Culture Shock! But I love it HERE 8/21/2017

So I am in my first area now. It's a tiny city called Tubao. It is pretty rural and beautiful! It's made up mostly of rice fields and mountains. This is the exact area I was hoping to find here in the Philippines! So my house is a tiny little apartment right off the street. It's just me and my companion in it. My trainer is Elder M. from San Diego and he is way cool. We have a good time together.  Our beds are just two mattresses on the floor so that's kind of cool. Oh and my showers for the next two years are just a bucket with a ladle so that's cool. It's actually pretty refreshing especially after these super hot and humid days here! I don't think i have stopped sweating since I got off the plane. Pretty wild but AWESOME! So Tubao is kind of right up next to the mountains and I just love looking at the world around me! We have had lessons where we have to follow a super muddy/narrow pathway through rice fields to teach lessons in little huts with dirt for floors.  It's a culture shock for sure but everything here makes me so happy!  I love it! Although I cannot understand a thing these people are saying!!! But that's okay, I'll learn! 

One thing I wasn't expecting was how hard it would be to say people's names! It's way hard, but fun! One day we had to walk over this sketchy sway bridge but we found a family that was interested in our message so that was cool! Also it rains a lot here and I love it! I missed rain so much in Provo at the MTC! I can't believe I am already here! I feel like I should still be in the MTC! Oh something a little weird, people love white people here! Kids will be across the street, see me coming, and starting laughing and hiding their faces. Sometimes they will take pictures with me so that's funny! 

Oh there are dogs everywhere! Sometimes they are in pretty rough shape so that's kind of sad.  They have never given me problems though! Our church house is just a little meeting house. We have a statue of the Virgin Mary in the small courtyard which is pretty funny cause it makes it look like a different church's meeting house. The property manager won't let us take it down though. The very first thing that happened when we walked into the meeting house was a little kid ran up and gave me a hug! I love the kids here!  

I bore my testimony in Sacrament yesterday and seeing as how I don't speak much Tagalog that was a little difficult... But I just said what I believed in so it turned out alright. 

I basically said:  Ako po si Elder Payne at Taga Utah ako. Ito ang una area para sa akin. Hindi ko alam marami Tagalog pero Alam ko po na Totoo ang Ebanghelyo ni Jesucristo. Alam ko po na tagapaglitas ni Jesucristo. Alam ko po na ito dahil nagdasal ako at alam ko po na totoo ang simbahan ni Jesucristo. Sa pangalan ni Jesucristo amen. (I'm Elder Payne and I'm Utah. This is the first area for me. I do not know much Tagalog but I know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is True. I know the Savior of Jesus Christ. I know this because I pray and I know the church of Jesus Christ is true. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.)

Then I went and sat down and people tried to speak to me in Tagalog. I have to just look at my trainer and have him translate for me. That's alright though, I'll learn. They actually talk a fair amount of english when giving talks and we sing songs in english but after the sacrament meeting people just revert to Tagalog. 

 OH, they other day I caught a firefly, I've never seen a firefly before so I thought it was like the coolest thing ever. I hope everyone is doing well! Always remember to have pananampalataya kay Jesucristo (faith in Jesus Christ)!

Pagmamahal (love),

Elder Payne