Week 35

It was really nice being able to see and talk to a few of you on
Christmas! I'm sorry I didn't get to talk to any of you more than
just a couple minutes. I think it's funny how whenever we try to
skype, we spend more time trying to figure out the video and sound,
etc. than actually talking. I would have been happy with just a
phonecall, haha. I was surprised at the emotions I experienced while
talking to you... I can't even describe it. It was definitely
bitter-sweet and I'm still trying to get over it... but I'm doing well
and still loving my experiences here. I hope you all had a very merry
christmas and that you have a very happy new year. New Years here is
much the same I think as in other places. There have been parades
going on... I haven't gotten to see any though. Our curfew tonight is
5, so we won't have to proselyte among the fireworks and drunk people.
This week... I really can't think of anything to write about. We
don't really have very many super progressing investigators. We have a
couple who are progressing, but are waiting for the funds so they can
get married. That's the case for a lot of our investigators. They
just aren't married yet.
I am so grateful for you all. Continue to live the gospel. I love
you all so much and am excited about all the experiences and things
that are going on in your lives. Thanks for everything. Have a
wonderful new year! Love,
Heidi

Week 34

Dear Family,
Merry Christmas! I wish I could talk to you ALL this Christmas! :D
But I am excited to hopefully skype at least a couple of you. I hope
that each of you have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.
Caroling - Caroling is different here. Lately, we've been hearing a
lot of kids caroling. Only kids. They go caroling more like
trick-or-treating, hoping for money in return. It's sad because
sometimes if the people don't want to give anything, they yell at the
kids to go away. :( When they came to our house, we gave them
crackers because we're not allowed to give them money. They were
super cute though, they made their own little shakers and instruments
out of smashed bottle lids and other things that they found. They
were singing mostly songs I didn't know. At first, I didn't realize
they were caroling until I heard Jingle Bells, haha.
Gas Stations - there are always workers standing outside. Usually
young men in uniforms, waiting to fell up the tricyle or whatever.
They always wave when I pass by. There are also guards, policemen, at
the entrance of almost every store. They are always super nice and
smile and wave at me too. They don't normally stop anyone, unless
they want to look real quick inside your bag. Restaurants and all
stores have really good service. One example, at Jollibee, which I
thought was just a normal burger restaurant, where you put your own
tray and garbage away, right? I tried, and everyone looked at me like
I was crazy, haha. At other grocery stores, there are usually workers
following us closely just in case we need anything. I don't know if
that's normal for everyone, or just because I'm a foreigner, but the
service everywhere is always super good!
Trash - On Friday we did CSP at our apartment, in our front yard. The
Elders came to help. We pulled out tons of weeds and swept up the
leaves, etc. And put everything in a huge pile and burned it all. A
big bonfire. That's how we get rid of all our trash. Once it fills
up in the house, we just open the door and throw it into a pile in the
backyard and burn it later... I think maybe that's illegal in America?
But that's how we do it here. In Roxas, I think there was a garbage
man who came. I'm not sure though. The apartment took care of it.
Here, we have a house.
I saw a Christmas Tricycle Parade the other day. People had decorated
their tricycles with Christmas lights and other things and at night,
they were all in a long line, driving through town. It was pretty
cool. I wish I could have taken a picture of it. We've also seen a
lot of funerals. People walk behind the car holding the deceased
person - instead of driving in a line, like in America. They don't
have cars, so they just all walk to the cemetary together.
We've had a few funny moments. The other week, Sister Patricio
slipped and fell down a muddy hill. (I think that's just their luck
being my companion, haha) We had to go home so she could change.
Yesterday as we were climbing down the same hill in the dark with only
the light of our phone to guide us, Sister saw a frog and got scared.
She jumped behind me and I led the way, with her clinging to my arm
the whole way. It was super funny.
We had a Branch Chrismas Party the other day and it was a success!
Luther, an investigator that we had only taught once before came and
the members were really good at fellowshipping him. He came to church
the next day too and plans to come again next week and bring his two
kids. I'm excited for him.
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and remember Jesus Christ
and our Heavenly Father and the wonderful gifts that they have given
to us. I love you all and miss you. Take Care always,
Love,
Heidi

Week 33

I don't know what to write about this week. I was able to watch the
Christmas Devotional yesterday, which was really good!  I love the
first Presidency!  Oh, I also gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting
yesterday.  It was about the atonement and I'm pretty sure it was in a
mix of several languages.  I read scriptures in English, and used a
mix of Tagalog, Ilonggo and Kinaraya.  Maybe one of these days I'll
get transferred to Kalibo where I'll have to learn Aklanon too.  It
went pretty well though, my language is definitely improving!  Thank
you for your prayers!
We had a service project on Friday.  We didn't know what it was going
to be until we got there so I was a little unprepared.  We were
pulling weeds and trees and bushes... clearing the land completely...
and a lot of it!  I worked as hard as I always do when I have a fun
project like that... but as a result I got dozens of nasty blisters.
I took my clothes to a shop this week because I couldn't wash them
myself, haha.  I felt a little unlike myself for the next couple days
because I couldn't give people that firm grip of mine :D  My handshake
is like my trademark!  It's okay though, they are healing nicely :)
We have one investigator who lives in the most beautiful place I've
ever seen.  Every time I walk around the corner to their house, my jaw
drops.  I've tried to take a picture of the scene but my camera
doesn't do it justice... it's too bad. I'll just have to take a
picture in my mind so I never forget how pretty it is.  Sorry you
can't see it, haha.
I love you all, take care!
Heidi

Week 32

Hello family, how are you all?

What has happened this week? I don't know... lots.
I made an observation... back home I always ate a ton, right? I was a
bottomless pit and I ate and ate and ate, as long as there was food in
front of me. My appetite here has changed a lot. I hardly eat
anything anymore, even when I love the food! I think it's because I'm
not as active as I used to be. Even though I exercise every morning
and walk all day, the intensity level is way lower. It's the opposite
for Sister Patricio. She never exercised at home and now she eats a
lot more than she used to. It's weird. I still feel healthy and look
the same, I think..., but I just don't need all the calories I used to
need I guess. Hopefully when I go home, everything will go back to
normal. I played soccer a couple weeks ago and was able to play just
as hard as I always do when playing sports, but ended up getting
really sore, haha.

Here in the Philippines people want to be white. White is beautiful.
It's the opposite in America, where everyone wants to be tan. Where
we have tanning lotion and like to be out in the sun to get darker,
here people wear whitening lotion and always carry umbrellas with them
in fear of becoming darker. Interesting the differences, huh? :D By
the way... I'm not getting any tanner here. :( I thought I would, but
for some reason I don't think I am.

