They Were So Prepared For Us. It Was Amazing!

Hello everyone!!

Wow, sacrament sounds like it was amazing, I am so glad :).  Dont worry about me! Jaxsen hopefully your hand heals quick!  ouch! Keep cooking though, you'll be all ready for your mission :).  And ali, keep playing the piano for me!! 

It's been an AMAZING week!  Seriously!  This tuesday, we had district meeting and were talking about our goals for the month.  As a district (us and 2 elders), we had goals to have 27 new investigators.  We only had 6, with one week left! We decided it would be tough but we would still try to get 21 new investigator that week!

After district meeting, we decided to go try to teach a lady named F--.  We had met her the week before and she had asked us to come teach her and her friend C-- some time.  She told us she lived in Toptop (we've never been there before), close to a certain store, but we basically had no idea how we would find her!  We caught a motor, and started driving to Toptop and talking to the driver.  He was from Toptop! What are the odds! We asked him if he knew F--, and turns out she was his COUSIN! He drove us straight to her house!  That was a huge miracle.  Her house was way back from the road, we never would have been able to find her without help!  And then, F-- and C-- and their kids were all home!  That hardly ever happens even when you have a lesson planned with them!  They were SO prepared for us, it was amazing.  After their lesson, we walked with a little girl named I-- and taught her family too!  AND THEN, walked just down the road, and taught another four ladies.  It was amazing.  We have never had a day anywhere near as successful as that!  We found 11 new investigators that day, more than we had the rest of the transfer!  And we were doing the same things as we always do, just walking around talking to everyone we can.  It wasn't us!  It's all the Lord, preparing people for us. I know i'ts true!  This is His work. :) I'm so blessed to be a part of it!  Even though we didn't quite make it to our goal, we got SO much closer than we thought we would!  There are so many miracles in this work!  

I need to go! I love you all so much and am praying for you :)

Sister Mortensen

A few more words from Brianne:

Bri, Here are some questions we would like answered!  

Josh:  Are you in one of the nicest parts of your mission?

Josh, we're in one of the most rural areas!  It's really spread out.  There is pretty much just one main road through town, and a few little side streets.  There's one nice ish store with food, and then some little stores with lots of fresh fruit and veggies and some other stuff.  It wasn't hit too hard by the storm though, so theres not a lot of that  kind of damage.  

Ali:  When you studies the scriptures, do you study in Cebuano or English?

Ali, I'll study in english usually, and then some cebuano for language study :).  Half the time in lessons i'll have out both while we teach!

Jax:  What is the craziest food you have eaten?

Jax, balut! It really wasn't that bad though :).  Also, we've had lechon a couple times now! Is a whole pig that they roast over a fire.  And then they just cut it up and eat it, skin and all!  It's SO good :)

Lauri:  Are you taking lots of pictures?  Remember your mission presidents wife advice?   Send home your favorite 2 pictures every week!!!!!!!!

Mom....kinda.... :) Not enough yet!  It's hard to send pictures every week, they take time to load, and not every internet place has usb ports! I will try my best though!

Brad:  What have you found to be the most effective way to bring the spirit into discussions?  Speaking a foreign language must be hard.

Dad,  we always sing a hymn at the beginning.  That helps a lot.  Also, we don't memorize and of the lesson, we just do our best with the language and try to follow the spirit.  And mix in a little english :). Most people understand english pretty well.  It is hard, but it's not too bad :)  And wow, that does sound like a busy day.  A great day too though! thank you for all the work and dedication you put into your calling. You are amazing! I love you too!  

It Is So Cool To See The Spirit Helping The Branch Missionaries As Well

Hello family,

OH MY GOODNESS you guys are hilarious!! Haha i loved the letter so much! haha i just laughed for about 5 minutes straight reading it. That quote was great but i think its wrong...most families are like fudge, but ours is just a bag of nuts! :)

Today has been a wonderful day! we went to a farm and played capture the flag! It was so cool! there were ponds all over and little paths going all around, and surrounded by rice fields.  Ah. It was so pretty!  They made us lunch too, and it was SO good :). Thats one of the many many things i love about being a missionary, is getting to know other missionaries! They're all great:).  I am TIRED today though! But its all good, ill be ready for work tomorrow :).

this week has been great! we got to work with the branch missionaries again this week, and it is soo helpful.  the people we are teaching relate better to the people who live here with them.  Also, it is so cool to see the spirit helping the branch missionaries as well.  The ones we have been working with lately are younger and havent been on missions, so they don't really know the lessons or anything.  They are pretty nervous sometimes, but during the lessons, they are always SO good! They just always seem to know what to say and how to help the people we teach! I love it :).

