oh oH OH its MAGIC!!!

Hello!!! Hi!! What's cookin!!! It's time for another episode of my life!  Grab your loved ones and some popcorn! Gather round the hearth! 

This is how they drink soda here. Out of a bag with a straw. HAHAHA

SUCH an awesome week! I'm so so so happy right now!! Wait actually it was really hard, haha but so good at the same time! This whole week it rained. and rained. and raiiiinnnedd.  It's so crazy here, everyone's houses are flooded, and the people who have dirt floors are out of luck because its mud bath time. I love mud. But I have to be careful here because worms....they go into your feet and grow in your tum tum and you might get sent home.  Sis Reeder gives us a deworming pill at our year mark don't worry ill get those suckers out!

Food: lots of hot dogs and rice this week in tomato sauce. Sounds gross? It's not! I love it! I eat so so much here of everything it doesn't matter what it is.  I wasn't picky before but I've reached a whole new level of un-pickiness. OH there's this DELISH dried fish here! You cook it and love it and its so salty you cry! idk if I'm really an expert at cooking fish yet because whenever I cook them their eyes bubble up, get all white, then EXPLODE!  Haha it's so funny.  Also the fish heads are still my fav part of the fish. Also last night we had a miracle! We couldn't go shopping for groceries last Monday so we have been starving/food storaging it up. But last night our stock consisted of a can of sardines, a frozen piece of ham, powdered milk and a moldy cucumber and that's it.  No rice :(  We were just going to fast haha but then a member texted us DINNER APT!!! AHH! I was basking in the plentiful rice! I ate so much I was going to explode. I needed to waddle home. I'm still full now.  I love love love food.

I ate ALL THIS PB THIS WEEK! so so soooo much! I wanted to eat it all so I can buy another one from Sister Beth to help her financially :) And its sosoooo good I hope she has more. It's so sweet and runny and it tastes like pure sugar :)

Oh why do I use up so much of my precious time talking about food! I'm sorry.  So a weird culture thing- if you are pregnant you have to wear a towel on your head when you go outside in the evenings. HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAA its hilarious! whenever I see anyone with a towel on their head- man or woman or child, I say to Sister R "Hey look they're pregnant" HA Sister R is like "No they're not...kasama that's a man" and then I say JOKELANG and we laugh and laugh.  Or I do at least. ;)

What else OH I am so sick of being stared at.  These people have no shame.  The other day we were waiting outside of a house for our investigator and some girls came by and literally stopped and stared for like 5 mins. 5 mins is so long when you are like that with someone. I asked them how they were doing, what their names were, nothing. Just stared.  When I would talk or move or blink they would go "awhhhH!!!" head to toe up and down staring staring staring. It's so AWKWARD!

Me and Sis R when we taught mish prep wednesday

The men are worse. (This is by the ocean, remember all the people are creeps there). I hope someday I wont be judged by the color of my skin but by the content of my character.

PEOPLE STORIES: SO! Lets start. One of our potential investigators had a baby 3 days ago and we went to visit her! We climbed up her broken splintery stairs to the smallest room ever. All that was in there were a couple boxes, her, and the new baby asleep on a pillow. That's all. No crib no blankets, no pacifiers no disposable diapers no nightlight no changing table no toys (HA) no nothing that you would find in any American baby's room. The baby was SO cute he's so precious! I looked at her looking at him and her eyes were watery. She told us looking down that she already has 6 kids and she doesn't know how shes going to feed them let alone this baby too. She tried to abort him by drinking this really strong tea stuff because she couldn't afford him. We didn't teach a lesson but left with a prayer, I said it and the Spirit was so so strong. Really, I think it was the baby's angelic presence :) I prayed for them to have food tonight, for her husband to have a job, for them to have peace in their home, idk what else but it was really special. Uh. Ouch my heart. 

We had 45 free mins because we were punted so we went tracting for the first time! We are so so busy we never have time to do that. It was so cool! We talked to 3 people. The second one- oh my goodness. She lives right by the road in a room- not a house but a room. It's so tiny, the walls are fabric sheets and the square footage is enough for maybe 4 people to sit cross legged and be cramped. It's crazy. She's 21 and has 1 baby and her husband is a jeep driver. We were there for about 2 mins and I was telling her that our message will bring her peace and answers and she can feel God's love and stuff like that when HER TOO! Her eyes got all watery and she said that her life is so so hard and they haven't had food in a while and they are so so poor. Oh my goodness. My heart! No amount of mission prep classes or advice from anyone could have prepared me for how many times my heart is shattered. Every day there are so many moments- smash smash smash. I cry in my prayers every night for them, I'm tearing up now thinking of all of their faces and how incredibly hard life is here. Another one of our investigator's sons got hit by a tricey, we went to visit her and there were kids everywhere crying and all over her, her husband stopped by to get a bottle of alcohol then left with his buddies. The look on that mothers face- she started to tear up too. AHHHHHHH it hurts!! It hurts SO BAD. 

baptism!

A good story- we had a baptism Saturday! For May and Christian and Kim! It was so neat!  Haha baptisms are so so different here, the speakers are barefoot, the opening prayer is by a young woman, it's all very thrown together. We sang A Child's Prayer again (WHY) it's so bad with the split part- I only have one voice and can't lead the boys AND the girls. "PRRAAAYY he is THEEREE....are you REALLy there!" It's crazy. But we made it through! May said she felt so clean and Christian and Kim too. awh :) Now we have to work on her husband! 

There is so soo SOO much more and so many people I could tell you about but just not enough time! (p.s. not all of our investigators are so poor, there is a wide range of wealth here still, but prob more than half worry about getting food day to day.)

What else- oh I printed those family pics you sent last week and everyone that looks at them exclaims that Mom is so pretty. They all do without fail! Maganda mama mo!! Wow!! So there we have it!

This morning we woke up at 6 to go play vball at the church (who am I) with the missionaries and the YSA and members. I guess they are on break from school....and work? idk what these people do all day. It was fun, my arms kill, I got us some points, what more can you ask for on a Monday morning?

I'm so happy here! we were riding in a tricey back from vball and I was like "YESSS!!!" I love it I love life I love being a missionary! It's so hard! I love it! Mercedes is awesome!

Me and sis R in a tricey to church

I'm still here for another transfer as well as Sis R., one elder in our district is getting transferred and he cried and cried in his testimony because this is his favorite area and he doesn't want to leave. I'm in the promised land baby!! Well, in the words of Kip "nothing elssse seems to come to mind" (anyone? anyone? obscure movie quote points to ME!)

I love you all so so bad, I miss you all so so bad, I love it here so so bad. AH I wish you could all come and spend just a DAY with me! Just one day! You just can never know everything- even with emails and pics. I wish I had a pic phone and could just send you pictures all the week and you too. I miss seeing your faces! I LOOOVEEE YOUUU mama and dad and han and matt and liv and ab! I love you so so much! I miss being able to talk to you all whenever I please :''( Have a wonderful week, if its Halloween send me pics! I forgot it was October and I totally forgot what day Halloween is! Be something awesome! I have so many ideas if you are stumped! OHH just thought of one! Hannah! Be ME! Make a name tag and carry an umbrella and pamphlets and wear a skirt and be so so sweaty and wear no make up and crocs. All the boys will flock to you ;) JOKE BIGGEST JOKE

fwum yowa deawwy bewoved

SISTA MICKEYGGEE!

PS for lunch we are going to a place that apparently has hamburgers AHHHHHLELUUH!!! then shop shop! yay! 

Chloe Marie Internet