Hey! This week felt so long I can't believe its only been 7 days since I've emailed you!
So I have a new kasama!! She's awesome! Shes filipina (YES) and her name is sister g! She's so nice! I miss sister s though! ah man she was so funny. I've got some good stories :) But anyways my new kasama! She goes home in 6 months and just became a senior with me. She's so super sweet! She speaks like, almost all tagalog so sometimes communication can be a barrier, but she's pretty good at english. Its like me I guess, I "know" tagalog but naturally revert to englsih (duh) and she "knows" english but naturally reverts to tagalog. So this will be good for me :) She has such a cool story, she's one of 11 kids and she's the only member. She was raised by her grandparents who were members and her aunt is supporting her on the mission. She just told her family she would be living in Naga for 18 months and that's it! They've emailed her 5 times since she's been here. I can't imagine! She's super happy and cool with it though, doesn't feel sorry for herself. She's super good at finding fruits and vegetables- like we are walking and she points out all the pineapple growing under the ground and looks up in the trees and finds all these fruits and stuff. Sweetness!
Also fun fact- her dad's job is to raise chickens for eating and for fighting. Have I ever written about the cock fights? Well men bet so much money on their chickens and train them to fight and they battle 2 on 2 in this arena until the death! So freaky right! And they have these little blade things called taro that rest inbetween their talons and so they can slice each other! The taro are coated with a poisonous chemical and so they chop each other and murder each other! So sister g's job is to feed them and take care of them and train them to fight. (she says this all like its no big deal haha if only she knew). Anyways men pay so much money for the best chicken and then bet everything on them and then drink away their spoils. It's kinda sickening, they hold their chickens and treat them better than their own children who are hungry in their little hut. Pretty messed up.
But ya. Sis g is cool. When we teach it's like FINALLY someone gives me time to speak and it's like we are an equal companionship with equal responsibility and teaching time and everything. Which is so awesome because I am just now finally starting to feel like I can pull my own weight instead of be this big white american blob that someone has to drag around and correct my tagalog. And what's even better we are so hard working together! I dont want to tell you numbers cause I'm not about that life...but let's just say we taught a lottt of lessons this last week. There is a new standard of excellence to do 50 oyms per week- an oym counts as talking to someone, getting to know them then sharing a gospel truth with them and asking for a return appointment or if they want to know more. We need like 7/8 a day to reach 50 a week, man its pretty hard! Try talking to 7 people a day you've never seen before and ask them to be taught by missionaries! But we've seen a lot of success and are doing just fine. I love talking to people and just waltzing into their homes, sitting on their floors and talking about the gospel. It's SO FUN! I lOVE itttttt!
It's also super fun cause we meet a lot of crazy people. Haha one lady the other day- HA! so much was so funny- as we were teaching she kept scooting farther and farther away and she said "sorry now sis, I'm going away from you cause I smell so bad." then she would get up and apologize for the smell in her wake and say "ah! my bad smell! I haven't showered in a long time!" HAHA but its sooo normal, like she wasn't even embarrassed or anything. People really just say it like it is here, it's awesome! Just a ton of little things like that this week where I just crack up and say "its more fun in the ppines".
Oh man that reminds me. I did a bad bad thing. ohhh shudder, it was so bad. We were walking back from the store and we had a ton of groceries, and there was a man talking to his buddy and there was only a little space behind him that I could squeeze by, and it was raining so I had my umbrella, and I totally underestimated my umbrella maneuvering skills and I SMACKED him right in the back of the head with my umbrella fist! It was so so hard! like, I bet he has a bruise! THEN to make it WORSE.....oh gosh. so his head flew forward because I decked him, then the front of his face flew right into my umbrella right as I jerked it back to me....sis g said she saw every single feature of the guys face through the fabric of my umbrella, and then I jerked him back and he bumped into me! It was soooo bad!!!! Everyone on the street stopped and stared at me and I just said I was soooo so sorry like a million times but he just glared at me and didn't give me any consoling words like "it's ok" or anything. so ya, I've got enemies here now. I hope I never see him again for as long as I live. With my luck we will probably find his house and oym him and he will recognize me cause I'm the only white girl in this place and who knows. Ahg.
