LETTER TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS: Hey there family and friends! I hope you all had a good week and are all doing well :) My week was definitely filled with a few adventures that were unexpected. First off, I SURVIVED THE TYPHOON. And by survived I mean I sat in the apartment while it rained and didn't really worry about it. I'm super grateful that these typhoons have just been little guys here and don't effect my mission. I'm not sure about the other areas of the Philippines "Because I'm not worldly" but I'm thankful for the protection that Heavenly Father gives us regardless.
On November 1st I got to celebrate my 1 YEAR MARK, and by celebrate I mean I celebrated by myself because the people I live with forgot. One Sister told me Happy Birthday though (couldn't tell if she was kidding or not) but it was still a good day!!But how crazy is that? I'm not trunky, just excited. I have been out here as a set apart missionary for a year and I can just tell you it has been the time of my life. Despite the hard things I have to go through, I'm grateful for them. And I'm especially grateful for the good times. I've learned so much, made amazing friendships, received heaps of blessings, and have seen miracles. I wouldn't want to spend 18 months doing anything else, anywhere else. It is hard but SO SO WORTH IT! On November 2 I had Zone Conference. President Lacanienta first taught us that we need to be like eagles. Fly high, be resilient, and never give up. Then he talked about being like ants. Work as a team and don't be intimidated by the load you have to carry. Be an ant and an eagle :) Fun fact: The eagle is the National bird of the USA and the monkey eating eagle is the national bird of the Philippines. Pretty cool! Anyways, that is all from me for now! This week was pretty good and I hope to keep having these good, learning experiences while I'm here. Thank you for all your love and support. Keep on keeping on!! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO MOM: Hey there mom! Everything is going just swell here. I feel as if I am finally just dealing with all the challenges that come into life as they are. Lately I have been all "woe is me" but I'm realizing that doing that isn't going to help anyone, especially myself. This week was interesting with the typhoon and then we had curfew because of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It is meant for people to go to the cemetery but I guess everyone gets drunk too.. Anyways! It sounds like your week went well! I know who the singing lady in the frame is so don't worry. Little kids only know superheroes and video game characters usually. I on the other kind of hated Halloween for some reason as a kid. I sound like my father don't I? Anyways, I miss you all and will you see you in 6 MONTHS! I gotta work my booty off and come home a changed person. (I'm still in the process, or I guess that's what I think haha!) My year mark celebration wasn't really a celebration. I didn't do anything but that's okay! I'm glad you all celebrated for me :) And those pictures of me was from Zone Conference. Our Zone Con up here is super small which is kind of depressing but that's fine. I'll live haha! I didn't get any boxes. I'm surprised but maybe I will get it tomorrow at District Council - not really sure. I think they keep a pile of boxes stacked up for me until they all come so they only have to make one delivery haha! This week was good and we had one investigator come to church yesterday which I'm grateful for! She stayed for 2 hours so I hope good things can happen there. Anyways, that's all! Love you and have a good week! Love Sister Hughes LETTER TO DAD: Hey dad! Things have been looking up a little here, mainly because I changed my attitude. I decided that instead of getting frustrated with things to just ignore it and get away from it. I am practicing self control and getting myself out of situations. If I feel like I'm losing my mind I can always go talk to the other sisters. They are usually good listeners or tell could stories to get my mind off the stress. We did have Zone Conference this week and I learned a lot.. I may or may not have forgotten to bring my notes with me today so I don't know everything that happened but here is one thing. The Zone leaders talked about becoming a "Successful Missionary". They mentioned that as missionaries we need to be problem solvers, not excuse makers. That kind of stuck out with me because every once in a while I make excuses to why the area is dead or why people aren't progressing. I know that instead of doing that I need to solve the problem and do all I can to contribute to the solution. Also, President talked about being like an eagle. When an eagle gets old it goes to a mountain to shed it's feathers, break off it's beak, and talons. But once it comes back out of the mountain it is stronger than ever. I feel like I am in the same position as the eagle right now. I'm getting to the point where I need to get rid of these old feathers so new ones can grow and I can be stronger than ever! But yeah! That's all! :) Thank you for everything dad and I hope you have a good week. I love you! Love Sister Hughes |