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:)

Miracles Happen Once In A While

If you read the title of this email and started singing that song from Princess Diaries then you are awesome. and I love you.

Okay so. This week has been crazy. 

Last Sunday as we were walking to an appointment in the dark, this dog started barking and going crazy(it was tied up but i questioned the strength of it's rope) so in trying to protect myself from getting rabies(which we received like a whole lesson on how a heck ton of dogs here have it and if you get it you will die.) I was quickly walking and keeping my eyes on this dog so i would know if it was going to attack me. ANYWHO because i was distracted and tired and it was dark I didnt see this huge tire in the road and I tripped and fell (gracefully, may i add. I asked my companion if I was as graceful as Jennifer Lawrence when she fell at that award show and she said yes so I felt better). Anyways, so I fall down and twist my arm and crazy scrape my knees and hands and it was just grand. There were also two ladies literally sitting right in front of me and apparently Filipinos like to talk because like 3 days later we went to teach a lesson and the investigator had heard about me falling from like her neighbor's cousin. Word travels fast. Also I was almost hit by a jeepney and then another time i was trying to avoid a motorcycle and fell in barbed wire. (why is there so much barbed wire here? seriously. )I think i'm giving my trainer grey hairs and no kidding about the tetnis shot thing. Woohoo adventures. I'm fine though. 

We have a lot of funny experiences with guys thinking we are cute and saying stuff to us because they think we can't understand Tagalog haha it so funny. But sometimes it's better when they try to speak English to us. Yesterday we were going to an investigators house to teach and this guy followed us for like ten minutes calling us cowgirls. And the other day in the store they were playing country music. Like legit country. Like Garth brooks and stuff. haha Everyone loves country because it is the best. obviously. I guess you can take the sister missionary out of the south but you can't take the south out of the foreign country that she is serving her 18 month mission in. I love it.

This week was really special. We have had so many miracles. When we go tracking, we knock on random doors and talk to random people and hope they will let us share our message. It's usually not too successful but this week we found way golden people who were so prepared the gospel but here's the best part. every person we found was FLUENT IN ENGLISH and actually preferred to be taught in English. Most Filipinos understand some English but not really so this was a huge miracle. I was able to teach them and really 100% follow the spirit. It was like Christmas. Really it was. If God sent me half way around the world to find every English speaker in the Philippines and teach them the gospel then that is fine by me and it was well worth the trip. 

Annie's baptism was great! She is so wonderful. I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to share such a special day with her. One of the speakers didn't show for her baptismal service so last minute I was chosen to give a ten minute talk in Tagalog. I don't know why they keep doing that(making me speak). I'm probably the comic relief but it went alright and I think she really felt the spirit and had a good experience so that is all that matters. 

This week we will be having trainer's training where I get to see sister wilkinson and elder winkler so i'm really excited to see them again and exchange stories. Also general conference this weekend! Woohoo. gonna be a great week

Love you all!

Mahal Kita,

Sister Turner

Volcano and Pants On The Ground

Hello Family and Friends!

Here's some fun facts about the Philippines for you:

1. Apparently the word "sexy" here means cute. So there's no need to be alarmed when your mission president's wife tells you repeatedly in public how you and the sister's you are with are the "sexiest sister missionaries she's ever seen"

2. Traffic here is crazy. Like I literally can't even describe it. My mom would probably have a heart attack if she saw me crossing the street here. They don't have stop signs or stop lights and maybe not speed limits either so it's kind of a do or die situation. Sister Mccord always says "If you hesitate, they will hit you, and if you don't hesitate, you have a better chance for survival". Soo yeah. haha I'm getting pretty good at it though.

