What Thinks Christ of Me?

Hello World! :)

Quite the eventful week here in the Philippines with Mission Tour, sickness, teaching, hospital trips and of course the lovely Barangay Elections today.

So our week started out pretty normal, teaching, studying, finding, the normal missionary stuff. My companion has been struggling with an in grown toenail the past couple weeks (because we went running...whoops. see what happens when we try to stay in shape? what's up with that??) haha It got to a point last week when she was just really suffering so Friday afternoon we headed to the hospital to meet with a Doctor to check out her toe. He was really nice and spoke great English so she was able to explain what was going on and they got to discuss options. He prescribed some medicine to get the swelling down and then if it still didn't feel good come Monday (today) then we were to go back to see him and most likely he would remove the entire toenail so it could regrow and start fresh, cute right? Really appetizing. NOT. Haha so she took meds, and it is feeling a lot better! Yay! The swelling is down and she can actually walk, but get this...

Friday I started to have a bit of a sore throat. I was okay though and just pushed through. We taught lessons all day Saturday. Progressively throughout the day, I got colder and colder while my temperature got hotter and hotter. Our last lesson Saturday night was in a part-active home. It had been a hot, hot day that day and was now pouring outside, we are sitting inside teaching with a fan blowing around the room, everyone else is dying of heat and I am sitting there with my long skirt and  sweater on to try to stay warm. It was not what I would generally call fun. The lesson went great though, regardless of the chills running through my body. You can imagine my relief when we went home that night. We planned really quickly for the next day then without eating dinner I went to bed at 9:30. I woke up the next morning, Sunday, at 6:30 just to roll back over and sleep til 11:30ish. I would wake up every so often to my companion checking up on me but other than that I was out cold. The APs (assistants to the President) came and took my companion and I to the hospital at about 12:30 to get me checked out. 

Sooo I have had a fever between 101 and 102 degrees, a very swollen left tonsil, achy joints, migraine, and a lovely infection on my leg since Saturday night.

When we went to the hospital, we waited in the ER for 10 minutes, the doctor came over, asked what was wrong, took my temperature, looked at my throat for a solid 2 seconds, then says quote "Yep, you have a fever and a swollen tonsil. It is tonsillitis." Hahaha okay thank you ma'am. She then proceeded to write me 3 prescriptions and left. Most pointless trip to the hospital. The medicine was pretty expensive so I didn't even fill the prescription but instead just went home. (don't worry we went and got the generic versions today so hopefully those will help me feel better soon.)

So then last night, I just got worse and worse. My fever continued to climb and I could barely stand without falling over. The APs came over last night and gave me a Priesthood blessing then I went straight to bed. I went to bed last night with a fever of 102.2. One of the sister training leaders I live with, Sister Simbol, she's so cute, she's a little Filipino she would come in and check on me periodically and every time, she feels my forehead and goes, "Oy! You are one hot sister!" Haha she's so funny. 

I am feeling much better today though. Far from perfect but I could actually get out of bed, that's a start. My throat is still very swollen, I still have a fever, and a headache, and the infection, and my neck and back are in a lot of pain (Where are you Brother Prymak when I need you??) but I somehow feel better. haha don't ask how because I'm not sure, it doesn't really make any sense, I know. Just know I am doing well, despite my many sicknesses ha I still love being here and being a missionary! I just wish I could go out and teach already! Although being sick and being in pain is pretty hard, the worst part is definitely that I am unable to go teach. It is horrible! I miss my people. I cannot wait to go out and teach again. Hopefully this sickness runs its course and gets out soon, real soon, because I'm not sure how much longer I can take laying in bed, dying of heat and chills, watching Preach My Gospel videos and eating toast. All stinkin' day long. 

Welp on a happier note, this week we had our Mission Tour with our area seventy, Elder Arndern. So Thursday, we spent essentially all day, 8:30-3:30 at the stake center for the Mission Tour. Elder Arndern and his wife, along with President and Sister Reeder spoke to us a lot about reactivating less-active members as well as how to improve our service as missionaries in general. Everything was amazing! I learned so much and loved the entire thing. I thought it was going to be a long day but it amazed me just how fast the meeting went by. 

There were a couple things that I really loved from the meeting. There were many but 2 that I wanted to share. 

1. Ask yourself this question, "What thinks Christ of me?" Quite the question isn't it. Have you ever thought about that before? I wrote that question in bright, bold lettering and hung it right next to my desk so that I will remember to ask myself frequently and re-assess my life to make sure my priorities are always where they should be. Just like the song, "If the Savior Stood Beside Me," it is a good reminder for us as imperfect people to continually choose the right and try harder each day to come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. Would He be happy with what we just said to that person? Would He be proud of how we handled a situation? Would He be pleased with how we use our time? The questions go on and on. Ask yourself. Evaluate your life. Don't just do it once, or twice, or three times. We should continually be asking ourselves these types of questions in order to push ourselves, to change, and to become not only better people but to come more like Jesus Christ and closer to our Heavenly Father.

2. The second thought that I too decorated all nice and hung by my desk is like that of the first. Elder Arndern was talking about staying centered on our mission. It can be easy sometimes to get distracted or get off track but it is so important for us to stay focused and motivated to teach everyone and bring others unto Christ. He applied this concept to us as missionaries but I thought about it as more than just for my mission but for my whole life. Picture a dart board. The further from the center you go, the less points you get, and before you know it, you are completely off the board. Jesus Christ should be that center in our life. Are we allowing ourselves to move away from that center or even to fall completely off the board? We all make mistakes some times, we' aren't perfect, but that's why it is so important to ask ourselves those questions and re-evaluate our lives to ensure that we stay in the center. Don't let yourself move to the outside of the dartboard of life, continually strive to be in the center circle of love, happiness, and truth.

