I'll fill you in on the happenings of our crazy week. We got a bug racket at the palengke in Vintar. It plugs right into the wall and is reallllllly strong. But it's still not strong enough to kill the centipede. Even the permethrine takes like 20 minutes to kill them.
We had another exchange this week. I swapped Elder Soriano for the DL, Elder Atazan. He speaks next to no English so it was fun. The best part was that the only 3 people in the entire area that speak fluent English were the ones we taught! He didn't like that but I loved it.
One was a Vietnam Vet (we're old pals) named Eliezer Racimo. He's really stubborn and likes to talk about what he knows no matter how irrelevant. I had to be a little stern but got my message across and he understood.
We've been teaching a lot about living prophets. It's a really powerful message that is foreign to many. I love talking about it because it's so comforting and awesome to know that we have a REAL LIVING PROPHET. One guy in Brgy 10 asked why the prophet's name wasn't in the Bible. I asked him why his own name wasn't in the Bible and if that meant he was not a real person or unholy.
Elder Soriano got sick. On Satuday morning he slept in a little and that's not really usual so I shoved him a bit and felt bad once I learned he had a huge fever and sore joints. Sister Odgers said it may be Dengue Fever but we won't know until after the fever and see if a rash starts. The fever stopped today (we had to stay at the mission home last night which is why this email is so late). He's fine now though. I spent the entire day Saturday inside at the table. I read a huge chunk of the Book of Mormon and then remembered that we have encyclopedias in our apartment! I read all about Canada and it's government, the US government and it's judiciary branches, hippos, Einstein, koalas, Hitler and all kinds of other stuff. I was able to read from 7am to 9:30pm nonstop whereas back home I could barely read for an hour. Cool. I also ate fishballs. They're gooey but they make me laugh.
My payong (umbrella) fell in the ditch with the sewage! Sick. I soaked it in alcohol and let it dry and I think it's okay now.
The "Awesome Family" is really cool and their son wants to serve a mission (he's 17). The awesome family are the ones we administered to when they were sick. They are realllllly progressing well and we're planning to get them a roof because theirs burned. When it rains she has to stay home and brush the water down the stairs as it comes through the roof in the top floor and down to the main floor. We were there in the biggest rain storm of my mission thus far and it was nuts! I made her take a break and let me sweep. I had brought my family pictures and she looked at them. She's in love with the temple. See how both my sisters deciding to marry in the temple has affected a woman in Vintar to set a goal to go to the temple? Amazing!
We met a guy named Carlo who is from California but Filipino. He moved here to finish med school and he contacted us. He said he's been searching for the truth and what his purpose is and that he's so happy to find it. So cool because when he found us as we were out walking, I was feeling down because it's still a struggle to speak the language. But then it turns out God never lets us down if we are obedient (imagine that!). Right at the worst time he sends the best investigator yet! I love it here and know I'm in the right place - don't worry about me.
Love you guys!!!!!!!!
-Elder Dustan
Friday, August 19, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Slapstick - The Best Medicine! - Week 14. Serving in Vintar
Hey guys, I only have 15 minutes!!!!!!! We have a district activity and we have to meet people in Laoag so I have to go soon. I wish I had more time.
We met a great family that contacted us and they all wanted to come to church so badly. Two of the kids came and they said their mom was looking after the other three as some of them were sick. But in sacrament meeting, the little boy threw up all over himself and looked so sad and defeated I felt so bad for him. I told him how, when I was younger, I had fallen asleep while sitting on the stand during sacrament meeting back home. My elbow slipped off my knee and I fell to the floor in front of everyone. He liked that.
Demma got up and bore her testimony of how she knows the Church is true. After church we went to the vomit kid's house to check up on them and say hi to the mom. Two of her kids were under a huge mosquito net, sweating with Dengue Fever. I gave my first priesthood blessing to one of the children (Ronbert) and to the mom. Elder Soriano blessed the little guy. I felt directed by the Spirit and the words weren't my own. Certain quotes from General Conference came to my mind that applied to her. She loved having us there and wanted us to help her insomnia. Turns out she's addicted to coffee! Word of Wisdom pamphlet!
Elder Davis and I got hissed at by a crazy guy in a tricey at night and it was wayyyy creepy. We've been invited fishing two weeks from now but that's after transfer day which is next Monday!!!! WOW. So I might be gone or have a new kasama by then.
Time flies - and crawls slowly at the same time.
Did you get my letter yet???? I sent some pictures with it. I also got a memory stick to send you pictures from here but there's no time today. I miss all of you guys and think of you every day. I pray for you and am glad to know that we are an eternal family. That is the best thing ever!!!!. Finally, we showed "The Restoration" video to people this week and they all loved it - some cried. The Restoration is such a powerful event, and everyone needs to know about it! So to anyone that reads this, go out and learn about the Restoration and the First Vision from a church member, from the movie or from a missionary. That event is why I am here.
I love you Guys!
Elder Dustan
We met a great family that contacted us and they all wanted to come to church so badly. Two of the kids came and they said their mom was looking after the other three as some of them were sick. But in sacrament meeting, the little boy threw up all over himself and looked so sad and defeated I felt so bad for him. I told him how, when I was younger, I had fallen asleep while sitting on the stand during sacrament meeting back home. My elbow slipped off my knee and I fell to the floor in front of everyone. He liked that.
Demma got up and bore her testimony of how she knows the Church is true. After church we went to the vomit kid's house to check up on them and say hi to the mom. Two of her kids were under a huge mosquito net, sweating with Dengue Fever. I gave my first priesthood blessing to one of the children (Ronbert) and to the mom. Elder Soriano blessed the little guy. I felt directed by the Spirit and the words weren't my own. Certain quotes from General Conference came to my mind that applied to her. She loved having us there and wanted us to help her insomnia. Turns out she's addicted to coffee! Word of Wisdom pamphlet!
Elder Davis and I got hissed at by a crazy guy in a tricey at night and it was wayyyy creepy. We've been invited fishing two weeks from now but that's after transfer day which is next Monday!!!! WOW. So I might be gone or have a new kasama by then.
Time flies - and crawls slowly at the same time.
Did you get my letter yet???? I sent some pictures with it. I also got a memory stick to send you pictures from here but there's no time today. I miss all of you guys and think of you every day. I pray for you and am glad to know that we are an eternal family. That is the best thing ever!!!!. Finally, we showed "The Restoration" video to people this week and they all loved it - some cried. The Restoration is such a powerful event, and everyone needs to know about it! So to anyone that reads this, go out and learn about the Restoration and the First Vision from a church member, from the movie or from a missionary. That event is why I am here.
I love you Guys!
Elder Dustan
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Teaching Great People AND Feeding Ducks to Monkeys! - Week 13.Serving in Vintar.