We had District Conference yesterday. President Pagaduan and Sister
Pagaduan came to speak as well as the Cebu Temple President and his
wife. I was surprised to find out that the Cebu Temple President is
President Pagaduan's father! It was a nice little family reunion for
them all! :D They definitely look alike! And his mother too. It was
fun sitting next to one of our deaf members and trying to translate
for her in sign language. I'm getting better! :D

The Karay-a is still a challenge for me a little bit. They understand
my Ilonggo just fine, but I have a hard time understanding their
dialect sometimes. And my companion speaks mostly Tagalog in lessons
which makes things even more challenging sometimes. But it's getting
better. The Karay-a is fun to learn.

This testimony will be mostly Ilonggo, but with some Karay-a mixed in.
Kamaan ko nga matuod ang simbahan. Nagbayad si Jesucristo para
kanaton tanan. Kon magbasa kita kang libro ni mormon adlaw-adlaw, kag
sundon ang mga kasuguan, mabaton naton duro nga bugay. Kamaan ko nga
kon magsalig kita sa Ginuo kag mabaton ang ebanghelyo ni Jesucristo,
makabalik kita kanaton nga amay sa langit kag mabaton ang kabug-usan
kang kalipayon. Makabalik kita kana bilang mga pamilya para sa walay
katubtuban. Matuod gid and ebanghelyo kag importante gid nga magsimba
kita kada Dominggo. May duro nga pagtilaw kag problema sini nga
panahon, pero kon may pagtuo kita kay Jesucristo kag sundon ang mga
kasuguan, malampuasan naton ang aton mga pagtilaw. May ara kita mga
problema para mangin baskog, pero kon hindi kita padayon hasta sa
katubtuban, basi madula naton ang aton panaksihon. Padayon kamo kag
magpangamuyo pirme para mangin lapit sa Dios. Salamat gid sa tanan,
Halong kamo,
Palangga ko kamo,
Sister McClellan

Week 31

Jumping at the beach with Sister Schocker!

Dear Family,
How was your week? I had a super good week, which involved more traveling.  I played soccer on Monday, which was the first time I had played any sports since the MTC.  I played hard and ended up sore all week long... :(  but I loved it all the same, even though soccer isn't my favorite sport.

On Wednesday, we traveled to Lapaz for our
Christmas Conference. We had to wake up at 3am! The car ride was actually really fun.  The road was the windiest road I have ever been on, but one of the elders brought their guitar, so we were able to
play and sing songs the whole way there.  It felt like home :D
The Conference was really good too.  It was really fun to see all the
other missionaries and to watch their skits.  We did a skit too, but
of course all I did was play the piano... that's what I get for having

Baptism - I feel huge next to them!!!

that talent... joke lang, I love having that talent.  I also had a mini solo singing at the end, so I got to use that talent as well. At the end of the conference, we also had a gift exchange.  It's
Christmas already!! :D  They also fed us lunch, but I think we must have eaten something bad because when we got home that night, all 4 of us sisters were sick. It didn't last long though.  I've been so tired ever since coming here to Antique.  I've been sleeping every spare minute and it's not helping.  It might have something to do with our dogs and chickens and roosters and neighbors who are noisy all night long.  I sleep right by the window which we can't close.  It's okay though, somehow I'm still making it through every day and enjoying

Conference - The sister standing next to me is Sister Patricio, my new
companion!

them. :D
The language Karay-a is coming.  I still have a hard time understanding sometimes, but it's pretty close to Ilonggo. The switch keeps the mission interesting!  Speaking of which, the mission is the best thing ever.  Of course every once in a while I have the longing to go home, but it's only a small part of me.  Yes the mission is hard, I miss you all and the comforts of life, but I'm not here for myself.  If I was, I would have had my fun and gone back home by now.  I am here for a greater purpose, which outweighs any inconvenience or
selfish thought.  There's no way I'm going home early.  Besides I love
it here.  I can't make up my mind if it's going by fast or slow.  At
the end though, I know it will be too soon.

Yesterday I ate a snail... yuck!  I sucked out the juice and I
actually thought it tasted good, and then I wondered what it was and
took a closer look.  It was at the deaf family's house.  I looked at
it a little closer and it looked kind of like a snail!  I
fingerspelled it to one of them, asking if that's what it was and they
nodded!! I'm grateful I know how to fingerspell! After that, I didn't
eat any more, haha.  They also fed me this bamboo soup stuff.  That
was good too! They said it came from the bamboo from their house!
Interesting, huh?  Also at that house, they were really admiring my
arm hair.  People here don't really have arm hair and I have quite a
bit... they were all pulling at it and feeling it and pretending to
sleep on it, haha.  I was laughing so hard, but also fet a little bit
uncomfortable, haha

I was studying this week about virtue.  Virtue originates in our
innermost thoughts and desires.  It is a pattern of thought and
behavior based on high moral standards.  A good way to judge where we
are at in our level of virtue is to ask ourselves "What do I think and
do when I believe that no one is watching?"  If you ever have
unrighteous thoughts in your mind, quickly put them out of your mind
by focusing on righteous, uplifting thoughts.  Obey the commandments
and counsel of church leaders and if you make a mistake, repent
quickly and pray to God for strength to overcome temptations.  I think
by keeping our eyes single to the glory of God, and trying to improve
ourselves each day, we will be able to continually focus on righteous
things.  When I am tempted, I try to remember my goal to return to
live with my father in heaven again and remember that even if no one
else knows, He does.  We will both know the choices that I make and I
would hate to disappoint Him.  I want to always please God and remain
worthy of His trust.
I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you always remember who
you are, children of God.  I love you all!
Halong,

