It's ME AGAINnnnnnnn!! :) I Love You ALL!!!

Hello momma!

Thank you so so much for your emails! I love being able to hear from you and I am so glad you are doing well. And going on walks with Marie? Does she make you bread? :) Sister Thaine is sweet.

I forget to answer your questions all of the time. You should watch You've Got Mail for me and Serendipity and No Reservations! And 13 Going on 30! I made a list of American movies that Sister De Fiesta should watch. Go eat some TCBY for me too. Also, President Carlos really wants some Italian recipes! Maybe send some? Or email some to him? There are some people here with lice, and I'm just paranoid... Mostly what I like here are the baked goods, but they are really few and far between. I miss frozen yogurrrrrttttt. Hair removal creme would be nice, make up remover, Lipton soup!, fruit snacks, homemade rolls or cookiesssss mmmmJ Wishful thinkingJ Anything that will make my skin stop freaking out. I also liked those socks you sent to me. Garments would be nice too. Just what you can afford, Mom. Don't overdo it.

I cooked linguine with marinara for Sister D.F. this week.

I am in San Mariano right now with the elders in my district. We went to the crocodile farm! I held a baby crocodile (picture attached) after a few of the missionaries, and right as I was holding it, it decided to pee. I was the chosen one. :) We got here by jeepne, which are big metal jeeps with the backs open and two bench seats along the windows--they're usually pretty ghetto-fied. Google them. We passed through some beautiful scenery--green mountains with palm trees, caribou, wide rivers, puffy clouds.

Oh P.S.! We have electricity again. Still no water. But at least now we can see what we're eating for dinner.

We had splits this week in Cauayan. When I came home to Sister D.F., I found a flower in the fridge and a note attached, from Sister De Fiesta. It said she had a surprise for me and told me to go about my daily activities as normal, and it would be revealed. Mysterious. We went to our first appointment of the day--Jerry and Maryann. Before our lesson, they pulled out a big white folder and Sister De Fiesta said, "This is your surprise!" I opened it, and it was their marriage papers! Finally. They have been waiting for about 5 months to get married so they could be baptized. I squealed--almost screamed--with excitement. They set the date for Saturday. So, Saturday we had a wedding here AND a baptism.

The font at the chapel hasn't been used in almost a year, so the priesthood spent a lot of time Friday cleaning it out. Then they discovered the water wasn't running from the pump. The baptism was supposed to be at 1:00pm on Saturday, but we waited for them to fix the running water. By 4:30 the water was running, but it was taking so long that Sister De Fiesta and I filled buckets from the bathroom faucet and alternated dumping water into the font to speed up the process. Many people from the branch came to support them. I played and sang "I Stand All Amazed" on guitar for them. Sister Maryann bore a simple and sweet testimony. It has been amazing to see their countenances grow brighter and brighter each time we see them. And especially now. They are so happy.

Our lessons with Sister Shela have become so beautiful. She is opening herself up to us more and more with each visit. We teach her with her two little girls (in the picture with all of the kids, they are in between Sister De Fiesta and I) about Joseph Smith and how she needs to pray to know if he was a true prophet. We haven't been able to teach her with her husband, because he works at night. Without electricity, our curfew was 6 every day. But now we are able to stay out later. We had a lesson with them all this week, as a complete family. The husband is a less active member, but is so kind and happy that his wife is being taught by us. It's amazing the difference we felt in the lesson, with the priesthood holder of the family there. Sister De Fiesta does magic for the little girls--makes candy appear, etc. One day this week, we were just passing by to say hello, and when the little girls saw us they squealed and ran and shouted, "The sisters! The sisters!" Shela wasn't feeling well, and Sister De Fiesta asked the girls, "What do we do when nanay isn't feeling well??" They said in unison, "Prayyyy." "What do we pray for?" And one of the little girls said, "For Joseph Smith." :) They are little sponges. They came to church as a whole family yesterday. :)

We taught a lesson about the creation, and Sister De Fiesta touched the Cauayan of the home that we sat outside of. She asked the investigator, "Before this house was here, where was this Cauayan?" And we bore testimony that everything comes from and is created by God.

