wK 41- Family!! :)

new years breakfast :) from brother wycoco! 

(every missionary wants him in their ward) haha 

                           what i got from tammy :)

 i loved all the presents from christmas! thank you!!

 i haven't finished taking pictures but i took a few :)

camilla homes the complex where we live :) 

camilla and sunset still :)

camilla still :) and one of the random dogs we have walking around :) 

packages :) from matthew 

from mom and lana with letters!! from jones, spinders, and kaylee :) 

                                             thank you!!

This week has been pretty good!! :) Yes i did write in my journal this week and i'll see if i can remember big things that happened, because i don't have a ton of time, sorry this always happens. 

So on New years eve and new years day we had to be in by 5 o'clock and study so we were safe, so we went out early in the morning. On new years morning, i don't think i had ever been so full! almost every appointment we went to feed us food. it was all pretty good, but we went home for lunch just to update and get away from the food. It was crazy. We even stopped a less active before we went home for lunch from getting us food, we just told her that we were really full and they just laughed and laughed at us because we were like ah! we are so full! it was funny :) and on Christmas eve, oh boy, it was hard to sleep. They had fireworks and bombs that just went off all night, i finally fell asleep a little before midnight because i was so tired and slept through the biggest part haha but my companion slept and woke up at the biggest part. The fireworks that night started at about 9 and slower just got to be more and more and i think i just got numb and fell asleep but my companion said huge bombs went off. she called it the "goodbye philippines." Oh, i almost forgot, not only fireworks, but almost every house had music blasting in their little house. Different music everywhere, lucky where we live, the complex doesn't have too many people living in the houses next to us we just had fireworks down the street, but from all the brgy's, it was loud haha. And new years day that evening i didn't feel so good and felt a little weird, just because i had eaten so much. I took some pepto that night and the next morning [and had dirahea] but after i tried to sleep and what not i felt better :) haha.

Also, we had one of our Recent converts stop coming to church and we couldn't find her at her house, we found her on new years eve and found out she got a job. I had never been so blunt to anybody about the sabbath day. I made her cry and she new it was wrong. She said she would try to do better, and I felt good after, so i think it was okay. and my companion said it was good. but that was an experience i'd never had before, but my testimony has grown so strong about tithing and the sabbath and how it truly does bless our lives if we follow these commandments.

As we were preparing Ernesto and Princess for their interview, they got so nervous!! I don't know why i have had so nervous people lately, but they were so cute :) I love them so much!! 

(Do you live in the city or country?)

more in the city our far away areas we have to ride to are more country ish area

(What are the Philippine people like?)

they are the best people you ever met! they are super nice and friendly... i will probably think american's are rude when i come home... but yes they do they look at you like you're famous and some kids will try to touch you like are you real because we are white (i don't feel like i'm getting tan but i have a tan line) and yeah they yell "cana, cana" like Americana every time they see a white person (sister neis hated it because she's canadian not american). but they love and admire white people and yell "guapa" all the time when you walk by. and get shocked when you speak hilligaynon

Anyways i don't have much time left, i am so sorry! but i did write details in my journal, i have like 4 elders that we found out are coming home at the same time as me, such a small world, so weird!! but oh!! mom you wanted something funny. The other day we are sitting teaching Benji and the group (by the way we finally got benji and one of that big group to come to church!!) the rest said they would come next week :) haha awesome!! but Lesty, another sister is sitting there we just prayed and she was telling us about what she just read in her scriptures and they told her she had a mosquito on her and she kind of wiped her face and neck and keeps talking to us and then benji just smacks her in the head like "duh" hahaha but got the mosquito off her forehead, it was pretty funny :) I love the philippinos and how much they care for each other :) They are awesome! and Benji loved church too!! :) 

I love you family!! have a wonderful week and don't worry, I love it here, i love life and i love you family!! :)

love, sister smoot