Wednesday, December 11, 2013~Week 17
Quezon City; 11:57 AM Wed (PH); 8:57 PM Tues (US)

Hello my beautiful family and friends! First of all, HOW IN THE WORLD DID ST. GEORGE GET SO MUCH SNOW?! I AM SO JEALOUS!! OF COURSE THAT WOULD HAPPEN WHEN I'M NOT THERE!!! Janessa sent me a picture and it looked so gorgeous!!! It looked like one of those cute little old towns from It's a Wonderful Life or something! Totes jelly. Soak it up for me. I miss that stuff. I don't even know if there's a word for snow in Tagalog.... Hold on let me ask my companion. OH MY GOSH SHE SAYS THERE'S NOT. That is so sad. I just realized that probably almost ALL of the Filipino population has not ever seen snow. I might start crying for them. Oh my gosh. I won't see snow for 2 more years probably. I might start crying for me.......

 

 Anyway! It has been a pretty fun week but I can't remember why! Haha Last week after I emailed we went to the church and had our zone activity and it was really fun. We all just played games and life was good! We got to wear jeans! That's always a special treat! Tuesday I threw up some pansit that I had. That was gross..... Wednesday we had MTC Exchanges again and for the first time ever, I had to be a big girl and be split up with my companion and take a little MTC missionary out with just me! Bah! It's okay though. It actually went really great. I actually did better in the lessons and better at Tagalog than I ever have before because I HAD to. I was the older one and she didn't know anything and so I had to step up and lead the lessons and everything! I took her to the Letada family and we taught about the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End and it was so good! Haha it was super cute because the MTC missionaries are supposed to lead the lessons and so I had her start it and she was super nervous and timid and spoke such broken Tagalog and I just kept wondering, "Was this how I was when I first got here?" So she'd kind of start the lesson and after she'd said everything she could think of to say, I would go back and fill in the holes and go deeper. It was a really good learning experience for me because it made me realize how much I've grown and it helped me to see how to teach the lessons a little bit clearer. If that makes sense... Haha after that, I took her over to Pansol and we went and tried to find this investigator that Sister Jones found that Sister Tibungcog and I have been looking for for weeks! And I found her!! FINALLY!! Anyway, that was great too because we just taught her the Restoration and obviously I love that lesson and I loved teaching it. It was a different experience for me this time because it was the first time that I'd ever been the older missionary! I keep saying that but it was kind of fun! I liked it! The rest of the week was just the normal missionary life. Ya know, wake up, eat breakfast, shower, study, study, study, eat lunch, teach lessons, get punted, go finding, trip over this and that, fall through sewers, teach another lesson, come home at 9, eat dinner, plan, go to bed. Repeat! It sounds kind of tedious but it's actually not. Every day is different and every day we laugh about new things and so life is great! 

 

 

Oh big news that I keep forgetting to put in my emails home.... We have a baptism on Saturday!! Wooooo!!! Her name is Mylene and she's 12 years old and ADORABLE! It's kind of funny because she's come to church every single week since I've been here and everyone thought she was a member but she was never baptized! Haha so we taught her the lessons, she had her interview on Monday, she passed, and tada! She'll be baptized on Saturday! Along with an investigator of Sister Hepworth and Strebel! Super duper exciting! 

So best news of the whole week, I GOT MY PACKAGE ON MONDAY!!!! Can I just say, I LOVE being so close to the office and having the office elders as friends! It's the best thing in the world! So we walked into the office on Monday night after Mylene's interview and we were talking to the Elders and then Elder Crisanto said, "Hey look in that room..." And so I peeked into a room and there was just a giant pile of packages for all the missionaries! And I looked at him and said, "Is mine in that pile??" And he said, "I think so...." And then he started to walk away but he looked back and he gave me a little mischievous look and I just gave him the puppy dog face. Haha because all the mail and all the packages are supposed to be given out at Christmas Conference this week and so he said, "When's your Christmas Conference?" (Because there's 2 different ones. One on Tuesday and one on Thursday.) And I looked all puppy dog like at him and said, "Thursday....." and he gave me the look like, "Well looks like you're gonna have to wait until then......." Then he just started laughing and he helped me go through the pile of packages until we found mine at the bottom of the pile and he pulled it out for me and sent me on my way and I was a very happy child! Haha THANK YOU SO MUCH MOTHER!!! EVERYTHING IS PERFECT AND I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER!! Obvi all the Christmas presents are underneath my little tree on my desk and it's adorable and I forgot to take a picture of it but I'll send one next week! Everything was so adorable! I'm so happy that you sent me apple cider! That is Christmas in a cup for me and they don't have it here! So thank you thank you thank you! 

We went to the temple this morning and I had a better experience this time than I did last time. Last time was great but I was longing to be home in the St. George temple with family and friends and so I got really homesick. But this time, I just enjoyed it! The temple is so small and so so simple but I like it. It fits in with the people here. They don't need much and they're so happy with whatever they have! I've learned so much from all of them! I feel so blessed to be serving where I'm serving! I can't believe that on Saturday I will have been out for 4 months! Where did the time go?? It's going by so fast! I'm so so grateful to my Heavenly Father because even though Christmas is fast approaching, I haven't really been homesick. I think it would be harder for me if I was in the states or somewhere that kind of did the same things that we would do at home. But here, it's still HOT, and dry, and we're always busy. So I know that I've been really blessed in that way. I'm so so excited to talk to you all in just a couple weeks! It'll be so fun to see all of you and hear all of your voices again! I'll let you know next week what time and everything we'll be doing it! I'm praying with all my heart that I'll be here in this area for one more transfer. But I know it's all up to the Lord. So pray for me that whatever happens, I'll be happy and strong and not homesick! Haha thank you all so so much for everything you do for me! I am so grateful to have such a loving, supportive family! It's the biggest blessing in my life! Thanks again! I miss you all!! Merry Christmas!! LOVE YOUUU!!!!!

Love, Sister Andersen

PS: Hannah's housemate Sister Strebel shared this Hannsbonanns moment in her letter:

"You know how i have some worst nightmares like falling into a sewer? Well sister Andersen was really mean to me last night and i freaked out. I took a shower and blow dried my hair and straightened it and i was just looking in the mirror and cooling off in front of the fan when sis. andersen comes around to me and she gathers my hair bc she likes to braid it and stuff. And im watching her in the mirror and all the sudden she gets a spooky look on her face and holds my hair in one hand and a huge butchers knife in the other and i scream and yank away and she just laughs and laughs! She's evil! I was gonna kill her! She knows thats a nightmare of mine, to get my hair chopped off randomly.... oh i was gonna kill her!"

Sisters Andersen & Strebel

 Still braiding my life away.
 I braid EVERYONE'S hair.
Nothing's changed!