Transfers are Coming 7/27/2014

Family,

How is everyone there? We are doing pretty well here in Goa. We actually just had our transfer announcements this week and found out that Elder Taylor is transferring. I'm not sure who my new companion is going to be, so I am kind of nervous. We will find out on Tuesday who I am going to get. 

The work has been really good this week, and we had a really high sacrament attendance. We had almost 120 people, whereas we usually average around 80-85. We had tons of less active members come to church as well as two investigators, which was really great, because it will keep them on track for their baptismal dates on August 16th. For some reason, though it has been kind of tough to get investigators to come to church. We're really hoping they will continue to come. 

We also finally got power back on in most of Goa this Thursday. It has been really nice to be able to sleep with an electric fan again. We still can't work in some of our areas after dark, though, because they don't all have power yet, so that is kind of hard. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to get to some of our investigators because of this. We are really hoping that the power will come back soon though, because we really want to get to all of our far away teaching pool. 

In spite of the many areas we have that are still dark, the work is still moving on here in Goa, and people's lives are being changed every day by the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that I am about my Father's business here in the Philippines Naga Mission and there is no place I'd rather be. I know the church is true and I love you all tons

Elder Benjamin Merrill 

Typhoon! 7/22/2014

Family,

This week, I got to experience a pretty strong storm that passed though the Bicol region. It was quite the destructive storm, but all of the members, investigators, and missionaries here seem to be safe. We have had the opportunity to be of service to a few of the members here so far, which has been really great, but we don't have any power for several weeks, which makes things a little tough, especially because it means we have a 5:30pm curfew until there is power again. It puts a pretty big damper on the work. No pun intended.

Other than that, we had an investigator who we've been working with for a long time finally come to church and a lot of less active members. It was neat that they came in spite of the storm. I know that this is Heavenly Father's work and that he loves us and will help us to share the gospel and to do what's right.

Love you!


Elder Benjamin Merrill.

Yummy buko!

The Typhoon is Coming 7/13/2014

Family,



We have a typhoon coming tomorrow. It is definitely one of the biggest things on my mind right now, but I will see what I can remember from what happened this week.



I guess I will start with a little finding experience we had this week. It was kind of interesting and probably not coincidental that this happened right after we upped our finding goals. What happened is that we looked all up and down this one street looking for a referral that the sisters had given to us. We looked for her for a really long time and people kept pointing us to the sister missionaries' apartment because they thought that that was who we were looking for. We didn't end up finding the sister we were looking for, but while we were looking, we ran into one of the less active members from our area and started chatting with her. She told me that she figured out who it is that I look like. It turns out that he has passed away now, but we asked her for the name of the family and where they live, and she pointed us in the general direction. When we got to the house that this sister had told us about, we found out that the family doesn't live there any more, but that a new family does. We were able to share with them a little about the church and one of the sisters there told us about how she had been to church once. It was a really neat experience.



We also had a second experience that I consider to be a result of our increased finding goals. On our way from where we were when we bumped into the bishop of the Lagonoy 2nd ward (one of the neighboring wards in our zone) who actually knows Elder Taylor because he had been assigned there at the beginning of his mission, and he actually ended up having a referral for us. It was a less active member, but we found him that day and taught him. It turns out that he hasn't been to church in 5 years and he was a little drunk when we found him, but he is super nice and was willing to let us come visit him every so often. We plan to take Bishop Oliva over there with us sometime so he can be more comfortable with coming to church here (he hasn't been to church since he lived in lagonoy like 5 years ago).



Other than that, it has been a pretty normal week, although our sacrament meeting attendance among investigators was kind of disappointing. We think it might have been because of the rain... People are pretty funny about not going out in the rain here. We did have one investigator come to church, which was pretty neat. I think he is the closest to baptism of all of our investigators, and he comes with a built in fellowshipper because his girlfriend is a member.



I have one more experience that is actually kind of funny. We saw a bunch of signs all around town for an all you can eat buffet, so we decided to go just this last Saturday. It was at a resort that is really new, so we thought it would be pretty good. Talk about whited sepulcher... It was pretty funny though. We got into the place where the buffet was and let's just say the food was less than delicious... most of it was cold... And the best thing, which was the fried chicken, was almost gone for most of the time we were there... They also had some super loud videoke going on... It was a huge waste of money, and by the time we left, it was pouring rain outside, so we walked for like 30-40 minutes home in the rain without umbrellas... crazy!



I love you guys tons and I hope that you have a great week!



Elder Benjamin Merrill

7/6/2014 They Finally Came!

