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| Sister Taylor & Sister Tanielu |
So,
lots of crazy stuff this week. First, no I don't have to train!!!
Which made me so so so happy. I am NOT ready yet.
But it did
mean getting a new companion and taking the lead (where let's be honest, these
kind of things I just have to joke about). Still more crazy apartment
stuff happening, crazy Filipinos to teach, but you know, only in the
Philippines!
The
new companion: Sister Palmer. AMERICAN!!!! Yes, there are now two
young American little girls walking the streets where no one has ever seen
Americans before. It's great! She's been here 10 months and
technically is my follow up trainer/ senior companion. She's funny and
has lots of great ideas for what we can do for our area. And I get to
still speak English.
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| Sister Taylor & Sister Palmer |
On
Wednesday, I got to wait at the bus station (literally a cement block) for
about 8 hours with the zone leaders while she came from all the way from the
opposite side of the mission (the most north in Santa Cruz), and let's just
say, when you put two zone leaders and a bored girl (me) with nothing to do,
nowhere to go, and no other people to talk to, we became pretty creative.
Lots of fun (awkward elders ROCK! They really do.) We got to watch
Discovery Channel for a little bit (IN ENGLISH, DOES THAT EVER HAPPEN???!!!)
and I saw a commercial for America's worst tattoos on TLC that looked
ridiculously fascinating ahaha. Record it for me?:) Also (this one
is for Nate and Ben) THEY HAVE ADVENTURE TIME IN TAGALOG HERE!! We
watched it for a little bit and I died at the way they're voices all sounded.
Look it up on YouTube, and please think it's just as funny. It
always kills me the things that are popular in the Philippines that come from
the US. Also, this is a first for me, I ate a hamburger and ice cream for
breakfast that day (it was literally the only food). Food like that just
tastes different (not in a good way) when it's fast food and 7 in the morning.
And
even crazier change than that (that may be a slight overreaction), my hair is
permanently straight!
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| Sister Taylor with Straight Hair |
Apparently it's the big thing that all the
Filipinos do (they're pretty hair is not natural, of course) but no more curl
for Sarah Taylor... for about 6 months. It's strange having normal people
hair now. I get out of the shower, brush my hair, and it just dries
STRAIGHT! Is this what it feels like to be a normal person?
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The baptism that almost didn't happen:
Sister Taylor & Sister Palmer |
And
yes, as the title states, we had a baptism. And it literally
almost didn't happen. Because Sister Tanielu left, I was left to plan the
baptism. Ha. I'm the greenie, right? For the baptism on
Saturday, until 10pm Friday night, we had no one to preside, speak, give
prayers, or even baptize her. EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE PHILIPPINES WAS
BUSY! How does that happen? These people always have time.
But anyway, we were about 5 minutes from cancelling it when the district
president said he would come and take care of the priesthood people that needed
to be there. Okay, cool, all good. Then we went to pick up the girl
for her baptism and she wasn't there. After 20 minutes, we finally got
her to the church and then found out that she was missing school for her
baptism and couldn't stay very long. When she was baptized, they had to
do it 3 times and they accidentally cut her nose in the process. But hey,
the baptism was done and smooth sailing, right? No. The next day
(Sunday) we picked her up for church because she was going to be confirmed and
she was sitting the road playing with her friends and had forgotten. She
then said she couldn't go because her dad was making her to laundry (that's why
she was playing with her friends...?) and he would be too mad if she went to
church. She told us she would just be baptized again. Literally
this is a missionary's WORST NIGHTMARE. Long story short, we asked her
(drunk) dad for permission, rushed her to the church (10 minutes late and in a
soaking wet t-shirt and mickey mouse shorts), she was confirmed, bore her
testimony (which made up for all the mistakes) and then ran home. And to
top it all off, this whole weekend in rained cats and dogs. We probably
could have just made her stand outside to be baptized. No font needed.
BUT WE DID IT! And it happened! And when all is said and
done, she was so so happy.
Not
much else than that happened this week (which is fine by me), I'm still
figuring out what it's like to be a missionary and act like a FIlipina:)
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| Sister Snow, Sister Taylor, and Sister Palmer |
Funny
story for the week: While we spent 8 hours at a bus stop together, I got
to know one of the zone leaders really well. At one point in the
conversation, I told him I grew up in Colorado (I may have also told him I like
cats, math, my hobby is shopping, and I'm going to live in New York as a
financial nerd). His response- "Of course! I guessed you would
have lived there based on your... eccentric clothes... as a missionary."
So, I am now proudly aware (well, I kind of was already) that even as a
missionary, even in the Philippines (where everyone in eccentric), I have crazy
cool clothes. Bam.
Love
you all!!!
Galing sa pinakamagandang tao sa buong mundo (joke lang:)),
SISTER
TAYLOR
