High Spirits

This week seemed to fly by. This week was truly one of spiritual highs. I had the opportunity to attend zone conference, zone training, the temple, and all sessions of General Conference. I was filled with gratitude throughout the week for the wonderful opportunities I have to be a part of such uplifting activities. Each night before going to bed I have enjoyed rereading my notes from the previous week and setting new goals for myself in my planner to improve each day. I am so thankful to have a living prophet to lead and guide my life on this earth. As I watched General Conference for the first time I felt a small tinge of homesickness. For the past two years I have attended several sessions of Conference and to see the familiar place I love so much pulled at my heart. But instead of feeling homesick I decided to feel grateful for the opportunities I've had to sit in that wonderful hall and hear the words of our leaders. I realized that most faithful saints in the Philippines will never receive that opportunity and I sat humbled and grateful for my blessings. I am so thankful for General Conference and the guidance it provides me. My favorite talks were Elder Holland’s about persecution and defending our faith because firstly I grew up in the South and secondly because that’s what I do here every day. I really liked Henry B. Eyring’s talk about the inheritance we leave to our children, made me wonder what I want my children to know about me. And I loved Elder Ballard’s talk about follow up and missionary work because afterwards tons of members came to us asking to set up appointments. Nothing like a little kick in the pants by an apostle of the Lord to get people motivated. It's amazing how they speak just to you, yet they're speaking to millions. It shows how alike we are as brothers and sisters on this earth. We all have individual situations, yet we all can be uplifted, edified, and personally touched by the same words. I am so thankful for the amazing gift I have to attend the temple every six weeks and involve myself in ordinances for those who have already passed through this life. I am so thankful for the leaders I have here in my mission and the wonderful insight they provide me during conferences, training, and meetings. This week my heart is full of gratitude, what a lucky sister missionary I am.

Mahal na mahal,

Sister Cork

Laura Story - Blessings

Blessings in Disguise

So all last week I had the flu and had to go to the doctor. I found out that I have a viral infection in my lungs and that I have to be on antibiotics for six weeks, which is no fun. But I'm so thankful to have access to medical care unlike the majority of the people here. Most people get sick from such small things and stay sick for so long. Children really struggle because they can die so easily from things such an pneumonia or a severe flu. I'm so thankful to have access to clean water and medication. It's really the little things in life.

A bright spot in our week is that one of our ward missionary couples were finally able to work with us. They taught three lessons with us and they were fantastic. Every person we visited with them attended church on Sunday. Hopefully our other ward missionaries will be able to work with us soon. I know that their presence adds such an important component to our lessons. We are so thankful for any time they can share with us. I encourage you to go to the missionaries in your ward and offer just a short little amount of time that you could attend a lesson with them. You don't know how much of an impact your testimony makes on investigators. Please, just try it. They will thank you for your efforts to do your part.

This week is going to be one of spiritual highs. We have zone conference, zone training, temple day, and General Conference. I'm so excited to hear from the leaders of our church. I am so thankful to have leaders who work so hard to prepare to teach and guide us. I love hearing the prophet speak and I can't wait to hear his words. Our General Conference is played in four hour blocks with no breaks. I'll have to be sure to take good notes so I pay attention. I'm so excited. 

I love the Philippines. The people here are wonderful, even when they're stubborn. I am so thankful to be a missionary and for the things I learn every day. Heavenly Father loves all of his children, no matter where in the world they reside. Each day I feel the love He has for them and I can't help but love them myself. Trust in Him and he will guide you always. If you're ever feeling down on yourself, try giving someone your time and love and I promise you'll forget all about yourself.

Have a great week. Love y'all!

Sister Cork 

Pictures:

1. Young Women's Activity. Making homemade candies (white sugar & sweetened condensed milk) to earn money for a trip.

2. A hot day at the Manila Temple. We wake up at 2:30am to get there on time!

3. Pilipinos are just plain blunt when it comes to weight. Whether it's to your face or through a sticker, they have no problem mentioning that you're mataba (fat)

Awfully Accident Prone

I'll be honest, this was the most hectic week since I've arrived. Heavenly Father gives us trials to smooth out our imperfections and prepare us for things down the road, I sure do wonder what he's preparing me for. Sometimes I asked him why he decided to send someone so accident prone to the Philippines. But things here are great, I love it!

