It Finally Happened!

Dear Family and Friends,

Yes. It finally happened. I ate balut this week (McKelle did not send any pictures this week. I though maybe I'd search the web for a picture of balut and post it here, but I'll just link the wiki article, just in case you don't want to be grossed out) Balut

I also ate chicken balls. So let's just say that this was an interesting week in terms of food. Neither of them actually tasted terribly bad, but when you know what you're eating, and you have to look at it while you're eating it, then it's disgusting. So that was fun :)

On the plus side, I'm learning how to make some tasty foods! I learned how to make mango float, lumpias and munchkins. Mango float is crushed mangoes with graham crackers and sweet and condensed milk/cream. You layer it all, and then freeze it. Yum. Lumpias are kind of like egg rolls. You mix hamburgers with some vegetables and seasoning, wrap it in a lumpia wrapper, and fry it. Delicious. Munchkins are a kind of no bake cookie. You crush graham crackers until they are crumbs and then mix sweet and condensed milk in it. Then you take a spoonful and wrap it around a chocolate or marshmallow. And then you freeze them. So good. Hopefully I'll learn some more before I get home, but let's have a Filipino Food Feast when I get home ok? Everyone's invited.

We had Sister Training Leader exchanges again this week. Let's just say that they were a lot better than last time! Last time, it was my first week out in the field, and boy was I nervous! But this time was a lot better. I was able to lead the harder part of my area, and they said that my Tagalog is getting a lot better. Yay! I definitely learned a lot from my companion, Sister Pacinio. She's awesome! She's from Bacolod. It was great.

Our work is progressing! We had a really great lesson with one of our investigators today. She lives with one of our less-active families, and she seems great! We're really hopeful that she will progress towards the baptismal date that we extended to her. Lots of our less-actives are still progressing! I love all of the families that we are teaching here, they are amazing!

Cool story for the week. Tyler Haws. Basketball player for BYU. Apparently he served his mission here, because I met one of his investigators the other day. She's part of one our families that we visit, and she's awesome. But she showed us pictures of her and Tyler Haws on her baptismal day! He's the one that baptized her. How cool is that??

What else... Our ward mission leader is great! At one of our meetings this week, he laid out his whole plan for our ward. It's only for the next few months, but it seems great. We are way excited for this work to progress in our ward. We're thinking that it's really going to start picking up here. I think our ward here will really start getting excited about missionary work. Yay!!!

Anyway, things are going good here!! For anyone who needs a good scripture to lift up their day, go read Alma 26:27 

Now, when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. 

and Alma 17:11 

And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.

Such good scriptures! Lots of challenges and problems are coming in this life, but we just have to have faith that the Lord will support us in all that we do. He really does love us. I can testify to that. I love you all!!!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

Looks like I'm staying here for good!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been pretty good! We had some pretty good things happen this week. 

First, we had Zone Conferences this week. Basically, our whole zone got together with another zone, and we had a bunch of workshops with our zone leaders, APs and our mission president and his wife. It was awesome! Our zone performed a musical number, "Did You Think to Pray?", and it actually went pretty well! It was a little outbalanced with only four Sisters and about 20 Elders, but we sounded pretty good! We had a lot of really great talks, too. Our mission President, holy moly. It is amazing how much he knows about the scriptures and about the gospel. I'm sad that he's leaving in July, but I'm definitely going to try to learn as much as I can from him about the gospel. And Sister Sperry, his wife, is so great! She is definitely like the mom of our entire mission, and she's amazing! I will definitely miss them both when they leave.

So it looks like I might be staying here for good. Let me tell you a funny story. This week, we had MTC exchanges. The language training missionaries that are two weeks away from leaving come out into the field and we go on splits with them. Last time, I went with my trainer and just one Sister from the MTC. That's because there were only two Sisters from the MTC. This time, there were supposed to be 8. Only 7 came, but I still had to go out with an MTC Sister by myself. What?? Senior companion already? I was so nervous! But it actually turned out ok! My companion was Sister Sefeti from Fiji. She was super nice, and I was lucky to go out with her. Anyway, we had a lot of fun. At one point, we were OYMing this man. He's from Iglesia ni Cristo, and we were talking to him about the Bible a bit. Eventually, he asked me how much I liked the Philippines. Of course, I answered saying that I really liked the Philippines. So he grabbed my hand and said, waving his son over "Gusto nyo mag-asaw dito?" He basically asked if I wanted to get married to a Filipino. Gah! I was a little shocked, but he was laughing while he said it, so we knew he was joking. The son also seemed a bit weirded out, so I doubt the wedding would have worked out anyways.

