okay- shoutouts :)
Gyo, Candice, Deidre, Valerie, Melissa Everett, Madd, Mars, Sister Christensen, Maya, Diane, John, Mom, Dad, Kaycee,
KEEP DEAR ELDERING ME. i got dear elders from gyo and candice and i was SO happy. dear elder me more often :)
Okay- this week went by fast on some days and slow on friday & saturday. im gonna just be completely truthful in my emails that way you all know whats happening here.
On monday after i got to skype the family and john, which btw was awesome. i miss all of your faces, we went to the SM which is the mall here. i bought a few things, like groceries and stuff for my 72 hour kit. it was stressful. pday stresses me out. i feel like i dont have time to do anything. haha. i went to crocs at SM cus i need to get another pair of flats, but dont worry. the biggest size is 9 and that wont fit me. so whenever you can- NO RUSH, send me more flats. the same ones would be fine :) after that we bought more groceries and fruit and stuff and went home. i hand washed my clothes- which only took an hour but thats an hour i need on pday so tomorrow i am paying a nanay in our ward to wash my clothes. its 150 pesos or like 4 dollars(ish) that night we had FHE at Bishop Santos' house. his wife made us chicken curry, which was soo good. ill send pictures of everything. :)
on tuesday i cooked lunch for the house. just gulay, chicken and rice. lots of veggies (potatoes, carrots, green beans, cabbage) it was really good. i also sent out two letters and two postcards. let me know when they get to vegas. mail shouldnt take too long im told. so maybe youll get them this week. i hope. i will try to send a letter each week. I taught a lil 9 year old, bishops niece all by myself. her name is Juliana Liwanag (RJs sister) and she is adorable. she reminds me of Jenelle Libatique. She is always reading the BOM and always wanting to be taught. she is helping me with my tagalog. haha we also taught RJ that day. we asked him what hymn he wanted to sing before the lesson and he chose count your many blessings. sister dullete asked him why he chose that song and he said how soo blessed he is. it really took me back for a second because being here at first was really hard, trust me it still is, and im still adjusting, but here people live completely differently. they dont have all the things that i think are necessary in life and they are so happy. worldly things dont matter. the gospel is what matters. i literally could have nothing but the gospel and be happy. it is the only thing that really matters. the priesthood, the temple, the scriptures, prayer, those things matter, not whether i have a stove, a washing machine, shoes, air conditioning. regardless- i am blessed because i am a member of the church. i get to spend forever and ever with my family, i have the opportunity to communicate with my heavenly father anytime. i am blessed. we taught mario santos- hes less active and disabled. also taught a family preparing for baptism- Alma and Michelle a mom and daughter, christian the son wasnt there that day- but they will all three get baptized on June 8th. Also we taught two women- both named gloria and about 10 little kids running around in the neighborhood. haha i love teaching. my tagalog isnt great. but its coming. PRAY FOR ME TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF TONGUES. i need it. i have faith that heavenly father will bless me with the language- but i get so frustrated because i want to say so many things and still cant. it progresses everyday. i have only been here really like 2 weeks so i know i am just being impatient. i have faith in the faith heavenly father has in me. he sent me here because i can do this.
on wednesday was my 1 week mark of being here. we had DDM and i got to meet my district leaders and zone leaders. plus i got to see sister marcucci. seeing here is seriously the best. i miss her all the time. shes become such a huge blessing in my life. afterwards the APs drove us all to the SM and we went to KFC. which btw is alot better in america. haha there are limited choices. but rice with EVERYTHING. haha we taught 6 lessons that day and i tried to OYM (open your mouth) more. it helps me with my tagalog. i watched this church movie called "Mountain of the Lord" watch it- but its really good and one thing i liked was that Joseph Smith said that the saints should be a record keeping people. i seriously make sure i write in my journal every night. it is so important for me to remember these experiences that i have and especially to have a record of it because i want my kids and their kids to be able to understand how important the gospel is to me and what i really feel.
on thursday i was really frustrated. i cant sleep through the entire night ever. i wake up no matter what at 3 or 4 and it takes me forever to fall back asleep. i was even taking sleeping pills but it isnt doing anything. pray that i can sleep. i need to sleep. hahah. also on thursday i was SOOOO grateful that Rose bought me all of those wet wipes. haha. they are soo useful. we taught Jusmin Noto on the Holy Ghost, Juliana Liwanag, and a couple the Ramil family. they are less active. and the Pimintuan Family. they are also less active but came to church on sunday! HUGE DEAL. also there was a HUGE spider above my bed i cried. sister dullete killed it for me, haha
on friday we taught gloria, Ephraim, and Ilijiah- she is preparing for baptism. The end of june. and Anjulie Noto. i am sooo grateful for my cold shower. btw. it is so needed. i sweat like crazy here. and btw i have SO many bug bites. they itch like no other. what do i do about them??
