This is week has been a wild ride to say the least. I finally got into the field and its definitely difficult but also sprinkled with the tender mercies of the Lord. My first zone is in Tolosa which is just south of the main city of Tacloban. There's not much on the main street and most of the town lives in the jungle. It’s been very interesting proselyting under coconut trees and banana leaves, but I think I'm getting used to it.
My trainer is Elder Ramos, and he is super nice! He's helping me learn the language and get adjusted to missionary life. It’s definitely been difficult but anyone whose gone on a foreign mission, especially Asia, knows that your body needs a few weeks to... adjust. Other than a few hiccups though, I have been trucking along trying to learn the language. Waray Waray is truly a different language than Cebuano, so it has taken a lot of effort to try and get off the ground in the language.
Living out in the jungle is definitely a different experience than I'm used to. We don't have AC, but we have a couple fans which are really nice to come back to after a long day. We often come across oddities in the bush though. Like today for example we woke up to find a severed gecko head on our doormat. Very strange but I guess that’s just the Philippines.
This week I also got the opportunity to baptize someone! Brother Charles has been taking lessons from the missionaries for about a month and decided to get baptized last week. My trainer asked if I could do it and he agreed! During the baptism he couldn't stop smiling, although he was nervous. He's a bright soul who has a love for the gospel. Even though we don't speak the same language, his attitude, and the composition of his character shine through. I'm excited to keep meeting with him as the weeks continue. I'm sorry if this email is a little all over the place but I'll talk to you all next week! Kita kites!
Elder Wilhelm