Another awesome week.

Kumusta na pamilya ko!
Naku! Hindi puwede akong maniwala na mayroon akong dalwang linggo lang dito sa United States! Loco loco naman! Maraming maraming salamat po para sa inyong mga sulat - parang regalo ng pasko yong mga sulat sa palagay ko. Talagang sobrang sobrang pinaka-napaka-excite-excited (yeah I know that's not right) naman ako para magsalita sa inyong lahat! Tatawag ako sa martes sa bati ni (ta)tay. Maghanda kayo para diyan!

Well this week has been AWESOME! It started out kind of sad though. We lost another district - or well not lost best let them go to the Philippines. It was really hard to watch them go because we were with them for so long but, like when the other district left, I'm just so excited for them that it doesn't matter. Although there were lots of tears from everyone, it was definitely a bittersweet experience. I can't believe that two weeks from tomorrow that's going to be me! I'm so excited!

The past few weeks it's been awesome to see some of my closest friends come in from BYU. Yeah, Matt Phillips came in a couple weeks back, and last week Addison came in. It's way awesome to have Addison here. We were bascially like brothers at BYU - we were literally with each other for every meal, between every class, hungout everynight, and never got tired of it. I got to have dinner with him when he came in on Wednesday and found out that he's actually staying in my building here at the MTC so I get to see him every night. I'm so glad he's here; it's almost like having a piece of home with me. He's been doing great and is picking up the Spanish fast. I'm really excited for him to be out there - he's going to be awesome. Also, today I had a great surprise when I was walking back from the temple I ran into Chandler! My old roommate from Spring semester! He got a job at the MTC so I'll be able to see him every now in then. Having Chandler and Adds here is the best thing ever. Chandler was seriously the best roommate I could ever ask for and was such a good example to me. To this day I still have yet to meet anyone that is as genuinely kind as that kid and hope he does well this next year at BYU. And for another great addition, Zach will be getting here on my birthday on Wednesday, so that will be awesome too!

For our TRC this past week, our mock lesson was teaching a Muslim which was really interesting. He asked us a bunch of questions and spoke really fast Tagalog. It was a great experience though and my teacher said my Tagalog was like night and day from last week. He told me that within a month in the field, if I keep progressing like I have been, I'll be fluent without a problem. Crazy right?

For next weeks TRC, the first part we have to give directions to the church and we've learned this funny song to the tune of "Do your ears hang low?" of the directions. Maybe you can teach Jason! Here's what it is:

Sa taas,
Sa ilalim,
Sa ibabaw ng,
Sa harap,
Sa likod,
Sa tabi ng,
Sa loob,
Sa labas,
Sa kabila na,
Pasulong,
Paatras,
Huminto na!

That will be interesting.

Tagalog itself has been a trip. This week we made a pact to speak absolutely zero English from here on out and it is SO hard! But we're making progress quickly. We get our flight plans on Friday which is crazy so I'll fill you in on that next week! I'm basically becoming super Filipino here, isn't that weird? The most Tagalog I've ever spoken in my life is to a bunch of white kids! It's kind of funny too, we have a leftover line here with just leftovers and rice, and most days I just go get rice and eat it with a main meal like pasta or something... what is happening to me!

This past week we had a great opportunity to hear from an apostle in the church for devotional - his name is Jeffrey R. Holland. It's a really big honor and was really awesome to be able to hear him speak. He talked about obedience and not wasting our time, but cherishing it all. Also, yesterday before church, my companion and I got to watch "Music in the Spoken Word" which is a live performance from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir from Salt Lake. I hadn't heard good music like that in a really long time. It was amazing. They sang a song from "Fiddler on the Roof" called "Sunrise, Sunset" which was absolutely beautiful. It talks about a growing up of a child; I think you would've loved it mom. It made me think of a lot of things growing up but in particular my first day of middle school. Do you remember that mom? I was so scared that I made you walk inside with me and when you left I started crying. Gosh I was a baby, but it's crazy to see how much of grown since then. Being out in the world without you is really hard mom, but you taught me well. I'll make you proud I promise.

Well, it's time to get back to business. I hope to hear from you all soon. Jason - don't let band suck you in too much, I want to hear from you soon!

Love,
Eric