Walking on Sunshine

Dear Family,

So this week has been great!  We were worried that we would have limited time (and we did have very limited time) because of a follow up meeting and a Sisters specialized training meeting. But, Heavenly Father helped us to have a super productive week.  We were able to see lots of little miracles from God.  One investigator who we thought had completely ignored our lesson on word of wisdom gave up coffee the day we taught it to him... plus his sister (who sometimes joins our lessons but wasn't there when we taught wow) picked up the pamphlet we left, read it and also started living the word of wisdom. :)  Sister H extended baptism to one investigator and I doubted for a second but the investigator sincerely accepted. And so many more.  The list feels endless.  The Spirit has been really strong this week and we are just walking on sunshine and trying to share the sunshine with others!

Sisters day was so great.  It was all about helping us be better missionaries and lets be honest... helping us relax. haha.  It was so sweet and delicious (free lunch).  We are grateful for all those that helped with the preparations.

So for questions: Grocery... okay they have grocery stores but it all depends on your area as to what type.  My last area was my area most like America and my area now is the least like America. haha.  The grocery store in this area has no fruits, vegetables, or meats.  So we go to the palangke for these.  I am going to miss the palangke so much when I get back to the states.  It is so fun! I almost took a picture last week.  I will totally get up the courage to do it sometime.  Mom would maybe be proud-- or horrified-- at the meat I have been eating. haha.  I just rinse it off when we get home.. then we cook it really well.... and then we pray over it.  It sounds like I definitely got the better food deal here than Josh because I have yet to get sick.  The palangke is really big.  In an outside-ish area but with a roof... like an open barn or big tents. It has everything you need pretty much, but we buy stuff like bread and milk and canned goods at the grocery store.  It makes shopping on P-day a little difficult because we make 3 different stops for groceries and there are no carts or anything so we carry all our stuff for the week.  Good thing I always liked to bring in all the groceries from the car in one trip, it was good practice. haha  Last week I bought ground pork for the first time from the market.... I am still to scared to use it... but this week.  Im gonna do it.  They ground it fresh so everyone tells me I'm safe.
Some people have refrigerators but many do not.  They either buy their groceries like every two days or buy stuff that will last out of the fridge.

Most people don't have computers at their homes.  Which is why internet shops are super popular and very busy.  Some people have computers in their houses but really not a ton.  They do however have cell phones and sometimes the cell phones are able to access internet if there is wi fi available.  I-pads.. okay I had thought apple didn't exist here.. someone said there were no towers for their service but I think that was maybe just on Palawan because some people here have I-phones. Many people have "ipads" but they are other companies.

Spiritual thought this week is from Mosiah 23:21--"Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith."  My patience has been tested sooo many times on my mission and this week too.  But it's amazing how if I try my best to use the very little patience I do have, it is always rewarded in the end.  This life isn't meant to be easy.  This life is meant to test us so we can grow and become better and happier.  Our faith will be tried.  Our patience will be tried but if we endure it well, it will all work together for our good!  I know that this is true.  And even while He is testing us, He is there strengthening us. :)  So tie yourself to the scriptures, tie yourself to the church and then press forward with a steadfastness and a hope of all things.  We will be rewarded and we will be happy. Have a great week!

Love

Sister Hamm

Kapangyarihan ng Dios

Hello family,

So this week has been good.  We have been really busy talking to EVERYONE.  It has been fun and you just never know what people are gonna be like until you talk to them.  It's so nice to be able to build a relationship with someone you just met.

So for questions:  How do you tell filipinos from other asians?  Ummmm.... you don't.  No just kidding.  There are some differences but there are some people here that still seem more Chinese or korean than Filipino.  But they have a word for them.. inchik.  Mostly you can tell because their eyes are more round than koreans and chinese.  Their nose is what they think distinguishes themselves because the bridge of their noses are very flat.  They all like my nose which is too bad cause I would totally trade. Honestly, Filipinos are really beautiful people.

Dinner here.  Well of course it includes rice because, as I have said, if they don't get rice 3 times a day the day just isn't complete. :)  There is a lot of seafood.  Mostly just fish with rice. Sushi is not popular and I don't think anyone really eats raw fish.  But lots of people eat fish and sometimes other muscles and such.  I hardly ever see crabs.  Other popular dinners are adobo and other filipino dishes that you eat with rice. Langonesa is one like mystery sausage thing but it is sweet and I love it.

