I can really see the pure joy and peace that this gospel of Jesus Christ has brought into their lives. It's amazing to see people's hearts change.

Alright, so there’s a ton of stuff that I got to email about this week as usual. Overall, this week was really good! We officially have 5 people with baptismal dates! It's amazing to see how much happier people become as they accept the gospel and live by its teachings.

                Me with Brother Sonney. He’s a member who 

                         always works with us, he’s super cool

First off I want to talk about the Hernali Family. There’s Lory Lynn (17) Amy (36) and Nanay Hernali (Some old age that I don’t really know). They all have been investigating the church for some time now, and just last Friday they all decided to get baptized on Nov 5. We asked them why they decided to get baptized, and all of their answers were awesome. Lory Lynn says because every time she reads the Book of Mormon, some reason she just feels like she wants to be a better person and that every time she prays about it, she can feel that it's just a true book. Amy says that her answer was pretty much the same, and when she tries to live by the teachings of the Book of Mormon, she feels such immense happiness. And Nanay Hernali says that every time she goes to church she just feels like its Heavenly Father's true church. And seeing them make this change, I can really see the pure joy and peace that it has brought into their lives. It's amazing to see people's hearts change because of this gospel.

Let's see, next up is Jose. He's the one who has had the huge smoking problem, but still hasn’t thought about smoking since the 12th. He says he has come so far to risk it all on cigarettes. I really like him, and he really listens when I talk. He says that every time that I speak to him about the gospel; he says that he can feel in his heart the truth of what I say. That brings me a lot of comfort because I feel like I suck at Tagalog, but apparently it means something to him. He's also getting baptized on the 5th of November so I'm really excited for him!

Alright, so I'm just going to write about the Philippines in general and about the people here. First off, it may be dirty, but it’s beautiful! The beaches and rivers and volcanoes are just amazing.

The people here are pretty dang cool too. Although I can't speak the language perfectly, I've realized that a lot of conversation doesn't need to be through speaking. Honestly, I can make these people laugh so much with just some body movements and a word or two in Tagalog. It's so great I love them! They just need to learn how to shower a little more often is all.

Also they have these little motorcycles that have a 

side car attached to the side, and the sidecar has a 

roof. Here we are riding on the roof of one going 

about 30 miles an hour. Just because I know that 

you love me to be safe ♥ w/companion Elder Perkins

Something I never thought about before coming here was being white. Seriously, people here treat me like a celebrity. They all think I am the best looking human being on the planet, and it's so weird. When we are walking down the street literally EVERY PAIR OF EYES is on me. They all just stare and shout "GUAPO" or "POGI," which essentially means handsome. Honestly, I don't really enjoy it all that much. It's so weird walking down the street knowing that every pair of eyes is on you, so usually I just keep my head down so I'm not making awkward eye contact with them. Sometimes I have fun with it, but honestly, it's kind of weird.   But the people here love me.  At least the women over HERE appreciate me!! Just kidding, but seriously.  The language is weird. I can understand a lot of what they say when I try really hard, but speaking it isn’t as easy. It’s tough to get all of the right grammar down.

Some of the mannerisms are different here too. Like instead of saying "Yes," they just raise their eyebrows. Or instead of asking "what?" they just look at you and open their mouths. Sometimes I don’t know what they are doing, and I think it’s probably going to take a while for me to get used to.

Well that’s it for this week! I love you all!! Keep me in mind, because i promise i keep every single one of you in mind! I'll email again in another short week!

I love you mom and dad and Brooklyn and London and Danielle so dang much. Keep doing what you’re doing and stay close to the Lord. I love you so much :)

P.s.  I got me a GUITAR!!  This guitar was the best purchase ever over here! It was only like 25 US dollars.  It’s not the best thing, but heck it works. Everyone in the apartment uses it (I totally forgot to tell you that I room with the ZLs too) and they all love it. Thank you for the strings. I’ve started practicing my piano music, but transferring it over to guitar, so i can actually make some improvement on my guitar. I want to get really good by the time I come back home.

Also there aren’t many blackouts, and sleep isn’t that bad if you shower right before bed! We all have our own fans that the mission provides and they are super powerful. So they just blow over your body at night and honestly sometimes I even get cold! The cushions are actually pretty comfy that we sleep on too, so it’s not too shabby :)  The shower water is actually super cold so that’s nice too. And yeah, my shoes are doing fine! I have had to use some decongestants but the need for those is slowly fading away, so that’s good!

Eating a super good lunch on the beach side

straight up beautiful beaches here

Just stunning beaches