Transfer Day...No Changes

Hello my dearest family,

Oh man....so we just had transfer announcements. Shoot guys, you ready because you're just about to get a whole lot of venting from me that I've bottled in for the past 6 weeks. We're not transferring. I'm with the same companion in the same area and I literally could cry right now.  I feel like I've reverted back to high school all over again where I don't have a say anymore and I just let it all bottle up inside of me instead of sticking up for myself and there's no outlet of running. But not an option. I wanna trust that this is the companion God wants me to be with, but shoot, I'm struggling.

On to something else before I tear up in this computer shop. Ha. So updates for this week! We had MTC tours this week. They just finished the new MTC in Quezon City (it's SO nice) and we were the tour guides for the open house last week. It was pretty good. We were there for 2 days out of the week so pretty much patay sa work namin. But no worries. Funny stories from that though. I met this gross old man. For reals though. He's 85 years old, from Rexburgh, Idaho. And just icky, hard to describe. Just kind of a creepiness about him. So of course he wants to talk to me because I actually speak English. So we're talking, and I asked him what he's doing here in the Philippines. and he goes, my wife died (like that explains everything or something). And I go, so you came here for retirement? And he goes, no to find a wife. And up comes his 35 year old wife and grabs his hand, and I'm barfing in my mouth as she's talking about it doesn't matter what your age is as long as you have love. And I'm thinking, yeah right, total gold digger. I've lived in the Philippines long enough to know how that works here. ew, ew, ew. Seriously disgusting. I just don't understand that at all. Did you even love your wife? is what I wanted to ask him. Gross. Other weird story. So a few elders came over from the MRC to chill with us while we waited for people to tour. Oh yeah, MTC's like the hospital place for missionaries from the entire Philippines. Anyhow, towards the end of the day, one of them comes up to me and goes, did you work back east in Bennett's office? And I'm going, ah....do I know you?? And he goes, you probably don't recognize me. I look way different now. My hair was longer back then". And then it all came back and I was like, "Wait, you're the kid from the copy room!".  Haha, yep. We both had projects we were working on and were together for like 2 hours in the copy room in the senate building. So of course, 2 hours, you start to chat right. Seriously too funny. Such a small world. We caught up on life, the mission, people we knew from DC (he worked in Hatch's office), just like we were the best of friends or something after only talking to each other for a total of 2 hours in our entire lives. Hahaha. Too funny. Kind of got asked on a date too. Haha, weird moment, but I just laughed. Anyhow, those are my two stories from MTC tour.

Sister Lorente had a seizure last week. She's epileptic so not super surprising but still. She's ok, but she calls me from the hospital and goes, So guess what? I'm watching Harry Potter 7 P1 right now. I thought she was kidding. Nope, that's what was on TV in her room. She's doing ok now though and back to her area so that's good. The work is coming along here. Sister Macaranas and I found a family a couple weeks ago that we've been teaching and they are honestly so fantastic. Sister Dina and Anthony. They're young, 18 and 24 and have a 1 year old daughter who is so cute. They have so much faith. They already believe it's true and are still praying for an answer. You don't find a ton who immediately have faith like that. They've been coming to church too. I'm just so excited for them and it makes me super happy! As I've been here longer you can just honestly tell who gets it and who doesn't. Something it will just click for them and because of that, they'll be the one to ask when church is, or what they need to do; those are the ones who are prepared and ready. I love it and so grateful for the help in finding them. We have another new investigator too, Sister Jackilyn, who's a friend of a member. We've actually never met with, just in passing or when she's at the member's house, but it was our first time. She had an appointment, but she didn't go and instead waited for us to come to her house because she feels like she just needs help with her family and her life. It's incredible sometimes how much trust they put in you to help them solve their problems. And most of the time as I listen I go, I have no idea what to do. I'm just a little 21 year old girl, I have no idea about this kind of thing. But then I remember how the gospel seriously can solve any problem. Sometimes I forget the power of the message we bring. That Christ lives and the heavens are open, ready to help us.

So that's all for this week. Wish me luck this transfer. Shoot. I need to get a better attitude maybe. Ha. Love you all and I'll talk to you soon!

