58 And Still Counting

June 16, 2014

There is a lady, named Mel, with a fishball stand. The first day I got to Baguio I tried talking with her at her little stand, chattin’ it up, being as nice as could be…she was cold! Super Cold! Anyway, I couldn’t get her to even crack a smile. So, I made it my goal to get her to be friends with me. We walk by her fishball stand every day, and every day I say, “Magandang umaga po Sister Mel!” No response.

This week we got punted pretty badly, so I had the idea of going and buying fishballs from Sis. Mel’s stand. We were talking to her as she cooked. I find that people think it’s pretty funny when I try to speak Ilocano to them, so I was trying Ilocano. Got nothing. The next best ice breaker is to ask what age they are, be SHOCKED and say they look 10 years younger than they are. Did that, then said, “Guess how old I am?” What did she say? “Fifty-eight.” I was super surprised and sort of horrified cause she was dead serious. After seeing my reaction she asked, “What? Higher or lower?” Uhh…LOWER! What the?! Her follow up guess? “Thirty-eight.” Wow. The mission has really aged me. People used to guess twenty-seven (which is still pretty far off – I’m only nineteen!)

Dad, I’ve been thinking about you a lot this week, it being Father’s Day and all. I miss you! Did you get my Father’s Day package? I wish I could talk to you, but Christmas is just around the corner. Love you so much Dad! Thank you for being such a good example for me and always being there for me. I am so blessed to be a part of our family.

I am also so blessed to have my whole family be a part of this gospel. Saturday at the baptism (!!) all three of the Kadatar Kiddos bore their testimonies. Their mom is a member of our church, but their dad is not. It was such a bitter-sweet moment. All three were so happy to be baptized, but also really sad that their dad was not there to support them. He said it was their choice, but he was not going to come to the baptism. So hard. We are praying continually for a miracle with him – first of all for him to be home so we can teach him (he has a crazy work schedule) but also for their family to become stronger as a result of this baptism, not further apart.

Love you dad! Hope ya had a great Father’s Day and everyone at home spoiled you. You are the best! :)

 

 

 

 

 

Kawawa naman kami (We are so pitiful)

June 9, 2014

We had a TON of rain this week! A TON! I found out my umbrella has approximately 24 leaks in it (I will be buying a new one). I was going to take a picture of how wet I was, but I realized that almost none of my clothes were dry, so you wouldn’t even be able to tell. Just take a cold shower in church clothes if you are wondering what life is like here in Baguio.

I love the rain though. It starts every day at about 2 o’clock and I just walk around grinning and laughing. Pacific Northwest Girl! Also, I’m definitely my mom’s daughter. I saw a full grown man with a plastic bag on his head skipping/running down the hill in a huge rainstorm. He tripped and almost fell! I saw, my companion saw, some girls walking up the hill saw…their reactions were gasps and, “Are you ok?!” Mine…I burst out laughing! Super loud! I couldn’t help it. (Exactly what my mom would do!) We had been walking in the rain for 8 hours by this time. I was super slap-happy. Also, mom, I kept sneezing this week. I realized my sneeze sounds just like yours because the first time I sneezed I started looking around wildly, “What?! Where’s my mom?!”

Not only is rain great for comic relief, but it’s also good for members of our church who are less active. We look so kawawa (pitiful) that they let us in. It’s really great! Kind of funny, mostly just kawawa, one older lady cried, explaining that she doesn’t feel clean – that she makes mistakes every day and isn’t ready to meet God. We had a GREAT lesson about the sacrament, but after I asked, “Will you come and partake the sacrament tomorrow to become clean?’ she replied, “Oh! They have that at the church around the corner! I’m not going back to your church!” Well…missed that one kawawa kami.

When teaching some new investigators, we explained that God restored His church again on the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith and there is a living prophet on the earth today. We asked, “Ano nasa isipin ninyo?” or “What are you thinking?” They said, “Oh! We’re the same. All churches are the same. One God, we use the Bible. We’re just the same.” UH…kawawa naman po kami!