I played guitar for Sister De Fiesta in our apartment, and she made me laugh so hard. When I was done playing she said, "Wow. Do you see my eyes?" And I was like..."What's wrong with your eyes?" And she said, "They are heart shapes!"

This week is transfer week. I am scareddddddddddddddd. I have grown to love both the people in my area AND Sister De Fiesta so much. It has been a joy being here with her. Even through our no electricity, no water days, we have had so much fun together. I almost have a feeling though that I will stay in the area to lead it and she will be transferred. We will seeeeeeeeeeee. I know that whatever will happen is what God intends. I know that with my Savior, I can fill whatever shoes are given me to wear.

I love this quote: "Our individual worth is already divinely established as 'great,' it does not fluctuate like the stock market." Neal A. Maxwell

I love you momma. Send my love to everyone. I pray for you every day.
So much love.
Your little missionary,
Sister Fort
PS: First Pic, Me with the Baby Crocodile;/ Second Pic, All the Little Girl's happy to see us :), Third Picture is Sister Maryann and Brother Jerry at their BAPTISM!

HIiiiiiiiiiiiiiii EVERYONE! I'm Safe and Well!

Hello my Momma, and Family, and Friends:

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I started the day off with a prayer that I would see God's love somewhere. It was so incredibly hot outside, we went out of our way to visit people in the hilltops nearby, but no one was receiving us. Finally it was time to go home, and Sis. D.F. decided that we would walk. My feet hurt, and I had a pounding headache--we were still fasting. Right then a man came by on a tricycle and asked if we wanted a free ride. Sister D.F. turned to me and said, "God is giving you a ride." And I cried silently to myself a little. I knew it was a gift from God. Then we went to a less-active's home, the Marinduque family--they are such a lovely, lovely family--and the 17 year old boy Renel brought out his guitar and finger-picked "I am a Child of God." They sent us home with food. Another blessing straight from God. As His servant, we are taken care of. Sometimes my eyes are just not open to it.

ANYWAYS,
Our training meeting was fun. I can't believe Sister Carlos called me Sister Pence! It was so fun to see my friends from the MTC. It was our first time seeing each other since our first day. We all look so different, it's funny. I snuck up on Sister Pence, and when she turned around and saw me, she grabbed me SO TIGHT and hugged me for SO LONG. I could tell she's been having a rough time. We sat down and talked about some things. I shared scriptures with her that have given me strength, and she just looked at me and said, "I've missed you so much." President told us in training that we may not ever have a baptism, but one soul is great in the sight of God. That one soul could be our companion, it could be someone back home, it could be ourselves. That gave me comfort. Sometimes I don't feel like what I share in lessons is that amazing or life-changing--I am just Sister D.F.'s parasite. But she needs a companion. And I guess by just being her parasite for right now, I am doing something for the benefit of the souls we teach. She tells me that I am one of the companions closest to her heart. Maybe I'm on this mission for my companions.

For our Sister's meeting, the topic was "Bloom Where You're Planted." We made rice crispie treats and nobake cookies and flower brooches--you probably know all of this because of the blog. We talked about people who have been placed in difficult settings and are able to still bloom. Like Stephanie Neilsen--her story is beautiful. We watched it on Mormon Messages. I do believe that you can bloom whereever you are planted in life--even when you dont have a job, or when you live in a house made of bamboo, or there are no baptisms, or its 1,000,000 degrees outside and you have a pounding headache. It is not easy sometimes. Sometimes you silently cry to yourself on the way home in a tricycle. But the trick is to always try to get back up. TRY TRY TRY. I pray my guts out, and ask for my eyes to be open to my blessings, and I ALWAYS, ALWAYS see them, so clearly. Even if Heavenly Father has to send me a little angel like Sister De Fiesta to say, "Hey, God is giving you a ride."