Family,

We had a really good Sunday yesterday. We had four investigators show up this week to church. We were able to talk to one of them between meetings to see how he was liking the service. He really believes that he was feeling the Holy Ghost. It was so wonderful to see how much his testimony was strengthened by doing something as simple as just coming to church. We really need the spiritual nourishment that can only be found in the Church. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of these individuals lives as they are guided to the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Two who came were actually referrals that were given to us by the Goa 1st Ward elders last transfer. It turns out that they had been to church in the first ward a few times, and after we told them about the 2nd ward, they agreed to come to church in our ward (as they are in our area) and as it turns out, our meeting time actually works out better with their schedule anyway. They seemed to really enjoy coming to church in our ward as well. They are about 10 and 12 years old. They actually live in a really far area from the church, so it is expecially cool that they make the long trip to the church. 

The other person is doing really great too. He has a hard time coming to church as well sometimes because he lives really far from the church too, so this is the first time he's been to church in two weeks. His girlfriend is also a member too, so that is really a good motivation for him, I think. He is actually pretty young though. He turns 17 on the 19th. I think it would be really neat if he gets baptized. We really could use more priesthood holders here in Goa 2. 

Sounds like you guys are getting started on a family mission plan too. I hope that you guys can have a lot of success there. I know that our Heavenly Father will bless us as we help him to hasten his work.

I love you tons!

Padangat ko kamung maray!

Elder Benjamin Merrill

June 29, 2014

Hey, Family!

The work has been pretty good here in Goa, especially because so many members were willing to work with us this week, which was really a huge blessing. However, there has also been a mysterious drop in sacrament attendance among our investigators. We really aren't sure what is going on with our investigators, especially with some of the ones who had been coming every week before... We are going to continue to emphasize the importance of church with our investigators and less active members in our area. We also put considerably more time into finding this week, and were able to meet a few new people and a few former investigators who are willing to listen to the missionaries again.

We were able to find two mothers who were sort of a referral from a less active member. What happened was that they were at her house when we showed up, so she just had them stay so we could teach them too. It was really nice to have member help that way. We also ended up talking to someone on the path who turned out to be related to a less active member that we know. We haven't been able to get back to him yet because he seems like he is never home, but hopefully we will soon.

I love missionary work, and I love it here in the Philippines. I am so thankful for the opportunity I have to be out here in the mission field right now.

I hope you have a great week!

Elder Benjamin Merrill

June 22, 2014

Hey, family!

Another week has passed here in Goa, Camarines Sur. Not too many exciting things have really happened this week, but it has still been a good week. I guess one of the best things that happened was when we found a man  this week. He actually doesn't seem super interested yet, but he is definitely willing to listen. Basically, what happened was that we went to one of the former investigators that we found in our area book. There was no man home there, so we couldn't teach them, which was kind of disappointing because they seemed willing to listen, but as we left, I noticed a man sitting down outside of the house next door, and I felt like I should talk to him, and so I did. He ended up letting us teach him, and we found out that one of his daughters, who is in Manila is actually a member of the church. We will have to see how things go, but I think he will progress.

Other than that, the work has been just about the same old, same old. We definitely get to do a lot of teaching to the investigators that we have been teaching and to a lot of less actives too. Church was kind of disappointing this week though because we didn't have very many less actives or investigators there. I think it might just have been because of the fiesta. We are hoping that more people will be able to come next week.

I think I am going to have to leave the email here, because we have to go.

I love you tons though, and I know that the Church is true.

Elder Benjamin Merrill.

June 15, 2014

Hey everyone,

This week has been a really good week. We have been retaining investigators pretty well as well as finding a few new ones. We actually ended up finding someone new by accident once. We went to the house where we thought the tailor who made my new shirts lives, but after we knocked on the door, someone else came out. It actually turned out to be pretty great because he told us he was busy and what day we could come back without us really even having to say anythning. He is a really nice man, and already believes in a lot of correct doctrine, but he tends to dominate the lessons a little bit too much. He is really nice though, and seems like he has a lot of potential.

Tatay  (The man who gave us shelter from the rain) is progressing really well too. He didn't come to church this week because of his job with the Goa Search and Rescue. He had something he had to do apparently because of the fiesta, and the Stake conference times didn't work out as well with his schedule. He seems really interested to read the Book of Mormon though, and so I think he will be able to gain a testimony very quickly. I am really excited for him.

We were also able to get to our most progressing investigators who dropped off the face of the earth after getting a job for two weeks. Everyone including her is now set up with a baptismal date for July 26. Should be an awesome day if we can pull it off. She is really nice though, and has been investigating the church for a long time, so I don't think that there will be any problems with her baptism because she seems really ready.

I am so thankful for all of the blessings we have received, are receiving and will receive in our work here.

Love you tons!

Elder Benjamin Merrill