Home away from home

Magandang Hapon sa inyo lahat!

 This past week has been great. There has been so much going on but it’s been really fun and there have been lots of unique ways to be able to share the gospel. Today is my last day here in Tanuaun. This next transfer I will be training and reopening another area again. It will be sad to leave but I couldn’t have thought of a better way to spend my last week.

 On Thursday for Christmas we were able to visit several members and a few investigators. My favorite part of the day was how everyone was really happy. People gave gifts but you could feel that that wasn't the most important thing..even for the little kids. Everyone was focused on the Savior and their families. Even with the gifts that were exchanged it was easy to see that they were given with the person in mind and lots of thought had been put-into it. 

 Then Saturday was Fiesta. It was hard to teach because everyone was either cooking or eating, but we were able to find some potential investigators while visiting a few members. It reminded me of a quote by  Elder Christopherson in Preach my Gospel about how we should always have our nets in the water, or in other words, we should be looking for opportunities to share the gospel. Even the busiest day can be productive if you look for opportunities to accomplish your purpose. 

 Yesterday, several of the members prepared a really nice birthday dinner for me. I am officially no longer a teenager!!  It was really kind of them to prepare something and it made me feel like I was in my home away from home. 

I hope everyone has a great new year!

  Ingat

     Elder Merrill

Merry Christmas

Maligayang Pasko sa inyo lahat!

 This past week has been great as we have been preparing for Christmas. While there may not be snow or very many Christmas lights here there is still a lot of excitement. For me the best part has been teaching members how they can help others feel the Saviors love this Christmas. 

 On Saturday we had the ward Christmas party. It was luau themed and went really well. We helped decorate the chapel to look Hawaiian and the other members helped cook and made presentations and the Relief Society and Primary did dance numbers. The Primary was very funny, I was impressed by how good they were. 

 Sunday night we had the Baptism of Raell. The final member of the Gallinero family to be baptized. It was an amazing baptism and the spirit was really strong. President Mangum, as well as the other couple missionaries, were able to attend. Raell bore a great testimony and it was wonderful to see his father baptize him. That was the best Christmas gift this year. 

 I hope everyone has a great Christmas day and can find ways to bless others as well

 Ingat

 Elder Merrill

Typhoon Ruby

Kamusta Tropa!

Sorry it has been several weeks since I last emailed. A few weeks ago there wasn't enough time and last week our email time got cut short due to the typhoon.  As missionaries and members we were well prepared, the fear was for those who weren't. The suspense of waiting for the storm was unnerving, I think suspense is certainly the worst kind of fear.  The storm passed through on Monday and we were blessed that it wasn't strong, just heavy rain and some wind. 

The weather on Friday was really nice and it didn't seem like there was a typhoon at all. That day we actually had a few really great lessons about the second coming. If we are prepared we have nothing to fear but we feel anxious for those who aren't well prepared, even though they know it’s coming. We also talked about how we need to strengthen our spiritual foundation, just as we need to strengthen the foundation of the roof for the storm. You can never be too prepared.

Other than that we have been having a great time teaching about the Savior as we prepare for Christmas. Our mission president challenged us to read the Four Gospels. I finished last week, and  as I have come to better understand His love for me I feel anxious to help others feel the same. I think it is no coincidence that after the four gospels there is the book of Acts. Just like the apostles, as we come to know the Savior we should act and share the gospel with others. 

 I hope everyone is doing well!

 Ingat

 Elder Merrill

Happy Thanksgiving

Kamusta Tropa Ko!

 Ang init dine sa Batangas eh. This past week has been really good! My old companion Elder Moleworth was transferred and I got a new companion, Elder Poblete.  Elder Poblete is from Cebu but he speaks fluent English and is very Americanized. Cebu daw (he said) has a lot of foreigners. He is the first companion I’ve had who also loves jelly beans so I think we are are going to get along great!

 This week we had stake conference and theme was “Strengthening Families”. I really liked the story that one of the speakers shared, she told a story of an anthropologist in Africa who wanted to observe how little children there played so he set up a game. He bought a bunch of candy and put it in a basket at the base of a tree and told the children that they were to form a circle around the tree and stand 100 meters away.  Then when he said “go, they could run to the tree and the first one there would win all of the candy. However, when he said “go”, instead of running the children held hands and walked to the tree together, so there was no winner or loser, and they could all share the candy. She said how when we are that unified in our family, and there is no competition, we will truly be happy. 

