Well hello my wonderful family!! (And friends) :)
Thank you thank you thank you for all the emails of support and love. I feel your prayers and your love flowing over the ocean. Thank you Dad for your beautiful letter. I really needed to hear that. I really love that talk by President Deiter F. Uchtdorf. Mom, Jerry, Christina, thank you also for your wonderful letters. Mom, you always know exactly what I need to hear! I don't know how you do it. It must be a mom thing. :)
Before I forget, thank you again Mom for the Christmas package. I'm actually glad it came late. It's been a lot of fun sharing it with Sister Acenas. I don't know if her family sends her anything or how much they support her. They are not members, so I'm not sure she gets a whole lot. It's been fun trying to guess the gift from the scripture clue. She says, "your mom is so creative!" She's never had Macaroni and cheese, tacos, or several of the things. She was a bit confused when we opened the chapstick. She asked if we use that stuff over in the US. Haha. The air is so moist over here that people rarely use chapstick. Anyway, it's been fun. Normally, we wouldn't be able to find the ingredients for some of these things, but because we're in the city, we have the mall. We haven't looked yet, but we may try to buy some of the rarer ingredients and make some American food. But the sisters always want rice. I offered to make pasta once and they sweetly declined because they needed their rice. :)
I am becoming more familiar with the city and the streets. We take jeepneys every day because our area is really big, and it's about to become bigger! We'll be covering two areas after next Wednesday because one of the sisters is going home. We will become a threesome, with Sister Abonitalla (Filipina too). I am getting to know the people better now and I'm feeling a great love for them. Even though my Tagalog is still limited, I hope I am able to express my love to them for the gospel and for them. I miss the people in my last area and often think about them and how they are doing. It's amazing how much of a love you gain for the people you serve. I am really starting to love the people here, too. The kids are always a plus. They love you no matter what. :) I love them too!!
If you have any ideas for object lessons for teaching any principle of the gospel I'd love it if you could send them to me! We often have children in the lessons, and sometimes we are in charge of FHE activities with the families. I know children love visual aids (even adults, too) and they can be powerful, especially when related to a scripture or principle/doctrine.
I love this gospel. I love the people and I love my companion. It's amazing how much Satan tries to work on the thoughts of missionaries. He doesn't like our work and is determined to make us get discouraged or relax on the rules. But I will NOT give in to him. I am trusting in my Heavenly Father. With Him we can do anything. If there is anyone reading this who has thoughts of self doubt or thinks that life is hard, DON'T GIVE UP. Keep pushing forward. Those thoughts are NOT from God. God trusts you. He sent you to this Earth at this time to SUCCEED. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for my wonderful family who taught me about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you. I love you all.
Love,
Sister Harston
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