The One With the Kept Commitment - October 11, 2015

GenCon was the best :) I loved all of it! I really loved Elder Holland's and Elder Foster's talks ^_^ They gave me the feels x100. And also Elder Durrant's talk about ponderizing :)

Maribel came to church this week!! I'm so happy! We've been teaching her since my first week here. I was actually really worried we'd have to drop her soon cause she hasn't been coming to church, and I didn't want to give up on her :) and she came to GenCon yesterday!! Happy day!

Another thing that makes me happy is what I call the Banal na Sandwich. It's peanut butter on one side, nutella on the other, with strawberry jam in the middle, and it's all toasted to toasty nummy perfection. I also drink what may be near-lethal amounts of MoguMogu and I regret nothing <3 it's my favorite. And Mango Tang. Why they missed out on the prime opportunity to call it Tango I'll never know.

So pretty much I'm tired like 78% of the time. At this point I'm kind of hoping I'll find out that I've got some weird sleep disorder that requires that I get at least ten hours of sleep a night and that's why I'm so sleepy all the time. And then I'll have a valid excuse for when I sleep for 11 hours with a 3 hour nap around four o clock.

 

I wrote "Our Search for Happiness" in my notes for things to include in this email... but I don't remember why. It's really good though :) I finished it this week. Maybe you should read it and figure out what it was I wanted to share.

Oh, and whenever people are talking about neighbors/family/friends who have moved to America I always picture early 1900s America, not modern-day America. Sometimes I forget how time works. It's fine.

So short rant, I really dislike the phrase "You'd be prettier if..." because there are so many people everywhere who have super low self esteem and never feel like they're good enough, and there are so many conflicting views on how you should look. "You'd be prettier if you (wore more/less makeup) (had shorter/longer hair) (lost/gained weight) (etc.)". Whatever it is, just remember that it isn't your job to please other people! You're beautiful just the way you are and if someone tells you otherwise you can throw an egg at their face ^_^

Also I'm grateful for the Plan of Salvation :) One of the recent converts in our ward just passed away. He's a funny old man named Brother Virgilio :) I bet he can see now and is laughing at me as I learn Tagalog and a little bit of Ilokano and hold people's baby goats :) I'm pretty sure my life is a sitcom on the other side of the veil. And my future kids are like MOM WHY. The end :) 

As always, mahal ko kayo! Siyemps na kambing. That's totes magotes sa tagalog. I know, cause I thought of it myself. Please enjoy these pictures of me and David Bowie.

-Sister Paige Laretta Burton

The One With the Music - October 5th, 2015

Good morning!

This week hasn't been too terribly eventful. But that's okay :) 

I went on exchanges this week, which was pretty cool. I accidentally got mixed up on the lessons so I shared a big long scripture about baptism with the lady that Sis. Smith was dropping that lesson... oops :P haha but it worked out because it turned out to be the passage that Sis. Smith had assigned her to read that one and then forgot! Gotta love the Spirit, yeah? :)

We also have a member in our ward who just got back from his mission not this last wednesday but the one before. He's great to work with cause he's still all about missionary work :) yasss.

We get to watch GenCon this upcoming weekend! I'm so excited :D I hope y'all have enjoyed it! Women's session was really good. I liked what one of the speakers (don't remember who) said about how there are too many good things in life to focus on the bad.

Also I like how if you watch the choir you can kind of tell which ones are choir kids ;)

So yesterday we were waiting for one of the members so we sat in on the rest of their mission prep class. Then they asked us to do a role play for extending commitments. I. Hate. Role plays. Anyway... they said I could teach in english and I was like "YASSS I love english" But as it turns out, teaching in english is difficult now. Like ano kahit (that is, "what even", not to be confused with kahit ano, which is "anything"). So yeah.

Apparently there's no Dr. Pepper in Urdaneta :'( they have it in Manila but not here. And that saddens me deeply. So for those of you in the Provo/Orem area, please go to Sodalicious and order a Southern Gentleman and drink it for me. Salamat <3

I really miss country music. And I didn't even listen to that much country music before. But we do listen to Nashville Tribute Band sometimes which makes me happy :) 

Booorrrn

Bo-oooorrrn

Born in Bethlehemmmmmmmmmmmm

Also the other day the neighbors of one of our investigators were blaring Open Arms by Journey and I got the feels. Because Journey. And also my ballroom days.

