Tuesday -
This day consisted of traveling to Laoag for zone conference. We had to wake up early in the morning to catch a 5 hour bus ride to Laoag. Now let me tell you, this bus ride isn't pleasant. You basically just sit on a moderately crowded bus for a really long time on chairs that are too small for you to lean your head back to sleep, the driving is crazy as usual here, and the suspension on the bus is weird so you just bounce back and forth the whole time becoming nauseated.
Anyways, once we got to Laoag it was pretty good though. We ended up going to McDonalds because Elder Butler and I really wanted some normal food. I ended up getting a quarter pounder, fries, and a Coke.. all of which tasted exactly the same as at home. There were a few different menu options but I wanted something I recognized. After McDonalds ( an expensive delicacy here) we went to the mall. In Laoag they have this legitimate big mall called Robinson's. We ended up going in and just kind of looking around. I didn't bring a ton of money, but now I know that I need to bring some for next time. After all that, we headed to the church where lots of missionaries were meeting, and then we stayed the night in the mission office.
Wednesday -
In the morning I woke up and was excited to experience both an actual shower that also had warm water, and a flushing toilet. After getting ready in the morning we immediately headed over to the church for the "Zone Tour" (because it was lead by someone other than our Mission President it's called 'tour'" and we didn't even eat breakfast. Basically, zone tour was from 9:00 to 4:00 and it was lead by Elder Wakolo of the Seventy. It was pretty cool and I would say I felt like I learned a lot. Also I got super cold in the church building because of the A/C. Back home I would have died not having air conditioning.. but here I almost died with it. After the zone tour they fed us food and then we headed back to Ballesteros on another 5 hour bus ride. On the bus ride I heard the song The Gambler by Kenny Rodgers. I was very surprised but also happy I'd say. Music is funny here because everyone loves to sing no matter how good they are at it and because of this, seemingly all kinds of music, even VERY weird kinds, are popular here. Occasionally I here country music here too which is funny. By the time we got to Ballesteros though, it was really late and there were no triceys.. so instead of walking for a super long time we just continued on the bus to the next town over, Allacapan, and stayed the night there with the other elders because their apartment was only a walk away. Allacapan is the same place we did exchanges in a couple of weeks ago.
Thursday -
On Thursday we headed back to Ballesteros in the morning. Once we got there the other elders kind of decided to sleep more I guess. The bus arrived super late the night before and they were all super tired from traveling. During that time I once again did a lot of personal study and talked to Elder Butler as well. This day was pretty unproductive in all honesty. After the Filipino elders woke up they said they had no clean clothes to proselyte in so they just washed them for a while. Basically nothing happened.. but I did learn a lot from the scriptures and Jesus the Christ. Also later at night Elder Butler and I were hungry and the other elders didn't want to go out so us two Americans went out to buy food quick. It was okay until after we walked back and there were a ton of out "bakla" (gay people that try and look like girls) that were hooting and hollering at us when we walked back. Also some dude followed us on a motorcycle for like 15 minutes and would stop and act like he was texting when we looked at him. It was a weird experience and Elder Butler and I decided not to go out without our Filipino companions again.
Friday -
Aside from having a very unproductive day on Thursday, Friday was a packed schedule. We planned and prepared lessons for at least 9 people. We only ended up giving 5 of them but it still felt like a very productive day. We shared a message with the less active Repaje family first, then gave another lesson to our recent convert Joylene, gave the third lesson to our investigator Carmelita, gave the first lesson to our recent converts Trickia and Rhea (because after they become baptized you have to give all the lessons again), and taught the lesson about the Law of Chastity to both Angelu and Angleica Pascual. That was pretty much the day. It had lots of walking involved.
Saturday -
This day started with Elder Viador and I traveling on a tricey ride about 15 minutes away to give a lesson to our investigator Jessa Blanco. It turns out she wasn't even there and that she was in a different city taking an exam. So we just ended up giving a quick lesson to a less active family. It kind of ended up being a waste of pisos. After that, we ended up going back to the apartment to do our personal study that we had failed to do in the morning, and then we headed back out after. After our studies we gave a lesson to the less active Corea family, and the second lesson to our investigator Sherry Anne. After that, all the elders went and ate a a members house named Brother Lacsi. Also, I was just thinking (on a completely unrelated note) about how it's funny that the milk I buy here is from Germany, has English packaging, and was sold in the Philippines.
Sunday -
We had church. Later, we gave another lesson to Sherry Anne and I invited her to be baptized on November 17, my birthday. We also gave a lesson about the 10 commandments to Sister Carmelita our investigator and shared a quick message with our other investigator Angelu Pascual and that was pretty much the day.
Monday -
So far today we've just done a little laundry, ate breakfast while Dora the Explorer and Max and Ruby were being showed on the television, and emailed some.
Pictures -
The pictures should consist of a cringey picture of me with McDonalds in Laoag, a bunch of random pictures I took since I forgot to take many throughout the week, and some cows grazing down a schools soccer field made of weeds.
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