The West Weber Chicken Massacre

email 29 July 2015

I feel like almost every email I write lately starts off with us being in a parade. Well guess what? Our whole MISSION was in a parade this time! It's fun to see Pioneer Day in Utah. Because outside of Utah, it's not a thing. But it's a huge thing here and it's so much fun! So many people dressed up! There were some really intense floats, too. Later that day, we went to dinner with one of our Ward mission leaders and they asked us to make them the food we grew up with. So they bought us ingredients and I made jambalaya and Sister Magsayo made her Filipino food. I don't really know what it was haha but it was delicious! 



We were having a rough day this past week. No one was home and the people that were home weren't the nicest to us. So we went to our lesson we had at the end of the night and Heavenly Father placed a full rainbow in our path!!! It was a beautiful tender mercy. I love how Heavenly Father is so aware of us that he sends us the little things like a rainbow. 

We had a training on Wednesday about pooping on our companions. Point Out Others Positives. Hahaha it was hilarious!!!! But it was a great training and it's helped us a lot to see each other through Heavenly Father's eyes. Not only with our companions but with those around us! Sometimes I get lazy to give people compliments. A lot of times I'll think to myself "oh they look cute today!" But I won't tell them! But after that training I've decided to take every opportunity to compliment people.

I'm sorry that my email is late. It was kind of intentional though because I wanted to wait until I could tell you about the chicken killing yesterday! So people here grow everything they eat. Even the chickens! They'll get the eggs from them for a while and then they'll kill them to eat. It was kind of inhuman looking. But it was pretty cool to see the process of it! They had this little machine that you put the dead chickens in and it plucks it for you! It was so neat! The pictures are the best though. Afterwards we all had a ping pong tournament. I've never played ping pong before but I wasn't all that bad! 

There was a funny dinner this past week. Little kids are the best! As they were preparing the food, I was talking to their 4 year old granddaughter. She was a TALKER. She was telling me about everything and then all of a sudden he started whispering and said, "Can I tell you something? I haven't told anyone before. And you can't tell your friend." (Meaning sister Magsayo.) So I assured her I wouldn't say anything. And she said "I'm actually a cheetah. I just say the word cheetah and I turn into one. But no one believes me. Can I show you?" I was cracking up. Not what I was expecting. But she showed me! And she was growling and crawling all over the table. The creepy part was that she actually looked like one. It was kind of scary. And no one else saw her! I think it's because I had a believing heart so I could see her cheetah-ness. But no one else believed. That's my theory of the cheetah girl. 

Yesterday was Sister Magsayo's last Pday. Sister Magsayo has the biggest heart out of anyone I've ever met. She has such a pure soul and she's such an amazing person. She's taught me so much about missionary work and about life. I love hearing her testimony. She cries almost every single time she shares her testimony. I love hearing her share her spiritual insights with me. Lately at night we've been doing this thing where we pick a random scripture verse and we try to say where it is in the scriptures and then after we study that verse and see what we get out of it. It's actually a lot of fun! And I love seeing the difference between my insights and hers. It's so cool how personally Heavenly Father knows us and how he sends revelation to each of us at the same exact time with different insights for what we specifically need. Sister Magsayo has taught me humility. Every time she talks about one of our teaching appointments she always says WE did this. And I admire her so much for that. Whenever I do something good or right I want to be recognized for it! But she doesn't. She says it was both of us even when it was just her. She's working on coming back to the U.S. so she can go to school at BYUI. I pray that she will return home safely and that she will have a wonderful life in the Philippines. 

I leave you with her favorite scripture, and the one that kept me here on my mission when I was thinking of going home. Alma 26:27:

27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success.

I've been studying a lot about patience and one of my favorite quotes that I found says,

"Patience is not the ability to wait but how you act while you're waiting".

If we bear our afflictions with patience, then we will receive success. That's hard to keep in perspective. Because a lot of times what we receive as success isn't what we consider success. But it's the success that Heavenly Father wants and needs us to have. I love this scripture and I came across it at one of the hardest times in my mission. I was thinking and praying about if I should go home. I went to the temple to help me decide and I opened up to a random scripture and this was the one I turned to. I was ready to turn back. But because of this scripture I knew there was more I needed to do here. And more I needed to learn. I'm so grateful that I stayed on my mission. And I'm grateful that Heavenly Father gave me Sister Magsayo to be one of my companions. And that he trusted me enough to be her last companion. I love her to death. I know this gospel blesses lives. I know it brings to pass miracles in every circumstance. 

Have a beautiful week! 
Sister Sarlls