Kamuschta? ...Actually, I can't really tell too much that it's October from over here (aside from when I look at my watch or my calender and it tells me that it's October). Thar'sch no pumpkinsch over heeere... o.o Apparently, they do have Halloween, here, though. That'll be fun. :D "Ma! There's some kid dressed as an American out here!" "Give 'im some candy and send 'im out with the rest of 'em!" "Kay."
So last week, we were OYM-ing (open yo mouth) (tracting, basically..), and we talked with some drunk guy. Usually I'm not really that inclined to talk to drunk people, because... they're drunk... (we could tell them that flying ninja turtles are coming to take over the world, and it wouldn't make any difference, because... they're drunk...), but this one, Ray Ramos, kept saying to us, "Naniniwala ako sa inyo. Naniniwala ako na totoo kayo." ("I believe you. I believe that you are true."). ...Sounded like at least a potential investigator to us... o.o So we came back to him a few days later, when he wasn't drunk, and taught him about the Book of Mormon, and then the next time we came back, he had read the introduction and understood most of it. He didn't really question it much. Hopefully he'll continue to progress.
This last Saturday, the zone leaders, who were with us at the time, got a call from the office elders asking for Elder Dela Cruz. They told him that he would be emergency transferring, and that he needed to pack up his bags and go to the mission home by 7:00 that afternoon. So I spent the rest of the day scrambling to make sure I knew where everyone lived so I could lead the area after he left. I'd thought because of what President said that I would be transferring, and Elder Dela Cruz would be staying, so we were both surprised when they switched it on us. So then he packed up, and at about 6:30 we left for the mission home (we were supposed to go with the zone leaders, but they didn't show up, so we just left).
When we got there, there was no one there... O.o We expected the A.P.'s, the office elders, and everyone else to be there, but the living room at the mission home was empty. ...Huh? So we rang the doorbell. "Tao po...?" President Howard came out and said, "Elders! What can I do for you?" "...Um... You don't know...? ...There's a problem if you don't know..." We explained that Elder Dela Cruz was told he was emergency-transferring. President was like, "Huh?" So he called the AP's and asked them, "Do you know anything about an emergency transfer with Elder Dela Cruz?" "...No..." "Can I speak with Elder Perez (the office elder), then?" "Hello?" "Elder Perez, do you know anything about an emergency transfer with Elder Dela Cruz?" "...Yes, President..." It turned out the whole thing was a joke that went a bit too far. Elder Nolasco (the zone leader) and Elder Perez had planned from the beginning to play an "Emergency transfer" joke on Elder Dela Cruz. The plan was that when the Zone Leaders met us to go to the mission home, they would tell us then that it was a joke, and we would laugh and go on with our lives. But they got held up by a baptism in their area, and didn't make it in time. So when President asked for Elder Perez, Elder Afaga, the AP, went into the other room with his tie over his face, like, "Elder Perez, President wants you. What did you do...?" and Elder Perez was like, "Oh, no! Elder Nolasco didn't make it! D: " So President had the office elders come pick us up and take us back to the apartment, saying, "You caused the problem, you fix it. :P " When they showed up, President chastized them with one sentence, saying, "With something as sacred as a transfer, DON'T SCREW AROUND." "Yes, President..."
So life went normally for the next few days. Then yesterday, we got transfer announcements (the real ones...), and were all shocked. I transferred, as I knew I would... but so did Elder Dela Cruz. He's transferred to Las Pinas. So our area's being shotgunned again. Elder Hernaez and Elder Villasor, the other two elders in our apartment, have also both transferred, and their area is being closed for missionary work for the time being. Every other companionship in the zone except for Elder Tolson and Elder Fastje (Fahs-chee) also has at least one Elder (or Sister) transferring. We were all shocked. It's extremely rare for an area to be shotgunned twice in a row. What's also tough is that they just called a new ward mission leader in that area, so they have their work cut out for them getting him caught up on everything. I've done my best to put the area book back together and keep it updated, and hopefully they won't have too much trouble figuring things out there. I wish them luck.
So now I'm in Cavite Zone, in Malino 1st ward. Cavite zone is a province zone (Yaaay! :D ). I haven't seen much of the area so far, but so far it seems kinda 50/50. It's more province-y than my previous area, but it's still city-ish as well. Should be interesting. And I'm follow-up training! My new companion is Elder Feinga, from West Valley, Utah. He's only been here one transfer so far. He seems pretty cool. He was trained by Elder Ngaluafe, who used to be an AP with Elder Kovach, but stepped down for his last transfer to train before he went home. Not everyday you get to follow up the anak of a former AP... ('anak' means child, but it's a missionary term here for 'trainee'. Trainers are called 'tatay', meaning 'dad' (or 'nanay' if it's a Sister) Hopefully, I'll do well as a follow-up trainer. I'll do my best. One thing I'm looking forward to is that, since learning how to speak the language (especially grammar) has been one of my strengths my whole mission, I'll hopefully be able to help him with his language skills. At any rate, it should be a fun transfer. I'm looking forward to it.
Anyway...
I'm glad the marching band's coming along well. Bah, dance team... :P They would screw everything up.. ;P Jokes lang! :D Hope you get everything ready in time for Tumwater. YOU CAN DO IIIIIT!!!! :D
Tell Dolly congratulations for me. I wish you the best. :) (Boy, everyone's gettin' married lately... o.o )
We haven't seen conference yet, since it takes place in the middle of the night over here. They record it and then play it the following week. So we'll get to see it this coming weekend. :D
Tell Kyle I said 'hi' again. :D
Also tell Micheal Northrup I said hi. :D
And Benjamin Braford. And everyone else I haven't seen in forever. Hiiii! :D
I got a letter the other day from Elder Buzbee, my old companion from the MTC. He's also serving here in the mission. The letter said, "Hey, batch! I love you, batch! -Elder Buzbee" ...Okay... So I sent him a letter back that says, "Hey, batch! Love you too, batch! -Elder Jones". ^^''
Ouch. Hope Dad's doing alright... D: Hope his surgery goes well.
Anway, that's about it for this week. As always, I'll keep you updated on the goings-on here in Manilaville. Sa susunod ulit! Until then, ingat kayo! :D
Love,
Elder David Jones
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