Week 11 - 4/14/2013

Hello Everybody! Wow, what a week. Pretty darn awesome, I must say and very adventurous. First, We didn't have water from Monday to Friday. I remember when we were living at the Riviera and they shut the water off for like 3 hours and it was horrible! Or it reminded where Mark almost had to shower in the backyard for prom hahaha... any way, we had to go next door and literally pump the water we used for showers, quite and interesting experience. And we couldn't wash our clothes until Friday, we were getting so nervous that we would run out! Needless to say when the water turned back on in, I have never been so excited to see water coming out of a faucet in my entire life. But luckily we have filtered water delivered to our house for drinking so we didn't need to worry about that. Another adventure, I ate an egg that was 100 days old, it's called a century egg. Absolutely black with a gray yolk and it smelled not to great, but actually didn't taste to bad! We watched general conference this weekend at the stake center which is our building so we got to see all the elders in our zone and that's when we ate them. 

And my companion also taught me how to gut the fish and cook it then you cut off the heads, put it in a soup and then suck the eyes and brains out of the skull. True story. I feel pretty legit Filipino right now haha We also had the opportunity to participate in a mini MTC for all the perspective missionaries in the stake which was pretty great. It was 2 nights and a morning testimony meeting. They fed us so it was really great cause we couldn't cook at home because lack of water. I played the piano, as missionaries we sung to musical numbers and I gave a talk. They sure like our participation! But the talk was in English because the MTC in the Philippines is all English so it was really good. I talked about how much good they could do in their wards right now just by talking to any of the investigators the missionaries bring or even just paying attention to those who aren't coming to church and reach out in friendship and love. Because if their is one lesson I will take home with me is HOW MUCH MEMBERS ARE NEEDED IN MISSIONARY WORK!!! Seriously, more and more everyday I realize this. Not even just for referrals, but just to help the people the missionaries are teaching feel welcome. And missionaries get transferred every few months but the members will be there forever!-ish. When the members are involved, they are also able to experience the joy the missionaries do when they get baptized and they are 100x more likely to stay active and it's more likely that the people will be converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not just the missionaries. There are literally like 10 people this sister missionary was working with a few transfers ago that got baptized or were progressing and literally stopped everything the second she got transferred. So sad!!! I don't care how many people I baptize as long as make sure they are truly CONVERTED to the church. It's seriously been a big problem of recent converts becoming inactive within a few months and it is so much harder to help  them. It was really cool going to conference with questions not about me, but how I can help our investigators individually. We have an investigator named MJ who is gay and he really wants to get baptized. They taught him the Law of Chastity and everything and he is willing to follow it but, the sisters before kept putting it off cause he wouldn't cut his hair. We really didn't know what do because there is no specific scripture saying cut your hair or you can't be baptized. So we were really at a loss of how to help him. When conference was finished, there wasn't any specific talk that addressed his situation, but I realized if the only thing keeping him from getting baptized is his hair, then he isn't truly converted and shouldn't be baptized anyway. I realized that the investigators that are the hardest to teach and with the most obstacles are actually the ones I am most grateful because as we help them forsake the things of their past life and watch them truly change, we will know that they are truly ready to be baptized. Right now we are teaching a 14 year old named Criselda and she is great cause her best friend is a member so she's been to church like 5 times and really wants to baptized but because these things are easy for her, it's hard to tell if she's really converted and if she really has a testimony. When we first started teaching her, we thought great!  She'll go to church 4 weeks and teach her then she'll be baptized, this will be a breeze. But We are realizing it is actually going to take a very long time for her and it will be very difficult for us if she is fully converted to the gospel willing to endure to the end. General Conference is awesome and it's amazing how we can receive the questions we need even if the speakers don't specifically mention it. One of the other things I have loved is when people don't come to church and we ask why, they say no money. Then my first thought is just walk! Well, the church probably 3-4 miles away. I think, would I be willing to walk that far week after week to go to church? Ask yourself these questions. I've decided I would because church is that important. If I expect these people to do it, I need to expect the same from me. 