I found some really great quotes in my study the other day: "Sometimes the Lord allows us to have trials to shape us into productive servants. His all-seeing eye is over us and ever watching us as our Eternal Heavenly Parent. When trials come, as surely they will to all of us during mortality, let us not sink into the abyss of self-pity but remember who is at the helm, that He is there to guide us through all the storms of life." Any time I hear God referred to as a parent, Mom, I think of you. Your love for me is the closest to the love that God has for me. I can't imagine it. I love you, Momma. Remember, "[You] can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth [you]." Philippians 4:13.

I love riding in the vans here. They remind me of the Dodge Caravan we have for that little while, or they remind me of road trips with friends. Everyone piles into a big van, the windows are down, and there's usually some kind of cheesy, folksy Filipino music playing.

I've tried lots of new foods this week. Yema: which Sister De Fiesta told me is made from goat poop, but I don't believe anything she tells me anymore about food. She lies to me all the time. :) I also tried ginataan gabi, which is taro root in coconut milk. It looks pretty nasty, but tastes good. You should google it. Last night we had siopao, which the Marinduque family gave us.

I love the Marinduque family! They are less-active, but they all have a testimony of the gospel, and they are such warm people. There are about 5 teenage boys and a teenage girl that live in the house, a grandma, and some of her children. Renel plays the guitar. He gave it to me to play before a lesson, and we all sang Love at Home as the opening hymn, while I fingerpicked. Now every time we go there, he plays the guitar for us. The other night while Sister D.F. and I were planning, we heard Feliz Navidad being sung and played on guitar. (I will send a picture!) We of course jumped up and went outside to see Renel, Jolex, and the girl (I forgot her name) them holding a plate of food for us. The Lola, or grandma, insists on cooking for us every night.

Time's up. But I love you so much momma. Never worry about me. God is feeding me and giving me rides and protecting me and blessing me constantly. I am in His hands.
I love love love you!
Your little missionary,
Sister Fort
PS TELL GRANDMA I LOVE HER SO MUCH AND WISH HER THE HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY. I will send her a letter, but it will be coming by snail mail.

Your Little Missionary, SEESTER WHITE!!!!!!!

Magandang araw, Momma dear!

I could not believe Peter's news. What a wonderful, wonderful blessing. I have been praying for him lots, and I am sure that he has been carried through all of this by our prayers. It is such a beautiful thing that he will be sealed to his family forever!! It's amaaaziinnnnnggggg.

This e-mail may be a little scattered. The cafe I'm in right now is playing such LOUD musiccccccccccccc; I can't think.

Our area is small and so Catholic, and it is a challenge to find people who are willing to open their hearts to our message. We teach and teach, but people refuse to let themselves believe anything other than the beliefs they've been raised on. Which is so understandable, and sometimes heartbreaking for us. (I just think about some of our family members who have needed some time to realize the truthfulness of the gospel) But something I was told in a recent letter (from Matt Hoffman) has really stuck with me this week. They said something like the most important things I can do as a missionary is: 1. follow missionary and mission rules, 2. have FAITH in the promised blessings I have as a servant of the Lord, and 3. head the counsel of PMG and my mission president. That's all Sister De Fiesta and I really have control over. We are doing those things, and I know that as long as we are, God will work his miracles in His own due time. I know it. I am so grateful for the guidance I receive from others out here--especially from home. :)

President Rigucera, of our branch, and Brother Macutay, his counselor, thank us so much for their increased numbers in church attendance. But I honestly, truly do not feel like we are doing anything. All we are doing is opening our mouths, and being obedient. God is doing everything.

President and Sister Carlos spoke to our little branch yesterday. The members there ate up every word they had to say. Sister Carlos talked about the little acts of service and sacrifice we can perform every day, regardless of where we are from, how far along in the gospel we are, how much money we have, what color our skin is--we are all indebted to our Heavenly Father and our Savior. President Carlos mostly talked about how indebted we are and how we all need to play a part in building up the kingdom of God. The members referenced their talks the rest of the day.