- On Wednesday we said goodbye to our old kabahays and welcome Sister Miner (St. George, UT), Sister Hafen (Caldwell, ID) and Sister Romero (Bacolod, PHL). The next day though, Sister Hafen was taken to the MRC (Missionary Recovery Center). She's been struggling with her health and she has been there several times. She eventually made the decision to return home. I wish we could have gotten to know her better, she was super sweet and had a great personality. I hope she feels better soon.

- Sister Plame and I had to go contest an incorrect electrical bill this week. I thought that it'd be a short trip, but oh I was wrong. We stood in line with nearly 400 people for about three hours. When we arrived at the front they told us that the computers had been shut down for maintenance. They wouldn't budge on our bill and the mission office agreed to pay the extra. The woman told us we couldn't pay their, but had to go to a billing center, then go to a copy center and photocopy our receipt and return it to her by 5:00pm. We ran all around the city and we were exhausted.

- This week we went three days without any water. It happens occasionally in the Philippines that the water is just randomly shut off. We bought bottles of water to drink and cook with, but we really needed to shower by the end of these three days. Finally, we texted the president's assistants asking what we should do. In twenty minutes they showed up to our house and took us to the mission home to shower! It was so awesome. I'll be honest, I stepped into that big, hot, running shower and I cried my eyes out. Mostly from joy of just being so clean. I don't think I'll be that clean again for the rest of my mission. It was the best! They sent us home with a few jugs of filtered water. I am so thankful for my mission president and his wife, they take good care of us. Our water was turned back on the next morning.

- We did a service project this week and we had to clean out a pigpen full of trash, at the bottom we found three dead cats! Wow, it smelled bad. I probably won't ever forget that. 

- Lastly, while walking to a teaching appointment this week, a group of little kids ran by and one had a sharp, rusty piece of metal in his hand. I got a nice big cut on my arm, following by a nice big tetanus shot. So now I can check that off my list too. Trouble just seems to find me!

I love teaching people about Jesus Christ and his gospel. It's so easy and simple. We read in the Bible and the Book of Mormon that Jesus taught the children and it's because his gospel and teachings are so simple and easily understood. I'm so thankful too, because my Tagalog is really simple too. It's so wonderful to see how the gospel changes peoples lives. This week we got to see Brother Mike be baptized and it was such a treat! He's a great guy and we know the gospel will really bless his sweet little family.

I hope you have a great week! 

Mahal,

Sister Cork

Summertime

Summer is here in the Philippines. It is hot and wet. There's always a mist in the air. You never really know if you're wet from sweat, the air, or something else. It rained for about 24 hours straight this past week and afterwards everything was covered in mud. I'm used to everything being clean after a rain storm, but it was all pretty yuck. Walking through the mud and water all day was exhausting, I was happy to go home and take a shower that day.

This week I turned 20 years old! What an amazing thing to spend my birthday in the Philippines as a missionary. Only one birthday left in the mission! The day before my birthday we ended our appointments early because it's dangerous to be in that certain area when it's dark. My companion needed some things so we went to the grocery store. We spent about two hours there. I was so tired and just wanted to go home and do our planning. We finally went home and I opened the door and the lights flipped on, my kabahays planned a sweet little birthday celebration for me and Sister Lavador who turned 21 the week before. We cooked lumpias and chicken balls and macaroni soup and ate chocolate cake. It was so thoughtful and sweet. I loved it. We stayed up late (10:30) and talked and laughed. On my actual birthday I treated myself to a day of hard work and ended it with a hot shower. That's right, I boiled water for my shower. It was awesome. I felt so clean!

Yesterday we had a transfer meeting and we found out that our kabahay's (housemates) would both be transferred and replaced with three new sisters. Today they came and installed a new bed and desk in our house. It's pretty cramped with two recliners, a couch, five desks, and five beds. It's going to be cramped for a while, but we'll make it work. I'll miss the other sisters so much, but I know they'll do great things in their new areas. 

A fun story for the week...As we were walking down the street there was a man in front of his house who was pretty drunk. A few feet away was a little black kitten. My kasama and I saw it and said "Aww" and walked away. The man picked up the kitten and followed us for about 1/2 mile trying to give it to us. He was calling our names and waving the little kitten above his head. Finally Sister Plame turned around, snatched the frightened little cat from him, stuck it in her big leather purse, and marched away with a firm "Salamat po." (thank you) We turned the corner and she put the poor little kitten down. It was pretty amusing. Every time we pass him now he asks how our pet cat is doing. I think he's a little crazy.

