I had a great week this week.  We got quite a bit done.

     Last week it was funny, we met an investigator I used to teach with Elder Sagayno.  They went to Manila so they we stopped teaching, but last Monday we saw them selling stuff at the Palenke so we said hi.  She was way excited to see us and quickly asked when we were coming to teach them again.  This is the investigator that I may have mentioned before that tried to go to church but couldn't find the church so just sat in front of the Capitol building for an hour.  Well we were excited for them.

    This week also we filled the Gospel Principles class.  We had investigators and less actives it was great.  Our ward missionaries gave us a cheer, there were just so many people.  A bunch of those people were also coming to church for the very first time so it was even more exciting.  Yesterday was just a good day.  Our schedule yesterday was pretty random and sporadic, during church I asked all the ward missionaries whom they know that is less active that we should visit.  Then in the afternoon we took one ward missionary with us and went and contacted as many as we could.  We ended up finding 3 less active families that seemed super receptive.  Also yesterday we got a new investigator family.  We taught them about the Restoration and then invited them to be baptized, and then it got super intense.  After the baptism invitation they started asking so many questions and it was great.  They were asking weird questions that I have never been asked as a missionary.  Can your religion save you? etc.  I asked them Do you need to be baptized? Reply Yes.  Can just anyone baptize you? No. Why not? You need authority. Whose Authority? Jesus'.  Here is the opportunity to be baptized by the authority of the Priesthood of God, which authority comes from Jesus Christ.  That's something like how it went.  It was really intense and they all had really strong commitments to find out for themselves if this was true.  

        Also about new invetigators, we taught a daughter and father, the father whom we'd met before the daughter who is grown.  The daughter asked us 'How did you even get my dad to listen to you? he hates religious stuff"  Well that is the powerful change that the Gospel brings into lives.  We are finding people right now that are super prepared. It is so great to see that God is always getting people ready to join his church.  God is working and will not stop, and he loves the Philippines. I love you and will write again next week. 

Have a good week, keep your head up, and smile.
                                                                           Elder Nathaniel J. Merrill

This week has been a pretty good week.

     We found a pretty good investigator this week.  After we taught she just kept saying 'It'so true" and things like that.  When we came back she told us she is reading the Book of Mormon and sharing with her neighbors what she's been learning.  She also told us that she had a dream that people were going to come teach her the Gospel soon. We told her that she needed to be baptized, she asked us when.  She came to church too.  It's just one of those awesome situations. There is another investigator that we preached by the way to about a month ago.  She was so nice, but kept missing the return appointments we'd set.  I was pretty much ready to not try again when we saw her on the street and she said "Hey you guys didn't come".  I was shocked, because we did indeed come (actually when we came she wasn't there and we taught someone else nearby who was awesome as well... that person has a baptism date now next month).  Well it turned out she got her days mixed up, she waited for us on Thursday when she thought it was Wednesday.  So we set a return appointment again... and when we finally taught her she is way cool.  She was taught before and knows a ton of members.  The missionaries stopped teaching her because they got pulled out back then.  She remembered Joseph Smith and knew a ton.  She even said that she would probably be our fellow shipper now if the missionaries didn't stop teaching her back then. (May or may not be true but it was cool)  We taught her what the word "restoration" meant and then she kept saying this is "my restoration to the Gospel".

      We also found some less actives that in my opinion should not have been baptized.  Two girls now age 16 and 14 were baptized without their family when they were 11 and 9.  What happened is they went to church with Grandma, and then got baptized, but then the family moved and with no support they went less active.  Well we found them, and we started to teach them.  They are pretty cool.  The next day some ward members approached us and asked if we could teach and baptize their 10 and 9 year old granddaughters who always came to church but whose parents weren't members.  After seeing a potential long term effect the day before I just couldn't do it.

      I haven't yet encountered any Jehovah's witness missionaries, but this week we found their entire teaching pool.  We found a ton of people that are being taught by the witnesses and funny enough all them agreed to meet with us.  Actually we already have several that stopped meeting with the witnesses after we taught.  I told Elder Sta.Ana that's what happens when you teach "With Power and Authority" and not "teaching for doctrine the philosophies of men".  

