Week 11: Chocolate, Electric fans, and a Violin!

September 24, 2018

So we may live in a house that has a rat, coach roaches and ants crawling everywhere, but the members that live right in front of our house have a bakery business that is ran out of their house! And you may ask why that makes everything better? Well multiple times a week we walk past their door and they give us leftover chocolate cake, or muffins or these super yummy bars! So yes i can personal say that chocolate makes everything better! 

Haha but when i was told that my mission is the hottest mission in the Philippines they weren't joking! Even after the typhoon it has been so so so hot! Like i never leave the house without my sweat rag and my fan! I live from one electric fan to the next and every time we go to someones house they notice how im super sweaty and they always will direct the their electric fan towards me! Now i dont know what is more charitable than someone pointing their electric fan towards you!!!

So its already Christmas here. Christmas starts here in September and so since ive been here ive been hearing Christmas music everywhere and Christmas decorations! Haha and in sacrament meeting and in our lessons were singing Christmas hymns too! Its great!

The people here are great! if you are ever feeling down about yourself, then just come and visit the Philippines because they will tell you how beautiful you are (even when your red in the face, hot and sweaty)! Many times i have turned around to i kid running up to touch me or yelling Americano at me. The parents will always be telling their kids to come and shake my hand, and so a lot of the time ill have random kids come up to me and just want to shake my hand or touch me or put their arm next to me to see how white i am! The people here say im the color of milk and they're coffee colored. I stand out everywhere i go, im always the whitest, and tallest person everywhere i go and when i look at picture of me with Filipinos i sometimes forget how white i am compared to them, because im just so used to seeing brown skinned people all the time. 

We had a baptism this week for Sister Gia and oh man is she one of the people that was white and ready to be harvest! Our lessons with her were always so spiritual and what made the difference for me was that she would speak taglish (English and Tagalog) and so i could understand most of what she was saying. So when the spirit would prompt me to teach or tell her something i wasn't afraid to open my mouth because i knew that if i couldn't say it in Tagalog that i could use my English and she would still understand me! For her baptism we were able to find a violin for me to play and i was able to accompany the Relief Society as they sang "As sisters in Zion" and then i played "I know that my Redeemer Lives" with my companion and a return missionary in the ward singing. It was all super last minute with being able to find the violin and practicing, but even with all my mistakes the people loved it and were just so happy that i was willing to share my talent with them! But it was so special because in her testimony after her baptism she said that she knows this church is true and that was the first time that she ever said that! And I KNOW this church is true too and it has blessed my life in every way possible and is the reason why i am writing this letter in a internet cafe in the Philippines. I KNOW that Jesus Christ lives and I am so grateful for His sacrifice. I have come to understand the Atonement of Jesus Christ so much more since being on my mission and its not just for when you make mistakes in life or sin, but it can help you in every aspect of your life! I know that Christ knows exactly everything we are going through and if we Pray to our Heavenly Father he will help us with anything and everything, all we have to do is ask! 1 Nephi 15:11

I love you all and im so grateful for all the prayers in my behalf and all the emails! I truly have the best friends and family! 

Love Sister Thayn

-Sister Correa made of matching headbands

-Me in a Jeepme, sister correa always rides on the motorcycle because the cab of the tricy is super small, and i never can sit up straight because im too tall. Haha basically everything here is too small for me!

-FHE, we have a couple of fhe's a week and they are so fun and the YSA always come!

-Sister Gia's Baptism