Prayers are answered!

Provo MTC Companion: Sister Snow July 13, 2013 Kamustaaaaaa Pamilya! (Hello Family) This week went by soooo incredibly fast I can hardly remember what has even happened. It has definitely been the most exhausting spiritually and emotionally. I swear there will never be enough hours in the day to get everything that I want done. I can't believe I've almost been here for a month now. We get our flight plans next week (supposed to be on Friday) to find out where all we will be flying to get to the Philippines. I'm super excited for that, it's finally all starting to feel real. Only TWO MORE WEEKS left before I'm out of here! So exciting and scary all at the same time I can hardly wait! My favorite district in the entire MTC is leaving Monday morning and that is going to be really hard. I didn't realize how much I love and look up to them until they got their flight plans and are now packing and getting ready to leave. They have helped make things so much fun here amidst all the seriousness of the work that we are trying to accomplish and all the learning and studying. I don't know what I am going to do without them, they have become my best friends. However, I am extremely extremely excited for them and know that they will do amazing things out in the Philippines and I cannot wait to join them out there! Sunday was an incredibly spiritual day, it was Fast Sunday so we fasted all the way until dinner time, definitely the longest I have ever fasted. I couldn't believe how much stronger I was able to feel the Spirit. Fast and testimony meeting was incredible, the district that was leaving all got up and bore their testimonies, I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the room when they were all finished. They have such strong testimonies and are going to be such incredible missionaries. Just as I was getting up to go bare mine, our Branch President got up and said that due to time we would have to save our testimonies for next time. Unfortunately I won't have another fast and testimony meeting to go to before I leave, but President Anderson came up to me after the meeting and told me not to worry, I could bare my testimony when I gave a talk this coming Sunday. He has a funny sense of humor, haha. Each Sunday everyone in the entire zone has to prepare a talk, and then in the meeting they randomly select four or five people to come up and share. So I'm assuming that I will be called up this coming Sunday. (Our entire meetings are in Tagalog, which is awesome, but really nerve wrecking to think I have to go talk for five minutes in straight Tagalog). On my Sunday walk to the temple with my district I ran into a ton of good friends from BYU Hawaii, I will send pictures! Congratulations to Reid Arne for getting his mission call to Bangkok, Thailand! So exciting! And congrats to Megan Walker on her mission call to Spokane, Washington Cambodian speaking! I'm way excited for both of you, you will do great! Our district leader decided to play a little practical joke on our district on Monday and apparently our entire zone was in on it. The travel office sent him his flight plans that said he was leaving this Monday, July 15 to leave to the Philippines! He showed all of us Sisters and we were all freaking out. He has been here just as long as we have and we were all thinking how unprepared we would feel to be leaving on Monday! The whole day we were all talking about it, we were all extremely concerned, and sad, we love him! Some other girls in the district next to us told us that they had received their flight plans as well! Then, after language study I walk into the room, and another Elder in our district said he got his flight plans and was leaving Monday as well. I was getting super worried, and then they decided to say JUST KIDDING! My kasama (companion) and I were soo mad, but were laughing at the same time, one of the Elders in our district recorded the entire thing. Shows you a little taste of what the Elders in our district are like, they're so awesome. haha I had a really rough moment on Tueday. I have a little green notebook that I literally have written everything in. From my first tagalog testimony that I ever wrote, to all of my lessons for our investigators, to all the words I am trying to work on mastering for the language. I took this journal to breakfast with me and was trying to study my lesson that I would be teaching after breakfast. Well the smart girl that I am decided to give it to my tray, who needs their journal anyways right? Yeah, I'm a genius I know. I didn't realize that I had left it on there until we got to the classroom, I immediately ran back and asked all of the cafeteria workers if they had seen it and nope, they hadn't. I was super upset, I went back to the classroom and my kasama (companion) and guro (teacher) both told me that I should say a prayer. I did, and was so hopeful that I would somehow find it. At lunch I went back to the caf and still nobody had seen it. I prayed and prayed all day that Heavenly Father would somehow help me to find it. Deep down I felt like there was no way my Heavenly Father would let me lose that, it had everything in it, so I felt that I would eventually find it. However throughout the day my faith started to diminish as I realized I probably wouldn't find it at this point. Thousands of missionaries had eaten breakfast and now lunch and we were now at dinner. If it hadn't been found by now then it was gone. Well my kasama asked if I had checked to see if they had it, I told her I hadn't, I didn't want to get my hopes up to have them be crushed again. She snuck away from the dinner table and talked to the cafeteria workers. They said they hadn't seen it, but if it was found it would be at the front desk. My kasama quickly ran to the desk with a little bit of hope in her heart and said, "My kasama lost her little green journal, has anyone seen it?" Right then, the lady working at the front desk puts her hand on a little green journal and goes, "you mean this one?". There it was, my journal, sitting on the desk right in front of my kasama. She ran back to the dinner table and gave it to me, I immediately hugged her, and then said a prayer to thank my Heavenly Father. I know that he is aware of us all, we can pray for his help for anything, even the little things about finding a journal. My prayers were answered that day, and I will forever be grateful. The funniest thing that happened this week was on Wednesday. My kasama and I were leaving the building to go have personal study, one second she was right next to me, the next second I heard a loud THUMP. I turned around to see my kasama face down in the tile. I automatically burst up laughing just imagining how she was able to fall down this flight of stairs. I look down at her and realize she was not laughing, she was crying. I got myself together and helped her figure out what was wrong. She had twisted her ankle pretty bad. Everything turned out to be fine, so don't worry she's okay. Everyone gives her a hard time about it now though and we always make her hold on to the railing. She likes to skip a stair or two, actually five. Haha! She's great. Well it's been a great week! The language is coming along slowly but surely. Vocab is easy, it's the grammar and conjugating that's tough. Our progressing investigators are doing really well, we were able to commit another investigator to being baptized which was awesome. I absolutely love this work! I know I am where I am supposed to be, at the time I am supposed to be here, going to the place that is meant for me. I want to leave you all with a quote that I read this week and absolutely needed to hear: "Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties. At time there appears to be no light at the tunnel's end--no dawn to break the night's darkness...If you find yourself in such a situation, I plead with you to turn to our Heavenly Father in faith. He will lift you and guide you. He will not always take your afflictions from you, but He will comfort and lead you with love through whatever storm you face." -President Thomas S. Monson I know that our Heavenly Father is aware of each of you, and loves you all so much. If you are having difficult times in your life, consider yourself to be one of his favorites, because he gives challenges and difficulties to the ones that can handle it. I am so grateful for all of your love and support at this time. Happy Birthday to Kati Thompson and Jimmy Moser! I love all of you so much, hope you have an awesome week!! Kitakits! Mahal Kita, Sister Pilkington