Adventures in the Philippines: In The Philippines

I won't say much now, but this weekend has been crazy. I was packed saturday night and have been watching my district scramble like mad to do laundry and pack and what not. They were up until two in the morning last night and woke up at four thirty to say goodbye to a couple elders who are in our zone. Our teachers told us stories of the philippines today and it sounds like it will be crazy! They talked all in tagalog and I understood a lot of it but still have a ways to go. I am almost done with the MTC and cannot be more excited for the philippines and fast food at the airport! It will be interesting to go back into the world after nine weeks. I got all the packages and my backpack is 15 pounds of food and magazines. So I'll call tonight, hopefully everyone is having a good day!

Mahal Ko Kayo,

Elder Robertson

This next email is from sister Shaner a senior couple in Elder Robertsons mission

Well Hello!!!

Good morning...you are just waking up I think and it is 5 pm here. We just got finished with our Cauayan Meetings and are heading to Mallig for the evening but wanted to stop at the house and send you these pictures before we go.

I was SO thrilled yesterday to find your comment on my blog and to find out that you have been 'checking me out' since January. That is GREAT!! I have had many parents tell me that they LOVE Sister Carlos' blog because she focuses totally on the missionaries and they so often will see pictures of THEIR kids and they enjoy mine because they get a 'feel' for the mission geography, the food, the people, etc.

This morning we had the blessing of meeting a bus full of very tired Elders and Sisters from Manila and on that bus was YOUR ELDER!!! When I walked up to him to introduce myself, he said 'you are Elder and Sister Shaner, right?' SO fun! What a fantastic young man. You have a jewel in your family and for the next two years, we have YOUR jewel in ours.

He looks great, a little tired but that will pass quickly. His enthusiasm for a mission is so refreshing. Some get off that bus after the brutal flight, the not-so-restful day, not eating right, aching and stiff and they are less than anxious to get into the work but not your Elder Robertson-he hit the road running.

I must tell you about his trainer-I have attached some pictures for you and one is of him with his trainer, Elder Llorin [pronounced lore-EEEN]. We had the privilege to work with Elder Llorin in Mallig a few months back-if you look back to maybe March, April you will find pictures of he and Elder Nay on my blog. When the new companionships were announced in the transfer meeting today I actually jumped and cheered with they announced that assignment-my hubby put his hand on my leg and sssshhhhh-ed me!! haha!

Elder Llorin is the most gentle and sweet soul-he is a little older and more mature which is great! He also speaks perfect English which will be so great for their companion language study. He is a patient guy and a little quiet but has such a strong testimony. I was with him his first week in the mission and he was bold and shared many messages with investigators. He is a marvelous cook and impeccably clean. I think they will get along just great! Elder Llorin will be Elder Robertson's tatay [daddy] and will take care of helping him get a great start on the next two years. He is an incredibly obedient Elder...a very important trait to stress to his 'son'.

I am happy that you allowed your son to serve the Lord and am very grateful the Lord sent him here to the greatest mission on earth! President and Sister...well, I can't even explain how wonderful they are and how they love and revere their missionaries. He is in safe hands for sure.