Blog: Guess what!!!???!!!! I'm the SENIOR COMPANION NOW!!!!!!!!!!! AND WE ARE BOTH AMERICAN!!!!!!!! and guess what else!?! i know a lot more tagalog then i thought and this really is the Lords work and it will move forward whether i or my comp knows the language or not! Her name is sister smith and she is only one transfer behind me! we are having a great time teaching in our Tagalog. Sister Smith is from idaho, where the potatoes grow, and i often sing the weird al song to her! hahaha! I will echo what Sister Patterson said, nothing brings companionship unity together like not knowing the language! Sister Smith and i have had lots of time this last few days to get to know each other cuz i've been sick with an infected tonsil! with a high fever and sensitive gag-reflex. don't worry i'm on anibiotics now and SHOULD recover quickly. we have also been able to do companionship things together like trap the house rat in the trash can, to find out it was a very angry shrew! which we threw out side in the big trash pile! life here really isn't boring!

thank you for all the birthday shout-outs and emails! thank you for all the support from all of you!!!
-Supa Sistas Stephens... & Smith!!!

Transfer time again...

Blog: Transfers this week... I'm not moving but my companion is, so we will see next week who my new companion will be!!! yien lang. (that's all).

transfer day is ... on... MY BIRTHDAY

blog: end of transfer is nearing and transfer day is ... on... MY BIRTHDAY!!!! this is not really a good thing. IF my companion or i will be moving then my birthday will be spent at transfer meeting :( if not then not but either way i can't really plan a dinner at a members house or anything. :( any ways... interesting things that happened this week! I killed a 4inch millipead at an investigators house, impressing him that I quickly reacted to save his young son from a nasty millipead bite. speaking of biting I GOT bit in the leg by a kid! so we were sitting in this investigators house (different family) and Ken-Ken the 2year old sits next to me on the floor (this is normal the kids love to sit next to me) then he leans over and bites me in the leg! i yelp in suprise but then laugh cuz it wasn't very hard. I've been preying to use my talents and god gave me two kids that needed their hair cut! one was a little girl who had decided to cut her own hair, which of coarse was dreadful, so i fixed it. second was this boy who had really long hair and their family doesn't have enough money to pay for a hair cut, so i asked him if he wanted his hair cut, he said yes so we went outside and now he looks like the clean little boy he is. next week should be his brother. well that's about it for interesting. we are working hard and mindful of the everyday things we need to do. thanks for all your suport. sorry if you have sent me any letters latly, but we haven't had mailrun all transfer!
mahal kita,
-Sister Stephens

Blog: cool week, got to name a puppy Alma! We are teaching a part member family and the young boy got this new puppy who of course fell instantly in love with me and immediately obeyed me. so the family said that i should name her. my first thought was Abish the only girl name in the book of Mormon, but it didn't fit so i named her Alma, cuz here Alma is a girls name. lol. Then that same day we were sharing with a couple of Recent Convert, when a giant spider zoomed across my lap, up the leg of sister Vicky and then down again, then was aiming for under my skirt. I saw the whole thing and all i said was "eeeew" and dropped my book of mormon on it before it went up my skirt. FWAP! then silence. Then brother Abel started to laugh, "your so fast! but i thought thou shalt not kill!" and we all started laughing and swept the dead spider out the door! oh man i love the Philippines!
mahal ko po kayo!
-S.S.
ps: new address;
Aurora Blvd corner JP Rizal st
Project 4, Quezon City, MM
Philippines

They call me Africa...

Blog: so life is great here in the sunny Philippines! we work and sweat all day we have lots of lessons, baptisms, and people to talk to. My Tagalog keeps improving at a steady pace and i'm even picking up on another dialect called bisian, because we have a lot of investigators right now who speak it.

