The One With the Bagyo (Typhoon) - October 20, 2015

Hello po! Storms are crazy. But I'm still alive :) Anyway, church was cancelled on Sunday. And we were put on lockdown and I had NO IDEA WHAT TO DO. I WAS SO BORED. And no power either, so no music for us. Mostly I sat on the floor and sang songs by myself and read a little bit. Or a lottle bit. Then the same thing on Monday but they let us go to 7-11 for a little while to charge our phones and we went to the market to by groceries so we wouldn't starve and stuff. Then last night they texted us and said there was a flood warning, so all the girls in the apartments downstairs came up to stay with us, then like 20 minutes later they texted us again and said the elders were coming to evacuate us to Urdaneta. So we stayed the night in Urdaneta and now we're back home and dry :)

I still miss non-EFY music a lot but it's ayos-lang. Sometimes our neighbors listen to Journey and the Eagles and Imagine Dragons because Heavenly Father loves me. Tender mercies are a thing <3 

Also kids still love me, which is cute. On the way to Maribel's house I usually have at least 2 kids on each arm and one wrapped around my waist, which makes it a little difficult to walk. It reminds me of my mga anak at NWA :) ha. Recess was always an adventure.

Oh! Speaking of adventures, I passed my 100 day mark for this adventure last week :) cool, eh? I'm a survivor!! Haha ;)

However, that means I've also gone at least 100 days without the option of chimchims for dinner (or lunch or breakfast or elevensies). That being said, will someone go to Los Hermanos and order a chimichanga for me? And then eat the whole thing in one sitting and then feel a little bit bad about yourself but not even care because you know you can rest happily in a food coma when you get home? Thanks <3 I really appreciate it!

We're really close on baptisms ^_^ Glocelle and Waken are coming to church every week and their interviews are supposed to be this weekend! They're really excited, so I'm really excited :) So hopefully 2 baptisms next week! And Maribel is really good too :) so close!! Hooplah! (Sounds like a lot of- Hooplah! I said, sounds like a- Hooplah! Hooplah! Hoop- *brick*)

Sometimes I make Spongebob references and no one gets them. So when I sing that the stars at night are dull and dim whenever they have to be over dumb old stupid Texas, I'm pretty sure they legitimately think I hate the entire state of Texas. Oops.

Anyway... so we have a new schedule now which has us in by 8:30. Which is kind of nice :) No one wants us there past then anyway :P Also toasted siopao is fantastic.

Oh, and I found a nice little nugget of counsel the other day during Personal Study. It's in Alma 17:10 :) "And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with His Spirit, and said unto them: Be comforted. And they were comforted." That second part is really important. How often do we ask the Lord for help and then not accept it? "Heavenly Father what do I do? This is really hard!"  And He says, "It's alright, don't worry. I have a plan for you." And then we're dumb and say "No, but you don't understand! This is hard! I don't know what's going to happen!" What? SO DUMB. We just throw away His counsel and comfort. Life is really hard sometimes. Duh! That's how we grow! It's okay that we don't know what's going to happen exactly. That's how life is! So when life seems crazy and you're feeling overwhelmed, just remember that it's for your good. But ALSO remember that you can be at peace even through the hard times. We have a perfect Father in Heaven who wants to comfort us no matter what we're going through. But it's up to us to be comforted :)

Anywho, Philippines life is still good :) storms make it not so hot here too. My area is awesome and sometimes I hold small animals. And I have a new best friend named Kelly-Dog. I LOVE Kelly-Dog! ^_^ She's always so happy to see me and runs up to me with her whole body shaking because she can't wag just her tail and she lets me pet her and I just love her so much <3 

*Bonus scripture Alma 26:2 - Can you tell what blessings the Lord has given you recently? If you can't, look harder. There's a lot, I promise :)

Iyan-lang :) Love you all!! 

-Sister Burton (buhay pa)