Merry Christmas

Dear family,

The "ber" months, or september, here brings the start of christmas, but now things are getting serious.  Everyone has decorations everywhere and christmas music is always playing as well.  We also have a very small christmas tree in our apartment  And I though american who started listening to christmas music after halloween where crazy.

So it has been a good week.  First we went on splits with the STL's which was fun, as always.  We also had our bishops helper come to church again, we still haven't been able to teach her because our cellphone got stolen... So we had no idea where our bishop lived, and we had no way of telling them we couldn't come... So they kind of got mad at us... But its all good everything is worked out now after we told them our cellphone got stolen.  That was honestly the first time a filipino has ever gotten mad at me, I hope that never happens again.  Other then that we have gotten 2 referral from our ward that seem to have a lot of potential so hopefully the will progress.

As for my crazy tracting story of the week.  Well as usually we were going door to door, and we ran into this nanay who was doing her laba, we asked if we could teach her and she just pointed to the chair, so we sat down quite unaware if we were teaching or not.  Eventually her and her husband came and sat down so we started the lesson.  Halfway through the lesson the neighbor came over and her husband went and started talking to her.  We continued teaching and then and one point when I stop talking, Sister Wolfe didn't start talking, I looked over at her at she was staring at tatay, I looked at tatay and he was doing witch doctor vodo stuff to heal his neighbors son.  Needless to say we quickly ended the lesson and left laughing.  First time I have actually seen witch doctor vodo stuff.

Oh also a random fact for the day, whenever I try to speak in a different american accent it always comes out in bisaya, I don't know why... I think there is something messed up with my brain...

Anyways I love you all, I hope you are doing great and staying happy!

Sister Hancock

Missionary Life, take 1

To my beautiful family, 

That is a very true statement,when ever I show anyone your guys picture they  always talk about how I have a gorgeous family.  Anyways I heard something that was really funny today that I thought I would share, I might be overly missionary humor for you guys, so I don't know if you guys can handle it. But here it goes.  We were talking about how many languages there are in the philippines and then one of the missionaries that lives in our apartment said, "Philippines must have done so serious work with the tower of babel."  And I laughed.

Anyways this week has been really good. I am really enjoying my new area, and the ward is really supportive here, things actually operate how they should, which is a miracle here in the philippines.  We also get people the work with us which we haven't really been able to get in my last areas.

So we were able to teach Jerum again this week.  (He was the one who prayed for people to come and help him change his life and then he saw the missionaries outside tracting and stopped them and asked him to teach him.)  It was such a good lesson, the spirit was so strong and he had soo many good questions.  He is fantastic.  We have also been able to see success with our other investigator, so it has been really good here.

Other then that we do a lot of tracting.  Which we get some pretty funny stories from that.  I am going to tell you guys about one experience but sister wolfe is a lot better at telling stories them I am so I am going to quote her.  "i love tracting because it give a lot of funny stories to tell. One time while we were tracting we ran into this crazy old nanay (old lady/mom), that had 4 toes on one foot and caught me staring at it every time. There was also poop on the floor which could have very well been human poop.  She insisted that we see her new grandchild who was born the previous week, but I had suspicions that her real intentions were kidnapping. Nanay burst into the room where the childs parents where sitting.  The father was an american who looked up shocked because nanay had just burst into the room and yelled out 'gosh dang it nay, can some one pleeeease get me my pants' "

Anyways, to make the story short a lot of awkward things happen all the time  in the philippines.

Anyways I hope you are all doing well. I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week.

Love you tons!!!

Sister Hancock

P.S. the first picture is typical sister wolfe and then the next picture is a nanay in our ward who always works with us, she is fantastic.

The new Area

To whom it may concern,

I am doing great here in consolation!  I really like it here and I really like my new companion.  The ward here is the most put together ward I have ever seen in the Philippines and things are run how they are suppose to, its fantastic.  I can also see a lot of potential with this area, since I have been here we have gotten some good referrals and we taught this man who said he has been praying for someone who to come and help him change his life around.  The spirit was really strong while we were teaching him and we are really hoping he progresses. We also committed someone to baptism who has really wanted to get baptized before but has run into a lot of obstacles, but we have plans the we hope are going to be able to help him.  There is a lot of potential here so hopefully it progresses.

