MY DEAR LOVED ONES!!!

OH, how I love you!!!!!!! I am so grateful for you! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your emails and love! It means everything to me. 

You know, Mom, I surely noticed this morning as I ironed my shirt that another week had gone by and only one more til our next fast sunday! Time keeps marching. i feel that. and sometimes minutes drag, but the days really fly. some mornings i wake up and feel like there's no way i got enough sleep for that day, but once i start jogging back and forth across our apartment, i know i'm gonna make it :) lol it's funny how 8 hrs never seems like enough. i'm sorry each time i feel that way bc i know you're running on 5 most of the time. mom... please sleep, okay? you are fantastic and you deserve it! i know there's lots to do, but take care of yourself and it'll get done, babestum! :) you are wise. i know you're doing all you can, as usual. thank you for your sweet stories. i love your emails. they are full. full of everything good--the Spirit, visual feasts and tender mommy love that is so precious to my heart. oh, mom. how i've inherited tears from you! i cried only a little in the mtc. one night it was just 'cause i was terrified of coming to the P, but most of the time it was good crying. but dang, mom. i keep crying all the dang time and i think sis g is scared for me :) lol. i keep thinking it's time for something to come, but... it hasn't. it's just the mission. of course i miss you and stuffs, but i also cry about happy things and mostly it's just a mix. i'm so grateful. i've been protected emotionally from feeling the weight of most ppls' poverty here, but i've been so openly aware to the blessings of the Spirit poured out upon us. it is miraculous, this missionary work. and i have so much to do to be better. and i love what you shared about pres. rees and hope. lol! i can hear his voice! thank you for your insight. i totally needed that. if i think of eternity daily, then i will be a more focused, more selfless, more obedient, and more effective and loving missionary. and i will never regret giving all i could give every day.

you are such a good example to me. you praise me and say so little of you. let me clear this up now. YOU are MY mom for a reason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

don't worry, i survived the mtc language representative working with us all day saturday. he interviewed us and observed our comp. and language studies and went to lessons with us. i sighed real big when he left. but he was super nice. his wife's gonna have a baby today or tomorrow and i was his second to last missionary to observe, so he was praying to get back so they could start her. so cool! their third child and first daughter. anywho, a sister, ward missionary and rm, worked with us that day. she cracks me up. she's stinking gorgeous and it's hard to not be jealous (but i'm learning how important it is to be thankful instead :) ), and her attitude is hilarious. her english is superb, too. she said to br. stephenson, the mtc rep, "you're wife is going to give birth in 2 days and you're not there??" lol. i like her. 

dad, your emails make me laugh out loud-- a lot!!!! holy cow, man, you're like always on a complete roll when you write them! jeez! i could reread them every day :) mom's and aaron's too. i always wanna read them 50 times, but i can't. you are a genius! hahah i'm glad you soaked up the educational nutrients of the galaxy quest 3d adventure! opposition really is in all things, isn't it? especially missionary work--i see it every day! but opposition is such a blessing ! it teaches us and stretches and and causes us to grow if we learn from it. there is so much to be learned. i feel like 18 months is too long to not see you, but too short to learn to be a good missionary. how will i do it?!?! there is SO MUCH to improve!!! and often, i think of how my siblings would view the work i do and i feel like there's so much more i can do to make them proud--to be a good example for them. we are examples in all we do. we are always being recognized. we have to be at our best all the time! and we can be! because we're on the Lord's side. He will bless us in every need we have so we can bless His children. and i mean we, like all of us. isn't that great!?!?! I wish i would have been a bolder member missionary. but i know how to be now. i'm learning. and that's the point of life, isn't it? you're a genius dad! bc you use what you know and you learn more every day! i so admire you.

shoot a mile! this can't be over! i gots lots more to tell ya! 