I love it here, I'm working hard, we're teaching a lot but we have a long way to go before our investigators are truly converted! But that's okay cause true conversion takes time, but is long lasting. And in order to stay converted, we need to do the basic things everyday. It's a requirement to even be counted as committed to date of baptism that they read the Book of Mormon every single day, are we? I know that even though it seems small and insignificant that if we read the Book of Mormon (even just a verse) every single day, we will be happier and live a more joyful life. I know this because I have done it for the past 2 years and the difference it has made is incredible. By small and simple things, great things are brought to pass. As we create these habits in our lives, they will be the anchor we need through our trials. 

Gugma, Sister Pike

Happy Birthday Sister Somera! With Sister Nelson and Sister Karagdag

District Lunch

Cutest thing ever. This is a typical street we walk past and there were two little boys riding the pedicab and one hopped off to help push it up the hill.

This is their idea of drinks to go because they are usually in glass bottles but they reuse them over and over so they put it in a bag to go. One time I tried to take a glass bottle and my companion looked at me like I was crazy and said, They aren't free! haha 

The 100 day old egg we ate. I didn't think it was that bad at all! But Elder Baker ate one the next day and he looked like he was about to vomit every time he took a bite haha I just thought it was freaking awesome I ate an egg that was black! and not colored.  Who else can say that??

Oh, no big deal, I guy just rode by on a caribou (water buffalo) with a bucket of fish to sell. My companion actually tried to get him to stop so I could ride hahaha she's hilarious. This is not typical. Most of the time we are in the city. 

So pretty! and green!

Our fish head soup. Marasa siya

And the fish we cooked with just onions, ginger, garlic and this mix stuff? I love it!

Week 10 - 4/8/2013

AHHHH!! Chicago??? (Our brother Mark got his mission call to Chicago - Julie) That is SO exciting! And insane. Like mother like daughter, like father like son, that never happens! Different languages and areas too, but crazy nonetheless! Markie! I am super excited for you! This week has been pretty excellent though I don't really know why. I've been trying to pay attention to all the little details that you might enjoy. Funniest thing ever, we were riding by on a pedicab and this little girl and boy (12 ish maybe) saw me as we were passing and she said, "Ah, mahusay!" (beautiful) so she asked my name, but we were riding by so I didn't really have time to respond so I just didn't say anything, but then I hear running behind me and a turn and they are chasing us down, literally!! When they caught up to us and were running next to us, they asked again and when I told them and they confirmed it, they stopped running and she screamed "AH!" As in "I'm so excited!" It was hilarious!!! And every time we pass they yell my name with excitement and chase us down and shake my hand through the opening while we are still riding! hahaha I have a legit fan club! And I took some pictures with random girls yesterday. And every time I speak Waray-waray, people are just astounded. It's basically the best. And when members find out this is only my first area, they are really impressed. Then I asked my companion and she said when she left her first area, the members rated her a 1 and she rated me an 8... after 3 weeks. Crazy! I love it though. I'm feeling so much more confident in my speaking skills and teaching skills, the other day I taught like half the lesson! I felt so great! Sundays after church are probably the worst because you realize that almost none of the investigators or people you have been working with showed up to church and you realize that you have a LOT of work to do. But that lasted for like a second and I just felt grateful to be teaching so many investigators! We have like 10? and many inactive that we visit on a regular basis. We teach 12 full lessons in a really bad week haha We really are blessed. I told my companion that Dad only taught 2 lessons his entire mission and zero baptisms and she was just shocked. She didn't believe me! haha I really feel grateful that I even have 11 people people to disappoint me for not coming to church haha. Perspective. On Friday, we had Zone interviews so we had training with President Andaya and we got snickers!! Which is basically the highlight, Sister Somera has literally been talking about it for weeks. We didn't get to watch general Conference this weekend, but we will next weekend. But I don't think we get to watch the Saturday sessions but I'm so excited! General Conference has always been my favorite. Today, we had a zone activity of Basketball, volleyball and frisbee and it was so fun! Every chapel I've seen is super nice, gated, bars on the windows, all tile floor inside with full court basketball where the parking lot should be. But there are no parking lots! Most people have motorcycles, get rides (sakay) or walk. Since is was all outside, I got sunburned so bad! But I was in heaven. I love sports!! 

