Q1 - Does there seem to be a pattern to why there are so many less active members in your new area?
A1 - The majority of people go less active because they get offended or they miss the Catholic traditions. I have met many people who will say they used to be a member but have gone back to the Catholic Church. Many have the “I was born Catholic, I will die Catholic” attitude. Filipinos are very good at speaking their minds but can also get offended, so that combination causes a lot of problems. Q2 - People (especially grandmas) would like to know more about what you liked from your giant Christmas box. We can’t even remember what we sent you. Any favorite stuff? Anything rotten/ruined from floating through too many typhoons? A2 - I honestly don’t remember who sent what… but thank you Grandma Jean for the cute quote on the wood and Grandma Beth for all the clothes. Of course I loved the food. It is always good to get food from the Motherland - haha! Q3 - When was the last time you and Sister Jones had a really good laugh? A3 - Sister Jones and I are actually notorious for sharing stories about funny things our past companions have done. The sisters here are so funny and we all like sharing goofy stories. We laugh a lot together every day, usually about the weirdest things. Q4 - What has President Lacanienta been doing to inspire your mission? What do you love about your mission president? A4 - President Lacanienta has been focusing a lot on getting us motivated to go out and get baptisms.There have been some new rules made in the mission to help us become more obedient, and I think that makes us more excited to go out and work J I just love President Lacanienta’s sense of humor. He kind of hates having to talk to people which is ironic. When you ask what his hobbies are he will always answer “eating.” He is hilarious and has the best dad jokes too. Q5 - When was the last time your prayers were answered? A5 - Just this week I prayed for “a better day” the next day, and despite the fact not everything went as planned, it was definitely a better day. I am grateful for Heavenly Father and I know he listens to our prayers and answers them in mysterious ways. I love Him! Q6 - Are there any inside jokes or funny traditions in your mission? A6 - My favorite inside joke from the mission is “I love the children of God”. If you saw our last mission video, that is what President said at the very end. The whole mission says now, I think it started because an Elder said it in another video and it was just super funny. We also all say “It’s hot! Very, very hot,” which is another line from one of our videos J Q7 - Are your clothes and shoes holding up? A7 - My shoes are pretty much all destroyed but they will survive until the end. I have started giving away a lot of clothes so I don’t have to worry about it when I go home. All clothes are all working well. I have never had to sew anything back together – at least not yet J Q8- Are there street vendors in Bagac? You sent a picture of a bakery or pastry store last week. What are your favorite things to eat there? A8 - There are so many street vendors. There are people making BBQ, people who sell pastries and drinks and stuff. It is all usually yummy but at the same time gives you jebs after… that is Tagalog slang for the poops. So you always take that risk. Q9 - Do you ever have zone activities on P-day? What are your favorite mission activities? A9 – I think I’ve only had one real zone activity my entire mission. Zone Leaders are supposed to be in charge but I have figured out that elders sometimes aren’t the most organized at planning anything. I usually end up doing stuff with my companion and sometimes we arrange to get with the other Sisters. I really enjoy going on hikes and stuff outside when we can, and that is our plan for next week’s zone activity. Q10 – What else do we need to know about your apartment, branch, goals, health or life in general? Any last minute requests before we run out of time to send anything? A10 - We are actually moving apartments this week so next week I will send pictures of it. It is going to be really nice and I can’t wait to move out of the scary dungeon I live in now. That is pretty much everything. I can’t think if anything I need. I should be getting my contacts on Friday when we have Zone Conference so I am good, but thanks anyway. I love all of youuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!
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LETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS Good morning from Sister Hughes in the best place in the world! This week was a really interesting week but pretty good as well. The Branch President asked Sister Jones and I to try to become better friends with the members here so that is going to be our goal for the coming weeks. We have focused too much on investigators and have completely forgotten that we have less actives and actives that need us to be there for them too :) We are trying to shift our focus on them :) Well mostly I am. Sister Jones is a teaching machine and loves high stats, so shifting to teaching less actives will lower our stats. It'll give us both stress but I think we will live hahahah! I am grateful she is a hardworking missionary though. We have been struggling lately though with our PBD's (people on date for baptism) are both going to be baptized in February but they keep having things come up on Sundays so they haven't come in like 3 weeks. Getting people to church will always be the hardest thing we encounter. I pray that their desire will grow even stronger. We always tell them that three simple things can fully convert them.. Magsimba, magbasa, and magdasal... Or church, reading, and prayer. They are so easy to do yet so challenging at the same time! We know it can change lives though. Love Sister Hughes PS My brother Connor got married this week. I want to tell him and his wife, Olivia, that I love you both so much. I hope your day was the most amazing, most memorable day. Best of luck to you and I LOVE YOU BOTH LETTER TO MOM AND DAD AND CONNOR AND LANDON
