Week 1!!

Airport Goodbyes



Hello!! I am doing great! I love the MTC. I LOVE wearing this name tag everyday. I have learned that the MTC is all about your attitude. The first day was a little bit overwhelming but I loved it!! It really was so fun. But I have it pretty easy because my companion is Sister Owen!! We went to high school together and I couldn't have asked for a better companion. It's so funny when we talk to people and we are like yeah we are both from Mesa, same high school, yes we knew each other. It is such a blessing. We laugh all the time and have already gotten so close. And I've seen Jeff Kerr and Corbin McAllister and so many other Mesa people. Mesa really is the best city in the world.


Sister Katie Owen and me

My district, the people I spend all day with learning tagalog, is awesome. It's a bunch of 18 year old boys who just graduated haha but we have already gotten so close because we are together so much. Yesterday we were in the classroom allllllll day learning tagalog. And although at the end of the night my brain literally hurt and my eyes were burning and I was so overwhelmed haha, I had such a good day. We laughed, I almost cried, we were all slap happy together haha it's so fun. I have the best branch president, he and his wife are amazing people. They are the Howard's. They were mission presidents in Manila until 2012 and they are hilarious. My roommates are also great they have been here for 2 weeks so they are so helpful to me and Sister Owen. So many friendly people here!

My MTC District

Thursday we had this amazing workshop about loving the people that we are serving and I learned so much. It's crazy how I have only been here 4 days but I have already changed. I KNOW that this is where I am supposed to be and there are people in the Philippines who need me. We talked about how our purpose as missionaries is not to just teach lessons and get people baptized. It's to invite and help. And that should be everybody's purpose! Invite others to come unto Christ, don't force. And help and serve them!!

Friday morning at 8 AM me and Sister Owen taught our first lesson! In Tagalog!!!!! More like Taglish haha but it was SO COOL. The gift of tongues is real. It wasn't a good lesson by any means haha but it was wayyyy better than I expected. I remembered phrases that I didn't even think I knew and we invited our investigator Jodi to read the Book or Mormon and I showed her Moroni 10:4-5 and told her to read that. And she accepted, it was amazing. We teach her again tonight!! It makes me want to work on my Tagalog so I can talk to her! It was hard and kind of overwhelming but so so cool. (And the investigator is obviously a member and returned missionary haha don't worry I'm not teaching like a real investigator.)

Mt. View Toros in the MTC

Sister Owen and I decided that we are going to be the most obedient missionaries possible. We learned that obedience=blessings but exact obedience=miracles. And I know that we need a miracle if we are going to learn this language. I'm so lucky to have a companion that makes me want to be a better missionary! But unfortunately this means that people can't visit me at the temple tomorrow :( They told us not to have people meet us there. I wish I could see your faces one more time but please don't come see me because we all know I need miracles not just blessings!! Haha. I love this Gospel, I love being a missionary and I love all of you!! As I was sitting on the plane with like 20 other missionaries I realized that I am the luckiest girl in the world. I have the best friends and family!! I know this church is true and it can bring us more happiness and peace than anything else on this world. I am so excited for the next 18 months!! Alam ko na totoo ang ebanghelyo. Mahal kita!!!!

Sister Giles