December 26

Our family was able to skype with Dylan on Sunday December 23. He skyped from an internet cafe. It was so great to see him and chat with him.  He is loving the missionary work in the Philippines.  His missionary companion is a native Filipino from Manila.  He is teaching Dylan how to cook adobo chicken as well as helping him with Cebuano and Wary Wary. They are working on the island of Samar in the villages of Dap Dap and Delores. Dylan receives snail mail only once a month when it is brought from Tacloban.  Thank goodness for our weekly e-mail.  We were able to sing some Christmas carols with him and Tristan was able to blow him some kisses.

December 17

Hey family I am doing great today has been great so far! I have been in limbo the last two weeks with Christmas conference and Mission Tour. On a normal day we have our studies the first thing in the morning till 11 then we work from 1 till 9 but most of the time we adjust our schedule. Since I am a trainee we have a extra companionship study. I also have language study for an hour. So I have four hours of study each day since I am a trainee. So this last Friday and Saturday we worked. We visited less actives and we contacted people. We have five investigators that we will start teaching this week. We have a baptism on the 29th, my companion and I didn't teach her. Some other Elders did, but she just moved to our area and she wants to be baptized!

Tell everybody the Philippines is one of the MOST AMAZING PLACES ON EARTH. Well I love you all and Merry nga Pasko ha iyo!             



This is from his e-mail on Dec. 12

 I am doing great! The monsoon totally missed us. I changed course and went down to Mindanao. I have seen pictures of the devastation. 80% of all the banana farms in Mindanao were destroyed. Monsoon Bopha, look it up. We were only hit with a-lot of rain thankfully. 511 Maharlika Hwy, Fatima Vlg Tacloban City 6500 Leyte, Philippines. That is the address of the mission home. I have been doing fine in my area. Last week was in limbo with the storm plus we had Christmas conference in Tacloban. I haven't felt homesick at all! ;)  Basta, mail will reach me once a month. The zone leaders go down to Tacloban once a month for training and when they are down there they pick up the mail, so I will probably get it in January.

 I drink water and sprite all the time. The soda here comes in the old school glass bottles. I mainly eat rice, fish and other things, especially what we call chow mein in America, needless to say it tastes much better didi (here)!  Thankfully my companion and I have a washing machine pero, we still have to hang our clothes out to dry and no we don't wash our cloths in the stream. Thankfully we have pump well in the back of the apartment. 

I love riding top load on the jeeps kay (because) I can look at the beautiful nature of the Philippines as I ride.  Do you know the Wood's? They are in Star second ward I think basta they have a son here in the mission! I roomed with him in the same apartment during Christmas Conference we talked for an hour or so. I was great!. Oh it has been affirmed I can Skype you! On the twenty-fourth of December SO create a account and send me a friend request to dylan.joseph.kingsbury! So tell everyone I love them!