"Lights Will Guide You Home"

We are now in Olongapo at the mission home.This morning, I woke up in
an air conditioned room, took a shower with hot water, and washed my
clothes in a washing machine. It all felt really weird to me. (This
morning, I taught the filiipinos that were leaving, how to use a
washing machine and dryer. ) :)

I am strangely calm. I am not nervous or scared to leave. There are
plenty of people that I will miss terribly, but I am anxious to see my
family and friends. I am ready and content with what I've done and
with where I'm going after my mission.

I've also noticed that memories of my life have been flashing back to
me this past week, especially. It was during my personal study last
week, when I just starting singing, 'Fix You.' I thought I had
forgotten the words to that song, but it strangely and surprisingly
came back. My mouth knew it, even though my head didn't.

I feel satisfied. I am happy. I completed my work here. I've finished
the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I've come out full
of sicknesses, experiences, scars, but most of all, I've come out full
of faith. Before my mission, I lacked faith.

I just want to say this the simplest way I can: I love Jesus. He lives
and it is a beautifully simple truth.

love you all.

I have a cup that is running over.

Hello,

I don't know what to say right now.

1 Corinthians 13:12

I have around 15-20 boils on my body now. If it wasn't for this, I
would be more conflicted in my feelings regarding coming home. My body
is begging for rest and in that sense, I am anxious to return to my
normal, healthy state of being.

I wrote in my journal yesterday, "I realized that it may be possible
to endure something if it is for someone else-maybe ideally out of
love. I may never do the things I'm doing or suffer the things I'm
suffering, if it was for myself only. I mean- if I had no love or no
vision of the effect of this work. I would never do it. I wouldn't
suffer it, but once I love someone, once I desire their happiness,
then and only then, I find strength to continue and often times to
continue suffering." Life is more harsh and yet more beautiful because
of it's oppositions.

We had a district conference yesterday in Lubao and Elder Misalucha
spoke. I learned things that I've never noticed before about the
sacrament.
(2 Ne 2:7 3 Ne 9:20 Ether 4:15)

I also saw the members from Lubao, and said goodbye to them. I almost
started to cry when I said goodbye to my former branch president in
Lubao, President Juco. He thanked me for my work in Lubao, and I
thanked him as well. It was a beautiful thing to come back to my first
area and see the changes and the progress there. I saw some of my old
investigators that have since been baptized. I saw a less active man
who we taught, and who has since returned into activity. It's
incredible.

I'm overwhelmed by the experiences that my God has given me. I am
forever grateful for my time here and at the same time am anxious to
go home, and be better equipped to love and serve those around me. I
don't want that to sound cheesy or self-righteous, but I am excited to
use and apply the things I've learned to my life, school, and with my
family and friends.

I better understand the idea of 'conversion to the gospel.' I know
that this it is a life-long process to be able to just retain the
faith we have and at the same time, to push towards becoming more
'holy', more 'unspotted from the world.' (James 1:27) I have a long
ways to go.

I am overwhelmed with a pure gratitude to my God. I can't express
everything that I would love to express.

I love you all. Thank you for your support during this 18 month journey.

Have faith. Even if you don't have any faith, start moving.Start seeking.

--Sister Daniele Vickers

Hell is a Deep Sleep

This is something that pierced my brain a few days ago. Maybe hell is
ignorance or is maybe just a lack of awareness-a lack of light.

On a lighter note, the phrase, "It's hotter than hell," has much more
meaning for me now. It actually may be an accurate statement to say
that GuaGua is hotter than hell. From morning until evening, I am
soaked in my own sweat.

The most exciting news this week is that Elsa Yambao was baptized! Her
son, Eric John baptized her. : ) This is a picture of the four of us.

We found out that our area will become two areas, and that there will
soon be four missionaries here in GuaGua. Our mission president has
approved the new apartment that we found and we will be moving this
Thursday/Friday. We are preparing the new apartment, area books, etc.
for the new missionaries. I am really really happy about this. GuaGua
is such a huge area and the work will continue to progress even faster
when there are four missionaries here.

I got a letter from a dear friend this week and it reminded me of the
beauty of experiencing pain and then witnessing the miracle of
healing. In the pile of fortune cookie fortunes that he sent, I found
one that seemed appropriate, especially amid witnessing the physical
weaknesses of my body (and spirit) : Time Heals All Wounds.

(thank you EB!)

Despite feeling only slightly inclined to really describe what I'm
feeling, I think I'll hold off until I can properly process what it is
that I'm feeling. I have 13 days until I leave my area and return to
our Mission Home in Olongapo. 14 days and then I see my mom. 25 days
and then we're landing in Portland.

A splitting of the brain may be the best way to describe what I'm feeling.

WELL, SEE YOU ALL SOON.

-Sister DV

2 Ne 1:13-14

Great and Spacious

We had a surpise transfer. Sister Ticzon got transferred to an area in
Zambales. It was probably the worst transfer of my mission because we
really weren't expecting it. They're changing the transfer dates of
all of the missions around the world, so that they are more uniform.
Anyways, my new companion is Sister Maricris Bacarro from Lucena,
Quezon. She has a great laugh and teaches very simply and directly.
I've learned a lot from her in our 5 days together here in GuaGua.