aaron, your email was grand! i'm glad to read it :) i have so little time and so much to write, so i want to get you info as quickly as possible. i still need to write your dad. i'm thinking of and praying for him. he's awesome. bless him. what did you mean about your 90 days? you mean there at your internship? have you been keeping track of all your info? i love Filipino families, too! they're bombin! soooo cute, eh??? i'm sorry you had that frighteningly gross experience. i'm glad you survived :) you're so strong! how's josh adjusting? when will you leave for sure to go home? what will you do there? what are your plans for the year? your efforts to help ppl not be socially awkward are funny :) hehehe you're awesome.

can i ask you a favor? can you look up some simple, cheap (for the fixins and ingredients) recipes for sis gupta and i to try? if you'll do that, i will make you some delicious indian food when i get home! deal? well, i'll do it anyway, but ya know. 

i have so much to tell yall, but i gotta go :( tell ashlynn i'm gonna write her, too! i love her so dang much! she's been waiting for a long time for a response now. and tell lou i wanna hear all about her events! and rae that i'm jealous of how all the little kids love her so much! she's such a sweet heart. she has so much energy and they love her always. keep an eye on joph. he's too cute for words. don't let anyone snatch his heart up! he's too lil! and booty, i've told sis gupta how stinkin cool you are, so keep it up! we'll have her come visit us and see for herself! you're so fun!

BIG HUGS AND KISSES!!!!! and a song just for you ;) love sis r

oh... that song should be... hmm.... hymn 300.

ps they love american music here. is it possible to be trunky already??? hahah but pretty soon i won't recognize any of them, anyway. the styles change. love ya tons!

oh, and here they call older sisters (or close friends, respectfully and endearingly) ate (ah-teh) and brothers kuya (coo-yeh). so joph is our kuya! i love these terms. 

Yahoo!

HAPPPPYY BIRTHDAY, LYSSA MA LOU, LADY BUGGY POO! I'M SO STINKIN PROUD OF YOU!

YOU'RE 16, YA OLD FART!! ;) I could never marry a 99 year old man...
you have a little note on the way :) i'm sorry it's not much. i'll do better, i promise! i just don't know how to yet, from here!



Thank you, everyone! especially mom, dad, and aaron for your correspondence! you are super bomb!!!



how is everything?? it sounds like you're so busy! aaron, i loved the sea turtle! so cool! and the photo, thank you! dad, i'm praying for you and your test. you will do so well! i'm glad you're receiving comfort in your studies. you are sooo so smart and diligent. you will be blessed for all you're doing and i know the Lord will help you in everything you need. thank you for your funny letter! i got one via dear elder and just grinned all the way :) it was fantabulous! thank you for making me smile! laughter is the best medicine and we all totally need a good laugh every single day. sister gupta makes me laugh quite a bit. just her manner and opinions and straightforwardness about matters when she expresses things to me is hysterical. i love her! you will love her too. somehow i'll kidnap her from india and make her visit us. she's great.
mom, i pray for you too in all you do. SO much! you really are supermom! but no matter how busy life gets, your first priority is to your Heavenly Father and then to your family--which makes you even more incredible. that's how it lays it down for us in the white handbook: first to the Lord, then to Pres., then to missionaries. good priorities. and of course the ppl we serve :) i think it's in the leadership section. thank you mom for sharing your insights. again, i can't thank you enough for the spiritual uplift. you always know just what to say. it's so incredibly nice. i can't believe it. it's insane how well our Father knows His children. it makes sense, of course, but its still crazy amazing. he is so aware. i testify of this. there are so many tender mercies each day, and they are clearer to me here in the field than they've been for me before. and i know there are so many i miss along the way. how spoiled we are!

sunday, on our way to our quick lesson before church, i was telling sis gupta how i was concerned for br. candido, a less active member who had come to church last week, but whom we hadn't visited this week. i didn't want him to think we'd only visit if he wasn't coming. that's certainly not how we feel about him. after our brief but sweet lesson--big blessings!--we got on the jeepney for church, hoping to make it barely in time. i've become the temporary pianist, we discovered, as bishop texted us, hoping we'd be there right then. aaah! wish we could hurry traffic along. then, out of nowhere, br. candido climbs in the jeepney!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SWEET! i know, right?!?!!?! yeah. pretty great. and he came to church again :) wow! love it!

