Happy NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, you are the best, i must say! some things never change, no matter how many years go by!

mom, i'm sure the Spirit helped you say exactly what you needed to in that talk. thank you for reminding me of what's important. as we got stuck in traffic earlier, i read Pres. Uchtdorf's talk "Of Regrets and Resolutions". it was beautiful. i love the messages of general conference so inspired and inspiring. 

because of traffic and a delayed district meeting earlier, as well as Philippinos who love to light of really big--and prob illegal--fireworks as soon as the sun goes down, i don't even have an hour to email you, so forgive me if this is brief. we have a 6pm curfew bc that's when it will get dark--and it's past 5 now and i still need to email President Stucki. 

anyway, Mom, i am so proud of you. thank you for being an example of following the Spirit and praying with faith. i know that faith-filled prayer is immediately followed by faith-filled action--and that's something i am striving to do better: to pray and act in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And don't you fret about that sweet old lady. she may or may not be right about what should be sung in primary, but that song is just so funny and i'm sure the kids had a blast :) plus, no one should treat my mother that way, even if they have an opinion to share. i'm sorry... i can feel what you must have felt in that moment and it's not a fun experience to imagine. i inherited the waterworks from you and i know what would have  followed had i been you  in that situation ;) you're so cute, ma.

i'm sooooooo glad alyssa's doing better!~!!!!!! i could definitely tell!!!!!!! it was so good to see you all. it went by in a blink. i can't even describe how delicous the feeling was just to see and talk with you. 

as for the work... i'm having a few personal challenges. i'm learning that outside circumstances really don't effect happiness and that true success is measured by our desire and dedication to our purpose. sometimes the results are not what we expect. others may judge or say things that may be true or false. of course we can find things to improve and change to be and do better. but we should not let the disappointments discourage us. we are entitled to the Lord's help in his work and we need to trust that he will help us and act on the help he gives. nothing can stop the work of the Lord. 

we have a wonderful investigator who is progressing so beautifully. she has been prepared in every way. she is changing and her friends are noticing. she is also sharing the things she's learning with others. she is a choice spirit and such a sweet person. we're so blessed to be a part of helping her become converted. what you said, mom, really makes sense about conversion and goals. i completely agree!

i'm so sad that you've gathered for special Christmas celebrations and have no note or anything to read the family from me. i have been such a slacker... i'm so sorry. please know that i'm going to respond to all those who have so generously sent their love and support. i love you allllll sooooooo muuuuuch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

wow, alexxa's getting married?~!?? wow~~\\\!!! congratulations alexxa!!

ah, daddy!!!!!!!! i just got a REALLY good laugh out of your hysterical email! you are soooo funnnn! :D hehee thank you, Dad! i'm so glad to know you and ma still have your tootsies and that your spelling is still sooperb :D

Aaron, my answer to your questions is : OF COURSE! haha :) i'm so glad to hear of your Christmas miracle! it's so good to hear  you're happy and doing well. keep it up! keep it up!

i love you, family! please forgive me, i'll tell you more about the work and everything next week. have a super new year celebration, be safe, and give each other hugs and kisses from me! 

love sister r

MALIGAYANG PASKO! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Soooo.... I love and miss you! But this Christmas was so uniquely beautiful and wonderful! And I loved every minute! I know it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing and that helped me to truly treasure it. And it went by in a blink! I didn't want it to end except that I knew I'd be able to chat with my family today, but it was gone just like that! *snap* :) I really felt the spirit of Christmas as we just tried to do what we felt He would want us to do. The feeling was amazing.

And.. I JUST TALKED WITH THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE WHOLE "LIVE" WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO MUCH family, for who you are and what you do!!!! We are not perfect, but together we'll get where we want to go! Plus, you're about the nearest to perfect of anyone I know! You can quote me on that. "We may not have it all together, but together, we have it all!" That is so true.

I'm sorry, i hope i didn't take too much of our precious time talking about people you don't (yet) know, but I wanted you to feel the joy that I feel in this marvelous work. It is an incredible blessing to be a part of it and I want you to experience what i'm experiencing! Thank you for the wonderful and uplifting things you shared with me--especially your wonderful personalities that make my world go 'round! Again, you're the best!

I'm grinning from ear to ear, Aaron, as i read your hum di du di lo di low... okay, so your text tune is way cooler than mine. but you know what? I'm so proud of you!!!!! You did so well this semester!!!!!!!!!! You and Maree both! I'm so proud of you and sooooooo thankful for your incredibly wonderful birthday package that i got to open for Christmas :D that was a superb blessing. Especially the part where you are still alive, even though you got in a scary accident (yeah, i ended up reading your email yesterday as well). taylor is SO CUTE! what a cute neigh neigh he is! i hope you gave him a big hug for me!

And thank you again to Sam, whose birthday gift i'm still enjoying :) that was super thoughtful and i hope you had a really great and wise Christmas. I hope you got to spend it with your family and loved ones and that it was really happy!

How are the Mannings? It's the first Christmas that's passed in years that I didn't get to spend over there. I hope it was a really good one and that everyone made it safely to you :) You are quite the company, i tell you. I wouldn't miss it for anything except for what i'm doing right now. You are super stars!!! :D hehee but it's true!

Merry Christmas to the Roring families as well! They are a wonderful bunch and i can't wait to see their growing family! And a cheery and jolly hello to our ward!!! Especially the Nessen clan and our sweet Miller friends! What a great neighborhood we live in! And a big hug and lots of silliness to the Ellis family from me! I hope your holidays have been as warm and happy as the pictures Aaron sent :) And--of course-- MERRY CHRISTMAS to my dear Delmy, Jamie, and Shannen and all the wonderfully fun people that i love! Last but not least, a tropical happy holidays to my southern beauty, Ashlynn! I hope all is well with all of you and your families and I love you very much!

We had a delightful ward Christmas party last night and soooo many came! Members and investigators alike! It was such a jolly good time. I loved the spirit of warmth and friendship and care that just flowed through everyone. It made me so happy :D We also got to visit some wonderful people yesterday who were in need of the light of the gospel. I was filled with hope and excitement as I saw the glow that came from yesterday's activities :D what a Christmas to remember!

We had a fantastic mission Christmas party as well on Thursday! Tons of fun performances and the Spirit was really strong in the opening meeting. We heard from Pres. and Sis. Stucki about JOY putting first Jesus, then Others, then very last You (or ourselves). The experiences they shared were sweet and the Christmas spirit rang true.

I know that Christ is our Lord and Master. I know he descended below all things and made possible our Salvation. I know that God our Father loves us and that Christ's atonement is at the center of his plan. If we follow that plan and live the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we will have peace and joy in this life and eternal life in the world to come. We will be together as families in God's kingdom. I want to leave that brief testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! AND TO ALL, A BIG HUG!!!!! ? Or just .... MERRY CHRISTMAS! From the Philippines! Maligayang Pasko!

Family, did you get the Christmas package i sent?

love, sister r

I'M CALLING YOU NEXT WEEK!

Dearest family and friends,

I rejoice with you at all the miracles that we are seeing! Heavenly Father is truly blessing us beyond measure! There are many struggles that you are facing as well, i see and feel that, but i know His hand is in it all and that all of it is blessings! Because he loves us, he wants us to have the necessary experiences to endow us with power to faithfully endure to the end. i know that the things you are experiencing now are part of that. I know that my experiences are, too.

I can't believe my mission will be celebrating Christmas this thursday! i can't believe it's that close!!! but i'm very excited to spend the day with my sweet, wonderful new companion teaching about Jesus Christ a week from tomorrow! Sister Fernando is SOOO COOOL! she knows why she's here and she loves the Lord. she wants to be obedient and helps me SO MUCH with Tagalog! She ROCKS! I am learning how much i don't know and how much i need to improve as she and i go thru the 12 week training program. it's an inspired program and so is PMG. what a powerful thing revelation is! I am so grateful for my companion who shows a great example to me, even though she is brand new. I really feel like she came pre-trained and I keep thanking Heavenly Father for that! I need all the support i can get, as i still have many weaknesses in the work. I can see how all of the things that we experience in full-time service will help us to prepare for the things that will happen later in life, including planning, reporting, and being responsible for others. We are always do0ing those things in our daily lives!

I am so excited to feel your Christmas spirit! It's weird and a little hard with no change in the weather here, but i think it helps me not to be too homesick. It helps me focus a little more on what Christmas should mean to us. I love that you are so good at giving and loving and being examples! You know how to focus on the Savior and the significance and blessing of his birth and life and all he did. thank you for your example to me!

I'M CALLING YOU NEXT WEEK! That is SO EXCITING! we don't have pday on monday because we have a combined pday and temple day on wednesday the 26th, so this is my last chance to email you before i call.
here's what we'll do... i'll email you like crazy before we skype. i'll skype you at 8pm here on my dec 26th, so it will be early on your dec 25th. is that okay? i'm not sure what time that is for you.

sorry, i spent so much time figuring that out, i can't say anything more because my time is up. tell aaron i'm SO GLAD he's okay and i'm going to print and read his email, rae that i'm so proud of her success this semester, lou that i need a pic of her sparkly whites and i love her mini-me guts, joseph that i love all he is growing to be and i can't wait to hear his voice change, and boo that she needs to keep spreading her girly incredible-ness all places!

dad, i love that you can fix ANYTHING and mom i love that you can make anything look/taste/smell GREAT! i love you all and we'll have a wonderful christmas chat very soon! hugs and kisses! no worries about that package ;)

love, your s richardson

MONUMENTAL DAY!!! :) GOOD NEWS!

Let me start off by saying, BOY, have i got great news!!! We had stake conference on sunday and.... OUR STAKE SPLIT! We are still Noveleta Ward and we're still in Cavite stake.... and now there is another stake, too! Bacoor! It's so exciting to see the growth happening. and the new stake presidents were committed right there in stake conference to be able to split within the next 8 or 9 years of their service! so cool! it's longer here in the P because there are fewer members and therefore fewer qualified and prepared individuals for this calling. anywho, it's so exciting!!!

Then I've got some sad news... Sister Stromberg is being transferred... :( we're really sad that she won't be here for Christmas. We were joking with some members last night and they told me it's my fault she's being transferred because I told Pres. Stucki how much we love being companions and love this area :) haha. so that's how it is, huh? Anyway, i'm going to miss her a lot and i'm nervous to be left here, but i know Heavenly Father will continue to guide this work, as he's been doing, and this ward is exactly the help i need. they are so supportive and i'll need that. AH! She's going to my old zone!!! She's going to Mandaluyong 3rd! Astig! She's so excited to go to the city! we both hoped she would bc this is prob her last area and she's been in only province.

