MY BROTHER IS MY COMPANION!!!

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• TRANSFERS!!! My new companion is Elder Eldredge from Highland, Utah. He is AWESOME! I promise that we are working super hard and are very productive, but honestly it doesn't feel like we are working because we have so much fun. Ultimately, every day feels like some long party in which we go around sharing the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and helping people come unto our Savior. He reminds me of Colby, so I basically feel like I am serving a mission with my own brother which is by far the greatest dream in the world!!!

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: With the chaos of transfers I don't have much to say, but I invite each one of you to get on your knees later tonight and offer a prayer of thanksgiving. Say nothing but everything you are grateful for.

ELDER HEMMERT
Lemery, Batangas

VIDEO--ELDER HEMMERT BEING ELDER HEMMERT: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBek106h0O8

Video of Filipino Robots:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIlmX6OytJQ

THE GREAT BASKETBALL MIX-UP

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines (Highlights):

• Catherine Enriquez was baptized on October 18. This was also her Birthday, so she turned 19 on the same day that she was baptized! Catherine or CatCat or Kath (a lot of nicknames) has been attending church for quite some time, but she just never felt ready for her baptism. As I explained in my email a few weeks ago we simply invited her to pray to know if she was ready for her baptism. She ended up receiving an answer, and she quickly prepared for the great day of her Birthday/Baptism.
• FUN FACT: One cultural belief is that people in the Philippines are darker skinned because of the heat while people in the US are white because it is "always cold" in the US. The funny thing is that they use soaps to make their skin whiter while Americans use lotions that make our skin darker. BALIKTAD!!! (reversed!)

We have a family that we are working to get back to church after what has now been years of them not attending. They are very nice to us, but still hesitant to come back. Last week we invited (slightly forced) the 16 year old son of that family to join us for a few of our appointments on one of the upcoming days. When the day finally arrived for him to come with us we stopped by his house to pick him up. On our arrival he was dressed in basketball clothing and he had also invited one of his friends to join. As we began walking we quickly got to know the friend and we shared a few laughs. However, the laughs stopped when one of the boys asked, "Marami ba ang ibang maglalaro?" (Are there a lot of other people playing basketball?). Confused by their question we asked what they were talking about which they responded by inquiring who would be playing against the four of us. We quickly came to realize that somehow they got the idea that we invited them to play basketball, they had no idea we were actually headed to a few people to share short messages about Jesus Christ. With this new realization we busted out laughing and explained to them that we wouldn't be playing basketball. Of course they were shocked, but we convinced them to stay with us for the next few appointments. Ultimately, we got very close to the two boys and we are now regularly teaching the new friend. It was quite the way for the boy to be introduced to our message, but as we know, the Lord works in mysterious ways! Maybe one of our rest days we will actually go play basketball with them HAHA!!

ELDER HEMMERT

Lemery Batangas

Fun Video of "TACO TUESDAY FILIPINO STYLE": 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrkIFWkTMwk

FUN SIZE CANDY? NO, FILIPINO SIZE

Mapagpalang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• I went on exchanges with a VERY TALL AMERICAN, Elder Seibert. It was a nice wake up call for me, because it reminded me of how short I am.... I was feeling pretty normal here in the Philippines where the typical height of men is 5 feet and 4 inches. Maybe I just won't go back to the US, that way I feel tall the rest of my life. 
• I had the opportunity to hear from our living prophet, Russel M. Nelson, along with the twelve of apostles and other individuals in the Church. This occurs each 6 months and is filled with inspirational messages about faith and following Jesus Christ. Check out this website to see it for yourself: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/general-conference/?lang=eng

