I am o.k.!

Kamusta Everybody!

 First, I want everyone to know (especially my mom) that I am perfectly ok. The typhoon hit a little ways south of me and we only got some heavy rain here.There wasn't any destruction or problems, just no power for a little while. We were still even able to work! We got 5 lessons in and it was a good day. (I did however get soaked on the way back from our 1st appointment by a semi truck driving though a puddle while I was one the back of a tricycle, the driver and I decided to laugh though instead of getting upset) 

 The past week has been really eventful. The trip down to the mission home with Elder Johnson on Wednesday was pretty fun. We got to visit one of his old areas where lots of people there speak sign language. They taught me how to say my name and they were all really nice. We also got to go the SM (kind of like a huge mall) and found Tostitos there! We were both really happy because we haven't seen any thing like them our whole missions. 

 My trainees name is Elder Taguiam. And he is great! He is very humble and is trying his best everyday. He speaks a little bit of English but we have been getting by.  It is kind of stressful to have to teach him everything about missionary work but so far it has been going really well. I have been striving my best to do all that I can to help him. I have realized that when we try to do our very best God gives us higher mountains to climb. Our first day of work together there was the Typhoon. But we where still able to teach lots of great lessons. God will give us only what we can handle. As our faith grows the trails seem to get more challenging but then it grows even more. 

 I hope you are all doing really well and have a great week! Pray for the people affected by the typhoon. I know that through our prayers they will be able to rebuild and become even stronger, many more may even accept the gospel. 

 Mahal Kita

   Elder Merrill

Typhoon Update and Humanitarian Needs...

Dear Parents,

The typhoon is passing beyond the western borders of the Philippines.  We are still getting rain and winds in our mission areas but all missionaries remain  safe and accounted for. We have received several offers of  parents wanting to send supplies to the people hardest hit.  President Peterson made a call to President Ardern of the Area Presidency regarding this.  President Ardern advised those wishing to help should make a generous contribution to the humanitarian fund on their tithing slips.  This fund is what the local leaders draw from to assist those in need to get the things they have urgent need of.  We thank you so very much for your prayers, for your generosity and for your willingness to help the Philippine people.  We know the Lord has watched over and protected the missionaries here in San Pablo Mission. Please continue to pray for those in areas south of us who were hardest hit with the effects of the typhoon.

Kindest regards,

Sister Hansen, Mission Secretary          Philippines San Pablo Mission

Typhoon Information from Mission Office

Dear Parent,

We wanted to let you know that as of Friday, November 8, 2013 6:30 PM Philippine time, your missionary is safe and accounted for.  We know you are concerned about the typhoon.  The eye of the storm is south of us but because it is so large, we are feeling the effects of heavy rains and strong winds.  All missionaries have been prepared with adequate food supplies, water, and candles to last through the storm.  They have likewise been instructed to remain in their apartments until the storm has passed.  We would welcome your prayers in behalf of all the missionaries in the Philippines.  We will update you in the morning.

Kindest regards,

Sister Hansen, Mission Secretary          Philippines San Pablo Mission

Playing Basketball with the President

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been good! It been a little bit crazy but good all the same. I started out the week by going on exchanges with Elder Harding. 

 On Thursday I traveled up to San Pablo to attend the trainers meeting.  I realized, on the 6 hour bus ride, just how far out here in the boonies I really am! It turns out that I am closer to the Naga Mission home that to the San Pablo one. I slept over at one of the Elders apartments for the night and then the next morning we called the President and played basketball with him. He played for BYU his freshman year and is really good so he obviously kicked our butts in a game of around the world. After basketball we got to eat cold cereal in the mission home (it may not sound exciting but it is the first cereal and real milk I’ve seen since I’ve been here) and then to make the morning perfect we got to take a hot shower!.

 The training meeting itself was very good. I am really humbled by the responsibility to be a trainer. I am going to need a lot of help from the spirit and need to study better, especially Preach my Gospel. After the training meeting I got on the bus to head back to the edge of the world. 

 On Saturday morning Elder Torculas (my companion) headed home so now I am working with the ZL, whose companion also headed home. On Sunday we got to teach a really powerful lesson to one of the recent converts in my area, Brother Fernando (he is the one who asks the really good questions). He has been wanting a Triple Combination really bad. He has read the Book of Mormon twice already and said he is yearning for more. When we gave him the triple I bought for him he was so happy. He cried and gave us both hugs. It was a really amazing experience. We explained to him about the Doctrine and Covenants and how to use the bible dictionary. He was so excited and said he couldn't wait to read it. His enthusiasm makes me appreciate the scriptures more. I was also really touched by what he said…. he told us that we should be so grateful for how lucky we were to have been born in the church and that we have had the scriptures our whole lives. 