We had a meeting with President Rigucera after church and we asked him about who was in what auxilary positions in the branch--we had no idea. We were feeling kind of lost as to who we could go to for fellowshipping, visiting and home teaching assignments, etc. There are many inactive members who could benefit from these things. President then organized the entire branch then and there--with auxilary presidencies. I was surprised that they didn't have all of those things in place already, but I felt the spirit so strongly in the entire meeting with him. This needed to happen. We talked about activities that the Relief Society could do, despite their numbers--Sister De Fiesta and I promised to come to all of the activities and help them strengthen their foundation. There are blessings that come when we fulfill our callings regardless of our circumstances. We will be able to bring investigators to these activities and to these already functioning organizations. We now have branch FHE established every Monday, and a Halloween party on the 17th of November.

For Halloween, Sister Carlos gave Sister De Fiesta and I two starbursts each :) Yum! That was all we did to celebrate though--eat tropical flavored Starburst. Today is "Fiesta ng napatay" or like the day of the dead. Everyone goes to the cemetaries...and I'm not exactly sure what they do there...

I taught for the first time this week! It was kindaaaaa rough, not going to lie. (I didn't get the chance to teach the youth like I said a few weeks ago.) We were on exchanges. I was paired with Sister Jose, who is about 4'11" and so sweet. We went to teach some of her recent converts in Cauayan. It was an entire family. What a beautifulllll famillyyyyyy. A mother, a father, and four gorgeous daughters. There was a lovely, gentle spirit in their home, and I taught them from Helaman 12--about the power of God--and we talked about prayer. They fed us crackers and TANG, and smiled when I spoke (probably because I sound ridiculous). But it was so fun, and helped me kind of see that...it's possible? To teach in Tagalog?

One morning this week, I woke up and told Sister De Fiesta that I had a really weird dream the night before--probably because of all of the roosters and the church bells that were ringing. (Okay, I love everything about being here, even the toilets, but one thing I cannot get used to are the roosters! I want to strangle them all. Haha. When they crow in the mornings, sometimes they are all in unison and it sounds SO creepy. Like moaning...people? I dont know. It's creeeeepyyy.) Anyway, I told her my dumb dream, and then she said that she had a dream about me before I was her companion. She said she couln't see my face, but in her dream someone said, "Take care of her. She is a mother in Zion." What incentive for me to work harder and be my best out here.

Last night we taught a lesson to a family named Lagasca. They are Catholic, but the mother does our readings and asks us questions (in the past two times we've met with her). Before the lesson, the kids in the street shouted, "hello seesters!" and hung on my arms and called me Sister White and called Sister De Fiesta Sister Black. There were about 12 or 15 of them. They followed us to the house, and we all sat outside and began the lesson together. Sister De Fiesta and I sang "I am a Child of God" to them, then taught them how to fold their arms and bow their heads and close their eyes for the prayer. I couldn't help but peek at them during the lesson. What a special and adorable sight!

Sister D.F. and I want to start a cooking schedule. Any ideas for cheap meals that involve rice??? I need recipes. ALSO! President Carlos LOVES Italian food. He would love for you to send him some recipes, I'm sure. :)

Daaahhh, There is so much more I want to sayyy, but my time is up. I love you so much momma. Thank you for your prayers. Let me know how the purification challenge is going--what you are sacrificing. My dresses cost about 15 dollars to be MADE, tailored to me, with the fabric I want, and the style I want. Isn't that amazing?

Sister De Fiesta loves pistacchios. Don't worry about sending things that are too heavy. Nuts, granola bars, make up remover!, garments, face washing pads or things to keep my skin and hair healthy. Oh! That CD player that Sister Derethal gave me doesn't work. I miss music. Really, anything is appreciated.