 I hope everyone has a great week and a Happy Thanksgiving!

 Ingat 

Elder Merrill

Opportunities to Teach

Kamusta Everybody!

This past few week has gone really well! We’ve been seeing a lot of success and surprise blessings. I am realizing how important it is to recognize every opportunity to teach.  Recently, we’ve been able to share a few messages with members and less actives. One of the best lessons was with a Sister Mae.  She has two sisters, one is a very active member and the other is not yet a member.  However Sister Mae and her dad are members but less active.  We had previously been focusing on the sister who isn’t a member but this past week, that sister wasn’t home so we shared the message with Sister Mae instead. She was really receptive and said how she had been waiting for a push to get active again. It made me realize how there are usually people around us that need a little help but sometimes we don't realize it. 

 On Saturday, our recent convert, Grace, had her 21st birthday.  Her family lives really far away and so she was feeling sad when she told us she didn’t have any plans for her birthday. In the Philippines, a girl’s 21st birthday is usually a big occasion. We set up an appointment on Saturday, to teach her, and so she thought we had forgotten it was her birthday, but we’d actually planned a surprise party with the other SA in the ward. When we got to the house my companion and I went in, like we were going to teach, and then the SA’s knocked on the door. Grace was so surprised she even cried! She said she was really happy she had a family here in the church and it was the best birthday she’s had. 

 I hope everyone has a great week! Here is something one of the members, Sister Anne, said that I really liked: 

“Other churches change for you, but here we have to change for the church and for God"

 Ingat

   Elder Merrill

Nov. 3, 2014

Kamusta  Everybody,

 This past week has been great! We had several uplifting meetings. The first was on Tuesday when Elder Robbins, on of the presidents of the 70, came and spoke to us. He talked about the companionship doctrines of agency, responsibility and control. He had us help him make a list of excuses that people make, for example blame, self justification, self pity, rationalization etc.. He then explained how when we use any of these excuses to try and avoid 100% responsibility that we give up control over our lives. He used the example of Laman and Lemuel in the Book of Mormon. They repeatedly used these excuses and eventually Satan had complete control of their lives. Essentially when we refuse to make excuses and accept full responsibility for our lives we will be in complete control of ourselves. 

  On Sunday night we were also able to watch a broadcast given by Elder Oaks. He was in Manila and addressed all of the Philippines. His talk was really good. It was interesting because he quoted heavily from a talk he gave 10 years ago when he was the area president of the Philippines. And all of the things he said back then are still very applicable today. For example daily scripture study, paying tithing and giving up cultural practices that aren't in harmony with the gospel. It made me realize that God won’t give us much new revelation until we do things what he has already said. 

I hope everyone has a great week!

 Ingat

   Elder Merrill

Frozen - Oct. 26, 2014

Kamusta Everybody,

This past week has flown by! We had zone interviews last week and our P-Day was changed from Monday to Tuesday. On Wednesday we had a really good district meeting where one of the sisters gave a talk and said "that we should never drop members". 

That quote really jumped out at me and made me realize how there are a lot of less actives in our area who we haven't been giving enough effort to help.  So in trying to apply that thought, we focused this week on one of the young men in the ward who has not been active.  His siblings and his mom are all active but his Dad passed away several years ago. After visiting him a few times he told us about how he is embarrassed to go to church because of the other guys on his basketball team and how there is one member at church he doesn't want to talk to.  We helped him remember the importance of the sacrament and he committed to come to church.  Sunday morning we went and picked him up and as we were walking to church with him all of the teenage boys were laughing at him and saying rude things. The young man just ignored them and kept walking. I was really amazed by how he didn't get upset but just did what he knew was right.  It also gave me insight on how it isn't always easy to what the Lord wants us too.

We had a funny thing happen this week when we were trying to teach one of the Filipino Elders how to use the toaster.  One morning he looked really confused and asked why, when he pressed the frozen button, the bread was still hot. We explained how it doesn't freeze the bread… it just goes longer if the bread is frozen  :)

I hope everyone has a great week!

 Ingat

 Elder Merrill

I’ve attached some picture of the Taal Volcano we went to last week, a funny “English” sign and my district.  

