Email May 24, 2009

Today as I welcomed Sister Garcia to our companion study and announced that it was the first day of transfer, Monday the 25th of May I thought..."...that sounds like a holiday."

We had an enjoyable week as a three-some and enjoyed attending transfer meeting without the pressure of being transferred, getting to see our other friends and hear president's talk...then within the last two days three of our current investigators agreed to baptismal dates, we discussed how blessed we have been and we know it has to do with us trying to do our best and to be obedient.

We are also very excited and know the service of another missionary is helping with one. He is on a mission here in another mission in the Philippines and his mother has been being taught for years. We taught her the plan of salvation and I talked about that day that we will stand beside our Heavenly Father and about the time we will enter his Kingdom with our friends and family, and talked about her son on his mission and how that is exactly what he wants and he also imagines her there. She told us she would decide after she finishes reading the entire Book of Mormon. Then we finished teaching her and I asked her how she felt about our lesson and all she said was "Sister Landrum, I will get baptized before you go home, let's set a date and you can write to my son and tell him." We are very excited to write to her son and tell him. We can sense a missionaries just how much that will mean to him.

I met a very interesting family one of the days I worked with a member and Sister Garcia and Pairat worked together. We didn't have anymore scheduled appointments and it wasn't time to meet up with them yet so I started talking to people outside and met this woman with four little boys standing with her. As I talked to her, her husband came outside and from their door motioned toward the pamphlet I had, he wanted one. I re-focused my attention to him and asked if we could share a message. They invited us up to their porch and we discovered their neighbor is an old man and woman. The man baptized a couple years ago but since we've been here he has been ill and has not come to church. His wife agreed to listen to us also and we continued in teaching their neighbor. I started by teaching about the Godhead and knew from the start that he is a bible scholar because he had many questions and personal ideas. He is not however affiliated with any religion. His questions lead us into parts of lesson two and I was not sure where it was all going to go because I was having a hard time directing it towards one topic for our first lesson but felt like just continuing on how we were until he got to his big thing. He believes that any religion that is the true church of Christ should be actively concerned for the temporal welfare... and he brought up Malachi and Tithing so I opened immediately to third Nephi 24 and started testifying about tithes and offerings while his old man neighbor started telling them "they have a supply!" It was kind of funny... he listened now without question unlike before and I taught him about the church welfare program, tithing and offerings and then testified that we have living prophets who direct this work and closed by giving him all three of our pamphlets to read. He read them all before the next day and we taught all of lesson one and gave him a Book of Mormon. The interesting part is what he said to this neighbor of his, not directly to us... on the first visit he said "all they have taught me is almost exactly like "The continuation church of Christ" and I got from that a part of an idea about what he is up to which was confirmed at our second visit when a paper with a drawing of a church logo fell out of his bible and so he showed us. He has been creating his own Church because he doesn't find any others to have all the truths he believes in from his research.

So, they weren't there the next time we returned and I don't know where it will go but it was quite the experience and I felt so strongly the truthfulness and fullness of our Church, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ here and of what I teach. All that anyone is searching for is here and all the answers if you will only search them out. I don't know all the answers myself, I still have questions, but I have a firm testimony of the most important things and I know that as each of us continues to seek learning "even by study and also by faith" we will come to know all the mysteries of God and be prepared to receive his fullness.

Well, I hope Savanna made it to Utah alive and that Mom's leg is healing. Olivia and I will have to race when I get home... I bet I'm SUPER slow now :) we'll see. Give me a couple weeks I'll get into my real exercise program again -- all of my arm muscle is gone I think, haha.

Congrats on the graduations, birthdays coming up and SUMMER BREAK. They are about to start school again so it's funny that you're just ending. I'm sure the next few months will go very fast for you since it's break -- have fun.

LOVE,

Sister Landrum

Email May 18th, 2009

Hello - We had our first Darasa baptism on Saturday. I realized that it could, possibly, be the last baptism that I witness on my mission due to the fact that they need to attend church at least four times before baptized and overcome all addictions for longer. We have a couple of investigators right now that I am hoping to have baptized before I get home, or right after I leave, but I guess we'll see what happens; whatever the best timing for them is.

My companion was especially excited because it was the first baptism of her mission, I'm glad we've had such quick success in this ward -- they all are so helpful. We have them working with us and yesterday we went on splits for the first time, my companion felt comfortable with having me leave her now and being in charge and we had a lot of appointments, and I worked with one of the RM sisters - it's always nice to hear others teaching styles and learn from them.

