January 24, 2011

Hey, everyone

um, I am in the Philipines! hurray!

so what happened this week?ummmm....

Well, not a ton has changed latly, I still fall asleep during our daily planning at 9:30. (I sent a picture of a good example.)

um I am starting to realise that, not a tons different from philipines and back home. Example. I saw a dog run over to a diper, that was in the middle of the street. it seemed to have been ... eaten earlyer. But this dog was not after it, to eat. It seems he just wanted to move the diper to a move confortable part of the street, and then to roll on its back, back and forth on the diper. I am sure that must have made him feel good. sorta like spot.haha.

um but really it doesnt feel as four-an anymore. Maybe i am just getting used to it.But for my tagalog.. this last week has made all the difference. ... well in reality, my tagalog hasnt really improved very much. But .. I didnt realise that earlyer this week. So I was able to talk to people.
It helped that I changed my study tacitics too. Instead of studying for lessions or more of what if situations, I started studying for.. example, (BRT) or talking with jerem before the lession (studyed stuff like, surfing, movies, and questions about his work in bagio). So much easyer.
Another thing I did... was a littttle craazy. um So people keep telling me, study 10 words a day, or study 5 words a day.. little by little you will learn tagalog. Well I usally try that for a week, and on day on I have 8 words, and by day 3,i am at 2 words, and i cant really remember them, or find a time to use them.... so I figured if i couldnt learn 5 words in a day,... what about 500 words in a week? well thats what i have been doing. I took a couple hours and found, i think over 500 words, and I just try to study them, every day. Well, so far, I can tell you that for sure, I have at least learned, 0 of those words 100%. But, I now can reconise them from what people are saying. so I think its helpful.

Also, in this time, where i forgot I didnt know how to speak tagalog, I started making convertions with people. And I figured something out. If I am making convertion with someone, with the purpose of listening to them, People actally try to listen to me.(instead of trying to use them as a dictionary). And people still can understand, even if the tagalog is 100% correct. (also people now are speaking the 10 words or 100s they know in english, to help me try to understand... its sweet!).

Still, its hard for me to jump into a converstion, or talk when there is 3 or more people there (including me), but when there is just 2,and i can control the converstion.. its sooo much easyer. (yes there is a lot of hand signs and waveing of the arm, and acting like a chickin and stuff).

The other day I had a converstion with one of our investigator's dad (jerem is in a part-member family). I felt like dad (my dad) in the way I was talking... or maybe he sounded like dad... or maybe its was just a dad(larry) converstion. We talked about work,and his family, our family, coconuts and the ocean... or something. I dont know exactly what we talked about any more but the language isnt really a barrior anymore.

OH I also learned something, that I should have known a long time ago (someone just menched it today too, paul, i think.) When I am trying to learn a word, or to speak... not only will i prolly say it wrong.. I have to say it wrong, if i really want to understand. cause if i say it right, no one says anything, and i dont know if they understood,or if it was sorta right... But When talking about ...i dont know... eating, and trying to figure out what fork is, all i have to do is say, "ohhh you want me to eat the rice with the chair." then they tell me what it is, and usally give an example indirectly. (or other times i say things backwords on purpose just to see if it should be forwards,or someother way.) And if I have no idea, I just make up some sounds and try to act it out. I Never ask, "what is this in tagalog"anymore. ether no one understands, what i am saying,or they ignore it. Maybe this is how grandpa can get around anywhere in the world.

anyways theres a little bit about my language... actally, I got a one more thing.

so there is word in tagalog "sa-yang". Some here, a philipino, asked me how to say this in english. its sorta means, ah too bad, or only if that didnt happen. But then he asked if the english translation is "tisk tisk tisk tisk" (or a very quiet clicking noise with your mouth 4 times while slowly nodding your head)....true. English is the werid language.

ok so this week we should have a baptism. It was scudled for friday.. but the mission prez. is coming on this way, and today asked if we could move it to saterday and to the river (instead of the batsmal font). hmm well we'll we might have a baptism in the river this week. (this is for jorell, 11 year old boy. Him and his cusins really like larryD's familys photos, and asked for a copy of merindas.hehehe. I eventally gave the group of them, a photo of all 6 pictures in it.haha. They also all really like cassie)

