Email November 24th, 2008

Anyway...it's probably better Dad couldn't email me, hearing about the loss from mom was a little bit easier to take. The pressure thing, it must have really gotten to them :( it was a Utah home game and that's always hard, and they were undefeated and so I guess it was our year to lose but hopefully it will pick up again once I get there, haha. Anyway, my companion told me to "lock my heart" from BYU football, hehe...she was just joking.As for my bank account, I have about $90.00 in there...the sad mold story meant I really needed to buy myself some shoes. The mold attacked my shoes and I attempted cleaning them really well and it just got worse so I bought myself some new shoes, nice ones for conferences and church and plastic ones for rain, and hopefully the nice ones will be good for when I come home too so I won't feel so bad about spending that much money. We also were in Lipa (the city) for zone conference so we bought ourselves some chips and salsa and found real cheese and things like that for our own little thanksgiving smash on Thursday...since nobody else cares that it's a holiday (at least my companion is American for the holiday's haha). As for your letter, that you still don't have...I've had real issues sending it. Pola has its own time system and I can't seem to catch the post office man in his office, ever! It's not like I can just sit around there either so we just keep trying different times of days, today a letter will get sent if I do have to sit there, though...beacuse it's p-day so I'll find a way. Also, I got the letter with the dried leaves and some of the filipino elders really enjoyed smelling them, something I didn't even think to do at all...haha. I say you stay frumpy and in sweats (it fits the Idaho scene, hehe, just kidding) and give me all of your cute clothes so I don't have to try to shop at all the rest of my life. Also, you still have a nine year old so you won't be free of girls for a really long time. Does Savanna know if she can graduate yet? Tell her I think she needs to try going to BYU. I say it's worth taking classes she likes such as art if you're going to be at school even if it's not your focus, like my dance classes. Don't worry, I feel pretty bad I don't have any pictures of our great costumes from the musicals also...life is different when you have a digital camera, I became the picture taking queen in college and before that it was just a bother plus my face always looks gross and then I get depressed when I have to look at the pictures, haha. Our people choosing names or being given names again for Christmas? I was just wondering if I would be a part of it or just discounted now that I'm on a mission and far away. Maybe I should just be left out actually, haha. I got a letter from Jenny the other day and I'm going to try to create some kind of Christmas card to send everyone but I can't make any big promises because my time on Monday goes by really fast here since it takes so long to get here and back from the email place. As for Church...it's only a branch here and we teach all three hours because nobody else is there to do it sometimes, or nobody else make a plan for doing it and so we've been going around trying to get people to Church -- but you have to balance finding new strong members and helping the ones who are already there so that's what we do. We did laundry with the second councelor in the branch presidency. His wife is the relief society president but she is on vacatio nand doens't know when she can come back yet because they don't have money to come back. She's staying with their son in a different area of the Philippines and he has stopped coming to church, it was before she left however. So, we went down to this stream place where he washes clothes and spent all morning washing clothes with him, and the next day he came to church. He only stayed for one hour but he came...so that's progress. It is really hard for people to get to church sometimes, our meeting house right now is kind of far away from a lot of the areas in our area and from the main city so they have to walk. It's possible but the rain keeps a lot away and sometimes a lack of desire to walk in general. We did however have ten investigators come to church on Sunday and were pretty excited about it because that is a lot compared to the normal 1-3 hopefully. It doesn't feel like it's November or almost December or close to my birthday or holidays or anything here -- which is maybe a blessing. I don't remember if I told you but Sister Ganir (they are couples in the mission) said she wants the sisters to stay at her house in Lipa after zone conference in December, which is the 24th of December, and then we will spend Christmas eve baking cookies, becuase she has an oven and can buy the stuff for it and she might get permission to watch a Christmas movie also and then we would maybe call you the next morning whcih would be your Christmas eve..but we still don't have that worked out. Christmas zone conference is also just a party...we even do a gift exchange. If Sister Thompson is still my companion next transfer I hear her mother sent her companion presents, bonus for me, hehe! So, I think that's about all from me for this week. It was another week ofl ots of travel. In fact, after zone conference we missed the early boat and were on the slow boat out on the ocean until about ten at night (way past curfew but it wasn't our fault and were with our entire zone) and the ocean is kind of dark and scary at night but it was really cool to look at the stars from the deck because usually you can't see many stars here. Then the Elder's had to drive us home so we drove all in their truck for another two hours and poor them had to drive home. We went to bed after midnight and I realized how much of a not night person I have become...it might come back to me or be forced to at times but I just like going to bed now. Anyway, that's all for now. Bye, Love from me Britney