Dec 11, 2011
Kumusta po kayo pamilya!?? Well, my tagalog still sucks...haha it's getting better though.
I honestly don't really know where to begin. Every day is soo busy, and I feel like I never have a free moment, ever. It's great, I like things that way. Every day is also an adventure! haha
So this week, I had the priviledge at teaching in several homes, and by home's I mean we're lucky if they actually have walls and a dirt floor---but anyways, one of the homes had plastic bags as a ceiling- and I could see these big balls moving around up there- then I saw this ginormous rat right across from me- we're talking- HUGE! haha And I quickly realized that was what was on top of me in the plastic bags haha. The second house we visited that day had little cute mice- much better- but I could see it eating their food and in their dishes. It was terrible. Church yesterday had a little gecko there- and I've learned to just ignore them now. Yesterday I did freak out because we had a worm in our bathroom- it was not a normal worm though- it had spikes and it looked scary- so I ran and got my kasama, Sis. Fajardo and she killed it for me. hahaha She calls me her anak- her child haha and she's my mom. Its kind of nice not being the mom for once. haha
Well, I have finally mastered the skill of showering with a bucket now. In order to get a shower that I dont feel completely disgusting afterwards- I just have to take the bucket- go fetch water- purify it- then boil half of it so it's warm- then poor it back in the bucket, and use. haha It's a long process- but it's worth it to me, because my day goes much better when I take the time to have a shower I semi-enjoy. Pres. Jensen told me to take control of the things I can. Not knowing the language, sleeping where I do, the weather, mosquitos, bugs- that stuff is beyond my control so I just have to let it go. The things I can take control of, the food, the shower, the cleanliness and cobwebs- that I have changed. It is still gross though- imagine opening your retainer case- or toothbrush and seeing ants in it- when it is already packaged in 3 different containers to prevent it---there is no prevention. That I've learned. Now i just slap the mosquitos and ants and deal with it. haha
Well, as I mentioned, the mosquitos LOVE me. I have learned to spray my clothes daily with permatox which is what we spray our house with to avoid the bugs- but Sis. Jensen told me to try it on my clothes, that it wouldn't do any harm- and it seems to be helping a little bit. After our clothes are clean- they still smell disgusting- actually I think they smell worse after washing them, then had I just continued to wear them. Oh how I miss my washer and dryer. haha People here are so kind, the other day I lost my pureworks hand sanitizer- which by the way mom I use all day, every day. No worries, its my friend. Anyways it fell out of my bag in one of the tricycles. I was sad because I thought it was gone forever. Little did I know that we would run into that driver the next day and he approached me and asked if I lost my bottle of hand sanitizer- I said yes! Then he said oh let me run home and get if for you. He dropped his tricycle, got on his bike- and started peddling down the road. He then returned with a bag with my pureworks in it! I was so excited and I thought it was so kind of him to literally ride his bike all the way home and get it for me. What are the chances of me running into him, and him remembering me...well ok, I can see why he'd remember me I guess...I'm the only thing white here. haha
It's funny, everywhere I go I see "whitening lotion"- the Filipinas actually want to be white! It is hilarious- they all use their umbrellas when the sun comes up- and I just soak it in! They also LOVE kareokee music here! haha It is hilarious- right next to our church building we have a kareokee bar- it's hard to concentrate sometimes during sunday school haha it is SO loud!
