We Have New Neighbors

Do you ever cringe at the thought of having needy, loud, and snoopy neighbors?  Well, we HAVE such neighbors.....and love them to death!

Pettingils, the senior couple who lived upstairs from us, moved north.  Four missionary sisters moved in a few days after they left. Actually, there were seven of them at first.  Three of them were staying with the other sisters while they were waiting for their new companions to arrive.

SO adorable

When the A.P.'s and Sister Barrientos dropped the sisters off, Sister Barrientos advised me not to spoil them too much.  Advise that I thought I could follow until the Sorry Factors crept in.

Sorry Factor #1: They have to endure a hot apartment. Turned-off air conditioners sit silently in the windows.  They can't afford to run the air con.

Sorry Factor #2: They are living on tight budgets at best, but now it is even worse.  They moved from an apartment within their area clear across town to this apartment.  Their travel expenses have gone way up.

So last Sunday night I took them some left-over ice cream Elder had supplied for a young adult activity.  They met me at the door with screams and hugs of delight.  "You are an answer to our prayers!" "We are starving!" "We knew the Lord would provide!"  "We have no money for food!" Wow! What an over-the-top reaction to a bit of ice cream.  I immediately went back to our apartment and loaded up with food to give them.  I was almost back to the sisters' door with food, when Sister Naeem came out their door to see where I was.  We pretty much came face-to-face.  She shrieked a high-pitched shriek and ran back in their apartment. Sorry, I didn't know I was that scary! 

In our quest to keep the sisters from fainting from hunger, we invited them to breakfast the next morning. They ate like it was their last meal on earth.

Sister Villareal, Sister Naeem, and Sister Obra

All of the sisters are from here in the Philippines, except Sister Naeem who is from Pakistan. She is so very hyper and cute! She calls us "Mother" and "Father". "You don't care I call you 'Moder' and 'Fader'? You my 'Moder' and 'Fader', right? You always remember me, right?" 

She's always banging on our door at random times just to see us. "I not see you today. I must see your face before I go to bed. Now I dream about you. I have good dream. I love you very much!" A few hugs and she's gone into the night.

The other night when Sister Naeem came knocking, I answered the door in my blue nightie and cover-up-type robe. She couldn't figure out what on earth I was wearing. She kept looking at my get up as though it was some kind of a freak outfit.  "You have blue dress under? What you wearing?" I'm normal, right? Please tell me I'm normal! (Elder and I don't feel at all normal here. You can't believe the stares Elder gets as we walk in public. I'm not sure if it's his height or his skin color or both.)

Anyway, back to breakfast.

Sister Naeem and Sister Incognito

"What on earth is this: waffles, mangos, bananas, syrup, and whipping cream? I'll eat it, because I am starving!"

 

 

Sister Agustin and Sister Naeem

 

After our photo session, we gave the sisters a few more goodies. It doesn't take much to make them happy!

 

 

Since then, we have left anonymous care packages at their door. Of course they have NO idea who  their Santa Claus is. :)

 

As I have said, we are thoroughly loving our neighbors.  They are so fun to have around. The good news is that four more missionary sisters will be moving into the downstairs apartment in May.

 

The Mormon Missionary Mansion

That means only one apartment won't be inhabited by Mormons! The Mormons are moving in!