then yesterday i didn't get to write bc we met with Pres. for quarterly interviews. they are individual. and you know what?!?! he emails us individually each week in response to our emails to him. how great is he?!!?!? wow he is amazing. and we had great meetings with our AP and ZLs, all of whom are so good. love every missionary here. they rock. and i learned so much about using the area book!!!! it's so important to keep track of the ppl we're teaching and the details--bc in the details, we show our love. we keep track so we can meet their needs and help other ppl to continue to build on inspired teaching once we are transferred elsewhere. i thought of how i love to know you care about the details of my mission and my life and how knowing these things about those we teach come through in our teaching--to make the gospel personal BECAUSE IT IS! great stuffs.

so mother's day call! woo hoo! there's a card i can buy and use, i believe, from my cell phone to call you. mom's phone is best, right? and would around 6 pm that day work for you? cause i can prob call about 9 am here on monday, the following day for me, and it's my pday, so we can work that out easily. gimme your opinion. sis gupta prob won't need the phone til later, so that would be rockin! or i can go for earlier if you need. later? sup to you, babestum!!!!! lemme know.

tonight, i am going to extend the baptismal commitment to a family! wooooo! holy karazzzzy. can you belieb it??? pray for me, if you can! that'd be sweet! i love you so much!!!!

i can't believe you're all getting so big, my siblings! i hope you're being so sweet and patient to each other and helping out at home! i feel your love from here, and i send mine. i'd be lying if i said i didn't miss you. of course i do!!!!!! but the harder i work, the easier it is and the more i love it! time will fly and i'll be missing this beautiful place with heavy air and heat like a blanket and crazy, honking drivers and ppl that say Hey, whashur name? and little kids that follow us around and sweet, humble people with barely enough to survive day to day, and ... well. no. i won't miss cockroaches. ever. i tell sis g all the time that they're the spawn of satan. sorry to ruin the mood :) hahaha

but know that all is well and you are SO VERY LOVED!!!!! please let me know how i can help you.

mom, i'm sorry i didn't say much about journal, but i'll keep thinking and share what i come up with. you are all SUPERB!

xoxoxxooxxoXXooOOOXxoxolxo

sis r :)

P.S.
to answer mom's qs in a dear elder i got... the jet lag is pretty gone by now! prob by about the end of the first week it was mostly gone. of course now you know i love sis gupta! sis w is in the angeles mission... i don't have the exact address, but i can pouch mail her here for free. did you all go to slc for our tradish? how was it/ when are you going??? the food is pretty good, actually. i've eaten plenty of things i wouldn't normally like, but liked. strange. like tuna sandwich with tomatoes and spaghetti with only sauce and noodles. odd. but i liked it. and tang is a big deal here. very popular. way too much soda! i can't take it! but ppl are so sweet to give us things when we visit them.
the weirdest things i've eaten were chicken liver in our pansit ( pansit is actually very good. i think that's the stuff sis crump gave us. member?) and pig feet... i think. but i didn't actually eat that. it's all fat. all fat and bone and spiny pig hair. so i spit it out discreetly and prayed that the wealthy americanized family would forgive the poor american. they didn't seem to care :)

Wow!

Hello po!

