Kumusta is Tagalog for hello, and all the Tagalog missionaries say it whenever they see other missionaries. Tagalog is really hard. It feels like they didn't try to order their letters in a way to make it easy for anyone else to speak. Pleased to meet you in Tagalog is "Ikinagagalak ko pong makilala ka" The Book of Mormon is 777 pages in Tagalog.
My companion, elder Heslop is from Mesa Arizona and He's great. He's a District leader, but I'm the senior companion, so I guess I'm actually the one running the District. Our roommates are Elders Raine and Finau, who are the smallest and biggest guys in the district respectively. Elder Raine is super sharp and He's doing really well with Tagalog. Elder Finau is a Tongan guy from Hawaii, and he says he knows Brother Harris! Another thing about Elder Finau you've gotta know is that he is the loudest snorer I've ever heard in my life, and he always falls asleep before the rest of us, but he's great, and everybody loves him.
When I was bringing my stuff to my residence I ran into none other than Elder Ferrin! it's really weird not to call him Jared, and we both slip up when we see each other. He's here for another three weeks, which is pretty insane. I can't imagine staying in the MTC for that long.
If I'm being brutally honest, the food here isn't great. The first day we had a "steak" dinner and I really wondered how people gain so much weight here. we had Phad Thai yesterday that tasted like someone took a jar of peanut butter and mixed it into the noodles. I really miss Basil and Spice. Besides that though, Lunch was pretty good, especially the fish. For all the prospective missionaries out there, I've gotta say, the orange Juice is fine, It didn't make me nearly as gassy as the other food they serve here.
These past few days have really shown me that God won't give us more than we can take. I was pretty nervous when I was dropped off, but God really does put people in our way to help us get through our trials, Like Elder Heslop, Elder Finau, Elder Raine, and Elder Ferrin. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now, and I can tell that I'm going to enjoy it here.
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| All of us in the apartment |
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| Elder Raine and Elder Finau's shoes next to each other |
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| Me and Elder Heslop because I know that mom would not be happy if there wasn't one of those |
Tagalog Phrase of the Week:
Faith - pananampalataya
Love,
Elder Menzie
P.S. Fridays are my P days
