The 5th week (?) Nobody knows.‏

October 17, 2013

Maayong Hapon, my loved ones!

First off... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to so many! Happy birthday this week to Spencer, Next week to Laila bug, to Dad and Krista on the 28th and to Drew in a couple weeks! Yay for getting old!

What a week it's been. We finally got our flight plans! We fly out of SLC at 7:30 am on Monday morning going to Detroit!! (Gerber's country! woo hoo!) which means we get up around 1 or 2 in the morning..... All nighter? ;) Joke-lang. I'm PUMPED. The MTC has been awesome but I cannot wait to be in the Pines. From Detroit we fly all the way to Manila! We won't get there till 10:55 pm on October 22nd. 9:00ish am here in Utah time. Whew! A 19 hour flight.... What a rude awakening for a virgin flyer. :) I've heard rumors we'll stop in Tokyo to refill though... Wouldnt that be a treat! I'll see if I can send pictures.

I can only get mail up until Saturday at 2 pm so don't send anything after that or... I don't actually know what will happen... But it won't reach me :) I'll get you my new address asap! But just know that letters are estimated at around 6 week delivery and I haven't heard too many good things about Dear Elders being reliable, but try, and we'll see how it goes. I think I'll still have only an hour on Pdays in the Philippines to email, so if I don't get to everyone don't lose your testimony. 

Another funny language mishap from this week (with Sister Ribelin again :) ) She was teaching me the word of wisdom in a role play, and at the end, I'm still not sure what she was trying to say, but it ended up coming out, "Gusto ko ang lawas mo!" Which is basically... "I want your body." I've made a mental note to never say that sentence :)

Probably better that it happens here rather than the Pines! Ahaha. 

That package from you, mom (and Megan, and Cliff and Julie) couldn't have come a moment too soon! Those journals were a blessing! Wanna know why?

ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS came and did our Tuesday Devotional!! Pinaka Maayo!!! It was the MOST best. So good. And my other journal was already filled up... So when I opened that package right before we left for Devo, and it had those journals I was so happy. My first entry is Elder Oaks and his wife. It's the little things :) He talked about missionaries having the challenge to 1) Change, 2)To receive gifts of the Spirit and 3)to Become. So, so good. I wish these were available to everyone, but having them special for missionaries is so good too. He also talked about how ours is the True and Living gospel because we have 1) The Fullness of the Gospel 2) The Keys to the Priesthood and 3) A Unique testimony of Christ because of our knowledge of our relationship to Him. Ah. Spiritual bombing much?! Prophets and Apostles are truly the mouthpieces of the Lord. If you ever doubt that, then lean on my testimony, because the Lord strengthened what I already thought to be a sure testimony of Prophets and apostles of God. 

This week I had sort of a "clunk" moment in my brain. You know those moments where things just finally clunk into place and you're like, "Oh, duh. I should have gotten this sooner,"?

Well, I had one of those. We were talking in class with Sister Tamang, and I was sharing a thought I had earlier last Pday in the temple, which was that the Temple is all about missionary work, and since the Temple is one of our ulitmate goals here in this life, it follows that Missionary work is also one of our ultimate goals! Everything we do; missions, having families, TEMPLES, all leads back to our purpose as missionaries, (our purpose as children of God, really,) which is "to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel." When we build families, have children, go to the temple, we are bringing souls unto Christ through the gospel! Missionary work is everything. In some form or another, it takes center stage here in this life. It's simply not enough to have it. We get to share it with the world! This is the best part. What a wonderful time.

Adam, Spencer and Jared... I thought of you all as I read in Alma this week.... A funny text conversation seemed to come to my mind as I read Alma 52:29 and 36. Hopefully I don't get struck down because I laughed to myself.

Welp, I'm alive and well, and praying to be so again when I email ya'll probably sometime around next Monday. It'll be a long week and a half, but I appreciate and feel all your prayers. I hope you feel mine... You are in my prayers all day long. Keep telling me about your missionary experiences, I love it! Thanks for sharing, Adam. You are all examples to me and I think of you often doing this great work with me. 