We have another baptism next week-Elsa Yambao. She is Rodel's wife;
Rodel was baptized 2 weeks ago. She is great and we are really excited
for her. It's exquisite to see the progress of the people that we've
taught here in GuaGua. By the time they are ready for baptism, they're
teaching us and sharing with us things that they are learning, and
it's a really sweet experience.

My birthday was a very normal day. :) It's my second birthday on the
mission, and it's hard to feel like I celebrated it, without my family
and friends nearby. A member gave me an egg pie which was very kind.
Other than that, we worked and came home and then went to bed.

I have another stye in my eye and 2 (hopefully only 2) more boils.
Lack of sleep and high stress might be responsible. Because I'm
finishing up my work here on my mission in less than 3 weeks, I'm not
terribly worried. I'll have a lengthy time to rest when I get home.
(It's interesting that in times like this, I've come to better
appreciate people in my life, who I miss and love. I was trying to
figure out why being sick on my mission feels so much worse than when
I'm at home. I realized that since I was a child, my father was a
source of information and support whenever I was sick. On my mission,
I feel a little too separated and it makes things a bit difficult.)

I learned something yesterday- that despite being in physical pain,
it's actually possible to transcend that. There were times yesterday
when I forgot whatever pain I was feeling, and instead felt joy at the
message we were sharing. Its the weirdest, most illogical kind of joy.
I can't explain it. I feel weird for saying it, but it's true.

Ian is amazing and for our lesson, he brought a notebook with notes.
Instead of us symbolically 'feeding him', he's starting to feed
himself. It's incredible. He's doing his own studying, his own
reading, his own research. It's so great. He still is struggling with
coming to church because of his family situation, but we are trying to
help him with this so that he can continue to grow and experience the
joy of 'living the gospel' instead of just reading or only studying
it. He also has been smoking for about one year, and after we taught
him the Word of Wisdom, he began to make steps to quit smoking and be
free from that addiction. I have really never seen someone so quickly
embrace the gospel and really feast 'upon the word of Christ.' (2
Nephi 31:20)

If it wasn't for being sick, a part of me would love to continue on in
my mission instead of going home. But, I'm starting to feel the need
to rest and to heal from the various health problems I've experienced
on my mission. I am mostly full of mixed feelings about going home. To
be honest, it still hasn't really fully settled into my brain that I'm
leaving. Anyways, I love you all.


1 Ne 11:36, 15:3-11--(What does 'humility' mean?)

"Supernatural wisdom! Supernatural strength!"

We had three investigators that got baptized this week! Crisjoy
Santiago, Bea Mallari, and Rodel Yambao.
Best part about the baptism: Their faces as they
walked out of the water. Priceless. {Pure Smile}

This week was really one of the hardest weeks of my mission. I've also
gotten 2 more boils since I've last updated you on my boils. I got
sick last week and felt awful, and got a fever for the first time
since I was a child. Last friday was such a weird night. Because of my
fever, I felt freezing and wore socks for maybe the second time on my
mission. I was bundled in a bunch of blankets and then decided to take
a quick shower which chased the heat out and my 102 degree fever went
back down to normal in a couple of hours. THANK GOODNESS. I'm still
not feeling 100%, but I'm working, so I'm doing okay.

Last monday, we met an interesting woman, named Yda who is from the
Philippines but works in Singapore. She came home to vacation here and
so we only met with her one time. She's been attending a baptist
church in Singapore for about 3 years. Anyways, she gave the closing
prayer and Sister Ticzon and I were graced by one of the most
interesting prayers I've heard on my mission. She gave 2 prayers. The
first one was for her mother to accept Jesus Christ 'as her personal
savior and redeemer.' She had her mother at her side, repeat what she
was saying as she prayed. It felt actually a little coercive and
unnatural to me and I feel like it's easy to say those things about
Jesus Christ, but much harder to live and apply. The prayer felt a
little meaningless to me. We thought she was finished but then she
told us that she was going to pray again for us, and so we let her.
She asked God to give us supernatural wisdom and supernatural
strength.(wow!) I was grateful for the sentiment and the several
'Hallelujahs' that were uttered. (How funny it would be to just let
out a few 'Hallelujahs' during a sacrament meeting at an LDS church.)

Last Tuesday, our investigator, Ian talked about his experience at
church. He really enjoyed church. Ian then asked us if he could be
baptized. My jaw dropped slightly and silence filled the room. I
looked at Sister Ticzon and nothing but a smile filled her face. Ian
said that he wants to serve a mission to share with other people the
things that we've shared with him. We were really just surprised. I am
really surprised at his sincerity and how fully he wants to embrace
the gospel. It's incredible.

We had snails last Tuesday which was great and was also a first for
me. We were also given some clams from a member which were yummy. The
problem for Sister Ticzon was that they weren't that yummy when she
was vomiting them back up last Wednesday morning. :s

Okay. I'll leave you with that, and a whole lot of loooove.

-Sister DV


Photos:

Baptism! Our investigators that got baptized were the 2
on the left and then the little girl in the front.

Clams-This is actually before Sister Ticzon vomited, in case you
couldn't tell. Clams seem to look a little scary.