Heidi

Week 30

Wow, there is way too much to write about, I don't know where to
start.  First of all, Congratulations Daniel and Jennifer on your
wedding!  I thought about you all day yesterday and the day before...
haha. I'm glad it was a success :D
So... they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in the Philippines, but the
other Americans in my apartment decided to celebrate ourselves.  We
bought Jolibee and ate root beer floats and slept downstairs.  It was
fun!  that night, we found out that Sister Schocker is going to train!
 Exciting for her!  So, that meant that on Thursday, she had to travel
to Iloilo for a training meeting and I was left in a threesome with
the other sisters.  It also meant I was for sure going to transfer.
Sure enough, I found out Wednesday night that I would be transferring.
 So, early Friday morning, the three of us and the zone leaders
traveled to Iloilo for the transfer meeting.  The new missionaries
haven't gotten here yet because for some reason their visas were
delayed or something... so for the next few days until they arrive,
Sister Schocker will be in a threesome with the other sisters.  I on
the other hand have been transferred to Antique, San Jose.  The ride
here was so beautiful!  I thought Roxas was the best thing ever and
the rest of my mission would be dull in comparison, but just the drive
here got me excited.  We were following the beach the whole way until
we got to the forest area.  It was SO beautiful.  I love it here so
much already.  Yesterday, we were walking to someone's house and when
we turned the corner, my jaw dropped at the view.  I'm definitely
going to get a picture of that before I leave here.  So... the
language here is Kinary-a.  It's a little different, and I was super
scared at first when I found out I would have to learn a new dialect,
but they seem to understand my Ilonggo pretty well and I'm picking up
on the new dialect pretty quickly.  My new companion is Sister
Patricio.  She's super sweet, and my first Filipina companion.  She's
almost done with her mission... in missionary terms, I'm "killing
her."  She goes home in February?  But she's super good, and I'm sure
I'm going to learn a whole lot from her and how to become a much
better missionary.
Yesterday was the primary program at church.  They were so cute, but
small in number. It reminded me of primary programs back home when
there are usually so many kids!! We are actually in a branch, and the
other sisters that we live with are in the same branch as us, just a
different area.  In our apartment, I am the only American and the
other 3 are Filipina.  They are always speaking Tagalog in the
apartment to each other so maybe I'll get a lot better at my Tagalog
as well while staying here.  I replaced Sister Bowen here, my
companion in the MTC.  She was transferred to Kalibo, where they speak
Aklanon, the hardest dialect... I wish her good luck! :D Their
apartment is really nice.  My companion and I don't have a real
bedroom... but it works really well.  There is a big wooden board in
the middle of the living room that separates our room and the door is
a curtain.  It's nice :)
I met one family here... I'm not sure if they're related or not
actually, but they are active members and they are all deaf.  It's so
much fun to talk to them.  I'm pretty sure with one of them I learned
more sign language in half an hour than I did in my one semester in
high school so long ago.  They are SO much fun!  I am excited to
continue to learn more sign language from them as I stay here and when
I go home, I'll be able to sign to those of you who know sign
language! :D
Oh wow, I just forgot something that's kind of important... the day
after I got here, we had a baptism!  Sister Glory Dee?  She's 17 years
old and super active and good!  She was baptized with another woman
who was pregnant and due NEXT WEEK!  That baby will be able to say
he/she was baptized twice! haha.  Both of them were so happy and I
just love attending baptisms.  If any of you haven't attended a
baptism recently, go to the next one in your ward!  They are really
nice... and help me remember the day I was baptized and what it felt
like.
I am so grateful to have a family who loves each other and supports
each other in all that they do.  Some people don't have that blessing
in their lives.  Thanks to each of you who have impacted my life in
some way or other... and all of you have. :)  Can I just say again,
that missionary work is like the best thing ever?? :D  Sorry, once
again, I am unprepared for pictures.  Maybe next week.  Love you all!
Halong!
Sister McClellan

Week 29

Hello wonderful family!

So, I might be getting transferred this week.  I won't know for sure
until Wednesday night? But, it's pretty likely.  I'm super sad!!! I
don't want to leave this area!!  I just love the people and the area
so much more every day!  I would be perfectly happy staying in Roxas
my whole mission.  I don't even really like going on exchanges
anymore.  I used to think they were fun... and still do... but before
it didn't make a difference to me who I was teaching or where I was
because I didn't really know anyone.  Now though I really care about
these people and I don't want to miss one opportunity to teach them.
We have so many new investigators as well and I want to see them
progress and be baptized!!!  So... hopefully I don't transfer yet.
I'll find out soon.  We did go on exchanges this last week on
Wednesday.  I went with Sister Ilaga in her area and Sister Wignall
went with Sister Schocker in our area.  It was a good day... I've
never had so many people tell me how good I was at the language!  I
learned that day though that I really don't have a problem anymore
talking with people.  It's been a gradual change but I just noticed
because I compared that exchange with the last time I did exchanges
with Sister Ilaga in her area.  Before, I couldn't even ask them
questions about themselves or even felt comfortable having a normal
conversation.  This time though felt really good!  I could really talk
to them without even really having to think about it!

Oh man, referrals are so great!  This week we had a GOLDEN referral
from our patriarch.  Her name is Anna Marie.  We contacted her earlier
in the week to set up an appointment with her and even then she was
telling us that she's catholic, born and raised and went to a catholic
school, but because of the respect she has for her friend, the
patriarch, she is so open and willing to listen to us.  She wants to
learn from us herself so that she can then teach her family, which
means she has a lot of real intent.  When we taught her on Saturday,
I'm pretty sure it was the best lesson I have ever had so far in my
mission.  I could tell how everything we were saying was being
directed by the spirit.  She told us that she had prayed to God that
if she shouldn't meet with us, she would be stopped somehow, but the
whole week she was excited to meet with us.  She was invited to a
Catholic activity for the exact same time as our meeting and told us
she was surprised that she had come. When we testified that there was
a reason why she was there and that it wasn't by accident, she started
crying and told us that she already knew that.  When we testified
about the peaceful feeling she would get if she read and prayed about
the book of mormon, she told us that she was already feeling a
peaceful feeling.  She said she was going home a lot more happier than
she had ever expected to.  We'll meet with her again next Saturday.
Hopefully I won't transfer and I can keep teaching her and all our
other good investigators!  I can't imagine how hard it's going to be
to go home in a year.  Just the thought of leaving Roxas makes me so
sad!

Funny story, when we were leaving an appointment the other day, an old
lady with a muddy cane started walking with us.  As she was talking,
she got so into her story that she started waving her cane in the air.
 Sister Schocker got hit in the back of the head.  I have no idea what
the lady was saying because I was laughing so hard.  She wasn't hurt,
but it's not every day and old lady gets so carried away in a story
that she hits the American in the head with her cane... and of course
all the neighbors and bystanders were laughing too... because of
course they were all watching when it happened, haha.

We had surprise clean checks this week.  Good thing our apartment
wasn't too dirty to clean in a few minutes.  Elder and Sister
Robinson, two senior couple missionaries came to check.  I love them
so much.  We just talked for like half an hour with them, asking about
their mission and what they do.  It sounds so great!  I so want to go
on a senior couple mission!  I'm jealous of you, mom and dad!!! haha,
joke lang, this mission is the best thing ever. :D  Anyways, they are
going home in 2 months and they're super sad about it!  Elder Robinson
started to cry when we were talking about it.

So I had a PAT ring made here in the Philippines by the bishop's
brother.  It's pretty sweet.  PAT stands for Pumili Ang Tama.. or in
English, Choose the Right! :D  He engraved on the inside for me
Philippines Iloilo Mission 2012-2013.  I love it!

We woke up this morning at 3am to do our personal study..... and then
companionship study at 4, and then at 5 we went to the beach for maybe
the last time for me.  I took some pictures, but I forgot my cord, so
sorry no pictures this week.  I am super tired, but hopefully we'll be
able to get everything done early today so maybe.... just maybe... I
might be able to get a short nap sometime later.  I have a ton of
stuff to do today though.  Including laundry...