I want to thank Sis. Pinto for her address and bday wishes, as well as Craig and S. Murdoch for their bday emails as well! :) Thank you! You are fantastic!!! And I'm SO EXCITED for Priscilla! She's a missionary now!
And THANK YOU, NAY!!! I got sis. Gupta's package and it ROCKS! I HAVE INDIAN PANTS!!! coolest thing ever! and Thank you, Aaron!! I'm so glad all is well and your parents look so happy :) I know life is stressful and not perfect, but you're doing so well and i'm so glad!

I'm so glad to know alyssa's improving... this week was agonizing, to be honest. i wanted SO MUCH to know how she's been, though i have felt a lot of peace and comfort with you as i have prayed for her. what a sweet and impressive girl you are, lou!!!

Mom, did you tell aaron about that Maverik thing?? that's insane! haha copycats. As for the typhoon, we heard about one coming, but that was somewhere else. we've been pretty rain-free here for a while. still safe and sound!

Conratulations, joseph and maree, on great milestones in your life! You are fantastic in every way and i love and am so proud of you! Is little boo's foot better?? I feel, as Mom does, that we are indeed learning and growing together. i've never been so physically far away from you and had so much to focus on, but at the same time have never before felt so incredibly close and eternally linked with you. it is incredible!

Mom, if you have space for it, you can keep those things and i'll sort thru them in 9 months.. if not, you can ditch the big thing haha and save the books for me to sort thru then. i trust ya, love.

ah! there are so many changes with many incoming missionaries! there are rumors that the lenght of transfers will change... so crazy!

dad, can i just say you are so much like nephi? so humbly obedient and never complaining... i want to be like that! thank you!!!

I want to testify to what Elder Ardern said at our stake conference... The heavens are open today. We can receive revelation from God through his words in the scriptures and the living prophets he has called to lead his church. We have divine light and guidance in this, the last days before the Second coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ. We are preparing the way for his coming. it is our privilege and responsibility.

and with that... I have insanely crazy news... President Stucki has asked me to train!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I attended the training meeting thursday and i feel very nervous and excited and so blessed to have this responsibility!!! what an unexpected blessing and ... responsibility :) haha redundant, but true.

we'll sing the hymn s. stromberg shared in comp study earlier: although in agony He hung, no murmuring word escaped His tongue... His high commission to fulfill.. sacrament hymn. and more Christmas hymns to follow.

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!! love, sis r

I had a sweet birthday :D

Dearest Alyssa and Becca... I'm so proud of you!!!! I'm proud of you, Louface!!!! You are so so sos sooosososoo great! You know I miss you like crazy, but i promise i'll work doubly hard for the two of us this week since you're a little out of commission for the moment.. you'll be in my prayers every minute and i know Heavenly Father will be there to bless and comfort and strengthen you, as well as all those who are worried about you. Keep smiling your beautiful goodness to all around you and keep your chin up, chin up, put a little laughter in your eyes! Wear it, share it, even though you're feeling otherwise... You'll be happy-hearted once you get it started, up with your chinny-chin --chin up! i lOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! loads and loads.

Thank you for your wonderful example, family. you are the best in the world. I'm so proud to call you mine and so blessed to be yours! thank you for being an example of strength and light and love to me and to those here in the Philippines! I LOVE YOU!

Let's sing those great songs! i love them!

How was our Raisy's birthday?? How is everything?

Business is business: Let's get the nitty gritty out of the way here so i can get crankin' on story telling! I have a couple requests... Sister Stromberg would like the recipe for banana sour cream cake, if you have a minute... :) You're da best, Mom! and a wonderful sister in our ward realllikes cole slaw, which i know you also like, so i was wondering if you have a recipe for that as well? she would like to be able to make it.

Another note, Sister Dyer is going home and her parents came for a visit before she does... She is taking home a small package from me to you for Christmas! She'll give it to the Strombergs and they'll call you. THey live just in Logan, so if you get time when they're available, I was hoping you could meet up with them or swing over there to grab it? It won't be mailed unless you want it to... The only sad part is that other ppls' presents are in there too and if you wait to open it Christmas day, they won't get it in time. but if you open it before, it'll ruin the surprise (not like it's insanely cool). so if you want, you can ruin the surprise for you and separate out the other ppls'... or you can just wait til Christmas and extend my friends' cheer :) it's up to you! But there's something for Aaron, Craig, Ricky, Ashlynn, and Sam. There were of course more ppl I wanted to get things for. Sarah especially, because she's been writing me so much and i love it, but i just haven't had time to look for much of anything else. i will make sure i bring back something happy for everyone :) that's the plan.

On the upside, I had a sweet birthday :D on tuesday, S. Stromberg had an FHE birthday party planned for me!!! It was so cool! We played a game and shared thoughts and it was a TOTAL SURPRISE! I knew she had something underway, but i had no idea it would be then! the ward missionaries were out of town for my bday, so we celebrated early. And one of our returning families and a favorite investigator came! :) and my whole district! it was fun! and we ate cake! We still have some big balloons at our apt and Br. Wilmar gave us the strand of Christmas lights!!!! You know how happy that makes me!

What makes life even better is that we had 2 CSP (community service projects) last week! the first was on tuesday, when we went and layed out fish to dry for an hour or two. S. Stromberg has some good pics of that. haha and they took a sneaky picture while my back was turned, too! they made a slideshow for me as well :) hehee those clever people! Sister S is all over creativity!

The dried fish thing was really fun, but we need to do it again because we didn't get to do it for JohnMark like we were supposed to. they hadn't had fish come in yet at the right time, so we helped some other people.it was really fun and gross! it stinks a lot and we got really icky, but i loved it! and i'd love even more to help John Mark at his job. that's what he does every day! He will be baptized this month! he is incredibly cool! he's the one who came to my birthday.

then on my actual birthday, we had another CSP where we cleaned at a member's home with the other sisters in our zone and their district. it turns out, it was the home of our bishop's wife's sister! that was cool. they fed us yummy food after. and we ate dinner at another member's home after we taught another wonderful investigator, Tessie. That lesson was so good and the Spirit was so strong!!! And she is so... wow. She is really searching things out for herself in all the right ways. She is such a sweet girl. And then another member wanted to feed us! Crazy stuff!!!

Jason, thank you so much for the fun note and picture! haha that's so crazy! i'm FAMOUS! joke... how's your job??

A big thanks to Sam from me! We've been enjoying the chocolate and yumminess! Thank you so much!

Is aaron okay? I haven't heard from him for a couple weeks... I know he needs a letter from me but.. at least he gets news. how's he doing?

all my love, sister r

MALIGAYANG BATI! :D for Maree' and for me!

HEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! How are you, dearest family and friends??? I'm fabulous, thank you! I really hope you are, too! I'm loving life and my mission and--of course--the Philippines! :D Couldn't be better!  Except of course that I wish I could teleport you all here for my birthday and then again for Christmas!

Speaking of... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAISY DOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy sweet 19! Haha it's your last year of teenagerhood, so soak it up! ;) Have fun and be a kid! And love life! We love you, so remember that every minute! I hope your birthday is the bestestest ever! You are such a sweet woman and an incredible human and a talented child of our Heavenly Father. He has given you SO MUCH and I hope you feel the importance of your mission in this life! You mean everything to me and I hope your day is extra special!

Mom, before I forget, i have a special assignment for you :) are you sick of these, yet? it's a way off, but i thought I'd give you a heads up. i feel like a really REALLY want to be an EFY counselor when i get home! i don't really care where, or if i need to be a counselor for one of the other programs like OFY or something, but i want to do it! and i think you can apply in the spring time when it starts to get closer. could you find out about that for me? i think i'd prefer at byu-i because it's my favorite, but i would be willing to do an area one instead if needed--wherever. if i need to talk to President when it gets closer to get permission to apply online, i will do that. or if you could do it for me, that would work, too. If my packet is right that they gave me in the MTC, my release date is about Aug. 22. But i'm not 100% sure and that will differ with your plans to come. by the way, when are you planning flights and stuff? i'm not trunky ;) i just want to know so i can make sure the office knows and everything. because it needs to be worked out well in advance, i believe. and right now happens to be well in advance haha. 9 months, to be exact!

HAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dad... I love you! WE love you! You made us laugh hard core with that Stromberg stuff you dished out :D I hope Maree's feast was fabulous. Mom is very talented, as we all know! And that dear Becca of ours... hahha i love imagining how and what she would say. it makes me grin ear to ear! THat's really cool about the sunday school lessons. I will love being a part of that, even though it will be somewhere in the middle by then. I love revelation. That is such a powerful thing.
All is well here in the Philippines :) haha for the most part, as usual. the funny thing is, it's ALWAYS dark at 6 pm here. it makes the last few hours of work a little difficult and it is kind of strange, but i've kind of accepted it. i mean, what else can you do? :)

Wow, Maree' picked strombolli?? YUM!!!! I miss cheese. a lot. I will have to pick... decisions like that are really hard because i miss a lot of food. Especially yours! Depending on the weather, I might pick a soup (homemade chicken noodle or cheesy potato), or maybe sour cream noodle bake or homemade burgers. i do miss real burgers. and the cake... i love banana sour cream cake!! so much. and better than anything cake actually sounds super delicious as well. definitely cookies and cream ice cream or some good ol' superman (play-dough)! i never was very decisive, was i? but hey, it would depend on my mood! there are so many good things to eat!!!!

Our Thanksgiving was funny :) We had a delicious lunch at Bishop Soleta's house. He's the most recent former bishop. We ate some special mashed potatoes, green beans, and roast! Roast from a crock pot! Bishop is soo cool. He is a very good cook, too. and we also ate dinner at Bishop Montemayor's house :) He was the bishop before Bishop Soleta, I think. His son is our ward mission leader and his daughter works with us a lot. John and Joyce are their names. We love them a lot. and Bishop is the sweetest, most giving guy in the world. He is very quiet and very kind. He bought us super yummy pancit and fried chicken and lumpia from Lydia's restaurant (a local place close to our place and the church). we were very happy, needless to say!

