Basket Weaver

Kamusta Everybody!

   This past week has gone pretty well! We have seen really great progress with a lot of our investigators and we’ve also done some fun service projects.

    It has been great because the Masaoay family will be able to get baptized soon. Last month Brother Masaoay was working in construction and couldn’t attend church. However, he has now decided he wants to start his own restaurant.  His wife has also been listening to the discussions, and so they have been attending church as a family. 

  We also found a new investigator who is 76. It is absolutely amazing because he can read! Most people here over the age of 60 can’t see very well but he can even read the small print in the pamphlets. We gave him a Book of Mormon and by the next day he had already read 3 chapters. 

 On Saturday we helped one of our investigator families weave baskets. I thought that it wouldn't be too hard but in reality it was REALLY difficult…. the stupid leaf things break easy and then you have to tie them together so it doesn't look ugly. I think she appreciated our help and hopefully the company that sends that baskets to America will buy mine. So if at Pottery Barn you see a woven basket that isn't too pretty it could be the one I made. :)

 Then earlier today we helped a family go and cut down bamboo to build a house. We went to some land that their friend owns directly behind the huge cemetery here and cut down the bamboo.  We also drank some buko juice and made some neat straws out of the smaller bamboo pieces that worked really well. I have been impressed with how intuitive the people here are. They can survive off the land for everything that they need. 

 Well thats about all for this week! We'll see if I get transferred this week or not!

   Mahal Kita

      Elder Merrill

Cracking Knuckles

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week hasn't been too eventful. We had great progress though with our investigators and lots of them came to church. 

 One great experience that I had was working with our investigators Margarito and Precy. They both are ready to be baptized and will be able to after they get married next month. The fact that they are getting married and have a plan is a major blessing. Most people here have lots of complications. They either don’t have a birth certificate, they have older siblings unmarried (the culture here is that you can’t get marred before an older sibling) or they aren't in a financial position to pay for the marriage license.  Margarito is also doing really well in trying to overcome his smoking addiction. The past few days I have been trying to give up the simple habit of cracking my knuckles. In order to be able to better understand how tough it must be for him to quit his addiction.  It is almost impossible for me to stop doing a simple thing like cracking my knuckles, so I really admire him for his determination to give up smoking. 

 Earlier today we also went on a hike to the mountains on the seashore. It is really pretty over there and we rode these homemade cart things called Skates on the rail road. The view was really pretty and I came back with some great pictures, a few neat seashells and a nice sunburn. 

 Other than that nothing of any significance has happened in the past week.

I hope you all are doing really well and feel the love of God more in your life this next week.

 Mahal Kita

    Elder Merrill

American Made

Kamusta Everybody!

 This week has gone really well! We’ve been working with a lot of our members and have found some new investigators that are really interested. 

 One of the members in our ward who had been sick with cancer passed away this week. We went and visited the family and tried to help with the preparations. Here in the Philippines if somebody dies, they keep the body at the house for 3 days and people come and visit. Some of the people gamble and they play games and have food. It is kind of  like a party. Then for the funeral itself we all walked to the cemetery  and watch as the people put the coffin in the ground and then cover it in concrete. The funeral itself is really bleak but the Plan of Salvation gives us all hope and knowledge death isn't the end. 

 We also helped one of our members make coal, which is a really dirty job. After the wood/coconut shells sat for a few days and burned we helped him pack it all into bags. It wasn't too hard of work but by the time we were done there was a big crowd of people watching the guwapo (American) bag coal. He sold the bags for a little bit more than usual and told people it was because it was "American made”.

 Other than that not much happened this past week. Earlier we went and found a spot for a hike next week so I will send some pictures next Monday. It should be a lot of fun.

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

  Mahal Kita

     Elder Merrill

Happy New Year!

Kamusta Everybody,

  This past week has gone really well! We had lots of good lessons and I have some fun experiences to share. 

   First our recent converts are doing really well. Sister Ramos had her two older kids come home for the holidays. The oldest daughter, Darlyn (who isn't a member), was really interested and we taught her several lessons. She committed to be baptized and was reading from the Book of Mormon every day. She went back to College though on Saturday so the missionaries over there will get to continue teaching her.  Sister Ramos has also asked me to help her with her family tree so she can go the temple and be baptized for her grandma. 

  The older nananys in our ward have also given us a lot of referrals. Between the 3 of them they went out tracting on their own and found 5 part member family's who we are now teaching.

