January 26th

FAMILY!!

I have to pray not to think of you all so much! It's a challenge right now. Everything is so so so different here I just wish I could tell you everything!! First off even my name is different here.. I've started introducing myself as Sister Jood. It's easier for the people to say for some reason. And to most people I'm Sister Judy. So it's whatevs. This week like all, have had it's ups and downs. So I thought of a couple of things that I didn't include from last week. Normal schedule here is wake up 6:30 work out till 7 breakfast until 7:30 then shower personal study at 8 companionship study at 9 and lunch at noon. Then we proselyte from1:30 to 8. Then plan until 9:30 then dinner and bed by 10:30. I actually have fallen asleep walking home at night. haha walking. We usually have an average of 13 appointments a day and working on having more! So the area that I'm in is the city- like with conveniences and nice houses with a reaaaaal good mix of the opposite in there. The majority of people live in little bamboo huts. Closer to the ocean they are usually raised and even directly above the water! (Story about that coming up). But there are REAL bukid (booney) areas in our mission.. like Sister Snow was put in the most bukid right off the bat! I pray for her.. because to me and to most Americans this IS bukid. But nope, Sister Cruz and I are in one of the nicest apartments. Crazy. So on Monday we went to an FHE at a part member house and shared a lesson, played fun games (they were a HOOT i was dying laughing) and then Sister Desaldes fed us dinner. My first member meal- spaghetti! But the spaghetti here is slightly different. It's really sweet. And they don't have cheese here.. well they say they do but they don't. haha So it had chunks of that cheese and I think beef. Oh and raisins. haha So She gives us each this heaping plate and we're eating and talking (I'm listening..) and Sister Desaldes asks me a question. I thought that she was asking me if I had ever had that before and so I smile so big and say "NO". She just looks at me with a blank face and asks me again. Same reaction. Then Sister Cruz grabs her arm and says Sister Judd is new she's only been here for 5 days.. and so Sister Deslades turns to me and slowly says "nanamit??" (which means yummy) and I turn bright red and exclaim "YES! Uhh.. I mean OO!!" (OO is yes). Everyone laughed and thankfully Sister Desaldes looked relieved. So of course when Sister Desaldes offered me more I quickly said yes and she gave me double what I got the first time. Boy. I was praying not to throw up from being so full- that would have been the cherry on top of embarrassing! So ya that was embarrassing!

Another embarrassing story. I'll only include 2.. well who knows if I have time I'll tell another:) I memorized this little saying that I might say in certain lessons that basically says I'm not good at the language but I know the message is true and when I went to say it this one time I said "Inda man ako sadja sa lingwahe" which means I'm not fun at the language. Ironic that I mess up the sentence about not being good at Ilonggo...

So I've started wearing earplugs at night. You know the ones I brought just in case my companion snores? Well it's for the roosters.. and the dogs. They are out of control. I have dreams that they will one day take over the Philippines because they are way over populated here!!! But the earplugs are effective so that's good. :) I stepped in poop for the first time this week. YUM! It was our first appointment of the day too so I got to walk around like that ALL evening. Lesson learned- watch where you walk! Oh and prepare yourselves for a story in the future where I break someone's house... because every day I come so close to breaking through someone's bamboo floor. So scary. And I will feel SOOO bad when it does happen. Seriously. People here are TIIIIIIINNNNYYY. We teach 11 year olds that are the size of a 6 year old. It's crazy! There's this boy that got baptized on Saturday and the water in the font was up to his chin- the poor thing was so afraid!! He will be 12 in 2 months.

So yesterday we went to a members house for a 15-minute visit and people have crazy dogs as guard dogs for their chickens and roosters and pigs.. they are on chains just BARELY long enough to where when Sister Cruz and I were walking on a tightrope against the other house so they wouldn't bite us! And the tight rope is bamboo. And we were above the ocean like I'd guess 5 feet. All I could do was laugh because I seriously felt like it was a bad dream, I can't even explain the fear I felt. hahahahaa

Also I hit my head on peoples roofs allll the time. It's really embarrassing! It was so bad this one time when we walked back between the houses after the appointment this man was shouting at me to watch my head and ran over and covered the corner of the roof where I had hit my head 20 minutes earlier.