Another investigater we have is jarem. He is from a part member family. His brother is on a mission.The family is inactive mostly... I think because they are fairly far from the church. We went there to teach a friend of his sister's,and he kinda just showed up too. Hes the only non member, in the family. In a lot of ways he reminds me a lot of andy, in the fact that He is really quiet. And had a lot of problems too...like drinking and smoking and coffie. We really werent sure where this was going to go.. but he's been really awesome. He is 18. he dropped out of school a couple years ago. In the last week, he has done like 4 reading assiments, which most people we teach never really do the readings. He has dropped a bunch of friends that he drinks with, and has quit drinking and smoking and coffe. Another cool thing about him, is that another one of our new investigaters last week was a friend of his, so we invited him to come with us. Its like a 25 mintue walk from his house to a bigger part of town (we live, the church, and his friend). Well his friend didnt really go anywhere... but we invited him to work with us again. He said sure. yesterday (sunday) he worked with us for the 3rd time. He worked with us yesterday from 3-9. Istig! I dont know if i have ever worked with an investigator before.. but what ever. I think he will completely get rid of his drinking (well we arentsure if he has yet), soon and will be baptised after i leave the area.

hmm well mom is emaling me now.. .so i will just hit send.

luke

January 18, 2011

Helllllooooo.

aye, sweet! danel is a follow up trainer. I am a follow up trainee
right now. really cool to hear.

um, thats crazy, that jeremy is taken off. um, thats pretty sweet thou.

well heres some stuff i wrote to my president today... [with some additions]

This week we should have the interview for jorell carbonel [11 years
old]. He was
confused why we moved his baptismal date, but we know now that he will
be ready for the baptism. Things are going good with him. Actally we
have been giving little reading assinments with him, and he has been
reading them. This week we also have a CSP suchulkaled with him.

Roheilo, hasnt been progressing as much as we would have hoped. He has
been fairly buzy in the bukad (or rice fields). We also found a fairly
big concurn, besides the WoW. His testimony, even after proabliliy
having 100 lessions with different missionarys, isnt very strong in
the restoration. We tried to address his concorn, but... well, i think
hes doing better. I think he has lost hope with other things too. Well
we will keep working with him.

Jearm is another investgater who is now progressing. He is 17 and has
a WoW problem. He is a part-member family too. He is pretty quiet, and
is hard to get to answer questions. he also dropped out of school, a
couple years ago. Still he has been reading the reading assienments.
this week he was at church too.

This week at church was crazy! we had 74 people come. this was very
unexpected. Lately we havent been have PEC, and many times we end
church after 2 hours, because everyone has already left. Some how,
we.. had a ton. We had I think, 5 or 6 less-active familys come. We
had a inactive convert of about a year ago, show up. I have never
seen him at church before (elmer david). We had the biggest youth
group show up, including investigaters. We had 2 priests bless the
scarament, which has never happen before (usally we have a elder, and
a missionary elder). We had a very full youth class (instead of none),
and adult class. We had 2 older members,(like 60-70 age) who i have
never seen stay past scarment meeting, come to class. One of them, has
to walk with a cruch. (I actally sat with them, trying to see if they
could hear, and they are funny people). um Our elder quorm president,
who i have only seen once in my...14 weeks here, come. He actally ran
the elders quorm which usally doesnt happen. Well, sorta. He didnt
have a lesson prepared... so he points to me and tells me to teach.
uhh well, i went for it, and desided to talk about home teaching.
After getting it started, i pass the class off to a member, who knows
how to speak in tagalog, and take charge. We now have 7 sets of home
teaching companionships (I have heard of hometeachers here before, but
noon... (uh english... before..in the past). We also had a PEC, and
the branch president was talking about getting other callings ready,
and helping the visiting teaching get started. We (kami, The
missionarys) will be now heading a fireside next week on hometeaching
and visiting teaching. Maybe it had something to do with the district
conference last week.. but i did not expect this at all.

ok well not many addtions. um what else...

ok so family rocapor, the family that was baptised under me and elder
natual. Mostly doing good, tatay is going back to a couple WoW, things
but all in all things are good.
but, as we were just talking about jeremy earlyer... i noticed
something last time we were there. One is that tatay rocapor reminds
me of jeremy.. sooooo much. pretty much the same person. except that
he is prolly 40 or something and has 6 kids.

One of his kids, richard... is exactly like mattew from the ward at
home. like in 100 ways.
its pretty hard to get home sick here.

oh something else, my companion. He is sooo much like mark. like, i
have only really found one big difference. He is like mark in the
fact, that he is actally fairly smart, but the way he .. just is, no
one really realises it. Also in the fact that he likes to tell you,
what you dont want to hear. hehe. oi. which is a problem sometimes,
because when he speaks in english, he is sooo scarcastic (like
sarcastium doesnt really exist here... but i think whoever he learned
enlgish from was very sarcastic. ..) the reason this is a problem.. is
that like mark, he is really good at getting on my nerves... but
UNlike mark he doesnt like things bluntly and stright (very phlipino
thing i think), and he doesnt like react well when I bluntly say that
what he is saying is dumb, and that he is being dumb. So thats a
problem... hahaha, yah like last night he was super mad at me. But he
is quick to forget too. soo I think i figured out what to do... just
never speak english with him... so he cant understand when i am
getting bugged, and then he wont continue saying werid stuff.. that
might work.

