Family and Friends.
I am going to the Philippines. Okay so I know we have all
known that for a while but yesterday I got my FLIGHT PLANS. So it's actually
official now and I am so excited i can not even explain. I will be leaving the
MTC and AMERICA on September 4th(that's less that 2 weeks!!!!!!) and then
flying to Tokyo Japan and then to the Philippines. Sister W, Elder W and I are
flying together because we are going to the same mission. I cannot wait for an
18 hour flight with Elder Winkler. hahaa I will laugh all the way there:) The
other people in my district are on a different flight to Japan but we are all
arriving there at the same time and then are on the same flight to Phili. So we
feel pretty cool and are excited for our "district reunion in Tokyo."
What is my life. THIS IS SO COOL.
Any who, So you can probably tell from my extensive use of
caps and exclamation points, getting our flight plans was pretty exciting but I
guess I will try to remember the other things that happened as well!
This was just a really fantastic week. Well every week is
great but this was especially wonderful. One of my goals this week was to think
less about myself and turn outward to pay more attention to those around me and
what needs they might have even if they aren't openly advertising about needing
help. I have been blessed this week for God to place me in the right place at
the right time and was able to help out some people when they were having a
tough time. I can't really get to much into it because I know this email is
seen by a lot of people and I don't want to say personal things about other
people but basically I was able to help comfort and assist several people this
week when they were going through some tough times. I feel so blessed that I
was able to help them and pray with them and for them and be a part of the
overwhelming spirit that comes from Heavenly Father through prayer. I know
without a doubt that God loves every single person and he has all the love in
the world to give us and if we will just turn to him we can feel that love!
Helping these people this week has allowed me to also feel that overwhelming
power that comes through prayer as well as the true joy that comes through
earnestly praying and seeking for the benefit of others. I realized that even
if I can't speak Tagalog perfectly or teach lessons in the best way, being a
missionary is more about loving the people around me as Christ would. I have
this opportunity to be God's hands to reach out to his children when they are
having a hard time. But That's not just me or the fact that I happen to be a
full time missionary. We ALL can find true joy in helping others around us if
we just try. I testify that you will never feel God's love for you more than
you will as you seek to help others. So I have a challenge for you if you are
reading this! Go find someone who seems like they are having a hard time and
sincerely look to help them in any way you can. Don't just serve them but
REALLY try to love them as God does and understand them. I promise you your
life will never be the same and you will be happier than you ever have before
if you turn outward instead of thinking about yourself or worrying about your
problems. Try it, I dare you. Then tell me about what happened:)
Sight seeing news: This week at the MTC I saw my friend
Krista Ek from BYU, Paige Newman from Georgia who is a teacher here and walked
by me while on the phone with her mom so i said hi to both of them and it was
awesome. Also Elder Max Sultan! It was so awesome to see him because I don't
think I've seen him since seminary graduation! He is doing great and will be a
fantastic missionary in Arizona I can tell:)
Oh and I got 3 packages in 3 days this week. 3 FOR 3!!!!! IT
WAS AN MTC MIRACLE!!!
Thank you so much Mom,Dad and Jazzy Jay. Love you all.
On Sunday Jenny Oaks Baker came for our Devotional. She
is a professional violinist and the daughter of Elder Dallin H Oaks. It was a
really neat little concert of her playing her favorite songs with her cute
musical children and telling stories of her dad growing up.
Okay so before I tell the next story, I want to let everyone
know that I enjoyed a few very nice days of good health after my last cold.
However, one of the Elders in my district had this super bad cough that he finally
went to the doctor to have checked out. He came back to announce to us that he
had a "highly contagious upper respiratory infection". Thanks so much
Elder. Since we literally spend 10+ hours with him a day in one tiny little
classroom one by one we have been getting sick. I was one of the first to go
but I thought it was fine and just a cold like last time. Unfortunately that
wasn't the case. I started off with a really bad cold and cough which got
progressively worse until it climaxed on Wednesday night when I woke
up in the middle of the night with probably the worst pain I have ever
experienced in my life in my right ear. I thought my ear drum had shattered. I
just took some extra strength Tylenol (which didn't help at all. false
advertising) and prayed and sat in my bed all night not being able to sleep. It
was probably the worst night of my life so far. The next morning we had 6:30 service.
I was feeling pretty bad but some funny moments happened! First, we were
vacuuming the floors of one of the buildings and I couldn't hear out of my
right ear at that point but I could vaguely hear sounds so the vacuum noise
sounded like dub step and it was hilarious. Oh and also Some Elders walked in
on me and Sister W in the bathroom so they could clean the mirrors. It was
pretty awkward. Here's kind of what happened *elders walk in talking and
laughing and sister W and I freeze* "ummm... is anyone in here" and
then Sister W responds in the best not laughing voice she can "Yes. there
are people in here" The Elders then proceed to leave and stand outside the
door so we had to walk past them to leave.haha it was awful but hilarious. I am
sure they learned their lesson and will knock from now on.
Anyways, Thursday afternoon my sickness was not
any better, I couldn't hear out of my right ear and my eyes were so painful I
couldn't keep them open. At that point I made the executive decision to go to
the Health Clinic here at the MTC and was told I had a severe ear infection,
eye infection and upper respiratory cough. So I guess it's a good thing I
didn't try to tough that out. haha Luckily I was able to go to the pharmacy
(off campus adventures!). The main reason I tell this story is to express my
EXTREME gratitude for modern medicine because I feel so much better now! Also
shout out to my awesome companion who helps me do eye drops 4 times a day. Also
didn't want my parents to freak out when they saw a bunch of medical charges on
my debit card. Don't worry! I am totally A-okay! No matter how bad I have felt,
I have been able to do everything so I haven't gotten behind and I am really
grateful for that.
One thing that was kind of hard this week was saying goodbye
to all the Elders I have grown to love so much! Everyone left for the
Philippines and now my district is the oldest here. I can't believe that! I
will miss them so much but I'm so happy they got to start their adventure in
the Philippines! It's crazy how you can love people so much and they really do
become your family after a short time. After all those Elders left, we had a
group of 27 Elders and sisters come in. Sister W and I along with the Zone
leaders were able to do an orientation their first night and it was really fun.
I love helping out and getting to know all the new people. It's so crazy
because I feel like I just got here but looking back I guess I have come a long
way since my first day here.
Last night we had an awesome opportunity to serve the
sisters in our zone! Two of our brand new sisters knocked on our door in towels
and explained how all four sisters in their room had been locked out. Sister W
and I then rushed to the front desk in our PJ's past curfew in the rain and we
were literally the only ones on campus. We went and got their key and then ran
back. I was grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward since the exact same
thing happened to me last week haha.
I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! Look for
someone having a hard time and help them out.
MAHAL,
Sister Turner:)
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