So we are teaching this adorable little family and while we were waiting for the mom to come home from work one night we poked our heads in the neighbors house (there is no such thing as privacy here) and started chatting with their family. We asked if we could come back and didn't return for lie 5 days or so. When we came back the mom (Sister Medina) started crying after we said the opening prayer and expressed how she has been praying for those two girls to come back and help their family. She was telling us all about their financial problems and when she said the closing prayer she thanked Heavenly Father for sending her 2 angels. Usually I can't understand everything that people pray for whether it be because I actually cannot HEAR them or cannot understand the language.. but I caught that and was so touched! The message of the gospel is for everyone and some people don't know that they need it or are searching for it but it's up to us to share it! Such a humbling and damo (huge) task/responsibility.




Thanks again family for the letters!!! Congrats Heber on starting football! Gwen, my camera should be in one of my boxes.. sorry I'm not sure which one. But it should be in that shoulder case that I bought for it. Hang in there- try and enjoy highschool! Even if you find joy in the idiots that you're surrounded by:) (I mean.. children of God gilit). (gilit is used when you meant to say something else). Dad and SWAT? Macho man in the hizouse!! Keep me updated!! Okay and for food. The food is soo good! I am ashamed to say how completely worthless I feel when it comes to cooking. I feel so dumb. But I am trying to learn from my companion! She cooks soooo good Filippino dishes and I have been writing down the recipes so when she isn't there to cook I won't starve. I'm going to try and find enough ingredients to make her Hawaiian Haystacks this week. And maybe fried chicken? It would be way helpful if you could give me ideas of what I can do with rice and then a skillet over the stovetop. They have meats of all sorts here but the spices are way different. I don't know if you have any ideas but any would be helpful!!! The fruit here is sooo good. Mangoes. I eat one once a day and look way pretty doing it I'm sure- sucking on the pit and all. haha The oranges here are way better too! I eat an orange a day as well. Oh and Grandma barbara I think that I forgot to thank you for the package you sent to the MTC right before I left! The chewy granola bars and nuts have helped me a lot here. The eating schedule is wayyyy different than the MTC and what I'm used to. I have one more chewy bar left and I think I might cry when I eat it. haha Mom crocs have been the best thing ever for here and even the mtc. not one blister and they're so light weight and easy to clean here.

Kids tell me I have a taas ilong (long nose). Flattering huh:) Also when the sun goes down here every one says tugnaw tugnaw tugnaw (cold cold cold). But I am just barely not sweating anymore. It's really funny to me. Also my companion uses an umbrella in the sun. haha They are so afraid of being dark here! So opposite. Burping mid sentence is a normal occurance here. Like it's almost like people try and burp while they're talking. The first time it happened I looked around to everyone in the room and no one even flinched. haha People have pigs in there houses. Like sleeping next to them. Trying to teach the restoration over the sound of farm animals isn't easy for me yet. Also people's houses are these chungee's which the front part is a little store and they sleep in the back half of the house and so it's akward when kids yell what they want to buy during a prayer.. daily. Also we get mauled when we walk through the playgrounds here! I love it. haha We sing to them and it's just a group of like 40 kids staring up at us handled at our side (my knees) haha. I always want to take a picture of them but I feel Sister Cruz wouldn't like it. By the way Sister Cruz is awesome! She is so so diligent and sweet. I learn so much from her! And we like to laugh at each other- lots of bloopers to spice up the day! :)




Love you all!!!!!!!

Love, Sister Judd


Here are some pictures that Sister Judd sent!



We walk (or sikad) this road every day. Just a glimpse of the plant life. But in the neighborhoods it turns into a jungle. For real. I'll try and capture the different scenery!





Me doing laundry! Don't judge the way I look- just worked out and haven't showered! But yes this is soo hard and takes a really long time. There are many women here that do this all day everyday to make a living.. I don't know how! I didn't last more than an hour and a half. My companion has done this all her life and had a good laugh at me as I struggled.


SISTER MANWARING SISTER MANWARING SISTER MANWARING!!!!!!!! This made life SO much easier here after running into her. It was like magic. I get to see her again today at the market when we shop for food:) YAY!! Love Pdays... even if we have to do laundry..

Sister Judd is in the Philippines!!

