*Almost* Famous; Spiders=Toys

Dear friends and family,

So, here I'll give a brief overview of the many adventures this week.  First, I was one morning taking out a muffin from the cupboard where all of us store our food.  Suddenly... everything came crashing down around me.  Literally.  The bottom half of the cupboard dropped out and half of the food spilled around me.  I escaped mostly unscathed except for oil spilled down my front.  That certainly woke me up that morning, hahah.  That's what the picture is of - myself and Sister Mechum who is the other American (from Utah) in our apartment.

Here, children view spiders as toys.  They put them in matchboxes and play with them and blow on them and let them crawl around on their hands.  They take huuuge ones, put them on sticks, and make them fight each other.  When they found out I was afraid of them, they thought it would be funny to try and blow them towards me; fortunately that didn't carry on too long.  I explained that in the U.S., there are some that bite you and kill you within an hour or so.  They "don't have spiders like that here," supposedly, haha.

There are two national pastimes here - karaoke of old songs from the 90's or Tagalog songs that sound like they're from the 80's, and doing laundry.  It takes me about 1.5 to 2 hours to do my laundry by hand, and I don't even have enough clothes to get me through a full week.  I've also heard many songs that remind me of when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade.  Good memories of Britney Spears, good old "classics," haha.

I realized that the bats I saw previously were NOT the biggest kind here.  One day I looked up at dusk and thought I saw a pelican up above.  Whatever it was, it was the size of a pelican very clearly.  Then I saw its wings - bat.  HUGE BAT.  They're amazing.  I feel like it wouldn't make a good pet, but I want one, haha.

One day, I was standing underneath the edge of a member's home, and we were talking to him while he was inside.  I had noted previously that these members seemed to have some sort of bird that lived on top of their house, even though I had never seen it.  As I stood there, I suddenly heard a spurting noise and then something warm trickling down my back.  I didn't say anything until after we left (we were only there for a few minutes) and then asked Sister Ordiz to take a look for me.  "It smells bad..." was her answer.  Pretty sure I got peed on by a bird this week :)  

On Friday we went to a "tree planting activity" with the branch members.  Now, in my head, we were gonna go with the 10 people there and go plant some trees just us.  Turns out, it's a huge festival in the middle of the jungle.  We hiked into the middle of the jungle, up into some of the mountains-ish with some little trees, dug in the dirt with our hands and planted trees.  That was pretty legitimate.  Then we walked back down to the main area (still in the middle of the jungle, but they had a stage set up and such) and they had the festival going on in full swing.  As I stood there watching, a group of news reporters came up and asked me in English, "Can we interview you about your thoughts on the festival?"  Naturally, I totally represent the population of people there, so it makes sense they would interview me.  Or maybe it's because I was the most pale person they'd ever seen.  Either way, I was *almost* famous, but since I'm a missionary we had to turn them down on that offer since we're not supposed to "sponsor events."  

Then they had this really really awesome cultural dance they did.  I liked that a loooot.  You know how in "Fiddler On the Roof" they have the dance where the men have bottles balanced?  They did something similar to that, the guy and girl dancers, and I was pretty impressed.  Then they did this crazy dance where they had poles on the ground that they'd clap together in a rhythm.  The dancers danced in between the poles, and if they messed up their feet would have gotten crushed.  Talk about high stakes dancing!  That probably has some symbolism relating to the crocodiles that live here.

Final fun thing - one day we were teaching about the Word of Wisdom.  I was on splits with one of the Sister Training leaders (I was scared stiff since I still don't speak the language well, but it was okay since she did even though she's American) and there were two members there teaching with us.  Then one of them asked in Tagalog, "Isn't MSG against the word of wisdom?"  I had a hard time not laughing at that one.

Yeah... that's all I've got for now.  Apparently chances are very high I'll be training right after my training.  I'm still not okay with that, but hopefully by the end of my training I will be.  I'm growing in humility and faith, that's for sure.

Love you all!

Sister Larsen

[Photos From the Airport when Marinda left.]

Miracles Abound

Dear friends and family,

So, just so you know, there's only 6 Sisters on the whole island of Palawan, and all 6 of them are in our zone.  So, I feel pretty special right now that we do have the privilege of being here.

One cool experience this week - Sis. Ordiz and I were riding on a trike (small motocab) and I was attempting to use my very limited Tagalog to talk to her.  Our trike driver turned and asked us if I spoke Tagalog.  The correct answer to that question was "conti" or "a little."  We then talked to him some, and I said I really like Palawan and that the people here are nicer than in America.  He liked to hear that.  We talked with him some more about how I'm learning Tagalog (a very rare thing here - most white people don't bother.)  Then Sister Ordiz talked more about missionary work and why we're here and we ended up giving him a pamphlet (pass along cards aren't a thing here.)  He's not in our area, but we gave him as a referral to the Elders in our district.  Super awesome; and it was encouraging to me to always try to speak the language more and more.

