Jan 25,2009

.Hey dad ,,, yea i teach alot of lessons a week... and yea i eat sea food like everyday too... but its not sea food like you know.. yesterday i ate snails from the ocean. you boil them then suck the hole of the shell and they come out in your mouth.. haha sounds gross but it was really good. The thing i dont really like is called tuyo. its dried fish they cook in oil it smells like death but doesnt taste bad. The bones are the only thing that bother me but yea everything here is eaten with rice, its called an ULAM its just something you put on your plate with rice... anyways dad no baptism yet hopefully soon. but yea But yea thats cool mom is gunna put in... DO you think the roof will last until i get home or does it need it bad?anyways i gotta go dad i love you....

Last letter from Cantanduanes

Hey mom yea the resort was tight. only us 8 missionaries were there. the only ones on the island. and i would love to go there on my honeymoon haha depends on my wife i guess.. You shouldnt be afraid of speakin to people. i konw its your biggest fear but its something you can get over. in dads letter i told of how i had to lead the area. Ive always been afraid of being a leader, but yet ive always been called to leadership positions in sports or church. somehow people pick me. But prayer is the biggest part of my life when i feel scared or inadequete i know that Jesus felt the same feeling that im feeling at that very moment and he is more than willing to help us get over it. all we have to do is ask in faith knowing he will be there to lift us up at our times of need. Dont be embarassed i bet they were suprised at how much you knew. and if you dont get the job oh well. its not the end of the world. i love that you tried though mom it makes me so happy to know you did that. you better get used to public speaking cuz when i come back i guarantee you have to speak at least to the high council. haha but youll be fine... anyways thats so cool tess is getting her patriarchal blessing. i know it will make her happy. and she will find out all she needs. she will be able to get married whether in this life or the next she will have the opportuinty... dads sounds like he has been real tired.... But the work here is good , im getting transfereed to a differnt area so i wont be on my little island anymore. it broke my heart to hear i was leaving. I love the people ive come to know here. The member families we visited about every day i grew to love they helped me so much in the language and were always so nice. I hope ive helped someones life here. O on saturday we went to the little family i told you about in my very first letter the Deletorre family. He had alot of questions about the church and especially how he could know it was true. He was kinda skeptical about the Holy Ghost. It was my turn to teach about the Holy Ghost and i wasnt prepared i had never taught it before in Tagalog so i was nervous as all get out. But i prayed for help. and to know what to say. As soon as i started i stuttered over my words and was like FREAK but i got the prompting to bear my testimony on the spirit. So i did, i have never felt the spirit as i did right then. it was so strong i couldnt hold back tears and i knew that Rolle, the dad, felt it too. When i finished he said "wow you really know this is true dont you, you really have read and prayed about it huh?" i knew then that instead of teaching him about what the holy ghost was i was the tool to let him feel what it was. It was an amazing experience. I want that family to join the church more than anything and it broke my heart to know i wouldnt get the chance to teach them again.but hopefully i was able to plant a seed, or rather hopefully i was a tool in the lords hand to someday bring them to the full knowledge of the Gospel. anyways yes this week has been full of great experience. from leading the area for the first time, to testifying of the truthfullness of this gospel. IT was all around a good week. One that i can store in my mind for those tough weeks to come... Anyways mom and family i love you and hope your doing well. all is well here in San Andreas.... i love you and miss you.... ill try and send pics if i can.... i have some with my little friend Junell he is 6 and the kid that teaching me the language lol... i freakin love him.... anyways ill write you from my new area on monday i love you -Elder Walker

hey mom sorry i wasnt on earlier.. we went to a resort for our p-day activity! it was amazing! it only cost like 10 bucks... we had a bamboo hut out on this white sand beach, the beach itself is in a cove with mountains surrounding it . its freaking amazingly beautiful! i loved it. we had a blast, we cant swim that sucked cuz the water was bluer than blue it was gorgeous. The resort is called Twin rocks. It has these two huge sets of rocks out in the middle of the cove . huge waves crash against them at high tide it was freakin sweet. they have a diving board off this like 7 foot cliff into the ocean it was sweet. only we couldnt use it... we just played games on the beach and sat around talking and one of the elders played the guitar and sang. way cool! i loved it. The resort has huts for rent to sleep in and stuff and a huge nice nice swimming pool it was sweet.... anyways.... yea thats why i wasnt on the internet earlier i was enjoying missionary life here on Catanduanes.... This week was new years and we had fireworks right above our house cuz they launched them off from the building behind ours... one went off too early and hit our roof! it was sweet cuz we watched them from the roof. anyways yea those are my stories for the week. nothing much else... My comp might get transfrered next week so ill probbly be with a philipino. but who knows... anyways i hope you guys are going to the temple. but yea i gotta go mom. nothing much to write this week about the work except its tiring... i love you guys and i miss you i hope you are having a good new year... tell cowan i said whats up and lana too.. he sounds amazing.... i gotta go mom i love you --- Elder walker