So my new nephew, Carter has finally arrived! I've been waiting so long for the news! Sister Odgers was all excited too. But 7lbs, 12ounces! That's as big as you are Whitney! Loved the pictures too - looks like he's looking right at me! On p-days we use one of the FOUR internet cafes in Vintar (for a place with no sewage system, they've really got it made). I love hearing from you guys though - reading your emails is a high point in my week. I also got some regular mail. So here's how the mail works: The mail goes to the mission home in Laoag and waits there until the AP's bring it to us either at church (as we are in the same ward as the them) or at our district meetings - but they only attend the first one of every month. We can also pick it up if we run out of supplies and have to go to the mission home. We aren't supposed to go there much but no one runs out of copies of the Book of Mormon, pamphlets and teaching records as much as we do. So every two weeks or so we have to go there.
It has rained everyday for the past week. Vintar was on the verge of flooding. All the ditches were inches away from the top. It didn't just rain, it RAINED! A real downpour. I never heard thunder like this back home. It shakes the house and everything! My waterproof shoes were a good investment. No false advertising. My feet have been dry all week except the day I wore my other shoes and the one time it rained so hard it bounced off the road onto my pants and soaked me until my socks got wet. I do use an umbrella though. I got a huge one at the palenke in Laoag. Only 4 bucks.
I use my filter bottle everyday and drink only from it. We have filters on the taps in the apartment but they can't be trusted. The other elders make fun of elder Crandel (my "grandpa" in that weird elder family thing) and I because we're the only ones that use them. But that's probably why so many missionaries have been getting sick.
Our investigators are doing well. Sister Demma (our neighbour who is the older lady with lots of jewellry and trinkets and makeup but is really kind), has softened a bit. She would never go to church with us as she's the choir leader at the Aglipay church. But she started coming. She even stood up in Church and said, "We need to not send our kids to church - we need to bring them to church". Well put and true. We were bold with her in our last meeting. ('bold' in Tagalog means 'naked'). My companion reminded me not to say 'pwede ko po magbold sa inyo' (or, "Can I be bold with you?"). Good thing, because I was about to say just that.
We found a less active family too. They are very quiet. We talked to the mum on the phone as she's in Manila and she was screaming with excitement that the Church is back in Vintar. I often wonder what it was like for the branch in Vintar to close. It seems like a lot of people just went to the meeting house one day and realized it was gone. So sad.
The AP's (Assistants to the President) started teaching a guy named JonJon (unusual names here too, like 'Bethlehem Kalsada', which translated is 'Bethlehem Street', and 'Lovely' is a common first name here). He's the leader of a frat in Laoag. He was quite a party animal. He is now down to two smokes a day from two packs plus no drinking or other stuff. Once he learned about the Law of Chastity, he dumped his three girlfriends. He's really awesome and everyone in Laoag knows him. He went out with the AP's one day to find new investigators and would just walk into peoples' yards and say, "We're going to teach you now." and they would teach a lesson! He also brought so many people to the baptism of Sister Jackie (who is a really awesome single mom that's only my age and has a really strong testimony) on Saturday that there were as many people as we have at church on a regular Sunday (102 adults). His ex-girlfriends are coming to church and I went on splits with the APs and taught one of them about chastity. Shes only 16 and when she learned about it, we expected all kinds of questions but all she said was, "Can we still be forgiven?". We knocked that one out of the park and she's going to be baptized on Sept. 10th. Lastly about JonJon - his frat used to use the chapel as a hazing ground and to shower by unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the mini water tower of the chapel. That's all stopped. He said he'd bring 80 people to hear the discussions at the church on Saturday coming. The AP's said they might need our help, but either way I'll let you know how it goes.
Things here are going well. We have around 90 investigators. We also fed balut (a Filipino delicacy of pickled duck eggs with the fetus inside) to a monkey. Tatay Balut is the old guy that bikes around Vintar everyday after lunch until 9pm selling balut. He's so diligent and he must be 80 years old and half blind. We felt so bad for him one day that we bought two eggs from him, but the day before, Sister Odgers had specifically told me not to eat it until I've been here at least a year, so there's a monkey in a cage on one of the street corners and we just gave him the bag. I have some pictures and a video. He loved it.
Thanks Pa for the awesome talk by Hugh B. Brown! I loved it. I read it three times, and to my companion and to an investigator with minor translation.
I'm loving the rice here. I can't eat a meal without it or I don't feel full and I get grumpy. I'm told I'll have rice withdrawals when I get home so you better have some good stuff waiting for me. No Uncle Ben's - he's not even Asian!
We went to the palenke in Vintar this morning and I got a knife. It makes Crocodile Dundee's look puny!
I love you guys and miss you lots. The homesickness is going away a little and, oddly enough, I feel closer to you as it does. Tell me all about your upcoming camping plans too Pa. I wish I could go with you but I'm doing a perma-camp here.
There are lots of cats here but 90% of them have no tails and are realllllly gross but even the dirty dogs here are still cute to me. Dogs are the best. (Hi Duncan!)
Stay safe, and I love you sooooo much. Ignatpo
It has rained everyday for the past week. Vintar was on the verge of flooding. All the ditches were inches away from the top. It didn't just rain, it RAINED! A real downpour. I never heard thunder like this back home. It shakes the house and everything! My waterproof shoes were a good investment. No false advertising. My feet have been dry all week except the day I wore my other shoes and the one time it rained so hard it bounced off the road onto my pants and soaked me until my socks got wet. I do use an umbrella though. I got a huge one at the palenke in Laoag. Only 4 bucks.
I use my filter bottle everyday and drink only from it. We have filters on the taps in the apartment but they can't be trusted. The other elders make fun of elder Crandel (my "grandpa" in that weird elder family thing) and I because we're the only ones that use them. But that's probably why so many missionaries have been getting sick.
Our investigators are doing well. Sister Demma (our neighbour who is the older lady with lots of jewellry and trinkets and makeup but is really kind), has softened a bit. She would never go to church with us as she's the choir leader at the Aglipay church. But she started coming. She even stood up in Church and said, "We need to not send our kids to church - we need to bring them to church". Well put and true. We were bold with her in our last meeting. ('bold' in Tagalog means 'naked'). My companion reminded me not to say 'pwede ko po magbold sa inyo' (or, "Can I be bold with you?"). Good thing, because I was about to say just that.
We found a less active family too. They are very quiet. We talked to the mum on the phone as she's in Manila and she was screaming with excitement that the Church is back in Vintar. I often wonder what it was like for the branch in Vintar to close. It seems like a lot of people just went to the meeting house one day and realized it was gone. So sad.
