Happy Birthday Morgan!

Hi loves! 

First off Happy early Birthday Mo!! I am very glad you were born and I can't believe that you have already been alive for a decade. Miss you girly.

Sorry only a limited time to write this week! I love you all and miss you tons! This week has been hard because we were supposed to have a baptism of a wonderful investigator named Mae. She is 17 and really has such a great faith and love for the gospel. Unfortunately she wasn't able to go to church because her foundation moved her to Antipolo (about 2 hours away) for the day. So she will hopefully get baptized on September 5. Sis Dimacuta and I really hope she is able to continue in going to church because she is so ready for baptism and she has even already said that she wants to serve a mission. 

In other less serious news I have had lots of fun new experiences since coming to the Philippines. One happened on Friday when I tried balut (look it up). It was interesting to say the least. 

I am doing well and miss you all! Love you tons! The computer isn't letting me send any pics so hopefully next week. 

Mahal ko po kayo!

Sister Huguely

Halfway Through my First Transfer in the Field!!!

So awesome for us to see Sister Huguely looking so happy!!  Please continue to pray for her.  Her latest email:

Holy cow has it really already been 3 weeks. It seems like just yesterday I was having New Missionary Orientation! It is absolutely crazy! 

Well I had my first baptism! Her name is Maggie Beth Ballon and she is absolutely wonderful. After our first lesson with her she went out to the distribution center and bought all of the scriptures, etc. She just has such great faith. The whole time I couldn't stop smiling! I think on your mission you just get such a love for people. More than you ever had before. I honestly wasn't thinking about how she was my first baptism, but rather how happy I was for her to make the decision to accept the gospel and to start on the path to eternal life! Hopefully in a year she will be going through the temple! Sister Dimacuta always says that it isn't just about baptism but the goal is to see them in two whites! 

I am adjusting well. The food here is pretty good. I am losing a ton of weight. Not sure why... I said maybe I have an intestinal worm and now Sister Dimacuta keeps saying #intestinalworm. She is so funny. I really love my ward and am enjoying each day. Sometimes it is really hard and I think I can't go on but then I remember how important the work is and I am remotivated. I love you all and miss you so so much!

Mahal ko po kayo

Sister Huguely  

Maggie's Baptism

The Sister Training Leaders gave Sister Huguely and Sister D this super sour fruit to try. BEFORE picture!

AFTER Picture!

Letter from Sister Huguely's Mission President

We received this letter from Sister Huguely's mission president, President Revillo.  We are so excited to see her smiling face in the pictures they included.  Also, she will be home on December 14, 2016!  What a great Christmas present that will be for all of us!  

Dear Brother and Sister Huguely,

Sister Revillo and I are pleased to have your daughter, Sister Taylor Louise Huguely, with us in the Philippines Quezon City Mission. After the training in the MTC, she is now working in the mission field.  We had the opportunity to meet with her and get acquainted.  We were impressed with her testimony about serving the Lord through her mission.

We feel strongly that Sister Huguely is prepared to serve the people here in the Philippines. She will have the privilege of changing the lives of many people as she teaches and takes them into the waters of baptism. Her life, in turn, will also be changed forever through her experiences here.  The success of her mission can only be determined by how well she has learned to love and serve the people.

We have enclosed a picture taken upon Sister Huguely’s arrival.  Please make an extra special effort to keep in contact with her through letters of encouragement and support.  When missionaries receive letters in the mission field, it is the highlight of their week.

For your information, Sister Huguely’s release date has been set for 14 Dec 2016, to coincide with the mission’s transfer day schedule.  Please be assured that we will do our very best to make this a wonderful and fulfilling experience for her.  Thank you for your support.

Sincerely yours,

President Carlos G. Revillo, Jr.

Philippines Quezon City Mission

President and Sister Revillo with Sister Huguely on the day she arrived July 24, 2015

Sister Huguely with her first companion and trainer, Sister Dimacuta

2 months in already?

