Philippines for Eighteen : Heto pa rin!

(Still here!)

Kumusta po kayong lahat??

Sister Flosa. So darling. I love her. And we are cooking Sopas but it's not my favorite dish in the philippines. It's like chicken noodle soup but sketchy hot dogs instead of chicken noodle soup.

namimiss ko na kayo. I hope all is well. This week was a little slower dahil sa pigsa ko. Grabe naman!!! So.... I finally went to the doctor this week because my foot was so swollen. Sister Ott was like Sister... I don't want to alarm you... but your foot is literally twice as big as the other. I didn't notice because there was no pain but it was still swollen!!! I had gotten an infection in my foot and the doctor insisted that I had to rest two days with my foot elevated. She put me on a stronger antibiotic. So, Sister Hingano and I had to stay in for two days. Those days were VERY LONG. I know that I needed to get better but I still felt like I was being disobedient in the back of my head. But now it is completely healed and everything is back to normal. I guess it was nice to catch up on some letters and study lots.

Monday night we went and taught a family in our ward for FHE and had them bring referrals. It was so fun!! At the end we played this game (sort of like the instrument game) but with fruits. Everyone has a fruit assigned to them, and you say your fruit first and then the fruit to which you pass. The only thing is you have to cover your teeth with your lips as you talk (like you're an old person). It was sooo funny. It's hard enough to speak Tagalog let alone like that. Haha and it was even worse because I didn't know all the names of the fruits that they were using. Haha but we were laughing so hard and the investigators loved it. I think it was good to see that as missionaries we're normal people and we can be funny sometimes too.. at least I think so haha.

Tomorrow we are singing in front of almost the whole mission so we are pretty nervous. We are going to practice later today. We will be singing "Be Still My Soul." I didn't expect to be singing and playing the piano this much on my mission but I absolutely love it. Elder Christensen from the 70’s is coming to speak to us and we are so excited.

A couple days ago, Sister Hingano and I were tracting and I saw a little head poking out of a house off in the distance and I had a feeling we should go talk to her. We approached her and she was super nice, but she had a huge sign from her church on her house: Back to Christ, and she was wearing a necklace from her church. She told us at least 5 times how active she was in her church, but I still felt like we should share with her. She kept telling us to enter so we went in to share a message with her. She was soo interested the whole time. At the end she said, "I have had all sorts of missionaries come to my house and I always send them away, but for some reason I let you in. You're lucky!" I was thinking...it's either because I am American or it was the spirit. But I hope it was the latter. And she just kept saying how it was really touching her heart and asking when we can come back and share. So to me, that is just an example of the small miracles that happen every day. We will follow up with her later this week. But I have a huge testimony that, especially as a missionary, the Lord is always putting people in your path. We also found some new investigators yesterday... a huge family and we taught all of them and their kids. They were also super interested. We are excited to see where it goes.

These shoes were made for walking!

Hellen is ready to be baptized. She really wants to be baptized but wants to know if she should wait for her family. Ronnie might be going to work abroad because he can't get a job here, and none of her kids are really interested. But the blessings that have come into her life from the gospel are so obvious. It is amazing to see the change that has happened in her life from the first time we met her.... as she applies her commitments - reading, praying, and going to church. Despite how hard it is within her family, she is finding peace. I am grateful to have the opportunity to share that peace with her.

A member of the ward that we have reactivated. She is super cute and cool and just feels like a normal friend. Her name is Sister Shiela Joy Guste. Her husband just left to go work abroad so she is all alone with her son now:( But that is a pretty normal occurrence in the Philippines.

Since my letter isn't that exciting this week, I just want to share my testimony. Our mission has been reading the Book of Mormon but focusing on repentance. The more I study repentance, the more I have come to realize that it is just aligning your will with God's will. That all your desires, wants, hopes, become His. You turn from the natural man and become one with God. Through the Atonement (which of course is broken down to At-one-ment) you can become one with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. And through doing so.. through daily repentance. you see that it is really only by His will that we can experience complete, full, perfect joy. I am so grateful that I am here right now. I know I continually say it but my gratitude is overflowing. I have learned so much and still have so much to learn, but I know 100% that this is the only true and living church on earth today. It is only through the gospel that we can be happy. That we can find peace. That we can become one with our family, love our spouse more, or overcome challenges. I am so grateful to have been born in the covenant. To have these things. How great is our duty to share this truth with everyone we know. So many people are wandering in darkness, without the truth and light of the gospel and most of the time they don't even know it. But I have seen again and again how as they are brought to the knowledge of the truth, they can fill that void in their life. I know that these things are true and I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior.

I hope this makes sense. I love all of you so much. Thank you for your love and support. I pray for all of you constantly.

Ingat palagi.

Sister Rasmussen