It's a great day to be alive :)

Good morning :) Mahal kita

Yes I did hear about that huge earthquake in Japan. Pretty scary. I heard rumors also that it caused a tsunami here in the Philippines (on the other side of Luzon). Well, sadly Sister Walker had to go home because of some back pain/health problems. So she is probably on her way to Mount Pleasant right now. That means that I'll be left alone in the apartment until Friday when Sister Lapana and Sister Dolojan go home on Tuesday next week. Kinda melancholy, but I'm sure this next transfer will be great.

On Thursday we had our zone conference in Dagupan with Elder Teh. I was called up to give a talk about teaching by the spirit, and I so shared about the importance of "purifying our heart" in order to teach by the spirit. The conference really left me with a great desire to live a more consecrated life.

So, sister Rowena was scheduled to be baptized this Saturday. She already passed her interview and it was all set, but then we found out that her marriage was not legal. It was more like a "cohabitation agreement contract." So that was disappointing. But it's okay because they're going to try to get that fixed. It'll just be postponed for a little bit. She is really excited to be baptized!

Well, both me and Sister Lapana have holes in the bottom of our shoes from walking so much. It's funny, we always come home with big brown spots on the back of our feet. We're so righteous - even our shoes are "holey" (that was for you, Lisa!) Have you ever tried aloe vera juice? it's yummy!

Here's the chorus to one of my favorite efy songs: I like the message :)

Fear is like the clouds that veil the earth from the sun,
Faith is like the morning rays that break with night is done,
And when the fear inside me says that all my hope is gone,
Faith in heaven lifts me up and shouts - "you've just begun."

Well, I love you very much. I know that this church is true. This life is sooooo important, and it's so easy to get distracted from the things that truly matter. Have a wonderful day! Keep smiling!

Ingat,
Rebecca

I love you!

It's a happy day! Thanks for the cheery emails! I'm excited to read them all in depth later today! Please send my thanks to all who sent birthday stuff. That was really sweet of you! Today we are in Dagupan (because sister Walker and I have to get an x-ray before coming home). I'm excited because Rowena, one of our investigators, is getting married tonight! And another investigator, Renaldo Balagot, is eagerly preparing to be baptized. Sister Jennifer Cardinoza also - though she needs to get married first as well. We taught sister Norma (the one who seemed unreceptive at first but is actually quite open). She had some concerns about the Book of Mormon because she told her pastor and he told her that Joseph Smith was not a true prophet. So we taught her the importance of asking Heavenly Father in prayer. I think it's interesting how easily people just believe what their pastor tells them rather than going to the source of all wisdom and asking Him directly. I really felt the spirit guide us as we taught her, and at the end, she teared up a bit and committed to continue to read the Book of Mormon and found out the truth for herself.

On the bus I met a really sweet girl about my age named Rhia. I had been praying to meet someone on the bus who really needed the gospel that day. And in the morning I felt I should bring an extra Book of Mormon. Well she sat next to me and we became fast friends. It turns out she's studying nursing, and graduation is soon but she's not sure she'll pass, so it's been really stressful for her lately. One of her classmates is Mormon. She is the 8th of 10 children of a single mom, who is working abroad. two of her siblings died. I showed her a picture of our family and of the temple, and told her about how families can be together forever. Her eyes lit up with hope, and I gave her a Book of Mormon and told her it would help her through the hard times. She gladly accepted it. It was a really edifying conversion, and I really feel like it was the time in her life when she was most prepared to hear about the restored gospel. I'm happy!

Well, this week my testimony has really been strengthened of the power of prayer. Prayer really does make a big difference in how much we and those around us are blessed. I like what it says in the bible dictionary about how prayer secures for us blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. I also think it's interesting how it says that prayer is a form of work. I like the quote that says, "Pray as if everything depends on God, and then get up and work like everything depends on you." So I've been studying a lot in the Book of Mormon about how prophets received answers to their prayers, and I've discovered that each of us can receive answers that are just as clear and direct from the Lord, in the exact same way that they did. It just takes a lot of practice trying to figure out how the Holy Ghost works and trying to become accustomed to his voice. I love the account in Ether about the brother of Jared. I think it teaches us a lot about how important prayer is. Jared was able to receive very specific answers to his prayers to know what the Lord wanted him to do. His prayers also have a great effect in blessing him and his family to receive blessings they may not have otherwise received. Then they halt in their journey on the seashore for four years, and finally the Lord chastens him for three hours for forgetting to pray. On my mission, one of the first things we always do is teach investigators how to pray. It's interesting how many people don't understand how. One of my favorite things is when we teach the first lesson and then invite them to give the closing prayer. Afterwards, you can see how excited they are - they really feel a difference when they learn to pray the right way.

