Life in the Philippines

This past week was good and I have been adjusting.  Last P-day I got a haircut for 40 pesos or about 90 cents.  Things are so cheap here.  Any American could move here and be rich.  After P day we went to an area called bliss and taught a new investigator named Jerson.  The first time I met him was when he was drunk in the street one night.  He was really upset.  He comes from a broken family and seems to have a lot of problems.  He is really receptive to the gospel.  We asked him to be baptised and he said yes.  I don't know how committed he is though.  He didn't show up at church this past week but I can understand how it would be scary for an investigator to go to church.

     On Tuesday we had a district meeting.  It was in English so I could understand what was going on.  Elder Beltran and I paid the water and electric bills for the house.  We went out and found and taught some investigators and asked them to be baptized.  They said yes.  I know it might seem early but as missionaries we are supposed to ask people to be baptized no later than the second lesson.  It makes me worried that even though they have a baptismal date they might not be completely converted.  I am just doing my job and following the mission rules and will see what happens.  I just don't want to baptize a bunch of people and  then have them all go inactive.  Inactivity is a huge problem here and I try not to get frustrated with these members.  Later that day we went to a new house (or bamboo wood structure) and taught the people there.  It was a young father and mother and a young baby.  We taught them the first lesson and asked them to be baptized.  The father said yes but the mother is a member and has been less active for years.  

     Wednesday we went around teaching.  We got two new investigators.  the first one said he would be baptized if he received an answer.  The other one said yes.  Again, I am worried that everyone we baptize will just go inactive soon after.

     Thursday we did a service project for a branch president in a different area.  We cut the grass in his yard.  People here don't have lawn mowers.  To cut the grass we used machete type knives and used them like a sickle.  It was fun and a new experience but I could have gotten the whole thing done in 15 minutes with just a weed whacker.  After, the branch president fed us.  We had rice, meat and Shrimp.  We taught Jerson again.  He said that whenever he saw the missionaries he had a good feeling.

     On Saturday we moved apartments.  Our old house was huge.  There were a lot of rooms and an upstairs.  I like the new apartment better.  For one, we now have running water all the time and two, if there is a blackout (which happens about every other day) there is solar power.  It is much better and I like it a lot.

There are a lot of things to get used to in the Philippines.  One cool thing is that at night I can see the galaxy like a cloud stretching across the sky.  The stars are pretty cool here.  One freaky thing is the bats.  In the evening when I look up in the sky I see giant bats flying around.  They are HUGE.  They are at least the size of a hawk.  The plants and animals here sure are different.

     Well, that is pretty much everything that happened this past week.

Love, Elder Harkness