Wow it’s already P-day again!  Time goes ridiculously fast.  I looked at the calendar and realized I’m almost at my 5 month mark!  Ummm I think that’s wrong. I just got here... It’s cool but its scary because I still feel like such a baby.  Like I feel really weak in my teaching and my Tagalog skills but I’ve realized more about how faith is an action word.  Because for sure if I pray for the language to come and then I don’t do my language study....it will never come.  Or if I pray to find people and then we don’t OYM (OPEN YOU MOUTH)...we will never get new investigators.    This week has been interesting because it’s been one of those where we worked and walked all day every day and we still had low numbers.  It’s an awful feeling but it really pushes us to try even harder next week. 

  So Baptism this week!  :)  Rosemarie.  The elders taught her but we got transferred so we got to get her baptized.  The amazing thing is that it’s a completed family because her husband became active again and got the Priesthood and so he got to baptize her.  Probably the cutest family ever.  And probably the cutest baptism I’ve ever seen too because they are just so great together.  And she bore her testimony and it was just so strong.  After he baptized her they hugged and me and sister Seleue and elder Seau were all freaking out cause it was just too adorable haha.  Were weird. But guess what!  I played the piano for the baptism!  I had no warning! Our ward mission leader was going to play but he was conducting too so he asked if any of us knew how and I said a little bit...PATAYY!  I thought I was going to only have to play one song but nope turns out I had to play intro/opening/intermediate/and special number/and closing!  Some of them id never played before ever!!! I just played the top hand!  I was super scared and I messed up a little but afterwards it felt pretty good that I knew enough to make it work.  And especially enough to just sit down and read the music.

  Another really cool experience happened the other day.  We were walking trying to find/contact a less active family and so we were asking all over for directions.  A bunch of little kids were surrounding us trying to help us and it was so cute...ok that’s not part of the story.  But it was cute.  Anywayyy but all of a sudden this guy comes up to us and starts saying he’s Mormon and his family is Mormon....And we can totally tell he’s drunk and all his friends are in the house with a giant bottle and they’re just laughing and stuff.  So my kasama started talking to him and invited him to church and then we went on our way and thought nothing of it.  But then yesterday morning in church we were just sitting there and I looked back just in time to see him walk in the door.  It was probably the coolest thing ever.  He came and sat by us and everyone was totally judging him but he stayed the entire 3 hours!  And he was asking questions and stuff.  Gosh it was amazing.  I don’t think you can understand the happiness you get when an investigator comes to church and stays for three hours unless you’ve gone on a mission. 

Anyways I’ve gots to go.  I wish you could all just see all the things that I get to see every day. Some things are just too hard to explain.  But a lot of it comes from just pushing through each new hard experience every day and realizing how you can grow.  And more than that is seeing the growth in others.  It’s pretty cool how much you can love people you just meet and how excited you get when they keep their commitments and how sad you get when they don’t seem to understand the importance of the Gospel.  Keep that in mind in your life.  Remember that even the littlest things can change others for the better.  And also it is the little things that make your testimony either grow or fade.  Always work for growth.  Love you all!  Mahal kita!  Keep on keepin on.  XOXOX from Muntinlupa :)

Sister Van Tassell

ps write me letters :) and send me pictures.  Because hearing from you all is like the best thing ever.  Even if I don’t always write you back I still look forward to hear all your stories :)  

I don’t know why I always put this letter off until the end because then my hands are super duper tired of typing.  But opposition in all things right hah. Goodness so this week was an adventure.  We’re working on getting totally set in our new area.  It’s really not bad.  We know our way around for the most part so we don’t have to look like total tourists with our map.  We have a baptism coming up on Saturday so that means well be busy.  I really like our area but of course I miss my old ward.  It’s just weird because they are so close but yet so far away.  

