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