Shootings, break-ins, and other such fun...

So I'm afraid this week there just won't be much to report. It was just a normal, good week. There wasn't anything too exciting... okay, actually I take that back, there was, but I'll get to that in a minute. But it was a way good week. Sure, we got punted plenty of times, but we also found 9 new investigators and still taught a lot. Our area is struggling a bit. We have 3 REALLY solid investigators with baptismal dates. But we don't have any other progressing investigators, which is hard. When the 3 get baptized, we won't have anyone. So we are OYMing all the time, trying to find new people, trying to find the elect. It's not easy, that's for sure. But it's still rewarding. And if anything, we are still planting seeds and that's just as much a part of missionary work as baptizing people.

Okay, so the exciting thing. So went to visit a member in a ward who was insistent that we come so she could feed us. She wouldn't take no for an answer. When we got there she started telling us this crazy story about how earlier that morning a woman (a widow) had shot another woman on the street and that there was blood everywhere and it was crazy. So of course she starts freaking out for our safety and all that. Filipinos get a little crazy about the safety of the missionaries sometimes. They also love to tell stories. She started making all the assumptions that maybe it was a love triangle situation. Well it turns out she didn't really know what had happened. The real story is that some guy got mad at some girl (apparently she hit him) and so he shot her. Yeah, not quite the crazy love triangle story we had thought before, but indeed, someone got shot and someone died. Pretty gruesome, no? Yeah, so course everyone was worried for us. But I wasn't really too worried. Things like that NEVER happen in the Philippines. They have a lot of petty crime here, but not anything really dangerous. It was pretty crazy though. Who does that? Crazy people, who don't have the gospel, that's who...

Speaking of crimes, I forgot to tell something last week that happened. We were on our way to an appointment when we saw our bishop. He seemed a little out of sorts. He told us that someone had broken a window at the church. We were shocked. We told him we would come by after our appointment. When we got there we found out that someone had actually cut the bold off one of the doors, broken most of the locks on the doors inside the chapel, had broken the windows on the doors to the library and the other bishop's office and had stolen the DVD player and P2000 worth of tithing and P600 of personal money. That's not a huge some by American standards, but it is here. We couldn't believe it! Who steals from a church? It was obviously planned because they had bolt cutters and Bishop thinks it was an inside job because they knew where they were going and where stuff was. It was so sad. I can't believe anyone would be that desperate... I mean, come on! A CHURCH!!!??? I feel very sad for that person.

Well that's about all for me right now. I'm attaching a lot of pictures because I have gotten behind in that, so that will make up for the short letter. Love you all and think and pray about you all the time!!!!

Sister Jackson

1. Me and Sis. Elwood at this awesome restaurant, "21". It's basically like America... observe the banana split

2. A crazy Ceres ride.. like most Ceres rides

3. A HUGE snail. They are everywhere!

4. A Carabao... It's a huge cow thing...

5. Our AWESOME district last transfer. It was the best ever..

6. Kenneth's baptism! The ward and all their craziness.

7. The Victorias sisters at our Christmas night in the Plaza

8. Okay, so I took this in an investigators home, that's why it is blurry, but I had to take it quick before they came back. These are in almost every home here. It's their classic saint doll. I took a picture of this one because it is clothed in a basketball jersey and shorts... I have no idea why, but I almost peed my skirt when I saw it. People here are ridiculous about their Santos...

9. A GIANT spider that we killed and had a big scream fest over in the bathroom...