Hello! :) I'm so happy I get to email today and tell you all about last week! The highlights of the week are....!!

1.) I got asked to say the closing prayer in sacrament meeting on Sunday! I said it all in Tagalog!!! I was so happy after! Because that's the best prayer I've ever said in Tagalog (just ask my companion...I was doing a happy dance!)

2.) Tuesday night President Arden from the first presidency of the quorum of the 70 came and we had a devotional! Guess what!!!! 5 sisters from 5 different countries were asked to sing the first verse of the mtc musical number...and I was the American who got chosen! so I got to sing up front to President Arden and his wife and my mtc president and his wife! It was so great! It was just so neat to sing a hymn with people from all over the world!! His devotional was so great! he did a power point and lots of missionaries participated., he would call on anyone! He would just look at you and say "what do you think that means" or give me an example of this! so all the missionaries were on their toes the whole meeting! President Arden will soon be the area president for the Philippines. He is from New Zealand. I got to shake his hand! 

3.) I ate a fish eyeball!!!! Here at the mtc there isn't too much "sketchy" food. It's all pretty good! When they give you a fish though, they give you the whole thing! Well I was dared to eat the eyeball, and so I did because I'm going to eat every crazy thing while I'm here! (Just in case you are wondering..it tastes like a popcorn kernel) It was weird though! Then I got dared to eat a REALLY hot red pepper. I did that too....and....lets just say..it didn't go too well!!! My tongue was numb for 10 minutes and it felt like it was on fire...literally. Meal times are always an adventure here!

4.) Learning to teach by the spirit is something we really focus on here! We are told to plan a lesson but when we go in, to teach the investigator not the lesson. We had a great experience with this. Even though the investigator was fake, my companion and I applied this to one of our lessons. The spirit was so strong once we really focused on the person and her  needs, we were all in tears by the end and she accepted baptism! It was a wonderful experience!! Sometimes i get frustrated because I think, "How am I supposed to teach someone according to their needs...in Tagalog! I just memorize key words in Tagalog that go with my lesson." But i have an amazing teacher sister marila. She bore her testimony one day like she always does and told us "You might be thinking, how can i teach the person and not the lesson? I don't even know Tagalog!!" That's exactly what I was thinking....but she said "If that's what you think then you don't trust our Savior. You are not having faith. That really hit me! so my attitude has changed! When I go into a lesson I don't think "oh no i don't know what to say!" Instead I put a big smile on my face and say everything I want to and throw in as many Tagalog words as I can. When I do this the spirit  is so much more there! It's so great! I'm so grateful for inspired teachers and the spirit! :)

5.) Reading the scriptures....the scriptures are AWESOME!!! if you haven't opened them in a while open them now!! It's amazing the stuff you can find and the answers you will receive because Heavenly Father knows you oh so well!! I've experienced this more than once here in the mtc!

Well I love it here! this next week I will be going proselyting in Quezon city! I'll get to ride on a jeepney! ill let you know how that goes! :) hugs!!!

love,

Sister Peavler

Hello all! I have about 15 minutes to tell you about all my last week adventures! hope i can do it!!

so highlights of the week...

1.)TYPHOON!!! don't worry I'm alive....I'm missing an arm but President Beck says I can get one donated to me! Joke lang joke lang! ( that means just kidding) haha...our power was out and we got to clean up after...yay! haha! it was actually fun though! It was like a movie! We were learning how to teach while the power was out and outside trees were blowing over and pouring rain! So cool! I wasn't even scared and I don't know why! Well i do know why! Because I'm a missionary! :)

2.) SUNDAY NIGHT DEVOTIONAL.....so awesome!! We listened to a talk by Elder Holland! Then 4 missionaires bore their testimonies. I said the closing prayer in Tagalog! (with a little English mixed in there!)  :) Elder Holland said to give our heart to Christ to give OUR ALL! In sacrament meeting our speaker said  "No sacrifice is too great for the one who sacrificed all to provide the way!" so the whole day was great and based on giving our all!!

3.) BIRTHDAY NIGHT!... Every other tuesday night we get a nice dinner! Homemade pizza and spaghetti with chocolate cake and ice ream! They do it for birthdays! It was so fun!!

4.) TEMPLE today we went to the temple which is right across the street. It was a beautiful experience! After, we went to the distribution center...I tried saying a few simple greetings to natives! it was fun! and kinda scary too though! haha. But mostly fun!!

5.) BROTHER GARCIA AND SISTER MARILA they are my two teachers! Sister Marila is a super sweet native Filipina, whose testimony strengthens mine every single day! Two nights ago, Brother Garcia had us go outside and sit down facing the temple and read the Book of Mormon. He said to go with a specific concern or question in mind, to pray, then read. I did that, and it was an experience I'll never forget. Moroni 7:26-27 caught my eye! and i love the Temple! every morning we walk down this hill to breakfast and right in front of us is the temple with the sun rising! its beautiful!!!

