Hello po! 

This week was a good week for me!  I say this all the time....but I'll say it again....TIME IS FLYING!  It freaks me out haha.   I guess that's what happens when you're busy and happy all the time.  We were busy this week and taught about 25 lessons.  Yay!  It's been pretty cool here in Burgos, temperature wise, which has been nice.  The "burr" months are close, which is the coldest time of the year in the PH (Septem-burr, Octo-burr, etc).  I wouldn't exactly call it "cold," but the temperature does drop quite a bit.  That's also when Christmas music starts in the PH!  It starts in September and goes until Chirstmas, haha.  The Filipinos really love Christmas music I guess.  September 14th is also the next transfer day.  We'll see what happens there...

I am doing good!  I am so happy.  I love being a missionary and sharing the gospel to the people here.  I love studying the scriptures so deeply.  I love everything about missionary work!  

On Tuesday, we were busy! We had our first interviews with President and Sister Hiatt and also had a zone meeting.  I wasn't nervous at all before the interviews.  I used to get so nervous when I had interviews with President and Sister Rahlf!  I don't know why.  But I wasn't nervous at all for my interview with Pres. and Sis. Hiatt.  It was fun to have a few minutes with each of them.  President and I talked about my past experiences in the mission, my companion right now, and just got to know each other better.  He also asked me what he can do, as our mission president, to help this mission.  I really liked talking to him.  It felt natural and more like a conversation than an interview.  It went by too fast though, I wanted more time to talk with him!  Sister Hiatt is also so nice.  We talked about how I was doing health wise and how the branch was doing.  She is cute!  She is so tiny haha!  It was really fun to talk to both of them.  I feel like I know them now.  They're amazing!

In our zone meeting we had lots of announcements, a lesson from the sister training leaders, and a lesson from the zone leaders.  To be honest I don't remember much about the lessons haha.  But I'm sure they were pretty good.

Wednesday was good too.  I am trying (and kind of failing) to get back in shape, so I have been working out in the mornings.  So on Tuesday, I did some jogging in place and jumping jacks and cardio things like that for about 30 minutes.  When I woke up on Wednesday morning,  I couldn't walk normal.  I was soooooooo sore!  I am more out of shape than I thought!  I was limping for a few days which was embarrassing.  Hahaha.

On Wednesday, we went to a farewell party of one of our branch missionaries, Lorjay Bannagao.  He is our branch president's son.  He will be serving a mission out of the country in the Las Vegas mission!  He entered the Manila MTC this week (he's still waiting for his visa).  I told him I'll visit him in Las Vegas when I get back to America.  Practically the entire branch came to his farewell party!  We had a great time visiting and telling stories with Lorjay and the members.  He is going to be a great missionary!  

On Thursday, we just had a normal day of work work work and teach teach teach.  It was good! 

Friday was a great day!  We met President and Sister Hiatt at the Burgos church at 1:30 pm and they worked with us until 5:30 pm.  I was really really nervous before.   I was scared that we wouldn't have any lessons and that it would be hard to translate for them, but it turned out to be a great afternoon.   It was such a great day!  I enjoyed working and talking with them.  They were so...normal!  Haha.  They shared great testimonies and were so friendly and loving to everyone that we met.  We were able to teach four lessons with them.  I realized also that day how much I have improved in my Tagalog.  Translating was a breeze!  I didn't struggle at all.  It was so fun to be able to translate their words for those that we taught.  It felt wonderful.  Sister Hiatt said that she loved our positivity.  President Hiatt told us to keep visiting and inviting those we have already tried before who said no or weren't interested.  He said to keep trying and that someday, they'll say yes!  I really loved working with them.  It was fun! 

Saturday we spent the day tracting in Luna.  We met a lot of great people and were able to teach a few new investigators as well!  It was a nice normal day.

On Sunday, we had church.  I was the pianist again.  After church, we went straight out and worked.  Even Sunday, we work hard!  It was a good Sunday and we had a lot of lessons.

So that was my week!  It was a good week.  I am shocked really at how fast time is flying.  I keep singing in my head, "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler On the Roof.  I feel like that's my life right now!  One second, it's only sunrise, and the next, it's sunset.  I feel like I have such little time left in the mission, and I want to give these last months everything I've got.  

I love you all so much!  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Always remember how much Heavenly Father loves each of you.  We are all children of God, and He loves us. You're always in my thoughts and prayers.  

