Hey there!

Ok so about my week! Highlight was definitely General Conference!! AH i loved it! I will start from Monday though. We had FHE with two families, it was really fun. I gave the lesson- the same one at my baptism with the hard boiled egg you color on and then peel because you're baptized and pure and all.  My Taglog translated into English was "this egg like you. the color like sin. when repent you and baptized you, become clean!!"  HA oh its so bad :''''D oh well.

 One super amazing lady named Sister Beth is our recent convert. She's the one with the rat and the kids, you know the one. She is so crazy strong, probably the strongest person I've ever met! Everyday she walks and walks and walks to find her kids food. She walks to Daet which is really far, we take a jeep for like 10 mins to get there. They are so so poor and her kids are always hungry. We went to teach her and asked her how her prayers were going and she just broke down and cried because she was never expecting all the blessings in her life after she joined the church.  Some lady gave her a bunch of jars of peanut butter to sell that she can make 10 pesos off of each and she cried because she said no one has ever trusted her with something like that before. She is so strong, even when the Relief Society members of the ward offended her at an activity because they didn't share their rice (GAHWSHHIERJFJEJ!!! SO MAD) she still comes (walks) every Sunday to church and she's just amazing.

Ain't it purdy?

 A cool verse i found was Alma 37:44-45.  "For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.  

And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise."  Eternal bliss is as easy as following a compass. Really!  It's so easy and the way is so clear to have eternal life and eternal happiness, all we have to do is follow. We just cant get lazy because its so easy. We still need to take the little things seriously because they determine our final destination. Even if your off a few degrees you can end up somewhere completely different like our good friend Deiter told us a while ago. 

Another investigator story- so we are teaching this kid John.  Our recent convert Rocky sort of took him in. Rocky's brother in law found him selling brooms in Daet.  He doesn't know who his parents are because he grew up with his grandparents only.  They passed away and now he's an orphan. He's 14 years old and kinda shy. He has the most beautiful smile, really. We taught him lesson one and he's super cool and smart.  We asked him what his expectations were for our visits and he said quietly that he wants to change his life. He wants to change and be happy. AWHWHWHWHH I almost cried for this poor sweet kid! It hurts!

These are 2 kids who are getting baptized next week- they are so cute! they are the ones that teach me tagalog words :) On the chalkboard it means "sister mcgrath is really really white" haaa thanks kim :)

Kim again reminding me of my skin color

 So general conference! I only got to hear 23 talks out of idk how many because of bad connection. I cant wait for the Liahona magazine to come out so I can really read and study the messages. On Saturday it was missionaries only in the chapel haha. Then Sunday was CRAZY! Mercedes ward hired 3 jeeps so people could come for free to Daet. it was so crazy packed but we had a lot of investigators come! We left at 9 though, and it started at 9, then we got there and it was all full so we put our investigators in the Tagalog room and went back to the packed chapel to watch it in English sitting on the stage in the back.  I tried really hard to listen but there was so much going on. We ate rice in a room afterwards and then the afternoon sesh was back to just missionaries. 

Ah. So talks I loved: Jorj Klebingat! (link) His was awesome!  I loved how simple and matter of fact he was about his bullet points. I am really going to try to become really really good at repenting and forgiving :)

Magaaaanda!

Then- ELDER HOLLAND. (link)  Oh my goodness it was like he was reading my soul! I felt everything he said in his talk so personally! Ugh I was crying in it because it's one thing to think about poor people when you can't really see them and another thing entirely when you are sitting next to them and teach in their "homes" and can see first hand how hard their lives are. Oh my goodness. It is so true, there is so soooo much poverty. I feel almost daily, what can I even do, I'm just one person. I know I can't solve their problems, or even help them very much. I loved the quote from mother Teresa about the drop in the ocean. "What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean, but if we didn’t do it, the ocean would be one drop less."  I felt so strongly that, not just now, but after my mission and for my whole life I need to give so much of what I have away.  And serve in every possible way.  Just this week 3 of our investigators came to us asking for help and for money. It is so hard to tell them that we can't help :'(  I just want them all to receive the gospel because it is the most important and best thing they can have in this life, and its free! For everyone! Anyways I loved that talk and can't wait to read it again.

Then President Monson! (link) I loved his of course! I liked how he talked about walking the path that Jesus walked, and that it means through the good and the bad. A lot of times we think it means just being kind and nice and you know, like Jesus. But he suffered so much and went through so many other things other than just being nice. In our lives we have to walk the whole path that he did, not just when its easy or convenient.

And finally this morning! So we went to the beach for a district activity! we left at 6:30 and took a boat to an island, then a long tricey ride to the beach area, then walked on it for forever. I was in jeans (oh my goodness it has been soo long and it felt so weird! like, something was touching every surface area of my leg with every step! I forgot how to walk! agh!) but I got the super soaked. :P   We played "games" like signs and tag and stuff, ate some chips, kinda chilled, then walked back. The crooks of my arms are sunburned and that's all. What the heck? Anyways most of my pics this week come from da beach :) enjoy!

What else- oh ya I gut fish with my bare hands. #barbaian

I don't know what else to tell you, there is so much more I wish I could say but not enough time to go into all the details. I want to tell you about all of our investigators and people but I just can't :( Oh well I'm keeping a really good journal. Partly because its kinda lonely, and when I write in there its like I'm talking to someone who knows me. Because it's me. How lame am I?  Really though, I rely on prayer more than I have ever before out here. It's kinda just me and Heavenly Father out here, he's the only one who can understand me (my language and my heart) and I need to talk to him all the time. I pour out my heart at night and I know he is listening. I'm so grateful for prayer.  Even though I feel really alone, I know I'm not.  I'm doing ok though don't worry. This is just super hard but I can do it! 

Love Sister McGrath

It is really raining SO hard but in this picture you can't tell. Dumb. It was really crazy rain I swear.