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Enjoy getting together for
Daniel's wedding.  I'm sorry I can't be there, but I hope you all
understand :)  No one wishes more than I do that I could be there, but
I know that this is where I need to be right now.  I know that each
and every one of you will come to my wedding someday... right?  :D
Start saving your pennies...
I love you all!!!  I hope you all have a fantabulous week and continue
to choose the right.  I was going to share a short spiritual message
about trials, but I'm out of time... so you can all look forward to
that next week.  And in the meantime, know that I'm thinking and
praying about you all.  Congratulations Daniel and Jennifer!

Sister McClellan

Week 28

Dear Family,

This letter is going to be full of random stories and fun facts...
hope you're excited.
Last week on P-Day, we were eating in Jolibee in the "mall".  We were
sitting by the window and as everyone passed by, they just stared at
us.  Of course that's not very unusual, but some of them came right up
to the glass, open-mouthed.... I felt like I was some animal displayed
in a zoo, literally.  I imagine that's how animals might feel as
people press up against the glass gawking at them, haha.  And when we
waved or smiled at them, they got WAY too excited.  Oh man, I love the
people here so much.

We love to buy dirty icecream from little kids on the street riding
bikes.  We call it dirty because we don't think they use filtered
water, but we found out yesterday that they use mineral water so maybe
it's good after all!  The kids make the icecream themselves (adults
too)  and they ride around all day selling it.  It's like the icecream
man... and music plays too while they ride.  It's pretty good
icecream.  We ate ubay and mangga flavored icecream. :)

They also have these things called "chunggies"  which are everywhere.
People sell stuff on the streets and through windows in their homes.
We buy snacks and drinks from them all the time.  It's a good way to
talk to people and find new investigators too!

Last night we discovered a lizard skeleton in our bathroom door.  It
looked as though they had been squished when the door was shut and
died and no one noticed them for who knows how long.  I was nominated
to thrown them away, as always because everyone else is too scared to
get close to anything gross.  I always kill the spiders and stuff in
this apartment.  I haven't been able to catch a mouse yet but we know
they live with us.  Their poop is always everywhere.  The other night
even I got a little scared.  As I was falling asleep, something landed
on my head and then I saw it's shadow run across the room.  I turned
on the light and it was just a cockroach, but I had a hard time going
back to sleep, haha.  And the ants here are giants... I've never seen
ants that huge...

So... if you ever wear red here... apparently it's your birthday.  I
have one red shirt and every time I wear it, I hear people call out
"happy birthday!" to me.  It's pretty funny... I don't know why they
do that.  And Filipino people do weird things with their mouths, haha.
 If they don't understand something you are saying, they open their
mouth really wide, like a fish.  I've found myself doing this as well
a lot lately.  They also point to things using their lips.  And they
make kissy noises to get people's attention or to signal a Jeepney
driver that they want to get off.  It's a completely normal thing to
do.  I haven't mastered it quite yet.  There are so many random things
that are so commonplace to me now that I'm sure I haven't written
about. Sorry about that.

Elder Vuiasawa in our district has Dange? Fever.  It's pretty bad. He
was in the hospital for a couple days.  I don't know much about
that... except it's from mosquito bites or something like that...
anyways... tani I don't get it.  We visited him in the hospital and he
didn't look too good.  But he's better now I think.

We have the best stake president in the world.  He and his family are
some of the best people I have ever met. I want to be just like them
someday :D  First, President worked with us all day on Thursday.  He
wouldn't accept any money for the gas or travel.  And when we thought
he was taking us home at night, he took a wrong turn.  He asked us if
we knew where we were going.  I said no... and he said we had one more
person to reactivate.  I said okay!  He ended up taking us to his
house (talking about his wife who is super active)  and feeding us
dinner. He kidnapped us!  And then he and his wife came to drop us
off.  That night we were wondering who would work with us the next day
when their daughter texted and asked if she could work with us... an
answer to our prayer.  They are just so great!

Oh... and what's going on in the East?  I've been hearing stories
about storms and people dying and crisis... is it true?  And
apparently President Obama is still our president... ?

I am getting so excited for Christmas.  They have been playing
Christmas songs for a couple months now... and been putting up
Christmas lights all over.  They don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I
think we will be having a dinner with a member or something.  They do
celebrate Christmas here though.  I don't know what we will be doing
on those days... maybe nothing will be different in our schedule,
haha.  So it could be fun!

Valentino was ordained to the office of Priest yesterday.  I'm so
happy for him!  And Karla gave her first talk in Sacrament meeting.
She did such a good job, even though she was nervous.  JR is still
working at learning to read and he's improving!  And Aillene will be
moving home to her parents soon, who live kind of far away where there
is no church  :(  I hope she'll still be able to make it to church
every Sunday... I don't know how much choice she has though... that's
the only sad news.  But her testimony is still strong and she loves
the Book of Mormon.  They are all so wonderful!

Thanks so much everyone for your letters and prayers, I love you all!
Sister McClellan

Week 27

Valentino was baptized on Saturday!  The most exciting thing was that
his mom and little sister were able to attend and we didn't think that
anyone from his family would attend.  Of course his in-laws were all
able to come, but this was extra-special.  His little sister is the
cutest little girl ever!  I want to teach his family SO badly!

This week was SO hard!  Probably the hardest yet of my entire mission.
 They have some different holidays here.  Thursday was All Saints Day
and then Friday was All Souls Day.  They are kind of like our memorial
day.  Everyone gathers and has get-togethers and eats sticky rice...
Thursday, almost every house we went to fed us sticky rice.  Sticky
rice is pretty cool.  Esmunro Bermejo showed us his "magic trick."  He
plopped a big serving of rice on his plate and then held the plate
upside down and the rice didn't budge. haha.  They also visit the
cemeteries and their loved ones who have passed away.  At first I
thought it was like their Halloween, because some people dressed up in
costumes and in the stores, it looked like they celebrated Halloween
here, but they don't really.  From what I understand... All Saints Day
is more like celebrating life and is a more positive holiday and then
All Souls Day is more for mourning the loss of their loved ones...
even now I'm not exactly sure.  But because of these holidays... we
were punted from almost every lesson.  No one was home!!! And those
who were just fed us sticky rice as they were running out the door.
It was exhausting.  So from Wednesday until Saturday, we didn't get
very many lessons completed at all.