Mahjong- This is a form of chinese gambling that is so bizarre and
entrancing. After watching for a few minutes, I still had no idea what
was going on. I snuck this picture. Sorry it's not very informative...

Bicycle- one of the forms of transportation in a couple of
neighborhoods in Sta. Rita (Our area covers GuaGua and the
neighborhood town of Sta. Rita.) We don't usually use this, but
decided to use it one day to get a picture. I may have laughed the
whole ride. : )

 Corpse-got your Dear Elder. you're da best.

(kalugod-lugod na nakilala kita)

Hello family! Hello mellow friends!

This may have been the fastest week so far on my mission? Weeks feel like
days. How is that possible?
Sister Ticzon wasn't feeling so well, and it was one of the harder weeks
that we've experienced so far. BUT, we have continued to continue and have
seen the results of our labor, which is a sweet feeling. We are helping
several of our investigators prepare for baptism on February 23. We're
really excited about this:)

It also got extremely hot for a few days last week. I've actually made a
conscious effort to not talk about the heat during my emails to you all,
but it was really really steamy. Not just hot, but steamy- the kind of
humidity in which I would just close my eyes as we were walking any sort of
longer distance. Anyways, it's all part of being a missionary. We do the
things that we probably wouldn't do unless we were driven by some sort of
higher motivation for doing them. That's exciting, neh? ('Neh' is
kapampangan for 'no?' or 'right?')

As you can see, this is a shorter email.Time has run out, and I will save
some special yummy thoughts for you all next week.

Loving, breathing, teaching,

Sister Vickers

2 Cor 5:17
Romans 10:14-15

Tagapamagitan at Pagkakasundo

Hi,

This week was challenging and yet proved to be an extremely successful
week in regards to our investigators. We had 9 investigators that were
able to come to church, which was very exciting after a difficult week
of not feeling very well. But, we'll be having a baptism in a few
weeks:)

I had a boil last week and started taking antibiotics. The antibiotics
worked great and my boil starting healing. The problem was that the
'eye' started to heal itself despite my boil still being painful and
full of pus. So to speed up the healing and to get rid of my boil, I
made my own passageway for the pus to run out. I was actually really
surprised that that much pus was having a party underneath my skin.
Sister Ticzon was extremely grossed out, and I think I probably
would've been too if I was watching someone else squeeze pus out of a
boil. ANYWAYS, the pain is gone and my arm is now healing : ) I'm
really enjoying the hot, humid, tropical climate here, as well as all
of the interesting sicknesses that I've never experienced back home.
: )

I would like to share a few thoughts that were finally verbalized,
last week in my journal, in regards to my last area in Pilar. I would
like to share a few things that I had the privilege of better
understanding. I wish that I could express this to all of you in
person, because I know how emotionless emails sometimes can be, but I
cried as I wrote this, and hope that in some small way, you could
relate or connect to this:

" I can say without shame that in the low points of my mission- I mean
those times when I was beyond tears or emotion- those times where I
felt like I was rolling on the ground in the darkest of nights and I
couldn't see anything, were the times that I felt a divine presence
unlike anything I have ever felt. It was a hope. It was pure strength.
It was love beyond my small capacity. It was then that I better
understood why I came here and what I was supposed to learn. I better
understood what the focus is of what we teach to other people. It was
then that the reality of that man named Jesus Christ, whom I have
never seen nor personally met touched my prideful heart and changed it
to a believing, feeling, softened one. I was humbled and started to
rely less on my own justifications, ideals, and opinions about what I
thought 'The Gospel of Jesus Christ' was. For me it required being
humbled beyond anything I had ever experienced. BUT, because of that,
when the morning came, it never felt so beautiful and so exquisite. In
a sense, because of what Christ did, I was saved, not just from my own
sins, but from my own fears, my own defense mechanism, and my own
false ideals and thoughts."

I also want to share a few things that I read in a talk by Boyd K.
Packer, called 'The Mediator.' My father first gave me a copy of this
talk when I was 16 years old and kept asking my parents, my leaders at
church, and even the missionaries in our ward about why we need Jesus
Christ. I was at a loss about why the 'Atonement' is needed, and even
how I could actually apply this event that happened over 2,000 years
ago to my life. What's the real application? I think this talk was a
small stepping stone for me in understanding this and I am grateful
that almost 7 years later, I am still learning from it. I don't want
to spoil the fitting parable that he used, but just wanted to mention
a few things...

"We become so accustomed to learning through our physical senses-by
sight and sound and smell, by taste and touch-that some of us seem to
learn in no other way. But there are spiritual things that are not
registered at all. Some things we simply feel, not as we feel
something we touch, but as we feel something we feel....As surely as
we know about material things, we can come to know of spiritual
things."

In regards to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Packer said, "This truth
is the very root of Christian doctrine. You may know much about the
gospel as it branches out from there, but if you only know the
branches and the branches do not touch that root, if they have been
cut free from that truth, there will be no life nor substance nor
redemption in them."