So last week I said I was going to be a vegetarian. Ok, I was kidding. But I have eaten lots of vegetables this week! Be proud. I've decided that I'm an ok cook. By the time I come home, I'll probably be really creative with my food. But it's fun! I like cooking =]

On Friday this week, we threw a birthday party for one of my kabahays! it was way fun! Her birthday was actually just yesterday, the 19th, but we had to do it early because we didn't have much time to celebrate yesterday. Her favorite colors are pink and purple, so we decked our house out in decorations. Sister Collins and I came home and decorated before the other two got home, and we surprised her. We also got cake and pizza, and we had a little party. It was lots of fun!

Another story about little kids. We were in one of our areas on Friday, and Sister Collins was talking to a guy on the street. So she sat down on one side, and I was on the other side of him, and as soon as I sat down, about 20 kids or so just surrounded me. (We were across the street from a basketball court where they had all been playing.) It was cool though because I could understand pretty much all of what they said! And then they were telling me to ask them questions in English, that was so funny! They could understand a lot, but not all. It was super fun =] I love little kids!

Let's see. The work is still going well! We had a bit of a rough Sunday with church attendance this week, but we're going to work hard this week to bring everyone to church next Sunday! Hopefully our 25 person OYM goal will be achieved this week. We didn't quite make it last week, but we're hopeful for this week! It's scary going out there to just talk to random strangers, but I need the practice, so here we go! That language is going well! it was good to go out with the MTC Sister this week. I've realized how much I've grown from when I first came out of the MTC. Obviously, I still have a ton of work to do, but I've definitely improved a lot. I'm excited for what will come in the coming months.

I love you all! Keep up the missionary work! It's so worth it! I expect our Walla Walla ward at home to be huge when I get back!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

I think I've adopted a little girl ;)

Dear Family and Friends,

Hi! Kumusta? This letter will probably be all over the place... Sorry!

First of all, yes, I have adopted this little girl. Just kidding. But she is seriously the cutest little girl I have ever met in my entire life. She belongs to one of the members in our ward, and she's awesome! We were invited to her birthday party last week (she just turned 1), and the whole time that we were there, she kept on walking over to me and playing with me. Of course, I couldn't hold her, so she would just walk over and grab my leg until I sat down and played with her. Then she would walk somewhere else, but everytime she saw me, she got the biggest smile on her face! And then this week, we went over to their house to see if the Brother could work with us, and she was there. Again, she got the hugest smile on her face when she saw me! Don't be surprised if I bring her home with me...

(McKelle's mom here - I asked her about holding children. I didn't realize that it was against the rules and I'm not sure if it applies in every mission, but in her mission, they are asked not to. Keeps the missionaries safe from any accusations I suppose. Sad that it has to be a rule, especially for someone who loves children as much as Sister Wilwand does, but she is super obedient!)

So anyway, this week was pretty good!! We had lots of less-actives come to church again this Sunday, including a few families that we have been working with forever!! It was so cool to see them there. We even had a couple of investigators come to church, so now we're just going to keep teaching them, and make sure that they are keeping their other commitments! 

We also have a zone goal to OYM (open your mouth) to at least 25 people a week. Whew. Let's just say that that is going to take quite a bit of work, but we are up to the challenge! I'm hoping that doing that will help me to develop my language skills quite a bit. So I'll let you know how that goes later!

The people here are awesome. A lady on the street stopped me the other day, wanting to know what my name was. I told her, then immediately her next question was, "Do you have a boyfriend?" Oh brother... It took me a good few minutes to finally convince that I did not in fact have a boyfriend, and that I was a missionary. My companion and I could not help but laugh at that.

We finally went running this week! My kabahays have agreed to go jogging every morning with me, so I'm way excited! We're starting out slow, and only running for a little while, but by the end of this transfer, we are all going to be nice and fit for sure! And I've also decided to be a vegetarian... Well maybe not, but we're definitely going to be eating lots more fruits and vegetables around our house now. Speaking of which, Mom (or anyone else), do you have any good recipes? I'm having trouble thinking of things to make for dinner. We have very simple ingredients here. Noodles, bread, meat, some vegetables. So if you can think of anything, that'd be great =]

I finally figured out how to have ice cream! Sort of... We just freeze chocolate milk... It doesn't taste exactly the same, and it's sort of icy instead of creamy, but we do what we can here. Also, thank you for the chocolate orange in my package! It definitely reminded me of home, and it was gone in just a couple of days =]

I got to see my district from the MTC this week! We had our last follow-up training, and it was awesome to see them! Sister Clark and I talked about the entire time, and one of the Elders remarked that we were definitely still companions. Maybe that's true, but it was good to see all of them. Now, the only time I'll see them is if they are in my district or zone. But that's ok! They are all going to be great missionaries!

Sister Wilwand and Sister Clark, together again. MTC companions, friends forever. 

Sister Wilwand and her MTC District 

Sister Wilwand and her MTC batch - together for one last training.