Sunday- yesterday was so great. It was crazy- everyone noticed our hard work, and everyone thanked us- because we had 16 less active/ investigators come to church yesterday. Sis. Fajardo said that's never happened before. I kept going up to all of the members and asking them to talk to the new people and befriend them. That's a huge problem here- as it is everywhere in the world. Sometimes the members don't feel welcome at first, so they don't continue to come. Everyone wants a friend, and at the beginning of church attendance, you need encouragement- until you can really build your own testimony of why you are there and come because you know it's the right thing to do. It felt soo good to see so many lost sheep come back to the fold. Its going to be a lot of work- but we need to stay on top of things so they continue to come. Which brings me to my next task accomplished yesterday. Yesterday we met with the RS presidency and EQ presidencies- showing them a short video clip- and helping them get organized. I have never read the church handbook before- but now it's become like another book of scripture. haha I need to know all of their responsibilities- and I am so grateful for all of the various callings I have had, and that I was raised in an active family- because were it not for that, I would not know how to direct these people. They really need to learn the ways of the church because God's church is one of order. Anyways, the spirit was really present at both meetings- but at one point in RS we had them all crying. I asked them what their goals were for this next year- we came up with Visiting teaching & strengthening the presidency as our main goals. Now, we've got to do it. Sis. Fajardo and I want to have a follow up meeting with both of them next sunday. Bishop wouldn't meet with us for PEC or MCM so...this is the 2nd week in a row he said he couldn't. Apparently his wife is getting on him, and isnt supportive of his calling. Which, great...another complication. Also- we asked if we could borrow the training DVDs so we could watch them- he said yes, but as he handed them to us we noticed they were still wrapped. Awesome. How can the DVDs help you if you DON'T WATCH THEM?! haha Yeah, one step at a time, but I think things are getting better. It's not going to happen over night, but I do know that I at least have 10 more weeks in this area- so we'll see! :)
So for FHE on monday night it was a ward FHS- they had food...EVERYTHING is made out of rice, I had no idea you could make so many different cakes and gross looking things with rice! haha I tried them though, it was...edible! haha :) and pansit...yum, thats really grown to be my favorite! Anyways, Sis. Fajardo and I ended up being the ones to teach the lesson that night. Then for the game they just took a towel and rolled it up and passed it around while we sung hymns- and you pass it around until when you grab it the towel starts to fold or bend downward- then that person is out. It's not that funny...but to them it's hilarious. It's even more hilarious when the loser has to stand up and spell their name with their behind..it looks pretty funny. hahaha ok...that is pretty funny! hahahaha
Today for PDay we're going to go to Dagupan, which is more of a city area- we're going to look for CTR rings at a silver shop. I can't remember if I told you about the Reyes family, but they're getting baptized the 23rd. They have lived together for many years and have 6 children. They were never married, and they've been investigators in the church for a year. They are very strong, and their testimonies are great. All of their children really have a testimony, and can answer all of the church doctrine questions I ask them. They are going to do great things in the church! They are getting married the 23rd first, and then right after we'll have their baptism. We taught them about obeying the law the other night and Brother Reyes' tricycle is not registered. We challenged him to do that, and he just said yes of course. They really do have a lot of faith and want to do the right thing because they know that the gospel brings them greater happiness. It think it's sweet that they want to have their wedding rings be ctr rings :)
Oh PS its been weird getting used to Mom's just breast feeding in front of you haha...and whenever I walk down the streets I get marriage proposals every day. Everyone asks me if they can date- especially the little kids. haha And its just cute. This week I had a group of little kids just follow me. for like half a mile. This group of like 10 kids just started following me and laughing and talking to me...kind of...I can't say much. But they thought it was cool to speak in english to me too.
I got to experience more of the jungle side of the pines this week. We must have walked through a mile of jungle to get to Sister Glora & Tommy Ferrers house. We crossed this bridge that was made ouf of 2 skinny bamboo poles and I was COVERED in mud. I am buying rubber shoes today because my other shoes can't take much more of the mud and rain. haha When we got there- I had a great spiritual experience with them, and again everyone was in tears. They've been inactive and Sister doesn't want to come to church because she feels her tithing is not enough. She is so sweet...they both are. I told Sis. Fajardo I think we need to extend callings to them, because they really do have a strong testimony. They have faith in Jesus Christ, and thats what it takes. Yesterday The Bidan family, which is another special family we're teaching- he gave us a mirienda (snack) and came out with bread and cheese bread. Which is disgusting- but I ate it because it was soo nice. and Pineapple juice which was masarap! (delicious) It was so kind of them. Oh and then last night the Reyes family gave us crabs. Sis. Fajardo loves seafood...haha Anyways he opened up the pot and crabs started climbing out of it. I freaked out and apparently my eyes got really big. Everyone just laughed at me. hahaha It was funny. We took them home in a pitcher---that was weird. And then we poured boiling water on them and killed them. I'm experiencing lots of cool things here hahaha
Anyways, I am out of time to write, but things are good and I love you all.