Don’t get me wrong, we had some GREAT moments, I just don’t want to jinx them! I feel like whenever I write about them…Nora, Jocelyn…then they quit letting us in! BUT! Saturday we have a baptism. I’m so excited! I will send pics next week. Also, ANGIE CAME TO CHURCH AGAIN! YAY!!

Mom and Dad – I got the shoes and the tummy/knee package this week. Thank you so much! The shoes came just in time - I have tread again cause it’s super slippery! Hopefully now I can dodge the karma from laughing at that guy because of my new shoes. :) Dad – my tummy is doing so much better. And my knee. I feel like a new person!

Side note – I slammed my hand in a taxi yesterday. Maybe that’s my karma for laughing at the dude.

Thank you all so much for the love and support. Looking forward to another week in Baguio!

I am so lucky! I get to call this beautiful city "home"!

This little boy is so cute! He is the son of a member of our church who hasn't been attending church. We have been visiting his mom to fellowship her. This lil guy only speaks Ilokano, so I don't understand anything he says but he still loves me. And I love him too! He took the pamphlet we gave his mom and put it in his school backpack because he loves pictures of Jesus. How cute is that?!

Check out this dog's tongue!

Shoes! Before and After

Thanks dad!

Real Life

June 2, 2014

This week was crazy. Experiences, lessons and people that should just be found in Ensign articles. But it was real. I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

Our new investigator, Evelyn, has cancer. She is living short term here in Baguio to try to manage her stress. She is one of the most accepting, most genuine believers I have ever met. I love teaching her. When we leave her house I just feel so full. The spirit is always so strong when we teach her and I think her heart is open and she is so humble. Sister Campos and I are praying that she will have enough strength to go to church.

Rachelle and her friend Hanna both work at call centers from 11pm-7am.  When we stopped by Hanna’s house at 7pm, Rachel had a fever still from the last 3 days, but she couldn’t miss work because she had to meet her quota. Thanks so much Sherilyn for the Extra-Strength Tylenol! I had some in my wallet and was able to give it to her. This month the work schedules change. We are praying they both get the 3pm-11pm shift.
(Also, Sherilyn, thank you for sending me earplugs. Our back door neighbor decided to get a rooster and keep it right behind our bedroom. I use earplugs every night!)

Lovely – love her – gave us a really hard question this week. When Sister Campos was asking her if she believed if our message is true she told us that when she prayed, she got an answer from the Lord that it doesn’t matter what church you join as long as you have faith and serve God. Hmm…AWKWARD! What am I supposed to say to that? It’s been interesting to have seen so much of Lovely’s journey so far because I talked to her on my third day here in Baguio City. Sister Pelayo always said, “If she will just read the Book of Mormon then she will know!” Well, she started reading it, but nothing has really changed. Sister Campos is thinking that if she will just come to church she will get an answer. (She is a leader in her own church though.) I think the overarching principle is faith: once we can help Lovely obtain enough faith to act on whatever God says, then I think she will know. All in the Lord’s time.

Sad story – one of our investigator’s cousins committed suicide. The cousin texted asking her and her mom to come over and help her, but they said they couldn’t come because their store was really busy. Oh my goodness. So sad. And so hard. They are both living with so much grief and sorrow, but also guilt. Our investigator asked us if suicide is a sin, and how God will judge her cousin. We taught her about repentance and the atonement and the Spirit World. We are so lucky that we have such a merciful God and He gives ALL OF US the opportunity to come unto Him and be clean again.
 
Also, a member that has not been coming to church shared that she was super SUPER hurt in the past. She told us her story this week. But before that she kinda ripped us apart. She said we were just show offs, that we were fake. That we didn’t actually care about people and that we don’t know anything… we just stood there. I was thinking, “I hope Sister Campos says something, cuz all the things I am thinking right now aren’t very missionary-appropriate. But then this lady continued. She explained, “When I was baptized, life was great. Life was so good. I loved going to church here in the Philippines. I loved everything about church. But then I went abroad, and I was at the church. I had my eyes closed and I was praying with all my heart. And do you know what they did? They picked me up under the arms and threw me out of the church. They told me I didn’t belong there. Every time I see people like you, I hurt. You don’t know anything. You don’t understand anything.” Then I REALLY had no idea what to say! How awful. What a sad experience. Just then her daughter walked up, who we were waiting for, so we didn’t have a chance to say anything. I hope the next time we see her we can help her heal. What a terrible feeling to carry all these years.