Some cultural things I noticed, when you don't hear what someone says and you want them to repeat it, you open your mouth really wide. This was confusing to me at first because it makes it look like what you said was really shocking haha but I'm so good at it now. Ano pa... Tons of little kids are always playing in the streets and one game that I see most often is they put their flip flops in the middle and through other flip flops at them trying to hit it. I'm not really sure... We always take our shoes off when we enter a house and we sit on the floor about 25% of the time. When we meet someone really old, we touch their hand to our head to show respect and we always call them Nanay or Tatay. That's been hard to get used to. This past week we went to a restraunt that had American food and I ordered waffles. They gave me a fork and a knife and literally didn't know what to do with myself... haha seriously! They always use a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left and you only used the fork to shovel the food onto the spoon then you use the spoon also as a knife. It is SO much more efficient. If I was that clueless after only 3 weeks, just imagine after 16 more months... haha it's going to be hilarious. I really hated trying to eat with a fork and knife. Without it realizing it, I tried to pile the food on my knife to eat it...didn't work out so well. Filipinos are super blunt. They don't ever call me big or anything, but another member did tell another Sister she was fat... haha At first when people would compliment me about being really beautiful or really smart for picking up the language so fast, I just thought oh they're being nice. But this week I learned that they are so honest and only say what they really mean. Something else cultural I've noticed that they are really committed in relationships. Even though marriage is not super common, when they live together or she gets pregnant, they are family and it means the same thing. In fact, they call them the same thing as husband or wife and it makes it way easier for those we are teaching because they basically are married and just as committed, they just need the legal document. And so far I haven't heard of any divorces.   

The other day, we visited a house that was crazy to get to! I really want to take a picture when we go back! He was our pedicab driver and we talked to him and he was interested in learning more. He told us the general area where he lived and we asked around and usually that's pretty typical except no one knew who he was! Finally like the 10th person knew (that's another thing is they are SUPER nice about giving directions and they will go out of their way to help you) so we followed her. We weaved between houses (huts really) in the mud, then we walked along these planks over mud and sewage, then we walked along like a 2 in. wide concrete wall and on one side was swamp and the other, a foot of sewage, for a while and then through mud and then we had to jump over two stream things, it was a pretty hard jump. I loved it, Sister Somera barely made it haha it was crazy! No wonder no one knew him! I was just laughing the whole time thinking, I can't wait till the others hear about this! It was great. And then he was busy so we had to go all the way back but it was a pretty legit little adventure.

Oh and Sister Somera's Birthday was on Saturday so we celebrated! The other sisters got a barbie cake for her but it was SUPER dense and so moist, it was crazy! It literally looked like it was just slabs of chocolate but still marasa (delicious) nonetheless. I feel like my emails are so random! haha One all the gospel, the next culture, you never know what you are going to get! I love it here. I hope you all can enjoy my adventures too! It has been pretty darn hot lately. Always humid but I never realize how humid it is until we meet in the bishop's office on Sunday which is aircon then walk out and the humidity hits you like a brick wall. Oh and I tell people I'm pretty used to the hot and humid because I'm from Texas and they are just shocked. "I thought it was only cold in America!" haha, that's funny. Until next week! 

Gugma,

Sister Pike

Week 9 - 4/1/2013

Kumusta akon Pamilya! 

Wow, what a week! It has been really great though. First I want to share an experience I had on Friday that was so great! So it was Good Friday and we weren't allowed to do any work (because it was dangerous? I don't really know. People always said tons about how crazy holy week, but I didn't even notice a difference at all!) so we stayed inside and studied all day. If you know me, you know I love curling up with a good book and reading for hours on end so that is exactly what I did, I read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John! All in one day, can you believe it? I kinda felt like I was reading Harry Potter haha but when I finished, I thought I just read all about Christ's earthly ministry among the Jews, I can't think of a better way to spend Good Friday! At the end of my reading, all I could think was I am SO grateful for the Book of Mormon and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! How can reading the Bible all day long increase my testimony about the Book of Mormon?? Good question! The Book of Mormon beautifully expounds upon the nature of Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. I read about his many miracles, his teachings, the intercessory prayer, him tarrying in the garden while his apostles waited, his unjust trial, his crucifixion and resurrection 3 days later. But it is in Alma and 2 Nephi that we learn we cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven save it were for this great, last, infinite, and eternal sacrifice. He shall atone for the sins of the world, go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind and take upon him the pains of sicknesses of his people.(Alma 34:8-10 and Alma 7:6-8). Not only does the atonement allow us to return, but it allowed him to be "filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know how to succor his people according to their infirmities."(Alma 7:11-13). Wow! What a knowledge we have! Than add the revelation given to the prophet Joseph Smith, "For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I; which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit-and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink." (D&C 19:16-18) Wow. Would anyone want to suffer like that if they had the choice? Then add the Modern Revelation we have received and continue to receive by listening to General Conference! How blessed are we?? In Preach my Gospel, it says, "As we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trails, sicknesses and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Christ." The Atonement is the single most important doctrine we need to be happy in this life as well as the life to come. This is why I'm here! I get to share this message everyday and it is awesome.

