"Tagalog Talkin' Testifier" (Philippines letter #2)

It has been another crazy week.
So much happens each day.
Again, I blab on about whatever comes to mind first...

Right after I sent my last email last week, we went to the palengke (market). Now THIS is insanity. I have never seen so many goods at one location. Its a covered pavilion stretching over 2 city  blocks. Lining the whole outside are vendors with piles of fruits, veggies and other fresh produce. Then you find a gap and walk under the shelter. BAM! Row after row of dangling chicken feet, pig snouts, net-fulls of fish, pyramids of eggs and every other fresh food you could imagine. I wonder how business is for one vendor because there are so many people selling the same thing and they are are squished right next to each other. I was overwhelmed. I cling to my tatay ("father"-trainer) like a baby gorilla to his mother. He asks me, "So, what food do you want to buy for this next week?" This question hits me like a bullet train hitting a mosquito. I have no idea. I'm making mind-speed records for how many foods you can think about in 30 seconds. All the while thinking about the stray mother cat feeding her kittens on the tuna death bed. BUT WAIT. There is an upper level. This whole floor is everything on the planet that isn't food. I let Elder Butler do the thinking and acting and I just Tagalog (Amerrrican accent) for the ride. 

Santa Claus is coming to town. Apparently he started his voyage from the North Pole about a month ago. The Filipinos start preparing for Christmas in September! Ridiculously tacky light-up and plastic decorations are already up for sale. The countdown of the 100 days until xmas has begun! I'm positively giddy. It just feels like Christmas is right on the doorstep in the 90 degree weather. Along with the endless rain. It has rained at least once a day for the past 5 days. And this is the end of the rainy season apparently. The other day we were teaching a potential investigator outside of his house, under his little onning, when a huge storm broke out. Some of the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Nobody was phased. We just continued on with our message while the brown river came rushing under the bench we were sitting on and the half naked kids gutter surfed and slid down the sides of the road. Surprisingly, the Spirit was still very strong during our discussion. I found this incredible. The sacredness of our message is so strong and I know that the Lord is backing us up in our efforts. 

Everyday we go to the sito (a residential, subdivided part of the city) of Eldorado. In each sito there are countless numbers of homes. Each sito is a maze. You walk between two homes from the main street and start walking through the teeny footpaths between other homes. Its like J walking during a traffic jam in NYC. Eldorado has a road that suddenly crumbles away down into a deep revine. This revine is the beginning of the vast landscape of lush, green mountains that stands before you at the end of this road. The view is amazing. I love all of the unique vegetation that we don't get in the US. I especially enjoy the banana and coconut trees. 

Karaoke. Oh baby. If your idea of a fun Saturday night is going to the local bar and enjoying the quality entertainment provided by the slurring tone-def, the Philippines is the place for you! Call 1-800-TERRIBLESINGING for your free travel consultation! An LDS missionary is waiting on the line! ...It is hilarious. And man, do they sing their hearts out. It's all or nothing. I'm going to hit that high E sharp or I'm gonna die trying. There's nothing like sharing a message about the Atonement of Jesus Christ with a dying, 8-year old Filipino straining Girls Just Wanna Have Fun in the background. I don't know, it just sets the mood. 

I love the food. Let's just say I am glad I am not a picky eater. When you're eating thinks like shark fin and roasted chicken blood, you gotta have a taste for the wild. Although I am loving it, my digestive system is hating me. Yeah...I'm not going to expound any further.

On the other hand, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sets the mood perfectly for general conference. We watched it this past weekend, a week later than the US. Conference was really great. It was interesting to see the things that I learned listening as a missionary. The messages apply to my life entirely differently. I have a new perspective. We all learned a lot and really enjoyed conference here in the mission field. 

The work is going really well. I am so happy to be sharing the gospel with the people here. They are so open. Even if they are not interested, they are usually nice and respectful. We are excited for two of our investigators who have baptismal dates this month. It's awesome to have a front row seat to a conversion. To see someone's faith grown increases my own faith as well. 

I hope everything is going well for everyone! Thank you for all of the love and support.

Much love,
Elder Stallings