Machetes and Miracles

Kumusta!

Siege so this week was so crazy. We found two new families to teach this week! They are both so awesome and really progressing. They are really seeking to know if our message is true and are recognizing the answering to their prayers!! It's such a miracle because this week almost all of our investigators are either progressing (reading, going to church,etc.) or have baptismal dates. IT'S SO EXCITING. 

Before I left on my mission one of my friends said  that missionaries who go to Asian countries learn how to be humble. But I really think that is true for missionaries anywhere. I have never been aware of how little I know and how incapable I really am until I came here and tried to speak a new language and work crazy long days and understand new culture, etc. etc. But I also have never been so aware of how real and tangible and accessible the Lord's help is to us. My new favorite scripture is Luke 18:27. Heavenly Father really can make the most impossible things possible and he really wants to help us if we just turn to him. I think I have relied on him this week more than ever and we have seen such great miracles. He can open doors that have never been opened before and give strength to us so we can accomplish what we need to even when we really think we can't. It's pretty great.

Also we did community service this week and we were weeding and cutting down trees and stuff and they just handed me a machete and told me to get to work and I just cracked up at how they just give a little white american girl that with no instruction book. Too much trust if you ask me. I have no idea what i'm doing just whacking away haha It worked though.

Anyways sorry this is short this week.

Mahal Kita,

Sister Turner:

The Spider

Hello Family and Friends.

This week was another fun and interesting week in the Philippines.

 One night this week I was heading upstairs to change into my PJ's when I went to turn on the light and I see this HUGE BLACK SPIDER (for real hand size)crawling right next to my hand. I was so surprised that I screamed probably the loudest scream in my life. Like those blood curtling screams they do in those black and white scary films.  Anyways after that everyone yells to me if I'm okay and then I go downstairs and tell them what happened and my companion just starts laughing at me and is like "Welcome to the Philippines". But I could not force myself to sleep in the tarantula room right? So I recruit sister sasagi to come upstairs and try to get this spider so we can go to bed. Anyways, after about 30 minutes of terror, tears and screams and discovering that our new spider friend has like super-spidey- jump-4 feet powers we gave up and I layed awake all night just on the look out and so scared and wondering how I found myself living in a country where it is socially acceptable to sleep with a tarantula 2 feet from your head. 

I consider myself lucky though because this morning I walked into the office to drop off something and saw Elder Winkler! He is here for some random reason in my area but we were talking and he said in his apartment they had two rats and he said "It's okay now, they are dead" I asked how they had killed them and he responded "Well we got one with a trap and the other one I stepped on" HAHA Oh man. Life is hard. Also he said they don't have any water at their house so they just wait for this cute little lady with a water cart to come around and sell them water. Somedays she doesn't come and they just don't have water that day! haha I love hearing my fellow missionaries stories because it reminds me to be more grateful. 

My companion wants me to tell you all about our weird food experiences but I think I will save that for a later email or for Christmas or something but don't you worry because I definitely have stories. haha

I am writing later today than usual because this morning we had a really neat experience to volunteer at a medical screening the church medical mission was hosting. We weren't allowed to proselyte or talk about the gospel which is basically as debilitating to a foreign missionary  as cutting off an arm since we literally only know gospel language and vocabulary. It was a really neat experience to help out though and I was able to meet a lot of amazing people and struggle to speak broken Tagalog to them:) The people here are always happy and grateful no matter what. I really admire that. One man came in to have his eyes checked for cataracts and the doctor told him his eyes were too far gone and he wouldn't not be able to reverse his blindness and instead of getting angry or upset he just graciously thanked the doctor for his time and walked out so dignified and awesome. If I can come home more like a Filipino I would consider myself so honored. 

Also Sorry if it seems like I only write crazy silly stories. I promises I have real life awesome spiritual missionary experiences all the time. I will try to get better about writing them. 

That's it for this week! Love you all!

Sister Turner:) 

Conference and Cooking

Hello Friends and Family!

So last Monday after emailing we went to one of our investigator's houses so she could teach us how to cook Filipino food but it basically just resulted in us eating for literally 4 hours. Like she would teach us how to cook something and then we would eat it and then we just kept doing recipes and we couldn't leave because she was the sweetest lady and had spent a bunch of money and time to buy us stuff and so we just stayed and ate. And I now understand why unlimited yummy food really isn't a good thing no matter how it sounds. Oh the bright side we now know how to make more than hot dogs and rice! woohoo improvement.

Monday night we had a Family home evening and it was the best! I am going to have astig FHE's all the time in my future family for sure. It was with our neighbors who are members (it was their son's 10th bday) and we had a lot of our investigators there. It was so fun! We played games and gave a spiritual thought and were all outside under the stars like singing hymns and having a great time and I just had this moment of realization of how lucky I was to be in the Philippines. (I have those moments alot)

Tuesday was sweet because we got to do exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. I had the honor and privilege of working with sister De Guz Man (one of my roommates/sister training leaders) the last week of her mission. It was such a great experience and I learned so much from her. She was a really great example to me of Christlike love and just being an awesome missionary in general. She left of Sunday to leave early from her mission to go home and help her family. I really miss her.

