December 9, 2009

HI EVERYONE!

I made sure to write down anything that I wanted to tell you in my weekly letter, so that when email time came I could address everything that I wanted to tell you. :)

~Eva
The three Jodi dresses that I bought needed to be altered. The back seam was being stressed out because I have womanly hips and so the ladies at the alterations room are going to raise the dresses at the waistline. I figured that since they're taking the dress apart to do that anyway, they could take in the waistline for me a bit. ONLY 50 CENTS A DRESS. WOWIE. I assume that's for the price of thread, because the seamstresses are all volunteers. =O They also have a Women's clothes store here and the Jodi dresses are only THIRTY DOLLARS. I could have bought another dress with the money I would have saved! But they don't have the nice blue ones that I got. :)
I also wanted to ask you about your MTC experience, if you can remember anything. I'd love to read about it in one of your letters.
And thanks for putting up with all my requests, like getting Cyrena and Tiffany's addresses for me. <3

~Jessie
Ummm... I'm not really sure what size I want. If the wallet sized pictures aren't TOO small, then that would be good. I want to make sure we can actually see the faces. :)

~Dad
Thanks for making sure that I got my card. If you have any questions that you want to ask about, I'm be sure to answer them for you. :) I love you.

~Mom
Thanks for the offer of new tennis shoes Mom, but I really don't need new tennis shoes. I have thought of a couple of things that would be nice to have if you want to make that a Christmas present.

Memory Stick Pro Duo card for my camera, just so I have some extra memory for my camera
An inflatable travel pillow (I have a long flight to the Philippines. x_x)
Or you can put some money in my BofA account so I can get some normal shoes.

First off, THANK you for the Liberty Orchards package that I got. I never properly thanked you Mom (and Jessie, because I saw the package that said Kira had sat on it. xD) My companions Sister Lew and Sister Kim and I all have had fun eating them. We call them Gummies. "Do you want Gummies? YESS!"

Dad wanted to know what my schedule was, so here it is:
6:30 - wake up
Eat, study, class, study, eat, study, class, gym, eat, prepare for bed, sleep.
10:30 - go to sleep.
That's pretty much what my schedule is. A few times the study/class/gym is a bit rearranged, but that's how it is everyday except Sunday which is when we have church meetings.

The card that Dad sent me got here. It only had 32 cents of postage on it but it somehow got here. :) So don't worry about that. It's safe with all of my other letters. I'm saving all of them and I have a big pile because my family is so good about writing me. <3

We don't know anything about the Elder that had to go home. He's probably going to be reassigned in the States when he puts his papers in again after he has his surgery.

I forgot to tell you, but since I'm going to be in the MTC during Christmas, I don't get to call home for Christmas. There's 2000+ missionaries in the MTC so they just don't have the capacity for allowing that. However... I DO get to call home when I'm at the airport before I leave for the Philippines. I'm going to need a calling card or something for that.

Sister Lew left for Hong Kong on monday, so its just Sister Kim and I now in our residence hall room. It's a BIT lonely because there are 4 empty beds. o_o We're going to get 2 sisters in our room today though. I think they're from Sister Kim's branch. (We're in two different branches) We're getting 4 more sisters into my branch today but they're being put in a different room. NEXT week is when the new Cebuano district is coming in. It's going to be like when I first came into the MTC and met Sister Dustin, except I'm going to be the "veteren" now. =O

Speaking of Cebuano, we started using only Cebuano in class on Monday. OH MY GOSH ITS MIND BOGGLING. We're also going to be doing this next teaching appointment COMPLETELY IN CEBUANO. Which basically means we're going to fail. A lot. But it's our first time so it's a bit intimidating to be sure.

I'm really excited to be here for Christmas because we're probably going to have at least an apostle come and speak to us. Last year, President Uctdorf came. o_o I'm going to have high expectations and say I think President Monson will come speak to us. :)

I was thinking the other day how last year I was super excited to go home for Christmas and we had our Christmas together-ness. I'm definitely going to miss that for sure, but I can't say that I'm lonely here. I know that I'm on the Lord's errand and so I can't really feel lonely because of that. If I were ANYWHERE ELSE during this season I think I would be sad, but I have to stay focused on my purpose.

This week I've been working on how to understand the Holy Spirit and understand any promptings I may have. I feel that I've grown a lot since coming here and I still have a while to go. But I am pretty certain that I wouldn't have had the means to have this growth and understanding if I wasn't preparing for a mission.

I know I've been called by a prophet of God.
I know God has a purpose for me in the Philippines.
I know there are people in the Philippines who are waiting to hear the message that God has for them.

I'm so happy and grateful that I have this opportunity. It has already blessed me so much and I can help bless the lives of so many people.
I love you, my friends and family. I know I'll see you again soon, so just wait for me. I'll be the best person that I can be when we meet again.

~Julie

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I am a LDS sister missionary serving in the Philippines Tacloban area. I made this blog so that I may share my experiences with my friends and loved ones and anyone who may need to hear my story. My sister will be updating this blog with letters that I'll be writing home.