Dreams

Hello there! Sorry it took me longer than usual to post this weeks blog, but I completely forgot! Can you believe it?
 Well anyway, Hope didn't have any more earthquakes as big as the one last week, thank goodness! When I sent her my email this week, I had mentioned that I had, had a couple of very strange dreams about her, and  wrote them out so she could read them. I also talked about the awesome talk that I heard at our Stake Conference just this past Sunday, and I told her that the area 70 spoke about families and what stood out to me. And this was her reply:
Wow that is so crazy! I have been having weird dreams too! Like super weird! I had a dream that you came to pick me up at the airport in Vegas but you couldn't drive me home because you and Dad had Tyler Jensen's truck and since Tyler wasn't with you i wasn't able to ride in it so you and dad were like good luck getting home and so i started pulling my suitcases down the road and Sarah Carpenter came and gave me a ride until St. George and then Emma from the hotel was there and said she could drive me to the hotel but then i would have to find my own way home anywho so as we were near that bridge in new harmony and i realized it was a dream and i was like "Emma drive faster, I want to see Cedar and my family before I have to wake up" Yep never did make it cause the alarm went off. and then I had a dream last night that me and Ginessa were in a wilderness and we finally make it to her house and Gina told me "are you even speaking in English and i was like sorry i was in the Philippines and they speak Tagalog" and then she was like why were you there and i said "i went on a mission" and then she was not supportive at all and was like "why didn't you study first? And do you know why Danica lost her sattle?" then i woke up it was weird hehe i have been keeping a dream entry in my journal and my goodness how do our minds think such weird things :p 

Wow and area 70 that is great! :) Yes families are so very important and as i have been away i have noticed how much family means to me! and when i get home i am not leaving the house for a week! :p

I have a letter that I'll be sending you later today hopefully! also you should be getting a letter from me tomorrow. i sent one the other day on a Thursday and so it should be getting to you later today! :) Oh did Hilary get her letter yet?

When I asked her how she was doing she replied with this: I am doing great, i just stuffed face at chic boy and it was so masarap!

Here are this week's pictures that she sent ~~~ ENJOY!

Group Picture

Me and sister Tavana but we call her Taba na cause in Tagalog that means fat haha but its a joke and we all laugh

Lunch at the Ragasa's

So while we were emailing Hope asks me to send her a picture of the Pillsbury Dough Boy~~~ 

So this is what I sent back to her:

Well I hope that every one has a great week! Until next time, and may God Be with all of you and Keep you safe. Thank-you  for following this blog, it is so appreciated!

Earthquake

So while I had the fortunate experience emailing with Hope on Sunday night, and remember she is 15 hours ahead of us right now, so it was about 2:00 p.m. her time, and while we were emailing, she came on with this message for me:
I was just in an earth quake! The whole building was shaking and people were running and getting out of dodge. I am in a place called pure gold and holy crap I have never seen people move so quickly in my entire life holy crap the whole building was shaking! people were running and shouting haha best thing yet! ha my companion was trying to drag me out and I was just standing there enjoying the quake. ha so in the Internet cafe I am in there are about 30 people in here. Well when it started quaking everyone ran away and only the 8 missionaries there were in here stayed ha we are mostly foreigners :) hehe people are slowly making their way back in. WOW! you should hear the commotion that is going on here

So ya, she got to expericene her first earthquake This is what I found on google about it:  A strong earthquake measuring 5.3-magnitude on the Richter scale jolted some parts of Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte Monday afternoon, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

The tremor, which was registered at around 1:56 p.m., has originated 29 kilometers (km) southwest of Burgos, Ilocos Norte.Intensity 5 was felt in Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. Phivolcs described an Intensity 5 earthquake as strong and is generally felt by most people indoors and outdoors.Meanwhile, Intensity 4 (moderately strong) was felt in Sarrat,
Laoag City, and Paoay, all in Ilocos Norte, Intensity 3 (weak) in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, and Intensity 2 (slightly felt) in Santa, Ilocos Sur.Phivolcs did not immediately report any loss of lives or damage to property due to the earthquake. However, it warned of possible aftershocks generated by the strong tremor.The earthquake was tectonic in origin meaning the ground shaking was primarily due to the sudden movement in the earth’s plates.Being situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Philippines is vulnerable to earthquakes, averaging 20 weak to strong tremors every day. 

So that was fun: NOT!!! When you are 4000 miles away! When I answered her I said just be careful and remember there should be aftershocks: and she replied with this: NO don't worry. it was great! haha my heart is a little racy but I'm fine :)
When I asked here where she was she replied and said this:2 story building! a huge building called Pure Gold. look it up on Google Maps. and i am on the bottom floor. it's kind of like a mall. maraming tao (many people) it's in the centro of town.

The Pictures that she sent this week are great! So I hope that you enjoy them:

She sent a similar picture last week. 

happy living the chub life :)
(those hare her words)

Her and Sister Rico. This is her Sister from different parents: Sister Rico. and Hope share alot of important dates: They both turned their papers in on the same day, they both received their Mission calls on the same day, and they both had their Mission Farewells on the same day!

Hope and Sister R.

