Testifying Off the Grid - Week 59. Serving in Laoag

This was a pretty eventful week. We have our Sunday meetings at the stake center in Laoag (we are in Laoag 1st ward). We got invited to share our testimonies in sacrament meeting as we are three new elders (I will get to who the third one is in a bit).
Elder P went first and bore his testimony and then I was up. As I got on the stand and was walking towards the pulpit, the power went out!! So I kind of walked backwards a little and forwards again to see if it would come on as I knew all the filipinos would get a kick out of it. I had to speak really loudly which was good because with no microphone, everyone listened harder. Then as I was closing my testimony, the power came back on. Everyone loved it and told me that I must have powers. Some of them said that satan really didn't want me to bear my testimony.  Oh yeah, President and Sister O are in our ward! Sometimes they travel to other branches and wards but often they are in ours, which is pretty sweet.

On Monday I went with Sister O an drove in the Philippines my first time. I started on a back roads and then we went to Robinsons mall (it's the only real mall in the mission. It felt weird to be driving to a mall after walking through rice fields for so long but I don't need to tell you which one I prefer). Then we went over the Laoag bridge to Centro which is bananas! But don't worry,  I am positive that driving here is safer than back home. Road rage is rare here and people seem to drive slower.
Here are some of the rules we follow: Assume that everyone will do the opposite of what they are signaling to do (most of them don't signal actually. Sometimes they will wave their hand one way and sometimes they will just turn randomly). Drive very, very defensively. Don't go over 80km/hr. Use the horn (the horn is not rude here). When you pass someone, you need to beep twice like the roadrunner beeps, and then pass. The single beep is kind of rude. It just means get out of the way. Watch the sides of the road because there are motorbikes, trikes, dogs, kids, chickens, cows, water buffalo, etc. everywhere. People here actually have as much right to the road as any vehicle.
On Wednesday, I actually drove quite a bit. We took a new fridge (here they're called refs) to Candon, which is past Narvacan and Santa Maria. Myself, an elder from Fiji and an elder from Manila took the truck while Sister O and another elder took a car. It's cool to see so much of the mission. I am used to driving now. I have yet to see an accident here too, so really don't worry at all. People here are less crazy than the people that are on the road in North America.

There are 6 office elders now and two assistants to the president. There is the elder from Fiji - he is only a transfer old. I chatted with him all the way home from Candon. He told me all about fiji, his rugby career and his schooling (he is studying to be a doctor). Then there's me (travel secretary and president's personal assistant), Elder M, my companion (records and vehicles), Elder P (supplies and mail) and his comp, Elder T (finance). Then there is Elder Mc who has been here the longest. He pretty much shows us all around the office and does stuff for Sister O. His comp is the new elder I mentioned from Fiji.

Apparently this is the second most efficient and disciplined mission (fewest sent home etc.) in the Philippines so I find this structure of things works well. We will see what the new president thinks though. In two week they come in. President and Sister O only have dinner with them and then President O does a one hour overview with the new president and then they leave. It's going to be really sad. The movers come next week. I had an interview with the president yesterday (he does one extra interview with the office elders because, he says, if they are doing well, then the mission will do well) - my last one with him.

 I am trying to gain weight right now. I had lost ten pounds in Cagayan and now I am trying to get back to what I was before the mission. It's coming along well. I do a great work out every morning at 6 and then eat a huge
breakfast. I have already gained 5 or 6 pounds. I saw my old companion, Elder S on Tuesday as they were here for ZLC and he was waaaay skinny. He was wearing a shirt I left behind and he used to be two sizes bigger than me! Cagayan syndrome I guess. All that said, Cagayan is my favourite part of the mission which shows you how amazing it must be. All LBM's aside, it is so beautiful.

I think I have run out of stuff to say and we have to get going and do some studies. I love you guys so much.
-Elder Dustan

The Jollibee Heist - Week 58. Serving in Laoag

Turns out p-day in the office is Friday (biyernes p-days again!). So here's the low down:
On Tuesday we went to the bus terminal and helped out with transfers, then went to run some errands for Sister O. She is really doing everything she can to get things ready for the new mission president and his wife. She has pretty much re-painted everything, re-varnished everything, cleaned everything and re-stocked all the food etc. So we had to go and pick some stuff up for her. We got our three hours of teaching in. We are in the office working the whole day and then have study time in the afternoon around 3 or 4, then out to work at 6. It's a challenge to keep awake in my studies as it's after lunch, it's hot and I am not used to the schedule yet..

The people here are pretty sweet though. There are some really great people we are teaching. I miss Cagayan though. The people there are different. The people here are a little more like back home. In Cagayan you can joke with random kids in the street and they act like you are their hero. The other night we walked by some little nippers playing basketball and I said something to them and they just started talking smack to me! It's fun too. I'm just not used to it yet.

We taught one nanay who seems a little crazy. She talks really fast and never stops and she ALWAYS sounds like she is really angry. Ilocano itself just sounds like an angry language but she sounds like someone just spit in her rice.