Awesome Mission Conference

Hello hello for another week from the Philippines!! For questions, comp has been out 15 months. She has 3 left. Yes, the bucket is the shower. The other sisters speak English, but it's broken and sometimes hard to understand. Haha. So we stick to Tagalog. They're actually better at understanding it than speaking it. I get to play the piano about once a transfer. So not very often, but at least a little right?  Nothing else I need for my birthday. I'm set to go here. If anything, just milk :) Shoot, every time I read about the presidential race I just want to find a newspaper! But thanks for the updates. I always appreciate them. 

So catch ups for this week. First things first about mission conference. Elder Nelson is from the 70 and holy cow, it was SO awesome. I'm kind of sad that I only get one on my mission. But there were two talks I really loved. The first was Sister Nelson. She talked about, "Nelson's do diversity". It was about loving your companion. Haha. I may have gotten a little thrashed by the spirit, but it's ok because I totally deserved it. She is an amazing speaker though. And she's got a firey personality. I like it :) Then Elder Nelson talked about receiving personal revelation. He talked about the Joseph Smith story and how it shows that any one, who ever they may be, has the right to receive personal revelation and then we talked about how to go about doing that. We studied in Nephi 11-14 and a lot of other scriptures as well and basically mapped out the way to receive personal revelation. And you know what, this is something I've been trying to figure out for about 3 years now and I just haven't gotten it down. But after we compiled all these scriptures and put them together, it just makes so much sense for me now. My faith has seriously grown. If we ask, he will answer. It's an eternal principle. We just have to go about it the right way and with enough faith. I absolutely loved it. So that was a good part of the day. Pres and Sister Delamare spoke too which was also awesome. One thing Elder Nelson said too was that when he had the chance to go with Elder Oaks to assign missionaries to their missions, sometimes Elder Oaks would put them in a certain mission, not because of the place, but because of who the mission president was. I think that's part of why I'm here. Only part of it, but I feel like it contributed. Also he said, as a missionary, don't ever forget how important you are. He said that each time they meet for meetings during general conference, the very first meeting they have in the temple, they start with a series of prayers and the very first prayer is always for the missionaries. He said, you have no idea how much time and concern is dedicated solely to the missionaries. Don't every forget how important your role is and how much we love you. I thought that was pretty awesome...good boost for our soon to be missionaries in the fam. Then the last 2 hours of the conference, we get to ask any question we want. So of course we got some pretty sweet information, about when they reorganized the first presidency, about other internals things with the church. And just other random questions to doctrinal information. So next time I gotta brain storm for some good questions. If you think of any, let me know and I'll ask it next time :)

Other randoms from this week. I found the big dipper! I've been looking for that thing for 6 months now. Apparently it's only out here in the early morning.  Transfers are next week which means I won't be emailing until Wednesday. We'll see what happens. Pretty sure I'll be staying here for a good while. I'm feeling my comp might just go. Anyhow, that's all for now that I can think of. I'll add a karadugan here if I think of anything else. But love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Mahal ko kayo!!

PICTURES...Morong

The view when standing near the lake.

In Candace's words:  "Yes, there is a pained look on my face because I think this was try #3. We may have struggled a bit with timing. But the background is sweet, right ?!:)

Yes...a Utah Jazz sign.  The Lakers are by far the most popular NBA team in the Philippines, although many know about Karl Malone.

This is how rice is dried. It is spread out on the road or a basketball court. I think I will start rinsing rice before I cook it :)

The kitchen of the new apartment. Notice how small the refrigerator is.

This makes our bathrooms look VERY nice and modern.

Candace loves the view from this little spot of paradise.

Candace with her companion.

Progression

Hello my dear family!

 So lets see...updates from the week. I'm honestly at a lost. I gotta be honest, although the week has flown by, the days have dragged on. My comp is a little...how would we say this....a master at wasting time. I'm trying to be patient, but my heavens. Work in progress. One of the days though I got to work with a traveling sister, which was so much fun! Sister Macaranas is who I worked with. She's the oldest of 8 and her entire family was baptized 3 years ago, she was the first. She is awesome. And her and I think alike, so we were able to get a lot of work done and the spirit was strong all day. Like a breathe of fresh air coming from this transfer. Haha. The work is going well....just the usual. We had 45 less actives come to church this week between us two companions, which was about 1/3 of the congregation! It's progressing, slowing but surely. We don't realize how lucky we are to come from wards that are experienced and structured. Most of the members here are just so young in the doctrine, they don't know all the commandments, let alone how to be in charge of an auxillary. Ha.Then the others think they know everything. Sometimes I just want Paul the apostle here to straighten it all out with his boldness. I'm reading in Corinthians right now and there are a few chapters in there that I'd love to just post on the announcement board in the entrance way for everyone to read. We're working on it. I didn't write very good notes about what happened this week so I don't have many stories for you, sorry. 