The AP's (Assistants to the President) started teaching a guy named JonJon (unusual names here too, like 'Bethlehem Kalsada', which translated is 'Bethlehem Street', and 'Lovely' is a common first name here). He's the leader of a frat in Laoag. He was quite a party animal. He is now down to two smokes a day from two packs plus no drinking or other stuff. Once he learned about the Law of Chastity, he dumped his three girlfriends. He's really awesome and everyone in Laoag knows him. He went out with the AP's one day to find new investigators and would just walk into peoples' yards and say, "We're going to teach you now." and they would teach a lesson! He also brought so many people to the baptism of Sister Jackie (who is a really awesome single mom that's only my age and has a really strong testimony) on Saturday that there were as many people as we have at church on a regular Sunday (102 adults). His ex-girlfriends are coming to church and I went on splits with the APs and taught one of them about chastity. Shes only 16 and when she learned about it, we expected all kinds of questions but all she said was, "Can we still be forgiven?". We knocked that one out of the park and she's going to be baptized on Sept. 10th. Lastly about JonJon - his frat used to use the chapel as a hazing ground and to shower by unscrewing the cap at the bottom of the mini water tower of the chapel. That's all stopped. He said he'd bring 80 people to hear the discussions at the church on Saturday coming. The AP's said they might need our help, but either way I'll let you know how it goes.
Things here are going well. We have around 90 investigators. We also fed balut (a Filipino delicacy of pickled duck eggs with the fetus inside) to a monkey. Tatay Balut is the old guy that bikes around Vintar everyday after lunch until 9pm selling balut. He's so diligent and he must be 80 years old and half blind. We felt so bad for him one day that we bought two eggs from him, but the day before, Sister Odgers had specifically told me not to eat it until I've been here at least a year, so there's a monkey in a cage on one of the street corners and we just gave him the bag. I have some pictures and a video. He loved it.
Thanks Pa for the awesome talk by Hugh B. Brown! I loved it. I read it three times, and to my companion and to an investigator with minor translation.
I'm loving the rice here. I can't eat a meal without it or I don't feel full and I get grumpy. I'm told I'll have rice withdrawals when I get home so you better have some good stuff waiting for me. No Uncle Ben's - he's not even Asian!
We went to the palenke in Vintar this morning and I got a knife. It makes Crocodile Dundee's look puny!
I love you guys and miss you lots. The homesickness is going away a little and, oddly enough, I feel closer to you as it does. Tell me all about your upcoming camping plans too Pa. I wish I could go with you but I'm doing a perma-camp here.
There are lots of cats here but 90% of them have no tails and are realllllly gross but even the dirty dogs here are still cute to me. Dogs are the best. (Hi Duncan!)
Stay safe, and I love you sooooo much. Ignatpo
-Elder Dustan
Monday, July 25, 2011
Lizards Make Good Companions Too! - Week 12. Serving in Vintar.
We have around 40 investigators here in Vintar (a mission record!). Just as well we get stood up half the time or we couldn't visit them all! We have some pretty golden ones though. A woman named Rozel read the Restoration pamphlet we gave her twice and wrote down answers to the questions on the back. She had so many great questions and thoughts and she's showing real promise. Then there's Shane. She's 15 years old and we met her while she was playing the guitar on the street. We made an appointment and met with her and her older brother, Christopher who's really awesome. He went to church when there was a branch in Vintar years ago. The cool thing is Shane's drum set. She made it! Its got a wooden frame and a pedal and some old jugs with coins in them. You can tell that it was made from recycled materials. We played a couple of songs together. We gave them a Book of Mormon and it went really well. The next visit we taught them about the Word of Wisdom and her brother really liked it and said it makes a lot of sense. We ended by singing, "Nearer My God to Thee". I played it on the guitar and Shane jumped up and played the drums. It sounded awesome. There were even people who walked by the doorway that stopped to watch.
Emmanuel is our other invesitgator. He is my age and we met him through guitar playing also. He told us he knows the gospel is true, and that he even wanted to share it. Then just to be clear, he said to us in English "I know what you're saying is true, I believe you." Those words are among the sweetest words I've ever heard someone say to me. That's what I'm here for. I felt so happy. He came to Church on Sunday but he's leaving today for some place near Baguio. He lives there and is just staying with family here for a bit. So I got his address and now I have a referal for Elder Dimas (from the Chapel Hill ward in Ottawa)!!! Astig!
Okay, and one more investigator story: On Tuesday my companion & I went on splits with all the ward missionaries - half with him, half with me. I went in the Calaramo's truck with a load of ward missionaries headed out to a family we taught last week in the country. I was really nervous to teach in front of so many people in Tagalog. I prayed a lot in my head - really sincerely and desperately. And guess what happened? The truck broke down - barely outside of Vintar central! I was so excited! Brother Calaramo said that just he and I would go together by Tricey (a really long trip by tricey and cost 50 pesos which is a lot for a one-way ride!). I felt my stomach drop to find out we were still going to the lesson, but then realized, God needs me to go there. We tricey'd to Brgy 10 and met Sonny, Alvin and Marvin and their old Nanay. I taught them about the ministry of Christ, the Apostasy and Restoration and the Book of Mormon all by myself, IN TAGALOG! They understood me and paid attention and I felt the spirit really strongly. It was so great. I looked back afterwards and couldn't remember what words I had said. I know the Spirit was working through me. It was a great day!
We had a bat in our apartment. You should see the bats here. As soon as twilight hits, the sky fills up with bats and they are soooooo cool. One seemed almost eagle size! We had a bat in our bedroom when we got back from proselyting and got really hilarious videos of trying to catch it with towels. You'll see them eventually. Also I had an encounter with a centipede. I was showering and looked down and saw what I thought was a water snake coming at me. It was a huge centipede and they are gross. I thought you could drown them... but nope. It crawled all over. I couldn't kill it and it disappeared into the ceiling. We also have a family of lizards in the house. I really want to catch one sometime. I saw one the size of my leg from my foot to my knee! Ours are just youngn's but they are making more young'ns. That's why the bugs aren't as bad in our place. Also that big spider I saw in my first week gave birth too! All kinds of bug catchers!
As for bug spray I don't use it...I have just accepted that I'll get bitten a few times. It was really bad the first week but I'm used to it now and they don't bite me as much anymore.
Its been reallllllllly hot here. No clouds, no wind, just dead heat. Everyone sleeps on those days and it's really hard to teach people. I have a picture of some people just passed out on a big piece of plywood.
Anyways, I miss you guys a lot. I still get really homesick. I don't know when that will stop. Dad, how long did that last for you on your mission? My personal study keeps me going. I hope I never break the habit of at least 10 minutes of Book of Mormon study every morning. It helps so much. I am also reading "Jesus the Christ" and loving it so much.