So much love!!!!!!!!!!!!! So many prayers!!!!
Your little missionary,
Sister White

P.S. HI MAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!

Typhoons, etc. (New Pictures)

Here are some new Pictures! Love and Hugs to you ALL!!!!! I am learning that washing machines are not ESSENTIAL, nor decorative BOWLS to eat out of ;)!!

WE ARE SAFE and BACK to WORK ;)!!!!!

So, I've experience my first Typhoon ever. President Carlos is a very vigilant man, and was aware of where we were and where the storm was every second of the weekend. He had the zone leaders come get Sister De Fiesta and I and bring us to Cauayan--closer to the mission home. We stayed with two other sisters in their cement boarding house type apartment. President Carlos had our entire mission on lockdown. We were not to leave our apartments until he gave us word. It was amazing that I did not feel threatened in any way by the storm. I honestly felt the protection of God, and honestly didn't realize how serious the storm was until we left the apartment. We lost our electricity of course, and wrote letters, ate dinner, bathed, prayed, and talked by candlelight. The rain was torrential and the palm trees were basically bent to the ground from the wind. Our closed doors rattled in the locks and rain water dripped in from the ceiling, but that was all really. We didn't experience a quarter of what most of the people here did.

When we left the apartment, we saw what really had transpired. Large trees were uprooted, some were just left completely leafeless, people's cauayan homes were floored, roofs were blown off, some aluminum roofs were tangled around powerlines, an entire Shell gas station had collapsed. But the minute I woke up, I heard people sweeping their floors with their walis-ting-tings and hammering the bends out of their roofs. They are such a resiliant people. When we got to our home in Naguilian, we saw that our front fence had been blown over, one window had broken, and our mattresses were a little wet, but besides that, we were blessed to have everything else remain in good condition. I feel like our home is very safe. (I will try to send you a picture soon.) We have an elevated house, all made of pure cement and brick, the windows are barred, and we have about five locks on every door (even the door to our room). We have a cell phone also. As sisters, we are very well taken care of.

We went right out the day we got back to our area, to help members and others clean. Mostly everyone refused our help (they are shy), but we were persistent and managed to walis-ting-ting some leaves from two people's entry ways and street. We also went and cleaned all of the water from our little-house-on-the-praire meeting house. :) The counselor in the branch presidency was there, and he cut open a young Buko (coconut) for us to drink from and eat. It was unlike any coconut I have ever tasted. The milk inside was like water, and the flesh was jelly-like--so good.

We have been without electricity and water since the storm, and we hear that that will be the case in Naguilian until December. Adventures! (That's why I couldn't email you last week. We went out to the emailing cafe, but there is no electricity in the whole city. We are in Cauayan right now, thats how I am able to email you now.) President has told us not to stay out past 6pm every night, because thats when it gets dark. And it gives us just enough daylight to find our candles in our house and light them before it is completely dark. We also dont have a refrigerator to use obviously, without the electricity, so finding food to eat has been somewhat difficult--veggies and meat spoil fast and we've resorted to eating lots of canned food and ketchup and fruit. Sister De Fiesta treat ourselves to an occasional pan de coco (a type of sweet bread here sooooooo gooooooooooooooooooooood) and a nightly watermelon feast. Watermelon is our "happy food," says Sister De Fiesta.

We've had some great teaching experiences. Sister De Fiesta and I are working hard to FIND people to teach. Most people will let us come into their homes and share a message about the gospel, because they are so nice. But its hard to get them to see the importance of reading a pamphlet for themselves or praying about our message for themselves or coming to church. We are teaching somewhere around 11 investigators--none yet progressing. We do have two progressing investigators--Sister Maryann and Brother Jerry. (Everyone calls everyone brother and sister here and in my first few days it was so hard for me to tell who was a member and who wasnt.) They are waiting on their marriage papers to come through before they can be baptized--it will take about 10 days. We are excited for them; they are really cute and every time we see them, they seem happier and happier.