I finally got to try balut!  And it was pretty good! haha i dont know why people make such a big deal about it. but mine was still pretty young, no feathers or bones haha, so that might make a difference... It pretty much just tasted like a normal egg though haha.  also i had jackfruit for the first time! it is HUGE and is really good!

Yesterday we got to talk in church again!  We speak every second sunday.  Since conference was last week we thought we wouldn't speak this month, but we did! and we found out when they announced it... ahh!! so we only had while they passed the sacrament to prepare, which is quick since the branch is small.  Haha. it was pretty scary, but it went alright!  I think they understood some of it :).  I spoke about the joys of missionary work and how they can be missionaries too.  This work is the best! :)

These people's lives over here are so much different than ours.  Life is hard over here. I have always know i've been very blessed in my life, but i definitely have not really just how blessed i really am. These people are still so happy though! they are amazing. i'm grateful to be living here among them.  count your blessings :)

Goodness I love you all :).  I'm glad you got to spend some time together at the cabin, it sounds like it was a lot of fun!  I can't wait to hear from you again next week!

Love, sister Mortensen 

I Am So Grateful For The Gospel and For This Chance I Have To Give Back A Little

Hey family! 

It sounds like you're all doing great! Soccer sounds as busy as ever, i'm sure thats so fun!  And ali, it sounds like your pretty much recovered from mono! i'm so glad!!  And you got to hike timp finally too!  It really is beautiful up there, i love it.  We'll have to all hike it again when i get back! Jax, thats pretty awesome you finished a 50 mile bike ride, and even right after your soccer game!  Holy moly! How's school going for all of you? I'm sure you're all loving it SO much :). 

So, one of the best things this week was we got to watch conference!! Saturday morning our branch president texted us and said he had the dvds, and we were going to watch it that afternoon and the next day!  We had some lessons we had to reschedule which was kinda a bummer, but it's all good i think.  And we got to watch conference!!  Since it was such short notice, we didn't really get to invite any investigators to conference, so that was kinda a bummer.  We texted everyone we could, but only a couple made it.  It was such a great conference though!!  I think elder Bednar's talk about why we shared the gospel was my favorite.  I also loved Jorg's (haha i can't remember his last name) talk about how to be confident in the Lord's presence.  And also both of President Uchtdorf's talks.  Especially the "Lord, is it I?" one.  Wow.  Thats something I really needed.  I LOVE CONFERENCE haha.  It's the best.

Other than that, the rest of the week was pretty great as well! The b--'s are doing pretty well! They have been really busy so we only got to visit them once this week, on sunday.  They read a little but are still just really busy.  Just one verse a day is what we keep telling them!  We talked to them kinda about what elder bednar talked about in conference.  We talked about how the gospel had blessed our lives SO MUCH, and that we were there to give them some of that joy.  We just want to help them know for themselves! The spirit was strong, and i just hope they can recognize it and feel that it's true! 

The d--'s are as great as ever :).  We took some branch missionaries with us, g-- and m--, and taught about the atonement.  They know it's true, and have SO much faith.  It's amazing to see.  I love them!

We also went with g-- and m-- to see a new investigator we just found named c--.  One day when we were walking to teach the b--'s, it was POURING and we walked some kids home from school under our umbrellas.  One of them was C--'s son, and we stopped and talked to her and set a time to come back and teach! So this was our second time teaching her.  She is doing great!  She got along really well with g-- and m-- and was asking about coming to church with them!  Members are so important, especially for us since we have a hard time understanding sometimes.  The people we teach need friends in the church! Luckily our branch missionaries are pretty great at helping us :).

Mom I love that song! (I Will by Hillary Week).   I remember it from before, and it is so good  :). We can only listen to hymns, but it is a great one for sure :).  Sounds like it was a really great night!

 I am realizing now even more than ever how very blessed I am.  I am SO grateful for all the amazing people I have met in my life, and for the gospel, and for this chance I have to give back a little. I love you so much!

Sis Mortensen

The Holy Ghost Is Amazing! It Really Is The Universal Language.

Hello family! 

Of course it's been a fantastic week, I'm a missionary in the philippines :).  I loved reading your notes from general conference! And I cant wait to watch it! It will be in a few weeks for us, but that's alright. I'm glad you got to see the pictures on facebook! I was hoping she'd post them :). We took Sister Maurer to two of our lessons last week! And then they came to church on sunday with us.  She went to teach the B--'s, the family i told you about last week, and a recent convert family (the D--'s, who are THE BEST).  She doesn't speak any cebuano, but she shared her testimony in english and you could see that they felt the spirit.  The holy ghost is amazing!  It really is the universal language. Which is good, because I've been trying to learn that language all my life! Cebuano is still pretty new to me. It's getting better slowly though! 

