Bahala Na...And I Meant Bahala Na

Feb 27, 2012
And yes I meant bahala na...not bahala ka! haha
Whatever! Oh my gosh this week was filled with
SOOO many adventures...what the heck every
day is so awesome...I learn soo much every day.
Where to start...oh so at the service project we
had last week I think I forgot to mention a
funny experience...that had me laughing for hours...
so I really need to share it with you. So we have this
investigator...Leo Ramos...he came to the service
project and it was great because there were all
the high priests and men from the ward there....
so anyways afterwards Bro Mardane (friend- 25 yr old
rm...he's just great) and Sis. Fajardo and I and
Bro Leo were all standing around and I just asked
Bro. Leo,trying to make small talk or "chika chika"
as they call it here...haha...anyways I said "Kumusta
po ang naranasan mo ng ibang mga lalaki sa ward?" 
hahahahahaha I was trying to say "How was it hanging
out or intereacting with the other men of the ward?"
Instead I said "How was your experience with other men
in the ward?" he just replied "Ano?" or "What" and
Bro Mardane spit out his drink he was laughing sooo hard
...I immediatly busted up laughing tooo hahahah and
so did Sis. Fajardo it was so hilarious! I learned the
correct term is makapaghalobilo hahaha I'll remember
that next time! It was hilarious...Now that we have the
funny story out of the way...this week was great!
Mom. I received your cd's...they are perfect just what
I needed :)  ...ok not really needed but wanted! Also I
did receive the letters from Kenna! I cried when I saw
she mentioned me in her christmas letter that she handed
out to everyone...it said she missed me! :) haha Sorry I
didn't write about it Kenna...I have a card in the mail
coming to you...and to respond to Steven & Shawn!
So you should be getting it shortly! :)
We had a funeral service for Sis. Esperanza Aquino...
first time I saw a dead person in the Pines...they spend
so much money on funerals, the coffins are all really nice....
what the heck? thats messed up that the nicest thing
they have in their lifetime really isn't even in their lifetime
...its when they die. Also, they put a plate with food and
water on her coffin for her to eat...that was a little 
weird...I guess they believe that it takes time for her
spirit to travel to heaven...i dunno.  The only member in
their family is Bro. Aquino...so we went to their house
and had a funeral service for him.  It was good, the spirit 
was there :)
Bro Briggs is now our newest member here in
Lingayen 1st ward!  Yay!!  Another Baptism!  We
plan on having 6 more baptisms this month...we'll see
if they all work out :)  Anyways...it was a really happy
day,  all went well and he is happy.

Well...I have a new companion!!!  Sister Villavito!! 
She is soo magaling!  Oh my goodness I just love her! 
I have been really grateful that my companions have
been AMAZINNG!  She is my follow up trainer...but not
really because our area here is the 2nd largest area in
our  entire mission.  And I'm the only one who knows it
now...I'm in charge..i make the schedule...I tell the
trike drivers where to drop us off, and I am the one in
charge if directions and just...everything.  Scary thought
right?!  haha I know! :)  Anyways...I cried
when Sis. Fajardo left ...everyone laughed at me...the
members here in the ward, even though they're not
supposed to all got together after Bro. Briggs Baptism
and had a little party for her and made her scrapbook
thing...it was really sweet.
They all really love her just as much as I do :) They all
laughed at me when it came my turn to talk about
Sis Fajardo and how great she is and I just cried. haha :)

Transfer day...so we find out Wed. who is transferring-
we found out Sis. Fajardo is...so then Friday Morning
at 4am we had to wake up and be ready for the jeepney
to pick us both up at 6am. Sis. Fajardo went to Urdanetta
to get her new assignment- which turns out she got
assigned to La onion...San Fernando Zone...malayo po iyon
...and I got dropped off with the sisters that work next to
us in Manat Zone. Sis. Martinez & Bristain. I got to work
with them for the day while they brought me my new
companion! haha It was fun...so much fun actually...they
made me lead all the lessons...it was fun :) haha They
are soo great, and I got to see how they teach and just
pick up techniques and improve...it was awesome! Then I
found out Sis. Villavito is my new comp...ah I was soo
excited...she really is great. Her personality is way
different from Sis. Fajardo- she is more loud and out
spoken...but its great, because she's got the "go getter"
kind of attitude- a lot will be accomplished. I'm excited
for this next transfer. I'm expecting it to be my last in
this area :(  !!!!
Anyways, sorry this letter is short and sweet but I have
to respond to questions from the WML Dad forwarded me
and I also have to write a msg to our Newly called Mission
president- he arrives here July 1st...from Gilbert,
Arizona. Should be exciting, I'm really going to miss
Pres & Sis. Jensen though.
xoxoxoxox
Loves!