Now that Valentino has been
baptized and confirmed, we don't really have any progressing
investigators.  We have two with a baptismal date, but they haven't
been coming to church and we have been having a hard time getting a
hold of them, so we aren't sure how prepared or interested they are
after all. Hopefully this next week will be much better. :-)

So, why have I never really known much about the Liahona Magazine?
That's all we get here and I love it!  We have been teaching a lot of
lessons lately about the Liahona from Alma 37 and how we can compare
the Book of Mormon and other scriptures to the Liahona.  Our
scriptures really are a guide, a compass for us in this life, and if
we follow the guidance it gives us, it will help us to overcome our
trials and sorrows and obtain happiness and a greater "land of
promise."  I know this is true.  I love the scriptures so much,
especially the Book of Mormon. I know it is the word of God and was
written, "prepared by the Lord" for us, in this day and age.  :D

Love you all,
Sister McClellan

Week 26

Hello Family,
Wow, I have so much time to email you! haha, I really don't get much
to read so... if you ever want to write more, you're more than welcome
to :)  But of course, don't feel obligated in any way, haha. And
siblings are allowed to write as well... if you happen to have time.
And if I ever don't have time, I can always print them and read them
later. :) You are getting my emails... right?
Congrats Heather!  I had no idea!  Dad just told me you were expecting
in May, that's so exciting!  And Congrats to Daniel as well for
becoming an Elder, and by next time I write, basi you will have been
through the temple :)  I love you all so much! kon kisa I wish I could
be there with you.  Of course I love it here and am having the time of
my life, but I also don't like missing out, haha.
I'm having a hard time thinking about things to write about this week!
 I got a little sick... but I'm better now.  I had a fever and a cold,
but it went away really quickly thankfully.  Our investigator
Valentino is going to be baptized this coming Saturday. We're so
excited for him.  He is so ready!  And we have a ton of new
investigators as well, but our focus has really been on contacting
less actives.  There are SO many!  With Stake President Olivare and
other member's help, we've been able to contact a lot of them, but
we're nowhere close to contacting them all.  We have a lot of
returning members though!  That's exciting. Especially with the group
in Panay that's staying consistent.  I seriously never want to leave
this area!  We have the best leaders, the best investigators, the
beach!!  haha, I'm sure I'll like my future areas just as much though,
especially as my language continues to improve.
We went fishing again this morning, but we didn't catch any fish...

the water was WAY low and way far out.  I'm sending a picture... never
mind the crazy hair... if you take me out of it, I think it would be
an awesome picture, haha.
I love you all so much, thanks for all you do for me. You are the best
family ever! :-)
Palangga ko kamo!
Halong Pirme!

Week 25

I can't remember all the pictures I wanted to send last week, but the

first one here is of a tricycle.  The second one is of balut?  It's a

half-developed bird... I hope you can see the beak and face and

everything.... because that's what I ate... hehe.  Yuck!  The third

one is of my new companion!!!

Walking in a rice field, sacrament meeting in a red tent... and the

Bermejo family!  :)

Another wonderful week has passed by... with even more miracles than
last week :)  Investigators who we haven't been able to see in months
show up randomly and are interested, or less-actives who usually don't
listen, are there and they come to church! So many things!  Our
sacrament meeting in Panay has really been progressing.  This week
there were 35 members who attended and the bishop asked what they
thought about it and everyone agreed to hold sacrament meeting every
Sunday instead of only twice a month.  They also want to start having
a class afterwards as well.  I am so excited for Panay!  It's still
been a challenge to inform all the members out there, but it's been
fun.  We have soooo many new investigators.. I don't know how...
people just keep falling into our laps it feels like.  We have 11 new
investigators this week.  We have been more busy than ever before...
and I don't know how we're supposed to visit and teach everyone that
we need to in the coming weeks, but somehow we're doing it.
In my personal study this last week, I was prompted to study about humility.
 I think it was because it's easy to get too caught up in the numbers
and feeling proud.  I even thought a few times... "I wonder what the
rest of the district will say when they see how many new investigators
we got this week..." so I was starting to have those prideful
thoughts. I really don't want to get caught in the pride cycle,
because if we do... the miracles stop.  I was studying in Mosiah 4 I
think, where it talks about how we can't do anything without God's
help.  Without him, we are nothing!  In our companionship study we
discussed how there is no possible way we could be doing any of this
on our own.
We are both still learning the language and we don't
always know where to go or what to say... but God does!  He has been
helping us more and more each day and I am so grateful.  Of course
things still don't always go the way that we hope, people still make
their own choices, and we will always have trials in life, but life is
just good right now, despite the other things that happen.  I am so
grateful for God's hand in my life.  I can really see now how I am
being an instrument in God's hands.  I've also seen the importance of
perfect obedience in receiving God's help and direction.  I had
thought I was being perfectly obedient before... I wasn't doing
anything bad and I was working hard, but as Sister Schocker and I
began doing our exercises consistently, every morning, I have seen how
those days have been better.  Also, eating healthily. That has been a
big challenge for me...  I didn't realize that by eating bread and
peanut butter every day... haha, I was being disobedient!  My
companion and I created a plan to eat healthier so that we can
continue to witness miracles in our work. In order to receive the
blessings, we need to do everything that is in our power.  I'm sure
you all think that I'm becoming one of those people who get weird on
their missions, haha... I guess maybe it's true. My housemates are
trying to convince me to wear lola dresses to bed and put baby powder
all over me... don't worry, I haven't become that weird yet :D  But
maybe by the time I come home... I'm going to be super weird!
Wow, Mom and Dad, you are going to Nauvoo!? That's awesome! I'm so
excited for you!  I for sure want to hear more details... haha both of
you in your emails always say you're sure the other will tell me more,
it's super funny... but leaves me hanging :)
I hope you are all doing well!! I hope Daniel sends me an invitation
to his wedding :)  Love you all so much!
Heidi

Week 24

Hello Everyone! How was your week??
My week was super crazy! And super funny! And just plain good!
Sister Swarna and I traveled to Iloilo this Friday for transfer
meeting... I had to say goodbye :'(

But, my new companion is Sister Schocker from Bountiful, Utah! She's
in one of the pictures I'm sending... at the church with the other
sister missionaries. Not the American standing by me but on the other
side. :) She's so great! We've already had some great bonding
moments, haha. She's also relatively new, so we both struggle a bit
with the language. It's so fun! :-) Our first evening here we
visited a couple less actives in our ward and it was a miracle! Until
now, when I listen to people, I know what they're talking about and
can respond somewhat appropriately, haha. But that night, I felt like
the cottonballs were taken out of my ears and I was able to really
understand almost every word. It was so great! I also felt all the
fear leave me. It was a miracle! Then of course, as we all know..
when there are miracles, there is an increase of faith and with an
increase of faith comes more miracles :)

The next day, we traveled to Panay and I wasn't exactly sure where I
should take my new companion who didn't know the area because we had
no set appointments. God, obviously knowing my situation, helped me
out! I had chosen to go to Lebanon, a small area with a couple of our
investigators to see if they were home. While we were walking, a man
was walking from the other direction with a little girl holding his
hand. He started talking to us! In all Tagalog!!! haha. But I
understood enough to realize that he was inviting us to his home to
teach them, haha. Nothing like this had ever happened to Sister
Swarna and I here before. No one had ever just talked to us like that
before. We followed him to his home which was super close and met his
wife and other two kids. They invited us and we were able to teach a
short lesson and we have a return appointment! In the lesson, he was
also saying how much he wanted to learn what we had to share so that
they could follow. They were new to the area and were so open to us!
It was great!