Wow, it sounds like the Richardsons are experiencing some really high highs and very low lows. THat is all wonderful and difficult to hear. You are all in my prayers and i will double my efforts on their part. How I ache for Jonathon and Ashlynn and all those suffering from Satan's attacks on their family. I know he tries really hard on all of us and sometimes we take a hit. but i do know the power of the Atonement is real. THis is the Living Christ's Living Church and He will not fail. He will not let us fail if we will stand firmly on his side. and we can strengthen ourselves and those around us in this battle. we know who will win.
and i am so happy for Jerrica and Darrin and Jory and Morgan :) WHat beautiful and blessed families. Heavenly Father will help us all to obtain the deepest desires of our hearts, which are fulfilled in the eternal family. even when it seems far away, i know it is really very near.

Mom, you are outstanding. My family is a very blessed one. I know that none of us are perfect, but there is holiness in striving. There is a holiness in the day-to-day things that bring us just a little closer to our heavenly home.

THank you for all you have shared with me! know that we are happy and your faithful prayers are needed on behalf of those we teach--both members and investigators. we want them to partake with us in the joy we experience because of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

THat's a great hymn! let's sing these, too! How Firm a Foundation! and I Feel My Savior's Love. I especially like this part: He knows i will follow him, give all my life to him... I hope he knows.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! best of wishes this week! and thanks for ash's love and address!

love, sis. r and s!

Lots of love from your missionary!

HELLO, FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW ARE YOU ALL????? I hope this week will be a really good one for each of you! and i hope the Spirit will carry my love to you! You are in my prayers and always in my heart, every minute!

Quick note to S. Gupta: SALAMAT! kumusta ka na??? not lots new here... just loving life as a missionary :) kumusta yung bf mo?? masaya ako talaga para sa iyo. maraming nagtatanong tungkols sa iyo. kinukumustahin ka nila. astig ka kasi!!! mahal na mahal kita! siyempre, susulatin kita! love, your anak, sis richardson

Wow, Aaron, that is a great story. I know there are angels all around us, to bear us up in times of trial and to surely take note of every action. THank you for sharing :) I love the power of fasting and prayer.I know it's real.
do you know if that song is popular there, or is it just in asia? the one that's korean and has a dance and is called ______style? i can't tell what korean word is there haha. something style. i really like payphone by maroon 5. they play the songs they like here A LOT. and the "call me maybe" is only cute when Bishop Rebosura's grandson, Kenzo, would sing it. otherwise its just annoying.


Dear Mother, I am so grateful to have received such delicious and happy surprises, and i thank you and all who participated in it!!! Sis Stromberg and i have been enjoying it all we can! the skirts work splendidly! i have a cute top that i got cheap that happens to match the brown one and i like the black one, too!  i really love the milk straws, boodle! they are delicious! you and i are birds of a feather... or cows of a tail, if that's more fitting. I'm not sure about the money... maybe just in my account? that was so sweet of them :) i'll try to find my list in the emails... i think it was...

vanilla pudding"lots of lashes" great lash mascara (3) so i can give 2 away... hehee please use my money for that!
mini PMG
suggestions about camera... should i buy it here like s. stromberg did? hers is great and pretty cheap.
gold bond body powder (i can also just buy and use baby powder here, but the healing gold bond is nice, if not too expensive.)
hair wax (like styling wax, like bedhead or garnier, but it can be whatever is cheap)
invisalign... just a top one, if they still have my latest mold, it should still be the same. the one where they made an ugly fake tooth to put in it. i still have the fake tooth, but the invisalign is wearing out.please also use my money for this. it's okay, trust me. :)


My dearest mother, in small ways, i am learning now what you meant and WHY you felt it when you said to me so many times that my burdens were yours. i couldn't understand why at the time. but i am just beginning to. I feel the weight of the struggles of my dear loved ones who have come, in recent events, to feel such a burden. i don't want to wish this from you because i know what president Stucki told me is true, that the trials that we experience that aren't from our own poor choices are meant to refine us. they are. and even when we experience trial because of sin, it can be refining in the process of repentance. at least, that's my personal addition to his. we are in the refiner's fire.and our God will make us into something we never imagined of ourselves. something fit for his kingdom.

Today, i choose I Need Thee Every Hour. it is so simple and beautiful. and so true. a couple elders and i, with s. stromberg at the piano, sang it for our stake fireside last night and i feel it was meant to be shared in our hearts today.

we have mission tour on wednesday, and i'm SO excited! it is sure to be a wonderful experience. i pray the Spirit will teach us great things.

Dad, thank you for your gratitude and uplifting spirit! you are just a positive guy and i'm so proud. there were not many who came this week that we saw last week at church, but we saw a few come who have not come in a very long time!!! and we were so glad. i love this ward and the people here. it's  such a good place to be. sis. stromberg and i would both love to spend Christmas here. we'll see what Heavenly Father has in store for us.

we enjoyed a couple trips to the temple last week! we had temple day wednesday and then we took investigators to the temple on saturday. we did that as a zone, as  all of the province missionaries go on the same day and we have a set tour. we hope that will be a big influence in the lives of the couple we're teaching. they are such good people. and one of their daughters and her husband are also investigating and we want them to exercise their faith and gain a firm testimony.

how are maree and ashlynn? could i get ash's addy? and maybe craig's ulit and sam's? and aunt teri's? and all my aunts'? you're the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, dear ones, i've got to run! thank you for who you are and who you're becoming! i love you more than words can express!
love, your sister richardson

I Can't Believe You Have Snow!

Wow! I can't believe you have snow! that's so cool! and weird. i'm in the eternal summer here. i both love and hate that i'm beginning to hear Christmas music everywhere. you know how i love Christmas lights. they make me super happy. but hearing the music is almost a little too much sometimes. it just makes me wanna be with you. but i know this Christmas will be a great experience! Teaching sweet Philippinos about Christ and our hope thru his gospel. p.s. on that note, our dear former bishop has offered us a delicious traditional Thanksgiving dinner!! needless to say, we're beyond excited, as an american companionship! i'm so super blessed!

i got lots of letters! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THE 5TH, YVONNE! I REMEMBERED YOU :D and got hers and craig's dearelders. and.......... I GOT YOUR PACKAGE!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU, MOMMY!!!!!!!! AND AARONICUS! we have had an insanely wonderful time eating the goodies you sent! they are manna from heaven! Br. wilmar and john liked tasting the cookies, too ;) you're SO GOOD! and the oils.. i'm now applying the one to help with warts bc those two i got rid of came back for some reason.

and can i just say, Jason Nesson, you've really outdone yourself this time! now my only goal here is to weave even a comparable piece of literature to that treasure which i have just devoured... and will print before i leave this computer screen! THANK YOU! LOL!

Ay... hehee. cute buddies, aaronicus! :) what an arteest! keep up with your great schoolwork!

i am pleased to report that my hands are, indeed, back to normal :) cute daddy. and the weather is... still hot and humid. but it's not always as hot as when i first got here. i think this is supposed to be kind of a cooler part of the year. basta (which means whatever). it's still hot. dad, what'd your teacher say that made you think you would want to teach? it must have been good. do share!

OhhhhhhhhBama. haha i love the text sis. stucki sent after she told us he won :) she's so cute. how does joseph feel about the election?

sarah, i LOVE your dearelders! i need to write you! what's your addy?


mom, once again, you are so right! what an incredible book we have... with all the answers we need inside. and i am so grateful to know my family is still well and strong :) i shall count blessings with you. i could use a good dose of that!

can i just say we had the most incredible outpouring of blessings on sunday??? (we had temple day btw today, so Pres. also made it our pday, so we didn't have one monday.) we had SO MANY attend church!!!! 21 less-active members!!!!! and 16 investigators!!!!! we were filled with joy for these wonderful souls and i cannot express the feelings that lighted my heart when a sister approached us saying that there was a man downstairs in a wheelchair looking for us.. we looked at each other and squealed, "TATAY TSEODORO!!!!" we RAN to him!!!!!!! he has no legs, this Brother Jerry. He has one leg until just after the knee and one leg until just before. and it took him all morning, but he cleaned the wheelchair he hasn't used in years and his son brought him to church! he was late and missed the sacrament, but we feel he'll keep coming! he's reading the Book of Mormon and researching and just... he's so good. i love this man. and his gray hair was all combed and everything! and we had another investigator come whose story is also really amazing. both of these people were found because we have a very faithful and diligent mission president who is ALWAYS reminding us to open our mouths and speak with everyone. great things happen when we do. i have a strong testimony of that. 

we'll pick Come Come Ye Saints today. because it's so good. how's that?

Alyssa, how golden you are! ah, your words are like cotton candy to my soul ;) gosh, you are so cute! and i'm so proud of you  and all your womanly glory! i'll search for ponies with you! and ...'"Keep on maarchin' in!" heheee

I've got to sign off! What's ashlynn's current address--and sarah's--and how long will she be there?? thank you so much! and aunt terri?

is the korean song somthing-something "style" that's a weird dance thing really popular there in america like it is here?? it's insane here! i heard there's a tagalog and english version as well. plus that song "call me maybe" is super annoying haha. but it's so funny to hear the philippinos say things from song like: "teach me how to dougie", "hey, i just met you" and stuff. haha! they're so funny! i need to write a list of all the funny things they've said to me! :) i love them.

i love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! loads!!!!!!!!!!!!


your favorite sister richardson

Weekly update

Dear loved ones,

Sister Ronquillo emailed S Stromberg and...... our dear Lea Mateo was BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sooooooo excited and happy for her!!! I love her so much and i'm so glad she has come into the fold of God. It's an incredible feeling. She was the one i told you quite a while ago that was insanely prepared and eager to learn and diligent in seeking a testimony. WOW! :D i'm so happy for her!!! and i want to name a daughter after her :)

i'm learning a lot as i slowly allow the Lord to stretch me in new ways. we go on splits weekly to be able to teach all the people who are available on sundays and we did that again yesterday. it helps me build confidence in teaching and also to trust more in the Lord. it is so important for me to remember that my successes are not mine--they are His. and he's helped me so much in situations where he was the only one in whom i could trust! he has given me much-needed inspiration and guided me to know what to do and say to further the progress of these, his blessed children. it's very simple, but it's a miracle to me. i am nothing of myself, but i know that he can do all things and will help me do all he requires of me.

i love my area and i'm so glad that s. stromberg and i are together for another transfer! and guess what??? Sis. Bloxham is IN MY ZONE! she's being trained by one of the super coolest sisters in our mission, s. Pacinio! (best friend of S. Ronquillo!) crazy, no? i'm so excited, i get to see her at zone meeting tomorrow!

we have some close upcoming baptisms on november 24! Jennalyn is one :) and Khaycie is another. Jennalyn needs a lot of support from the ward, as she'll be the first member in her family. we're praying she'll get close with our ysa because they're awesome. she's just a little shy. and khaycie is, too, but she has tons of friends and support. we also have John Mark, who is incredibly cool. he is so persistent, even with his exhausting job. he just needs to be consistent in coming to church. he's so cool! he is really good at understanding the scriptures and understanding the principles we teach.

our focus as a companionship for this transfer is to help those who have wandered off to return. we are excited to find those who have been prepared to come back and be really strong, adding their spirit and talents to the Noveleta ward.