about some of the work this week. Um well so a lot people actally
remembered there commitments to read and stuff. that was rad. um we
are teaching a man who is like 92. He really reminds me of grandpa
headman. not too much thou. He was in World War (the big one). heh. um
he also has a pretty sweet hat that says that. he was to be baptised
before, but on the day, he didnt want to traval to the district
center, to the font (about a 30 min. drive. the missionarys found out
later it would have been fine to do it in the nearby river.) Right now
he hasnt been to church in a while thou.
oh well, ummm well something dad asked was about the baptisms here. so
yah, in my area we usally go to balar, to the district center.
um actally about my area... i think its the smallest town in the whole
mission. Besides little tinahans (or little shops at peoples houses...
which there are tons here), there isnt much. On thusday, there is a
palanki (pa-lane-ki) or fruit market.. set up. there is a couple of
shopes
Well

January 11, 2011

Dear family....


ano ba yan. Well I just wrote a nice long letter, and then we had a brown out (power out). I regret not turning on autosave.

well Ill make it brief..er.

um, well I left my camra somewhere. I think its not lost. But I really wont know till next monday. so no photos. and i am now a little grumpy. as i may have lost my camra and my email.

I was thinking about things people could send. if you were going to sent things.
Pens. Just normal pens. I had 12 when I left.. and i lost most of them. I have had 2 pens for a long time. and I only have one cap left. If i lose that... well not good. The pen I have, and really like is, BIC ultra round stic grip. It was like 12 for 1.39 or something. not the hard plactic ones. maybe some black and blues ones.

A little black hymn book that says "Merla Ramos" on it.

Pictures are always nice. Larry Ds photos of his kids are really popular. I actally have requests for copys of all of the photos of his kids and a couple more of cassie. maybe of the fam or something.

Usb drive. or something like it. Actally haveing 2 or so would be nice. to back up files... just incase i lose my camrea or something.

lately i wrote "nasty tie". not dirty or anything, just nasty looking. like makes your throw up a little in your mouth when you look at it. If you do want to send this, dont buy it. Well value village as a last resort, goodwill is too good of quility. I got a person in mind for this.

I went running. sorta. I ran in my.. backyard? well the area inbeween the bathroom and the main house. its about 10 feet arcoss, and 4 feet wide. I did a 30 mintues run. I did some math in my head when I was running, and I figured I did just over a mile. thats 2 miles an hour! hmm i walk faster then that. oh well its prolly more then some of you. I am not the worst!

People have stopped saying this greeting to me "you are really bad at tagalog" or, other people are good at tagalog, why do you stink? and why do you stink at tagalog.

they are now saying something, which is a compament here. mataba na ka (you are now fat).
haha. I didnt belive them at first, but yesterday I was talking with a member and they said something like namamataba ka adfjio ijasdfj sdifjaldjf or something like that. I tried to say, mataba ako na? (i am fat?) she didnt understand me, prolly becuase i didnt say it right. Then she tryed to explain it in many different ways, as i just made different faces, because i didnt understand. eventally she said. "nagiging baboy ka" and laughed a ton. (that means, you are becoming a pig!) hmmmm right.

but i am talking with people now. I have different reasons why... the biggest is i am now just talking to people. and studying words that have to do with things they like. that helps. yesterday i like i said about 200 randon questions to people we were working with. I prolly sounded like a 3 year old. I prolly also sound like, 'I give five doller', or, 'gave me my bag now". Which now that i am almost 20 (and realized it), and so i think that talking like that is awesome and sweet.

um well We have a investgater who is 11, who has a baptismal date. It was going to be January 8th, but we moved it to the 22nd. We just moved it again, to make sure he is ready, to the 29th which i think will happen.

About Roheilo. He still has Word of wisdom problem. but he is still super rad. hmmm yep.

um, something I realized about my self, is even though I am in the philipines, I am still me. I still complainer, and have terrible english. I also realized that other day, that i am white. That was werid. thats why everyone looks at me.

I have no idea what i wrote last week, besides that i think i was complaining about something. A week feels like forever. but everyday at about 7 pm, i always think, wait... what just happend. where did the day go. And When I try to stay up past 11pm to finish paper work we are behind... i cant. i just fall alsleep.

um well, thats kinda something. Oh I think the point of my complaining was so I would get mail. yep. actally I am getting some, but i am always gonna complain alittle. (I know my complainning works evencally... after 5 weeks of complaning, i now have 3 recipes to make pancake mix... thanks to tammy and mom.)