   This week we taught some of our investigators.  It was a good lesson but then all of a sudden I looked up and saw the biggest spider of my life.  Right above my companions head.  I couldn’t even focus on the lesson because it was just chillin there and I couldn’t do anything about it.  Thank goodness the lesson was basically over and all we had to do was just close.  This is the same house that has the little boy that enjoys throwing little spiders at me.  There is a lot in his house so he goes and grabs them and throws them at me and thinks it’s the funniest thing ever when I freak out.  His mom always gets mad at him but of course he’s just like any other little boy and does it anyway ha. He’s too cute to get too mad at though.

   What else happened this week? I have an ingrown toenail that won’t go away.  I’m sure you all love to hear about that haha.  Maybe I’m paranoid but I’m also noticing rice cheeks start to set it.  It’s ok though because I love rice.  Actually were getting on a spaghetti trend now.  We eat it like every day!  It’s super good because the sauce here is sweet.  Super different and super hard to explain but it’s yummy.  

  So on Sunday we had Stake Conference.  It was interesting because we all heard it started at 9 so we got there at 830.  Turns out it didn’t start till like 10:15!  But at least we were able to help set up chairs and all that. But then we had put our bags on the benches to save us some soft seats.  Then we remember that were not all supposed to sit together in a group but by that time allllll the soft benches were gone. I was super grumpy that I had to sit on a hard chair for the entire conference but it actually wasn’t that bad.  I’ve gotten used to hard chairs because that’s what most people have here.  Couches are only in some houses.  And even our church has hard benches.  Oh the sacrifices we give for the mission hah.  

      Now for the spiritual part of the letter.  I’ve learned this week that it isn’t always easy or fun to get along with people.  It isn’t always easy or fun to go walking all day long or teaching every single day.  And sometimes you straight up don’t want to get out of bed at 6:30. But the thing is it’s a part of life.  There is always going to be things that need to be done that aren’t easy or fun. This week I was taking to my companion and complaining because it is so frustrating for me to have to teach sometimes because I really can’t get my point across and sometimes they just turn to her and say they didn’t understand anything.  But you know what she told me.  She told me that on a mission we just need to forget ourselves and go to work.  I had never thought about it that way.  I always took that phrase as meaning stop being homesick.  I never realized that sometimes we have to be uncomfortable and really really struggle in order to grow.  And as much as we want to grow we really don’t want to be uncomfortable.  But as were having hard times we just need to remember 1 Nephi 3:7.  super cliché and super well known but read it again. It really hits home.  Because I know for a fact that we won’t be given something that we can’t handle.  I’m not really sure all the time why I’m in the Philippines or why I’m with the companion I’m with but I do know that there is a reason and that I will be stronger for making it through.  So if you’re struggling stop and think about it.  Remember that the hard times are where the best stories come from.  And then put a smile on your face and try harder to see how you are supposed to grow.

I love you all so much and I miss you!  Keep on keeping on!

XOXO from the Philippines

SISTER VAN TASSELL 

Well its official.. I’m not in my first area anymore!  It wasn’t a far transfer..  Just from Muntinlupa 1st ward to Muntinlupa 2nd ward hahah.  So I’m staying in the same house but I’m in a shot gun area.  Which means the elders were there before and so we have to start from scratch.  All we have is their area book and a map. It makes for a good time.  This area is a lot of subdivisions instead of squatters areas.  It’s good but different.  And it defiantly tests our direction skills.  My new companion is Sister Seleue.  She is from Samoa and she has been out 7 months.  So I’m the jr.  I hate being junior.  But whatever.  We did a lot of just searching for people and that’s it.  We’ve been lucky and had 3 dinner appointments already.  I love dinner appointment. They are the absolute best.

I was a total sister when I heard about my transfer.  I cried so much.  It was kind of ridiculous.  We are such babies.  Transfers are such a pain.  We have to travel by jeepney with all of our luggage.  And we have to take 3 different jeepneys to get from our house to Molino.  The super awesome part was that the office elders took us home.  It is a little weird to be in a car.  The air conditioning is heaven.  We were jamming to EFY music.  The traffic here is crazy.  I would be scared to death to drive.  Thank goodness it’s only the elders that have to drive.  