Mom! don't worry! :) i was able to withdraw. i was making an incorrect selection in the process and when i changed it, it worked! :) now i can get a few of the things i've been hoping to for a while. sweet! is everyone okay? rae emailed. that was some rough stuff, mom. she thinks waaaay too much... she's so hard on herself. why is that? they are in my prayers as well, mom. don't worry. i know it will be okay. S. stromberg's parents are douglas and maren. :) sure they'd love to hear from you!

Dad, i love your notes! thank you thank you! and a big hug and kiss from me! i love the things you're learning and that you share them with me. i'm excited to apply those true principles to my own teaching. i've been so grateful as i've thought of the miracles that have been brought to pass in the last few months--and all because the Lord prepared the way for them with trials. it's neat, huh? you would not be receiving this education and have the kind of job you do and be able to spend these hours at home if you hadn't lost your job at la-z-boy that summer. and i'm just so very grateful you did. i'm so grateful we had that struggle so we could have these blessings. he knows. he just does.

Aaronicus, thanks for the gorgeous pic and for the cute... and creepy buddies :) hehee the clowny one, we feel, is a little on the creepy end. i mean, i'm not sure he's MY buddy... but the others are cute and they can stay a while :) salamat! please know i haven't forgotten you and i'm really trying to get you another letter! and it takes longer when you're in the province. and remember that you're super cool!

Craig, DUH! of course i remember that hike! it's only a really great place to hike! :) salamat sa email! i'll be responding, shemps, asap. no worries! and CONGRATS on the major! way to go! knew you could do it! that sounds like a fun adventure ahead. that's close to what my dad's doing. did you know that?

Ashlynn and Maree, i have a million things i want to say, but it's a heart full of feelings without words to express them. you are constantly in my prayers. i love you. i love you. i love you. thank you for sharing what you're learning. you are sooo right. Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for you. and better things are coming. and he's there for you more than any normal human being ever can be. Because He is your Father and you are his daughter. i love you.

i need to go :( how time flies! i loved hearing from you again! i always do! mom, don't stress about the package. it will get here :) promise. i'll love anything you can send. is there some way that the ortho could make a new invisilign from my last mold, the one with the fake tooth that i just stick in there. the one i used for whitening? i'm being super careful with it! anywho, you're THE BEST! i hope you know that!

thank you for your love and encouragement! big hugs!

love, sister richardson

...I think WE got YOUR rain...

WHEW! And the rain rain rain came down down down...(2x)...(make that 80x)... GRABE! That was insane rain, I tell you! ..And the rain rain rain came down down down in rushing, rising rivlets... and the river crept out of its bed, and crept right into Piglet's! haha we sure got a lot on Thursday. It was raining pretty hard all morning while we studied and still rained as we went out to work.We were grateful for cool weather, but I prayed it wouldn't be too much rain, but just right, so we could do what we needed to do. Well, just right was A LOT. And pretty soon we were swimming home! ...basically. we still taught a good handful of lessons, but it got dark extra early and we walked through some big puddles to get to our last appt.. The really big surprise came when we came out of our second to last lesson and the drainage...river thing... had risen probably a good 10ish feet!!! Yeah, surprise! it was inches from overflowing!!! YUCK!!!
then when we went home, we nearly burned the motor out on the tricycle, getting thru the water in the streets... it was smoking something awful. and smelled nice and burnt. but we made it to where we needed to continue on foot. eventually we picked our route and headed out on the adventure! there was a house right by where S. Stromberg and i waited for Br. John and Br. Wilmar to test the waters. literally. they were really nice and wanted us to come in. we almost taught them. we need to go back to them. they gave us plastic bags to put our proselyting bags in. we began our loong deep journey in the mists of darkness... joke. but we seriously had to carry our bags on our shoulders with one hand and an umbrella in the other. the water got up past my stomach! it would have been higher had i not been on my tip toes :) it felt SOO good to shower! don't worry, the water didn't get in our apt. they keep it out of our housing area pretty well. we did get to help some members clean up their house. i was singing the rain song while we bailed water :) hehee.

It's been a good week and the work still is wonderful! But I feel President Stucki is very right in the email he sent us all this week. He feels most of us need to aim higher. He is asking us to set higher goals, pray in faith, and act in faith and diligence to better fulfill our purpose. He feels that for many of us, our purpose is not yet deep enough in our hearts. I know I have some faith to exercise and a lot more work to do--starting with prayer. That's actually been the hardest of work lately. I ask that as you pray for the missionaries, that you might pray that our prayers--and the prayers of all who are praying--may be strengthened through our faith. We're all in this work together, after all :)

That's FANTASTIC news from work, Dad! At Vulcraft :) I'm so happy for you and our family! And aren't kids the greatest???? I'm going to hold a million of them when I come home--just because I can!!!! I miss holding little ones so much.

I'm super bummed I don't get to finish my letter from mommy this week, but I'm printing it off with the rest so i can respond and appreciate more! I love you so much! I'm so glad boo had a good birthday! i'll be thinkin of joj. What a good kid! And my hymn for today will be ... wow so many good ones to choose from! this week i was thinking If There's Sunshine in Your Heart... and today I'm thinking Did You Think to Pray? maybe the second one's more for me.

Please tell Rae, Lou, Craig, and Aaron, that I will be working on their responses asap. How i love and appreciate them! Congrats to Lou on her race! Rae, I love you and I'm so glad you love and trust in our Father. It's all in his perfect understanding.

To Sis. Gupta: I got your email! Salamat talaga! Dun ka parin sa prayers ko, shemps. masaya ako na masaya ka! s stromberg and i are great! having a blast! our area is wonderful and we have another baptism November 17. mahal kita, dear nay! love, your anak

...

gotta go so i can be exactly obedient. that's my biggest goal this week :) I L)OVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love sis kylee richardson


oh! mom, my top invisaline is falling apart.. can something be done about that? i still have the fake tooth i set inside when i wear it. do they have the mold? i'm careful with it... sorry for the favors!

also, if there's room in a small/reasonable package, i wouldn't mind either texture paste (like bed hed stuff for hair) or some gold bond body powder. very handy here. go figure. neither one is something i'll die without. there are alternatives :)

xoxo!

I'M A LEOPARD!!!

...Or, at least that's what S. Stromberg thought I said earlier today. I really said, "I'M A LEPER!!!" ...Because all my skin is falling off. Well. kinda. My hands are just peeling like CRAZY! And out of nowhere! But it's okay. today's only day 2 of that and S. Stromberg said that happened to both her and S. Dyer last transfer and it was only for about a day. let's hope it's the same deal. i can't honestly imagine it lasting long. it's not because my hands are dry... there's a different kind of feeling when they're dry. it's weird. but... it's the Philippines :)

Kumusta naman kayo??? I LOVE YOU! This week went by pretty quick and I can't believe we're starting week 5 in the transfer!!! next week is transfer day again (on thursday) and we hope we're both still here. i can't see why i wouldn't be. it would be strange for me to transfer so quickly. but S. S has a history of only 1 transfer w/ companions... i don't want her to go!!! but hopefully we'll just both be here the next 2 transfers--right thru Christmas =) that would be happy!

*NOTE: Please forward email to S. Murdoch as well! :)
That's so cooool that your first contact was from that very city! No accident for sure! Wow, I'm so happy for you both! I am sure you're doing really well with the language. I've found that the only way for me to be successful in Tagalog is, of course, to rely on the Lord. I still feel I should be way better than I am. But I just need to give it my best and trust and He makes up the difference.
I look forward to this time for you and I'll be praying for your safety and success in it all. Yay for adventure!!!

Wow, it sounds like you had quite the meeting, my dear ones! Dad, I marvel with you that we have been blessed with such a family as ours. I know that what you said is true: As we draw near to the Father through his Son, we will also draw nearer to our family. (and of course spouses, be they future or whatever :P). so true! and that none of our sacrifices are sacrifices in the end (Mosiah 2:21-22.. and the whole chapter, really...).


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOOTLEE DOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE THE BIG 9 NOW--WOOHOOO!!!

That doesn't surprise me a bit that she's been counting down! You ROCK, BOODLE! I hope she has a SUPERB birthday!!! :) What a cutie! Haha we don't have any free candy to look forward to on halloween, but we do get to maybe visit the cemetary and hand out lots of Plan of Salvation pamphlets--and maybe even show Man's Search for Happiness if Br. Wilmar gets his way--on Nov. 1! That's Day of the Dead and everyone is in the cemetary all day... That's also transfer day, so it'll be an adventure. oh, adventure! and.. mermaids are just really cool, so i don't blame her. in tagalog, mermaid is sirina and merman is siyokoy. haha that's funny i learned that before a lesson one day because some mermaid show was on and they love teaching us random tagalog words, so the family told us what those were.
akjshdkh

sorry that's not tagalog, i was testing bc there was an issue and ...nvm. but i ran out of time, i'm so sorry! I've got to email president and hit the road to get groceries. but i want you to know, mom, how much the things you shared touched my heart. your faith and prayers inspire me. i want to pray more like you do. that's part of my goal for the week. thank you for your example!!!!

i choose hymn #...?

We Are All Enlisted!!!!! it goes right along with what you shared from E. Summerhays! What a glorious blessing it is to have such faithful servants as our leaders!

please tell aaron that he's awesome and i super appreciate the info he sent!!! and i'm really hoping what you said of sam is true, that he is changing on the inside. that's the part that counts most.

i love you all more than i can say!

