Dear Family and Friends,

After a LOOOOOONG flight I am safe in Cebu! Goodness gracious it's so gorgeous here! Everyone has super swollen feet and ankles from the long flight - we didn't do the exercises and now we are paying for it! Mostly we just slept! But we're all still super tired...

 

It's like 6:35 pm here right now and we just finished eating pizza and ice cream! For lunch (since we missed breakfast and arrived in Cebu like 4 hours later than expected) we had pancakes with guava and mango jam! And fresh bananas. Seriously I'm never going to be able to eat those nasty ones we have back home ever again!  This food is amazing and I am in paradise!

 

The mission home is a MANSION! Beach front property in a gated community. There's a pool with a bridge over it, and President and Sister Tanner are SO great! Tomorrow I meet my new companion/trainer and find out where I'm going. I don't think I'll be able to email again for awhile so you'll just have to wait until p-day to know where I'm at! President Tanner did say he's not sending any new missionaries to Bogo due to the destruction, so I definitely won't be there.  That's a relief!

 

Speaking of p-day, I don't even know when that is. However, I did find out that if we're on Cebu, we can go to the temple once a month! SUPER EXCITING! I've been taking a lot of pictures, so I'll try to get some to you next time. Right now we only have 3 computers and all the missionaries have to email.

 

We have 2 new Filipina sisters and a new Filipino elder. They all call me Snow White! I was standing in the sun today and they like dragged me out of it and told me not to stand in it! They're so cute and I definitely feel loved!

 

Oh for Taylor: So this place is pretty close to Taiwan....and let me tell you...you might want to reconsider seriously wanting to serve there cuz it's SO hot! Just standing outside - it's so humid that you seriously feel like you're swimming and it's so hot that I start sweating just standing outside not moving! Even when it was raining it was so hot that I was STILL sweating! All of those poor elders with their long pants...but I definitely wouldn't trade it for anything. It's hot as Hades year round, the rain feels like a hot shower at home, but I love it so much already. So yeah. If you don't like the hot/humid....it's like a billion times worse than Florida in the late spring. On the other hand, it is beautiful here!

 

Got a lot of tips from a companionship of sisters who were just reassigned here from Tacloban. They're super cool and awesome. Just gotta accept the fact that my arms and legs will probably be permanently scared by mosquito bites. But it's all good. Maayo siya.

 

Well, I'm gonna go let some other missionaries email. Just a heads up: if I end up on Bohol, I probably won't get a lot of time to read emails, so you won't have to forward me anyone's emails cuz I won't have time! We'll just see how it goes :D

 

Oh and my stinking district! Elder Jacobs and Elder Ellis left without saying goodbye! Elder Archibald would have as well if Sister Grigg and I hadn't climbed into the wrong vehicle and found him in there! And Elder Lasalosi, too, but his luggage got "lost" so he had to stay.

 

Love you lots and it was SO wonderful talking to you! I would have called in Manila, but the plane was delayed because we stopped in Honolulu (yeah, I made it to Hawaii!), then we missed our flight to Cebu and had to go to transfers, and they put us on a plane that was leaving just after, so we had exactly 11 mins to get through customs and all that. Then they didn't have enough room for all our luggage, so when we got to Cebu, we had to fill out lost luggage forms, and the people only spoke Cebuano, so I thought he said that my bag was still in LAX and so I was freaking out, but, tender mercy of the Lord, the lady had put it all the way through to Cebu, so it came in on the next flight.

 

Yeah, just to close up, I love you all! I miss you, but this is gonna be so worth it. Today Elder Johnson said something that struck me. He said: "Everyone keeps saying that part of the reason they're serving a mission is to try to pay back the Lord in some way. But I know we can't do that. Honestly, sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven. Serving a mission is basically just us giving our Father in Heaven and our Savior more reason to bless us." And it's so true. Since coming here, I have been SO blessed.

 

Love you! Amping! Kita Kits!

 

- Sister Warner -