There is no daylight savings time here.  I still haven't figured out how the sun works here... as in which months it's brighter earlier or later or dark at night earlier... You would think after a year I would get it but it just doesn't matter that much.  And it doesn't have big hour differences like us.  It seems to always get dark around 6.  I know someone could tell me because of the equator and side of the world I am on how the sun works.  If you'd like to let me know that would be cool. :)

No houses have heat.  I am pretty sure any form of appliance used for the sole purpose of producing heat doesn't exist here because that would be ridiculous.  When it get's "cold" you just put on a jacket and pants and suddenly your warm enough. :)  AC does exist but centralized AC does not.  Even the churches don't have centralized air con.  They have air conditioning units.  In houses these are rare.... maybe 30% of houses have them and it totally depends on the type of place you live.  Manila-- lots of AC. Areas with esquinitas-- 0 houses with AC.  Our neighborhood has many houses with AC but ours doesn't. :)  Even when people have AC units they don't always use them because it's cheaper not to.  Pretty much all the houses have glass window slats that open and close easy and pretty much you only close them if rain is coming in. :)  Remind you of me?  I'm so at home here.

Alright well I am out of time.  But for the spiritual thought please consider Elder M. Russell Ballards invitation at conference.  It happened so quickly it seemed easy to miss but this was an invitation from an apostle of the Lord to ALL MEMBERS of the Church. He said, 

" The key is that you be inspired of God, that you ask Him for direction and then go and do as the Spirit prompts you. When members view the work of salvation as their responsibility alone, it can be intimidating. When they view it as an invitation to follow the Lord in bringing souls unto Him to be taught by the full-time elders and sisters, it is inspiring, invigorating, and uplifting.  We are not asking everyone to do everything. We are simply asking all members to pray, knowing that if every member, young and old, will reach out to just “one” between now and Christmas, millions will feel the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful gift to the Savior."  I know that as we all pray over names of people we know, we will be inspired with one that we can prepare for the missionaries to teach. :)  And that this will be our gift to the Savior this Christmas."

I love you all!  Hope you have a great week!

Love,

Sister Hamm

Nagpapasalamat kami para sa Tootong Propeta

Dear Family,

 

So this week has been great!  We started with a great zone meeting and then had interviews with president on Wednesday.  Our sweet mission mom- Sister Tye- made sloppy joes with chips and cheescake!!!  It was so great!  And then we got to watch general conference on the weekend.  Okay-- General Conference is like better than Christmas!! No joke.  It was like the best 2 days ever.  If you haven't seen all of it yet make sure you watch it.  Because this isn't just something the prophet and apostles do for fun, these are men called by God who spend days preparing to give us words that COME FROM OUR LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER.  These talks are given them from God for our benefit.  So it's only our loss if we can't find the time to listen, study and live their words.

 

We had this beautiful woman come with us to conference.  I can't explain why I love her so much.  I just do.  She has this sweet Spirit and is a less active who came to church last week for the first time in a long time and then decided she wanted to go to conference even though it meant a 1 hour bus ride there, 5 hours at the church, and then a 1 hour bus ride home on a Sunday.  This is a woman who has no running water at her house.  This woman carries big buckets of water to her house each time she has to do laundry.  I just think she is so awesome! So glad she could come and enjoy the spirit of conference.

 

Umm... some cultural notes for fun.  In Tonga it is literally illegal to work on Sunday. The 2 places that work are the hospital and the police department.  And random... here in the Philippines blow dryers (i'm pretty sure) don't exist.  Hair spray does but it is not easy to find and not cheap! Anyway... so if you want your hair to dry faster you have to sit in front of an electric fan. haha.  That's the most common method I have seen.  But mostly people just walk around with wet hair for a while.

 

Okay so I only have 5 minutes....  More next week.. promise.  As a last note.  Let us become as little children.  I love teaching children because they get excited about knowledge.  As adults I think we get more careful about getting excited.  We get cynical or we question before we believe, we get worried what others will think of our reaction or beliefs.  But you tell these children that there is a prophet on the earth and they have all sorts of questions about how the prophet gets messages from God and what kind of things has he said.  If they are sure about something they listen when we tell them how they can find out for sure by asking God.  Obviously there are some ways in which we cannot be like children but we learn from Christ that these little children and those that are like them will enter the kingdom of God. We must be more willing to trust and act.  As we learned in conference, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." :)

 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love

Sister Hamm

Nakakahiya

October 7, 2013

Dear Family,

So this has been a really good week.  Of course it had it's struggles but it also had lot's of little miracles!  Like less actives coming to church for the first time in years after we visited them for the first time this week!

