The boy who cried Typhoon..

Sister Kassidy Ariel Norman

Philippines Angeles Mission

F. Tanedo Street

Barangay San Nicolas

Tarlac City, Tarlac 2300

Philippines

Ya....so last week on the 26th my companion was kept up all night just worrying about her 72 hr kit for who-knows-what-reason.. and that day we went and she insisted that we get at least the food part of a 72 hr kit... well low and behold.. this we get a text...so first you all must know that it is summer here NOT bagio season (rainy/stormy season)...anyway we get this text telling us that we HAVE to go get evvverything we need in a 72hr kit by that morning because we were going to have a Super Typhoon..not just a bagio or storm but a super typhoon...So of course all of us go out and buy 92 hours worth of stuff...they said it would be on friday...then friday came and went with not a cloud in the sky...that night they told us Saterday...saterday came...kind of cloudy...but not even rain... then they told us Sunday FOR SURE...guess what...NO TYPHOON! which is a good thing. I don't think anyone here is prepared for a typhoon since it's summer...

  Anywho..it was Holy Week here...the week of Easter..not that anyone really actually recognizes Easter..they pay more attention to Holy Friday...Friday was the day Christ was Crucified. EVERYTHING was closed on Friday.. nothing was closed Sunday...kind of different. haha So..here in the Philippines, Holy Friday (like i said) is a huge deal..it's a scary deal..on Holy Friday (luckily not in my town..but in the cities right next to me) they have crucifixions...like people try to do what Christ did..they get whipped and nailed to the cross. We talked to one family about it and they said it's normal here and it's to show they can do it too. I don't want to talk negatively about their beliefs but it is just scary to me...i'm happy I as not in Tarlac or Angeles or other big cities!I don't think i could have handled seeing that!

Easter for me was....not really like easter..haha I went to sacrament meeting and my comp got really sick and had to leave right after sacrament. then we had kickoffs for a different ward in the stake. Kickoffs are when all the missionaries in the zone/stake come together with that ward's members and go find the members that don't have addresses or find out if they have moved and get all of that stuff sorted out. Since my companion was sick, I went on exchanges with my ka-bahay (roommate), Sister Canencia, and Sister Peavler stayed with my companion. It was great...we got put with a 14 year old girl named LJ and we walked and walked and walked until we found everyone! Then we got awesome food after we returned! It was also really nice to see my zonemates!

Going back to tuesday...we had an FHE. it was great! I gave the spiritual thought about Easter and Sister Laiti gave the Lesson about Follow the prophet/ General Conference. Then we played Japan-Germany-Philippines-America...it was really fun. then they fed us..that's obvious our favorite part..haha

The person here at the computer shop has been playing the same song on repeat for 2 weeks now...like last monday it was playing on repeat..we came 4 days ago to listen to the women's broadcast and it was still on repeat...and now it's still playing...she's got some real internal heartbreak going on.

I have found my new favorite fruits... Guavano, mangos, coconuts, and Star apples....we have a family that gives us fruit every time we go to their house! I don't know what i'm going to do when i go back home...

So some really awesome talks i read this week were centered around Christ's Atonement. I'm coming to the conclusion that EVERYTHING...like EVERYTHING talaga goes back to His Atonement. I particularly like one about weaknesses vs. sin. It's amazing. It reminds me to use grace,or the enabling power or the atonement, to overcome my weaknesses. (https://www.lds.org/liahona/2015/04/it-isnt-a-sin-to-be-weak?lang=eng ) ... I also particularly like Walk in the Light by Pres. Henry B. Eyring. Near the end he proclaims "...You have been protected and watched over by your Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They know you...

"You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties have always been prepared for you. and you will find it if you exercise Faith"

This talk gave me courage to do God's will with out being afraid! I'm thankful for the talks from the Lord's servants (like the ones you can hear or heard at General Conference  https://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng  ) to give me comfort and strength. I hope all of you have or had the opportunity to watch General Conference! love all of you! Sorry this Letter was a bit rambley! MAHAL KO KAYO! INGAT!