So Connor is married. I was thinking about all of you when I woke up Friday more and the first thought that came to mind is "Connor is in the temple right now getting sealed to his eternal companion." I didn't know whether I wanted to cry...not sure if they'd be tears of joy or tears of sadness. Being over here it doesn't feel real just because I can't see it first hand. I will probably be in shock. I don't really know how I will react. All I know is I am excited to hang out with all of you in 3 and half months. Only 3 months left. Is that crazy or is that crazy? I don't know what to think anymore! Hahaha! Some days I think about home and get excited but other days I think about leaving the Philippines and get emotional. It will be really really hard to leave. But being with my family again is what is going to make it okay. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you do each day to remain worthy and strong in the church. Having EACH OF YOU as my ETERNAL FAMILY is the biggest blessing in my life. In lessons here I will always mention how their families can be together forever and then I think about our family and how excited I am for eternity. Yes, we all drive each other crazy. Yes, my bros and I beat each other up. Yes, we aren't always on the same page. Yes, we all make mistakes. But the one thing that will never change is the LOVE and SUPPORT that we will always have for each other. Each of us play an important role in the family. We need each other to be completely happy. Dad, we need you to be the laugh on our hard days. We need your giant muscles to carry us when we fall. We need your inspiration to help us keep going. WE NEED YOU. Mom, we need your kindness and hugs to make us feel safe. We need your smile so we can smile too. We need your crazy dance moves and singing voice to give us entertainment when we are bored. WE NEED YOU. Connor, we need testimony you got from your mission to not only guide this family but your new family as well. We need your sarcasm to give us more excitement in life. We need your protective nature so we know we have someone we can rely on. WE NEED YOU. Landon, I know that we would mess with you about how you should've been a dog. Trust me you are way better than a dog. If you weren't in the family I wouldn't have one of my best friends in the world. We need your example so we all keep ourselves in check. We need you to wear pants so our don't burn out of our heads.... just kidding. WE NEED YOU BUNSO. Don't ever change. I hope you all know I love you so much and am momentarily crying in the computer shop... I miss you all and love you all and can't wait for eternity. I NEED YOU and don't ever go changing. ❤❤ LETTER TO DAD
Hey there dad! I am happy to hear that you had a pretty good yet weird week. That is kind of how mine was too haha~ I just want to share some things that I learned yesterday in church. Elder Holland and the Philippines area presidency did a country wide stake conference. It was really cool to watch as he addressed all of the members in the Philippines. He gave us advice on how we need to wait for the right time to do things, how we need to strengthen the walls of our homes, and how our efforts just aren't enough, yet. I really enjoyed listening to him and receiving instruction and guidance on how to be a better missionary. I know that I am putting in a lot of my effort into his work but obviously there is always something I could be doing better. We always talk about exact obedience, but the fact that we are all imperfect people, we will probably all fall short sometimes. I am just really excited to apply his words to my life and do my best each day. Up until the end! That is all from me dad :) Just so you know I still haven't gotten Christmas but we have interviews this week so they will probably be given to me there. I also just hope you know how much I love you all and will think about you all this week. Not in a trunky way just in a "kinda wish I could be at my brothers wedding way". I miss you all but I will see you soon! I love you dad! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS Hello everyone! I am just going to write a really quick email. This week was a really good one and I am of course happy because I am in my favorite country, surrounded by my favorite people, doing my favorite work :) This week I learned a lot and have had a couple of realizations. The first, I am putting in a lot of effort but it isn't enough... yet. Elder Holland taught me that through loving words and slight chastisement this week. I need to work my hardest and then work even harder. I also realized that this branch here could use a lot of reactivation. If you haven't read my emails in the past than you would have no idea what kind of area I am in. I am in probably the smallest branch in the mission surrounded by about 400 less actives. Our average attendance is about 30 and I realized that if my companion and I focused more on the 400 less actives than this branch could really grow... If we could get about 10 families reactivated than the branch could quickly become a ward, without having to worry about finding new people and dropping non-progressive people. I can't wait to see the reactivation of our members here. I know that it can be done with Heavenly Father's help (which is a given) and with hard work and faith on my part :) I just hope you know how much I love you all and pray for you often. I hope you have a great week, I know I will :) In a world like this where people fall apart In a time like this where nothing comes from the heart In a world like this I've got you *Here are some song lyrics from one of my favorite songs. Just know that I am always here for you, but more importantly Heavenly Father is Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS
HELLO EVERYONE! It's your favorite sister over here in the Philippines :) I first wanted to wish everyone a Happy New again :) I hope that 2019 has been so far so good and only gets better from here. I hope you know that I pray you are all doing well. If 2018 wasn't your year, make 2019 that year! Do things you've always wanted to do, serve those around you even if you don't know them, and OPEN THE BOOK OF MORMON! (I would highly suggest reading it too while you are at it... hahaha) The Book of Mormon is the best book in the world. Joseph Smith said "The book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on the earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book." I know that is true... so so true! My challenge to each of you this year is to read the best book in the world and continue to develop a strong relationship with your Heavenly Father :) I know he wants a relationship with you, so start this year to let that happen :) I know I need to read the Book of Mormon more often and allow him to bring blessings into my life. My goal for this year is to work smart in bringing His children back to Him and most