its marsh everybody!!

Yep, thats the way you say it here. Marsh! Time is a flyin' by! 

So as you know I'm not transferred but still here in Goa! I'm so glad, I can't leave my baby just quite yet. We have new kabahay! Sister C! She's so cute! She's from Cebu and is super super short (which puts me as the giraffe in the apartment with responsibility to reach the top shelves). Our house is super happy! I'm with all ppinas now and its so fun. Last night we played the cup game song and sang it to all the 3/4 hymns we could think of (ok that might sound lame compared to the whole world of entertainment you have, but to us it was like the funnest thing ever!) Being a minority rocks! 

   So it's summer time now, and its HOT HOT HOT!! man is it hot. umbrellas and water everyday and I feel like I'm cooking when i go out. Welcome to eternal sweat stains and necessary electric fans :) Seriously I would choke and die without that thing. On the positive side, my clothes can dry in one day on the clothes line cooking out there! 

   This week we went to find a referral and asked our investigator who directed us to this person--ok wait, the point is that we met the relief society president from Legaspi and her husband! They were staying in this boarding house for a week. Our investigator told us that they are Mormons and introduced us. it was so funny when she walked out, it was seriously like the ppino Grammy! She had this cardigan and rectangle glasses and pj pants and was super skinny and came out saying "oooh sistersss!! sisters!!"  Her husband came out, went back in, then came back out with garments sticking out of his bball jersey :) She's  been the RS president for 18 years!!! That's like, almost as long as I've been alive! Anyways we chatted with her and she told our investigator how wonderful the church was. Too bad she went back home she was so nice and would be a great member present :)

   The other night as I was writing in my journal I was shocked at all the stuff is thrown at us everyday, things that if I was told to handle like a year ago would freak me out! This one lady we taught doesn't feel like God is there or cares or even hears her prayers, some guy wants to know our belief on ghost and spirits (turns out he's like a witch healer guy and we should probably drop him), and another is married to a muslim man who forbids her from going to church and praying even though she wants to. Another is a single mom working at a tindahan to pay for her only son's school, I could go on and on about all the people we talk to and the problems they have. It's so cool though how as missionaries we can handle all of these problems, not solve them, but help people work it out because of the gospel. Seriously every problem becomes way easier with the gospel! I love helping people. Every day I feel like I'm hardly making any difference because all we do is tiny tiny things like invite someone to read the scriptures, or tell them some comforting words, or whatever it may be. Satan that jerk tries to tell us we aren't making any difference, but I know that we are. slowly and slowly we are changing the world! It's really not a whole lot of 180 degree crazy changes, but small improvements. But thats ok! I know that small acts of obedience eventually add up to salvation. 

  What else what else, life's the same, I still feel like a zoo animal everyday when I walk outside with all the eyes and calls and everything. (My perspective has totally changed on zoos, I never want to go to one and just stare at the animals, I mean, they are TIRED of it!! they don't want us there! they're probably real annoyed.  Everyone, lets go on strike! No more zoos! Just let the animals do their thing and don't stare at them! Wow I sound like I really care about animals now...I've gotta stop)

  Oh hey, so our new district leader is one of the elders who used to be in my area before me and Sis S. opened it. which is sort of..........well........lets just say I feel like he is like the true mother who birthed the baby (Goa) and then he put it up for adoption and abandoned it, and I was the lucky one who adopted the baby, and raised it and cried for it and loved it so bad, THEN the real mama comes back and wants to claim the baby and give advice and tell me how to raise my child. Hehe, NO THANK YOU :) patience patience, learning lots of patience. 

   We had a baptism of Sister Belle saturday! yay!! I've been teaching her since I came here and it was so cool to see her baptized finally! She's so cute I'm so happy for her and her decision :) 

   Ok one more thing! So I'm reading the Daughters of My Kingdom book (relief society is the coolest thing ever!) and I read this awesome thing by President Kimball. He says "I stress...the deep need each woman has to study the scriptures. We want our homes to be blessed with scripture scriptorians- whether you are single or married, young or old. Widowed or living in a family, regardless of your particular circumstances as you become more and more familiar with the truths of the scriptures, you will be MORE EFFECTIVE in keeping the 2nd great commandment, to love your neighbors as yourself. Become scholars of the scriptures- not to put others down but to lift them up! After all, who has any greater need to treasure up the truths of the gospel (on which they may call in their moment of need) than do women and mothers who do so much nurturing and teaching?" Isn't that awesome! I love the scriptures not just because they help me but because I love finding ones that can help others. Every scripture study we have can help so many people! I know when I read my scriptures now its not just for me but for my investigators and eventually my future family. I'm so so blessed to have the scriptures! They are like gold to me, 8 oclock is my favorite time because I can just READ. love love love it. 

 Alright, thats a wrap for this week! Also- happy birthday to my little sister Kate Eliza! I know that she and I are in sort of the same boat right now, far away from home and doing some great missionary work. I know she misses us just as much as we miss her, but its all ok because of the blessings of eternal families! I know that our family will be together forever! How can anyone live without the blessings of a temple marriage? What would be the point in even living? I'm so grateful mom and dad that you were married in the temple. I know I wont settle for anything less! Happy birthday Kate Eliza, our other sister missionary!

 I love you all so so so SOO much family! thank you for everything and your prayers and love. we are so so sooooooooo blessed we cant even understand!

LOVE sister mcgrath