MARK AND MARYANN were BAPTIZED and Mark is worthy to receive the priesthood! He's now a priest :) he's a sweet 16 yr old and maryann is 13. their testimonies were superb and i'm so excited for them! mark made a lot of changes and i lov e that about the gospel!

love, sis r

:D

Wow, what a sweet pumpkin! that's how you spell that, right? woooeee! way to go! does it quack, too? how long did that take? I'm sure gonna miss pumpkin pie this year! and candy :)

Dad, you're so right! I shan't complain, as i know email is soooo much speedier than snail mail! one more reason to give thanks!
Plus that new job sounds great for you! I couldn't think of a better one myself! Isn't it amazing how such a great blessing came from what we first thought we wouldn't survive.. when you lost your job at La-Z-Boy just a few years ago? What a plan our Father has for us!
Yeah... that's pretty disgusting about our furry infestation. But i'll include that in my prayers. At least they're prob a heck of a lot cuter than the big dead rats i see often on the roads... and cuter than cockroaches. i never thought i'd find something i hated so much as i do spiders... cockroaches about take the gold there. again, i LOVE permethrine!
As for the Philippino food, i'm doing just fine! but i sure do eat plenty of american food with my current kasama :) you wouldn't believe how deliciously familiar a McDo burger tastes after more than 6 months! haha! we ate with our hands earlier today. rice and chicken and some fried fish and a fried vegetable. i discovered something i super love! it's cucumber dipped in pepper and vinegar. and that's tasty on rice! milk fish is really mild, so i can handle that, too. i was born a seafood hater, like my mother before me :)

Douglas and Maren Stromberg are her parents, speaking of mothers! she says you should be friends!

YES, Mom!!!!!!!!!!! GC was an absolutely filling experience! I felt wonderful. I loved it all. We are indeed so blessed.
Thank you so much for that beautiful and simple revelation and understanding you received. That is truly the purest essence of our communication with a loving Heavenly Father. And my communication could stand a lot of improvement.
You know, I have just been reading a little about the Atonement, too. I love Isaiah's poetic words in chapter 14 of Mosiah. At the time I read it, I desparately needed His forgiveness and it filled me with a peace and gratitude that I cannot express. I love HIm. and i know HE LIVES.
I'm SO EXCITED for that lil box, Ma! And excited for Aunt Teri! How is Aunt Barb and Shelby? And Shauna? All your sisters have been on my mind lately.
Oh how my own siblings warm my heart! Their accomplishments feel like my own. I'm so proud of them!

I so love that hymn! It makes my heart happy, but it means so much more to me now than it ever did before. I will choose this week We'll Bring the World His Truth. :)

Please tell Aaron that i'll have to print and read his email now and send a bit of a reply next week :) and how i appreciate that he's so good at doing that! it is so nice to hear from my friends. the memory card should be on its way.

*Note, please forward to monica.gupta@myldsmail.net : SALAMAT sa sulat mo sa akin!!! Gusto ko yung lalake na namention mo sa email ngayon... hindi yung sa sulat... :) if my vote counts for anything! haha shemps ikaw ay sa mga panalangin ko. alam ko na magiging ayos lahat, nay. :) magaling ka! huwag ka magalaala. at naiintindihan ko na busy na busy ka. congrats talaga on the special na oportunidad na gawin yung HINDI TRANSLATION! grabe! astig talaga iyon! excited ako para sa iyo! mahal kita, sis!!! ingat ka!

i love you alll sssssssssssoooooooooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope you feel it!

love, sis r

HOLY GRANOLY!

Dearest family and loved ones,

THANK YOU ULIT for your great emails and news!

Mom, is Ash really okay??? I am so thankful that nothing happened to them. I'm more thankful than I can express. I am sad for them because they really need a car, but I know Heavenly Father is definitely looking out for them. You're so right, Ma. That was no accident. I'm so amazed at the hand of our Father.

Thanks, Dad, for some highlights from your GC experience. I am sooooooo looking forward to watching it this saturday and sunday. and i'll be looking for some of those things you mentioned! They sound so applicable to life these days, and some particularly to mine. i love how personal GC is!!! Observe and serve... what a great way to live!!!

My dearest Rae, I know you will make the right decision. Don't stress too much about making the wrong one. Because you're trying so much to do what's right, Heavenly Father won't let you go the wrong direction. Just do what you feel He wants you to do (and that might just be what YOU want to do) and go for it! One of the coolest things I learned from my dear friend Jenni (used to be Butler, now Martin) is that you need to trust that the answer you receive is right and go for it, and if it's wrong, He'll definitely let you know in a way you can recognize as you're living close to the Spirit. In her words, "Catch it like a football and run with it." That's how you roll, girl! I know you can do it. Just act in faith and blessings will follow. I know you'll do the first steps to search, ponder, and pray. After that, you've just got to plant the seed (Alma 32 and what Pres. Rees said in Stake Conference a few months ago.)

Mom, I feel overwhelmed by all the wonderful spiritual things you shared with me. Thank you so much for sharing that experience. I know Heavenly Father is so aware of you and of each of us. I can't express to you my gratitude for the Spirit and for the wonderful things that our taking place in our little piece of heaven.

Oh, Alyssa! How you just know how to pull those heart strings, ya punk! :D Dang, I'm so laughing and crying with you. You're so dang sweet, girl! Thanks for loving the Lord and loving his prophets--and loving ME! That makes me pretty dang happy. Can't even tell you! "Yuck.. It's Helen's 'special cheese...'" LOL!

Aaron, thank you for the pictures! You guys are so fun :) I know you love them, they're the BEST, di ba??? They rock and so do you! No wonder you get along so well! Hehee congrats on the workout! Do you have to pay for the PT? How often do you meet? I'm looking forward to letters!

As a note to all, please be patient with me and my letter-writing, because I write AS OFTEN as I possibly can! And now that I'm in the province-ish and not right there next to the office, it takes longer for me to receive and send letters and dearelders because we can only get them when we see our ZLs. They take care of the mail exchange with the office. So... I'll try to be patient if you will, too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, DAD & MOM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're the best and I hope you have the best day EVER!!! :D

All my love,

Sis. R

Know we are being SO BLESSED in the work here! We have a few INCREDIBLE ward missionaries and they work with us so much! We also have tons of referrals and the hard part is being able to visit everyone! We just need more sisters so we can go on splits! I feel incredibly blessed. We have some super awesome investigators and a few baptisms coming up really soon, hopefully a brother and sister on Oct 20. The boy has made so many changes. It's so cool to see! I'll tell you more about him, though it may be when I get home :)

GRABE! :)

HOLY CRAZY! Swahili OR Kiswahili? i think that sounds INCREDIBLE! can i do this again with the Murdocks?!?! WOW! Galing! I'm so excited for them! Thank you, Sis Murdock, for the update on how sweet my sibs are and how awesome that event was! I am excited to be able to experience the new temple for myself when I come home. I am so thankful for who you are and all you do for those around you. THANK YOU! what an example you are! you ROCK! i want to be brave enough to do all that you do when i'm grown up! The Tagalog... depends on the day :) Sometimes it's pretty easy. Sometimes it's pretty rough. But the best times are when i'm not thinking about it and i'm just doing all i can to not get in the way of the Spirit. then it doesn't matter because it's not me talking. Granted that doesn't happen all the time and i really need to apply myself better in the language and make some super vocab and verb progress. but as far as it goes in general, i know enough to survive :)

Dad, that sounds like a lot of fun for you! i hope that the Lord will continue to do as you said and bless you with what you need. your desires sure are righteous and i know He knows that. your heart is so good, dad. i love it! and i loved that story about Br. Yates. it's so true that the witness comes after the trial of our faith. and then our faith can really be strengthened once we receive that witness. if we give up too soon, we give up the chance for it to be built upon. and sometimes it's a lot closer than we estimate it. it just feels so long and hard at the time, just like you said. i know He'll help us through it if we'll just trust Him. and we'll see the blessings come!

Lou, SMurdock told me all about your sweet victory! so proud (wiping away tears and sniffling)... my lil girl... all grown up! heheee you GO, CHAMP! I know you can do it! Way to have goals and work on them! You're a genius! not to mention super cool. :) and hey, you can look up the tagalog words on google translator! though the phrases may be confusing because they use the same words in reference to she/he/it most of the time lol. its super funny when some philippinos speak english and call girls boys and boys girls :) i love it. and the cultural and youth temple experience! did they please record that????? i NEED to see that! I still don't get how we got mice... but i hope annie gets em! she better, or she won't be around much longer when i get back. joke! i love her, even if she is a freak. and tell Jar he HAS to camp out there and shoot it if the trap " don't work" --because he's the only rootin' tootin' shootin' expert we know!!!

WOw the church really does make the world small! CONGRATULATIONS to Elder T and his family! what an incredibly wonderful way to finish a mission! and CONGRATULATIONS to Aunt Teresa and her success! She is so cool and deserves it! :) Love her. Mom, I know you answered those sisters' prayers, whether they knew they needed it or not. and that's so you! thank you for doing that for them! i feel the effects of it here and i want to thank you for doing it for me as well! it makes me feel so good! don't tell that sister, but i'm not sure i remember her by name. by face i probably would :) i bet she's awesome! because --of course-- our mtc batch was astig. (the word cool is cooler to say in tagalog .)

