Well ladies and gentlemen i bet your dying to find out where i got transfered! drum role........Bauang 1st. Agoo zone! oh man this place is great! i have to admit i was way nervous to get transfered and leave my home "baguio" it was tough leaving my comp elder azores but it's all good. My new comp is Elder Apduhan. he's a good elder and i'm living in a 4 man apartment. haha with all philipinos! it's kind of hard cause i can't really understand all what their saying and being the only foreigner i do feel a little out of place haha but i look at it as a blessing because i imagine my tagalog getting a lot better living with all philipinos and only speaking tagalog. so are apartment is like one of the nicest ones in the mission hahaha it's Huge! it's way nice also but i experienced the cold shower! its not as bad as i thought i actually enjoy it because it's so hot outside! oh man the heat is nuts! but i was expecting it so i don't mind it too bad. the ward here is great! oh man they're so nice and really made me feel comfortable. the work is different here! in baguio it was kind of tough to teach lessons but here we have more lessons so that's good! i imagine the time will fly if that's the case. I've already felt the blessings of the lord in my tagalog. it has been a huge blessing because elder apduhan is my 1st senior comp so when we got into lessons he said ok you got this and without even hesistating the spirit took over and i was able to do what i needed to do. people have been asking how long i've been here in the philippines and i say about 4 and a half months and some are really surprised with my tagalog so that made me feel good haha. the rescuing is going well! i don't know really anybody here but we did have some less actives at church yesturday. but it's nice because we always have people to teach and new people to meet. i'm really loving the work i just have a "gana" or in english a drive to work! even though here is scorching hot i love it! haha i thought i was going to go through another culture shock but i was blessed and didn't. dont get me wrong it's like a whole different world down here! nothing like baguio but i love it! the circumstances are even more humbling. it's really sad to see some times but one thing that i admire about the philipino people is that despite the harsh conditions they live in they always have a smile on their face! the people here are so happy and so grateful for what they have. i'm learning a valuable lesson i thought was impossible for me to learn haha back home i loved the things of the world, cars, I phone all the material things that make our lives pleasurable and exciting. haha don't get me wrong those things are still nice and are a blessing but being here has really been teaching me those things aren't what bring true happiness! The gospel of Jesus Christ is what brings true and everlasting happiness into our lives. no matter what are circumstances, no matter where we are on the map, no matter how little or much we have, we Always have the Gospel and that is something that is priceless. it's a lesson i'm learning that i couldn't learn anywhere else. I love you guys so much and miss you! i hope everything is going well and i pray that you will be blessed and "Keep Pushing Forward" no matter what happens.
Pagmamahal
Elder Machen
