Saturday, October 26, 2013

Jessica's Third email October 26th, 2013

 Third Email! October 26th 2013

OK! I have the best family in the whole world. Thank you so much for everything!!! Mom, to answer your question... NO! You do not send too many dear elders! There is no such thing! Christie writes me one every day I think and it is the best. I love hearing about what you all are doing!! So please! Write me haha it makes such a difference. It sounds pathetic but I love to hear about your days.
Heidi Hachtman sent me the nicest package! So many yummy snack, nail polish, a CD, so much!! Cute craft from Ryder. Thank you Heidi! Also thanks Brit for those Cd's you gave me before I left! Music is wonderful!! Stacy, I love that lip stuff and love the sneak peak to Jack's costume hahaha. I was DYING laughing. Thank you all for thinking of me! Mom I think you said you got my 3 page letter this week?? But thank you SO MUCH for that amazing Halloween package!! And I still am in love with those family pictures. I look at them all everyday. I love our family. Christie sent yet another amazing package complete with DC, popcorn, mints, and Halloween decorations! Thanks!! I am probably good on diet coke for now :) We don't have a fridge so at night we go stash them in a bush and they are arctic come morning time. Probably one of the better ideas I've ever had... like in my life. And mom. Yes! I got the cookie/ cinnamon bear package. THANKS! But you really don't need to keep "fattening me up for the Philippines" hahah. I am doing just fine on that without the extras cookies. Not that I don't love them and eat everything everyone sends but yaaa... 

Ok I really hate this part. But there are some things I need. Some sleeping pills would be prime. Usually I am way against that but I wake up like every hour and after 5 there is no hope for falling back asleep. So if that's legal and what not I would love that. I think I already told you this but just sometime before I leave the MTC that would be great if you could send a small battery alarm clock. I think we still have that blue one in the hallway. Mom, you said I could buy a skirt from the bookstore and I was gonna say no way but then last night some lady told me my skirt was a little too short and it was one of the ones I have for a lot of shirts. So I think they have skirts for like 17 bucks and I might get a tan one if they have it. Thanks. Okay so my teacher says it's good to have a SMALL English quad. I went to the bookstore here and they don't have the one I want. Idk if everywhere is sold out or just here but if you could look around and send me one that would be AMAZING!! I think you get a pretty good discount if you tell them it is for a missionary in the MTC. I want the new edition small black quad with the snap in the front. The new ones only come in brown and black so I like the black. Let me know if you can get one please. They are smaller than regular but I think a little bigger than mom's maroon ones. Thanks a lot. Mom I checked my debit card and it expires march 2015. One month before I come home haha. Inconvenient. So if you can try to send me a new one before I leave the MTC that would be awesome. Thanks.

For the bank stuff mom. I leave Nov. 18 at like 3:30 am so can you just make sure the bank knows that so they don't shut off my card. Also I sent the packet home yesterday with all the info so you should get that very soon. I can't check my account balance so let me know if I am close please. Also, I am getting my last two shots on like Nov 12th I think. They will be around $180 and then I will send a claim thing home or something that you can submit to insurance. Not really sure how that works but can you just make sure I have that in my account that day? Thanks! 

I am healthy and well! I thought I would be very sick since it's winter in Provo but I'm like the only one in my district who hasn't been sick at all... knock on wood. Maybe it's the lemon drops in my water!!! Hahah. When does Clayton get home? I think aunt Shelley said like 17 days in her email?! That is so exciting!! Yay clay! Dad, I laughed so hard reading your dear elder. Only in the Richmond fam do you and mom both end up in Vegas the same day and casually fly home together haha. My comp couldn't believe that mom flew to Vegas to meet up with some friends for the day. hahah. Christie... you are so right! Downeast shirts are the WORST! haha. Turtleneck... BRING SHADE BACK!! So sad... I can't wait to see the pics of Nugs all dressed up haha. Cute family costume idea!!! I hope you are recovering well from the wisdom teeth!! Should I have gotten those out before I left? LOL oh well... I don't think I have any or something. Feel like that would have come up at some point. Mom.. I am sorry I used to get so mad when you sneezed 20 times in a row. What I would do to hear your funny little sneeze right now haha. I promise I will be more patient in a year and a half. I also really liked your google translated Tagalog mom. Were you saying have a beautiful day? I'm glad you and Chris both got your Philippines shirts. Rep it! I have realized something... my 4 biggest fears are as follows... 1) Lightening/ storms. 2) Bugs/ rodents. 3) Gross food. 4) Earthquakes (7.2 last week?!?!? sketchhhh). Haha so as I was thinking about this I was also thinking about what the Philippines are most known for... repeat previous list. It's gonna be a crazy year and a half I guess.

