So I started to make that list of food I missed and ended up just throwing it away. I like rice.
This week has been really good but a little crazy too. We are getting a lot of work done in this branch and are really starting to see the light of hope shimmering through the darkness. This branch is going to be up and running before I have to leave it. Elder Steiner is doing great as well. He hasn't gotten sick yet and is doing well adjusting to the food. He is improving really rapidly at the language as well. The hardest thing here when you're new is understanding the natives when they speak. There are no rules in Cebuano so you just say things basically however you feel like and it takes a long time to get used to that as a greenie. He is doing well speaking however and can get his point across well. This area is a ton of fun.
So now on to the more crazy part. This past week was Holy Week, and like Dad is hoping for, I've got some stories. I wasn't anywhere where I could see anything big last year, but this year was different. We had a conference in the city on Friday and on the way back we got to see some of the parades and things that the Catholics put on here. There were THOUSANDS of people swarming the streets pushing homemade floats with all their saints and Mama Marys and Jesuses perched up top. They had candles and were playing drums and stuff all over the island. We sat in traffic for 3 hours waiting for the masses of people to pass so we could go back to our area. They also did a pretty crazy parade in Toledo right by the Zone Leaders' apartment with thousands of people following a man who represented Jesus on the road to Calvary. There were people dressed up as Jews following a big group of Roman soldiers who were escorting a man in boxer shorts who was supposed to be Jesus. Their Jesus was carrying a real cross down the road and up their hill of Calvary while literally being whipped and beaten by the men dressed as Roman soldiers. Their Jesus was drunk out of his mind so he didn't feel the pain so much and was stumbling as he ascended the hill. It was past our curfew so nobody got to see the actual crucifixion on the top of the hill, but I did get to go back the next night and got a couple pictures with some kids who were playing up there. Super messed up.
The next picture I included also has a little explanation :) The Catholic Church here seems to only care about money, and so they charge their members fees for everything that happens. They sell baptism, blessings, marriages, forgiveness for sins, burial sites, and more. I don't know much about cemeteries in America, but here, all the cemeteries are owned by the Catholic Church. If you aren't a Catholic, the church refuses to let you be buried in their cemetery, and if you are a Catholic there is a rent charged on your grave. If your family can't afford to pay the monthly rent on the grave one month, the church digs up your body, and throws whatever is left in a pile in the cemetery to free up space for someone who can pay. We passed through a cemetery this week and a got a couple pictures for you. Again, super messed up.
Well, I hope you are all having a great week! You are really lucky you get to listen to conference this week. We'll be listening to it next. I love you all so much!
Love,
Elder Garver
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