Manigong Bagong Taon! Happy New Year!

So many holidays back to back! The Filipinos here go hard. For New Years Eve we, of course, ate tons of food. At night we had a curfew because there are SOO many drunk people out. During the day at least a dozen people tried to get us to drink. Elder Buque and I had a grand old time at our apartment though! We had a BBQ and my first Budo Fight, which is where you eat all your food on a banana leaf and eat with your hands. Then we made smores. It was Elder Buque's first time eating smores and it changed his life forever. The neighborhood was crazy loud all night long. So many fireworks and loud noises. They bang on whatever they can to make as much noise as possible. We bought a bugel horn to contribute to the chaos.

 Elder Buque is truly an amazing guy. He works hard and pushes me to work hard every day. He is also one of the most Christ-like people that I know.

I prayed so hard this week for help with the language. Then one day, almost suddenly, I was able to understand most of the Tagalog that I was hearing. My brain was finally catching up to how fast the people speak. The church is so true guys. Wowza. Thanks for all your prayers. 

Don't get me wrong, I am not fluent or anything. I make so many mistakes every day. Here are some of my amusing mistakes:

1) Niluto ang tatay ko yan.(My dad gets cooked by that) - instead of Niluto ng tatay ko yan (My dad cooked that).

2)Kumusta ang buang araw (How is your crazy day) instead of Kumusta ang buong araw (how was your whole day).

3) When I was at a restaurant, I wanted some soup (sabaw) but instead I asked the waiter to dance (sayaw).

4) I accidentally said that the Book of Mormon was another bread of Jesus Christ when I meant to say another testament of Jesus Christ.

Though there are many mistakes, it is so fun. We always get a good laugh out of it. 

This week I have never felt closer to Christ. I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a missionary where I can dedicate every second of the day to God.

Hope you all have a great new year!