One last thought: Sister Oaks told us in Devo when she spoke to remember that "[You missionaries] Go forth under the banner of the Lord. His angels go before you, His angels go behind you, and they are on your right and on your left." This was said to all of us set apart missionaries, but we are all working as member missionaries in the church to push forward this great work. What are we afraid of? Put your fears before the Lord and I promise He will replace them with courage. The angels are surrounding us! I love you all so much, and I am humbled and overwhelmed daily with the help and the family that the Lord has blessed me with. I bear testimony of the reality of Joseph Smith. This week we taught a few of our investigators the Restoration, we sang Praise to the Man in our Tuesday Devo, and i watched the Restoration movie on Sunday night. This week has provided many opportunities to help me grow my love for the Prophet. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this opportunity! Sometimes I honestly can't believe I am so blessed. I can't wait to tell you more about my adventures on my way to the Philippines, and what happens when I get there. The gospel is so true! My love goes with you.

XOXO

Sister Luke

1. I ran into elder Matua! I knew him in high school. Yay!

2. Loving our temple walk in the pouring rain! Just prepping us for the Pines :)

3. Sopping wet friends.

4. We made a trip to the outside world to go to the optometrist for Sister Haun.

5. This picture is for Carly... make sure to send it to her, mom :). Sister Char has the same lotion and perfume that Carly uses... i put it on in the morning and it makes me happy! Now our room always smells like carly. :) (That's a good thing..)

6. Just lovin it!

The 4th week!‏

October 10, 2013

Kamusta pamilya!

Crazy crazy week again. We got notice Tuesday night at 4 pm that we were moving BACK to Main Campus at noon the next day. Ahaha. So here I am, at Main Campus once again. We live in the same building, but different floor. We have a corner room, which means it's bigger than the one he had here before, so that's cool. It's been good practice to keep moving every 2 weeks we've been here... Now we're really good at packing :) Thank you to Cliff and Julie for the package, Megan for the amazing and beautiful calendar, Drew, and Megan for the packages!!! They are much appreciated! :) Thank for for the mail and support. My new address (sorry... AGAIN) is:

Sister Amy Luke

OCT 23 PHI-BAC

2011 N 900 E Unit 260

Provo, UT

 84602

So... Conference!! RIGHT?! So amazing. The Most amazing. Love. I love watching conference anyway,but watching it at the MTC with so many Sisters and Elders is inspiring. The Spirit really resides here, and hearing from so many amazing speakers and our beloved prophet was an experience I'll never forget. That Sunday night for Devotional they had Vocal Point come and perform and do a fireside! Wowza. Pretty much as close to a concert as you can get here. They were amazing to listen to... I really have missed music like that. Speaking of which, I just got back from Auditions to sing here at the MTC and they said they'd send me an invitation in the next few days to sing at a meeting they'll pick. So that's cool. 

Rumor has it that someone "big" is coming for Devo next Tuesday night... The Devotional is getting broadcast to all the MTC's Worldwide, so... I'll for sure keep you posted!

This week our whole branch left. It was sad... and sort of lonely. Those elders and sisters were for sure powerhouses. It was bittersweet to say goodbye! I'm so happy for them. That will be US in nearly 10 days! We are supposed to get our flight plans TODAY which is pretty much like your whole district's second mission call. We get to open them all together and I cannot wait :) We got our new intake of missionaries yesterday and I love them! 5 new districts. Wow. Good thing we're over here at Main Campus with them so we can show them the ropes!

I'm loving my experiences here. I can feel that I'm growing leaps and bounds. Can't wait to do more. The language is as good as it can be, although I know I'll be pretty much back to square one by the time I land in the Philippines but it's all good! Heavenly Father knows us. 