Speaking of feels! I got a Starry Night journal and it's beautiful and it gives me the feels every day because Vincent and the Doctor.

Yep :) mahal kita! Please enjoy my journal drawings

The one where Paige holds kids - Sept 27, 2015

The one where Paige holds kids - but not the human kind :) 

This week was... well, it was this week. I managed to get a mosquito bite that swelled up to 5 inches. I measured. It was the worst. Also I think I've eaten my weight in saltine crackers. 

In addition to baby goats, the human kids are really cute too :) The other day we went to pick up one of the members and her kids all ran out to me saying "Sister! Stickers!!" And I was like "Walang stickers!" to which they replied "Sister! Pagkain!!" But I only had 2 little packs of vanilla wafers so in my kind of tagalog I said "Pero 2-lang so kailangan natin na share" and they all nodded and I gave it to them and they all broke them in half so they could share and I just love them a whole lot.

Also I realized that Sister Elena doesn't have teeth, which is something I probably should've noticed earlier. She's so cute :)

The family we taught yesterday asked how many areas I've been in and I told them this was my first. And they said they figured as much cause I'm really quiet. Like, 'scuse po, I'm always really quiet. But anyway :)

Also, everything is weirdly sweet here. Even the salty things are sweet. I don't get it. And the other day one of the sisters was singing "Teletubbies, Dipsy, Lala, Po!" And I was like 'Um, no. It's Tinkywinky, Dipsy, Lala, Po.' I probably shouldn't know that.

So I was reading in the Book of Mormon and realized that the book of Omni pretty much sums up my journal writing for the last 2 years. But I've been writing pretty much every day now :) keep a journal, friends! It's good for you :) and it's fun to mess with the future generations that will read it some day. Speaking of which, family history is important. Get working on it :) *coughcoughfamilyofminecough* 

I also rebound my BoM and it's awesome. I look forward to Personal study every day :) which, before my mission, I was REALLY bad at. Like, I think I started the BoM like 3 times and never got past 2 Nephi within 2ish years. Oops. But it really is the best once you make a habit of it :)

Also, something I really liked when reading Jesus the Christ was on pg 140. It talks about how Andrew and John asked Jesus where He was staying and rather than just telling them, He said "Come and see." I followed the footnote and it says that just like how missionaries can tell people all about the gospel, it's up to the investigator to "come and see" for themselves. They need to read the scriptures and ask Heavenly Father for themselves to know :) Love it :)

Anyway... walang questions for this week. Enjoy pictures I guess :)

The one with the church attendance ! September 20, 2015

This week has been pretty great :)

We had 2 investigators come to church yesterday... which is 2 more than we've had for the last couple weeks so it's progress :D hooray!! Also there's a recent convert in our ward named Sister Elena and she's so cute and I love her :) she's a little old lady and every time she sees us she gives us a big hug and does that asian thing where instead of kissing you they sniff your cheek. She's my favorite. 

It's still real hot but I'm still alive :) I like, radiate heat though. Like freaking Eric. I'm pretty sure I could give someone heat stroke by touching them. I never thought I'd miss winter... le sigh. Oh, and the dragonfruit here is pink on the inside! I was expecting white. T'was shocking.

People really love singing here, which is great. I love singing! And I can honestly say I've never heard a song sung in so many different keys. At the same time. After having worked at an elementary school where 3rd graders sang the nation anthem everyday. Yep :) and videoke is big. We hear people on like, every street corner singing real loud. Ees great :) Except they have interesting song mixes here... last I checked, Talk Dirty to Me shouldn't even be a song, much less mixed with We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Speaking of which, Christmas music has begun. BRING IT ON. 

There's also a lot of animals here. I love animals. Especially baby animals. I GOT TO HOLD A BABY GOAT AND IT WAS PERFECT. And there's a ridiculous amount of chickens running around (which reminds me, Ani add Link to my cosplay pinterest!). 

So I found a lovely scripture in personal study the other day. 2 Ne 31:3. And I love it because it says that Heavenly Father speaks to us in our understanding- we don't have to know everything all at once :) like 2 Ne 28:30 says, He gives knowledge to us line upon line, precept upon precept, and as long as we're using what we know, He'll give us more :)

-In Jacob 5, he talks about the good fruit vs the wild fruit of the olive trees. What's the difference? Why is the wild fruit bad? I feel like it doesn't mean as much to me since I don't understand the difference. Like when people tell me they only like Pepsi.

