Kumusta po kayo!
This week was more normal because school started for all the kids, so the college right by our house (which is smaller than an elementary school back home) was busy with students and walking through neighborhoods I guess you can call them, were just parents, more normal. We got to teach a lot more people because no one was on vacation or anything, so we were really excited about that. We have a few scheduled baptisms, we are really excited, I love seeing the commitment people make, and the changes they make in their life, it's so awesome. It strengthens my faith so much when I see them give something up, or strive to live the things we teach them, because it is a bigger sacrifice for them to go to church or do other things, it's awesome!
So you are probably wondering about the subject title, so I will explain. The second counsellor in the branch presidency offered to feed us this week, and the last time we went he gave us a ton of food, and made us eat it all or we couldn't leave haha. So Elder Abel was super excited, and I was too of course, but I don't look forward to dinner appointments because you never know what they are going to give you. So we get there, and he is cooking big sausages, and then there is some "spaghetti", a lot. They don't eat spaghetti hot here, at least I never have, and they don't put regular marina sauce, but it's still alright.AND THEN, they had a brand new oven. I haven't seen an oven since I have been here, it was so weird seeing one. The wife had made banana bread and brownies, so I was dying. So we start eating these huge sausages, and spaghetti, and we are getting pretty full, and then, maybe the greatest thing happened. Brother Decastro pulls out STEAK. Me and Elder Abel looked at eachother and the other missionaries, and just about died. Elder Abel hasn't eaten steak in 18 months, so imagine his surprise. The funny thing was, Brother Decastro had never cooked steak before, it was his first time hahaha, and he went on youtube earlier to learn how to cook it, I thought that was just really funny haha, and the wife went online too to learn how to cook banana bread and brownies hahaha. So he plops the steak on my plate, and it was massive, and tasted actually really good, especially for his first time. We ate so much, I could barely walk home, and he gave us spaghetti to take home, A LOT.
But I said it was the greatest food WEEK right, well on saturday morning, me and Elder Kaitani, my kabahay, went and got this bread stuff called pandesal, I don't know how to explain it, but basically a breakfast roll, they have it hot for you, and is like 2 pesos, so we bought like 40 pesos worth and ate it at home, I'm addicted now. THEN on sunday, yesterday, topped off the week. We went into a member's home where we were teaching the son's new wife, and on their table Elder Abel sees this little piece of a cake, and says, "Bro, I'm pretty sure that's carrot cake" I was surprised he could even tell, but it did look like, and at the end of the lesson, they offered us it, so we split it, and it was already small, so it was basically bite size..... and I hate to say it but it was the best carrot cake I have ever had (sorry sister chase :/ ) it was so good, and I reckon the best in the philippines, and then after seeing how much we liked it, they pulled out two big pieces for us, Heaven on a plate, I shed a tear when I ate the last bite because I wanted more haha. So This week was a real blessing.
But onto a more serious note, I really learned a lot this week, and the language really improved. One day we went on exchanges, and I went with Elder Kaitani, who has been out for 8 months, and is from fiji, and knows the language pretty well, but not great. We were in my area, and did a lot of finding, and I was able to speak really well, people were shocked when they heard I was out for 2 months, and I was shocked I could even understand them ha. It was so cool, and I was able to take the lead in most of the teaching, it was awesome. The Gift of Tongues is really real. To add on that, Elder Abel always says it's hard to teach in English now because he has taught in Tagalog it sounds weird in English, and kind of bugs me because I don't think it would be that hard, but the family that gave us carrot cake wanted me to teach in english because they could understand. I'm being serious, it was really weird, and kind of hard, I just kept going back to Tagalog, I was actually really excited that it was hard. So that was just awesome.
I am really loving it here more and more, especially getting the hang of the language, even though I have SO MUCH to learn, but it's amazing at how much the Lord helps. I'll leave with something funny. Elder Abel notices when kids swear as we walk by and will stop and turn around. You have to understand that when they yell at us, they do it when we have already walked by them, so they aren't tough at all, but they act tough haha. And they always turn there head after they say it so you never know who yelled out, haha it's funny. So everyday when we are walking they yell "HEY JOE" or "HEY! WHATS YOUR NAME!!" They seriously yell like that haha, and you're just like, why are you yelling? So when we walk by kids, as we are walking away they will say stuff and elder abel will turn around sometimes and stare at them and they freak out that he can understand and run like crazy hahaha. So anyway, the other day we were walking and I knew one of the words the kids said, it was palpaker, which is slang for failures. And me and elder abel turned around, and I said What? and they got so freaked out and apologized and I gave them hi fives. So I felt kind of proud I could pick up on that.
Have a great week! Do a kind deed this week!
-Elder Rock
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