I loved that Conference was all about all kinds of missionary work. It's no longer enough to stand idly by and simply enjoy the gospel in our lives! It's our duty as members and missionaries alike to share the gospel in any and all ways that we can, and where the Spirit directs us to. I challenge anyone reading this to find a friend to invite to church. Invite others to Christ, everyone, everyone's lives can be improved by the gospel, it doesn't matter how happy their lives may already be. The gospel makes bad men good and good men better. Sorry, off my soapbox :) 

I also loved that the women were spoken to a lot, and that commandments and covenants were emphasized so much. We must stand tall in the gospel. As President Monson said, "Shall I falter, or shall I finish?" 

Okay, some conference highlights for me (although it's very impossible for me to pick a favorite talk. Don't even ask.) :

I loved that Sister Stephen's and Elder Christofferson's talks were about woman and womanhood. I loved how much Elder Christofferson addressed the moral influence of women, and gently urged us to step up in our callings. Step up our level of virtue and make sure we are sharing with others that strong moral influence we are blessed with.

President Eyring's talk... AMAZING. Just... Read it. "Man's laws cannot make moral that which the Lord's law has declared immoral.  .....Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God." You just can't cheat the commandments! They are there and they are solid and immovable. I love that.

Neil L. Anderson's talk on the Priesthood and blessings. Lovely stuff.

Terence M. Vinson said, "Give the Lord your heart." I love that! Give your heart to Him.. Our hearts will alwaysbe safe in the Master's hands.

Elder Nelson's talk was one of my faves. Each day is a day of decision. We are "never too young to learn, never too old to change." We are eternal beings, therefore, progressing eternally. Change is repentance... and repentance needs to be constant. "Freedom from self-slavery is the ultimate liberty.... Self-mastery: the strength to place reason over appetite." When we master our natural man tendencies and appetites within the bounds that the Lord has set, we can enjoy greater love... What a tender blessing! and my last favorite quote from him, "The Doctrine cannot be changed by man, just because it is legalized before God." The gospel is not ours to change... it is ours to maintain. I know that the gospel is the only thing here on earth that will bring enduring happiness.

I'm running out of time as usual but Elder Bednar's and Elder Holland's talks were amazing (0f course) "Though we be a broken vessel, we are a vessel in the hands of the Lord".

 President Uchtdorf, and Timothy J. Dyches had some really solid, awesome stuff in their talks. 

May we all carry on in the work of the Lord! I love being a missionary, I love you, and I pray for you every night. I invite you all to read Elder Ballard's talk and write me and tell me your thoughts. Tell me who you will reach out to by Christmas this year, and how you will do it! I love to hear about your missionary work. I love you so so much, Keep on keeping on!

Sister Luke

1. After our long walk in the brisk morning air back to Main Campus to watch General Conference! It was quite like the walk one makes down the stairs to open presents on Christmas Morning.

2. Distrito ko. The Bomb.

3. Our amazing temple walk and the beautiful fall day! God is amazing.

4. Saying goodbye to our French Canadian friend who speaks 5 Languages and is learning Mandarin! Wowzer

5. Goodbye to Elder Hosch and Elder Heimuli! Love these Elders.

6. Saying farewell to our smashing Sister Training Leader's, Sister Wolfe (short one) and Sister Sears.

7. Look who I ran into walking home from Devo!! So fun so see a familiar face! Love you, Ryan!

8. I'm pretty much a rebel. Even the signs say Sisters and Elders for the bathroom! I Love our titles. 

9. .....Surprise! We moved again! Got notice at about 4 o'clock on Tuesday that we were moving at 12 the next day back to main campus. So... Coming to you live back at main campus now!

No goodbyes sa Ilonggo! Week 3 (maybe. I lose track of time.)‏

October 3, 2013

Pamilya ko!

What a lovely week. Full of opportunities and awesome spirit. I just realized I left my notebook with my outline for my family email (yes, I make an outline...) at Main Campus. Darn it all. So this email will probably be even more scattered than normal. Oops.

