Family! Ah I can't believe it's already PDay here, I have been jotting things down all week to tell you- and if it were up to me I would write for hours and take a bajillion pictures and explain everything but we only have an hour on the computers and I have to email president too (factor in the internet connection) so I will do my best each week to answer your questions and fill you in!
So to start off I absolutely LOVE it here!!! Every hour of every day I remember Sister Manwaring's letters to me about what Bacolod is like and she said "imagine a place with everything the complete opposite of what you're used to- that's what it's like" and man was she right!!! I'm still in total culture shock- if I think about it too much I get anxiety haha. But I have been praying for the ability to adjust and accept the way of life here. Before I leave I want to truly be living like a native here. Some of the biggest changes for me are as follows: THE WATER! We have a filtered water thingy (huge blessing compared to what everyone else here has) and it's this tiny stream of water that we use for EVERYTHING even showering.. So we have to wait like 15 minutes or so for a bucket of water to fill up with the filtered water and then we carry it upstairs and "shower". Yes it's freezing. Yes it's hard. But it really isn't that bad. I'm just happy to have clean water and to be able to be clean. The water that comes out of the shower faucet is brown. I tried it and ruined my first bucket of water the first night :( haha My companion is from North of Manila and she says the way of life here is really similar to at home- I am her first American trainee (she has served with Americans before but not trained them) and I have to teach her how helpless I am here. haha She was blown away that she had to teach me how to shower, flush the toilet and basically anything dealing with water. I ask A TON of questions and just have to accept that I sound like a complete primadonna American brat. TRUTH. (The toilets you have to pour water down to "flush"... smelly toilets galore! But most people don't have toilets.. they go in a corner of their house or outside their house or in the street orrrr I guess anywhere I've seen all those and I've only been here for a couple days. Oh ya and to use ANY water (clean or dirty) you have to turn it on and off every time from outside. It's so funny to me how different it is and how tiny things we SERIOUSLY take for granted in America. So enough of the hard stuff- I LOVE IT HERE!!!!! The people. Man. The PEOPLE. I am such a baby I seriously blink back tears all day long after every single person I meet here. The language is hard- in some ways I feel like I learned a different language than what they speak here because they talk faster than the speed of light, they whisper and mumble like no one elses business and the pitch and intonations are hilarious to me like they sing allll day as they talk. I can't even explain it. hahaha Sometimes the people try and speak english to me and I everytime it catches me off-gaurd and I cannot understand them. Then I just look like even more of an idiot because I can't understand their language or my own when they speak to me. haha Like my companion when she prays I can't undestand her in english OR ilonggo.. I am getting better but it's so hard for me! I almost was going to mention it to her and ask if maybe she could speak louder or something and then I just realized that that would defeat the whole purpose because everyone else here speaks like that too! I need to be the one to learn to hear rather than them change. I let me tell you, I have alot of changing to do. The only way I am going to get by is with the help of my Savior and with faith and trust. I realized the other day that saying "fish out of water" is me right now- but I need to learn how to grow gills! And I'm trying reaaaal hard :) So far it's working all right, I can already tell a huge difference!! So ya my companion is a TOTAL doll. I just LOVE her! I learn so much from her every single minute of the day. We joke with each other that I'm totally helpless here and she told me the first day "Sister Judd don't ever get sick because I don't think I can take care of a sick American" haha the poor thing I'm a total challenge for her haha So I'm never going to get sick and I pray everyday for her to have patience with me and with myself as I learn to grow my gills! Through Christ anything is possible. Miracles come through perfect faith!
