First week in the Philippines!

Kumusta from the Philippines!! So, yes, I am alive. So. The flights went well, we made it where we needed to go, it was just EXTREMELY long and confusing at times where we needed to go. They ended up charging us more than I had in Manila to check our bags in Bacolod, and no one told us, so that was a hassle. Luckily my travel buddies covered me and we will get reimbersed. I hope that someday I will finally understand how everything works in the Philippines. hahaha. My Mission President is really nice and speaks English. Mostly everyone here does, it's just hard to understand sometimes with heavy heavy accents. But I don't want to use English as a crutch. The language is by far the thing that is killing me right now. My first priority is learning Ilonggo. It is hardly ANYTHING like Tagolog. Only a few words are the same, so for me it's figuring out which ones are and which ones aren't and learning the right words for which ones aren't. Oh yeah, my first area is called Pulupandan, and I'm not totally sure, but I think I'm near La Carlota, maybe south of Bacolod? hahah. I really have no idea. So my trainer is from Boston and AMAZING. I look up to him alot and so do alot of the other missionaries. Everyone says I am lucky to have him. He's our District leader, and the very first thing he said to me was something to the effect of "Let's get to work. We're white-washing an area." (White-washing is when both Elders in the area are replaced by new Elders) hahaha. yeah. wow. So, this weekend has been spent trying to get to know the area and the members in our ward. Mostly him, because I still can't understand or talk to anyone. haha. It's kind of overwhelming, but maybe this week will be less hectic. My very first night we went tracting in a rain storm, so that was fun. I felt like a "real" missionary. hahaha. The heat surprisingly is not killing me. Neither are the mosquitos, probably because we are near a city. Well, sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I have a TON to say, but not much time, so I'm kind of scatter-brained.

ps- Even though it sounds like i'm going crazy, I really do love it here. The people are hilarious and friendly and take good care of each other. The nature amazes me and we have some pretty cool encounters with wildlife, like goats and frogs and wild roosters. hahah.

another ps-We have a baptism already scheduled for Friday! hahaha. It wasn't totally our doing, but it still feels cool to say. lol. maayang pasko! (merry christmas)

LAST DAY IN THE MTC

FROM DECEMBER 6th

phew! I am crazy busy with final preparations today, but luckily we were realeased as zone leaders yesterday so we don't have any more responsibilities there. hahaha. this week was really very nice. We have all been saying our goodbyes and getting things ready. It helps that in our classes our teachers just devoted the last couple of days to stories about the Philippines and what to expect. I am super nervous mostly about the language, seeing as they speak mostly Cebuano and Ilonggo, and very little Tagolog, but I know I'll be ok. It's comforting to know that other people have been and are in my same shoes.

We got the chance to see the 1st Presidency Christmas Devotional last night, which was pretty awesome. It got me in the Christmas spirit and got me thinking about what that will be like in the Philippines. Now, if you don't mind putting this message on my blog, I got everyone's letters in time this week, but i might not have time to write them all back. but THANK YOU so much to everyone, and i'm sorry if i don't write back!

Well there's not too much else I will really say! This Christmas I will miss chocolate oranges and cinnamon rolls, but who knows what kind of new traditions I will see in the next few weeks! hahaha. have a good one!

Thanksgiving and last week in the MTC

FROM NOVEMBER 29th:

phew! time sure flies! I felt like it was just yesterday was Pday! haha. well actually, alot has happened since then. :) First off, I got my Christmas package! It made my week. :)

For Thansgiving, we had Elder HOLLAND come speak to us! Naturally, it was amazing! haha. He was different than I had ever seen him before. He was very loving and kind and calm and really set the tone for the entire Thanksgiving day. Then we had our feast, which was pretty good. It was typical mtc food, but i'm, still thankful for it. We then had a speaker from the church come to us who has been doing humanitarian work in the Congo! We had a few more devotionals, and then ended the day with the service project in which the mtc made over 33,400 backpack kits to assemble backpacks for underprivledged kids. It was a blast. We were well taken care of. :)

Our zone has been doing alot better this week. Last week, everyone was sick and miserable, but this week everyone was getting better and being obedient and happy! haha. It really has been my best week in the mtc I think. The only downside was that around Saturday night I started getting sick. I guess it was only a matter of time. haha. So now I have a pretty nasty head cold. :-/ Hopefully it goes away soon, though! As far as tagolog goes, we're really not learning anything new, just reviewing and learning about the culture and stuff.

