Mac's Mission Adventure --Philippines Angeles: 9 months na lang

Dear Family and friends!!

So Happy new year! Wow, I can't believe that it is already here. The time has gone by so fast. I can't believe I wasn't in America for a single day of 2014. That's so weird. But hey, the Philippines is going pretty dang great!! So for new years eve we weren't allowed to be out of the house past 6:00. So we went back to the house and basically just relaxed and did not much. We played quite a bit of chess. And I"m not gonna lie, I'm pretty dang good now at chess. It's pretty fun! haha Then we also played this other game that is called the game of the generals. It's a Filipino game but it's like chess kinda. But a strategy game also. It was pretty fun. So that was basically our whole new years eve. We stayed up for the fireworks and it was pretty cool!! The fireworks were really good in our area!! But something that happened is in Guimba, another city close by, where we had our district meeting. In the morning at like 9:00, a firework in a shop got lit by probably a cigarette. The whole store went up crazy! 2 motorcycles exploded!! It sounded really cool, lots of fireworks and really loud so that was awesome!! I'm pretty sure that no one got hurt. So that was kind of a crazy thing!!!

I love how squished he looks in this picture! But reminds me of the Sesame Street song...One of theses things is not like the other....one of these things just isn't the same!

So this week for our work, the baptism did happen again!! So that was awesome!! This is the 4th week in a row that we have had a baptism. So it's going way good. It's really cool. His testimony was so strong of the truthfulness of the church. We are hoping and helping him get ready so that he can serve a mission! So that is so awesome. I think he really has a desire to go out and serve also and help others know of the fullness of the gospel! So that was so awesome!! And then this upcoming Saturday, we have another baptism which is going to be really good also!! We are getting such great progression in this branch. It's so insane!! So the work is going really good!! Also later today, we are going to Tarlac because tomorrow and Wednesday are our MLC meetings with all the zone leaders again. So that will be fun. I'll get to see some of my batch again which im really looking forward too!! So that will be good some new changes again probably for the mission. So I'll let ya know what changes there!! (:

So something kinda weird happened on Sunday. I was like so shocked. haha So there are like no Americans here in the Philippines that I've seen. So I was just sitting in church, ya know taking the sacrament. And I like saw some blonde hair out of the side of my eye. I was like- what the heck? what is this? So I look around and like an american family just walks into sacrament meeting. Everyone was just staring at them. It was kinda funny. I was like woah! So then they came and sat behind me. And I hear him talking to them and I heard him translating what the speakers were saying. So the dad was like a returned missionary from 1996. And he came back to visit with his family!! Haha they were the Smith family, from Tooele, Utah. I got a picture with them!! Haha so that was kinda weird, just some random American family came to our church. It was pretty sweet, I spoke some english with them which was fun. But that's basically the highlights of the week! 2 recent converts were also given the priesthood which was really awesome! So the work was really good this week!! I love you guys keep up the great work and remember the church is true!!