Also here's my address if anyone needs it :)

The postal address is 

Philippines Urdaneta Mission

PO Box 7

Brgy. San Vicente East

Urdaneta City

Pangasinan 2428

Philippines

and the package/parcel address is

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Philippines Urdaneta Mission

Brgy. San Vicente Street

Urdaneta City

Pangasinan 2428

Philippines

Mahal kita!

The one where Paige STILL doesn't like fish - Sept 14, 2015

I've made it to week three! Three is the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou NOT count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five... is right out. When the number three, being the third number, be reached, then CELEBRATE BECAUSE YOU'VE SURVIVED THIS FAR WITHOUT GETTING A WEIRD DISEASE FROM THE MOSQUITOES. Speaking of counting and mosquito bites, I have 25+. I checked. I've given up on naming them cause there's too many, but I named the ones on my elbow and the bottom of my feet after their father, Satan.

Anyway, our lessons are still going good :) no one has come to church yet though... next week! We've got 3 IBDs at the moment :) they're awesome. I'm reading Jesus the Christ and Our Search for Happiness, which are really good :) I'm learning sooooo much :3 yas. 

I've named every frog I've seen so far Jason Funderberker. Except for the one at Brother Salvador's house. That one's name is Douglas, named after everyone named Douglas. Also  I got some swaggin new rubber shoes and a hipster nerdy waist-strap proselyting bag which has done miracles in not giving me scoliosis. 

Also. There's a show that's always playing when we go to people's houses called All for Juan and Juan for All or something like that, and it is the most horrifyingly obnoxious show I've ever had the displeasure of coming across ever. Just by the way.

This week in church the lessons were all on family and stuff.One of the things that stuck out to me was when they said to enjoy the time you have with your children. Which made me think of my cute kids whom I miss SO MUCH. They'll be in 5TH GRADE when I get back. WAT. So parents, tell your kids you love 'em, and kids, tell your parents you love 'em :) time is short. (PS parents I love you and stuff)

And, as always, love you all lots!

The one where everyone cancels, but It's okay - September 6, 2015

Boy oh boy has this week been a tough one! But it's alright because it ended well :)

So we started off the week alright, we taught a lot of lessons and have 3 new investigators. Then around the middle of the week things went downhill a little bit- our members all canceled on us so we didn't have a member for any of our lessons, and just about every time we went to visit people, they'd either be gone or really busy. So that's butts. BUT this Fast Sunday was SO GOOD. It really strengthened my testimony of fasting, which had kind of been fading, I guess. Yesterday was such a good day! We only taught 5 lessons, but I really felt the Spirit and we had a member with us and it just felt like it was a good day :) AAAAND I KIND OF UNDERSTOOD WHAT WAS HAPPENING. WAT. And I've extended 3 bapism invitations this week. Which is a lot more simply said than how PMG made it out to be. 

The apartment is still wonderful, it's just real hot all the time. I was also never given a flat sheet in my sheet set but I can't sleep without something on top of me so I've been using a towel and it likes to get tangled up around me at 2 in the morning. But it's alright :) the neighbors have a pet pig. I can see it from my window. I've named him after Noah's son, Ham.

Also I wrote a story to end this one off with :) love you all!

-Sister Paige Laretta Burton, the frenchiest fry

Once upon a time there was a kingdom in a far off land. This kingdom was unlike most, however, in that there was no King there. The citizens of the kingdom knew they had a King, but He lived far, far away. No one had ever seen Him.

They knew they must have a King, because He would often send messengers to tell them that He was coming. Many people wanted the King to come visit them, but He didn't come when they expected Him to. Eventually they stopped listening to His messengers. Why should they prepare for someone whom they didn't think would show up?

One day a Kind Man came to the kingdom. The kingdom didn't have visitors very often, so news of this Kind Man spread quickly.

"Is this the King?" some asked.

"Couldn't be!" others replied. "He doesn't wear a crown, or royal robes, or have knights, or... or anything like that! Besides, if he was our King, he would be doing King-stuff, not just going around visiting with people."

For that was what the Kind Man did. He visited the people who were lonely. He helped the villagers with their problems. He healed the sick, and He even helped the people who were dealing with dragons. Most of all, He taught the citizens of the kingdom how to be better people- He taught them how to become more like Him.

