WEEK 61: I ARRIVED IN MY NEW AREA... SPIDERS !!!!

  I've been transferred. I was in my last area so long its weird to be the one transferred I like the new area and it will be awesome. 

   Last Wednesday was my last day in Mamburao, it was sad.  I've been through and done a lot there. I'm really going to miss it but its time to move on.   We taught people and dropped by others.  The members and recent converts are awesome.  

  On Thursday we did a lot of travel, we woke up at 4 am and was picked up at 5 am.  The Hatches (SR. couple) took us to the pier, they are awesome.  The world needs more senior missionaries.  They are amazing and so helpful and help the work so much.  I traveled all day and finally got to my area.  It's basically the farthest you can go in the mission on the mainland (my last area was on a separate island).  It's so beautiful though.  It's in the mountains so the temperature is cooler.  It's still province.  The couples live right next to us (lucky to be assigned with couple missionary again) and they feed and give us cookies.  It's amazing. 

   On Friday we worked all day.  We met members and getting to know the area.  There was also a mutual activity.  It's a small branch but they have strong youth here.  I'm really excited for it here.  I saw my sisters favorite tree.   It  was a tree literally full of giant spiders as big as a hand, really creepy.  We taught some great people today. 

   On Saturday I was a little lost, haha.  Still learning the area but its coming along.  My companion is awesome.  I got an exciting phone call from my mission president.  He wanted to inform me that my last area (Mamburao) was just approved to be a branch!!!!  I'm so pumped.   It's such amazing news.  I might gain some weight here.  Even though we have to walk up steep hills all the time, the senior couple gives us lots of cookies.  They are super delicious. 

   On Sunday I interviewed an investigator for baptism for some other missionaries in the district, it was cool. It went well, they are ready.  I want to share a cool story that a recent convert told us Sunday night.   He said a little bit ago there was a temple trip for the branch.  They wanted to go but the day before they didn't have enough money to pay for food and stuff while they were traveling.  He put his trust in the Lord and the Lord provided. Literally the day before, it was raining and he's a driver.  When its raining there's not a lot of passengers.  He literally never ran out of passengers.  Someone would get off and immediately someone would get on.  That lasted all day, so crazy.  All the other drivers had no passengers but he had endless.   The Lord provided a way and he made so much money they could afford to go.  Shows how the Lord loves us and it doesn't mean that he will just drop solutions in our laps but will help us along the way.  The man still had to work but the Lord consecrated his performance for his gain. 

I had a great week and I hope you all have  one too.

Elder Snyder

This is for you Ali, Liv and Peyton

WEEK 60: MOVING TO ANOTHER AREA !!

  This was a good week with many good things.  First off I want to say Happy Birthday to Peyton and congrats for reaching double digits. 

   Last Tuesday we had a really cool investigator, he said he just wants to know more and more and then we introduced the Book of Mormon and he loved it. The Book of Mormon is a great gift from God

  On Wednesday we found many new people and taught some good people. 

  On Thursday we found these born again's and it was a good lesson,  then at the end, they said to come back and they'll call their pastor so that should be interesting.  One of our investigators is just plain on fire.  Once he learned the Word of Wisdom he started living it immediately and stopped using the other stuff.  

   On Friday we had interviews with President Koster.  He is awesome and the interview was amazing. He said exactly what I needed to hear. I learned a lot.  Later that afternoon we taught a great lesson.  This guy is very smart and had many questions about the creation and the fall.  It seemed hard to answer, but I had faith and felt the Spirit.  The words just seemed to flow. I just knew what to say and how to explain it.  The Tagalog flowed too.  It was a great experience.  

   On Saturday we got soaked. it rained so hard and was super windy. the storm broke my umbrella.  We found some good investigators.  The Gospel really changes people for the better.  It is so cool to see peoples lives change and get better. 

   On Sunday we were so soaked but it was worth it.  We had many people come to church.  We talked to this guy that had been helped by a church foundation and he is totally prepared by the Lord.  During recovery of his sons surgery he only had the Book of Mormon to read.  They will be baptized.  