First off, I met an Elder Luke last Pday! His dad is Gary Luke, I believe. So, that makes us second cousins, I guess? I dunno. But cool to see some fellow Luke blood serving the Lord :) 

Second, it was so fun to hear from so many of you this week! Probably inspired by my Relief Society broadcast cameo. What can I say? I have a face of fame. Joke-lang! But I was glad to hear mom brought her binoculars to see if she could find me in the choir :) It was such an amazing experience to be able to sing with so many of the Lord's dedicated and set apart missionaries. Such an amazing experience. I hugged the choir director afterwards, and then we got to hug the RELIEF SOCIETY GENERAL PRES. after. WOW. I hugged the first counselor, Sister Stephens, and she held my hands and looked at me and said, "I saw your face on the teleprompter, and your tears and your spirit made me weep. Thank you." So, that was an unforgettable experience. I walked off the stage and Brother Eggate, the MTC choir director saw me and said, "Are you Sister Luke?" I told him I was, but I didn't know how he knew me. Then he said, "They got this, like, 30 second shot of you right at the end, your eyes were all glossy and you could tell you were just feeling it.... Are your parents members?? There's no way they didn't see you!" Haha it was funny, and cool, but I'm trying not be embarrassed about everyone teasing me about crying in front of millions of people :) I finally found an accompanist to play for me for Auditions this next Thursday, so I'm hoping I get to sing at a Devo or something here at the MTC. 

Craziness is happening. There are only 7 of us in our district and the one elder, right? So our WHOLE branch is leaving except us this coming monday and tuesday, and wednesday we are getting 56 Cebuano speaking missionaries. The most crazy. Sister Vill and Sis Ribelin are our new awesome Sister Training Leaders. I know they are going to "smash it" in the words of Sis Vill :) Crazy that we're the "old ones" now. 

We had one of our first "language mishaps" this week. We were learning existentials in Ilonggo (for those of you who are unaware.... i.e "I have a book" or "Do you have a question?") Sister Ribelin was trying to ask if Sister Tamang had a husband, or was married, and wound up asking "Do you have sex?" ahahaha. The most awk. :) Apparently the word for marriage is synonymous with that word in Ilonggo, and in that context... Well, I suppose I will try to remember not to ask that question to the Filipinos I meet. :)

Subject line explained: We learned this week that in Ilonggo, there isn't really a word that is synonymous for "Goodbye". They say things like "Halong!" Which is "take care" or "Makita ay kita!" which is like "See you later". And I love that so much! As hard as it is sometimes to be our here and away from home and family, it's never really goodbye! Just sort of a "Take care, see you later!" type of a thing. Yeah? Yeah. I like it.

Okay, Mom, before I forget, I don't need any super glue, I found some at the creamery so we're okay there. But if you ever do send anything else, those "Twistable" crayons are golden here. They make really great scripture markers. Just a thought.... No worries :)

Alrighty, quick Ilonggo lesson. Pretty much the language is phonetic, once you know the vowels, so that's awesome. A is ah, E is eh, I is ee, O is a pure O sound, (not Oh... Don't give into the dipthong (sp?) there.) U is oo, and then there are the random ones, like Ty or Ts is the CH sound. They normally put the emphasis on the second to last syllable. I'm mostly saying this because Mom wants to know how to say things..... So.... Sorry that I'm boring. Kamusta, for example, is pronounced Kah-moo-st-uh! It's a greeting for "How are you?" Or like Hello. So. There you are.

I feel like I should have more to tell you but it's just been a regular week here at the MTC, and I don't have all my notes of the things I wanted to tell you... But I think I probably hit the important stuff. 

This week I studied up on the Apostasy for our investigator, Bipoy. It was pretty cool to read up on, I feel like my knowledge there was lacking. But the more your investigator understands the Apostasy, the more they understand the need for a restoration of the Gospel, not a reformation of the gospel. Pretty cool stuff, eh? Or maybe I'm just slow on the uptake and everybody knows this already. 