Taal Volcano Oct. 20

Kamusta Everybody,

   Sorry that I didn’t get chance to email last week and that I am writing a day later than usual.  We went on a hike on our last P-day to Taal Volcano and by the time we got back there wasn’t much time to write e-mails. It is still an active volcano so we could see smoke coming out of the cracks in the ground as we hiked up.  Then this week we had zone interviews so I didn’t get to e-mail on my usual day.  Time goes by fast and seems so short! But we’ve had a great couple of weeks. 

 First off conference was great! I really liked the Talks by President Uchtdorf as well as Elder Robbins. We are also excited because Elder Robbins will be coming to our mission next week! 

  In our work this past week I have really learned a lot about faith and blessings.  We have been trying to help our investigators recognize the blessings they have received through acting on faith. We have also been trying to help them understand that as soon as they make the decision to be baptized they need to have the faith to stay true to their commitment and then the choices become easier.

  I hope everyone is doing well and has a great week!

 Ingat

 Elder Merrill

Oct. 5, 2014

Magandang Araw sa inyo lahat!

  This past week has been good..time seems to be moving fast, but we have been enjoying every moment.

 We had a great district meeting on Wednesday. Sister Cox, who finished her mission this last week, gave a really good workshop about the Book of Mormon. She testified about how it has changed her life and the lives of the people she has met on her mission. I really liked the approach that one of the sisters used for street contacting that she talked about. She says that she just asks people if they know what Mormon’s means and then tells them about the Book of Mormon.

 Then on Friday we had the Baptism of Roleine. Her family had been baptized back in August but she felt that she wasn't ready to be baptized because she liked how exciting the Born Again Church seemed. We focused on the Book of Mormon with her and after reading in 3 Nephi she was really excited to get baptized. After her Baptism she bore a great testimony about the Book of Mormon and how it has changed her life. With the past two baptisms that we have had I have really seen how little we, as missionaries,  actually do to help people change…all we really do is help them see the importance of the Book of Mormon so that they can feel the Holy Ghost and begin their conversion.

 Last night I was invited to give a lesson at a youth fireside. I brought a suitcase with things in it that you need to be able to serve a mission, Journal, Scriptures, Clothes, PMG etc.. and then we talked about things that we can’t pack in a suitcase that we need, such as a testimony and experiences living the gospel.  We also read from the talk Becoming a Missionary.

 Hopefully everyone had a great week, I am excited to watch Conference this weekend! 

 Ingat 

Elder Merrill

Sept. 29, 2014

Magandang hapon!

 This past week has been very busy but a lot of great things have happened. The two main events were the primary activity and the baptism we had. On Friday we were in charge of the lesson/activity for the Primary. The theme was D&C 18:10 and they wanted us the help the 8-11 year olds be missionaries now. We decided to have the activity follow the schedule of a regular missionary day. We made little future missionary name tags to start and then had them memorize D&C 18:10. then for a "teaching opportunity" we had them write their testimony on a piece of paper to give to a friend. We also had a finding activity where we used a hidden picture page. The hidden picture page part was my favorite because the 2nd councilor in the bishopric also attended and he was frustrated that his little girl found all the items before he did! 

 The baptism we had also went really well. Our convert, Grace, bore a great testimony. She is really shy and was very nervous to get up in front and speak but she just talked about how she knows the Book of Mormon is true and that she knew she needed to be baptized. 

 I hope everyone is having a great week! Here is one of my favorite quotes "The gospel will comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" Bruce R McConkie

  Ingat

    Elder Merrill

No Skirt Necessary! - Sept. 14, 2014

Kamusta kayo!

 This past week has gone by pretty fast. We have been really trying to get to know the members better and talk to as many people as we can.  We have noticed a lot more of the Spirit in our work if we are willing to talk to everyone that we see. One of the things that Elder Bowen said to us last week was "if you are not Face to Face with someone, you are unemployed."

 We had a great experience this week with one of our progressing investigators, Grace. She has been coming to church for a while but for the past several weeks she hasn't been willing to commit to be baptized. She is working for one of the members in the ward and lives in their house. She is worried about not having much support from her mom, and also wants to be sure she wants to become a members for the right reasons. We have been focusing on the Book of Mormon and in the last lesson we told her to read Enos and pray about if she should be baptized. Last night when she started the lesson she seems really quiet and when we asked her what was wrong she said that she was worried because she doesn't yet have a skirt to wear to church for when she gets baptized! We told her that the skirt isn't the most important part, and that we were just happy for her because she wants to be baptized. 

