Week 24

August 3, 2015

Hi Mom!!!!!

I am very hot this beautiful hot Philippines summer day. Like it is really, really hot. Ewww. We had district activity this morning at 6, and we went to the ocean! I cannot wait to come back and actually be able to go swim! The water was soooo warm! I love it here!!!! We just played a bunch of games and then we had district breakfast! That was fun!

Mom, I cannot believe that it has been 24 weeks! It has gone by tooo fast! I want to stay forever, but I also kinda want to go home! The joys of being a missionary!

Speaking of those joys! I had the thought a couple weeks ago, how strange missionaries are! We are a bunch of youth, all away from our families, some of us in a different country, some of us speaking a different language, doing some of the hardest, but most important work ever, and we are sooo happy! There are hard times, and there are many tears, but nothing beats the happiness of seeing the people that we have grown to love, understand the plan of happiness our Father in Heaven has for us! It is truly amazing, and I am so happy to be a part of that strange group of people!

Sister Saua is good! I don't feel like it is the end of the transfer, and she hasn't even started packing yet.... like at all. That will be me in about 12 months.... We are very happy and because of the Elders, we have a dinner appointment almost every night this week..... so thats cool ;)

Garry is good! He passed his interview! He will be baptized this Saturday or Sunday, we are not quite sure.... We are excited for him! And we hope that he continues to come to church, and stay active! I love that kid and his brother! They are some stinkers sometimes, but I love them! It was so awesome! We had just finished teaching a lesson, and they were both being really loud, but we were talking to their dad, and He was in the house, and he was singing " When ever I hear the song of a bird or walk by a Lilac tree," And I thought of what he is and what he can become, He is a child of our Father in Heaven, and he can become a missionary, and can help his family come back to church by setting an example, and then by serving a mission himself!!!! It was really cool. I keep having the same thoughts for sister Julie Ann, she was baptized last Sunday. There are so many missionaries in the ward right now that are working on their papers, and the experience that she is having now with us, and the chance that she has to serve as well! It has been really cool! I hope that they stay active all their lives, these people, these youth are the future of the church!!!! It is really amazing to feel the love of our Savior for these people!!!!

Sister Lorna came to church on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! On Saturday, we had CSP and we helped her wash her clothes! I still have rub marks on my hands, because they were whites, and we used clorox, and I washed them with my hands, and sister Saua used the board. Basta, it was all worth it when we saw her at church!!!!! It made us so happy! We were a little late last Sunday, 8:55, and so we sat on the back row, and then a member of the bishopric comes down and is like you have an investigator here, and we looked, and it was sister Lorna and we both gasped and grabbed everything and sat by her! It made everything great! Then a bunch of youth were like I am preparing for a mission and working on my papers now! It made me soooo happy!

No interview really, next transfer we will have interviews. We had zone conference this month, and it was on baptism qualifications and other informative stuff. It was really good! Then at the end of that, President saw me, and he was like how are you sister Nelson, and I was like Ayos lang po, I mean I am good., and he was like are you making sure that sister Saua sprints to the end? I and I was like, of course, and that was the end of that conversation.... but next month, we will have interviews.....

The pictures don't really bother me.... I love seeing all of you! Was it just the Casey family? or where there all of the cousins and everyone? I love the paintings! You all sound so busy!!!!! I love it!  I cannot believe that you are getting ready for school again! And only Esther will be home this next year for half of the week! I am sooooooo excited to go camping again! I am excited to be in the mountains and to be really cold, and dry! I miss the mountains like none other!

I am really kinda worried for next week, there are not a lot of sisters in the mission that are not training, I know of one companionship that isn't training, and then there is me.... and then there are all the missionary sisters that are done with training, and so they need to be transfer, and it is just so crazy! I am worried for next monday... Also, last night, the zone leader was like, are you ready to train sister Nelson.... Zone leaders are sneaky, they know more than they let on. Also next monday I will be going to Naga, again with sister Saua, to drop her off at the mission home, because I have killed her, and I need a temporary companion, and yeah.....

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! drum roll please! I ate crab, and I ate Balut. We Should be proud more of the balut than anything.... Sister Baird got sick after she ate hers, but I am happy as can be that I can say, I ate, and now move on with my life and never try it again! I have pictures and a video that is about 15 minutes long that we can all watch in 12 ish months! YYAYAYAY

I love you all tons and tons!!! I will send pictures next week! I am too lazy to do it this week.... I love you all! Have an amazing week!

Love Sister Emma Nelson