April 20, 2015 --- Brownouts and Ulan‏

Hello my lovely family!  How are you doing?  Rumor has it is snowed in Salt Lake...oh I hope that snow made it to Logan!!!! :)  I got your package and loved it!!!  It came just in time.  Last night was so great and sad.  We had a brownout (which is what they call a blackout here) while Sister Lim was packing so we helped her pack by candlelight.  The worst part about brownouts are when we can't use the fans.  It was so hot!!!!  But luckily it started raining so Sister Walker and I went out in the rain and it was the best!  You know when it's snowing and the snowflakes are so big and wet it's like a huge raindrop?  That's just what the ulan (rain) felt like last night.  A hot, hot night and really cold, BIG raindrops.  Ah I can't wait for rainy season!!!  But it's not until June-July so I'm trying to patiently wait out the heat.  When I first got here I didn't understand why everyone says it's SO HOT here, but know I'm beginning to understand.  With all the heat, sweat, and dirt in the air by the time we get home at night we are gross.  And then five minutes after showering (ps I love cold showers!!!) you realize "ah mabahong ako ulit!" (I stink again!!) it's a rough life haha.  Also the Reese's you sent me I put in the fridge so it would get cold.  When I opened it some of the chocolate fell on  the ground and right when it hit the floor it melted already and was just a pool of chocolate on the ground...so yeah it's kind of hot here.  But I still love it here!

Lately we've continued working to find each member of our branch and meet them if possible.  The work we've been doing is crazy.  We find each person, take the time to get to know them, and then us missionaries write about how the visit went and draw a map to their house.  It keeps us busy, busy, busy but I love it.  Seeing the amount of love and work that is put in each individual member of the church just bears testimony to me so much of love Heavenly Father has for each of his children.  He makes sure that each and every one of His children are accounted for.  Ah He loves us so much!!  :)

It's incredible to the way we're led to those seeking for truth.  I've read so many incredible stories, and they've been happening here too, about how we are just led to those who need us.  Eeeh it's so amazing!  There have been so many days when Sister Lim and I look at our schedule and know exactly where we're going and then without realizing it we just show up somewhere else at the exact time that we're able to meet someone who is seeking the message of  the gospel.  Like last week, we we're walking home and we were pretty close to the apartment (there's not usually a lot of jeeps at night and if there are they're usually pretty full) but then we looked at each other and just say "Let's jeep," and wave down the jeep that was randomly next to us. The driver pulls over and even though the jeep only had a couple people in it he waved us up to the front seats.  When we got in he told us that the missionaries used to teach him but he was always at work so they stopped coming and lately his been feeling like he needs to listen to the missionaries again and has been looking for us.  Honestly, the timing of so many things that happen is so surreal and I just know that we are so led to where we need to be.  

Experiences like this also remind me of a talk that Elder Bednar gave to the missionaries in the MTC.  It was about the Holy Ghost.  With a lot of the places we go, I don't typically a direct prompting saying "you have to go here instead."  It's more like we just try and be the best missionaries we can be each day and we end up being where we need to be with the people we need to be with.  And it's not usually until afterwards when we look back we realize that without knowing it we actually didn't go where we planned and just showed up where we need to be. (Sorry that sentence was a confusing one).  Anyways, in Elder Bednar's talk he talked a lot about experiences like that.  That the Holy Ghost doesn't need to always directly say do this or do that, but as we try to be the best boys and girls that we can be, we will be led by the Spirit and be in the places we need to be doing the things we need to do.  I love, love, love when I have the Spirit as my companion.  It's just great!  And I absolutely love the Spirit I feel while reading the Book of Mormon.  Each chapter I read is so good and becomes my new favorite chapter.  The more I read and pray about the Book of Mormon it really truly is becoming my favorite book! :)  Oh I love it!  And I love you all too!!!  Have a great week and hopefully you get to play in the snow lots!!! :)

Mahal na mahal kita,

Sister Marshall :D

One of our biggest accomplishments as an apartment is that we taught Sister Lim how to ride a bike!!!  Sister Villaviles is the best teacher though because she'd just push the bike, start laughing, and say "go day go!!!" (day..pronounced die...is girl in Cebuano)

Sister Walker and I love the rain and our moo-moos so much!  They makes us smile so big we can't even keep our eyes open for pictures!

A lot of times I really miss being surrounded by mountains, but one of the blessings of no mountains in sight is that the sky is HUGE and filled with the prettiest clouds ever!!  I trip all the time because I just can't keep my eyes off this gorgeous sky.