Week 6: Psst... Hey Barbie... (Sept. 9, 2013)

Soooooo this is the 6th week already. It's gone by so fast! 

   I've learned a lot this week. And there are transfers tomorrow and who knows what's gonna happen. 

So this week we've taught a lot of lessons. Siempre. We're missionaries, that's what we do. We go around and share the gospel with all of God's children and try to get them to change their lives. Sometimes it's hard for us because they don't understand the importance or they don't want to change. "As missionaries, we desire the salvation of all of God's children."

   We've been teaching L.F. for the last couple of weeks. She's so smart and receptive. Sobrang mabait. Pero, as we've taught her she's become less and less interested. She has a BGD pero she won't come to church and we don't know why. She just isn't as interested. We still continue to teach her and try to help her because that's our job and we are very very very stubborn.

   But on another note, we received and referral from the district next door to ours, Candelaria. The referrals name is R.A. His mother is a member and she wants him to receive the gospel. He's never been married but he used to have a live-in which is normal here. We taught him the first lesson and I extended the BGD to him (I'm not scared to ask people to be baptized at all and Sister C's always surprised when I do because I never tell her I'm going to do it, I just do) and he accepted. He knows that the only way he can receive kaligtasan (salvation) is through our message and following the commandments of God. Yesterday, we taught him the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom because we felt that that would be his biggest concern. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't. He accepted them as commandments of God and is going to follow them. Wow. Amazing. Out of all of our investigators with BGD's he is the one that shows the most promise right now.

   I love being a missionary. This is the hardest thing that I've ever done but the most rewarding thing as well. It's also super fun. Going out and finding the people that Heavenly Father has prepared for us and helping them come unto him. It's so  rewarding to see the improvements in their lives because of what we've shared with them.

   I know that this is the true church on earth. There isn't a doubt in my mind. I know that through His missionaries, Heavenly Father can bring about salvation for all men. This is my testimony. I'm so grateful for my decision to serve a mission. Greatest thing ever. I will never regret it.

   I love you all and I'm so grateful for all of your prayers and support. Keep it up :)

   Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Hess

Week 5: Here Comes the Sun Do Do Do Do :) (Sept. 2, 2013)

Well Hello there! Long time no talk hehe

   past week was Waaaaaaay better than last week. Last week was really frustrating because everyday my list of weaknesses and things to improve was getting bigger. There was something holding me back. it was like I had an invisible barrier in front of me and I had no idea what it was. But good news! I got it figured out and now I am so much happier. 

   I'm still striving to become more humble and teachable and forget myself. It's becoming easier and easier to focus on other people. I love that I can forget myself. 

   This past week, it rained for maybe the first two days. But then! The sun came out. Hallelujah! And it also got hot but that's ok cuz I love it when it's hot out. I have already started to get an awesome watch tan hehe

   Everyone still stares but the other day I saw a white old man that wasn't a missionary and I stared at him too so I guess I can understand how the people feel when they look at me. It's gonna be so weird to come home and be surrounded by white people. 

   One of the pieces of advice that Sister C gave me last week really stuck with me. She said that I need to stop thinking of myself as a foreigner. I am a Filipino now and I need to remember that always. I really am striving to become one of them and as I do so I can understand them better and know what they need. 

   I love the people here so much. All the people we're teaching have different problems and I love that we can help them figure out those problems through our message. It makes me so happy. 

   I love being a missionary. Greatest decision I ever made. At a past missionary meeting, Elder A said, "You must have done something great in the pre-existence to be called to the Olongapo mission." I really do feel blessed to be here. I love the people and I love my mission. I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth and I know that it is the only way to return to our Heavenly Father.

   Thank you for all your prayers and support. I love you all!

   Mahal ko kayo!

-Sister Hess

Week 4: Weekly Email from Barbie (Aug. 26, 2013)

Magandang umaga po!

   Sister Hess here with your local news from Masinloc, Zambales, Olongapo, Philippines :) 

This past week has been very interesting. I've learned a lot. The language is becoming easier to understand but when I speak it, my grammar is horrible.... I am constantly working on it....

   I've really tried this week to really listen to the people and try to understand. It really is becoming easier. 

