Letter #69 1/21/2014 "Dormir, dormir...‏"

Dear Family and Friends,

Sorry about having to write a day late. There are some parents of missionaries who call the mission office when their kids don't write exactly on time. I am so glad you don't do that. Anyway, the reason is because we had to go to Montevideo yesterday for a super-secret mission conference. They wouldn't tell us what was going on or why we had to go, but the good thing about being a missionary is that you develop an innate trust of what your leaders tell you to do. At first we thought it was just our zone, and that we would be going to the temple, but when we got on the bus we found out the whole mission was going to be there, and rumors began to fly. Are they splitting the mission? Is there a general authority coming? Is there a national emergency and we have to leave the country? President Monson is coming?!

Well, we got to Montevideo and started the conference. Then President Newsome got up and announced that he and his wife are being released. There is apparently legal trouble with President's company back in the States and he has to go and fix things. For now we don't know when they are leaving, nor who our new mission president will be. I am of course super sad about this, but I know that the Lord is in it, and that President Newsome was exactly what Uruguay needed to add more energy into the missionary program here.

At the end of the conference we got to say goodbye to them individually. As he shook my hand, President looked at me with those kind blue eyes and told me he loved me. Both Hermana and President Newsome have a special gift for helping people to feel the pure love of Christ through their words and their actions. I am so grateful to have had such great examples of great love and leadership so close. I will miss them so much.

So that's why I'm tired today. For the past week or so we've been traveling a lot and and working double to make up for it.

I love you all and hope you are well.

Hermana Phillips

Letter # 65 12/23/2013 Sarandí del Yí‏

Dearest Friends and Family,

I write to you once again from the Tres Cruzes mall in Montevideo. Things have been crazy for the past week. This is what happened:

Tuesday - Packing, saying goodbye to people, more packing, shopping, more packing.

Wednesday - Transfers. We had to get up extra early so I could finish packing. We also had the Christmas conference. Every zone in our mission prepared a musical number, and then all the valientes (that's what we call the people going home in their last transfer) bore their testimonies. They were only allotted up to 2 minutes, but missionaries talk a lot so they took about 6-8 minutes each. Between all that and the choir and the talks by President and Hermana Newsome, we were there for 3 hours in the conference. But then we had a delicious Christmas dinner to make up for it, plus I got a photo with all my mission buddies who were in the MTC with me. Then we got on the bus and traveled until dark to the city of Durazno to stay the night at a member's house because it was too late to travel to the area.

Thursday - Got up at 4 to catch the bus to Sarandí del Yí, had weekly planning, then went out to work. Placed a baptismal date! Lucía! Woohoo! Also met a progressing investigator, María, who will be baptized on the 29th! Woohoo!

Friday -. Normal day. We had the ward end-of-year dinner, so I got to meet a lot more members. While we were leaving, Hermana West (who lives in our house with us) was making a grand exit, waving her hat in the air and telling everyone to go to church on Sunday. She turned to leave and made the most spectacular fall I think I've ever seen. She skinned her knee on the concrete, but insisted she was fine. Poor thing-- as always I think your pride gets injured more than whatever is bleeding... We then ran home because we were late, and made me wait until after planning to clean and dress her knee. Good thing I have a first aid kit!

Saturday - Got up at 4 again to catch the bus back to Durazno for our District meeting. We'll have to do that every week, so I guess I'll get used to it. After the district meeting we barely caught our bus to Montevideo, because I'm in the choir. The stake in Montevideo put on a big concert in the temple parking lot and it was really cool. Rumor has it they are going to make a DVD of it, but I'll give you updates when I know for sure. We stayed in the temple hostel, after the event was over at 11:30.

Sunday - Woke up at 4 again because the sisters in our room at the hostel had to travel back to their areas. We stayed because we're too far away to go and come back. We went to church in the chapel near the temple and almost fell asleep during the Sacrament. It's been a while since that happened! After church the mission gave us lunch and we went out to work again for a few hours. We found this awesome guy who accepted to be baptized. Unfortunately he's from Canelones, so I'll have to pass the info over to a different zone. He's awesome. If we hadn't had to come to Montevideo, maybe he never would have been found. We had another performance that night and went to bed again at 11:45.

Monday - Woke up at 6 to clean our room, finally left the hostel. We traveled to Tres Cruzes and now I'm emailing you all. Now we have to go to the doctor because my companion has a checkup today, then we'll be traveling for the rest of the day. Hopefully we'll make it home before midnight...