on saturday i had a huge breakdown. i was frustrated because i feel like im going to be here forever and that i will never be fluent and so many other things. i was just really lonely and having a super hard day. but i was reading the BOM in 2 nephi chapt 3:13 and i felt a lil better. i am weak right now- but the lord stregthens me as i continue to pray for his help. the entire chapt- chapt 4 too helpeed me alot. i trust in the lord. it is hard. everyday i feel like i cant do this, but i am trying. i am doing my best. my breakdown was in the morning and i seriously pleaded with heavenly father to help me. help me not to be homesick, to have strength and continue to progress in tagalog. it was a hard hard morning. we went to teach juliana after that and i committed her to baptism- july 6. i was so happy. i felt the spirit like crazy. after that, and after seeing her so happy about having a baptism date i felt better. we taught the Deocampo family that are getting baptized and walked in the rain for 45 min to our next lesson. i am SO deaf still. its so hard for me to hear especially in tin roof houses when the rain is pouring and the people here speak either so quietly or so fast that i cant understand. hopefully my hearing is healed. thatd help haha. that night we had MCM at bishops and ate dinner there too. i was SO grateful for treys bag. i had to buy a new umbrella cus both of the ones i got in the package broke already. haha i was soaked but thank goodness treys bag is waterproof. i love it. and everyone wants one haha.
Yesterday was really good. sunday is seriously so needed especially after my breakdown. bishop asked us sisters to do the special musical number, i played if the savior stood beside me and my housemates and companion sang it in tagalog. i also played the piano during sacrament. sunday school bishop taught a lesson on prayer and i was reminded of how huge of a blessing it is in my life. as a missionary i have learned to rely on the lord more than ever before. when i feel completely alone he is there to lift me up. its difficult exercising my faith but i know i am being blessed. we taught Christian after church and i cried during my testimony. i cry often. its stupid. haha. but it was a really spiritual lesson. also we had a ward council meeting and watched this video on the priesthood keys. so good. i love that we have a living prophet on earth and that the priesthood is here. it is SUCH A HUGE BLESSING!!!!! last night a family in the ward fed us. so much food. and soo good.
today we had a zone activity and played games. and i got to see sister marcucci again. i also got to see president and sister martino. i talked to president a little about my breakdown and he just advised me to be patient with myself. that it will take time to get adjusted but that i am supposed to be here. i know that. the gospel is so important to me and i love this work. its hard and frustrating and so many other things. but so rewarding. i am so grateful for this opportunity.
some answers to questions::
No, the members dont really feed us. i eat lunch around 12 everyday with our house and dont eat again til i get home from tracting that day. Sometimes members will give us snacks or a few members will feed us but def not everyday.
the people are wesome. the kids are the cutest and everyone is so kind. i feel safe so no worries.
elyssa- get mesh or drilux.
things i need: PROTEIN. i am so afraid my hair is going to all fall out because i have like no protein in my system. also crocs and a few journals if possible. i am almost done with my first one. john- i need a new one from you also. i need more face wipes. send me pictures from my farewell and luau please.
did my gym membership get canceled? and my tuition? old navy credit card? SOMEONE CALL WELLS FARGO and make sure they know i am in the philippines. i wanna use my debit card to buy new clothes- my skirts are too long and its too hot. but im afraid it wont work. so just call.
also- incase you were wondering. no one has teeth here. im so afraid my teeth are going to fall out so i brush and floss and take calcium vitamins like crazy. hahaha
top 10!
10. i committed juliana to baptism and she accepted!!
9. i cooked my first meal here and it tasted like something nanay betty would cook!
8. i eat mangoes everyday!
7. i finished the Doctrine and Covenants and im almost done through 2 nephi since ive been here in the Bom
6. rainy season is starting and im so happy cus the sun isnt a fire beam on my head when its rainy haha
5. even though i feel so inadequate, my tagalog is coming- slowly but surely
4. we had 5 dinner appts this past week. food is bomb.
3. i lost all the weight i gained in the MTC. haahahha
2. i had lumpia on saturday!
1. the lord answered my prayers and really comforted me this week. when i felt completely alone. i am so grateful for prayer.
i miss you all so much. i love you all!! dear elder me. and continue to pray for me. Mahal na Mahal kita!!!
Sister Littlefield
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