WEEK 12 : EVERYONE IS STARING AT ME....

     On Tuesday we had a service project. It was nice. We got the whole district involved. It was really fun. This lady was moving about a quarter mile away and so we helped her carry everything from one little apartment to another on the third floor.  I've never had to move someone without a truck. It was harder but nice because we had everyone there. always feels great to serve.  I also had exchanges with elder Baldemore on Tuesday. I have a lot of exchanges because Elder Enari is district leader. Its okay. Kinda hard cause I like staying in my area. Its always so nice when I get to come back to my area.  I usually leave my area but this time Elder Baldemore came to my area for exchanges. I had to lead the area. Luckily we found everything in the maze of houses here. It was good. We taught some good lessons.  
    On Wednesday Elder Enari and I contacted a referral from headquarters. She wanted a book of mormon but said shes recovering from an injury right now so we will visit her again when shes all better. We got a referral from a sister in our ward and we visited them on Wednesday as well.  It was awesome because it was a family. We found a new family which is so awesome. The problem with a lot of Filipinos is getting a return appointment when they're available. They're not always reliable on the return appointment even if they really do have a desire to hear the gospel.  My umbrella broke already so I bought one for 100 piso. That's about 2 dollars here. most everything is so cheap but because of that we aren't living like kings. Still need to budget because they adjust our support accordingly.  
    On Thursday I had exchanges with elder Pagador.  The Philippines city is fun because its a maze and there's so many side streets that lead to compounds full of people.  We walked along a wall of a canal that was like 10 feet up. It wasn't us being dumb. It was the actual way/sidewalk that people used. It was made for people to walk along. So funny. The city organization is so random so it can be hard to know where you're going and very easy to get lost.  That night Elder George made doughnuts. He made them from scratch. They were so good! I ate so many. He's from the cook islands. His doughnuts are legendary. 
    On Friday we worked hard and taught some lessons and were able to give a blessing. Its always a very cool experience. The priesthood really is the power of God and we need to always be worthy to use it to bless others. Friday was also the day the TV episode came out. I was so nervous. There was a preview released on YouTube that a member showed me. It looked good. I still haven't even seen the final product but I hear about it from everyone. Its crazy.       So on Saturday people would recognize me and do double takes.  They would even stop to take pictures, haha that was a new experience. I guess it was good. It made me feel better because I didn't want to make a fool out of myself.  Everyone was calling me an artist. haha the Flipinos are so funny. I love them so much. I was also on exchanges with elder Espana. I went on a lot of exchanges this week because the filming messed up the schedule.  It was a good day. We found a family in elder Espana's area. They're so cool. It will be good. I'm excited for them even though they're not in my area.  One thing about the Filipinos is that they love their music. They just blast it all the time. They blast it in jeeps and in their houses and its so funny when they do videoke.  They turn it up all the way and don't care who hears them even when they're bad at singing haha. 
   On Sunday I saw my first glimpse of a cock fight. We just walked by one and I saw this guy throw his dead,bleeding rooster in the water off of the path. He was angry and the roosters blood was everywhere. Its intense.  Church was crazy because almost every member wanted to talk to me about the interview. So many people taking pictures of me. haha even bishops of other wards. I hope it really inspires our ward to help us out. They've been helping a lot even before that so now we will get a ton of referrals and work with them a lot.  We taught great lessons too. We taught Roberto who is progressing and reading the book of mormon. We're going to give him a baptismal date next visit. We also taught the Batobato family who is so awesome, so receptive and kind.  They accepted a baptismal date. I'm so grateful we found them. 
   Our area had to be built from almost nothing. we were patient and worked hard and I can see the Lord blessing us with people he has prepared and helping us. Our area is awesome.  We taught Jomar who was actually a former investigator,  he had been taught everything but didn't have a testimony. We began teaching him again on exchanges with elder Baldemor, we reviewed the restoration and I invited him to read and pray about the book of mormon and then on our visit yesterday he says he knows its all true and we were able to move his baptismal date from December to November. It will be in about 2 weeks. We can feel the power of his testimony and how the gospel changes lives. It made me so happy. I'm so happy for him and thankful.  

   Its weird how everyone knows me. But we're going to use it for finding. Its a great missionary tool. I'm glad I had the opportunity.  The Lord really knows what we need and what we can handle. In the interview my Tagalog wasn't amazing but after I've felt way more comfortable making mistakes in Tagalog and speaking to people. It really helped me progress as a missionary. I'm so thankful.  In the video we didn't really go to the poor parts but when we do see the super poor people I feel so humble. It really makes me appreciate everything I have and makes me want to help them and share the gospel so it can bless their lives.  Its awesome here. I'm  almost done with my first transfer.  I love you all. Keep working hard and remember that Jesus is the Christ and He is always there to strengthen us and help us.

Elder Snyder