Jessica's Fifty Fourth Email! October 26th, 2014

Hello! No time! Ahhh. So much to tell. Okay! I am transferred!!!! I AM IN DAET! All the missionaries in the mission call it the promised land and I have been wanting to come here my whole mission and it has finally happened!!! SOOOO PUMPED! But I will start with Monday night! We had our 2 recent converts, Marez and Alice work with us to teach Joseph. MAREZ IS SO ELECT. Oh myyy. She was like leading the lesson, had been a member for a day! haha. We had so much fun working with them and wow, power in humble testimonies of new members! Then the Navarros (branch prez) had us over for dinner that night. Then Tuesday morning the Lopez's had us all over for breakfast at their house before we left. So nice! AND! They gave us a ride down to transfer point in their van. SO nice because the 2 bags thing did NOT happen and like dad said, trying to keep track of everything on a bus during transfers is not fun!!! BUT! I did it! All 8 pieces hahaha. Juts small random stuff, but still!

Okay so transfers! Fun! All my batch sisters were there. Good time. Then the announcement! DAET! haha everyone who's been in my district or ward knows I've wanted to go there so after all my friends were coming up "Hey! Sister Richmond is finally heading to the promised land." "Prayers are answered sister!" haha the funniest. So, I'm a horrible person so for the past few weeks I've been praying for an American comp... or at least in the same apartment. God surely has a sense of humor! I live with 3 Filipinas... but! God got his point across! It just doesn't matter! I love them all so much and we've had a great time already. Even got them all to sing me their national anthem last night. Hilarious. Okay, so sister Deyro, my last comp. So sad/sweet. She lost it after transfers. She came to say bye and the tears just wouldn't stop. I just hugged her for like 5 minutes and she was bawling. She is so great. I miss that sis! Bus ride to Daet! Furthest area in the mission. The travel was about 3 1/2 hours on a sketch bus. Loved it. I sat up in the back by all our luggage. I've been dreaming of going on a road trip and look what I got! Too fun! All the elders stood the whole way cause it was full. So kind.

The HOUSE is sooo nice! Tiled floors, toilet seat, the works!!!! Nicest one in the mission I bet. Love it. Me and my comp, Sister Araja in one room, the other 2 in the other. 2 BATHROOMS! It's super fancy!

The day after transfers the STL's stopped by for something, both foreigners. New Zealand and Australia. They were like oh gosh! You're the only foreigner! Call us if you need ANYTHING!!! hahah. So funny. But as I said, all is good. Not sure how this rice twice every day thing will work with my diet, but we shall see!

Our whole area is way nicer than my others! SO strange teaching people with tile floors and stuff! Love it here. Lots of less actives that we are working with to get them back to church!
OH MY! Best zone conference ever last Friday! All about the priesthood! I learned SOOO much. I kept asking sooo many q's and finally it was getting outta control so I started having the sisters around me ask for me. Such an interesting topic. Loved it! President Reeder is such a good teacher! Also! Sister Moulton's zone was combined with us. So fun to catch up and she just came from Tigaon so I got all the updates on everyone there! Sister Ril is in Daet too, my old comp, so I got to catch up with her as well! I am so grateful for all the priesthood holders in my life!

President Reeder thanked me for all my q's after the conference hahah, it was that obvious. I asked at least every other question. No shame.

We had stake conference this week! Wonderful! The Saturday session here is always just missionaries! So it was like 2 zone conferences in a row haha. But great! Got to sit with my home-girl Sister Moulton. The best. But the session yesterday was packed. Such a strong stake!
Okay, super out of time! Just realized Halloween is this week! They kinda skip that one here and just get on with Christmas! Hung my lights this morning! HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Have a good one. Love you all tons.

Love, Sister Richmond


Top 10
1. I'm in DAET!!!!!!
2. The bishop here wears converse! It's like Bishop Roberts!
3. Zone conference on the priesthood!
4. Chapel here is a stake center which means it has air-con, carpet, and pew benches!!!!
5. SISTER ARAJA! Love my new comp!
6. Nicest apartment everrrrr
7. Sis Araja is helping me with my posture mother!!! haha always whispers "straight bossy!"
8. Love the zone here! Great missionaries!
9. There is a beach here! It's raining so we'll go next week!
10. Did I mention I'm in Daet?!??!?! :)

 Teaching our investigator Joseph with our 2 recent converts! 