  We’ve also had a lot of dinner appointments this week, which was great because that doesn't happen too often. It also means that I had the opportunity to try some new foods. First, one of our investigators made us a green pudding /jello thing with fat chunks of banana in it. I also helped one of the members make some soiman, a sticky rice thing that you dip in sugar and wrap in a banana leaf (picture). It looked easy to do but wrapping the leaf was tough. I made two of them and the members told me that because “I made it I had to eat it" The ones I made didn't look very pretty but they tasted just fine. 

  Well that’s about all for this week. I hope you all are doing great and have made/are keeping your New Year’s resolutions!

 Mahal Kita

   Elder Merrill

Sister Ramos

Kamusta Everybody,

 This past week has gone really well! I hope everyone had a good Christmas.

 On Wednesday we had our ward Christmas party which was pretty fun! There were a lot of games, performances by the youth /single adults, and a gift exchange.  We even had a lot of investigators come. I scored big with the gift exchange, I got a pink mirror, flower shaped comb, and a baby blue polka dot face towel…It was great! Later on I noticed that one of the investigators who had came didn’t get any gifts. Luckily I found one that was perfect for her! A pink mirror, flower shaped comb, and a baby blue polka dot face towel... She was really happy with it, so i was happy too. 

 Then on Friday we had the Baptism of Sister Ramos. Her Son Jerrold baptized her and then her two other kids gave the talks. It was very spiritual and is something that I won’t forget.  During her testimony she talked about a dream she had where she saw herself with her family together and she testified to them about Joseph Smith and how that was when she knew what we were teaching her was true. 

 On Saturday the kind members in the ward even put together a Family Home evening to celebrate my Birthday. We played some fun games and it was a really good time. I didn't receive any gifts but it is one of the best birthdays I have ever had because of their kindness and wanting to do what they could to help me have a good day. 

Love,

Elder Hayden

Zone Christmas Card

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has flown by! We’ve had some great lessons with all of our investigators and have many are getting close to baptism. One of our investigators, Sister Ramos, will most likely get baptized on the 27th! She has been coming to church and really studying the scriptures and it has been amazing to see her transformation. Before she was really shy and didn’t like to say much but now she actively participates. She even, after a little bit of persuading, came to the Christmas devotional at the stake center!

 Our recent convert Joey has also been working with us and is becoming a contributing part of the lessons. He really enjoys sharing his newly found and growing testimony. 

 I am really excited for Christmas here, while there might not be any snow people here do their best to decorate with what they have. I saw a really neat star made out of soda bottles and paper. Most people here just enjoy the time that they get to spend with their family. 

 We have been trying in our area to help the ward missionaries that are preparing for missions to be comfortable teaching. Most of them have friends or family that we go and teach but often times they are  too "shy" to say anything. I am trying to help them understand that people can’t hear what’s in their heart unless they share it, so sharing what they know and feel will bless them and their friends and family. I would encourage you all to try and share the gospel with your friends and family! It seems scary at first but the feeling that comes when you see them come unto Christ is well worth it.  

 Sadly this week I don't have any funny stories! But I’ve attached our zone Christmas card!! It’s pretty great I think. 

 I hope everyone is doing well and has a great time getting ready for Christmas. 

 Mahal Kita

    Elder Merrill

Chickens are biting me!

Kamusta Everybody!

 This past week has been great! We have been super busy but things are going well. 

 We had the baptism of our two new converts on Saturday and they got confirmed yesterday. The service was great. The younger one, Joshua, is 14 years old. He has been waiting a long time to get baptized but because he is so young and was the only member of his family interested, we had to get his parents to attend church first. It took a lot of prayers but his Mom now is coming on a regular basis. The other one, Joey, is 17 and is one of the first people I really knew here. On my third day here, when everything still seemed a little hectic his member friend (Jerold) said to me “Elder, here is my referral". It’s been amazing to see the changes in Joey. He gave up smoking, drinking coffee, and is now going to seminary and mission prep. 

 Our other investigator, Sister Ramos (Jerold’s mom), is also doing really good. She has read a lot in the Book of Mormon and is studying the Gospel Principal book. We are trying to get the kids more involved in the teaching which has been tough, in the Philippines if somebody says “I'm shy" it is a good enough excuse, in their minds, to not have to talk anymore. We have been practicing teaching with them though and its getting better!

 Other than that I don't really have any funny stories this week! My Tagalog is getting better. The ward for Mosquito is Lamok, and the word for chicken is Manok….I had the two confused. So for the past six months I have been killing mosquitoes  saying "there are lots of chickens biting me!!" It makes me worry about what else I have said not knowing what it actually means...

  I hope everyone has a great week!

 Elder Merrill