I still get paper mail, which is surprizing, and rad. this time (today) I got one postcard. super rad. so if you think you are rad, you should see if you can send stuff. postcards go through the easiest through pouch (the salt lake address.)

ok well I heard that derek is rad. also merida and dallen and tanner, and carter, and spencer, and linsey. oh and eden, and maddie, and hyram, and ammon, and caleb, and ruth, and maddie #2, and cassie, lilly. and spot. oh wait not spot. um and lindsey #2. and zora. oh zora is super rad too. and zora #2. and michel. and lilly #2. and i think thats all the rad people.

hmmmmm the end.


luke--


ps.. What? heidi's getting married.... ? haaaaa-ballllllla?
I also heard that grandpa has got home, mostly saftly. good to hear.

oh pss. dont send toilet paper.. i have some now. but only for my nose, because i am now the green goo man again.

oh psss. chess is rad. go newfews and nieces.

January 3, 2011

Hello!

um, So its been a new year. isnt that nice? um yah, so on new years there was lots and lots of fireworks... kinda. Well there were some that expolde in the sky, like over grandpas lake during 4th of july. besides those i saw 2 other kinds. The most common, was on they would light on fire, and then throw in the street... and BOOM! it would just make a really loud noise. The other one is on a stick-like-thing, were you light it, and fire would come out that end. for about 5 seconds. anyways...

um So, after I wrote last email... I thought hmmm Who was I really writing to? So I desided this time, instead of just writing my every thought that comes to mind for the 1-2 hour time I have, I would think first then write... ohhhh. right. Also.... I thought, who is actally reading this.. At first I thought, hmmmm prolly no one. Then I thought, maybe someone actally is, like my newfews and nieces, like derek, and miranda, and dallen, tanner, and caleb,ammon, and maddie #2, and more. So I think ill write towards them.

anyways. This week, It was new years. um, what did we do...? Well we went and taght with some people. um oh yah. One of our progressing people, name is jorell. He is 11. He is grandma is member and his uncle is the branch president (bishop kinda). Hes pretty cool. um, yah, they (him and his family), figured out my first name and they think its the coolest thing every to say it. I guess that means I am the coolest right? right? He was going to be baptisted on the 8th, but we desided to pull it back a couple weeks, for fun. (well to make sure he is ready too).

Um another guy we have been working with is named roheilo (row-heel-ee-lo). he is prolly 60. He has a son on a mission. He wants to be baptised, but has a word of wisdom thing. (sorta). So we have been working with him. This week we desided what would help him the most would be, instead of poking him everyday saying.. moo, moo, stop eating that stuff.. mooo, to help him read from the scriptures and go to church. There family read from the scriptures for the first time as a family last sunday. They got to 1 Ne chp 3. Hopfully they read this sunday too, (we haven't been able to check yet). Whats really werid, is that some how, I can talk to this guy. He doesn't speak tagalog very good, (he mostly speaks ilikano). Well, I don't speak tagalog very good ether. Maybe because we both don't speak tagalog very good, that it makes sence we can talk to each other in tagalog. ( that makes sence right?)

The other day we did a service project with him too. I am not sure really what we were doing.. Well we went to a niyugan (coconut tree forest) with these really sweet sword/knife thingys. We spent some time (should have been about 2-3 hours, ... but we got lazy after about 1) choping down veggitation near the coconut trees in a certain area. Not sure why. oh well. maybe to make it easier to find and collect coconuts later. Anyways those sword things were sweet! I am sending a picture with me holding two. I actally only used one when I was chopping stuff.
[A little nerd note: ok so it was hard for me at first to figure out how to use these things right at first. Then one of the guys showed me how, I needed to chop, starting up high, and down in a curved angle. After watching him (and my companion mentched dota) I realized that I had seen that before. Gonter the bounty hunter, in dota, uses these things, and actally swings like that. (I think) So now that I have said this everyone has to get on dota, maybe this friday, and have mark be that guy, watch the way he swings and then zap him a bunch for me. He will like that.]

Um anyways, after the first hour, we got some coconuts and drunk the juice, and ate the white goodness inside. Then we walked about 4 mintues and sat at the beach for a while.

um, so this is kinda a werid question, but I figure ill ask. I have thought of a compalcatied way of saying this, and then a simple one.
This is mostly for young people- like 11 and younger (well calabs age and down)
(who are still smart... yah I figured out we get dumber as we get older.. at least i do... like i am pretty sure i could do more calculous when I was 5 then I can now)
Or for the old people who, have already been on a mission.
(john this mean you... your old haha).

so simply... should I be a good missionary, or a better missionary?

