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Monday, November 12, 2012 1:48 AM

Hello Family,

 

So it was so good to get your emails today!! I got used to hearing from you more than once a week in the MTC. :) Thanks for that.

 

I have missed you all a lot lately. My companion pointed out that most of the time when she has a desire to go home it's not because she is tired of the work but that she appreciates what she has at home so much and wants to be there to be with her family and serve them. I would definitely have to agree with that! I have already become so much more grateful for all of the things I have at home AND the blessings we enjoy here. :) For example a big goal in our area right now is to find more righteous priesthood holders that can become leaders. We have some great leaders in our branch but there is a shortage of endowed men in the entire area. At church on Sunday I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the wonderful examples I have in my life. Grateful for the Brambleton Ward with all of the wonderful strong fathers who lead and attend the temple and are sealed to their families. I was grateful to all of the moms who work so hard for their children (here and abroad) to feed them, and take care of them and be a righteous example. (Mom and Dad most of all that applies to you. I was overcome with gratitude for the worthy temple recommend holders you are. Hope you know what a difference it has made in our family.)

 

I am also very grateful for fans. New-found appreciation. The windows in our apt (like mom asked) are always open . We each have (provided by the mission) an electric fan. Turn that on and personal and companionship study and sleeping are quite pleasant. In the mornings when I wake up I am even cool almost. :) I would be fine with a top sheet (which I don't use). The humidity hasnt been nearly as bad as I was expecting and does feel like Virginia often. Although going to bed at night is pretty gross. :) As I change for bed and lay down my legs are covered in sweat, bug repellant, mosquito bites, and dirt. I smell like trek and my whole body is sticky. But the second I lay down the fan hits me and I am comfy and I'm out in about 2 minutes. Showering in the morning feels so good. 

 

More on the branch. We have about 125 people attended each week. We meet in a building that has rooms with fans and air conditioning. (Same design as Ecuador) Many times people will read scriptures in English and they qoute general conference talks in English but the rest is Tagalog. Unless we reading from an english Gospel Principles manual (about half of the ones at church are :) ) In lessons we only speak Tagalog which is rough because sometimes I can't follow where the lesson is going. Eek! That is probably the hardest thing for me here... knowing whether I am doing enough to study the language, knowing how to better study it, and having faith that it will come. I know the Lord will bless me but I often wonder if I am studying worthy of the blessing. Oh well. I will try to keep improving my study. My companion and I need to speak more Tagalog to one another. After a week we are already in a bad habit of speaking English.

 

We are pretty close to other missionaries. In fact our whole district is using the same internet cafe for emailing right now. :) The 4 sisters and then 4 elders (district leader companionship and zone leader companionship).

 

To answer a few other questions of yours:

I actually feel quite safe here, even as we walk at night. (Don't worry though I am still on guard... when I'm not falling asleep on my feet. Joke-lang!) Although, we learned one day last week from G. that there is a part of the area (that we frequently visit during the day) that foreigners should not be in after dark... good to know. :) And one other part of our area is somewhere the missionaries don't go after dark. So avoiding those two spots we are all good. The people seems very nice and honest for the most part. For example, The trike rides cost between 8-10 pesos per person and it just depends on the distance you travel. (Im still working on estimating that.) The weird part is, you just tell em where your going and get in. Then at the end we pay whatever it should be. (most of the time for us it is 8 but church is 10 and a couple other areas we go to) Anyway, I did my math wrong (go figure) one time and gave him enough for 10 each (with a little change necessary) when the ride only cost 8. I handed it to him and waited for change. He could have charged me the ten but helped me work out the money and said 8 only. I thanked him. That seems pretty standard around here.

 

My prayers over food have become...more sincere. Although we all knew that would be the case. I am grateful that I haven't gotten sick yet and I have actually enjoyed almost everything I've eaten. I found some cinnamon raisin bread for a good price here so that has become my dessert at night after we return home. It is heavenly. We don't have dinner apts here. Although we have been randomly invited to eat twice while visiting members for referals. It was nice. They have so many rice dishes here. But they also have some noodle dishes. We have decided (my comp and I) that chinese food here is like mexican food in the states. There are many resturants with chinese food and they vary in their authenticity.

