In the Philippines ... finally!

May 21, 2012

It's HOT! Lol! I am SO happy to be here in the philippines! we left the MTC at 630pm and arrived in manilla around 1pm tuesday afternoon, missing a day from crossing the date line. We went to the Airport hotel to eat and sleep. There was a KFC right next to the hotel and I was able to have Philippino KFC! We slept for quite awhile and then had to be ready to go again at 4 am. A driver was waiting for us outside and took us to the terminal. Once we got inside the airport there was a guide there for us to help us get our tickets and get our luggage on the plane.

Our plane left the airport at around 7 and we arrived in NAGA around 8. Our mission president was there at the airport to pick us up along with his assistants and the senior missionaries. We went to the mission home where we received instruction about the mission from President Bleisner and were
interviewed by him. We then had lunch! Pork Adobo, rice, and vegetables! It was MAS MASARAP! or very delicious! Local members who live by the mission home cooked it for us along with some chocolate cake! During lunch I mentioned that the people at the MTC had said that Balut was bawal or forbidden in the philippino missions. President Bliesner then rolled his eyes and said "Sometimes I wish that was the case for how many complaints I get from sisters telling me the elders "made" them eat it. Its not bawal in the Naga mission, you can eat it." I was very excited! I havent tried it yet but I'm happy that I can try it here and am excited for the day i can try it.

After lunch we received our assignments. I am assigned to the Pilar area with my Trainer Elder Farnsworth from Arizona. He has been here for 4 transfers now and knows the area very well. We were given further instruction from the Mission president and then sent on our way. A couple companionships had a 3-4 hour bus ride ahead of them. We were lucky to have the AP's drive us. On our way out of the city my companion convinced them to stop at one of the only places you can get fresh milk in Naga and we got some delicious flavored milk! I got Mango and it was very good!

Thursdays are our days for district meeting and our area is an hour and 15 minute jeepney ride away from the meeting house that its held, so the APs dropped us off at the district leader's house and we stayed the night there. The next morning the APs were passing through on their way back to the mission home (they had to drop off supplies quite a ways away from the mission home) and they gave us a ride to the district meeting.

After the district meeting we took a jeepney ride to a nearby Mall (one of 2 in the whole
mission) and we ate lunch there at a restaurant that serves unlimited rice with all their entrees. We then took a jeepney back to the district leaders house and got my luggage and took another jeepney to
our area. The inside was full so we rode on top. It was SO COOL!

Friday and Saturday we went out and visited some less active members and taught them. The Whole philippines is currently very focused on Reactivation so most of our efforts are focused on reactivating members and not so much on finding and teaching new investigators so the lessons go a little different. Its really great to finally be out among the people teaching them. Some of the hardest times of the day can be when we are at home studying. The process of learning the language seems like it looms overhead and theres just so much that you feel inadequate of. But all that goes away when we finish up and are out teaching the people!

Its interesting to see how americanized the philippines is. Many things are written in english and most of the people know some english. In many situations english numbers are used. So in many
situations if you get stuck on a word and say it in english the people for the most part know what your trying to say. My trainer knows the language very well and has been able to help me a lot with learning how to teach in the language.

Sunday was very cool! Our area has a branch of 35-45 active members and they meet at a small meeting house down the street from our apartment. As we were out on friday we met the branch president who asked me to give a talk in sacrament meeting. He gave me a chapter out of Gospel Principles which i mainly just read important sections from the book, said a few things about each section and then bore my testimony. There arent enough active aaronic priesthood holders for the sacrament so me and my companion blessed it. Everything in church is done in Tagalog except for the hymns which were surprisingly sung in english.

Today is my first pday here! This morning we went out and got groceries including refiling our supply of gas for our 2 burner stove. We then did laundry. We are very very very very fortunate to be living right next to some members who have a washing machine! Its not fancy at all but does most of the washing work so all we had to do was scrub our collars and any stains, rinse the clothes, and put them out to dry. Our apartment is very nice as that it has a hose attached to a faucet in the bathroom so showers are very much like taking a shower from the garden hose. I havent missed hot water showers at all. the cold water feels so nice compared to the rest of the day! haha but i would rather be here than in the fridged cold winters of idaho!

In all apartments in the mission there is a nice 3 stage water filter that we get fresh clean water for cooking and drinking from. Each companionship has a very cheap cell phone for communicating with members, other missionaries, and the mission home. The cell phones here are all cheap prepaid style phones with places to load up your phone almost everywhere.

As I said earlier its interesting to see how americanized the philippines is. The homes, huts and buildings all look like they 100 years old but every single one has power, almost all the adults have a
cell phone, all the advertisements and signs for everything is in english, almost everyone wears tshirts with english on it and american characters. I have seen ALOT of advertisement for The Avengers here including at the mall where there is also a movie theatre.

Communicating with me: The best way for me to send things to people is via email. I wrote a letter to a friend as we were traveling here and was able to mail it today. It cost 55 pesos which is kinda much considering email is WAY cheaper. The local internet shop only charges 20 pesos an hour. The best way for others to send things to me is via email or Dearelder.com. Dearelder.com will probably be the best as I will get a printout of them and will have more time to read them than just the alotted time we have on pday to email. All you need to know is the mission: Philipines Naga mission and my name Elder Blake Blakely and it will get to me.

I forgot to bring my camera with us so I wont be able to send pictures this week but I will make sure to remember it next week. I love you all!