As for my new companion she is from texas and it really really funny and crazy.  She keeps me laughing a lot. She is also part Guatemalan. And...  She is 20?  I tried to get her to tell me what to say about her, but she didn't know what to say either.  But just know she is a really fun person to be companions with.

Other then that my area is very very hilly, so hopefully by the end of this area I will have great calves.  But I might not because we have the temptation of fast food right exactly behind our house, that is something I definitely didn't have in ubay haha, but no worries sister wolfe is big into running so we have plans to run everyday this transfer.  I can't really think of other new because I am still really new here and get lost everyday, but I really like it here.

Anyways I love you all and hope life is going well for all of you!  Know I am praying for all of you.  Love you tons!!!

Sister Hancock

Where in the World is Sister Annika Hancock?

Dear family,

another transfer  has come and passed and it again raises the question, where in the world is Sister Hancock?  Drum roll please........ CONSOLATION CEBU.  That is right, I got transfered back to the great island of cebu, only this time I actually live on cebu island and not on lapu-lapu island.   My area is really city and apparently our church has an elevator?  Which is completely COMPLETELY different then Ubay. My new companion is Sister Wolfe, an american.  I am excited I will hopefully send you cool pictures of my area later!

So as for the happenings of this week, well I did get to do something really cool.  I get to ride a carabo for the first time (which is an animal here that kind of looks like a bull that they use for plowing fields).  It was pretty legit.  I also got to drink carabo milk, which was the best milk I have had since I have been here, it was almost like milk back home (the milk here is really gross, all the have is powdered milk mostly).

As for the spiritually things, Lita came to church again wahoo!  She has a problem with priesthood so that is why she has yet to agree to be baptized, but tuesday we had a really good lesson about the book of mormon.  The spirit was really there, so we are hoping things go well, but I guess I would really get to see since I got transferred, that is the sad part of transfers is leaving everyone. It was really sad leaving the pinero family and brother dedios as well

Other then that I literally traveled for 8 hours today in order to get to cebu, and I had to pack all of my stuff this morning, so I am really exhaust, but I got a chance to take a picture of the boat we ride to get to cebu for you all.  I hope you enjoy that.

Anyways because my head is on low battery (that is how filipinos say they have a head ache, just a little bit of info for you)  I am cutting this email short.   But know I love you and am praying for you all and miss you all.

I love you

Sister Hancock

sorry I always forget to include them with the email, but this is the boat we rode today

Wet Market

Dear family,

Sorry if this email is kind of shorter, you all emailed me this week which is fantastic, but doesn't leave me as much time to write a big email.  But I request you guys have a family reunion every weekend so that you will miss me more so that I will end up getting more emails, its fantastic.

Anyways so at the begining of this week we went to tagbilaran for a mission conference.  (Tagbi is really far away so we didn't get to work for two days due to travel, it was very exhausting.)  It was really great though, I learned a ton and we also got to celebrate the missions 1 year birthday (wahoo we have been a mission for one year!)  and we also celebrated our mission presidents birthday.  So celebrating all around wahoo!

Also this week Lita and Casandra came to church.  Lita is an referral from a bishop in cebu.  She is really really awesome.  She hasn't been able to come to church because her grandson has been in the hospital, but this Sunday she came.  She is the nicest lady ever and always wants to feed us haha and she really wanted to come back

Casandra is the american who came here to marry a filipino but wasn't able to so now is kind of stranded, anyways she is a member but hadn't been to church for 4 month, but she missed it so much that she decided to walk and hour to get to the pinero's house so that they could give her a ride.  (she doesn't have plete or money for transportation).  That is a serious problem here that everyone lives to far a way so they can't go to church because its too expensive, but I guess we have discovered the solution, convert someone who lives close to them and has a tricicad so they can get a ride. Haha but it really but into perspective just how blessed we are to have church so close.  Seeing people sacrifice so much to come to church and partake of the sacrament really inspires me.