As an ending to Packer's talk, he said, "I have carried with me a
great desire to bear testimony of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I have
yearned to tell you in as simple terms as I can, what He did, and who
He is. Although I know how poor mere words can be, I know also that
such feelings are often carried by the spirit, even without words. At
times I struggle under the burden of imperfections. Nevertheless,
because I know that He lives, there is a supreme recurring happiness
and joy. There is one place where I am particular vulnerable-when I
know that I have abused someone, or caused them hurt, or offended
them. It is then I know what agony is. How sweet it is, on those
occasions, to be reassured that He lives, and to have my witness
reaffirmed. I want, with fervent desire, to show you how our burdens
of disappointment, sin, and guilt can be laid before Him..."

I love Jesus Christ. I love His gospel. I know very little about
anything, but I know ^ this is real. I love you all and hope that in
some way you could connect to this.

-Sister DV

Be Clean.

Helllllll o,

I apologize for a shorter email this week. Transfer day was last week,
but there was no transfer in our companionship:) I am very happy about
this and really love working with Sister Ticzon. I am now in my last
transfer, which is actually 9 weeks instead of 6. They are changing
the transfer schedule because of the huge number of incoming
missionaries, so we have an extra long transfer now.

I got a stye in my eye last week and have a really nice looking new
boil on the underside of my right arm. I'm happy that the stye finally
found it's way out of my upper left eyelid. The boil is just gorgeous
though. (I could attempt to explain to you all how dirty it is here in
GuaGua, but maybe I'll try next time. People throw their trash
anywhere and everywhere, so it's really really unsanitary in some
areas. GuaGua has a huge problem with flooding during the rainy
seasons that is directly related to the rivers being blocked up with
garbage. And despite the ridiculous flooding, people are still not
doing anything different about their garbage. People are suffering
simply because of a lack of discipline in regards to where they decide
to place their garbage. That's life, I think. Sister Ticzon is also
having problems as well with her allergies because of the dust and
dirt here. )

This past week was incredible. We have many new investigators as well
as one new family that we're now teaching- the Bayang family. They
were a referral from a member here in GuaGua and have already come to
church which is exciting. We have a few investigators with a baptismal
date in February, so we are helping them prepare for that commitment.
:)

Sorry this is super short. Hopefully next week, I can send a more
'meaty' letter. You know what I mean.

Thank you all for your support and love.

-Sister Vickers

Oh to Grace.

Helllllloooooo,

My mission is really never boring. It seems like there's never a
shortage of interesting experiences. Last Monday we had a creepy man
following us at the market. We walked into a store to avoid him but he
quickly followed us into the store, even though I was hiding behind
some merchandise. We ran out of the store and after we noticed he was
still following us, we ran into the thrift store next door. We ran all
the way to the back of the store and was startled to see an old man
sleeping on the floor, as well as a dog with a striped t-shirt. We had
to muffle our surprise/laughter so that he wouldn't wake up. We were
running from an intruding man, but we ended being the intruders on
someone else... haha.

Things just get better and better with our interesting investigator,
Alberto. Last week, he gave me an envelope after we had visited him,
and once we were far away from his house, we ripped open the envelope
and immediately starting reading his letter to me. In this letter, he
told me that he was in love and expressed various other sentiments. I
was really just shocked and weirded out a bit. I had no other reaction
except to laugh, which we did for a while. :)

Sister Ticzon taught me how to extract coconut milk from an actual
coconut. We made curry and it was yummyyum. If you want to learn too,
I'll teach you:)

We had a companionship exchange and for a day I went to Lubao, my
first area:) It was such a rewarding experience to see the progress in
the area. I was overwhelmed to see the changes and the improvements in
the area. YES.

I was mistaken in believing that I could only be so tired. It's a kind
of tiredness that I feel in my eyes and my bones. I'm not complaining,
but amazed that God has given me the opportunity to experience this,
combined with the sweet joy that I feel as I work, and as I see
miracles happening.

We were able to experience such an intimate lesson with Brother Garcia
(I mentioned him last week), last Saturday night. It was the first
time that I actually saw him cry. He expressed guilt for some things
that have happened, as well as his fears. He expressed his
estrangement with God as well as his desire to change, to repent and
to come closer to God. It was such a choice experience, and those
kinds of experiences are the reason why I can say truthfully that
despite being absurdly tired, I love love this work. At different
times during the lesson, all three of us cried, and it was a beautiful
moment of realization for Brother Garcia, as well as for me. It was a
perfect example of being unified as a companionship as well as having
the lesson moved and progressed by a divine source. That is real.
Alma 5:45-46

byebye. until next week,

Sister Vickers

Termite luv:)

Pictures: 'Daing' on a clothesline- dried fish. I was trying to figure
out what they were drying and realized that it was only fish. NBD.

Who is God?

We had such a fantastic week. We have several new investigators, and I
am really excited about the potential here in GuaGua. I keep thinking
to myself that my mission feels like a very long dream. Time is so so
indescribable on the mission. Days feel like hours and weeks feel like
days. I am having an interesting time trying to process how little
time I have left. I almost can't believe it.