Little kids come and stand behind us and watch our screens as we type and try to read what we're writing. Its really funny.
One of my most precious memories is sitting in the Celestial room of the temple with all of my family. The comfort and joy I felt gets more profound everytime I think about it.
That pregnant girl we are teaching had her baby. I told her Whitney was waiting for her to go first! She really warmed up to us more after I talked to her about you, Whitney. You help the work and you're all the way on the other side of the world. I have two great missionaries for sisters.
The clock Brother Roberts gave me runs the missionary work here! Without it I wouldn't wake up and no one would hear the gospel! Haha!
Take care!
Elder Dustan
Emmanuel is our other invesitgator. He is my age and we met him through guitar playing also. He told us he knows the gospel is true, and that he even wanted to share it. Then just to be clear, he said to us in English "I know what you're saying is true, I believe you." Those words are among the sweetest words I've ever heard someone say to me. That's what I'm here for. I felt so happy. He came to Church on Sunday but he's leaving today for some place near Baguio. He lives there and is just staying with family here for a bit. So I got his address and now I have a referal for Elder Dimas (from the Chapel Hill ward in Ottawa)!!! Astig!
Okay, and one more investigator story: On Tuesday my companion & I went on splits with all the ward missionaries - half with him, half with me. I went in the Calaramo's truck with a load of ward missionaries headed out to a family we taught last week in the country. I was really nervous to teach in front of so many people in Tagalog. I prayed a lot in my head - really sincerely and desperately. And guess what happened? The truck broke down - barely outside of Vintar central! I was so excited! Brother Calaramo said that just he and I would go together by Tricey (a really long trip by tricey and cost 50 pesos which is a lot for a one-way ride!). I felt my stomach drop to find out we were still going to the lesson, but then realized, God needs me to go there. We tricey'd to Brgy 10 and met Sonny, Alvin and Marvin and their old Nanay. I taught them about the ministry of Christ, the Apostasy and Restoration and the Book of Mormon all by myself, IN TAGALOG! They understood me and paid attention and I felt the spirit really strongly. It was so great. I looked back afterwards and couldn't remember what words I had said. I know the Spirit was working through me. It was a great day!
We had a bat in our apartment. You should see the bats here. As soon as twilight hits, the sky fills up with bats and they are soooooo cool. One seemed almost eagle size! We had a bat in our bedroom when we got back from proselyting and got really hilarious videos of trying to catch it with towels. You'll see them eventually. Also I had an encounter with a centipede. I was showering and looked down and saw what I thought was a water snake coming at me. It was a huge centipede and they are gross. I thought you could drown them... but nope. It crawled all over. I couldn't kill it and it disappeared into the ceiling. We also have a family of lizards in the house. I really want to catch one sometime. I saw one the size of my leg from my foot to my knee! Ours are just youngn's but they are making more young'ns. That's why the bugs aren't as bad in our place. Also that big spider I saw in my first week gave birth too! All kinds of bug catchers!
As for bug spray I don't use it...I have just accepted that I'll get bitten a few times. It was really bad the first week but I'm used to it now and they don't bite me as much anymore.
Its been reallllllllly hot here. No clouds, no wind, just dead heat. Everyone sleeps on those days and it's really hard to teach people. I have a picture of some people just passed out on a big piece of plywood.
Anyways, I miss you guys a lot. I still get really homesick. I don't know when that will stop. Dad, how long did that last for you on your mission? My personal study keeps me going. I hope I never break the habit of at least 10 minutes of Book of Mormon study every morning. It helps so much. I am also reading "Jesus the Christ" and loving it so much.
Little kids come and stand behind us and watch our screens as we type and try to read what we're writing. Its really funny.
One of my most precious memories is sitting in the Celestial room of the temple with all of my family. The comfort and joy I felt gets more profound everytime I think about it.
That pregnant girl we are teaching had her baby. I told her Whitney was waiting for her to go first! She really warmed up to us more after I talked to her about you, Whitney. You help the work and you're all the way on the other side of the world. I have two great missionaries for sisters.
The clock Brother Roberts gave me runs the missionary work here! Without it I wouldn't wake up and no one would hear the gospel! Haha!
Take care!
Elder Dustan
Monday, July 18, 2011
Avocados Don't Grow on Trees You Know! ..Oh Wait... They Do? - Week 11. Serving in Vintar.
We have 37 new investigators!!! The challenge will be to help them all progress. This place doesn't really have the best address system so it's hard to find people again (that guy we taught last week.....no idea where he lives and we feel real bad about it). Yesterday we had a one-day mission in Vintar, so all the ward missionaries (all 15 of them, because Bishop Augustine is awesome!) went to Vintar along with us full-time missionaries and visited with as many people as we could.
We are teaching a family and one of them is a tiny young lady who's 9 months buntis (pregnant). She's due any day and she LOVES the concept of families being able to be together forever. Elder Soriano taught this principle and asked me to share my testimony of eteral families. The pregnant lady was crying after the lesson (not because of me but because of that beautiful doctrine and the spirit that testified of its truthfulness) and it wasn't just hormones because her mom and sister were crying too.
I was showing my family pictures to some of the members and they loved them but then they started screaming and pointing at my leg. I looked down and only saw a piece of string. Then I looked on the other side and there was a spider the size of my hand! It was the biggest bug I've ever seen - so cool! They expected me to flip out but instead I grabbed my camera to get a picture.
There's a river in town and I didn't even know it was a river since it looks like a huge field of rocks. We sat on a big cement wall and then I realized it's a dyke and the water is way off. Apparently at some point (in September, I'm told) there's going to be some major flooding.
It's been pretty hot here. I think working in Fort MacMurray prepared me a lot as I was in cover-alls in 30 degree heat with hot pipes all around me. The food here is generally good but I ate at a sketchy restaurant in Vintar the other day and almost vomitted.
I had bamboo shoots which are awesome, and mung beans and I liked them too. I had a banana today. It was short and fat and really sweet but had seeds in it that are hard and you can't eat. Our neighbour also gave us avocados which grow on trees all over the place here (am I stupid for not knowing they grew on trees?). I love breakfast - rice for breakfast is great. We also eat and lots of eggs and meats. An old man bikes around every night with a side cart with a pot in it and shouts "BALUT!" Balut is a big thing here. I won't eat it though I don't think my system can handle it.
I remember Elder Nelson saying that we're safer on missions than our friends are back home plus with you guys all praying fror me and the prophet praying for missionaries in the temple every Thurday, I feel pretty safe.
Not understanding people is really hard. In a lesson I can say a few things about some principles and bear basic testimony but getting what other people say is still really hard. I didn't do my laundry right last Monday and it stunk realllly bad. My hands have cuts and blisters all over from doing laundry as you just rub the fabric against itself as we have no washboard - just a big bowl.
