(Note from Kerry: Nathan, Loren's cousin, received his mission call to the Australia, Brisbane mission this week.)
Yeah! While we're still on rats, the mechete-d count has risen to 6 with no signs of stopping. They waltz in and I'm beginning to think we'd better just hand over the house to them. You're not joking about the meat. The 2 Filipinos in the house -- Elder Nuyte and Rallos -- ate rats just like these before their missions. These rats come straight in from the "bukid"(rice fields) and are said to be clean to eat. We have a frog that lives in the bathroom, he gets bigger every day, but I have yet to name him. The 6-month "de-worming" pill was tasty -- chocolate flavored. People on the side of the road are still "frogging" for dinner, frogs must be in season. Roaches climb on and eat anything that is'nt in the fridge. The bites all over me are probably a combination of mosquitos and bed-bugs. Remember how I had one corn on my left foot? Now there are 10, 5 on the digits, 5 on the pad. Just the left foot. Not sure why. Constant walking does a number on the feet. My legs are sooo white, and I've got a KILLER farmers tan. I'm still getting fatter in the belly and face, and still losing weight slowly. Somethin' wrong here. That's all the updates I can think of. The area is city-city, busy streets with houses side by side as far as the eye can see. No yards, just house, 7 steps, house, and tons of allies where bamboo houses and cement, and cinder block houses alike are crowded. Wherever there aren't houses, it's straight to jungle, or swamp. This is a WILD PLACE. It's great. Exotic plants and undergrowth grow just anywhere -- on the side of the street -- what an amazing part of the world.
Can I request some simple recipes -- soups, anything for the stovetop -- eggs, potatoes, carrots, chicken, pork, veggies and fruits -- again, anything for the stovetop.
Sister Puzey gave an awesome talk about Joseph Smith at Zone conference. She started out saying: "I love the prophet, Joseph Smith". She'd studied his life for a month, and the stories and her testimony was so powerful. I was inspired by the life of Joseph Smith.
We've been doing a lot of finding here, and we have a few great investigators. By the way, I wrote a letter earlier to Elder Razo asking for an update on the Zamora family, if all goes well, their baptism should go through on September 19th, but with the slow-ness of the pouch system, I might not recieve news for a month. I pray for them -- I'm a little homesick for Capas. But I'm starting to really love Aduas. It's a great, small, area (about 5 barangays), packed with amazing people. Dad, there are pianos here, our chapel is really nice. There's one keyboard, and one real piano. We're looking for an opportunity to start piano lessons, but they should have a piano at home as well -- it's a tough thing to start up. We'll get it going, though.
It's been more than 20 minutes, and I have yet to write something important! It's a good thing for the weekly hand-written letters.
It has been a very happy week for me. I feel like I'm beginning to understand what it feels like to "lose yourself". Striving, and living with exact obedience brings peace and joy that erases stress. I've never felt such serene peace. In the Bible Dictionary, it says that one of the fruits of faith is the assurance that a certain way of life is pleasing to the Savior. The missionary way of life IS acceptable to Him, and there are amazing blessings available here. That's another fruit of faith -- recieving blessings that are available in this life. Another is the assurance of salvation. I've really obtained a desire this week to improve my capacity as a teacher. It's a balance of gospel knowledge and language fluency that's hard to put together sometimes. But that's the next step for me -- I need to become an effective teacher, a Christ-like teacher. Dad, becoming a co-senior companion was a stresser at first. But I'm beginning to see how I can make decisions by relying more on the Lord, rather than just on another missionary. Together, as a companionship, great things happen as far as decision-making, planning, finding, and teaching are concerned. I'm so grateful for a companion! Two-by-two truly is inspired, even if differences are sometimes hard to overcome.
Love ya'll lots! It's okay with me if you're always partying, keep it up! Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts.
Sincerely,
Elder Loren Peck
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