This week Sister Pairat is working with us until Friday when she will get her new companion at transfer day. We will probably go on splits almost every day. I will work with a member and they will work together. I'm excited to find a lot of new investigators this week.

We have our mission tour in two weeks with Elder Edwards and I need to read about five chapters a day to finish the Book of Mormon on the scheduled date, I find every spare minute to read and it's really great. It will be my third time through in English while here on the mission and I think I'll focus on Tagalog a little more my last two months, it's slower-going and longer in general in Tagalog so we'll see where I get, I plan to finish it once I get home though.

Did I tell you the other great thing about our baptism on Saturday. Two of the baptisms, one was a child of record, were the nephews of a member we met our first week here. He hadn't been to church of years and we taught him a lesson about the importance of the Sacrament, and about how that is the main purpose of why we should be at church every single week, because we need the sacrament every single week. He started coming to church that very week and was ordained a priest soon after and then able to baptize his two nephews. Him and his sister worked with us this last week and I noticed in his testimony that he always talks specifically about the importance of the sacrament, the very thing we taught him about and he put into action and thus gained a testimony over which he now is sharing with others -- how wonderful.

Well, I'm out of thoughts for the moment so thanks for the email and for Maddie's joke Love,

Britney

Email May 11th, 2009

My companion is really great at English, isn't she? Haha...my last companion wouldn't speak English to me at all, even if I requested she do just for a minute or requested she practice...so I don't know how good she is at English -- haha. My second companion was like that also, but we got by off of her English for the most part and I know my trainer was good because I couldn't speak any Tagalog then...my third companion is also very good at English but we always spoke straight Tagalog so I could learn faster, she was good at that my current companion likes English :) haha...always Tag-lish I even speak Tag-lish now.

If you sent a package, well I sent a letter about the garments for Sister Abad only, even if it was only two-five..she only wanted five. She was the original sister that asked a long time ago and then you sent the trial pair and it was a very wrong size for her but she paid for them anyway so I just kind of felt bad never getting her any at all that were the right type and size. They like mine because they are not as hot and really easy to hand wash but they don't sell them here -- but that's what one of my letters I sent was about. As for anything else, starbursts so my companion can try them because I told her stories about how they were my favorite when I was in high school but she doesn't know what they are -- besides that I can't think of anything so maybe it really wouldn't be worth it. I guess I'm feeling like three months isn't so long that I'm going to be missing much. Almonds and dried blueberries :) haha and if you sent me a can of black beans I wouldn't probably give it to Sister Anderson as a going away gift because she was really jealous that I had some and she also loves them.

I think it's funny that Tagalog sounds asian to you -- like Chinese or something. I keep trying to remember how it sounded to me before I understood it, but now it sounds like English does kind of because it's just words that have a meaning now, not strange sounds that sound funny. Sometimes words still sound really funny to me, but words in English are funny to me also.
Well, you said my email doesn't need to be too long -- that's good because I'm not sure what more to say at this point. We have zone interviews tomorrow so I might get more mail and we found out in our email from the mission today that before transfer day we will be a three-some with one of the sisters whose companion is going home on Sunday -- a five day three-some, how fun :)

Okay - thanks for the expensive call :)

Love Britney

"Happy" Happy Mother's Day

Well, our family had a WONDERFUL 2 hour phone call with Britney last night! We went to my office and used my speaker phone. It was great! She sounds like she is very happy and well.

Did you know that to call the Philippines you use 14 minutes every minute! Where we don't have a land line we bought an AT&T calling card. Wow - 2,000 minutes doesn't go as far as it used to! LOL. We actually didn't even use the entire card because as Wendy put it 22 years ago when she and I had a similar lengthy call... Brit's teeth were floating!

What a wonderful night with all of the girls gathered to be able to each take time visiting with Britney. But, after the 4th sister opened by saying, "Hi Brit, how are you?" Brit finally said, "the same as last time I was asked a few minutes ago..."

Britney spoke tagalog to us quite a bit and it is amazing how smart it makes her sound! We were able to speak with her companion for awhile also. What a sweet and complimentary young woman. She said, "Brother Landrum, you look so young... Sister Landrum, you look beautiful and have such good fashion sense... Maddie, you are most beautiful...".