6.) BORE MY TESTIMONY IN TAGALOG so the language is hard. but each time i can say something new without looking at my paper is a great stepping stone! we pretend to teach sometimes and we were doing that one night. i said my testimony in Tagalog and was just so happy. so happy I'm here, so happy i have the opportunity to do this. the language requires a lot of practicing over and over, and my accent isn't the best yet. but now after14 days i can say a simple prayer and testimony! so that's exciting!

"Alam ko po na perpecto JesuCristo. alam ko po na mapagmahal si Dyios. nanniniwala po ako tottoo ang aklat ni mormon. sa pangalin ni jesu cristo amen." (my simple Tagalog testimony):)

miss you all!!

love,

sister peavler

These are the missionaries who flew with me from Utah to Oregon to Japan to Manila! We are all going to the Angeles Mission!

"This is a Jeepney"

My Companion Sister Koford and I on our way to immigration to get fingerprinted and other fun stuff!!

The Manila temple! This was taken outside the MTC window!

This is Sister Tonga from New Zealand!! Ironic... EH?! haha She just left to her mission I will miss her!

This is at Birthday night! I am holding up my district's sign! 

"They now make coke for Sister missionaries!! ;)"

"My dearest sister Ram, she is from Fiji! We are basically soul sistas!"

First letter!!!!

Hi!!!! finally!!!! I get to email!!!! What a week!!!! Holy guacamole!!!! (i wish they had guacamole here!!!)

I'm so excited to email if you haven't noticed by all my !!!!!!:)

So ill start from the beginning ! It's gonna be long!

I flew from Phoenix to Salt Lake. at salt lake i met up with 11 other missionaries!! we all flew to Oregon. then to Tokyo!! longest flight of my life!!! ahhhh. but then we flew to Philippines and finally got to manila!! that night we had time to email our parents and just say we were alive. we stayed at the airport hotel. and walked to an Internet cafe in the POURING rain!! I've never seen rain like that!!! it was so cool!!! then us four sisters stayed in one room. the next morning we woke up early and headed to the mtc!! driving there was crazy!!!! I'm glad I'm alive! haha jokes... I don't want to scare you! but really......so we made it to the mtc and got our name tag and did a bunch of house stuff like found our room got needed shots, had orientation, and all that fun stuff! then we went straight into learning Tagalog! it was one crazy long day!!! At the end of our devotional i turned around and all the elders were laying on each other asleep, it was really funny!

Okay so I'm  just going tell you now i love it here! seriously! I'm in the mtc and I've only been here for a week but this is the best decision of my life!!! What's better than studying and preaching the gospel 24/7?!?!? nothing!!!

My companion is sister Koford. she is from Utah(shocker)! haha. Most of the people here are pacific islanders or Filipinos!!! They are soooo awesome! I love their culture!! Another companionship is staying with us in our room and they are from Fiji!!! I've made good friends already from Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Tonga,Samoa, and Philippines! pacific islanders are awesome! they are so loud and crazy but in a great way of course! when we have gym time you can play volleyball. well after the first day i learned not to play volleyball with them because they are so hard core! I got hit by the ball so hard! but they are so entertaining to watch!! Everyone here is just super nice. I'm so grateful for that!!

My daily schedule goes something  like this:

wake up at 5 (I'm always the first awake)

breakfast and roll call at 6:10.

then we have personal study and class study until lunch. then more studying then gym then dinner then more studying!!! my day is pretty much all studying and a few times eating!!! i get really tired but just have to get over it cuz there aint no time to sleep!!

Gym time is really great. it's the one hour where we just get to really have fun and not stress! plus my basketball skills are getting pretty great...haha not really...everyone had a good laugh the other day when i played with them....but i had fun so that's all that matters right?? :) haha.

so lets talk food. rice, rice and more rice! every meal! Egg...with rice. pork....with rice........beef ....with rice....fish...with rice! the food is actually good! i was worried about it being crazy but here in the mtc we are spoiled! but not nearly as spoiled as the Provo mtc!!!

I love the mtc here tho because there aren't very many o f us ! so we pretty much all know each other and have become really close! its just been such an uplifting experience so far!

One night we had a devotional broadcasted from the mtc in Provo.elder Neil Anderson spoke. he spoke on the spirit! it was really great!

So we practice teaching investigators....its great! its a bit frustrating when you want to tell them your feelings and bear your testimony but you cant. the language barrier is a bit frustrating but i know it will get better soon! its only been a week!! :)

Everyday here at the mtc I feel the spirit and i am reassured this is where i am supposed to be ! so cool! Thanks for all your love and support and sorry no pictures this week! :( (left my camera in my room)