-sister Norman

Mmmmhmmm...uhhhuhh..-March29

That's a lot of what i got yesterday at church... haha i had to give a talk and i do NOT think my Tagalog was at it's shining best...so only a few people got it..hehehe..i talked about the sabbath day and

So this week not much has happened... I saw lots of goats, chickens, and cows.... We found out that one really great investigator, who we thought would have to wait a long time to be baptized, is actually worthy! It's really exciting! We have been doing a lot of planting seeds (or finding people) and not had the chance to see any harvesting in this area yet (baptisms and such) but This young lady is ready and willing. Her name is Rizza. She works for the Relief Society President's little restaurant so she is around her and her family a lot; she comes to church EVERY SUNDAY for like the last 4 months...Now we just have to teach and prepare her. I'm really excited for her...We have also been finding a lot of families but by the third visit, only the kids are interested which is kind of sad..but the parents are really supportive of the children...it would just be more fulfilling to see the family do this together...but we know we have planted the seed and eventually they will see the change and light in the children and youth and want it too. Any who..like i said...not much happened this week..so ya..

I have been studying 1 Ne chapters 3-7. I have been focusing on the Atonement and also seeing the Book of Mormon being mentioned and how to use the BOM in the Book of Mormon and just in these, i have found heaps! It's beautiful! i've also been comparing Chapter 7 to a talk by elder Bednar ( https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2004/10/in-the-strength-of-the-lord?lang=eng ) ...I'm learning so much...Through studying about the sabbath day and sacrament meeting and sacrament, and reading in the book of mormon, i've been able to see how everything really does go back to Christ and His Atonement for us. It's seriously amazing that I kind of can grasp that and apply it now. I don't know how i've survived my whole 20 years of my life without getting that...now i get it..haha

anywho...i really love and miss all of you. MAHAL NA MAHAL KO KAYO!

-sister norman..

 this picture is of a super cute baby and his mama who is the sunday school teacher here! ..sorry i look medio haggard:)

Walang Utak- March 22

...that means No Brain....ya..i didn't sleep last night so i can't conjure up any clever Title for this...pacencia.  Ya...this week hasn't been soooo exciting..mostly because i was sick for 2 days in bed then was only allowed to work a couple hours on Sunday. But fun things did happen...one nanay who works with us a lot, Nanay Reynoon, has a couple of dogs and one just had puppies so she let me hold one...they are precious...then in the same area, there was a baseball game. it was a lot of fun! they were playing baseball and my companion was too but since i was too sick i sat down next to this little boy who's Tita (aunt) works with us all the time (Nanay Reynoon) and found out he isn't a member yet. He's only 9..we got talking a little and he asked if i could teach him English while the other kids played baseball..it was going to be really hard because he doesn't have enough money to go to school so he doesn't know how to read...but i used the time to also teach a lesson.. I taught him about Heavenly Father, Jesus, the Bible, and the Book of Mormon and taught him a few English words while we were doing it like "book", "scriptures", "Father", and "love"...by the end of the lesson, most the kids that were playing were surrounding me and participating in the lesson!  it was pretty great!

Also had an exciting night last night...it wasn't really that exciting but uh...ya..it was pretty hot...like so hot it made me sick...like around midnight i finally just moved down to the floor (instead of top bunk) and laid down right in front of the fan so it was like inches from my face...and i was still sweating so i decided there was no point in trying to sleep..so i grabbed my bible and went to the kitchen where it was a little cooler...then around 2, my roommate Sister Peavler got up to because she couldn't sleep either...we ended up talking for a couple hours...when we started getting hungry for a midnight snack, all we could find were old peas and papaya that tasted like our fridge...so we ate candy i was going to send my family today...oops... and laid on the cool tile with a big fan on us and fell asleep around 5 or 5:30 ...then we woke up at 6...it was quite the adventure...

so ya..that was my sobrang exciting week... anyway... oh ya! we also had a district meeting where we talked alot about the peace we get from The Atonement..it was beautiful and really uplifting. I love learning about the atonement! I'd really encourage all of you to start reading the Book of Mormon over again focusing on the atonement of Jesus Christ. It's powerful and is already changing my character, my faith, my testimony, and my mission.

so thats that... oh ya..i also made a shrek reference and everyone took it the wrong way and thought i called Sister Peavler an ogre...that was awkward...so ya.. Miss and love all of you!

-sister norman

picture=me with the kids i was teaching english to through the Gospel:)