Our investigator, Alberto has just the most interesting stories. He's
the one I mentioned last week about Heavenly Father's spirit entering
his stomach. This week, he told that while he was drinking (alcohol,
actually. it's a bizarre coincidence that it was actually alcohol
while this happened.....) that Mary (Jesus' mother) went into his
stomach. He also mentioned that while he was playing basketball one
day, he became Michael Jordon. ? While he was resting on top of a
basketball afterwards, God's spirit then entered into his body. I
honestly believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for everyone. I
hope that he will be able to grasp some of the things we'll be
teaching him. During church yesterday, he leaned over and told me
that I looked like Mama Mary. I told him that she's more beautiful
than I am. haha. :)

Last Monday, the members here in GuaGua were so sweet and gave us some
cooked 'tatad.' I casually mentioned that I'm on the lookout for
strange/bizarre foods, and they gloriously provided some fried wood
termites for us. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for their kindness
on our behalf. Sister Ticzon may or may have not screamed. She never
ate them, but I did. It tasted like fried tilapia. Other people
described the taste as being similar to pork rinds, or even the inside
as milk-y tasting. To me, it mostly just tasted like fried tilapia.
The internet shop we're currently at, is not liking my camera right
now, so I am unable to show photos of this. Maybe next week. :)

We taught a new investigator yesterday named Eric. Eric arrived at the
church around 1 pm, thinking that he was going to attend the church
services. We were so surprised to see him at the church, and even
though he missed church, we taught him in one of the classrooms. I
don't know how to describe the vibe that I got from him and I don't
like to just assign abstract feelings to someone, but I felt like he
was incredible weighed down with many things from his past. I saw
'guilt' in his face and in his words. It was an experience to see the
effect of certain things that he had done in his life. Through his
actions, he effected not only himself, but his family as well. He
looked visibly burdened down. We explained that the process of
becoming free from certain things that he's done, is not an
instantaneous process, but that there is a very real hope-a hope that
is literally 'freeing.' This hope can lead us to become free us from
bondage, from sin, from guilt, from our own weaknesses. We talked very
simply about the atonement of Jesus Christ as well as who 'God' is. He
told us that he wants to know who God really is. I love that the
nature of God is the first principle of the first lesson that we teach
to investigators as missionaries. Without understanding the nature of
God, I think most ideas or principles in the gospel would not follow,
or would not be clear.

I want to briefly mention Brother Garcia, who is a long time member in
GuaGua. He has been less active for the past few years. He's gone
through some incredibly painful experiences in his life. He used to
work in Benghazi, Libya. He mentioned that the government is
incredibly strict on foreigners when they enter the country.
Christianity is basically outlawed and bibles are confiscated if
people ever try to bring them inside the country. Brother Garcia
explained that in an effort to be able to read the scriptures (more
specifically, the Book of Mormon) without getting caught, that he cut
out 1 page of the English Book of Mormon, folded it 8 times and hid it
inside his wallet. He was never caught for that.

We asked him which exact page it was that he brought with him, and he
said that he forgot what page number it was. But he quoted a part of
one verse that was on that page. From there, Sister Ticzon and I
searched our Books of Mormon, asking him, "Is this it? Is that one
it?" until we finally found the verse in Ether 12:4, which is found on
page 509 of the English Book of Mormon. Page 509-510 was the page that
he had read during his time in Libya, and I don't think I'll ever
forget that. Those passages in the book of Ether became especially
meaningful to me, as these were the verses he read over and over and
over again when he witnessed hell-ish happenings during his time
there.

Brother Garcia was also in Libya when some sort of attack broke out in
the country a few years ago. Many filipino workers were unable to
leave the country at that time due to complications with their
passports. He briefly described some of the things that he saw. Tears
came to my eyes as he described the inhumanity that he saw at that
time. He saw limbs and heads being severed and people killed in front
of him. He said that he witnessed the day that "God is not here.''
There was a specific time in which he realized that he would be
killed. Him and several other Filipinos were captured and he had
basically accepted that fact that his life would be shortly ending. He
told God that he's accepted the fact that he will die, but that if
there was something left for him to do in this life, to provide a way
or an escape for him. Shortly after, some sort of miracle happened in
which they found their passports and found some way to escape. (I
thought that it was interesting that in those moments of despair or of
desperation it's natural for us to call on our Creator, to call on
God. Why is it that in difficult times we become acquainted with him,
more than in times of peace or during prayer of a casual sort? )

We quietly listened to him and my mind was racing trying to process
the things that he was describing. I'm not sure why exactly I included
this specific experience in my weekly email to you all, but I felt
like I needed to include it and so I did. I believe in God and know
that God lives. We worship a living God- a loving God.

8, (forever yours)

Sister DV

"Hey Jude!"

This is a shorter email. My thoughts feel a bit jumbled right now:)

I'm starting the see the importance of continually being focused on my
mission here. I don't want to live another stage of my life, if I
haven't completely closed the one I'm currently in. (I'm starting to
have dreams about when I get back home. I don't know if they have any
sort of validity, but it's been a little weird for me. I had a dream
that I was in an Icelandic class at BYU and I still remember vaguely
what the professors looked liked in my dream. I'm realizing that I
have to be vigilant to keep my focus on this work.)

