kamusta,
This week has gone by fast! We heard from Russell M. Nelson and his wife, who I think Mom knows? They both gave super insightful talks. Wendy Nelson talked about working "not after the manner of men." She gave an example in 1 Nephi 17:8, of the command "to construct a ship, after the manner which I shall thee." It left with me with a lot to think about. Elder Nelson ended his talk by playing a recording of an incredibly beautiful song called 'Alleluia.' I don't know who composed it, but it was so chilling and beautiful.
We had our in-field orientation yesterday which was really helpful in many aspects. We leave in 2 days with over a day of traveling! Yes! I am so oddly excited to make a fool of myself, trying to speak Tagalog to Filipinos. I'll probably be introducing myself to whatever ward I'm in, next Sunday in Tagalog. If anything, it'll be entertaining. I am excited to being meeting and working with these beautiful people.
I've been learning a lot about pride and the important link between humility and growth. Pride is so often manifested in an over-abiding attitude of opposition. I realized that I would often place myself in opposition to people or even an idea, not because they were wrong, but simply because I didn't understand them. For me, this relates to a lot of gospel principles, in the fact that just because there is a lack of understanding, it doesn't mean that it's wrong. "I don't understand, but I want to," seems to be maybe a better approach-more faith. I think faith cause us to internalize our beliefs, maybe more so than if we could rely on other senses.
I was also thinking about John 5:31-38 and how many times 'witness' is mentioned. It seems to be pretty important.
(COOL articles for anyone, but especially Katja-- "Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon" by John W. Welch, and "Hebrew Literary Patterns in the Book of Mormon" and I forgot to write down the author's name for that one! oops. Both are really interesting! )
Also, apparently anything other than USPS for packages is super expensive when I go and pick it up there. Hopefully, I shouldn't need anything big sent though.
marami pagmamahal,
Sister Vickers