Thrilla in Manila

Kumusta!!!

Holy heck I love being a missionary! I have two weeks to report on since last friday was not really a p day. SOO here we go.

Here are some things that I've learned so far:

1. Do not take strange Australian medecine no matter how horrible you feel

2. Tagalog is the most beautiful language but it's SO HARD to learn

3. Filipinos drive insane but they never get in wrecks

4. The Spirit is the real teacher

5. Fish eyeballs are not as squishy as you'd think

6. The Jacob district is the best district

7. I wish I had an accent

Let me expound.

1. So in my district we have my mgakasama (companions - I'm in a trio) and two other elders. Elder Chrichton is from Australia. I have a bit of a cold and I wasn't feeling good at all, so he gave me some of his medecine and my body didn't like it. first it thinned my blood so when we played volleyball at gym I got tons of broken blood vessels and bruises on my arms. Then it made me shake like a chihuahua. I'm fine but it was so weird. It's normal for a 6'2" elder I guess... haha but a good thing that came of that was I asked for a blessing and Elders Chrichton and Bautista gave me one. It was such a beautiful blessing and I felt the Spirit so so strongly. Heavenly Father takes care of His children.

2. I LOVE TAGALOG. Like for reals. It sounds like a mixture of Spanish and Mandarin.Which sounds really weird but it's accurate. I know that the Gift of Tongues is a very very real thing.

3. Driving to get our Visas was an adventure. Filipinos are the defenition of agressive drivers. ALL OF THEM. I would never be able to drive here. I'd get killed. But they're so good at it. They're completely fearless.

4. We taught an investigator who turned out to be our teacher. completely in Tagalog. I know so little that it was just like.. stress beforehand. But despite our flipping through our English to Tagalog dictionaries, the Spirit was present in every single lesson and I know that she felt that what we were saying was true. Even though she was acting, you could tell. No matter how little we know, the Spirit is the one that does the talking.

5. The food here is so good. Like really. Today for lunch we had fish. Like a fish that was caught and then cooked. Nothing else. The Aussie dared me to eat the eyeball so I of course had to do it. I was expecting it to be squishy and what not but it was like eating a bead. but weirdly good.

6. My district is seriously incredible. We all just get along so well. My companions sister bell and sister layola are the sweetest and funniest people and I love them to death. The Elders are hilarious but immature. We all joke around so much but when we're learning the Spirit is definitely there.

7. Aussies, New Zealanders, Pakistanis, Samoans, Tongans, Filipinos. I'm one of very few Americans. I just want any one of their accents. They're all so cute. The Filipino accent is theeeee cutest. My companions and I always talk in their accent when we do roll call and throughout like everything. I am in love with the people here. Words can not describe. Plus they love me. when I first got here, everyone was looking at me and at the hotel we stayed at the first night, the workers wouldn't let me carry my bags but everyone else was okay to... haha and a lady stopped me to tell me that I'm beautiful. I feel pretty special and blessed to be here.

So much has happened and it's hard to say everything in such a short amount of time but I just want everyone to know that I love being a missionary and that I KNOW that the church is true and I KNOW that our Father in Heaven is very very mindful of each of us and He loves us beyond our comprehension. I have felt that love so many times while being here. This is the Lord's work. This is where I am meant to be right now. It's hard, but as Elder Bowen of the Quorum of the 70 who came and spoke to us this week said, "Life gets tougher and tougher, but you get stronger and stronger."

Mahal Kita!!

Sister Wilkins

P.S. Chris, Alfredo says hi. I sat next to him on the flight from SLC to LA. OH! and this Japanese lady on my flight from LA to Tokyo who spoke very very little english was asking me about the Book of Mormon. She looked it up on her phone and asked me if that was what I was reading. I love the gospel and I love sharing it! 

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