P-day stands for PARTY DAY

Good Afternoon, Family!
     Okay, who said you can't party on a mission? Don't you know that that's what P-day stands for... party day?;) haha just kidding. But, Ry, you don't have to worry; I'm not partying too much! This week we had a really good week. We were able to teach a lot more lessons and weren't rejected as much because Fiesta is over. Who knows what next week (the week of Easter) will bring, being holy week here, and everyone here is Catholic... but for this week, it was great.

These big green fruit are call jack fruit, and they are HUGE!!!

These bananas are super little and cute.

     As far as investigators, our one that is progressing most is Candillaria. She's 41 and is actually the niece of a member in our branch, and that's how we found her. She really is interested and enjoys when we teach her. She has a hard time understanding a lot, so we've had to take it really slow with her. But we've seen her faith grow stronger. The only problem with her is she has a lot of health problems that honestly we don't really understand. The term hypochondriac kind of comes to my mind, but I won't say anything because I don't know for sure what she's going through or what sickness she has. But to sum it up, she can't be around electric fans, and she always has "water" on her back which she doesn't think is sweat but doesn't know what it is. It's hard to explain, but we're trying to help her go see a doctor and get it fixed. Right now she can only make it to sacrament meeting because she can't stay for the whole three hours, which we want her to attend all of church before she can get baptized. Then she is a little scared about baptism and the water being cold. So yeah that's Candi:) She's really sweet though and tells others that she is really enjoying the lessons from the missionaries. So we'll just continue right along.

     Then there's Mark who you've heard about a lot, the one who should have been baptized my second week here. Well we're still working with him, and I know he has a testimony; he's just worried that the same thing will happen to him again, where he prepares for baptism and then something bad happens to him, and it doesn't follow through. But he said he's praying for an answer, so in time he will be baptized, I'm sure. We're actually going to have FHE with him tonight and some YSA members to help fellowship him. We'll have a lesson and all and then play some basketball:) I'm excited! Then we have some others that are slowly progressing, and I'll tell you about them more as they progress!

     Then this last week we found a new less-active member whom we taught, and then just yesterday she came to church! I think that's the fastest turn around that after just one visit she came to church. Hopefully she will continue. Her name is Carmella, and she has two cute kids that came to church also.

     One thing that we are really focusing on in our mission is just finding less-actives, and through our efforts of finding less-actives, we acquire quite a few of our investigators in part-member families. Basically, you'll go to a family and find out these are families where, because they went inactive, not all the family members were baptized, so then we get the opportunity to teach them. That way it's kind of killing two birds with one stone! So yeah, that's our work right now. We found 12 new investigators again this week, so we've been really blessed this transfer. Although we don't have any investigators ready right now for baptism, we have a lot of people to work with whom we've found.

   Oh and also, we did a CSP this week for a less-active member that lives in a SUPER poor little hut. They call the area "squatters" here, and it's so sad. We did her laundry for her. They don't have very much money at all. They have to walk a long distance to fetch their water and then are super frugal with it. You would use one tub of water to rinse and then later use that same water again to wash because she didn't want to throw it. At times you were rinsing in dirty water or soapy water and just thinking... how is this supposed to work..., but we helped her, and she was very grateful. She even gave us some little cookies which I was hesitant to eat thinking how little they have and how I didn't want to eat what little they had. VERY humbling!!

     So yeah that's the work in Carmona B. I can't believe the transfer is almost over, and, like Mom said, I'm coming up on six months. Time flies. By the way, summer lasts until the middle of May here, and then it's rainy season, supposedly. As far as conference this Saturday, you are lucky you get to watch it because I have to wait for the following Saturday and Sunday to see it. So you all can tell me in your next e-mail what talk was your favorite, and while I watch, I can think of you. We will go to Binan and will get to watch all four sessions. I'm really excited for that.

I was really excited because this is titled "Good Milk."

Well it was definitely a lie. 

I still haven't found good milk in the Philippines.

     I made Swedish pancakes this morning with Sister Ronquillo for the sisters in our apartment, and they all loved them. I think that's about all I have for you this week. If you have more recent pictures of Cameron after the hospital, I want to see via email:) Ja, you didn't even give me an update on your wife and your soon-to-be baby. All I got was about the Final Four. What is that?!! Have a good week. Enjoy the last week of March. It's weird almost a whole school year has gone by at BYU. But anyway thanks for the e-mails. Love you all so much.

Mahal ko kayo,
Sister Stromberg