My district has started doing something new... Sort of like what we do at the dinner table for birthdays. Basically we pick one person, and we all go around and say what we like about whoever has been chosen, and what spiritual gifts we think they have. It was such a good way for us to think positively about each other and become even closer as a district. I'm so blessed to have these Sister and this Elder in my life. Lovin' it! 

Just remember that Heavenly Father always, always, always loves you. As do I. In Romans 8:31 and 37- 39, remember: "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? ...... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creatures, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."

That is my testimony. I love this work already, I love this gospel and I love my Lord. 

I cannot WAIT FOR CONFERENCE!! Whoo hoo! We get to spend all day at Main Campus, watching conference and eating. Basically all we ever do here is eat and sit and eat some more. Work out time is like platinum gold to my soul. I'm sorry I don't always have time to answer everyones emails and letters, but I appreciate them the MOST! Pday really is so darn busy, between laundry and emails and the temple, and then class in the evening. Thank you so much for all the support, I am overwhelmed daily by the Lord meeting my needs most often through all your letters and emails and Dear elders of encouragement! And thanks for dating your Dear Elders... :)

Kabalo ako nga propeta si Jopseh Smith, kag matuod kag kabuhi nga propeta si Thomas S. Monsen. Kabalo ako nga may kita sang matuod sang ebanghelyo ni Jesukristo, sang matuod sang doktrina ni Kristo. Palangga ko kami, pamilya!

Till next week, 

Sister Luke

P.S thanks for your package momma! And huge thanks to Carlisle for sending it... I got it monday... So I think the same day she sent it! You're the best. I've been coveting my Chocolate covered cinnamon bears. Love you all so much!

Elder Luke! Second cousins!

Matching Tags

We get to go to Jamba. Free the missionaries! 

Also, missionaries get half off, how nice is that??

My favorite sister, Sister Webber. She does Miranda with me.

My cute Kaupod left these stickies all over my bed (which she made for me while I was singing in the choir!) She's the bestest.

Sister McKee and I having a matching moment. Yes, this picture was taken in our classroom..... Yes, we have class an apartment in what used to be a bedroom. Make use of the resources you have, huh?

At the Conference center with Sister Ribelin and Sister Char

Beautiful (dark picture) of the temple after the RS broadcast

So excited for my package! Much love!

Maayong aga, pamilya ako! Week 2

September 26, 2013

Maayong aga! (Good morning!) 

This will probably be another throw up "wall of text" email, but okay-lang! (Add lang to any word... It's fun! It means just, or only. Ex: okay-lang! Just okay! Pronounced "long".)

First of all, big shout out to Charlotte Mae, for sending me hand drawn pictures AND words! "I love you, Amy" and a picture of a cupcake, I think. Or a temple. Either way, it was the best part of my day! Oh, also all the other awesome peeps in my life that have sent the MOST mail. You guys are the best. 

For those of you sending Dear Elders... Please date them! :) It only says the day they are printed, and sometimes they stop printing after a certain time of day, so let me know when you write it. Salamat! (Thank you! Say it like Salami... But without the i and with a soft "at" instead. :) )

Read Elder Hollands, "The First Great Commandment". Seriously. One of my favorite talks. If we love Him, we'll feed His sheep! Can't believe I'm lucky enough that I get to do that. 

So the big pieces of news from this week: We moved to West Campus (Mom, tell Stacy! I go to class in Raintree... I hope I get to see her!) and I get to sing in the Relief Society broadcast!! Woo hoo!

West Campus is great! The food is healthier there (relatively) and we get to go to Jamba Juice, Great Harvest, and the BYU Creamery and other places like that. A lot more freedom, but a lot of responsibility as well! We live in Wyview apartments and that is WEIRD because only a few months ago I was playing cards with the Mitch, Colton WIlliams, and Carly in the same apartments!