So some stories about this week:

Last Monday the APs (they are in our ward, that's why we do so much stuff with them), they showed us to a teenage boy, Jason that they had taught in our area. They introduced us to him and then left. We then talked with him and his family, got to know them a little bit better then taught about how God love's them and how we are all His children. Apparently Jason has taken all of the missionary discussions, accepted the gospel, went to church more than 10 times in a row, and even had a baptismal date at one point but stopped going to church when he was offended by someone so he was not able to be baptized. Well, he knows everything. Seriously, he amazed us as we taught. Actually there wasn't much teaching going on at all because everything we started to say, he would just finish for us then say "Yeah I already know that." Well then. I thought to myself, "Why on earth are you not baptized then?" So I asked him, I asked if he wanted to be baptized, he said 'yes,' and I proceeded to invite him to be baptized (all in Tagalog by the way) I said, "Susundan mo ba an halimbawa ni Jesu Cristo sa pamamagitan ng pagpapabinyag sa isang taong maytaglay ng awtoridad ng Priesthood ng Diyos?" Then we set his baptismal date for November 23rd. Well, you can imagine how excited we were to have our first investigator to accept to be baptized! Really exciting. But he texted us yesterday morning and told us that he had a job interview during church so he wouldn't be able to go to church tomorrow. Well, we are going to have to push back his baptismal date then. Already. It's really heartbreaking. One of the hardest things for people here is to go to church. So many people don't realize the importance of going to church! It is really aggravating sometimes. Not just here, but in America too. It is so hard for me because I feel like, if you really know this gospel to be true then you would make every sacrifice needed to read the Book of Mormon or to pray or go to church or dress modestly, etc. We are not asked to do that much. Going to church is so so so important. I don't know how to better emphasize to people the importance of going to church.

We have this investigator, Ariel, I can't remember if I have talked about him before, but he is astig! (awesome) Seriously, every time we go to teach him he is just so anxious to get started, there is never any wasted time in our lessons with him, I love it. Well the other day we taught him about the Restoration and about Joseph Smith. We showed him the Restoration video and he loved it. That is a great movie. It uses so many scripture references, both from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. A lot of the people here don't believe that we use both the Bible and the Book of Mormon so I love that that movie shows verses from both books of scripture. Every time a Bible verse would come on the screen, he would just nod his head, as if being reassured and accepting that our message is good and true. Before the video he told me that he believed 70% in Joseph Smith. After the movie and after we discussed it, as we were leaving he said "71% now." haha that is good enough for me! Improvement for sure. In our lesson on Saturday he told us he was up to 75%. We're getting there. He has yet to come to church but he is praying and reading the Book of Mormon so we are praying that he continues to gain a testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel. 

This is an amazing work. I love everything about this gospel. Although the people, the scenery, the church set up even, the leadership, etc., may be different, the doctrine of Christ never changes. He is the "same yesterday, today and forever." 

I love this gospel and know with every part of me that it is true. That's why I'm here right? We have had many people ask what we are doing here. I imagine it must seem quite odd to many people why a little, blonde, American girl would pack up all her belongings, pause her schooling, and move to a completely foreign land for 18 months, to be a missionary? What does that even mean?

In the scriptures, in 3 Nephi 5:13 we read, "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." That sums it up pretty well. The scriptures always seem to say things much more eloquently than I ever could. I am here as a disciple of Christ. I am here to share His gospel with others. I am here to invite others to come unto Christ. I am here to remind them where they came from, why they are here, and where they are going. I am here to teach them what they must do to receive "everlasting life"- faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. Simple but true. That is why I am here. :)

Welp HAPPY ELECTION DAY! HAPPY HALLOWEEN in 3 days! HAPPY ALL-SAINTS DAY! (jsut kidding, we don't celebrate that, but it is a BIG holiday here so we have an early curfew 4 times this week! Last night for elections, tonight for elections (apparently these elections are a big deal and people sometimes get a little crazy and it could be potentially dangerous so we just go in at 7 on both of these nights) then Halloween and All-Saints there is usually lots of drinking so we have to be in our apartment by 6. Crazy huh. Get this, for All-Saints Day they spend the night in graveyards, eating food, drinking, laughing, playing music, etc. the whole nine yards, in the graveyard, over their dead family members...quite the holiday isn't it. 

Oh on another happy note, there was a stabbing in my area last week. Really comforting isn't it? haha not exactly but that's okay. We may or may not have been in the area of the stabbing that same night, but we didn't even know! Welp, we're still alive and we now know which areas to avoid at night. Did I tell you my companion almost got robbed last week too? Well, she did. We were at a tindahan, (this little store, shack thing that has everything under the sun I swear) well we were there, in broad daylight and all of a sudden I turned around and there was a guy with his hand on her bag! He unzipped the whole thing before I saw and before she felt it, can you believe that? Pretty crazy huh. You learn new things everyday. Our area is kind of the slums of our zone. That is part of the reason they just split this area because the bad parts weren't getting much attention so they split it and assigned us to that area. Woo hoo! No, I love it here, I really do. We just have to be careful what barangays (neighborhoods) we are in and what times. We really are pretty safe here though. Promise. :) There have been maybe 2 times where I was even close to feeling actually scared and even then, we were fine. No worries here!

Well this email was abnormally long, sorry about that. Sorry too that it was not as uplifting as I would have liked. Things are going so well and I really do love being a missionary. This week had it's ups and downs for sure, but what week doesn't right? It's not about the challenges we face or even the mistakes we make, but rather how we react to those trials in life. Do we let ourselves wallow in sadness, stay beaten on the ground, or do we jump back up, brush off the dirt, and say "that's okay, I will try again today." :)

I love you all! Thanks to all who have written me and kept me in your prayers! It is much appreciated! 

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

We Gon' Find you

Hello World! 

What a grand week it has been here in the Philippines! Lots happens every day. In fact, all of my days tend to be more of blurs and I cannot keep my days straight for the life of me. But, I am so happy. Always. Seriously, I absolutely love where I am, what I am doing, and who I am with. This is an amazing place with so many beautiful people. 

My trainer and I are both new to the area. We are actually opening this area. Neither of us have been here before and it is a newly split area. It is really sad but before Naga City was split into different areas, the missionaries tended to focus their efforts in just one of the many smaller areas in Naga which left where we are now completely abandoned essentially. I am not sure this is making sense, it is hard to explain but pretty much we have the "forgotten" areas in Naga. It is so sad! So may of these people haven't seen or heard from missionaries or members of the church in many, many years. My companion and I have had to spend many hours going through the area book, making sense of it, and figuring out what to do. It is quite frustrating at times but what a great place to start my mission. I know there is a reason, probably lots of reasons, why I am here  and why this is my first area to serve in. We will be here together for 3 whole months and we are so determined to change this area much, much better than we found it. We have been working so hard and I know our hard work will pay off, it already is showing lots of progress just in the week and a half that I have been here! 