The importance of love and forgiveness have cycled back into my
thoughts. We had an interesting lesson last week with the Bacarro
family. They are less active in the church, and we watched a video on
lds.org about forgiveness. I was the only one who cried and even
thought I was embarrassed, I testified about the reality of
forgiveness. It's in many ways beyond ourselves. I have learned that
it is a spiritual gift of sorts. Sister Ticzon asked me afterwards why
I cried and my answer was a little mixed. I shared some experiences
from my childhood and some difficult things I experienced on my
mission. She told me that the lesson probably was meant more for me
than for the people we were teaching. I think she was probably right.
I love that. It seems like so often the 'teacher' learns more than the
'learner.' I am still learning and have much more to learn.

Ether 12:27

Kellie's Baptism. Our branch president didn't want to get in the
picture, so they took a candid shot. He's in the white shirt. :)













Jacquilyn and Richard at their wedding :) They were baptized after
their wedding.

















I almost forgot: I'm getting released as a missionary on March 26.
Also, my mother and I will be traveling a bit around the
Philippines/Hong Kong for about 10 days, so I'll be getting back
around April 5. This feels so weird to me, and bizarrely fast. I
mostly have mixed feelings about my mission ending. yikes.

I also forgot to mention one of our investigators who had some drug
addictions in the past. He told us that Heavenly Father's spirit went
to his stomach and lives there. This was an interesting conversation.

i love you. every one of you.

"Yuck! Where's your husband? Where's your husband?!"

I had a creepy man yell this at me as we were passing by him this
morning. I'm just not sure what he meant to say....

We had such an incredible week this last week. We had 3 investigators
that were baptized. We had a baptism on Christmas, which was maybe one
of the most memorable Christmases I've ever experienced. Last
Saturday, we had a wedding and then a baptism afterwards. This
particular couple is fairly poor and the branch was so so awesome and
they prepared food and a wedding cake for this couple. Then they were
baptized afterwards. They cried and I did too. it was an exquisite
feeling to have been a small part of that day. It was one of those
days that I will not forget. :)

We have a new investigator, who's name is 'Helo Denzel.' He is Aeta.
(Feel free to google that.) His mother has been a member for a long
time and she referred us to her son for us to teach him. The Aeta are
the natives here. They are distinguished by their black skin and
shorter height. I have been so so curious about these people and am
very excited about this opportunity to learn more and also help this
boy. He's 13 years old and doesn't know how to read. We are hoping to
be able to get him started to learn how to read. He knows the
alphabet, but doesn't yet read. I also noticed that I'm not really
sure where we are going to start, but we're just going to start and
see where this goes. His mother told us that they live 'near the
mountains' and that if we wanted, we could just teach her son after
they come to church, for convenience. Sister Ticzon and I are
insatiably curious about where they live and we've already talked with
some members about going up and visiting them at their home. I will
keep you updated on how this goes.

We had a companion exchange last week. Sister Palmer from Washington
came here to GuaGua and it was such a great experience. Memories came
flooding back to me when I was still new and struggling with the
culture/mission life. I also realized just last Thursday during the
exchange, that her speaking/struggling to speak in Tagalog was such a
humbling experience for me and for everyone who watched her. It made
me remember when I was new and I would just cry during the lessons.
Nobody understood anything I was saying, but they would cry with me.
It was so powerful and I never knew it, until I watched Sister Palmer
struggling like I did.

Last last week, the relief society lesson went from Tagalog/English to
straight up Kapampangan. I felt like I was new all over again, and I'm
officially deciding to learn basic Kapampangan, out of frustration.
I've heard that there aren't any books written on how to learn
Kapampangan, and so I asked my friend Jerome to write down basic words
and pronouns. We'll see how this goes... :)

The new Sunday School Manuals are incredible and I am really excited
about them. I remember something that my friend Melissa told me about
the gospel. She said that maybe the first step in learning the gospel
is understanding the facts and then we are left to connect these facts
for the rest of our lives. These new manuals are more about making
connections and finding application in real life. How do we connect
timeless principles/truths to our time?

I remembered a conversation with my friend Peter in fall of 2010. We
were sitting in my living room and he told me that he believed that
there was something after this life, but he wasn't sure what it was.
He said that the idea that we die and then are gone forever, just
didn't connect with him. I think he was in some sort of transition
period in his life. I still remember that conversation, and I'm not
sure why I remembered it yesterday during church. I thought it was
interesting that despite having a different understanding of God, that
the idea of 'living again' or 'living still' after our bodies are
buried was something he was sure about. (What are you sure about?)

OKAY. I love you.

-Sister DV


X-tine-- Loved your postcard. Take a picture for me of the pet sharks.
Show it to me next spring, when I come and visit you in Chicago. Ok?

Magkanta Tamu

HELLO,

This week was full of excellent surprises and some surprises that
weren't really surprises. About 4 or 5 days before the transfer, I
kept thinking about Gua-Gua, Pampanga, and about maybe or hopefully
getting transferred there. 'Gua-Gua' would not leave my head during
my last week in Pilar. Anyways I found out that whatever I was
thinking/feeling was actually right and I got transferred to Gua-Gua,
Pampanga. It's more of a city, which I'm still adjusting to. I got
pretty used to more of the rural feel in Pilar, so Gua-Gua is a bit of
a change for me. Gua-Gua actually used to be an 'elders' area, and the
last sisters here in Gua-Gua were in 1986. Last transfer, my former
companion, Sister Lumanog and my former housemate in Lubao, Sister
Ticson were 'white-washed' into Gua-Gua. It means that both of the
missionaries in the area were pulled out and two new missionaries were
placed. At the end of last transfer, Sister Lumanog went home and I am
now Sister Ticzon's new companion in Gua-Gua. Our mission president
has plans to place another set of Sisters in Gua-Gua and so we are
looking for a larger apartment. It means that at some point, we would
split and each have a new companion. Very exciting.