We are also teaching a woman named Shela. Her husband is a less active member of the church, but she came to church our first Sunday here with her two children. We stopped by her house the next week to help her with laundry (She had SO much and is pregnant and was squatting to wash her clothes by hand...what a diligent, hardworking mother. Something I hope to be one day, though hopefully not having to squat.). We've decided as a companionship to serve our members and investigators more. We've taught her the message of the restoration and the word of wisdom, and she came to church again this past Sunday. We pray hard for her to know for herself that the church is true. Her baptismal date is set for November 17th.

I of course have times where I doubt myself and feeling the Spirit, but God never ceases to encourage me every day. It's been so neat to see how He does it. Like, one time we were proselyting down Querino, and when we past a house, I saw a mother, a child, and a grandmother standing outside of their home. I thought to myself in the split second we passed, "I could see us teaching them." And we kept walking. Then Sister De Fiesta stopped, turned around, and walked right to those three women. We taught them the restoration. Another time I was selecting a hymn to sing for a family and I thought, "Love at Home? Nooo..." And I asked the member with us what hymn they would like to sing. He said, "274." Which is Love at Home. Just yesterday we were sitting with a part-member family and a man I had just met was leaving. He was older and was mounting his bicycle and said, "Sister Fort, how is your patience?" And I looked at him, puzzled kind of and said, "Ok lang.." and he said, "Love the Filipino people, and hopefully we will love you too." Huh. Alma 32:23 speaks truth. God listens to my prayers. And answers them so readiliy sometimes (through people) that it surprises me.

Mahirap ang buhay dito sa Naguilian, pero I am learning to rely on my God and to be patient with myself. I take so much comfort from Alma 32--line upon line. Little by little I will become the missionary God sees in me.

I have about 5 minutes, so I'll make this fast!
Any bug repellant would be lovely--lice, ant, spider, etc. I am getting tan. I can have tailored dresses made real cheap here--the clothes I brought are SO HOT. I need garments, but can probably order them through the mission office here. ARMENIA!?!?!?!?!?!?!!? I cannot believe it!!!!!! Victoria is going to be WONDERFUL. I love herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so much. Tell her that. I wrote her last week but my letters are coming by snail mail now. Alainna wrote me--I enjoyed her letter very much. I love HER!! Also Jillian sent me some cool new gum flavors. Tell her I love her. I will write them as soon as I can. Tell Peter I pray for him, every night.

I love you so so much. I hope I didn't forget to answer any questions. I'm sure I did, but anyway. Know that I am safe and being smart and I'm happy and I appreciate and love you so much. I need your prayers always.

WITH SO MUCH LOVE forever and ever.
Sister Fort

I HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!! Soooo Much to SAY!

Well, I am here.

There is so much to say. We got here safely after one million hours in the air and in airports and on bus rides. After our 14 hour plane ride overseas, we stopped in Taiwan, and our terminal was behind a Hello Kitty store--I thought of Michelle and Main Place Mall. I ate the best won ton soup I have ever had in my life in the Taiwan airport, with rice and mango juice. When we arrived in the Philippines finally, we stopped at MTC Asia to rest. MTC Asia sounds pretty huge right? It's basically 1/8 the size of the Provo MTC. The people were lovely and fed us noodles with chicken, bread, and mga sanging (bananas). The bananas here are small and taste like a cross between a sweet potato and a banana--they are sweet. They also let Sister Pence and I take a shower and put our feet up for two hours (my feet did get swollen. They are still swollen, but are gradually going down. Any chance I get I try to elevate them) We took a ten hour busride from Manila to Cauayan, and the curtains were yellow and reminded me of a flapper dress. I made my first contact on the bus with a 19 year old Filipino girl. Sister Lela and I gave her a Book of Mormon and I testified about how the Book of Mormon has blessed my life.