Tomorrow is our mission tour though. Elder Nielson will be speaking to us. I'm not really sure how the whole thing works, but we'll see. We have apartment checks too so we just cleaned all morning, which always makes me feel refreshed when you have a clean house. So this is something I've learned in the last month that just really hit me when working with Sister Macaranas. Sometimes in lessons I always am a little scared to promise a blessing to them because, what if it doesn't happen you know? But this week, it just really hit me. Me promising them a blessing first starts with MY faith. If I believe it will happen, then I can give it with all the power and authority that I need to, and then it's now dependent on THEIR faith. I feel like I've just learned so much about what it means to have real faith, to not doubt but believe it truly will happen. It's hard to describe, but the promises I give people now have power. Love it. I love being a missionary. It's been so fun to see the people here and their testimonies. And I also feel like I've learned what to do with my life and the kind of choices I do not EVER want to make because I've seen the consequences of that in their lives. Learning from others mistakes to the max. Anyhow, I love you all and hope you all have a fantastic week! 

Mahal ko kayong lahat! 

We're Lucky

So for questions, there's still transportation here. Just not when you have to climb mountains, but I'm totally down with that. No complaints here. Honestly, I'd prefer walking so I'm happy. We took a jeepney here. I don't even know if they have a bus route here...pretty sure wala. The other sisters are both Philippino, one from Isabela and the other from Mindinao. Actually, the one from Mindinao, her dad was killed when she was 3 years old by a Muslim terrorist group. Crazy right. She's hilarious though. I like her. And side note, they all just about died when they found out I'd actually kissed someone, and even more so that it was more than one. Bahaha. I mean, I expected that with Sister Shoukat. They can't even look at a guy, let alone text or date. But with the other two, it's gets better, they won't even HUG a guy unless they're engaged and that's their to-be-spouse. Not even kidding you. How sad is that, I love hugging my friends. Just a random side note for you about my roommates as of now. Haha.

So for this week....oh my goodness, I wish I could just tell you all these stories, but I'll just summarize it with we have much work to do.  So yesterday I did a fast to know what I need to do and how to approach the members, and then during sacrament meeting I was reading in Alma 38.... this is where Alma is talking to his son and giving him advice. Toward the end, I just started laughing....It talks about being temperate in all things and bridling your passions so you can be filled with love. We all know I may or may not get a little passionate when something is ridiculous. I just don't have patience there. So pretty sure I'm going to have to learn that here so I don't make the problems here worse than they already are. Haha, Heavenly Father knows me too well.

Other things from the week. I witnessed a dad beating the crap out of his little girl. Not kidding, wish I were. We were in the middle of a lesson and the girl comes running in sobbing (it's her grandparents we were teaching) and her dad comes in after her with a rope and starts screaming and beating her with it. And I'm sitting there in complete shock and I jump up and start talking to him in English. I couldn't even think straight I was shaking so bad. And he lifts his hand like he's going to hit me or something and I was just like, "For reals? Brother, this doesn't solve anything. Bring it on, I'm not scared." After that he left but holy cow, I just sat there shaking and crying. I mean, I know that kind of stuff happens, but it's a whole different story when you see it right in front of your face. So super sad.

But onto happier things. So this week I have just realized how so incredibly lucky we are! Oh my goodness. Being companions with a Pakistani is super interesting because the church is so very very new there. They know basic doctrine and that's about it. You start talking about second coming, facts about apostasy and such, They just have no idea. Because they don't have the seminary, institute classes, etc. She just ends up asking me a ton of questions about the early saints, where New York is even, history of the church, just little tiny facts like that.

They just have no idea. And those are things that I just grew up knowing. These members have no idea because they've never been exposed to it at all. We're so lucky that we've been to Nauvoo, Salt Lake, all those places where the church started. You ask any Philipino in the church if they could go anywhere in the world, where would they go....Salt Lake City. Not kidding. It just makes me laugh, but we really do take it all for granted. My comp and I are getting along a lot better now that we've gotten used to the language barrier. She's actually super great and we have a ton of fun. Just goes to show you, first impressions aren't everything. If you just give someone a little time and get to know them, you'll end up loving them in the end. Reminds me of Enders Game. You can't understand someone until you learn to love them.  