My first area, Lubao is also in Pampanga and is pretty close to
Gua-Gua. We attended the district Christmas Party in Lubao last
saturday and it was soooo great to see my dear friends in Lubao.
Anyways, I'm excited to improve on my Kapampangan. (This is the
language here in Pampanga.) Everyone speaks Tagalog, but sometimes
kapampangan gets mixed in with their tagalog, which makes everything
really interesting.ha.

My Kapampangan vocabulary so far... not really much of a vocabulary...

keni-here
manyaman--delicious
malagu--beautiful (girl)
Nanu lagyu mo? -- What is your name?
magkanta Tamu--Let's sing

I had an interesting experience on Thursday during a lesson. We were
teaching a less-active member who recently separated from her husband.
It's been an extremely difficult situation for her entire family.

I normally don't share personal things about my family or about the
history of my family, but I felt very impressed to share the story of
my parents' divorce without telling her that it was MY family. I
didn't give specific details, but mostly shared about the effect
afterwards and HOW they handled that situation in a constructive way.
I shared this story but left out their names or who they were. I don't
know if I'll ever forget her eyes widening as I told her that the
story was the story of my family, of my parents who experienced
divorce. At the very least, I could empathize in part with her
suffering and give her some hope for a better future with her family.

It was such a learning experience for me. I've never told the story of
my family in that kind of a way. It was like it was almost laid out in
my head about how I share this with her. This scripture became more
real to me through this experience--

D&C 50:22
Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one
another, and both are edified and rejoice together.

We'll have a baptism on Christmas! I am so excited for this. We also
have another baptism on December 29. This particular family isn't
married yet and will be getting married the morning of the 29th. This
is my first experience like this on my mission, so I am very very
excited for the upcoming weeks.

Thank you for your support and love!
Love, Sister DV

Picture-Transfer Day in the Philippines

Exodus 2- are you feeling strange?
1 Cor 1:27

PS. I received a package from the Holland Ward which was so so great.
I especially enjoyed the drawings and letters from the primary. :)

fantastic.

Bridges and Miracles.

This week has been incredible. Sister Alazo and I have called this
transfer, 'The Transfer of Bridges and Miracles.'

This week has been so great and although I really don't want to get
transferred, I'm feeling that I'm probably going to get transferred
this week....

We have some newer investigators in an area called, Balut 2. The Brena
family. We're teaching them as a family and it's really so exciting.
The father of the family has said several times that this is the first
time that he's ever listened to missionaries. Usually he ignores
anything having to do with missionaries (not necessarily from our
church, but from other faiths as well.) They attended the branch
activity last Saturday and he said that it was the first time he's
ever walked into another church, other than a catholic church. They
also happen to have a ton of friends that are lds, but didn't even
know. Yesterday we were able to finish the first lesson and give them
a Book of Mormon. I loved watching his face as he has gained interest
in every appointment. He told us that he's very curious about the Book
of Mormon and that he would read it. Incredible moment.

I thought about whether to include this or not because it's fairly
personal, but I felt that all of my letters are personal to me and
that there may be some benefit to others by reading it. This spawned
from an identity concern I have/had.(probably a very cliche missionary
statement?) But this has honestly been on my mind for a while now and
has been slightly urking me. (is that a word?)

I have found that there have been many many changes that I have
experienced while being on my mission. Some of the more important
changes are internal. In the midst of acknowledging these changes,
I've honestly been slightly worried about the future. Am I this person
because of my calling? Because of the work? or is it because of
culture? Which is it? Is it even important that I try to identify
where these changes have come? I don't know.

I cringe at the thought of coming home to return to be the exact same
person I was as I left. And even so, I realize that I can't be a
missionary for the rest of my life. I am left with a lot of
choices-because it is a choice who I will be when I return home. I
came up with a short list of things that I wish to include, lest I
forget of things I want to take home with me and apply to the upcoming
years so that I can live what I am learning. This is not
comprehensive. :)

Who I want to be when I get home (December 8,2012)

-Loving----> more fully and more unconditionally than before

-More full of an understanding of 'faith' and that the concept of
'obedience' to laws of an eternal nature are essential for gaining
spiritual knowledge and growth. It is in likeness of a God who is also
governed by natural laws. It is not blinding, but rather liberating.

-Familiar with the process of receiving spiritual strength so that I
can apply it everyday of my life

-Firm in my standard of morals, so as not to be pushed by worldly
influences what is acceptable or unacceptable in my life.

-Giving of the light I have received on my mission to others,
'according to their language, unto their understanding.' (2Ne31:3)

-Even more curious and even more hungry to learn and in turn create
for the benefit and learning of my fellow brothers and sisters

-Ready to understand more fully and apply the relationship between
'creation' and 'worship.'

