First Week in the MTC - "God will be our strength"

Hey family and friends!

Kamusta? That's what all the philippino missionaries say to each other. 

This first week has been so crazy and so awesome and so hard, but also so rewarding and incredible! The first few days were especially overwhelming, but now I'm starting to get used to things:). I have been blessed with an incredible companion and district.

My comp is from Coleville UT and she's the best. We are very different, but we mesh well together and we have already learned so much from each other. We really get along well and help and support each other, which is so great. I really feel blessed. I also have the most amazing district! We are an all girls district, the six of us and I love it! We all have class together, just the 6 of us and we all sleep in the same room, so we're always together. I am learning so much from all of these sisters and I know we will all be best friends for a long time. Sister Masse and Sister Nonu are going to the Iloilo mission and then my comp and I and Sis Russon and Sis Bahm are all going to Bacolod. There is one other district that came in with us learning Hiligaynon.

Our district

So we taught our very first lesson on Thursday, last Thursday. The second day I was here. We had class, our teacher Bro. Speiser only speaks Hiligaynon to us, for the second time and he had us watch a video clip of a man speaking in our language about himself. We were supposed to try to figure out some of what he said in the video and collectively we got a little bit out of it. Then he told us we were going to be teaching a lesson to an investigator that afternoon. He told us the morning of the afternoon we were supposed to teach an investigator a lesson in Hiligaynon. We were all freaking out. Bro. Speiser could sense our fear and angst and tried to calm us down. He then asked us to each take turns bearing our testimonies, in English. The spirit was so incredibly strong and helped me feel so much better and at peace about things.

I wanted to share that experience because that really shows how things have been here. Just when I start to get really worried or anxious or down, our teacher starts testifying of the gospel or our district leader reads a scripture to us or God just finds some way to remind me of my purpose and how exciting this opportunity is and I just feel of His love and desire to help and strengthen me.

At the Provo temple

It's incredible how much of the language we already know! I've been here a week and can bear my testimony, give a simple message of the gospel and pray in Hiligaynon! It's a miracle! Seriously, God works miracles in my life every single day! I know he is working miracles in all of our lives, if we just stop to notice and appreciate them:) It's so clear and in your face here though.