Rae, i know that you're sad you couldn't play, but i know in the long run it's best. i'm so glad someone's taking care of you, sweetheart! way to keep up the good spirits! Boo, I'm so excited to see all your neato tricks when i get home! you'll have to see if you can record some so i can watch you learn from the beginning! i'm not at all surprised that you're good at that! Joseph, i'm so proud of you! Your last email was so funny and i just love hearing about how much of a young man you're becoming. I hope you're doing all you can now to prepare for the wonderful opportunity of serving a mission in a few years. it's worth every effort! and i know that in fulfilling your priesthood responsibilities and keeping the Spirit close, you'll definitely be ready!

thank you so much ahead of time for the package! i'm BEYOND EXCITED! I can't even tell you! i'm so thrilled to know there's a little physical piece of your love and familiness on the way to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! :) sorry, got a little carried away... :D

What a fabulous runner our mom is! Three cheers for Mommy and Daddy! Hip-hip, HOORAY! hip-hip HOORAY! hip hip HOOOOOOORAAAAAAAAAY! i didn't know Jodi does that, too! that's sooo.... astig! And thank you for the hymn! it makes me want to be so careful about each and every seed! you're so right, mom. and it goes right along with what dad said about service and seeing the growth sometime in the future when we look back...

my weeks been superb! we've got lots to do tomorrow because we've had a hard time working so far this week. we had interviews with president Stucki monday (SUPER WONDERFUL. LOVE THOSE), and sorry i didn't tell you because i wasn't told til District mtg last tuesday, so we couldn't prepare. and then we had DM yesterday and temple day today, which is also wonderful, but that means no work today bc it's pday as well. crazy stuff! but it's been SO GOOD! we found some great new ppl to teach, even though the ones we went to weren't there. this one lady is sooo humble. she's so quiet, but she will come to open up more to us. her husband is abroad adn i'm not sure how well educated she is, but she sure is sweet. i felt really good about her. and we have a new and golden investigator keeping ALL her commitments and she's SOOO super prepared! her husband may need some time, but we're so excited about it!

we have a fun district and one of my tatays (dads) in the mission (first DL and ZLs) is now my ZL again here in cavite. i love it here super!

if you could please tell monica gupta that i love her so! i would surely appreciate it. and i need an addy so i can write her... and aaron, those pics are funny!!!! thank you for sharing :) hehee you're great. the logo's great! good job! hey, good job!!!!

really quick before i sign off, could you all do me a huge favor??? well, all of you on this first one: please send me just a quick insight you gained from gen con this coming weekend bc i'll watch it the next week and what talk stood out to you so i can pay special attention to those things! SALAMAT! and mom, could you please send me just a little bit of info on the election so i can register to vote once they send me the online ballot? the stuckis have it worked out and i'll register to vote today. can you please send some info ( just kinda what you know/feel or whatever that won't take tooooo super long to read) so i can make a decision? THANK YOU! i love you sooooooo much!!!

THank you all for all you do!

love, sis r :D

WHAT A WEEK for us ALL!

WOW! Dedicated na siya! :) MASAYA! Thanks for all the good news! I hope i get to read mom's email before leaving the computer shop today. still got 45 minutes ... :) i hope the dedication was SUPER cool. it sounds like it was! i'm looking forward to conference in a BIG way! i have an assignment for you ALL: right after general conference, email me about your favorite talks/experiences/insights so i can look for them the following weekend when i view the rebroadcast! SALAMAT!

CONGRATS on the job, dad! does that mean you'll be programming.. like at a computer? not so much hands-on? so you've got school and hopefully 40 hrs at that job and what's the other one? where's the programming job? sorry! i just wanna know where you work! hehee. are you still sunday school presidency? how about mom, is she still stake relief society? how's the teaching going?

Is Rae okay? how's she feeling now? she sure is such a trooper! i hope all is well and she can get right back in the game :) she always uses her head, huh? :) Oy! I'm so glad she's okay! what a cool experience with her coach! wow what blessings we are receiving... she is so valiant and i'm so proud of her!

I'M IN CAVITE!!!!!! and i LOVE it here! I'm in the area of Noveleta, the Noveleta ward. we're the only missionaries in this ward. my companion is one of sis ronquillo's former companions, Sister Stromberg! and guess what?? she ROCKS!!!!!! like i love her soooooooooooo much! and she's from --go figure-- LOGAN, UT! YEAH! so we get to be buds and do stuffs after our missions, too! she is such a good missionary and a fantastic person. I honestly am the happiest person alive. I love this area. I have so much to learn... we have SO MANY people to teach! And so many yet to find! Our ward is super magaling at giving us referrals. such a blessing! and our ward mission leader is so masipag! I'm having such spiritual experiences! it's a beautiful feeling :) and i know that Sis. Ronquillo and her anak (another Americana lol who is super sweet) are taking great care of the people in Makati 3rd. i know they need to be there and i need to be here. it's such a great feeling.

the province is GORGEOUS! i mean, it's still medyo city because there are still some small businesses close by and a branch of Jollibee and a Mercury Drug... there are still tricycles and buses. but there is more open space and the houses are different here. they're SO COLORFUL! and the greenery makes my heart happy :) i love looking at the houses and even at the cows that are our down-the-street neighbors. they're kinda skinny brown guys, but they sure seem nice. and at least they put up that barbed wire last-to-last transfer so they can't pollute the road anymore. that's pretty nice, too.
at first when we were driving in, i was thinking... "but the roads are still paved... but there are still stores that aren't just little tindahans... there are still cars here... this can't be the province. it has to be further than this." but you know what? it's okay! i'm super happy here. and our area is really big! as in probably several times my old/last/first area, which was incredibly small.
i saw a family of goats! one of our awesome investigators was taking them on a little sunday walk yesterday :) pretty cute. brown dad, tan mom, and a white baby. he wasn't in his little rope because he's so darn attached to mom still. so he didn't even need a rope.

i got Angus's letter! THANK YOU! i'll get "write" back to you--asap! :D I was SO EXCITED to get his letter!

alyssa... WOW. i can't explain the beauty of the feelings i had reading your email JUST NOW that i just BARELY GOT. perfect. you are so right. the Spirit connects us so much. what an amazing spirit you have! and experience! what an experience! that will always be sacred to you, and it is as well to me because you shared it. thank you, dear sister. thank you for your deep and growing love of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and His gospel. thank you. i felt such a strong love and peace reading your letter. what a joy my family is to me! and the temple because it brings our family close together; whether on the other side of the world, or the veil, we are united because of what Christ did for us.

Mom, you can mail the package to the one i keep sending on letters, which is the current one. the paper must have the old office address aaron's been using. our new office is pretty recent. it'll make it either way, but it has to be forwarded if you use the old address. is this package gonna be pretty expensive? i'm going to try later today to withdraw at a different place bc last time i tried in makati, it didn't work... wierd. i want to replace a couple of my tops and my shoes are probably going to wear out sometime soon, so i wanted some more personal money. but i don't know if that's safe to send, is it?
if there's one thing that i would LOVE to get, it would be a few pictures--of our family, and of aaron. i love the ones on the computer, but if you have a chance to print one or 2 good ones, that'd rock! anyone you feel like sending :) i'd love something great to look at on my desk instead of my toiletry bag lol.

that's so cool about the convert baptism, the Yates family! and E. T! what a superb opportunity! i'm so glad he invited you and the 3 of you got to attend saturday. what a neat thing! :)

i'm so glad to hear about our Wyatt family. i love them so much and pray for them often.

i'm late and gotta sign off! thank aaron for the letter and addy and i'll have to print it to read it :) i'll send pics when i dare, but i gotta send that memory card to aaron first. i love you! i'll take plenty of pics, don't worry!

love, your sis r

HOW DID TIME GO SO FAST??

Goodness, dear loved ones! It's another monday and this week seriously flew by! actually, this whole transfer went by really fast for the two of us... i can't believe it's transfer day again thursday. holy biscuit! that's just nuts. not to mention... HAHA!!! SIS RONQUILLO'S EXPECTING!!!! LOL she meets her new anak on transfer day! it'll be her first time training. and she really didn't want to... hehe! she was in denial at first. but i know she's going to do so well! she's not really worried about it. just would like to be a junior for a transfer or two, i think. anyhow, she rocks and i'm excited for her! but i'm super gonna miss her. i can't even tell you. i miss sister gupta too. what great companions i've had! worlds difference, but both incredibly good people--and missionaries.

aaron sent me the news and sis R and i got through other ward missionaries :) the sister aaron served with in his mission who is in our ward is OFFICIALLY ENGAGED! congrats, jael! i love her lots and i'm excited for them! haha even though we all knew they had a specific date and everything :)

so yes, i know i'm for sure transferring bc President Stucki told sis ronquillo she'll be training here in makati 3rd. i can't tell you how much i'm going to miss these people. it hurts to think about it. but i trust the Lord and i trust Sis Ronquillo. i know He'll work thru her and they'll take care of the people here in this area. i feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders as i know i will now be caring for the work someone else is leaving behind. i'm just being requested in another part of the vineyard and i hope to do far better work there than i've done yet--but i know the Lord knows i'm doing my best. i have no idea where i'll be or who i'll be with. the feelings i had before are... well, i have no idea now, to be honest. i thought i felt i'd go somewhere specific, but i've not a clue. at least i know it's where i need to be. of course, i've been hoping for a chance to work in and experience the province. but i know the Lord knows best.

dad, that's so exciting about the job! where is vulcraft? that's familiar.. i'll keep praying for you and that all will go well! HAHA that is HILARIOUS! jackson is so stinkin cute! and what's the other one? cakemix, right? :) lol i hope the skunk's gone by this time next year lol i don't want him around. dang, that's funny. i'm still working on studying ammon, dad, but i'll report on what i learn :) i got started in the beginning of his story as a rebel. now he's converted! boy, that was fast.... haha don't we wish our hearts would change that drastically sometimes. but he had a big change to make. sometimes ours are small, but just as significant. boy, i love you, daddy!

gosh, mom. how right you are... again! surprise! lol. i mean about the being super blessed part. i am also not anything spectacular of my own fat self. ( ooh quick pause on that! EVERYONE has been telling me lately that i lost weight and need to eat more... i think they're crazy and i'm just the same. i haven't noticed any difference. but seriously i was told that about 7 times and each time, the people present all affirmed i got skinnier. talk about moody! one sec i'm fat and the next i'm underweight... golly. well don't you worry! i don't think i've changed a bit! except my hair's longer :) ) anywho, it's so true that the Lord makes us His instruments and guides our actions if we are smart enough, at least :) , to recognize that we're nothing without Him-- that we need His help. and He sure loves to help us! what a spiritual experience it is to read all of your letters! i learned from the counsel you gave to Maree, too. what a blessing my parents are!

i just want to cry for all the wonderful experiences you're having--both the challenging and the joyful--because they are all taking such a strong spiritual shape in your lives, because you're choosing to be shaped by them. THANK YOU!!! thank you for sharing with me all that you're loving, living, and learning. it truly lifts my spirits in a way i can't describe. i feel so light and happy and excited to do all He asks.

CONGRATULATIONS! to Hailey! and to Jory, in case he didn't get my congrats the first time! YAY! so cool! and happy birthday to our dear HEIDI! love her!!!

You know what, mom? Father in Heaven, We Do Believe is the song Sis Ronquillo chose to play at the baptism in our ward saturday. (he was an investigator the elders taught, which is why you didn't hear about it before. we didn't teach him.) and yes, she plays piano! what a gal! anyho, that's such a good hymn. thank you, mom. and the second is one the primary was working on learning while i was a teacher :) happy days!

okay, ako naman... ano ang pipiliin ko?

Hymn number 96. We sang it in comp study and then it was one of the hymns in sacrament meeting yesterday...