Miracles For This Week



I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS!



Feb. 19, 2012
Hi Family! Oh how it brings a smile to my face every
monday when I get to read your letters! I have soo
much to report on here! Its been a crazy, but fantastic
week! Mom to answer your question "hindi ko alam"
means "I dont know" hahaha and I didn't realize
I was saying some things in tagalog...I will try
and not! haha Sorry...guess it's a good  problem to
have though! :)
Um...where to begin. Ah yes, this sunday Tommy,
our baptism last week received the priesthood! Yay!
He was soo proud, he went out and bought a white
shirt and nice dress pants and shoes and he is wearing
it to church now...I have never seen someone stand
soo tall in sacrament as they read his name saying he
had recieved the Aaronic Priesthood! And of course,
Sis. Fajardo and I were beaming as well! :) I got to
sit up on the stand again...because of course I was
a speaker in sacrament meeting...only this time
they actually assigned topics...yay!
Progress! I was asked to speak on the Atonement...
one of my VERY favorite subjects! I didn't realize the
story before that I shared in my farewell talk was
from Elder C. Scott Grows talk "The Miracle of
the Atonement" and the story I shared was about
his brother who had had the "perfect" life- been
married and sealed in the temple, served a mission,
had a great family, everything going for him but for
whatever reason lost himself to distructive behavior
and lost his family, wife, and even membership in
the church. After more than a decade of being lost,
the Lord had not forgotten him, and he began to
return to the church a be active! Wow...how that
relates to MOST of the less actives that I am teaching
now...I didn't realize I was so inspired before I left...
haha joke-lang! But for real, I shared that talk again
this time...only tried to say it in tagalog. I had a really
hard time, because the first talk I gave here I pretty
much just read the entire time because it was in
tagalog, its hard for me to regress...when in America
I can just talk without a piece of paper in front of me
...its a humbling experience haha that's for sure!
Anyways, I didn't want to read- so I read parts of
the story and a scripture-but I DIDNT READ! I was soo
excited- I just bore testimony and the Lord really did
give me in the very hour what I needed to say. The
spirit was soo strong. For me especially because I got 
up there and just started right off the bat by saying
how grateful I was to be there of course but then
"Alam ko po no maaaring hindi ako makapagsalitang
mabuti sa wikang ito. Pero...tinawag ako ng propeta
ng Diyos para ibahagi ang nalalaman ko. At kaya
ako nandito, ngayon." or in English "I know that I can
not speak this language very well, but I have been
called by a prophet of God to share what I know.
And that is why I am here now." I was crying soo hard
I had to stop and compose myself haha because its true,
 every day I feel that way. That is the biggest challenge
for me. The stinkin language. Yes, I am considered
fluent, yes I can answer questions and teach all the
lessons now....but it's not how I would normally answer
questions and teach in English, and that is frustrating
to me, because I desperatly want to feel like myself.
Anyways, things went ok though yesterday and I was
very grateful...the spirit really does give you in the
very hour what you need. I looked down and saw
Sis. Gloria (tommy's wife) just crying...because she
knows its hard for me...she was the one I taught
on my 3rd day and I actually talked in tagalog...and
it wasn't me doing the talking, I know that. But because
the Lord wanted them to return, for whatever reason,
I was able to communicate with her even my 3rd day
here...and she knows that I am terrible at tagalog...I
guess that's why she was crying too...nah jk...she's
just a very close friend and I love her! :)
I had a couple of realizations this week about how
important it is to listen to the spirit, even in finding
less actives. To know what area to go to, when to go
to it, and what people to search for. The first
week I was here, Sis. Fajardo read to me a list of
names and asked if any stood out to me and there
were 2 that stood out to me, so we went to them.
We visited this family, the Orpia family. They have
a son and daughter that we're teaching the discussions
to, and they want to come to church, but their parents
and older siblings are all inactive, and that' s why we
found them because we were searching for their parents.
They are having a wedding this next month because
their son found out his girlfriend is pregnant...so now
they need to get married. He is 20 years old. His
girlfriend is 18 years old. His life could be so
different had he been active in the church. I remember
our first visit after we found them, which was about
3 months ago now- the mom expressed how much she
wanted her son to go on a mission- which kind of boggled
my mind because she's inactive- if you want your kids
to be active you should probably be active yourself...
just my crazy way of thinkin, but whatever. Anyways,
I remember sister fajardo saying " you can serve a mission
if you want to, but the first step is being active in the
church". haha of course. Anyways...I just think about
now- his girlfriend is 4 months along right now...at
that time he had made some serious mistakes- and if
the missionaries before here would have found them-
they could have maybe prevented this huge
