Philippines Angeles Mission

Week one Down, Five to go....

This week has been so very busy and I hope I can fit in everything that I want to say! :) First of all, in case you were wondering, it is so hard to sleep on the planes. The flight was long, but I got a good chunk of the way through Jesus the Christ (hear that, Aunt Kris?) Anyway, we finally got to Manila and we "slept" at this little hotel right there. We left early the next morning for the MTC and now we are here! My companion is cute Sister Nielson. She is 21 and she's from Cane Beds, Arizona, which is just over the Utah border. She is super sweet and has an amazing singing voice. We have lots of fun, but don't worry, we are getting a lot of work done.

We are in the Helaman District here in the MTC, and we are the only sisters in our district. There is Elder Jensen (District leader) and his companion Elder Loy, Elder Callister and Elder Bartel (both from Idaho), and Elder Lotoaniu and Elder Paia from Tonga. I absolutely love our district. Everyone is so spiritually in tune and we just help each other out.

Let's see, you'll be proud to know that I have definitely tried shrimp (on the plane) and some fish stuff here at the MTC. We have fish about two or three times a week from what I hear. We really do eat rice for every meal, even breakfast. But the food is pretty good and I'm eating well. The mango here by the way is absolutely the best!! We had just plain mango today and a couple days ago we had mango tapioca, yum.

Anyway, we have two teachers, Sister Marila and Brother Comenta (I think). But only Sister Marila has been teaching us this week, because we have been teaching Borther Comenta as an investigator, Brother Kevin. Our second day here, we ended up teaching a lesson in Tagalog. But we really weren't able to teach that much because we hardly knew anything. We taught him five times this week, and it actually went really well. The language is hard, but I'm learning a lot. I can't believe that we have learned as much as we have in just one week. Magaling!

You are probably wondering about my dear friend, Sister Poki Gonzalez from Oakcrest! She is my roommate, although we are in separate districts. Its been wonderful to have her here and has definitely helped me a lot not to feel as homesick. But we are so busy and focus on the work, so that helps a lot too.

On Tuesday night, we got to meet Elder Neil L. Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve. He came and shook everyone's hands and talked to everyone at the Philippines MTC. He talked a lot about being patient with ourselves and it was like he was speaking right to me. I learning really well, but I keep wanting to lkearn more and probably faster than I should, so it was like he was speaking right to me. So I need to keep reminding myself of that, but I think it's also a good reminder for everyone. Be patient with yourself. Things will work out. The Lord doesn't expect us to be perfect, He only expects us to do our best.

We have gym time everyday, and I have now discovered my new favorite sport is badminton. It is SO much fun. We either do that, play ping pong, or I watch Sister Nielson play basketball. I'm really enjoying the Philippines MTC, I feel like I am learning a lot more than I would if I were in Provo. AND there is even this stuff that is kind of like chocolate milk. But not really. But close. It's actually kind of gross, but it works. About every other day, we get to have soft serve ice cream so that makes up for it. I will try to send as many pictures as I can but I can only take picture for about half an hour a week, just on P days. This Morning, we were able to go to the Manila temple, its absolutely beautiful!! I love the celestial room, and it's so small, about 20 people or less per session. But it's fun.

Anyway, I love you all and I miss you!

xoxo

Sister Holmes

 

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