May 14, 2012

Happy mother's day everyone!!!!

It was SO GREAT to be able to talk to my family!!!! I cannot believe it has been 5 months since I spoke with them at Christmas! Time is going by so fast.

So the big news for the week is that I am being TRANSFERRED!!! My first transfer! I have been in San Pablo third ward for my whole mission so I am excited to see a new area. I am actually kind of shocked because Sister Rombaoa just went home and I was going to be the senior in the area so now there will be two new missionaries in my area. I am excited to get to meet some new people!! and maybe even get to see the ocean!!!! Ha ha.

I love being a missionary and all of the crazy, great and spiritual experiences I have had packed into just seven short months. I really could not be learning the things that I am in any other way. Missions are great and even though I miss all of you terribly I don't want to come home. I know I need to cherish every moment I have here because it will never happen again and it is going by faster and faster everyday. Like I'm sure most of you moms feel about all of your kids. :)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Sister Morton

May 7, 2012

KUMUSTA PO KAYO???

So not too much to report on this past week. Church was GREAT and we have a couple of great investigators who came to church and have accepted baptismal goal dates! Super exciting!!!! Hopefully they will continue to follow through on their commitments and continue to progress in their faith.

In other news... This is my last week with Sister Rombaoa. Crazy. I will have a temporary companion next week and then will have a new companion a week from friday. Time goes by really fast when you are helping a companion pack almost every transfer. Ha ha. I am sad she is leaving. We have been teaching really well together and I have learned a TON of tagalog from her. And she makes me laugh- Today while walking through the bayan (downtown in San Pab) I saw my first giant rat, well first giant rat that wasn't smashed on the road.... and I said to Sister R "Sister TINGAN MO!" She turned and saw it and said, with absolutely no Pinay accent "Oh sick" Ha ha, Ok it's probably just funny to me because I am the one who always says "oh sick" (because there are a lot of things her that make me say it) and the way she said it was like hearing myself. So we have been together long enough for her to pick that up :)

SO on to the doktor doesn't = doctor story. I was pretty sick last week, don't worry mom i'm better now :) I had to go to the doctor, I mean doktor (doctor in Tagalog... no really if you say doctor they don't really understand you. You have to say doktor and roll the r a little. Just ask Sister Gallagher ;) I had a sore throat, ears, bad cough and head ache and then on thursday morning whatever I had spread to my eyes (they were SO red) and I decided it was time to go to the doktor. So we went and waited on a little bench. I layed my head on Sister R's lap, her whole lap and then my legs dangled, ok they were touching the ground but you get the point, over the armrest on the other side of the bench for the 2 hours we had to wait in the OUTDOORish waiting room. Then I went in to see the doktor. I sat down and told him my symptoms. He said it was because of the change in weather, it's super SUPER hot for a few days and then will rain like crazy for a day. So then he said it's probably a bacterial infection and I should go buy antibiotics and then he told me that I should stay in a room with air con and watch tv AND not to go walking anywhere especially in the sun or the rain (the only two kinds of weather here in the Pines) Ha ha, I just kept thinking well most those things are not really an option so antibiotics and priesthood blessing it is. Luckily the elders were able to give me a blessing that night and I bought some super expensive antibiotics. I am feeling much better now, still a little week but MUCH better. I actually like going to the doktor because I always have a fun story to tell afterward. HA!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Sister Morton

May 1, 2012

KUMUSTA PO KAYO!?!

Things are good here. Really REALLY warm, but good. I am already realizing what a blessing it is that I am only going to be spending one summer in the Pines. :)

I realized in my last email I forgot to explain the baptism of Mutya. We started teaching her mom (who was less active) and after she became active again Mutya started coming with her and decided she wanted to be baptized. She is 9 so we had the opportunity to teach her. I am so grateful for this opportunity that we had. There were multiple occasions that as we were teaching Mutya, Her mother would come to understand something on a deeper level that she didn't know about the gospel. I truly believe that it wouldn't have happened if you weren't trying to teach the principles so basic. It taught me that it is just my job to teach the basics. To help people understand the basic doctrines so they can start to gain a testimony and strengthen their foundation. The spirit really does teach people the things they need to learn if they are open to it.

I am so grateful for my mission and I am coming to realize that no matter who hard I work I will never be able to pay back my Father in Heaven for everything He has given me.

I love you all!!!

Sister Morton

April 23, 2012

Magandang Hapon!

This week has been so so great! So many things have happened that just make it so obvious to me of how aware God is of each of us. It really is incredible. Last sunday we had a couple of new investigators come and the lessons were just what they needed to hear and then yesterday we had another new investigator come and EVERY single lesson seemed like it was just for her. Every single talk in sacrament, and the lessons in sunday school and relief society. So amazing.

I'm not going to lie, missions are hard! I have been struggling a bit this week because I just don't know how to help some, ok most the people here. We have been teaching some of the less actives here since january and nothing is helping them. It's so hard because for a lot of them their primary concern is how they are going to have enough money to support their families throughout the week. We have really trying to just focus on building their faith. We are seeing a little bit of success and it really is a miracle. I know I just need to be patient and remember that our Heavenly Father knows exactly what each of us need. I am trying and learning everyday to rely on Him and it is incredible the difference I feel when I focus on Him. I love being a missionary, even though it's hard. I don't remember where I read this last week- I think from a sweet email from one of you but it said that the harder the trial the more God trusts us. I don't know why He trust me with this at all, especially in Tagalog ha ha, but I do know that He knows what each of us can become and I just need to trust that He can and will make me a far better person than I can make of myself.

I love you ALL!!!!

Pinakamahal kita!

Sister Morton

PHOTOS :)

1-Baptism of Mutya!

2- One of our investigators climbing a coconut tree to get us some fresh buko!

3- The buko he threw down from the tree

4- The drink they made from the juice, complete with milk, sugar, coconut meat AND crackers

5- OH the sunsets in the Philippines!!!! SOBRANG MAGANDA!!!!

April 16, 2012

SO really... How in the world am I already emailing you again?!? Ha ha! Time is going so FAST!!!

I am great! We have been hard at work all week and were able to teach a lot of people. This week was really good and we had a few new investigators come to church. A family from San Crispin, a barangay (neighborhoodish) in our area, that we have been teaching for the past few weeks finally came AND I was one of the speakers. So it turned out to be a pretty great day. It helps that I finally feel like I am starting to learn the language well enough to communicate with people. Many times people will still just blankly stare at me when I say something to them but Sister Rombaoa told me that I am saying things correctly it's just that they are shocked that "someone like me" (ha ha) is speaking Tagalog. I LOVE Sister Rombaoa! she leaves in four weeks and I am sad to be "killing" another companion!

So something I have been thinking about a lot lately- being happy. So many of the people we teach will say "I'm not happy because of ________, or if I just had _________ I would be happier. It has been really hard for me because a lot of the issues are because many of the people are so poor and I don't know how to help them.I wish I could just tell them that money won't make them happy, because I KNOW that money and material objects are not the source of true happiness, but it's not that simple. During my talk I was just overwhelmed with love as I looked at my ward. I know that true happiness and true joy comes from focusing on Jesus Christ, Others- Serving and loving them and then You- focusing on making yourself a better person, more like Christ. This was from sister rombaoas talk yesterday :) I also know that when we are grateful for our blessings we are not only happier but God blesses us with more.

I am so GRATEFUL to be a missionary! I love you all!!!!

MAHAL KO KAYO LAHAT!!!!

sister Morton

The photos- I meant to send them last week, we were able to attend transfer day so I got to see my "boys" aka the elders that were in my zone in the MTC! and that big thing is a carabao they are huge!