Okay, the title of this isn't
100% accurate.... pollution is kind of the worst when you're used to living in
backwoods Virginia your whole life and your first area in the mission was a
beautiful clean island. Apparently... there's a decent chance that I have a
constant cold my whole mission because of the pollution here, and I'll have to
stay on this medicine the whole time to feel alive and avoid the sinus infection
I got twice over the past two months. Yikes.... magtitiis hanggang wakas.
Endure to the end. It's okay, if my pioneer ancestors crossed the plains in
freezing weather, I can handle a little cold for the rest of the time, even
though sometimes being sick makes it pretty hard to focus at times.
We went on exchanges this week with the
Sister Training Leaders... and I got to go with Sister Mechum! She was in the
other companionship living in our apartment when I was on Palawan, and I felt
like we got pretty close and she's awesome. She gave me faith it was possible
to learn Tagalog as an American, hahah. That was a good experience, she's
definitely one of my missionary role models.
Here's a story that was told in sacrament
meeting this week. There once was a foreigner visiting the Philippines. He
observed two men - one was digging a hole, and at the same time he was digging
it, another man was taking soil and filling in the hole. Curious, the foreigner
asked them why. One of the men said, "Well, I was hired by the government to
dig this hole, and the other one was hired to fill it. Another man was hired to
plant a tree here, but he got sick and never showed up." This story is a good
illustration of "paying attention to the whole picture." Sometimes I need that
on my mission, when I need to remember WHY I'm doing the things I'm doing and
not just go through the motions of being a missionary without really FEELING it
all the time. It's been harder with my brain being muddled by sickness, but
it's getting better now with the medicine. Easier to focus, easier to act.
Transfers are next week though. I just hope I don't get transferred further
into the heart of the city (more pollution) yet since we're on the outskirts of
the city now. I know that as we all focus on the individual missions God wants
us to accomplish, we'll see His plan for us and not miss "planting the tree"
metaphorically. Everything we do in live is meaningful and important.
The picture is of Isaiah Lambert's
baptism. We are so happy for him and his little 8 year old brother! Isaiah's
progressed a lot since we met him, and his desire for baptism has really grown.
We're so happy that he now has the Gift of the Holy Ghost to guide him through
his teenager-dom.
Hope all is well with you all! Keep on
smiling even though it's super cold back home as I've been told! It's "cold"
here too... I wear a cardigan in the mornings.
Love,
Sister Larsen
There were requests to see this -
this is where I take a bath in the morning out of that blue bucket while staying
beneath that orange partition so no one outside sees me. Just take a bowl and
splash water everywhere. It's really cold actually in the mornings.... that's
okay though. I'll never bat an eye at cold camp showers again. Every day is an
adventure here!
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