Thanksgiving Pheast in the Philippines

Hello family! Thanks for your emails. I love my stocking at home. So cute! I find out on Wednesday if I get transferred or not.

Thanksgiving was so so, so great. I loved it so much! We had a real American feast. And it was all delicious. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sobrang masarap [super delicious] yams, rolls with strawberry jam, gravy…And a ton of yummy pie and cheesecake. It was the best. It was so good. Filipinos don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but they liked the food. Most of them were extremely happy about the delicious feast.

The Dinkels hosted 37 missionaries for Thanksgiving!
 

Friday was a dream day! I got to spend almost a whole day at the beach with Sister Ackerman as my companion! We had to do a service project at a resort in San Juan which was right on the beach. We were supposed to be helping with a marathon thing. Our companions had to go to train the trainers meeting so I was with my first and favorite companion once again. And the guy in charge of it was so unorganized that we only ended up working for like 30 minutes but just hung out on the beach and played games and told stories from 8 in the morning until 6 at night. Hahaha. And we got two free meals. Best day of my mission... the day with no proselyting. Just kidding, just kidding. But seriously, it was the best. I collected some seashells and felt the South China Sea with my feet for the first time. Also, funny story… the guy in charge of it left us sitting in a picturesque bamboo hut on the beach at 9:30 and said he was going to go get us a merianda (snack). Then he came back at 12:45 with a new haircut! Haha, he did get us lunch though.

Sis Ackerman and I got back to San Fernando and we were waiting for our companions because they were in a lesson. We walked through the crazy Christmas celebrations at the plaza, got some yummy street pancakes and buko juice. We couldn't have imagined a couple months ago that the two of us would be free to roam through the Philippines by ourselves. [Editor's note: Sadly we don't have any pictures of this dream day, yet!]

Anyway, last night we found a SNAKE in our apartment…slithered in through the shower drain. It was pretty small, but nevertheless, it was a snake. Our landlady heard us screaming when Sister T was chasing me around with it and she came and got it and burned it.

We had an extremely slow week as far as missionary-work goes. Between weekly planning, Thanksgiving dinner, and the service project, we had two full days with no lessons, plus p-day. Good news though. Brother G quit smoking. Hasn't smoked in a week which is really really good! Manny is good. He's been reading the Book of Mormon. He also remembers so much and is so smart. Sadly he didn't come to church.

We had a really good lesson with the C family, which we are very happy about because we had been feeling like we were losing them. Their daughter was there (she is a member). She has a really strong testimony and they listen a lot to her. Brother C is ready to accept the gospel, but he wants to wait for his family. They are the family that we have been visiting the whole 12 weeks. They have been investigating the church for more than a year. Their daughter is in a different ward and is in her mid 20s. She has a super strong testimony and a million callings and basically holds that ward together.

Last night we visited the alley people again. I still can't believe how people live like that…it's not even meant for people to live there. Someone just found an open space between two buildings in an alley and stuck a tin roof on it and called it a boarding house. It’s very primitive and all of their water from dishes and showers and 50% likelihood bathroom just runs out in open gutters running through the "house." One of their kids is kind of interested in what we are teaching.

Last Monday was the most magical thing ever. We showed up at Sis Salvatera's for our weekly dinner appointment and we could hear Christmas music blasting from outside the gate. Then we enter and their house is decked out with a big Christmas tree, stockings, and light. Also, the plaza is crazy and it's right by our apartment. They have blocked off the roads and are selling all sorts of really cool stuff and they even have a Christmas carnival with Santa and performances and things. Also, the plaza is decked out in lights and all sorts of decorations. It’s actually pretty magical.

I really love everyone in the mission and most of the missionaries are really cool! I get along the best with Americans and Polynesians. There’s still a cultural barrier and difference in sense of humor between Americans and Filipinos that I’m trying to work on. It is sometimes hard to relate to them, so I’m working on that. I've been trying to notice what things Filipinos think are funny. Basically I’ve noticed that they like to say something that is illogical then laugh at it. Also, they love word humor. You wouldn't believe the number of jokes I hear about my name "Mortell... ooh tell more, Sister Mortell." or "Mortellity, immortel," or "is there a room at the Mortell?"

I can’t believe what a blessing my mission has been in my life. I have already learned so much. I have learned a lot about the Savior, and my testimony of the Book of Mormon has been greatly strengthened. I have learned so much from the people here, too. For example, some members who barely have enough money to meet the needs of their family insist on feeding the missionaries, because they know the Lord will bless them for helping His servants. They are so humble and generous and have so much faith.

Ally's apartment