Ah, I am so jealous that you all were there for thanksgiving. I miss going to G-unit's (Grandma's) with everyone. Our celebration of Thanksgiving amounted to a pot of mashed potatoes and a pot of gravy for lunch. Tah-daaaah! (spoken like Roz in Monsters Inc.)
I'm glad you really enjoyed your first semester! I believe that it was awesome. College is sweet. And you had a really unique experience actually living in the mountains. I'm a little bit jealous. Nature is where it's at. God's creation. Where are your two friends from that are visiting?
I understand. I feel like so much has already happened since I left. I am going to miss so much by the time 2 years is over. All of our relatives are getting married and soon enough all of my friends are going to be getting married. Then you. Grabe talaga. Shiempre masaya kung magpapakasal kayo, pero magiging malunkgot ako dahil hindi ako doon para sa lahat mga gawain na ito. Sorry (pasensiya). I am starting to think naturally in Tagalog. It's pretty sweet actually. Good sign. I need to be immersed in order to learn quickly. That sucks about your job. Just bust down the doors to the store like the angry mob in Beauty and The Beast and demand your promised blessing!
I've been here for almost 2 months. Crazy. The time passed so quickly. I am finally getting a better hold of the language and gaining confidence in speaking. I really need to expand my vocabulary now. We have been focusing on finding new investigators to teach. We have found several new people who look pretty promising. It can be very frustrating because it ultimately comes down to their agency. We can't force them to keep commitments, read, pray and go to church. The last thing you want your visits to turn into is a bible study. When they keep their commitments, that is when they are considered to be "progressing." We have a little bit of a shortage of these right now, but we are focusing our efforts on gaining more. Of course, like always. But there has been a big focus on less-active members this past year because SO many people go inactive here. Retention is the biggest issue within the Philippines. 8/10 members are inactive... Terrible. Sad.
But there are a lot of good things going on here in Antipolo. We have urged the members to become more active in the missionary effort and it has paid off. Things are picking up speed and Elder B. and I are opening up 2 new areas this week. We are excited about the fresh crops in this new field. We see a lot of potential in these areas. Who knows how many thousands of people live in these two areas. Countless. It's chaos. But we like it. Life on the wild side for the missionaries.
That's all for now! I miss you guys and I miss the holidays with family. Love you!
Elder Stallings
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| Umpalaya. A vegetable. THE most bitter thing I have ever tasted. I'm not a fan. But meals are like a box of chocolates here. Shakes things up. |
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| The grocery store we shop at every p-day. There is so much in there. It's a little overwhelming at first. And mostly brands I've never heard of. |
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| Thanksgiving meal |
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| Two new elders in our house |
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