Its been insane. Did I mention in my last email that penafrancia was coming?? well SHE CAME ALL RIGHT!!! ooooh I wish I could type it all out and find the way to fully explain the insanity of the wonderful festival of penafrancia, but I think theres no way. You just gotta experience it.
To give a quick summary for the newbees it goes like this. Millions of people from everywhere flock the streets of Naga, every street is lined with jeeps crowded with people. People come to the gigantic basilica right smack in my area and they have this procession thing with "Ina" or the mother Mary, that looks like this little gold triangle thing. Ina floats down the dirty river that backs up to our apartment and goes back to the basilica until next year, which for some reason gives everyone in the world an excuse to get wasted and drink all day and night FOR DAYS. Pretty much this whole week we had hardly any lessons, cause if you go outside a few of the following will happen to you:
A) you will be stared at/ hollered at/ given even more attention than usual (its possible) due to all the fresh faces not used to seeing you around
B) you will dodge drunk men wobbling around
C) you will have to cut your way through the middle of them sitting and drinking and laughing the most abrasive pirate sounding laughs BAHAHAHA
D) you will get called hermana. ya idk.
E) you will get called in to come and eat (this ones not so bad, eh?)
F) if you even try to approach and try to teach you will be started at with a look that says "what in the world its penafrancia are you serious. chill out and have something to drink"
G) you will see a plenitude of gay men dressed in spandexy things with lots of lipstick strutting around
F) you will run into tons of baton girls and band kids and girl scouts who think you're a walking barbie just cause your white
G) people with flags and headbands that say viva la virgin will yell in your face with their rancid breath "VIVAAAAAA"
And thhhhatt folks was our week. We seriously just walked and dodged people all week. Sigh. Whatcha gunna do? I wish I could have taken pictures without looking like a total dweeb. Just google it and look at all that fun and picture my white face sandwiched in the middle. VIVA LA VIRGEN PEOPLE!! kinda sad, all our investigators drank and drank and drank. They say God understands cause its penafrancia time. oh Babylon oh Babylon..............
And then it came. I'm really bidding farewell. SURPRISE OUT OF THE BLUE they called yesterday and it's happening. After 5 whopping transfers as a Naga 3rd sister I am finally done. The only problem is that I'm only HALFWAY done with training sister M!!! I'm leaving my aki!!! I've been drawing maps in the area book like crazy and leaving sticky notes everywhere like a mom's notes for a babysitter. (Ok go visit sis maria from 1-3 on tuesdays and thursdays but not any later or she'll get mad, don't forget to text this person first, make sure you always remind brother about the word of wisdom and ask how he's doing, always drop by this one sister at 6:30 every thursday just to see if she's there, etc etc) man. It's hard to leave all my hard work and effort into the hands of another. But I have to remember it wasn't really me who had a grip in the first place, Heavenly Father is in charge talaga and it doesn't matter how many schedules or short cuts or things I've got figured out here, what needs to happen will happen.
So then comes the question- where in the world am I going? you'll never believe it......I am RETURNING to GOA!!!! RETURNING TO WHERE I CAME!! and I will probably end there so that means I will have a grand slam total of 3 areas on my mission. So I will be going back home, back to my same apartment, will shop at the same prime with the bag guy who calls me "M-C-Grath M-C-Grath", will be lookin' out the same windows, dodging the same spiders (I mean I guess it's their children spiders...they've multiplied since then I guess). The only catch is that this time I'm in the other ward....Goa 1st ward...and they think I know how to be an STL. I will be the only STL sister there, my companion Sis B has just finished her training and I'm her follow-up too. I've got to somehow figure out this whole sister training leader thing with no one to lead or train ME. Its so weird, I'm going to be in the same place as all my kabahay's were in Goa. The cool stl's downstairs, following up on all their people, etc. It's like the freakiest reverse/progression of my life. So ya. At the moment, feeling very unqualified and like its all a big joke because I still feel like I don't even know what to say or how to fix things myself let alone train other sisters and go on exchanges with them...alone.......I guess stl really means shocked, terrified, and lonely. Help me out will ya with some prayers this week :D
So thats my crazy week. I've got to go catch the bus to Goa soon, email you next week! mahal na mahal kita! PRAY FO' ME PLEAZ
Love Sister McGrath
viva la virgin.
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