I'll get the sad part out of the way...
my sister's cat, Callie, whom I had come to regard as my cat as well, was put
down last week. She was about 15 years old or so, so it's not terribly
surprising... but it is hard to think that the last time I said bye to her was
the last time I'd see her. At least I have a personal strong belief we'll see
our pets in heaven again, and have those connections we felt with them
again. [The photo is from Christmas 2011]
To move on to happier things... although
my Tagalog is not very good, it is to the point where it is better than most
toddler's Tagalog. This weekend Anna Marie was baptized, who had been taught
for a very long time by missionaries. Through a very complicated story I will
explain after I get home, everything lined up so she could finally be baptized,
which she wanted very badly. We are honored to be a part of that miracle in her
life and family. Going back to the original story, her husband is a member who
recently was reactivated and came back to church, and their kids are SO cute.
Their daughter, France, came up to me and was talking to me. She wanted
something at some point, and I just said to her, "Wala... sayang." Meaning,
"There's none - darn it." She just walked around the room going "Wala...
sayang. Wala... sayang!" It was the cutest thing of my whole entire life! I
don't think she should learn Tagalog from the American, but she speaks really
good English already (as well as her parents, haha.)
The cool thing we did last preperation
day was to go to a memorial park near our area with the other Sisters in our
apartment. It was super crazy - I didn't really know that sort of thing existed.
When I heard "memorial park" I somehow thought it would maybe have some statues
or something... but it's actually a HUGE cemetery. HUGE. The graves there are
soooo awesome. Half of them are giant crypts. Some of those crypts are bigger
than most people's houses here, made of stone, and sometimes have bathrooms and
air conditioning and beds inside. They're like that because during "all souls day"
in November everyone goes to their ancestor's graves and party and hang out
there. So... yeah. It was awesome, and intense. Anyway... it was a pretty
cool adventure, just to see the last testaments people build for themselves. It
reminded me of ancient Egyptians and their pyramids. That's what the picture is
of.
I don't have a whole lot to say this
week. It's been good and awesome. If you were to ask me how I feel now, I
would definitely say "happy." It's hard, there's challenges, and it's hard
serving in a place where you want so bad to help people but the only and best
thing you can give them is to help them strengthen their faith and hope. I
suppose that's the best thing we can give people though... and I am happy for
that, and that I have that most precious gift from God in my life, and the
opportunity to share it with others, especially when they're suffering or
upset.
Love you all!
Sister Larsen
There was this huge random island
thing at the memorial park... Sister Giles and I took a picture.
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