Hellllllllooooooooooo from Laoag City!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dearest family and friends,

            I am officially in the mission field!!!! We flew to Laoag on Wednesday morning from Manila. It is absolutely gorgeous here!!!! It is tons of farm, ricefield, beaches, palm trees, etc. It is like being in a old spanish philippines. It is actually hotter here than in Manila. Maynila feels like a swim pool, here it feels like a slightly damp summer in Idaho :) haha soo.... Our mission president and wife are great, they are so funny and easy to connect with. Our president is a jokester but he is also very strict when it comes to rules which is good. 

So the night I got there, we had an orientation and then we all got sealed envelopes with our area and companion in it. We all opened them together, it was like Christmas!!! haha :) I am assigned to work with Sister Jolo, she is so super sweet! She is a Filipina which is so super helpful in our lessons. She is good at English too, it's amazing and such a blessing. She is always so positive, patient and encouraging. We were assigned to Laoag City Ward 3! So we are in the city-city. It is still not a city though haha. 

      The main method of transportation here is the tricycle. I know what you're thinking! But it's not actually a kid bike. It is basically a motorcycle with a side car, kind of like the one from Aristocats haha :) Men drive them all day every day. and if you want a ride you flag them down. Usually a ride is like 20 filipino pesos. Also they have horsedrawn carts!!! it's so fantastic. Some people have cars but that is just because we're in the city. 

     Our apartment is wonderful, the missionaries call it the mansion apartment, haha. 2 other sisters live with us, Sister Malubago and Sister Anderson. They are so nice and fun :)

     Because Sister Jolo and I have pink-washed this area, which means we're both new to it, we have had to get to know all the members and area. It is fun though, because everyone we teach, we know well. We have 3 investigators with baptismal dates, Mikaela, Faith and Ronald. Mikaela and Faith are 9 years old and very sweet girls. Ronald is almost ready, but he still has a problem with smoking. We have challenged him to start quitting by smoking only 1 cigarette a day. 

    3 of our investigators came to church yesterday! It was such a glorious feeling! I just wanted to dance and shout!! :) haha it is just so joyful to see them making the right choices to come closer to Heavenly Father.

     Our ward is wonderful, they are so kind and willing to help us :) Our ward speaks a mix of Tagalog, Ilokano, and English. I have picked up only the most basic-est words in Ilokano, so sometimes I don't know what they are saying but pshh oh well :) Ilokano is a language spoken almost only in the northern Philippines, and almost every word has a "k" in it! :) haha but its great!!!

     Saturday we tracted to a different part of our area that is more rural with more bukid (field). It was a little shocking to see the poverty and humble circumstances there. But the people smile, they work, they continue. The Filipinos are so strong. They can bounce back like no other, and smile even when things are not good. I have really been thinking about my blessings lately. 

       I haven't tried any super weird foods as of yet,but today I tried this deliciously weird dessert today called halo-halo, which literally means mix-mix. It has ice creamade of purple yams, jello chunks, colored other gelatin chunks, cheese, ice, coconut, beans, bananas, sweetened condensed milk, and more. It is delicious but it kinda looks weird! :)  They eat lots of chicken and rice, and yummy mixtures that go on rice called ulam. Also, everything is sweet here, the meat, the bread, the vegetables, they just put sugar in everything! haha I might not lose too much weight here :) 

       Hmmmm what else to say! It's been so busy and good! The people are so friendly, just random people on the street say "Hello sister!" they all know who we are :) I get stared at alot because I'm white, and it was so funny, the bishops 4 year old daughter keeps asking what is all over my face (freckles:) It feels so good to have a ward to call your own, an area to call your own. I am very happy here, learning so much and experiencing so much. Please write questions if you have any :)

        I have really felt the strength of the Savior. Though I am weak and simple, God has called me to be part of His work. He believes in me and put me here for reasons that I might not be able to understand now, but He knows all. The same is true with you all. God put you in the places you are for His reasons. There are people all around you that you can help. Simple smiles, hello's, and conversation can go a long way. But sharing the message of Jesus Christ and His Gospel can go for eternity.

         I know these things are true. I know the Gospel is true, and that it can help the poorest of the poor and the richest of the rich. God loves all cultures and nations, we are all brothers and sisters. We should love God and each other with all our hearts. 

       Thank you so much for your support and prayers, I love you all and I love this work I get to be a part of!! I challenge you all this week to pray for experiences to share God's love each day, and then follow the feelings and impressions you get. Miracles can happen, and the by miracles, my mission president says, it means the changing of people's hearts. 

       Okay, till next week!!!! 

               Pag-ibig! 

                        Sister Andelin

I'M IN THE PHILIPPINES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello!!!!! It is so crazy! I am sitting here at the Manila MTC. It is so beautiful, tropical plants and palm trees, etc. It is so warm here but not unpleasantly, I guess these are the cold months of the year! It has been raining lightly all day. This training center is beautiful!!! It is small, only 120 missionaries! And almost EVERYONE is filipino, it is so great!

     The flight, it was awesome and tiring haha :) We flew for a total of 17 hours, not counting layovers, and we lost a day of our lives, that never existed because of the time difference!

 It was so weird to land in Japan, we took lots of asian pictures! And then Manila, it is HUGE, a very crowded busy place! Mom I think you would have had a heart attack if you rode with us from the airport to the MTC here. The driving is absolutely awful, no one stays in their lane and people pass each other at alarming times, hahaha it was a great experience tho! Sister Jensen and I are just having such a great time! We keep freaking out that we're actually here! We had rice for breakfast and bright red sausages! Haha and our shower is a spout about knee high, but atleast there is warm water! :) I love it here..... 