I guess I was just thinking this for the last couple of weeks. like in the MTC you are told a million times, that I am suppodes to be exactly obidient.
But from what I get out here, from the other missionarys, is that there are rules that are there, but really don't worry about them, and just do your work.

I have been pretty stubbern for the first 11 weeks out in the field trying to be fairly obidient.. but I am starting to kinda fall away from that. And before I do, I wanted to ask your opinions. What ever you say, I am still planning on changing somethings... like I havent been getting enough sleep, and now I have a fever. I know that I am like jimmy is the fact that, I need sleep or I will ... just fall asleep. So rule or not, I am planning to get to bed sooner. Also I realized that my language has been getting worse, (well worse (like more bad) then it was before i left) and thats not right. I have looked over the whole rulebook and I understand that if I did follow or get close to each of the rules, it would actally help me temperally. Supposabley spritially too. umm... Anyways, I think my opinon is obdvious what I should do... but I have heard different ways from people back home before. (this whole thing, isn't about me be a bad missionary or not, its more like if I should treat the mission like I treated boys scouts, you know like row-row-your-boat to the front of the line kinda stuff.. or something a little more.)

anyways I guess my question goes back to what I said before.

Should I be a good missionary, or a better one?

um anyways, I have a story. An example of our teaching.

So on saterday, I was working with the family I baptised, the rocapors. We went to teach them, about charity. I had been begaining to feel pretty sick and its was fairly late (like 8pm or so)... so i mostly stayed out of the lession. After about 30 mintues, my companion asked, will you have charity for your fellow men (hmmm I think, something like that). Then they started telling something... for about 20 mintues. I tryed to keep up, and I have learned, usally I understand more then I think I do. Afterwards my companion said something short, and then looked to me expecting me to say something. I started with, I know that you have having a problem with brother ray (ok not exactly true, I wasnt really sure, but I did know that my companion was talking about charity, and they menched their kids name, joy, and brother ray... and when they menched brother ray, they made a werid face. ) after that I had no idea what to say, but just resently, like 10 secounds earlyer, i realized that there is a picture of chirst in the front of the aklat ni Mormon. So I opened to that. And then remember that one of words I wrote down to study was forgiveness.... execpt for the fact, that was the only word i didnt look up... doe. Anyways, I start talking about how Chirst forgave and will forgive us for all of our problems and sins. And how When he was on the earth, he wasnt treated very good, and people called him names too. Then I said said that to have charity is to have the pure love of christ (from a scripture my companion read earlyer). And that Although people aren't perfect to us and it is really hard, we are to forgive as Chirst does for us. (Something like that). Then I asked if they would forgive brother ray.... (or something). Afterwards it seemed like they actally understood what I said, and then continued like what I said made since to the conversion and made since to their situation.(What doesn't make since here, is how I could say anything that they would actally accept as they are obvoisly much smarter then I am, and older, and my tagalog prolly made me sound like i was 6 years old.) Then my companion said some more stuff... and by then I had no idea what he was saying. I was pretty tired.

Anyways thats what we do out here i guess.

Oh before I go, I almost forgot about some of my accomplishments this last year.

I have learned to use soap.
Good news, There is no more, I used the whole thing.
Bad news, I am now used to using it everyday, and so I'll prolly go buy some after this email.

um. well I think thats it. Oh I now shave every day. And have used a whole bottle of shampoo. and toothpaste.

Something else, that someone might find intersting. To help me speak tagalog, me and my companion have a plan. Its were I only speak tagalog in the apartment. And for every english sentance I speak, I put a 1 peso (about 2 cents), into a box.(I dont know why he picked a huge box... I hope i am not that bad). so far theres about 10. we arent sure what will do with the english money. Maybe we will get a bunch of soda with it at the end of the trasnfer. or.. something.

what ever... ummmmmm bye.

elder luke dickinson

p.s. cila and tammy emailed me about food... I like food. Also I like recipes. um I can find a lot of stuff here. my area right now, is really out in the middle of no where, but still can find a lot. All the other areas, are closer to a big city, and mostly likely my next area i will be in will have a mall. no one ever sent me pakecake mix recipe.... :(

December 28, 2010

Hi.

first, no dont send me anymore singamajigs. They are sweet. but... no.

I hear marks married again. yep. Thats cool. um I hear it went well too.

ok soooo ill just start writing something.

um, about christmas, I got some presents, from the house. Mostly food and stuff witch was nice. I dont think I have really had candy in a long time. not good for me, oi. haha oh well. Whats really supriseing was the gravy. I didnt .. wait no I kinda expected instant gravy for some reason. um What was really suprising that Lucys gift was the most entertaing of everything (those dancing dolls, my companion really likes them). Wait no that usally happens too. I mean What was suprizing was that andy's gift is actally useful. Now That is what was surprising. he sent me a frisbee... which doesnt exist here, as far as I know.

um, yah so christmas was pretty good i guess, um yah. I wanted 2 things in perticlar, that i didnt get. I have started using a 3 ring binder (those things are actally useful) to orgainize my notes. soo I thought I would try to buy some more paper. Nope doesnt exist here. We went to like 4 stores, asking for paper...with speed holes. nope. So i just cut speed holes myself.

