! Apparently everyone hates Nigerians and everyone loves Ghana? Sounds like it. haha, Funny just to see the cultural tensions that you'd just have no idea about unless you experienced it. Ry emailed me and I know exactly what he's talking about. It's like you're stranded all the sudden, stripped of everything. He'll adjust. Our prayers are with him.  Keep sending Ryan's emails. Then I can send him a quick update or encouragement if I need to. Salams!

So I have like 10 minutes to whip this out, but I’ll do my best of course. First for questions: Girl from Washington is now in the MRC (the missionary medical center) with severe clinical depression and may just be headed home yet. We haven't got any updates, so we'll see what happens this week. So no running companion. Ha. Least of the problems there. And do I have Justin Beiber...please. Of course. pretty sure almost everything he's produced (had to put that in there for twit :). but none of his new stuff obviously.  Today's been a super irritating day. My zone leaders are driving me crazy. Have been for 6 months now.  Blugh. I'll get over it though. I just need someone to vent to. Sister Shumway and I could vent and we didn't judge each other. The people I’m with in my house right now and my companion, anti-venters, they just judge. I think Americans just have this philosophy of "speak your mind and it's ok", whereas the philippino mind set is, "just sacrifice yourself and don't say anything". Drives me crazy…makes me feel like I'm reverting back to my high school self where I have no opinion or don't say anything. Grrrr…enough of that. Time for story telling! 

I don't know if I’m gonna get this all in, but I'll try. 

1: Lady with the purple lace bra. Bahaha. so we're in the jeepney the other day and this old lady, probably 75 ish, totally grandma age, is wearing this purple lacy bra. And I know this because her shirt is baggy and draping down so you can see everything. And this is an OLD granny, ps. saw it and didn't even think of thing of it. Then it hit me about a minute later how ridiculously funny and totally not normal that is. Bahahaha. But normal here. Seriously the funniest thing ever. I'm just used to it now I guess.

2: So there's this 80 year old Tatay that was just baptized last July and seriously he's the funniest thing ever. He works with the missionaries, usually about 4-5 times a week just because he loves sharing the gospel. And he works the whole day too; no breaks, just hiking up mountains and no complaints from him. But He has quite the past....6 wives, "wife" meaning live in, he was never married to any of them, and 30 children! Yes, you read that correctly, 30 children. Haha. When he told me that, I just about died…also had almost every vice in the book. But the cool part of this is, when he was 79, he met the missionaries and changed his life around. Just a huge testimony that the Lord doesn't give up on ANYONE. When you see those people where they've been like that their whole life, I always think, there's no way they're changing now. Wrong. Just a huge testimony, if you don't

believe someone can change, then you don't believe in the atonement. God doesn't give up on anyone. Also, he carries around a sniffer stick, you know, that has the mentholatum to clear your nostrils. Bahaha, reminded me of our trip to Nauvoo with Grandma Bennett. I just started laughing. 

3. So our investigator, Bro Andy. just found  last week. He'd really been struggling with his life and he's knelt down and prayed to ask God to know what he should do. About an hour later, we showed up at his door. Not even kidding you. And you wanna know the funny thing; when we went there, there was never a moment of, ok, knock on this door, this is the right one. Just made me remember a talk from Elder Bednar where he said, "most of the time, you won't feel the spirit guiding you. Just be a good boy or a good girl, and you'll be where you need to be when you need to be there". So true. He started the BofM a few weeks ago. He's in Alma 30. Yep.

4. So this area has been the area of water issues…broken faucets with water flooding the apartment (haha, that was hilarious), broken filters, and just simply not having any water. Let me just tell you, we had a day without water, just one day, and wowsa, never so appreciative of the fact that we can just turn on a faucet and have water on-demand. Definitely not something I've ever though to appreciate before. I appreciate it now. 

5. So this just in this week. Did you know that the 10 commandments they teach with the Catholics is different from the Bible? Yep, new to me. But they worked it out so there's still 10, so no worries. How does that even work? Haha. The devil is so sly. 

Ok, that's all. I gotta write a letter to pres. now and I have no idea what to report on. Shoot. Ha. I love you all and I'll talk to you soon. Have a fantastic week!!! 

Stand As a Witness

Candace was asked to write a letter for Youth Conference so the majority of this letter is the letter I will be reading to the youth. Enjoy.