So, I said to two investigators (11 and 12 year old girls) “You two are goats, right?” They looked at me like I was a crazy person. There was a little bit of fear mixed with the confusion in their eyes. Oh my gosh! I can’t believe I still mix up “kambing” and “kambal”! I meant to say, “You two are twins, right?” Language mistakes still happen. It’s a work in progress.

Thank you all for your prayers and letters of support and encouragement. I seriously have the best friends and family around! Mahal ko kayo!

Don't I look like a GIANT compared to my tiny companion and our investigator?

Wow! They are so small!

Mountains, Mice and Miracles

May 26, 2014

I have a new companion! Her name is Sister Campos, she is so adorable and sweet and I love her. Our area is called “camp” so she is literally PERFECT for the area (hence, “perfect” in today’s title). We get along super well and she is really easy going. And a hard worker. Love it!

So. Mice. Monday night I was downstairs walking to the toaster oven to heat up some leftover eggs when I stepped on something small that made a “Crunch…squeak…squeak…skuttle…skuttle” AHH! It was a MOUSE! And it was surprisingly fast even after I stepped on it. (Aunt Heidi, all of the traps you sent me are set up around my house…who knew it was more probable for me to step on a mouse than for it to get caught in one of 10+ traps!?) Naturally I ran screaming to the closest chair and stood on it FREAKING OUT until my housemates calmed me down enough to explain what had happened. Sister Mortell told me later it was actually her first reaction upstairs to run in her room and slam the door closed when she heard me screaming. But, she quickly realized what she was doing and hurried downstairs to help me.

So, I thought it ran under the fridge…we moved the fridge…no mouse. People in my house kind of forgot about it…I was still a lil’ traumatized (at night, every move of my companion makes the bunk bed squeak – I kept waking up all night!)until Sunday when we opened the closet down under the stairs and it smelled AWFUL! We pulled out all of the suitcases and plastic grocery bags and while Sister Mortell and I were screaming and freaking out our companions found the mouse, picked it up, threw it away and bleached the floor like BEASTS! I’m so lucky.

Sister Campos is a miracle worker. Her first night, even though we were only teaching from 5-8:30 (she didn’t arrive until 5) AMAZING THINGS HAPPENED! We have on part member family we have been teaching for a while. The kids all want to get baptized and are ready, but their dad isn’t super excited about the idea. We have never been able to teach the whole family because the dad is always gone. BUT! HE WAS HOME!! We taught them. It was so beautiful. Their dad committed to family prayer AND to come to CHURCH with them! (There was some sort of emergency, so he couldn’t come, but baby steps!)

Also, Sister Marcilina. I love her. She was actually  my very first lesson here in Baguio. When I first taught her she was sorta grumpy…but now she is all smiles! She always has the best questions for us. She tell us, “I just want to know the truth.” Also, “Don’t rush me. I’ll take it one step at a time.” When Sister Campos invited her to church, she said she would come next week!

Good news: Sister Dizon moved up! She is in Baguio! Bad news: she said my Tagalog got way worse – grammar, accent – everything. DANG MAN! Hopefully Sister Campos can rescue my Tagalog.

Thank you so much for the packages! Dunnaways – the clothes are so great! Seriously so perfect! And I love the pictures and letters! I will hang them up on my wall at home! Great-Grandma Edna and Judi Tenney – best snacks and food ever! My housemates and I are so thankful! We will be feasting this transfer! Chicken burritos, pasta salad, apple sauce, Cheezits, Ritz, Propel…You’re the best!

Thank you all for all of the prayers, letters and love! I’m so happy to be a missionary now. Life is great!

