July 18th 2016

So ummm we have been teaching this really awesome family that we have just gotten back with cause we actually had recently ran into them again trying to find them, their name is the Del Rosario Family and they are super super nice. How we met them was we were walking to our next appointment one night and they actually gave us a ride in their car which was super weird cause that has never ever happened in this mission. but we started to teach them and they live in a super super nice house in the middle of nowhere... We have only taught them once cause they had a family emergency but they set up their own return appointment for us! super sweet! but they are golden and have so many awesome questions!!!! but i will let you know more about how they go next week :)

Also so same day after we got punted by them we went and visited this old lady named Nanay Lim, she has been Less Active for 20 years and went back to being Catholic i guess cause her son became a priest and all family members had to be Catholic so she stopped going to our Church but she had a headache and we offered a blessing and she said yes please and as soon as we had given her a blessing i asked her how she felt and she kind of started to choke up and said that it was gone just like that and at that moment i had just remembered when i was a kid and receiving blessings from my dad when i was sick and it all just really hit me about how true this Gospel is and how that we have the Authority to help people and heal the sick and just everything about this Gospel and Church just sunk in and just got reconfirmed that its true. and i just realized how amazing it is to have that and i can't wait to share these experiences with my family and future family and all that because this Gospel is true and is the best thing we have in our lives! and it makes me so happy to be apart of it and to be able to be out here sharing it with people. I love it.

I love you all and i have an assignment for you all to do this next Sunday or Family Home Evening, Read this poem and talk about it with your family and just ponder it and discuss it cause this poem is so amazing and can help in so many ways because it has helped me so much and i have learned a lot from it but i want you all to really do this and discuss. I love you all and can't wait to hear from your guy's feed back from this assignment :) I love you all and miss you tons, Remember who you are and that Heavenly Father is always there for us. Palangga ko kamo!

Keep Smiling :)

Pagpalangga,

Elder Merrill

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You'd walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me." 

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."