So the work here is extraordinary. My mind is blown. Heavenly Father is truly preparing people to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. For example- Cutie. Yes that's her name. (we also are teaching a Princess and Lovely). Truth. Anywho, she came to church last week (before I got here), approached sis cruz (my comp) and asked her to teach her. wow. So we went to her house and taught her and got more accomplished in 10 minutes that would have taken like 5 days with any other investigator. She said that she knows the Book of Mormon is true already because she borrowed a Tagolog version from a neighbor and has been trying to read it eventhough she doesn't understand the deep words in Tagalog. So we give her an English version (she's a student so understands Enlglish well) and we teach lesson one. She says she wants to be baptized and wants to learn more about how to repent after baptism. That's a question that we hope recent converts desire to ask and she has only been taught for 10 minutes! We can only teach her on the weekends because of her schedule so her baptism date isn't closer but she is straight up amazing. We have 15 investigators with baptismal dates right now and a handful of other people that we teach not including recent converts and members that we also meet with. It's insane. We teach SO MUCH! And I love love love love love love love it. Like I am on this extreme spiritual high. The people here are so amazing. And their humility is so inspiring. We met with a boy names Re yesterday and it was only the second visit and when we asked how praying about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith went he nearly started crying and told us how he felt "encircled by someone while he was praying". It was all I could do not to burst from sitting, wrap my arms around him and cry. haha well that's a bit dramatic but seriously Heavenly Father loves His children and answers their prayers!! As the lesson went on with Re the spirit was so so strong and Sister Cruz and I after could barely tell each other how amazing it was. We both see him going on a mission and just progressing so fast! He's 19 and said he's going to bring his friends to the next lesson!
So other random stuff. Transportation here is my other favorite thing:) One day I already know I will bring you all to Bacolod and the first thing we'll do is ride a Jeepney and Sikad. A Sikad is a man on a tricycle with a little carrier on the side. The only real horrible part about it is when she driver is a 80 year old (about :) ) man that weighs approximately 90 lbs and is like wheezing trying to get my fat butt eating my ICE CREAM CONE the 2 miles to our apartment.. I cried. haha I sat in that little carrier thing and cried eating my delicious chocolate ice cream cone. And Jeepneys are a the equivalent of a roller coaster. I always hit my back getting in and out because I'm seriously ChewBacka here.. (ChewBacka is huge right?) anywho you just yell (BAYAD POLIHOG) and pass your pesos up to the driver and the seats are about half my butt and face each other. The aisle way is exatly my width and I've stepped on way too many tiny little Filippinos to count trying to get on and off. haha Then to stop you make this loud kissing noise and yell (LUGAR LANG) and they quickly pull over. It's so fun. Oh ya and THE KIDS! Ah I love them. It's kinda awkward because the people here looooove Americans. So the kids literally run in their little kid gangs (of all ages) and tug on my arms and touch my skin and yell any English that they know. haha Then they laugh when I wave because I guess that's funny.. and I forget everytime and get embarrassed everytime. haha then they wave back and are just so so so cute. When there is just a couple I give them a jolly rancher and they just hug my legs and ugh my heart just breaks! I have to be careful though because Sister Cruz is so serious haha she is careful for us not to look like tourists and/or hinder or work. But those little smiles are priceless! The baby babies don't like me. The cry when I look at them or touch their little fingers.. Sister Cruz thinks its soo funny everytime because I'm an American. haha So I also love love love teaching families. It's a whole nother level of awesome. We met a family yesterday and taught them by candle light. And one of the little girls got up in the lesson and went number 1 about a foot away from me in the corner of their house. It was hard for me to focus during that.
I'm scared of all the stray dogs. There are more roosters and chickens here (stray even) than the sand on all the beaches on the entire earth. I am going to try my ear plugs tomorrow while I sleep because it's out of control how loud they are. haha Even in some people's houses! It's hard to teach when there's a rooster crowing in the same room as you. Oh and I live a block from the ocean! It's different here.. there's like no beach or anything just huts on huts on huts and then water. but I still LOVE IT!
Well I'm about out of time. I'm going to try and send a picture. (sorry I can't take lots of picutes :( so sad!! Because it's so crazy different here!)
Please read Alma 36:3. It was a direct answer to my prayers on that first couple real hard days.
I love you all so so much and I think of you often! Gwen, hope your ankle heals quick, Si congrats on wrestling you're a beast! And thanks for emailing it means alot:) Stu, hope your leg gets better!!:( Hebey love ya! Mom and Dad thank you for your love and support. I LOVE YOU!!! Sorry I couldn't answer all your questions. Send more for me to read next week and I'll do my best! I'll try to remember to include more about food next time. Kort/Jerm hope all is well! Syd I got your email! Glad you're well! I'll try and write next week. Love you!!!!
pps. Everyone welcomes me with extra hand shakes and smiles from elder doane and sister manwaring! I haven't seen either of them yet but Sister Manwaring is just a ward over from me so there's a better chance I'll see her soon! Sad Elder Doane is so far but he is a real favorite to everyone here and I've hear funny stories about him being a tourist attraction for the people haha He's such an amazing missionary!
All my love,
Sister Judd
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