Let's have a parade!

There are many summer festivals in Aparri and this week many people here participated in a boat parade on the ocean.  A family of members and investigators invited me to be on their boat and they insisted that they would automatically win having the only boat with an American.  Too bad that missionaries are busy and cannot participate in boat parades.  The worst thing about it is that they lost the contest.

This week was AwEsOmE because I skyped with my PaMiLyA and they are MaSaYa.  Mother's Day must be great when you are a mother but it is a thousand times better when you are a missionary.  

http://motherhood.mormon.org/?cid=HPTH050814094

I want to send a belated shout out to my mom.  She is the best sa buong mundo.  Sana magiging ako katulad nya sa susunod. (Have fun translating that one, Mom) I feel blessed for the mother I have and my experiences I have had so far on my mission.  I am taking the steps I need to take and preparing for motherhood.

This is a cool story I want to share.

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her mother that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her mother, a chef, took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Once the three pots began to boil, she placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and hot chocolate) in the third pot. She then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to her daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what she was doing. After twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. She then ladled the hot chocolate out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her, she asked. “Daughter, what do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and hot chocolate,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer”, she said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.  She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.  Finally, she asked her to sip the hot chocolate. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.  “Mother, what does this mean?” she asked.

She then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and hot chocolate had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hardened. However, the hot chocolate was unique. After it was exposed to the boiling water, it changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or hot chocolate?” 

Stay sweet like hot chocolate!  XOXO from the Philippines!

 

Pictures next week po.