We sing Saturday, and basically we will spend all morning getting ready, and all afternoon in Salt Lake! Lucky us. Outside food! I'm so excited for the song choices... Make sure to watch the broadcast, not just for the choir, but the music will indeed be amazing... What an opportunity to get to literally sing with the Lord's angels. These sisters here are incredible! I love the MTC. Our directors are fabulous, and the MTC choir director, Brother Eggate (sp?), who is helping us prepare is really funny. Somehow it just makes me miss WJ Mads and DeHaan. Things can never be quite the same as that! But how blessed we are to have those memories and teachers!

The Lord is blessing me in so many ways. Even the little things! I get up at 6:15 and mostly feel pretty awake within the first 5 minutes of my morning. If any of you know me.... Miracles do indeed happen. Ahaha. But I don't mind even when I am tired, because it means I'm doing something! I love having such purpose in my life. The small things don't matter so much because this work is the most important thing I can be doing right now. We listened to Elder Holland's talk "For Such a Time As This" given in an MTC Devotional almost a year ago on Sunday, and he had so many good things. I loved especially that he pointed out that this is our real lives. We don't return from our mission to "real life". He pounded that pulpit as he said, "This is as real as your life is ever going to get." I loved that. Real people, real testimonies, real lives, and real souls! Isn't this work astounding? He also said, paraphrased, that we will do nothing more important than this work, nothing will surpass it. Marriage and family will match the importance, but there is nothing better that I can be doing. What a comforting thought.

At Devo on Tuesday night, we sang "Sing We Now at Part(ies)" and I thought of you, Mom and Dad :) I giggled a little bit. Hopefully I don't get struck down.

I want to share a small experience I had yesterday. We have class in Raintree apartments now, which have just been converted into classrooms. In one of the empty classrooms, I was studying PMG and I was looking at the painting in there. It's by Simon Dewey and it's of Christ visiting the Nephites (i believe, not sure though). I loved it because the light from Christ touched every figure in the painting, whether they were touching him, or standing behind him, or simply looking on. Every one of them had some degree of His light, although the brightest light fell upon those closest to Him, and as I considered the painting, I thought that we are the same way. Each of us is born with the Light of Christ, but some of us have developed it to a different degree than others. Many of us now have the Gift of the Holy Ghost, the opportunity to keep the Spirit with us at all times. We have the most Light from Christ when we are closest to him. I don't know if that makes sense, or is said in the most eloquent way, but it touched my heart. In order for us to feel the warmth and light of the Savior, His Spirit, most often, we must be as close to him as we can. 

I studied in Mosiah this week and found these scriptures on the Atonement as we were preparing a lesson for one of our investigators, Bipoy. In Mosiah 4:5, it says,  

4 Surely he has ^aborne our ^bgriefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 5 But he was ^awounded for our ^btransgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are ^chealed.

6 All we, like ^asheep, have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.

This brought to my mind the line from Les Mis, "I have bought your soul for God." Not much to say on this, but it's simply brought me comfort. Later in the chapter, verse 11:

He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall^abear their iniquities.

I will return home in March of 2015. Will I see the travail of my soul, and be satisfied? 

Last, verse 12:

.......he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made ^cintercession for the transgressors.

This one I loved because as I think of the Saviors sacrifice, this brings to my mind thatafter he had gone into Gethsemane to suffer and then found his apostles asleep, afterhe had been betrayed, after he had been beaten and scorned and spit upon and literally torn, the Savior was still the Savior. He healed the guards ear, he comforted the thieveswhile he was on the cross, he forgave those who crucified him, and he literally poured out everything in his soul unto death. He didn't just die for us, he suffered for us, he poured out his entire soul for us, and after he was empty, then he gave up his mortal body unto death, STILL, for us. I always knew about Christ's sacrifice, but as I read the accounts of the Crucifixion I felt Christ's personal love for me. He is there, and He listens and loves us, and I testify that He lives! He lives who once was dead! What a joyful gospel this is. 