Then, afterwards, we were going home and the man was following us to
the main road to make sure we were safe. As we were crossing a small
bamboo bridge, which was starting to get a little broken, the bridge
broke under Sister Schocker's foot. I was ahead of her and heard it
behind me and I was like "Oh no!!!!" I turned around and she had
fallen through the bridge and underneath the bridge, only like a
couple feet below, was this muddy swampy thing... anyways, one of her
legs was stuck in the mud and her other leg was still on the bridge
and she was like doing the splits. Joel, the tiny man with us, jumped
into the mud and started trying to pull her back onto the bridge, but
her bag was stuck. I was laughing so hard (we both were) but I helped
her get her bag unstuck and back. She had thrown everything in her
hands.. no idea where they went, haha. She has such a good attitude
about all of this. A whole family nearby had also come to help. She
lost her shoe but Joel found it. A piece of bamboo had like sliced
through her shirt and made a big hole. Her garments saved her
though... :) She wasn't hurt too badly. The family took us to their
home to clean off all the mud. While there, we had the opportunity to
share a pamphlet with them and they gave us a return appointment as
well! Blessings like crazy!

The next day, we watched General Conference again, and while there, we
were just walking to our seat, and she ripped her dress on a small
sharp thing on the wall in the church. What luck! haha. I wonder if
she's going to ruin a piece of clothing every day we're together,
haha. Anyways, conference was SO good! I loved it so much. I
learned so much about True Conversion especially. I wish more people
had been able to listen. It makes me sad when so many people don't
attend or attend only one session. These are the words of the
apostles and prophets... talking to us all!!!

Another random fact... we have a dog. Not a pet... but a dog that
lives by our apartment complex. We named him Joanne... sometimes we
find him coming into our apartment, hoping we'll feed him. :) He's
super cute and friendly! And we found an enormous frog in the church
building yesterday... not sure how he got in there... I can't remember
if I've really talked about the animals I see here. Tons of frogs,
cockroaches, rats, spiders... those are the most common. Oh, and
dogs... everywhere!!!

Oh, I attached some pictures. One is of the place where we have
sacrament meeting in Panay with the red tent... it makes everyone
inside look red, haha. The picture taken inside the red room is of the
Bermejo family with our Recent Converts Aillene and JR, and our
investigator Valentino. Then there's another one with a tricycle!! and
some members. I don't know if you can really tell what the tricycle
looks like, but maybe you'll get the idea. Oh, then the one with the
kids... we were at a member's house for FHE. The little boy was
showing me how to do the little hand signal which apparently means
gwapa/gwapo (good-looking), haha. Not the best picture of me... but
the kids are super cute!

Love you all! Halong!
Heidi
ps.. I hope the pictures send, the file was too big the first time, so
I'll try again in a separate letter.

pps. sorry... next week for pictures. time up

Week 23

Dear Family,
Wow, I didn't know about the change in ages for missionaries... what
exactly did they say?  I guess by the time I read your reply I'll
know.  Last night as I was teaching a lesson about following the
prophet, I realized that you were all watching General Conference at
the exact same time... I so longed to be with you all... but I know I
will get to watch it next week.  I am so excited to listen.  I was
able to watch the General Relief Society Meeting on Saturday which was
so good.  I love the new RS General Presidency!  I Think that's
awesome though about the change!!! There's a need for more
missionaries... :)  I just got chills, haha.  The world is being
prepared for the second coming!!  This last Sunday was our first
Sunday with sacrament meeting in Panay and it was such a good
experience.  I can really see that the people here are being prepared
to receive the gospel and the members who have gone astray will come
back.  Missionary Work is so, so important.  There are so many members
here that are sacrificing so much now to go on missions.  One of the
members of the Bermejo family who works with us often is preparing to
serve a mission and we have been helping him and others to prepare as
best we can.  Our recent convert, Rodolfo, also wants to go, but he
doesn't know how to read.  He only went to school for 1st grade.  We
have been helping him as best we can to learn to read so that he can
have a good mission experience.  But I know that the Lord can use
every person's help, no matter what their circumstances.  Every person
who has the knowledge that we do has the responsibility to make these
things known to others. Think about this statement.  "Someday everyone
will know what you know.  And, they will know that you knew it."
During one of my personal studies this week, I studied a talk about
the ABC's to an abundant life.  Attitude, Believe, and Courage.  These
three things make all the difference!  I could expound on these
things, but I don't have time, haha.  As I have tried to apply these
things into my work and to help others as well, I have seen how it has
affected everything around me.  Another thing I read this morning from
the Liahona is "Heavenly Father is only a prayer away and the Holy
Ghost is within whispering distance."  I know that these words are
true.  They can hear you even when no one else can.  Never hesitate to
ask them for help or to thank them for the blessing which you have
received.
I love the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. As I have been
studying them daily, they have been becoming more and more meaningful
to me.  I never appreciated them the way that I do now.  I think when
I was younger, sometimes I felt bored while reading them, but it's so
exciting when you read a scripture you've read maybe a thousand times
and then all of a sudden it makes sense... and then the next day you
read it again... and you learn something entirely different.  And then
each scripture begins to connect to all the others... and each chapter
to each chapter... and then the book as a whole... you begin to
realize what it is you are really holding in your hands... I know that
the Book of Mormon is the Word of God.  We are SOOOO blessed to have
it.  Search, Ponder, and Pray every day from the scriptures, and I
KNOW you will be blessed.  I KNOW you will feel the love of God and
will feel closer to Him and be able to recognize His hand in your
life.  This church is true.  We are here for a purpose.  Don't forget
your purpose here on earth.  And don't do ANYTHING that would keep you
from returning to God's presence.  Repent Daily!  Study Repentance.
Learn how to repent.  Learn the commandments and follow them!  Ponder
frequently the Atonement of our Savior and Brother.  If we understand
that, there is no way we would forget to pay our tithing, or have
family home evening, or do home teaching, or to keep your food storage
up to date, or to exercise and keep your bodies healthy, or follow any
other counsel we have been given.... of course none of us are
perfect... but we can do our best and repent and set goals to CHANGE
when we fall short.  I just thought of a ton of things that I need to
repent of right now. :-)
Gutom gid ako! :-)
Love you all,
Sister McClellan

Week 22

Hey!
I've been in the field for 3 whole months now!  I thought I would be a
much better missionary by now, haha.  Oh well, I have a feeling I'll
never be where I would like to be. It's a lifelong process... :-)
I'm getting a little nervous for the day Sister Swarna leaves me,
haha.  She's my nanay in the field (mother).  I am her bata (child).
She's finished raising me (I'm finished with the 12 week training
program), but it's time for me to be on my own... I'm a little excited
and nervous at the same time.  Just like in real life, huh? :-)  Of
course I won't really be on my own, I'll have my new companion, but I
will have to remember where everyone lives and all about their
situations in life and how to help them and I'll really have to use my
Hiligaynon so much more.  It will be good for me.

