Transfers!

Hey everyone so i just wanna send out a quick email to you all to let you know i am still alive :) thankfully haha i am still getting over a cold/tonsillitis again... so not a whole lot of work got done this week but i am grateful that i was still able to make it to the Baptism!!!!! haha

So i will be transferred tomorrow to Tibeao, Antique... get to learn new languages and meet new people... should be fun :) looking forward to it even though i am sad to be leaving Miag-ao because i have learned so much here and gotten to know the people so well and have worked so hard here to help things going i am able to see the results of it and luckily i am actually able to attend and witness the Wedding of my family :) but sadly not the Baptism but i am glad i was still able to play a part in there life. The nanay actually told me earlier but she told me " thank you for helping us, i don't think if it were for you we would have ever gotten married or baptized in this Church and the day you guys met us is when i stopped doing everything and i am glad that you were a big part of my life to help me get here." I almost started to just bawl honestly... but they are someone that just show me how amazing and important this Gospel is especially for families and how it can help them. I am so thankful for being a missionary and to have been assigned here and to help families come together. 

So that is kind of the highlight of this week and all next Monday i will send some more pictures and a bigger email about my new area and companion and how everything goes :) I hope that you all have had a wonderful week and a wonderful day today at Church and are all being safe.  I miss you guys and i love you all so much.  Always remember how important your family is and that through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can be with them throughout all of Eternity.

Kabalo ako nga paagi sa pagbayad-sala ni JesuCristo mangin matinluan kita kag bisan ano matabo diri sa kalibutan indi sia madugay sa mga kabuhi naton kag paagi sa ebanghelyo ni jesucristo mangin malipay kita pirme kag kabalo ako nga palangga kita sang Dios kag malipay gid sia para sa mga pagpili naton diri sa kalibutan kag nga nagaserve kita sa iya kag gatuman sang mga kasuguan nya kag balan ko nga paagi sa ebanghelyo ni JesuCristo pwede kita mangin masclose so mga pamilya naton kag nga imporatante gid sila sa aton kag kinahanglan naton maghimo bisan ano agud magbulig sa ila bisan ano ang mga pagtilaw nila o mga budlay sila ang pamilya naton bali maghatag kita sang best naton para sa tanan mga butang gahimo kita kag balan ko nga matuod ang simbahan ni jesucrist sang mga santos sa ulihi mga adlaw kag ang Dios gahatag sia damo mga bugay sa aton kag sa mga mahal naton. kag gapamatuod ko buhi pa si JesuCristo kag pwede kita maghimo sang mga miracles diri sa kalibutan paagi sa aton pagtuo kag ara pirme ang Dios sa aton kag gabantay sia sa aton kag palangga gid ko kamo kag nahidlaw gid ako sa inyo pero lapit na lang nga makita-ay kita liwat :) Dumduma pirme sino ka. kag ini tanan ginabiling ko sa ngalan ni JesuCristo, Amen.

Keep Smiling :)

Pagpalangga,

Elder Merrill

January 16th 2017

So these are our two recent converts from this Saturday :) and we will have more in the weeks coming :) 

this little girl is so freaking adorable. 

the nanay in the orange is the famous Nanay Esther

Our wall of fame we made for our recent converts (more to be added)

hahaha My sweet lovely sister from her mission in here in the Philippines ;) look at those rice cheeks!!!!😘😉

Which person are you???? A twizzlers fan or Red Vines????

Ok so there are a lot of photos coming your way guys.... sorry :) but i love you all :) 

So honestly i don't know what pictures are here but i know like one or two... but this is picture with me and the family. that is my family here in the Philippines. I am so glad that i was able to meet them.

WEEKLY REPORT/ FIRST BAPTISM IN MIAGAO!