So, it's ironic that I had this experience on Friday that made me thankful for all the knowledge that we have readily available to us as members of the church and then on Easter Sunday I had some experiences that made me even more grateful! I want all of you to hug your quadruple combination of the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price because we need all of them to fully understand the gospel, but many, many members here don't have access to them! We can only teach from the Book of Mormon the lessons because that is the only book we have in Tagalog for them to read. Which is a pretty hard thing to do even if it is the keystone of our religion! And then, even after they are baptized, many members in our ward have access to them in English and they know english quite well because of their work, but some do not. They need to rely on the members during church to read the scriptures in english during the lesson and explain in Waray-waray. Same with General Conference! We will watch it a week later in english and many will not be able to fully understand, but will have to wait until these lessons are taught in church. We taught a couple that have been inactive for 8 years and when we visited them Saturday, they expressed a desire to get married and return to full activity so they could receive the blessing of the temple and we hope to witness their marriage soon. While we were teaching them on Sunday, Sister Weng had a question about Pontias Pilate and how the Jews wanted to Crucify Jesus, as told in Mark. All they had was an English bible, so we read with them, verse by verse what it meant. Now this wasn't even particularly deep doctrine, but they needed our help in understanding. And then later we taught the Ordonez Family (who just got baptized) and they asked about the Doctrine and Covenants and how they could read it. They have a desire, but even if we can get one for them, it will be in english and very difficult for them to understand. How blessed we are! Not just temporally, but spiritually as well! Even though many people around the world have been blessed to have scriptures translated into their own tongue, these people have not. Although it is so wonderful that they have the capacity to learn through going to church, they cannot read on their own and know for themselves which is something I will never again take for granted. 

Wow, that was long! But I really can't imagine a better way of spending Easter weekend. And now on a lighter note, yesterday I helped Nanay Ordonez wash her car (pictures soon to follow) and we had to pump our own water across the street and then when I was helping, there was literally a crowd of like 10 kids crowded around watching me help haha it was so funny! And everytime someone passed (which is often, the streets are very busy) they would do a double take and just smile. Also good things about Good Friday is Sister Karagdag (who lives with us) made us very delicious mango smoothies than a delicious grahamcracker-mango-ice cream cake! They (filipinos) definitely have a sweet tooth and it is perfect for me! I even tried some homemade peanut butter and it is so sweet! There is no way you need honey or jam! And the bread, spaghetti, even the pizza is made sweeter. At first, I didn't like the peanut butter that much and I preferred American, but it grew on me fast. Maybe I'll return home and add sugar to all my peanut butter or something haha The work has been progressing well. Lots of teaching to investigators and Less actives (almost more to less actives) but getting them to come to church is pretty hard, but we won't give up! A couple that promised adamantly Saturday that they would be there did not come, why? It was rainy. It's the Philippines! It's rains every other day, at least. haha I'm patient though and think, next week! 

I hope through my experiences you are able to feel so blessed, because you are!!! You have a loving Heavenly Father and he has given you all so much. Never forget to thank him, for even the things that might seem small like scriptures in your own language. And most importantly, use that gift! That is the best way to show appreciation. Until next week! 

Gugma, 

Sister Pike

Me and Sister Somera with a Sting ray at a local fish stand. 

Washing Nanay Ordonez's car. They fit a family of 10 in here! What?? And it wasn't actually that dark, I think the flash made it look darker. 

Week 8 - 3/25/2013

Maupay na Kolop!