I  L O V E  Y O U !

xo Sister Allen

President and Sister Hiatt worked with us for the whole day on Friday, and they took TONS of pictures. 

I felt like I was with my mom.  Haha! They probably said 100 times, "wait let's take a picture."  

Me and Sister Escalante with Sister Hiatt! Sister Hiatt is smaller than most Filipinos, 

which is crazy!  I'm 5'4, and I look huge!

Teaching the Talosig family: John Carl, Carmelita, May Rose, 

Jason, Sister Escalante, me, and President Hiatt.

Teaching Nanay Garuella! She's so cute.  Tatay was at work...

We are yelling "tao po!" at this house.  

That is what you do here in the PH instead of knocking on the door. 

This man, Max, is drying his newly harvested rice on a net-like fabric in the road.  The rice is still in it's shell!  We offered to help him but he just laughed.

Here we are contacting some people as they were bringing in their corn from the field.  

Here we are contacting a woman on the street.

Lyka is starting a business for her project for her major (entrepreneurship) and this is her food stand!  We are going to have a service project and I am going to paint the stand for her.  I will help her paint and design the logo for her business, I'll paint the menu, and then we'll paint the rest so that it's cute.  I'm excited!  She's selling siomai and other street food.  For her to graduate entrepreneurship, she actually has to start a business and sell stuff.  

May Rose, with her new baby, Daniel.  

May Rose is younger than me and already has two kids.  

Two of my favorite little girls, Mariel and Daniella.  

They remind me of me and Sage when we were little.  

Some more little kids playing in the street.  

They were singing for us. 

The farmers are bringing their corn in from the field.  

This type of corn is used for animal feed and things like that.  People don't eat it plain.  

All the farmers use their carabao and carts to bring in their harvest.  

Sometimes there's traffic from all the carabao!

Hello po!  

I am good!  Burgos is doing well.  It's rainy and has cooled down quite a bit.  Our branch is doing good.  I saw the numbers/statistics this week, and our branch, Burgos 1, has the highest attendance in the whole district.  Yay!  Our branch is getting stronger and we are having progress here. 

To answer some of your questions:

What do you miss most about the USA?  I could write a really long list of things I miss from the US!  But I'll say just a few.  Of course the thing I miss most is my family!  Haha.  I also miss is air conditioning.  I have grown such an appreciation for it since being here!  Every building in the US has AC, but here, only a handful of buildings have it.  I miss the cleanliness of the US.  Everything here is kind of wild and in shambles.  I miss Diet Coke.  (They just have normal Coke and Coke Zero here.)   

What kinds of things does  your companion compliment you on in your daily companion inventory?   What does she say you need to do different?  During our nightly evaluation, my companion has complimented me on a lot of things!  It's different every day.  She says I'm kind, a good listener, obedient, hard working, and things like that.  She told me once that I'm grumpy in a positive way.  ???  Hahaha, I don't really know what that means and I didn't know how to respond.  For things to work on, she usually says I have nothing to work on....  I wish she would tell me things so I can improve more.  

Here is my amazing week!

On Tuesday we started out the day at our district meeting.  We talked about developing Christlike attributes and how we can help our investigators and others overcome concerns.  It was good.  I had a cold this past week, and it's peak was on Tuesday.  My throat hurt, I had a low fever, a runny nose, a head ache, and I was coughing and sneezing non stop.  The afternoon of Tuesday, I rested for a little bit before we went out to work because I did not feel good.  Then we went out and worked and taught some of the wonderful people in our area.  I felt a lot better after working.  If you're feeling down or sick, go out and do something that makes you focus on others.  It will help you feel better!  

On Wednesday we had a normal day of working and teaching.  We taught some of our recent converts and a few investigators and one member family.  It was a good normal day.

On Thursday it was Sage's birthday!  One of the couple missionaries, Elder and Sister Jones (who I LOVE), dropped by our apartment to deliver some Book of Mormons, pamphlets, etc. that morning.  They also brought me the package that you sent!  It was the Peru package with the notes and trinkets from Sage.  I LOVED IT!  Thank you so so much for sending it.  It was perfect that it got there on Sage's birthday.  I felt like I had a piece of Sage in a package.  I loved all the stuff that you sent!  Especially the Liahona necklace.  I have worn it every day since I got it.   I really liked reading her journal entries from the trip too.  The trip sounds amazing!  Reading it made me verrrry homesick, haha.  I miss you all so much!  

