October 21, 2012

Hello Family! How are you guys doing?? How is school and everything? Holy cow I can't believe that it is October already, and actually October is almost over... Holy cow! That is so cool to hear about all the sisters that are preparing for missions. I was reading Jacob 5 today and it talks about how if the righteous get stronger in the last days the Lord is going to take care of the wicked. I may have forgotten the exact words, and maybe I interpreted it wrong, but I feel with the lowering of the age for missions it is enabling the youth to be stronger. I love it. I know this work and church is true and it is only though this gospel that we can be truly happy. I love it so much. This week was a little challenging, but it is ok. We all have challenging weeks. We did a lot of walking. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT! Thursday, Friday and Saturday was basically all walking. The hearts of the people here are kind of hard. Our first and last appointment on Saturday was at 7:30 pm..... But it's ok. At least we were able to teach one person. He is one of our investigators. He didn't really seem interesting before, but on Saturday he had questions for us, and really seemed interested. So that made us really happy. It was a good way to end the day. They language is ok. It is slowly, slowly coming. But sure enough, it's coming.  Oh last week I was reading in 2 Nephi 9:51 and it says we will "delight is fatness". It reminded me of when Jesse came home from his mission and said that we are all going to be fat and happy. It was pretty funny! I guess that I just need to remember that here. Everybody says that I am going to gain weight because of the rice. It hasn't hit me yet, the weight gain, so maybe I'll be fortunate and not gain weight..... Haha, we'll see though. 

Sometimes the people here will say something in english, but we pronounce our letters different, so I will have no idea what they are saying. One of the words is graham. They pronounce it "grey-ham". They have a dessert here that is really yummy, its graham crackers with like cream or something layered they fruit and coconut jelly cubes on the top. It is really good. But I had no idea what they were saying. So I just ate it. About half way through I realized that it was graham what they were trying to say. It was really funny. The food here is really yummy. This morning for breakfast we ate noodles, like ramen noodles and it reminded me of Aunt Kathleen how she would eat chicken noodle soup for breakfast all the time. The other day we drank a Mountain Dew and it was so yummy. I think they are better here than back in the states... sorry Marshal!. I also tried corn nuts here, which were really good too! Yum. I am really hungry right now, so food is on my mind... haha. 

So for Christmas our mission is putting together a slide show of all of us. We each needed to take a picture of us with three words that has to do with the gospel. So on Thursday we took out picture. We got all ready, I even curled my hair and everything,. The second we walked outside I was dripping with sweat. It was probably the hottest day since we have been here. Holy cow I thought I was going to die! Then we have to ride in a tryke so my hair was out of control! But we took the pictures, and I think they turned out ok. Hopefully at least. But we seriously were so sweaty! It was really funny. After I put my hair in a pony and it was like all wet I was sweaty. gross huh?? 

It is harvest season now so there aren't a lot of people home. They are all out during the day. I think that is why it's been so hard for us. Even the people who might want to listen to us are gone, so it's been hard. But ok. At the end of each day it feels like the end of a disney land day. You know when you are so tired and your feet hurt, the only thing you want to do is sleep for hdays....... That's how it is. Also I will put my astringent on my face with a cotton ball and it reminds me of Zoolander because I get so dirsy walking on the streets all day with the wind blowing. It is pretty funny. 

So I have talked a lot, like usual. But I will try and send pictures this week. It didn't work last time so hopefully this time. Last week I wrote a really really long letter but I haven't been able to send it yet. Hopefully this week. I also wrote one to Grandma for her birthday but it probably won't get to her until way after. So just let her know that I'm thinking of her. You guys are the best. I love you so much. Thank you for all that you do for me. I know this church is true and God is helping us. We need to be obedient and help build up his kingdom. He loves us all so much and cares about us so much. Thank you for everything you do. I love you guys all so much! You are the best! Love you!

