Week 15 - Abiding in LIGHT

Hello everyone!!! This past week has been pretty stinking cool. I feel like I've grown a lot and I'm continuing to adjust to everything here. There are a lot of differences in the Philippines. Coming here, everyone told me how absolutely HARD it would be.. I didn't believe them. I should have! But, even in these short 2 weeks that I've been here, the people here have caused me to be overwhelmed with love, humility, and gratefulness that I'm here with them.

This week was a little harder in the transition department. My first week, everything was so new so it was kinda fun taking cold bucket showers and the extreme rain and heat. But the newness of it all is beginning to wear off, and I find myself asking: "Okay that was a fun camping trip, lets go back to the comfortable US now.." Haha. "Are we really going to do this for two years?" Stuff like that. Those are the moments like when I have to share my house with cockroaches, lizards, and spiders. The times when my legs are so tired from biking all day and I'm wet and sweaty and the same time. Or when our electricity cut out for almost a full day. Etc etc.

What is keeping me here right now?

The answer: 1 John 2:10. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light."

Why do I stay here? Because of the consistent love I feel for and from the people here. It's so humbling to walk into their houses, dirt floors, metal\concrete walls.. and they are just so HAPPY and full of light and love. I am only beginning to comprehend how and why. I will spend my whole mission learning from them! The people here truly live this scripture: they know how to love. We can visit with total strangers and they will invite us in and give us drinks and food, and introduce us to their whole family. It's amazing.

It's been hard. This is so far the hardest thing I've ever done! But it's already been worth it. If I could go home tomorrow, I wouldn't. Got work to do! The work is going well. The standard of excellence here is to have a baptism every week, and we're working hard to get up to that point!

On Sunday I taught Sunday school which was really fun. I love the members here, they're so welcoming and nice. I also gave a talk, which I worked on all week so that I could give it all in Tagalog :) My Tagalog has improved a lot this week, and I'm working hard. I can contribute a little more in lessons, but conversational is hard. They talk so fast. And half the time I can catch words here and there, but I have NO idea what they're talking about. Perhaps giving the talk was a mistake because the members now think I know a whole lot more Tagalog than I actually do. Also Tagalog is a second language to the people here, they all actually speak Ilokano. So I want to learn that one as well. I've picked up a couple simple words and phrases already.

Me and Elder Ruiz are getting along really well. That helps everything, he's a great trainer and he's grown a whole lot on his mission. He's from Texas. He's been out almost a year, and to me he's basically a Mexican Aaryn Frewing. (So you know he's cool)

I've asked a couple members what "Laoag" means in Ilokano, it means LIGHT! So here I am, loving my brothers and sisters, literally and spiritually abiding in the Light.

A lover of this light,

Elder Childers