 

I just bought some plastic shoes today because we have had some rain here already and some of the roads we tract on are dirt roads. I love walking around here though. It is fun. Oh! I met some Lagrosa's the other day. So crazy. I'm sure they are somehow related but who knows how. I couldn't remember Heather's father's name anyway so I didn't ask, but if I go back we will be sure to talk to them. :)

 

I am so grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord. There have been so many times this week (pretty much daily) that He teaches me or tells me something during personal study or companionship study that I needed to hear. And I have had a couple times when I shared my testimony or a part of a lesson impromtu and have been able to relate the whole thought without too much trouble and the person we are teaching has understood me. Trust me that's a miracle because most of the time I can't spit out 2 awful sentences. I think He gives me just enough to encourage me to keep trying. :)

 

We (the 4 sisters) had dinner with Elder and Sister B. (the couple missionaries that came over from the MTC with me). It was so fun and sooo nice. It was good to see how they were adjusting. Sister B. is sweet and Elder B. is great too, kept us laughing. She cooked potatoes and chicken, we had salad and fruit. A real american meal. She also tried to make chocolate chip cookies for dessert. They were delicious but different from how they would have turned out in the states. Not as cake like more no bake cookie consistancy. I don't know how to explain it but she said the ingredients here are just all so different. It's so true. But it is fun that we are all adjusting together. They are here for the same time I will be, so if all goes according to plan we may fly home together. :) Kind of fun.

 

One experience I will share from this week. In Preach My Gospel there are so many wonderful insights about the gospel and the work. One theme is that we should be bold. And it is true... The more I study the gospel the more I want to run up to people and tell them, We have a prophet! Miracles still exist every day! You can be with your family forever! You can be happier than ever before!. Which is kind of what we do, yay!! But you know not quite as excitedly as that. haha. So we were in a lesson where the wife is a member and the husband is not. They have one little beautiful baby. And I'm sitting there trying to catch bits and pieces between G., Sister D. and the family. (because the husband joined us for the lesson) Suddenly, Sister D. is talking about how the wife has a desire deep within her heart to one day be sealed as a family. And then she is talking about how he can bless his family with the priesthood and should be a man like Moroni. It was a good message and it was true but there were points when I was almost a little bit grateful for the language barrier that kept me from the full force of what was taking place. But it seemed to go over pretty well. We will have to see what happens when we visit again. Anyway. Good reminder to be bold because the Lord was not timid about His work and we shouldn't be either. :)

 

Well that's about all the time I have. I love you all so much. 

Love Sister Jaclyn Hamm

 

Tinatanggap ang maraming biyaya :)

Monday, November 5, 2012 1:55 AM 

Hello! 

So much has happened since the time I last wrote you. Where to begin? What to include?

So I'm not sure how much Sister S. told you. My first area is Puerto Princesa... which if you look at the map I left you, is on the island of Palawan! :)  The word in the mission is that this is the "celestial kingdom" of the Manila mission. I feel very blessed and lucky to be here. It is a nice place. More about that a little later. (Just to keep you hanging. haha)

Our trip over to Manila was good. We slept for a lot of the flight and I didn't have any jet lag! yay! It is weird being 12 hrs different from you. In fact if I'm right it's 2am on Monday for you? Please don't forget to send me an email with who wins the Presidential election. Thank goodness for modern technology because from what I hear, it will pretty much take forever for mail to get to Palawan. :) Haha. No, but it will take at least a month because we can only send and receive physical mail when the Zone leaders come and go to the mainland once a month. At least that is how I understand it. Crazy huh? So, sorry Madison (and others who have written me), you may have to go awhile without a return letter. :) But don't forget I love you!

So after arriving we got to go to the Mission home which was lovely. President and Sister S. are great! For the day and a half I spent in Manila, I liked it. The parts we were in didn't seem very different from other cities I'd been in. It actually reminded me a lot of Guayquil, Ecuador. Anyway, I got to see Sister L. at the transfer meeting. Yay! I also saw Sister E. from the nursing program who goes home in two months.