Up-date on my, i've lost another 5lbs, i've had most of my skirts taken-in or pinned so they don't fall off, i'm super tan and some ask if i'm half pinoy and i say no then they ask why i have such dark skin and i tell them it's because i'm American ingin, then move to how we have a record of the ancient Americans and an account of how Christ visited them, this book is called the Book of Mormon... ect

My companion now calls me Africa, because that's all i talk about. she asked if i had any stories about america and it took me a long time to think of one so now she just calls me Africa.

last week my companion and i bought a couple of fresh coconuts. we opened them up drank the fresh sweet water then cracked them open and enjoyed the delicious meat inside, there can't be any better place then a place where you can eat fresh coconut, mango, and pineapple everyday!

i've been in the Philippines for six monthes, and i've learned more in these last six monthes then in my whole life! love this!

-Super Sister Stephens
ps: Nora: i'm saving your presents for the proper days to open them THANK YOU!
Daniel: the shoes are perfect and the PB is delicious!!!! THANK YOU TOO!!!

blog: This week was great! we had 2 more baptisms. Brother June and Sister Vangie. Brother June struggled long and hard to over come his addition to alcohol, but he says it was worth it and now he feels that he is new and clean and has grown closer to God because of it. June has finished the entire Book of Mormon and has started it over and is all ready at Mosiah again. a few weeks ago when Vangie was having some troubles Brother June says just read the Book of Mormon it will help you! Vangie has been great, a constent support and strength for brother june. they were both baptized on nov. 6 and confirmed nov. 7! what a great week!!!

One of our recent converts, Brother Abel, bore his testimoy for the first time sunday it was so powerful i nearly cried for happiness! i was so happy for him, Abel is going to be a great member and stronge leader in Gods church!

My companion Sister Silao is great she's really been helping me with my teaching skills. this transfer i feel more confident and able. I know this is Christ's church here on the earth today, restored through a prophet called of God, i rejoice in this news that we now have the power and athority of God to become worthy to return to our Heavenly Father. This is glad news that i wish to share with every one. We as missionaries are not out here to convince people to join our church but to declare truth and glad news that Christ's church is restored here on earth today!!!

Thank you all for your supporting emails and letters. Mahal kita!
-Sister Stephens
ps: shout out: Nora, Daniel the packages are great. thanks to all my friends who signed my card love you all!!!

blog: It's been raining nearly every day but not hard rain. We have had great success this week! We had a baptism, then a wedding for Abel and Vicky. It was so awesome! And in one year their goal is the temple!!! We had some investigators let us back into their homes, and we are teaching 3 out of 4 husbands who's wives have said they would not be interested!!!!! It was a great week and I pray to have another great week this week! Love you all!
-Sister Stephens!!!

Blog: I'm excited for this transfer, me and my companion (sis. Silao) are still comps and we aren't moving which is great cuz we have 4 baptisms and 1 wedding and our ward might have a Ward Mission Plan for us soon! Things are good, working hard for the Lord and working hard to improve myself for the Lord and for the investigators. Everyone should remember "Obedience governs the Spirit and the Spirit governs our lives." !!! I'll let you know how the wedding and first set of baptisms go next week!!!
-Sister Stephens

Oct.18, 2010

Blog: First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIEL AND DALLAS!!!! I hope you had a great one!
Me and my companion have been sick this transfer but we still managed to have 4 baptisms and 2 more coming up! My teaching has improved A LOT! All in all I'm really enjoying my mission, I just wish we did a little more service. Well, there is always something to improve on! :) (like my blog articles...sorry.) We walked through a typhoon last night, I thought my umbrella was going to break but we still got soaked cuz the rain is coming in side-ways and when we reached the investigators house we just stood in the doorway and dripped while we taught, it was pretty funny. Well, I hope all is well state-side. till next week!
-Super Sister Stephens

reminder: people CAN e-mail me (Derry!), tatiana.stephens@myldsmail.net So it'd be great to hear from people.
Daniel: Can you forward Jessie Kate's blog to me, on a regular basis I really want to know what she's up to and how she's doing.
Shout out: Cody got your letter, Carl and Alisia got you package (most of it is go already), and Nora! Thanks for all your support!

