Chuckles!

What it do, my dearest family?! I'm on early as you can see. Don't worry, I'm not breaking any rules! We are having a whole mission activity on Monday so we won't have time to email then. Why, you may ask, are we having such an activity? Well, since you asked, WE GOT OVER 200 BAPTISMS THIS MONTH, which I'm pretty sure is the most any mission in the world got.....Boo yahh! 

Anyways, this week has been a good one, again! I've been struggling lately about keeping a journal so I've been jotting little notes in my planner of funny things that I need to remember to write about. I glanced back at them to think of something to write to you all about and thought I would share...

-Black Jesus

-Falling through the bamboo (x2)

-Fight "We're going down!"

-Jehovah Witness at Recent Convert

-Old Mulan lady

-Larry... headlamp

So, as you can tell, it's been quite an eventful week! I guess we'll just work our way down the list. First "Black Jesus". So we were at an investigator's house and I saw this statue of Jesus. I mean, no big deal, it's a Catholic country, everyone has one in their house. But this one was a little different from the rest. I had to do a double take but it was as I saw the first time. Jesus was black. I was a little shocked/ taken back but then I just started chuckling to myself. Then we taught the investigator about the nature of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ which is part of the first lesson. :)

"Falling through the bamboo (x2)" We have this area with many progressing investigators. This particular area is special. There just so happens to be no real streets. The whole somewhat neighborhood is built on sticks of bamboo over the ocean. And when I say built that's being generous! It's more like bamboo held together with twine and bubblegum! (I may be being a little dramatic!) So this particular day, it was really sunny so I couldn't really see where I was walking because of the glare. I was trying to be careful but my companion was booking it! The first time, only my ankle fell through. The second time, I wasn't so lucky. I was just walking along, minding my own business when some kid yells out, 'AMERICANA!!!' Of course I turned around to tell him that I was clearly Filipina when I lost my step. Next thing I hear is a huge crack and then I hear myself go "WHOOOOOP". I was still pretty lucky that my big bum saved me from falling all the way down into the not so clean water. I promptly got myself up and turned around to see all the kids cracking up! I couldn't help but laugh too. I still told them I was Filipina and walked away smiling! 

 "Fight 'We're going down!'" So we are in the bamboo-hood on a separate occasion. We are at the house of an investigator which is almost the last house out (closest to the ocean). It was a rather windy day and we had a hard time getting all the way out there because we had to take a walkway that is only two bamboo trunks and is really wobbly. So this particular day is the first day of summer vacation and the day of high school graduation. We passed some, lets call them hooligans, on our way to the house who just may have been inebriated. So we get to the lesson and start teaching when the hooligans start to fight. And I mean fight! They were on the other side of the thin house wall.  The whole house was shaking and people started running to dry land. I grabbed my bag and very calmly said, 'WE'RE GOING DOWNNNNNNN!!!!" I mean in my mind we were seriously about to pull a Titanic and dive straight into the ocean! Eventually the fight ended, and although my heart was pounding, the house was still standing on it's thin bamboo stilts! The investigator was cracking up at how afraid we got and we all laughed about it for a good 5 minutes. 

"Jehovah Witness at Recent Convert" At the beginning of our day, we headed to a recent convert's house to pick her up because she was going to work with us. Well, we got to the house and were waiting on the porch when two Jehovah's Witness missionaries walked up. Of course, we were friendly and said hello and started talking to them.  When our recent convert came out, the other missionaries started talking to her and telling her that she needed to decide there and then what she wanted her religion to be and where she would be be baptized. The missionary was a little disappointed when our RC told her that she was already baptized in the LDS church. But being the great missionary that I am, I saw the opportunity, seized the moment, and just started chatting with the lady. We've got an appointment to go and teach her next week! :)

"Old Mulan Lady" We are teaching a Nanay who is the spitting image of the grandma in Mulan... nuff said!

"Larry... headlamp" We were teaching an old man in the middle of the daytime. (That's relevant I promise) Anyways, we asked him to read a verse, and after struggling for a second, he told us to wait and he went into another room. He came out and I kid you not, he had a huge headlamp on!! Like one of those you strap on and look like a minion wearing! It took every fiber of my being not to crack up at that very moment! When he was finished reading, he didn't take off the headlamp and was just wearing it the whole lesson, shining it in our faces many a time!! I walked out of that lesson with a huge smile on my face!

So life on a mission is full of funny times. Something happens everyday that makes me smile! I love being a missionary and even when the people are goofy, I love teaching them about this gospel. I love you all and hope you got a chuckle or two out of this letter!

Love,

Sister Miller