So nanay decides to get us something to drink (everyone feels like they have to feed you. It takes skill to get out of it politely and present a lesson in good time). She brings out these cups that I knew I had seen before. She says, "I got these at Jollibee" (kind of the Burger King of the Philippines). "We didn't know you could buy those", we say. She says, "NO, you don't BUY them... you just put them in your purse and walk out!"
She looked so impressed with herself and she had a funny, sneaky look on her face. Then she showed us all the other stuff she has stolen from restaurants. We will definitely be reviewing the 10 commandments with her soon.

 We had a short-term missionary with us the other day as he hadn't yet been assigned to an area. Apparently that will be happening a lot. If anyone is here for any reason, they get put in our area for the night. We also are the first to get moved in the case of an emergency transfer if, say someone gets sick and has to come to the office - although it rarely happens.

 We are teaching a young 18 year old and his little sister who is 13. She is soooo smart and she talks like she is from an old movie from the 40's - a really fast, witty talker (I love going there. It's great language practice). When she doesn't understand a concept, she will interrupt by saying, "pause!" She'll think for a second about what has been said or she"ll re-read the scripture that was shared and then she will say, "okay - play!".

She and her brother both want to be baptized but he has an issue with smoking so we have set a goal with him that he will be smoking only a certain amount each day this week and then we will lower it again next week etc. I found that effective with another brother as he was smoking two packs a day before. He lowered it slowly until he just stopped. It works quite well.

I am now a fully licensed driver in the Philippines. All I had to do was fill out a couple of forms and pee in a cup. They took my finger prints, tested my eyes with the reading chart thing and took my blood pressure. Then I paid a few bucks and I got a license. So soon I will have to go out and practice with Sister O. The roads here are tricky - no lights, signs or rules. Just suggestions, traditions and guidelines. I think I can handle it though.

 Yesterday all the new missionaries came in. I am in charge of giving them all the stuff they will be using like their new planner, reviewing mission standards, health stuff and filling out some forms. It was so fun to talk to them. The new missionaries really help keep us excited about the work.

 I will tell you a couple of my duties. I am in charge of travel plans home for departing missionaries, as well as all things to do with the new missionaries coming in. I prepare a file on them for the president to decide better as to who goes where and who becomes companions with whom.

We also travel to random places in the mission for different things like moving missionaries to new apartments etc. That is what I am excited for - seeing other parts of the mission. But really the best part is this: we are Sister O's taste testers. She has food allergies so when she cooks, she needs us to taste it a bunch of times to see if it's good. After almost a year of eating things that have been dried on the road, it's a little bit of a treat. I miss the "real world" still, but there are some fun things here.

I love you guys. Take care of yourselves!
-Elder Dustan

"The Office" (Season One) - Week 57. Serving in Laoag

As I mentioned last week, Monday we moved to Lal-lo. It's the area right next to ours where there were fours sisters. We were both way excited because it was going to be like the Vintar days where we were starting from scratch just doing straight work, a full 40 hour week. Two sisters went to Camalaniugan and two went to Ilocos. We cleaned our apartment in Camalaniugan reallllly well as we knew sisters would be living there. The Lal-lo apartment is very nice. The mayor of Lal-lo used to live there. We were excited to have an oven and be able to cook casseroles and stuff. Until our apartment was set up, we ate at a restaurant down the street because it was always open and so cheap (30 pesos a person, or less than a buck!).

We found a spider under the sink that was epic.  I wish I had taken a picture. The spiders here are big and so are the roaches, they are huge. But we found this one big spider that was eating a huge cockroach with no struggle at all - no web, it just chased it down and ate it like a common predator. It was way cool. Luckily, it was still intimidated by the broom and I swept it out of the apartment.

I think it was revelation that put Elder S and I together again this last transfer as we get along really well and just always have crazy adventures.

 Elder C, one of the assistants, came up with President and Sister O as they were doing interviews in that area. Elder C stayed with us on Wednesday and Thursday night while President and Sister O stayed in the only hotel in the area. They were very impressed with our work. They showed up on Thursday night with a brand new microwave, a rice cooker and all new dishes! So kind of them.

Lal-lo will now be the zone leaders' apartment.  But then on Sunday I found out that I had to pack again as I was getting transferred on Monday to the office! I was soooooo not happy. Of all the places in the mission, this was the last place I thought I'd be. I have come to love the bathing out of a bucket and not using toilet paper and riding on jeepneys and sketchy trikes and walking through jungle. I'm very serious, I love those things. I didn't come on a mission to have the same comforts as I had back home. I love the adventure and I know that in the office you only get 3 hours of proselyting a day. So I was upset when I heard that I was coming here. Sister O heard I was not happy about being transferred and cheered me up a bit. We had an office meeting and she explained why this place is so important. She said she has seen how an effective office in the mission makes the difference and really helps the mission president and his wife. With a new mission president coming in soon, we need to be extra worthy, extra diligent and extra humble.

My companion is Elder M. I was his ZL in the MTC as he was in the batch after me. I also live with Elder T, my old companion who was transferred here not long ago and Elder P also got transferred here so I'll be with some great missionaries.

My duties will be over travel and the president's personal aid. After this transfer, President and Sister O go home so I guess we really have to get things in good order. I will continue missing the crazy life outside of the mission home but I now see why I need to be here and why it's important.

 Anyways, I am still a little bummed that I am in air-conditioning and back to using toilet paper again but I am happy to serve and I am really close to the mail now as I sit feet away from it!
 I love you guys lots!
Elder Dustan