August 8th:
So, its a new transfer but I'm staying in my area with the same companion. I wish I could say I'm having a grand time and that it's going to be a good transfer but that would be lieing. Mostly, I'm tired and I look like someone punched my eyes. I don't know what's wrong with me but i'm going to soldier on and hope something new happens in six weeks. Got to go now.
oh yeah it's hot here ... all the time, and now it's raining every day, we just had 4 typhoons in a row! Cool, huh!

-Sister Stephens
Shout out: Mom, Dad, and Daniel for the big package it was/is great. To Nora always for her amazing and cute packages, and to Sister JK Patterson for her ridiculas form of a letter!!!! I really feel the love and support, Thank you so much!!!!

August 15th:
Blog: I officially hate alcohol and all the stupidness that follows it. If you read this and drink alcohol of any kind I ask you to please stop! I have seen it tear apart families, lose their jobs and hurt others. It starts as all good fun but all ways end badly, makes you feel worse then you were before and takes away your ability to choose, and it caused one man to stab his brother with a broken bottle over a small comment, it caused the sweetest most loving father to neglect the needs of his child. I know you are thinking 'that wont happen to me', 'well I'm not a drunkard like them', and I'm telling you, you don't know if it will happen to you or not one dumb decision under alcohol and you'll regret it the rest of your life, and these people I'm talking about aren't drinkers either, yet the occasional or casual drink has ruined there lives and there families. So I plead with you, please stop drinking, or you families sake. I'll never forget the look of utter dispair of the old mother's face as she watched one son yell and stab her other son because she had let alcohol be a part of their family, or the sound of the screaming children; were they next, will he stop? Or the smell of fear and blood, because they let alcohol do the thinking. I plead with you again, please stop.
-Sister Stephens
Shout out: Nora!!! My ever faithful friend, I always have a note from her every mail run!!! Thank you!!!

August 22nd:
blog: Nothing crazy this week, I'm getting better at tracting and teaching about the Book of Mormon. It rains almost everyday. One knows when it is about to rain hard; it's like a taste in the air or a change in vibrating pressure, or maybe it's the sweet cool breeze that gives brief relief from the heat like the breaking of a fever. Then light drops start to fall and you know you only have a few seconds to prepare. We shift our bags to our left hip reach across, and in a fluid unison movement we draw out our umbrellas and in a flash of green and red, like fleeting light-sabers, our umbrellas are unfurled and shelter us from the pelting rain drops that soak straight to the skin. Missionary work is a lot of fun and I love the moments as they pass by and everything is getting a lot more fun and easier as my language gets better. Love you all. basta.

August 29th:
Blog: Had Zone Conference this week, it was great, there is some new material added to "Preach My Gospel" and it's really great stuff, it's all about teaching by the Spirit and to the needs and concerns of the people.

So my new 'favorite' investigator is Gretchen. She is so sweet. She's 23 has two kids and her husband died last year. She doesn't work and is supported by her siblings. The first time we taught Gretchen she was very quiet and just listened. We shared about the Plan of Salvation and reassured her that there was more after this life, there was life after death because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We gave her a pamphlet to read and ponder on and the next time we came she was so exited she said I want to go there I want to live with God with my family for eternity, how do I do that? So we told her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that only through him and by taking on his name can we return to live with God. She said, "Yes, I want to be baptized!" We set a date and asked her to pray about it to know if it really was the right thing to do, then asked her to close the lesson with a prayer. She had never prayed before, she looked at the pamphlet we gave her, reread the bit on prayer then at the picture of the girl, then she folded her eyes, bowed her head in reverence and said the sweetest preyer of thanksgiving I have heard. Gretchen is wonderful, and really wants to develop a relationship with God, but she is not with out her challenges. It's been really great helping her on this path, she hasn't yet made that sacred covenant of baptisim, but she will soon and start on the great path to live with God again.