The other thing, was toilet paper. They have it at the store near by, but .. I forgot. Plus my companion made fun of me for talking about buying toilet paper.oh well. maybe next year. (just .. I dont recommend ever touching me again.)

I also had some jello, that I threw in my bags, when I was in the MTC. I ate that too, for christmas. that was cool. I thought i would get sick for eating that, but so far so good.

Oh! ok so you know that feeling when you suck a ramen noodle up your nose, so you can grab both sides (from nose and mouth), and floss... your nose? ok just think about that for a mintue.

ok.

So here is my advice. Dont do that with rice. So i was eatting rice the other day, and while i was eating it, i sniffed (or something), and huge spoonful of rice went into the nose cavity thinging. not good. For about 15 mintues I tryed blowing my nose, each time getting more and more rice on my shirt. I cleaned up, thought about how rice will always be for me for now on, and then went back into the kitchen and relized that there was still more rice left. and ate it. Yah, I woke up the next morning, I had rice on me too. Bastos! (nasty!)

Oh ok so, When I was calling home, someone asked about the foods I have been eating. Mostly I have been cooking for my self. (rice, onions,garlic, tomatos,eggs.. or something) (sometimes carrot and cabbage soup, or what ever my companion makes).

But with members, Its a little different. The best thing is this thing called pansit (i think). its just brown noodles of some sort. They also (in my area only) they have bukol salad (coconut) alot (because lots and lots of coconuts here). Everything else I cant remember the name, but i usally eat it anyways. (because we cant leave untill i finish... even if we are just stopping to say hi).
There are alot of aso (dogs) on the streets. really alot. And I know when one gets hit by a car, they become someones meal. Actally I hear its pretty tasty, and people eat it... fairly... well on occacion. I havent had any.

I was telling a story about when I was eating at someones house, early. When I asked what the 2 dishes were they (with rice), they said pork and pusa (cat). When I gave a funny look, and started reaching for the "pork", They said, oh no. joke. joke lang (just joke). both are pork. soooo i dont know. I just ate it.

Yesterday.... I dont know what it was at all. We came to try a family, that appently was a former investigater. When we started talking with them, we saw the tatay (the dad)... cooking(?) something. It looked like purple water. I knew this wasnt good, when my companion asked what it was, and then said, ohhh its pagkain (ohhh its food). Well we taght a fairly long lession, and finished just in time to eat some purple .. stuff. So the best way to discribe what it looked like.... well in 2 words : purple, goo. have you ever seen better off dead, the movie? sorta like that. execpt it wasnt alive still. I am not really sure what it tasted like, (i think there must have been some flour in there), but i only got half way, and I was trying to get my companion to eat the rest of mine. He told they owners of the house that, and she was like, you can eat it (meaning me). great... i was pretyt full and prolly would have thrown up if i finished it. but the ward mission leader was working with us, and ate it for me. I owe that man my life.

I guess before I finish I should tell you of some more, important things.

So right around christmas (22nd), We went to go visit some people, to teach. Everyone loves to give you food, espessally around christmas. early that day I had this thing... i think it was a plant, that was boiled in water. It wasnt too bad but was super full. anyways at this appontment they... gave us more food. We tryed to refuse at first, but they insisted. Anyways the sister of our investigater, who i think lives next door, came over and made 6 sandwichs for the 3 of us (me, companion, and member), of orange goo. ok this is normal orange goo, i have seen it in america, maybe mayo or something? anyways. that was it, bread and goo. But, something kinda touched me with this goo-sandwich (hmm i might sound a little gay here), was that the house we were in, was fairly small. like, think of a queen size bed..ok. then build walls around it, out of some bamboo, Then on a part of the long end of one side, place the small bathroom of our house (Its actally pretty cool looking, I am a little jeloius). ok thats the whole thing. in the bed area.. there was a bed. in the other area, there was a plastic-yard bench and a little table-box(which prolly had all of there things in it). When we came in, they placed a chair in there for the member, we sat on the bench, and that took up the whole house. the investigater sat on that table thing, and the sister that came just stood at the door.

