Manila Philippines Temple; Quezon City, PH
No letter this week, as Sister Andersen is preparing to travel home within a matter of hours. She will be home in one day and eight hours from now! We are so excited!! We know it is a hard thing for her to leave the Philippines. She loves the Filipino people, their culture and spirit so deeply. They will be part of her all the rest of her days.
Before leaving the mission field the departing missionaries attend a temple session one last time together. An added highlight to this experience came in the form of a much anticipated visit with her cousin Nicole, who is living in a neighboring area with her husband and son. Nicole sent me a little note and two photos this morning. I'm so grateful she took time to go see her. She is a wonderful young woman and has always been an excellent example for Sister Andersen. To have them both living on the other side of the world in close proximity is amazing to me and such a tender mercy as Hannah leaves her beloved Philippines and Nicole is so far from home. Here is Nicole's note:
Hey!!! I saw Hannah today! She looked great and was of course beautiful and smiley. She almost didn't recognize me haha. She said a few times that I looked so different, which I'm not sure is because we haven't seen each other for a while or I really do look different. We talked about her going home. She said she is sad to leave. And she thinks she is the only American going home on her flight tomorrow. We talked about how she fell in the sewer and how that freaked me out when I moved here haha. Turns out we have been pretty close to each other the past 6 months! I thought we were like 2 hours away, but I think that's because she thought we were living up north. We live in a place called pasig and she was in cainta and I think they are really close! I forgot she had never met Tate! True to form he was a little cranky haha. We were able to talk for about 20 minutes and then her group went inside the temple and she had to go.
I am so excited for you to see her!!!! I attached a few pics.
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| TODAY {the final one of the mission....with a favorite cousin!} |
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| Sister Andersen with Nicole and Tate Manila Philippines Temple |
Thanks for sharing in this journey with Sister Andersen and the many people she has grown to love as she has diligently served the Lord in the beautiful Philippines. They say, "It's More Fun in the Philippines!" ......and we would have to agree.
One more post to come with the homecoming and maybe a parting word from Sister Andersen on her arrival. In the meantime, we are in full swing getting ready to greet our favorite missionary with open arms. What a blessing to have her there...and to have her once again with us. Homecomings remind us how great our reunions will be in heaven when we meet those we loved in this life.
#gospel #hope #sharethegift
~Paige....the mom :)
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