After the transfer meeting the new missionaries went to a memorial for those who had died in the Philippines in WWII.  Then we went back to the mission home for lunch. The "trainers" or companions were there waiting. However, the companions on Palawan simply meet us in Palawan so they do not have to fly over to the mainland. So the 3 (2 Elders and I) of us just became trios for a little while. Then each of the companionships left to go to their areas. I was amazed how sad it was. I miss my district from the MTC so much. I hope they are all doing well. After they left I was a solo sister for the night.

My feat for the night was fitting all of the necessities into my one big suitcase and making it weigh less than 44lbs (20Kilos). Yea, when he said extra luggage could be a burden at transfers I thought he meant carry wise - not can't take with you wise. haha. Well it was tough but I succeeded, and felt less bad when it was difficult for the Elder going as well. (So it's not just a girls have too much stuff thing haha.) I was grateful for the duffle bag which held all of the books and probably weighed close to 35lbs on its own!

More about the area. My companion is Sister D. (native Filipina). She is wonderful!! So kind and patient and knows English very well so she can help teach me Tagalog. There are only 4 Sisters on the whole island of Palawan. We all live together in a beautiful little house. All of the other sisters are native filipinas. And guess what.... I'm the tallest one in the apartment. In fact I frequently feel tall here and it is a very different feeling. I’m not sure I like it haha! I can't imagine how normal sized Americans feel here. haha! Our apartment kind of reminds me of Nanie’s house. I think it’s just the era that it was decorated. The walls are a bright peachy color and the curtains are lacy. I will send pictures when I can. We have a normal shower that is cold but feels great, and I enjoy it very much every morning. The heat hasn't been so bad and I actually wear my hair half down all day which I was not expecting. Thank goodness it’s the cool season right now.

The grocery stores are different. I look at some of the recipes I brought and wonder if I will be able to make them. Our kitchen has one small fridge and a sink. We have a gas stove in a room out back for cooking. They do have peanut butter though!! YAY!! I was so excited. It is expensive (p200) but totally worth it! It's weird getting used to the new currency. And I still havent figured out how payment for transportation works. haha. We usually ride what they call tricycles. Which are motorbikes attached to metal frames that fit 4 people tightly. :) I like them. When we had a far trip one night we rode a multi-cab (jeepney) since it is cheaper. It has benches along either side that people can sit on and functions like a city bus but without designated stops.

Saturday has been my favorite day so far. We went out visiting new converts and less active members. I can't wait till I understand what people are saying. (Right now I understand almost nothing.) I follow the lesson okay though and I am able to bear testimony or say the pray. While going around we found a couple new investigators, yay! We are currently trying to learn our way around and find out where people live. There is an awesome ward missionary here named G. She comes around with us everywhere. She knows where all the members and inactives live. (Which is no small job since some of their houses are found down hidden cement allies or along a densely populated narrow wooden bridge) She reminds me a lot of Heather L.  She leaves for her own mission at the end of this month so we are trying to learn all we can from her before she leaves. I love visiting the people. They are very kind.

Thank goodness for the Spirit. It has been supporting me so much. :) Life is good, especially when we are out visiting people with G. and Sister D. teaching me Tagalog. I think of you all so often and wonder how you are doing. I miss you. Don't forget to send me updates about yourself. I feel like there is so much information in this email and yet is is full of nothing as well. :) Just know that I am doing great. I love the Lord and His children. This is His true church and I'm grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Love Sister Hamm

The phone call :)

Oct. 30, 2012

So, there is no letter to post from Jaclyn today.  I am sorry for those of you who look forward to it every Tuesday like I do.  Instead, we were able to talk to Jaclyn on the phone for about 20 minutes last night while she was at the Salt Lake Airport! Yay!  And today she is spending the entire day traveling, stopping in Hong Kong, even crossing the International Date Line, before arriving in Manila tonight about 11pm our time and at 11am on Wednesday, Oct. 31 Philippine Time. 

She sounded wonderful!  She was very excited and not nervous, except with respect to her Tagalog skills.  She spoke to us in Tagalog, however, and it sounded great to us! :)  She is traveling with 2 other Sisters and a larger group (8-10) of Elders, all of whom are headed to Manila or other Filipino missions. 

