Kumusta po kayo!
Ah you guys, I'm gonna try make this quick because I seem to have less time than usual now. I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Laoag with my trainer the one and only SISTER MEG STOREY and the rest of my district including ELDER SCOTTY RAMSAY! What are the odds, when they told me I cried. Let me just say, for the last four weeks since Elder Ramsay left the MTC people could not stop talking about him. Everybody was sad, and everybody just talked about their favourite Elder Ramsay memories. And then I get to the mission office and I hear his name only a hundred times the first day. Even President was raving about him. Someone tell his family, he is loved here. Only time I cried though because I don't cry, unless its for investigators but I'll tell you about that after.
So the short rundown is, left the MTC on Wednesday and we were the last to go and the place was literally empty. I went to my District room and cried like a child, sorry po thats litereally the only other time I cried. And then we got on the plane to Laoag which is the worlds most beautiful place so it was all better then! Stayed the night in the mission home, President Barrientos is THE MAN! He is the most hilarious person ever, I can't imagine a better mission president. He is awesome and wants us all to be happy, as long as we work hard so we have high standards but its all good. So our toilet in our apartment doesn't flush, the shower is like a straight up hose and I sleep on a roll out thing on the floor, but in all honesty, its nicer living than my house in Vermont so nobodys complaining! It is hot here. So hot. And I unpacked all my stuff to find a lot of things missing, including a lot of my clothes. Nobody knows where they are, probably taken by other girls on the floor, and then when we did our first load of bucket laundry the other night, yes, in a bucket, outside, handwashed, most of my other clothes got wrecked. PERO (Tagalog for but) we can shop today, PERO I had to spend most of my leftover money on another girls baggage at the airport so I'm going on poor. We will see how this goes haha.
The work! So we don't even leave the house until either one or four in the afternoon depending on the day, and we have to fit in at least 4 to six lessons depending on the day. We have zero progressing investigators and in the three months Sister Storey has been here she has had zero baptisms. So the work is tricky but we have faith were going to be the ones to turn it around. Umm so, I've seen a lot of weird stuff already. People washing themselves on the street, as in not wearing clothes washing themselves, as in REALLY OLD PEOPLE. So thats weird. We taught this family the other day, the mum saw us across the rice field and started calling us over. It took us about 20 minutes to figure out how to get over the rice field, with the help of two men who are now investigators, hehehe, we finally made it across the worlds sketchiest field/bridge/pipe thing and got to their house. Turns out shes an inactive member and wants us to teach her daughters! They were so nice and committed to baptism, PERO they didn't come to church, PERO that seems to be what happens all the time here so we're gonna go back and sort them out this week. In other news, one of the daughters had a four year old son who apparently absorbed his twin in the womb and had four nipples. It was possibly the weirdest thing I've ever seen. HE HAD FOUR NIPPLES! I cant even describe to you some of the other weird things that go on here, everyones just chilling in the streets all day every day going about their business so we're bound to come across the weird ones. Also there is the worlds scariest man who comes to the chapel to stalk the sister missionaries. We were leaving the other day and he tried to talk to us and then proceeded to try follow us home. Sister Storey was dragging me up the street singing primary songs. Its all good though, hes probably harmless, if we ever really feel unsafe we will talk to President about it, so don't ever worry, its so safe here really!
I'm also not sure I have ever been this tired in my life. Every morning is a struggle to wake up, but once were up and studying its all great. The language is coming ok, I've had a few people I could talk to in English which is good, pero most people here speak straigh Ilocano which is really fun between our Tagalog skills. Pero Sister Storey sounds fluent to me so we are working hard so I can be at her level in 8 weeks since rumour has it I'll probably have to train then. Gah! But I know if thats what I have to do then I can do it.
Short on time, just know I love you al and I love this work and I'm so so happy to be here. This is where I belong, Sister Storey and I both know that we are here, together, right now, for a purpose and we are trying to find it. We will further the work here because we know how important it is. No camera cord today so photos next week, and we look way too hids today for pictures, will try harder next time!
Love you all, I am so happy to hear that you are all doing so great!
Miss all of you from home and my MTC family, only a little bit though :-)
Mahal po kayo!
Sister McKim
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