realized everything I had planned to write you was just a mixed up combination of funny and maybe slightly embarrassing stories about this week/month. So, in a truly organized, SIster Taylor fashion, I present the doings, nitty-gritty happening.
We are always seeing missionaries from other religions as we proselyte. It's totally normal in the Philippines. We always see the Jehovah Witnesses, Inglesia ni Cristo, Born Again, and in Madama they have some Methodist missionaries too. It's always a funny sight as we pass each other, trying to be polite on the outside, but thinking about how to outproselyte each other (totally the Christlike thing to do I know).
My first week in Mandama the shower wouldn't drain and flooded every time we tried to shower. It took the fix-it people a long time to come, so long that every time the shower flooded, little white worms would come out of the drain wiggling around in the dirty water... Gross. The question of that week was what was more gross, the worms or not showering? I took the good of both situations and showered with rainboots for the week:) No worms and a (pretty much) clean SIster Taylor...
We were teaching a family outside behind their house one afternoon, it was just starting to get dark. We were teaching how to recognize promptings from the Spirit when they prayed about prophet Joseph Smith. The Spirit was super awesome, I was in the middle of talking about why we need to feel the spirit and all the sudden I felt something crawling down my shirt and start biting me. I'm trying to still teach about the Spirit, not laugh about what's happening, and trying to squish whatever it was in my shirt at the same time (all discreetly). Big fail, but when we went home later that night we found a big giant ant the size of my pinky nail. I took the liberty of sending it home to you:)
Yesterday in Relief Society, they spend 45 minutes talking about how many times it is okay to eat in one day and still "live within your means." They decided the right amount was 5 times a day, plus snacks. That, my friends, is the Filipino lifestyle. No matter how poor they are, they need their meals.
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| i'm bringing the concept of "heart attacking" to the philippine |
We met an investigator last week and his name is Jimber. One of the first things he told us was where his name came from. When he was born, his dad and all his brothers were drunk. His dad was drinking Gin, and his brothers were drinking beer. So his name became the combination of the two, GinBeer. I give him points for the creative story and name. I'm not completely sure that it's true, but he seemed serious.
I spent an entire day wearing the nametag of one of the other sisters in our apartment and didn't realize it was not my name until we got home that night. Everyone I introduced myself to that day remember my name as Sister Rossberg. A good mission rule to live by, look before you put your nametag on.
The first two transfers of my mission, it was really hard for me to eat food at members houses. Of course, filipinos always load the plates of missionaries to the top. When Sister Palmer was my companion, she would always agree to eat my food for me because she knew I couldn't do it or I would throw up. We would always think of secret ways to sneak the food onto her plate when no one was looking. The time has passed, Sister Palmer is gone, and I am capable of eating my own food now (gold star on my forehead for that one). But the tables all turned at a member's birthday party when Sister Villaviles turned to me and whispered she just couldn't eat anymore. I did what my oh so loving trainer did for me and we secretly moved the food to my plate and I ate it all. That is a story that comes completely full circle.
And my one serious note: JOSEPHINE! My very very favorite investigator I left in Pilar. I saw my old companion this morning ( we p-dayed in the city right next to my area) and she told me that Josephine and her kids all are going to be baptized this month!!!!!! My prayers from my whole mission have been answered. This was the one family I completely know I came here to meet and they are GOING TO BE BAPITZED!!!!! lkajdoqweuoidalkdafkjnxc.a; They are coming to church, doing church things as a family, and are just the best. So now I just need to know when I'm getting transferred back to Pilar. Yea, thanks president:)
Love you, miss you, talk to you later,
SISTER TAYLOR