Hey Everyone!

That’s what they do to all the Carabau, I don’t know why, but there’s just a hole through the nostril and a knot on the other side. They don’t tug too hard because the carabau usually follow, they’ve just learned if they resist it'll hurt I guess.  I might try and get a close up picture up the nose of a carabau for ya if I remember. I'm sure it'll be maganda (beautiful)! (Kelli and Siany had asked how the rope worked because we didn’t see it coming out the other nostril!)

I went and exchanged what USD I had the other day, I had to write down every bill's serial number, and the exchange rate was about $1 - 49.2 pesos. So it’s not hard to come here with a small fortune and it will be sufficient for a looong time. Or if you have a little business with a decent income in America, and the income goes into an account, you can just withdraw here and live forever. 

That weather sounds soo nice (told him how it’s in the low 50s and rainy). It's been really hot here lately, and it’s still the cold season. I got sick on Monday night, but Sister Esplin gave me biogesic (basically Tylenol) to take every 4 hours. So I woke up in the middle of the night for it but I was healed the next day. I had a really bad fever though, talaga (really). We were walking outside in probably 85 degree weather and I was shivering. Then Elder Gamboa got sick Friday and Saturday so we didn’t work all of Friday and we attended a baptism on Saturday night and taught one lesson afterwards. It was hard for me to take Elder Gamboa's sakit (sickness/ailment) seriously because he's always complaining if he feels bad at all, and it’s kinda often. But when I took his temperature and it was 103.5 I went out and bought him meds and looked in our packet for what to do if there is a high fever. During those two days I ate through our 72 hour kits because we didn’t buy food on pday because Gamboa wanted to hangout instead. And we couldn’t go on Friday morning like he planned because he had a sakit. I don’t know if it was because a lack of food, or what, but the members told me on Sunday that I'm getting thin. I'll try to find a scale here somewhere to weigh myself. But congrats to all you Portlanders who told me I should put on weight before I go out, because you were right.

How about the Election, no news?? I heard there’s protests in Downtown Portland from Elder Labis.

Every time people ask what my hobbies or what my sport was in Portland, I tell them "gusto ko na magrugby" "I like to rugby". "Rugby" here is a rubber cement that poor people will sniff to get high, or little kids will sniff it to forget they’re hungry. That is widely known and so I have to specify that no, I don’t huff glue, I play the sport. It gets laughs and some weird faces every time. 

Hopefully I get a package tomorrow, but I didn’t receive any text from the mission. Sister Dennis said that if they received a package for you, they send a text telling you to be prepared to pay a fee of 100 pesos before we can take it home. Sana! (expression meaning hopefully)

We did a chubby bunny challenge (a contest to see who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth and still say “Chubby Bunny”) at a FHE this week. (In most LDS homes, Family Home Evening happens once a week where the family will have a lesson/game about the gospel, play board games, visit someone or do an activity/outing.) I got like 17 marshmallows until I couldn’t say chubby bunny anymore. :)

Some of the missionaries' families here sent them stuffing and mashed potato flakes for a Thanksgiving dinner. Its way different here, the food they eat, their holidays, they don’t have a 4th of July but they go nuts with fireworks on New Years I hear. 

Sorry for the scrambled Email, but thanks for the emails and all the updates!!

Love ya fam!