The new areas are great! We have had a good amount of help from the members in starting our footing there. Our focus has shifted entirely to less-active members. This is because out of the 650,000 members in the Philippines, 500,000 are inactive...not okay. We now consider ourselves the "rescue mission." This change in direction was the decision of the Area Presidency. Good move. Absolutely necessary.
We just had a good amount of rain this past week. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Although we haven't had rain in quite some time. It was refreshing to me.
Things are getting more and more rowdy here. Miniature bombs are going off all over the place ("fireworks"). On xmas and new years we usually get called in early because it is too dangerous for us to be outdoors. Too many wasted pyrotechnics. Elders have told stories about getting bombs thrown at them and having to reflect them with their umbrellas. Pasko (Christmas) means war-time.
As for the phone call.
You don't have to worry about anything. I will make the call to you guys. I will be calling around 7pm Christmas night, your time. I will call the house number so you all can be on an actual phone. Only 30 min. Pretty short, but I'm excited.
Now I would like to sing a 'lil ditty for ya. It's the christmas carol that all the kids sing.
"Sa maybahay, ang aming bati
Merry Christmas na mal'walhati
Ang pag-ibig pag siyang naghari
Araw-araw ay magiging Pasko lagi
Ang sanhi po, ng pagparito
Ay hihingi po ng aginaldo
kung sakaling, kami'y perhuwisyo
pasensiya na kayo't kami'y namamasko!"
Translation:
"To the householder we greet
A glorious Merry Christmas
When love doth reign
Every day will always be Christmas
The reason we have come
is to ask for gifts
if it so happens that we bother
forgive us as we are soliciting for Christmas!"
So funny
They travel around in packs singing this song at any door they can find. They usually have someone on a makeshift tamberine and someone else pounding on a plastic tub as a drum. But they don't come bearing gifts, they come asking for gifts (money). It's trick or treating Christmas style. I've heard this song at least 10 times a day for the past 5 days.And since we are big, rich Americans wearing the nicest clothes we own, we get swarmed even though we aren't in our house. We have memorized it so we can sing along with them. They get a kick out of this. We also performed this as part of our number at the ward christmas party. This party was wild. More on that next week.
Attached is a picture of The Fantastic Four and one picture of the Manila Temple Lighting.
Maligayang Pasko sa inyo lahat!
Elder Stallings
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