life-altering course that his life is now taking. If only
they had been there sooner. I also had an experience
myself yesterday. My heart crumbled as I found out
that brother Modesto Aquino (91 yrs old) had lost his
wife. She passed away. I remember Sis. Fajardo and
I going to their house one of my first weeks here and
she was completely weak...she couldn't talk,
she couldn't walk, she couldn't hear very well or see
very well...but...Brother Aquino is a member of the
church...and she is not. I remember leaving there
and seriously feeling this overwhelming urgency to get
her baptized. I didn't know how, because I don't want to
baptize her against her will...but she would be kind
of hard to teach considering her current state. haha
Anyways, I told Sis. Fajardo "We NEED to find a way
to get her baptized" Anyways, we tried going to
their house a few times, but Brother always said that
we could come back another time- so we never ended
up teaching them. My heart melted to know she had
passed away,and I did not persue that impression I had
to teach her. So...now I will get all of her information
and at least make sure that the temple work is done
for her. Brother Aquino told us yesterday when we
went to the viewing that now he would be at church
every week, because he didn't have a "hindrence" haha
He is soo cute, seriously the happiest little man I've ever
seen. I think I wrote to you about him and told him how
he was caring for his wife and I started to cry because
thats who I hope I end up with some day, someone who
would take care of me and care about me as much as he
cared about her.
We had Zone Conference this week! So maybe there will
be more pics on her blog Mom! idk...Anyways, it was fun,
 of course! I was sooo excited when I got 3 packages!!!!!
One from Kari! For Valentines day...and it wasn't even
late- I got it Feb 15th...that's basically valentines day!
hhaaha :) The cookies were delicious! :) And...I got a
package from Mom and Dad!!! Yay....I think I've got
enough "after bite" to last my entire mission now!
haha Salamat!!! Also...the M&M's weren't melted at
all...they were totally fine! Good to know :) And last
but not least...I got a package from Amber, Jen, Bud,
Chris, Vanessa, Nel, Misty...all of my amazing friends
from back home! I was sooo extatic...tears came to my
eyes as I saw the box! haha :) The kids loved the
valentines rings Jen sent, and the pillowcases you
made were soo cute! Also...the toilet paper roll with
all the quotes was hilarious! haha :) And just...everything
was soo great! I cannot even tell you how great it is to
have all of you as my friends...and such
an amazingly supportive and just great family! I am sooo
blessed...I cannot believe that my mission is 1/3 of the
way through pretty much...how crazy it is! For our
Zone statistics though I thought it was interesting- since
they've changed the focus to LA now for Feb in the
entire Philippines we taught 45000 lessons! Isn't that
amazing...and we've had 2900 Returned Members now
in the last 2 months since this effort started...to be
considered a returned member you have to return for 4 magkasunod...consecutive sundays then you're
considered returned. It looks like the missionary
efforts are working....and I know with the Lords help,
 they will continue to progress. But as our
Mission President said...it's not really about quantity
...it's quality haha :) Quality lessons, quality members
...quality testimonies...lahat!
Oh...I got to preach by the way to a muslim...haha that
was scary...nah actually he pulled over cuz he saw that
I was white...then started talking to me and I kept talking
in tagalog to him and then he finally said "I dont really
understand much tagalog" hahaha it was really funny
anyways, it was a cool experience!
Ah...Briggs passed his interview, so we have a baptism
this thursday!
We are soo excited!!! Also, we had our first MCM
(missionary coordination meeting)!!! Because now we
have ward and ward assistant missionary leader! Yay!
It felt soo good to coordinate the efforts with them. Ah...
on Saturday too we had a CSP or community service
project- all the men got together and helped clean 
Bro Tommy's fish pond...so we cut the grass and weeds-
with a kawit---no lawn mower here! :) haha It was so
much fun, we got some good pictures too...it was soo
great because we had 2 investigators with bap dates
show up for the service project- and the stake pres
came (cuz he's in our ward) and same with the
1st counselor-- also we just had like 15 men show up...
it was just great they acted like a ward- its that
"bonding actvity" that dad was telling me to start initiating
...well we did! First activity was successful! :)
Anyways, another week...sorry my letter is EVERYWHERE
...so many great things just happened this week.
It is going by fast. This wednesday...2 more days we
have transfer awareness...and most likely..
sister Fajardo will be transferred. My training is now
over...I'm supposed to be considered trained..haha
that's a joke!
Anyways...I am very very sad to see her go, she is soo
great,and I seriously have loved EVERY minute with her,
I am so nervous to meet my follow up trainer. She will
be missed by so many of the members here too...she
has spent 6 months of her mission here in this area-
that's a long time! Anyways, I love you all and you're
always in my prayers!
Thanks so much for all you do and all your support!
I will talk to ya next week! :)
oxoxoxoxo