3. They have super awesome transportation here (google jeepney and trycees). Last pday we went a couple towns over to buy wilderness explorer supplies(waterproof bags) and we rode a jeepney. It's so funny here. You know that tv show "pimp my ride"? I swear there need to be a show called "pimp my jeepney". They are so swagged up. Like the one we rode in had disco lights and music blasting and they are basically party buses. Confession: Every time we ride in one I silently pray that the new taylor swift album will come on the radio(Sorry I know that's not a good missionary thing but i'm not a perfect person) But apparently according to my companion it takes like 4 months for new songs to get here. Dang.

okay so last week Caree Campbell sent me an awesome quote(Love you caree! Hope your first week in the mtc was good!) She said to expect miracles, and then pray for them. Because Heavenly Father has so many blessings to give us but we have to ask for them. So anyways, this week I was so determined to have so many miracles. I was so pumped. Right before I got to this area it was split and so all of our investigators were basically lost so we do A LOT of tracking(which is when we go around to random houses/people and ask them if they would like to hear our message). So on Tuesday we go to track this area and it was so hot like so so so so hot as the sun hot. And we are walking through these rice fields and get to this way far out jungle village and we are going around trying to talk to people and no one will listen to us so we keep climbing up this mountain and it's literal hiking because there are fallen trees and stuff but I'm so excited because I was so sure when we got to the top of this mountain on the hottest day of life that we would have a miracle. So we go to all the houses and then we get to the top and the lady that lived there told us she wasn't interested and then as we were walking away she warned us to watch out for all the snakes on the path. OH THANK YOU. #ignoranceisbliss I think hiking 2 miles down a mountain in a skirt on a snake path validates my self proclaimed woman warrior title. haha I was definitely a lot more cautious of my surroundings as we walked down. 

It's funny because they saw the Philippines has two temperatures: hot and hotter. But I think that "wet and wetter" describes my life better. You are either dripping from sweat or rain 100% of the time. haha The day after the super hot day we had a mini typhoon and we were walking through it and the streets had like a foot of water in some parts so we are trying to jump from edge to edge because the water is poop water essentially. haha it's so fun. I am single handedly testing the effectiveness of the tentus(sp?) shot. 

Then Tuesday night we went to teach Annie! She is the best person ever. Her husband recently died and she is a single mom of 6. She is so strong. Last week I had the opportunity to extend the baptism invite to her and she will be getting baptized this Saturday! She is literally so strong and has the most inspirational faith. I will send you a pic of her baptism next week! Her little girl is so cute and as we were leaving she tried to come with us and then when her mom made her come back she yelled "BUHBYE,GOD BLESS,INGAT(take care)". She is so cute. I love that family.

When we were walking home from Annies, we saw Mount Mayon Erupt. It's so crazy that I happened to be in the area right next to the Volcano when it erupted. haha Let all the jokes about my bad luck with things catching on fire around me start when you read this. But yeah it was pretty crazy. We went and watched it erupt on the roof of the Elder's apartment with them and as soon as we got up there, it stopped. It was so anti-climatic, but at least we saw it a little aha.

Okay this is random and not really missionary like but I was thinking about it this week and my life here is literally Lord of the Rings. Here's why: We are on a quest(telling people about Jesus), Satan is trying to kill us, There are volcano's erupting, the spiders are huge, my feet are so gross nasty blister hobbit feet, and i'm like always hungry and wanting second breakfast. Also, I am a huge person living in a tiny world. Like I literally hit my head at least 4 times a day on doorways, roofs, you name it. I need a helmet. Maybe if it's classy enough they will add that into the missionary dress and grooming guidelines. haha it is so funny.

Oh man I have got to tell you about Nanay Mercader! She is this cute little old woman who is too frail and sick to go to church now so we go and visit her but she is just the best. She was the very first member of the church here but she tells me every time we visit her "Sister! Did you know I am the first member of the church"(like in the world.) It's so cute! So this week we went to visit her and her like 30 year old son was there and she was standing up and talking to us and all of the sudden his pants just FELL OFF. Like I don't know how and I don't why. Don't worry, my pure missionary eyes looked away quick enough and didn't see anything they shouldn't have but I saw enough to know he was not wearing anything else. But here's the amazing part of this story! I didn't even laugh. I just looked away and kept talking about Jesus Christ until he got everything figured out. I am so proud of myself. Missions really do change people. hahahahha My companion and I have lots of fun stories like that. 

We went to teach some people who lived by the railroad tracks here and there were all these cute kids playing outside and as we walked by they would run after us saying "Sister sister!!" and then take our hands and put the back of our hands to their foreheads which is the sign of ultimate respect here. And it was the cutest moment of life. The kids here are so cute they make my heart melt like a Popsicle on the fourth of July. I am going to adopt them all after my mission. 