Family! Ah I can't believe it's already PDay here, I have been jotting things down all week to tell you- and if it were up to me I would write for hours and take a bajillion pictures and explain everything but we only have an hour on the computers and I have to email president too (factor in the internet connection) so I will do my best each week to answer your questions and fill you in!

So to start off I absolutely LOVE it here!!! Every hour of every day I remember Sister Manwaring's letters to me about what Bacolod is like and she said "imagine a place with everything the complete opposite of what you're used to- that's what it's like" and man was she right!!! I'm still in total culture shock- if I think about it too much I get anxiety haha. But I have been praying for the ability to adjust and accept the way of life here. Before I leave I want to truly be living like a native here. Some of the biggest changes for me are as follows: THE WATER! We have a filtered water thingy (huge blessing compared to what everyone else here has) and it's this tiny stream of water that we use for EVERYTHING even showering.. So we have to wait like 15 minutes or so for a bucket of water to fill up with the filtered water and then we carry it upstairs and "shower". Yes it's freezing. Yes it's hard. But it really isn't that bad. I'm just happy to have clean water and to be able to be clean. The water that comes out of the shower faucet is brown. I tried it and ruined my first bucket of water the first night :( haha My companion is from North of Manila and she says the way of life here is really similar to at home- I am her first American trainee (she has served with Americans before but not trained them) and I have to teach her how helpless I am here. haha She was blown away that she had to teach me how to shower, flush the toilet and basically anything dealing with water. I ask A TON of questions and just have to accept that I sound like a complete primadonna American brat. TRUTH. (The toilets you have to pour water down to "flush"... smelly toilets galore! But most people don't have toilets.. they go in a corner of their house or outside their house or in the street orrrr I guess anywhere I've seen all those and I've only been here for a couple days. Oh ya and to use ANY water (clean or dirty) you have to turn it on and off every time from outside. It's so funny to me how different it is and how tiny things we SERIOUSLY take for granted in America. So enough of the hard stuff- I LOVE IT HERE!!!!! The people. Man. The PEOPLE. I am such a baby I seriously blink back tears all day long after every single person I meet here. The language is hard- in some ways I feel like I learned a different language than what they speak here because they talk faster than the speed of light, they whisper and mumble like no one elses business and the pitch and intonations are hilarious to me like they sing allll day as they talk. I can't even explain it. hahaha Sometimes the people try and speak english to me and I everytime it catches me off-gaurd and I cannot understand them. Then I just look like even more of an idiot because I can't understand their language or my own when they speak to me. haha Like my companion when she prays I can't undestand her in english OR ilonggo.. I am getting better but it's so hard for me! I almost was going to mention it to her and ask if maybe she could speak louder or something and then I just realized that that would defeat the whole purpose because everyone else here speaks like that too! I need to be the one to learn to hear rather than them change. I let me tell you, I have alot of changing to do. The only way I am going to get by is with the help of my Savior and with faith and trust. I realized the other day that saying "fish out of water" is me right now- but I need to learn how to grow gills! And I'm trying reaaaal hard :) So far it's working all right, I can already tell a huge difference!! So ya my companion is a TOTAL doll. I just LOVE her! I learn so much from her every single minute of the day. We joke with each other that I'm totally helpless here and she told me the first day "Sister Judd don't ever get sick because I don't think I can take care of a sick American" haha the poor thing I'm a total challenge for her haha So I'm never going to get sick and I pray everyday for her to have patience with me and with myself as I learn to grow my gills! Through Christ anything is possible. Miracles come through perfect faith!