So OYMing this week has been interesting.  We’ve oymd a baptism lady that tried to convert us and a 7th day Adventist lady that talked to us just to tell us how wrong we were and how we need to know the truth before we go teaching other people.  It’s a good time really.  I do love being told I’m wrong.  I wish sometimes that they’d be willing to have a conversation about it and not just debating.  They just aren’t willing to listen to our side of the story.  Which is sad but there is such a thing as agency....sometimes agency is a little annoying haha.

We had a really good experience this week though.  We found a less active that moved here and really really wants to come back to church.  We were going to go somewhere else but an old lady stopped and talked to us and was saying how we shouldn’t go there at night and we should just go back another day. We eventually decided to just listen to her and so we had nowhere else to go and then I thought of going to that less active sister.  So we went to her house.  She’s super super poor and it’s so sad.  She has four kids and her husband still expects her to pay for half of their food and stuff.  I hate seeing all the poverty here.  But anyway she had an 8 yr. old son that she wants to be baptized.  But we taught her sitting on the floor with just a candle for light and there were cockroachs everywhereeee!  But we taught about how God is with us through all of our trials and she really has faith in God.  And I mean nothing crazy happened but she seemed really happy that we were there.  And she said she knew the rain had stopped because God knew we were coming and so the roof wouldn’t be leaking when we were teaching.  I love experiences like that.  Just teaching people no matter what the circumstances.  I really hope she comes back to church.

Well I’m sorry this one is going to be a short one.  Basically all that happened was drama about transfers.  I love you all so much!  I’ll try and send a longer email next week!  The best part about this new transfer is all the struggles and really trying to push yourself to learn as much as you can.  It’s like sister Lizada always would say..."A mission will push you to your potentials...not to your limits but to your potentials."  It’s not always easy to go out of your comfort zone or be pushed further than you think you can but that’s the only way to grow.  Accept the hard times because they are the times you will look back on and see the most growth.  Keep up the good work back there at home...or more like play because its summer there now haha. 

Love you all!! XOXOXOXOX

Sister Van Tassell  

Happy June everyone!  I hope all of you are enjoying summer!  Sit in the sun and remember me because my summer is already over.  The kids have gone back to school and the rains are about to come down and the floods are about to come up.  And transfers are about to happen.  I’m a little worried.  Not quite ready to grow up and be away from my nanay(mother)!  But it will be ok.  It’s part of the mission experience haha

This week was super super awesome.  We had 10 investigators at church.  Maybe it was because it was Sister Lizada’s last week so God gave us a miracle...but we just sat there watching them come in and smiling bigger and bigger the whole time.  Then of course we were running around like crazy people trying to make sure they all knew where to go and where they were supposed to be.  I wouldn’t have it any other way though hah.  The members have started the last suppers before sister Lizada leaves.  I’ve decided it takes skill to be able to eat two dinners in a row.  Gosh it’s crazy.  And there’s no way to say no.  You just have to smile and do a few jumping jacks so there’s room for more food haha.  It would probably be easier if I didn’t like the food.  But unfortunately I do.  Trials of a sister missionary.  

We also had zone conference this week which was amazing!  It was so fun to get to see everyone and meet more missionaries.  Of course President Tye ended up having to basically herd us all out of there because all we do is just sit and talk forever and just catch up with everyone.  It’s a pretty good time.  It’s crazy because you have good friends in the mission but you only see each other like once a month or longer so you never really get to talk. 

I don’t really have much else that happened this week.  Just work as usual. Another day another dollar.  We had to pay 50 Pesos for a tricycle.  That was ridiculous!  Hah usually its only 8 but this one was "special."  Anyway that’s basically it.  We learned in our mission conference to really strive to recognize the little miracles every day.  So that is my challenge to you.  Strive to see the good in every day and in every person you meet! Next week I’ll write more.  Love you all.  Keep up the good work.  Thanks so much for all the love and the support!  

XOXO
SISTER VAN TASSELL