Shoot, I know EXACTLY what Ry is talking about. Bahahaha, i just sat here laughing reading those emails. Too funny. It is quite the adjustment. Sounds like he's dealing with a lot of the same things we do here. traffic, food, communication, no sleep. All sounds much too familiar. He's got a great attitude though and let's just admit it, he's pretty much the greatest kid ever. He'll figure it out. So I'll save all my other stories for you next week. I took good notes, so I had some pretty stellar ones, but next week na lang. but PS before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOO, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOO!!!! Haha, it sounds like "happy birthday to YOU". Wow, I no longer have a sense of humor. That just screamed mom joke. (sorry ma) So now I have just about 5 minutes to try and write this "stand as a witness" thing. Ha, we'll see what we can whip out. 

Everytime I hear stand as a witness, I always think of reciting the young womens theme every Sunday; but as a missionary, this phrase has taken on a whole new meaning for me. Everyday when we walk out the door, we are the representatives for the Lord in our area. And people recognize that. Especially here in the Philippines where people know Jesus Christ and love Him as their savior. Even if they don't recognize that the message we bear is true, they still recognize that we are messengers of Jesus Christ. So for me, it's made me more aware of what I do, say, and even think, everyday. When you're entrusted to be the representative for the Lord, you've been trusted to do as he would do, say what he would say, and think what he would think. As members of the true church of Jesus Christ, all of us have taken his name upon us with a covenant to stand as a witness. It's hard. Most of the time it comes coupled with opposition from others and a struggle against your own weaknesses. My companion right now, Sister Suarez, is a perfect example of standing as a witness. When she listened to the missionaries, she immediately knew their message was true. She was the first to be baptized in her family, a family with a very Catholic background. For the first year after her baptism, she stood alone. Even though there was opposition, she remained faithful to her testimony. Eventually her 2 siblings were baptized, then her father, then her mom, and her last sister was baptized last year. She told me, she's now on a mission because she finished her work with her family. It's time to bring the gospel to others. She also said the reason her family was baptized is because they had seen a difference in her, a change for the better. 

There is a reason we're asked to stand as a witness, and that we covenant to do so. It's not just about bearing our testimony or standing for truth; it's that in the process of doing that, we become more like the savior. We learn to act as he would act, say what he would say, and be what He is. That's the whole point of the gospel. And the very essence of who we are will stand as an eternal witness to those around us, and also to Him who we serve.

Cg, that's all I got. Hopefully that's what she's looking for. sorry so short. So next week on the list of stories, just to get you all excited you know :) 1: Old granny with a purple lace bra, 2: 80 year old Tay who worked with us yesterday, 3: you thought this one was gonna be about some old person too huh, nope. sweet story about one of our investigators! 4: the simple blessing of water, 5: that's all. 5 just sounded better than 4. I swear I had more stories than that. Anywho...love you all (as usual) and gotta say, pretty glad I missed out on all the airport farewells; would have been a mess right along side you. Mush, where is your heart for heavens sake. Twit, would you teach that girl to cry please? If anyone can do it, you can :) haha. Mahal ko kayo! hanggang sa susunod na linggo!! Bye! :) 

New Transfer, New Comp, and FULL day P-day

Hello my dearest family!!

I'm feeling pretty good about this day...new transfer, new comp, and it's a FULL day p-day!! Can it get much better than this? I submit it cannot. So let me give you the low-down. My new comp is Sister Suarez from Bacolod City. Can you say YIPEE!! to having a phlippina. Granted, she doesn’t really know Tagalog because that’s not what they speak there, but then again, she still knows more than me. Haha. Gotta love it. She’s great though….gung ho. I just had to tell her, whoa there energizer bunny, you’re gonna crash. Just take it one day at a time. Haha. She’s a great teacher though and I’m loving doing the training program all over again. It’s helping me to figure out my weaknesses and where I need to improve. Fantastic. I’m excited for the transfer though. Our new kabahay, trainee of Sis. Segovia is Sister Montgomery from Washington state. I’m tried to talk to her, quite a few times actually, and…nothing. And we even speak the same language. Probably due to jet lag and a huge culture shock. It’s still the adjustment phase. Haha, oh boy do I remember that.  And all my besties, well Alvarez and Lynn, are still in the zone, which will make it super fun. Shoot, they just absolutely crack me up. I keep hearing about this place, apparently in SLC with family history records…it’s called the granite mountain??  People keep asking me about it and I have NO idea what they’re talking about. Help me out, eh? Also, could you send me Ryan, Tate, and Chanae’s addresses for when they get to the field. That’s be fantastic.

