January 28, 2013
Dear Family,
So Transfer Week. Dad called it. I am still
on Palawan but with a new companion. So you can appreciate the suspense I
had, Tuesday at dist. mtg. we found out about transfers. I knew I would
be staying and Sister D would be going but she didn't know where and neither of
us knew our companions. Tuesday night we found where Sis D was going but still
no news on companions. So Wednesday night I found out that my new
companion would be Sister H and that she was NOT a Filipina. No one
knew for sure but rumor had it that she was okay at Tagalog. So I was a
little worried about that. I was counting on a good Tagalog speaker and
now I was unsure.
Well, Thursday morning were transfers. We went to
the airport (the 4 sisters of Palawan) Sister M transferred as well
which made me sad because she has been so great to have around and talk to. Sad
to see my "mom" transferred as well. I have learned so much
from her. So they went to their flight and Sister M and I became
temporary companions. At noon we went to meet our new companions at the airport.
Sister H is from Australia and she is great!! I absolutely love
working with her. Leading the area is a little crazy. I thought I
was prepared for it... and it's going alright but it is weird to be the only
one who has any idea where to go next if our plans and back-up plans fall
through. (Which has happened a little more frequently than I would desire. :) )
Anyway, I am so excited to work with her. Her Tagalog is great (I can definitely
tell it is more of a foreigner Tagalog, but she can communicate with everyone just
great, which is good since I still can't). My Tagalog is coming along and
my teaching skills are slowly improving. Thanks for the prayers. I
can definitely feel them. So yea, we are having a great time. She
is a hard worker and we have already had some great lessons together. We still
have 2 Filipinas in the house which is nice so we can check our
Tagalog with them during language study. :)
Sacrament talk was good. President gave me the 5
minute signal before I went up which was perfect and made me a little less
nervous! :) I could see all the people in the congregation supporting me
and one brother kept nodding his head at what I was saying so that made me
really happy. Hope my message helped somebody through the Spirit.
I ate what are called green mangos which really are
unripe mangos, go figure. :) It reminds me of the raw green apples Jeanie
used to eat with salt. They eat them with salt, or a spicy sweet sauce,
or.... rotten shrimp. ? I'm not sure exactly what it is but that is part
of it and I tried that. Let's say, not my fav. But not as bad as I
would've expected for rotten shrimp paste. :) Um, I actually - I don't
normally miss food anymore. I have found enough things I like here. :)
Favorite thing about the weather-- I really appreciate the rainy days
cause they mix it up a bit but it is really happy and care free to always have
sunshine. :)
Um your spelling of ay nako didn't do much for me in
pronunciation.... its ay like "I", na like "naw" on a
bone, and ko like "co"conut. Hope you enjoy that. :) I
expect to hear it on mothers day. haha
Um... as for preparation for Josh and the Sister
B. I think it might help if they did a little research on
culture shock. I did some required reading before Ecuador. And I think on
the harder days here at the beginning it was nice to realize that it
was partially culture shock. And that that does go away. (Yep, living
proof here.) There are other things but maybe I'll write those another
week for Sister B. For Josh, IDK cause where he is going will be
different.
So you know how the grass is always greener on the other
side. Well, I had a good laugh in the grocery store the other day when I saw
whitening lotion. haha. So funny. They really do like to be lighter here,
although as my last companion pointed out, "but not as white as you."
haha Along those same lines. Hilarious this week, we "Tao
Po" ed at a members door. I was standing right where the door opens and it
was the time of day where it was a very white light in the shade. Anyway,
Brother opened the door and literally yelped and jumped a little. As he put his
hand over his heart I couldn't help but laugh. As I laughed he explained
that he had hear Tao Po and wasn't expecting someone so "puti"
(white) to be at the door. It was so funny! He was so surprised.
Anyway, this week we gave a lesson on prophets to a new
investigator. After teaching about prophets in the bible and helping him
understand the importance of prophets, we showed him a picture of Thomas S.
Monson. He looked at it for a little bit while we testified. All
the sudden he got really upset. He asked why he had never seen this man
before. He said, I know about John Paul but if this is the prophet why
have I never heard of him. It was a moment that made me really appreciate what
I have! That's the reason I am on this mission! The world is
missing out and it is only because "they know not where to find it".
I know that God loves all His children equally and He has a perfect plan
for each one of us. I know God wants all His children to know that Thomas S.
Monson is the true prophet today and that He receives direction from
God. I know this is true. We explained to the investigator that
there is a world wide broadcast twice a year so people can hear what President
Monson has to say. He calmed down and we were able to end on a good note.
He said he would pray about it and I hope he does because I know Heavenly
Father will send the Spirit to testify to him. I know that this Church
is true and that it is led by God and Jesus Christ through a prophet who
receives revelation. I am grateful that I have this knowledge and know
that everyone can learn this for themselves through study and prayer.
I love you all and hope you are all doing well!
Love
Sister Hamm
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