Austin... are you still alive over there?!?! haha bunzy I miss talking to you!! Have you destroyed my IG yet?? Don thanks for writing me! Tell me about life... I'm glad to hear the Cougs won last night! Thanks for keeping me in the loop pops! We can hear the games sometimes but not really if we're inside. Just if we're walking around. So no, it's not too bad. If anyone was wondering, I eat frosted flakes every meal. I'm thinkin my health is probably really on the decline so that's less than ideal. haha. oh well. Fat and ugly isn't offensive in the Philippines! My teacher said you go to someones house and say hey! Is the fat man we saw the other day home? And they know exactly what you mean. Sad. I will not be easily offended when I get home I guess haha. In Tagalog my name is pronounced Hessica!! It's a dream haha. Megan Bertha will be so excited when I tell her that. Hey mom! No signs of that annoying youtube girl! Thank goodness. 

Ok! Two really good quotes I want to share with you! "Our success is going from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm" and "We're here to do our best and the Lord will do the rest." Love those! Also my favorite thing to say in Tagalog is bakit ako?! It means why me? Start saying it. I think it will catch on ;) 

Ok so my teachers are the BEST!!! I love them both so much! One is married the other is not. They both are in school and are just so nice and such good teachers! Brother Roxas and Brother Kovach. Yesterday I was having a kinda long day and Brother Roxas just wanted to do a quick demo to invite others to pray. I was sitting closest to him so he bore his testimony about prayer and challenged me to pray more earnestly. He asked me to say a prayer in front of the district and so I just started normal, no big deal. Then as I really sincerely prayed for the people we will teach in the Philippines and for help to better learn the gospel I felt the most incredible spirit. For sure top 5 for strongest times I have every felt the spirit. I started crying... in the middle of my prayer... in front of everyone haha. Luckily we are all really close now so it wasn't too embarrassing. I said amen and he continued with his demo haha. He had the question on the board "Did the person who you challenged show any evidence that they felt the spirit." Everyone was like uhhhh yaaaa. Haha it was so random but was exactly what I needed. So both of our teachers pose as investigators who they really taught on their mission and we teach them everyday. We are finally to the point that we can mostly get our point across... our grammar struggles haha. But this week we committed both of our "investigators" to come to church. YAY! I know they go to church and it wasn't real haha but it felt so good to feel that. I can't wait to really be out there teaching!!! 

Ok this is a super good scripture and I love it. look up D&C 130:2. I was thinking about grandma Giral and others who are very sick. Then I came across this scripture. So powerful. We are so blessed. 

Ok one last story. this one is a little scary but I am telling you about it because I know how much the boys love conspiracy theories so maybe you can use this to make one up haha. It's actually really sad. The other day Molly was flipping through her scriptures and there were two weird cutouts on two pages in like the shape of arrows. She read the pages and they were all about destruction and hypocrites. Scary. So then another girl in her district who also left her scriptures in the room overnight found a ton of red markings in hers in like John and around there all about liars and stuff. Super sad because 1) They both have to get new scriptures and 2) Some evil person (maybe cleaning crew they think??) destroyed scriptures in one of the most sacred places, messed up. She has calmed down about it now but it was freaky for everyone. Hopefully she accidentally tore it before she got here or something. 

Sorry to end on that note. And sorry for the novel. I really do love it here! The church is true! I can't wait to teach the people of the Philippines! Thank you for all of your love and support. Please write me!! I miss you all lots and love you even more!

Jessica wrote to me with the top ten because she had forgotten to include it in the email so here it is!:

1. Mail and packages 
2. I'm wearing jeans right now
3. This week went quickly
4. Nice weather
5. Sand Volleyball
6. We can get our point across when we teach... I hope
7. Molly is still here...Until Tuesday:(
8. Investigators coming to church
9. Family Pictures
10. Laminating parties! (You can get patriarchal blessings, family proclamation, etc. shrunk down and laminated for like $1!) 


Love, Sister Richmond

Amazing Halloween package from mom





Gym time- Splits!!


Prank from mom's Halloween package


Lyman!




M&M's and Almond Joy = Pre-workout


Keegan Roberts! (He is a Cravens relative and was in our ward for a little while! See him a ton.)


Connor Harris! One of Hunter's best friends.


PC church pamplets? Different pictures/races


NOT EVEN PLANNED! We must be BFF's


Package from Heidi Hachtman!