xoxoxo
I honestly don't really know where to begin. Every day is soo busy, and I feel like I never have a free moment, ever. It's great, I like things that way. Every day is also an adventure! haha
So this week, I had the priviledge at teaching in several homes, and by home's I mean we're lucky if they actually have walls and a dirt floor---but anyways, one of the homes had plastic bags as a ceiling- and I could see these big balls moving around up there- then I saw this ginormous rat right across from me- we're talking- HUGE! haha And I quickly realized that was what was on top of me in the plastic bags haha. The second house we visited that day had little cute mice- much better- but I could see it eating their food and in their dishes. It was terrible. Church yesterday had a little gecko there- and I've learned to just ignore them now. Yesterday I did freak out because we had a worm in our bathroom- it was not a normal worm though- it had spikes and it looked scary- so I ran and got my kasama, Sis. Fajardo and she killed it for me. hahaha She calls me her anak- her child haha and she's my mom. Its kind of nice not being the mom for once. haha
Well, I have finally mastered the skill of showering with a bucket now. In order to get a shower that I dont feel completely disgusting afterwards- I just have to take the bucket- go fetch water- purify it- then boil half of it so it's warm- then poor it back in the bucket, and use. haha It's a long process- but it's worth it to me, because my day goes much better when I take the time to have a shower I semi-enjoy. Pres. Jensen told me to take control of the things I can. Not knowing the language, sleeping where I do, the weather, mosquitos, bugs- that stuff is beyond my control so I just have to let it go. The things I can take control of, the food, the shower, the cleanliness and cobwebs- that I have changed. It is still gross though- imagine opening your retainer case- or toothbrush and seeing ants in it- when it is already packaged in 3 different containers to prevent it---there is no prevention. That I've learned. Now i just slap the mosquitos and ants and deal with it. haha
Well, as I mentioned, the mosquitos LOVE me. I have learned to spray my clothes daily with permatox which is what we spray our house with to avoid the bugs- but Sis. Jensen told me to try it on my clothes, that it wouldn't do any harm- and it seems to be helping a little bit. After our clothes are clean- they still smell disgusting- actually I think they smell worse after washing them, then had I just continued to wear them. Oh how I miss my washer and dryer. haha People here are so kind, the other day I lost my pureworks hand sanitizer- which by the way mom I use all day, every day. No worries, its my friend. Anyways it fell out of my bag in one of the tricycles. I was sad because I thought it was gone forever. Little did I know that we would run into that driver the next day and he approached me and asked if I lost my bottle of hand sanitizer- I said yes! Then he said oh let me run home and get if for you. He dropped his tricycle, got on his bike- and started peddling down the road. He then returned with a bag with my pureworks in it! I was so excited and I thought it was so kind of him to literally ride his bike all the way home and get it for me. What are the chances of me running into him, and him remembering me...well ok, I can see why he'd remember me I guess...I'm the only thing white here. haha
It's funny, everywhere I go I see "whitening lotion"- the Filipinas actually want to be white! It is hilarious- they all use their umbrellas when the sun comes up- and I just soak it in! They also LOVE kareokee music here! haha It is hilarious- right next to our church building we have a kareokee bar- it's hard to concentrate sometimes during sunday school haha it is SO loud!
