1st Pday

Kumusta tayon po! (How are you all?) 

Well it's my fourth day here at the MTC, and things are finally settling down. Wednesdya and Thursday were literally the most stressful days of my entire life. They were CRAZY. You basically have no idea what to expect at all, then they point you in all sorts of directions, feed you with so much information, and all the time you're in a weird daze, because you cant believe you're actually in the MTC! But, it's been great, and i already love it. You can feel the Spirit anywhere you go, and that's helped. So on wednesday we had our first 3 hour class. (we have 2 classes every day, each 3 hours.) I'm in class until 9. It's pretty hard to get used to! Our teacher, Sister Scott, only speaks to us in Tagalog. Even from day one. Thank goodness for the other 6 elders and 5 sisters in my district who are my age and younger! We were all totally lost. 

My kasama (companion) is seriously the best! Her name is Sister Beaumont and we got a long from the very begining. She was kinda quiet at first. But come to find out, she just wanted to go home too! I got here and thought everything would be hunky dory, and its definitely not! There's so much to learn and take in, and then learn it in Tagalog. Tagalog is a really cool language. Thank goodness i still know some spanish! They use so many spanish words, and the letters are pronounced the same in the alphabet. Minus 6 letters. So i'm not having trouble with the pronunciation at all. Just learning some of the words. Most of the words pertaining to the gospel are the only ones not the same in spanish. Typical. But I'm trying and I already know how to have a conversation, Pray, and Bear my testimony. Crazy how much they teach you in just 3 days. I already can't wait for the Philippines. I thought I would be one of those missionaries who loved the MTC, and got homesick in the country, but that's not the case at all. I'm already antsy to just get out there.

 The MTC is great, but its a little too much like efy. And there's people everywhere. It's packed here. And people sing a little too obnoxiously, and are way too energetic all the time! Some of these kids are wild. But I LOVE my district. So cheesy...i know. But i really do. There are 6 Elders, and 6 Sisters. We are already pretty close. Last night was hilarious, during planning, we have to sit in the class until 9:30. And we were all so tired and stressed, that we basically laughed and cried at the same time. All of us were just cracking up about how insane Tagalog was, and how it's so so frustrating but exciting at the same time! These boys are pretty much all just out of high school, and its really funny how easily bored they get in class. So different from the Sisters for sure! Also, they keep calling me out for calling them dude and guys! You aren't supposed to say that here. I'm trying to stop, but no promises. The food is ok, i guess. I miss decent vegetables. And replacing all that with candy. I'm probably already gaining weight. But as soon as I get to San Pablo, i'm sure i'll be losing it real quick! Me and the sisters in my room had a really good talk yesterday about how we are all missing our moms like crazy! So many times where we just want to call our moms. So we decided to really try and lean on each other instead. Since clearly our moms aren't here. It's still hard! Especially when your mom is your best friend, like mine!

I wear my Texas necklace every day, and have some Texas pride back in me for sure! There's a sister in my room who's from Vegas and she hates on Summerlin every now and then. haha it's hilarious! I love it. I join in. 

This is my kasama, SIster Beaumont! She's the oldest of 7 kids and totally is the exact same person as me! She's so great, she's always positive and pulling me back to why we're here. 

From left to right: Sister Williams, (an ace at tagalog, she already knows some), Sister Martinez, (she's super funny, from Vegas) Sister Burt, (the mom, she's 20 and really really a great friend) Sister Seastrand, (the one most like me) and my kasama Sister Beaumont closing her eyes haha. Love them all! We are already super close and are all going to the same mission by some stroke of luck! So we will get to see eachother very often. And mom: I get to travel with these girls all the way until I get to the mission home. So don't worry! It definitely made me feel so much better! Thanks for the emails and love, i really needed it this week!

Mahal tayo kito, 

(love you all)

sister gaspar de alba 

ps-my p day is saturday, so email me before then and i'll respond around this time while in the MTC!