Kumusta!

How is is possible that I am already 2 months into my mission. this must be a dream. is it reall? i don't know. i am doing well here. my time is limited so i just want to share a short spiritual experience that i had yesterday.

during the sacrament i was praying for help. this has been so fun so far but it also has been so hard and i have needed so much help. so i prayed for help. because i don't think it is possible to go through a mission without the savior's help. suddenly i had a prompting to open my hymn book. i opened to "Master the Tempest is Raging." It was an exact answer to prayer! If you have time go and read it because it talks about the help that the Savior will give us. I am so grateful to my Savior and His loving guidance on my mission. I know that He is there for me and always will be to give me strength. I know that He loves me. And His love is all I need. 

I miss you guys! I am sorry I have a short time to email! I will try and email those I didn't get to next week! I am so sorry! Love you so much!

Mahal ko po kayo! 

Sister Huguely 

Here are the words of the song Sister Huguely referenced:

Master, the Tempest is Raging

1. 1. Master, the tempest is raging!
   The billows are tossing high!
   The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness.
   No shelter or help is nigh.
   Carest thou not that we perish?
   How canst thou lie asleep
   When each moment so madly is threat'ning
   A grave in the angry deep?
2. (Chorus)
   The winds and the waves shall obey thy will:
   Peace, be still.
   Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea
   Or demons or men or whatever it be,
   No waters can swallow the ship where lies
   The Master of ocean and earth and skies.
   They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
   Peace, be still; peace, be still.
   They all shall sweetly obey thy will:
   Peace, peace, be still.
3. 2. Master, with anguish of spirit
   I bow in my grief today.
   The depths of my sad heart are troubled.
   Oh, waken and save, I pray!
   Torrents of sin and of anguish
   Sweep o'er my sinking soul,
   And I perish! I perish! dear Master.
   Oh, hasten and take control!
4. 3. Master, the terror is over.
   The elements sweetly rest.
   Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
   And heaven's within my breast.
   Linger, O blessed Redeemer!
   Leave me alone no more,
   And with joy I shall make the blest harbor
   And rest on the blissful shore.
5. Text: Mary Ann Baker, ca. 1831-1921.
   Music: H. R. Palmer, 1834-1907

1st PDay in the field

Sister Huguely's first email from the Philippines.  We were so happy to hear from her and to hear that she is safe.  We are a little worried about Sister Huguely's ability to stay out of the way of the Jeepney!

Hello my loves! 

First off happy 22nd Anniversary Mom and Dad! I am glad you got married so that we can be a family! Well it is finally PDay here and I only have limited time to email so I am going to try and reply to as many people as possible but if I can't respond to you just know that it doesn't mean I don't love you and that I will try and get to you next week! 

I miss you guys tons! My trainers name is Sister Dimacuta. She is from the Legaspi Mission here in the Philippines. She is super sweet and awesome! She only has 12 weeks left on her mission so I hope that means she will be my trainer for the whole time! The Philippines is so different than America. My first area is Cubao, which is right in the middle Quezon City. The temple and the mtc are in my area so when I was leaving the Manila MTC I didn't have to go far! Haha. The drivers here are super crazy and I am always kind of worried that I am going to get hit by a jeepney! haha. There are also TONS of stray dogs and cats walking around. The sidewalks always have poop on them so you have to really watch where you are walking. haha. Also it is so hot here! I thought I was prepared for the heat but I definitely wasn't! It is so hot that my black crocs shrunk! They don't fit my feet anymore! But it is okay because it is pretty fun being in the city. It is definitely different from back home! 

Also wherever I go here people stare at me and men catcall me. My trainer said that it is because I am an American. It makes me really uncomfortable wherever I go. But Sister Dimacuta says that all the American companions she's had have eventually gotten used to it. So hopefully I will too.

