I forgot to bring my letter! I guess I'll just have to type it all out!
Wednesday was transfer day, and I got the most heart breaking news the night before.
we visited sister Joy, my ONLY baptism in Tublay.
she was DRUNK out of her mind! I couldn't even really say could bye. :C
she came back from a birthday party, and kept apologizing to us. "The told me just two shots wouldn't make me drunk." which was true. but her husband told us he drank just two shots, and was completely sober. SHE was sloshed. :C even if she did only have shots, it's still breaking the commandment :C
wednesday morning, the other elders in Tublay, tried to leave me behind, and make me travel by my self. (even though we had travel instruction) we waited for an hour for a taxi, so we ended up renting a jeep, which cost sooooo much money. they tried to make me pay for half of it. I am very happy to be done with those roommates. well, when the travel leader DID leave without us, I struck out on my own to get to my new area as soon as possible (Without a cell phone), while everyone else waited another hour and got breakfast. (you don't need a companion when you transfer, but you are instructed not to make any stops along the way) I was smart enough to write down the district leader's phone number and just borrowed a phone when I got there. transfer bus tickets are refundable, where-as jeeps are not. unfortunatly the jeep cost more than the bus did! so I spent more than half of my money on travel, and I don't get most of it back :C
Tublay is the middle of no where. but just an hour away is Baguio.
so, Baguio is like the New York of the Philippines. we have Taxi, Its cold, it's SUPER polluted, there is Burnham park (which looks like all the pictures I have seen of central park), there are street food vendors, and there are more people walking down the street than I have seen anywhere else in my life (shoulder to shoulder!)
I transferred from the middle of nowhere to the middle of EVERYTHING! Welcome to sunny San Fernando, On your left, you will see the mission office for Baguio mission, and on the right, there is President Balledos' house!
but If Baguio is New York, then San Fernando is California!
The sun! the beach! the people are SMILING! they aren't too busy to talk to you! I forgot how beautiful the ocean is! I forgot how much I missed it! It's just as Big of a city as Baguio, but its NOT POLLUTED :D (the fine for peeing in public in Baguio is 50 piso. in San Fernando, it's 500!) It is the cleanest city I have been in in the Philippines!
It's not as hot as my first area, but It feels worse, because of where I came from :D
my roommates are SUPER COOL! we make smoothies every time the ice finished freezing (so like every two hours) just because it's hot, and they taste good.
my companion is Elder Anota. He's from Samar, Philippines. He just finished his training, and still has the new missionary sparkle! He's obedient, and hard working. He's pretty cool.
my companions are Elder Done (pronounced Don) and Elder Ki (Pronounced Key)
yeah... together they are: DONKEY! haha! (and on exchanges we are Cookie!)
Elder Ki is from America Samoa, and probably the nicest Elder I have ever lived with :D He was training together with my trainee, so we got to know each other in my second area :D
the adventures began right away. Elder Anota ran into a tin roof... rusted!
It left a cut in his head that is 1 1/2 inches! we went to the hospital, but they didn't need to sew it up. they just gave him an anti-tetanus shot. about a half hour later sister Balledos called "don't let them give you an anti-tetanus shot! they make you take them in the Manila MTC" well now you tell us!
Also, if you remember I mentioned nation day of service? my last ward did it a week, early so I also got to participate here!
I have to tell you about this place here called Junction. It is something akin to the Las Vegas strip. Its all bars, and prostitutes.
THE only reason I bring this up, is because when our ward applied to the city to do a community service project. The city gave asked us to pick up litter. I'll give you 3 guesses where, and the first two don't count!
(It wasn't bad, the road is actually really long, so we didn't go anywhere near the bars!)
This ward is so amazing! we have already received 3 referrals! but every one we have tried to teach this week as a new investigator has TURNED OUT TO ALREADY BE MEMBERS! this happened to us 3 TIMES! ugh! well, I am happy to find less actives and pull them back into the boat.
There is a particular returning family here, that when I met them I could swear I had known them for years. their faces look so familiar! I already love them :D
well, that is all. Pray for sister Joy Imbat. she probably feels so guilty for getting drunk :C
From San Fernando with love!