Because of the Volcano erupting, the Sister's from the area closest to the lava flow had to evacuate and are staying with us. It is so fun. I love them. They are sister Sesagi and sister finau and are from somoa and tonga. 

Here's a funny story. So it's my second week right? And we had to do exchanges with the sisters staying with us and split our appointments. Which meant that my second week here I had to be senior and lead all the lessons and find them. Fun fact about the Philippines: there are no addresses. It's like when my mom gives directions "turn right at the blue gate and left at the big tree". haha so I'm trying to lead and have no idea where the houses were and was completely reliant on the spirit. I would literally stop on every corner and ask my new companion "which way do you think we should go" and just kept going to houses that might have been right and then when it wasn't right I would just talk to the people in that houses and get referrals and return appointments. We actually had so much success that day and found everyone and got alot of new investigators. It was the most evident example of "blind leading the blind" that I've ever seen in my life but I guess the spirit was the one really leading so it was all right in the end.

The past 2 weeks have mainly taught me how I can't do a single thing by my self and if I think about myself there is no way I could serve a mission here. It is so hard. BUT I'm so lucky because the Philippines is a really great place to loose yourself in the work and serve others. I love the people here and look forward to when I can understand and help them 100%. 

Thank you all for the love and support! I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Mahal Kita,

Sister Turner:) 

That filippino Life

Hello!!!

I feel like I haven't written in so long and so many awesome crazy different things have occurred and I only have a few minutes to write this and then write my mission president so I will just type way fast and hope that my stories make sense. Sorry! I'll repent and time manage better next week. 

Manilla MTC:

So I loved my time at the MTC here but it was so crazy different from Provo. Like you wouldn't even believe. For example, we wake up at 6 and do a military style line up outside and then we have workout time. The military life really isn't for me BUT the spirit was super strong while we were there and it was neat to experience another MTC's style. Also they had the best food of life. Our district decided to play badminton for gym time and we killed it. Professional over here. haha jokes. It was really fun to try though. 

One cool thing we do at the MTC there is go out proselyting in the nearby cities  So we got to practice some of our Tagalog and it was just the coolest thing. We taught lessons on floors and met the COOLEST people. Gosh I just love everyone so much.  

Okay so moving onto my time in the mission field. 

My companion/trainer is Sister McCord from Provo,Utah. She has been out in her mission for 11 months and it literally the coolest person ever. She is helping me so much and i love her. She reminds me of my sister Zera who is also the coolest person ever so that's pretty neat. (I miss you Zera!) It's funny because sister W's comp is from Georgia and was sister mccord's comp in the MTC so we kind of switched. I am assigned in Daraga which is a big city about 15 minutes from Legazpi. It's way cool because it is where all the ZL's,STL's,AP's and mission president are so we get to see them a lot. In our apartment is me, sister Mccord, and the two Sister training leaders. I think it's funny how I am always roomies with the Sister Training Leaders. Guess they gotta keep an eye on me or something. I can't send pictures this week but i'll try next time. Our apartment is pretty nice. My bed is all cute and filippino and on the floor and it feels like a cloud. It is my favorite thing ever. During the Typhoon our house was alittle damaged so the bathroom door flew off and we don't have one but we have toilet paper so I'm in no position to complain. haha It's funny because right after I got here there was a typhoon(little one, like we could walk through it) but i guess it messed up some wires so we didn't have power or water for a few days. I am learning how to be a pioneer. All the roomies felt bad that I didn't get a "nice week in the Philippines  before everything went crazy" but I'm really fine with it. I told them sorry and it's probably my fault because I skipped out on that one trek like 4 years ago and now God is just giving me a chance to experience it. Gosh the people here are just the best. haha Every single person I meet tells me I'm beautiful.Like literally to my face just that.Also that I am huge. My favorite occurance was when i was teaching my first family and the teenage boy asks me how old I am and we were both 19 and he goes "wow! you're overgrown!" hahaha it was so funny because i am way taller than everyone here. I don't get offended when every person I meet basically calls me fat to my face because they are just so sweet. It's weird how height is associated with age here. Like if you're tall they expect you to be like 30 which makes no sense to me because none of the old people here are tall haha oh well.  silly comments like that just make me love them more. The boy followed the "overgrown" comment by telling me I look like a hollywood movie star so he was easy to love after that. haha I swear nothing boosts your self estem like people telling you how gorgeous you are when you are gross and sweaty and wearing no makeup. I'm always just like Salamat!! Also people call me barbie. Which is funny because that's not me at all but I guess it just means doll face. (throwback to the procaine doll joke).

