Sometimes a Stupor of Thought Can Teach You a Lot! - Week 16. Serving in Vintar

Things are going really well here. Elder Soriano is better now. It wasn't Dengue in the end, there was no rash.
 It was a good week with lots happening. It started out with me being way worried about M. So I got home and started a fast (I usually hate fasting, I'll admit it). I started my fast after supper. We were going to be walking a lot the next day in Brgy 10 (far) but I was stronger than usual. I felt so dedicated that fasting was no problem and I learned so much about it. I don't know if it will have helped him but it certainly helped me a lot. From that experience I could share my testminoy on fasting with Rozelle. She wants to be baptized. We told her about fasting and she said she couldn't as she's nursing so I told her that she could fast from other things instead of food and she's going to try it. I felt I helped alot. Rozelle is awesome!
Our neighbour Demma waltzed right into her boss's office at her Christian school and told him she was going to be baptized. So in September she's getting baptized and she can keep her job - sweet!
 We learned a lot about temples this week. We listened to "House of Glory" all the way through and it was great. I miss the temple a lot! I can't wait to go back. We met with Rozelle another time and she asked about temples. We and the friendshippers we took with us (the A's, who are sealed in the temple and served missions) all talked about it as much as we could and she is so enthralled with it. She was in awe of the temple and near tears. It was great.
 I had to give a talk yesterday. I was so nervous. I worked on it all week but I could never concentrate on it when I sat down to write it. I was so frustrated. I woke at 4am Sunday morning just to work on it and sat there until 7 and couldn't write a word (the very definition of a stupor of thought!). So I grabbed some scriptures on the topic I was assigned to speak on (missionary work - fancy that!) and just "wung it " (past tense). I was terrified as all our investigators were in the conngregation. Also I was the final speaker (after the Stake President!). It went alright too. I did my best and the Lord took care of the rest. I was well outside my comfort zone, which is where we learn. If you never leave it, you never learn. I still sounded like a stupid white guy but there's nothing I can ever do about that.
 J lives down the street from us. He has a bed, a basket, a knife and a pan. He has no lights and he stole his door from a sheet metal factory. He struggles with alcohol abuse and we're trying to help him but his neighbours laugh and encourage his addictions ("Oh thats just J!" etc.) when really it is killing him. He's such a nice, happy guy when he's sober too. A few other people have sought us out to help them as well.
 One night we were sitting on the bench near our house (a quick rest as we had walked all day). All of a sudden a huge group of people filled the street and went into a house nearby. They came out after a couple of minutes, each with a candle and chanting and singing and carrying a weird idol. It was so strange.
Elder Crandall left for home last week. He told me one story before he left how they had taught the restoration to someone and then asked her to pray with them. She asked how so they said, "With the steps we showed you, just like Joseph Smith did to get the answers to his prayers."
So she knelt down and then  put her hand in front of her face like she was preparing to block the brightness of a pillar of light! What faith!
Carlo is doing well. He hasn't read the Book of Mormon yet. He said he wants to do it all at once like a novel. "I did it with Harry Potter and the Twilight series." he said. I told him that this book is a little different than those ones. He's very interested though.
I am only now realizing just how layered the Book of Mormon is - it's fantastic. I can find answers in there like I never dreamed would be written!
One investigator's uncle tried to give us wives. It was funny and terribly creepy all at once. We taught a guy named Bernard. I was so impressed with him and he's hilarious too.
Anyways, I have to go. We're going to Laoag again to go to Mang Inasal! I love that place. So cheap and you get all-you-can-eat rice! I love rice.
 I hope you guys are doing well. It's so good to hear from you- and so great to hear from my "best buddy" Jared! I keep thinking of the movie we made "Recycled School Sagas" in the youth program and I miss everyone that was in it. What a great movie.....except for the weird fruit guy (me).
I officially like pineapples!!!! Weird, I know, but I can't get enough of them.    Anne M. sent me a really great letter my first day here. Thank her for me please - I really appreciated it.
This is the best experience of all time. I now realize how great life is, how great family is, how amazing it is to try to progress every day and take advantage of every minute. The Church is true. I'm not stupid, so if I didn't KNOW it was true why would I be here sweating my skin off? (Dealing with the heat isn't too bad. You just have to accept that you're going to be wet all the time).
Take care of yourselves! I miss you and I'll talk to you next week. Scritch the dog for me.
Elder Dustan