Alam ko po na totoo ang simbahan in hesukristo ng mga banal ng mga huling araw. (i know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.) Meron kami ng bong ebanhelyo ni Hesukristo, at ng kapanyarihan ng Dyios. (We have the full gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of God.) Alam ko po na kung susunod tayo na ito, makabalik tayo sa diyo. (I know that if we follow this that we can return to god.) mahal ko ang ebangelyo na ito, at nagpapasalamat ako para sa ang plano ng dyios at para sa pagbabayad-sala ni Hesukristo. (I love this gospel and am thankful for gods plan and for the Atonment of Jesus Christ.) Sa pangalan ni Hesukristo, siyanawa. (in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.)

Sept 06th:
Blog: so Transfers are next week so I won't be on the computer again till Wednesday. Well it turns out that all of my head aches have been from all the sun in Africa and all the sun here, it has damaged my eyes and now I'm blind ... jk. No, I have astigmatism (whatever that means)and I can't see far away and my eyes see at different grades so they were trying to make up for each other, eventually giving me double vision. The doctor prescibed me glasses and the head aches are gone and so is the double vision! But now I have to wear glasses all the time. I'll try to send pics next time, but I'm told I look like Wonder Woman!

I'd like to thank my dad for making me get the leather case for my scriptures, last week I dropped my scriptures in a knee deep 'puddle' and there was no damage at all!
I'd like to thank Africa for giving me the ability to eat food. I have recently been given the compliment that I am good at eating food. I don't ask, i just eat, and I eat everything they give me, even boiled fertilized duck eggs. (Sadly, it doesn't matter were you go fried, dried fish still smells the same, yuck.:/ )

-Sister Stephens
Shout out to Evan and Jessie for the pics and letters!!!

Blog: I am not moving or changing companions. Yes my companion and I are staying in Malolos for another transfer won't this be fun! I'm running out of time on the computer cuz we are having problems due to all the rain so the rest will have to wait till Monday, sorry.
Cockroaches are really gross,
Cockroaches I hate the most.
-Sister Stephens

blog:Transfers are next week, I might get moved, I might not. Nothing new yet just working and studying hard. It's super hot here still. We've had a couple of small tyfoons. When I woke up to the first one, my drowsy mind racing, "Where's tyke? Did I put my buckets out for the drips from my leaky roof? Did I close my window?" My not fully awake mind forced my body to sit up. I couldn't see anything or make sense of the light I did see, "Why was there light?" I don't smell wet grass and dirt, but I'm sure it's raining. Another big crash of thunder, I shook my head a little then all at once I remembered where I was. I was not in my house in my village, it was not Tyke sleeping near me but my companion, those were electric lights from the neighbor's house that I was seeing and I was safe in a well built tin-roofed apartment. I gave a sigh layed back on my pillow and fell instantly asleep. And have slept through them ever since.
-S.S.
shout out: Mom (of course), Daniel and Nora!!! love you thanks for writing!!! ka-swaa!!!!

Blog: Another week gone, not a lot's up. My accent is getting better, they used to make fun of me more because I had a weird accent. I asked "Isn't it the same as the other Americans?" They said no it is different, my guess is that I naturally use my Zambian accent, especially when talking part English. I'm sure I still use the terrible Zamblish accent! but it's getting better!
that's all for now,
-S.S.

Shout out to: Nora with the ever faithful notes, love them!!! Buzz and Bonnie Brown, Amanda Hawkes, and Gretchen for the email! Love you all!!!

Blog: We have a baptism!!! Brother Rico! He loves the Book of Mormon and has a sweet child-like faith. He says he was confused with what to do in his life about religion, he has always had a strong faith, he had seen some of the missionaries around but could never communicate with them because he is deaf and they never knew how to sign. He said the day I said hello to him a light entered his life that makes him so happy he can't say. He says he is so grateful to Jesus for sending me to him so I can teach him about Christ's true church on earth today. and I am grateful too. I know that God sent me to Malolos so that I could teach Rico and at the same time I think maybe God doesn't want me to forget the sign language I learned 5 years ago. Maybe I will have to use it later or throughout my life!
Well, that's me for now, love you all
Mahal kita!
-Sister Stephens

shout out to: Ojai YW!!! Thanks for the pics!!! Buzz and Bonny Brown, Nora Young, Mom (of course), and Daniel!!! Thank you all for the encouraging words!

