happy easter!

 Hello!!!!  Happy Easter!!! Big big big easter hug from me!

This week was suuuuuper full, learned so much. This area is teaching me so much!

I got my package!!! Oh my gosh I was sooooo happy. Mom, those skirts are so comfy!! I was had just run out of zip fizz that day so timing was perfect for the 2 huge bags! Sassy sours!! Every time I eat them I remember when me and mom went to Arizona for Mark and Peggy’s wedding and on the drive we just ate sassy sours the whole time (mom, do you remember how at that time I was in a crocheting phase and at the hotel room I lost my needle and we made a joke that the maid had taken it cause it was shiny? Hahahah I loved that trip.) And yes, the journal is the one I have right now but I LOVE that journal so its great and its totally like a series or something. AND THE LETTERS. You guys are too much. I’ve read like each like 15 times hahahaha. YOU ARE ALL THE BEST EVER.

Our branch had a branch family home evening this week and they played this game called “baboy-bahay-bagio” and its hard to explain but those are moves you do with your group or team and its super funny because with anyone else it would probably be boring but every time a move is called out they would FREAK and everyone would start screaming and freaking out and falling on the ground hahahahahahaha it was sooooooo funny. And afterwards for the loser they make you do a talent, its like their “punishment” for losing hahahaha and the only talent anyone ever does is sing a hymn and for some reason it made me remember when me and Sera did the “my little buttercup” dance from 3 amigos for the young womens talent show hahahahahahaha and no one got what we were doing and no one would yell "dear" and "sweet" when they were supposed to. 

Its hotter than hades in this computer shop and  there is one electric fan here and when we came in I tried to turn it on but I couldn’t get it to work so I just started emailing anyways, fanning myself with a restoration pamphlet, then 2 seconds ago this emo kid comes in, turns on the fan behind me simple as anything, I turn around and he’s just staring at me like “You’re welcome” but sassy hahahahahahahahaha I wish I wasn’t the only one laughing at this.

We have quite a few investigators that are… missing a few nuts and bolts haha. So one of them, we’re teaching about prophets and we ask “Have you heard of a prophet before?” and she goes “Yeah! I know what that is!” So we’re like sweet and start going into the lesson but I feel like we need to quickly clarify before going on so I ask her to explain her idea and she goes “Yeah, prophets are animals!” -__-  So I try to help her out and I’m like “Oh you mean about animal sacrifices? Like in the bible?” and shes like “No, like a prophet is an animal!” CMON PEOPLE.

Cam, guess who my branch president looks like? Okay remember when we were driving to Canada and all of a sudden going through Mississippi or something there was this tornado so we had to find someone to stay with for shelter cause we only had a tent and we found the number of a bishop and he told us that his counselor would let us stay at their house so we go there and the counselor is so not happy about it and it was him and his wife and 40 year old daughter living there? Yeah, my branch president looks like him. And then remember how they just stuck us in a room and then during the night the siren was going off and you were just sleeping and I was like “Okay, should we be like sheltering ourselves in the tub right now or something?” And they just slept too so I just layed there trying to ignore the tornado siren. And then in the morning they made this hugggge breakfast and then were like mad that we ate it too… hahahahaha good times. And I think of it every time we see my branch president.

Mom, nothing in my day is different as an STL, we are just supposed to be an example to the sisters especially in our area and work, if they have questions they can ask us, we remind them to be modest and so forth, and occasionally we do exchanges to their areas. We haven't gone yet because the zone got a ton of new missionaries who don't know they're areas enough to exchange yet. The biggest differences are the meetings and trainings that I give, not the daily work. 

Sera, I have been missing you so much this week too!!!! My brain has been killing me with throw backs hahahaha I’ll just remember something and then start laughing and I’ve already learned my lesson trying to share those things with companions because even the American ones don’t get it and the Natives realllllly don’t hahahaha. It just makes me feel like when we had to control ourselves so much around people and not laugh at everything or they would get annoyed and not want to be with us hahahahaha. #sorrylozerz   ;D So literally what I do is just like include it in a little prayer and laugh with Him about it hahahahaha. Which sometimes is just sadder than laughing on my own hahahahaha.

So here in Sipalay we have a branch and then two groups out in the mountains and on Sunday the two groups were organized into branches so President Lopez came to oversee the organization and speak to everyone so we also had interviews with him. He just asked me if the boys here were giving me trouble and counseled me of how to tell them to back off hahaha “If they tell you that you are pretty you just say ‘No! You cannot say those things to me!’” hahaha thanks, President! I actually love President Lopez so much. Also!! I’ve been trying my whole mission to figure out who the heck he looks like and I FINALLY got it, he looks like Don Knotts from that Mr Limpit movie where he turns into a fish!! He looks like the fish!! I was so proud of myself.

Our investigators are soooo teaching me patience. They understand everything, can repeat the lessons perfectly to us, but WON’T GO TO CHURCH. So yesterday we followed up with them and asked why and they just gave us lame excuses- “It was hot”, “I had to wash my clothes”, “I had to find wood so I could cook rice” (I didn’t make those up, those are their real excuses). I was sitting there with one of them, just thinking so hard of what to do, and then I had this idea and it was kinda harsh but I just went with it, it was something like this…

Me: Sister, why does God give us commandments?

Her: Because he loves us and wants us to be safe

Me: Exactly. What happens when we don’t follow the commandments that he gives us?

Her: Well, we need to repent

Me: What does it mean to repent?

Her: You ask for forgiveness and don’t do it again.

Me: So what you’re saying is that if we don’t keep the commandments that God gives us to keep us safe, we have to repent, meaning we ask him to forgive us and don’t do it again, right?

Her: Yeah

Me: Okay, lets read really quick in mosiah (read Sabbath day). So sister, what is this commandment?

Her: We need to keep the Sabbath day holy

Me: How?

Her:… we go to church.

Me: Yeah. So sister, did you go to church earlier?

Her: … no

Me: Yeah. You didn’t. So did you keep God’s commandment? Or break it?

Her:… I broke it.

Me: Yeah. So what did you say we do when we break the commandments?
Her:… repent.

Me: Yep. So what are you going to do today and next Sunday?

Her: … I’m going to repent… and go to church.

It sounds different typed out but it was intense when we taught cause they’re using to missionaries being like “aw darn, you didn’t go to church, okay so we’re talking about this today”. Its not even as bad as an example President told us to use hahaha “Where is Jesus on Sunday? Yeah, he’s at his church. So if its Sunday and you are at home instead of at church, is Jesus with you? Yeah he’s not, he’s at church. So if you are at your house on Sunday and Jesus isn’t there, you’re in hell.”  You have to just be straight up with these people cause they just don’t understand, they think prophets are animals hahahahaha. 

Well, I love you all soooooooooo much and mom I know you think that I write my emails good but every week is so frustrating because I can never get anything out like I want to and explain it right and I always forget everything. I love reading your emails every week and I hope you all have a fantastic mr fox week and I love love love love love you and if I didn't mention it before I love you. LOVE YOU. Okay I'm done, talk to you next week!!!

LOVE Sister Manwaring