 I hope everyone has a great week!

   Elder Merrill

Sept. 7, 2014

Kamusta Kayo diyan

 This past week has been great for me and Elder Molesworth. We now have a good idea where everyone that we are teaching lives. The best part about this past week was the mission tour that we had on Tuesday. Elder Bowen came and spoke to us.  He talked about how we need to raise our expectations.  He began by explaining the purpose and power of covenants and then talked about how through our obedience we can achieve miracles.  Since Tuesday we have really been trying to invite everyone that we see to learn about the restored gospel and we’ve seen a lot of little miracles because of it. I have come to realize that when Heavenly Father can trust you to talk to those he will put it your path, you will find more people ready to listen.  

 I know that in each of our own lives as we increase our faith we will have more power to overcome our weakness and we will bless the lives of others.

Have a great week!

 Ingat

  Elder Merrill

Tanuauan - Aug. 31, 2014

Magandang Tanghali sa inyo lahat,

  This past week so much has happened! I was transferred on Thursday to Tanuauan with my new Companion Elder Molesworth who just got here from the MTC. 

 It was sad to say goodbye to all of the people in Lemery, after having been there for 6 months many of the people there had become my friends and i have learned a lot of things from all of them.  

 Since Thursday we have been trying to find our way around the city here. The past Elders were pulled out so we have been reopening the area. We’ve had a few of the members show us where people live and we have been trying to get to know who our investigators are. We have both felt really blessed and guided by the spirit to know where to go and to remember all the places we have been in past 3 days.  This past week we are excited to be able to start meeting all of the members and know what to teach. 

 I hope  everyone is doing great,

  Ingat

  Elder Merrill 

Sister Fe - Aug. 17, 2014

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been great! Especially the past few days with sister Fe’s wedding and baptism. 

 Saturday was the Day of Fiesta here in Lemery and it was also Sister Fe's wedding. They wanted a small ceremony and it was mostly the Family Members who attend the service. The Branch President from Balayan from Lemery solemnized the marriage. He gave a really good talk about how their marriage is really just the first step to baptism then eventually being sealed in the temple. After the wedding they had a small lunch and then everyone went to the Fiesta. 

 For Fiesta, a lot of people prepare big parties and lots of vendors set up shops in the market. One thing that I noticed and found funny was the competition between neighbors. Whoever had the most food and had more people come to their house was the most popular. Even though our neighbors had huge parties and lots of people attended I noticed that everyone at the wedding 

earlier that day was much happier, even though there wasn't a big reception.

 The Baptism on Sunday also went really well. Sister Fe's sister and niece both gave really good talks and shared about how they have been motivated by Fe's great example. Her reading in the book of Mormon has really changed her life and she is trying to help her husband also be willing to get baptized. I feel really blessed to have been able to teach her and see the amazing changes that the Gospel has made in her life. When she bore her testimony at the end she said how she knows that the Book of Mormon is true and how this is Christ’s church, when she said that I really felt the Spirit and power of her words. 

 I know that this is really Gods work. I have really learned a lot from all of the people here in Lemery. I will be transferred next week, which is going to be really sad but I know that there are other great things ahead. 

  Kita Kits

    Elder Merrill

Aug. 10, 2014

Kamusta Everybody!

This past week has been really busy. On Tuesday I went on exchanges with Elder Filipe, one of the new missionaries in our zone. His has only been out for 3 weeks but I was really impressed by how good he is at teaching. All of the things that he learned in the MTC he applied really well. I realized that it is always important to stick to the basics and to follow Preach my Gospel exactly.

Friday we had mission leader conference. President Mangum is starting to get a good idea of where the mission is at and gave us a lot of good ideas on how to help the missionaries improve. We talked a lot about how to build our faith in the Savior and then how to measure our effectiveness working with the members. One of the things that really impressed me was how closely Faith is tied to Obedience. The following day I went on exchanges with Elder Pererra and that was what we studied and talked about during the day. Both of us really tired to apply doing our very best and we both saw that we had a great day and really felt the Spirit. We talked about how when we rely on the Savior instead of ourselves we can accomplish great things.

