Email February 10th, 2009

Well, we ended up moving houses on Friday and then we were in the area of the elder's, far away from our area, for Saturday and Sunday becuase of zone interviews and our areas district conference which the area seventy came to preside over along with our mission president. Since we were so far away and had just moved our house over (so it was kind of crazy there) President had us stay in the hotel that they stay in when they come over to the island...and maybe it would be an "okay" hotel where we're from, but it was luxurious to me I felt a little bit shocked at just how nice it was to me. There was a shower head that drizzled out the water in one stream but it was a shower head and it was hot water! Crazy! We also each had our own queen sized bed with two pillows! Then they served us breakfast in the morning to top it all off.

It was really nice after my bad travel Saturday morning. I must have been exhausted from moving houses and spending all afternoon cleaning etc. then waking up at four to catch a van to take us to Calapan. I don't do well with travel anyway but despite all the vans, buses, trikes, jeeps and even the boat I have yet to throw up while on my mission until that morning in the van. I could feel it coming, not that there was anything to come...I hadn't eaten just drank water. I had this sack with my extra pair of sunday shoes in it so I took the shoes out and prepared the bag for myself and it wouldn't come, but it was trying...then it came and it really was all water...all would have been well if it had not been for the hole in my sack. I was wet quite instantly, not to mention my poor companion. Thankfully this lady in front of us gave me another sack that I put my first bag in but my skirt was already soaked and going through my layers. I cleaned it up with my rag and water as best I could and endured the rest of the trip as best I could but I started shaking super bad with chills from the sick feeling and because now I was wet. Oh, but I had already gotten wet actually when we rode the trike early that morning to the van, it was raining so my entire back and feet were wet and I get chilled easily now since my body had adjusted to the heat. It was quite the adventure and I am really amazed I made it this long without actually throwing up! Well, sorry for such a descriptive and not pleasant story.
After our meeting we went to the hotel then out to eat and I felt a lot better. I bought myself some bonamine which is the dramamine of the philippines and it seems to be working well so far -- we take the boat later today so we'll see if it continues.

Back to me not emailing -- we went to the meetings on Saturday instead and then worked all day Monday and now it's Tuesday and we are about to go to the main land for zone conference so we're just using today now as our p-day/ travel day and working in my old area day etc.
This upcoming Saturday the daughter of our recent convert will be baptized along with one twenty-year old girl we found right when sister Pasi came to the area. Last week she finished reading the Book of Mormon and yesterday she informed us that she is now in second nephi again, I'm sure I've never ready it through that fast in my life. Her testimony is founded on her knoweldge that the book is true, she knows it and she developed a testimony all on her own through diligence in reading, continual prayer and we have simply seen the fruits of it as she voluntarily shares her testimony and prays for us at the end of lessons. It sounds like her plan now is to serve a mission next February at her one year mark, she'll be twenty-one in September -- hopefully whatever happens in her life it will continue to be what she needs to strengthen her ever developing testimony of the goodness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am also continually surprised by our other recent member. He is only eighteen and recieved the priesthood at district conference. He always works with us and also wants to serve a mission. We are teaching a large group of his friends, most of which also attended district conference and they are all reading the book of mormon together. One in particular prayed and recieved an answer immediately about Joseph Smith -- his father is a born again preacher and we're wondering what will happen there as they continue to progress, or not. As we taught them last night they mentioned something about how their friend, our recent member, has gotten "nicer" since becoming a member -- and we have noticed that he has gotten less shy. At his baptism he could hardly say two words then sat down awkwardly after we prompted him to close in the name of JEsus Christ. Now he testifies after each of the lessons we teach and even stood up on the first sunday and shared his testimony with the branch.

We are teaching his cousin, and had been before we even met him, along with his wife and their three children, one of which is still just a baby. They have baptismal dates and we were very happy to find out that he was given a job to be the one to fix out the new house we just moved into and he's continuing to help us with some minor repairs. They are both so willing and desire to follow all the commitments we give them. I was particularly surprised with myself as we re-taught them the lesson on chastitiy. I recal at hte begininig of my mission how we taught mostly males, it seemed, and I was extremely awkward about how to teach this law thoroughly, but I knew it needed to be thorough and understood because it is so important. There is a large problem here with inappropriate posters, everywehre. And they create free calendars out of them which many people have hanging in their homes, including our investigars. We had taught them the law of chastity before giving them a baptismal date, but the posters remained. We decided now that they had a baptismal date to teach it again and specifically commit them to get rid of all things in their life, such as the posters, which are inappropriate. I studied some of the scriptures in preach my gospel for the lesson that morning and we had a plan but as we were teaching another scripture came to my mind from something Brother said and so I interrupted Sister PAsi and suggested a scriptured, she yealded to the new idea and it really ended up working well, he appreciated the scripture and understood it very well -- it opened up good discussion and I testified bodly against the evils around us which we must put far from our reach and avoid them like poison. After the lesson I realized how good it felt to declar the truth and that it was not awkward as it had been for me before, it was maybe in using boldness but not overbearance as the scriptures inform us we must do, this is a topic which requires boldness but proper sensitivity and God supports us in all truth. At our follow up appointment they informed us that the took them all down and asking their father about taking the other down whic his in their parents section of the home they share, he also told us that he really appreciated the lesson and we shared anotehr scriptures with him from mosiah about the importance of watching our thoughts and words and actions in all things. Our other new member was also there and as he realized we were talking about taking down the posters he informed us that they had a poster like that inside their room which we never see and after we taught him that lesson before he was baptized he asked his father if they could get rid of it, just because he thought it was the right thing to do. It was so good to hear he'd done it all on his own, even when we didn't know.
Well, I have to leave right now because the boat is leaving and my companion just left -- no time to close really anyway have a good week thanks Britney