Top L:  Raft we take across a river to get to a member's house
We pray it doesn't break or stop working haha!
Top R:  Farming here....this is how they begin to plant rice.
Center:  An Average house/hut made of Kanain
Bottom L:  Cute Audrey Udtu and her friend.
Bottom R:  Sis. Fajardo & I bought meat to make skewers....
we didn't have a grill, so we improvised.



--

Another Week in Paradise


 February 12, 2012

Oh Hi Family! :)
First of all don't worry, I have not been affected at all by
the earthquakes- although Sis. Fajardo is from Manilla
and her family was in the Earthquake they had- which
Manilla is about a 5 hour jeepneyride from here...
150 miles I think. Anyways, we're safe and functioning!
As far as cell phones go Mom...Yes we have a cell phone
and we text all the time haha every night when we get
home we have to text our district leader if we made it
home safe- and if they dont get a reply from us they text
us- we're lucky because the Zone Leaders just live down 
the street from us- we're on the border of 2 areas so if
something happens they are really close by to help us.
If we're sick we're instructed to text Sis. Jensen- and 
she will call us or text us back- or if it is an emergency
go to the hospital then text them asap. The way we do
our call in reports now are all through text messaging-
its so different I'm sure than kenna and all the Bro in laws'
missions where they had to verbally call it over.  As far as
Pres and Sis Jensen I don't see them hardly ever- about
once every quarter we have a "Tri Zone Conference"
which actually happens to be this Wednesday- so we
travel to Aguilar- which is about a 1 1/2 hr bus ride- so I
will get to see them this week! We have a District meeting
every tuesday though, so I see my DL every week- and then
we have a Zone activity every transfer.  A transfer is
every 6 weeks. Which is the activity we had last monday-
also...we have Zone Interviews once every quarter too-
so...we'll probably have that in a month or two...
hindi ko alam. Anyways, so we're in contact with our local
leaders in the mission very frequently. This Friday night
we also went to the Worldwide Leadership Broadcast 
though! So..we saw our zone leaders and they gave me
my Valentines Day Package that arrived! I was not
expecting that...that was a nice surprise! Thank you so
much for the letters, and thank Sis. Shattuck for me too!
I loved hearing from you, and the wallet was awesome,
thank you! I will use it! So the package here it says you
sent it Jan 17th. it arrived here the 27th!
So it only took 10 days! So...Not sure- I guess it just
depends on maybe the time of year- maybe it took so
long to get the christmas package because it was
december...dunno! I have not received an M&M ball
yet though Dad haha I will let you know, but no they
do not have m&ms here! Mom- I dont think I need the
dryer sheets- thank you though...if you've already sent
them..thanks haha but if not dont worry about it. I
found this deet lotion- plus with the deet and the
permatox spray every day I think I've about got a
system worked out...I think! :) Oh, and sorry I scared
you with the drunk man situation- I just wanted to tell
you what memorable event happened that week...cuz
it will be memorable haha but I didn't mean to scare
you. I know you already know this- but I really am taken
care of- I'm not worried. As long as we're being smart-
which we are- the Lord is around us. I know that,
we're good :)
Funny that you mentioned the quote D&C 84:106 from
the leadership broadcast Mom- I was thinking about
you guys the whole time too
thinking...wow...My parents are close to SLC...they're
probably watching this too! haha The stories were
very motivaional. I still remember when the LA Man
that returned said "AS long as I'm breathing, I will be
there at church". I thought wow, what dedication...
and how perfectly said. The story of the Quorum
president was inspiring too...and I'm glad to know
you guys were crying too on the other side of the
world- because I was the only one bawling! haha
We had ZERO leaders from our ward show up to the
broadcast. Don't worry...I brought it up in PEC mtg
on sunday- I said "Well...which of you attended the
broadcast sa friday?" Syempre they said...none of us.
haha Then we talked about what was said and told
them the focuses for the entire church are similar to
our mission focus and area focus goals. ones of rescue!
The quote that one of them also said about the temple
was so true "we go to the temple to make covenants,
we go home to keep them." that is what they have
forgotten here. Several several several endowed