On Friday, we headed to Ilagan to have our cycle-ly splits with the Sister Training Leaders.  My companion was Sister Porter.  She's from Utah too.  She's awesome!  We are so alike it's kind of creepy, haha.  It was so much fun to work with her.  Going on splits is always so refreshing.  You're in a new area, with a new companion, with new investigators and people to teach, just for one day.  Splits give you a fresh perspective on everything and you notice things about your self that you maybe wouldn't have noticed in your own area.  Sometimes you get in a rut being in the same area with the same people all the time, but splits are a nice refresh button.  It was fun to be in Ilagan and to work with Sister Porter.

On Friday was also my one year mark in the mission!  I can't believe it's already been a year.  I didn't know time could go so fast.  This year has been amazing, challenging, and joyful.  I have changed and grown so much.  The decision to serve a mission is the best decision that I have ever made.  One year ago, I was just entering the MTC, and I didn't really know what I was doing or who I was or who I wanted to be.  But now, I know!  This has been such a blessed year.  

On Saturday morning, we had a service project at the elementary school again.  The cafeteria/restaurant owned by our branch mission leader there always floods out whenever it rains.  It gets super muddy and gross, so we tried to fix it up.  We shoveled gravel into buckets and carried it to the spots that flood to try and help control the water and mud.  It looked a lot better after that.  (Then that night it rained really hard and all our work was ruined and the restaurant flooded anyways.  Darn.)   I also fixed up that hanging menu I made for them last time.  

In the afternoon, we taught a bunch of lessons...all at one house!  We started with teaching Angel, our investigator.  Then after her lesson, our recent convert Jason walked in and said, "Teach me!"  So we taught him.  Then his cousin John Carl, also a recent convert, came over and said, "Teach me!"  That happened a few times in a row with various recent converts and less actives that are all part of this huge family.  It was fun!  Haha.

On Saturday night my companion, Brother Roland (our BML), and Sister Lyka surprised me with a "happy one year mark" party.  If you know me, you know how much I love surprises.... haha not!  (They're on my list of things I would rather not have happen....)  BUT!  It was a good surprise and it made me very happy.  It made me feel loved!  They put in a lot of effort and I was very grateful.  They had a cake that said "Happy One Year Sister Allen" and they made graham (my favorite Filipino dessert).  We just ate and talked and it was fun.  

On Sunday, we went to church.  I was the pianist in sacrament meeting again.  We were lucky to have two of our investigators there at church, Tatay and Nanay Garuella.  The members were so welcoming to them and they had a good experience.  We called them on the phone before church started at about 7:00 am, just to check if they were coming to church.  I was surprised when they said, "Yes, we're coming.  We're already ready in our church clothes."  They were the very first people at church, besides me and my companion.  The doors weren't even unlocked yet!  We're excited for them and their progression. They are amazing!  They loved church.  After church, we taught them at their house.  Our lesson was one of my favorite lessons I've ever had here in my mission because it was so cute.  At church earlier that day, the lessons in RS and Elders Quorum were about eternal marriage in the temple, and they had questions and wanted to talk about it with us.  The lesson we had prepared for Nanay and Tatay was the Law of Chastity.  Our lesson ended up being eternal marriage and the LOC combined, and it turned out wonderfully.  We talked about how men and women are meant to be together and how God gave us temples so that we can have our families and spouses forever.  They loved learning more about the blessings of the temple.  I felt the Spirit, and I know they felt the Spirit.  Partway through the lesson as I was teaching, Tatay frowned and said that it was too bad they hadn't gotten married in the temple when they were young.  I explained to them that they can still go, even now, and be married for time and all eternity.   Tatay turned to Nanay, smiled wide, and said, "Let's get married in the temple!"  They were giddy!  It was so cute.  They really understand the gospel and the blessing that await them if they are baptized and if they enter into the temple.  Because of that understanding, they want baptism and the blessings of the temple so badly.  They are craving it!  I am so excited to see what happens to them in the future.

Fun fact:  People here in the Philippines are VERY superstitious.  They have a lot of funny superstitions.  I'll give you a few:  1)  If you have a boil, you need to go and un-plant all of the plants that you have planted recently and replant them upside down, with the roots sticking up.  If you don't, your boil won't go away.  2)  It's bad luck for a woman who's just had a baby to read.  She can start reading again one month after the baby is born.  3)  It's bad luck to sweep the floor at night.  4) It's bad luck to take a shower if you have a fever.  5)  If you take a shower on Good Friday (the day Christ performed the Atonement), you will go blind.  These are just a few. 