Preach My Gospel is not just for missionaries. It's for everyone. It can answer pretty much any question you have and it is a great tool for life! Conference talks are amazing!

I love being a missionary! I love the Philippines! I love my companion, Sister Lapana. She's great! I love the gospel! We're so blessed! I love you! Thank you for everything!

Love always, Rebecca

P.S. A million thanks Alex, I love you! Your emails today sure brightened my day!

Kamusta!

Hello from Binmaley!
Thanks so much for the birthday wishes, etc.! Sister Lapana, Sister Walker, and Sister Dolojan and I made homemade ice cream and pasta on Tuesday. We brought it to our district meeting, which meets in Aguillar every Tuesday morning :)

This week was fine. Sister Lapana is a great companion. She is very genuine, down-to-earth, and humble. On Saturday we did a workshop for all the leaders in our ward, to help get the ward mission process going. We also talked about how counseling can be a revelatory process, if we "put off the natural man" (humility, patience, respect, letting everyone express their feelings, and avoiding debating/shouting. If we strive to invite the Holy Ghost into our meetings, it will flow more smoothly. For some reason that's been somewhat of a challenge here. Sometimes it seems more like a city council meeting ;) Hehe, well it was interesting to say the least. I think we may need to do a few more workshops perhaps. We've got a very good dedicated bishop and ward mission leader.

As far as investigators go, we found a new lady named Norma Alejo, who seems very much prepared for the gospel. She is already making quite a sacrifice to attend another church weekly (in a much farther location than the one in Binmaley) so we are thinking she will be a great strong member of the church once she gains a testimony that it is true. At first, she seemed closed-minded and hard hearted, but as it turns out, she had lots of questions, and has already read the first part of 1 Nephi and wants to read the whole Book of Mormon. Yay!

We also found an elderly man, Renaldo Balagot, because his grand-daughter came to church on her own. He was taught by sister missionaries before, and he eagerly asked us "how long until I can be baptized?" on the first visit! I'm excited when investigators are excited to take the next step!

Ok, Well I'm doing great here in Binmaley. It's a lot hotter and there's a lot more mosquitos here in the Lingayan zone than in my other areas. I think I heard that Lingayan is actually the hottest zone in the mission. Ok, well, got to go! I love you!
Love, Rebecca

P.S. you might want to check the time difference again, because some of your emails don't end up in my inbox until the following week :) so just a thought to consider if you have any questions you need answering right away. Love ya :)

Email from February 21: Maraming Salamat!

Thanks for the birthday song video!! Haha! Holy smokes Jennifer and Jessica, you both look so old! I'm really shocked! Jennifer looks strikingly like Lisa all of the sudden! And Jessica, you look so tall and mature! Looks like you haven't lost any little-girl energy though, so that's good! Well, I hope you had a great week. I sure did. I'm here in the Lingayan zone doing great! Lisa, Happy Birthday on Saturday! We have a big cockroach who is hiding somewhere in our room. I tried to hit him with a broom but then he disappeared. He tried to cuddle up with me in bed the other night! errggg... ;)

This week we've been trying to seek out the inactive members and invite them back, and help new investigators through them. I've noticed a lot this week how important it is to point people to Christ. You can never go wrong in pointing them to the Savior. It always is sure to bring in the spirit into any lesson. One of my favorite investigators, Rowena, (19) is getting married on March 5 to the son of our ward mission leader. She's a very sweet girl. We committed her to be baptized on March 19, and she's really excited and her faith has grown a lot recently. Yay! It's amazing to be a missionary and to have so many people open up to you every day and share their. you get to observe a lot of people in a lot of different situations, and they look to you with trust for advice. My testimony has really been strengthened that Heavenly Father gives you what you need to say right in the moment you need it, to help someone. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the most wonderful and precious gift anyone can enjoy in this life. I wish all people could understand that.

There's a path we have to walk at night a lot, and they say there are snakes on either side, so we have to keep in the middle, or we'll get bit. kinda scary. But | was thinking how that's kind of like life. We've got to keep on the "straight and narrow" path and not make any deviations from keeping the commandments, or we might end up getting bit.