I am very tired, but never to tired to count my blessings! I am so grateful for this mission, for my life, for the opportunity to sing-- although I much rather would have been in my area, we have a lot of work to do. I am so thankful for my companion, for the other hermanas, for President Newsome, for EVERYTHING!

I love you all and hope you are well.

Love you forever,

Hermana Phillips

Letter # 61 11/25/2013 Tres Cruces‏

Dear Friends and Family,

I write to you from Montevideo. Today Hermana Linnell had to sign her residency so we're in the terminal waiting for our bus. Two hours here, two hours back. Tomorrow we have a conference here, so we'll have to return-- two hours there, two hours back. So I'll at least have some time to catch up on my journal. I'll need the time, because a lot has happened.

Elda Ricardi got baptized on Saturday!!!!!! I love her so much! Like Hermana Linnell keeps saying, the angels did a really good job preparing her, because we feel like we didn't really do anything. That's how it is when you're teaching someone prepared. When people open their hearts to let the Spirit in there's really not much else to do. Keeping commitments becomes no problem. Now we'll be working to retain her in the church and help her daughter come back to church as well. (If you want to pray for her too, her name is Eva Cardozo)

We are currently teaching a golden family: Federico, Cecilia, Nicolas Federico, and Belén. Amazing little family. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have found a family to teach. The only obstacle seems to be finding them all together. They work a lot.

Yesterday it was SO HOT. You'll probably read that phrase a lot in the next couple of months. I need to start wearing my hat again, even though I look a little funny; it's better to look a little funny than to pass out of heat exhaustion. Mom-- every time I put sunscreen on my ears I remember you, because at home when we would go on hikes I always forgot. Almost without warning you would grab me and put sunscreen on my ears. I guess that's a weird thing to remember, but it's the little things that make me think of home.

We have talked to an unusually large number of people who are devout members of other churches, in recent days. Not that that's bad-- I'm happy to talk to people of other religions. It's just frustrating when the conversation turns into them inviting me to their church. That must be how they feel, I imagine. We stopped some ladies in the street the other day, and I wanted to give them one of our pass-along cards with Jesus on it. The first one took it, but the second one practically leaped back and said-- very offended-- "No, I don't accept images of God. Jesus asked us not to worship graven images." I felt bad for offending her, and even though I explained that it wasn't to worship, but to remember our message, she refused. So I gave her the pass-along card with the nice-looking family on it instead. Later that day we passed by an evangelical church that was holding its worship service with all the doors open: there were the three ladies, preaching into microphones. Awkward.

I love you so much and hope you are doing well.

Love you forever,

Hermana Phillips

Letter # 36 05/21/13

Queridos Familia y Amigos,

This week has been another crazy one of changes. Yesterday we found out about changes (even though we already knew because President already told me) which is why I didn't write yesterday. In our ward there were 6 missionaries-- 6! Now there are four because the elders got taken out. Now me and my companion will be taking over their area (another whitewash!) which is a relief because I was getting frustrated only getting to work in half an area. Also we didn't have ANYONE to teach which is the worst.

So my corto plazo (part-time missionary, Hermana Laurito) arrived on Monday last week, and she is AMAZING. She came on a corto plazo to try it out to see if she wants to serve a mission. Hna Laurito is the answer to a lot of prayers. I went from a difficult trainer/trainee companionship to a triple companionship to a corto plazo in the space of about a month, but she made it really worth it. She's very laid back and helps me stay sane. There is a phrase in my patriarchal blessings that counsels me to accept light and truth in whatever form it may be because "there will be people that will be inspired to come into (my) life at the very time (I) need something with help and with encouragement." That promise has never been fulfilled so specifically before now.

She came with a cold though, and all four of us caught it. I think it was because we had to wake up really early one morning to go to a conference in Montevideo, and it was really cold, and our immune systems must have been really weak. All I know is that by the end of the conference that day we were all feeling ill. It got so bad that on Friday afternoon we all came home early, and on Saturday we didn't go out at all. I also didn't feel well enough to go out and work on Sunday, and the other Hermanas went out for a few hours and had to come back because they were dying in the street. President got wind of what was going on, and because our area is only 45 minutes from the mission home he and his daughter, Stacy, got in the car and brought us a care package with vitamin C tablets, dark chocolate, benadryl, medicinal tea and four bags filled with corn (it's like a rice bag you put in the microwave but corn stays warm longer). There was such a heavy, anxious spirit in the house, but when they got there I just knew that everything would be OK. He gave us all blessings and when he left we were all feeling so much better. Today I feel 100% better.