I love this gospel, and I love the Savior. My testimony has already grown leaps and bounds! Sorry for the huge beast of an email again, but I love you and I hope you have a wonderful week! Your prayers are felt, and I pray for you every day.

can't wait to hear more about your lives and adventures.

XOXO

Sister Luke

P.S. My New Zealand sister, Sister Viliami always says, "That's a crack up!" and I love it. She is awesome :)

Sister Haun and I being Bootiful

(http://www.mirandasings.com/)

Language anyone?

Temple walks are the bomb

Kamusta ako Pamilya! Week 1‏

September 19, 2013

My dearest pamiliya kag friends! 

It is finally P-day! What a long week and a day to wait to tell you all about my wonderful adventures here. There isn't too much time and I am overwhelmed with the amount of mail I received from you awesome folks so bear with me as this email might be a throw up of words and disjointed stories and probably bad grammar. My apologies in advance. First of all... THANK YOU FOR THE MAIL! I love it! The first 3 days we were here there was something wrong with our mailbox and we didnt recieve any mail people sent... But eventually we got it all sorted out, and I've received a letter or Dear Elder every day. It's wonderful to hear your support for this Sister missionary. I'm going to try and answer everyone's questions, as you all tend to ask the same questions about how I am doing and how my kaupod is etc... So if you don't get a personal response back paagi sa (through) email, don't lose your testimony over it. I'll try to write you back asap through a letter. Don't apologize when your letters are all about your own lives... That's what I love to hear about and questions about me aren't so important. :) Mom, please post this email on my blog and send it out to family that doesn't get it... Obviously I don't have everyone's emails. So.

Okay! Well... lets start at the beginning. I got here and got my tag (BEST FEELING EVER!! I love wearing the missionary tag!) and got taken to my room and everything. Then we went to my classroom and our teacher, who I found out later to be Sister Tamang, started speaking gibberish to me. Oh, I mean, Hiligaynon. But it sounded just like gibberish. I probably stood there like a fool till I figured out she was asking my name. Which, for all you aspiring Ilonggo scholars is,"Ako si Sister Luke". :) That day was a blur. I met my awesome kaupod, Sister Haun. (Sister Luke (skywalker) and Sister Haun (solo). We think we're funny.) We went to a workshop that night where we watched missionaries teach investigators and we helped teach too. We met our district and the next few days are sort of a blur. We met our branch presidency and Sister training leaders and Zone leaders. Indulge me in a brief tangent: my zone leader I actually know from West Jordan! Not sure on the spelling of his name exactly, but Maclean Smith is my zone leader. :) He graduate a year after me. That was a fun coincidence. Everyone else in our zone is speaking Cebuano or Tagalog though. We're the only district speaking Ilonggo, so that's pretty cool. I have the BEST distrito ever. Sister Char (from Hawaii) and Sister McKee( from Texas), Sister Viliami (From New Zealand and Austraila... she's the bomb!) and Sister Ribelin (From Arizona), me and Sister Haun, and our poor, lonely solo Elder Young. He's a sweetie, and deals well with having to be District leader to a bunch of Sister missionaries. His two mga kaupod are speaking Cebuano, but he's with us most of the day during class etc.

Although the barbecue sauce in the MTC may look like ketchup and be in ketchup dispensers, it is not ketchup. Just saying.

The first few days were pretty overwhelming, but everyone's motto here is "Make it till Sunday" and now I see why they always say that. Because it's true. Sunday is a beautiful spiritual bombing, and you get to sing, and be a little less structured, have a lot of study time, and go to some awesome meetings. We get to watch talks at night and it's just a wonderful wonderful day. Maayo gid. (Very good.) Our district said from the beginning that they "Push you in the deep end" as soon as you get to the MTC and it's true. We taught our first lesson to our investigator Marionetto on FRIDAY after we got here. In HILIGAYNON. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure he probably has a weird understanding of the church, even after 5 lessons, but okay-lang. :) We're getting better at the language and it truly, truly is a miracle how much the gift of tongues is apparent here in the MTC. By no means do I know enough to go quite yet... But this is not an impossible task the Lord has set for me to accomplish. We talk a lot about love, and focusing on loving the people. My goal is to love the people more than fearing the language. I'm going to just open my mouth, and probably something wrong and embarrassing will come out, but such is how we learn! Can't wait to embarrass myself in the Philippines just as much as i embarrass myself here ;) my mission will allow me to become Sister Luke 2.0 version.