In my area we know of 1 active couple, who are not even on the ward list because they were baptized less than 2 years ago and we found them on accident. There are so so so many less active and inactive members in our area here. It makes me so sad to see the gospel leave their life but I know that we can be those helpers and the bridge to help them return to activity and stay firm in the church. Because of the great deal of inactives in our area, we have been focusing most of our efforts on finding, visiting, and teaching less actives. What an experience this has been! We have so many names of people who have not been to church in years and years! The addresses here are nonexistant so we just talk to others, ask around, and only because of God's help have we been able to find these people. We are teaching/re-teaching so many people here. It is amazing! My testimony has grown so much about how important the basics of praying, reading our scriptures, and attending church are. If we do the basics, pray, read, go to church, have faith, serve others, etc., we will not fall. We cannot fall. Through God anything is possible. So many of these inactives forgot to pray, chose not to go to church one Sunday, etc. and now have forgotten almost everything about the church and lost the light in their life. 

One less active brother here, Orlando, got overwhelmed with life when he got married, had a child, began working more, etc., and stopped doing the basics. We found him this past week and began teaching him again. He speaks a lot of Bicol so I can't understand a lot of what he is saying but during our first lesson with him, I simply stated "Alam ko po na totoo and simbahan ni JesuCristo." I know the church is true. There was a light in his eyes. There was a complete change in his countenance. He blurted out, "Joseph Smith!" The simple testimony I bore reminded him of so many truths he had once known, including that of the prophet, Joseph Smith. There was not a dry eye in that room. He has not come to church yet, he isn't perfect, he still makes mistakes, but something changed in him. This gospel is the truth on the earth. It has the power to change lives. I have seen it in my own life and now see it every day in the lives of so many others. In the Liahona this month, (along with the Ensign and every General Conference talk), it talks about finding "the one." We must bring our brothers and sisters back to the fold. It is our job to find, help, and love all. Don't forget those who may have strayed from the path, show kindness and bring them back to the path to eternal life. 

As we continue to search for these many less active/inactive people, Heavenly Father has blessed us in so many ways! One blessing that we have seen from finding these people is that other people have been placed in our path, in particular other family members of these inactives who have been interested! God is good and so loving. :) One sister we found and have been visiting, Nelly, has not been to church in over 20 years. At our last visit, her daughter happened to be there and came to listen to what we had to say. Her grandfather was an active member of our church before he passed away over 10 years ago. We have been trying to help Nelly return to church, but she does not feel ready. Well, in the middle of our last lesson, her daughter randomly said, "I think I'm going to go to church on Sunday." My companion and I were stunned. I didn't think I could smile any bigger...welp, a guess it was possible because come Sunday, the BIGGEST smile was on my face when not only Avril walked in but her little sister as well as 2 of her cousins were with her! It was so great! We could hardly contain ourselves with how excited we were to see them. But wait, there's more, we have been teaching the husband, Noreal, of an inactive sister, Sheila, and they came to church too with their 2 little kids! It was Noreal's first time ever, and Sheila's first time in a looong time. What a great first Sunday in this ward! :) 

Let it be known folks, this is the true gospel. God is our Heavenly Father. He is aware of all of us. He loves us more than we can comprehend. I love being a missionary. SO MUCH. Want to know why? Okay good, I will tell you. Because I get to share that sweet, simple message with everyone! I wish I could express the joy I feel when I teach, when I see investigators and less actives come to church, when I read the scriptures, when I bear my testimony, when I pray, when others bear their testimony, when I feel the Spirit, when I choose the right. Always. I am happy because of this gospel. 

Wow, where does the time go? I only have 2 minutes left and I feel like I haven't written anything! Thursday we have our area seventy guy coming for a mission tour and apparently something big is happening so we are all really excited here. I will let you know next week how that goes. I love you guys so much! 

Btw, my title this week is "We Gon' Find You." It is kind of a joke, maybe Jor and Nin will get it, they can explain it. But that is kind of my companion and my motto because there are so so so so so many inactive members in our area and we are determined to do anything and everything we need to do to find them and remind them of how much God loves them and how the gospel can bless their lives. Last little thought for this week, "Where is God on your list of priorities?" A lot of times I think we let other things, work, friends, entertainment, trials, school, etc. take greater precedent than God. Well if you really  think about it, it sounds kind of silly huh? Who are we to put anything before God? God, our literal Father in Heaven. Remember where your true priorities are. If we strive to keep God at the top of our list, we will be blessed beyond comprehension, find true joy in this life, be strengthened in hard times, and come closer to God and our Savior, Jesus Christ, everyday. 

Remember who you are, a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven who knows you personally and loves you dearly. Remember and follow the example of Jesus Christ. He is our Savior, Redeemer, older brother, and friend. 

I love you all! Thanks for all the love and support you have shown me and the many prayers in behalf of the missionaries. :) 

Lots and lots of love!

-Sister Emily Roderick

I may or may not have been overwhelmed!

Sister Vanessa Webster from WA

Investigators at church!

"Emily Avenue"

My Favorite Jeepney

I Have Arrived!

Well, I am finally here folks.

It is amazing how naive I am about the world, let's start there. I am astounded everywhere I go here. I have never seen anything close to this in my life! It kind of reminds me of Chinatown a little bit but with more cars/jeepneys/tricees, more Tagalog/Filipinos, and more coconut trees. What an amazing place this is. I have only been here a week and despite it's many differences, I already love it here.

Anyways! Today is Monday. Today is also my P-day. Therefore, Mondays are my P-days. Cool how that works huh? 

