Dear Family and Friends,
Christmas! I love Christmas! And this year was especially good and went very well! I first want to share with you a little thing I learned this week. The greatest gift we can give is our time. Time is something we can't get back, and when we spend it on someone else it is a blessing to both parties. We meet new friends, strengthen family members, and draw ourselves and others closer to our heavenly and divine potential. This Christmas we worked, we went out and taught, but this was a blessing to me. I had the opportunity to give my most precious gift, my time. And as I gave, I was given the blessing of seeing people smile, seeing people be genuinely touched, and from that I feel like this have been one of the sweetest Christmases I have had so far. I was also able to call my family over Skype, there were tears, but not tears because I was homesick (don't get me wrong, I miss them dearly), but because it made me so happy to see them happy. That was by far the greatest gift I received this year.
Now, here are the many things that happened this crazy week. First we had curfew on Christmas eve, because it isn't safe to go out working when people are getting drunk like its going out of style. But regardless, we return home at 7 and decide to celebrate Christmas as a Kabahay (house group). We opened presents, and did a little Filipino tradition. We made a little fire pit and put a pot full of candles on it. We then start to share a spiritual thought that we feel impressed to share. After you finish the wax is boiling and you take a spoonful of water and quickly throw it in the pot of wax. I would compare the effect to the goblet of fire. The pot erupts on flames after you make your deposit. It is definitely one of the coolest things I've done in my life (besides my mission of course). We also had Graham Cake, which is a specialty in the Philippines. It consists of graham crackers put in the bottom of a serving dish, its then topped with fruit/creme salad. Its way good! We also enjoyed the blessing of a cold breeze as we slept (you return home covered in sweat, so this really is a blessing.). I also bought myself a custom pair a pants for myself, I got them yesterday, and let me tell you, whoa! They are super nice, and only 350 pesos! This week (actually today) I experienced what I think is my first case of an upset stomach. I'm very surprised it took this long, but it was bound to happen sometime!
This week and all the others have been great! Talk to you all soon! See you in 1.8!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson ( The Weirdest Missionary You Know, or TWMYK for short
Christmas! I love Christmas! And this year was especially good and went very well! I first want to share with you a little thing I learned this week. The greatest gift we can give is our time. Time is something we can't get back, and when we spend it on someone else it is a blessing to both parties. We meet new friends, strengthen family members, and draw ourselves and others closer to our heavenly and divine potential. This Christmas we worked, we went out and taught, but this was a blessing to me. I had the opportunity to give my most precious gift, my time. And as I gave, I was given the blessing of seeing people smile, seeing people be genuinely touched, and from that I feel like this have been one of the sweetest Christmases I have had so far. I was also able to call my family over Skype, there were tears, but not tears because I was homesick (don't get me wrong, I miss them dearly), but because it made me so happy to see them happy. That was by far the greatest gift I received this year.
Now, here are the many things that happened this crazy week. First we had curfew on Christmas eve, because it isn't safe to go out working when people are getting drunk like its going out of style. But regardless, we return home at 7 and decide to celebrate Christmas as a Kabahay (house group). We opened presents, and did a little Filipino tradition. We made a little fire pit and put a pot full of candles on it. We then start to share a spiritual thought that we feel impressed to share. After you finish the wax is boiling and you take a spoonful of water and quickly throw it in the pot of wax. I would compare the effect to the goblet of fire. The pot erupts on flames after you make your deposit. It is definitely one of the coolest things I've done in my life (besides my mission of course). We also had Graham Cake, which is a specialty in the Philippines. It consists of graham crackers put in the bottom of a serving dish, its then topped with fruit/creme salad. Its way good! We also enjoyed the blessing of a cold breeze as we slept (you return home covered in sweat, so this really is a blessing.). I also bought myself a custom pair a pants for myself, I got them yesterday, and let me tell you, whoa! They are super nice, and only 350 pesos! This week (actually today) I experienced what I think is my first case of an upset stomach. I'm very surprised it took this long, but it was bound to happen sometime!
This week and all the others have been great! Talk to you all soon! See you in 1.8!
Elder Trevor Kent Johnson ( The Weirdest Missionary You Know, or TWMYK for short