One of the changes from last week is this: The new missionary that I was going to train this change tore a tendon in her knee at the MTC while playing fùtbol and she had to go back to the United States for surgery. Hermana Laurito was going to stay for the rest of the change as a result, but on Sunday President Armstrong called again and informed me that there was an hermana missionary in the MTC that was going to the other mission (Uruguay Montevideo WEST) but for some reason or another they can't take her until the 6th of June. She's in an advanced group in the MTC and there was no good reason to keep her there so they're sending her to me for two weeks. After that, Hermana Laurito will come back and finish out the transfer with me. I'm going to go pick up my new companion tomorrow morning super early. Here we go again! :D

I love you all so much! Take care and remember that the Lord LOVES YOU!

Love always,

Hermana Phillips

Letter # 34 05/06/13

Dear Friends and Family,

I love you all so much! I'm so sorry I have very few minutes to write today. We had to travel to Montevideo to get my visa signed. I guess I'd rather sacrifice a PDay than go to prison...

I am so happy to hear about marriages, babies, boyfriends, missions, jobs-- so many exciting life changes! It's weird to think that that's all going on while I'm here. My birthday came almost without me realizing-- I almost forgot about it actually. My companions and the elders threw me a last-minute surprise party-- that I ended up finding out about because one of the members spilled the beans. I was really impressed. It's hard to keep secrets in a companionship! Missionaries are awesome.

Things are still hectic and crazy but good and getting better. Hopefully next week we'll get a real PDay to rest from the craziness. I love the mission, but I've never been so tired in all my life. It's been raining off and on for the past week or so. As Hermana Calderon says, the dreary days of winter have begun. I need to get some rain boots, otherwise this winter is going to be miserable. Already my scriptures have gotten wet even though I keep them wrapped up in plastic bags.

Thank you all so much for your emails and for your encouragment. It really means SO much to me and I hope you all know that I love you and I pray for you all.

I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Hermana Phillips

Letter #31 04/16/13

Querida Familia y Amigos,

Well, I'm in my new area and we're trying to settle into our new house. I LOVE La Paz, this change is going to be SO awesome. A few things about La Paz:

It is close to Montevideo, and closer to the coast than my last area, so it's much colder, especially since it's turning autumn.

Our ward is AMAZING! We have an awesome, proactive bishopric and Relief Society President. We share the ward with a pair of Elders. There haven't been hermana missionaries in this zone for a long time, and the ward has apparently been asking for sisters for a long while. In fact, the bishop told us in our first meeting with him, "For us, you are angels. We fought to get you here." Wow. Lots of expectations to live up to there, but I know if we just work and work and work the Lord is going to give us success. Fortunately, my new companion, Hermana Hansen from Cedar Hills, Utah, is a hard worker. She's my oro, so she's brand new, but she has zero fear of talking to people, even though she doesn't speak hardly any Spanish. She actually starts more of our contacts than I do! She's wonderful, and I'm so grateful to have her. Lots of energy, which is good because we are opening a new area (which means we have next to nothing to work with). Whitewash! Woohoo!

Lately I've been pondering the impact that the mission has had on me. As all of you know, I am kind of an emotionally unstable person by nature. My first 4 months of the mission were extremely difficult because I couldn't find a balance, and being so tired and hungry almost all the time made it worse. Sometime the months since then, however, the Lord has stepped in. I feel at peace-- I still feel really overwhelmed by the challenges I've been presented with in this transfer (training, opening a new area, whitewash, etc.) but I also just have this feeling that everything's going to work out. I wish I could transmit this feeling to my companion. I remember feeling so lost when I first got here. My trainer was my only point of reference and I got really stressed out just not knowing when we were going to eat next. We've had some problems with the electricity and with the stove in our house, so my companion, coming from the security of the CCM is a little frazzled. I'm trying my best to help her adjust. With patience and diligence, the Lord changes and enobles our character and our nature.

I love you all so much. I hope all is well. Love God and keep the commandments.

Love always,

Hermana Phillips