5-9-12

Hello!

Alicia I miss your letters!  I haven't gotten any since the one titled "I got a job!"  I'll talk to you personally this Monday and we'll figure it out.  I checked my spam and trash, and there was nothing in them.

I'm sending a couple pictures to you again.  Can you put these as my facebook picture thingies?  Thanks!

Also!  Could you guys look up some coin magic tricks and send them to me over email?  Maybe an attachment or something.  Kids here ask to see magic all the time, and all we have to use are peso coins.  Any trick that can be done with a quarter will work.  Thanks a ton!

So this week!  My first full week in Valencia was great.  We got fed every single night, and members gave us lots of rides on the motorcycles so we didn't have to spend much on transportation.  I am feeling a little bit more like all those spoiled American elders!  We do a lot of our work in the "country" as Dad calls it.  Here it is called the bukid, which translates to mountians.  There is not a big city located in my area, but we visit Tagbilaran to shop and email and stuff, just like I did back in Pilar.  We are in the same District as I was in in Pilar, but we are in a different Branch.  We are also about 3 hours from Pilar, and 1 hour from the nearest other branch, so we have our own chapel.  It's pretty nice.  We taught a lot of really great people this week, and many committed to come back to church.  We also found a good number of new investigators, and 2 of them already are attending church with us every week so it shouldn't be too long before they can be baptized as well.  This area is awesome.  We are also right by the shoreline, so it is relatively cool and breezy during the day, and I actually use a sheet over me at night!  It's so awesome!  Elder Tolentino is a music major, and is teaching me music theory in our down time.  It is crazy how much there is to learn.  It blows my mind actually.  We always learn about Einstein and Newton in school, but nobody talks about the guy who invented the music staff or the guitar.  Just as much math and skill went into those.  One thing is for sure, I am absolutely positive now that I am not going to be a music major when I get home.  I've been trying super hard to work on my voice out here too.  It's not going too well...

Well I am super excited to see you again on Mothers Day!

Love you!
Elder Garver