Love Sister Palmer

P.S. I might take some money out of my account. So don't be alarmed. xoxoxo 

October 14, 2012

Hello Family!!! How is everybody doing?? Wow I have been typing up a storm today, I think the keyboard is going to break in half. I will answer more questions in a letter, so I hope you remember your questions because it'll be in a couple of weeks. haha. I am just glad that you get the letters :) Well things here are good. I took notes during the week so I wouldn't forget to tell you guys some important detail of my day, like what they do when people die. They have wakes. But it is intersting. They set up a tent in the street which is just outside there house. In one room the is the coffin, and then they have videoake (?spelling) which is just karaoke. and people just sit and sing and eat. For about a week or so. It is pretty interesting. haha They have videoke everywhere!!!! It is the thing to do here!  They have ice cream men here, but they ride around on little bikes with a huge box carrier thing on the side. You always know when they're coming becuase of their little jingle. It's the best. I haven't gotten ice cream from them yet, but I did eat ice cream for the first time here the other day. And it was delicious! Like ice cream always is haha. So something that is interesting is what they eat. I haven't really beens erved anything super disgusting yet, but they other day we were talking to this lady and she was cutting chicken feet...... I couldn't stop staring at it. Wow it was gross. They cut off the finger nails and stuff. I guess it's delicious. Maybe I'll be able to try that while I am here. They call it adidas, because of the shoes.... Gross huh?  Ahh I am running out of time and there is so much I want to say, so I will say it in my letter. But it was funny that mom talked about starts because I was thinking about them last night. Star in Tagalog is bituin, pronounced "between". I think that is really intersting. I feel like the starts are just between us and Heaven. But at the same time Heaven is so close. Like Grandma Palmer, Grandpa Colt, and Connie, I feel them close. The people on the other side are helping us. The stars are so beautiful. I know that we all have a purpose and Heavenly Father is mindful of all of us. That was confirmed last night with the beautiful sky. Heavenly Father knew that I would need that at the end of each day, and beautiful sunset and he gave it to me. He knows each one of us!!!!!!! I hope you all remember that and remember him always. Conference was so good yesterday and Saturday. My favorite talk was Marcus B. Nash. He shared my favorite song and favorite scripture. We need to have faith and show the lord we are willing the follow him. That is the most important thing we can do in this life. I love you guys so much. This church is so true! Thomas S Monson is a true prophet and guides this church today through revelation from Christ. I love this church so much and the happiness it gives to everybody who will heaken unto his word. Thank you all for your example and prayers. I really feel them and the strength they give me each day. Thank you so much! I love you all soooooooo much! More than words can describe. Thank you for everything! have a great week! More to come, in like two weeks..... haha from a letter. Love you all! 

Love Sister Palmer

Ps. If you send a Christmas package, can you send me one more white wonder tee please? Thank you so much! xoxoxoxxoxoxo

September 20, 2012

Everyone! Here is Caitlin's new address:
Here is Caitlin's new address:

Philippines Baguio Mission

PO Box 7

Barangay San Vicente East

Urdaneta, Pangasinan 2428

Philippines

And here is a letter she sent on September 20th and her family received on October 9th.

Pamillya,

Kumusta?  Well guess where I am right now?  Sitting on a couch in my mission presidents house in the Philippines.  Can you believe it??  Wow, it's been so crazy!  Our flight from LA to Hong Kong was pretty fun.  They fed us a lot of China-ish food, so that was good.  I was able to sleep and I totally forgot to take the Advil PM pill.  I'll just have to save those for a rainy day, or the flight home.  Well, after 38 hours of travel we made it!  Our flight was long from LA to Hong Kong.  That's all you really need to know.  Then when we landed we had 40 minutes until our next flight left...yep, they already had started to board.  Mom's panic mode clicked in with me, that's for sure!  The Lord was on our side and we made it just in the nick of time.  The airport in Hong Kong was really cool and I want to go and visit that city when I get back, it seems really cool as well.  That flight was about 14 hours long when we flew to Manilla.  We went through customs  then we were met by some guy.  When we asked what his name was he said Barack Obama...hahaha, funny one.  We think he is a Stake President or something, but we have no idea.  We also gave him our passports and he asked us why we did that and we didn't know so he told us two reasons; 1. To renew our visas, and 2. If we had any intentions of going home early he would burn them.  It was pretty funny. 

 Our group got all separated into three vans and we set out.  We were driving all over and they drive like how it is down in Mexico.  Like there are lanes, but they don't use them and the three second rule we learned in drivers ed. definitely doesn't apply to them.  It is pretty exciting.  We were all taken to a bus station and we got our tickets and waited for a little bit.  We put all our luggage on the bus which was pretty interesting.  The guy who had been helping us told us to get on the bus so we did.  Then the bus left.  They were playing Titanic on it and it was so loud and the driving was really jerky so between all of that I got super car sick.  It was crazy seeing everything and it is definitely different than the US.  but it is really cool.  Halfway through our drive I realized I had no idea when to get off or where we were going.  So I started to panic again, but I was told we had about two hours left so we'd be fine.  We made two stops on our trip.  The first stop we were really hungry so we bought this thing that looked like two lumps on a stick.  It was actually really delicious.  It was a banana maybe deep fried or something with a sugar coat.  Masirap.  So yummy!  Then we still had a forever long ride.  I'm pretty sure that it was around 6 hours in total, basically the ride was long & crazy, but it was really fun.  

