Definitely just spent the past 20 minutes looking up old pictures on Sister Jensen's blog! So I apologize if this email is slack a lackin. As I responded to Courtney , and I'll say to all , I'm heading up to Baguio next Monday with a few other missionaries to get some stuff we need [including contact solution] I'll swing by the market and pick up a few more things , including a bunch more blow darts. I'll see if they have any better ones than the ones I sent. And I'll hit you up with so more ammo , but as I'm sure Dad has concluded ... those little darts are really easy to make. I'm sure he could make those ... but I could probably buy them cheaper.
Today we were in Agoo for a zone activity. It was just basically make up a game and we'll all play it. So as a zone we played like 8 different games and it was actually really hysterical. The sisters came up with this one game for the Elders in which we broke up into two groups and had to sit in a circle facing one another. Then lie down one on another as they slowly removed all the chairs. By the end of it your legs were burning from holding the weight of a 150 lb elder ahead of you , haha. But all in all it was a lot of fun. I guess I'll talk about my week a little , but first - questions.
1. Contacts - nope I'm good for now. I'm going to get my contacts to stretch the full two years ... I think I can do it. I still have a good amount left I think and I only change them about once every two months , or so I try. They still feel okay , and the contact solution and case I use cleans them really well so they don't hurt during the day.
2. As I think I mentioned last week , but may be mistaken , Elder Soderquist is in my batch and was in my room back in the MTC. Right now he's in the Mangaldan Zone I'm pretty sure. Incredibly incredibly nice. His brother is in Ilo Ilo and is his twin.
Btw - did Caitlin or anyone else get my letters? I sent Caitlin's to her house because I figured she'd be home around the time she got it. Also June should have a letter or two down in Maryland.
My week has been pretty good. Last Tuesday was Zone interviews and during my interview President Jensen pretty much just apologized for emergency transferring me , but was like ' as I'm sure you've figured out , there were some problems with some of the former missionaries that we needed addressing ' ha. It was a good day and it's an opportunity in which you can ask President any question you like. So I asked him if Jesus drank wine , haha. A silly question but I keep hearing so many different opinions. I like what he said , and it was pretty much what I had thought as well before. Also I got my package that day! Thank you so much , geeze! You keep sending so much. I've pretty much finished that small book of stories and stuff and haven't had even a second to pick up the Dead Sea Scrolls or the other Elder Holland book , but I'm excited. I'm almost finished with the first EH book , about 60 pages left. Same with the E. Oaks book. Thank you so much for everything. You're seriously good until I get home. No need for more , haha. However , Andrea's been slacking on the dear elders!!!! Gotta pick that up , haha.
I actually thought about you guys coming here after we hung up and I might like that. My mission president would release me , but I've still got a very long time to think about that. A family of whiteys would shock the nation , ha. Anyways that's still so far away.
My whole week was basically just spent with less - actives. We've found three families , in which the fathers are possibly the most humble people I've ever met. So kind and so willing to come back , but they just don't know how. It's a really really amazing position to be in to be able to bring the light back into their lives and to help them come back to what they still know to be true. Often the reason is ... offended. Unfortunately. But large steps are being taken to help them back. Even with one man who loves the church but doesn't want to come back because his two sisters offended him when their mother passed away. Well last Saturday we helped organize a little New Years Eve celebration at their house in which they spoke to each other for the first time in 3 years. It's a very amazing position.
Other than that I've been doing really well here. We go running about every other day , and I'm trying really hard to get rid of these Donald White-like gut that keeps forming. I usually run while my companion watches from the basketball court , haha. My companion is still really awesome and actually about 6 of us just went to this photo studio they found a couple weeks ago , and we just took some amazing amazing photos. You'll all be proud. I'll be sending those home next week , hahaha.
My new years was pretty good as well. Saturday we spent with less actives , and Sunday was Fast and Testimony meeting only. The testimonies were pretty strong , except for this one member who chastized the former district president for offending him [he did it in a sly way , haha] a few months earlier and then saying how he hopes to be a leader one day hahaha. We were pretty shocked at the content of his testimony , but I suppose a testimony nonetheless. After which we got punted from about every appointment , seeing how everyone was still pretty hung over from the night before or not home visiting family or others. Then we went and found a former investigator who right as we said 'hello' continued to tell us how she was busy , tired , come back a different day , and then everything that is "bawal" or not allowed in our church. Including shopping on sunday and drinking and stuff ... we were once again pretty shocked at her animosity and I suppose audacity , haha. We had only said hello. After that little incident we had a dinner planned with the former district president [we didn't talk about him being chastized (he probably didn't know that we understood)] and his family. Instead it was just me and Elder Jacinto eating as they explained they'd be eating a few hours later , hahaha. It was okay though and the food was crazy good. Then as we were leaving they were like here ... take all this home , in which they gave us so much food and an entire plate of desert. Filipinos are kind.
We had a curfew Satuday and Sunday of 6pm , because it's pretty dang dangerous after that with fireworks and drunk people. So we just read and watched a couple movies and went to bed , haha. Then at 12AM were awoken to all the fireworks and watched for a while then went back to bed.
THATS ALL!!
That's all I got for this week , I think.
BACKWARDS CULTURE TIME!!
- filipinos do NOT want to get dark. they will hold a tiny receipt of paper over their head to prevent even a little.
- they want to sit AS CLOSE as possible to the front on a bus , but in church will sit AS FAR AWAY as possibly from the podium , so that they fill the back rows but only a couple sit in the front ... awkward.
- when getting on a bus , they won't slide over but will just shift their legs a little bit so that you can uncomfortably slip by and sit in the middle.
that's all , really. I love you all! Send me lettteerrrssss I love leeetttteerrrsssss!
-Elder White!
p.s - did grant get a carabao belt?
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