Sister Ruth Ann Garcia is from the Philippines. She went on to thank us for such a wonderful daughter. She said that 3 of her siblings had served missions also and that they told her how important it was to have a good training companion. So, she prayed hard before her mission for the right training missionary and God blessed her with Sister Landrum and that she is so thankful for her..." She went on and on about how great Britney is. I already knew this fact but to hear how genuine and appreciative Sister Garcia was touched my heart. I believe that she did pray and that Britney was the answer to her righteous desire... that is a significant and wonderful thing to know. I believe that they are working hard together and that they are being blessed for it. Britney's influence will not end when she returns to us in 3 months.

What an appropriate and blessed way to celebrate Mother's day. Wendy deserved every moment of it.

Email May 4th, 2009

Here's the thing about Mother's day -- I forgot that it's this Sunday and I have no idea where we can call from so it's all kind of up in the air. My problem is i don't have a phone number for you in order to text or do a initial call to tell you, so maybe if I find out I will do another email sometime throughout the week to tell you when and hopefully you will have sent me a phone number. We might be able to use the phone at the church -- but I still think it's better to have you call me using a calling card so I would arrange to get one of those also. We would probably call Monday morning, meaning Sunday night for you.

As for food -- this was from a couple emails ago I think, but maybe I want to eat stake, how does that sound? There is a good chance I will be the most tired and gross person on earth after my flight so who knows what will happen. As for when I get home, what time, what day -- I don't plan or schedule that at all and have no idea how to figure it out time difference wise either so you'll just need to wait for the church to send you my itinerary. I think Sister Thompson's family got hers when she had about three months to go and I finally turned in my change of address form in etc. so maybe they'll be sending that to you in the next couple of months.
President Anderson says hello and asks me how my family is in Idaho every time he sees me. That includes today. We came to the mall, which is very close to our area, so that my companion can buy an umbrella because she left hers on a jeep. As we walked in we saw Elder Hunt, Sister Hunt was buying pizza at the time so he was walking alone and I randomly ran into him --- he was very surprised and invited us to eat lunch with them. As we ate President and Sister Anderson showed up and ate with us then bought us ice cream -- Sister Garcia says we're "blessed for hard work!"

We gave two women that we found our first week here a tentative baptismal date yesterday. She has attended church twice and the other has not yet, the only problem is she has no work currently and is trying to go abroad now as her only means of making money for her son whom her sister will watch over while she's gone -- we're trying to find her work here so she can stay and become a strong member of the church and have the blessings of God help her family instead of working abroad, we'll see what happens. Our first baptism here will be on the sixteenth and they are both doing great.

I hope that Savanna does not decide she needs to destroy everything in our apartment LOL, I figure we'll have unhappy roommates if she does. A clean apartment is the best, I hope I have clean roommates again, we'll see. I had amazing roommates right before I left, our apartment was always so nice to be in, always clean and happy.

As for coming home July 1, it's basically out of the question at this point, in my mind anyway -- and the only good thing would be it would give me more time to FIND a job before school actually starts, not actually make money but find a place to make money instead of worrying about it amidst school and all those other busy things like moving and going through my things which have already gone through a move while I've been away etc/ adjusting to the new time, your night is my day and that has been my life for over a year now so i wonder how the adjustment will go, maybe easy but i hear coming home is harder. Anyway, August 12 sounds about right because August nine I'm at the mission home, the tenth we have a family home evening, the eleventh all of the --wait i just don't know :)

As Sister Thompson informed me regarding her family -- I will label you also "my family is trunky for me" it's a good thing, I don't have to be trunky you're just doing it for me, making plans and all that stuff, but mom you've jumped a bit forward in time a couple of times a lot of years talking about weddings and I don't know about the spring, I like fall, haha! Anyway I actually haven't thought about it much at all and only know that the months of November through February are out of the question, no questions asked, no circumstances etc. i will not have a wedding during those months the end. You have permission to hold this against me when I get married in January, but don't hold your breath over it :)

I'm kind of old now, I need to finish school...but that's going to take me some time still and first some money meaning a job but I have a good four months to get myself to that point. I still say people will think I'm younger than Savanna -- I need to buy myself some nice classy high heels a cute outfit to go with it so I can seem older, i have a very casual, simple, easy-going (i look young) style but I could pretend that I'm old sometimes and get away from my flat third-grader style shoes -- I think I've always secretly fought against really growing up or seeming mature in my femininity (odd eh) anyway I'm short so I can wear high heels too, haha.