 This week I am really excited for Sister Fe’s Baptism and wedding. Next week I will tell you all about it!

 Ingat

  Elder Merrill 

Hastening the Work - Aug. 3, 2014

Kamusta Everybody!

 The work has been really good this past week!  We’ve really started to hasten the work here in Lemery by working better with the members. Our Branch President has been doing a great job of getting the members excited about doing missionary work. 

 One of the recent converts here, Lance, has been having trouble getting to church because it is far away and he has no money to pay for a tricycle. He had missed church for a few Sundays and the young men took notice. One of them gave Lance a bike and the Branch President gave him an old cell phone so he can know about activities and what time seminary is. Yesterday Lance came to church and bore a really powerful testimony! One thing I have really learned here is that it is almost impossible to be successful in missionary work without the excited and enthusiastic participation of the members.

 This past week I have also learned a lot from the talk “Only and Elder”, by Bruce R.  McConkie. The church and missionary work is really a family effort. If we all work together we can accomplish anything. Especially bringing back the less actives. I have also really liked looking at the talks on http://scriptures.byu.edu/. 

 That’s about all for this week.

 Have a great week!

 Ingat

   Elder Merrill

For our Zone P-Day today we took some antique photos is a house build in the Spanish era here.

Fiesta Wedding - July 27, 2014

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week has been really good. Most everything has been repaired after the storm and life is back to normal. 

 We have been really focusing this past week on trying to visit the recent converts that we have and make them feel like they are really part of the ward. There was just called a new Relief Society President and she has been really great about going and visiting all the recently baptized sisters. 

 One of the highlights of this past week has been teaching Sister Fe. she was referred by her sister and has been really progressing. The only problem that she has is that her and her boyfriend aren't yet married. He is willing to get married but was hesitant because the culture here is that when you get married you have to have a really big celebration, and they can’t afford much. She talked to him this past week and explained why it is so important they get married and they decided to get married on the 16th. It worked perfectly because that is also the day of Fiesta here. The plan is that instead of having to prepare their own big party they will just have everyone attend the wedding service then go eat at the Fiesta. Sister Fe has been really excited and on Tuesday we went and helped them get their marriage license and other paper work done. 

 Other than that not much exciting is happening here. I hope everyone has a great week!

 Ingat

   Elder Merrill

Typhoon Glenda - July 20, 2014

Kamusta Everybody,

  This past Wednesday we got hit by Typhoon Glenda. It didn’t do too much damage but there were a lot of people who had parts of roofs ripped off and sadly our most recent convert, Sister Juvie, had major damage to her house and it was destroyed so we spent most of the week giving service and helping people fix up their homes. 

 The thing that has impressed me the most is peoples attitudes. Despite all the damage everyone seemed to be ok. After people got their own houses fixed up they went and helped out others and were all laughing having a good time with each other. I also was amazed how God will provide for us in unexpected ways. There was no power and most of the stores were closed, and the big mall was damaged but nobody was in need of food, because during the storm the fish farms got flooded so there has been tons of fish in the river. Usually tilapia is 100 pesos a kilo but this week it has been 15 to 30 pesos a kilo. 

 Despite the storm we were able to still have the baptism on Saturday of Sister Juvie, and her son Szander, as well as Sister Christina and he daughter Christine May. I feel like I have been privileged to be able to know each of them and to have been able to teach them. All of them really prepared themselves for baptism. Looking back there wasn’t any big concerns or issues. They were always reading with their families and grew really strong in their faith. 

I’ve attached some pictures of the baptism, Sister Juvie’s house and helping after the typhoon. 

 That’s about it for this week! I hope everyone has a great week.

  Elder Merrill

Joy and Vilma - July 13, 2014

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week has been really good. We had a fun zone P- day where we hiked up to a waterfall in one of the areas in the zone. The only problem we had is that it started to rain really hard! It took about an hour to get back through a lot of mud but we all had a really good time. I was impressed with the attitude of the sisters in the zone..several of them slipped and got really muddy but they said it was one of the more fun Zone P-days they have had. Learning to laugh at yourself and having a good attitude makes all the difference in how much we enjoy things.

