Lol no bird, thankfully, it'd probably be super loud. (From last week’s kitchen photo, I thought they had a bird cage on the counter) But it’s dirty enough to be a bird cage. That’s the thing that had baby mosquitoes in the little water drainer thing, and ants living in the serving spoon. Hahaha you liked that picture (I told him I liked the picture of him looking out at the sea)? I'll have to take more candid photos like that, there’s some pics that all the missionaries imitate, like cheesy nametag pictures, or looking out onto landscapes like that. Moneys kinda tight right now because of the three week withdraw, and I’m not withdrawing today so that next month I can withdraw 8k ($165 US) instead of 4. This is to save 200 pesos from the cost of making a withdrawal. That’s one meal at a restaurant, or about 5 trips on a trike that I don’t have to walk :) Or more cookies and juice for the house! (This is money on a card he receives from his mission to purchase food, supplies and expenses.)

Last night I re-read the first couple of entries in my mission journal from the MTC, just to reminisce a little bit. The MTC was sooo nice, so cushy. I'm so thankful for my teachers, my fake investigators, and the half of my district that went to Erdineta mission. Reading my entries, I was able to see that the days really flew by. And here in the mission the days are flying by too. It's hard to realize that I'll be here for another 20 months, with probably 7 different companions, and 3-4 different areas. There is a sister here who goes home at the end of this transfer. Her leaving helps me to realize that my time here is short, so I should make the most of it.

One of my goals is to become fluent in Tagalog, and of course constantly improve, but I want to learn Ilikano. There are over 70 different dialects here in the Philippines, not just accents, completely different languages. Ilikano is the native language here in Baguio mission, so everyone knows that, most know Tagalog, and few know English. As an american missionary, people are impressed that I know a little bit of Tagalog, but If I know Ilikano, their native tongue, they are completely blown away, and way more receptive and open to you since you've completely accepted their culture. Unfortunately Ilikano is one of the most difficult to learn of all the dialects. And there’s no manual to learn it, everyone here says the easiest way to learn is just be asking members for words and phrases. That will probably be after my first 6 months, after I'm comfortable with Tagalog. 

This week was sister Dulce's birthday, she’s 73 and lives at the top of a mountain. She is an inspiration how she still attends church, even at her age.

 

My fighting spider eating another spider it just killed.

A giant grasshopper.

Elder Gamboa was astonished when we found this beetle. He said that in Bakolod, his city, they are super rare because of their horn. If he was take it to Bakolod, he could sell if for 1000 pesos to a breeder. That’s enough pesos for food for almost a month.

Is it really cold enough for jackets in Portland now? I can’t even remember what real cold feels like, just 16 degrees Celsius (60 F) because that’s the lowest setting of the AirCon units here.

Sorry I don’t have a lot from this week, I forgot to plan out stories last night to write in the email.