   Yesterday I was called by the zone leaders. I'm transferring after 7 months in this area and I  will be going to another far away place called Morong. It will be great.  I will miss this area. I've seen so many great things here and met so many great people but the Lord is in charge.  The work is moving forward. 

   I hope you all have a great week.  Read the Book of Mormon and put your trust in the Lord. He will deliver and help you.

Elder Snyder

A Glimpse of How Hard It Rains Here

WEEK 59: FLOATING BRIDGES

    Hello everyone. I hope you all had a great week.  This week was great and full of good things that happened. Also we just watched general conference and it was awesome.

    So last Monday we went to this lake called Panikian lake and walked around it. It was pretty cool. They had some cool floating bridges made of bamboo. At night we worked in our kabahays area and we taught this member with incredible faith. Her faith is such an example to me. What she is facing is really hard but she is always smiling and reading and doing what she is supposed to do. She is a great example.

   Last Tuesday I had exchanges with the district leader. We had a good day. One good thing that happened is one of our most progressing investigators said he felt this incredible joy last time he went to church and it was a joy he had never felt before. He said he felt that joy all the way until he went to bed. It was cool as he shared that experience. The Gospel of Jesus Christ really does bring joy and is the true answer to all of our problems.  Then on the way home this pastor got on the van and gave a 20 minute sermon to everyone on the van. It was interesting but I love the Philippines because they all mostly have a strong belief in Jesus Christ.

   On Wednesday we went to these investigators at just the right time. We almost didn’t go at the time we went but we did go and it was perfect. The lesson was great and we have really high hopes for them as investigators. Then we taught this guy that’s an engineer and he is super smart. This guy asks the deepest questions and we can tell he asks them out of true interest. It’s so awesome teaching him, Haha.   This guy has the creepiest house at night and he’s only available at night to be taught.

   On Thursday we had some pretty good lessons. I truly believe the Spirit will guide us in all we do and the Lord will provide us with small tender mercies to help us get along, we have experienced that. We had a great finding day. First we found this new guy that seemed pretty closed off but by the end of the lesson he started asking really good questions. It’s a good sign when they ask questions and want to learn more. Then we were just walking and looked down a road and said," lets go this way" and the first person we talked to was the sibling of a bishop in Manila and was almost baptized. That is a money find and she's super nice and wants us to come back. Then we were walking again and saw another road and I felt we needed to go down it. It was a dead end but I said, "lets keep going to the end" and we found this guy that had met missionaries about 8 months ago and was reading the Book of Mormon. It was incredible. The Lord prepares people. I’m so happy to be a part of this work.

   On Friday we taught this guy that is so smart. He is 7^th day adventist. He is really searching and trying to understand our beliefs about the sabbath. He said once he understands and knows he will get in the water. This guy is awesome. 

   Saturday was the first time general conference was watched in Mamburao!!!  It was awesome. We had it all set up with the translation and it worked out smoothly. We had many people attend. I was proud of the members and we even had some investigators come. I learned so much and would love to share it all but one that I really loved was what President Nelson said about the Book of Mormon. I would encourage everyone to read the talk again and follow his counsel.  I’m so thankful we have living prophets and apostles and that they have authority to receive revelation and guide us. Conference is so important.

   Sunday we watched conference again. Conference is the best and it’s gotten way better as a missionary. The Tagalog was clear. Easy to understand. It was awesome. Shows  I’ve learned a thing or two.  We had a good number attend.

I would just like to emphasize the importance of the Book of Mormon and that we read it everyday and ponder and pray about it. It will help us feel peace and God’s love and help us to know what we should do in our everyday lives. I have experienced all of those things. I know the Book of Mormon is true and I know that it is the word of God and will help anyone no matter what your situation is.

Also remember that God has a plan for you and He loves you. I hope you all have a good week.

Elder Snyder