 

 

My lovely new companion, Sister Campos

Mommy Bennitt! She is the best. She feeds us delicious food every Sunday and I love talking with her and hearing her testimony. We leave spiritually and physically fed every Sunday!

 

So glad this crazy lady lives close to me again!

 

 

One Liners of One Crazy Week (with explanations of course)

·         “Don’t come back! We won’t accommodate you again!” – One investigator yelled after us as we were leaving her house. DANG MAN! Don’t yell so loud! We are trying to teach your neighbors!

·         “Follow Jesus! Not Joseph Smith! Amen! Only Jesus!” – One preacher man came and preached to us. He kept chastising us telling us to quit teaching the Gospel of Joseph Smith. I happened to be using a “Gospel of Jesus Christ” pamphlet as a fan right then, so I showed him the title…yeah, he still didn’t believe me. Oh well. Whatcha gonna do?

[We don’t preach a “Gospel of Joseph Smith”]

·         “Maybe this is still happening right now.” – Norma after reading Amos 8:11-12. Because yeah, people are still looking for truth today. Norma is so bright. She could teach herself the lessons!

·         “Yes! It’s the same feeling I felt when I saw you, Sister Jackson, at the fruit and veggie market.” – Jocelyn. She said the closing prayer after a lesson and asked which church is true and the spirit was so strong! So afterwards I asked her “Did you feel that!?” Yes. “Have you ever felt that before?”…hence her answer!

·         “I don’t usually let all those other missionaries in. But you look different.” – Josie, our new investigator.

·         Me: “Did you pray to know if Joseph Smith is a true Prophet?”

Angie: “Yes.”

Me: “What did God say?”

Angie: “Yes.”

Me: “OK! So… the lesson!”

(It’s terrible, but I’m not used to it being that easy. So simple! Love Angie!)

Thank you so much for all the letters mom! Three now from April! You’re writing me so much! I love them. I read them all the time. I’ll write you back later today. :)

Thank you for the package Sister Krimme! You are so thoughtful! The chapstick is super handy and it was so great to hear from you! I’m excited to try out the eyeshadow tomorrow!

 

 

Biking in Burgham Park!

 

 

One of the bikes is made of children's lawn chairs. We all have to come back here! They have the weirdest, most awesome bikes!!

[My family has a tradition of biking in cities that we visit.]

 

We made guac! It was so so so good. AH!

Things that make me smile! (Or at least spice up my day!)

Not gonna lie, this week was pretty awful. So, I’m just going to focus on the good, funny, or semi-interesting things that happened this week.

·         We had pizza night one night! Our house mates have a delicious pizza place in their area but it’s pretty expensive. All of us were feeling rather down, so they decided to buy pizza on their way home! We all pitched in…It was worth every peso!

       The detox night was priceless.

 

·         I found tons of nasty stuff on the stairs this week. Dead snakes, some headless dead chickens, dead mice (thank heavens some were dead), live rats, and lots of other random body parts from animals. The best…3 live kittens! They were hiding in the stairs.

       So adorable!

·         There was a cute little old lady hobbling along the road carrying her groceries and a walking stick with a machete tied to the end of it, and a huge bunch of bananas in her other hand. I walked over and tried to say, “Can I help you carry your bananas?” but I didn’t remember the word for “carry” so it came out, “Can I help you…bananas?” then I just kinda took ‘em from her and walked with her. Well, good thing I have a Filipino companion cause the banana lady thought I was stealing her bananas! I tried to explain! Ha ha it didn’t really work. She just kept saying, “They are for you! You keep them!” Oh man! We went with her all the way to her house where she sat us down, fed us bananas and gave us two bunches to take home! We are going back later tonight to teach her. :)

·         Super-missionary moment: I was walking along the road and there was a 3-year old (ish…maybe younger) boy holding a blue fuzzy little stuffed animal back pack, wearing jeans and a polo and Sunday shoes, standing on the side of the road SOBBING! All alone. Not a person in sight. I knocked on the closest house and asked them if they knew who his mom is – they didn’t. I tried talking to the little boy, but he was too worked up. There was only fruit salad in his backpack…nothing to identify him. I gave him my snacks to try to cheer him up and wiped the tears off his cheeks. I wish I could have given him a hug! (Not allowed as a missionary.) Well we stayed with him and I asked people walking by if they knew him…nobody did! Everyone was getting curious about who the kid belonged to, so they hung out to see. Soon we had quite the lil’ crowd trying to help this lil’ boy. Finally, a grandma with a baby strapped to her back said she knew where he lived and would take him home. Yes! Success!