Well, This is going to be much shorter cause I have less time, but things are going great! And I even have some pictures!! Highlights: The Ordonez Family got baptized on Saturday! Yay! And we are just making sure they have their sights set on the temple for next year. So, it's interesting, I feel like I know the language pretty well considering I've only been here like a week, but whenever I have the chance to talk, I just smile because I don't know what to say! Not because I don't know how to translate it, I just literally don't know what to say haha And everything I can think of saying is not worth translating haha so I need to work on that. The baptism was pretty crazy because it was supposed to start at 4 but it didn't really start until 5 and even though we told the Ward Mission leader to organize the program (who is speaking and everything) a few days before, literally 5 minutes before it started he was asking people. And then they jokingly asked me if I would talk and I laughed and said "No, I've been feeling sick" and I don't know anything and I thought I was off the hook. Nope, they start and call me as the first speaker. WHAT?!?!?! Luckily, Sister Somera is a saint and took over me because I literally felt like a was about to fall over. And I could've said something, but I felt like they deserved something better than 5 sentences for their baptism. But in church they asked me to bear my testimony and it went really well! They said it was perfect Waray-waray and I definitely have the gift of tongues because they've never seen someone pick up the language so fast. I just really feel like it was a result of the change in the MTC program because even though it's a different language, the grammar was the same and a lot of the gospel terms are similar and I had a really firm foundation in that coming out of the MTC so it's been really good. Today, we went to beach! Most of the time, I forget we are on an island so close to an ocean, but it was so beautiful! Hopefully my pictures to it justice. I honestly don't think it's that hot here, there is always a nice a breeze and we are in the shade most of the time. I really don't think I'll ever get sun burnt ever. It has rained quite a bit this week, and it comes down HARD, but it hasn't been too bad. Filipinos avoid rain like the plague, it's kinda funny. I don't think I mentioned this before, but people stare at me all the time! We were teaching a lesson to a recent convert this past week, she was like 17 and she told me I was beautiful then just kept staring at me through the whole lesson haha It's pretty great especially since I wear no makeup and my hair is a mess all the time. I basically discovered braids are the only way. And the other day we were walking down the street and this little boy yelled, "Hello Sister Pike!!" And I looked at my companion and said, "do you know him?" She said, "Nope, looks like you're famous!" haha Hmm... I love talking to my companion cause I never realize how blessed I am. She asks about how close the temple was and if I've ever seen the prophet. When she found out I've been to General Conference like 4 times and went to the temple every week for years, she always says, "you are so blessed!" She had never been to the temple until she went in the MTC in Manila and received her endowments. And she didn't learn any language at the MTC so even though she knew illongo and tagalog, she had learn the languages here! And she was telling me about her other companion that was from Pakistan and learned English, all the characters, Cebuano and Waray-waray all in the field, no formal education at all! I cannot even imagine!!!! I feel really blessed! Nahigugma ako sa inyo!!!! 

Sister Pike

Leftovers from the MTC

Our Elders with our teacher, Brother Elmer

Our whole district with our teachers, Brother Pasikala and Johnson

Our District goal: "Don't let Pike shoot the 3 in your eye."

With a few other sisters from our zone headed to Iloilo, Hiligaynon speaking.

The last time I'll see Sister (Kristin) Ricks for 16 months!

Now Entering the Philippines!

Staying at the hotel in Tacloban

View from the hotel, didn't really do it justice! The whole sky was bright pink!

My MTC companions on the day of transfer

Our batch of new sisters

Sister Somera and President and Sister Andaya! They're just the greatest.

Ordonez Family with the Elders in our district and the sisters in our apartment.

The Ordonez Family baptism!!! They are just the cutest.

Revelation and Elton John Ordonez, can you believe he is 9?!? They are all so tiny!

Sister Somera and I, so pretty!

Jumping pictures, can you believe it wasn't even my idea?!

Sister Somera and I at the beach

Nahigugma ako sa Dios (I love God.)

Sister Somera and the outside of the trike. It's pretty tiny! On the way to the baptism, we fit the Ordonez family of 10 with us in one that size! It was crazy! Luckily the kids are pretty small so they packed in.

The girls in my apartment in one of the little trike things. Like a car but it's a motorcycle with just a shell of a car over it.

Doing my laundry this morning! No washboard or rocks, just our hands and tubs of soap haha

Week 7 - 3/18/2013 - Greetings from the Philippines!

