21 January 2013

Magandang Hapon!
Kamusta!

Hopefully you have been practicing sufficiently so you can speak to Filipinos on your cruise and shock them to death because you know how to say something in Tagalog. Even with me being in the Philippines, every time I talk to someone for the first time, almost without fail, they will say something to the effect of "Wow, you know how to speak Tagalog... How long have you been here?" Then of course that opens the discussion of how we are missionaries for 2 years. So if you can do that on a cruise ship, you are guaranteed to turn some heads. It is pretty cool though talking to people now that I am more or less fluent. When I stop and think about it, it really is a miracle that missionaries are able to learn languages so fast. Most people are blown away when I tell them I've only been here for a year and a half and can speak the Tagalog that I do. I suppose that would be the gift of tongues at work.

Congrats on winning the Wells Fargo case! Much thanks to Bill's hard work and go get 'em attitude. How timely it is that after the trial was over, Bill had enough time to add a pig butt to my face! Haha. It gave me and several other missionaries sitting around me a good laugh. There are a lot of pigs here in the Philippines and I see them everyday, so I am reminded often about Bill. :) One lawsuit down, one to go. Hopefully my testimony or whatever it is called that I did before I left will be of help. What they are asking for is pretty ridiculous.

I got a good laugh at seeing the new Milo. I wonder how long that will take to grow back! Looks like he got hacked pretty good haha.

This last week was probably the coldest I've ever experienced in the mission. There was a huge cold front that moved in and for several days, people were shocked that I was actually able to walk around without a jacket and not be cold. At night, we actually had to close some windows and I even had to break down and put on some socks because my feet were freezing. I tried to explain to people that it was only the equivalent of our Fall back home, but nobody can comprehend it being much colder than that. Elder Lasay said it was the coldest he's ever been in his life. Elder Lasay also got sick for a couple days this week, so it was nice actually being the one not sick for once! Haha. To help kill some downtime at the apartment while he was resting, I watched 17 Miracles-the one about the Willie Handcart company and the pioneers. That was the first time I had seen it and it was a really powerful to see how strong people's faith and testimonies were back then. With enough faith, really ANYTHING can be done. It also made me remember that one pioneer story dad has told us a couple times about one of his ancestors when they crossed. Unfortunately, I don't really remember all the details of the story but I remember it being pretty crazy. If only everybody in the church could have the faith that the pioneers did...

This week we were working in one of our areas, but after working there for about an hour all of our plans and appointments started to fall through, so we decided to hop on a tricy and head to a different part of our area, even though we didn't really have any plans over there either. We soon found ourselves at a less active's house that I had not worked at in over 3 months and after giving us a merienda, we asked him and his family to get their Book of Mormon so we could share with them. The only copy they have is the one that I apparently gave them many months ago when I found out that they had lost theirs. As we shared, he was happy to tell us him and his family have been reading it ever since I gave it to them and they are now in 3Nephi. He said that after the numerous sets of missionaries that have been by his house to try and get him to read the Book of Mormon and bring him back to church, this is the first time he has actually started reading it. It was interesting to see the change in his countenance just from the simple effect of reading a book. He told us he knows the book is true, and afterwards he even fed us dinner and told us to schedule a day that he could feed us dinner every week! Definitely a good thing we went by his home. Without the Spirit leading and guiding this great work, there would be no use in us being here. 

Well this week is transfer week and so there is a good chance that I will be getting the boot. After being here for 6 months, odds are now against me. 

Maraming salamat for everything you do, and have a fun and safe trip on your cruise!

Mahal ko kayo,

Elder Nay

P.S. Tell these to Filipinos to show off your awesome old people skills:

Kamusta-hello/how are you

Salamat-thank you

Taga saan ka-where are you from