We gave Marionetto a Joseph Smith pamphlet in our lesson the other day, and as i handed it to him I thought of in the Best Two Years, when he hands him the pamphlet and goes, "I also know that Joseph Smith was a pamphlet...." hahaha and that's how it felt... I knew what I was trying to say, but I probably said something more along those lines :)

Mom, Bill Grogan's goat has been stuck in my head since yesterday. Thinking of you lovingly, but it's really annoying. :) The food here is pretty good, it's my goal to not have any treats in the cafeteria for breakfast, lunch or dinner the 6 weeks I'm here. My last Sunday I will have the BYU creamery ice cream but otherwise... no treats! So far Sister Haun and I have succeeded :)

DEAR ELDERS are the BOMB. If hand written letters are like platinum, Dear elders are next in line at pretty precious silver. I've only gotten 3 (thank you Drew and Claudia :) ) but they have been super awesome because they print same-day. If you don't have time to write, Dear Elder. Serious.  I'll respond to what's in letters in letters back to you! Woo hoo!

Big shout out to Aunt Julie and Uncle Cliff for the amazing cinnamon rolls. My distrito loves me :)

Mom, if you can find those mini tapes at staples or somewhere that would be great (if you havent already looked).

I'm loving this. I know it may sound bad but I'm slowly turning my attitude of how much more time I have to be on my mission, to how much more time i have on my mission. If that makes any sense. I knew I wanted to be out here, but I also knew it would be hard to leave... But I'm not homesick. I'm loving my missionary life already and I can't wait to get to those people of the Philippines and teach what we are blessed to have. I love working out here and personal study time.. Those are probably some of the best parts of my day. Also, weirdly enough, language study. It's hard but coming well, I think. I love feeling progression, and even though there are days when I hit the wall and my brain is fried, I love the language. I know it will be my vehicle to teach the truth sa mga tawo (to the people) and bring souls unto Christ. I'll give you a language tutorial later, Nanay. (Mom) :) 

In my personal study I've been studying in Matthew. I've read stories about the Savior before but never all the way through, and I LOVE it. Like, where has the REAL New Testament been all my life? I don't know how I functioned before I could study the scriptures for hours a day. I never get tired of it. It's weird... I mean, it's awesome, but I've never had such a love for the scriptures. I'm just revealing my own weaknesses here, but okay-lang (that's okay.) I was reading in Matthew 26 and thinking of the thought shared by Elder Bednar about how Christ always always always turns outward where the natural man would turn inward. Even after he has suffered in the garden and finds his disciples asleep and Judas betrays Him he still thinks of something as small as healing the guards ear that was cut off. After all HIS suffering and pain, he worried about the small physical pain of someone who was taking Him to his crucifixion. I loved the scripture in Matt 26:40 when Christ has returned to find his apostles asleep when he asked them to stay and watch with Him... And I think of Christ saying to me, instead of "... What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" saying, "What, could ye not Serve with me only 18 months?" I only have 17 months and 3 weeks to be a full time servant of the Lord, and only the rest of my life to be His instrument. Can we not "Watch with Him one hour"?

I love you all so much. Sorry for this beast of an email. Can't wait to hear more from you! My district is moving to the West Campus THIS TUESDAY, the 24th. I'll update my address accordingly... just keep sending them to mine till further notice. I'm sure they'll find me.

Keep on keeping on!

XOXOX

(FINALLY) Sister Luke

Her companion Sister Haun

Her district