Hello Philippines

After 34 hours of travel time Peter finally arrived in Bacolod the afternoon of Christmas Day!! (Still the 24th for us) We were able to talk to him from Manila and he sounded great and was excited to be there. He said there are 8 different dialects in his mission alone. His first area is a city north of Bacolod called Victorias and his companion is Elder Hanson from California. There are 2 wards there and he says he will be learning Ilonggo which is similar to Tagalog. Their "Mission Mansion" as he called it, is pretty big and is equipped with a special shower----a spout a bucket and a ladel !! He's amazed at how the people there live, his best description is that their homes look like the coolest tree houses, only they're 2 feet off the ground. I think his P-Day is Monday (which is really our Sunday), so if you get a chance to e-mail him you have to send it on Saturday. He's still plechem@myldsmail.net

Tagalog Tongue Twisters

It is amazing for us to see how quickly Peter has been able to learn Tagalog. Missionaries really are blessed with the gift of tongues. Of course he has a long way to go to be fluent, for example to read is babasa and to bless is basbas. One day Peter asked someone if they could bless the Book of Mormon instead of read it. All fun and part of the learning process he says. Today we received his flight plans for the trip to the Philippines. Lets just say it will be a real adventure !! He flies from Salt Lake to LA, LA to Taiwan, Taiwan to Manila and then Manila to Bacolod arriving on Christmas Day!! Total travel time is about 30 hours (Can you say jetlag?) He is very excited to be on his way however and out of the MTC. But what a Christmas to remember !! This was his phrase of the week: Inimpluwensiyahan tayo ng Diyos na gumama ng mabuti which translated means "God influences us to do good".