I think that's about it for this week! I know that this church is true, and I'm very grateful for the gospel in my life. I really don't know what I would do without it... I love you all! Have a fantastic week!!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

 Sunrise over Manila

The Manila Temple

The Work is Progressing!

Dear Family and Friends,

First of all, sorry! We've had P-day on Wednesday for the past few weeks, but next week it's back to Monday!

This week has been so great! Seriously, probably the best week so far as our works goes. Let me tell you a few stories:

We have this family whom I love dearly. They are less-active at the moment, and they've been kind of in and out of the church a lot recently. They've had some family problems, work problems, and lots of other kinds of problems. We've been working with them for more than 6 weeks or so. We've worked with them since I've been here, and the companionships before us worked with them as well. On Sunday, since it's the New Year, our meeting time changed from 9 to 1. Well, we got a text from this family wondering when church was. Of course, we were so excited! Come to find out, we didn't have any load on our phone to text them back. I was freaking out just a little bit, but were just prayed really hard that they would either text someone else, or that their one active son would figure out what time church was. So when we got to church, they were there!!! Woo! During sacrament meeting, the Mom even got up to bear her testimony. Oh my goodness. I was so excited, I probably almost had a heart attack. So on Monday, we had an AMAZING lesson with them about eternal marriage. I was crying, my companion was crying, and the mom was crying as she told us about how she wanted her family to be sealed. It was the coolest thing ever. I have so much hope for this family, I almost can't hold it in. They are so awesome.

Next, we had lots and lots of less-actives come to church on Sunday! One was a girl that we teach with her sister. She is married with a little boy. Cutest little boy! When we taught her last week, she shared her testimony with us about how she knew that the Second Coming was close, and how she knew that the church was true. And then she came to church on Sunday! Ah!! I was way excited for her too. She's so great, and I hope that she will continue to build her testimony!

We had an awesome zone training this week! Our zone leaders are probably two of the coolest missionaries I've ever met. They have some awesome insights about the gospel, and I love it! We also got to go to the temple this week! In the Philippines, there is a temple in Manila and a temple in Cebu, so I'm lucky enough to be in a mission close enough to be able to go. I absolutely love the temple! It is the most amazing place in this entire world. Mom and Dad, I'm glad that you decided to make it more of a priority. It definitely should be!

(This was not this week's Zone Conference, but their Christmas Zone Conference.)

We did get a new Sister in our apartment this week! Her name is Sister Bonaylo, and she is so great! She's from the Philippines, and she's awesome! She's super sweet, and she has an amazing testimony. She loves to talk and tell us stories, so she makes our house really fun! We all get along super well,  so our house is way fun! I'm excited for this transfer!

For my family, thank you for everything that you guys do for me! Thank you for being my family. You all are amazing! Being here has made me appreciate all of you especially. I'm glad that we are sealed together in the temple. I know I don't have to worry about any of you while I'm out here. But thank you for being the family that you are! I love you all!!

Just a little thought for the week. We had zone training this week, and something that one of our zone leaders said to us really stuck with me. He said, "This Gospel is not for perfect people..." Simple right? But think about it. Especially in reference to missionary work and the Atonement. As missionaries or members, sometimes we think that we have to find the perfect golden family to share the gospel with. Wrong. The gospel is for everyone. Whether they accept it or not is their choice, but whether we share it with them or not is our choice. Share with everyone you know. If they reject it, they are not rejecting you. They are rejecting Christ, but share it with them anyways because you know it can change their lives. Be confident in what you say and what you share, and they will believe you. In reference to the Atonement, this gospel is perfect for imperfect people. The Atonement can make you clean, it can give you courage, it can comfort you, it can save you. We have been given the most amazing gift that anyone could ask for. Develop your knowledge of the Atonement. This will make you want to share the gospel with people. We are all imperfect, and Heavenly Father meant for us to be that way. We need the Atonement. Everyone does, and the only way is through this church and through this gospel.

I love you all! Have a fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

And A Happy New Year!

Dear Family and Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, and I hope you will bring in the New Year in the best way possible!

So Christmas was last week. How did we celebrate? We had pizza and doughnuts with our district =] It was a very low-key Christmas, but it was way fun!

The rest of this week has been pretty slow. We have lots of people who are out of town up in the Province. That's hard because then we can't teach them... It's also tough to find new investigators, but we've been trying!! We found a few people this week, and we're hoping that they will turn out to be people who are ready for the gospel.

We had an investigator come to church on Sunday! He's 10, and he's way cool. His sister is a member, so she brought him with her. He's super awesome, and we really hope that he will keep being interested in the church. We also have a few less-actives who are returning to church. Yay!! Seriously, it's the coolest thing to see someone's testimony becoming stronger and stronger after years of inactivity.