members are inactive- but the thing is, they went to
the temple way too prematurely...they dont even know
what covenants they're breaking...they just DONT KNOW.
People were way too overzealous to get these people
to make covenants without making sure they had a real
testimony and understanding of the concepts. Well,
we're trying to help them realize. This week we had
Brother Tommy's baptism! Yay!!! He is sooo great! I
just Love them! Pero, because we had the binyag and
leadership training it took away from proscelyting hrs....
which affected our sacrament attendance- which makes
me really sad to think about if we dont visit these la's
for one week they dont come to church. What is missing?
I can't figure it out. They have to find their own
testimonies so they can stop relying on us to teach them
weekly...I dont know whats missing- we're workng on it...
I need to figure it out soon though, because we're not
going to be here forever. I probably have one more
transfer left here then another area...probably! I'm
nervous because I have 1 1/2 more weeks left with
Sis. Fajarado and then I will get assigned to a different
follow up trainer...sooo nervous for that!
So we opened up ANOTHER area this week...this one is
small- we have about 7 different areas that we visit
every week- and we just focus our work on those 7 areas.
We had to travel to Malawa- for this one LA High council
man- the reason why he stopped going to church was
because he wanted to see how bad life really was
without the gospel. I about died when he told me that
was his reason. How stupid is that!
Anyways...he is a great man actually, very very
knowledgeable in the gospel...and he would be a great
leader. He told us he would come back to church if he
didn't have a calling. He just wanted to be an ordinary
member. I immediatly thought of Dad and how he said
he would join the church if it meant he didn't have to
give prayers or talks or really hold a calling. haha
I just told Bro Manuelito...Brother...an oridnary member
is an active member one that holds a calling.
Especially the most important calling, a VT/HT. He said
he would do that- but nothing else. haha it's a step-
actually he came to church and he was the first one there
on sunday- and then he said he wanted to help us find
a few of these other LA members too...so not only has
he returned- but he is helping us rescue others! :)
Oh...and we FINALLY got a new Ward Mission Leader
and Assistant!!! Yay we were so excited b/c our ward
mission leader date was an inactive member haha...a
23 year old boy who had no desire to even serve a mission
haha...Now Brother Mardane is the leader! He is SOOOO
great...he is also our ward clerk, pianist, and he pretty
much does the bishops job...seriously he spends all his
hours at the chuch. He's a 24 recently returned missionary
- he is awesome...and hilarious! His uncle is actually the
inactive- brother Juan Delacruz- that Sis. Fajardo and
I challenged to stop drinking and smoking that has
returned to church- they were the reason why brother
Mardane even joined the church in the first place.
Anyways, the assistant ward misison leader is brother
Ali Reyes- our Recent Convert- the Reyes family!!!!
He already goes with us all the time to visit others-
and he already brought 3 investigators since his
baptism that we've been teaching at their house and
they all have a scheduled baptisimal date so pretty
much he's already been doing his calling without
actually having the calling! Sorry...I really hope these
emails make sense to you and that I'm giving you enough
background for you to understand! haha Anyways,
we're really excited about that because that means
more support from the ward!
Lets see...we really do see many many tender mercies
from the Lord every day...seriously the Gospel is
soo true. I was reading my Patriarchal blessing earlier
today for personal study- and I just though about
how different life would be if we didn't have the
gospel. I just kept thinking of the quote "Everything
you are doing today is preparing you for something
else." It's soo true- everything we do now prepares
us for something else, whether its being a good mom,
going to school as a kid- or being a missionary- we
need to make sure we live each day as best as we can-
because it will impact our future.
I love you all and wish I had more time to write once again
xoxoxoxoxoxo
oh and HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! I can't even believe
how terrible v day was for me 2 years ago- and now to
think where I am for this V day...sharing it with...
Sister Fajardo hahahahaha :) Oh well, I love
you all dearly!
xoxoxo