Hey guess what?? I'm actually here! I still can't believe it. So we left the MTC at 4 am on Monday morning and we arrived at our mission office 8pm Tuesday night, but it was 11 am Wednesday in the Philippines. Talk about tiring! But it actually wasn't too bad. And weird, I feel like I'm already pretty adjusted to Filipino culture even though I've been in my area for two days! And I haven't had any trouble at all adjusting to the time, I can always fall to sleep perfectly each night and when I wake up at 6:30, it's so bright I feel like I slept in! I haven't used an alarm clock all week! So when we got to Tacloban on Wednesday morning, we were interviewed by the President Andaya and we ate at their house for lunch and dinner. It was SO good. Definitely love the food. Lots of meat and rice and pineapples and bananas. Our batch was all there together, 13 from the Provo MTC and 4 from the Philippines and they were from Bisaya so they already know Bisayan(Cebuano). The sisters stayed in a Hotel with aircon and hot showers so it didn't really feel much different. We stayed there for two nights while we had orientations and stuff then Friday morning we were assigned our trainers and found out our area. So I knew the possibility of me learning Waray-waray was high, but I had no idea how high! 7 out of 10 areas are Waray-waray and there are 3 different dialects S,R and H. And the other 3 are Cebuano but one is Cebuano J which replaces all the y's with j's. Kinda strange, anyway... I have been assigned in...Catarman! Speaking Waray-waray S!!! So you're telling me the language I spent the past 6 weeks learning is not the same as what I'm speaking? Yes, but turns out, they are pretty similar and I'm picking it up pretty fast. Friday we had transfer meeting and we were done by 11 then we had to travel to our areas which I found out Catarman is the farthest area north and is a 7 to 8 hour drive. We rented a van, but we didn't leave until 6:30pm so we got there around 1am, long day! And that was the most crowded van ride of my life. We fit 10 people +driver with lots of luggage, you could not have fit a single thing more in there if you tried. It was quite the adventure. And since then, we' ve been just living regular missionary life! 

2 days I've been here in Catarman, but it really feels like at least a week, but it's so good because I'm very well adjusted. We take cold bucket showers, today I washed all my clothes by hand, we don't have air conditioning and we have a one bedroom apartment and it's pretty tiny, but compared to others, we are so rich! Sister Somera is my Nanay (mother in waray-waray aka my companion who is training me) and she is the best. She is 27, 10 months into the mission and she has trained before and she is Filipina. She is so sweet, a whole head shorter than me, very soft spoken and the nicest person ever. She speaks waray-waray all the time to me so I can pick it up faster and in 2 days I can already tell a huge difference. Oh and she is a great cook, she promised to teach me how to cook some Filipino dishes, I really don't know what I would do without her. We also live with Sister Nelson (from my batch in the MTC but not in my district) and Sister Karagdag and they are so nice and also love to cook so I am basically spoiled. 