She told us an interesting story.  She said that there were 377 missionaries leaving the MTC on Monday.  At their send-off meeting, Monday morning, they had groups of missionaries headed to different areas stand.  For example, they called those going to Ohio and 6 stood, then California and 7 or so stood, then Brazil and 10 stood, etc.  They didn't call them by mission, but by large geographical areas like that.  She said there were always about 5-10 missionaries who stood.  Then they called those going to the Philippines and there were 72 of them!  She knew that there were that many because the day she entered the MTC there were two groups of 36 missionaries all going to the Philippines.  She just didn't realize that they were comparatively so large in the MTC for the past 8 weeks.  Don't know why, but it was exciting for her.

She also said that with the new program (18 and 19 year old Elders and Sisters), everyone was instructed to train their junior companions to be trainers so that within 12 weeks of arriving in your area, you could be called to be a trainer.  It made her a little anxious to realize that she could be training a new missionaries in 12 weeks.  The Elders in our Mission (Washington DC South) who ate at our house on Sunday night had already told us that this mission has been doing that for a long time already. 

We hope to get an email from her shortly after her arrival.  We will keep you all posted if it comes! 

Oct. 23rd last email from the MTC!

First--- HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!!! Sorry I didn’t get a card in the mail sooner. Just know I have been thinking of you today. Love you!

Second-- THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the packages. I received two packages FULL of love this week. First the Larson's package arrived. Thank you sooo much Kaylin for the cookies, they were delicious (my district agrees). Also thank you for the caramel popcorn it is a great bedtime snack! I am excited to be able to give those cute stickers to Filipino children. If I am able to I will take and send a picture of someone with them on. :) Thank you also for the wonderful drawings from Jenna ( I think the fruit bowl one was Jenna?), Mia and Ryan. I loved the letters you included as well. The chocolate bars were so delicious and fancy. I felt so spoiled and am still enjoying the treats every night. :)

Mom--- Thank you for your wonderful package full of love. You know me so well. It was overflowing with great stuff. It was perfect! I loved the bread, you know it's my favorite. And thank you for the beautiful and laminated copy of the song, I was not expecting that to be so nice. I am so grateful for the Christmas pillow case. The duffle bag will be a perfect carry on and the airborne will be well used. :)

Thank you for all the news. God is hastening His work and it is SO EXCITING! I absolutely LOVE the individual updates on people. They are really fun and it’s nice to know how everyone is doing. You all are crazy for driving down to the ND game but I am glad you both had a great time! (Or at least Tyler, I didnt hear wheather we won or not. :) )  I did think of you dad when they mentioned The Little Prince in conference, how could I not? Thank you for all of the encouragement and relating Kristen's prayer story to me - such a good message and cute story.  I promise to be happy 98% of the time... Deal? :D (I’m only worried about the end of a hard, long day when it’s hot and something pushes me over the edge. Give me a couple hours to recover.)  I love it 100% of the time and know that each morning brings renewed happiness. :)  Like mom was saying in one of her letters we just have to put the happy stuff in our foreground.  I am learning (from some people around me) just how important it is to put the positive and good in front and just how difficult that can be for some people. Grateful that I was raised that way so that it is a little easier for me, even though I don’t always do it. (Okay that sounded kind of bad but I seriously am loving almost every minute of everyday and the people around me are mostly positive as well.)   I voted weeks ago dad, no worries! :)

Thirdly-- WE HAVE FLIGHT PLANS!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. I was almost more excited to see these than I was about opening my mission call. So here goes. I realized from your last letter that you didn’t realize my departure date had changed from the 31st to the 29th. So we are down to 6 days!!!!!!!! We leave SLC at 8:30pm the 29th. Leave LAX at 1:05am 30th. Leave Hong Kong at 9:05am on the 31st and arrive in Manila at 11:15am on the 31st!!! :) I thought it was kind of fun that we get three different days to mark leaving MTC, and leaving country and arriving in Manila. :) Yay!!!! I am so nervous and also so excited. I am really excited to be wearing my tag somewhere outside of the MTC. I am worried because I know my Tagalog is very poor but I know Heavenly Father will help me and I will get better while there.