That’s all for now. Mahal ko kayo at sana kong maganda ang susunod na linggo so inyo!  Much Love! :)

PICTURES of Morong. I'd like this place :)

Scenery of Morong

What a beautiful place.

One of Candace's new favorite families and her companion.

More scenery. She is absolutely thrilled to be in the province. What is the saying...you can take the kid out of the country, but not the country out of the kid.

Candace by a rice field.

Morong...

So I'm pretty much super glad that I made it out of the city too! When it rains, it doesn't actually stink all the time. Love it. And you'll be so proud, I actually took some pictures for you, so if I get some time to send them you can check it out. So yep, there's still 4 of us in the apartment. This area is about 2 hours away from the temple, which is about 3 hours total from my last area, depending on traffic of course, farthest zone in the mission, well, other than Mindoro. 

But this week has been a much better week. I'm starting to get to know more people and actually figure out where I’m at. Let's just say we have much work to do. I don't mind that at all though...actually prefer it that way. So, I have updates about the companion....guys I figured it out this week. I had this huge light bulb moment as to why we are struggling so bad. #1: She is much more a letter of the law than a spirit of the law, and we all know I'm a spirit. Enough said. Ha. #2: We have a huge language barrier. She's going from Urdu to Tagalog, I’m going from English to Tagalog, so we're both trying to meet in the middle with a language that is foreign for both of us. You're bound to have a lot of miscommunications when that happens. So pretty much if I don't understand, or she doesn't understand, she gets frustrated, so then I get defensive. Moral of the story, I'm getting better at being SUPER clear with what it is I'm trying to say. And then I'm just way patient....If I'm frustrated, I just laugh and try not to let it show. But this is the thing, you just sacrifice whatever it is that you want so that you can have the spirit with you. Because if you can't feel the spirit, your work goes down the drain and you just waste everyone's time, including your own. So you make sacrifices and swallow whatever it is so that you can have the spirit with you. Ah, the joys of being with someone 24/7. Just remind me never to marry someone where we don't have the same native tongue. It's getting way better though. I love hearing all the weird little things about her culture that I don't even think about. Our new joke is that I'm going to be the one to pick her husband. She'll have an arranged marriage as soon as she gets home, so I decided I want to be the one to choose. Haha. First I need some pictures though. It's the craziest thing just hearing her talk about things that for her are absolutely normal but for me are like, WHAT?!  But it's been good. Much much better this week, I tell you.  

So guys, news flash for you all....I'm COLD in this place! I'm not even kidding you.  Every time I think about it, it's like, is this a joke. Of course there are still hot days, but not anything like it is in the Manila metro area. My goodness. Let me give you 3 stories just to demonstrate. First of all, I woke up freezing the other night and had to put on my sweatshirt. Yes, you just read that correctly. Second of all, it's been raining for the past few days and I've been so cold I actually heated up water last night so I could take a hot shower. First time I’ve done that here. 3rd, it was about twilight and we were hiking up a mountain to a member's house and we passed a dirty kitchen, it's like a little wooden stove top thing, I don't know how to describe it, but I actually stopped and warmed myself because it felt good. What is happening to me? Haha. I'm seriously going to freeze in Utah. Not good.

My spelling has gotten worse here. And the best part is, everyone always goes, she knows English, she'll know how to spell it. Bahaha, yeah right! Yesterday's incident was "crucifixion". Yeah, had no idea. I think I spelled it with a "fiction", like the fiction novels. Had to look it up in the good ole bible dictionary.  Pathetic. I'm trying to think of everything else that's happened this week, but kind of all a blur. Had interview with President. Sister Delamare worked with us. I seriously struggled trying to speak English to her. Wish you could have seen it. President is so great. I have a ton of respect for him. Oh wait, that's another thing! Can we just have a moment and say President reminds me of Patrick White! It is straight up weird! Just in the way he talks, his mannerism, his outlook on life. It's the craziest thing ever and always just makes me laugh. Ok, that really is all I can think of right now. I'll try to keep better track for next week, deal. Love you all and congrats again to my 3 besties for their temple day. So happy for them. Mahal na mahal kayo!!