Dearest children, God is near you, Watching o'er you day and night, And delights to own and bless you, If you strive to do what's right. He will bless you, He will bless you, if you put your trust in Him. Dearest children, holy angels Watch your actions night and day, And they keep a faithful record of the good and bad you say. Cherish virtue! Cherish virtue! God will bless the pure in heart. Children, God delights to teach you By his Holy Spirit's voice. Quickly heed its holy promptings, Day by day you'll then rejoice. Oh, prove faithful, Oh, prove faithful To your God and Zion's cause.

might i just add my testimony to how true this is! He is ever aware and ever ready to bless!

we have an awesome fhe event planned later! TONS of investigators and a few less-active members should be able to come! it's at the home of one of our ward missionaries, Ruby (also Jael's house). she is SUPER AWESOME and works with us tons! i'm so thankful and i know it'll be a blast! there's a really big family that we are expecting to come. they are so dear to our hearts. i hope the only problem is everyone finding a place to sit! :) it's gonna be great. i'm the spiritual thought giver, so i hope to find something simple to relate to everyone, including the little kids so they're at least quiet. here goes!

i think i have to go now... but i want you to know i love you loads!

please may i request addresses of sarah roring and aaron ellis? :) i'd love to send them letters, ya know...

love, sis r! ( your fave sis mish)

Ooops! Love you!

HELLO!!!! HOW ARE YOU???? I ASKED YOU FIRST!!!!

hehe joke lang. I got Monica (Nanay) Gupta's email! salamat, sis! i'll get you a letter right quick! what's your address in india? why'd they change your sis's mission? i'm sure that it will be super awesome anyway. i sure hope i get to meet her while she's in the MTC! that'd be so cool! congrats on the job, love! and i'm sure you're fulfilling your callings- as you do -so well. what's your address??? :) love ya, ma!

GOSH, DAD! you clack me up, too! the secret to answering you all i've discovered is to compose my response while i go along. much more effective and actually prob time-saving so i don't reread the same parts over and over like i tend to do. haha! i love you, dad! i'm glad you liked the card, sorry it was so wimpy and lame. i wanted to include this awesome pic i have of you on my camera, but my memory card got a virus. you can thank aaron bc he'll be the one fixing that so i can print and give you that picture. it'll complete your card :) promise. lol it's pretty fantastic! yeah, the storms have been okay in our area. just some hard rain every once in a while. i'm so impressed with the doings of my family! you are all accomplishing amazing things! hehee you should send me some of boo's jokes :) i'd like that. she's a doll.

Rae, what a letter! i'm sure mom and dad will agree with me when i say: PRAYERS ANSWERED. And in such a beautiful way! i'm so glad that not only do you love it, but that you're growing and learning in all the ways you love and expected and hoped for. i couldn't ask for better for you. I know our Heavenly Father is taking care of you in all the things that you're doing--in ever way that you're being exhausted, He is there to support and bless you as you give your all. i wish you could see you the way we do and even more the way He does. you are so precious and special and full of eternal potential. i just love ya, girl! you have it all in you and around you! keep grabbing the opportunity to learn and you'll keep learning! actually, that's been about the highlight of my insights this week, in all my experiences. if you want to be humble and learn from your experiences, YOU CAN! there is something to be learned ALL THE TIME. i just need to be grateful for those learning and growing opportunities, because they often come in rough and humbling packages and bring about the greatest blessings one could imagine.

Mom, you're so right. there is such peace in knowing you're where the Lord wants you. it spins my head round when i think of where i am and what i'm doing. it was never in my plans for me. and i can't believe it. but i can, because i just feel like i'd be lost doing anything else. and i mean my life would still be all about me and i'd take forever to learn all the things i need to. sometimes the crash course is painful. sometimes it's lots of crashing. but i know that our Father in Heaven is making of me something i could never make of myself. i'd never be anything if it were up to me. thank goodness i can leave that up to Him. and i know i'll truly be found in losing myself in His work. that's where the future me will be brought to the surface. that's where His mold will begin to take shape. but only if i choose to give it ALL to Him. He still gave me the choice.

i'm so excited about the temple, too! what great news about President Packer presiding! we're so blessed. so blessed. I'll be praying for him and for this dedication. what a blessed event. and what inspiration he received! i feel like that will touch most of those girls deep inside and what they feel there will remain in their hearts all their lives if they let it. wow. wow.

i'm so glad you're loving your job, mom! you are such a great person. i'd trust you with any child, any day. you have a gift. many, of course. and one is an inspired way of nurture. thank you for your example of inspired nurture focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. i hope to apply all that i've learned and keep learning from yours and dad's parenting in my own future.

Ang ganda ganda ng sulat ni Alyssa! wow, thank you, lou! what a cool part you have in the bringing forth of the Lord's temple and, of course, the building of Zion! how blessed we are. what a sweet and sensitive girl you are! I know Heavenly Father will continue to bless you in your righteous desires and works. keep putting Him first and you'll have all the peace and direction you need! you are such a good young woman! tell joj and boo that i am super safe. i'm about the safest i'll ever be in my life, no matter how bad the storms get because Heavenly Father is using me as His instrument here (or at least that's the goal) :D

so... this part i am starting and wrapping up on sept 11, 2012 because i didn't send this email yesterday... and Sis. Dietrich in the office is SUPER nice and is letting me use an office computer to send it so you can hear from me, the sillyhead. can't believe i didn't send it! sorry! i love you!

just a couple things: aaron, what's your addy at school? what's sarah roring's addy so i can mail her? hi to grandma r, i got your letter and wrote you back! thank you! and i got brad's email, but can't email back. thank him! he'll get the letter soon!

love you all!!!! just so you know the work is great! zone meeting was great! i'll update you more next week!

sis r

To the ones i hold dear...

What great emails I've received from you all! i am overfilled with joy that you are doing so well! i want always to hear more and more! your victories are my victories, your struggles my struggles, your tears and laughs are mine as well, and i love sharing in your joy most of all! thank you thank you thank you for your messages of love and comfort and just plain old awesomeness! (for which there is no charge ;D)

gosh, i love you!

i got priscila's address! thanks! love you too, dear!

joseph, i am THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED!!! and that's an understatement. HOLY AMAZING! that's SOOOOO COOOOL! i'm sending a super-smacking, face-thwacking, double-dacking high five your way!!! hehee and your email was so funny and fun to read, broseph! you are PHENOMENAL.

lou, i have every confidence that you will be successful in your goals as long as you're willing to do what it takes to get there. makes sense, doesn't it? you know, love, you're very right about that connection with the gospel and running. you and mom have had lots of spiritual experiences running and you've inspired me in so many ways. that's just what i need to do when it comes to the work--push through and give it my all, trusting that my efforts in His time will yield the fruits He has promised. goodness, what a blessing it is to have you as a younger sister! you know, i know you sit just where you are in our family on purpose, too. and i wouldn't switch ya 'cause i need you there, too. thank you for doing what you do and for being you! i learn so much from you!

dad, thank you for your advice and experience. thank you for your insight and for the service you gave and continue to give. i really do need to seek to serve more in the every day opportunities that come along. there are surely an abundance of those that i haven't noticed before that i will begin to notice now as i live a little more outside myself. thank you! and i'm definitely going to do some studying on ammon, that great missionary. there is so much that i am learning that i didn't know i knew, but even more that i'm learning that i thought i knew, but didn't. haha! funny how that works. it's supposed to be humbling, so i sure hope it does its job on me.

mom, thank you for the song and for the awesome news about our family and relaying everyone's love. i have prayed and thought about them so much. it's miraculous to see prayers answered and know that hearts are being softened and comforted. oh, how i ache for them. but i know the Savior knows them and understands exactly how they feel and He can heal what I cannot.

how are the new jobs coming along, parents of mine?

aaron, the song was brilliant!!! like... wow. wow. you both sounded sooo good. i'm so proud of you! way to go! i think i might listen to it every week! but i feel like that's bawal since we're not supposed to use headphones that isolate us from our companions... shoot a mile. i think i just broke a rule. kinda, bc there is no other way i could listen to it here in an internet cafe. so i guess i shouldn't have. but DANG it was GREAT! Again, WAY TO GO!

oh! i wanted to quick say that i totally smelled Uncle Chewie this week on a jeepney! some guy was wearing his cologne that he used to wear when i was a kid and would go to their house a lot! and i loved it! it was just like being a kid again, eating pickles in their kitchen with hannah and going to breakfast at the diner on main st. good times.

everyone keeps acting like im going to palawan next transfer. that's an interesting thought. actually, it's not a new thought at all. sister gupta's been prophesying since i first got here and sister ronquillo feels like it's true. all of her american companions have gone there. goodness! you should look up palawan on the internet. there are GORGEOUS tourist spots! i saw pictures when sister g was choosing one to print on a shirt for her brother/friend. anyway, we'll see. it's only halfway thru the transfer. but the truth is, i'm probably not staying here. who knows? anything could happen. at least if i go to palawan, it will force me to learn better tagalog :) actually, it's getting easier all the time. i understand lots better. speaking is still difficult sometimes and easier other times. but i'll get there. i just need to work harder.

kevin was confirmed sunday! official na siya. sweet! and he bore his testimony in gospel principles--how he gained a testimony of the restoration and it was beautiful. he just said he pretty much was like joseph--searching for the truth. and then when he read and prayed about the book of mormon and everything, he just felt it was right. cool guy.

and leah!!!! she's soooo gonna be ready for baptism. she's the smartest person holy cow. and she's really feeling like she's found the truth she's been looking for. she just gets everything we teach her. i just want it to begin to take deeper root in her as she repents and changes to become one of His fold. her baptism should be september 29 if we can get her prepared by then. she's awesome. she was referred by an rm intern at her company who was only here for a few months. she speaks super super english and attended the foreigner branch at first and the elders were her first missionaries, but she's in our area, so we have taken over :) lucky us.

anyway, we also had lots of LA members come to church!!! love that. our work was super this week and i loved it. it's evidence that as i am beginning to actually give my heart to the Lord and WANT to do His work and His will, that He is blessing us. the blessings were sure instantaneous! and i'm beginning to feel joy that was missing in my work before. I want not just to do His will, but to unite my will with His. that's when change comes.

i gotta go! i love you! i hope i didn't forget anything! you're the best!

all my love, sis r

August 26th

Sis Gupta! (i guess i can use your first name now, right? Monica! ...wow that felt weird.) thanks for your prayers! I'm so glad you're feeling better. i'll keep praying for you. i'll pass the word along to Amie and Kevin and the Rebosuras. you are missed here, love. i miss you and they miss you!
Sis. Ronquillo and i are still in Makati 3rd, dear. nothing too new :) hehee who knows if i'll be here another transfer. elder gagnon is STILL HERE! lol! his 5th transfer in this area. and elder kunzler is our other ZL. they're a great pair. still no zone activity, though... sad day. but we'll do all we can to get one this transfer!
about the pics... aaron will tell you about their progress when i send my memory card to him. because there's a virus on my memory card right now and i'm kinda clueless when it comes to stuff like that.