I think the biggest thing that I'm learning more and more each day is
how to love.  I have to love everyone!  And sometimes it's not easy to
love someone who has different standards and beliefs than you do, but
it's not until you soften your heart and love them, that hearts are
changed, your own included.  I don't know if that really made a lot of
sense... it's so complicated... I have to think about others and love
others with all my heart and not think about myself at all for the
work to be as good as it can, but in the process... I am being changed
without even realizing it... and realizing that I need to change
myself... without focusing on myself... hahaha.  I'm confusing myself
now.  It's so hard to explain.  But after changes start to happen, it
becomes easier and easier to love and to help others.  Anyways... I'm
sure at least some of you kind of understand :-)  especially those who
are married.

Sorry I'm so bad at writing good emails... I have such a hard time
thinking about what to write about.  And the time goes by so quickly.
I love your letters though!  Thanks for everyone who's written me.
I'm sorry I'm so bad at writing back.  There is seriously hardly any
time.  I think Preparation Days are just as busy if not busier than
every other day, especially because it takes so much time and energy
to wash laundry by hand.  I'm not complaining though :)  I really like
everything about this place. I could live here forever!  :)
I love you all!

Heidi

Week 21

Hey!
It's been a good, busy week!  We have a lot of new investigators with
baptismal dates.  The main test is whether or not they come to church
which a lot of them have problems with for financial or other reasons.
 If they aren't coming to church, they can't be baptized, so it's a
difficult situation.  But we have a lot of hope for these people.  We
are planning on starting a sacrament meeting in Panay in just a couple
weeks so I'm hoping that once we have that established, many members
will come back and the church will grow so fast there... my dream :)
Yesterday, we had 6 investigators at church though, which was super
exciting!  I hope they continue to come every week!  Church attendance
is SO important!

So to clarify from last week about the woman who died from our ward,
She stayed in the chapel for several weeks and I'm not sure why, but
they had a funeral service for her every evening for a week... one for
each ward I think.  We went to the one for our ward on Friday, the one
for ward 3 on Wednesday and the one for everyone on Saturday.  The
burial was finally on Saturday too.  I hope that makes sense.

That's so exciting that you guys were able to attend the Brigham City
Temple dedication!  I remember the one for the Newport Beach Temple,
but no others.  I was sad that I missed the Kansas City dedication.
It was just cool to be able to help out with the open house there at
least.

So, our recent convert Karla is doing so well!  She's worked it out so
she can come to church every Sunday and she just received a calling as
young women secretary which she is super excited about.  I am so happy
for her!  We just showed her how to pay her tithing this last Sunday
too and she is so willing and happy to start doing that as well.  It's
so great!  And Aillene and Rodolfo are doing really well too.  They
are still super active and attending other activities as well.
Rodolfo is preparing to receive the priesthood and become a deacon!

I never know what to write about...
Good news, I no longer have a problem eating coconuts... I think...
but I'm still not a big fan.
We have to travel everywhere in our area.  It takes about 45 pesos to
get from our apartment to the area where we go the most often.  And
another 45 back.  I think our support goes down a lot faster than
other missionaries here in the Philippines.  Sometimes we make that
trip a couple times in one day if people's schedules don't work out
any other way.  It also takes a lot of time.  But I really don't mind.
 I love driving past all the fields and watching all the people.

Oh, hey, I still haven't seen a picture of Everett!  I want to see him!!!
Anyways, that's all for now.  My time is running low.  I am so
grateful for this opportunity that I have to serve.  I am learning new
and important things every day.  I am so glad I made the decision to
serve.  I think it's the best decision of my life so far.  There are
so many lessons I didn't even realize I needed to learn and here I am,
learning them. :)
Love you all!
Sister McClellan

Week 20

Maayong aga! Kumusta kamo?

This last week was so exciting! Rodolfo was baptized on Saturday and confirmed and sustained yesterday in Sacrament Meeting. We are so happy for him and he really understands that he's started a new page in his life.  We've been really working with one less-active family
and because of them, we have so many people coming to accept the gospel. One of the sons, Tomas, just came home from his full-time mission, so their family has really been strengthened by him now as well.  We've been helping another son, Esmunro prepare to serve a mission as well, and he is really doing his best to start now.  He is the one who referred his friend Rodolfo to us.  Esmunro was able to baptize him on Saturday, having received the Priesthood immediately before the baptism.  Pretty cool.  And now he is helping his girlfriend listen to us as well.  Our other investigator Valentino is living there as well, and we were able to help him and Esmunro's Sister be married on Wednesday, which was a really good experience.
Sister Swarna and I got to be witnesses for their wedding, which was pretty cool. Valentino is planning on being baptized in a few more weeks. Aillene, our recent convert is also living at their house, and she is still progressing. I feel like I spend so much time there at that house, but it's just lesson after lesson to each of them, and they all love to stay and listen even when they aren't the one being
taught.  They are such a good family.  Sorry, reading back, that sounds really complicated... oh well.

Exciting news!  My companion Sister Swarna has a few more months of her mission left, but instead of finishing it here in the Philippines, she's finishing it in India. They are again opening missions there for sister missionaries to go.  So, for the last few months of her mission, she will be training two missionaries to serve in her home country. She is so excited... and honored that the first presidency and quorum of the twelve apostles chose her for this responsibility.  Her family received a personal letter from Thomas S. Monson... she's disappointed she only got a call from the Mission President, haha.  I'm going to miss her so much!  And... I'm a little nervous to be leading this area, but I know God will help me.

Something I learned this week, is that no matter how much you think you already know something and have had experiences and think you understand, you can always learn more about things and sometimes you even realize that what you thought you knew wasn't exactly right.  My understanding of the gospel is increasing daily. Also, you can learn something new from everyone you meet.  I have had to humble myself so many times already during my mission.  We were teaching one sister yesterday with 4 kids and she had no food for them.  It was heartbreaking, but it was also a positive experience to be able to testify that I knew that no matter what challenges she has, the gospel of Jesus Christ can help.  Oh yeah, we also attended 3 funeral services this week for the same woman.  It was a really busy week!