We've had pretty much one "brown out" also known as a black out where we didn't have electricity almost every day this week.  A lot of times they happen at night, so our fans shut off and we get hot which is lame, but oh well.  We also had one water outage for a day which was hard too, but it's okay.  Just livin' the Philippines life, and it's kind of fun sometimes and we laugh about it.

The biggest and best news - this week, we prayed for miracles.  I really really really felt a strong desire for every one of our less active members and investigators to come to Church.  We invited 5 of our awesome investigators to come and 4 of our less actives to come to church - and EVERY ONE of them did!!! I was so happy.  I may have been sort of lacking in faith, because they have many obstacles to overcome in order to come.  But they did.  Ah.  My joy when I saw them - I couldn't stop smiling yesterday, it was such a good day.

By the way, roosters are really really evil and I don't like them.  I know my nickname in the family has always been "Rooster" or 'Roo roo,"  but here the roosters crow at 4 am and I kind of want to have rooster for dinner so I don't have to wake up then and then not be able to sleep after that.  Super annoying, but oh well.  Animals do what animals do.

I also now have an unwanted admirer..  His name is Jacob, and he tells me how beaitiful I am and sings me Tagalog love songs.  I don't think it's gonna work out though, since I don't speak Tagalog very well, am probably 2 feet taller than him, and he's 9 years old.

Hopefully this picture attaches okay.  It's of Sister Jeannic's baptism!  Ah!  I was actually really sick that day and kind of wanted to pass out, but I was there nonetheless.  Sister Jeannic is amazing.  Truly, truly amazing.  She is very smart, and remembers all the lessons, reads everything we give her, and has this great thirst for knowledge about the gospel.  Her testimony is beautiful, which we have had the opportunity to hear time and time again as she works with us every day now as our "member present" since she doesn't have a job.  She is soooo awesome!  She also is already reading up on temple preparation and is very interested in serving a mission.  Ah.  Man.  I can't get over how awesome she is, seriously.  In the first picture are some members as well, plus the Elders in our District.  Everyone here says Elder Schroeder and I look like "mga kapatid" or siblings.  I guess I can kind of see, it, haha, but it might just be the straight noses and blondish hair.  And whiteness.

Sister Ordiz and I with Sister Jeannic.   AH SHE'S SO AWESOME.  Seriously.  Best first baptismal-ee ever.

 

 

 

I'll send some more in a second.

But for now - things are great here!  The language is very hard, and it's sad to me that I can't speak fluently yet because I really really really love these people and want to be able to talk with them about their lives and thoughts and feelings and experiences.  They are great, seriously.  We did not have a single lesson this week without a member present, and they are so willing to work with us.  Miracles are here because of how amazing these people truly are.

I am happy!  It is hard to not speak fluently, but I am happy.

Much love from Palawan,

Sister Larsen

 

At the Philippines history-- using a machine gun at the museum.  And Elder Schroeder photo bombing.

 

 

 

Myself and Sister Ordiz at a Philippines history museum which is cool .  The museum has a lot of WWII things which are awesome.  I still love history.  Oh, and I mostly wear my glasses now cuz my contacts get pretty bothersome with all the dust and stuff here.

 

 

 After proselyting, this is normally what my feet look like at the end of the day.

Yeah, we're pretty hardcore :)  It's the rainy season so it's ALWAYS MUDDY.  But, it's definitely an adventure!!!

 

 

 

 

 

The Guy on the Victorian Bike's Got Swag

Dear friends and family,

This week's been great!  First, I'll start with the fun stuff. When Sister Ordiz and I went jogging the other day, we were just going along when suddenly a guy rolls by us on a HUGE VICTORIAN BIG WHEEL BIKE. Like, one of the ones from the 1800's with the huge wheel in the front and lil one in the back.  And he had his groceries all tied to it, totally casually.  It was obviously super old, and he was legitimately using it as his regular transport.  That pretty much made my whole life, and I may have seriously wished I had a bike like that.

Here's a funny saying I found in our Tagalog dictionary, "Love is like a fishbone stuck in the throat - the more you scratch at it, the more it feels deliciously itchy."  Hmmmm..... true, I think, hahah.

I saw those huge bats that live here.  They're awesome, and they are my friends cuz they eat mosquitoes.

 

[Marinda did not take this photo.  I, her mother, found it on the web because I wanted to freak everyone out.  It's a vampire!  But actually, it probably only eats fruit, nectar, etc..  No mosquitoes. No blood sucking.  I'm not even sure the photo is legit since Wikipedia says they only grow to be about 10 inches long. Still plenty big.]

 

My companion currently learns Tagalog from my "learn Tagalog" books because a lot of times they just use English words or there's not a super direct translation (or she doesn't know it.)  Apparently her original native language is Visayas, so she knows Tagalog but doesn't speak it all the time normally, haha.  I have not been confident that Tagalog speakers actually know their own language very well most of the time since it's such a complicated and mixed language, haha.

