Day 154 Tacloban, Philippines Election day in the Philippines!

Happy Election Day in the Philippines! Everyone practically is out of town to go vote in their hometowns, so it's going to be rough finding people to teach this week. The streets are crowded with people who have been out of town for work.

First off, my shoes came that you sent me!! Salamat hin duro! (Thanks so much!) They fit perfectly and I'm wearing them right now. ;) Good timing too, because my reddish-brown flats that I wear all the time are about worn out. I don't really wear the Dansko shoes because they're heavy and aren't easy to take off and on when we go inside people's houses.

We had such a great week! We taught R., the investigator who told us he wanted to be taught 3 times a week. He's incredible!! I love meeting people that are so crazy prepared for the gospel that they are so willing and ready to keep commitments. He's easy to understand (plus we can slip in a little English since he's a college student) and we can easily tell if he has questions or is confused. He told us at the beginning of one of our lessons that he feels like Joseph Smith---he's so curious and hungry for the truth. During our lessons, he just drinks it all in and really thinks about it. He's already reading the Book of Mormon, attending institute, and sacrament meeting. :) I love watching the light click on in his mind or when he learns something new. I can't wait to hear what experiences he has while he continues to investigate.

We found an active teenager that we want to help reactivate to serve a mission. We decided to not ask about his scripture study and prayer, but rather just build him up. We asked him to pick a picture from our gospel art book and then we'd tell him how it applied to his life. He picked the 2,000 stripling warriors. Since our scriptures are in Tagalog, we had him read it and then explain it to us in Waray2x. I think it gave him confidence to be able to explain the scriptures to us. We also had him accompany us to an FHE with new investigators. It was exciting to see him teach alongside us and rekindle his testimony.

Sister Henshaw had a cool idea of how to go finding. We were exhausted one night and weren't successful in our attempts at finding. So my comp was like let's ask that nanay (mother) if she can teach us how to make chicken curry. Turns out it was a perfect ice breaker where we were able to get to know the whole family and share a little bit about the gospel as they gave us the recipe. (The chicken curry was delicious, by the way. We used fresh coconut milk squeezed from lubi!)

We did a lot of experimenting with food this week. I found out I really like eggplant. We eat it all the time here. I'm still not quite used to cheese in my fruit salad though . . . But I think I've developed an addiction to choco swirl peanut butter. And mangoes. And I love cucumbers. :)

There's a lot of crazy people on the streets. It's sad to see there's not much help for those with mental diseases/disabilities. 

I can't wait for the General Conference talks to come out in the Liahona! My comp and I have been studying this past spring conference and the talks are so awesome! I highly recommend studying talks from past conferences, especially as a family. :)

Funniess of the week: We were teaching a family of investigators about the temple and showing them the special edition of the Liahona/Ensign all about temples. An investigator walked in late, halfway through the lesson, and saw a picture of the celestial room. He looked at us and asked, "what does the kitchen look like???" My comp and I just about died trying to keep in our laughter! It was even funnier because he said it in English.

Sooooooo pretty much life is great. :) We have the best area, the best investigators, the best ward, the best companionship, and the best experiences. Every day is an adventure because we're still both very new to the area, but we die laughing whenever things go wrong. (like getting caught and soaked in the rain, getting lost, trying to figure out how to cook Filipino food, etc) We've found that it's really our attitude that turns everything into an adventure. When bad things happen, if we learn to just laugh at ourselves and our ridiculous circumstances, things don't seem so bad.

"Improve the shining moments;

Don't let them pass you by.

Work while the sun is radiant;

Work, for the night draws nigh.

We cannot bid the sunbeams

To lengthen our their stay.

Nor can we ask the shadow

To ever stay away."

-Hymn 226

LOVE YOU ALL!

cleaning the CRs at the church for CSP

cutest Filipino boy  :)