February is GONE!

Hello fans
hehe! jk
 
Its a good thing I've already had the chicken pox because that is spreading around here like wildfire! It is crazy! Everybodys got the chicken pox.
Don't they have immunizations for that now in america?
Lice is spread around here its more common than the cold. I bet we pass maybe two or three people or more a day just chilling outside their house and someone is pulling lice from their scalp.
It's not really a big deal here for people, but if I get that again I won't be a very happy camper.
The other thing that has taken some getting used to is that mothers breast feed and they don't try to hide it. No shame. Anytime, anywhere, in front of anyone, especially during lessons when their baby is fussing. It doesn't really bother me, but I can only imagine how awkward it is for the elders.
 
Did I tell you that for birthdays they dont do the gift thing??
If it is your birthday you throw your own party and you make a whole bunch of food and invite everyone over and they eat your food. Thats pretty much it. I think its GREAT! It puts a whole new spin on it.
 
I was talking to sister carlos this week and come to find out she is a really amazing and accomplished lady. She wrote some famous cookbooks and owned and wrote in a magazine. You could probably google her name-Brenda Carlos--  She's done a lot of other stuff too, and she is a convert to the church.
She wanted to go to BYU because she once saw the Young Ambassadors perform and she wanted to be one really bad. So she wasnt a member but she applied to BYU and they rejected her because she had taken the SAT and they needed ACT. (or maybe the other way around) Any way she wrote them back and told them she declined their rejection and she was coming to their school. I think they went back and forth a few time and finally they said OK just COME! So she did. Then eventually she took the discussions and joined the church and then all of these other incredible opportunities came to her. Her life just sounds like a bunch of big dreams that actually happened.  I love her!
 
If anyone wants to know what career they would enjoy the most and would best match their talents, buy this book. --strengths finder 2.0--- Sister Carlos said it is awesome.
 
So I'm going to start reading Jesus the Christ if anyone wants to start with me. I'm pretty excited about it, though its gonna be tricky to fit it into my schedule! I dare you to fit it into yours!
 
Okay, so here are some of the things that are not my favorite about the philippines
The heat
how dirty and disorganized/messy the streets are especially in the more city-like parts.
They often burn their trash, so there will be big piles collecting in certain places and then they just burn it all. its really smokey when they do that and sometimes smelly!
The traffic has never bothered me as much as I thought it would. Its more amusing than anything. They just barely got their first stop light put in a few weeks ago in Cauayan City but its funny because there are no cameras, they would just set it for like 2 minutes and everyone would be waiting FOREVER on one side and the traffic would be long passed on the other.
Anyway, other than that, I don't know how they never have accidents because there are seriously NO stop signs at intersections or anything. It is crazy. People have to be really good drivers actually because they have to be really aware of their surroundings and just watch each other.
 
I love so much about the culture and everything here
I love the bakeries on every corner, you can get delicious treats for dirt cheap
You can also get fresh and delicious fruits and vegetable for very cheap (expecially veggies)
I love the market when it is not too crowded and its also fun to barter with the filipinos
I love how suprised people are when I speak to them for the first time in tagalog
I love all the little unique things they make and that you can find here--the people are really so talented and they still do a lot of things the old fashioned way. There are two places right by our apartment where people make wood furniture and they carve it all by hand. It is way cool.
Some of the boutiques they have remind me of all the booths they have at peach days, but they have them here all over the place and they keep them up all year.
The landscape for the most part is incredibly beautiful and green! They have such a wide variety of flowers and trees, it is definitely my heaven!
 
 
What do I miss?
Not much. Mostly people. Like you.
I miss hot showers
I miss fresh milk and dairy products.
I miss being able to find everything I need/want at one grocery store
 
Our investigators are doing good, I'll tell you more about them next week.
Gotta go grocery shopping now!
Have a fantastic week and never stop fighting satan!
 
Sister Webre
 
P.S. 
-the picture with all the filipinos--the oldest one is Vilma, she is a way awesome member that feeds us a lot and works with us sometimes. All the little girls are her neices.
-the picture with the couple in the red are the Uy family (pronounced like wii) He is our new branch president in the branch we serve in. They are awesome!! I love them! This was at his birthday party. They cooked SOOO much food.
-That random guy with that huge lizard alligator thing is just a random guy ha! and they were getting ready to coook that and eat it. I'm still not sure what it was but it was gross/awesome.
-That sweet ride that you see me in is the car of a member here. They give us rides in it sometimes and I always feel really rad.







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