In Full Swing

Written 6/8/14

Hey guys!

Summer thinks it can still be in full swing here. It feels like we're the little pieces of rice and the Philippines is a huge rice cooker. But the work is also in full swing, so I definitely can't complain :)

Last Tuesday morning Sister Oquias and I are outside washing our clothes and she just turns to me and asked,"What's pickles?" I was initially confused, and tried to explain a pickle. She interrupts me and just says, "Because that's what you were saying last night. Pickles, pickles, pickles." Ahahaha. So I obviously dream big.

Also, Sister and I went on a long, exhausting hunt for a plunger on Saturday. (I won't tell you why.) We had no plunger in our apartment, and neither did our lovely neighbors. And the church was locked. So we walked to the Barrido to buy one and had to walk all the way back to our apartment on the busy highway holding a plunger. I tried to walk with my head held high, but it turns out there is some shame in holding a toilet plunger while walking back to your apartment. It's experiences likes these that keep me and Sister Oquias laughing, and remembering to not take ourselves too seriously :)

My life as a missionary rocks. Picture this: I get to read my scriptures every morning, go visit my best friends all day, telling them the happiest news ever and then sometimes I even get fed delicious food- doing this all while getting to know my Father in Heaven better, getting to have meetings with my amazing and smart mission president, talk to my family on Mondays, and spending all my time with my Filipina other half, laughing all day. Seriously, this is the life. And Sister Oquias is the best.

VJ got baptized on Saturday. And it was raining so hard that you couldn't even hear what the speakers were saying, but luckily the Spirit was felt in abundance :) I love this boy. He's never missed a Sunday ever since the first week we taught him, and he's never drunk another glass of coffee since we taught him word of wisdom. Sister and I are playing matchmaker with him and April May. :)

The lesson I learned this week: Love is corrective.

This is something one of my recent converts from my first area always says. This week I've seen how much it's true, especially in pertaining to the relationship between parents and children. So much of the time here we (Sister Oquias and I) hear parents tell us their 15 year old dropped out of school just because he wanted to, or that their 7 year old didn't come to church because she went swimming instead. They act as if they have no power to direct their young children's lives. I guess the point that I realized was that if we really love those around us (especially those under our "jurisdiction") we will help them on the road that we know leads to happiness. Parents, of course, have a level of influence over their children. And often children don't realize what is the best for them- thus the responsibility to correct and help falls to the parents. Our heavenly relationship with our father is not too different. Whom the Lord loves He chastens and corrects, because of His perfect love for us. I guess all in all, after having the chance to see so many different homes- some centered in the gospel, some far from it, and some in between- I've seen sharply the contrast of them all. My testimony and gratitude for growing up in a Christ centered home has been strengthened.

Anyway. I just reread that and it makes little sense... Sorry for the rambling. This week I hit my 9 month mark. (Not real.) Next week we have Zone Conference at the mission home so I'll be emailing a couple hours earlier, around 8 am our time here.

I'm happy and safe and loving life! Hope you all are too.

We'll be back after these messages.

Sister Luke

1. VJ's baptism

2. This one is for Grandpa Mackay :)

3. Channeling my father's innate fix-it ability