Gangsters!

[Date of this letter was 11/23/2010 - sorry]

Now I remember why I wanted to go to somewhere warm on my mission - Winter. Winter here is great. The sun shines and the plants grow. Have I ever mentioned how green it is here? I'm going to get homesick if you keep writing stuff like that in your letters. But, I have a feeling Thanksgiving will come and go tomorrow and I'll forget all about it. Maybe I'll splurge and buy a soft drink.

It’s sweet, I got this belt made out of Caribou horn. The guy who makes them is a bishop and literally all the missionaries have his belt! It’s sweet, it’s kind of a Cebu thing. Speaking of which, the Cebu trip was cool. The City is SOOOO different then Camotes. The Camotes is the most bukid (mountain) area in the mission it turns out. The city is super loud and there are a million people. On the plus side, they have really, really efficient transportation systems called jipneys. I love them. They're old military jeeps that they use as busses, and they are mega cheap. They cram people on there. But, after the Cebu trip, I got to take a Habal-habal (motorcycle) from the dock back to my apartment and it made me realize that I was literally in the most beautiful area in the mission. I'm super lucky!

Also, because the people here are super prepared for the message. We have 5 people committed for baptism on Dec. 4 and the other two elders have one also. So that will be the happiest day of my life. Last week I talked about Gwen, this week I want to talk about Benjamin.

Benjamin is 19 years old, and totally thug. He has 2 diamond stud earrings and wears huge shirts. He also started the Bloods on Camotes. They're like the bloods in America, but probably less violent. Long story short, he is a pretty intense dude. We taught him and his cousin one night and much to our surprise he showed up at church the next day. He told us he wants to change. He has been super receptive, came to church again on Sunday and committed to baptism. He has given up smoking and drinking. He works with us now during the day and has serious street cred. He knows everyone cuz it turns out there 200 guys in his gang. He is inviting all of his friends to church this Sunday, so I'm way pumped about him. He is great. He worked with us yesterday morning and then went home and said he'd meet us again at 3 and he didn't show up so we were bummed. Later that night we were coming back from an appointment we hopped off the Habal-habal and sure enough there he was reading Elder Tan's Book of Mormon, waiting for us. He apologized for coming late and said he had dropped by 3 times waiting for us. He is super nice. Today we were going to go eat coconuts with him up in the bukid but we got lost and ended just taking a good long hike. Mom would have loved it, the view was amazing. The pictures really don't do any justice. It literally is paradise.

So basically my joy is full right now. I'm in such a good mood all the time, that scripture on my plaque is so true. The feeling that comes over you when an investigator says they will be baptized is indescribable. Also when I was in Cebu I got to see Elder Pasikala - the first time I saw an elder from my batch (the elders you were in the MTC with) so that was fun. We were going to do a temple tour but the group never showed up so we just chatted until they called and said they broke down. So to answer your question, yes I saw the temple. The temple Complex has the mission home and office on it. It’s a sweet complex, it feels super American. Also, the city I work in is called San Francisco, on Camotes. It’s on the Island across from Porro. So I look at Porro, and Leyte (where Elder Johnson and Sister Brinton are) everyday while I tract. It’s the best.