Hiding DC in the bust so it's cold the next day


Decorated door thanks to Christie's package


Quotes I like



She's an artist too


FALL!!!


Laminating party


After I had to change because my skirt was too short. Emo missionaries



Cute craft from Ryder!


I wonder if anyone has ever jumped?! They make it so easy.



More decorations from Christie


Had to capture a pic of sis Green's shades



Fall leaves + Mountains + Temple = :)


I guess it's been a long week


Sister Cochrane, Savannah, me, and Mckayla


Mckayla & Sav and Kevin & his roommates. Sucessful temple walk! 
Sister Green = NOT STOKED! 
#Sorrynotsorry Jokelang = JK in Tagalog



Saturday, October 19, 2013

Jessica's Second Email October 19th, 2013

 Second Email! October 19th, 2013

Hello family!!! Ahhhh an hour is not enough time!! Thank you so much for all the emails and letters. So last week I walked out of this room feeling like I was gonna throw up (nothin new) but this time it was because I was disgusted at how scattered my email was!! Probably so impossible to follow. No promises that this will be better but I'll try!! So I carry this little notebook around with me and I just write down everything I think of that I want to tell you about. After a week that thing was making me soooo stressed out so last night I spent like 30 minutes categorizing it for the sake of my sanity!!! Here it goes...

THANK YOU!!!!:
Kari Rich, I loved the pictures you sent me of cali, ryder, and junie!!! So fun to show those little cuties off to my comp and friends. 
Christie. You are the best sister in the whole entire world. She sent me sooo many profiles and wows!!! Ahhh I was in pen HEAVEN!! And tons of other stuff like mint truffles, pencil case. She even pulled through with the DIET COKEEE!!!!! Ahhhh such a dream. Love you! I sent you a thing today so look out for it!!
Mom! That pumpkin bread was sooooo danky. My whole district loved it. YUM. Thank you so much. Also you asked if I've been getting your stuff... do you not click to print the dear elders off?? Cause I see them on my email today but I've only gotten one printed. (Which is much preferred since I have so little time!!) And I'm not sure the exact rule on when I can hand write, but I sent you one the other day. I just do it during quiet time. There is also something in the mail for you!

Things I need:
K wow I hate the sound of this heading cause I sound like a brat, but it makes the most sense...
I would LOVE 3-4 skirt hangers. Maybe talk to Chris and see if she can get those? idk I just asked her today so if one of you could get that to me it would make me much less depressed every time I look at that horrid mess of skirts in my closet. Thanks!
I think we have a little blue battery powered alarm clock in the hallway drawer on the left side, second down. Please send that just sometime before I leave here. Apparently the govt runs out of monayyyy in the Philippines so they just turn the electricity off for a few days?? Sketch. But I don't really want to bring my plug in one.
Also! Dad said you got the family pictures back from Brit. I really want all of those if possible or at least most. Just like 4 by 6's printed at CVS or something. The only family pictures are of all of us lacking proper clothing on the beaches of Puerto Rico... so that always gets slightly awk during "brag about your family time."

Friends at the MTC!!!:
I love to see familiar faces here!! THE BEST!! Especiallyyyyyy when that face is that of MOLLY COCHRANE!!! (My BYU roommate.) She got here on Wednesday! I convinced sis green to study outside by the drop off curb that day (after much convincing, she agreed) so I saw her right when she got here. AND we are on the same floor for our bedrooms!! So I see her like 30 times a day. It's the BEST!! 
I also saw Ben in the cafeteria so that was fun!
And my friend Jake Blackwelder from BYU is here.
I saw Lyman who just moved up from west campus (he's the guy who was at our family reunion).

Things that make me laugh:
Apparently in the Philippines you point with your lips, not your mouth. We practiced that in class for like 10 minutes the other day. I'm gonna have the duck-face selfie down so good in 18 months!!!
In Tagalog Handa means ready. So every time we are getting ready to go somewhere and someone says that I automatically think HANDA MONKEY HANDA MONKEY HANDA MONKEY. People think I'm weird cause I just start laughing to myself but what can ya do?!
We decided we are best at spagolish... I guess I know a lot more Spanish than I though cause I always think of the word in Spanish when they ask for it in Tagalog. So ya... mix of English, Tagalog, and Spanish it is for now!
Sister Green and I now comfortably acknowledge the fast that neither one of us have EVER met someone who is more opposite than us. In our whole lives!!! Her favorites things consist of harry potter, musicals, reading, writing, so on so on so on.... so there's that. Now instead of pretending it's not there... we just say wow. The Lord really blesses us to not kill each other even though we are so different. The one thing we have in common is the gospel so we really are being blessed for our service!!! 
K so they told us that we are to wear our garments during gym time. I wasn't sure if that was a not-so-funny joke, or if they were being serious but I decided to be exactly obedient (sis greens favorite phrase!!!) So idk if that counts as funny. It really makes me cry more than laugh but it fit best in this category soooo... ya (that was for you dad).
No SUNDAY NAPS!!! This for sure would normally make me cry. But brother Kelley (elder in my zone) always says "We laugh so we don't cry" So true. Couldn't sum the MTC experience up better myself!! 

