serving in the land of smiles: 22-13! 22-13!

Sister Phelps, Sister Slaugh, me, Sister Stack and Sister Du.

I will explain the title of this email, I promise. It will come with time :)

But first thing's first.

Happy Anniversary to the most amazing parents in the entire world. I am so blessed to be a part of your family, and I thank Heavenly Father every single day that I am a Hughes. Specifically the daughter of Joleen and Chester. The photo of you two in Yosemite is the cutest thing I have ever seen and it made me tear up. I miss you every day, but I know that Heavenly Father is blessing you so much because I'm out here and it makes all the missing worth it. I love you.

This week has been FANTASTIC!!! AHH!!!!

Friday was the best day of my entire life, and here are the reasons.

1. I ATE SOLID FOOD. For the first time since my surgery. YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I don't think I can express the joy I felt.

2. WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS AND OUR SCRIPT NAME TAGS YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS. I literally squeaked. I can't scream—still can't—but it's all good. I was jumping up and down with joy. I am attaching a photo of the plans. We leave on MONDAY! I'M SO EXCITED.

On Saturday for TRC (Teaching Resource Center, we just go and teach lessons to people who have served in Thailand, usually), WE GOT TO SKYPE WITH PEOPLE FROM THAILAND. WHAT WHAT. IT WAS SO COOL. It was so fun. We talked to a super cute girl named Lilly who is studying at BYU Hawaii. She is studying graphic design! Mom and dad, I gave her your emails so she might email you soon :) Just a head's up!

Sunday was also amazing because it was the broadcast. I loved every minute of it. I was able to be in the choir and it was such a cool experience to sit behind most of the apostles and watch them as they spoke. It was so cool because I could read the teleprompter and I knew when they were speaking by the spirit. Also, fun fact, Elder Holland really truly has the crazy vocabulary that he always uses in his talks. He went off of what the teleprompter said a lot, and he sounded just as eloquent as ever. I loved it haha. I felt so sneaky. Singing was one of the most amazing experiences; the apostles would turn around and we got thumbs up and lots of smiles. It was so cute. I love those men. :)

Like I said, I loved reading the teleprompter. I think that for me, the most amazing part was realizing how many times the apostles said, "The Lord." And because I'm in such a grammar-focused state of mind, I also was able to note that every time they referred to the Lord, His name was always followed by a present tense verb. He really is hastening His work, as evidenced by all of the changes in missionary work. It's so amazing. He is real. I just know it. And I love the exceedingly great joy that comes from knowing :)

Also, in case anyone was interested, the article about the broadcast on LDS.org? I'm in the main photo. Nbd. Top left corner, burnt orange sweater. Just sayin.

Monday was typical...mostly.

Except that there is never a dull moment in the MTC, so of course we (and by we I mean both districts of Thai sisters) got emergency evacuated from our residence because...drum roll...BED BUGS. I'm not even kidding. Poor Sister Tilley went to the doctor for some other reason and then the doctor saw bug bites on her arm and flipped out. And so that is how we came to be emergency evacuated. It was actually pretty funny. I was never bit; nobody panic. Haha. But we did have to wash absolutely everything that could be washed, take things to dry cleaning, pack up everything after it had been sprayed by insecticide, and then move to a new room. It was actually crazy. I couldn't help myself; couldn't stop laughing. It was so sudden and random. Of course this would happen, you know? I loved it. Personally, I took up 8 laundry loads. After we had washed everything, we had to get clean clothes, shower, and then wash the clothes we had previously been wearing. We couldn't go back into our room after we had been "sanitized." It was a huge process and we ended up missing class and not getting to bed until 1 am; it was wacky. It's funny how hard it is to stay up late now that I'm used to being in bed by 10:30. I was dying the next day haha.

The entire time the Bed Bug incident was happening, I felt like poor George from Monsters, Inc. You know, the fuzzy orange monster? At the part where he walks out of the door and there is a little sock on his back, and all the monsters start yelling, "22-13!!! 22-13!!!!" And then he gets shaved. THAT was how I felt. Except I didn't get shaved. Haha.

Also, in sadder news, in the whirlwind of packing up our room so suddenly, I lost the DearElders I got on Monday without fully reading them. I was only able to read the one from Heather before we were evacuated. I think I had one from Mom and one from Auntie Lisa, and there were a few others, but I can't remember who they were from. I have searched high and low, but alas, I cannot find them. I am so sad. And so sorry. I really wish I knew where they were so I could read them! :(

Today was my last time going to the temple for a year and a half. It was such a sweet experience. I am so grateful to know the blessings of the temple and to understand the importance of the ordinances performed there. I was really sad for a while, but while I was there, I decided that it's a good thing I felt so sad about it. I also decided that as a missionary, I get to sacrifice the things I love for a while so that others can have those blessings as well. It's time for me to go to Thailand to serve and to help the Thai people come to know Christ as their Savior and Redeemer; to help them to understand that through Him and through the blessings of the temple, they can live with God and their families for eternity.

Also, I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for their prayers and support after getting my tonsils out. I am now at a point where I am fully functional and I only use a little advil when my ears hurt. (Weird side effect of getting your tonsils out: ear aches.) But I have really felt the Lord blessing me and have felt all of those extra prayers. I feel the love, people. And I am so grateful to have such amazing family and friends who are backing me up. It means the world to me :)

I love you all, so so much.

And family, I can't wait to talk to you.

Love,

Sister Hungry

P.S. Quote of the week:

"You will have angels everywhere. Heavenly Father trusts you so much—sending you to Thailand. Man, I wish I could see all of the angels there."

–Brother Burgess, who substituted for us on Saturday evening