Once again, I really can't believe how well adjusted I am to the culture! I feel like I never even had a culture shock! Filipinos don't use toliet paper not because it's not available, just because they don't believe in using it at all ever and I'm kinda surprised how fast I accepted that haha. We ride around the city in petty cabs which are basically guys that ride around on bicycles with a little sidecar thing attached and you can go anywhere in the city for 5 pesos. I love them so much cause they are super cheap and you just get to ride, enjoy the city and the breeze and spend less time traveling! I would totally up for bringing this idea to the US except no one would probably be willing to work for so little. 5 pesos=1/9 of a dollar (1 dollar=45 pesos) It's crazy! Yesterday was stake conference and guess who played the piano? Me! Can you believe it? Cause I still can't. 2 weeks ago I got so nervous playing in front of like 5 people that I messed up so much, but when I played yesterday it was almost perfect. Plus, they told me to play a song that I had never heard of EVER and so I sight read it, practiced for like 5 minutes before and it actually went really well! If that is not a miracle I don't know what is. And it's funny cause no one even knew how big of a deal that was for me, but I knew! Stake conference, in the Philippines, I'm still in shock. Later that night, we went and taught 4 families and it was so great! The Ordonez family has 8 people getting baptized this Saturday! Wow! Lucky me. They have been taught by the missionaries since December and they are so great! They have the cutest kids. Get this, their names are Edmund, Analyn, Dimple, Darling, Ed & Mund (they're twins), Gwen, Revelation and Promise. I thought it was funny they had Edmund & Gwen! Reminded me of Grandma and Grandpa Homer. We also taught Nanay Gregoria who was Catholic and 76 years old but we just taught her about Baptism last night and asked if she would get baptized and she said yes! There is a rule here that they have to attend church 4 times in a row before they get baptized to make sure they stay active which even then it's hard. So her date is set for the April 20th, I really hope it goes through and I'm really looking forward to teaching her more. She has been taught a few times previously I think. I think the house that shocked me the most was Pablio and Eva. They have 3 kids and when we got to there house and walked in, it had a dirt floor and you literally could not stand up, but we then climbed a ladder to the second level which had a TV and a hammock and all the kids were playing. My first thought was this is a pretty neat setup but then I remembered, this is a house! Not a tree house that little kids play in for fun then go home! I can't even imagine raising three kids in that tiny little room, but tons of people do it everyday. Not to mention in every single lesson there were so many other noises because they lived right next to the street and basically on top of the houses next to them so it is difficult to feel reverent peace however they all showed such a firm desire to be better and listen to what we were saying despite the distractions of the world around them. It really is a miracle. They are progressing, our next goal is to get them married so they can be baptized. The work is going well! We planned our schedule for the week and we have lots of teaching appointments, I'm pretty sure we never tract, mostly referrals from members we might street contact but I'm not really sure. Well I have to go, even though I now have an hour it would seem that's not enough time! But good news, I can email ANYONE now, including friends and other family so if you want to post my email that would be great because letters take FOREVER. I love you all and I want you know that I am doing very well in the Philippines! My companion said by the end of this week I should be able to talk to anyone and by the end of the month, I should be pretty fluent. Crazy. But I've progressed so much already, I believe it! I will try to send pictures next week! 

love, 

Sister Pike           

Week 6 - 3/9/2013

Hey, guess what!?!!

Last night they changed all of our travel plans and we are leaving Monday morning at 4am!!! Crazy! So today is now the day to prepare for everything and it's been a little crazy, but I am so excited nonetheless. Now our plans are from Salt Lake to San Fransico to Tokyo to Manila so get ready for a call pretty early that morning. I basically get to talk as long as we are in the airport so it will be a good amount of time. I still can't believe it! We've been appreciating all of life's pleasures like hot showers, flushing toliets, air conditioning while it lasts cause we know just around the corner we will be without it! But I'm excited for an adventure. Another Sister in our zone has a boyfriend serving in the Philippines so she had some pictures and it is absolutely goregous! I am going to miss the MTC so much though, I have such an awesome family here! I can't imagine how it could have been better. Funny story, some elders in my district have discovered that when they say, "Don't Smile", I try to hold it in for like a second then I crack and burst out laughing. Needless to say, my days have been full of laughter and happiness and I love it. Another funny story, An elder said he would pay another $20 if he could eat 10 biscuits and gravy at breakfast. For those unfamiliar, after about 3 you want to throw up. Elder Young made it to 9 and gave up unable to eat the LAST biscuit! It was pretty intense. 

This week has definitely not been normal, but it's been really great! On Tuesday we decided as a class to talk about the Plan of Salvation and prepare to teach it better then devotional that night was all about it! It was the greatest! It was given by Marcos Aidukaitis of the Quorum of the Seventy and something he said that was really awesome was "You don't want to surprised where you go after you die so make your decision now! Go home, write it in journal big and bold so know one will ever be able to doubt your intentions and make every single decision in your life with that in mind. Think, 'Will this get me to the Celestial Kingdom?' When we have a goal in mind from the very start, it is much easier to keep your eye on the prize and end up where you want to be." So great! Wednesday, we hosted for the new missionaries which were coming in. AKA we just showed them where their room and classroom is and explained some things which is always really fun. Thursday, we had the best TRC ever! We taught someone about getting more out of church and at the end he was SO thankful! He said, "Wow, I didn't even know I had that concern when I came in and I just felt I was able to trust you Sisters with that and that helped so much!" There was a time in a lesson when I said something really long (sa Cebuano) and when I finished, He said, "I think you are exactly right! That was the perfect answer to my question!" And I literally had just forgotten everything I said. Coincidence? I think not! I definitely felt like I was totally guided by the Spirit and it was the coolest thing ever. I can't wait until I am able to experience teaching people on a regular basis and able to have this experience more often! It definitely feels so good to feel like you really helped someone with a problem. 

