Well Family and
Friends, another week has gone shooting by, and I feel like it was just
yesterday. I was excited to sing for the broadcast and telling you about my
travel plans. I feel like the days are sooo long here but when I look back, the
week goes by in the twinkling of an eye! So crazy!
Anywho, I would like
to apologize if this email is hard to understand it is five in the morning, and
I forgot my notes of what to write about :)
I guess I can start
with the broadcast! If you did not watch it, (Meaning the Worldwide leadership
training broadcast on missionary work and members and missionaries working
together to invite people to come unto Christ.....) you need to, most
especially if you are one of my Mormon friends. If not... Well then by all
means check out mormon.org It will probably answer those questions you
have been burning to ask me but are too afraid to do so like why the heck would
my friend Stephanie pay to go live in the Philippines for 18 months, following
a schedule someone else gives her to get up and go to sleep, at scheduled times,
just to teach the people about Christ? (If you didn't have that question but
now you do I hope you ask me). Hmmmm so for the broadcast I got to sing in the
Choir. If you can go look up the songs with the videos that they did for us
(called to serve and hark all ye nations) it is pretty legit and I cried. I
also am so excited for the church to be implementing more technology into our
sharing of the gospel. I'm not sure what that entails yet, but I hope it affects
my mission pretty fast! I also am sooo excited for wards and stakes to be more
excited to work with me after this broadcast and to focus on working with the
members more. After this broadcast I felt a little guilty with how bad I was at
sharing the gospel to my friends growing up and in high school, I hope that one
day I will get that opportunity.
Also, someone is
always videoing us missionaries walking away from the Marriott Center. If that
is you, stop. It is weird. Sure we are pretty awesome... that doesn't mean you
have to video us every time we leave our sacred fences. :) Jokelong, pero
serioso....
Also my favorite
phrase to use is Nakakaawkward=awkward..... LOVE IT!
So this week we taught
our last lessons in preparation for knowing how to teach in the Philippines.
Earlier in the week we asked Mario/Brother Soderquist if we could call Mario
and ask to make sure he brought his family to the lesson on Wednesday night. And guess what!!! We show up for the
lesson and he is introducing us to his "family" Ok, they were empty
chairs, a soft one for his wife and two for his children. IT WAS SOBRANG
AWESOME! We would try to include them in the lessons sometimes, but for some
odd reason Mario always answered for them and would say oh, they are too shy to
read, or Oh, he doesn't know how to pray yet, but I will teach him later. It
was so great. We asked him near the end of the lesson after reading in 2 Nephi
31, I believe it is... if he would follow the example of Jesus Christ and be
baptized by someone who holds the proper priesthood authority from God. Him and
his family said Oo or YES!!!!! It was so wonderful!!! I can't wait for this to
be with a real person, and not just an imaginary investigator! Ok, I'm sure
brother Soderquist learned something from our broken Tagalog but it is just
different.
That brings me to the
fact that in about 48 hours I will be taking the frontrunner (train in Utah
that takes people to all the cities around salt lake) to the Salt Lake City airport;
make a stop in Portland, and then ON MY WAY TO TOKYO AND THEN MANILA!!!!! It is
pretty awesome. We were talking to Brother and Sister Waite about going abroad.
I was telling them that I have never been anywhere! I've never swam in the
ocean, I've never even been to Disneyland! I've been to Historic Nauvoo 5 times
and as a child we took family vacations to visit family in Utah and Idaho, and
never did anything! Ok, don't get me wrong... I loved visiting family, and I am
grateful it was important to my parents that we siblings got to know them as
kids, but I have literally never been anywhere or done anything outside of the
US or even near its boarders! But the Lord just has to have soooo much trust in
me because he is sending me to the Philippines to carry out his work. We all
know that if the Lord wanted the world to know with perfect knowledge in an
instant that he exists, he could do it without anyone's help. If he wanted the
world to know that his Son has indeed risen from the dead and we can return to
our father in heaven when we have faith, repent, and are baptized and then
continue to endure to the end... that we can live with our families forever and
live with him. Such a great message! Sometimes I wonder why he wants to work
with such imperfect people! Anyways, he doesn't have to have me or the other
70,000 missionaries, but he chooses to use 18-23 (or older) young adults to
share his gospel full-time. He trusts the missionaries, he trusts me sooo much
I hope I can live up to it! I know that we missionaries here in the MTC are
going to do some awesome things out there because Satan has really been
attacking both my district and the district D (the one that came in with me and
will leave with me). We have been dealing with lots of Drama. I think a lot of
it is all of us being so stressed out with getting the language down before we
go, and also the fact that we leave soon, or maybe that we've been cooped up in
a classroom for the past 6 weeks or maybe that since we have been cooped up
together we know each other really well and our true, TRUE selves are starting
to come out! We are getting some power-hungry District Leader (and their
companions) and some emotional and hormonal sister missionaries... not too much
fun. Also, it doesn't help that since we have not gotten the results for sister
Aruwititi yet she cannot come with us! And that just tears our hearts out
because we love her so dearly and want her to get out of here with us and onto
bigger and better things. This time for her here is for a reason though, and it
is really good for her to have lots of extra practice at Tagalog!
Infield orientation
was yesterday and it was soooooooo good! I loved it! Well most of it. Some of
it was a little dull, but most of it was just great! And I learned so much from
it! I learned a lot about how it should feel to anyone when I walk in the room.
I should always have the spirit with me. I also don't need to persuade people
that the gospel is true. I just need to let them experience it. Give them a
taste of it, and then pray that they will realize how wonderful it is and want
it for themselves!
Bale.... (Well...) I
am out of time again. And I would love to chika-chika some more with me broken Tagalog
but alas, the time has left me.
Kita Kita, until I am
in the Philippines! I am not sure when I will email again next week, probably
not Saturday, but I'm not sure which one, so keep a
lookout! Or don't. That's cool too.
Mahal Kita,
Sister Hellewell
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