Animals in the Philippines

Animals in the Philippines. Aren't they like animals everywhere else (just not necessarily as safe as animals here because they might be eaten)? Elder Booth, up to this point, has mostly been eating chicken. No dog yet. Will that change? More than likely. I guess we'll have to see. Speaking of dog, here's a picture of one that can stand on his hind legs. When he does so, he also likes to relieve himself, and happened to do this all over Elder Erickson one time. Not fun for him...



Pigs pretty much look the same there, if you ask me. I'm not sure if this one was just running wild, or if it had escaped from some type of pen.


These are some shots of some water buffaloes Elder Booth saw down by the river. If a future post, with lots of bamboo bridges, you will see some of the water these buffalo were by.




This picture was a little random and didn't really have a place to go. For some reason I thought it should go with the animals. At first I thought it was just a random picture of the moon, but after looking at it closely, it looks like the moon is shaped like a heart, or a little odd shaped. I'm not sure if it's because of the clouds, or what, but you can make your own opinion.

What's going on here...?

So Elder Erickson and Elder Netzley left (they were transferred). Now Elder Booth and Elder Hamblin are alone. What do they do with themselves??

Have they lost their minds??

What is going on here??

Elder Booth!!??

The Filipinos "package" things a little differently than we do here in the United States. So although it appears to be a couple of Elders losing their minds, they are really just messing around. They are just drinking honey out of whiskey bottles and eating peanut butter out of shot glasses... It makes for a few crazy shots.

Here's what Elder Booth said about the incident: "The honey here comes in the exact same bottles as the whiskey. Plus we bought some peanut butter in a shot glass so we could not resist the temptation of taking some funny pictures. Sorry they are kind of bad but I thought they were kind of funny."

Apartment/Last time companion shots

Elder Booth is getting ready for Transfers! Elder Erickson is moving on and Elder Booth is getting a new companion (more to come on that). Here is one of the last shots of Elder Booth with Elder Erickson:


I say one of the last shots because here is another: (about Elder Booth's shirt....??)

Maybe if it wasn't sleeveless...?

It looks like Elder Booth and Elder Hamblin came across some left overs from some type of get together. Or maybe they felt like eating a bunch of pastries. Either way, I'm hoping that they weren't the reason for the "sick day" Elder Booth had to endure...



Here's Elder Booth's letter that will help explain some of the above:

Date: February 8, 2009 7:15:59 PM PST

Well, it sounds like things are pretty crazy back home. I am really sad to hear that the church burnt down. It just won't be the same without it. Oh well though, it's just like Joe said, we need to press onward and keep being faithful. I am also very sad to hear that the economy is not doing very well. I'm not going to lie. That makes me a little scared to come home. Oh well though, I guess I don't have to worry about that for couple of years. Maybe Obama and his change will save all of us by then and we can once again be a big democratic happy family. No joke long (Filipino saying?) I know I have a lot more important things to worry about than that stuff.

Well, things here have been kind of crazy this last week with my companion leaving and all. He left Tuesday morning, so it was just me and another elder from my batch in the apartment. So we made some plans and worked in his area. I was a little stressed out because it is not easy teaching when I not only don't know the language all that well, but I am with somebody that might even know less. Needless to say, the whole day was a fun, exciting experience. We actually ended up teaching a lot and I think I learned more in that one day then I did the past five days. It really works if you just push yourself and do whatever it takes. I just had to remember that the Lord calls and qualifies.

Well, I thought that day was a little hard but I was mistaken. We were supposed to work in my area the next day, but I found myself waking up in the night really sick. I think I lost a total of six or seven pounds just that night. So needless to say, I was not able to go to work in my area. I rested while Elder Hamblin studied, washed, and cleaned the apartment. He is a really hard worker. He actually washed my clothes too. I don't know what I would have done without him. Later that day we got a phone call informing us we would be having some elders stay at our place because of transfers the next day. They ended up being really nice and we had some fun. Well I didn't have a whole lot of fun because I just went to bed really early so I would be rested and ready to go the next day for transfers.

Transfers were actually really fun. It was a good time to talk to everybody about their new companion and where they would be going. I found out that my companion would be Elder Lucas. He is a Filipino from Manilla. He is actually a really nice guy. He is smart too. He has already graduated and is a civil engineer. I don't think that it takes as much to do that here though. It is really different though. I am learning a lot more when it comes to the language but it is a bit of struggle getting used to the way they do things. They are really into the what is mine is yours thing. That is good - I need to get better at that, but it just takes a lot of getting used to. Actually my companion is not bad but Elder Hamblin's companion, Elder Lising, is not afraid to ask or take some things. I really am learning a lot faster because the only time I ever speak English anymore is a little bit to Elder Hamblin.

The work is still good. It is bit of a struggle right now because we baptized most of our investigators. We are really trying to find new people to teach but we are having a hard time. The ward is still awesome though. I really get a long with all of the members and they seem to like my new companion just fine. I hope that we can really learn from each other and he can help me become a good missionary.

There really is not many things that surprise me anymore about the culture. Everything just seems normal now. The food is still good. I have not eaten anything crazy this week accept for whatever made me so sick. I really hope that never happens again. I think that could have been my worst experience on the mission so far.

Well I better get going. I love you all and am excited to hear more from all of you. Good luck with the economy. Just remember to follow the prophet and don't bite off more than you can chew. That's why they are in the mess. Love you and hope everything goes well.
(Sorry again for grammar)

Elder Booth

**Don't worry! Your sister helps you out with editing your letters for the blog :)