 On Friday we had a really good MLC. It was President Mangum’s first one and he shared with us a lot of good insights that he learned from the apostles at his training a few weeks ago. One change that we are starting to implement is teaching people lesson 5 in Preach my Gospel.  I think it will really help all of the converts here in the mission stay active and progress in the church. The lesson emphasizes the "determination to serve him to the end" that it talks about in D&C 20:37.

 Yesterday two of our investigators Joy and Vilma both were baptized. They have come a long way and it has been a testimony building experience for me as well as the members who have fellowshipped them. One of the branch missionaries who has befriended them gave a great talk about the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I also realized during the service how perfect the Lords timing is. They were both supposed to be baptized about a month ago but weren't quite prepared. We were disappointed we had to push the date back. However, last Monday Joys husband arrived home from working in Saudi Arabia and was able to attend. He came to church as well and seems very interested in the church also becoming a member. Realizing that helped me to better understand that often seemingly setbacks are sometimes Heavenly Father helping us to achieve more. 

  Have a great week!

    Elder Merrill

Earthquake - June 29, 2014

Kamusta everybody!

 This past week has been great! We had a really good zone training meeting on Wednesday and were able to teach the zone the things that President Peterson had shared with us last week. It was really good to be able to hear and see all of the things that President Peterson has taught the missionaries. Later on Wednesday we also felt an earthquake! We were sitting in a member’s house and noticed that the walls were shaking and could feel ourselves moving. The said yesterday that it was 5.5 magnitude and that we were at the center. When we got home to the apartment we noticed a few of the floor tiles were broken.

 One thing that I have really noticed this week is the amazing effect the Book of Mormon has on people. We have 5 different investigators who have been reading everyday and are going to be ready for baptism in the next few weeks. One of the Sister Juvie got a new job Mondays to Fridays so now we can only teach her on weekends. But on Saturday when we visited with her she is doing great. She has almost finished 3rd Nephi and was so excited to tell us all the things she has learned about baptism. 

 Other than that not too much out of the ordinary is going on. I am excited this Thursday to meet the new mission President. 

 Kita Kits

Elder Merrill

June 22, 2014

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been really good. It was the last time we had to meet with President Peterson. On Thursday we had the last MLC and President taught us about his favorite scriptures and then left a lot of the time open for answering questions so we discussed things about how to better help missionaries and some deeper doctrine questions.  I was conducting the meeting so during lunch I had the thought to ask President if he would say the closing prayer.  He hasn't said one in a meeting with us before so I was hoping he could just this once before they go home. He said thanks for the idea but he didn’t agree to it. I felt kind of bad that I had asked but then just before the closing prayer he got up and said he would pray instead of the assigned person. His prayer was different than any one that I have ever heard. You could really feel that he had a deep understanding of who God is, and how he feels about each of us missionaries. 

 Other than that this week hasn’t been too eventful. We have seen really great progress with Sister Silvano from one of our part member families. The mother has been listening to us but before this week she was so shy that she wouldn’t ask or answer any questions.  However, she has started to read the book of Mormon and on Friday she told us how exited she is to be baptized in July. The Book of Mormon and the Spirit are what really do our teaching.

 I hope everyone has a great week! 

  Kita Kits

    Elder Merrill

Goodbyes to President Peterson

Kamusta everybody

This past week has gone really well. We had a lot of good meetings and also a great baptism.

 On Tuesday we had a lunch appointment with an American guy named Bob. He is in his 60’s and we met him at a bookstore last week. He seems like he is pretty lonely and doesn’t get to talk to Americans very often. He married a Filipino and lives in Taal. The lunch was really good but he didn’t want to hear anything about our message. It made me appreciate how willing the Filipinos are to learn about what we believe.

Wednesday we had Zone conference. It was the last time most of the missionaries will see President Peterson. He bore his testimony and told us the things he wanted to make sure we understand before he leaves. He talked a lot about Priesthood Keys, The Doctrine of Christ, and The Book of Mormon. It has been really amazing to see the influence he has had on all of us missionaries.  At the end of the meeting he had us all give him a hug. I was conducting the meeting so I was sitting by him and got to watch each missionary say goodbye. It was really neat to see how much people loved him by the way they said goodbye.  At the conference I also won the Qwan Challenge (qwan is a nonsense word it Tagalog).  One of the office sisters read off a list of counsel given by President Peterson since our last zone conference and if you have done the thing on the list that he’s counseled us to do then you remain standing. I was surprised at the end when I was the last one standing!   I have really learned that being exactly obedient will make the work a lot easier.