Oh Hey...Just another week in the Pines

Tommy, Gloria, little Den Den and
investigator, Leo

February 5, 2012

Hey Family! So, another week has come and gone!

What a crazy busy week too filled with lots of fun...and interesting experiences!

This week is going to be a crazy one...I can't believe it...we have Tommy Ferrers baptism! He had his interview on Saturday and syempre, passed with flying colors!

Oh...I can NOT believe that Whitney is pregnant...she JUST got married right before I left...crazy how life goes on without me! haha Thank you so much

for sending that stuff in the mail! I dont know if it's healthy for all the Deet I put on...I put on this lotion stuff I found here, plus I'm mainly worried about the Permatox... Ibasically swim in it daily haha I spray my clothes with itdaily...so hopefully there are no permanent health problems because of it!I just got back from our ZoneActivity for this transfer-  it was soo much fun! We went

on a treasure hunt around Lingayen- We had to run different places and go through obstacle courses- look of different scriptures-it was soo much fun! Then we had a big lunch together!

I've made friends with Elder Evertt and Elder Laulu...we all speak English haha they are awesome- and yeah it was really fun this morning! I tried to attach pics- but this internet cafe isn't letting me attach them- you'll just have to wait till next week! Sis. Fajardo's mom sent us t-shirts from Cebu Philippines- so we wore our matching shirts! So last pday I got asked if I was half American- I just laughed and said yeah- I'm actually just American!

haha I took that as a compliment! :) This week we had once again, a record number of

members attending sacrament mtg again! It was awesome, once again, the chapel was full! :) People are starting to remember their covenant they made, and they're returning, it was awesome too because Bishop is telling them they need to be in shirt and tie now, so they're starting to dress like they're in church, we started on time again, AND we actually had a ward council mtg! It was so fantastic! We talked about our goals, and people are still being visited- and what they can do as a ward to help the retention of the LA's!

This week I had some new, very memorable experiences. When I was in high school I had a friend that used to listen to this song and I would always tell her jokingly but...for real...to turn it off because it was inappropriate it goes "apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur, the whole club was lookin at her..." etc...anyways its like this rap song that is catchy of course...but bad. haha Anyways Sis. Fajardo and I took a Trike to a new area we opened, Malawa- and it was like a 45 minute trike ride- it's our furthest area away- but we have a LA who is a focus for the ward that lives there. He used to be in a bishopric- and on the high council- he was sobrang magaling date, but now he totally fell away and has been inactive for a few years. Anyways, we attempted to visit him and I started busting up laughing sooo hard because here we enter this quiet  little town where there are a lot of people there on the street- and our driver is blasting music and as we pull up you here "apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur, the whole club was lookin at her" hahaha soo ironic I just said to Sis. Fajardo people are probably thinking "wow, here come the mormon missionaries!" haha and then I was studying flashcards in the trike ride and I turned it over and it said "damned" hahaha it was soo funny we just started laughing! :) We made it all the way to that area- and he wasn't there. We have a hard time here- it's not like America at all...they don't have phones- for the most part- so you don't ever schedule an appt really- you just show up and hope and pray that they're there. So here we traveled this whole way and he wasn't even there...it cost $100 pesos too! And so...we asked if we could teach some random preach by the way a lesson right then and there, so we did. Then as we were leaving, he pulled up! Talk about a miracle! So, we got to teach him! He fed us a merienda and was soo kind- we got him to agree to come to church...well he said "I'll pray about it and do what the spirit tells me" haha well, that means he'll come! :) We'll see!