SO, I am here yes! What an experience this has been already. I will just try to give a somewhat brief description of travels then I will tell you more about where I am now. So we flew SLC to Oregon to Tokyo (5 of our 11 missionaries in our travel group were nowhere to be found when our flight was leaving so that was SUPER nerveracking but after some debating, they made a huge announcement over the intercom, forced my kasama and I onto the plane (she was travel leader AKA not supposed to board plane without all group members already aboard), then about 5 minutes later, 5 very sweaty, panting Elders boarded the plane. The plane boarded way earlier than we all thought so they were all the way on the other side of the airport so that was uber stressful but we all made it), then we flew from Tokyo to Manila! I was not a big fan of Tokyo, that was so crazy and I couldn't understand ANYTHING! They did have bidets though..neato. But sometime in my life I am going to have to go back there to spend more time in Japan and yeah have a better experience ha

Anyways, we arrived in Manila at maybe 10:15 pm or something. We somehow got all our luggage, and got out to the central area/pickup area. That was pure chaos and hot chaos nonetheless. 20 some odd missionaries in a foreign country trying to get our luggage and get through security late at night, that was a tough one but we did it, we met a guy who was there to pick us up and next thing I knew I was in a van without my luggage and with a different sister missionary, not my kasama, just sitting, waiting, hoping, praying our luggage/other people would make it wherever we were going ahaha we just kind of trusted what these random people were telling us to do and went with it! After the fact we realized how bad that could have been if those weren't who we were supposed to go with but yeah oh well, we made it to the hotel just fine and all our luggage got there eventually too. No worries :)

So then after lots of waiting and trying to figure things out we got room keys and went to our rooms to shower (I felt soooo gross, it was 28ish hours of straight travel, bleh.) Sister Beus was my roommate at the hotel, which was super nice btw. Chandeliers, big mirrors, concierge, the whole shebang. Pretty cool. So we ate snacks outside our room for awhile after showering and getting ready for bed then finally got to bed around 1? IDK but it was late and we were all exhausted.

Next morning we woke up, got ready, went to the nonexistant continental breakfast, super disappointing. We hadnt been able to exchange our money yet so we werent able to pay for breakfast at the hotel, long story short, we ended up being able to use our debit cards at this little bar thing in the hotel and i got a blueberry muffin and mini quiche. really yummy but different. everything is different in the Philippines, yet so many things are similar its so strange!

So our driver guy was supposed to pick us up to take us to the airport at 11, for our 12:50 flight...welp he didn't show til 11:45! Ano ba iyon?! We didn't know what to do! So we just quickly loaded up, headed to the airport and said many many prayers to help us make it on time. There was a guy at the airport to help us through security and boy was he not happy that we were so late. then we went through security and stopped no joke ALL of our bags, telling us we had to throw away all of our shaving cream, bug spray, perfumes, etc..it was bad but being the headstrong bold person I am I went to the security people and pretty much just told them that we needed those things and that we were going to miss out flight if they kept stopping all of our bags, sooo they let us go through. Thank goodness too. We checked our bags, yata yata, then rushed to the plane. small plane. no room. but it worked fine. except for those several times when i was pretty certain we were falling to our death. that was fun. 

THEN, WE ARRIVED IN NAGA! (Pili actually, but close to Naga ha) You know my friend Elder Simmons from BYU, yeah well him and his 2 kasamas were there at the airport to pick us up, they loaded our stuff on vans and drove us to the mission home where we met President and Sister Reeder, seriously so nice. Sister Reeder reminds me a lot of you Mama so that was really nice, to feel a little more at home. We met all the other missionaries from the Manila MTC then took our stuff to our respective rooms then President let us go to sleep until dinner! Yay! I didn't feel that tired but when we laid down we all passed out! It was great. Then we all had dinner together, still at the mission home, then we went back to bed. What a day right? The next morning we all went to Biggs diner for breakfast, I got a fried egg with sausage, hasbrowns, and rice. Rice is eaten with everything at every meal at all times of the day here, its great. Then we had a sort of orientation type stuff where they introduced our APs, finances, etc. etc. Then after lunch we all went into the room where all our lovely trainers were waiting for us to meet them and find out who our trainer would be, talk about nerveracking! There were so many dang emotions going through me. So (drum roll please) my trainer is Sister Vanessa Webster from Spokane, Washington, yes she is American and I am very grateful. I originally was hoping for a native trainer but am really grateful for her and know there is a reason we are together. She is seriously the best and we get along so well. Granted we have only been together a week but still I can tell things are going to go well. She will tell you she knows no Tagalog but shes just humble, she is super good and carries all of our lessons/conversations/everything. So second drum roll please for my first area...I am in Naga City! Straight up city life here, well kind of. The most city in my mission. I thought for sure I would be out in the rice paddies somewhere but nope, I am right here in the heart of Naga. Like I said before, it reminds me of Chinatown a little bit but in the Philippines and with more jeepneys and tricees. There are so many people here and they all stare at us when we walk by. Two tall, white, american sisters in skirts walking all over the place here, we kind of attract attention. We are constantly getting things yelled at us like "Joe" or "Ma'am" or "American" or even on special occasions we get "monster". it is great fun. haha the kids usually have never seen americans before so sometimes they start screaming and crying when they see us, that always makes me feel real good...not. but its okay, I understand and just smile, wave, and say sorry. Not much more I can do right?

Anyways I haven't had the opportunity to take a picture or my apartment/entryway yet but it is pretty interesting. We have a big red gate that we go through, everyone has gates here, then we walk through this alleyway type thing to our apartment at the back. It has two floors. We have a little kitchen with sink, toaster oven, and refrigerator, or ref as they call it. We live with our sister training leaders who are also in our ward and they are both really nice so thats good. We have a shower but rarely have running water so we use a lovely tub full of water and a bucket to shower. It has been quite the experience and takes a long time but works fine. :) 

I am running out of time but we are opening an area here, meaning neither of us have ever been here before and they jsut split our area so we are pretty much establishing everything here. It is pretty difficult, especially with the lack of records from previous missionaries which is frustrating but we are working it out and you better believe by the time I leave this area I will not only be the best scavenger hunter around, but this area will be blossoming with active members. I am praying at least. We taught our first 'legit" lesson the other night to an inactive sister who hasnt been to church in some 27 years or something. I actually spoke some! It was terrible and not correct grammar but she was tearing up and the spirit was so strong, it was amazing. I already love her so much and can't wait to see her progress.

Fun story, the other day we were walking trying to figure out where exactly our area is and we met a big group of kids. I noticed the ball they were playing with and they told me how they love volleyball. I told them my favorite sport is basketball and they invited me to play volleyball and soccer with them. Of course I did and it was so fun! My kasama began talking to the mom of a couple of the kids who was watching close by while I kept all the kids occupied with my mad soccer and volleyball skills, or something like that. We had a great time and I love them all so much! So we were really excited when we left because they were in our area so of course we were going to go visit them again...but the APs later informed us that they changed our boundaries again and we no longer have that barangay/neighborhood in our area. I cannot even express how sad I was. I had just barely met those people but I was so sad. Man it is truly amazing how you can love people so quickly after knowing them for such a short time. 

