Wednesday, January 22, 2014~Week 23
Quezon City; 1:54 PM Wed (PH); 10:54 PM Tues (US)

Hello my dearest family and friends!! First of all, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICKY DEAR! HAPPY DAYS WILL COME TO YOU ALL YEAR! IF I HAD A WISH THEN IT WOULD BE, A HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU FROM MEEEEEE!!! Happy 23rd Birthday!! I feel like 23 is a prime number and a prime age so this is bound to be a prime year for you! I sent you a birthday letter but it'll be late!! I'm awfully sorry that I won't be there to make you my famous paper thin crepes and a beautiful, impressively delicious cake but know that I am there in spirit and will be thinking of you all day! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!:)

TODAY!

Anyway, I hope you all had a splendid week!! We definitely did over here in the Phillies! We had Zone Interviews on Wednesday and that went really well! My interview with President was pretty short but it was good! He checked my planner and we talked about my area, my investigators, my companion, and so on. I told him that I loved my area and the ward and that I really just wanted one more transfer here and he just chuckled....... sooooo not sure what's gonna happen to me this upcoming transfer. I might stay or I might go. Who knows. But whatever happens, the Lord is in it! Sister Hepworth knows for sure though that she's transferring and she's really really sad about it. She cries every time she talks about leaving here. She said that she feels like this has become her home and she's leaving on her mission again. I'm sooooooooo sad that she's going. She's actually the one person that I've been with the longest on my mission so far and we've gotten really close. I love her guts. I'm gonna miss her! That's for sure!

Erika Letada and her baby NJ!
 He's three months old and a little fatty!
Here, if your baby starts crying, ya just give it some milk! 

The other big event this week: BAPTISMS!!!! Woot woot we rescued 7 souls on Sunday!

BINYAG NA! 

They were all baptized directly after church on Sunday and then our children were given the gift of the Holy Ghost in the Kaingin Sacrament meeting! It was so exciting! They were all so adorable and the spirit was really present there! They had the Sister Missionaries do a special musical number so we sang a Hepworth arranged version of Teach Me to Walk in the Light. Part of it was in English and part of it was in Tagalog! So the baptisms went really really great! It's the greatest thing in the world to see people that you love all dressed up in white! It's a miracle! I love being a missionary!

 The other Sisters with their children Marvel and Enosencio,
being baptized, and their little brother Evando and their dad!

This morning we went to the temple!! The 8:00 am session and it was wonderful! I ALWAYS love going to the temple! Haha it's always slightly difficult to stay entirely awake but I came off conqueror! I LOVED being in the celestial room this morning though. It was the highlight of my entire week. While I was sitting there, I just said a silent prayer to myself and after I finished, I just sat for a minute. And I was overcome with the feeling that Heavenly Father is there and he loves me! He really is! The question kept running through my mind, "How could He not be?? I'm far too blessed!" I'm so so grateful for that knowledge that we have as members of this church. That our Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us and loves us more than anyone else in the entire world! I love being able to tell that to people with absolute surety! Being a missionary is so incredibly fulfilling in so many ways and I wouldn't rather be anywhere else!

Temple this morning! Aren't they cute?

Welp! We've got our zone activity today! We're going to the Zoo!! I have no idea how big this zoo actually is but it only costs 8 pesos to get in to it so we're going! Don't worry mother, I'll take pictures!! I love you all so much! Thanks for all the love and support! I'm so blessed to have such amazing family and friends! Have a wonderful week this week! Happy Birthday Nick!! Hope it's a prime one!! Love you all!!! MAHAL NA MAHAL KITA!! 

Love, Sister Andersen

Welcome to the Philiies!

Our taxi driver this morning had a pet lion.

These guys walk along the busy roads carrying those boxes
 full of little candies and cigarettes and
sell them to the jeepney drivers.
Someone gave him this Book of Mormon.