Thank you so much for the correspondence! I haven't wrapped my mind around the time diff yet and there's a lot else to think about, but i think yesterday when i was looking at the clocks in the mission office, the one for salt lake time was three hours behind our time. and i was confused. so i asked someone about it and he confirmed that when it's 6 pm here, it's 3 am there... i think. how's that for crazy? yes! super duper, indeed.

wow.. days here. sundays are good. we had no comp study yesterday bc we left early for an appointment before church. church starts at noon, but we're there very early to greet--hopefully--our investigators and returning LA members. we had an investigator with a baptismal date come! she's the house help of a family who is LA. she rocks! she's a mother of 5, single, and her 18yr old daughter is going to be baptized too! she rocks too! the only sad part is that she was just hired as house help too and didn't come bc she was taking care of little ones at home. her children live out in one of the provinces and she only sees them once a month when she goes home. but the family is very good to her, which i love.

oh so sundays. we have a couple meetings after church, so we don't get done til late.. like around dinner time. this is not a favorite bc i really would prefer to be out teaching, but it's just how things roll. we didnt have coordination meeting this week, though we need it so that we can have the ward missionaries come with us. the hope is to always have members present in our lessons so that these people have fellowshippers. it's hard bc these ppl are often busy with work or school and they need that money, of course. but they're great! the bishop is very sincere about his calling and works very hard to meet the needs of this ward.

i keep waiting for a "normal" this and a "normal" that... i don't know if there is a normal. like last week was general conference here, so sat and sun weren't normal... but this sunday there was a sister with mumps... so sis gupta and i sat with her in the office for a long time bc the assistants to the pres. --AP is easier, though the white handbook says... whatever. i'm writing, not speaking. the APs :) had a baptism and they took her to the hospital, so we kept her company in the office until they could take her. they said she's doing fine. poor girl. she got it from a member--and they didn't even touch! they just visited outside for a second! strange.

teaching is good. it's different. it's not exactly cookie-cutter like in the mtc. you have to be more flexible. it's trickier. but it's all good :) we love the ppl we teach. we found this awesome girl while looking for someone else on the records we have. she's only 18 and insanely full of faith. she loves God so much and wants to do what He wants her to do. Her mom is devout Catholic and wasn't super interested in our message, though they sure like a good "bible study" 'round here. we always have to make it clear that our intention isn't just to study with them. bless their hearts. basta (anyway/whatever). she wanted to come to church, but to our dismay, her mother was against it. dagnabbit. it was so sad. but i have high hopes for her. she's fantastic.

there are lots of members that need to come back to church--and also lots who have never even heard our message. it was amazing, our blessings this week. when i got here, we had 4 pending BDs. sweet! but due to various circumstances and exercise of agency--what a tremendous gift--our dear souls may not be able to get baptized soon. it's out of the hands of one of them, it's the choices together of 2 others, and it's the apprehensions about circumstances and requirements for another. but we won't lose hope! no one is beyond hope. each soul is so important.
when we went to an appointment with the sister and her daughter before extending the baptismal invitation, we ran into a member in the same apartment building! she has a niece and nephew whom we are now preparing for baptism! so the four we had before were reassured by four more BDs in just 2 hours time!!!! how amazing is that?!?!?

i realize that the whole mission won't be this way and that most things are not this easy. there is so much work to be done! but this was a great blessing from the Lord. and i didn't do a dang thing to deserve it. and i honestly don't. i think this is mostly for S. Gupta. Bc she's so selfless and loving and serious about this work. And i can't believe she's going home after our 2 transfers together :( dang flabbit.

dear family, i write my letters to you and to my friends all week in my head and then i get so frustrated when i can't remember half of what i was going to say. i have forgotten my towel so many times when i take a shower. in the mtc, 2 or 3 times. here in the field, already 2 or 3 more. poor s. gupta. bless her. how will i ever remember all of these ppl and their backgrounds and information!? there are SO MANY! and they need me to remember them and about them.

maree, i have thought about you and missing your graduation a lot. i wish i could be there. but i want you to know how proud i am of you and how excited i am for you to go out and explore. you will love it! and you are so capable! you're ready, girl! go out and get em! this will prepare you for a mission like nothing else i can think of.

