Mahal na mahal na mahal ko kayo!

Kamusta to you all! Our email time got cut in half, and now it's only to immediate family (unfortunately that doesn't include future family, so you'll just have to forward the family emails on to Alex from now on). And I'll probably not have much time to reply individually anymore, so you just get the family email. But that's ok - at least we still get to email. I love you! I'll be printing off all your emails so I can read them when I have more time. Include questions/anything you think I might want to respond to in the subject line, ok? Guess what! Mangoes are back! They've been out of season for a few months and I've really been missing them, but I saw them in the palengke last week and we bought some! Mmm! Philippines mangoes are the best thing in the world! I've been having some fun with Sister Nielsen, It's funny because she told me that she hates rain, seafood, and is a cleanliness freak, and yet she was sent here to the Philippines. It was raining superduper hard the other day, and she asked, "are we really going out to work in that?!" And I said, "Yep, you betcha! We're Baguio missionaries!" But she's a good sport. I'm really enjoying being able to help her in Tagalog - I can't believe how far I've come in 11 months. I remember when I was really struggling and wondering if I would ever get this language down. Well, it became possible! We had zone conference last week, and had a really nice lunch cooked for us by some Filipino ladies. I found a big caterpillar in my chop suey! Hehe, I almost ate it because it just looked like another vegetable, but then I noticed it had a head and legs. So then I just put my little friend aside - I'm still not sure whether the cook added it intentionally or not - it almost looked like it was supposed to be there. ew! ;) On saturday we had an open house for our new stake center, which was really nice. It was a great way to open it up for the public to come and learn more about our faith. Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament meeting about the blessings of the restored gospel. We are so very blessed to live when we do, and to have the fullness of the gospel back on the earth again! Last night, we were almost attacked by a dozen dogs on our way to an appointment - but we were safe-- I tell ya, it's gotta be because there's a special bubble of protection around the missionaries! Then we found out that the area we had been in was not a good place to go at night, because we have to go through a field - and there are a lot of snakes that come out at night. The Filipino lady that we visited warned of that before we left to cross the field. Yikes, how scary! But we didn't get bit! Hehe, I didn't tell my companion what "ahas" means in Tagalog (snake) until we had safely crossed the field. I'm very happy because the Agustin family is now coming to church every week! They are wonderful! One thing I love about Filipinos is that they are not shy about singing, loud and shamelessly. We visited a brother in his 70s, who sang us an ilocano Christian anthem, loud and clear - it was so classic I feel bad I didn't get in on video. I just love that! Well, other than that, everything's going great! Thanks for everything you do! I love you!

Love, Rebecca