So this weekend we got to watch conference again which was great! We went and met some members and explored our area some as well as go through our area book to figure out where to focus our efforts, whose members, etc. 

It has been a good week. I have yet to cry. Though I kind of wanted to earlier today when I seriously sat in front of the computer in this one internet shop for an hour just watching the buffering sign, but thats okay because we found this little shack right by our apartment that works now :) yay for little shacks with lots of lizards all over the place. :)

Anyways, time is about up but I love you all!

Here is my new address: 

39 Panganiban Dr
Bayan, Naga City
4400 Camarines Sur
Philippines

And feel free to use DearElder still!

I hope it works! Enjoy!

I love you all unconditionally and am grateful for your love and support and prayers too! :) Keep me updated on all of your missionary experiences!

Talk to you next week!

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

She's in the Philippines!!

Emily in the Philippines with her mission president and his wife, President and Sister Reeder.

Another photo of Em's District

10/5/13: Last Letter from the MTC...Naga bound Monday

HELLO! How are you guys doing? Can you believe that in less than 48 hours I will be on my (long) way to the Philippines! It is absolutely insane how dang fast the time here has FLOWN by. I am doing well though, trying to get ready to roll out. General Conference makes packing a bit harder but that's okay, we'll get it done somehow. 

This week has been a pretty normal one for me/us here at the MTC. It has been really cold but no worries, I'm going to a hot hot hot island in just 2 days! YES! 

Just a heads up, this email is going to be all. over. the. place.

Thank you so much for all your letters/emails/DearElders/packages, they have really helped since being here. 

Thank you guys for the package for the plane! Smart cookies you are. I am a little worried about the flights because they are quite long but I know everything will work out. :)

Just a heads up, apparently DearElder is free to the Philippines?? You guys should check in to it. I won't get them the same day but it's free and will get to me A LOT faster than letters so just keep that in mind, it may be a very good option for all you lovelies that may want to keep in touch.

I have not seen the Relief Society Broadcast yet unfortunately..we get to watch it tonight during Priesthood session. We kind of go to meetings a lot here in the MTC but that's okay because I love them, the Spirit is always so strong, and I learn tons. Plus I have learned how to be patient in long meetings now...speaking of which, General Conference today was fabulous! I stayed awake the whole time (except for maybe 2 minutes at the very beginning this morning ha) and it actually felt like it went by really fast. Cool beans. 

Man missionary work is the best. 

I titled this email, "Labor of Love," because isn't that what the gospel is all about?  Everyone, members, nonmembers, family, friends, everyone, we must love them. Just like we heard many times in conference today, "the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel." You better believe it. Why do you think I am out here serving a mission for 18 months? :) I loved all of conference today but one thing that I wanted to share was from Elder Ballard's message. He talked all about the importance of sharing the gospel and said that a lot of times, people are kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Well folks, let me clue you in on a little fun fact, WE know where to find it. Heck, we have it. We have the fulness of the truth in our lives. How exciting is that? :) WE have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives so share it. :) Share it with everyone. It is so great. 

Along with that, I want to extend a challenge to all you lovely people. We heard today that there are now over 15 million members of the church..can you imagine if every single member invited just one of their friends or family members to take the discussions or to go to church or read the Book of Mormon or something involving the church, imagine how many people would be converted to the gospel and how many lives would be changed! Now, I do not know all 15 million of those people but I do know all you grand people reading this email so I want to challenge you all to invite your friends to come unto Christ. More specifically though, I want you all to pray for someone who could benefit from the gospel, write your testimony in a Book of Mormon, and give it to 2 of your friends or family members before Christmas. Deal? Deal. THEN email me and let me know how it goes. The Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion for a reason! It has power to bring others unto the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so excited to hear all your missionary experiences! :) Merry Christmas! (not quite, but it sure will be a merry merry Christmas, merrier than ever before, as we all work together to preach the gospel) :)

Missionary work is the BEST. I love it so much. Keep being you and listening to the Holy Ghost and you will find others who are prepared to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

I love you all so much! Although I miss you, I am so dang happy to be here and to be doing the work of God, bringing others unto Christ, and providing opportunities for others to accept the truth. Remember who you are always! Enjoy conference! Correction, don't just enjoy it, listen to it, learn from it, change your life because of it, be motivated by what you learn to do better and try harder every day. Love you all! Talk to you in a week in the PHILIPPINES! Yeah buddy :)

Mahal Kita!

Sister Emily Roderick

Em's District and the infamous man on the buffalo statue.

Lunch at the MTC between General Conference Sessions

Devotion to the Gospel (9/28/13)

Hello Pamilya Ko! Kumusta??

This week has been quite the crazy week for me here at the MTC. We are officially here at our new MTC home on the West Campus. It was a pretty crazy day on Tuesday with the move and what not but we are here and all is well. I just sent you guys a letter with more information and with some answers to your questions and what not, so be expecting that in the next couple days. 

Good ol' Tim-Dan-Slam eh? That is pretty dang exciting. I opened the package from Mel and ran back to my Res yelling, "It's a boy! It's a boy!" haha it was pretty funny. (thanks for the M&Ms btw, really made the news that much more exciting ;)) haha just kidding. I am super duper excited for our family! A new little boy! Yay! :)  This paragraph is about Melinda's baby.

Thanks for the pictures of the fam! That was fun to see all of you guys and your different activities. Jor football, Jen homework, Char cutest little ladybug girl I have ever seen, Dad doing his thang, and Nina...on a swing. hahaha Ano Bayan! (What in the world?) haha I'm jsut messing but that picture is super cute of you nina :) I like it a lot.

MOM! You went to prom with Elder Haymond's dad??? hahahaha I showed him the DearElder you sent me earlier this week and he got the greatest kick out of it haha that is too funny! 

