Shinguards to Sandals: If you are thinking about NOT reading this, you should probably think again!

Hi all!! This is Courtnee's mom. I just wanted to preface this post by saying how much I loved this weeks pictures. Sister Wood looks so happy right now. She loves her mission and loves the Filipino people and it shows on her face and her big bright smile.

Sister Wood love the Filipino children

Family Home Evening on exchanges

Playing with the local boys

I love this picture - Sister Wood entitled it, "Imperfect Beauty"

So if you are reading this, that means that you took my advice in the title, and I am super happy about that. You won't regret it promise. But let me just hurry and say that today marks the day of the start of the last transfer here in the Philippines. It hasn't even set in yet. Okay I will just get the stories of transfers out of the way. So this is what happened! Of course we just assumed that Sister Servancia was going to get transferred because it just would be weird if she didn't and I did. And so this weekend we had been taking photos of her with people and she was saying goodbye and stuff. Well on Sunday we went out to work and were waiting for the transfer text. We were at a less active families and we got a text, and on it said SISTER WOOD WILL BE TRANSFERRED! I screamed. I couldn't believe it. I was so sad. Because I hadn't said bye to ANYONE! It was so sudden because it was opposite of what we thought. Anyways, so we hurry and went and said bye to some of our investigators and got some pictures. Then listen, on our way back to our apartment, we got another text saying that Sister Servancia was going to be transferred too! WE WERE SO CONFUSED! Then we were like uhhh we are getting pulled out? Like why didn't we know about this? But then we called the AP's because it was all so confusing and they told us that it really was Sister Servancia transferring and our area was going to be dissolved because the lack of missionaries since so many are going home. So if you are paying attention, it just went back and forth and back and forth with who was transferring. So they texted me the transfer thing because I am being transferred to San Nicolas 2b with sister arancia the other filiipino in our apartment. So I am just switching areas basically. Anyways, so that is the story of our transfer. There will only be 4 missionaries in our ward now. And our areas will just get bigger. So yeah, I will end this mission in San Nicolas! Weirdness.

Anyways, so now lets get to the thing that will blow your socks off. So do you recall the story that I shared last week of that couple that got married then separated in the same day? Do you recall how I said that things couldn't get worse then they were? Well, brothers and sisters, I am here to tell you that this week, they got worse haha. On Tuesday afternoon, ARNEL GOT SHOT!!! Yeah, he got shot. We were dying and couldn't believe it. We findally got the story and it was a robbery. He works for an Indian guy who lends money so he carries a lot of it with him when he is going to all the different houses to collect the debt, someone started shooting at him. They were definitely trying to kill him because they shot at him 8 times. Luckily he was only hit above his butt. Which tells us that whoever it was has no experience with guns! Horrible aim. Anyways, stories were all over the place saying it was the girl who arranged it and stuff, but that wasn't true. So then a couple days later, us and the elders got permission to go to the hospital in Laoag to visit him. Since he is our recent convert, and the elders had just baptized the dad. Oh my gosh. So the visiting hours were from 3:30pm-7:00pm, but the only time we could go was at 11:30am after district meeting. We contemplated going, but then decided hey we will give it a try. We just need to put on our greatest americanness ever haha. So Elder Sablan is from america, but brown, and then elder whitrod is australian but white, and then me and my companion who is filipino. Haha so we got to the hospital. Just gave me a pit in my stomach seeing what the hospital looked like. It is called the Provincial hospital so it is funded by the government and the reason people go there is because it is the cheapest compared to the private hospitals. Anyways, so i lead the way. I way rocking my very american get up that day, plus i am way tall and white, so that was the plan. Another part of the plan was that we were not going to speak one word of tagalog. Straight english. No matter what. Haha we had to get into this hospital! So we go up to the first guard, I say, "Hi brother, I need to find the room of Arnel River. Could you please show me where it is?" Hahaha his mouth starts to quiver with nervousness and he cracks out the two words in english ... "There.......inside....... you ask...." Hahaha it was hilarious, but i felt really bad because I could have spoken tagalog, and stuff, but we didn't. None of us did! I was dying. We went to a bunch of different parts of the hospital until someone finally told us the right place to go. The issue wasn't getting in, it was where to go! Even though it was not visiting hours, the first guard I talked to just lets us right in. We walked into the main parts of the hospital and I was just sick to my stomach. I couldn't believe it. There are 2 things that came to my head walking to the designated area. You know those haunted hospitals you hear about or see in the movies? Okay that was one. Second, a world war 2 hospital or something. The nurses dressed in the old fashioned dresses and head wear things, the ceilings high and pure concrete. The beds you could see int he hallways just ripping and straight foam that have probably been used for 30+ years with no sheets. An old lady walking down the hall with a cart selling gross cafeteria food, ahh just the whole thing made me quiver. We find the place where Arnel was and it was the Mens Surgical wing. It was a large room with 10 beds, yes, 10 beds, no dividers or anything, all full of men waiting to have surgery. I almost lost it. So that brings me to the other thing. You would think that when you are shot, you gotta get the bullet out ASAP right? Well the doctors didn't. THey didn't do it quick enough so it started swelling and stuff. So still right now, a week after it happened, he still doesn't have the bullet out and he is just at home now. Anyways while we were in this room i was just observing everything haha i should have been visiting with arnel, but the elders were on top of it. The celing and lights were climbing with cob webs and nothing was clean. You have to take your own bed sheets to put on the foam things and your own electric fan if you want air. I wanted to get out of there so bad. I felt so dirty and like i was going to get some disease haha. I know that is so bad to say, but even the people here say that the longer you stay in that hospital the more likely you are to die if you are a patient there haha. That was our adventure to the hospital. And we coated ourselves in hand sanitizer afterwards. I don't even think you could find any in the hospital haha. But I am glad I got to experience what some people are facing right now. And just will hurry and mention that all the patients were wondering how we got in there, but no one even asked us 1 question about it. HAHA.

The work is going good here. We will be working way hard as we combine our areas. Some of our investigators are amazing. One of them even asked us this week what she can do better as a person and as an investigator. Haha first time I have ever heard that one! Well, I think that about covers it, thank you for taking the time to read this email! We have to always remember all of the blessings we have. Gosh I am so blessed. To have all of the things I do. I am ready to make the most of the next 6 weeks! It's all I got, so I will give it all I got left!

Mahal ko kayo.

Sister Wood

xoxox.

PS: Thank you president, because my new companion likes sports. :)