First Area

Hello Pamilya!

I'm currently in the Camiling 2nd Branch East area and I like it. I feel like I'm walking through the Grant County Fairgrounds in August...minus the fair rides and some of the activity booths, but you know. My new companion's name is Sister Joyce Montemayor (mon-teh-my-or), a native, and everyone, from the start has been telling me that she is a very obedient missionary. I believe them. After being separated from my batch on Thursday, we traveled for about fourty-five minutes, by jeepney, to our apartment and just started to work. The mission has us focus a lot on less-actives, considering the fact that about 500000 people are in the Philippines, but only (if I remember correctly) about 123,000 are active, so we have been doing a lot of lessons with less-actives and recent converts. So far, there are a few baptisms set up, one of which is this Saturday, all of them youth and primary age. One of them is Angela, her baptism date is in Febuary, but she has such a sweet spirit. The first time I went with my companion to see her, she was happy to see us and, even though I couldn't understand a word she was saying, I could see that she felt the Spirit. It was so cool. When I was introduced to the branch president (I knew that I was going to be assigned to say a few things about myself and bear my testimony on Sunday) I had no idea he was going to assign me to give one of the talks on Sunday....on missionary work....good thing most people here understand English because that's what the majority of it was (aka: introduction(three sentences)-Tagalog, talk-English, Testimony (four sentences)- Tagalog)

Apparently, the area I'm in right now was opened for sisters last June or July and I'm the first white Sister to proselyte here...I think I scare little children for a few seconds based on the slack-jawed look they give me when I pass by. After the initial shock, and some encouraging words from my companion, however, most of the member's children will come running up and hug my waist and some of them have rubbed my arms...I think it's a thing here to shave the arm hair...it's weird, but they are so stinking adorable. People here are very kind, the members love missionaries and everyone that has given us food is determined to make us fat. So, it's kind of like a Spanish culture (eat up! eat up!). Today, our for our zone activity, we had a budel fight (I think that's how you spell it), but it's where you put rice and different meats and sauces on a banana leaf and then eat it with your hands...it was actually a lot of fun and very good. I just had to ignore the fact that everyone was eating off the same leaf that I was...and remember that everyone had washed their hands before we dug in.

I am so grateful for this gospel, my companion, and for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If any of you see someone struggling with their faith or are just investigating the church, do them a favor and be their friend. One of the things that you hear a lot as a missionary is the council Gordon B Hincly (correct my spelling for me please) about what a new member needs: "A friend that they can always turn to...A calling, activity is the guinious of this church...[and make sure that] they are 'nurtured by the good word of God."

Mahal ko kayo

Sister M. Jones

ps when sending things through pouch: send it to the mission office, I will get it that way and spell out my full name, there is another sister jones in this mission. I'm confused as to whether or not I can send mail to the states through pouch, so you might just hear me through email, I'll check on that though. Mom, if you do send packages, send it through normal mail and just label it as "Birthday/christmas gift," socks, undergarments, missionary supplies (shoes, makeup, clothes, soap, etc), but don't send them too often since I have to pay 50 Php for foreign packages.