There hasn't really been any flooding in my area. We're high up. The only adventures this week has been more mud. But! I bought a pair of pink rainboots to I can walk around without any problems now :) YAY! I love those boots.

   So this week, we had follow-up training. I got to see all my sisters from my district in the MTC and it was amazing to see them. We've all grown so much. It was kind of like when Alma runs into the sons of Mosiah to see them again.

   It's crazy to think that we've already been here a month. It's gone by so fast. But I'm still loving it and still working hard and because of that I can feel Heavenly Father's hand in my life. I've never felt closer to them than I do now. I know that they really help their missionaries.

   The people are still so amazing. I really want to become like them. They care about EVERYONE even if you're a different religion or just are different in general. I really hope that can rub off on me.

   Sister C and I are working hard together. She still tells me ways to improve every night and I'm really working hard to make sure that those things happen.

   So today, we have a zone activity :) I'm so excited. I get to wear jeans! Sister C thinks I'm crazy because wearing jeans is my favorite thing ever. I just hate wearing skirts constantly.

   The food is still amazing. I eat everything. Even if I don't know what it is. The food is definitely not a problem for me :)

   Ok so yup. That's this week. Thank you for all your prayers. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now and I know that the church is true. I love you all!

   Mahal kita!

-Sister Hess

Week 3: Weekly Email!!! (Aug. 19, 2013)

   So this week, because of the flood, EVERYTHING is muddy. On Tuesday, We decided to be geniuses and visit the investigators in Santa Rosario which is full of rice fields.... So! We had to march across the rice fields and I am a extreme klutz here so I kept getting my shoes stuck in the mud and ended up walking barefoot for most of it. It was actually really fun. A definite adventure if I do say so myself. 

We had mission prez interviews this week. They were fun. I love President Q. I know that he is called of God and I feel the spirit every single time he testifies to us. He's an amazing man. I'm so grateful that he is my mission president.

   Yesterday, I had to give a talk in church. Totally impromptu and it was about praying with faith. One of the sisters came up to me afterwards and thanked me and said that it was very inspirational. Cool :) 

It's very interesting here. We try to teach families but the couples are usually not married. It's very hard for people to get married here because it's so expensive. It's very sad for them.

   Yesterday was weird in the teaching department. We taught a man who was so prepared for us. That was really cool. I asked him to be baptized and he said he would! YAY! But after we went and taught two other investigators. The first is a 14 year old boy. We asked him to be baptized too and he say maybe. The last people we taught was the weirdest. They were very friendly but they were also very into their religion. They're Baptist. We tried to teach them but one of the men kept interrupting us and wanting to teach us the words of the Bible. He was very well versed in the Bible. He didn't want to hear what we had to say. He just wanted to debate. It made us very sad. I hate when people are hard-hearted and close-minded. We just keep praying for them.

   So yup. That was this last week. The food is still amazing and we're still good and happy. The main thing that I'm learning is that I have a lot of things to improve on in myself. I am proud and stubborn and I have a very strong personality. I am working on becoming more humble this week and more teachable. I'm trying to become more patient. I am constantly praying that I will be able to be humble and start focusing on the work right now. I need to learn to forget myself. So that's what I'm going to work on this week.

   I know that this church is true with all my heart. I know that Heavenly Father will help us with whatever we ask him for.

   I love you all and I miss you!

-sister Hess

Week 2! (Aug. 12, 2013)

   Sorry this is coming so late but it's kind of been flooding over here. We were told to stay home so we kind of got a day off... but not really. 

   Since we stayed inside I wore a t-shirt and jeans that whoooole day. It felt so good :)

   This might be really short but I'll try to make it as full of stuff as I can.

   First of all, the language is coming along pretty well. It's still really hard pero because I'm immersed in it I've learned more in the last week than I did my whole stay in the MTC. My kasama is really helping me too. She's pushing me and that's really what I need right now. We trade off in taking turns talking in the lessons. Most of what teach is in Taglish but that's ok because my kasama has my back. She takes good care of me and is always pushing me to talk to EVERYONE. Everyone stares at me. I'm so white! They think I'm beautiful. They will randomly come up to me and tell me that and they always want to touch my hair. The boys here are the funniest though. They will stop what their doing and just stare with their mouths open. Sobrang funny.

