Hello

My kambal Sis. Coons

Hello! This week felt super super long. It was super crazy, tons of ups and downs. Man I cried a lot this week :) one reason- my kambal (roommate) left this morning! Sis Coons is gone! We cried so hard when we said goodbye and had to keep reminding ourselves it wasn't goodbye just see you later. OH I'm going to MISS. HER! I'll save all my ramblings for my journal but man, it is crazy how close you become to people on the mission. It really hurt so so terribly to say goodbye :''''( I love her so much! 

Next, great news!! I'm not getting transferred and neither is Sis G!!! HALLELU!!!! when we walked out of our lesson with June I started to tear up thinking about leaving him :( I just CAN'T leave this place now! I am so glad I don't have to and get to go on 3 transfers here. This is my home! This area is my baby! I'm so lucky I get to stay and see everyone progress :) and sis g is still with me yay!! I love her and I'm super happy we get to still work together. 

Ok- another main source of my roller coaster emotions this week was the box. THE box. you know, the GIANT one you sent months and months ago? So the Gardeners drove it all the way here, it came with my Valentine's day one too. It is HUGE!! oh my gosh! I don't know what to tell you about it. First of all I will say thank you. It was really so nice and I can tell you put a lot of work and effort into it! thank you for including my companion! I loved all the notes you sent me. I really felt like there was no room to receive the love. Which brings me to the fact that there actually WAS no room to receive the love. I know you meant well with the whole thing but MAN is that a lot of stuff! So much el pato! so much everything! so much food! and its all so big! I was overwhelmed when I was opening it and felt so embarrassed almost. As soon as I would reach down I would pull it out and say we can give it to so and so. It was sooooo muchhhh! Thank goodness I am not getting transferred or I would really have no way to carry it all and would have to leave it behind for the next sisters and have them give it away. Thank you for all of your effort and love and thought into everything inside, but in the nicest way possible please don't send me another one ?:)  

After I opened everything we had to go out to work, as we were walking down our area and sat in our first lesson I started to cry. Everything all of the sudden looked so different, all of the sudden I noticed the bare feet and the poverty I just am used to. I held it in but cried again later that week. Even though it was just a big box of snacks and little things to us, it is not like that here. That's more food than these people see ever except for at the grocery store.  Please don't feel offended or bad for sending it, I don't mean this to offend you at all! Its just a very different place here and a very different form of life. 

It was fun this week because I've been giving everything out. All our kids have been eating American candy and real chocolate :) I loved how you included pictures of the temple! It was perfect, we gave them to 2 less active families that are going to be sealed later this year! The PAT (CTR) rings! Oh they are so good! We've been giving them out to our kids and they love it! We gave them to Jay Frank and Francia, our young recent converts and their faces lit up. It really meant the world to them! I'm giving the peanut butter and soup mixes to the Daco family, chocolate milk to everyone, and have just been like santa claus all week. I am going to bag up the powdered milk and give it to people who need it. I have really been enjoying snacking on all the stuff too though, thank you! Oh its been a long time since beans! Me and coons had this great idea to put beans, green chilies and elpato with cheese sauce in a lumpia wrapper and deep fry it. OH BABY that is GOOD!!! Everyone has been eating like queens in our house this past week :)


It was funny, when i pulled out the almonds I just gave them to sis g cause I don't like them that much and she screamed and was so happy. Apparently nuts are expensive here :) All week she's been treating them like gold haha :) Oh and thank you so much for the dress! It's beautiful!!! I love it so much! I wore it yesterday but I feel so fancy, maybe its just like a Sunday dress or something. I don't want people to judge me or I don't want to stand out too much.
But seriously, its SO cute thank you thank you thank you! I think my favorite part was the notes and cards! Oh and the v-day package! Thank you for sending chocolate for sis g! She loves it so much! I love it too! Thank you for all the valentines and love. It really was so nice to read them all and I felt so loved! In the future if you send another box (i am good for the rest of my mission probably) but maybe just the v-day sized box. That's good :)

OK moving on from that...this week we had a missionary fireside that we put on about home and visiting teaching. We combined wards so it was ward 1 and 2 so we could get more people to come. All 8 of us missionaries met in the morning and organized skits, we acted out the 3 main parts of getting an assignment, going to the visit, and reporting. It was way fun, we hammed it up for the crowd and it was quite funny. We had little signs we wore like "bishop" and "RS pres" and "less active". It was great to show them how to do it, we've got 0 HT/VT here. So ya, we got all ready, had our speakers called and everything, then when it was Saturday and time for the fireside, we walk in the chapel aaaand....ANDDD there was like 3 people. By the time the thing started some there was a total of 12. It was actually a good turn out besides the fact that 1/2 of the 12 were speakers were the bishop or had some other part in the program. Perks of working in a nation thats relatively new to the gospel. It's hard to get things rolling sometimes.