Our neighbour (not the Calaramos) is investigating the Church and told us she knows the Book of Mormon is true but won't get baptized for 2 years as she works for a Catholic school - not sure why she can't get baptized. We met two inactive members, the Agtaraps, and got them to come to Church. In Sacrament meeting the bishop announced that they had been called as ward missionaries! He didn't even ask them before hand, as far as I can tell. Is that even allowed? I'm glad he did though. Now we have more people to work with.
At the beginning of every month we get 8,100 pesos and we are given a JP Morgan card to take it out with. It's plenty, so don't worry. There's a million things I want to tell you and even show you but I'm out of time. Just know that I'm safe, I love all of you so much. I'm thankful I have a strong testmony of Christ because this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Take care, and Keep the mail coming.
Stay safe.
-Elder Dustan
We are teaching a family and one of them is a tiny young lady who's 9 months buntis (pregnant). She's due any day and she LOVES the concept of families being able to be together forever. Elder Soriano taught this principle and asked me to share my testimony of eteral families. The pregnant lady was crying after the lesson (not because of me but because of that beautiful doctrine and the spirit that testified of its truthfulness) and it wasn't just hormones because her mom and sister were crying too.
I was showing my family pictures to some of the members and they loved them but then they started screaming and pointing at my leg. I looked down and only saw a piece of string. Then I looked on the other side and there was a spider the size of my hand! It was the biggest bug I've ever seen - so cool! They expected me to flip out but instead I grabbed my camera to get a picture.
There's a river in town and I didn't even know it was a river since it looks like a huge field of rocks. We sat on a big cement wall and then I realized it's a dyke and the water is way off. Apparently at some point (in September, I'm told) there's going to be some major flooding.
It's been pretty hot here. I think working in Fort MacMurray prepared me a lot as I was in cover-alls in 30 degree heat with hot pipes all around me. The food here is generally good but I ate at a sketchy restaurant in Vintar the other day and almost vomitted.
I had bamboo shoots which are awesome, and mung beans and I liked them too. I had a banana today. It was short and fat and really sweet but had seeds in it that are hard and you can't eat. Our neighbour also gave us avocados which grow on trees all over the place here (am I stupid for not knowing they grew on trees?). I love breakfast - rice for breakfast is great. We also eat and lots of eggs and meats. An old man bikes around every night with a side cart with a pot in it and shouts "BALUT!" Balut is a big thing here. I won't eat it though I don't think my system can handle it.
I remember Elder Nelson saying that we're safer on missions than our friends are back home plus with you guys all praying fror me and the prophet praying for missionaries in the temple every Thurday, I feel pretty safe.
Not understanding people is really hard. In a lesson I can say a few things about some principles and bear basic testimony but getting what other people say is still really hard. I didn't do my laundry right last Monday and it stunk realllly bad. My hands have cuts and blisters all over from doing laundry as you just rub the fabric against itself as we have no washboard - just a big bowl.
Our neighbour (not the Calaramos) is investigating the Church and told us she knows the Book of Mormon is true but won't get baptized for 2 years as she works for a Catholic school - not sure why she can't get baptized. We met two inactive members, the Agtaraps, and got them to come to Church. In Sacrament meeting the bishop announced that they had been called as ward missionaries! He didn't even ask them before hand, as far as I can tell. Is that even allowed? I'm glad he did though. Now we have more people to work with.
At the beginning of every month we get 8,100 pesos and we are given a JP Morgan card to take it out with. It's plenty, so don't worry. There's a million things I want to tell you and even show you but I'm out of time. Just know that I'm safe, I love all of you so much. I'm thankful I have a strong testmony of Christ because this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Take care, and Keep the mail coming.
Stay safe.
-Elder Dustan
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Hang a Left at the Bathroom - Week 10. Serving in Vintar.
The flight to Hong Kong was sooooo long. We just sat in our seats for 13 hours straight. The breakfast on the flight was either "omlette" or "porridge". We forgot that it's a Chinese spin on these foods. The porridge actually looked like it could be whale vomit. It was white, with chucks of weird fish in it. We took the conveyer belts on the floor and it was so fun. You hardly even walk and you go so fast.
In Hong Kong I ate breakfast at McDonald's and got the egg and sausage with twisty noodles because it sounded fun. Turned out it was soup! Breakfast soup! I gave them a $20 american bill and they gave me back 100 and some Hong Kong dollars! I kept the reciept because it's so cool.
Then we flew to Manila. It was a quick and scary flight over the Pacific. When I got there I said hi to the passport lady and she went off in Tagalog. That's when I realized I have no idea what I'm doing in the language - it was a wakeup call! A man met us at the airport and they brought us to a hotel that the Church uses right by the airport. The temperature was 29 degrees so I thought it might not be so bad since it gets hot and humid at home but it was crazy hot! Everyone carries a rag to wipe their sweat! My first meal in the Philippines was KFC - chicken and rice. It was chopstick lickin' good! My only thought was, what would the Colonel think??
Anyways, we met a sister missionary in the hotel who was on her way home. A German man came up to us and asked us all about our church and we spoke with him and gave him a Book of Mormon. It was way cool. All of the native elders call Elder Tucker "Superman" because he looks like Christopher Reeves (pre-horse-ride accident). So true, I never even realized. Then we went to the MANILA TEMPLE!!! - so awesome and beautiful. It's huge and it really is a beacon to everyone. I loved it and I sat beside a little Filipina lady who was pretty much the oldest person I ever saw.
The traffic here is nuts! Four lanes in Manila and 6 lanes of cars. There are no traffic lights or stop signs that I saw but there wasn't one accident. People are really bold and agressive but somehow it works. Also, NO seatbelts. There are lots of palm trees and big leaves. Lots of rice too. I love it so far. We then slept in the hotel and at 11pm three men in suits walked into out room and woke us up! They scared us so bad but they turned out to be elders on their way home from their missions and they wanted to say hi to us.
The next day we went to the airport and flew to Laoag City where a man met us - which was good because they charged us a lot of money for our baggage. They only allow 20 kilos apparently, so it cost 25,000 pesos for the five of us. Phew, good thing that guy met us there. Laoag's airport is reallllly small! After we got our bags we met President & Sister Odgers and went to the mission home (which is a beautiful mansion of a place). We had orientation and some food, then visited with President Odgers who is really nice and very spiritual, and then we had some free time. I played Monopoly with a group of native sisters and Elder Thurston. No one won but I had Boardwalk so you tell me who's the winner! The next day we met our companions. Mine is Elder Soriano. He's a Filipino who lived in Manila until he was 14 and then moved to Winnipeg, so he's Canadian. Cool eh?