Let's see, it is cold here. Very cold. but don't worry guys, I'm about to leave for an island in 9 days, it's no big deal. AHH! Sike. It's a totally big deal. Get this, flight plans usually come on Fridays but they came on Thursday for some reason!! Mom you were totally right, it was a GREAT Thursday! I leave the MTC at 7:30 AM Monday October 7th, fly out of SLC at 11:35 AM, Arrive in Portland, Oregon at 12:33 PM, leave for TOKYO :) at 1:45 PM, arrive in Tokyo at 4:55 PM then leave for Manila at 6:30 PM, arrive in Manila at 10:10 PM, stay the night/next day in Manila, then either Fly or take a bus down to NAGA! Whoot Whoot! So exciting! I've never been to Oregon, Japan, or the Philippines so danggg, I get to check lots of places off my list! ha We are all so stoked here! And my District will be traveling together the entire time to Naga! how cool is that? That rarely rarely happens! 

Okay now on to the most important part of this week's email. If you weren't paying attention before, perk up those ears and listen now. This week's Tuesday night devotional was amazing. I learned so much and felt the spirit incredibly strong. The Elder from the Seventy talked a lot about our purpose and how we must INVITE others to come unto Christ and how important it is to invite not just neighbors and friends, but family too. Especially our families. Honestly as he was talking I felt kind of guilty for not reaching out to my friends and family more before my mission. I think that a lot of times we think we must "go on a mission" to really bring people unto Christ but boy are we wrong. Every single day we should be doing missionary work. EVERY DAY. I thought of our own family and the many members of our family who are not active in the church. I thought of all the times I was kind and loving toward them but never actually invited them to come back to church or to read the Book of Mormon or quit smoking or pray to God or bear my testimony to them or anything! How did I let that happen? How have I gone essentially my whole life believing that only through Jesus Christ can we be saved and yet never inviting those I love most to come unto Him? That night I committed to myself and to my Father in Heaven that I would try harder to be an instrument in His hands, to talk to everyone about the gospel, to stand even stronger in my beliefs, and to not be afraid to open my mouth when the message I have to share is about someone else's salvation. We have such a marvelous, remarkably unique message to share with the entire world. We must have courage and open our mouths to everyone. Not just those having a bad day, not just those we feel comfortable talking to, but rather we must invite in one way or another ALL people to come unto Christ. You know, all my life I have been taught to be kind to others and love everyone. Although this is true and it is unbelievably important to do so, it is as important to present the opportunity for these lost sheep to return to the fold through inviting them to come to church, to read the Book of Mormon, to learn more about the gospel, to meet with the missionaries, to pray to our Father in Heaven, and to come unto our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I told my District that night at our District testimony meeting about our family motto, "No Empty Seats." I love this gospel so much and I know that only by abiding by it's precepts will we be able to return as a whole, connected, loving, sealed for all time and eternity, family unit. As I bore my testimony I began to cry at the thought of any empty seats in Heaven. 

Mosiah 28:3 states: "Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thought that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble."

If you don't feel this way, you should. We have the key to salvation. We have the true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. Why on earth would you not open your mouth? Why would you not leap for joy at the opportunity to share this with everyone?? I am so grateful that I was raised with this knowledge and this beautiful gift in my life, but even more than that, I feel blessed for the opportunity I was given to declare this gospel to the world and to share it with so many others! I beg you to trust in the Lord, to pray for guidance and direction, and to have the courage to invite others to come unto Jesus Christ. In every thought you have, word you say, and action you make, you should be representing our perfect example, Jesus Christ. Remember that Heavenly Father is watching over us, He is aware of all of us and just wants to help us. Remember that Jesus Christ suffered ALL things, He performed an INFINITE Atonement, He has felt all that we have, do, and will, feel and experience. Trust in them that know better and can see clearer than us. Be kind. Love everyone. INVITE ALL. It is up to us to share this gospel of Jesus Christ. No. Empty. Seats. Remember that. 

I love you guys so much and am so blessed to be here on my mission! I learn and grow so much every day. What a great blessing this gospel is in our lives. Don't ever forget whose side we are on. I love you, Christ loves you, God loves you.

I can't wait to talk to you in a week! Man, time flies. I love you all unconditionally!

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

Catherine Cuesta w/ at Em at the Provo Temple.
Catherine just received her call to serve a mission in
the California, Sacramento mission.  She'll leave in January.

Sister Alatini and Emily in front of their new
Raintree apartment a.k.a. MTC West

Another Connection

Em is standing next to Elder Haymond.  His Dad, Ruel, grew up in Woodbridge.
In fact, Em's Mom went to Prom with him!  The two missionaries got such a
kick out of that connection!

Ryan Smith...Sept. 2013

Ryan is an instructor at the MTC - he ran into Em and shared the photo.

First prayer in Tagalog (9/21/13)

MOM! DAD! MARC! MEL! NIN! JOR! JEN! CHAR! PEANUT! LADY! (and everyone else who happens to read these wonderfully fantastic emails:))

KUMUSTA?! It is seriously blowing my mind how fast the time is just flying by! I feel like I was just sitting down to email you guys yesterday! Craziness! So like all my other emails, this week's is likewise going to be all over the place, pasensiya. I try to organize it somewhat but it ends up just a mess, so I apologize, but nonetheless I hope you learn lots and enjoy! :)

First off I had a pretty good week. Thursday, my comp and I prayed to have a better day and to work really hard to stay awake, etc, because TH are so dang hard for us. Welp we were doing GREAT! seriously alllll day we just stayed awake, were focused, everything, then that night things went a bit downhill. 1) I didn't get a letter from you guys which was way harder than I expected. I guess I really do rely on those things to keep me going, no worries though, I was fine. :) 2) I don't know if Mel told you, but the sister missionaries are singing in the General Relief Society Broadcast! So cool right?! Welp my kasama and I have been singing in the choir since we got here, we sing at devotionals and stuff so we were really excited when the director told us we would be singing at General Conference! He told us that we would get a letter in the mail telling us our part, etc. Welp we never got them. It was/is really really really disappointing. I don't exactly understand why not but to say the least, my companion and I will not be singing in the choir. So the other 2 sisters in my district who are amazing, and who are our sister training leaders, they got letters to sing in the choir. Man, this has been so hard on me the past couple weeks and especially this week as I have had to just sit back and let everyone else do what I am usually the one to do. Does that make sense? It's kind of confusing but I feel like I try to be involved in lots of things, I have always been the leader type and now I am none of that, just a missionary, which I know is great, but it's still hard, my companion couldn't care less but yeah. that's it. So unless a miracle happens, which I'm praying for, I will not be singing at General Conference. Oh well, more time to learn Tagalog and practice teaching right? :)

Okay moving on to a happier note, sorry haha 

(A personal note written to each of the family here....not included)

YES of course I have a countdown to the Philippines, what kind of a question is that?? Ha! I am so stoked! This Monday we will be losing two more districts so my little district will be the oldest! Isn't that crazy? I swear I just got here yesterday. Then Tuesday we are off to our new home on West Campus then less than 2 weeks later, NAGA HERE I COME. :) So yes we are moving. I guess they are doing renovations or something so there are quite a few people heading over to West Campus/Wyview. I am actually pretty excited because I will get to experience both campuses. That rarely happens so that's pretty neat-o. 