We have two investigators with a baptismal date this month. Sister Maggie Beth Ballon for August 15 and Sister Ricki Mae Espinosa for August 22. They are both super ready to hear the gospel and I feel so blessed to have them in my first area during my first transfer. Sister Maggie is so ready that she went to the distribution center on her own and bought the Bible, the Triple, the Hymn Book, and the Gospel Principles Manual all on her own! She is already talking about wanting to go to the temple! 

These past few days have been the hardest of my life. Here I am in a another country with another culture and whose language I don't speak. It can be really frustrating in the lessons because I have so much I want to say but I don't know how to say it. I just keep fighting though. I keep fighting because I know that this is where the Lord needs me to be right now. I am humbled for the opportunity to serve Him. I love and miss you all! 

Mahal ko po kayo,

Sister Huguely 

All the captions for any pictures are what Sister Huguely writes for a caption. 

Sister Huguely's Provo MTC "batch" but hindi ko alam (but I don't know). 

Sister Huguely and Sister Livermore outside the Philippines MTC.  

Shrine to the Soldiers

Great seal of North Carolina at the memorial for American soldiers who fought in the Philippines.  Sister Huguely's cousin, Alex Dondich, fought in the Philippines, was a POW there and, unfortunately, died as a prisoner there at 17 years old.  Baba wrote about this the week Sister Huguely left for the Philippines so the memorial has special meaning.  

Last PDay in the MTC

Here is Sister Huguely's letter from yesterday, Saturday, July 18th.

Hello loves! 

Loved seeing all the pictures and reading all the emails this past week. Congratulations Maggie and Dave on your darling little girl! I love seeing baby pictures, especially since I won't be allowed to hold babies for the next 18 months! I will do my best to respond to all your emails as I always do.

I can't believe that this is my last PDay in the MTC. I leave Thursday morning and it is all starting to feel so real. I am so excited to actually be teaching real investigators and be out serving the Lord. The MTC is great but all of our investigators are just our teachers as someone else. So even though we get to teach the lessons, we aren't actually teaching investigators. Although it is crazy how even though we know it is just role play, Sister Livermore and I have really gotten to love them.

I will get to email again on Wednesday for a little bit so there should be another update pretty soon. You'll be hearing a lot from me family with my email today, my email on Wednesday, and my calls from the airport. I miss you guys tons and I am so excited to talk to you. Sometimes I forget how much I miss you and then it is PDay and I see all of the pictures and read all the emails and I remember. But I love seeing them and your inspiring words of encouragement always inspire me to refocus on my purpose and work harder than I had the week before. 

This week has been super fun! On Thursday we got to Skype TRC which is when we Skype real Filipino members and get to share a message with them. We spoke to a woman named Sister Kirstie and she was super sweet! Speaking with her made me so excited for the Philippines. Sister Livermore and I were just able to connect with her and it just reignited my belief that I am supposed to serve there. I have been foreordained to serve my 18 month mission in the Philippines. I don't need to worry because I have been called by a Prophet of God and set apart for the work. As long as I work hard and obey with exactness, the Lord will bless me. I am so excited to just get out there and start serving! 

Yesterday we had what was called In-Field orientation. It is basically a giant training meeting that lasts from 8am until 5:30pm. It sounded super boring but it was actually pretty fun! The trainer who led it was Elder Christiansen from the District 2. We got to do a lot of activities and learned a lot of super useful information. Like the best way to street contact, and how to set goals. We spent most of our time on how important it is to use members in missionary work. I now have such a greater appreciation for the missionaries and feel bad at all the times they asked me to invite someone to church and I didn't! Family please give the missionaries as many referrals as possible! Also go on out teaching with them as much as possible too! Member missionaries are so much better naturally at bringing others to Christ than us full-timers are. Investigators relate to you so much more because you are normal people like them. We are weird. It is hard to relate to someone who has given up 18months to 24months of their life in order to just spread the gospel. So please do all you can to give referrals and to go out teaching as well. Sorry I am done preaching now! 