The best!!!!

 Alice. Baptized in June!!

 Marez- baptized in October!!

There, there

 Me with the Navarros, branch president and wife

 Well, I tried the 2 bags thing!

Apartmentship!

 Sister Putong!

 Breakfast before transfers!!!! 

At the Lopez's of course.

 Sister Lopez

 Sister Lopez, like a mom to us all!!!!

 Our neighbor

 Proper road trip! Snacks and all!!!!

 We couldn't decide if it was a dog or goat thing?!

 My comp is next to me.  

The girl on the far right and the one kneeling are the ones in our apartment.

With bishop and his family.

My companion!

 Our bathroom!

 Toilet seat hahaha

Jessica's Fifty Third Email! October 19th, 2014

HELLO EVERYONE!
What a great week, as always! First of all, I am transferring tomorrow! We got the call Saturday night, so tomorrow we will go to the transfer point and I will find out where I am going and who my companion will be. I'm almost packed but oh goodness, stuff just keeps accumulating, and packing your whole life into 2 bags is quite the task, let me tell ya!

I am excited and have really enjoyed my time in Camaligan. I feel like I have done my best and we have made a difference! Even if it's just in the relief society! Since I've been here we've had 3 investigators get baptized. All are teenage girls. Only a 14 year old, and two 18 year olds. Luckily I've got mom and Emi who both were baptized when they were teenagers, and look how much good they've done in the world. So yes, we'll keep trying to find the families, but my hope is that those 3 girls turn out just as active and awesome as my mother!

So yes, MAREZ GOT BAPTIZED!!!!! Ahh it was wonderful. She was so excited and everything went pretty smoothly. Her family couldn't end up making it :/ But she still was thrilled and had such a glow. And miracle.. both speakers showed!

We got mail this week. Always the best. Got some great dear elders from Sister Bertha of course, wonderful letters from Dave and Kari Rich AND! The greatest birthday card from Megan Bertha! OH MY! It was all these pics of when we road tripped home last year and just the funniest, happiest card ever. So many memories.

I hope you all know how much I am loving the mission. There is nothing that could compare to the things I have learned and experienced here. I am excited for the next 6 months and a new area to spice up the adventure! Kari mentioned how proud she is of my eating these days and I just realized how much a mission can change a person. Even the simple, seemingly insignificant stuff like the food a person will try! hahah, but I guess my life will be a lot happier now that I don't have to live off of hamburgers- ketchup only- and grilled cheese. I think you'll get a kick out of this week's fish pics family! Sad I missed out on so many fish meals at home! And yes, we really just eat it just how you see it in the pic!

Well, I love you all. I know that Jesus Christ's church that he established on the earth has been RESTORED, not REMADE. It is exactly and perfectly the way Christ would have it be. And I am sooo beyond happy to be a member of it. I'm grateful to my parents and all those before them who made the right choices so I could be born into this church. This stuff is real. I don't think I'd be kickin it in the Philippines if it weren't. We have the Book of Mormon. Such a blessing we can read it every day and grow closer to God just by doing the simple things like that. WE ARE BLESSED.

Well, I love you all lots. Thanks for everything. I'll fill ya in on the new area and all that next week! Have a lovely week.
xoxo,

Sister Richmond


Top 10
1. Marez's baptism
2. Dreamed that I was holding Brit Mann's new baby boy. That will be the day. My dreams have been crazy lately. Every night. So real.
3. I was eating the bag of unwrapped Reeses from my b-day package. Took me right back to creamery parties with kuya case! (No idea what she meant by this?)
4. Went for a run this morning and ended it at a pandesal shop for a little bit of warm bread!
5. Transferred! New adventure! 
6. 6 lovely months in Camaligan
7. Taught a ton of lessons this week
8. Casey is alive! Finally got an email to prove it ;)
9. Going to SM later for a lil shoppingggg
10. I am a missionary in the Philippines... what else do you need! :)

My new favorite food... not even kidding

 Creepiest man in the world

 She wanted a sign too, but did a little editing. 

Punch Satan in the noggin hahah

 Coolest card from Megan!!!!!

 Dasico family

 Buena family

 We had a lot of spare time waiting for people to show up hahaha

 Cooking fish balls

 Angela- recent convert

Painted my companion's nails for the first time ever