Yesterday we had a lesson with the B--'s.  We had planned to start teaching the plan of salvation.  We got there and they had a bunch of questions about the Book of Mormon, so we ended up just explaining more about that.  The spirit was strong, and by the end they seemed excited to read and seemed like they REALLY wanted to understand it all! They are really busy and haven't really read much yet, so we challenged them to read just one verse a day.  Hopefully that will get them reading.  We're super excited to go back and talk to them again!!

One thing that was a bit frustrating this week was we kept getting punted!  There was a day or two when every single one of our teaching appointments fell through.  But we know the Lord is preparing people for us to teach.  we just have to keep talking to everyone we can and keep working! I think we are going to really improve our patience here :).  And there is always some little miracle that keeps us excited and motivates us to keep going.  I am so grateful for that! I know the Lord is blessing us :).

Ah. I love you guys.  I pray for you all the time! Hopefully you can feel my prayers too :).  thank you so much for your love and support :).  I know our Heavenly Father is watching over all of us and blessing us! I love you!!

Sis Mortensen

  

A few more words from Sister Mortensen:

Sorry its so late and that we email at random times.  We usually go to Sogod to email which is a 3 hour bus ride and when we come just depends on what else we need to do.  Today has been great! it's been rainy so it's been cooler today, so thats always nice :).  I'm feeling great!  I missed watching conference with all of you though! we don't get to watch it til maybe 3 weeks later...  Yeah the hot and humid weather takes some getting used to :).  But I don't feel sticky ALL the time anymore, so it's getting better!  there are some air conditioners, and the buses are all open so they're usually cool too.  in sogod we get lunch and buy groceries too.  I can get pretty much anything i need here in sogod, so i don't know what i'll want in the package! definitely the ensign though :)  my area wasn't really hit by the storm too bad, just strong winds and rain mostly.  The food is all really good!  nothing has been the worst yet, but I haven't tried balut yet, so maybe that :). yep the regular email is coming :) it'll be a bit short because of the pictures though. sorry.  washing clothes by hands just takes forever, but its fine haha. The water is in the house, and we have a filter so we can drink it.  But I do need to get going.  It's been great to talk to you though!!

Yeah...Pictures!

Manila MTC

Manila MTC

Sister Kalua-Santiago & Sister Mortensen at Isang Lupi

Zone at Isang Lupi

Habol Habol

One Of My Favorite Parts Of The Lesson Is When People Understand That They Can Actually Talk To Their Heavenly Father

Dad! 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me this week! I
love hearing about what is going on in all your lives! I know you are
SO busy with everything going on, so I really appreciate it :).  And
I'm sure mom does too, it sounds like she has been very busy with the
wedding.  That is so exciting that Spencer and Heather got married!! 
And that so much of the family got to be together!  Grandma and grandpa
too!! I'm sure that was great to see them and talk to them before they 
head back to Poland.  Ah. Our family is the best haha.

Brayden has a beard!!! Haha what?? I wasn't expecting that :). How's
school going? Haha remember anything from before your mission?!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts from the odgen temple dedication.  I
just was reading about the manner of happiness a couple weeks ago, and
it's true--following the prophets will bring us happiness.  Living the
gospel and following the prophets is the only thing that will bring us
true and lasting happiness.  And they are going to speak to us this
weekend! We won't get it until the next weekend though.  But still, I
am SO excited!

Last week we started teaching the B-- family.  They live behind a
part member family, and the mom brought us back to teach them one day
when we stopped by.  We sat down with N-- (the mom) and T-- and
taught them the beginning of the first lesson, and they were actually
pretty interested!   A lot of people here will listen to you (just
because they're nice) but arent' really interested.  But N-- and
T-- were really paying attention and asking questions and trying to
understand!  We taught them how to pray, and T-- said a beautiful
closing prayer.  That's been one of my favorite parts of lessons, is
when people understand that they can actually talk to their Heavenly
Father and say their first prayer :). We went back again, and this
time two of N--'s boys, R-- and B--, came and sat down with us
too!  We started again from the beginning, and T-- and N--
remembered everything we had taught them :).  We went through the rest
of the first lesson, and the spirit was so strong!  You could see all
of them trying to understand what they were feeling and what we were
teaching them. :)  We invited them to be baptized, and R--
immediately said yes! You could tell the spirit was working hard on
him :). N-- and R-- said that they would try but weren't sure.
T-- says she loves to hear from us and believes it is true, but
since her mom is super active active in the catholic church, she was
pretty hesitant about being baptized. R-- then seemed to be a bit
more hesitant about his answer after all his family weren't so sure,
and said he would try as well.  They are all so close!! They just need
to sincerely pray to know that it's true, and I KNOW they'll recieve
an answer.  It's just hard to help people see how much the gospel will
bless their life! If only they knew what they were missing :). We're
trying to help them see! R-- said a beautiful closing prayer this
time :). We gave them a book of mormon, and R-- and B-- were
looking at it as we were walking away :).

