Elder Bryan Haacke: New Mission President

Hello everybody once again! Looks like everyone had a good Fourth of July. Too bad the weather wasn't too great but it still looks like everyone had fun. We had a pretty good week here in Tuao as well. Also got to meet the new mission president, President Hiatt, this week. I'll start this week's letter there.

We found out last Monday that we were going to have a little conference the next day in Ilagan so we can meet President Hiatt and his wife. Burgos, Ilagan and the two Tuguegarao zones all met in Ilagan Tuesday morning. It's about 2 hours away and we all crammed into one van so that wasn't the funnest thing ever. At least I was by a window except it was in the very back. Going there wasn't too bad since it was still pretty cool but later in the afternoon coming home was not enjoyable at all. It was so hot inside the van even if I was right next to the window. It was just hot air. But we eventually made it back and all was well. We went straight to the hospital after we got back to Tuguegarao so I could get my x-ray. You know what that means right?? I'm close to coming home!! But the hospital thing was a pain. They didn't want to take our card we use to pay for medical stuff until like 20 minutes of going back and forth to different rooms talking to different people. I figured they would know that they accept the card because they're the only hospital in all of Tuguegarao that does. But anyway, finally got the x-ray done and all ready to give to the senior couples. And that's all of Tuesday. It was a very tiring day even though we didn't do very much but all the traveling and other stuff made it a tiring day.

So work wise we had a pretty successful week! Maricris is still making great progress towards her baptism. We still teach her almost everyday. Along with her mom and her little sister that sits in when she's there. She continues to do all the things we ask her to do and she is reading well in the Book of Mormon. She actively participates at church even though yesterday was only her second Sunday. She already seems so comfortable at church and being with/around all the other members. So we'll just continue to help strengthen her faith and knowledge of the gospel and she'll be more than ready when it's time for her to be baptized.

So this week, we got a couple referrals from the members which was awesome. Nanay Pagulayan had a couple families she wanted us to teach last Wednesday so we gladly met up with her and went to those families. The Tuazon and Zalon families. We teach them together but so far we have only taught the two Nanay's and all the kids. There's like 8 kids in all. We teach pretty slow to them since they don't pick it up very well, even the two Nanay's. But we committed them to come to church and 6 of the kids did. The other two kids said they were gonna follow but never showed up and the Nanay's were busy washing. But almost all the kids were there so that was cool.

We got another referral from JulieAnn, one of the single adults in the branch. Her friend, Rocquel, wanted to be taught by the missionaries and learn more about the church so we were happy to do that. The only free time they have is Saturday so getting through the lessons might take a while. At least she has a good friend in the church so that will help her do the commitments that we leave her. She also was at church yesterday and enjoyed her experience so so far she's doing really well!

And another investigator that has a lot of potential is Edna and Tony Blanche. We met them this week and they have been taught by missionaries before. They even attended church before but they were never baptized. They didn't come yesterday but we will focus more on them this week because I think they have a lot of potential to progress.

Saturday we had a "One Day Mission" in the morning until lunch time. Supposed to start at 8 which really started at 9 but it was good because there was a total of 16 that showed up. More than I thought since it was kind of a rush and not much planning behind it. At first, their plan was to divide into two groups so that each group had a missionary with them. We quickly changed that plan since that would not have been effective at all. We ended up dividing into 4 groups of 4 but there were only two tricy's. All the areas are pretty far except for one. So one walking group took that closer area and I took a different one that was further away. Supposed to be 4 groups of 4 but when they found out where we'd be going they deserted me and left my with an 18 year old that knows just as much of the area as I do. Actually, I probably know more of the area than him but we still got a lot of work done. We did more finding and first lessons since we didn't know any less actives in that area. In all, it was nice to see the members come together and go out and work. We finished around lunch time and had a free lunch at someone's wedding that a few members knew. We had no idea who it was but hey, welcome to the Philippines. You see a party that has food, you invite yourself! So that's what we did!

So we had a pretty progressive week this week. Kinda makes me wish I was staying here longer cause I think August will be a good month and have some baptisms in it. Also the branch progressed this week, probably thanks to the one day mission. Attendance was up to 54 so we are consistently increasing. Hopefully we can keep the momentum going this week. Hope you all have a great week!

Love Elder Haacke