Memories

I was fanning flames for the BBQ at the Gaspars house the other night :) The girl is Diane 

:this is what we do in our spare time :) hehe 

The Apartment

Cleaning Day at the Apartment

This is a float in one of the parades!





I hope that you enjoyed the pictures this week! I thought that they were wonderful, I am so glad that she shares some of her mission with me, and what better way than through a picture.
Hey, If you get a chance to write her a hand written letter, I know that Hope would greatly appreciate it.
her Address is: Sister Marina Hope Kenfield
                          Philippines Laoag Mission
                          Brgy. #50 Buttong, Airport Avenue
                          Junction Tangid Road, Laoag City
                          2900 Ilocos Norte
                          PHILIPPINES

Thank you so much for reading this blog, it really had been a great "Journal" , and I know when Hope gets home off her mission she will love this!

Washing Machine

We heard from Hope last night in an email, and she is doing Great! She didn't have much time to email, but she was able to send a few pictures this week. So here they are, Enjoy! 

They apparently got a new washing machine, nothing like I have ever seen before, but she said this about washing her clothes: 

Ha pretty sure my hand washing skills are not that great haha but it needs to be done :p hehe and I like the calmness of it. even if it's rough on my poor stretched clothes. 

I SURE DO WISH THAT SHE HAD ACCESS TO A DRYER, IT WOULD HELP HER CLOTHES OUT, AND MAYBE GET THEM BACK TO THEIR NORMAL SHAPE. 

But small sacrifices!

PICTURES

So proud of her, now she knows how to clean clothes without using electricity!

There's that face!

I love her face in this one
This is referred to as Filipina Nanay

 Yay weekly planning :)

Love the Turkey in the mix

A Reece's tree that made it all the way from Utah to her, and it didn't melt as much as I thought it would!

 It made it and it only melted a little! yep i had an "i need Reece's day" the other day

A letter that I sent her, and it arrived to her in a baggie, who knows what happened in transit!

This is what was going on during personal study the other day.. . very distracting :p

That's it for the week, Loved hearing from her. She hit her 10 month mark today!

Please pray that she and her companion have some success this week, things are going really slow for them.

May God bless you and keep you all safe, until next time, Have a great day!

86 Steps

 I am finally feeling not scared about speaking Tagalog. And I really just love the Gospel, I love it so much! I love the Celestial Kingdom and sometimes  I sit and day dream about it. I  just love that we have this knowledge and we can one day go to a place and be free from care and worry and just be so happy and at peace all the time forever! :) IT just amazes me! This week I have just fallen in love with the gospel and I'm so glad to have it in my life. 
The above was written by Hope in an email I received from her last night! I am so happy to hear that she loves the gospel and that she has the knowledge of the Celestial Kingdom.
She also wrote this: OH i miss the snow! I can't wait to dive right in. 

Yea i always pray for my area. don't worry it happens in the city. and even though we got snubbed we got 24 lessons this week that is a high for Laoag 5! :) 

I know and i have had so many miracles in my mission! I mean you talk to my dear P.  and if she was the only baptism I ever had that would be fine with me because I have seen the changes and been there to witness the happiness that it brings to peoples lives and it really is an honor to be serving and even though we get snubbed I just push on cause I know that I have done good and that there will be more good in the future.

She also wrote this in her email~: I am so glad that Faith is spending time with Nanny :) and yes i know exactly what you mean :) haha

Yes i am tan now. you should see my feet. ha in my apt. we are all just Tannies :) mwahaha

I am so glad that you are all reading together :) it makes me smile :) 

So the headaches are gone! What caused it was this stuff called kataulis lotion. I had been putting it on my heat rash every single day since the day I got in Laoag 5. and when I was staying with the other 2 in another apt. I didn't bring it so the head aches went away but at that point I had no idea what was causing it so i was certain that it was something in the other apt. but then my heat rash got worse so I got some more lotion and then all of a sudden headaches again! I finally realized it and threw it literally as far away as I could from me. and since then nothing :)

So it wasn't her last companions perfume like she thought!

She also said this in her email:

Yes STL life is busy but it's so much fun! :) I miss Vigan every single day! Vigan was like home to me and transferring out of your first area is the hardest. I miss Bacarra because it was such a fun time in my mission and the work was so great there! But I love Laoag 5 too even though it's tough to teach and our number of lessons are low, the members make up for all of that. Laoag 5 is the best concerning members and using their callings to the best of their ability. :)

HERE ARE THE PICTURES FOR THIS WEEK, ENJOY!

These are her Sister Room-mates

The 3 missionaries standing were transferred last week to a different area, and the one on the wall stayed!
He got a new companion. 

Hope and her new companion

These are the 6 missionaries serving in Hope's area,
the Sister's out number the Elder's for once.

86 Stairs leading away from the church.
She must of counted them.

COMPANIONS

THAT IS ALL FOR THIS WEEK, Hope is doing what she needs to be doing! She is loving missionary work, and the people that she is serving.

Please pray that she finds people that are in need of the gospel in her area, someone who will listen to the message that she and her companion has prepared to share. That would really help this week, if you would do that.

May God Bless You, and Keep you safe! Until next week, and Thank-you for reading this blog.