Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Blood in the Bigas

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week has been really busy! We’ve had a lot of lessons and found some really good investigators. I also have some pretty good stories!
 To start off the week, on Tuesday we did service at a member’s home. They have a big rice field behind there house (or bigas in Tagalog). We went there to help them harvest the rice.  To harvest you have to use a little bent knife to cut the rice stalks and then later on you sort it. Before we started all of the people told me to be careful because I might cut myself.  I told them not to worry and that I would be totally fine and that I have used sharp things lots of times before and that just because I am an American, I didn’t need any special attention. Well, I was fine right up until literally the 2nd to last stalk of rice and that’s when I cut my little finger open. I was really embarrassed and tried to hide my hand in my shorts pocket until I could go and wash it off, but then they noticed I was bleeding everywhere so we cleaned it up and then I glued it up when I got home (thank you dad for thinking to put derma bond in my first aid kit!!). So the only thing that was really hurt was my pride... 

  We also found a lot of really good new investigators this week. There are two youth ward missionaries and we sometimes teach investigators at their house. Their mom isn't a member and this past week I noticed she was reading the Book of Mormon. We offered to teach her and had a really good lesson. I think that maybe now it’s her time to accept the gospel and I am really excited to teach her. We’ve also gotten several referrals from the some of the less actives in the ward. They have been inviting their friends to family home evenings and have been attending church themselves.

 Training Elder Tagiuam has been going well. I have learned a lot about patience and also a little bit about what it might be like to be a parent. There is so much to take care of and worry about! You want them to succeed and learn things for themselves but then you also have to correct them and fix problems for them and you are only doing it for their own good but then you feel like the bad guy when they get upset because they don't fully understand a rule or why we don't loan members money or can’t teach if there isn't a man in the home... So kids listen to your parents, and parents don't worry….they will understand when they become trainers on their missions.

 I hope everyone has a great week. I miss you all.
 here is a Filipino proverb
"be ye as the rice stalk. The more grain it bears, the lower i bows."
 Mahal Kita

   Elder Merrill 

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