For Thanksgiving I Ate...Rice!

It was fun this week to be the only American in our apartment and introduce the others to the culturally rich and beloved tradition of celebrating our gratitude by eating heaps of food. Haha although I could tell that they thought it was kinda weird when I showed them how to make turkey hands and a thankful chain counting the days until Christmas. Our feast though was utterly...astig! We had roast chicken (no turkeys here), mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. They don't have pie here but we had a dulce de leche pull-apart instead. It was the most magnificent meal I've eaten here. Too bad there's no Black Friday to follow. 

However, in order to keep with the spirit of Thanksgiving, I leave this post by saying how thankful I am to be a on mission. It's only until I've left on my mission that I fully understand what it truly means to be a missionary. Yeah, sure it's hard when people reject you or others don't progress. But even still, I'm so thankful for the trust God has given me to share His restored gospel...in Tagalog. I know that this work is the errand of angels and I'm grateful to be a part of it.

Sister Morgan and the Sketchy Hanging Bridges

In one of my areas, a river flows all over the place, so of course to cross it, they built a whole ton of sketchy hanging bridges. As I gingerly walked over the plethora of bamboo boards held together by cables and nails, others kept passing me running with rice bags on their shoulders. I definitely felt a bit like a foreigner haha. Even though the pathway was perilous, the views were amazing. The people here are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. In the Book of Mormon the prophet Alma talks about how we can know that there is a God. One of the reasons he gives says, "All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator" (Alma 30:44). I know that God lives and we are His literal children living in His beautifully created world. I'm so thankful to be here and be a witness of Him and his divine creations and all therein...even the sketchy hanging bridges.  

Word of the Week: Patang-pata -- deep Tagalog for exhausted

Ex: Sister Morgan works so hard that by the end of the day she is patang-pata.

Something Smells Fishy

This is my companion

This week I bought some tilapia from the market to cook for dinner, all in Tagalog! However, my companion informed me that I needed to clean it later. Originally I thought, "No problem! It's just cute little fish!" But then later when my hands looked like a fish serial killer hands and I had grey innards all over me, I decided that I'll just stick to buying chicken instead. In terms of fun food this week, I finally got around to trying chicken heart and liver. It was okay...but I like fried chicken better haha. I wanted to show off to the other sisters my cooking skills, so I carved one of my famous apple swans. They thought it was kagilagilalas! (See word of the week.)

While visiting a family for lunch, they told me how their children had painted the animals. When I saw the cat it looked so kawawa (pitiful). I fed it my fish bones to make it happy.

I also had an opportunity to teach one of the Sunday School classes about the principle of obedience. As I was teaching, I really felt the 

Spirit impress upon me that the reason God gives us commandments to follow is because He loves us. Just as parents look out for their children, I know that God is eager to have His children become better too. I know that through obedience and hard work, miracles come!
Word of the Week: kagilagilalas -- fantastic!

I've been transferred to...

 ...Masinloc! I am now in my second area! Masinloc is actually only 25 minutes driving from Sta. Cruz and is in the same district too. I haven't gone too far! We have 6 sisters, instead of 4, in our home so it's a bit squishy. BUT...I found some Scooby-Doo sheets at an ukay-ukay (clothing/fabric stores) and now my bed is THAT much cooler. My new companion is Sister Tantiangco and both of us are opening our area so we basically never know where we are going. If only Sister Siri could be in a trio with us haha. 

This week I finally ate balut! It is a partially fertilized egg where you drink the juice and then eat the half formed chicken embryo. Not bad, but I might stick to my sunny-side up eggs.

We had an interesting lesson with a mother of a teenage convert who asked if Mormons use the Bible. I could really feel the Spirit as I testified about how not only is the Bible the word of God, but that the Book of Mormon is too and both complement each other. I know that as we read the scriptures, answers to all our questions come and we grow closer to God. If you've never read the Book of Mormon, or it's been a while, I encourage you to read (or Google to find it) 2 Nephi 31 and 32. It contains the gospel of Christ and I know it is true. 

Word of the Week:  Matiyaga -- really hard-working Ex: I am such a matiyaga missionary!

For Halloween I Was...A Sister Missionary!

Even though for Halloween I didn't get any candy, I probably still scared a couple people! It's really funny to me because sometimes as we walk by, some people try and hide to avoid us and it's very obvious to us what they're doing. Next time you see a pair of missionaries don't run or hide! At least say hi and introduce yourself and I promise you what they have to say is sweeter than any Snickers bar. People here in the Philippines don't really celebrate Halloween with costumes and candy. Rather, on the next day they celebrate "All Saints Day" where you go to the cemetery to honor your ancestors with food and flowers. 

To update ya'll with new foods I've tried this week, we stopped by one of the local BBQ places and ate some roasted cubed curdled pig blood! To be honest, I was slightly scared to try it, but then I thought about how cool I'll be when I come back and say I've eaten roasted cubed curdled pig blood so I ate it. It actually wasn't too terrible! Will I eat it again? Nah...but at least my stomach is still intact!

Word of the Week: Napakahalaga -- really important Ex: I am so napakahalaga!

Maligayang bati sa aking kaarawan!

Well fortunately here in the Philippines, people just say "Happy Birthday" in English instead of Tagalog. This week we've been recovering from the typhoon by completing service projects for members and settling back into our apartment here in Sta. Cruz after spending a couple days with the sisters in Masinloc. The perseverance and stamina of the people here amazes me. Some people had their entire homes flooded and giant mud pits covering their floors and belongings. Yet, they simply cleaned it up and continued living their lives.

My birthday went very nicely! It was cute to have all the old nanays in Relief Society sing to me. The other sisters in our apartment gave me some Oreos and chocolate cereal, which is perfect because I looooove chocolate anything. We still had work but it was nice to reflect how I'll spend my entire 20th year here in the Philippines. I'm so grateful to have this time to serve God and share His restored gospel. I know that my time here is short but the blessings received by everyone are eternal. 

My "birthday cake" (a 30 sec brownie) and my candle

Word of the Week: Kaarawan - birthday!

How's my mission coming? Swimmingly!

District Meeting before the storm hit

Well, this week has probably been the craziest week of my mission thus far! To start off, I contracted a cold which turned into a form of strep throat which I've had most of this week. Even now, I'm still recovering from that. 

The house where I rescued the aso (dog)

Zone Meeting jokelang (just kidding)

Starting Sunday, a signal 2 typhoon came blasting through our area. Most of church was cancelled but for sacrament meeting, I played "Master, the Tempest is Raging" for the opening hymn. At least that added some fun to the otherwise dreary baguio. The real flooding came in, especially in the middle of the night. Our house was okay since it was on higher ground, but other missionaries had to swim their way out and lost everything they owned. A couple people in surrounding areas have died as well. Nanay Ebuen, the member who we rent from, asked us for help to rescue her belongings. Before I knew it, I was wading through flood waters up to my waist, barefoot, at 1 in the morning, carrying her dog to shelter. Now, all the missionaries in my zone are evacuated and safe. Even though I'll have no power for the next couple days, I'm grateful for all the blessings and miracles that have been wrought. I know that God is watching over us and hopefully, by my birthday this Sunday, all will be well.