So the English Elders that came in are only staying for two weeks.  We were told the new time shortening would take place in January but looks like they may start early.  (I know I spell some stuff wrong but Tagalog is messing me up and I’m in a hurry.  Please don’t judge. :) ) Josh will probably be here only for 6 weeks.  He will do great I’m sure!  Well I have to go. I love you SO much.  Thanks again for all the love you send my way.  I send prayers back. :)  Ingat po. (goodbye)

Love,

Sister Hamm

 Sister Jaclyn Hamm

 

 Sister Hamm's MTC District

 

Sister Hamm with three of her friends from the Nursing Program at BYU

(also all missionaries in the MTC)

Oct 16, 2012 email

kumusta pamilya!!

so... not that much to report from this end. I am getting really excited to go to the philippines but i am also really nervous because i still dont feel like i know the language well enough at all! but i just keep studying my heart out and praying that heavenly father will help me and i know he will. so the shift key on this computer is broken. please excuse the lack of capital letters. haha.
thanks for the news report from elder holland and brother bruton's email. its always fun to get those.

so sorry to hear about heather's dad. im glad he is doing well, i know he had lots of prayers sent his way. this morning in the temple one of the workers told us that the number of girls that started there missions this week jumped from a normal average of 600 to 3600!!! insane right. it will be insteresting to see how the mission field and mtc handle that. i'm glad josh's wrist isnt broken. i have to warn him..... be careful in gym at the mtc. there are a couple people who have hurt themselves and had to go get surgery or just recover and it keeps them in the mtc for weeks and weeks extra.... um no thanks.... its a great place to be but extending your stay is not worth a great shot in basketball etc. sorry for tyler that oddessey of the mind fell through but im sure he will find many other fun things to do. cant wait to see pictures of the et costume. dad wrote about how time flies, life time wise, and i have to agree but its so fun to reflect back. i often find myself singing scripture scouts when we talk about 'fisher's of men' or what we can give to jesus. c; i cant make a normal smiley without a shift button.... oh well. haha. you get the idea. c; Well i feel like i really dont have much to say. if you wanna know any specifics send me questions. i know the church is true. im grateful i have this awesome oppurtunity to serve the lord and help others learn about the beautiful blessings of the gospel. if you want to pray for me, pray that i have a good trainer so i can improve my teaching skills and learn the language well. i love you all!!

love
sister jaclyn hamm

i love and miss you lots. but i am also seriously loving life here.... absolutely loving it. besides the stress of not speaking tagalog. c; but it'll all come with time. love your letters and appreciate them all. love you so much!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 3:42 PM

Thanks for the love emails from last week. :)

Crazy general conference announcement, huh? You said you would send me an article about the interview with Elder Holland, that would be cool because we do not hear anything! around here. :) haha. I wrote you about conference a little already and it should be coming in the mail. Just know that I did think of you all lots. Definitely with the bees and during called to serve. We laugh around here because we sing that song almost every time we gather for a meeting but I still love the song and definitely hear my family in my head.  I miss hearing all 4 parts! :)  Along those same lines it was so weird to sing with Sisters only during the Relief Society broadcast after 7 weeks of being surrounded and drowned out (in a good way) by Elders. haha.

I think a semester for Jacob might be great but we will see what he decides and see if the spirit has something to say about it. :) There are a lot of Elders and Sisters here who may be out with siblings now. Just think we could possibly have 3 from our family at once! ah! So exciting. Glad that Jake had a good time at homecoming.

Nathan-- Good luck with German and bringing up your grade. I was failing a class in 8th grade when interims came out too! BUT through extra work I was able to bring my grade up. Think about how cool it would be if you brought yours up. You could brag and say you changed your grade from an F to a B ... or even an A! I know you can do it!! Let me know how it goes. Don't worry about writing me but it would be nice to hear from you sometime.... :)

Go Mom for volunteering to help with Odessey of the mind!! You go girl! :) I'm sure Tyler REALLY appreciates it. He loves when you help out with his stuff.

Tyler-- ET sounds like the best costume idea ever! Just remember you wont look exactly like him. I'm thinking you should carry a little flashlight so you can pretend that your finger lights up! :) (MOM-- brown sheet and face paint? Good luck! Just make sure the top of his head is big and flat! :) haha)

Thanks for the picture of Josh! Now I just need some of the rest of you. Maybe a picture of Jacob ready for homecoming, or soccer or flag football or something. Its just fun to see. Maybe I can send you another one soon.