What else. Oh I have new kabahay- Sis m is sis c's new kasama! shes the oldest one in the mission shes like in her 30s and she's so great. She laughs all the time and is so so nice. we have a happy house! Hm what else. Oh ya, so church got canceled because there was a signal 2 typhoon (just super windy and rainy) and they texted and said work was canceled too and so just update your area books and do your studies. YAy we were so happy cause it looked too blasted cold and miserable out there. So we took a little nap, then woke up to a text that said JOKE work isn't canceled keep teaching everyone needs an opportunity! OH JOY! So I took off my knee socks, put on my cardi party and we braved the storm! It was pretty miserable not gonna lie. The wind was so strong the fabric of my umbrella was con-caving under the pressure and it flipped inside out a couple times. It was so dang cold! no one told me it was ever gonna be cold! (don't send anything I'm fine it's really hot now) Anyways, that was pretty fun.
Oh ya then the Pope came here to the ppines. Every single house with a tv was watching him and his little speech, and since we were tracting we would go sit in the house and they wouldn't turn him off so I saw like, a lot of his speech. He was in his little pope outfit with a yellow plastic rain poncho over it cause it was super rainy and windy. Anyway, kinda a killer for work but that's all good. I think he's home now.
Hm what else. Oh ya so on Wednesday we went to teach these kids of a member so they can get baptized, but the dad hollered all the neighborhood scounrels to come and listen to us. so the lesson consisted of me and sis g on 2 chairs and like, 10 or so kids sitting around us with lesson 1 pamphlets. they would all raise their hands so eagerly to read something from the pamphlet haha. They were pretty wild but we bribed them to be quiet and listen and if they did we would take a picture at the end. About half got bored and went to go play but the other half stood it out! It was a nice little lesson on prophets :) I will try to send the pic haha. The little girl's prayer was so cute "hopefully I can get baptized, hopefully daddy will be safe at work..." The dad is a member and he has 4 kids and his wife left them, so they have no mother :( i feel like Wendy when I go there tending to the lost boys :( I gave them my headband I was wearing and brush the girls hair and stuff. They are super crazy kids, when they see us walking they yell from sooo far "SIIISTEERRRRR!!!" and charge with open arms and jump on us. They really do need a mother :)
Ok well I don't know what else to report! You've got a lotta stories this week, enjoy! I love you all family and thank you for everything you have taught me and for the way you raised me. Life would be so sad and empty without you! Oh hey I'm sending a pic of a recipe I drew for mango float- its so easy to make and so delish! It's gonna change ward parties forever! Hannah's gonna love it! Make it! Enjoy it! Love it!
So I have a new kasama!! She's awesome! Shes filipina (YES) and her name is sister g! She's so nice! I miss sister s though! ah man she was so funny. I've got some good stories :) But anyways my new kasama! She goes home in 6 months and just became a senior with me. She's so super sweet! She speaks like, almost all tagalog so sometimes communication can be a barrier, but she's pretty good at english. Its like me I guess, I "know" tagalog but naturally revert to englsih (duh) and she "knows" english but naturally reverts to tagalog. So this will be good for me :) She has such a cool story, she's one of 11 kids and she's the only member. She was raised by her grandparents who were members and her aunt is supporting her on the mission. She just told her family she would be living in Naga for 18 months and that's it! They've emailed her 5 times since she's been here. I can't imagine! She's super happy and cool with it though, doesn't feel sorry for herself. She's super good at finding fruits and vegetables- like we are walking and she points out all the pineapple growing under the ground and looks up in the trees and finds all these fruits and stuff. Sweetness!
Also fun fact- her dad's job is to raise chickens for eating and for fighting. Have I ever written about the cock fights? Well men bet so much money on their chickens and train them to fight and they battle 2 on 2 in this arena until the death! So freaky right! And they have these little blade things called taro that rest inbetween their talons and so they can slice each other! The taro are coated with a poisonous chemical and so they chop each other and murder each other! So sister g's job is to feed them and take care of them and train them to fight. (she says this all like its no big deal haha if only she knew). Anyways men pay so much money for the best chicken and then bet everything on them and then drink away their spoils. It's kinda sickening, they hold their chickens and treat them better than their own children who are hungry in their little hut. Pretty messed up.
But ya. Sis g is cool. When we teach it's like FINALLY someone gives me time to speak and it's like we are an equal companionship with equal responsibility and teaching time and everything. Which is so awesome because I am just now finally starting to feel like I can pull my own weight instead of be this big white american blob that someone has to drag around and correct my tagalog. And what's even better we are so hard working together! I dont want to tell you numbers cause I'm not about that life...but let's just say we taught a lottt of lessons this last week. There is a new standard of excellence to do 50 oyms per week- an oym counts as talking to someone, getting to know them then sharing a gospel truth with them and asking for a return appointment or if they want to know more. We need like 7/8 a day to reach 50 a week, man its pretty hard! Try talking to 7 people a day you've never seen before and ask them to be taught by missionaries! But we've seen a lot of success and are doing just fine. I love talking to people and just waltzing into their homes, sitting on their floors and talking about the gospel. It's SO FUN! I lOVE itttttt!
