4 more weeks here in the Philippines MTC, and I cannot wait to get out and have some adventure! Being cooped up in two buildings is pretty taxing, but it's great to be able to learn so much.
Some things I've learned about Manila and Quezon City, which are kind of merged, is that there is traffic all the time. Way back when we were in the hotel the honking went on all night pretty much. The filipino peso conversion is 1 to 45 so everything seems expensive, but it's actually pretty much a 40% discount.
On our preparation day we get to go to the temple, which is beautiful. It's a great experience, and the coolest thing is that it is the same design as the Boise temple, where the Fish family just moved!
The food is still amazing. I'm glad that I love rice! One day we had cereal for breakfast, and the milk here is all powdered milk, which does not even compare to real milk. That same day we also had hamburgers, which also didn't quite compare. But I totally appreciate the effort! Later we had a shrimp patty where the shrimp were completely whole, and the eyes dotted the whole thing. Their legs/antennae were pretty difficult to deal with, they scratched your gums and throat. So now I realize why normally we take those parts off a shrimp! Also, the fish is really good, especially because it's normally not raw!
They say we will put on some weight in the MTC (good luck putting weight on me) but we will lose it once we actually go out. They seriously feed us well here, it's fantastic.
Tagalog is tough, but it's still moving along just fine. I've memorized the baptismal invitation, a couple verses, and almost the First Vision. We are practicing our teaching still, and next week I believe we are going to go out into the actual city and proselyte, I'm pumped!
We had a devotional with an area-seventy named Elder Pajaro the other night, and he and his wife shared their conversion stories. One takeaway for me was that many times people will talk to many sets of missionaries before they get baptized, so anyone I teach and get to know I want to try and remember. I can't wait to build up friendships out here. Elder Pajaro just contacted the first set of missionary he remembered talking to, and they have kept in touch since then. My scripture of the week is Matthew 10:40 when Jesus says "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me". This verse stuck out to me at first because of all the pronouns, but I think it really points out how much I need to try and emulate Christ and align my will with His, just as Christ aligns His will with Heavenly Father's. Even when Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane suffering for all of our sins, bleeding from every pore, He said "Nevertheless not my will, but thine be done". Just another motivation to be my best possible self, even when things are hard.
There is a missionary in my district named Sister Bulewa who is a example of strength and dedication to me. Her father died 3 years ago, and her mother died about a year ago. Her bishop had been paying for her mission, and just last week he also passed away. She has tremendous faith though, and it is comforting to know that she can see them again. There are so many amazing people and amazing stories out here, I'm so excited for the next two years.
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