January 12, 2010, 6:58 PM

Subject: Re: Welcome to Cebu

FATHER!!!
Alright. So your questions...
1. We made the flight. They started boarding around 20 minutes after we got there.
2. We made it in really good time. Lots of people behind us.
3. The secret to not going insane for 15 hours? To be honest. Movies, music and sleep. I prayed about it as we were taking off. I felt that the white missionary handbook leaves room for us to use our agency according to the Spirit. So I only listened to music that I wouldn't mind sharing with the Savior and only watched Disney movies. I watched Ratatouille and Toy Story. And then I slept for most of the time.
4. The biggest hassle on the plane was the fact that I didnt have ANY of my stuff becuase they had us store everything in overhead compartments and since we were in the middle of a middle section, I couldnt get in and out to use things. So no Tylenol PM.
5. Hong Kong was a trip! Everything was in Chinese! Hhahaha. It was weird.
6. We had to stay in the airport the whole time.
7. I LOVE THE PHILIPPINES!!! It's dirty, its wet, its hot, it smells like garbage everywhere, I sweat constantly, people cuss at me cuz I'm American and call me Joe which is slang, i'm attacked by dogs.......
I LOVE IT!!! Its the greatest mission ever. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Seriously. I wouldnt.
8. It looks like.........New York City without the skyscrapers. Its really compact. But in a jungle. Its tough to explain. The best way that I can describe it is that it looks like the India beginning of The Bourne Supremacy.
9. My companion is Elder Arbado. He's a great companion. Really supportive of my efforts. Hes from an island right below Manila.
10. I am on Cebu Island in the City Zone. So we cover all the slums and ghettos. Its awesome. The houses are all made by the fathers and they just build on top of each other. So they're all really small.
11. We cover the Cebu 5th ward area.
12. The mission president is awesome. I can tell that we are going to really get along.
13. I was exhausted. THey let us go to bed at 7 and wake up at 7. It was great.
14. I had to bear my testimony in Cebuano at sacrament which went well. I refrained from saying that we have a living prophet becuase that is "buhing propeta" but most missionaries say "buing propeta" which means that the prophet has a cleft lip. So...didnt say either.
15. Food....I am sick of rice. Aaaand raw minnows and mayo aren't too hot. Neither is chicken liver. It has the consistency of play doh. Chicken heart is okay. Shrimp head is mediocre. I opened up a balut and it had a full chicken inside. So i passed on that one. But all in all its not too bad. I'm surviving. AND losing weight.
16. We have three families and 4 single investigators. We visit them all every day.
17. Baptisms? well....lets just say that arbado and i committed 14 people to be baptized on the 23rd of this month. We're gonna have tired arms...
18. We take jeepneys from our house to our area and then we walk all over the place. My shoes are getting a beating. For real. Good thing we have that discount thingy. The jeepneys are 13 pisos and its like a really small bus that goes on a route. Its cool.

So far, its all been good and I really love it. My language has SKYROCKETED!!! Its great. I loved getting to see you and spend time with you. I wasnt homesick after in case you were wondering. It was great.
Thanks for all your help dad. Love you.
Brandon