Dad, you sure are one of a kind! i love it! thank you for your awesome attitude and all your hard work and example! i'm still waiting on that fatherly missionary advice :) it sounds like your work is good! i'm so proud of you! i feel where you're coming from with the SO MUCH TO LEARN, but i know you'll do it! He's here to help you. let's learn together, shall we?

joseph, you keep workin hard and you'll see the reward for your dedication! becca, you keep everyone smiling, okay? when does the girl come to stay? who all did sheep? how'd that go? lou, i was thinking yesterday about how much i miss playing just a few songs that i adore on the piano and how much more you'd miss it if our roles were reversed. keep finding joy in developing your talents! there is a need for good piano players in this world. i am really wishing right now that i had applied myself more in lessons. shhh don't tell Mom lol! rae, i got to talk to you for a sec and that was great. do email me, hah? good girl. i hear your game is GOOD, doll! so GOOD GAME from me ;) i didn't know colton was such a big to-do! what a guy! that's sweet.

how was fair time? did you eat a super yummy burger for me? gosh, i'm gonna take advantage of that when i'm home :) hehee.

this is mom's reminder to say the things next week she didn't get to say this time. more about brad's timely talk and about your job.

aaron, that would be GREAT! Like super duper great. I have another one right now. i'm just not sure how to send the diseased one. what's the best way? i have a little protective case i could prob send it in inside of an envelope. i just hope it's safe that way. any suggestions? if you let me know, i'll try and send it next week according to your suggestions. it's the one that has the baby one that fits inside it. so i'm sure it has files from more than just my camera--it has pics that are saved to my laptop, too. and gosh, there are some dang cool and very important pictures on there! it would be more than a super bummer to lose them.
i'm glad you sang well! i didn't get the sound file, unfortunately :( who recorded you?? lol in sacrament meeting?? how's your new phone?  do you have that yet?

well, family, it's been  week. honestly, it's been an interesting one. but it's been good :) we had a HUGE group go with us to the temple saturday! we have temple tours every month and it was our month to bring people, not to teach at the tours. teaching always makes me nervous--you know how i love crowds--so i was glad to be on the other end. it was a big, happy group. and then one of the investigators--who randomly decided to go with us at the last minute on saturday ( we actually didn't invite her bc she's a former investigator and claims she's muslim and had told sister gupta and i she wasn't interested in changing religions, though she does believe in Jesus Christ)--showed up to church yesterday, too! crazy. didn't expect that AT ALL. but it was good :) she had a good experience. and she referred to herself as an investigator when she introduced herself... pretty sweet.
also, kevin's baptism was saturday! what a guy! he was so ready. he's super strong. but he got a super high fever and couldn't come be confirmed yesterday. crazy, i know. but he'll be there next week! don't you fret. he's a stallion.

i was so excited to hear from sarah about her cute baby and ashlynn about her cute baby and trip and everything! i'm so excited for them! they rock! I'm still not sure how to send responses to daniel, priscilla, megan bird, or.... maybe the list is even longer than that. but there's a start lol. but i sure hope they know i love, appreciate, and care about them.

i want to tell you that i know that i'm where i need to be. i know that this is the greatest work--the only work there is to do. we are so blessed to be invited to be part of Heavenly Father's work and glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. and boy does life feel so much better when i'm reminded of this eternal principle and i'm granted a portion of that eternal perspective. otherwise, the things we are called upon to do and experience would be overwhelming. sometimes life gets that way. but i know that if we remember that this moment is not forever, that there is joy to be had and peace to be obtained through Jesus Christ, that our burdens won't be too heavy to bear.
I was pondering on this the other day. How is it possible that the One who bore all things could say that His yoke is easy and His burden is light? How could that be true? And yet, He would not lie. I don't know how it works, honestly. All I know is that it does. All I know is that if we yoke ourselves with Him, suddenly our burdens are not too heavy to bear. Suddenly we are filled with peace and assurance that all things will work together for our good. And in that moment, we also become more like Him. We become more childlike.

Anyway, i just know that the Church is true. And I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that the Book of Mormon answers the questions of the soul, including the questions in our hearts and minds right now. I know I have much to do to become what He wants me to become, but I also trust that as I simply do all I can, He will take care of everything.

Mom, I'm out of time and can't type the lyrics, but today I choose I Know that My Redeemer Lives.

love, sister r

Dad, the rain here was pretty crazy. we had a great service opportunity, though i didn't feel like i did much. it was actually just sweeping in a nearby barangay (village) and cleaning up the garbage there. we didn't do much in the flood, which i greatly regret. i'm gonna grab that by the horns next time! honestly, a service mission is what i prayed for, so i hope the Lord will bless us with lots of opportunities for that. the bishop actually received some groceries from a japanese man who isn't a member and bishop distributed these things to families in need through us. don't remember if i mentioned that, but it was sure an awesome experience! they were so grateful! everything shuts down with big floods bc no one can work, therefore, no one can buy. they're really stressing 72 hour kits. don't worry! we gots one!

that's great about the baptism! where are the Hurds now? did joseph write his talk down? i wanna hear it when i get home! what a guy! :) can't believe it's the fair already... weird.

mom, congrats on the choco-pb lovin! haha sounds delicious! masarap! but not as delicious as annie's present! EEEW! sicknasty. hahah you're so good-humored :) and yay for carol's baby! boy or girl? yes, an answer to prayers! i'm glad the package turned up. did you send it? wow... i've never seen someone permanent like that in tree town. there are LOADS here. everywhere. you're so awesome :)
everyone in our area is okay. i'm not sure how they recover... they just do. and they honestly can't do much to prepare except with sandbags. especially the ppl who buy their food on a day-to-day basis. i have no idea how they would survive if it got super bad. but our area's dry now.
we have a baptism saturday and he is AWESOME! Kevin is solid. his interest started with just a slight desire to investigate his girlfriend's religion and now has grown to the faith and desire to make and keep sacred covenants. it's amazing. we're really excited. he will be a very strong member. and he has a financial advantage that will enable him to serve the members of the church here. we're so blessed. Our recent convert... needs your prayers. she is struggling to make time for anything, including attending church and reading the BoM.

how was your race? how did it feel? how was the team? LOL Alyssa, WAY TO GO!!! Hahah someone's gotta keep mom embarrassed while i'm here! ;) YESSS!
wow, how are those mannings? is gary okay? tell craig that's against missionary standard! gross! way to go, Christina! Joseph is a great name :) i love it. Yvonne's prayers have to be super powerful. she's a super powerful woman. as are you, mom. how is bradley? i sent his letter to you last week. hope it's there soon. is that okay? sorry i didn't have a home address. lol his handwriting is still attrocious :) funny guy.

mom, that's so cool about the temple. i know you were a teerriiffiicccccc usher! :) i love seeing people be touched by the Spirit. we truly need to become like little children to be led according to the Lord's desires for us. thank you for helping me see that from a new perspective.

thank you for the songs! both of them! i needed them :) lol i love the kaiser verse. and i want to be like Nephi. i just realized now that not only did he believe it would float, he believed it could carry them all to the promised land... and it was a first-time, no-experience, hand-made vessel that he trusted in bc he trusted the Lord would take care of his precious family. THAT"S FAITH. gosh, i need that. when i feel afraid to try, i will remember Nephi. i will remember his trust in the promise of the Lord and do the same :)

i honestly can't tell you all the feelings i've had in this last week. it has been one of personal trial and education. i know this experience is just what i need--all of it. i know i can do the things the Lord commands, bc He knows what I am capable of, even when i am sorely tempted to disagree. gosh, what an experience. and i know i wouldn't trade it for anything... especially when i look back, and in the future when i'll look back and see all the Lord has done with little, simple, imperfect me. As President Stucki told us, the Lord takes the ....shoot, i forgot. But i'll get back to you on that.

dad, if you have any advice for me as a missionary, i'd be more than happy to receive it :) just insights you have, or any suggestions for the work.

gosh, aaron! way to send me a wedding email! lol they're so cute! i'm happy for them! i LOVE the colors of miranda's choice! soooo cute! happy for BD! :) lol sis Ronquillo and i had a trunky moment hehehe. wow that's awesome! we actually wanna see some more of miranda's pics if possible. any you feel like sending. and your letter's in the mail as of last tues.

we have zone conference tomorrow! always a good experience :) looking forward to that. and we went to the temple wednesday, which was awesome. then we had a comp lunch at a place called Pan de Amerikana and it's AMAZING! hardly anyone really knows about it, so it's a pretty slow place, but the food is DELICIOUS! and the atmosphere ROCKS! i took pics, but i don't dare send them. i got a virus on my last memory card and only connected it to computers a few times. i'm not sure what to do. aaron, can anything be done??? i wanna save the pictures if i can. i just can't print anything bc most of the files won't pull up now when i go to print on the computer. lame. but the place is SUPER COOL! mom and dad, you HAVE to come to the P! You have to eat here with me! it's an upside-down house! and even cooler, they have the funkiest decorating that just goes. and it could never be done so well except in this climate. they have plants in the walls and all sorts of cool stuff! and recently, they put up pictures of famous people in the Philippines. wow it's cool.

i've probably gotta go now, since i don't wanna be late. we have a lesson at 3 bc the Assistants flew to Palawan, so we're covering their lesson for them. they don't really have pday, so that explains the random time. speaking of palawan, i hope sis gupta's right! thanks for the letter, sis! i'm sorry you're sick :( we must be on a wavelength or something... crazy. you poor kid. but i know you'll find the right job for you. congrats on your calling!

where do i send priscilla's letter?

i'll keep praying about the journal. i hope it does get found. elder fruean feels pretty bad about it.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

love your fav sister misionary, sis r

ps do you know that on wednesday, ive been on my mission 6 months?? now that's weird.
rae--talk to me, talk to me, talk to me, babay!