RANDOM:
OK so in Tagalog you say religion pretty much the same but with a lisp!! It literally makes me gag every time. My teacher doesn't appreciate it but I really can't help it. Sorry I'm not sorry?? JK I'm a missionary now so I try not to say that anymore. (A recommendation from sis green!!) 
CHRISTIE you are so legit!! Congrats on your internship. You literally get everything you try at. I am so excited for you!!!
The elders are like practically super good at Tagalog in our district. It would make me mad, but they are so nice and humble about it and always trying to help us sisters. They don't have sisters so they say we are their sisters. They are super cool.
Since this will only be the case for like 2 more days I think, I just wanted to take a moment to soak up the fact that we have 4 missionaries out from the Richmond family!!! YAY clay, Jesse, and mads!!! (My cousins name is Jesse btw, I'm not yaying myself!!!) 
I hope that cactus to clouds went great and I still have a dad and 3 brothers!! You are so legit!!!

ALMOST OUT OF TIME BUT TRYING AT A SPIRITUAL SECTION!!:
OK ahhh hopefully I will have time to send pictures. Just some little things to hopefully inspire someone!! The Sunday night fireside was SO legit!!!! OH MY!! My favorite part was when all the thousands of missionaries stood and sang called to serve. The spirit was SO strong. Later that night we watched a video that was a previously recorded MTC devotional from Elder Bednar. EVERYONE WATCH IT!!!! So legit Oh my. It is called Character of Christ and it's amazing. It's an hour so hopefully you can make it a family night or something! Dallin H. Oaks came Tuesday and gave a devotional. Favorite thing he said "whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." 

TOP 10:
1. MOLLY IS HERE!
2. DIET COKE
3. MAIL
4. BYU MINT BROWNIES
5. DALLIN H OAKS
6. BEDNAR VIDEO
7. PIZZA NIGHTS
8. FAKE INVESTIGATOR COMMITTED TO COME TO CHURCH
9. GYM TIME
10. TEMPLE

Alright!! Well I am very out of time. Sorry for the novel. I love you all and I REALLY love hearing from you all!!! You are the best. Thank you for your love and support. I am happy to be here and happy to be a missionary!!! INGAT!!! (Take Care)

Love, Sister Richmond

Jessica wrote captions for the pics and asked me to write them under so that's what they are! haha. 



"Outta the gates! Sunday Walk"


                                                                                               
"Girls in my district after a temple session"                                                     "Matching Skirts"
    "Companions!"                                           "I love Sister Green"


"LOL Missionary Kicks"


                                             "Cheese"                            "When in doubt, selfie out"


"My friend from Highlands Ranch. Sister Alex Cattich!"

"Elders"


"My district and the other Philippines district that came in the same day. We do a lot with them. Same Zone."

"Girls from the two districts"


"Kasama (Companion)"


"Our District (The Whole District. Only 6 of us.)"




"My friend Eric from BYU"



"A solo sister and solo elder can't take a picture together. The boy who is standing next to me is my friend's cousin so we took this to send to him. HAH Sorry Sister Green."



"Classic picture like mom wanted"


"Selfie"


"Not sure how allowed this is but it started raining and was arctic so an elder in the other district gave me his coat."


"Both districts huddling under the tree to stay out of gates as long as possible."




"Such good pumpkin bread from momma"


"Can't really tell, but we both have puff sleeves"


"AMAZING pens from Christie! Wow and Profiles (the brand of pen) Yay!"


"Tried to look like I injured my heel. Really my shoes stained my foot."


"MOLLY COCHRANE'S ARRIVAL! Best day ever!"


BYU Roommates reunited! 


 "Diet Coke from the best sister ever"



"Molly and I are on the same floor so we hang out at night"


"Classroom with the girls"


"DC!"



"Pizza Night!"


"Reunited with the best vendies"


"AND Chocolate Milk!"


"Walkin to the temple! Beautiful day!"


"The two Nov 18 Philippines Districts"




"Temple walks are the best"



"After hours Gardetto party with Molly!"