Transfers are every seven weeks, Elder Gamboa wanted to be transferred just because he's been in Agoo in the same house for 4 months now, but didnt get selected to. I'm not worried, I'm not super attached or anything. Whatever happens happens :) I go with the flow, you know that. If I got transferred that'd be cool, just to see a new area, meet new people, new companion, but that's not happening. President Bengal has said that all new missionaries will train after their training so that means another 3 months here in Agoo after my first 3. Whatever happens happens :)

I did get a MSF card, Missionary Support Fund card. I get 8000 pesos ($165) a month, and it is sufficient. We can use it for anything for the mission, haircuts, food, hygiene, transportation fare, bills, etc. But anything personal is supposed to be bought using personal funds, this would include any items that you take home at the end of the mission: clothes, accessories, cameras, souvenirs, speakers, etc. Some missionaries are really bad about this and save money to take home after the mission, or to buy personal stuff. One Elder I heard took home 15,000 pesos, which is pretty impressive that he was able to save that much, but I'm gonna try to be strict about it cuz thems the rules. Elder Gamboa told me a story of a youth leader he had back in Bakolod city who was super rich and would take them out to eat. Elder Gamboa asked him how he got so rich, and he replied that he paid a full tithe. Not that there is a direct relationship there, but we shouldnt steal other people's tithes, the lords tithes, Consecrated funds as President Boone calls it. 

I'm trying to send pictures but the Internet cafe has a super slow upload speed, probably because half of the computers are being used by DOTA players, or League of Legends in America, it’s so big here, they love it. It’s so different here, how the kids grow up. Once they’re big enough to walk they toddle around the street, or have an older sibling who watches them. One of our areas is on top of a mountain, and one of the older kid’s job is to make sure his little brother doesn’t walk too close to the edge and fall down the mountain side. It’s really different here! They can’t work till 18 here so they either excel in school or start playing Dota or Basketball. If the young adults are unemployed they will just live with family or extended family, which is easy because usually a whole neighborhood will consist of about 4 different family names.

One of those family names is A…, Johnathan A…. He was already taking lessons when I came here to Agoo, and his baptism was last Saturday night. We'd been looking forward to it for about 2 months, but thought the worst when he didn’t show up 30 minutes after the initial start time; His phone and his girlfriend’s phone were dead so we had no idea what to expect. Finally he rolls up in a trike (I'll get a picture of a trike next week maybe) and then service started. Elder Gamboa had suggested that I baptize him, and Johnathan agreed. It surprised me that he would pass off his prior investigator to me, especially since he has a bit of pride in him. But later he explained that before his mission he'd already baptized 5 people and wanted me to be able to have my first. It was a good experience, I don’t really remember my own baptism but I'll remember every one of them here on the mission. 

I don’t have time to send more, but I already have stories for next week. The typhoon, our zone hike earlier, and more, Next week na lang!

Our house is that middle section of the building, I'll send more pics and descriptions next week. 

Love you!

Here’s one of Tiegue’s Baptism Day! (Tiegue, Taylor Maxwell, Justin Laney)