Serving a mission is the best thing ever! It's like an incubator for spiritual growth. You learn so much. And the more you learn, the more you realize you still need to learn. There's something about serving a mission that really changes your perspectives about life and realigns your priorities. It's really good. I've also been thinking about the difference between "happiness" and "fun." I've observed a lot of people who try to find happiness by having fun. While it's true that happiness can encompass fun, fun alone will not assure us true happiness. There's a difference. Happiness is lasting, whereas fun is a fleeting thing that leaves as soon as the music, lights, glamor, and noise all fade away. It's really sad because I think it's easy to deceive ourselves and become blinded to the fact that we are not truly happy, as long as we are absorbed in our little world of chasing after one "fun moment| to another. Everyone wants to be happy. Everyone wants to feel loved. But it's crucial to step back and realize that concerts, food, parties, drugs, material things, etc. can never produce true happiness. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can. And that's what we as missionaries are on an errand to help people discover for themselves.

I love you!! Thanks for all the wonderful emails!!

Love always, especially you :)
Rebecca

I've got a better idea!

Hey! I've got a better idea! So, I love the Philippines! and I don't want to leave! here's the dilemma - I miss and love all of you tremendously (especially you!)...but I also love being a missionary here in the Philippines...I feel like I just want it to keep going on forever. and the reality is starting to hit me that I'll be coming home soon and it kind of is melancholy. so how about this: why don't you all just come on down over here, and then I'll petition to President Jensen to let me stay here forever, and arrange to go on splits with each of you everyday! and I'll teach you all Tagalog and we'll build a community of bamboo huts and eat rice and lumpia and chicken curry everyday, and live happily ever after! Ya, I think that sounds like a grand idea! Yippee! Hehehe.

So I just got transferred to my last area! Binmaley, Lingayan Zone! And I'm so happy because my companion is Sister Lapana, who I already know from way back in the MTC! And we've been in the same zone for most of our mission and we're already friends! She goes home in 5 weeks. And I'm also super happy because we live with two of my favorite other sisters, Sister Dolojan (my former companion, who also goes home in 5 weeks) and Sister Walker (my batchmate from the MTC from Mount Pleasant). Life is great!! They speak Pangalato here. It reminds me a lot of Dagupan, but more fish ponds, coconut trees, and windy. We're right next to the ocean.

Guess what Jennifer and Jessica! We are teaching 11-year old identical twins right now. They thought it was neat when I told them I have 11-year old twin sisters too :)

Happy Birthday Mommy! And Happy Valentines Day!! Thank you Alex for the valentine's video!

As far as wedding fun goes, please let Alex know I'm sorry I haven't answered his question for a few weeks. some of the emails come later than when I log on, and It's hard sometimes to remember all the questions in emails. how about you forward him this secret message: jkasdkjasdjkl;asdjkl;Junejkl;dasjkl18kjl;dsajkl9:45jklasdjkasd.... hehe!

Question: When can I sign up for fall classes? I really need to know when the date is so I can make arrangements with my mission president and see how I can get that done. Could you find out for me??

I love you!
Rebecca

Greetings from Urdaneta Philippines!

Hello wonderful family (& friends)!

Today is a great day! Being a missionary really puts life into perspective. I love it here. You know, I've been thinking a lot about the importance of strengthening others. After the things that happened last week, and many other experiences lately, I've come to realize how important it is that we are aware of those who need help. I think it's easy sometimes to just assume that the people we associate with are doing ok. But a lot of times, they are really having a hard time and need help, and we just don't know it. I've learned that it's good to treat every person we meet as if they are in great need of encouragement, help, or a friend. There are those among us who are wavering in their faith, on the brink of going inactive/off the deep end, or struggling with low self-esteem, but too often we just assume they're fine, and it's not until later down the road that we realize they might have needed our love and help to keep them on the right path. I think if we really understood how much of a positive influence we might have on someone's life, it would totally change how we view our visiting teaching and home teaching assignments at church. We would be so much more eager and take more seriously our responsibility to serve, nurture, strengthen, and teach. Just some thoughts.

I really admire Sister Nielsen for her willingness to serve a mission! She was so determined to go stateside and she didn't ever want to have to learn a foreign language. In fact, she changed her major to a major that didn't require a foreign language. She's tried to avoid it her whole life. And on top of that, she's a germ-freak (worse than Lisa). But she's here, and she's such a good sport. And she's surviving and learning the language. I'm so proud of her!

I love you! We're doing good here in Urdaneta :) I'm guessing I'll be transferred to another area on Friday, but of course, we won't find out until Wednesday.

I love you lots!

Love, Rebecca

The back of our church building where the mission home is being built