Some thing that was cool was that I realized that I could commuate with the sister who brought the food. What was werid, was that there really should have been a language barrier. As she couldnt speak at all, and could only commiuate with sign language. She could hear, a little i think. I felt kinda dumb, that i felt like i couldnt commiate with people here. She actally stayed for the lession, which was pretty cool. I guess I have never tasted a better orange-goo sandwich before.. actally 2.

anyways, I was telling heidi, that on the 23rd I could comminate with people. I just went and talked with people. One converisaion i had with someone, was all about how I couldnt speak tagalog at all. It started with someone at a part-members house, said that i didnt know how to speak tagalog still right? And I begain with, yah. we must have gone on for 20 or so mintues before my companion, stopped me, and we started the lession. I think maybe I have grandpa dickinsons trate, where he can go to any countiy around the world and be able to commuate just fine. I think I just got to find the confidence that grandpa has.

ok well, we just had transfer annocements, and I was fairly sure I was going to be transfered, because.. me and my companion just got to be friends yesterday. well actally we are still companions, which is pretty cool. so yah. good news. balar is sweet and awesome.

ok well I guess I g2g soon, so Ill tell one more story, i guess.

I think I figured out the problem with me not being teach very well. I would study... mosts the time. but it was just kinda general. Something I tryed yesterday was actally writing a lession plan for a lession. That would help. I guess its kinda like going to give a talk (or teach a lession) at church, with out really preparing at all.. and expecting it to make since. And now I am planing to use my language study to practice things i might would actally say. Well for day 1, its been effective.

In the lession I prepared for yesterday, I started fairly well... but things didnt go prefect to plan. And I thought of this analgy when my companion started talking about something, that we hadn't planned for at all.

I guess our message is about helping them, get from where they are to a destiation. (hopefully the temple or something). so its kinda like hiking. We are guides to help them make it to the distantion. We arent going to make it in one day, its going to take a while. We actally dont know exactly the path, because we are just jumping into there hiking trip.

In hiking we say, today, we want to get accross the river, 10 miles away. or we plan in our planner, talk about faith.

In hiking we could plan the path we will take, or make a lession plan to help us get there.

The problem is we dont really know whats the best way, so in teaching we are guided by the spirit. But we dont really know where thats taking us, and it kinda feels like to me, that we are about to walk off a cliff. Some how we are to trust that there a invisible pathway, that will take us the right way. Well thats how it feels to me, when my companions starts talking about something, random (to me). I actally thought of coyote and roadrunner. somehow roadrunner and coyote can walk on the air... but when they look down (coyote) then they fall down.

Anyways I don't know if that made since but it kinda does to me.. (well i dont have to time to read it... so maybe it does). I guess the point is i think i figured out if i dont plan, It will be really hard to get started, at least.

anyways... ummm

merry pasko.

bye

elder dickinson

December 13th, 2010

Hello fam,

k so before I forget.. (i forget last week), did anyone ever pay attechen in semiary and write down any scripture chains? I made one up, and it was very effective in getting some people to read from the book of mormon, but I got lazy. So ... Scripture chains? could email them to mom (lori@dickinsonselectric.com) to put together, or just email them to me.

So about the call home, um I have a couple options. One is to get a calling card, the other is to do skype. um, yah.
The calling card is 40 mintues long, and I am only supposes to have 40 mintues. (plus If I call sunday morning (8am) my time or around.. what ever your time is on christmas day, (7pm?6?5?) then I will use the calling card.

If I use the calling card, I dont know If I am going to try to call a bunch of people, I might just call home (or mom's cell). It might get tricky trying to set up a lot of different calls. (plus church starts at 9). I am fairly sure no one is going to be able to call me.

The other idea is me to use skype. if i do that, then I might find time in the morning (my time) to go to a computer shop on a different day.Like the friday or thurday before christmas (your time).

So... I guess just tell me what you are thinking.

anyways..

Ill start this week with some people I know here, and then I finish with some random stuff.

um So Marriet is getting baptised on Friday, so thats sweet. I think thats the same day mark is getting marry-ed. (well Thusday in america). Pretty cool. She is 13.

um. There is a guy named brother ray. He is a werid-o. well thats the best way I can put it. He is a member, (actally very very helpful for missionary work). but.. werid-o. There is one big drawback for him being werid. All (or 9 out of 10) of the less-active members, when we are start talking with him, talk about him. They all say he is gay, ... which isnt true. but oh well. I think thats why a lot of people are inactive.

ummm
so There is Rocapor family. They are still doing good. Tatay, hasnt been coming to the whole 3 hours of church, but his wife and kids are. His kids passed the scarament for the first time yesteday. cool family.