alyssa, i played the piano in sacrament meeting yesterday and i so wished i'd spent more time practicing hymns. at an appointment last night, the family brought out a little keyboard and sat it on the floor for me to play. i fumbled through one of my favorites as i tried to sing alto, too, and i cursed how poorly i adapt to different keyboards. then i made Twinkle play for us. she's so pretty and she has a cute baby and we're teaching her husband.. kinda. long story, but they're great. and she played---guess! there's only ten seconds left in my bwain... guess! river flows in you! i missed you so! and sis gupta's cd has the My Redeemer song we love to hear you play. every time it makes me so happy. every morning. and i saw a cool david archuleta mix here in a store! and i heard 2 or 3 of his songs in diff places. love it!

joseph, so many ppl play street ball here. there are always groups of kids from down the street playing in a small hoop they set up somehow. it's funny to walk by and see them all stare bc we're foreigners. they love white ppl lol. i don't know why bc everyone in america just wants to be tan. we're never satisfied, are we? but i think of you often, especially when we teach this great family with 13 and 14 yr old boys. i wish you were here to bring them to church. you'd be a great friend to them.

becca, you crazy awesome girl, how is choir? is it fun to sing with everyone? are you excited? how is your class? you know, you are such a lucky girl! you are so loved! do you know that? we are teaching a boy who is 9 and we want him to get baptized so badly. he's so nice!!!! he has an allergy to sun and dust, so his skin has strange spots all over and it makes him embarrassed to go outside. but he's so cute! he has a beautiful smile and he's so sweet! thank you for being a good friend who would not make fun of someone like him. you are such a good girl!

dad, i keep hearing The Promise when we go in the grocery store!!! how crazy random is that! i love it! and mom, you have no idea how perfectly-timed your words of wisdom are. they are so great. i always need them.

i need to go, but i love you all! i'm not supposed to miss you, but i surely do! i need to work harder :) i need to figure out how to get my letters to my fam and friends in the states. tell aaron i was SO excited to hear about sis. jael knowing him! did she tell you how bad my tagalog is?? yeesh. scary.

xoxoxxo!

sis r

First Letter from the Philippines!

My dearest pamilya,

how are you?? i am loving it here. i wrote you a letter while still at the mission home that will likely take a good couple weeks hence to reach you.. or a week and a half. .anywho. it'll take a bit. BUT WE"RE HERE. I'm safe. i'm healthy. i hope i don't get sis. gupta's sore throat thingy. apparently she was really sick just before i got here. bless her.

my trainer is sis. gupta. she is from india (I KNOW, RIGHT?? :D alam ko, di ba?) yeah. she rocks. she's from north india and we have a couple other sisters i've met from india as well, but definitely from south. she said their skin is darker the further down ya go. who'da thunk? well, she is very skilled at the language (magaling siya sa tagalog) and is teaching me to teach and converse. i listen A LOT. it's hard to focus on something so foreign, but i'm doing a lot better. i'm understanding more every day. i just need to be more confident in using what i know. i'm still very hesitant. it makes me feel better that br. may didn't understand everything and speak comfortably til 6 mo. i am already understanding most of what is said based on context and vocab that i pick up.

no huge spiders (mga gagamba) yet. but saw my first cocroach sa apartment namin early this morning when i got up to get a drink.. ick! freaked me out. but i'm not as afraid of them as spiders. i don't think we usually have them in our apt. i started my clothes soaking so i can wash them later. fun! :) we have a kind of balcony in the front corner of our 2nd story apt that can be accessed thru our bedroom or study room. we have running water and a filter attached in the kitchen! we have a flushing toilet and shower that works!!! we have a bucket and ladel in case. they take good care of us. and in this busy city of makati, where i've been assigned to the makati 3rd ward, we have regular electricity. we are spoiled. i feel so blessed. and we have fans... very very handy. love it!