    I had some cool pictures to send but this computer doesn't want to let you have them... Sorry.  Congrats to Amanda going to Argentina on her mission.

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Have a good week, keep your head up, and smile.
                                                                           Elder Nathaniel J. Merrill

A lot of things happened this week.    The picture is from last week and is me with Elder Sta.Ana and Elder De Jesus.  We got to go to Urdaneta for New Missionary Training.  That was pretty exciting.  It is always good to get to talk to President Monahan.  He is an amazing missionary.
   This week there was one interesting experience that I would like to highlight.  We went and taught a Sister that has really only recently become less active.  The first thing I noticed was that the whole atmosphere at the house is different than the first time I ever went there.  The Spirit is pretty much gone.  It just had a different feeling.  It has been about 2 months since she came to church.  I asked her the question ' what changes have you noticed in your life since you stopped going to church' she said none.  I then pointed out to her what I noticed.  The negative changes I could see in her, and about the atmosphere change in her home.  She told me 'Elder that is just probably because you had the Spirit with you back then, but there wasn't really more Spirit in my home.'  She then insisted that she was happier now.  I asked her when the last time she smiled was... and I pointed out that until today I've never seen her without a smile on her face.  We taught her a short lesson and brought the Spirit into her home.  After we finished she finally started to understand.  She said "Elder earlier you asked me what changed while now I know.'   And then she started talking about how she has started swearing again, and how it's harder to resist temptation and many other things that has happened since she stopped coming to church.  She reminded me of the statement of Nephi that people are carefully led to hell.  She didn't even notice these negative changes until we pointed them out, and she even at first refused to admit those negative changes that had happened.  It was a very interesting experience.  Sometimes the easiest time to see the blessings of the Gospel is when you see the effect of their departure.  On the up side she said she wants to come back.
I am sorry this is a short letter.  There are many more happier experiences as well, but this one is the most instructive.

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Have a good week, keep your head up, and smile.
                                                                          Elder Nathaniel J. Merrill

       So this week I got my new companion.  I am training Elder Sta.Ana.  Which is pronounced Santa Ana. like saint.  Essentially I train people with very religious double names.  De Jesus, Sta.Ana... I believe they are the only two like that in the mission.  Elder Sta.Ana is from Bicol region and is very good.  Also everyone in Bicol knows how to cook and Elder Sta.Ana is no exception. Bicol is also famous for liking to eat spicy food so we shall probably be eating hot foods this transfer.  I am pretty excited to work with him and for this transfer in general.  It will be a good transfer.  I would send some pictures but I forgot my card reader so sorry.          At transfer meeting I saw the missionaries from Pozorrubio and asked them about my investigators over there.  They told me that some of them are being baptized soon so I am excited for them.  There is one family I found in Pozorrubio that was just amazing, but had a ton of trials.  They were progressing when I left and I knew they'd get baptized, well now they finally are, it's pretty exciting for me.  

       This week was also very good.  The last few transfers we had a lot of people coming to church but not as many that consistently come.  Now we have a pretty good pool of investigators and less actives coming to church, and of course others as well that we hope will become regulars.  It's kind of nice though to have people you can really depend on to come.  We have a lot of people that are returning to church as well as a lot of people that should be baptized soon.  

       There is a street in our area called New Street, and this week we got 5 referrals all for people on New Street.  We have been up and down that street teaching a ton of people.  We met some less actives there, taught some new investigators it has been pretty successful.  The other thing that I've noticed is  that a lot of the youth seem to have an increasing desire to serve missions.  While many have always wanted to, most of the mission age had stated that they will finish school first.  Now we have 5 that are planning on leaving in January.  Before there was 1 so we are pretty excited for them.   We are looking forward to a good transfer here in Lingayen.  I am excited and Elder Sta.Ana is a great companion.

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Have a good week, keep your head up, and smile.
                              

                                             Elder Nathaniel J. Merrill