um, hmmm There is Jovin. He is a mga 60 year old guy. Hes daughter is the branch presidents wife. Jovins wife is a resent convert. I guess before her baptism, there house would be the meeting place for a group of gamblers, I think cards, and drinking. But now they have moved it to another house because, the wife, marrisa doesnt play anymore. I think Jovin still does. Anyways hes pretty rad. right when I got here (like my first week), he would try to talk to me, which was pretty cool. He, like most people here in this area, speak ilikono as a native langage, speak tagalog, and knows a handful of english words or basic phrases. From him I have learned a little ilikono. Oh also, he said he would get baptised when I get married. So in like 20 years from now, ill have to send him a photo of my wedding.

anyways, um for Eliza, shes intersting (but actally fairly common). She will tell us she has a testimony in the church, felt the spirit and knows that its the true chruch, but has some little problem. for her its that "the church is too far (maybe 3 blocks), and that the born again church (2 blocks) is closer". (other problems like this, someone said they promised or convented with the other chruch that she would keep going..., or someone said they received a testimony in the Book of Mormon, and is now using it in her other church.)
But I found a scripture for her. Last time we were going to visit, We were about a block away, when she spotted us. She didnt want to deal with us, so she booked it, in her yard, and darted behind some trees. She is like 55, she isnt very fast or sneaky.. oh well. The scripture is DC 133:57-58. Its about missionary work. I highlighted the last 10 words of verse 58.

ummm I found something else during church last sunday. We should watch out about making fun of bald people, like dad. 2 Kings 2:23-24.

About learning Tagalog.... yah its werid. But some how I am actally picking it up pretty quick. A friend of mine, gave me a list of inspirational thoughts, and said i was to only look at one a day, so it would last. Well I did that... and then I forgot about it. But I found it this week. And one I read was pretty cool. for a couple of reasons (for one, i like bikes). It was about bikes and learning a language. pretty much it said that if you dont ride the bike, then you dont learn to ride a bike. If you dont speak the language, then you dont learn the language. And if you do ride the bike/speak the language, then magicly you just .. start riding/speaking stright.

Anyways I have a story... becuase. I like storys. ok, One of my greatest moments in life, probly inbetween the time I managed to eat 3 boxes of rice at lunch my freshmen year of high school (which i did keep down for the whole lunch period), and the summer I helped filled a large slurpee cup with gum.

--its about when I learned to really ride a bike.
When I first wanted to learn to ride a bike, Mark told me he would help me. Yes! so he took me to village glen hill, and put me on the bike and gave me a big push. Not good, haha. I didnt get very far. Anyways I practiced a bunch, but I never I had much confidence, since I kept running into the neighbors trash can. Evencally I started practicing going up ash st a little, and coming down. I didnt dare cross frewing to lower Ash st, because I called that death hill. I dont know I must have been 8. Anyways one day I went up Ash a little, like normal, while coming down I desided ill just go for it, down death hill. Well It was sweet. I was flying. I didnt dare touch the breaks, because the only thing Mark told me about bikes, was if you use your brakes you will flip off over the handlebars. So anyways I was flying, I mean going pretty fast. I was so happy. Then when I got to the bottem of the hill, and hit the curb, I really was flying... off my bike stright into someones trash can. But I was going so fast I knocked it over. I was so happy, I had defeated the trash can. And I never had problem with biking ever again.

You may ask what is the point to this story... well I like storys. But I guess it applys to me now. If you think of speaking english as standing, on or off the bike, and you think of riding the bike as speaking tagalog, then it makes since.. sorta. I mean since I have been here, I have watched people ride the bikes.. a ton. But actally riding it, I am having trouble. I am getting better, but I keep stopping and standing up. I think all I need is to just go for it one day, stright down the hill at full speed and smash someones trash can. I still havnt figured out how to do that, but... I figure something out.

Oh I had pretty cool experience with tagalog this week. We were teaching about the holy ghost and how to get a testiamony. So I told a story about how I found my testimony and how they could get their own. After I finished, I expected my companion to try to translate it for the people.. but he didnt. One of the investigaters just said, I didnt understand the words that he said, but I have understanding of what he said, and the importantance. That was sweet. (also someone else started weeping quietly... I dont know).

Oh so I lost my wallet. It had my pirate photo (family) and abut 400 pesos (or about 10 bucks). Not a really big deal. its alot of money here, but oh well. But in my coin purse... (i have a purse?) I had 2 cents left. So I tryed to explain to people that it was ok, because as a missionary I just need to talk to people, and I still had my 2 cents left, but they didnt understand.

Oh I have one last thing, I have notice this pattern with my prayers. First I ask for help, to be more teachable, more humble. Then the next day I ask for help, for peace, to be pulled out of the fire. The 3rd day is fairly nurteal. Then it starts over.. I think I am becoming more and more afride to pray for humilty. I might have figured out the scripture, 3 NE 24:2-3

well g2g,.... baaaaah

luke