"Keep Pushing Forward"

Wow what a week! where do i even begin? well this week was a trailing one with lots of ups and downs! oh man it really put me through the test! well the work here in the low lands is better i have to say! we teach alot more lessons to people down here! so that's good! i really enjoy that! i learned alot about myself this week and i really felt the lord was trying to teach me something this week. it just seemed day after day i was just getting beat down and no matter what i did i just couldn't get back up. well that's what i thought anyway...but i was wrong. no matter how hard the days are no matter how many trails we have to endure, no matter what gets thrown in our paths. Heavenly Father knows and loves us, he hears and Answers our prayers. One thing that's hard to realize sometimes is there not always going to happen right when we want them to. It's like praying for patience and then expecting to receive Christ like patience immediatly! haha. sometimes it takes time. He knows what's best for us and when we need things, it takes Faith! long-suffering and diligence, that's what it takes! Remember "Keep Pushing Forward!" so other then it being a little challenging it was rewarding as well! we had some less actives come back to church and i can't even describe the joy that brings! seeing the fruits of your labors! So to answer your questions! haha the humidity is ok, i've gotten used to being wet all the time and i do enjoy not having dry skin. the food, well the food isn't as good and we don't have any fast food resturants here! so that kinda stinks but all is well. no worries. i think i'm getting a little skinnier haha but i've been working out hard everynight because i saw karter in those pics and he's getting Big! freak i couldn't believe it! i miss the kid! oh and a cool fact about here, this may be one of the only places in the world that you can go to sacrament meeting and hear 3 different languages in one talk! haha english, tagalog, and Ilokono. another dialect here. I'm convinced the philippines had to be close to the tower of babel because its crazy how many languages are here! tons! and each one is completely different! oh and turns out i really like the beach! oh it's way cool going to teach LA's and they live in a little hut of "sawali" like weaved walls idk how to describe it but they live right next to the beach haha its crazy and the nice ocean breeze feels pretty good. The people are really nice here and i've learned to love them! oh and to answer your question about living with 3 filipinos haha well it's interesting. haha but i enjoy it were always laughing and joking around so it's pretty fun at our apartment. well family i love you guys more then you'll ever know! this work is amazing! keep pushing forward back home! i'm so proud of you guys! Pagmamahal Elder Machen