Week 4!!

Hello friends and family! Time is flying by. This week was so great! Tagalog is still very, very hard and I am still very bad, but I'm actually having a lot of fun learning it! I love when I am sitting in class and something clicks. Bless my teachers for being so patient and answering all my questions haha. Sometimes I wish they would speak English for like 5 minutes but I know this Tagalog immersion is helping a ton.

One of my teachers taught an amazing lesson this week about aligning our will with God's will. He shared Luke 22:42 and said that even Jesus Christ had to give up what He wanted and submit to God's will when He was performing the Atonement. I know that sometimes it can be hard to give up what we want and ask God what His plan is for us. But I know that when we align our will with God's, He will bless us and help us become the people we want to be. I'm thankful to know that I am a child of God. I know that He loves us and has a plan for each one of you. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who made it possible for me to try again and become better every day! How amazing is that??

The host from Music & The Spoken Word, Lloyd Newell came to the MTC and we did like the MTC & The Spoken Word. It was so cool to be a part of it! We watch Music & The Spoken Word every Sunday here it's so good!! I don't know why I never watched it before. You all should watch it this Sunday.

This week we taught the nicest old Filipino lady. She's a member from the Philippines and lives in Orem, Utah now. We shared a message with her to practice our Tagalog and teaching and it ended up being one of the best experiences I've had so far! Sister Owen and I were teaching so well together and the Spirit was definitely guiding the lesson and helping us. We were teaching her about pananampalataya (faith) and challenged her to read Alma 32 and pray about how she can increase her faith in Jesus Christ. She started crying and shared a personal experience with us and told us that she had been struggling with her faith and was looking for an answer from God. It was an amazing lesson. I know that God was working through me that day. I know that God loves this lady and is totally aware of her. 

Sorry, I wish I had more stories but just know that I am so, so happy here! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I am so excited to be in the Philippines in 2 1/2 weeks!! I am definitely going to take advantage of all the hot showers and American food while I'm here. I'll end with a quote my teacher shared this week that I think could help all of us right now, no matter what stage of life we are in. "Learn what you should learn. Do what you should do. Be who you should be." I love you all!!! Thank you so much for the support and prayers. 

Me and Sister Owen with the new sisters that came in 2 weeks ago. Sister London in the middle is from Kirabati and went through the temple for the first time right before this picture! It was so special to be there with her! 

Me and Sister Owen and Sister K at the temple walk last Sunday. Those are the bestttt! Our whole branch brings blankets and we lay around and talk for hours. And it feels amazing outside!! I love Utah right now. Sister K (her last name is really complicated and hard to say so we call her Sister K) is one of my roommates and she is also from Kirabati. She is sooo funny and cute. She's learning English and Tagalog here, she is amazing. Her favorite song is Jar of Hearts hahaha and she always sings the chorus in this cute accent and gives me hugs and tells me I'm beautiful in Kirabati. We will definitely be friends forever!!

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Lots of love,

Sister Giles