One Impressive President! - Week 75. Serving in Laoag

We had an exchange with President B on Saturday. We were really wondering what it would be like to work with him and it was a really fun experience. He's very perceptive. We only got two appointments in because we had a ward activity to go to at 6. We were teaching a young less active guy. He's 17 and is very shy and quiet. We taught him about the priesthood. Before we were finished a tricycle pulled up outside and a man got out and started moving stuff around and we heard some pigs screaming, which is a pretty usual thing so we didn't pay much attention. Then out of nowhere President stops the lesson and says, "Is that your tatay outside?" and the young man says yes. Then he asks, "Are you supposed to feed the pigs?" and he kind of nodded awkwardly. Then President said we should end the lesson. So we committed him to come to church and help a new deacon to learn to pass the sacrament and we left. As we were leaving we saw the boy rushing outside to the pig pen. President told us that the son is expected to help the tatay feed the pigs and that the young man was just too shy to mention that to us. I was way impressed that President picked up on it.

We found out that S (P's wife) really likes stories. So we gave her 1 Nephi 4 to read. When we went back we asked her how her reading went and she said, "Oh it was really good." We asked what happened and she says, "Well, Nephi took Laban's own sword and cut off his head with it." We asked if she had any questions about that (EVERYONE asks about that one) and she said no. We said, "Really? Usually we are asked why he killed someone when the commandment is 'Thou shalt not kill'." But she just very plainly says, "Well it's because God told him to do it. And, "..it's better that one man should perish than a whole nation should perish in unbelief'."  I was very impressed with her.

There is a 14 year old less active girl who is in the same class as E. E has been concerned for her because she saw her drinking and smoking. Then we went to teach the M family and this less active girl joined in, as she and her siblings live right behind the M family's house. The M's are a really active and an awesome family who also live the furthest from the chapel but go every Sunday.

We did an object lesson on agency - when you pick up one end of a stick you are also picking up the other end. We weren't sure if it helped her at all. She came to church a couple times and then didn't a few times. Then on Saturday we had a ward activity. We found out it was a fellowshipping activity and when we got there everyone asked us why we didn't bring any investigators. We had just barely found out about it. It was funny - they seemed to think we have a harem of investigators at all times.

Anyway, this young woman came and she was chatting with President B. She told him her life story. She and all of her siblings were abandoned by their parents. They now live with their Grandma. While she was telling her story, we chatted with her neighbour a girl from the M family who is the same age. She's a really cute little girl. She is kind of shy but still very confident and she goes to seminary and never misses a class (three nights a week for them). Then after seminary she stays up late and does all of her school work. When we got to the chapel she was doing family history work! How cool is that!? This girl mentioned that her less active friend has changed a lot lately. She dropped all of her bad friends at school and is no longer drinking or smoking. It was a really good thing to hear.

We explored a bit of a new area on Sunday and found this one house where they have a little fish pond in their back yard. The family was squatting over some bins and gutting dozens and dozens of fish. Then we came across a house which looked like a house from back home. It had shingles and a porch, and a pick-up truck outside in an actual driveway, and a nice fence and real windows. The field beside it wasn't a rice bukid but a dirt field with some sort of vegetables growing in it. It felt so weird - this little area just seemed like a hole in time and we could walk back into North America and see a farm house. No one was home though.

We taught Tatay P. He was too sick to go to church (a member is now dropping by on Sunday mornings to pick him up when he is up to it). He showed us a letter he got from the missionary who baptised him a LONG time ago. The elder was from Texas and the letter was written in pure Ilocano! He was so excited about it too. I'm planning on writing this guy a letter. It's crazy that he was fluent in Tagalog and Ilocano. I just started learning Ilocano. It's very difficult.

In our office meeting Sunday night, President told us about some changes in the office. We used to be in the office 8am-6pm but now President has changed it so everyone goes out to work at 3pm. President said, "Go out at three. You are missionaries commissioned to invite others to come unto Christ. You need to be out working as much as possible." I'm excited about it. This week, though has had all kinds of random events and errands that weren't planned for, so we have yet to enjoy a full week of 6 hour work days. He also changed our P-day to Monday! Used to be that we were in the office all Monday in case someone called but President asked the area presidency and they said, "Even we are not in the office Monday -  it's P-day!"

President asked me if I am happy here in the office. I told him I would be happy wherever he sends me. He asked me if I will be grumpy if he keeps me here next transfer. I told him as long as he doesn't send me home I'll be fine.  (I think I would die if I stayed here the rest of my mission. I don't want to spend my short time in the Philippines trying to live like a North American). So I think I will likely be staying here another transfer. Elder Smith goes home next week. That's my second companion to go home.

P has started up his Buko Juice stand. Buko is just young coconut. He mixes it with some other stuff including corn and blends it. It pretty much tastes like real milk - it was the first time I've tasted it. Can't taste the corn though. We went to his house yesterday with the missionary couple serving in Laoag Centro. They are very nice people. Elder E was an accountant so he talked to P about his business and it was really helpful. We were the first people to buy at his buko juice place. He also has some appetizer type things that are really good.

 Anyway, that's pretty much our week. We have to move missionaries into a new apartment next week as well as help coordinate transfers and have 16 new missionaries come in! Busy week.

There's a parade going by right now (basically a dump truck or bus loaded with a bunch of drummers with huge drums, a few xylophone players and some tricycle drivers with balloons attached to their vehicles). It's the third one this morning! There is seriously a parade every day here. I love this place!

Anyways, thats all I've got. I miss you guys lots. Enjoy conference!!! I'll be watching it next week on the re-broadcast.
Elder Dustan