importantly do it with a smile on my face 😄 But I hope you all know I love you and can't wait to see you soon. KEEP ON KEEPING ON Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO MOM Hey there mom! So this week was an interesting one. Sister Jones and I are still together here so we just worked our little hearts out. I have an update on our two guys on date for baptism! So M is on date for the last week of February now because he drank alcohol over the holiday season... When he told us I was discouraged to say the least. I kinda want to smack him upside the head but I know that wouldn't be very productive so I probably won't. We are just going to work really hard to get him more converted to the Book of Mormon. E on the other hand asked to be baptized in February so he had more time to be married so he is on date for February 16. He is so awesome though and so excited to be baptized! I am so excited for both guys and to see their conversion slowly happen. It'll be really nice to have more priesthood holders in the branch, they desperately need it!! But yeah everything is going just fine and I am excited for my next 5 weeks here in Bagac. I kinda want out but that's okay. I think I got so used to change so the fact that nothing changed is kinda boring to me... oh well!! I love you mom and stay safe! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO DAD Hey there dad! Good job on surviving 8 hours of church hahah! The good thing about a mission is that it kinda is 8 hours of church everyday but a lot more entertaining hahaha, gotta love it! My week was pretty long but pretty good! So Sister Jones and I have one more cycle together in Bagac. I was kind of surprised but at the same time not really. There were rumors that we were both going to get pulled out again, I like Bagac so it's fine. I will just survive 5 more 5 weeks hahah! But S. Jones and I worked our little hearts out this week. On Wednesday when everyone else was transferring, her and I worked the hardest I have probably worked in a longggg time. We ended the day with 12 lessons and found 21 new people that day. It was crazy and I was just beaming with excitement. Over the whole week we found 40 people and taught 30 lessons. None of them were able to come to church though... that was a little bit discouraging but I know that they must just feel nervous or shy about it. Our upcoming week will consist of a lot of following up and filing through them to figure out who has the most potential :) The week was just fine and I hope to continue to work hard like this. Going home with drooping eyes and sore feet is a lot more worth is than coming home with clean feet and buckets of energy. Being a missionary is such an exhilarating and amazing experience and I'm not sure that I ever want it to end. I just love serving so much :) Can't wait to see what these last four months have in store! I love you dad and want to apologize that there will be no pictures this week..... This week was weird and I didn't take very many and on top of that my computer is acting like there are no pictures on my card... so next week I will have some! Being in the same area again, the pictures may be a little boring but that's okay right?? Haha so yeah that's all from me! I will have other stories to send to mom but I love ya dad! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS FROM 12/30/18
I got to spend Christmas day with Sister Regodos and her companion/kabahay. Our day consisted of video calling our families, eating quesadillas, shopping, and waiting about 2 hours for a bus to go back to our assigned areas. It was such a fun Christmas!! I hope you enjoyed your day and that it was a memorable one, mine definitely was :) This little guy is my friend in the branch :) for those of you who knew me before the mission, you know I wasn't the biggest fan of kids... I think I have had a mighty change of heart :) This dish is what I like to call- Alimango and flavorless noodles... ang sarap! We had an FHE with one of my favorite families in the whole world on Wednesday and this was the dinner they had :) Interesting but I am grateful for it hahah As I am typing this I realize that it isn't very interesting... But I hope you have all enjoyed your Holiday Season. Even though I am on the other side of the world, far from my family I wouldn't have wanted to spend my Christmas anywhere else. Being able to talk to my family was such a blessing and they gave me the push and motivation I need to keep going. As we start this New Year I will be on the home stretch. Tomorrow I will be celebrated 14 months as a missionary and that means I only 4 months to go... My heart has the most mixed feelings but I know that I am doing the best work in the world and it will continue even after I have to take the name tag off. I can't wait to serve more with all my heart and soul these remaining months and then serve my family and friends when I go home. I love you all and hope you have a great week. If you have a few minutes sometime this week I would love to hear from you. I know so much has changed and happened since I have been gone and want to know how everyone is doing :) Thank you for the prayers and support and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let's make 2019 a year full of the goodness of the gospel and pure happiness, Love y'all! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO MOM AND DAD Here is a quick update on our work here in Bagac- Our investigator who is on date for January 12 has been drinking alcohol so we need to move his date. It was heart breaking when he told us he drank on Christmas and we just pray that he can have the strength to stop. We can see his desire to be baptized and I hope we can somehow help him. Another investigator on the other hand is awesome! He now has plans to get his marriage figured out so he is on track for Jan 12, but we will just have to see if the marriage happens before than. He really is so awesome and pays his tithing every week! I'm impressed by this fellow. Sister Jones and I have just been finding our little hearts out recently and we pray that those we find and teach will have the desire to make sacred covenants. This week is transfer week so I hope to stay and have 6 more weeks to do my part here. If for some reason I get transferred I will just have to trust in the Lord :) I love you mom and dad and hope you have an amazing New Year! I will see ya soon! AND ALSO THERE IS NO TYPHOON :) HAHAH EVERYTHING IS A OKAY HERE Love Sister Hughes |