Ten Months To Go

This was an interesting week.  I got transferred to Canlaon.  It is actually not even in the same province as Bacolod.  I am in Negros Oriental.  The city gets its name from Mt. Canlaon, which is the largest active volcano in Visayas (Central Philippines).  The volcano is sweet and huge when the clouds aren't covering it.  It actually gets pretty cold here at nights.  The showers really suck because sometimes there is ice in the water!  Let's just say cold showers don't phase me anymore.

The language here is cebuano.  It is similar to illongo as in some of the words are the same and they can understand me for the most part.  I don't understand them in the slightest though!  They speak a lot harder and faster than Illongo's do.  They make fun of my accent here because I speak like Illongo's do, which is kinda like singing.  It is a little hard to explain.

It is hard to describe what it looks like here because even Pine Valley isn't as mountainous as this is.  There are pretty much rice fields everywhere that they can put them.  The city is super small and it is only a branch here.  We only have three active melchezidek priesthood holders and I am pretty much the teacher for the classes.  I love it!  Our attendance was only 71 yesterday, but they say it is usually only in the 30s.  I can see miracles happening here, so I am just going to work hard and be obedient.

The public transportation here is crazy.  It is literally a motorcycle and the two of us sit on back.  We have one area that is 1 1/2 hours up the mountain.  There is a group of 13 members that meet up there and we are the first missionaries to go there in two years.  They said there are some people up there who want to be baptized.  The problem is we only go there once a week because it is so far.  There is a river up there where we will do the baptisms, so I am super excited about that.

Elder Alfeche is way cool.  I like him and we will get along fine.  He is pretty much an American disguised as a Filipino!  He is super rich and watches American television.  He loves UFC and American sports.

I love you all!

Same face--new place and language

10 months to go