So our New Year's Eve was yesterday. We made lots of yummy food, and I learned how to make lumpias! They are kind of like spring rolls. They are very good. We also had to be home pretty early yesterday because of the fireworks. The fireworks here are crazy. Let's just say that I probably heard more fireworks last night than I every have in my entire life. No joke. The Filipino people love their fireworks.

Yesterday was also transfer announcement day! Guess what, I'm not transferring! No surprise there actually. When you are training, you usually stay in your area, and with you trainer for 2 transfers. Some Sisters have a different trainer, but that's usually only if your trainer becomes a Sister Training Leader. But transfer day is tomorrow, and sadly, one of our kabahays is leaving. Sister Pristopher (the Sister from Pakistan) is transferring to a different zone, and a new Sister is coming here. I'm sure it'll be great!

Today was probably the best P-day we've had so far! We were going to go hiking at 3 in the morning, but that fell through. So instead, we went up to Wawa. It's this dam up in the San Rafael area, and it is so cool! We had to take 2 jeepneys up there, so it's a bit far away, but it was so worth it! There are a bunch of huge rocks that you can climb on in the river down there, so we did a bit of rock climbing. It was the coolest thing ever. I love being out in nature, so this was right up my alley. I loved it! Sadly, my camera battery died about halfway through, but I think I still got few pictures.

I love missionary work! It's awesome. If you open your mouth, Heavenly Father will fill it. Have faith in Him, and all things will work out. For those of you in Walla Walla, especially those in the new split wards, you have lots of missionary work to do. It's way fun! It's hard, and it's scary, but it's so worth it. Go out with the missionaries. Invite people to church and other activities. Share your testimony. Just do it. Even if you're just performing a little bit of service for someone, just do it! It'll be great.

The gospel brings light to even the darkest of places. I haven't seen it work completely through a person yet, but I've seen the end result. I've also felt it touch my life as well. I would be lost without the gospel. I would literally be wandering around the streets wondering what I'm supposed to do with my life. I would like to think that I would have found the gospel if I hadn't been born into the church, but I can't know that for sure. I'm so grateful for the gospel in my life, and I think I owe my life to my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my Heavenly Father. Their gospel has done more for me than anything. I'm so glad that I get to share that with other people. I only hope that I will be guided to find the people that are ready for it.

I love being a missionary, and I love you all!

Love,

Sister Wilwand

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends,

This will probably be a short email. Sorry!! But I hope you all have an absolutely amazing Christmas this year!!!

So kind of a lot happened this week, but not really.

We had our Christmas Conference, it was way fun! My companion and I and the people in our house did a dance. It was actually really fun. We're not very good, but it's ok. Everyone loved it. There was a little kids who beatboxed and danced to Michael Jackson for us. Holy moly. He's amazing. I'll try to send some pictures next week maybe.

We had 2 investigators at church this week!!! Granted, we did have to go get them, and they only stayed for sacrament meeting, but we had 2 investigators at church this week!! It was really great to see them there, and I really hope that they keep coming the next couple weeks.

So this week, because it's Christmas, lots of people are going up to the Province. So we got bunted a lot this week, but it's ok. We figured that would probably happen. At least we have a progressing less-active family! Yay! Their daughter is hopefully getting baptized sometime soon, so we're really excited for that.

What else... Apparently fireworks here are super dangerous. Like a small one could blow off your arm... So that's great. We have a curfew of 7 today, and we had the same yesterday because of that. People here like to celebrate, that is for sure.

Some very interesting pancakes, made on a hot plate. Ingredients are a little different in the Philippines!

Yesterday was Christmas Eve, obviously, and boy did we have a feast! I made some no bake cookies (thanks to my Mom!), and they tasted alright. We don't have powdered sugar here, so they were a little weird... We also had rice with lots of ulam. Ulam is just word for whatever the main dish is. We had Filipino hot dogs, and ham that someone gave us, and chicken. It was way good. And I'm thinking I've probably been eating rice the wrong way for most of my life. If you actually eat it with all the meat, then it's not that bad.

McKelle wears her Christmas jammies to humor her mother - sadly, I couldn't find anything cooler to send that was Christmas-y. 

Her package made it the Philippines intact! And still wrapped (the Scotland post office opened all of Elder Wilwand's gifts and went through everything!)

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas! (Or tomorrow I guess...) Just don't ever forget the true meaning of this Christmas season. It is a time for us to remember our Savior and all that He did for us. The most important part of Christmas should be His Atonement for us. Normally, we think that it's His birth, but if there was no Atonement, then His birth wouldn't have mattered. His whole life wouldn't have mattered. But there was an Atonement, and this is why we celebrate the birth of the one person that was able to, and did save us from both physical and spiritual death. Don't ever forget why we should really celebrate.

I love you all! I'm sorry this is so short.

Love,

Sister Wilwand