Family,
Since my last e-mail a few days ago, not much has changed. I received an e-mail from dad stating that all of the missionaries have been found and are safe. What a blessing! I'm so happy they are all fine. However, seeing that their mission is more or less destroyed, many of them are being temporarily transferred to our mission. I think some are already here & there are 4 elders from the Tacloban mission that will be staying with us for I'm not sure how long. They should get here today or
tomorrow. I'm pretty excited; hopefully it will be one of my batch-mates! It would also be awesome if Conner Murdock or the Wilstead kid stayed at our apartment. Anyway, all is fine & you can all stop worrying about me. Nothing has changed. Life is going on as normal here in Cebu. Well, I have been asked many questions from you all (especially from Madison) so I will try to answer those for you all! Speaking of Madison. . . I can't believe you e-mailed my president. You are still acting like mom, even 7,000 miles away! I just laughed when you said that. That's so you. I do appreciate your love & concern for me. I know that you are just worried about me. Thank you.
Question time! Yes, I have adjusted to the humidity (as much as you can, I suppose). In fact, some days I actually quite enjoy the weather. There is a nice breeze & even though it's like a million degrees outside, my body appreciates the small bursts of wind that come occasionally. I still wish it was freezing, but that's not going to happen. In the city it is a little worse, probably because of the pollution & whatever else, but it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I haven't seen my mission president since, but it's P-day today & we are going to the zoo! We are also going to stop by temple grounds to get a few things, so maybe I will see him there. Our apartment is 2 jeepny rides away from the temple grounds where his home is, so it usually takes about 30-45 minutes depending on the traffic. The day of the typhoon, the electricity did go out for a while, but only for about 10 hours or so. The 2 week brown-out in my last area was much worse! We still have a few service projects planned. People still need a little bit of help with things, but like I said, it's not even remotely as bad here as it is in other places. If you are getting a package together, I could use some deodorant. I am about to run out, & I could buy some more here, but it's pretty expensive. If I need too, obviously I will. I don't want you all sending me big packages though! I know that they are very expensive & I am doing fine with what I have here. Me & my companion are getting along great! I have learned a lot about how to work with people since I have been here. My patience has grown immensely & I have learned to not get so angry with people. I don't like to admit it, but I had a problem with that back home. I have learned to be much more calm & patient & loving with other people. I try not to joke all the time because I think that some people can't tell that I am joking & it hurts them. So I don't really joke anymore. My communication skills are improving as well. I am much more decisive & I am better at making decisions that effect more than just myself. I was never very good at this because I was always fearful of making a decision that involved other people because I wasn't sure if they would agree or like my choice. I am getting more confident in myself & my communication is improving along with my willingness to share my thoughts & opinions as well as standing up for them.
I can't believe that Axzelle is turning 2 this week! She is getting so big! I remember when she was born. I was up at the University of Utah because we were in the championship for football. I didn't even care that we lost because I got to go see her! The party sounds like fun. Send pictures! Even though I am terrible at that. I can't believe Dax is 6 months old. That's crazy, but also exciting! I sometimes use his age to determine how much time I have left, so it's fun seeing both of our progress at the same time! We are both growing so much right now, it's kind of funny to think about it that way. Speaking of Dax, thanks for the pictures you just sent! I love the one of him in the beanie. I love beanies. I miss mine.
Anyway, I hope that this letter was full of information that helped inform you a little bit better of my situation here. I can't think of anything that I wanted to say. Hopefully I didn't forget anything. I do sometimes. Oh well! Love you all & miss you!
-Elder Staheli
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