 Well I hope you all have a great week! Always remember that when things get tough, look up. not down.

  Mahal Kita

    Elder Hayden Merrill

P.S.  I've attached a picture of what it looks like here...beautiful! 

    

A putiki in my pants

Kamusta Everybody! 

 This past week has been really good, and pretty eventful! We’ve been working with the members and have given a lot of good lessons.

 We’ve been visiting and spending a lot of time with a really great new member who was baptized a few months ago. He has so many questions because he is always reading from the scriptures and the church materials. For example he wants to know what the Brother of Jared's name is, why mountains are the temples in the Old Testament, what the Urim and Thumim looked like, and where are the three Nephites.. pretty deep stuff for a new member. With the help of the Spirit, we’ve been able to answer all of his questions and he always seems to have a firm understanding after we explain. 

 On Friday we had a Ward Missionary Family Home evening that was Halloween themed. It went really well and they all had a good time. I was in charge of coming up with the games. There aren't any pumpkins here in the Philippines so instead we used little squashes to have a decorating contest. All of the people there really liked the idea, I guess they had never done anything like it before. 

 The funniest/most memorable part of the week however happened yesterday. During sacrament meeting, while the bishop was giving a talk about being prepared for emergencies, my leg started to itch. I scratched it a bit assuming it was just a string in my pants but then a minute later I felt something again. So I scratched harder, thinking maybe there was a bug in my pant leg or something. It stopped for a minute but then started itching again so I hit my leg and rubbed it and then a little dismembered black wiggling tail fell out of the bottom of my pants!  I then realized that a putiki (a little lizard) had crawled up my pants. I must have made a gasping sound and then I started shaking my pant leg and kicked a little bit in my chair, and as I did a little tailless lizard flew out. A few of the members saw and started laughing (people here in the Philippines aren't peculiarly reverent, for example during this same meeting the bishops son was making a tower of hymn books on the steps to the podium, so laughing isn't unusual during a talk). I just hope the bishop didn't think that we where giggling about his talk and how we need to have lots of canned tuna ready in case we have to evacuate and can’t buy food...

 Well that’s about all for this week. I found out today that I will be training this next transfer! I am excited for the new challenge but at the same time nervous...I just hope my Tagalog is good enough. However, I am looking forward to being able to grow while teaching. I hope you all have a great week.

 Mahal Kita

   Elder Hayden Merrill

No Marlboro's Please!

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been really good! We were able to teach a lot of lessons and  things are working really well with the ward. We even found out in district meeting last Wednesday that we actually have had the highest number of lessons in the mission for the past two weeks! We have lots of investigators who are doing really well. They read the Book of Mormon and a few even attended stake conference this past Sunday. The only trouble is that many of them need to be married before we can baptize them. In the Philippines it is really tough for people to be able to get married because they don't have their birth certificate. 

 My companion told me this past week that I have apparently been talking in my sleep pretty much every night since I’ve been out here. Recently though, I’ve been talking in Tagalog. I must be dreaming that I am teaching because my companion said that I have been bearing my testimony and then I have been  asking if anyone has any questions.  

 So I guess, my Tagalog must be getting better if I can speak it while I am asleep, but there is still room to improve. For example, this past week we were eating with our district after a meeting and so we went to the closest restaurant to the chapel and because some of us are American they decided to rack up the price. So it was really expensive and I wasn't in the mood to spend a lot of money for not very good food so I just bought a few hard boiled eggs. The problem is that I don't know what the Tagalog word is for hard boiled so when I went up to pay, the lady asked what I had and I said “three hard boiled eggs”. but in her mind she thought I had said "three Marlboro" (I suppose hard boiled and Marlboro sounds the same).  Long story short, as the rest of the missionaries walked up to the counter the lady was trying to hand me three cigarettes. I quickly clarified that cigarettes were not what I wanted and that I had said three eggs. I was super embarrassed and it took me a bit to explain to everyone how my order had gotten lost in translation. 

 We had zone interviews yesterday and a really great workshop about how to use the Book of Mormon better.  One thing that really stood out to me was that every goal that we have as missionaries during a lesson can be accomplished using the Book of Mormon. It is the most correct book in the world and if we read it’s pages, we will always learn from it. God knew what the world would be like today so he had his prophets 2000 years ago write a book of scripture that would be perfect to help us now. 

 I hope everyone has a great week and is doing really well. I heard a great quote this week that I really liked, "education means developing the mind, not stuffing the memory"

  Mahal Kita

    Elder Hayden Merrill

Picture of me and Linmark on his baptism day!