New Companion!

blog:so I can already tell this transfer is going to be super hard, I have a Filipina campanion! Sister Villafuerte, she is very hard working but a little bossy and definitely is annoyed that I a newbie, who doesn't even know the language and can barely talk to people, has to show her around. I'm the only American companion that she has ever had, so naturally we aren't getting along 100% yet but it's only our first week, I'm sure we'll work it out. I just wish I could speak tagalog better!

the different ways my name is said: STEFANS, STEP-HENS, STEP-HEN, STEFEN, STEBEN, STEBHEN, and finally the closest, STEBENS!!!
-S.S.

Blog: The only cool thing that happened this week is we had a baptism for Tatay Rogilio. He has been talking to missionaries since March and he finally decided to be baptised. He has a strong testimony and now we are all praying hard that his wife will be baptised too, so pray for Nanay Melita. I got some good clean dirt and am gonna start planting some potted herbs! I'm exited!!!! Well till next time!

Shout out to: Mom, Dad, Daniel, Nora (finally got some of your letters!!!), and to Joseph and Julia for getting engaged!!!! yaya!!!!

My First Week in The Philippines!!!

blog: So it hasn't really been a week yet it's only been five days,but we've had one baptism and another one planned for this week, I know I'm good ... just kidding, the sister before me was a really hard worker and lined them all up. So my new companion is Sis. Haws and she's great, a hard worker! She's from Utah and is really good at the language! I miss my MTC companion though :( We taught so well together. I still have a lot to learn in this language!

It's funny that a year ago I was still in Zambia thinking about how I''m going to miss this and that and how I wasn't going to miss this or that, but I find a lot of it is the same as here; the same smell of over-fried dry fish, deisel fuel, and burning trash. Transport's the same but the people are different. My purpose and view is different and that changes everything.

I love it here and Ii've only been here five days and Ii'm already planning my return trip, even though it's really hot and I'm sweating all the time I prefer it over snow any day! I'm loving the work and I love the people, it's all just great! The other missionaries are great, I love the field, it's awesome and tiring. At the end of the day I literally fall into bed and 'die' till morning and mornings aren't hard to get up for cuz you can hear everyone in the city is getting up and you want to be in it! Plus its warm so you don't have to get your body moving, heck I don't even sleep with covers! I just hop out of bed, work out, take a bath and go to work! Mahal, mahal, mahal!!! (love it, love it, love it)
I haven't had a lot of native food here yet, we cook a lot of it ourselves so I'll have to tell you more next week.
Till next time!
-Sister Stephens
"kapayapaan ingat!" (peace out)
write me! tatiana.stephens@myldsmail.net
shout out to: Carl and Alicia for the awesome paackage, and Derry for the letter !

My address in the Philippines

Sister Tatiana Stephens
Quezon City Mission
POB 13873
Ortegas Center
Pasiq City
1600 Metro-Manila
Philippines

Arm Wrestling A Samoan

blog: I cut my bangs this week so they are fringe and out of the way. So on Tuesday gym started off sunny so we were outside on the field but near the end the wind picked up and it started to rain with big cold drops but we kept playing volleyball it was so fun. We took a language assessment and I have no idea how well I did cuz the program glitched on me so I have to take it again. My companion and I do our weekly service in the M1 building which is the big main building and this week we dusted every picture on the walls... if you've never been to the mtc that's like 200 pictures!!! We taught all in Tagalog again this week and we did a pretty good job... I think. our district made a title of liberty to better improve ourselves and to step it up a notch. I arm wrestled Elder Mika and lost, but not with out a fight. E. Mika is from Samoa and has been climbing coconut trees since he was ten if that gives you an idea. Unfortunately E. Mika (knee) and E. Valdez (shoulder) have both hurt themselves and may have to stay behind. :( We get our travel plans this week!!!!!! I can't wait to get out of here and back out into the world!!!!!
--Sister Stephens