Then yesterday I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting, all in Hiligaynon.  I think it went pretty well.  We also did a ton of musical numbers...  I can't even remember how many musical numbers we've given.  So, you all know I'm using my talents out here :)

I know that this is the true church. As members of the church we all have the responsibility to share the gospel with others.  Even if you can't serve a full-time mission, you can and should still be a missionary.  Fulfill your callings, be a good example, pray for others, share your testimony.  :)
Thanks everyone! Love you all!

Sister McClellan

Week 19

Hey loving family,
I'm attaching two pictures, one with the whole mission and Elder
Bednar, the other one from our Zone Conference.
This week was good.  Brother JR passed his baptismal interview
yesterday and will be baptized this coming Saturday! We also have
another investigator, Valentino who has a baptismal date for September
29th, but first he needs to be married and the plan for that is this
Wednesday.  So we're excited for him as well. There will also be a
funeral service for a member of our ward where we will be speaking, so

it will be a very busy week for us.
Our area is progressing! The ward is planning opening a sacrament
meeting in Panay for the members of our ward who can't make it to
church because of travel expenses. That will really help our work
there and helping our investigators to attend church.  Hopefully it
will continue to grow in Panay until they can have their own branch
there.  I am really excited for this.  It will probably start in
October, right after transfers, so I will probably have a lot of
responsibilities with that.  Every Sunday, I will be attending both
church meetings.  We are so happy for this because there are so many
members out there who would really love to come to church every Sunday
if they had the funds.  We are always teaching our less-active members
that God always provides a way to obey his commandments, but it is a
really big trial of their faith.  We believe that the people in Panay
are really being prepared.  They are such good people.

hmmmmm.... ano pa?
It's exciting to be so involved in the workings of the church.  I
never expected missionary work to be like this.  In all my previous
wards, I didn't realize whether or not the missionaries were very
involved or not, but we are working to help the church out here become
much more organized.  In a couple weeks, we will be giving trainings
for visiting and home teaching and for ward missionaries, and we are
always trying to help the leaders in holding meetings and everything
that they do.  The church is really coming together.  I am so grateful
to be a part of this work.  My understanding of the way the church
works is becoming much more clear.  It's really neat.
The church is true. The book is blue. So read it. :-)
I love and miss you all,
Halong!
Sister McClellan

Week 18

I survived!  Hahaha, your letters make me smile so much! :-)
The whole story... it all started one evening.  We came home from work
and started our planning for the next day.  All of the sudden, around
9pm, out of nowhere... my companion asked me if I could feel a
shaking. I stopped writing and we got really silent... and alas, I did
feel it.  It was very small though. The other sisters upstairs didn't
feel a thing, haha.  It lasted pretty long though!  I haven't felt an
earthquake for years and years, so it was still pretty exciting for
me.  The fact that Jarom felt it too makes me happy... close to him in
some way :)   We haven't really heard much about it except that it was
like a 7.5 or something like that.  It didn't affect us at all.  I
hope those it did affect are doing alright.

Congratulations Mckenna and Joshua!  I'm so proud of you both for
getting baptized!  I hope it was a very special day for you both.  I
hope you wrote all about it in your journals so you can remember
forever how it felt and why you chose to be baptized.

And this week Sister Wignall from Orem, UT joined us, straight from
the MTC.  She was the first group to go through learning Hiligaynon
and I feel like she has such a head start than I had when I got here.
She's so so nice and she's letting me borrow some of the resources she
got from the MTC which has been a huge help in the language.  We're
excited to have her in the apartment.  My language has improved
tremendously in the last few weeks.  I'm really participating a lot in
the lessons now... and I've found that my English is beginning to have
issues... even now it's becoming hard to think of the correct words.
So I hope this doesn't sound too awkward.

The work is great!  Very, very, very busy :-)  Ahhh!!! I almost forgot
the MOST EXCITING thing ever!!! I met Elder David A Bednar!  He's my
favorite apostle ever!  We had a question and answer session with him
and he is so amazing.  The spirit was so strong and I learned so much.
 And at the end, he shook each of our hands.  I might never wash my
hand again! Haha, joke lang.  Afterwards, he had the same type of
meeting with the YSA's of the Panay Island.  We had to travel home, so
we couldn't go to that, but we were very happy to hear that one of our
investigators attended.  He had a really good experience. Elder Bednar
and all the apostles are real apostles called of God.  I will never
forget that experience.  How many times in my life will I get to shake
hands with a mission president, apostle, member of the presiding
bishopric, member of the 70, and their wives.  It was a very neat
experience.

One thing that really stood out to me that I want to share with all of
you is the importance of keeping your covenants.  At baptism you make
certain covenants, which includes keeping ALL the commandments of God.
 When you go through the temple, you make other covenants.  If you
have been sealed in the temple, sealed to your children, but you
aren't keeping the commitments that you made, that sealing isn't
valid.  For example, if you aren't paying your tithing, you don't
qualify for a temple recommend.  If you aren't worthy to enter the
temple... what do those covenants you made mean to you?  Don't let
something that seems like no big deal keep you from being with your
family for eternity. It's not worth it.  I would encourage you all to
study all the commandments of God and the covenants you have made more
thoroughly so that you know how best you can keep them.  Of course,
none of us are perfect.  But just remember to always be striving your
hardest and continuously trying to improve yourselves. Because of the
sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us, we have the ability to repent and
be forgiven.  I pray that we all will use the atonement in our lives
and strive to become better and repent daily! I'm so glad I have a
family that has taught me that from the time I was born.  I am so, so
blessed.  I love the gospel so much.  Thank you for your love and
examples to me.

Continue to lift where you stand!

Halong kamo!

Week 17

Kumusta kamo?
I just spent forever trying to send a few pictures, and then they failed... so bummer.  At least hopefully you'll get a couple.  Karla and Aillene were baptized on Saturday! It was so good!  Actually the power went out that morning, so for some reason the water wasn't working and we had to fill the baptismal font with expensive mineral water!! That is how important baptisms are :-)

This week has been super busy! Preparing Karla and Aillene for their baptisms and traveling all the way to Panay every day... and now we have a couple new progressing investigators also in Panay.  JR is a member referral (21 yrs old) and we have been teaching him and he has a baptismal date now too.  He's really good.  He doesn't know how to read, but he really believes the Book of Mormon is the word of God.  We've been having his member friend read his assignments to him and hopefully he is teaching him how to read.  He's a really good investigator.

We had a zone conference this last Thursday and then Stake Conference this weekend.  And tomorrow... we're traveling to Iloilo to see Elder Bednar!!! I'm so excited to listen to him!

One of the pretty pictures I'm sending today I took this morning after we went fishing.  The big rock in the middle of the water is where we were fishing off of.  Don't worry, we didn't have to swim to get there :)

Congratulations Amber and Scott!!!! and Claire! and Everett!  I can't wait to see pictures!!! (hint, hint :-)

Thank you everyone for your prayers. They really do help!  I'm also praying for each of you all the time! Enjoy life!
Love you all!