We got our flight plans this week. We are flying to LA, then to Hong Kong, then Manila, then Bacolod on Tuesday the 7th. I am traveling with my roomates, so that will be a blast. I will be able to call home from LA! :) Anyways, it is pretty crazy that it is my last week here. I don't even know what to think, and I definitely can't see myself in the Philippines, yet! haha. It's just going to be a crazy week, is all. Lots to do and lots to stay busy with. It'll be an adventure! Unlike what it sounds like in Seattle, we really haven't had too much snow untill yesterday when we just got DUMPED on. I am so thankful for the jacket mom sent me! hahaha. Well that is it for this week!

Being a Zone Leader

From NOVEMBER 22nd

This week has kind of been a blur for me. You know how I am, always needing to be organized and have everything under control. haha. Being a zone leader is tough work! Our branch presdient literally gives the zone leaders in our branch the most responsibility out of all the others in the mtc. Basically he wants us to handle all the problems ourselves, which is understandable, and then come to him only when we need the authourity of the branch presidency. The last zone leaders didn't do a whole lot and our branch presidency wants us to be the ones to start cracking down on things. so that is what this week has been about, mostly--just caring and loving the other elders in our zone, trying to crack down on obedience, and introducing the "newbies" to life in the mtc. haha. The beginning of the week was actually more hectic because there were alot of things to be resolved, and most of the elders had a hard time accepting change. As we applied the examples of Christ-like leadership though, things began to change, and by the end of the week, I felt pretty good about things. :)

Yesterday was pretty great, too. it was just a great day overall. :)The newbies are pretty great, and it is fun to watch them come in and remember what it was like for us just a few weeks ago (at least it feels like just a few weeks). One of them has even already had a trip to the ER! hahah. I feel like Tagolog is coming fairly well and so is teaching the lessons.

But this week looks like we are going to have a ton of Apostles come in. I don't know what Seth's mtc Thanksgiving experience was like, but rumor has it that Elder Holland comes to the mtc and just hangs out here every Thanksgiving! Could be rumor, though, but it sounds like we are going to be well taken care of on Thursday and have an awesome service project and program and most importantly FEAST. :) I will miss watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and making snicker salad, but I know I'm where I need to be and I'll get to do it in a couple years. :)Oh yeah! and don't tell me how Harry Potter was. unless you just say something like "it was completely mindblowing" and that's it hahaha. i'll just look forward to when I get back and watch both parts at the same time. :)

We also decided as a district to have a completely "bawal ingles" (forbidden english) day the day before Thanksgiving. Yup. we're calling it an English fast. hahaha. we'll see how it goes and if we can really do it! I can tell that on Thanksgiving, everyone is going to say that they are thankful for English. hahaha. Maligayang Pagpapasalamat! (Happy Thanksgiving!)

surprise package, babylon, leadership, Elder Bendar, Tagalog lessons

from NOVEMBER 15th:

Kumusta mga kaibigan at pamiliya ko!

Well, funny story about the package mom got to send with Brother Barker. I actually hadn't recieved it by the time she sent the letter talking about it. Brother Baker kept forgetting to give it to me, so it was pretty funny to read that she had met Brother Baker and he was at the studio! I had no clue that that's what he was up to! hahaha. What a great guy. I thanked him a ton for that. I'm excited to hear how the dance kids did at dancesport. it is SO WEIRD to think that it is going on across the street from where I am basically!

Actually, I have another story. This week was pretty crazy. My companion got an ingrown toenail and had to go get it lanced at a podiatrist, so they gave us permission to go to "babylon"! We drove with a service missionary down by the football stadium and Wyview and all the streets I used to walk down when I was at school. I have to admit it was pretty weird. When you're in the MTC, it feels like that is IT. hahaha. It was eye-opening for sure. Another weird part of that was sitting in the pediatrist's office in the REAL world with my missionary tag on and studying tagolog by myself. IN the MTC, you're surrounded by missionaries so it's normal. but it was just such a learning experience to be there by myself. I don't know how to really explain it.