Shout out to: Derry and Nora for letters and Carl and Julia for the packages!!!! Mahal kita!!!! (Love you)

Little bro has left the MTC

I lied last time, Cody didn't leave till wednesday, but he is gone now. I got to hug him good bye that afternoon at lunch and he gave me his tapatio sauce!!!
The rest of this week was pretty normal lots of studying. Our room mates left to go work in Nauvoo! But this Wednesday we get three new sisters who are all going to be in our zone. The district before us is leaving today so now my district is the oldest! We had a really good fireside this Sunday called, "Don't be Stupid".
I was like, "Well, Carl already told me that!"
The gym is closed for renovations, but it's ok cuz it's finally warm and sunny here so we get to go play outside!!!
Well, thats all.
Mahal ko kayo! (i love you all)
-Sister Stephens

shout out to: evan&jessie, and daniel - - thank you for your letters!

Blog: This week in class we started speaking in all tagalog, it's very fustrating cuz i don't know enough vocab! we have some new sisters in my zone they're pretty awsome.
one of them is 23 like me and reminds me of Chelsea Sanders sooo much it's ridiculas!! I drew a card for Cody's birthday he loved it! yesterday i said my first talk in church, all in tagalog! I'm the first in my district to do a talk, it went really well i was suprised! we also had the BYU mens choir come do a fireside that was pretty amazing, they did this song that's like from the canadian native americans that i really wanted to join in the howling cuz they were all doing animal sounds but i didn't cuz i didn't want to mess up the performers but it was pretty amazing!!! So i play volley ball in gym with all the polys which are intence v-ball players, so my knee are like black and blue literally!!! it's great! Sister Kristen Shuel says 'hi'. Jessie Kate left this morning at 5 for KOREA! way to go Sister Patterson! but i'm a little sad i don't get to see her in the halls! i catch my self looking for her, but she isn't here! she came over to my room last night to take pics and we goofed off for like an hour! and my companion was like "WOAh out of control you too are such spazzes" it was awsome!!! Cody left today too ... or is it tomarrow ... i'm not sure. I've been here a month now!! crazy!!!

write me, dearelder me through the week i need to here more from home!!!

I'd like to shout out to Mom, Dad (oh I'll work on getting you that pic) and to Daniel for writing me!!!
god bless,
-sister stephens

Two weeks into the MTCProvo

It's been two weeks at the MTC and life for me is starting to settle with regular routines and the like. We get to go to the temple every monday morning! It's been awsome. The Spirit is always around here at the MTC you can just feel it! Tagalog is coming around slowly, right now i can understand more then i can speak it, cuz my African words keep getting mixed up in it all. But i can greet, and ask about work and family ... sort of. I love my teachers the really push us to do our bests. Life's good i guess, i've been suffering from some allergies lately. Most of the cold weather is gone, today it was sunny and warm but last week it snowed... actully two days ago it snowed. The food here is good but i'm already getting sick of it, I'd preffer a sack meal of simple foods and some fruit but my companion , Sister Jensen, loves food and loves to go inside to eat. I see Cody almost everyday, and Sister Shuel, and on sundays and tuesdays i get to see Sister Patterson!!! Through the week we write notes and doodles to each other then on sunday we exchange them! It's fun and good practice. Well i'm out of time now, but till next time!!! Mahal kita! (Love you!)
-Sister Stephens

leaving very soon

I'm leaving this tuesday so from now on it will be my mom to pass on any info. I hope this works for us and i hope it's all entertaining for any one who reads it!

First Ever

This is strange to me, i've never blogged before. I was inspired by my best friend Jessie Kate. I am going on my mission to Quezon City, Philippines! I'm very exited. I named this blog "My Next Big Adventure" because I am a strong beleiver in finding adventure where ever you are in life, also because i have already served two years in Zambia, Africa in the Peace Corps. Now i'm going on my church mission. My goal is to write every week but seeing as I've never been to the Philippines and don't know what the computer acess is like or if i'm even allowed i don't know if i can keep that goal but i will do my best. well here's to my first blog ever!!! -Sister Stephens