So the work here is extraordinary. My mind is blown. Heavenly Father is truly preparing people to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. For example- Cutie. Yes that's her name. (we also are teaching a Princess and Lovely). Truth. Anywho, she came to church last week (before I got here), approached sis cruz (my comp) and asked her to teach her. wow. So we went to her house and taught her and got more accomplished in 10 minutes that would have taken like 5 days with any other investigator. She said that she knows the Book of Mormon is true already because she borrowed a Tagolog version from a neighbor and has been trying to read it eventhough she doesn't understand the deep words in Tagalog. So we give her an English version (she's a student so understands Enlglish well) and we teach lesson one. She says she wants to be baptized and wants to learn more about how to repent after baptism. That's a question that we hope recent converts desire to ask and she has only been taught for 10 minutes! We can only teach her on the weekends because of her schedule so her baptism date isn't closer but she is straight up amazing. We have 15 investigators with baptismal dates right now and a handful of other people that we teach not including recent converts and members that we also meet with. It's insane. We teach SO MUCH! And I love love love love love love love it. Like I am on this extreme spiritual high. The people here are so amazing. And their humility is so inspiring. We met with a boy names Re yesterday and it was only the second visit and when we asked how praying about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith went he nearly started crying and told us how he felt "encircled by someone while he was praying". It was all I could do not to burst from sitting, wrap my arms around him and cry. haha well that's a bit dramatic but seriously Heavenly Father loves His children and answers their prayers!! As the lesson went on with Re the spirit was so so strong and Sister Cruz and I after could barely tell each other how amazing it was. We both see him going on a mission and just progressing so fast! He's 19 and said he's going to bring his friends to the next lesson!


So other random stuff. Transportation here is my other favorite thing:) One day I already know I will bring you all to Bacolod and the first thing we'll do is ride a Jeepney and Sikad. A Sikad is a man on a tricycle with a little carrier on the side. The only real horrible part about it is when she driver is a 80 year old (about :) ) man that weighs approximately 90 lbs and is like wheezing trying to get my fat butt eating my ICE CREAM CONE the 2 miles to our apartment.. I cried. haha I sat in that little carrier thing and cried eating my delicious chocolate ice cream cone. And Jeepneys are a the equivalent of a roller coaster. I always hit my back getting in and out because I'm seriously ChewBacka here.. (ChewBacka is huge right?) anywho you just yell (BAYAD POLIHOG) and pass your pesos up to the driver and the seats are about half my butt and face each other. The aisle way is exatly my width and I've stepped on way too many tiny little Filippinos to count trying to get on and off. haha Then to stop you make this loud kissing noise and yell (LUGAR LANG) and they quickly pull over. It's so fun. Oh ya and THE KIDS! Ah I love them. It's kinda awkward because the people here looooove Americans. So the kids literally run in their little kid gangs (of all ages) and tug on my arms and touch my skin and yell any English that they know. haha Then they laugh when I wave because I guess that's funny.. and I forget everytime and get embarrassed everytime. haha then they wave back and are just so so so cute. When there is just a couple I give them a jolly rancher and they just hug my legs and ugh my heart just breaks! I have to be careful though because Sister Cruz is so serious haha she is careful for us not to look like tourists and/or hinder or work. But those little smiles are priceless! The baby babies don't like me. The cry when I look at them or touch their little fingers.. Sister Cruz thinks its soo funny everytime because I'm an American. haha So I also love love love teaching families. It's a whole nother level of awesome. We met a family yesterday and taught them by candle light. And one of the little girls got up in the lesson and went number 1 about a foot away from me in the corner of their house. It was hard for me to focus during that.


I'm scared of all the stray dogs. There are more roosters and chickens here (stray even) than the sand on all the beaches on the entire earth. I am going to try my ear plugs tomorrow while I sleep because it's out of control how loud they are. haha Even in some people's houses! It's hard to teach when there's a rooster crowing in the same room as you. Oh and I live a block from the ocean! It's different here.. there's like no beach or anything just huts on huts on huts and then water. but I still LOVE IT!


Well I'm about out of time. I'm going to try and send a picture. (sorry I can't take lots of picutes :( so sad!! Because it's so crazy different here!)


Please read Alma 36:3. It was a direct answer to my prayers on that first couple real hard days.


I love you all so so much and I think of you often! Gwen, hope your ankle heals quick, Si congrats on wrestling you're a beast! And thanks for emailing it means alot:) Stu, hope your leg gets better!!:( Hebey love ya! Mom and Dad thank you for your love and support. I LOVE YOU!!! Sorry I couldn't answer all your questions. Send more for me to read next week and I'll do my best! I'll try to remember to include more about food next time. Kort/Jerm hope all is well! Syd I got your email! Glad you're well! I'll try and write next week. Love you!!!!






pps. Everyone welcomes me with extra hand shakes and smiles from elder doane and sister manwaring! I haven't seen either of them yet but Sister Manwaring is just a ward over from me so there's a better chance I'll see her soon! Sad Elder Doane is so far but he is a real favorite to everyone here and I've hear funny stories about him being a tourist attraction for the people haha He's such an amazing missionary!