So yesterday we were made official zone leaders, so our reign of dictatorship started last night. hahaha. joke-lang (just kidding). The oldest district leaves in about 3 hours, so everyone is saying their goodbyes and stuff. Last night was pretty crazy though because it was our first night as zone leaders and all of the oldest district was going crazy because it was their last night, but I don't think it will be a problem anymore. We'll see. I can't believe we are the oldest district! I feel like we still know nothing. haha. Well we get to meet all of the new district and talk to them and give them tours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, so that should be fun. I'm sure you'll hear about them next week. My kasama and I have been studying leadership all week, so we'll see how it goes from here on out.

We had our FOURTH apostle in a row come this week. This time it was Elder Bednar, and, obviously,it was AMAZING. :) He talked about the difference between doctrines, principles, and the applications we do to live those principles, and how no one will willingly follow an application (like living the word of wisdom or law of tithing) if they don't understand the doctrine behind it both in their minds and in their hearts. Did that make sense? I hope so. hahaha. I thought it was something to think about.

We also taught our first lesson in all Tagolog this week. we've been doing it all week, but Thursday was when we had an actual pretend investigator. (That is kind of an oxy-moron, isn't it? hahah.) Anyways, that was the night we went to "babylon", so it was kind of a mess. While we were gone, they changed the time on us, so we got back and they were halfway through their lessons, so they put us with a random investigator. We had no scriptures, no preparation, knew nothing about them, and had 15 minutes to teach the lesson. It was an adventure. hahaha.

That's it for this week!

WRITE ME for free, right now! dearelder.com
Remember, after Dec. 6th all letters must be sent to the PHILLIPINES.

Elder Ballard, Sherri Dew and Zone Leader

from November 8th:

Mabuhay!

Anyways, Salamat to everyone that wrote me this week! Well surprise, surprise, we had our 3rd Apostle in a row come speak to us this last week! Elder Ballard. But seriously, I feel so incredibly blessed. It seems like every day I learn lessons that are exactly what I need at that time. Last night we had Sheri Dew come speak to us, which was pretty cool too.

I also recieved some big news this week, kasama ko (my companion) and I were told that we are going to be the new zone leaders when the next district leaves! I have mixed feelings about that. haha. For one, I feel like I barely know what I am doing myself! I'll only be able to do this with the Lord's help, I guess. It will be an adventure! So this week we are sort of "shadowing" the current zone leaders and learning how to do what we need to.

It's also cramming week for Tagolog. Thursday's the big day! we'll see if we can do a whole lesson in complete Tagolog. haha. I'm sure I will be able to get through it though, it will just be a challenge, is all.

Thanks for all your support, prayers, and letters! Mahal ko kayo! Ingat po!

Halloween and Elder Scott

from NOVEMBER 1st:

Mabuhay! It is CRAZY to think I have already been out here a month. Time really flies. I am still working hard at Tagolog, but we have spent alot of time this week helping the newbies bear their testimonies and say prayers since the older districts helped us when we got here. There are 16 new elders and 4 new sisters, doubling our zone's numbers. hahah.

Halloween was pretty... interesting. I really wanted to watch the Ghost and Mr. Chicken this year. haha. We had a big candy feast last night and some missionaries changed nametags and went as each other. That was pretty much the extent of our celebration. all 30 minutes of it. hahaha.

This Thursday we teach our last lesson in english. From there on out, it is strictly Tagolog for the remainder of the MTC.

This past week was pretty great. To start it off we had ANOTHER Apostle come speak to us, Elder Richard G. Scott. It was so amazing. He blessed us using his authority as an Apostle about 4 times throughout his talk, which gave me alot of assurance. He also gave us a sheet full of the lessons he has learned in his life pertaining to following the guidance of the Spirit. There are about 40 quotes on it that are amazing. I think I'm going to get it laminated.

Temple walks were also put back into effect this week. So we spent all day on temple grounds taking pictures with the fall leaves yesterday. It was a LOT better than having 6 hours of free time like the last few Sundays. haha. We also sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" this week in sacrament meeting as a group of six of Elders. That was pretty fun. I think i'm getting pegged as one to do musical numbers. uh-oh. I've started up-ing my running workouts. It has been good. Anywho, I can't think of what else to say except SEND ME MORE LETTERS! quick! On DearElder.com! Before I leave the MTC on the 6th! ....ok...so maybe Adam's sister wrote that part...

Magandang Lingo! (Have a good week!)