It's also super fun cause we meet a lot of crazy people. Haha one lady the other day- HA! so much was so funny- as we were teaching she kept scooting farther and farther away and she said "sorry now sis, I'm going away from you cause I smell so bad." then she would get up and apologize for the smell in her wake and say "ah! my bad smell! I haven't showered in a long time!" HAHA but its sooo normal, like she wasn't even embarrassed or anything. People really just say it like it is here, it's awesome! Just a ton of little things like that this week where I just crack up and say "its more fun in the ppines".
Oh man that reminds me. I did a bad bad thing. ohhh shudder, it was so bad. We were walking back from the store and we had a ton of groceries, and there was a man talking to his buddy and there was only a little space behind him that I could squeeze by, and it was raining so I had my umbrella, and I totally underestimated my umbrella maneuvering skills and I SMACKED him right in the back of the head with my umbrella fist! It was so so hard! like, I bet he has a bruise! THEN to make it WORSE.....oh gosh. so his head flew forward because I decked him, then the front of his face flew right into my umbrella right as I jerked it back to me....sis g said she saw every single feature of the guys face through the fabric of my umbrella, and then I jerked him back and he bumped into me! It was soooo bad!!!! Everyone on the street stopped and stared at me and I just said I was soooo so sorry like a million times but he just glared at me and didn't give me any consoling words like "it's ok" or anything. so ya, I've got enemies here now. I hope I never see him again for as long as I live. With my luck we will probably find his house and oym him and he will recognize me cause I'm the only white girl in this place and who knows. Ahg.
What else. Oh I have new kabahay- Sis m is sis c's new kasama! shes the oldest one in the mission shes like in her 30s and she's so great. She laughs all the time and is so so nice. we have a happy house! Hm what else. Oh ya, so church got canceled because there was a signal 2 typhoon (just super windy and rainy) and they texted and said work was canceled too and so just update your area books and do your studies. YAy we were so happy cause it looked too blasted cold and miserable out there. So we took a little nap, then woke up to a text that said JOKE work isn't canceled keep teaching everyone needs an opportunity! OH JOY! So I took off my knee socks, put on my cardi party and we braved the storm! It was pretty miserable not gonna lie. The wind was so strong the fabric of my umbrella was con-caving under the pressure and it flipped inside out a couple times. It was so dang cold! no one told me it was ever gonna be cold! (don't send anything I'm fine it's really hot now) Anyways, that was pretty fun.
Oh ya then the Pope came here to the ppines. Every single house with a tv was watching him and his little speech, and since we were tracting we would go sit in the house and they wouldn't turn him off so I saw like, a lot of his speech. He was in his little pope outfit with a yellow plastic rain poncho over it cause it was super rainy and windy. Anyway, kinda a killer for work but that's all good. I think he's home now.
Hm what else. Oh ya so on Wednesday we went to teach these kids of a member so they can get baptized, but the dad hollered all the neighborhood scounrels to come and listen to us. so the lesson consisted of me and sis g on 2 chairs and like, 10 or so kids sitting around us with lesson 1 pamphlets. they would all raise their hands so eagerly to read something from the pamphlet haha. They were pretty wild but we bribed them to be quiet and listen and if they did we would take a picture at the end. About half got bored and went to go play but the other half stood it out! It was a nice little lesson on prophets :) I will try to send the pic haha. The little girl's prayer was so cute "hopefully I can get baptized, hopefully daddy will be safe at work..." The dad is a member and he has 4 kids and his wife left them, so they have no mother :( i feel like Wendy when I go there tending to the lost boys :( I gave them my headband I was wearing and brush the girls hair and stuff. They are super crazy kids, when they see us walking they yell from sooo far "SIIISTEERRRRR!!!" and charge with open arms and jump on us. They really do need a mother :)
Ok well I don't know what else to report! You've got a lotta stories this week, enjoy! I love you all family and thank you for everything you have taught me and for the way you raised me. Life would be so sad and empty without you! Oh hey I'm sending a pic of a recipe I drew for mango float- its so easy to make and so delish! It's gonna change ward parties forever! Hannah's gonna love it! Make it! Enjoy it! Love it!
over and out,
sister mcgrath
wow - great letter!!!!! I could feel the wind, taste the pineapple and feel bad about the umbrella accident too! :) I was able to serve on Temple Square with your mom a long time ago. Now my son is heading out to his mission in California tomorrow. So proud of you serving - good luck and keep smiling! Smiles are in every language :)
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