We are assigned to a new area which we are re-opening after being closed for 14 years. It's called Vintar and it's a short drive from Laoag City. I'm really struggling with the language because people speak so fast. Sometimes people speak Ilocano and I don't realize it's not Tagalog that they're speaking. Our area is like a little "city" - a few two-storey buildings which are rich peoples' houses then a bunch of one story ones, lots of sketchy little shops and lots of reallllly run down houses and shacks. I guess our apartment is nice - we have rice cooker. I've found 4 cockroaches thus far (sorry Mum but I have to talk about it). They really aren't so bad. They just sit there and run when you get near them. They don't bite or anything. We just spray them or sweep them outside. There are ants all over the place too. Actually, when I killed one of the many mosquitos we have, I looked down and it was gone as the ants took it (cool).
Our shower is okay. Only cold water which is kind of a blessing I guess - but no shower curtain. Apparently there should usually be a drain in the shower part of the bathroom and one in the toilet part. But we don't have one on the toilet side, so when we shower, the water sprays onto the floor near the toilet and pools up. So when you go to the bathroom you are standing in water up to your ankles (so gross). I'm officially Filipino, if you know what I mean - good old lefty. It's weird - you use a ladle to dump water on your butt and then wipe with your hand and soap. I just try to time it with my morning shower now. So far it's been working out.
We already have two new investigators - a guy named Roger down the road from us, who is really nice and speaks Ilocano and English. We taught him about God, the eternal nature of families and about baptism. It went really well. We're going back to visit with him today after p-day. We also taught an old man and he said the prayer in our lesson. He asked us to come back too. I mostly sit there and smile and try to understand what's going on. When I get what's going on, I say something if there's a break in the speaking but I'm really annoyed that I can't participate as much as I'd like.
We go to the Laoag 4th ward. On Saturday we watched a movie at the chapel in Laoag - "The Mountain of the Lord". Cool, because the chapel is on top of a hill in the middle of a bunch of small houses so it really stands out and you see the whole city from it - it's so amazing. After the movie they asked me to get up and speak about temples. I was so nervous. I bore a really simple testimony and it was humbling. We went to a lesson with some other elders after the movie as they were our ride back to Vintar. We all taught a family who are amazing and speak English, Tagalog and Ilocano so there was a lot of languages floating around.
The little kids here are so awesome. They run everywhere and are soooo cute and say hilarious things. They walk up to us and stop in front of us and salute like soldiers and say "Hey man!" and other typical English phrases. One day we followed a little path off the road (all the roads in Vintar's centre are concrete but then we discovered that behind the houses are little subdivisions of dirt and mud roads with shacks and stuff) and found a little dirt road with houses on it and some kids came up to us. I had my fake thumb from my magic kit and I did that disappearing hankie trick for them and they were amazed - for about 5 seconds, but they all loved it. Then I did Dad's coin trick and they loved it too. The problem was, they all followed us around after that for about an hour - right out of their neighbourhood, into the main roads and said things like, "Mr Magic! More magic!".
There are animals everywhere! And so many - all kinds of dogs, cats, lizards, roosters and chickens. I hadn't seen a dead one yet... until today - which was pretty cool because with all the traffic and no speed limits (for real) you'd think there would be lots of road kill. Not so. But today on the way out of our apartment, a big white van started and pulled into the road and I heard a pop and turned and saw that a chicken had been sitting against the tire. It started twitching and stuff and was all mangled. So gross and I was so sad. I guess I'm a bit of a woose because I felt so bad for it. My comp laughed.
Yesterday, at Church I bore my testimony and it went okay. They all said I have the accent but just need the vocabulary. We had PEC meeting after Church with the bishop (who is amazing and tri-lingual). In the meeting, the ward leaders decided to do a one day mission for the whole ward in Vintar to get it going. So this Sunday they will do that and hopefully we will get lots of investigators.
Our neighbours are really nice too. They are long-time Church members. The wife is about 4 feet tall and a little sharp but really hilarious. The husband is really quiet and kind. They help us a lot. I haven't done laundry yet but I will soon. In our mission we can do laundry whenever we need to - not just on p-day. Everyday we wake up at 6:30am, shower, exercise, then eat and study. We go out to work from 12 to 8pm. Our first night in Vintar we did what Bro. Welch suggested - we walked around and just said hi to people in Tagalog, just to pique curiosity. It worked. When we walk by people would say, "Hey Joe!", "Hey man!", or "Hello Sir!" and then we say "Kumusta po?" and they are surprised to hear us speak their language.
People stare at me here - it's weird. I'm not used to being something interesting. No white people - so everyone stares. Yesterday a girl walked by and stared at me for a moment, then grabbed her camera and took my photo, then she ran away. We take Trikey's everywhere. That's a taxi dirt bike with a little cart that is uncomfortable for two people but they fit lots of people into them. They are really low to the ground and really close to traffic too. Pretty fun.
I'm gonna catch one of those lizards before I leave. Their tails fall off if you grab them (But they grow back. I remember dad telling me about it when I was little and thinking it was so cool. Now I have them here!) so it'll be trickey.
I'm really glad we're an eternal family. There is really nothing better. It makes me so happy. I love you all so much. It's tough here, but its worth it. Trials really help us grow. Stay safe and stay close to Christ.
Don't forget a sweaty elder in Vintar.
Ingat po.
Elder Dustan
In Hong Kong I ate breakfast at McDonald's and got the egg and sausage with twisty noodles because it sounded fun. Turned out it was soup! Breakfast soup! I gave them a $20 american bill and they gave me back 100 and some Hong Kong dollars! I kept the reciept because it's so cool.
Then we flew to Manila. It was a quick and scary flight over the Pacific. When I got there I said hi to the passport lady and she went off in Tagalog. That's when I realized I have no idea what I'm doing in the language - it was a wakeup call! A man met us at the airport and they brought us to a hotel that the Church uses right by the airport. The temperature was 29 degrees so I thought it might not be so bad since it gets hot and humid at home but it was crazy hot! Everyone carries a rag to wipe their sweat! My first meal in the Philippines was KFC - chicken and rice. It was chopstick lickin' good! My only thought was, what would the Colonel think??
Anyways, we met a sister missionary in the hotel who was on her way home. A German man came up to us and asked us all about our church and we spoke with him and gave him a Book of Mormon. It was way cool. All of the native elders call Elder Tucker "Superman" because he looks like Christopher Reeves (pre-horse-ride accident). So true, I never even realized. Then we went to the MANILA TEMPLE!!! - so awesome and beautiful. It's huge and it really is a beacon to everyone. I loved it and I sat beside a little Filipina lady who was pretty much the oldest person I ever saw.