Sounds like a cool Filipino store you went to. We might have to go after I get back when I’m longing for the Philippines. :P But as for packages... not only do you have to pay to send them but I have to pay to receive them....so keeping those super limited is a good idea. :)

As for here.... things are going well. Conference was a blast! So fun and uplifting. Then after conference Sunday night we had a fireside by Chad Lewis (thank you mom and true or untrue stories about wearing his jersey for halloween b/c that’s the only way I know who he his) It was a really good fireside that made everybody laugh and feel uplifted. The way he taught kind of reminded me of dad so that was nice. The count down has begun... 20 days left of the MTC. (days sound long but less than 3 weeks!! Eek!!) I am getting really excited. Monday I felt like I was done with being at the MTC, but then I got really nervous because I still hardly know anything and I don't want to go not be able to understand anything for weeks. Oh well. Good that I have both emotions cause now I can be nervous and excited and just let it motivate me to study harder, pray harder and appreciate the time I have left.

Something I will not miss is the static here!! ugh! It is OOC. I also will not miss the cold... okay, lets be honest, I wont miss being cold for the first 3 or 4 days and then I will probably be sick of sweating. :) haha. But we are looking forward to the heat as the cold October weather rolls in. I love you all! Miss you!

Sister Hamm

October 2, 2012 email

J   So I feel like I have less to share this week but we will see....

 

First, CONGRATULATIONS JOSH!!! I was so excited to hear the news. Thank you for writing me. I didn't want to hear about your mission call from anyone before you so Wed night I got two sheets of DearElder letters and told my companion, "Scan these really fast and see if you see the name Josh." I explained why and then she did and I got all excited because one was from you!! So I read yours first and I'm glad I did because one of the other letters I got had your call in it too.  I’m so excited for you!!!!  Talk about death trap.... :) Philippines. Mexico. Who knows. Everyone in my district is also excited for you and the Branch Presidents wife said that she has been to that city and that it is a beautiful place. I’m sure you will get LOTS of advice and information from all sorts of people. I want to write you a letter but it may have to wait until next Tuesday. :) Congrats! I love you!

 

Second, congratulations to Jacob for getting voted homecoming prince. That is exciting. I'm glad his job is also going well!

 

Glad to hear about Nathan and Tyler's sport teams. Hope they are still having fun, and for mom's sake, not complaining about practices. :)

 

I'm glad you had fun at the YC bbq. I think it's great that you get together like that! On a related note, we get to teach volunteer members (2 different ones) every Wednesday night. It is fun way to practice or Tagalog and our teaching of gospel lessons. We just treat it like a dinner visit to members. :) And of course most of the volunteers are return missionaries that attend BYU. (Although 3 weeks in a row me and my companion have taught a man everyone calls Tatay (father) who is a convert from the Philippines who has only lived her a few years. He is fun to teach and he loves the gospel!) Anyway, the first person that we taught this week was an RM who served in the Philippines and we were getting to know him and were talking about where we were from and he asked me what part of Virginia (all in Tagalog of course, except mine is slow and horrible) And I told him and he asked, "Do you know the Scholz's?" I was so surprised. I, of course, said yes and he said that he does marching band with Coleman! It was fun to have a little connection cause we are in such a bubble at the MTC. Anyway, just thought I would share that.

 

Everything is going well here. I have actually fallen in love with... (no, not a boy) cracked wheat for breakfast! :) I like it much more than oatmeal and sometimes mix it with cream of wheat. They have almonds, raisins and cinnamon and sugar to put on it. It's great! And I'm still loving the fact that I don't have to prepare it. :)

 

The language is coming along. I am improving but I still wish I could speak more fluently. It will come in time I know. Teaching is getting a little easier and we have one "investigator" that is preparing for baptism. :) I am looking forward to General Conference this week! YAY!

Well I think that is about it for this week. Everything kinda feels the same but everything is good so I can't complain about it staying the same! :) I love all of you! I think about you often (usually when I have to zone out for a second to keep my brain from exploding with Tagalog.) and miss you. Hope you are all doing well!

 

Love

Sister Hamm