The talks were about how we need to all come together to rescue the one and stuff, its just kinda hard when out of 2 wards you've got 12. It's ok, I can just imagine in 50 years there will be 100% home teaching and there will be enough people for them to have companions and they will all report the needs and the people will get help. The name of our skit was vt/ht in the celestial ward for a reason :) It's like trying to build a 200 piece puzzle with only 12 pieces. Someday it will be awesome. I can't wait for the Naga city temple- its gonna happen!! maybe in a loooong loooong time but as long as things slowly keep progressing! I was just so grateful for all of our wonderful home teachers we've had and for mom and dad for being an example of how to home and visit teach. Your example really means a lot, especially when now I'm one of the ones who has to explain how to do it :) thank goodness I know!

I should apologize for last week's letter. Its interesting how my writing and what I include and what I don't is always evolving. As I grow on the mission and as time goes by the things I mention do too. Thanks for being patient and sticking with me here as I keep evolving and relearning how to write.

This week I've felt especially that God has a plan for every one of us. I know that is like the simplest sentence ever and it sounds cliche almost, but it is TRUE!! None of his children are lost to him and he really knows every single one of us inside and out. When we reach out for him he will always be there. It isn't on our timing though, but the Lord's. We can't quit or get frustrated or feel like He doesn't know us. His arms are extended all the day long. He has no other goal or purpose than our eternal happiness. That means we've got to go through tough stuff and all that icky trial stuff, but its to test our faith and see if we really will obey all the things the Lord commands. In the good times and when its hard to obey.  There is a purpose to everything, God is trying to lead us to higher ground. 

For some circumstances that I can't explain all the details of, its been harder than ever to fight Satan's thoughts he puts in my mind that I'm inadequate, I can't do it, I'm not a good missionary blah blah the same old same old. Its especially hard when it's not just thoughts but actual people saying drifts of that stuff. There's been a lot of opportunity for me to eat what I preach this week in regards of loving your enemies and doing good to those who hate you. #wardprobs but its ok! I'm good! I am becoming stronger because of it. I really truly am happy and know that I am trying my best. whenever I start to lose sight of who I am or when I feel worthless all over again I know where to turn and I know what to do. I am getting sharper at identifying things as Satan's stupid little tactics. I feel like so dramatic, its like I have this imaginary rubber stamp that says "SATAN" and all day I'm just stamping thoughts and everything that is not good with Satan. haha :) I just feel like as I get better at fighting him off he gets smarter too. It's exhausting! I've felt the testimony of my divine nature grow this week. I am not a bad missionary, i CAN do this, heck I AM doing this! don't worry about me I am just fine. I got this :) again, thanks for enduring my letters as I grow and try and figure out how to summarize my week each Monday.

alright. I'm gonna go now! Thank you again SO much for the prayers and the letters and all the nice things you sent! You really are the best family in the whole world. We are the luckiest and most fortunate people ever. We are blessed in every aspect, there is so much that we can't even take it all in. I love you so so much mom and dad, I printed your vday hiking picture and put it up on my wall. my wall is evolving too, all thats there is you guys, the one polaroid of me and mom, and scriptures. Anyways, I love you and every day am in awe at what a wonderful and lucky place I've landed in in your family. I miss you and love you more than I can say! thank you so much for everything!

Love, sis mcgrath

PS also thank you aunt Angi for the bag! its gorgeous! it looks handmade, did you sew it? MAN that is skill if you did! its such a cute color and its perfect! thank you!

PPS ok, the toilet paper. I don't know if I've ever mentioned that we HAVE tp here. I've been using it the whole time. My ppinas cracked up when they saw it, its a little culturally insensitive I think when they hear that Americans think they have no toilet paper and toothpaste and stuff like that. Don't worry, they weren't really offended :) but man is that stuff soft! dang! and the roll is so big! We've been using the same one forever! Everything really is bigger in America. ok thats all, moral of the story: don't send any more tp :) thank you!