Things with my Kasama are going better. They were never bad per se but we are getting closer and growing more every single week, it's wonderful and truly amazing to watch and track our progress. Yes, she will be my kasama for the whole time, but that is okay with me, it's hard at times but I love her and we really have come a long way together so I can't wait to see how we will continue to learn, grow, and improve together. As far as I know Oct 07 is still our departure date, get this, we get our travel plans this upcoming FRIDAY! AH! It is a big big big deal here and we are all ecstatic! I know I get to call you from the airport, not sure if it is in Salt Lake or during my layover in Cali or Oregon or something, I don't know that. I will find this all out hopefully Friday when I get my plans. I will let you know as soon as I can, don't you even worry. :)

So glad you guys were inspired by Felix's story and that you are sharing it! How cool! I am proud :) ha I love all my teachers here. I have learned so much from all of them and they really are just amazing. I'm pretty sure I said this last week, but I just learn so much more every week! It's amazing! So one of my most favorite teachers ever, Brother Lopez, has been leaving the last 10 minutes of class for questions about the Philippines and his mission, etc. Welp this week he told us about the animals in the 'Pines, well in his mission at least, San Pablo. He said that he would be sitting at dinner and a spider, correction, a monster, would hop right up next to his plate. He said the spider's body was bigger than his whole hand and under it's belly it had this white "cookie" hanging there. The spider would then begin to shake, and quiver and all of a sudden that "cookie" broke into a million pieces and next thing you know you are getting a little extra protein from all the baby spiders in your food. Sounds delicious right? FALSE! That is so nasty. I am not very excited for that. He said the first time it happened he jumped up and screamed and the family whose house it was just looked at him like he was insane while they continued to eat their baby spiders. hahaha I was dying of laughter because I could not believe what I was hearing! I will for sure keep you posted on whether or not that happens to me. Lookin' forward to the adventure. :) Oh also he says they have these massive Moneter (spelling?) Lizards that just FALL from the trees! Uh, I'm sorry what? haha Apparently they make for good supper so they just run away from people, but still, what if it falls ON me?! oh boy oh boy, i can't wait. :) haha

OH! I saw Allena yesterday! Well first off, a friend of mine came up to me the other day saying that she was in the doctor's office when a Sister O..something.. stood up and asked if anyone knew a Sister Roderick and that she says hi but she's on west campus so that's why I haven't seen her, etc. So I knew exactly who it was and thought that was really sweet and you know, just yeah ha then yesterday in the cafeteria cute little Allena came running up to me and gave me a bug hug! She was there with her district for in-field orientation because they head out for California on Tuesday! God is great. What a blessing that was for the both of us to see each other at that exact moment right before she leaves, miracle for sure. Also another miracle get this, her companion is Sister Alicia Faudree from Tooele Utah, aka my old roommate Brittni's best best friend. I wondered if they would be companions because I knew they were both going to Sacramento and sure enough they are companions! Awesome! I didn't have my camera with me but Sister Faudree said she would email those to me eventually so I'll send those when I can. Also, Allena said she hasn't gotten mail yet..Maybe you guys could write her or encourage others to write her? She said it was a huge blessing to see me, a part of home from Virginia, because she was a bit homesick. :) Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that I could help in that way :)

Okay soooo exciting news of the week (along with everything else I just told you)! We committed both of our investigators, Nocon and Jun-Jun to baptism on October 4th! (Remember this is just role play, kind of) but still, the spirit is so strong in all of our lessons and it feels so great to be sharing this true gospel with these people and working every single day to bring them closer to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  

One of my favorite things about my mission so far is the opportunity I have to just search, study, and dive deep into the scriptures every single day. I LOVE the scriptures. I loved them before my mission but it is a completely different, greater, love and appreciation for them now. The scriptures are truly the word of God and I challenge you guys to not only read them more but study them and look for answers to your questions and concerns. We do this activity every once in awhile where we think of a question we have, about anything really, we pick a random chapter in the Book of Mormon, and we study it and search for an answer to that question. Try it, it works. I promise. It amazes me every single time I do it. :)

Oh one last story, last Sunday at the end of sacrament meeting the counselor got up and said "and now Sister Roderick will give the closing prayer?" I looked up thinking "uh..what? was that my name?" everyone looked over at me, I was so confused because they hadn't asked me before hand so I said "I mean, I can." so sure enough I just pranced right on up there and gave the closing sacrament prayer in Tagalog. my first time praying in a different language in front of a big group of people. I didn't even have time to be nervous and lots of people came up and complimented me on how good the prayer was. Made me feel good, there is hope! I am getting better! haha :) 

Sorry that this letter was all over the place again and not too exciting this week but only so much happens here in the good ol' MTC. I really do love it here and am loving immersing myself in the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a great work this is and what a remarkable opportunity this is for me to learn and grow and bring others unto Christ. As one of my teacher's once said, "We are in the business of Salvation." Open your mouth and talk to your friends and family. Do not be afraid to share what you know to be true because this is the true gospel and God will bless you for your efforts to draw people closer to Him. I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon!

Mahal Kita!

-Sister Emily Roderick

Em and Hannon, a college roommate,
both at the MTC now!

Emily with Emily Petersen - she ran into her
at the Temple Visitor's Center

One of the things Emily loves about the MTC is that she make connections all over the place.  Elder Snyder, shown behind Em in this picture is the friend of a good family friend of ours here in VA...such a small world!  What is the chance that they would be in the same district at the MTC?  He is her district leader.

The Amazing Felix Story (9/14/13)

Well lots has happened here this week and apparently even more has happened in good ol' Virginia!

I am so scattered today, the computers have been down so I am just trying to throw everything down quickly so I can get it all to you before my time is up :) Pasensya! (sorry!)