Many people loved the Kind Man. They wanted to be just like Him. Sadly, there were many others who hated Him.

"Who does he think he is?!" they'd say.

"He's not our King! He can't tell us how to live our lives!!" These citizens decided that they needed to do something about the Kind Man.

The day soon came when they banished the Kind Man. 

"Leave us alone!" yelled one.

"We don't want you here!" shouted another.

The kind man was deeply saddened, and it was very painful for Him to leave, because He loved the people of the kingdom so very much. But off He went.

The kingdom didn't hear from the king's messengers for a very long time.

"He doesn't care about us," most people thought. "If He cared, He would have come to us by now, or at least sent His messengers to us."

After several years, a young boy came to the kingdom.

"The King is coming! Get ready for Him!" The boy exclaimed. More messages came after that.

"The King is on His way!"

"Prepare for the King's arrival!"

"The King is coming!"

And then one bright morning- 

"The King is coming TODAY!"

Everyone in the Kingdom was ecstatic! They were finally going to meet their King! They prepared a huge feqast. The town square was decorated for the festival they would throw to welcome Him.

"He's here! He's here!" Someone exclaimed. 

Who was He? What did He look like? What was He like? All the people gathered to greet their King.

Trumpets played, many knights lead the way, everyone clapped and cheered! And there, riding in on a horse in all His majesty, was the Kind Man, their King.

Their King had come, never to leave them again, to reign in love and service. And the people rejoiced.

The end <3

The One Where Paige is IN the Philippines - August 30, 2015

We made it!! I just got to Urdaneta on Wednesday :) my new comp is Sister Antenorcruz :) she's pretty chill. Anyway! We got to our apartments and GUESS WHO HAS A RUNNING SHOWER! It's me. And I thank the Lord every day. 

Anyway, the Philippines is still taking some getting used to. It's hotter and more humid than satan's armpit. It also gets dark at 6, which helps with the heat but helps less with the fact that I can't see anything and I walk in puddles a lot when I don't need to and I assume everything I step on is a squished frog or something. But it's not too hot at night and that's what matters :)

We've taught a few lessons this weekend, and there was a stake baptism on saturday :) pretty exciting stuff. I'm starting to get to know the members a little better, which is SO great. Also we have a new investigator named Bro. Vicente :) he's nice. I -think- he accepted the baptism invitation (??) I still have no idea what's going on most of the time in our lessons because Tagalog and also rain is loud and also I'm pretty sure I have old man hearing cause whenever someone's voice is too low I can't hear what they're saying :P Joy. 

Oh! And our second night in the Manila MTC Stromberg and I found 5 cockroaches in our room that were legit like 2 1/2 inches long. GROSS. But the animals here are cool for the most part. Not the bugs. Bugs are gross and mosquitos think I'm tasty and if I get sent home early with some weird disease, that's why. But there are geckos here! I love geckos!! And lots of frogs. Some of them go tikatikatika! and some go kwek! but my favorite ones are the ones that go buuuuuuuuong! It sounds like a cross between a cow's moo and a big, heavy metal pipe getting hit with a smaller, less heavy pipe.

I got to talk to some little kids at church yesterday which was fun :) NO idea what they were saying. But they were really cute :) they're helping me learn stuff. Haha the little boy I was talking to would say stuff but when I said, "Ano??" cause I either couldn't hear him or didn't catch what he was saying, he would just say, "...Ang ganda po ninyo." So cute! They call me Snow White (: ha!

My mission president and his wife are super cute :) and Sister Deyro is either a nurse or a doctor... at any rate, she'll be helpful in my quest, for when I get a weird disease as previously mentioned.

The traffic takes getting used to. It's not so bad in Urdaneta, but Manila was ridiculous. I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR CARS STILL LOOK BRAND NEW. Anywho, much like we need to trust in the Lord and have faith that He'll guide us to where we need to be, we need to have faith in the trike drivers that they won't let us get hit by a semi even though they cut right in front of the trucks and don't usually stop if they don't need to. But they know what they're doing (: Buses are nice. They're usually air conditioned... the ones I've been on at least. Speak of which! As we were getting off the bus yesterday I realized that Starry Night/Vincent was playing over the radio and my heart cried just a little bit because Doctor Who. But it also made me really, really happy :)

Anyway! Times up, I guess. Mahal ko kayo! 

-Sister Paige Laretta Burton