I'm Not German

Another week that went by super fast. We were busy with exchanges and
everything, but it all turned out well and ended up great last night when
we got to watch a Special Area Broadcast for the Philippines in which Elder
Ardern, his wife, Bishop Cousee, Elder Robbins, And Elder Oaks and his wife
all spoke. Elder Oaks used to be the area president here 10 years ago, so
he really knew a lot of the problems that we face here with membership. One
of the things I like that he really emphasized was that the Gospel is all
about change. A lot of members here get into the church, but often aren't
really fully willing to make the changes that will bring them to full
activity and help them receive the fullness of the blessings of the Gospel
that are waiting for them. They always hang onto something. Another problem
is that a lot of members don't really want to put anything into their
membership in the church. Refusing callings and talks and all of that. But
all in all, they were really great talks, that I got a lot out of, but
almost nobody there could understand Bishop Cousee's accent...
We've also seen some good things with our work. We gave out a few more
baptismal invitations, that were accepted, but may take some time before
they work out. One of them pretty much asked us to be baptized, so we were
really happy to set a date with him.
This week I've been working really hard to be more loving. I've gotten
frustrated a lot lately with people lying, and hiding, and kids yelling
vulgar English at us. I've just really been working on stopping and
thinking that they don't know what they're saying, and they don't know what
they're missing out on. I've been trying to think how Christ would react to
a situation like that. What I *want* to do is throw the kid into a rice
field. What I *should* do is try to compassionately explain to him what
he's saying. But if he persists, I guess the rice field is still an option.
Well that's mostly it. Also a follow up on that whole me being German
thing. I tried explaining my choice to my Filipino companion later that day
and all he said to me was "Wait, so you're not really German?" I've been
with him for 7 weeks haha. Another housemate has been telling everyone that
I'm half. Half-what? I don't know. Just half he says.