Guys, I really don’t have any good updates for you this week. It’s been like 3 days. Transfers was super fun. Got to see all my girls. Sent off my comp to Mindoro. Everyone was shocked when we went to them the next couple of days and it was still me in the area. We figure I’ll be here til about august. The branch is still struggling. Not sure what else we can do. There’s just no organization, let alone commitment, so we just go with the flow and try to do the best we can working with auxillary leaders. And that’s about my life. Pretty boring, I know. But happy advanced Father's day to dad! Love you Dad; thanks for all the support and love. It means the world. Hope you all have a fantastic week and promise next week I'll have stories. Mahal ko kayo!!!

Training...

Hello my family!!

Oh man, I have like a million emotions going on right now. Shoot, I gotta be honest, seeing those pictures made me shed a tear or two. It makes it real. Here, things that happen at home just don't hit because they don't feel real. That felt real though. I don't like that they're all leaving and won't be there when I get back. It makes my heart hurt.  (I sent her pictures of Chanae's missionary setting apart.)

So for the updates......So I'm staying. Probably will be in this area til August 30. Yep, that's 3 more months. I know this because I got a call this last Monday that I get to train this transfer. Yep, did my stomach drop or what. I saw the AP’s pull up on the caller ID and seriously, didn't want to even answer. This is the thing. This entire year, there are only 40 missionaries going home. The entire year. And only about 30 coming in to replace them. So I figured, there are about a million other sisters that are way better than I am, and way better at tagalog considering 75% are actually from the Philippines. I thought I was gonna get off scott free. Just be a normal missionary which I am totally ok with. Shoot. Thought wrong. It's just barely starting to hit me today. I know I can do it, but it's just a lot of pressure. And the fact that I'm staying in this area which has just been a rough area considering the condition of the branch. I love the people here, so that's good. But it'll just be interesting. My comp however, just got an email with a plane ticket on it, which means she is headed to Mindoro. Sweet right. I'm excited for her. I'm going to miss her though. It's been fun to just have someone to talk with and laugh with and just enjoy. I swear we know everything about each other because we just talk and talk and talk. We all know I'm pretty good at that. Haha, it's been fun. Good transfer. So that's the updates for that. Sis Segovia is also training, so it'll be good to have another trainer in the house. Shoot, I don't know how this is gonna work out. 

I don't know what updates to give for this week. The sisters in my last area were pulled out. On Sunday night they were nearly kidnapped by a couple guys with guns that told them to get in the car. Luckily they ran. They got the one girl's bag, but somehow they were able to escape. And the crazy thing is, they're both pinay, not foreigners, which makes it all the more rare. I never once felt unsafe in that area either. Whoosh. But president said when he was giving a blessing to one of the girls, the blessing said that angels had intervened so they could escape. I totally believe it. They just blatantly turned and ran. I don't know how either of them didn't get shot. So yep, protected on the mission. 

The work is going well here. Our less actives are slowly, slowly progressing. Ha. Talk about patience. I was talking to Sister Shumway about something and she goes, "Candace (she actually calls me Candace, haha), you need to be more patient with yourself". My response: my patience has been used up on all these less actives. I don't have anymore left. Ha, it's true. But it'll be good to get a fresh perspective in. I can't think of anything big and new to report. We met a guy this week that grew up here til about 28 and then has lived in Cali for the past 30 years or so. We keep running into these kinds of people. He comes back to the Philippines every year to stay for a couple months. But he said something interesting. He said, "maganda doon, masaya dito". It means, it's nice over there, but it's happy here. That's one thing I love about the Philippinos. They really are happy. They live in a shack, with little food, and no work, and they're still happy. They just brush it off and let it go. It's kind of crazy how they can do it. But I love it. It is nice there, but it's happy here, and in my book, that's the most important. 

So that's all for this week I think. I feel like I just need to talk and let everything out, but a wee short on time. It'll probably all be better after transfers tomorrow and the unknown part of it all is over. I'm just praying for a Philippina. Love you all and glad you're all still alive and kicking. Ha, no joke though. You all just stay safe over there, ok. Mahal na mahal ko kayo!! Until next week