Week 10 "Pinoy ako!"

Hey everybody!!

This week was an adventure! I learned a lot and have been trying to practice patience this week with myself in learning Tagalog! I am progressing I can feel it. Its really cool when someone asks me a question in Tagalog and I just naturally respond. It is really cool! I love the people here, they are so nice and always feed us! I really do like the food here! The weather here is crazy it is always so hot! Sometimes it just out of nowhere it starts raining. On Wednesday  there was a rainstorm and we were out tracking, we had to go seek shelter and we went in to Patriarch Dizons house. They just so happened to be painting their front room and so we decided to help them! It was fun, we were in our shirts and ties and so it was a challenge not get paint on them, but it was really fun and no I didn't get any paint on me! :) Afterwards, they fed us and we ate kamayan style, (with our hands!) it was actually not as uncomfortable this time. I have come up with a motto for me when ever I feel discouraged and like I can't do something or learning the language, that is "Pinoy ako!" or I am Filipino! This helps me and gives me the courage to embrace and love their culture. I know that we become what we think we are, so its so important that we are positive with ourselves. Sometimes I feel like my head is barely above the water and I am barely breathing, but I know that God is with me and that through the power of the atonement I can do all things!
 I also learned the power of specific prayer this week! We have been praying to find a family this week, one with a father and a mother and children that are ready for the gospel. And on Tuesday we found a family! When we were walking home, I was really focused on getting home to enjoy a nice slice of bread with Nutella, when a lady from her door way smoking a cigarette yelled "hey joe! (referring to me being an American, a very common thing I hear). I said Magandang Gabi! back to her and continued walking. My comp stopped and said to me that we should go back and talk to her. So we did and she introduced us to her family! They had 5 kids over the age of 8! This was after a really hard day and so it was a tender mercy! We learned that it is so important to listen to the Holy Ghost or else we could have missed that opportunity. I know that God answers prayers and that the more specific we pray the more specific the answer we get! God loves us and is so aware of us! He wants to bless us but respects our agency enough that we have to ask! You all have a great week and remember your Pinoy Elder
Mahal ko lahat kayo!

ELDER MURDOCK

Here is a picture of me with a bunch of kids on the street.

This is mount Ariya, the people here sometimes call me Murdock Ariya because the Tagalog word for mountain is Bundok which I guess sounds like Murdock.