Was it Maddie's idea to have a party? It sounds like she thinks she's in college, we always had parties for no reason, or we would just come up with our own reasons. Garyn, in the Philippines you don't say Aloha, you say "Mabuhay!" Just look at the talk Elder Teh gave a couple of years ago in general conference, that is exactly how he started it, "Mabuhay from the Philippines..." The literal translation is "life" or "alive."

Whenever I meet children around Olivia's age, especially boys, I always say...oh my sister is just about the start the youth program also, but she is almost as tall as me and they are so shocked. They are all very surprised about how tall my sisters are. As for the sealing, I can't believe they waited all this time and then did it only four months before I come home! I told Julie ages ago that I should attend. I'm glad to hear they are alive, I talk about them all the time I realized, probably because I lived with them for a year and they were at school and work etc. I'm absolutely planning to write at least some response to all the people who have written me. This includes Aunt Molly, Uncle Scott, Aunt Amy and grandparents -- after that list I might try to get to others but I guess if they don't write me they are content with the emails if they read them so I'll see everyone in a couple of months and call it good.

Does anybody know Amanda's new last name? Not that it will help me out much, I also don't know her address but it's strange to not know her new last name, sheesh.

Well, my time is actually running out now so we're doing fine here in Darasa, we have a lot of help from our leaders and members and i enjoying just listening to the good lessons on Sunday, since usually I am the one teaching and even on Sunday before I was the one teaching and listening was as enjoyable in the first areas because I didn't understand even though i wasn't teaching so i would get sleepy and fight sleep by just writing all the words I didn't know, basically all of them. Now i participate and answer questions and learn from insights of others -- wow, how fabulous, haha.

I'm finishing up Alma and at a sprint to finish it all by June when we have our mission tour and then I'll start over again I suppose but maybe focus on Tagalog for my last little while here, a side by side reading.

My companion, i think, has found every spiritual thought in the Book of Mormon regarding being prepared to give for our companionship studies --she really enjoys those scriptures and i have noticed because of them how much it actually does talk about preparing ourselves or talk about other families preparing themselves, their foods, buildings, for travel -- being prepared is very important.

Okay, time is officially up so I'll try to work something out for calling and may end up checking email again or sending one to know the numbers so keep checking and send me a number I can call if I will need to do that first.

Ang Minamahal niyong Anak at Kapatid :) hehe Si Sister Landrum

Translation: The beloved daughter and sibling
Ang = The
Minamahal = Beloved
Anak = Daughter
Kapatid = Sibling

Email April 27th, 2009

The pictures worked, kinda...it might just be this computer but they are really small and kind of hard to see but better than nothing! I have a good picture of how it all went, everyone was there it seems.

Sorry about the bad health, I've been praying for good health for all of you; especially dad. The weather has been strange here also. We have had continual rain and it's supposed to be the hot season -- I guess if it's "cold" here you would expect snow storms there even in April.

We have zone conference again this week, it's going by fast. Did you know that the sisters from my batch in other missions in the Philippines go home July 1? They go home the transfer before we should and I go home the transfer after. July 1 would be so much nicer, and in fact President said that if I wanted to I could work out going home also at that time; but of course I don't. I did however have this strange dream the other night that nobody was at the airport when I got home and I drove myself straight to BYU to try to find my old job but the buildings on campus had all been changed and I was lost. I'm sure I'll find some kind of work and in the end everything will work out fine, I also expect you will in fact be there at the airport and I don't know what kind of food I will want :)

We have a nine and seventeen year old here in our area with baptismal dates now, they will be baptized in May. I will be printing pictures later today (now that we got our support money again) so I should send more pictures within the next couple of days, sorry there aren't any letters. I actually have one sitting in our apartment not yet sent because I've yet to find the post office here. I think there isn't one in our actual area, we have to cross over into the Elder's area to send mail.

We did some bowling earlier, and they still are while we email so I'm kind of in a hurry. I got a strike my first go at it and they all chastised me for having said I was bad -- but I proved it to them all the other times when I got gutter balls :) haha. I miss the days of lane gates -- I remember I always wanted to go bowling when I was younger, I have no idea why, haha.
Thanks for the mail and all the support -- sorry this is kind of short.

I love you all

-Britney