Happy Two Month Mark! Week 3 Philippines

Well I have officially been on my mission for 2 months! That seems crazy to me! Actually it's crazy that I am in the Philippines! This place really is nuts sometimes!

 I am doing SO much better!!! I have never prayed so hard in my entire life or had to put so much faith in Christ in my entire life, but I'm doing it, and I feel so happy!!

This week has been good and there is SO much I want to tell you, but I really want to send some pictures, so here are just some highlights;

1. Last week after emailing, we went to the Palengke. Oh the Palengke. That place is madness! Some words to describe it would be : dirt, flies, food, shoes, dirt, flies, hoards of people, and more flies. It was quite an experience. And just to add to it...I got to experience my first down pour. Holy cow! The streets flooded in literally 5 minutes so we were stranded under some abandoned building thing. It was nuts! We are not supposed to walk in puddles because lots of missionaries get weird rashes, so we had to have a trike come pick us up and stand on one rock to get in. Haha it was so funny though!

2. 2 Weeks ago we had our District meeting here in Candelaria and met the other elders in our district. We went to Jollibee after and it was really good. Jollibee is like the McDonald's here but their main dish is spaghetti and fried chicken. Haha I guess spaghetti is a big thing here.

3. Last Monday we had Zone p day in Lucena so we took a jeepney there. It took about 1.5 hours, but it was really fun. We all just played games and Sister Wilkes is in our zone, so I got to talk to her like the whole time. Then we went to McDonald's after.

4. Also last Wednesday we had Zone meeting in Lucena again, but this time we took a bus and it was so wonderful. IT HAD AIR CONDITIONING!!!! Holy cow! I forgot what it's like to be cold!

5. I washed clothes in a river on Friday!

We had gone to visit  one of the church members, and she was finishing up their families laundry and so we helped her. It was great! The river was absolutely gorgeous!!! Holy cow! I am pretty sure it's what the garden of Eden looked liked! The trees were all so gorgeous, there was clear running water, and it was just beautiful!!

6. I ate tulingan yesterday. It is a type of fish. And it was actually really delicious. I was nervous to eat it, but it was fried and then you dip it in soy sauce and limes, and it was SO good!!!

7. We invited another sister to be baptized and she said yes! She is very interested in the gospel, but none of our investigators came to church yesterday. It was really sad. I really wish I knew how to help them understand how important church is, but the best we can do is just pray for them.

8. So my bug bites were totally going away finally. On Wednesday after we got back to Candelaria, we were in a rush to get back out to work, so I didn't use any bug spray....well guess who has 30+ new bug bites all over her legs... oh yeah, me. and they itch like CRAZY!!! They are huge now....but there is this miracle stuff called Katinko and it helps them not itch. It kinda reminds me of Vicks Vapor Rub, but it feels amazing. My nasty foot bite though looks way better now though.

9. I get to have my 1st exchange tomorrow in Tayabus with one of the sister training leaders and tomorrow is also zone interviews with President Peterson. I am pretty excited to be able to see more of the Philippines :)

10. President Peterson has asked us to read the Book of Mormon and focus on faith.  It has helped me SO much! I was really frustrated the first few weeks here because everyone kept saying to just put all my faith in Christ, and I really didn't know how to do that. From reading The Book of Mormon so much and having time to read the conference edition of the Ensign, I have been so filled with spirit, and understand more each day how to put all my faith in Christ. It is definitely not easy, but I am really trying to do my best.

11. Everyone calls me fat. It's super great. Even though I have for sure lost weight from sweating 24/7, the people still come up to me and rub my stomach. Haha I feel so good about myself. It is not insulting to call someone fat here, they just say what they see. Also I showed Sis. Nabus our family picture then she looked at me and said "What happened to you?! You were so pretty!!!" haha yeah. So I am the fat ugly American here. But then people call me pretty all the time. I am just so confused. Hahaha oh well.

Anyway...I seriously love you all though and I hope you can get the pictures I've sent! The computer's here are not the greatest, but oh well.

Read the Book of Mormon. It is SO TRUE!!!!!! Church has helped me a lot too! The last two lessons in Relief Society have helped me a lot. We have English manuals and so I pretty much just read the lesson by myself, but a lot of the words have really helped me realize my purpose here!

I learn so much everyday and my Tagalog is still kinda terrible, but everyone understands me. I just need to work on understanding them now!

Love,

Sister Mecham

                   * I apologize for being an amateur blogger. I will learn how to turn photos and keep them turned when I insert them :) Jennifer

Getting ready for the transfer meeting at the mission home!

 

 

 

 

 

Look at this beauty. I am pretty sure it was a spider bite. Haha I was swollen for about a week, but it is finally going away!!

Laudry!!! it takes me about 3 hours to get it all done. it's great. Be greateful for washers and dryers!!!

My lovely legs after a long day of tracting. Super attractive, right? 30+ bug bites. I think I must taste really good...

Our darling house!

 

 

 

The gate in front of our house. This makes me feel SO safe!

This is a river we cross over for a short cut!!

On the bridge with my companion!

1st Jeepney ride with my batch of Missionaries!

Trikes and the flooded Palengke, I tried to get a picture of the actual palengke, but it turned out bad, so this is the best I could get!