Then the bus stops and there are people with tags outside so we knew we had made it!  I never thought it would happen.  One of the Elder's jokingly said we had two more hours left and I thought I was going to die but good thing that it was only five minutes long.  Woohoo!!  We finally made it after 38 hours of travel.

We had a little dinner of PB&J's with some chips and a banana.  The bananas here are soooo good!!!!!!  The sisters got to sleep in the mission home, which was nice because it was air conditioned.  The Elders slept in a house down the street with the assistants without AC (I think they like the Sister's better.....haha).  We went to bed at 8:30 and we were so tired we slept right through the whole night.  This morning we had our President interviews and it was pretty cool.  President Monahan shared Alma 31:32-35 and those scriptures were perfect for what I needed.  President and Sister Monahan are awesome!  They have really been taking great care of us.  Then all the local missionaries arrived (we're considered the foreign missionaries) and they are so sweet!  We ate lunch together, again PB&J sandwiches, yummy!   One of the sisters was so sweet.  She said that she had looked at my online profile before and she was so excited to meet me.  I don't really know what profile she meant, but it was really sweet.  After lunch we just had a little orientation, took some pictures, and had a testimony meeting.  It was super awesome.  Dinner is happening soon and these two cute Filipino ladies have been working all day so it's going to be delicious.

Tomorrow we find out our Kasamas (companions) and our area and I'm pretty sure we go straight there and get started.  Man, I'm so excited!!  I can't really understand anything that they say but the language will come, if I work hard.

I hope you're doing well!!  The Church is true!!  I love it so much and I am so excited and blessed to be here!  I love the people here already and know this love will just continue to grow.  Stay great and be a light to the world!  D&C 115:5  I love you!!  I'll send pictures soon so you can see the beautiful world I live in!

LOVE,  Sister Palmer

P.S.  You can still send me dearelders!!!

October 7, 2012

Hello po Family! How are you all doing?? I hope you're doing well! I hope you enjoyed conference! We get to watch it next week, so I am pretty excited about that. Well, if you want to here is the blog for our mission. Sister Monahan, our mission pres wife updates it and stuff. It's thebaguiobeat.blogspot.com. Also, if you are going to send packages ;) you don't need to do the PO Box, but the rest of the address is the same. And they seem to get here ok so you should be fine. Also they say to just use USPS because if you try any other cheaper way we have to pay taxes on our end which comes out of my support. So that is the best way. Also in the description just put gift so they don't tax it a ton. So anyways, can I get Rita's email address please? Thank you so much! Dad, you will be proud of me beuase my showers are so short now!!!! Record time! And yesterday I tried showering out of a bucket, because work on the street is other apartments don't have showers.... So I am just learning. It was pretty great! Last week I ate isda, or fish. It was yummy.... but it wasn't cleaned out! Yuck, and we just ate the skin and everything. It was a little interesting. We had New Missionary Training last week which was really awesome to see Sister Stapp. I missed her so much! She is really great. She said that they have been served like pig parts too.... Ehhhh. That'll be interesting. Sister Sandoy (my comp) and Sister Perina (I live with her) love eating at american resturaunts, but they always get rice and chicken. It is really funny! And sister Allen and i always get the American food. It is pretty funny. The big jokes never get old! They are pretty funny! I am substantially larger than everybody here, so that is fun. A little different. The driving here would make mom crazy!!! Today we fit seven people on a tryke, which is a motorcylcle with a side car. Four people in the side car, and three people on the bike. It was quite the experience. Only in the Philippines. The language is getting better. I am able to understand more in lessons, so that is good. The conversation is coming. It's still really difficult, but it's good. I'll get it some day!! I am really blessed to have such a great companion who helps me so much! Sister Sandoy is 26. Her mom and siblings are members. Her dad wasn't and he died like 16 years ago. She is really great. She was a nurse before this. We get along which is great. We don't joke a lot because of the language barrier, it's a little hard to understand each other, but it has been really great. Just a good experience over all! I have loved it, despite how hard it's been.

This morning we did something really fun. So it is harvesting season here (for rice) so we went on a tractor ride and stuff. It was really fun. I took pictures, but they don't really do it justice. It is really sooooo pretty here. I hope you can see and try and picture it. There are just fields and fields of rice. One of my favorite areas to go is St. Bartolemew (?spelling) but the drive there is just all rice fields. it is so pretty!!!

Well things here are going well. This church is true!! Thank you for everything you guys do for me! I love you all sooo much! You are the best and such good examples to me! Keep reading the book of mormon!!! It is true and will help you with everything in your life. My card isn't working so I will probably not have a lot of time to email you pictures, but I'll try and get a couple in for you, sorry!! Next week for sure! Love you all!

Love sister Palmer