I love you all so much!  I hope you have a great week.  You are all so amazing and I love you all so so so so so so much. 

MAHAL KO PO KAYONG LAHAT!

xo Sister Allen 

Happy birthday to Sage!  I made a birthday wish for her.

HP! HP! HP! HP! HP!

Happy birthday Sage!  I love you!  Mahal kita! My makeshift cake and silly sign for Sage's birthday.

This weird fruit I tried called balinbin.  It tastes kind of like cherries.  Yum!

Me, Lyka, Roland and my companion. 

Chicken feet!  They are surprisingly delicious.  They put out the chicken feet at lunch yesterday and I put some on my plate and everyone freaked out!  They were like, "you eat that?  We thought you had never tried them and didn't like them."  But I do like them.  Hahaha! Weird. 

My companion, Lyka, and Brother Roland threw me a surprise "happy one year mark" party.  Haha!

My companion left this on my desk on Friday...cute!

Me and Sister Porter!  She's the best.  This is our "haggard selfie."

Hello po! 

Happy last week of summer to you!  I guess that's not really happy....but still.  I hope you have a wonderful last few days of summer!  Yay!  I can't believe I’ve been on my mission for a year!  Sometimes it feels like I only left yesterday, and other times it feels like I've been away for a lifetime.  

This week has been pretty good. I am doing great!  Still here, still happy. :)  It's been pretty rainy and cool this week, which has been nice.  

I'm not sure if the Filipinos watch the Olympics, but everyone is sure hyped up about the Filipina weight-lifter that got the silver medal.  Her face is all over the place and everyone's talking about it.  I wasn't even aware that the Olympics were happening right now, until someone told me that the Philippines got a silver medal.  Haha, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to "world happenings" right now.  That's the life of a missionary!  

On Tuesday we had a district meeting with our new district leader, Elder Davis. It was okay.  We talked about the Book of Mormon and how we can use it better in our teaching.  Then we came home, had our studies, and went out to work.  One of the investigators we taught was Frechelle.  She is 13 years old and her dad is an inactive member.  Frechelle is silly sometimes, but she really wants to make her life and her family better.  We just read a chapter from the Book of Mormon with to her to help her start reading.  If our investigators don't read, we read with them.  I hope she starts reading on her own!  It's really frustrating when an investigator or others tell you they will do something, something that you know will help them and bless their life, and then they don't do it.  It's irritating!  But everyone has agency.  We had to come back early after that because Sister Escalante was throwing up.  Yuck!  But she quickly got better.  It was probably something that she ate.

The highlight of our day on Wednesday was our lesson with Nanay Basilisa. (Her name makes me think of the Basalisk in Harry Potter....hahaha)  We have been teaching her and her husband, Tatay Jesus, and they have a baptismal date in the near future.  Tatay was at work, so we just taught Nanay.  We taught her the Word of Wisdom.  We were kind of nervous going in because Nanay ALWAYS has a cup of coffee in hand, but of course we shared boldly and lovingly and she was able to understand.  She said her only issue is coffee, and she was very willing to stop drinking it.  She told us that before, she was a heavy smoker, but she stopped.  I asked her how and why she changed.  She told us that she was sick all the time and was always in and out of the hospital.  The doctors told her she needed to stop smoking.  Her life was at stake.  She said to us that she prayed every night to God to help her stop smoking and promised that she would stop.  After, whenever a temptation or urge came to smoke, or she even saw or smelled someone smoking, she would throw up.  I guess that's how Heavenly Father answered her plea for help.  She said she hasn't smoked since, and even now, cigarettes still make her want to vomit.  God works in mysterious ways. :)

On Thursday and Friday we just worked and worked and worked!  Nothing notable happened (at least that I can remember haha).

On Saturday we spent the day tracting (going house to house) in a part of our area called Luna with some of our branch members.  To be honest, tracting isn't my favorite.  It's difficult and sometimes awkward, but we do it all the time because it is very necessary.  We are always in need of new people to find and teach!  Our tracting on Saturday was actually really fun and we met some great people.  We were lucky to teach to three new investigators, and they all accepted our message and want us to come back again.  We're excited to go back there and tract and teach again. 