All my love,


Sister Judd

January 2nd

Kamusta Pamilya!! Man, I'm missing you guys! But don't get me wrong. Nothing could get me to leave this place. I feel like I have come SO far in such a short amount of time. I can't really explain how my concept of time is here. The weeks fly by but the days are like 100 years long. Before I know it, I'll be leaving here! I only have 10 days left and tomorrow could possibly be our "flight-plan-friday"! Can I just say I'm sorta geek'n out. In some ways I feel like this is what I signed up for as a missionary.. to be at the MTC. Thank goodness there's something more out there:)
It sounds like you all have had a week that you'll never forget. My heart hurts when I think about the Shurtleff family. When my companions asked who he was I told him he's my uncle. You Shurtleffs are family and I'm praying for you just the same as I would for my own family! I hope that everything goes well on Sabado (Saturday) with the funeral. Dad, you'll go great. Mom, takes notes for me! Gwen, let people know how much I wish I could be there.
I had an experience this past week with my companions that was such a tender mercy. My companions and I were in a computer lab emailing our Branch President with an Update as Sister Training Leaders when a guy walked by and stopped in the doorway. He asked us what language we were studying (usually the missionaries are studying language through programs through the MTC- which we had just finished doing). We told him a little bit about ouselves and where we are called to serve and he randomly asks "So you like worship Joseph Smith.. right?". The question was so random to us as he had just recently started investigating the church and didn't really understand the Restoration. We invited him to sit down as we answered his questions. The conversation moved from subject to subject when we started talking about prayer (pagpangamuyo). By the way his name was Jose and he's fro Guatemala. Speaks really good English with a really thick accent. He shared a story with us about why he doesn't feel like God answers all of His childrens' prayers. As he told us about his Sister-in-law's sudden passing away, leaving behind 3 small children including a 7 month old, he explained how he knows his brother prayed for Heavenly Father to save his wife. He cried as he told this story and it really touched us. He was so sincere and was begging for us to give him some sort of hope from what we believe. Sister Snow and Sister Tiroba just looked at me as he was done telling his story and I knew that my testimony that has been strengthened this past week of God's plan of Happiness for His children was what Jose needed. I told him about the letter I received on Monday about Brent passing away and how hard it is to deal with the passing away of someone that you love. But death doesn't mean the end. And it certaintly doesn't mean that God doesn't love that family as much as any other. In life we are tested and tried. It is through those trials that our faith is tested as well. We can't ever let Satan make us think that we aren't loved by our Heavenly Father. We can't let him think that our prayers go unlistened or unanswered in any way. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. It's as simple as that. That's is WHY Christ suffered the infinite and eternal sacrifice for man (Alma 34:10). Without this we cannot have eternal life because paagi sa pagpasag-uli (through the atonement) we will all be resurrected and all have the opportunity to be forgiven of our shortcomings and sin. I know that Brent is with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that Jose's sister-in-law is with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. And I know that we will see them again! He continued to cry (with me) as I told him all of this and he said "that's beautiful". I knew that Heavenly Father needed me to strengthen myself by reaching out to Jose and sharing with him with a surety what I know. I told him that this knowledge will give him peace and as I told him that Heavenly Father gave me peace. This experience wasn't happenstance and I just hope you all know that Heavenly Father is aware of you! He loves you SO much and you can feel paghida-et paagi sa pagpasag-uli ni JesuCrsito (peace through the atonement of Jesus Christ).


I hope you all had a malipayong bag-o nga tuig (happy new year)! It didn't feel like new years here at all.. but we did watch some fireworks from our residence window (we live on the 4th floor so it was a pretty perfect view). The new year bring so much opportunity for change! I want to change this new year as a lose myself in this work. Find ways that you know Christ would want you to change. Even if it's something as simple as getting to know your neighbors or smiling more no matter what your day is like. Those small changes will change you and they will help someone else. (And they are much more meaningful than those pesky 5 pounds that we all want to lose).
LOTS OF LOVE!!
Sister Judd