Hello
everyone:) My parents wanted me to write this to everyone who might be reading to share my experiences and thoughts on what has happened to me recently.
As you might know, I currently am home in Utah, under quarantine. I will be
quarantined for the standard 14 day period. I am still a missionary, I haven’t
been released, and they said I will receive my reassignment in the US on the 15th
day of my 14 day quarantine.
So
this is what happened:
We
had heard that President Duterte had gave all foreign people in the Philippines
72 hours to leave the country, and then he was closing the borders. But we
didn’t know if it was true or not. We got a text from our leaders on march 17th
that all foreign missionaries will have to leave the Philippines, and to be
ready to leave at any time. This came as a shock to us, we had only been under
quarantine in our apartment for about a day and a half maybe. I was the only
foreigner in our apartment, I had just moved their about 4 or 5 days earlier so
packing was kind of easy. I didn’t sleep hardly at all, we all slept in the
living room on our mattresses.
The
next day we left to the check point in the afternoon, and were shuttled from
there to the Manila MTC. That’s when it got kind of crazy. I’m grateful to all
the leaders who helped us out though, they were playing it by ear but we were
just lucky to be there. But quickly we were over populated at the MTC. They
told us we needed to be careful to not go outside the MTC or do anything stupid
because if the Filipino Government found out that we had as many people as we
did at the MTC, they would send us all back to our missions. And some of the
people had traveled from other islands and really far places to get there, and
if that happened we would be stuck in the Philippines until COVID-19 wasn’t an
issue anymore.
So I
spent the night on a tile floor, I was happy I had a blanket and a pillow
because it was FREEZING. I hadn’t experienced air-condition in almost 10 months for
an extended time so I didn’t sleep very well again. They put us in classrooms
with our missions and it got stinky verrry fast. They told us 3 different
flight plans while we were there. They said we might leave Thursday, then they
said Saturday, then they said Sunday was the solid one. Then about 7:45 I think
Thursday night they called all missionaries into the gym, then they separated
the sisters and Elders.
That’s
when they told us we had to leave in 15 minutes to the buses to get to a hotel
and we had to run and get our stuff together. That was chaos. It was nuts. The
church had chartered 6 planes to take us to Salt Lake City.
Then
when we got to the car it was probably like 3 minutes to 8, and in
the Philippines they have a curfew because of the pandemic. The curfew goes from 8pm to
5am. So I’m in a van with 5 other sisters from my mission and we’re going like
90 miles an hour trying to get to the hotel. The streets were empty. The guy who was driving was
sweating, and he had a radio with the other drivers, and our van was leading
the last batch of missionaries out and it was already 8pm. We were praying we
could get through and not get sent back to the MTC or back to our missions.
Then when we got to the checkpoint it was kind of nerve racking too. The philippine guards were wearing their army stuff and have their giant guns, which isn’t a
huge deal because security guards at malls also have giant guns too, but it
just added a little more suspense to the amount we were already
experiencing.
When
we got to the check point, our driver held up a paper, and we got waved through
to continue! We asked him what the paper said and he just replied in English
“Do not delay” and the paper was from the church I think. We were celebrating
and were happy we made it through. THEN when we got to the hotel it was like
waaaay nice. If you’ve ever seen crazy rich Asians its like that. It had a
waterfall shower head, bathrobes, slippers, and we got room service and stuff.
And it was a hot shower, and I was able to clean my feet, and it was probably
the cleanest my feet had been in almost 10 months.
I
really missed my companion Sister Rasalan when we were there though, I just
wanted to talk to her about all of what was happening. I thought about the
Filipinos a lot when we were there. I missed them a lot.
We
were at the hotel for at least 3 nights I think, and they called us at 3:30am
Sunday morning to ask who was in our room. Then at 4:30 they called us and told
us to wake up, and then ANOTHER person called us at 4:45am and told us we had
to be at the lobby with our stuff at 5am. So we were running and we got to the
lobby and loaded our stuff on a bus and we got to the airport and that’s when
they told us that they didn’t have our passports or our tickets !! So we had to
go back and unload our stuff and wait at the hotel again.
Then
they got our stuff and I got separated from the sisters from our mission and I
had to figure out my flight stuff on my own, but I made some friends at the
airport and they took care of me. I eventually found my friends in my mission
and we waited for our flight. I think mine was the second to last flight home.
Also my ticket said DL and I didn’t know what that was but it means FIRST
CLASS. SO I RODE FIRST CLASS. It was so nice.
But
leaving the Philippines was hard, I don’t wanna lie. I miss the people and my
friends, I miss rice, I miss the language, I miss doing missionary things
everyday. I want to go back but I don’t know if I’ll be able to as a
missionary.
But
throughout this logistical nightmare we saw lots of miracles and we felt
Heavenly Father’s love for all of His missionaries. And for the people they
serve. I know that despite what we sometimes want, Heavenly Father gives us all
what we need. AND if we keep the commandments we are promised that we will
“prosper in the land” which in essence doesn’t always mean things will be
perfect, but they it will be bearable.
I
know that most of you are going through hard times on top of what is happening
globally. Please know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always reaching
out towards you. They love you and they will support you. Put your trust in Him
and He will heal any wound you have.
“[...]
we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
[...]
And patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Romans 5:3-4)
Buhay
Siya. Mahal Kanya.
Sister
Fuell (aka sister Gasolina)