When we arrived in Cauayan, President and Sister Carlos were there waiting at the stop to greet us. Sister Carlos knew my face and name and homestate and it surprised me. Apparently they had read up on me a little. Sister Carlos baked us bread and sweet rolls and President Carlos made us breakfast rice. They orientated us and I had my first interview with president. He said he prayed and fasted and prayed about who my new companion should be. He said the companion he chose for me is the most diligent in the mission, and in his opinion, the best sister missionary in the mission--truly a testimony to me of how much my God loves me. Her name is Sister De Fiesta. We are opening a new area called Naguilian. It's about 30 minutes from the mission home. We ride tricycles and buses to get places. But mostly we stay in our area and walk. We are trying to strengthen the priesthood in our area--there are mostly just women who come to church, around 30 that show up every Sunday. We've met with and talked to the branch president. He says he will make me teach Sunday school every Sunday so my Tagalog will get better--I'm not sure if he was joking or not...

They burn leaves and garbage here at night and it the smell is like insense--I have a feeling I'm going to miss that smell when I leave. I bathe with a ladel and bucket and sleep with only sheets and a fan blasting from my feet. They call me Sister Port, because they can't pronounce F's. I told Sister DF that some things that make me happy are: flowers, chocolate, and talks with my momma. She said she cant give me talk with my momma, but she picks flowers for me basically every day. We eat rice, noodles, and hot chocolate for breakfast. We drink boiled water, and I am basically dripping in sweat all day long. We only have running water between 4pm and 6am. The living conditions are nothing I have ever experienced, but I am getting used to them, and I am seeing just how beautiful these people are. Before we left the MTC, my teacher told us to just do what our native companions do...we will adjust so much easier. I told Sister DF that I need her to teach me, and she is. :) The people stare and stare at me. The other day we rode in a jeepne with bars and people had their faces up close to the windows. I told Sister DF that it was like we were in a Zoo, and we laughed. Everything is such an adventure, and I am growing to love it.

My first few days here were pretty difficult, I'm not going to lie. In General Conference this weekend (we watched it again here), they sang "Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel." And then I was reminded of all of the blessings I have here and that God loves me so much and he called me here because he knows I can do it. I'm not sure exactly what was said in the conference that touched me so much, but something in me clicked and switched, and I am okay. I am going to work hard here, and forget myself, and remember what president Holland said when he came to the MTC. He said, "Salvation has never been easy. It wasn't easy for the Savior." I am a representative of the Savior. Last night we visited a member, Nanay Rena, and she said, "You will soon be glad that you were called to the Philippines." Nothing prompted it, she just said it. Blessings.

I can understand so much more Tagalog than I thought I'd be able to at this point. Sister De Fiesta said she prayed for a companion like me and that I am "magaling sa Tagalog." She speaks very good English and wants to speak better, so we correct and help each other. The other night though, we were at a member's home and I told Sister DF that I was having a hard time understanding that day for some reason. She turned to me and said, "It's because they're speaking Ilokhano." (Another dialect here.)

We met with a woman the other night in her home made of cauayan and sheets of aluminum, we taught her by candlelight while her children ate rice at the table. I am basically just able to bear my testimony right now, but I am teaching my first lesson about obedience tonight to the young women here. I was reading in Helaman 5 this morning, about Helaman's sons who went on missions. He told them to be obedient and go out and serve missions--I would pull out my scriptures right now to quote it, but I don't have time--and they went out and were diligent. Then they were cast into prison, but they were encircled about by fire. I believe that because of their obedience, they were protected and blessed eternally. I love that chapter. Read it.

We had a beautiful lesson last night with an 80 year old woman named Pascita. We tracted into her grandson(?) earlier, but he was at basketball. She let us in and told us about how she lost her husband a few years ago and felt alone. We taught her about the resurrection and life after this, and she reminded me of a tiny, skinnier, FIlipino version of grandma. When we shook hands after the lesson, we squeezed each others hands, and I felt so much love for her. She listened to everything we said, and we have a return appointment with her.