Sunday- yesterday was so great. It was crazy- everyone noticed our hard work, and everyone thanked us- because we had 16 less active/ investigators come to church yesterday. Sis. Fajardo said that's never happened before. I kept going up to all of the members and asking them to talk to the new people and befriend them. That's a huge problem here- as it is everywhere in the world. Sometimes the members don't feel welcome at first, so they don't continue to come. Everyone wants a friend, and at the beginning of church attendance, you need encouragement- until you can really build your own testimony of why you are there and come because you know it's the right thing to do. It felt soo good to see so many lost sheep come back to the fold. Its going to be a lot of work- but we need to stay on top of things so they continue to come. Which brings me to my next task accomplished yesterday. Yesterday we met with the RS presidency and EQ presidencies- showing them a short video clip- and helping them get organized. I have never read the church handbook before- but now it's become like another book of scripture. haha I need to know all of their responsibilities- and I am so grateful for all of the various callings I have had, and that I was raised in an active family- because were it not for that, I would not know how to direct these people. They really need to learn the ways of the church because God's church is one of order. Anyways, the spirit was really present at both meetings- but at one point in RS we had them all crying. I asked them what their goals were for this next year- we came up with Visiting teaching & strengthening the presidency as our main goals. Now, we've got to do it. Sis. Fajardo and I want to have a follow up meeting with both of them next sunday. Bishop wouldn't meet with us for PEC or MCM so...this is the 2nd week in a row he said he couldn't. Apparently his wife is getting on him, and isnt supportive of his calling. Which, great...another complication. Also- we asked if we could borrow the training DVDs so we could watch them- he said yes, but as he handed them to us we noticed they were still wrapped. Awesome. How can the DVDs help you if you DON'T WATCH THEM?! haha Yeah, one step at a time, but I think things are getting better. It's not going to happen over night, but I do know that I at least have 10 more weeks in this area- so we'll see! :)
So for FHE on monday night it was a ward FHS- they had food...EVERYTHING is made out of rice, I had no idea you could make so many different cakes and gross looking things with rice! haha I tried them though, it was...edible! haha :) and pansit...yum, thats really grown to be my favorite! Anyways, Sis. Fajardo and I ended up being the ones to teach the lesson that night. Then for the game they just took a towel and rolled it up and passed it around while we sung hymns- and you pass it around until when you grab it the towel starts to fold or bend downward- then that person is out. It's not that funny...but to them it's hilarious. It's even more hilarious when the loser has to stand up and spell their name with their behind..it looks pretty funny. hahaha ok...that is pretty funny! hahahaha
Today for PDay we're going to go to Dagupan, which is more of a city area- we're going to look for CTR rings at a silver shop. I can't remember if I told you about the Reyes family, but they're getting baptized the 23rd. They have lived together for many years and have 6 children. They were never married, and they've been investigators in the church for a year. They are very strong, and their testimonies are great. All of their children really have a testimony, and can answer all of the church doctrine questions I ask them. They are going to do great things in the church! They are getting married the 23rd first, and then right after we'll have their baptism. We taught them about obeying the law the other night and Brother Reyes' tricycle is not registered. We challenged him to do that, and he just said yes of course. They really do have a lot of faith and want to do the right thing because they know that the gospel brings them greater happiness. It think it's sweet that they want to have their wedding rings be ctr rings :)
Oh PS its been weird getting used to Mom's just breast feeding in front of you haha...and whenever I walk down the streets I get marriage proposals every day. Everyone asks me if they can date- especially the little kids. haha And its just cute. This week I had a group of little kids just follow me. for like half a mile. This group of like 10 kids just started following me and laughing and talking to me...kind of...I can't say much. But they thought it was cool to speak in english to me too.
I got to experience more of the jungle side of the pines this week. We must have walked through a mile of jungle to get to Sister Glora & Tommy Ferrers house. We crossed this bridge that was made ouf of 2 skinny bamboo poles and I was COVERED in mud. I am buying rubber shoes today because my other shoes can't take much more of the mud and rain. haha When we got there- I had a great spiritual experience with them, and again everyone was in tears. They've been inactive and Sister doesn't want to come to church because she feels her tithing is not enough. She is so sweet...they both are. I told Sis. Fajardo I think we need to extend callings to them, because they really do have a strong testimony. They have faith in Jesus Christ, and thats what it takes. Yesterday The Bidan family, which is another special family we're teaching- he gave us a mirienda (snack) and came out with bread and cheese bread. Which is disgusting- but I ate it because it was soo nice. and Pineapple juice which was masarap! (delicious) It was so kind of them. Oh and then last night the Reyes family gave us crabs. Sis. Fajardo loves seafood...haha Anyways he opened up the pot and crabs started climbing out of it. I freaked out and apparently my eyes got really big. Everyone just laughed at me. hahaha It was funny. We took them home in a pitcher---that was weird. And then we poured boiling water on them and killed them. I'm experiencing lots of cool things here hahaha
Anyways, I am out of time to write, but things are good and I love you all.
xoxoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment