[How long has Sister Latorre been out on her mission?] Sister Latorre has been out for a year this Saturday. Although she did ask President Deyro if she could extend so we'll see what happens with that. Also! I just looked at my blog and LOVE IT! Oh my word, how cute is that!? You better have gotten lots of compliments on it!
[What do you think of Aguilar? Are you living in Aguilar or farther out?] Umm.. I'm not exactly sure where I live. Haha. I'd say is on the edge of Aguilar. We have to ride a tricycle for about two miles or so to get to where our investigators are. I do like Aguilar! I LOVE the kids here and they all love me. Haha. They ALL run up in large groups and give me high fives and pet my arms. Haha. It's so fun! I even have a handshake with one of the girls and I don't even know her name. ;D
[Do you feel safe?] I feel perfectly safe, I really do. I'd say the scariest thing is the groups of dogs at night. They look like thy're a gang all planning to rob a bank. Haha. But! Something new from last week is we have to be in our apartment at 7:00 instead of 8:30. Instead of depending on a priesthood leader to be with us we just have to go home early and do half our studies at night. Which SUCKS! Nothing is worse than getting home from a LONG HOT TIRING day and having to sit down and role play in a language I can't speak. I hate being a trainee! But oh well, it's only for three months. D: But! Today is my two month mark! I can't believe that.. Crazy stuff!
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| For Pday today we went hiking and it was SOOOO fun! Sisters Hunt, Junio, Brother Von, Latorre |
[Have you had to wash your clothes in a bucket yet?] And yes, I have to wash all my clothes in a bucket and I hate it. Haha. I don't think I even really clean them. I think I just make them smell better. (;
First! I'm sorry last week's letter was so lame. I honestly had so much happen that week I couldn't figure out what to write. It was a stressful situation (; But! I'll get you all caught up on my life and what it's like to live in the Philippines this week! (:
So! Everything here is honestly so foreign! I mean even just walking into the bathrooms is a foreign adventure! Let me start off with telling you the rumors are true...Filipinos do not use toilet paper. Ahh! Luckily I brought some from home with me. ;D Also! the toilets are so close to the ground...I've never felt so tall in my life. Anyway... I think I'll stop talking about the bathrooms here. Haha!
Well, so far after being in the mission field for a week I have... eaten squid, intestines, fruit the size of my big head that I've never even heard of before, and parts of chicken I didn't even know existed. And you all know how picky of an eater I am, so this may be a complete surprise to you, but I actually love ALL the crazy stuff I eat here! I know... It was a big shocker to me too. I'm not used to loving food this much. ;D Haha.
Some other weird things I live with now is sleeping with geckos. Yeah... They're everywhere...But they're actually really cute and harmless so it surprisingly doesn't ever bother me that I live with a bunch of lizards. Haha! Also there are chickens and roosters EVERYWHERE! They literally just run around the streets like stray dogs. It's actually really funny until the roosters become my alarm clock! They're lucky I have to wake up at sunrise anyway...If I didn't, I feel like we would be eating a lot more chicken. (;
Another thing I've learned is Filipinos LOVE Americans! And they show their love and amazement by staring. They don't smile or wave, they honk their horns at me as they drive by and star with amazement or they just stand on the side of the road and stare wide-eyed and bushy tailed... until I wave and say "hello po"! Then they smile and freakout that I said hi. I've never felt so beautiful in my life! I wish the boys in America were as attracted to big white blonde Americans as the Filipino boys are! ;D
Also...In case you were all wondering, I have indeed seen the biggest spider most of you will ever see in your entire life. No joke. I about had a heart attack when a spider the size AND thickness of my hand started running it's creepy fat legs towards me! After my panic attack ended I asked Sister Latorre if that was a huge spider for her too and she said no...WHAT!? NO!? THEY GET BIGGER!? Oh my word, I about died. And to make it all better, this was all an an investigator's house! Luckily I didn't see it until after my lesson...But Sister Luzviminda being the awesome woman she is saved my life by simply shooing the giant spider away like you would a dog...A Dog! The fact she treated a spider like a dog kills me. Literally. I about died. But! Luckily I got over it and the whole situation is now hilarious to me. :D
Now, the best part of the week is Brother Justin passed his baptismal interview! I'm going to have my first baptism on January 16th! AHH! I'm so so so excited for Justin! He turns 19 on January 30th so I'm also excited for his birthday! I'll throw him an hour-long party like Arraya did for me! (: (Elder Arraya was serving in our area in Idaho when we first moved here).
Also...I got your Christmas package! Thank you so much mom and dad! I about went crazy when I saw the bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's (bbq sauce)! AHH! And the instant mashed potatoes! AND the mac'n cheese! You literally had all my favorite things in that package! Including toilet paper! ;D Sister Hunt also appreciates all the Gobbstoppers I gave her. Haha! I don't know how I'm going to comeback home skinnier when you send me packages like that ;D And thank you for the purple shirt! I didn't want to admit to you that I'm glad you made me keep the black one even though it was so expensive ($17??)..It's actually one of my most favorites and comfiest. So thank you for the purple one. I don't have any other purple shirts either so that'll be fun to match with my skirts.
All in all, I love you family! Thanks for always telling me you don't want me home. ;D I don't want to come home either so that works out perfectly! As hard as it is being in such a foreign place and not being able to communicate and make friends here, I know things will get better with faith, patience, obedience, and diligent work. i promise you that God is ALWAYS listening to our prayers. If you ever feel down on yourself just simply say a prayer to help you lighten your mood and He will. "Ask and ye shall receive." Success is in asking. I also promise you that. How else would I have six baptismal dates? Success truly is in asking!