Also random side note but conference was SO GREAT! and we had six investigators come. it was amazing!

So the Filipino people are super blunt and tell you how it is, especially about your looks. One of our lessons this week was great because in the middle our investigators just cuts me off and says "you're beautiful. you look like Anne Hathaway". BEST COMPLIMENT EVER! hahah as we were walking back home I told my companion I hoped she was referring to cute Princess Diaries Anne Hathaway and not dying in Les Miserable s Anne Hathaway. haha Either way I guess I'll take what i can get.

Sorry I don't have much time today but this morning was cool because we had a district activity where we went to cagsawa which is the ruins from where the last volcano eruption happened. It was insane. Look up google pics. I took some sweet pics that i will send next week because I don't have my camera right now. 

It really is so beautiful here.

Sorry lots more happened this week but i'm in a rush. 

Love love love you all!

Have a really fantastic week!

-Sister Turner:)

He Has A Plan

Hello Family and Friends! 

      I was so excited to hear so many of you say general conference was so astig! In the Philippines, we watch all broadcasts like general conference and stuff a week later. So we saw the General woman's broadcast on Saturday and it was SO GREAT. Oh my gosh I can't wait for more conference this weekend. It's like Christmas. Thanks for the quotes, I feel like I got a sneak peak:) 

Okay so I'm going to be real with you all: Missions are really hard. And you learn so much. This week Heavenly Father has really been stretching me and I have grown a lot but it has been really hard.

   One of our investigators who I just have grown to love so much decided to drop us because her family wants her to stay a Catholic. She called us over to tell us she wanted to still be friends but she couldn't meet with us anymore. It literally broke my heart. She really loved hearing our message and how she felt at church but she just didn't want to break her families wishes. As we walked away, I just started crying because I literally love her so much. And I don't care how many people reject me or mock us or laugh at our message. We are missionaries and that is our job, to persevere even when times get tough. To share our message because we know that God lives and loves us. We know God has a plan for all of his children here on the earth and we share that plan and gospel with our fellow brothers and sisters because we love them. So I wasn't really sad that she had decided she didn't want to hear our message anymore. My heart broke because I knew what she was giving up. Our message is everything! The restored gospel of Jesus Christ holds every answer to life's questions, it provides a way for us to be with our families forever. So that's why things like that break my heart. Because I love these people with my whole heart. And I know that this message will bless them so much. And so I just get really sad for them when they turn that opportunity down.  it's really hard. 

   Also this week most of our investigators stopped progressing and no one came to church on Sunday. woohooo sad times=growing opportunities. But, I know that things will get better. In the meantime, Heavenly Father is just helping me develop the Christlike attribute of patience. 

  At trainer's training, our mission president gave us a really great analogy that really resonated with me and i thought i would share. He told a story about a man whose master told him to move this bolder and so every day the man went out and pushed and pushed with all his might and just kept trying and trying. Then one day, an old man walked by and said to him "What are you doing? You can't move that bolder." The man replied " My master told me to push this bolder". The old man laughed at him and said "Your master must think you a fool. Because you could push that bolder every day of your life and never be able to move it an inch. you are wasting your time." The old man walked away but the words he said stayed with the man and he began to doubt his master and became so discouraged, thinking "why would he give me a task I cannot accomplish so he sat down and stopped trying. A little while later, his master came by and asked him why he was sitting and pouting. The man asked his master why he would tell him to move this bolder if it was impossible. He said "Do you think me a fool, I know this is impossible". The master calmly and lovingly responded " I did not tell you to move this bolder. I told you to push. And what has happened to you when you obeyed and did what I told you? Look! Your arms have become strong, you have gained much strength because you have pushed against this bolder. I told you to push because it would make you better, but I never promised you that you could move this.That was not my plan"

This story is so powerful and true in our lives I think. A lot of times, God gives us trials and hard things and he doesn't intend for us to conquer them. Sometimes, our weaknesses,shortcomings or hard times are simply there to make us stronger. So I've decided that I will keep pushing, and keep trying to be exactly obedient, even when every single person turns us down. Even when I try harder and harder and just feel like the more I try to learn this language or learn how to be a good missionary the worse I get at it all. Because I know that God has a plan. And I cannot understand why this has to be so hard or what his plan is but I know that everything he does is for our benefit. He loves us so much. We are so blessed everyday. 

    I know everyone who reads this email faces different struggles each and everyday but please keep pushing. Don't give up. We can do hard things!! Because we NEVER do them alone. You have a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan and if we do our very best to follow him, he will always lead us to a better day, a better life, and a happier ending where we can one day be with him again.

     I love you all so much thank you so much for the encouragement and love if your letters each week. It literally means the world to me and helps keep me going! Thank you for your examples of faith and Christlike love. Have a wonderful week.

Mahal Kita!

Sister Turner:)