The traffic here is nuts! Four lanes in Manila and 6 lanes of cars. There are no traffic lights or stop signs that I saw but there wasn't one accident. People are really bold and agressive but somehow it works. Also, NO seatbelts. There are lots of palm trees and big leaves. Lots of rice too. I love it so far. We then slept in the hotel and at 11pm three men in suits walked into out room and woke us up! They scared us so bad but they turned out to be elders on their way home from their missions and they wanted to say hi to us.
The next day we went to the airport and flew to Laoag City where a man met us - which was good because they charged us a lot of money for our baggage. They only allow 20 kilos apparently, so it cost 25,000 pesos for the five of us. Phew, good thing that guy met us there. Laoag's airport is reallllly small! After we got our bags we met President & Sister Odgers and went to the mission home (which is a beautiful mansion of a place). We had orientation and some food, then visited with President Odgers who is really nice and very spiritual, and then we had some free time. I played Monopoly with a group of native sisters and Elder Thurston. No one won but I had Boardwalk so you tell me who's the winner! The next day we met our companions. Mine is Elder Soriano. He's a Filipino who lived in Manila until he was 14 and then moved to Winnipeg, so he's Canadian. Cool eh?
We are assigned to a new area which we are re-opening after being closed for 14 years. It's called Vintar and it's a short drive from Laoag City. I'm really struggling with the language because people speak so fast. Sometimes people speak Ilocano and I don't realize it's not Tagalog that they're speaking. Our area is like a little "city" - a few two-storey buildings which are rich peoples' houses then a bunch of one story ones, lots of sketchy little shops and lots of reallllly run down houses and shacks. I guess our apartment is nice - we have rice cooker. I've found 4 cockroaches thus far (sorry Mum but I have to talk about it). They really aren't so bad. They just sit there and run when you get near them. They don't bite or anything. We just spray them or sweep them outside. There are ants all over the place too. Actually, when I killed one of the many mosquitos we have, I looked down and it was gone as the ants took it (cool).
Our shower is okay. Only cold water which is kind of a blessing I guess - but no shower curtain. Apparently there should usually be a drain in the shower part of the bathroom and one in the toilet part. But we don't have one on the toilet side, so when we shower, the water sprays onto the floor near the toilet and pools up. So when you go to the bathroom you are standing in water up to your ankles (so gross). I'm officially Filipino, if you know what I mean - good old lefty. It's weird - you use a ladle to dump water on your butt and then wipe with your hand and soap. I just try to time it with my morning shower now. So far it's been working out.
We already have two new investigators - a guy named Roger down the road from us, who is really nice and speaks Ilocano and English. We taught him about God, the eternal nature of families and about baptism. It went really well. We're going back to visit with him today after p-day. We also taught an old man and he said the prayer in our lesson. He asked us to come back too. I mostly sit there and smile and try to understand what's going on. When I get what's going on, I say something if there's a break in the speaking but I'm really annoyed that I can't participate as much as I'd like.
We go to the Laoag 4th ward. On Saturday we watched a movie at the chapel in Laoag - "The Mountain of the Lord". Cool, because the chapel is on top of a hill in the middle of a bunch of small houses so it really stands out and you see the whole city from it - it's so amazing. After the movie they asked me to get up and speak about temples. I was so nervous. I bore a really simple testimony and it was humbling. We went to a lesson with some other elders after the movie as they were our ride back to Vintar. We all taught a family who are amazing and speak English, Tagalog and Ilocano so there was a lot of languages floating around.
The little kids here are so awesome. They run everywhere and are soooo cute and say hilarious things. They walk up to us and stop in front of us and salute like soldiers and say "Hey man!" and other typical English phrases. One day we followed a little path off the road (all the roads in Vintar's centre are concrete but then we discovered that behind the houses are little subdivisions of dirt and mud roads with shacks and stuff) and found a little dirt road with houses on it and some kids came up to us. I had my fake thumb from my magic kit and I did that disappearing hankie trick for them and they were amazed - for about 5 seconds, but they all loved it. Then I did Dad's coin trick and they loved it too. The problem was, they all followed us around after that for about an hour - right out of their neighbourhood, into the main roads and said things like, "Mr Magic! More magic!".
There are animals everywhere! And so many - all kinds of dogs, cats, lizards, roosters and chickens. I hadn't seen a dead one yet... until today - which was pretty cool because with all the traffic and no speed limits (for real) you'd think there would be lots of road kill. Not so. But today on the way out of our apartment, a big white van started and pulled into the road and I heard a pop and turned and saw that a chicken had been sitting against the tire. It started twitching and stuff and was all mangled. So gross and I was so sad. I guess I'm a bit of a woose because I felt so bad for it. My comp laughed.
Yesterday, at Church I bore my testimony and it went okay. They all said I have the accent but just need the vocabulary. We had PEC meeting after Church with the bishop (who is amazing and tri-lingual). In the meeting, the ward leaders decided to do a one day mission for the whole ward in Vintar to get it going. So this Sunday they will do that and hopefully we will get lots of investigators.
Our neighbours are really nice too. They are long-time Church members. The wife is about 4 feet tall and a little sharp but really hilarious. The husband is really quiet and kind. They help us a lot. I haven't done laundry yet but I will soon. In our mission we can do laundry whenever we need to - not just on p-day. Everyday we wake up at 6:30am, shower, exercise, then eat and study. We go out to work from 12 to 8pm. Our first night in Vintar we did what Bro. Welch suggested - we walked around and just said hi to people in Tagalog, just to pique curiosity. It worked. When we walk by people would say, "Hey Joe!", "Hey man!", or "Hello Sir!" and then we say "Kumusta po?" and they are surprised to hear us speak their language.
People stare at me here - it's weird. I'm not used to being something interesting. No white people - so everyone stares. Yesterday a girl walked by and stared at me for a moment, then grabbed her camera and took my photo, then she ran away. We take Trikey's everywhere. That's a taxi dirt bike with a little cart that is uncomfortable for two people but they fit lots of people into them. They are really low to the ground and really close to traffic too. Pretty fun.
I'm gonna catch one of those lizards before I leave. Their tails fall off if you grab them (But they grow back. I remember dad telling me about it when I was little and thinking it was so cool. Now I have them here!) so it'll be trickey.
I'm really glad we're an eternal family. There is really nothing better. It makes me so happy. I love you all so much. It's tough here, but its worth it. Trials really help us grow. Stay safe and stay close to Christ.
Don't forget a sweaty elder in Vintar.
Ingat po.
Elder Dustan
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Shipping Out! - Week 9 at the MTC
KUMUSTA!!! The new mission presidents had their training this past week. There were eight apostles here for that including Elder Holland and Elder Scott and Elder Ballard. We heard from Elder Bednar who gave a fantastic talk about being a "Preach my Gospel" missionary. It was awesome.