   Sister C says that if she had my beauty she would have thousands of investigators.

   It's been a bit frustrating this week because a couple of our investigators have decided to stop listening. I hate Satan. He always finds a way to bug us... Pero I know that Heavenly Father is in charge and he will make sure that everyone gets a chance to hear his gospel.

   Ummm what else. The food here is still good. It's raining a ton. I miss you all so much. I hope you have a great week!

   I'll talk to you again on Monday if the rain permits :P

   Mahal kita! The church is true, just so you know ;)

-Sister Hess

Week 1 in the Philippines (Aug. 5, 2013)

Hello!!!

   How is everyone? Happy p-day :) I'm finally here in the Philippines. We're in this little internet cafe thing right now in Iba.

   I'm serving in Masinloc at the moment. It's my first area. We're in the Santa Cruz zone.

   So. This week has been pretty crazy. Our flight to San Fran was delayed by an hour so we didn't get to hang out in Cali at all. They were very nice and held the plane for us. The flight to japan was really fun. Elder A, our travel leader, okayed Disney movies so I watched Lion king and Aladdin :) It was so nice to not think for a while. We only got to stay in the Tokyo Narita airport for an hour :/ and it wasn't the one that I thought we were going to stay in... Darn.

   The flight to manilla was really bumpy cuz we were in the back of the plane. But somehow we all slept through it. That was the only sleep I got the whole time. In Manilla we stayed in a hotel. We landed in Manilla at 9:30, got to our hotel at 10 and then we had to be ready to leave for the mission home at 3:30 in the morning. We slept for about 2 hours in the hotel.

   Needless to say, when I got to the mission home I was about ready to break down. I was so emotional! I've never been that emotional I think. our mission president and his wife are so nice. apparently our mission is the strictest in the Philippines so guess what? I'm wearing a dress right now. no jeans :( saddest thing I've ever heard. I'm gonna forget how to wear them.

   So when it was time to leave and go to our areas and I had to say goodbye to my sisters I was crying... Not fun. Everyone probably thought I was a bit baby.

   My kasama is Sister C. She's 4'9"! Ha! And she's never trained a foreigner before. She speaks very good english but she's always pushing me to speak Tagalog. Good thing too because I need all the pushing I can get. She's also learning a lot of patience from me.

   Our apartment was disgusting when we first got there. We're white washing here so Elders lived there last. We spent the first night cleaning. Good news though! We have an actual shower. I haven't had to shower out of a bucket :)

   The food here is really good too. Last night we had dinner at our neighbors house. They are the E's and they are an amazing family. Yes they are members. Sister E made spaghetti for us! Oh it was the best spaghetti I've ever eaten. reminded me of home.

   We've taught a lot of people. They are all so amazing. They live in the most humble circumstances but they are so happy. They are also really friendly and they think I look like a lifesize Barbie :P

   We stay out until 9 at night and by 8 i'm just exhausted. Every single night when we go to teach our last lesson, my eyes won't stay open. There have been a couple of times that I've actually fallen asleep for 30 seconds. It's really bad.

   We've ridden on every single form of transportation that we can. Jeepneys, trikes, and buses. And people always stare at me just cuz I'm so white. It's really funny.

   but I love it here. I really do. I love the people and the culture and I don't even notice the living conditions anymore. It's just what I'm gonna be in for the next 17 months.

   Sacrament meeting yesterday was fun. It's funny to hear the people try to sing. Yes they hold sacrament meeting in english and we sing english hymns. Hahaha these people can't really sing.... but it's nice of them to try :)

   My favorite part is when we walk around and they blast american music. Yesterday we were walking around and I hear What Makes You Beautiful. Oh it made me so happy :)

   Ok i think that's everything.

   I love you guys! Talk to you next week.

-Sister Hess

p.s. we only get mail and dear elders every 6 weeks :/ sad day. 

MTC Week 6 (July 27, 2013) - Last in the MTC

Life is great. We have less than 48 hours left. Man I'm so excited and so terrified at the same time.

Last night for the last hour of class, our substitute, Sister L, told us about her time there. She told us all these disgusting stories about bugs. Mypoor kasama is TERRIFIED of bugs and she almost started hyperventilating right there in her chair. I felt so bad for her.

And yes, I am definitely ready to "blow this popsicle stand." It's been great but I'm ready to teach REAL people and share the gospel with them. I'm also excited to actually become fluent in Tagalog. It's such a cool language. It's really hard for me to focus sometimes in class and I get super spazzy and start teasing the elders (doesn't help that they make it easy for me). Also I feel sorry for L. The Japanese speakers have to stay here for 9 weeks now... :P 

We got the package from that adorable sister. It was like Christmas over here. We are all so grateful to her. And yes we all wrote her a thank you letter and signed it :) We're such good girls haha

No, I haven't gotten your package yet. I've been praying so hard all yesterday and today that it'll come today. If I leave before I get it then they will forward it to me but I won't need that blanket in the Philippines.... Oh man I just keep praying...

I'm so glad A. likes the shirt. Do you think it helped him?

And no the other kids aren't gonna get shirts anytime soon but I'll make sure to get them stuff in the Philippines.

Super quick question. Did you send me a new debit card? I haven't gotten one at all and I'm getting a tad bit antsy. I don't really want to go to the Philippines without a way to get money. That just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.

Nice to know that T. is the next Harry Potter hahaha

 so Yeah, now i'll tell you about this last week. Monday was our last day with one of our teachers. Sister S. was flying to California to be with her family for her Birthday. We were all so sad that she had to leave us early. She seriously was an amazing teacher for us. We were definitely blessed with the teachers we got. We all know that they were meant to teach us. Oh! and my amazing kasama let me go play the piano for an hour and 15 minutes. Greatest day of my life. I played all of the songs that Sister S and Sister P had haha On Monday morning, Sister T and I taught J, our male investigator. It was the most amazing lesson ever. I invited him to be baptized and he said yes! Oh also, our female investigator is committed to be baptized too :) I forgot to tell you that last week. Seriously, I am constantly amazed that Heavenly Father is willing to take me, one of his flawed and unworthy daughters, and turn me into one of his servants and trust me with the rescuing of his children. I will never not be amazed I think.

Tuesday was our last devotional. It was good. I don't really remember much from it. I'm gonna have to go look up my notes...

Wednesday was hosting and the teaching experience. Both were really fun. Sister T and I got to teach a Japanese man. He looked just like Mr. Miyagi! It was crazy. But it was also really funny cuz he kept calling us cute and then he said that his friend that we received the referral from told him that we were going to sing for him. Ha! In his dreams :) But it was seriously so fun and sobrang nakakatawa.

Thursday, Brother C had us teach him as a class. We were stressing because we thought it was going to have to be all in Tagalog but it wasn't. He told us that he feels so insignificant sometimes and that he wants to give up certain things. We pretty much all went around the room and told him how much we loved him and what an influence he's been in our lives. It was so amazing. We made him cry hehe We also got the package from Sister Smith on this day too. Happy day for all of us.

Friday (yesterday) was in-field orientation. That's where you sit in a classroom from 8-6. A whole day. It was interesting because it felt just like EFY. How odd. But it was still fun. One of the teachers was from France and he had the most amazing accent ever. Also, all the sisters decided that they want to marry him hahaha

So this morning everyone's rushing to get packed and weigh their suitcases. At the beginning of being here I kind of wished that I'd brought more stuff but now that we're leaving I'm so glad that I don't have that much stuff. I'm pretty sure that both my suitcases will be less than 50 lbs but that's probably just cuz I'm sending home a lot of stuff to you guys. It's just nice to sit and relax while everyone around me freaks out hehe

Hey, can you possibly send me a bunch of those things that I don't have to the mission home in the Philippines? (you know... those things?) It would be really nice to have them....

Thanks!

Mahal kita! I think that's everything I wanted to tell you guys.

-Sister Hess

P.P.S. Elder F (he's sitting next to me and he's going to Baguio) says hi :)

P.P.P.S. He says he misses you

P.P.P.P.S I'll be calling the home phone on Monday morning. Not sure exactly what time but make sure that everyone's home, ok?

Salamat!