you know, in our orientation thursday, president said at the end of the 12 week training program, the goal is that we're prepared to turn aroundand train if asked. wow. it makes sense, but the thought is absolutely overwhelming. the language and unfamiliarity with where things are--including investigators' homes--and how things work here are really the scariest parts. teaching doesn't scare me. taking the lead would not be a huge deal for me--i don't think--were i more comfortable in communicating with ppl. but they are such sweet ppl. you would not believe what they live in. well...you would. but it would break your heart. they are incredible. but sharing the good news of the gospel with them is easy. they are very loving. they are patient with my choppy language skills. and i'm so grateful. my favorite are the children. every baby here is adorable. they can't help it. and there are a couple children we teach whose father works most sundays but is a member and they are the dang most sweet and cute ppl in the world. divine and juan carlos. my heart nearly burst with God's love for them yesterday as we taught. i tried to help them teach (we had a sister fromt he ward with us) and i stumbled and said some things in english, but the Spirit was so strong and sis gupta explained what they didn't understand. that's another thing-- a lot of ppl are at least partially familiar with english here. and many ppl just have common english words that they throw in all the time, so that also helps with my understanding. they just use english words for some things. but sis gupta said that on Palawan, which is the island part of the manila mission, ppl don't use english. it's pretty much all tagalog, so missionaries come back speaking very well. she served there 6 months. everyone kinda wants to go there from what i can tell. everyone loves it. but they only have sisters in the upper puerto princessa half, not the narra half. i guess down there there's only electricity part or half the time and stuff. it's very province, or provincial... ? i dunno. but the city has access to a lot of things.

we'll get me some rubber shoes today. i'm excited cause my black ones have no support or cushion, so it will be really nice. my dark brown ones have been helpful the last couple days. i've ridden in jeepneys and tricycles. they're pretty crazy. i don't get how they work, but i understand that for jeepneys you have to find one with your destination written on the side and hop on when they stop. the thing is, i don't know how you tell which of the destinations on the side it's going to next or how long it will take before they go to yours, bc each has several places it goes to. with trikes you just tell em where to go and then you pay them accordingly. on a jeepney, the fee is universal. it's 8.5 right now. and pesos.... it's so weird. i don't know how to gauge how expensive things are, yet. but i'll get it figured out.

i get a whole hour to email you now! how sweet is that?!?!? i think that's awesome. what else did i want to talk to you about???

i wanted to thank you for the awesome update :) and thank aaron for the pictures! and tell gma and gpa and gma that i will be writing them back asap! today, i hope. they'll be the first. and thank everyone who's been so helpful and supportive. i got a letter from angus when i first got here... i forgot that dearelder still works here! haha it just goes thru the mission office, i believe. something like that. and i can pouch mail for cheap--- within the P to other missionaries for free! the rules for my mission correspondence are pretty much just like i expected. as stated in the white handbook, plus only email to immediate family ( or thru you, i suppose) and... yeah. that's all i can think of. i think other ppl can email me, but i'm not clear on that. i can't email others, tho. pretty standard. obviously i checked out aaron's sweet pics and uncle gary's email, so i hope that's okay. and for E Tumanuvau, he does have a cousin named lauren, but i left the paper with his parents' and gparents' names at the apt. sorry again!

lou's bday is coming up soon! i don't know if a letter will get to her in time, but i wanna do somethin special for her! 16 and you're SOOOO BIG! :) i'm so excited for and proud of you, Lou!

I love you and think of you all every day. all the time. i love telling ppl about you. i love bearing our name. i love knowing that you will be so blessed for your sacrifices for our Heavenly Father's work. i think all the time about how i owe my very best efforts to Him and to these ppl and to you. You deserve my best! I never want to have to regret giving anything less! and to this point in the field, i know i can do more and do better, but i also know He knows i've been trying my very best to improve and He's so patient with me.

haha i was thinking all week what i'd say to you and i was gonna tell you that my body still thinks 7 30 is beyond bedtime, but i have no problem getting up in the am, so that's a big plus! it's very nice :) i'm trying to drink lots and i'm sleeping well. better than the mtc.

i think i gotta go :( but i want to testify that it's true that the cure for everything is work! the less i think of me, the happier i am--- and i have a long way to go,but you are teaching me!!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!! more than ever!

mahal kita! sis r