          The more I think about it, the more I realize that this short 5 day experience at this MTC is such a blessing and will help me so much when I go to Laoag. We are here primarily for Visas, but we also get to go to the Manila temple, (which is GORGEOUS!!!!)

  and visit the American Memorial site here

 and we get to go proselyting on splits with the fulltime missionaries here! We have a teacher(who served in Laoag), and we are learning so much more about the culture, getting used to the quick pace of talking.

 I am SO pumped and I feel so much joy, not just because I'm in a different country, but because I know God wants me here and I have a purpose and role here that is important. There is no greater work than missionary work, bringing people to God and to joy and peace in their lives.

          Well... I'm safe and happy and can't wait to send pictures! :) I love you all and I have never been so happy. I LOVE being a missionary!!!!!!! I love the people that I've met, and the language and the experience.

         Next time, I'll probably write from Laoag!!! :)

                  Mahal ko kayo! :) Have a mabuting linggo! (good week)

                           Sister Andelin

Hello everyone!! This is my last email to ya'll from America! It is so crazy to think that 6 weeks have flown by and this is real life!!!!

  It will be sad to say goodbye to our wonderful zone and incredible teachers. I love them all so much! But you can't meet new people if you don't leave the old ones behind. We are actually getting a huge load of missionaries today, 7 sisters and 7 elders, many of which are going to Laoag as well. Is this real life?! We are flying out tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!  

      I have loved the MTC so much and learned so many things here.

 I was just pondering about it this morning and last night about the incredible things  I have experienced. My testimony has grown so much from so much study and hearing the devotionals of servants of God speaking to us. I have met so many wonderful people and friends here. And I have truly seen miracles!!! 

  I know that through fasting and prayer, God will truly give us help and things that we need as long as they are in accordance with His will. I learned that sometimes we have to hold out and that God tests our faith before He blesses us. I am SO grateful to Him, and I know that he knows me and knows each one of us. He sees all the good in us and loves us unconditionally. 

     I want each of you to know that I know that the Savior's love is very real. He lives and wants to be a part of our lives. He's knocking at our doors and we have to be the ones to let Him in. I LOVE his gospel, it is such a beautiful thing! I love the scriptures, they are truly God's words and lead us to Him. We can find safety and peace from the outward storms of worldly opinions and values. We can know who we really are and our purpose in life. We can know what God would have us do. The way is open, we must pray in faith and read His words, follow His prophets and keep His commandments. I love you all and I am so excited for this next chapter in my life!!!!

        Alam ko po na totoo ang Simbahan! Alam ko na sa pamamagitan ni Jesucristo at Pagbabayad-sala Niya, maaari nating maging mas masaya sa buhay namin. Alam ko na mapagmahal po ang ating Ama sa Langit. Mahal tayo ng Diyos. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo, Amen.

          Love love love you all!!!!

                    Sister Andelin

Helloooooooo everybodaaayyy!!!
 How are you all?!? Hope you all had an amazing and enjoyable Halloween! :) How is everyone's life!? I miss you all and hope that you are all feeling the Lord's love for you in your life. If not, pray to feel it, because I know without a doubt that He loves all of you so much, and wants YOU to know it!

       This week has actually been hectic and beautiful. On Sunday, me and my two companions became Sister Training Leaders of our Zone, and on Wednesday, we welcomed SEVEN NEW SISTERS!!!! It is SO super fun! All of us are Tagalog speaking. It is so much fun to have more sisters, they are the sweetest girls and have such optimism and testimonies. Our district also hosted on Wednesday, which means you get to start new missionaries off by taking them from the curb (which was sad to see them say bye to families) to get materials, to their rooms and to their classrooms. I enjoyed meeting new sisters, and it is so fun to welcome them to the MTC. It's weird to be the ones who know what's going on!! Haha 

        On a sad note.... the two districts that we have been with the whole time took off to the Philippines early Thursday morning. It was a little tough to say goodbye, especially to our best friends/old STL's Sister Hudson and Tikeri. They are so sweet and will be missed so much, but I know that they have so many beautiful things ahead of them! It is just SO crazy to think that I have only 11 days left here. We got our FLIGHT PLANS yesterday!!!!!! What?!!? haha

        Another cool experience... yesterday our class had a surprise visit from Elder Brent H Nielson of the 70 and his wife!!! Just our little class of 7 missionaries! It was so cool, he had been the Area President over the Philippines and had just been released. There was definitely something different about him, he had this like, I don't know, spiritual aura about him! I just knew that he was a servant of the Lord. 

         I am loving it here. Time is flying so quick, and I am striving to do my best to be prepared for the Philippines. I know I am living on the Lord's time and I don't want to waste a minute of it. I am learning so much, not only the language, but the power of Christ's gospel, and of His Atonement. The Lord's power can directly bless our lives, I know that is true. So often we just float along and forget how much the Lord wants to and has the ability to help us in our lives and problems. Never neglect daily prayer and study of the words of God. The scriptures can teach us ALL things that we can do. I have found an even greater love for the Scriptures here, especially the Book of Mormon, it is incredible! 

         I know that I am doing the right thing now. I know that all this work will be worth it. I know that this Church is truly God's Church and it was restored to the earth by His power. You can know for yourself if you read the Book of Mormon and ask God. He will answer your prayers. 

        I love you all and hope you have the BEST week ever!!!! 

             Mahal kita!

                     Sister Andelin