On Sunday, we worked in the closest part of our area, San Antonino, with some of our members again.  My favorite lesson we taught was with Nanay Carmelita, our recent convert who was baptized in June.  As part of being a new member, we teach her all the lessons again.  Yesterday, we finished teaching her all of the lessons for a second time.  Her grandson (who is more like her son because she raised him), Jason, was with us and bore his testimony to her for the first time.  Jason is kind of shy and always was unwilling to bear testimony to his Nanay, but yesterday he finally shared to her his testimony.  It was such a beautiful testimony, and I could see in Nanay Carmelita's eyes that she was feeling the Spirit, and that she was so proud of Jason.  I felt so much love during that testimony, and such Spirit.  That was a very powerful moment.  

I am so happy here!  I love the PH!  I love being a missionary!  I hope you all have a wonderful week. Keep being amazing and doing amazing things. 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO SO SO MUCH! 

xo Sister Allen

A nanay in our branch made us doodle, which is like corn bread but more sticky.  It's yummy!

With some of the members of our branch.  I cracked up at the little boys in the middle.  They were too focused on their basketball video game, haha!!

Hello po!

This week FLEW by.  I cannot believe it's Pday again.  I feel like I say this all the time but.....time is really flying!  

This week was a good week.  I am happy here.  Last week after we saw the transfer list, I was kind of bummed.  I let myself be sad for a minute, but then afterwards, I picked myself back up and moved forward.  I'm not going to be sad or disappointed, especially about things that I can't control.  So...I've set some goals for this cycle and I am ready to have another GREAT cycle here in Burgos!  I really do love it here in Burgos.  I am excited for this cycle here!

Things have been pretty calm here.  No rain.  We were able to have about 25 lessons this week, which was good! 

I am also doing well with my companion.  I really have felt the power of your prayers and your fasting!  Thank you so much!  We have more time to work now that training is over, and we have been enjoying planning and working together.  We usually switch off planning and leading the area every other day.  I got the idea to do "evaluations" each night.  We have been doing it for almost a week and it's really helping.  We say three things we like about our companion from that day, and one thing that can be improved.  It helps us be more open with each other, and it helps us find the good and positive in each other.  It's helping us become closer and more open with each other.  It's also helping us recognize our personal strengths and weaknesses, which is helping us improve faster and better.  It's been a great help for our companionship.  Sometimes it's hard to be with the same person for such a long time, but the evaluations have helped our companionship to become better.  I know that we are still companions for a reason, and I am going to do my best to help her be her best.  I love her!  We are going to have a great cycle together.

I am currently studying in the New Testament and in Jesus the Christ.  It is my goal this cycle to finish studying the New Testament.  I have never studied closely the life and works of Jesus Christ in the NT; this is my first time.  I am loving what I am learning and I feel like I know more about my Savior and the Gospel than I ever have before.  

I have also discovered a new favorite food....Banana Q!  It's a banana fried and coated in sugar.  I'm sure it has a thousand calories but it's soooooooo good!  I'll make you some when I get back. :)  They call it "banana q" like "bbq."  I'm not sure why because it's not even barbecued, it's fried.  Haha, silly Philipinos.

This Sunday when we walked into church, we were surprised to be greeted by President and Sister Hiatt!  They said they came to "check out Burgos."  It was fun to have them there.  They each bore their testimonies during sacrament meeting.  They are cute and nice.  I feel like I still don't know them as well yet, but I am excited to get to know them more.  

About 120 people attended our branch this Sunday, which is great!  We also had two investigators, Sherell (a young woman) and Basilisa (RS).  I saw Nanay Basilisa as we were working Sunday afternoon.  She said she had loved church and that the ladies were all so nice to her.  She put her arm around me and smiled and said, "I'm excited to come back next week."  YES!  That's what we want to hear!  Her husband, Jessie, came to church last week, but he had work this past Sunday, so he couldn't come.  We're excited for them to come to church together next week.  They have a baptismal date scheduled for September 3!  I am so excited for them!

This past Sunday, I fasted for us to have a baptism this cycle.  We have been working so hard, and we really want to help the people here that we love come unto Christ through baptism.  We are doing, and will be doing everything we can for the people that we are teaching to be baptized.  Sometimes things get in the way.  Work. Family. School. Other religions.  But we are doing our best to avoid all obstacles and help people make it straight to baptism.

I have so much more to say and so much more to write, but I am out of time! 

I love you all so much.  I miss you all so much!  You're in my thoughts and prayers, always.  I hope you all have a fun, amazing, beautiful last week of summer. 

