Week 51: Last Interviews and Uncomfortable Amount of Rain

This week was just full of things that happened. It's kinda weird how that happens, isn't it. Things just happen one after the other, and before you know it, it's Monday, and you've got a self-imposed responsibility to write an interesting and understandable email for all three of the people who have decided that reading the weekly ramblings of a 20 year-old in the Philippines is a good use of their time. But we had interviews this week.

The Hiatts made the trek down to Bambang to interview all of us down here, which was good, but also kinda sad, because the Hiatts are leaving next week, so unless something weird happens, those are my last interviews with them.

Here's a picture of me eating Australian cookies at said interviews:

They really were good. But do you know what tastes better? The words of Christ.

It's gonna be pretty weird to get a new mission president, but it'll be great too.

On Thursday there was so much rain.

An uncomfortable amount.

We were walking home in said rain, and Elder Salas didn't have an umbrella, so I let him use mine, because I'm nice. So we were sharing for a lil bit, cuz we're cute like that, but when we got to the start of the street where our apartment is, I was done with that so I broke into a sprint, thinking, "How wet could I possibly get?"

very.

very wet.

I'm walking up the stairs to get to our apartment, and I am soaking wet. I mean, I looked like I jumped in a swimming pool in my proselyting gear. I saw the light on, which meant our house mates were home too, so I got to the door, threw it open and slid into the apartment, which they found entertaining. At least somebody thought it was funny. It's more fun in the Philippines.

Love,

Elder Menzie

Tagalog but hold the pickles:

Karumal-Dumal -- Abominable

Pictures Fresh Off the SD Card:

Zone Pic

Elder Salas on the phone

Elder Menzie--Contemplation

Week 50: HALF CENTURY

So for a little peek behind  the  ~digital curtain~ as to how I do these emails, I can never quite remember which week I'm on, so I just keep going back to the previous week's email to make sure, so I can write the subject in the way I started, and I figure it would be pretty weird if I stopped now. Plus I like it. But when I went to check last week's email just a few minutes ago, I realized that I've been on this crazy endeavor for 50 weeks, and I've written like 50 of these (give or take a few) and for almost a year, I've listened to no music besides the Tabernacle Choir and EFY music; no podcasts except for BYU speeches, General Conference talks, and this one Mormon Channel podcast about church history; and I've watched no movies except The Phone Call, Johnny Lingo, and any other weird thing that's got the Church logo on it.

And I love it.

Don't get me wrong, EFY music is the worst . . . mostly, but y'know, it's not all bad. We get blessings and stuff.

We had Zone Conference this week, which was a fun ole time. since I'm all the way down south now, I travel to Santiago City for Zone Con, which means that now I've been to all 3 Zone Conferences that they have in the mission: Cauayan, Ilagan, and Santiago. It was fun, because there are a bunch of missionaries from the MTC that have just been down south their whole mission, so I haven't been able to see them until now. Here's a Quick Pic:

Wow, did you feel that? It was so quick.

Zone Con was really fun, but also kinda sad, because it was the Hiatt's last one. It's pretty weird to think that in 2 weeks we're gonna have a brand new Mission President. President Craig seems nice though. He's from Canada and served here in the 80's.

Not much else has happened this week though. Just working hard, and trying to help people and prep them for baptism and all that fun stuff. It's been a great 50 weeks, looking forward to another 54.

Love,

Elder Menzie

Tagalog in the Good Way:

cinquentang linggo -- 50 weeks (or you could just say 50 weeks and they would get it.)

The 50th Anniversary Picture Spectacular:

Us vibrating between dimensions

More of us vibrating away the border of our reality

A very Zone Con selfie

Santiago Zone Conference Photos

Week 49: Two for Two: Perfect Streak!

Yes, folks, you read that right. Almost 6 months ago, I had a nice 'ole unexpected emergency transfer, while my clothes were still wet and drying. It was great, and by great I mean a hassle. I had a great time in Tuguegarao, and figured emergency transfers are pretty rare, and I've already had one, so I'm probably just going to have normal transfers for the rest of my mission. NOPE. This Tuesday, while my clothes were drying on the clothesline, good 'ole President Hiatt gave me a call and let me know that I was gonna be transferring all the way from the very top of the mission to the very bottom. And I had to be packed in one hour.

It's not really the 6 hour bus ride that kills you, it's when all you have in your system is a candy bar, some potato chips, and an extra large Slurpee, with nothing to do but read the Pearl of Great Price. That's the killer bit.

The new area is great though! I'm in Bambang, which is in Nueva Vizcaya, for those of you familiar with provincial divisions in the Philippines. It's super great here, but I'll just let the pictures do the talking:

That's Elder Salas, my new companion. On Saturday, we had to go to another area to do some baptismal interviews, and it rained so flippin hard that our tricycle we were on broke down twice. It was great, and by great I mean WET.

 

(For those wondering, I have not broken an umbrella since the last payong was required of me)

Paalam, Elder Pino

Love, 

Elder Menzie

Tagalog Quick Time:

Oh my Gulay -- oh my vegetables

Mission Leadership Conference

Thank you to Sister Hiatt and Luann Roberts for posting these photos on Facebook from the Missionary Leadership Conference. As we Skyped with Thomas on June 9, I mentioned seeing the photos, and Nina said, "Wait, Thomas, are you a Zone Leader?!" Thomas just grinned and laughed. Turns out he likes to keep his leadership callings on the down low. We have to figure these things out on our own! It's all good, and we loved the pics!...

Week 48: Winged Ants Before the Storm

Hello to all my friendly friends and familiar family. It's good to be here, and I'm glad you all could make it to this "not-special" special edition of Elder Menzie's weekly email, I'm your host, Elder Menzie, because they couldn't get anyone better on such short notice, but enough of that and on with the show.

If any of you have been studiously doing your Come, Follow Me workbook for sunday school, you'd be pretty familiar with Jesus' Second Coming Prep he gave to his Twelve Apostles about 2,000 years ago. He gave 'em a bunch of cool signs and parables about what's going to happen before he comes again. It's great, and in this Second Coming Prep is the parable of the Fig Tree. It goes a little something like this:

38 Now learn a parable of the fig tree—When its branches are yet tender, and it begins to put forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh at hand;

39 So likewise, mine elect, when they shall see all these things, they shall know that he is near, even at the doors;

40 But of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only.


I had reason to think about this parable recently when Elder Pino and I were walking to dinner.

There were a TON of these weird flies that looked like ants that grew wings flying around, and Elder Pino turns to me and says "Keep your wits about you Elder, there's a storm on the horizon," to which I replied:

"What are you talking about," to which he replied:

"Now learn a parable of the flying ants—When they're flying around like crazy, and it begins to be really annoying, you know that storm is nigh at hand;"

At this point I was just confused, so I didn't ask any more questions of my eloquent little cebuano boy, and we went and ate dinner.

While we were eating dinner, the heavens opened themselves and dropped a deluge on us, or more accurately, on the roof above us. We were lucky that one of us knew what was happening, and even more lucky that the dinner tasted really good. Tender mercies all around.

Love,

Elder Menzie

Tagalog like a Native:

paano mo nasabe? -- what makes you say that?

Best Pictures of the Week:

Me in front of a carabao (the carabao is taking a mud bath)

A cool mountain and clouds

A hermit crab