Right now it is Tag-ulan
or the “rainy season”. This means that it rains pretty solidly almost every
day. It means that it is a little less hot some of the time, but when it isn’t
raining – it gets very very humid –
and it is still pretty hot. We spend a decent amount of time either shielding
ourselves with an umbrella or getting absolutely soaked. I like the rainy season
more than the Hot season because although they are almost the same temperature,
one has rain. Things here have been going pretty smoothly. We have a lot of
people to teach, and many are actually progressing towards baptism. We have
done a lot in our area to encourage people to come to church and establish a
relationship with God.
One thing I have learned
as a missionary: I am not here to give people information, but to help them
become more spiritually independent. This knowledge helps to keep a good
attitude when people don’t seem to understand why our teachings are important. If
they are creating that relationship, I have helped them to where they need to
be.
Another thing with
missionary work: you don’t always see progress with the people you teach
because it comes slowly. The next missionaries have the chance to see that come
to fruition. We talk to a lot of people and it is good to know that almost all
of the people that we interact with will benefit in some way by that personal
relationship with God – even if it does not come immediately.
This week, I introduced
the area to my new companion Elder Tagal. He is coming from San Miguel, which
is the largest area in the entire mission. He is very excited to work with the
people here because they are not as spread out and we can work close to the
church. We are working on preparing people for baptism. We have 3-6 baptisms
planned for this transfer and we are excited to see these people make covenants
to God.
I don’t know if there is
much more to say this week. I am learning a lot in this area. I am speaking
Tagalog a lot more – I have to if I want to communicate with my companion. I am
excited to see what God has in plan for me in the coming months.
We are getting a new
mission president this coming week. There may be some big changes in the
mission pretty soon. If you don’t know about the calling of mission presidents,
they have very little training and they are expected to learn just about
everything about leading the mission while they are here working. It will be a
very interesting experience to go through, but I am sure the transition will go
smoothly.
Culture: Rain. There are a
few things that people do when it rains here. First: You always cover your
head, even if it is just with your hands. You use whatever you have: an
umbrella, a rag, a piece of cardboard…
Second: When the rain
stops, if your clothes are even remotely wet – you are expected to change
immediately (To keep you from getting sick).
Third: You are not
supposed to do strenuous activities in the rain (Like exercise). They believe
that this will also make you sick. They are very serious about this one.
Tagalesson: In Tagalog,
there isn’t a way to say "I was going to do something." You must use
future tense and the word "Sana" (which means hopefully). Then you say
the reason that you didn’t do it. This is kind of a weird thing in the language.
Example: I was going to go
to the store. But it is raining.
"Pupunta sana ako sa
tindahan, pero umulan." Literally this translates to. "I will
hopefully go to the store but it is raining."
Basically, you say you
will do something, but there was a reason you didn’t do it. That one took me a
while to learn.
Anyways I will update you
all when things happen, we should have 3 people being baptized on July 7th.
I will try to get some pictures to you guys when that all happens.
Love you all,
Elder Faulkner
Pictures:
A kitten at an
investigators house
Me and my old Zone leader
Me and two missionaries from my batch.
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