 Thursday we had the Baptism of Brother Romulo, Christian, and John Lloyd. All of their families came and really felt the Spirit. The talks were good but the best part was their testimonies. Brother Romulo’s was the best. He has come so far in the past few months. When I first met him he was really drunk and didn’t really want to talk to us but by the hand of God and some tough repentance he really is a new person. While he was bearing his testimony I felt really humbled and happy that I had helped a person improve his life, and be one with their family. The baptism was also on his 31^st anniversary. I look forward to them getting sealed in the temple next year.

 Other than that not too much happened this week, Happy Father’s Day to all and I hope you have a great week!

Elder Merrill

New Companion

Kamusta Everybody,

This past week has been great! We have been super busy but we had a great baptism and have lots happening this next week too. 

Thursday sadly Elder Johnson got transferred. We went to the mission home and I met my new companion Elder Williamson. It was tough to part ways, especially with all of our investigators getting baptized so soon, but God needs him in a different area. 

Friday we had a really good lesson with one of our investigators, Joy. She is deaf and doesn’t know sign language so it is a little difficult to communicate. This week though we explained to her about the restoration and she understood it really well. She has been praying and she was able to get herself and her mom to church. This experience has really strengthened my testimony that the Spirit is what conveys the truth of our message, regardless of how we communicate it. 

Saturday Jericho and Daniel were baptized! Their Mom is a member but has been less active so we found them through their Grandpa.  However, as we have been teaching the two little boys Mom also started coming back. The baptismal service was really good and when they got up to bear their testimonies I could see how happy the family was to all be there together. I was also really impressed and grateful for the Primary President, she gave them a Book of Mormon story book and she has been making sure they feel welcome. 

This next week we have zone conference and also a few more baptisms. It has been really amazing to see the changes in the branch here. 

I hope everyone has a great week

Kita Kits  

 Elder Merrill

Coconut Shell Mops

Kamusta everybody,

   This past week has gone really well.  On Tuesday we were able to go to a special meeting in San Pablo were Elder Craig C Christenson, one of the Presidents of the 70, came and spoke to us. He gave a really good workshop about prayer.  He talked to us how about when we really make prayer a mental exercise and try to gain the spirit before we begin to pray that we can receive clear answers and also know the things to ask for while we pray.

  We also had a great experience teaching two of our new investigators named Joy and Joan this past week. Joy is deaf and doesn’t know sign language or how to read very well, but she is good at reading lips. The young women in the ward all like her and she even attended the youth camp last week.  She always looks really interested when we teach her mom but she can’t understand very well. On Wednesday we bought a small whiteboard and drew out some of the principals in lesson 1 and she completely understood! She was really excited and we could tell that she felt the Spirit.

  We also have two little boys Jericho and Daniel that should be getting baptized this Saturday. Their mom used to be less active but she’s now come back to church and is excited for her kids to become members.  They are 10 and 8 and are fun to teach. They understand everything we say and don’t let on how much they already know. When we practiced the interview with them and asked about the law of chastity all they said was “bawal maging backla” or “don’t be gay”. The former Branch President was with us and laughed a bit and said that at least they know about that part. Then he did a really good job explaining the rest of the law of chastity in little boy terms.

  Other than that not much has happened. This morning we went and toured the really big Catholic Church here. It is 200+ years old and had lots of interesting paintings and stuff inside.  We also helped a member wax the floor of her classroom with coconut shells.  It worked surprisingly well! 

I hope everyone has a great week!

 Ingat

  Elder Merrill

Dump out the coffee!

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been good! We have seen a lot of good things happen in our area. 

One of the highlights of the week was a lesson that we had with Brother Romolo. His kids are all active and his wife is also a member but she hasn't been to church for a while. In the past he didn't want to listen to the missionaries but about a month ago he drank way to much and had to go to the hospital for a few days. That experience changed him and we have been teaching him for the past few weeks. On Friday we taught him the Word of Wisdom. He was ready to give up coffee and said he never wants to drink again. His wife wasn't so sure about coffee but after talking about it and with a little motivation from her kids she committed to stop. It was fun because after the lesson we took all of the coffee she had in the house and dumped it outside! 