I think that about covers it! I feel like my emails look really short, but I really can't think of anything else to say! I'm sure I will have MUCH more to report next week from the PHILIPPINES! I know this church is true. I'm so grateful for the oppurtunity I have to share something that has been so wonderful and comforting in my life to everyone I see. Even though it can be kinda scary to think I'll be going to a foreign country on the other side of the world where I know no one and just started learning the language a month and a half ago, I'm not really scared at all because I know I'm good hands. I know that everything will be okay. I know I will love it and it will change my life forever. Nahigugma ko ninyo! Start sending your letters so I can get them in 2 weeks! haha 

Gugma, 
Sister Pike

Oh and I totally forgot! On Thursday  we had Tamale night! Sister Schaap's sister volunteered at TRC so she showed up at our room with legit tamales! It was pretty awesome. 

Week 5 - 3/4/2013

Kumusta Pamilya! 

Wow, this has been an amazing week, I don't even know where to begin!! #1 guess who has a plane ticket?? We got our travel plans for Tuesday the 12th and we are leaving at 8am flying to Seattle then Tokyo then Manila and I don't really know what the plan is after that but I am SO STOKED. There will be 14 of us traveling together and it will be the greatest cause I love them all! Have your phones next to you because although I can't see anyone, I'm allowed to call so I'll be getting a calling card and such. But it's also like the biggest mixed feelings ever cause I'm going to miss the MTC SO MUCH. I love it here. The people, the food(yes I know I'm basically the only person on the planet that feels that way), gym time(aka playing basketball everyday), the classes, the devotionals... I really don't know how it could have been any better! I love our whole zone and I'm gonna miss them all so much. Especially the Sister from Samoa who I will basically never see ever again. We are all just living this week to the fullest cause it will be gone before you know it! We said goodbye to some sisters in our zone last night that are heading to Hong Kong which was really sad, but they've been here for 12 WEEKS so they were more than ready to leave. With the new 6 weeks, I feel ready and excited but not overly eager. I still love my companions and my whole district, they're the best. The language has been progressing quite nicely, I've been working super hard and it just amazes me STILL that I can go into a lesson with zero notes, Cebuano scriptures and teach for 40 minutes. We'd probably teach for longer if they let us! This week I got to memorize Moroni 10:4-5 in cebuano and the missionary purpose and it was actually super easy cause I can actually understand it all! I feel SO BLESSED. 

Moroni 10:4-5 
Ug kon kamo makadawat niini nga mga butang, ako moawhag kaninyo nga kamo mangutana sa Dios, ang Amahan sa kahangturan, sa ngalan ni Jesukristo, kon kini nga mga butang dili ba tinuod; ug kon kamo mangutana sa kinasingkasing, uban sa tinoud nga katuyoan, nga may hugot nga pagtuo kang Kristo, siya mokapita niini nganho kaninyo pinaagi sa gahum sa Espiritu Santo. Ug pinaagi sa gahum sa Espiritu Santo kamo mohimo nga masayud sa kamatuoran sa tanan nga mga butang. 

Yeah, I just typed that from memory and understand every word. Crazy? Of course! Hmm... don't really know what else to say... Oh Elder Ballard gave an AMAZING devotional on Tuesday night, we had mission conference yesterday so we basically had 7 hours of sitting and listening to various speakers, but it was so great! And I love that when we hear something we could be doing better as missionaries, both of my companions immediately turn to me and say, we're going to do that. Cause they're the greatest. Saturday we had a no English day and it was actually really fun! I was surprised how much I could communicate what I needed and it definitely made me feel better about leaving in a week. I've spent a TON of time with flash cards so I have a pretty large vocabulary and so everyone asks me random words constantly and I actually love it cause it helps ME remember so much more! I laugh constantly...but what else is new? haha 

Oh and RACHEL JONES IS ENGAGED?????? AHHHHHH!!!! She better DearElder me STAT with all the details! That's so exciting! And Cami Davis got engaged!!!!! I'm told by Brianna Boyd who works at the bookstore and I expect something from her too!!! That is so exciting! 

That about covers it, I love this gospel, I feel like the most blessed person ever, I LOVE being a missionary, I love Cebuano and I love you all! 

Gugma, 
Sister Pike