There's a bird here that has a call that goes "whoo whoo."  It sounds like a guy cat call whistling to a girl.  It throws me off every time I hear it, hahah.

I also got sick for a couple days this week - dizziness, nausea, weakness, which I caught from one of the other two Sisters living in our apartment now.  I'm fine now though, no worries.

I would send pictures, buuut... my camera cord got left in Manila.  Hopefully I'll be getting that soon.

The biggest and most important news - WE HAD OUR FIRST BAPTISM!! Sister Jeannic (here we call most people by their first names rather than last - don't really know why, but since we teach huge extended families, saying "Sister Dagot" wouldn't make sense since there's 300 Sister Dagot's we're teaching.)  Sister Jeannic is very special, and we taught about 5 lessons to her (she was found by Sister Ordiz and her previous companion.)  I am so happy for her,and she is such a nice person.  Her testimony is profound and beautiful.

My personal revelation scripture I received this week is Alma 26:37. "Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen."      It was hard, but I know that if I bear with patience my afflictions all will be well if I do my best.  I found great comfort from that.  Mayroon kapayapaan ay ang puso ko.  [Rough Translation-"Have peace in my heart"]  We, as missionaries, have afflictions, but it's okay.  It only makes us stronger, and I have noticed the Spirit coming into my life more and more as I've served.

The people here are AMAZINGLY receptive to us.  It kind of blows my mind.  Not a single person has flat out denied taking a pamphlet from us yet (everyone is willing to take one) and they all give us their address and numbers so we can teach them.  They are a happy people and a kind people here, and are ready and willing to listen to our message.  It is difficult for many of them to make it to Church sometimes, but we do our best to help them.  The work is progressing here at a rapid pace, and I am happy to be a part of it even though it can be difficult at times.  I am excited to learn more and more Tagalog so I can teach the people and most importantly help them more effectively as a missionary called by God to serve them with my whole heart.

I love you all, and I keep you in my prayers.  Stay strong in your faith and what you are doing and know that God loves you, no matter who you are or what you are doing.  God loves you. I can bear complete testimony of that.

Much love,

Sister Larsen

 

Note from Marinda's mom:  In answer to some questions I had asked, Marinda wrote, "[My apartment] is probably nicer than my apartment at [BYU] - they set the Sisters up nice."  

Guess Where I Am!

Dear friends and family,

If you're envisioning me as writing this from Manila city or somewhere around Manila on the main island of Luzon in the Philippines, I want you to wipe that out of your mind right now.  Because it's incorrect.

I was sent to the island of Palawan!  Yep, getting trained here and everything.  One plane flight over from Manila and here we are.  My trainer is Sister Ordiz, a very nice Filipino Sister who doesn't even clear my shoulder.  We get along well, and although there's somewhat of a language barrier we understand each other most of the time because she speaks pretty decent English. 

Palawan IS beautiful. It is also very - jungley.  It is very different from the U.S. here.  People live in bamboo huts, rarely have electricity, cook over fires, etc.    Everyone here is SO kind.  They are all fascinated with me as a foreigner, and so many people are willing and happy to listen to what we have to teach.  I love how happy they all are, and the people of Palawan are a delight to be with.

Now, my main struggle is that I understand Tagalog okay-lang (just okay) when it's Gospel related.  However, when it comes to regular conversations, I can't really do much of anything.  Which is really, surprisingly hard for me to just accept.  This has been a very humbling experience, because many of the things I take for granted being able to do I cannot do here.  Everything is different.  We hand wash our clothes, ride motocabs, and most of the time I have no idea where we are or where we're going becuase the layout super confuses me (no actual addresses here.)    For those of you familiar with Homestarrunner, I feel like "Lil Brudder" from that one Strong Bad email - the one legged dog.  Except more accurately with my Tagalog it would be like I had half a leg to stand on and was asked to run a race.  It was really really hard to accept at first, but I think I can already see the gift of tongues working.  

Being here is like being on trek every day, especially since it's the rainy season.  Mud everywhere, and lots of walking.  It is really pretty though, so I'm okay with it.  The people are happy and positive, and the members are willing to help us.  Our branch is small, but our numbers are growing as we are baptizing and reactivating people.  

I ate off of a banana leaf on a hut floor the other day at a member's house with my bare hands.  That was certainly an experience.  ALL THE SEAFOOD AND RICE.  I guess fish is okay, considering I strictly avoided it for 10 years. I am slowly adjusting to the culture, food, and other things here.

Well, that's all I've got for now.  I normally will e-mail on P-day, but due to some unavoidable circumstances I ended up emailing today.  I hope everyone remembers that Christ makes weak things become strong - like me.  I no longer have any faith in myself to do the things I need to do here, so I have to be strong in my faith in Christ and Heavenly Father and know that all things will be possible through them. 

Much love from Palawan,

Sister Larsen