Cultural note: So the gas stations here have..what do you call those?...guys that pump the gas for you.  So you don't pump your own gas, they pump it for you. Also, don't know if I had mentioned this but the jeepneys, trikes, and mini buses just fill up whenever they need to. Which means even if they are full of passengers headed somewhere they just pull up to the gas station and fill up while we all wait. So if your in a hurry you just have to hope you are "living right" and get lucky enough for them not to stop. But it's a quick process so it's not bad.  The way of living and the culture here just makes everybody feel closer to each other.  Like when the Jeepney driver stopped at a gas station to use the CR. haha. One of the passengers talked to the driver about it and the other people on the jeep.  There just isn't a lot of privacy and it makes for a more  family feeling. haha. :)

Also for culture-- Sister H. informed me that while they have stairs in Tonga they are rare. Most houses and buildings are 1 story only. So when she first got here she was taking our stairs so slow but she is practiced now. :)

Let's see... oh I got to see the Relief Society broadcast yesterday. :) yay. And I will see conference this weekend. So excited!!!!  Conference here is in English but they have rooms set up with Tagalog for those who want it.

To answer a question:

Are you home for lunch most days? Yes. We are always home for lunch because study hours in the mornings are so long. :) (Which is good and bad)  So we sometimes cook awesome Filipino dishes like adobo, chikcen curry (favorite), tinola etc.  But lately we have been more lazy so we have egg sanwhiches (favorite), tuna fish, hot dogs (okay hot dogs here are different and I actually really like them... I think I might even miss them when I leave! Suprising I know.)   Sometimes we take crackers or something with us for a snack as we walk but the cool thing here is there is food everywhere.  I can buy a little bag of fresh boiled peanuts for 5 pesos. It's cheap, delicious (garlic flavor) and keeps you busog (full) for a while. 

So story for this week.  We were walking in this little "esquinita",  ( I have no idea how you spell that. But that is the way it sounds if spelled in spanish... Tagalog has no 'q') which is a narrow cement side walk with houses or walls on both sides.  So there are lots of holes in the cement. Some big some small.  Sometimes they cover them with thin wood or cardboard but you just walk around that cause you never know if it will break through to a hole when you walk on it.  So anyway... this day I was walking and avoiding the holes and suddenly there was a dust pan with a handle laying in the middle of the way. Which made it hard to step around or over it. But there was a spot and something in my brain said wet pile of cement but the thought came as I already was placing my foot in the pile... so My foot went through the big, thick pile of cement! Luckily it kept my foot from reaching the bottom of the hole and I didn't fall flat on my face. Miracle. Luckily I was wearing my plastic shoes so no real harm there and I luckily didn't get cut on the partially dried cement.  BUT I was SOOOO embarrassed.  I had just ruined someones work. :( I felt so bad. So I waited a minute and then someone realized so they called the man who had done it.  He was muttering about how he had just finished it earlier and I apologized profusely.  He was so kind about it. Saying it was fine and he could just fix it easy. But the worst part is we know lots of families and people in the area and news spreads like a wild fire through the esqunitas. haha.  SO obviously everyone is gonna know that the American missionary stepped in brand new cement. haha! Oh well. Live and learn. Luckily on the streets here they have pumps. You can't drink the water but you can use it anytime for free. So I was able to wash the cement of nice and easy as I swallowed my pride. :)

So spiritual thought.  This morning I was reading in Alma.  Alma 25:15-16 talks about the Law of Moses.  Now we know that in the bible people made the Law of Moses so strict and acted like it was the end all.  But Jesus Christ explained that salvation cannot come through the law alone.  In the Book of Mormon, here in Alma, it explains very clearly how the Law of Moses was a tool for them.  It was commandments given to help them look forward to Christ.  The Law of Moses was outward performances to help them always remember Jesus Christ and to strengthen their faith in Him.  I feel like sometimes today I make the same mistake of those in Jerusalem.  Thinking that the commandments we have been given (go to church every Sunday, read my scriptures everyday, pay tithing, give service) must be followed and that if we follow this commandments we will be saved.  While this is true.  I think sometimes I overlook the point of the commandments.  It is so easy to just start to go through the motions.  But the purpose of the commandments is to draw us closer to the Lord, become more like Him, and benefit us spiritually.  If we just follow the commandments to follow them it is better than not following them at all.  But if we remember that this is not a checklist but a process to become like Christ we will be so much more benefited from our obedience to His commandments.  I know that as we obey with a willing heart and do this routine things with our heart and mind focused on God we will find more joy in living the commandments and see the blessings of God and feel His spirit in our lives.  I love the Lord and His church that He has established on the earth to help us return to Him.