 We also gave service this week painting a school before the school year begins again in June. I was surprised to find out that all of the school expenses, like paint, chalk, or new desks have to provided by the teacher. The school doesn't cover any of it. We painted some of the chairs and got to talk to a lot of the teachers there who were surprised to see two Americans working for them. 

 Other than that not much has gone on this week. On Tuesday we are going to be able to listen to Elder Christiansen of the 70 who is coming to visit the mission. 

 Have a great week!

  Kita Kits

    Elder Merrill

Lance

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week has been great! Lance’s baptism went really well.

 On Wednesday we had a surprise zone meeting with President Peterson. It was a really good meeting and he talked about building our faith and teaching members the why of missionary work. We are really trying to plan better and use members more, we need to not only work harder but much smarter. 

 Lances baptism was the best one I have ever been to. In the morning we got the font cleaned. There actually ended up being a bird’s nest behind the mirror because the window had been left open. But after we got that cleaned out things looked nice.  Then we were able to have one of the members who owns a van go with us to pick up investigators and Lance and his family for the service. So many came! We had 20+ people in the van. Many of the members also came and the talks were really good. Lance’s older sister, who is the only other member in his family, also bore her testimony and it was really powerful. Her mom and other siblings afterward also committed to be baptized in June. 

 Other than that not much else has happened this past week!

 I hope everyone is doing well. 

 Ingat

  Elder Merrill

Dirty Job

Kamusta everybody!

  This past week has been great. We had a really good MLC meeting and our investigators have made some really great progress! 

  On Tuesday we gave service to one of the members who needed us to clean out their gutters on the side of their house. It was incredibly gross. All the garbage and other nasty things had been piling up in for months. We shoveled it all out and found a bag of cement and some dirt, that came from a construction site down the road, that had been blocking it all off. So after a few of the ladies in the neighborhood got mad at the person who owned the constructional site we got it all cleaned up… it even ended up to be a great missionary opportunity because we got to talk to a few of the other neighbors who were surprised to see two white guys doing such a dirty job for them. 

 On Friday we had a really good mission leadership meeting. We are really trying to focus the mission on teaching by the Spirit. President Peterson shared some great incite that I feel applies to all of us "We don't really have to make that many mistakes in life because we have the Holy Ghost".

 Lance, one of our investigators, has been doing really well. He should be getting baptized on the 17th. On Sunday he got up and bore his testimony. He was really nervous to do so but I could tell he wanted to. After a little encouragement he got up and just said what he knew to be true. Two of our other investigators, Joy and Vilma, expressed some of their concerns and so we had a great experience fasting with them yesterday.

 Other than that not much new is going on. 

 Have a great week!

   Elder Merrill 

Manny Paquiao

Kamusta Everybody,

   This past week has gone by really fast!  We’ve been making progress with our investigators and it has been great. One of them, Lance, should be getting baptized on the 17th. Two others, Joy and Vilma, have really began to understand repentance so hopefully they should be getting baptized by the end of May. 

   Most of our branch missionaries were at youth conference this past week so we didn’t really have anybody to work with at first, but then we found out that one of the members, Brother Ronnie, wife and kids have been gone on vacation and he is all alone at home all day after work. He is  an RM so he has been coming with us to lessons all week. He is super funny. He speaks great English and always has a witty saying. He also told us about how his dad died;  when his dad was in his 70’s he got really bad cataracts and couldn't read and then when he turned 80 he got  surgery and could see  again! He went home and was super excited to read the Book of Mormon again but then when he started to read he got so excited and happy that he had a heart attack and died... 

  This week we also went tracting and saw two tricycles fly by because one man was working on the power cables on his roof and got electrocuted and fell of the roof and cracked his head on the road. Then at the same time another guy close by was in a knife fight and got stabbed to death…all sorts of crazy things are happening in our area. 

 We also saw Manny Paquiao at a store and invited him to come to church! He even came!!! It was great. PICTURE ATTACHED! 

 I Hope everyone is mabuti and has a good week

  Kita Kits

    Elder Merrill

(Just kidding about Manny Paquiao..it was Brother Alfred who looks exactly like Manny and of course he came to church because he is already a member ;)