I LOVE YOU OH SO MUCH!

xo Sister Allen

Rice as far as the eye can see.

Our branch missionary, Janica, entered the MTC in Manilla this week.  

She is a missionary now!!

On our way back from church in our beloved kulong-kulong.

Hello po!  

This week was a good but slow week.  I felt like everything was moving in slow motion.  We got punted (which means that when we made plans for lessons most of our plans fell through and we didn't get to teach) a lot this week, which was a bummer, but it's okay.  The few lessons we had were wonderful!  We also had another investigator at church this week, a tatay named Jessie.  He had a wonderful experience and the members were so welcoming.  He's excited to go back.

This week is also transfer week.  We got the transfer list this morning and.....I am not transferred.  I am staying here in Burgos!  My companion Sis. Escalante and I will be companions for another six weeks.  I was six months in my first area, and now - after this next cycle is over - I will be six months in my second area.  (The next transfer day is in September, so I'll be here until then.)  This is Pres. Hiatt's first time making the transfer list, so I didn't really know what to expect.  I'll admit, I was a little disappointed at first.  I want to see and experience more of the PH, meet more new people, and meet new missionaries.  On Sunday, I prayed that whatever would happen with the transfers, that I would be happy and that I would have the strength to do and be whatever the Lord asks of me.  That was a really hard prayer.  I wanted to just say: "Please transfer me!"  But, I want to do what Heavenly Father asks of me, even if - no, especially if! - it's not what I want.  I know there is a purpose to why I am here in Burgos still, I just need to find out what that purpose is!  I love the people here. I love the branch. I love the members. I love the farm lands and all the humble farmers.  Now, I am excited and grateful to be staying here.  I know this is going to be a great cycle!  

To answer some of your questions:  

When we sing hymns here in the PH, we sing them in English.  I don't really know why.  At church and in lessons and everything, the songs are always in English.  When we teach lessons and sing, we usually try to sing a song related to the lesson.  For example, when we teach "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father," we sing "I am A Child of God."  We try and match it up.  We also ask sometimes if they're less active or if they're familiar with the hymns, what they would like to sing.  "The Spirit of God" is by far the most "requested" song.  Haha.

I haven't worn my pants yet.... I'm too embarrassed!  I feel like an elder when I wear them.  I only have one pair and I can wear them whenever I want (but not to church) during the rainy season.  I wore them around the house but I didn't like them.  I felt weird and also so so hot.  Wearing a skirt is much cooler.  The pants are meant for protection from mosquitoes.  They gave us mosquito repellent lotion for the rest of our body.  (I tried the lotion and I think I'm allergic to it.  I got all itchy and my skin turned red and rashy.  I just use the spray repellent I brought.)  I do get bites a lot, most of which are on my legs, so I can see how pants would help.  Maybe I'll wear them this week....I'll send a pic if I do. 

I want to write more, but I am out of time.  I love you all so much!  I think of you all the time.  When things are hard or I am feeling down, to motivate myself I just think of you and what you would want me to do.  I think of the example I want to be to Sage and Luke.  I also think of what mom and dad would expect of me and what they have taught me.  I think of how our family is a family of hard workers, and that you all would want me to give my best always, no matter what.  I love you so much!  I miss you every day.  

I love you to the moon and back and all the stars

xo Sister Allen

I don't know if you can them, but there's tons of little boys picking bayabas (guava in English). Yum!

My desk...notice my new trinkets from your beach package! :)

My cooking?!?  That's probably the first time that's happened.  

I made tacos for everybody! Yumma yumma!

Eating tacos.  They wee so excited about the tacos so there's a lot of pictures about tacos.

Tacooooooos.

Burgos 1st Branch Jersey! Whohoo!

It rained HARD for about 24 hours, so this is what we wore on our way back to our apartment to try and stay a little dry.  Thank goodness for trash bags!  We had fun wearing our trash bags.  haha.

This morning we had a 'budol fight', which is basically just a feast where you eat with your hands.  (which I don't really know how to do.)  We ate rice, egg, adobo with potatoes, and dinakdakan.  The square things are cups of coke. :)

At church on Sunday.  The short one, Jaja, leaves on her mission this week.  Lyka (next to me) is wearing a dress that I gave her!  (That Jenna gave me, hehe...regift, thank you Jenna.)  This would be a good picture but I am soaked from the rain!