So just to give you a little taste of how it feels like to serve in the Phils...this week I had my FIRST "BUDO FIGHT" here on the mission field! It's basically this big feast where you lay out gigantic banana leaves, dump tons of rice and meat on top of it, and "kamay" aka everyone eats with their hands (minorly unsanitary...but that's why you USE TONS OF HAND SANITIZER BEFOREHAND and gather all your rice in one pile and fend off the savages to make sure no one lays their filthy paws on your food ahahaha). The elders in charge of the feast didn't even have cups so were were all drinking our juice out of bowls and tupperware and I felt like a savage from the stone ages ahaha. It was tons of fun though! You should all try it sometime.
I also got to Skype family this week which was just an emotional rollercoaster (on my end only because my family is just like ROCK SOLID when it comes to showing emotions AHHAHA just kidding i'm just made of water works is why). Not going to lie, I looked like a blubbering fool trying to get the connection to work, but once it did...AH it was the happiest time of my life! I loved seeing their beautiful faces. I am so grateful for the impact the gospel has made in my family. I'm grateful to have been raised to never doubt Heavenly Father, and His power to deliver me from the adversary.
Family is SO important. The relationships we create with them last even after the grave - I KNOW family can be together forever. It's so important to make time for our family because no amount of money can ever compensate for lack of love in the home.
Motherhood/parenthood is divine. Procreation is sacred and shouldn't be taken lightly. It's one of the closest earthly experiences we have to Godhood because of the ability to create life.
So one of my friends from church told me this cool experience about her mother having a vision of her son preparing to come down to earth during labor: Her mom was pregnant with her oldest (boy) and while she was going through labor she saw him, grown up and dressed in a suit and tie. She also noticed that there was another boy standing next to him - red haired and dressed in casual clothes. The midwife was convinced she had a long time to go before it was time for her baby to be delivered, but just as soon as the mother heard her son say "i'm ready" she exclaimed, "he's coming!" and before her son was about to come through, the red haired man standing next to her child told him to not forget about him and to remember to teach him. Her son was born, but she was still baffled about the experience. This mother pondered who this red-haired boy could've possibly been, but didnt think she would ever see the man that was standing next to her son... but 2 weeks later, when one of her friends gave birth to a baby boy, she held the baby boy and looked at him and notices stubs of red-orange hair. and instantly, when the little boy looked at her, she knew that that was the man that standing next to her son telling him to remember him & to teach him.
Experiences like this are CRAZY - but to me, seems so possible, because motherhood is so divine. If you're spiritually in tune enough, i'm sure the veil keeping us from remembering our lives before this grows thin.
Talking with my parents from a far off land made me realize that's how OUR Heavenly parents must feel about us. I know they wouldn't have sent us out unprepared. They did their very best - they raised us and prepared us in Heaven for our lives here on Earth. And they are watching us and hoping we make the best choices for ourselves..,but that's all they can do. Hope we do the best with what they've given us. It's really up to us to make sure we do our best to make it back to them with honor. We may not completely remember their teachings, or the intensity of their love, but we do get reassurance of their teachings and care whenever we feel the spirit, because we're doing something right. They are proud of us. They gift us EVERYDAY with another breath of air and new opportunities to grow.
I know we have a Heavenly Mother and Father who loves us, and are cheering for us every step of the way! Our Heavenly Brother, Jesus Christ, was sent as an example for us to follow, and was sacrificed because our Heavenly Parents love us SO MUCH they did everything in their power to create a way for us to come back to them. The Holy Spirit will comfort us and guide us, so long as we ask! So turn to them. Allow yourself to be a reflection of their love for others! I love you guys and I wish you the best always. I'd love to invite you all to take the time to list out all the reasons why you love your parents and express that to them! They rarely get the appreciation and recognition they deserve, so please take the time to express your thanks today!
Happy Mothers day, again!
Sister Calica
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