·         Dad – I’m trying to celebrate the little victories!

        It’s working (I think) so thanks for that advice!

·         Mom – I got 2 letters from you on Tuesday! It takes longer for me to get letters now that I am here in Baguio but it was worth the wait! Thank you so much!

Love you all and miss you! Thank you for your prayers – I can really feel them!

 

Check out this sign! Oh my gosh! If this sign doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will! I laughed out loud when I first passed it in my area. :)

 

 

This is Sister Sawada. We have been in the same district since I got here! She has only been here one transfer longer than me. We are becoming close friends. She is from Hawaii and is super nice!

 

 

 

Happy P(agod)-Day!

[Pagod = tired]

Oh my hulay! RAIN STORM! On Tuesday we had a HUGE rainstorm! Because our area has a lot of alley ways with stairs and houses lining the sides, tons of water was flooding off of the roofs onto the stairs. We were hiking up stairs as 6+ inches of water streamed down. Also, there was a landslide in our area. It quickly turned into mud-sewage water because the open sewage canals filled up and overflowed. I smelled so nasty! But, that night’s shower and dry clothes felt so good! Just another adventure in Baguio. :)

On Saturday I got to go back to my first area for a baptism of three kids I used to teach: Jordan, Michael and Nicole! Oh my goodness – I was just beaming! I felt like a proud mama! Victor baptized them and then they shared such sweet, heartfelt testimonies! I was thinking back to when it was hard for them to pray, and look how far they have come now! I’ve missed them so much!

It was so great to see Sister Dizon! I know, it had only been 3 weeks, but three weeks in missionary life is an eternity! I told her last preparation day I would come, but then she thought I wasn’t going to come, so she was surprised to see me! I beat her to the church. It was one of those awesome running hugs that are in movies and I swore I wouldn’t do, but I just couldn’t help it! Also, she tried to talk me into giving her talk…ha ha just like old times! But then she stood up and said, “Well, Sister Jackson was supposed to give this talk but didn’t prepare anything…so I guess I will give it.” Great! Way to throw me under the bus! And lie to the congregation. ;) Love her so much. Also, her laugh is still just as contagious as ever. She picked this super obscure primary song for all the missionaries to sing. She was the only one who knew it, so we put her in the middle and tried to follow. Well, she missed a whole phrase, so we all missed it, then just started singing again. But then Sister Dizon started laughing, so then we all were just standing, trying to sing at a baptism, dying laughing. Diane is so nice. She had to speak right after our failed performance and said, “I’m glad our missionaries are so happy!”

I asked Sister Dizon if people missed me when I was gone. She said everyone was asking where I went, and was sad that I was gone. Awe! Tender! It feels good to be loved. This Sunday, if Brother Calika comes to church, he is officially a returning member! Also, others who have started coming back to church and those who are learning about the gospel are still progressing! I love them all and miss them so much!

Congrats to the Sevilla Ward missionaries who are soon to be full time missionaries! Ate Jov…Australia! Ate Kat…Cebu! Victor…Cagayan de Oro! I am so happy for them and I know they will be amazing!

Seeing, and hearing about, these friends has given me motivation to build just as great or even better relationships with the people in my current area and ward. Missionaries are so lucky – we get to be friends with all sorts of people that we otherwise probably wouldn’t have even met if we didn’t serve. I love and miss all of my Sevilla peeps, but I’m happy to be back in Baguio! And I’m ready to go! :)