Well I wish I could tell you more! There is so much more to tell haha.
But it is GREAT.  It's hard work and there's SO much to learn, but I'm
loving it :).  Thank you all and know that I LOVE YOU SO MUCH :).

Love, Sis Mortensen

p.s. pictures don't work again :(.  Pres and Sis Maurer came to our
area this weekend to work with us so there might be a picture on
facebook :)

Facebook Surprise!

Sister Maurer (the mission presidents wife) posted these pictures and message on Facebook.  She said "It's not often I get to work with the sisters, but this weekend I did.  We had fun.  You would be proud of Sister Mortensen in every way. She is also using her talents to provide music for sacrament meeting.  This is their cute little house in Hinunangan.  President is dropping papers off to them on our way home."   Thank you so much Sister Maurer!

Cute Little House in Hinunangan

Sister Mauer, Sister Kallua-Santiago, Sister Mortensen

The Savior Isn't At the Top Encouraging Us To Come Up To Him. He Already Walked To The Bottom and Is Right There Next To Us

Hello familyy!!

Life in Lehi sounds like its pretty great! It's fun to hear what all you guys are doing.  That is so cool that you got to see the temple dedication! I really have missed going to the temple.  The cebu temple is pretty close, but we don't get to go.  My week has been great! We are teaching an investigator named A-- who's 13 years old.  We went by to visit him tuesday night, and he wasn't home, but his mom took us back to see their neighbors.  We sat down with them and a--'s mom and started talking to them about their day, and I was totally lost.  I was trying SO hard to understand and talk to them, but I just couldn't.  Luckily, they were pretty talkative, and sis Kalua-santiago could mostly understand, so it was alright.  After a little while we sang a hymn and said a prayer, and started teaching the lesson. And...I could mostly understand! I was even able to help teach part of the lesson, and they seemed to be really interested.  We were pretty excited, walking home after that! We definitely were not expecting to teach a new family, but it had gone well! This is the Lord's work :). 

 I'll see if I can answer all of your questions:). We speak in church about every other month, so not this week :). There is about 85 people every week at church, and a pretty even mix of ages. No balut yet! Haha I want to try it, we just havent got around to it yet sadly :).  We haven't had any very weird food yet.  Just rice ALL the time and meat. And i had my first fresh coconut today!! Haha I didn't think I liked coconut, but it was really good! Since our area is big we walk some but also ride a lot of habol-habols (motorcycles with extended seats and a shade thingie over it.  Haha i'll take a picture for next week.) and tricycles, which are bikes with a cart attached.  Hmm we live on the main road right across from a shell gas station, if that helps haha.  The church is a little back from the main road. We teach a couple of recent converts, but mostly less actives and investigators right now.  I am starting to understand more!! I'm still lost a lot, but it's getting better haha.  I can understand pretty well when non-native speakers talk, but I'm still getting used to the way native speakers pronounce everything. And Lindsey is just too nice, as you all know :). I'm really not that good!  My companion is the best!! I really have lucked out so far, for real.  She is pretty outgoing, so thats good for me, and is SO FUN to be with.  She is a super good missionary, I'm learning a lot from her.  Our district is just us and a set of elders.

This morning we hiked with our zone to Isang Lupi! It's a hill that is bald on top, with just one coconut tree.  It was really hot, and I definitely like hiking in the dry utah air more than this humid stuff, but it was still so cool.  At the top, we all shared a little about ourselves and why we are here on a mission.  That's one of my favorite things to hear from missionaries, is the reason they are serving.  It amazes me every time.  These people have been prepared by the Lord for this, and I'm grateful to be in a zone with them and learning from them.  We also talked about how the difficult hike can relate to the atonement.  The Savior isn't at the top encouraging us to come up to Him.  He already walked to the bottom, and is right there next to us.  He's there to help us every step of the way, every time we slip, every time we are discouraged. We just need to ask! He's right there, I know it.  I have felt his help many times while I've been out here and at the mtc as well.  This is hard, but we can rely on Him, and do whatever we are called to do.  I need to be better at recognizing His help, and the tender mercies in my life.  Because when I stop and think about it, there are SO many.

Well. I have my memory card AND the converter, but the computers don't work today! So sorry. Haha. One of these weeks it'll work out.  I love you guys SO MUCH and am praying for you! I am so blessed to be serving in this area and am so happy :). I'll talk to you next week!

Love, sis Mortensen

The pictures below are from Bri's mission companion.  Thanks for sharing!

Sister Mortensen and Sister Kalua-Santiago

Three Brothers who are Ward Missionaries

Sister Kaula-Santiago and Sister Mortensen

Hiking to Isang Lupi with the Zone