I hope we realized just how blessed.  Thank you all so much for your support for me, I couldn't do it with out you.  I love you all so much and pray for you everyday.  Next year I will just have to beat you all at golf

Love you tons, take care ha?

Sister Hancock

P.S. Here we have to buy everything from a wet market, and there is pig heads laying everywhere, its really gross

The ocean is a great place for a baptism

Dear family,

I hope this email finds you happy and excited to go back to school.  As for me I still have a year before I have to go back to school.  That is one of the advantages of serving a mission haha.

So this week has been really great!  The pinero family officially got baptized wahoo!!!  We were really blessed that day because it was high tide so they got to stay in close to do the baptism.  It was a really big blessing because the elders baptism before was low tide and we couldn't really see, much less hear what was going on.  But during their baptism we got to hear and see everything which was great.  The spirit was so strong too.  It was so cool to see a whole family get baptized together, that really is what missions are about. Helping families live together forever.  I am so glad we have that blessing.  It was really cute as well because after wards when they bore their testimony, Sister Pinero wrote her testimony so she could give it in bisaya.  The branch (we are a branch now wahoo!) was also really great because a lot of them came even though we have to go really far away to get clean ocean (the ocean by ubay is really gross as in if you walk in it with an open wound you could die, really REALLY gross), anyways they came and they gave their talks in tagalog so that they could understand.  I am starting to kind of a little bit understand tagalog, its great.

Other then that the work continues to progress.  Our current second counselor used to be less-active (probably because he lives an hour away from the church),  but ever since he has found out he was going to be the second counselor he has come to church every sunday. and for the past two sunday his wife has come with him as well.  She is not a member, so we are trying to really focus on them, its hard because they are always busy and they live an hour away from us (and riding on a motorcycle for an hour is kind of exhausting), but they are really really good!

Other then that I am doing really well.  I learn and grow everyday, although thankfully I am not yet fat.  I also still continue to eat new foods (I ate a salted egg yesterday, we looked really gross but it was actually completely fine) and still love living here and serving a mission.  I hope you are all happy.  Continue to be the great people you are! I love you all so much!

Sister Hancock

A new Branch

To my beloved family,

Hello, how are you all.  I am glad to hear you all enjoyed the wedding.  I was also celebrating on this side on the world.  We went on splits with the STLs that day (which I always have fun going on splits, and sister davis is still my STL so we had fun).  And the for dinner we had chicken adobo and mango floats to celebrate. I am thinking I will have to make that for you guys when I get back.  Then we had a sleep over, so you know, the whole world was just partying.

Good news this week, The pinero family passed their interviews, wahoo!!!!!!  I was pretty soaked although I almost fell asleep while waiting, because I don't know why but interviews here take forever and there was four of them getting interviewed.  So their baptism will be this Saturday, in the ocean.  I am excited to send you guys pictures.

Other good news, Ubay is official a branch, wahoo!!!!  So that means they are now looking for a different place to have church.  It been really cool to see our little group progress so much that we are now a branch.  Sacrament meeting was really cool too.  Our mission president came and talked about how before Ubay was randomly cut out of our mission boundaries and wasn't in the boundaries of anyone's mission.  They talked about how the devil was trying to keep the saints here from receiving blessing.  But now they have corrected that and there are 2 sets of missionaries here.  What a blessing it is to be able to serve here.

As well we were able to see the elders have a baptism this week.  I love baptisms, the spirit is always so strong and it makes you so excited about the work.  The work really is hastening and it is such a blessing to be able to witness that.  

I love you all and hope you are well and your testimonies are strong.  Keep on enduring to the end!

Sister Hancock

P.S.  The first picture is our branch presidency, the missionaries and my mission president and his wife when we became a branch.  We are standing outside of our apartment/church.  The second is the elders baptism.