WOW!!!

Wow first off thank you so much for everybody that wrote me this week. means a lot. im sorry i cant reply to your emails because we are not aloud to kind of annoying but just trying to be obedient. well let me just start off by saying what a week! i have truly felt all your prayers this week becasue the lord has truly blessed me. this week was a lot better and im getting into the swing off things. the more i listen to other elders talk they say im pretty lucky getting sent to baguio. its not really hot here its perfect. we have a warm shower and so the living conditions arent too bad compared to other places. haha the language is still kicking my butt, i cant understand a thing about whats going on during the lesson but this week was a pretty good week i would say. one of the coolest things is we were teaching a family from korea and they dont speak tagalog and just a little bit of english. so i got to teach the lesson and it felt great haha. i guess my companion and his companion before had been teaching them but they both speak pretty broken englsh. anyways at the end of the lesson i invited them to be baptized and they said Yes! wow i couldnt believe it! it was truly a miracle from the lord. what a blessing. some of the kids went back to korea so we couldnt set a date but still its a work in progress. haha my comp says the people in baguio are a little meaner then the ones in the low lands because we had trouble having people want to listen to us haha kind of frusturating. but we extended i think 3 or 4 other baptizmal invitations and they all said yes. haha i usually invite them but thats just because i can say it and elder katigbak is trying to get me involved as much as possible haha but its a neat expercience to teach a lesson and feel the spirit so strongly. but yeah this week has been pretty good and cant complain ive realized this is where im supposed to be and i just need to do it! haha the lord has truly blessed me this week. haha baguio city is crazy i have no idea how in the world they built this place because its just tons of houses stacked on each other on hills that are straight up and down its crazy! haha i told my comp that they literally built a concrete jungle on top of a real jungle haha it blows my mind. but the living conditions are super poor and its really sad to see. it really makes me realize how blessed we are to live where we do and with a nice house. i wish i could show you the all the things. im sure brandon miller knows exactly what im talking about. the food is good we usually just eat at mcdonalds or macdo haha and kfc. so nothing to weird. i refuse to eat balut. the fertilized duck. haha everyday they try and get me to eat it but theres no way. haha tons of rice. everywhere you go has rice haha. but the food is good and i havent gotten sick at all yet. im trying to eat as little porations as i can so i dont get sick. ive learned that in america we live to eat and here people eat to live. haha ive learned you can go along time without a meal. haha let me tell you though im going to be able to jump out of the gym when i get home becasue the stairs and hills we climb everyday are no kidding straight up and down haha. im working out everyday and that helps out a lot. man i dont know what else to say. its been a lot better week. hope everything at home is going well. oh yeah the things here are a lot different haha i dont know how to really say it without being inapporiate but its happened a couple times where we are teaching a lesson and all of the sudden the women will just start breast feeding right in front of us. i was like are you freaking kidding me!!!! so thats usually when we just end quick and get out of there. its crazy! thats just what people do here i guess. its funny when we walk through these poor areas and all the little kids are little shy but they always stare at me then say to there friends.. "look americono!" haha i just turn and smile and usually give them a high five or something then they laugh and run away cause the people are really shy here. haha its funny though. the people here are really nice. when we walk through the big mall here i get some real dirty looks haha it just cracks me up because i know they dont think there doing it. theres just not any americans around here. im trying to take pictures but i never really have time to and i dont want to look like a tourist haha. ill try and take some today during p day. cause its pretty cool this city is. thats awesome chandler got home!! haha he wrote me and says hes hating life at home haha thats funny. payton goes in soon to doesnt he? i think like november 17 right? awesome! he'll do awesome! well im just trying to keep going and get the language down so i can start contributing but its been a lot better this week. i love you guys so much and you are so awesome! thanks for all the help and support and uplifting advice. it really helps espically all the emails i got from friends and family that are RMs. it really helps. anyways thanks for everthing ill try and take more pictures and sorry i didnt address all your questions. we dont have a lot of time. MAHAL KITA Elder Machen