We taught the Dela Cruz Family...I love them! They are soo great but Bro. Juan drinks like every night...and it's a real problem for their family!  So...of course Sis. Fajardo and I talked to them about Word of Wisdom :) What a fun lesson- I'm getting good at teaching it because it's probably the hardest thing for people here to understand- likewise the US I guess! Anyways, at the end- I offered him a challenge. I told him I also have a weakness that I like- and if he is willing to give his up, I will give mine. No sweets! So- he agreed- we're doing this together and let me tell you, we're both going through withdrawls! haha 

Anyways, it will be over hopefully by the time I get my package so I can eat it! :) We also have another family, Brother Alberto Deguzman who has the same problem- only he gets like...wasted totally drunk every night, well we made him the promise that I would give up sweets and sis fajardo would give up kanin...rice... which is a HUGE sacrifice hahaha Anyways, he accepted- we'll see how it goes. He used to abuse his wife a lot- actually still does when he gets drunk- Alcohol ruins your life.  Not to mention we taught this lesson to some random people the other day. The one guy was totally wasted and drunk.

It was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever felt. He grabbed my arm, and then leaned in really close for me to kiss him. Then this other guy grabbed me. Then another guy was just talking really loud and saying "sorry sister, promise next time I wont drink or smoke in front of you". I just kept looking at Sis. Fajardo to leave- finally she did. I just cried as we left. That was soo terrible, it made me feel so disgusting, the spirit was totally not present. The one guy we were teaching- who was sober- just kept saying sorry sister, sorry sister- but it still made me feel so terrible! I hated that! Then he kept trying to give me his number...yeah it was just a terrible experience- but again, that's what the effects of alcohol do to you! Lots of crazy experiences- sorry that's all I have to say-

but I've run out of time! I love you all very much! The work here is soo great!

I am so lucky to be here, every day I just think "wow, I'm in the Philippines...half way around the world...speaking tagalog...wow" haha

Anyways, life is good, hope it is all well there for you too!

xoxoxoxox

Lagi na Mamahal,
Sister Kimberly Allen

ONE MORE STORY...
One huge story I forgot to include that is soo important-When  Sis. Fajardo and I were running the other day- actually pretty much I just run and she stays at the end of the corner so she can see me hahaha    Anyways, we ran the other day and as we turned the corner she was like "Sis. Allen, did you see that white person?" And I just turned around and saw this really white person from far away. haha we ran back towards the end of our run and I just stopped and said hi and he said "wow, I couldn't believe it, I saw another white person here!" We just laughed, it was funny! Anyways I got to talk to him, I asked him if he knew anything about the church or heard of the mormons and he said yes! So that was that. I kept thinking about him all during personal study though and was wishing that I had had a book  of mormon with me or pamphlet or something...but I
didn't. So, anyways I took it over to their apartment afterwards- cuz I couldn't stop thinking about him! Later that day I ran into his sister form Ohio- I talked to them IN ENGLISH for about 50 minutes- got to know all about them, gave them a book of mormon and told them to look the missionaries up in America! It was soo awesome...anyways, I don't have time to  elaborate- just wanted you to know that cool experience- what is the chance that they'd be here at this time and so would I...things happen for a reason. Who knows, maybe I"ll never know, but the seed has been planted!
xoxoxoxo ulit!
Love Sis Allen
PS kari i'm sorry i didn't have enough time to write back again but
please keep the letters coming!
LOVE YOU!