Something funny that happened in infield was that Sister Livermore and I got to be in a play. The trainers put on a funny show for us about the importance of members and missionaries working together and Sister Livermore and I had little parts as members of the ward council. I was the Relief Society President and when they introduced me I went around giving hugs because I was full of charity and love. Then when I got to the trainers playing missionaries I was supposed to go up and try and hug him and then he jumped back and his companion said "The Charity stops there Sister." It was pretty funny and everyone laughed. We only volunteered to be in it because no other sisters wanted to do it but it was fun and I am glad we did. 

I am always so busy here that by Saturday and Sunday I am so tired! I usually try and nap on Saturday and then sometimes I fall asleep again on Sundays when we sit on temple grounds! Whoops! There is a picture of me after I fell asleep on Sunday. It is pretty funny. The temple is open again and I am so excited to go again! 

I miss you all! Keep emailing and writing!

Mahal kita,

Sister Huguely 

Sister Huguely standing next to her cousin, Elder Rolapp. So happy to see them together and smiling!

Sister Huguely napping on the temple grounds on Sister Livermore's knees.  She is definitely a Huguely if she can nap like that!

Sister Huguely captioned this one: "Hindi ko alam (I don't know lol)"

One PDAY left in the MTC

Latest letter from Sister Huguely.  She received her itinerary to fly to the Philippines and she leaves the MTC on July 23rd.  Hard to believe it is already time for her to travel so far away.  The best part is that she gets to call us from the airport.

Hi my loves,

I love getting all your emails! It is kind of fun being the Sister whose family and friends love her the most! Haha just kidding....sort of....I am sorry if I am not able to respond to all of them. I only have 60 minutes of emailing here and so I may not be able to get to everyone! But I can write so if you want to get letters from me just email me your home address and I'll write to you! 

This week has actually been my hardest so far. I was out with the stomach flu Wednesday and Thursday. Missing two days here is like missing two weeks of school and so I feel very behind. But I am working hard to make the days up and Sister Livermore is being very helpful and teaching me what I missed. I am so grateful to her! I am also freaking out because I feel like I know absolutely zero Tagalog and I am leaving for Manila in 12 days so that is terrifying! Yesterday I just felt like I am going to get to the Manila MTC and everyone is going to be speaking Tagalog and I am not going to know anything they are saying. 

So kasama ko (my companion) and I have decided to do an English Fast today. We are trying to speak no English and only communicate in Tagalog. It was supposed to make us feel better about our Tagalog and show that we can somewhat speak it; however we haven't been very good at it and so far it has only made me realize how little I know. It is okay though because at least I am trying. I just have to remember that there is no way I am going to learn this language without the Lord's help and I just keep praying ferociously for the Gift of Tongues. I really need to remember to trust in Him and that through my hard work coupled with the Spirit I will be able to speak it. Uncle Brian wrote me a letter this week and in it he said that the FBI, CIA, and State Department have all come to see how so many missionaries learn languages so quickly, but they can never copy what the MTC does because they don't have the Spirit. That is so perfectly said! When I read that I just felt so comforted! I need to remember that I am not going to be able to learn this language quickly enough by myself, but through the Spirit all things are possible. 

We had an amazing Fourth of July celebration last week. The speaker spoke about how America was foreordained to be a free nation so that the Restoration could go forth. I am so grateful for that! He also talked about how Wilford Woodruff had the work done for many famous people who asked him to do it for them. One of them was Jane Austen so as you can imagine I was pretty happy about that. We then were able to watch a pretty awesome fireworks display and it was absolutely beautiful. I feel so blessed to be able to live in this great nation and to have been in the MTC for one of the Fourth of July's on my mission. 

Nothing too much else to report. I am doing well and am excited and scared to leave for Manila.

Mahal Kita,

Sister Huguely 

Sister Huguely and the other sisters in her district at the 4th of July celebration.

A note from Sister Huguely's teacher who left to teach new incoming missionaries.  We tried to translate with google translator but we didn't have much luck.