We had a Zone Conference and Elder Chadderton and I conducted it. It was about good study habits. It was great (mostly because Brother Welch spoke). I shared some jury duty stories and everyone loved them. Elder Wong and Elder Partridge succeeded Elder Chadderton & I as the new Zone Leaders (since we are leaving soon).
I ran into Ben Collins in the cafeteria! He was speed walking past us and Elder Chadderton shouted out jokingly, "Hey, obey the speed limit buddy". Ben looked back and I called to him and we talked for a while. He is doing well.
These are my flight plans for Monday, July 4th:
I leave Salt Lake at 9:55pm on Delta Airlines, flight 875 and arrive in San Francisco at 10:55pm. I then leave San Francisco at 1:20am July 5th on Cathay Airlines, flight 873. I arrive in Hong Kong at 6:25am, July 6th. Then I leave Hong Kong at 9:10am on Cathay Airlines, flight 901 and arrive in Manila at 11:15am. I am told we then have a 12 hour bus ride on a nasty stick-shift bus up to Laoag. From my district, those going to Laoag are, Elders Thurston & Tucker and Sister Steele and I. Everyone else in the district is going to the Quezon mission which is a huge mission that they just split. An area authority will meet us in Manila. I have been assigned to be the flight leader. Probably because of my vast array of travel knowledge.....no that can't be it!
I did pick up my phone card three weeks ago. I'll call home at one of the airports. It looks like it will be a late night call for you - hope to talk to the whole family.
Finally heading to the Philippines! It's very exciting but I am nervous. I feel I'm not nearly advanced enough in the language to get by. I can talk about the Church in Tagalog but not comfortable with general conversations yet. Was that the way you felt Pa, or maybe a french mission is different? Hopefully it's normal not to feel fluent in the language as you leave the MTC.
Tomorrow night we are having fireworks at the MTC for July 4th celebrations but I'm pretending they are for today - HAAAAPPPPPYYYYY CAAANNNNAAADDDAA DAAAAYY. I've said that to everyone today.
That's great to hear about Niall. So glad he's home okay and doing well. I shared one or two of his mission stories you sent me from his home-coming talk in class and devotional review. The district loved it.
I got my last North American haircut. I leave for the airport Monday night at 6:30 so you can "Dear Elder" me once more before I leave.
We've been practising teaching lesson 2 from "Preach My Gospel" lately and I love it. It's the best lesson. It answers alllll the questions of life and it is so comforting. I gain a stronger testimnoy of it every time I teach it. I have really come to love the gospel more since I've been here. I can't even believe how blessed we are to have it. I can't wait to share it with the people of the Philippines. My teacher, Bro. Malina told us that we will likely need to learn Ilocano in Laoag. Bro Malina also shared a few things of his mission with us. He said nothing beats hard work and that the harder you work the hotter your future wife gets. it was weird as he's never been anything but a really strict, on-task teacher. He then passed around a picture of his wife and asked "did I work hard mga misyonero, did I?" ....he did.
Shona, the spiders are bigger than your face there! I saw awesome pictures, and don't worry I'll send you some too. ;) Maybe be careful with any packages I may send you too.....jus' sayin'.
Good luck Whitney, you'll be an awesome mum and God will guide you through anything you need help with. Say Hi to Ryan for me, I miss that guy and think of him everyday. I love you Ry-Guy! Talk to you soon everyone!!!!!!
Elder Dustan
We had a Zone Conference and Elder Chadderton and I conducted it. It was about good study habits. It was great (mostly because Brother Welch spoke). I shared some jury duty stories and everyone loved them. Elder Wong and Elder Partridge succeeded Elder Chadderton & I as the new Zone Leaders (since we are leaving soon).
I ran into Ben Collins in the cafeteria! He was speed walking past us and Elder Chadderton shouted out jokingly, "Hey, obey the speed limit buddy". Ben looked back and I called to him and we talked for a while. He is doing well.
These are my flight plans for Monday, July 4th:
I leave Salt Lake at 9:55pm on Delta Airlines, flight 875 and arrive in San Francisco at 10:55pm. I then leave San Francisco at 1:20am July 5th on Cathay Airlines, flight 873. I arrive in Hong Kong at 6:25am, July 6th. Then I leave Hong Kong at 9:10am on Cathay Airlines, flight 901 and arrive in Manila at 11:15am. I am told we then have a 12 hour bus ride on a nasty stick-shift bus up to Laoag. From my district, those going to Laoag are, Elders Thurston & Tucker and Sister Steele and I. Everyone else in the district is going to the Quezon mission which is a huge mission that they just split. An area authority will meet us in Manila. I have been assigned to be the flight leader. Probably because of my vast array of travel knowledge.....no that can't be it!
I did pick up my phone card three weeks ago. I'll call home at one of the airports. It looks like it will be a late night call for you - hope to talk to the whole family.
Finally heading to the Philippines! It's very exciting but I am nervous. I feel I'm not nearly advanced enough in the language to get by. I can talk about the Church in Tagalog but not comfortable with general conversations yet. Was that the way you felt Pa, or maybe a french mission is different? Hopefully it's normal not to feel fluent in the language as you leave the MTC.
Tomorrow night we are having fireworks at the MTC for July 4th celebrations but I'm pretending they are for today - HAAAAPPPPPYYYYY CAAANNNNAAADDDAA DAAAAYY. I've said that to everyone today.
That's great to hear about Niall. So glad he's home okay and doing well. I shared one or two of his mission stories you sent me from his home-coming talk in class and devotional review. The district loved it.
I got my last North American haircut. I leave for the airport Monday night at 6:30 so you can "Dear Elder" me once more before I leave.
We've been practising teaching lesson 2 from "Preach My Gospel" lately and I love it. It's the best lesson. It answers alllll the questions of life and it is so comforting. I gain a stronger testimnoy of it every time I teach it. I have really come to love the gospel more since I've been here. I can't even believe how blessed we are to have it. I can't wait to share it with the people of the Philippines. My teacher, Bro. Malina told us that we will likely need to learn Ilocano in Laoag. Bro Malina also shared a few things of his mission with us. He said nothing beats hard work and that the harder you work the hotter your future wife gets. it was weird as he's never been anything but a really strict, on-task teacher. He then passed around a picture of his wife and asked "did I work hard mga misyonero, did I?" ....he did.
Shona, the spiders are bigger than your face there! I saw awesome pictures, and don't worry I'll send you some too. ;) Maybe be careful with any packages I may send you too.....jus' sayin'.
Good luck Whitney, you'll be an awesome mum and God will guide you through anything you need help with. Say Hi to Ryan for me, I miss that guy and think of him everyday. I love you Ry-Guy! Talk to you soon everyone!!!!!!
Elder Dustan
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