-Seeker of truth, light, joy, and beauty wherever it may be.



I want to include some enlightening things that I found in the Book of
Mormon about 'truth:'

Jacob 4

vs. 13 "...for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore,
it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really
will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly for
the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in
these things; for God also spake unto them unto prophets of old.

vs.14 "But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they
despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought
for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their
blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark, they must
needs fall; for God hath taken away his plainness from them, and
delivered unto them many things which they cannot understand, because
they desired it. And because they desired it God hath doth it, that
they may stumble."


I found something that Neal A. Maxwell had said about this exact same
thing, "In the Book of Mormon, Jacob speaks of ancient Judah as having
rejected the words of its prophets because individuals living then
'despised the words of plainness' and because they 'sought for things
that they could not understand.' ....Intellectual embroidery seem to
have been preferred to the whole clothing of the gospel- the frills to
the fabric. In fact, one can even surmise that complexity was
preferred over plainness by some because in conceptual complexity
there might somehow be escape, or excuse, for noncompliance and for
failure. In any event, this incredible blindness which led to the
rejection of those truths spoken by prophets and which prevented the
recognition of Jesus for who he was, according to Jacob, came 'by
looking beyond the mark.' Those who look beyond plainness, beyond the
prophets, beyond Christ, and beyond his simple teachings waited in
vain then, as they will wait in vain now. For only the gospel of Jesus
Christ teaches us of things as they really are and as they really will
be."


Lovin you all,

Sister DV

"Binasa ko iyan! Binasa ko iyan!"

This week was incredible, full of interesting experiences and miracles.

We had a companion exchange and I was able to work in Orani, Bataan
for a day with Sister Pavino. ( We were former housemates in Lubao.) I
had such an interesting experience that I would just love to tell you
all about. As we were about to begin teaching to a less-active member
there in Orani, a man named Antonio walked up and starting talking to
us. He asked us about our work and then the conversation started to
turn. He mentioned a 'dwarf' that he had in his wallet. Sister Pavino
asked if we could see it. He pulled it out and showed us his 'dwarf'
which was a small piece of "gold" in the shape of a small man. It
looked like some expensive souvenir, but he claims that he got this
'dwarf' in the mountains. I asked him where he bought it and he told
me that he didn't buy it, but that it walked up to him. He said that
this dwarf was the 'queen' of the other dwarfs, despite it looking
very much like a man. He informed me in the past that there was an
american sister missionary who was assigned in Orani. This particular
missionary had problems sleeping and he 'remedied' her insomnia
through his 'dwarf.' He then gave me a prized opportunity to see how
he 'remedied' this missionary. He took my arms and rubbed this 'dwarf'
several times on both of my arms and told me that I 'wouldn't have
insomnia anymore.' I couldn't help but laugh at all of this. Before I
realized what he was doing, he was rubbing this small piece of gold on
my arms, 'remedying' a problem that I don't have. Anyways, Antonio
finally left us and we started teaching. But, during our lesson, a
drunk man who's name I forgot, walked up to us and started speaking
broken english to us. He told us that he read the Book of Mormon
before and that he knows that it's true. He kept repeating himself and
at the same time worked himself into a sort of karate stance with his
arms and legs. I wasn't sure where he was going with all of this, and
he also started to cry at one point. Sister Pavino handled the
situation very smoothly and just set a return appointment with this
drunk man. He finally left and we were able to finish our lesson. :)

In addition to that cherished experience, we had such an exciting
week.Sister Alazo and I come home most days just completely in awe at
the kinds of miracles we are seeing. Our attendance at church is
continuing to grow. We found many less-active members and in turn,
have found many new people that have become investigators-people that
are interested in learning.

It's incredible. I'm dreading thinking about leaving this area and
starting all over again somewhere else. I feel like my 6 months here
has brought me to this point where the work is progressing at an
incredible rate. I find working so much more enjoyable, the longer I
am in an area. I used to think the opposite would be true, and maybe
is for many missionaries, but I'm seeing that there is a reason why I
am still here. I'm so grateful for this glorious blessing that God has
given me to be a small small part of this divine work.

I wrote in my planner- "The most exhausting and life-giving work I
have ever experienced. I'm basking in the light." It's come to the
point that I don't like Mondays, our preparation day, because we only
have a few hours in the evening to go out and work.

We had an investigator yesterday who set his own baptismal date for
December 22. We were completely surprised. Before, he wanted to be
baptized in January. I guess he realized yesterday that he was readier
than he thought he was and set December 22 as his baptismal date.
Incredible. His mother, Luisa was a less-active member who is starting
to return to activity again in the church. I'm truly in awe at the
kinds of small changes we are seeing in people.

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say
unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to
pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." -Alma
37:6

I love you all. I mean it.


Pictures:

Crossing the river in Ala-uli, Pilar ( Every Saturday we go to this area.)

Margie's baptism!

 I took a seat in this hammock and was surprised to find my head rubbed

up against a small fat child. I didn't know he was there.

 THE best cat.

 Yellow watermelon.