Pictures for the Week

 Rescuing a kitten from the rain. I carried her around in the front pocket of my bag until the rain stopped.

 Dinner! Blood, ears, and intestines with spicy vinegar.

 Brand new baby goats. Absolutely made my day.

A few of our new investigators that are deaf, I love them!

(I had no idea my hair was so long until I saw this picture)

Hey y'all!

How's your week? What's the news?

The weeks here sure do fly by, but the days are slow, hot, and rainy. But we're hanging in there and loving it. So I just wanted to share a few things that I learned this week that I loved. 

Our mission president shared with us this week about fig trees. Fig trees first grow fruit, then they grow leaves. Sometimes though, fig trees will put out leaves even though they have no fruit. He taught us a great lesson about hypocrisy and competition. We can't put out leaves if we have no fruit, even if all the other trees have bloomed. Our time will come, we just have to accept the time of the gardener.

This week in relief society we had a fantastic lesson based off of the General Conference talk "Your Four Minutes". It's one of my favorites. The woman teaching said something simple, yet profound. She said, "Later means maybe never". Which is so true. How often do we say that we'll just do it later and it never happens? There should be less later and more now in our lives. For time really does slip by at a rapid pace.

Have a great week. Love you all!

Sister Cork

Boodle Fight

Hey y'all! How's your week? Ours was great here in the Philippines Quezon City North Mission. We had Elder Shane Bowen (Quorum of the 70, Philippines Area Presidency) come to visit us on Wednesday. Our whole mission gathered together for some great workshops. And then on Saturday and Sunday we had stake conference which was presided by Elder Ian Ardern (President of the Area Presidency). It was awesome, his counsel was wonderful and uplifting. We are so blessed to have a Father in Heaven who provides us with modern day leaders to instruct us. And the best part is the couple that I wrote about last week, they came with us! It's always great when those you're teaching attend church. And our mission president, President Bertin, used my companionship as an example of effective missionary-member work in a huge training meeting. It was flattering.

Yesterday, we were walking in the pouring rain. We were already soaked so we weren't even trying to avoid the puddles. My companion walked around one and I decided I'd just go straight through. Well, I sunk past my knees. Lesson learned, trust the native companion. 

And today we had what's called a "Boodle Fight". Everyone cooked a pot of food and we all met together and spread it all out on big banana leaves. You don't use any utensils, you just eat with your hands, which is called magkamay. It was messy, but absolutely delicious and tons of fun. 

Pictures are on the blog!

Love,

Sister Cork

Pictures

 So many sweet kids to love here!

 We all cooked dinner together a member's home. Tacos, spaghetti, sushi, french fries, salad, and pizza.

 A picture my companion took last week. She said my mom should know that I study hard.

 Snow White and Elsa 

 A dog? A cow? I don't know what this is.

Tricycle ride with my cute companion. Happy as can be.

Pictures

 Mission tour with two elders from my batch.

 Look what little gem I found in the front of a jeepney.

 After a service project. I promise I'm not that white, it's just comparitively I'm really white.

 We found a cave in our area and took a little exploring break.

 Probably my best friend ever. I love days when we visit his house! He never has on pants and loves to play with my hair. Lately his mom can't get him to take a nap because he is afraid we'll come while he's asleep. He always yells "Ate! Ate!" (big sister)

 

 This is called a Boodle Fight. You lay out big banana tree leaves and eat with your hands. We all cooked together and had tons of different ulams (types of food). My companion and I made lumpias (spring rolls). We had Pakistani food, beef adobo, pineapple chicken, Bicol express, and lots more. It was so fun!

Movin' Right Along

This week flew by for us, but it was a great week. I want to tell you about an experience we had with two investigators. Cynthia and Ver are both widows. They've been together now for seven years and when you're around them the love they share is nearly tangible. It's enough to make anyone smile. They live in a little house made of concrete and old bamboo. We've taught a few times while it's raining and we just laugh as rain pours through the ceiling. This past week they shared with us that they have been praying together as a couple and reading the Book of Mormon. They told us that they've been asking God for a sign or a way to know the truth for many years. Brother Ver mentioned that sometimes he feels thirsty for the truth. As we taught them the message of the Restoration, the spirit in the room was nearly something of physical weight. They told us through happy tears that they know we are messengers sent from God to deliver them the truth. The best part of the entire experience was feeling the Lord work through me. I wasn't worried about my language abilities or what I would say next, I just listened carefully and we were led by the Holy Ghost. It has to be one of my favorite, most powerful experiences thus far.

And, I may have accepted a huge responsibility. Sister Cork may be way over her head here, but she's going for it. Long story short, my mission president, my companionship, ten stake presidents, and 25 bishops will have a meeting on Saturday before our stake conference session to discuss the beginnings of the first deaf ward in the Philippines. I've been asked to give two workshops, one on deaf culture and integration into hearing wards and another on ideas for starting a basic ASL class. I'm so excited! I hope that there is some small thing we can do to at least get the ball rolling. It may not happen for many years, but I'll be happy to even see the start of it. 

So that's all for now, have a wonderful week!

Sister Cork

Seven Months: Complete

Hello August! I love August. It means rainy summer days, the beginning of the school year, and some of my favorite people's birthdays. Yesterday I finished my seventh month on my mission, pretty crazy. These past seven months have flown by and lots has changed. I have some pretty interesting tan lines, a permanent bag strap mark on my clothes, and I've gained this testimony that I wouldn't trade for the world. It's amazing that sometimes we think we know enough about the gospel or the scriptures or God's plan for us. Sometimes we really are just like children. I'm sure our Father looks upon us sometimes and smiles knowingly when we feel this way. I'm so thankful to live a life full of learning possibilities. There is always more to learn and ways to grow if we just seek them. I'm so excited for the time I have left on my mission and the rest of my life to apply the things I'm learning. 

Have a great week, I'll try not to drown in all this rain!

Sister Cork

5/13

Hey y'all! Hope you're having a great week. Life in the Philippines is still good. Really wet right now, but so great.

This week I finished transfer #5 out of 13. It was a good transfer, I feel like I've learned so much in these past six weeks. I'm staying in Deparo with my same companion, Sister Resurreccion. We're happy to stay together, the work in our area is really starting to change. One of our new quotes/mottoes for this transfer is a quote by Elder Ardern: "If you're disobedient in the little things, you can't expect blessings in the big things." So I invite you to join my companionship and strive to be exactly obedient to the will of the Lord. I know Heavenly Father keeps his promises and that if we do our part, he will more than do His. 

Love you all!

Sister Cork

Just a picture of the boy's orphanage I walk by each day. I love seeing them. They wave and wave. I know all of their names, I just love it. My heart swells up so big in my chest. I really would love to come back and take one of these sweet kids home. I could even speak their language!

Sports this morning. Jeremiah lives down the street. He's autistic, nearly thirty, and takes care of his father. He plays with us every week. We love him so much.

A house that got crushed during the typhoon