Today we did laundry by hand, in buckets, and hung our things to dry. Without water on Mondays, it was a difficult task. We had to walk down to the water pump in the neighborhood and pump our own water. Adventures! I truly appreciate and love the people who live here. They are so hardworking, and from what I can see so far, they have their priorities straight. God and family first. I was so humbled last night when a Nanay we met with said that God gives her so many blessings.

I should go. But I am so thankful to you for your letters and support. I couldn't do this without wonderful people behind me, supporting me.
I love love love you momma and poppa. I hope all is well. Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you in mine.
SO much love,
Sister Port

I'm Leaving TODAY!!!!!

This email may be a little scattered. Like my brain right now. We're trying to get everything all ready for our flight tonight--trips to the bookstore, weighing bags, leaving some things behind, sending some things home. Momma, this is hard without you. You've always been such a help to me with these sorts of things. It's all working out fine, just know that my brain is not all here right now cause I'm thinking of a million other things.

Kamusta nanay ko! Kamusta po kayo? Kamusta ang linggo mo? My week has been great. The district has just been getting ready to leave. (I LOVE MY DISTRICT) We've been attending health and safety meetings, departure devotionals, asking final questions about Tagalog grammar, and we had our first culture day in class on Friday. I guess the teachers like to keep us focused on our purpose (weird) and they stay away from telling any personal stories or things about the Philippines for the duration of our time here, except for the last day. So Friday we talked all about what the Philippines were like for our teachers (granted they both went to the San Angeles mission) and they brought us pictures and told us stories finally about people they taught and places they went. It got me a little more pumped. I'm excited to ride jeepnes and tricycles and teach beautiful, humble people about God's love for them.

I realize more and more every day that I am to be a window through which people can see God's love for them. I am to act as my Savior would if He were here. It's tough and I am so imperfect, but I am committed to do my best.

General Conference was amazing. I'd never watched it the way we watched it here. I mean, I'm used to waking up, staying in my pajama pants and sweatshirt, cuddling up to a pillow or two, maybe eating some of Pop's cracked wheat pancakes during the first song, taking notes in my sketchbook while drawing the prophets and apostles faces, bathroom breaks, snack breaks, sleep breaks. Here we all woke up the same time as every day, had breakfast in our Sunday best, and watched General Conference on plastic riser seats. We all stood when the prophets and apostles came on screen, which is another thing I never thought to do before. It was so lovely though. I never noticed before how much the missionaries were referenced in conference, as well as the basic doctrines that we teach as missionaries. Duh, Aly. It was so neat to be included in the phrase "missionaries throughout the world." I am a missionary. Still, it hasn't completely sunk in that I am a messenger of Jesus Christ. I'll wake up sometimes and forget that I am in the MTC...ON A MISSION. All those times when I was younger I thought the missionaries were so old and wise and spiritual. I am one of them.

One theme that kept coming to me throughout General Conference was, "Safeguard the sanctity of your mind and your home." Right now, to me, kind of being out of the world for a little bit, this seems easy. But I think of my past self, listening to music and texting and facebooking. None of those things are bad, but they are difficult to regulate. Life is about sincere human connection--loving others and serving others and learning about others. It's about connecting with our Heavenly Father--praying to Him often, reading our scriptures often. It's so easy to get lost in the superficial, the artificial, the counterfeit. It's such a gift that I am able to gain this perspective from being on a mission. General Conference helped me see exactly what I want in my future, starting now.

We leave TODAY! I get on a plane TODAY! Can you believe it!? In about a day and a half, I will have a new companion (who will probably be a native), I will be eating foreign things, meeting my mission president, and speaking to people in Tagalog.

Alam ko na dito ako dahil may mahalaga na layunin. Mahal ng Diyos ang mga tao niya at tutulong ako nila makita ito. (Long way to go.) I love you so much and will speak to you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooon!!!!!!

I got your package.
LOVE YOU LOVE YOU LOVE YOU!!!!