Oh man I know I'm forgetting so many things but I'll tell at least one experience I had. So when the power was out we still went to teach because we are awesome woman warrior filippino sister missionaries and that's what we do. Anyways, so we were in these little cute houses teaching by candle light and one of them we were reading the book of mormon with the kids and the family and it was basically the best moment of my life! Also funny how the little 3 year old could read the tagalog scriptures better than me but that's okay because she's had 3 years and I've only had like 8 weeks. Oh man so many things i wish i could say but no time. 

My first sunday in church was crazy and terrifying and I walked in the door and they asked me to give a 7 minute talk in Tagalog like 5 minutes before it started but it was fine and i have no idea what i said but I didn't pass out from fear so that's a start. I literally don't think I've ever been that afraid of speaking in my life. God definitely helped me out. Oh yeah, it's the craziest thing. As soon as I got here, Tagalog has been so much better for me.Don't get me wrong, it is still way hard and frustrating at times and I'm no pro at all but it's way better than in the MTC. Everyone says I speak like I've been in the field for 4 months which is crazy because i'm really not that good. But i teach lessons and OYM and go up to random people and houses and talk to them first and I love it. I'm choosing faith over fear and it's so great. Nothing scares me anymore! (except for church haha). I feel the spirit helping me so much every day it is amazing. I know that the language will come especially with my awesome trainer and the lord on my side. I'm excited when I can really speak to these people. We were at the old bishops' house last night for dinner and he told me that I would be fluent in Tagalog in 3 months(at the end of my training). I told him I hoped he still had the gift of revelation from being bishop haha. I'm not really pushing time at all though, I'm just going to push myself every single day and work crazy hard and everything will come in the Lord's time. Oh also no time now but remind me to tell you about when I accidentally tracked some Cathloic nuns.

Oh man it is so different here and really hard sometimes but it's weird because in a way I really feel Like I'm coming home here. Like somehow I belong. I love it here. 

Love you all! sorry this was so scatterbrained and I left abunch out. 

Muhal Kita!

Sister Turner

SA Philippines!

Kumusta!

Sister Turner tuning in from the Manilla Philippines Missionary Training Center!

That's right, I have been admitted to the Tagalog graduate program here. haha That's what everyone is calling us here:) Just some MTC graduates. We are here mostly for visa and immigration things. I will be here 5 days (until wednesday when i will fly out to Legzpi). The philippines is so beautiful and not even as hot as I thought it would be but I haven't seen a hot afternoon yet so we will see. The flight was not too bad. We were traveling for about 30 hours. It was ahoot and a half. I was so confused because i would fall asleep and 20 minutes later they would bring us drinks or snack or food and i felt like all i did for 20 hours of flying was sleep and eat. It was really weird. We had cute little airplane meals. Sorry can't go into too much detail because we are only online for like 20 minutes. This is primarily a "made it across the ocean alive informatory email" kind of thing. Got some cool keepsakes in Tokyo and in a few hours we get to go proselyting on splits with missionaries in downtown Manilla!! 

I AM SO EXCITED. Everyone is so kind. I love this MTC even though it's 100% different from the Provo MTC. It's super chill here and calm. I am so jet lagged but everything is great.Also apparently when you fly so long you blow up and your hands and feet swell and your ears pop so we are all just walking around huge and unable to hear and confused but we are happy. 

They tell me it is Saturday but i lost my watch and am generally just confused haha it's great.  I take little mini naps. I had my first Philippines bug encounter last night but it was only a coackroach so i don't know if that counts. I'll let you know when i see something crazy like a 3 headed spider. We get to go to immigration monday for passports and then the Manilla Temple(which is across the street)on tuesday so i'm really excited for that! The humidity isn't bad at all. feel like Georgia summers and really nice. It's so beautiful i wish i would show you all! I'll try to send pictures from the trip when i get to my area next week! Also I understand native Tagalog better than my mtc tagalog so praise the lord! It is going to be the best 18 months and i can't wait. Till next time!

Love you!

Mahal kita!

Sister Turner