I love you all and hope you are having a great week.  I pray for you often.

Love
Sister Hamm

Malo Lelei

"Generations" Photo, Mission Family

September 30, 2013

Dear Family,

So the big news for this week is that I got a new companion.  I am training Sister H from Tonga! :) So if you translate the title using Tagalog you won't find it because my title this week is Tongan. :)  She was born and raised in Tongan and has only been out of the country once before when she visited New Zealand.  She has 10 siblings.   She knows english really well so we use english but for companionship study she uses her Tongan Preach My Gospel when we read out loud (because she doesn't have an english one).  She has a great spirit and knows how to work hard. She is definitely better at Tagalog than I was when I first got here and she is working hard to learn more. (It helps that the vowels in Tonga are the same as here)  Wednesday we had the new trainers meeting where we got to meet our companions and I got to see Sister R! It was so fun.  We also got a ride from the AP's to our house!!! (Maraming salamat for that because I did not want to take two big suitcases on a Jeepney with someone brand new to the Philippines.)

This week we have been doing a lot of walking. Even for me it has been a lot but my poor new companion is definitely not used to it. But we are both glad to be out meeting people and doing the Lord's work.

My spiritual thought from this week comes from Thursday.  I was a little apprehensive about being the only one in the companionship that can understand and speak Tagalog because there are still times that I struggle.  And it also would mean that I would be leading all the OYMing and what not.  So, we went to our first appointment and as we walk by this man he says, Joseph Smith and then continues to tell me the entire life history of Joseph Smith and starts talking about how he had come to our church before. It was cool to have him know so much and we were able to get a return appointment with him. But the biggest miracle came that as we were talking to him the investigator whose house we were headed to just happened to walk by and tell us that her daughter was in the hospital and they wondered if we could come to bless her! (Obviously, we got priesthood holders to do the blessing. haha) It was such perfect timing that Heavenly Father orchestrated. Then we went to our back-up appointment. (a Less active)  His father told us he wasn't home and said we should come back another time. (I had previously seen this father briefly but he always went into a room if we came to the house) But then we got talking with the father and he told us about how the Catholic church was false and about how the Mormons are right.  Then he tells us this whole story about how he was going to be baptized before but a problem came up. So instead he had his 2 sons baptized.  But he still knows that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true church! It was such a beautiful experience.  Just the kind of thing you wait for your whole mission. :)  And even though the rest of the day didn't go that well and the following days were hard too.  That one hour and a half gave me the confirmation I needed that I am doing the Lord's work and that with His help I can serve Him well even though I have so many weaknesses.  I know that Heavenly Father gives us the things we need when we need them.  He is just waiting to "reveal His hand" in our lives and He will if we just act with faith and live worthy of His help.  Some days He may seem far away and like we are just wandering around by ourselves but He is watching and He is ALWAYS THERE.  I know this is true.

Have a great week!  Enjoy the things you have and pray for help to see His hand in your life.  

Sister H and me with President and Sister Tye

Love you lots!

Sister Hamm 

Patuloy para Tagumpay

September 23, 2013

Dear Family,

We were doing a service project by cleaning the
bathroom at the church for ward conference. :)

SO this week has been good.  We had A LOT of struggles but also A LOT of miracles.  Lets see-- Monday I found out that I am training again.  Excited but mostly nervous, it has been really nice to be companions with Sister M because I know she always has my back and she is a great teacher.  But I know the Lord helps us as we do our best in His work.

Wednesday-- so we had a pretty good day. Met some new people had a few appointments.  But then it got dark and it also started raining and all our appointments and back ups fell through.  So my companion and I tried to figure out where to go and got us frustrated with each other.  Finally, (you would think as missionaries we would have figured this one out faster) we decided to say a prayer. So we prayed at the side of the road. After we stood around a minute to see if anyone would come to mind but still nothing. So we decided we would start walking home and hopefully we would get inspiration on the way.  So as we walked I tried really hard to listen to the Spirit and look everyone in the eyes. I greeted people as we passed and then suddenly this one man greeted us back and we started a conversation.  I can't explain what a great experience it was. He was so kind and talkative (which is exactly what you want when you OYM)  he asked lots of questions and was interested in listening to the answers. I feel like a really got to know Him in that short time we chatted. So we got his address and a return appointment.  When we went back to him on Friday we were able to teach and by the end he said he knew it was true because his church just focused on repeated prayers and church attendance but ours gave him clear answers (and I know he felt the Spirit). It was so wonderful.  We asked him if we could come back the next week and he told us we could come back the next day if we had time. :D Such a wonderful experience and we totally would have missed it if we had just called it a day.  So grateful for the Spirit and for the miracles that Heavenly Father orchestrates in this work and my life.

