Week Four Coming Up!

 The buzzing of the hair!

 "I met him!" Elder Anderson

 Posing 

 The Filipino version of the CTR ring

Wow! That is an interesting meal!

Mother, I can not believe you were a whoopee cushion for Halloween... Like I'm embarrassed just thinking about it.. But I'm glad you had fun! (I sent him a picture of me and I guess he showed his whole district and had a good laugh) Trunk or Treat was always a fun night. As was actual Halloween. It's November 1st for me already and Halloween came and went really quickly. Halloween over here is like our Memorial Day. So nothing really happens. Oh well. 

I really felt none of the effects of the typhoon or earthquake! We heard about it, but there was literally nothing going on over here at the MTC. Ya, and that Elder who was thinking about going home went home this last week. Elder Havea. It was really sad cause we all really loved the guy. He was just the perfect example of quiet dignity. We all miss him, but also wish him peace in his decision to return home. It's better to get things from before the mission resolved then just sit with them on the mission. 

We have conversations all the time in Tagalog! We teach everyday and our investigators only speak Tagalog! Been like that since the second day here. Funny story. One investigator, Melinda, (the teachers play the investigators and keep them on their toes!) had all these questions about Adam and Eve yesterday saying (In Tagalog) "Why didn't Adam and Eve have to get married?" Like she understood all the commandments of God and was so confused on how they could populate the world without being married. I explained that marriage symbolizes becoming one in flesh and that Adam and Eve were already one in flesh (Eve having been taken from his side) but she didn't accept that answer! She told us to study that for homework but literally NOWHERE in the scriptures does it talk about them getting married or sealed or anything!! It just refers to Eve as "his wife" from the very beginning. So I dunno. Sorta in a sticky situation. But I love teaching these investigators! It is so much fun to see the look in their eyes after you explain some principle of the doctrine to them and they actually understand it! Best feeling ever! 

My hair is actually shorter now... I buzzed it to a #4 with E. Krueger and E. Lindley... Don't kill me!!! We look super chill though, so it's all good. We lost our two roommates, like I wrote last week, and we got 4 new Filipinos for roommates and the first thing we heard them say, after they opened the door and saw me and E. Lindley, was, "Oh! White room!" and they shut the door again. Sorta an awkward start haha but they've turned out to be pretty sweet guys! They just get up at 5 every morning and start talking really loud and singing... I've told them multiple times that they need to be quiet in the morning, but nothing came of it.. The MTC is getting quite old though. The same rote tasks everyday. Really I feel like anything that isn't learning the language is a waste of time now. We've gone through PMG (Preach My Gospel) and it's just making the days go by so much slower. By 1 I feel like we should be heading to bed. I am SO ready to just be out in the field! There are some good things here though! Elder Anderson from the Quorum of the 12 came to speak to us! It was SUCH an amazing talk and everyone was so inspired by it. Having an Apostle speak to you and there only being like 200 people there is so cool. We all got to shake his hand and tell him our name, so of course me and E. Krueger stood next to each other to mess with him! But my favorite part of the talk is when he shared a scripture in John 12. He told us the verse number was 14 but that was WAY off! Look it up and you should get a good laugh out of it! The real verse is 27, which I now have memorized cause it's just so awesome, and it reads: "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour." Isn't that just awesome?! So poetic! It is now my favorite scripture. It just describes the way we all feel in the MTC right now. Like we are all sorta unsure about going out there and teaching real people. It's a scary thing. But then you think about all the people you'll help. For this cause came I unto this hour. Such an awesome scripture. 

Speaking of the scriptures, I'm reading through the Book of Mormon right now and it is CRAZY the difference in the reading. Being a missionary just really opens your eyes to a lot of things. You notice more of the doctrine and really see it as a different book. I started 2 or 3 days ago and I'm a few chapters into Mosiah. I'm cruisin pretty quick through it! You guys should read it too! To put it really lightly, there is some good stuff in there. 

Oh! I got my shoes this week as well!! They are barely big enough for me but they were the biggest they could even buy! I seriously feel like a giant here. I'll see a Filipino man standing next to a Filipino woman and she'll be up to his shoulder and I'll be like, "Oh, he's pretty tall!" And then I'll realize that the MAN is only up to MY shoulder! Everyone is SO crazy short here! But they are also filled with so much happiness it is crazy. I will not be that happy living in this humidity. Seriously standing outside and doing NOTHING for 20 minutes will get you covered in sweat.  

One of E. Krueger's friends in the field came to visit us in some free time this past week and that was really sweet to talk to him! Calmed a lot of my fears about getting out there. Plus he said that P days in the field are actually P days. Not these super scheduled ones we have here in the MTC, so I'm excited for that! The social aspect of the MTC is weird as well. Like we have 3 "batches" (that's what we call them) and every two weeks one batch moves out and we get another one in. But it's strange. We are all roughly the same age in all the batches but the older batches seem literally older. And this new batch that came last Friday seems younger than us. It's so weird but it's totally like highs school. Everyone in my batch is sweet though. I'm becoming good friends with a lot of the guys. It just feels like high school again. Like I've known these people for a lot longer than I actually have.  Quite a few elders are 18. I'm the second youngest in my district though.. and there are quite a few Americans. Like SOOOO many people from Idaho and Utah! Everyone in my batch is going to the same mission except for 2 people. 

One other thing! I got my PAT ring this week! If anybody wants one gotta tell me by next week. That's my last chance to get them! Thought they'd be pretty cool gifts given that it's like my name and everything. 

Well I think that's about it! I've rambled on for long enough. Just know that I'm doing good and that the mangos are AMAZING! I'm sure I'll love it here even more once I'm out of the MTC. 

I love you all and thanks for keeping me posted! I'll write again next week! 

The Infinitely Wise Elder Patrick Krueger