Alright so i first off i hope you are all doing peachy this week and have had a wonderful Sunday and just everything :) 

So i want to start off with this letter with some Scriptures this first one can be found in D&C 84:89 it says there  89 Whoso receiveth you receiveth me; and the same will feed you. So there is obviously more to this Scripture but this is something that we actually noticed on splits with our Zone Leaders recently about a week and a half ago but If you want to really know if your Investigators are Scattered Israel, THEY WILL FEED YOU!!!!!! it says it in the Scriptures :) so just a fun fact that is actually pretty dang true if you ask me cause that is how we have been finding our scattered Israel :) Also here is another one we haven't tried this one yet but it might work and might be helpful for missionary work ;) So if would all lovely turn to the Book of Mormon to Helaman 13:4 and after turn to Mosiah 13:3 So for you familiar with the Scriptures in Helaman it is when Samuel the Lamanite gets up on the wall and in Mosiah it is when Abinadi teaches the 10 commandments so for Helaman this is what you do when the people you oym or your investigators won't let you in haha you climb the wall and once you get on the wall you tell them what is says here in Mosiah ;) So i hope you guys get a good laugh at this cross reference!  it says there there  4 And it came to pass that they would not suffer that  he should enter into the city; therefore he went and got upon the wall thereof, and stretched forth his hand and criedwith a loud voice, and prophesied unto the people whatsover things the Lord put into his heart.

 

3 Touch me not, for God shall smite you if ye lay yourhands upon me, for I have not delivered the messagewhich the Lord sent me to deliver; neither have I told youthat which ye requested that I should tell; therefore, Godwill not suffer that I shall be destroyed at this time.

But other than that we have been really busy this week actually... and i just want to say this really quick all you American English speaking missionaries i am so proud of you guys teaching in English cause i got to do it for the first time in my mission after a year of being out and it SUCKED... my english is awful my companion almost busted up laughing cause of how i said things... but the lessons still went really well :) the one that was pure English was with this black guy named Isa which is 1 in ilonggo haha but he is from Nigeria.. think that is how it is spelled... but ya he is going to school here right now and we decided to teach him but he is a very interesting man and has some really good questions cause of his tribe so it is nice and helps us to really make things clear to him :) but also ummm onward from that :) i will tell more later

So we have our first Baptism within a year here in Miagao!!!! it is a mom and a dad that are being Baptized this week on Saturday so we will send pictures next pday so don't worry ;) but we are so excited for them because even right now they are just doing so amazing at sharing the Gospel with others and have already given us 3 referrals of people they want to share the Gospel with and we think that when the kids come to see the Baptism it will set a great example for them and have more of that desire to accept the Baptismal date we have for them :)

So Molita family that is our family of 6 that we have right now with a date for the 28th hopefully... So with them we are actually getting them Married within this week or the next so we have been helping them out with that and preparing for that as well and then the next week will be their Baptism :) so we have quite a lot on our plate right now and it is fun and i love it but man is it tiring... but i know that Missionary work requires Hard work and Dedication. because it has taken me 4 months of being in this area working and putting in our part to help to start to see the results and now we are with investigators coming to Church (11 yesterday!) and getting weekly Baptisms coming with if these people follow through with everything and are progressing but i am so grateful to be able to see the work start to pay off and to see the blessings of the Lord here in my second area and to see these things bring miracles to other people's lives.

Well that is really all i have for this week but i will keep you all updated and i hope you all have a safe week this week and i love you all and i miss you all so much! I hope you all have the Spirit to be with you and guide you through out your weeks and to feel the love and presence of our Heavenly Father. Remember who you are. I love you :)

Keep Smiling :)

Pagpalangga,

Elder Merrill

Jauary 8th 2017

So these are pictures we took with some of our Investigators that we are marrying actually :) they will be married by next week hopefully.... Then the next week Baptized :) they are a family of 6 and they are just amazing and have come so far in the Gospel and have changed so much since we first met them. Also Welcome to the Miag-ao Group haha where we get more investigators sometimes then members to come to Church 11!!!! we were so freaking happy about that!!!! also be careful when you go out at night... you may not know what or who is out in the dark....