The Sisters of my apartment

This experience reminded me of a quote by Harold B Lee which says, "You must learn to walk to the edge of the light and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you."  Sometimes we aren't sure where to go or we feel like we are wandering in the dark with no guidance from God. But I know that if we stay worthy for the Spirit and continue to act in faith the Spirit will warn us of wrong choices and it will give us guidance when we need it.  If we didn't have to stretch or walk a ways in the dark, we would never grow and we wouldn't appreciate as much the miracles when they come.  So if you are currently walking in the dark or wading through a trial, don't give up, keep walking and praying and God will be there to catch you before you fall.

As for everything else here.  Things are good.  It rains a lot but it's great cause I can sleep with a top sheet now! :)  Such a good feeling.  I know that this is the Lord's work and He is in charge.  I am so lucky to be a part of it and I know everyone is a part of His plan.  He has a plan for you and He has plans for you to help others.  Have a great week!

Love

Sister Hamm

Me in the Baha (Flood)

Ward Members :)

The Work of (our) Salvation

Picture: me in the bathroom (CR) with the pail and blue bucket.
 So you fill the bucket with water and use the
 orange pail to shower and "flush" the toilet. :) 

September 16, 2013

So this week: Just a spiritual thought. (Man, I am seriously struggling with english today. I have to keep re-writing my grammar. Yes- it is bothersome but also exciting. 

okay-- tangent: So you know when you get hurt your reaction is pretty immediate and reflexive. Hopefully the first word out is ouch, if not it may be another word that is not so nice. But whatever comes out is usually just habit. So my goal has been to change my ouch. Because here the automatic response to pain isn't "ouch" it's "aray". So I usually will say ouch and then follow with aray. Well the other day I stubbed my toe hard and the first word out of my mouth was aray. I was so excited it almost didn't hurt that bad. haha! Anyway just a fun culture story for you.) 

So now spiritual thought: It's about missionary work! So I was sitting in ward conference and the bishop started to speak about missionary work and my first thought was Great! and my second thought was "I wonder when if the members are gonna get sick of hearing about missionary work and I know that a lot of them are struggling with other commandments wouldn't it be better to focus on those commandments." But then I realized (of course) that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan and my mind was opened to how great it really could be if all the members just focused on missionary work. Other things wouldn't get missed or stop functioning if everyone focused solely on missionary work, everything would just get stronger and better.  Stay with me. First, when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. What's more important than serving God? (Hopefully, you don't come up with an answer) When we are involved in missionary work we are fulfilling a duty that Christ and Heavenly Father have given to us. Second, missionary work is all about the commandments and coming closer to God.  Sometimes we get stuck thinking for members to get involved in missionary work they have to give a referral to the missionaries.  But there are other ways. One of which is going on visits with the missionaries to less actives and investigators. Your fellow shipping and testimony, as a member of the ward, can do things the missionaries can't. So please volunteer to go with them to anyone they want.  Be ready to listen and then testify to what they have taught. And most of all just get to know the person they are teaching on a none gospel level so that you can become a friend that they can then see at church.  

Another way to get involved is home teaching and visiting teaching. Pray about what they need to hear and testify of the things you teach.  It's really hard to teach about tithing and testify if you aren't paying it. So as we get involved in teaching others and avoid hypocrisy we make sure we ourselves are living the standards that we teach.

Another way is to simply study the missionary lessons in Preach My Gospel. As you prayerfully study these lessons I promise your testimony will grow and you will become more excited to share this gospel. So suddenly as we focus on missionary lessons our testimony and charity are growing, we are fulfilling covenants we have made to serve God and we ourselves are becoming closer to God.  As our charity and obedience grows blessings will be poured out and the ward will become stronger, we will individually become closer to Christ and thus living a happier life.  So missionary work is really the key. :) Find a way to get involved that works for you and begin to see the beauty of missionary work and the joy that each member can receive from it! 

I love you all. 

Have a great week!

Sister Hamm

Another one:  consider this an action shot :)