Anyways, kind of funny story, I was playing the piano the other day and a couple Elders heard me play from my zone and volunteered me to accompany a musical number on Sunday, tomorrow...haha I had to kindly decline after the sister came and asked me because I had no idea how to play the song they wanted! haha It was a nice compliment to me pero a little more notice would have been nice ha

This past Monday 2 Districts left and that was really sad because we loved them and got pretty close to them but then this Wednesday we got 30 new people added to our zone! Crazy! That DOUBLED the number of missionaries in our Zone. Craziness.

Get this, I knew Allena (friend from home) and Hannon (college roommate) got here this Wednesday so of course all day I was looking for them but to my disappointment I didn't see any of them. Welp, I was in the bathroom that night getting ready for bed and started talking to the sisters next to me. They were going to Brazil (like Hannon) but I figured there was no way they would know who she was so I didn't ask them. And then all of a sudden I just blurted it out and said "Hey it probably isn't very likely you will meet her but my good friend Hannon Young got here today so if you see her tell her I said Hi" Then they said, "HA! Sister Young? She lives right here!" They took me to her room and sure enough Hannon lives in my same building, on my same floor, just right on the other side of the bathroom! How crazy cool is that! It is such a blessing and I love love love getting to see her all the time! We go and say goodnight to eachother every night now :) It's nice to have a true, close, loving friend here who actually knows me ha

Okay so this week was great! I have decided that Thursdays are by far the hardest day of the week for me because I am so exhausted by that time of the week and the schedule for Thursdays is the hardest so Thursdays are more the hump day of my week hah but I made it! I am now in the middle of my 3rd week! Can you believe that? Me neither. it is crazy but the days go by sooo slow sometimes yet the weeks seem to fly by!

This week we started teaching 2 new investigators, Nocon and Jun-Jun. It is stressful every time we teach but our lessons are getting much better and our Tagalog too! I am so far from fluency but I can teach decently well enough. Anyways, we also started grammar this week so that is party of course. Whoot whoot. No but really it is so helpful knowing how to actually form proper sentences now; instead of talking like a cave woman 100% of the time I'm only a cave-woman about 80% of the time! Now that is true improvement. HA! :)

So do you remember my first investigator, Felix? I can't remember if I told you about him or not. Well we taught him and he was a college age kid whose parents used to be members but fell away from the church and taught all their kids how awful the Mormons were. Well, our teacher, Brother XXXX (Em asked not to publish his name), acted as Felix, (so Bro. XXXX pretended to be Felix, the investigator for us to teach him) does that make sense? I sure hope so. Well Thursday night Brother Mace was teaching our class and we asked him about his conversion story because he has been telling us for awhile now that he would tell us eventually. Well Thursday was eventually I guess. We're all sitting in the room just kind of talking and laughing and Brother XXXX says, "Ako po si Felix." (I am Felix) The room got SILENT. He went on to explain that although he was "acting", he was really acting out his own story. The spirit in that room was so strong, it seriously felt like we were being surrounded by the spirit. It was amazing. He went on to tell about how his parents apostatized  and he grew up with his parents preaching anti-mormon material in their house. He had lots of mormon friends and members invite him to church or to read the Book of Mormon, etc and he always said no. Well he loves basketball and his friend asked if he would come ref for his church ball game so of course he couldn't say no to an invitation to be on the court so he accepted. After the game, the friend's step-dad went up to him and just thanked him for reffing and told him he did a great job, then out of nowhere he said "I think you should consider serving a mission for the church, I will pay for it. Just think about it." Then he left. My teacher went on to say that he stayed in the gym just thinking by himself for a long time. He immediately assumed that the Bishop or Stake President or someone had asked the friend's dad to say that to him, but then he said a thought hit him like someone swinging a baseball bat at the back of his head, the thought was that no one but God could have directed and inspired that man to say those things to him. So he prayed to God and thanked him for finally softening his heart and opening his eyes and he began to prepare to be baptized. He did serve a mission, in the Philippines, and is now living a righteous, great life as an active member of the church. What a remarkable story. There was not a dry eye in the room. We were all silent and afterwards went up and shook his hand and thanked him for sharing his story with us. What a testimony builder that is to me that God does have a plan for us, He does know us personally, He wants us to return to Him and if we follow the promptings of the spirit, we can bring so many others unto Christ. People are placed in our lives for a reason. Are you being an instrument in the hands of the Lord? Are you following the promptings of the Spirit at all times? Are you blessing the lives of others? 

Also, last night my other teacher, Brother Lopez, had personal coaching with us where he met with my kasama and I but helped one of us at a time. He focused on me for 15 minutes straight. He just talked to me about my needs answered questions about grammar, about vocab, about teaching, about comapnions, everything you can imagine! It was such a blessing and exactly what I needed. It is not very often that you get just one on one time with a teacher here at the MTC because you are constantly thinking about others and with your kasama and what not but it helped me so much. I was able to learn so much just in that short time of how to be a better teacher, companion, student, etc. It was great! the teachers here are all amazing but I swear I got the best of the best. the teachers are so amazing here. They are truly inspired.

Another crazy cool thing that happened this week...I met Ian Harward! You guys probably don't even know who that is, pero Marc and Mel will. He is/was a BYU basketball player. He is a teacher here and I saw him leaving the other day and jumped up and said "Hey you play basktetball for BYU don't you?" haha I am such a dweed sometimes. Anyways he laughed and said he did but that he got hurt last season so he won't be playing anymore. Then we talked about me going to the 'pines, he said his teammate served in Quezon City, I said I already know, Tyler Haws..haha Then I said something to the effect of "You know, if you really want to, feel more than welcome to tell Matt Carlino I said Hi." hahaha He said "oh do you know Matt?" Me: "Well, not quite, but I wish." haha Then we laughed and he said 'okay I will, ya know, Matt actually lives right up here (pointing up by temple) right behind my wife and I." CRAZY! haha to say the least I was shaking a little and was a bit excited. Oh yeah and I shook his hand. It's no big though really. Sike. It's a big deal. Yeah that's my nerdy-BYU fan self for ya. :) 

I hope all is well with you guys! I can't wait to hear from you! Dear Elders and letters are the best. You guys are awesome. I love you so much and hope to hear from you soon :)

MAHAL KITA PAMILYA KO!

Sister Emily Roderick

The MTC Laundry Room

Em's District with a couple of guys from the District TV show