Anyways, that's life here in Fairview. Have a great week! Pray often and look for little ways to feel God's love in your life each day.

Mahal,

Sister Cork

Birthday Week!

Hey y'all,

Sending lots of love from the Philippines. It's been hot here and the humidity really seals the deal. I'm a little jealous of every person enjoying nice Spring weather right now. I'll be 20 years old on Thursday and I'm praying for a tiny drop in temperature.

As a missionary I've had the opportunity to realize how clumsy I am. Last week we were going to a teach a family. The entrance to their home is a little hole, about 3x3, in a cement wall about eight feet off the ground. To get up there, there are plastic buckets stacked to make stairs. As I was climbing I was so focused on my feet, I didn't look up to see a huge wooden beam. I smacked my face so hard. My nose bled and I had a big huge goosebump on my head. It was pretty embarrassing. On Friday we were walking a playful little puppy grabbed my skirt and was pulling it. I reached down, pulled it out of it's mouth and it bit me, hard. But after several rabies booster shots, oral medication, and bandaged fingers, I'm doing just fine. Trouble just seems to follow me. My companion laughs because crazy people always seem to find me. This week a woman told me her son left the church because their neighbors are witch doctors and they used voodooism on him. She invited us to dinner and said we had to wear white so the witches could not control us. We politely declined. She followed us for about two hours then gave up. It happens pretty often.

This week we visited a member and she took us to the area behind her house and introduced us to all of her pets. She has fifteen pigeons, a mama pig, four piglets, six dogs, four cats, eight ducklings, and about sixteen chickens. We helped her feed all of the animals. The little pigs are so cute! I love them. After which she gave us popsicles made out of milk with fruit and gel inside. My companion ate hers fast, but mine was so salty I could hardly eat it. I asked her if it was supposed to be salty and she said no. She asked if I knew what the word salty means and I told her of course. She tasted it and asked the sister why it was salty and the woman told us that she froze them next to a basket of fish, so that was probably why. I just laughed, what could I do? If anything hopefully life in the Philippines will give me a stronger immune system. 

Hope you all have a great week! I love you lots and I'm so thankful for any & all support you send my way. Check out my blog for pictures!

Mahal,

Sister Cork

       This is called "fire rain" or ulan ni sunag. It's amazing and beautiful. It was incredible to watch. 

             Zone Activity, EcoPark

It was so nice to get out of the pollution for a few hours. The air was so clean and nice

Nakakapagpapabagabag

Hello from the hot, hot Philippines! I hope you're all having a great week.

My word of the week for you is nakakapagpapabagabag, which means the highest level of worry. It's quite a tongue twister, but luckily I don't have to use it very often. I do have to use pananampalataya (faith) though and it took a lot of practice.

Today we woke up at 2:30AM and went hiking with our district. We went hiking in Timberland. Look it up, it's beautiful. It was exhausting and I'm already sore. It was so steep that most of the hike used both our hands and our feet. When we finished we were covered in orange dirt. I have never been so thankful to take a cold, bucket shower in my life. It was so nice to be out of the city for a little while. It was so calm and quiet and peaceful. We got to the top right as the sun was coming up over the mountains. We could see beautiful, lush valleys to the east and sprawling cities to the west. Our Heavenly Father has created such a beautiful world for us!

This week I met more families in our ward and went to their home for dinner. Two of the families have autistic children who function at varying levels. I have become good friends with both of them and love giving them my attention. There are so little resources here for children with disabilities. Many parents have no idea how to handle them and often are told that it's a result of their sins. Here they refer to them as "special children". It's been a wonderful experience to talk with several parents this week of the blessing of raising our Heavenly Father's children. 

When I get back home I don't know how I'm going to every eat without using a spoon again. We eat with a spoon in the right hand and a fork in the left, used only to push food onto your spoon. I've gotten so used to it I can't eat with one utensil anymore! But, I definitely won't miss hand washing my clothes. It will be so nice to toss my clothes in the wash when I get home. 

The work here is good. It's busy and demanding but I'm so thankful for it. It's changing who I am and reminds me every minute of the day what I stand for. Thank you for every bit of love, support, and prayers on my behalf. I surely do feel them.

Mahal!

Sister Cork