Everybody's got a water buffalo

Hello again from Sipalay! Today is a nice warm day. The weather has been really rainy. I believe you can thank Typhoon Karen for that.

Remember the lady who yelled down to us from the cliff saying that she wanted to be my friend? Well, Sister Palai and I returned with the Adams couple as well. The woman told us that she had a relative in another town who was a member of the church, and she was interested in learning more about the church. It went way better than I expected from such a first meeting. She said we could come back too.

Sister Palai and I have been teaching two young girls (13 and 9) and they will be baptized this coming Saturday! I'm so excited! Anticipate pictures. I finally bought my own memory card reader (the computers here don't have memory card slots) and I'll be using it now!

It's amazing to think that I've been "Sister King" for 6 months. I've been an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ for over half a year. It's weird. It's awesome. It's amazing. Sometimes I miss home, but I don't let myself get distracted. There is work to be done, and I have no time to be sad and homesick. That's not my purpose. I purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ. My purpose, and yours (no matter who you are) requires activity. Do you find yourself sitting around feeling useless? Then wake up! and do something more. Help someone. Spread the love. Learn something new. Use your knowledge to make the world a better place.

  My Mission President told me that I'm going to be a trainer someday. He said that I get to decide when that happens. I feel like I could be a trainer someday, but I think I need at least one more companion who actually speaks the language before I'm ready to train someone. My language has so many holes in it, and I'm still not completely comfortable. I've only been in the Philippines for less than 5 months! You're right. Becoming a senior companion saved my life. I felt like a prisoner as a junior. I could go back to being a junior, but I also look forward to my present and future experiences as a senior. Right now I find myself realizing that I may be making my companion feel how I felt with my other companions. This week, I strive for improvement.

  It's so exciting that there is so much commotion about the church in America right now. Most of the Filipinos (especially out here in the middle of nowhere) the people don't know/care about American politics. That's sad that the church isn't being portrayed in a good light. Does anyone know how the campaign is affecting missionary work? Let me know!


 I often find myself thinking, "Dad was right" when I think of those times to urged me to practice piano before I left on my mission. This week I volunteered my service to play during church. It was awful, but hey, it's better than nothing. At the church they have a simplified hymnbook, so I'm considering taking time each week to practice my playing.

There are a lot of chickens here that just walk around the streets! They probably lay eggs too. Sometimes they wander into our yard. We also enjoy frequent visits from a goat, a cow, and a caribao. A caribou is like a big cow It's a kind of water buffalo.