We came to Baguio for p-day. The big, fancy mall is
decked out for Christmas! I just ate a quesadilla and French fries. I plan on
buying some peanut butter later. We can buy some things in Agoo. I think my
problem is that nothing is really appetizing so I don't buy a lot. For example,
when I was assigned in Baguio, my groceries every week usually cost about 800 Philippine
pesos [$18.24]. In Agoo they cost about 200 pesos [$4.45].
Yesterday we completely ran out of food. I guess we
didn't buy enough food last p-day. We found a cup of noodles for breakfast and
I had this weird soup stuff from a packet for lunch... we were so hungry yesterday.
Good thing we're in Baguio today so that will not be happening next week!
Here is our lunch plan for next week (we have all the Baguio goods to make it
happen): sinigang, sopas, (those are both Filipino things), tacos, fajitas, and
chicken and mashed potatoes. So things will be ok. :)
We don't really eat dinner. Dinner time is set in
our schedule for 9:30. We just have snacks or something if we're hungry. It’s
been like that my whole mission. Yesterday I was very hungry and the talks were
in Ilocano at church so I couldn't understand, so I thought about where my
first meal will be when I come home. Weirdly, Jimmy Johns was the top of my
list. I would just like a sandwich. haha.
There are 3 branches in Agoo. They should actually
really just combine them together so they can be stronger. Our attendance is
only about 40 people. Quite a few people in our branch have to walk to church. I
play the piano a lot in my branch.
Here’s the bad news. Our investigator will not be
baptized on November 22. He's not ready yet. Now it's set for December 13. This
time it is for sure. One of our other investigators really wants to be baptized
but he is still just working on some things.
Here are some fun little tidbits. One of our
investigators sells ice cream on his bike. He plays songs through the loud
speaker thing (like the ice cream man). One of his songs is "I know that
my Redeemer Lives" the efy version. haha. It’s the best! Also, they are building another house next to
ours. I looked out there a couple days ago and saw them slit the throat of a
duck and then drip its blood onto all the corners of the foundation. It was
creepy! Apparently it's a Filipino tradition.
Also, I have been in the Philippines for well over
a year now, and I still have culture shock sometimes. We taught this lady last
week. Everything was so dirty. There
were 5 of them living in this little house thing. The "house" is not
even the size of the mudroom and it only has 2 walls made of tarps. The other 2
walls are open. Their pigs next to them have nicer living conditions. It was
really sad. Maybe they'll accept the gospel.
Here's a spiritual thought. There is member in our
branch who is very active and awesome. She’s a return missionary. In relief
society we were talking about being fully converted. She mentioned that there
is a difference between being fully active in the church and being fully active
in the gospel. I never really thought about it like that before, but she is
very right. If we are active in the church but not the gospel, it will get us
nowhere. We need to make sure that we are actively applying the principles of
the gospel and the Atonement constantly in our lives. Fulfilling our calling
and doing our visiting teaching and baking things for the ward party will not
benefit us one bit unless our heart is in the right place and unless we are
truly converted to the gospel.
I am very sad to leave my mission soon, but the
other day I was showering and almost gagging because it smelled so bad and I just
thought to myself "hmm... i would enjoy a decent shower." So I’m also
excited to come home.
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