General Conference was full of beautiful messages and was extremely enjoyable. Even though our district center is about 1.5 hours away we still had 5 of the people we are teaching show up to hear the prophets voice. Of all that was said one message stuck out most in my mind, we must CENTER OUR LIVES ON JESUS CHRIST. This is done in a number of ways including praying with greater intent and acting on promptings we receive, Repenting for mistakes and striving for improvement, and also accepting the timing of the Lord especially when blessings are not immediate. Remembering the Lord is not a Sunday activity, but a daily goal that requires carefulness and cannot be achieved by casualness. As we go about our day to day activities that must be accomplished including work, school, eating, playing and many more, how do we choose and follow God. Maybe these questions can allow a bit of evaluation:  Do we seek the guidance of our Loving Heavenly Father or do we simply turn to the voices of the world? Do we trust God and his perfect plan or do we look for faults and reasons to loose faith? Do we walk in hope and faith patiently awaiting promised blessings or do we complain at the lack of blessings in which we seem to receive? Are trials opportunities to grow or one more reason to feel self pity?  The fact is, God does not expect perfection from us, but rather our constant purification. We are to seek his guidance and trust his timing. Love Him and Love our neighbor. And CONSTANTLY KEEP TRYING. If we will do this, even when we fail and make mistakes, we may feel JOY and HAPPINESS. In the words of Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Discipleship is not about doing things perfectly; it's about doing things intentionally." 

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: The Lord will bless us for our intentions and actions, so as you go about your day, center your intentions and actions on Jesus Christ.

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas

Awesome message from an old investigator

From Edmond Monzales to Elder Hemmert:

Dati ako yong ligaw na tupa na patuloy na naliligaw dahil hindi ko alam ang tamang landas patungo sa kawan ng mabuting pastol. Ngaun kayo po ang ginawang instromento ng mabuting pastol para ituro sa akin ang tamang landas para mkabalik sa kawan. Maraming salamat po Elder Hemmert aming kapatid sa ama sa langit. Masaya po kami dahil isa din kami sa naturuan nyo po ng ebanghelyo ni jesucristo.

Translation:

I used to be a lost sheep that continued being lost because I did not the right way that lead to the flock of the Good Shepherd. Now you have been made an instrument of the Good Shepherd to teach me the correct way to return to the flock. Thank You very much Elder Hemmert, our brother in God. We are happy because we were taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ by you. 

I'M ON TV!!

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

-Fun Fact: A common Filipino belief is that you cannot shower twice in a day otherwise you will get sick. You also cannot shower at night. A mom speaking to her daughter said, "I told you not to shower in the morning and afternoon. This is why you have a cough."

-I shaved a member's head bald on our P-day. Trip Lang.Video of Elder Hemmert's handiwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBOCYqohsUE

-Traveled to the island of Mindoro for a mission meeting. FIRST TIME RIDING A BOAT IN THE MISSION HAHA!! Also, the ocean and beaches were beautiful!

-We walked through the film shooting of "Killer Bride." I have no idea what the show is, but look for me in the background haha!

Kath Enriquez (18) has been taught by missionaries for a few months now, and I immediately got close with her and her family simply because they are super nice and open to new people. Kath frequently attends church and understands everything we teach her, but she has always been shy to the idea of baptism. As described in Matthew 3:13-17, Acts 2:38, 2 Nephi 31, 3 Nephi 11, and 3 Nephi 27:19-20, baptism is a way to follow the example of Jesus Christ, have our sins washed clean, obey a commandment of God, and ultimately experience peace and love from our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ. Even after sharing these verses with Kath she still shied away from the idea of baptism, so we extended a new invitation to her. We explained to her that if she would pray to God and ask if she should be baptized, God would answer that pray and tell her if she is ready or not. We explained that God's responses come by the Holy Ghost and in the form of Peace, Love, and Joy (Galatians 5:22). With that we invited her to pray to God and refrain from ending her prayer until she received an answer to her question. All of us bowed our heads as Kath offered her pray, She requested that God would help her know if she was ready for baptism, and then she paused... took a deep breath... and ended the prayer in the name of Christ. As we opened our eyes and lifted our heads, she immediately said, I want to get baptized. We were extremely happy to see the power of prayer take effect in Kath's life, and we are so excited for her to be baptized ON HER BIRTHDAY, October 18.

Elder Hemmert

Lemery, Batangas

SUNBURNS AND SMILES

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• We had two service projects this week which basically entailed flattening out a bunch of trash right behind a cemetery. This will become the home of someone we are teaching.
• We admired the largest catholic cathedral in all of Asia. It is in my area here in Taal, Batangas. Thebell tower and much of the church are under renovation which means it is not allowed to enter, but we somehow managed to get permission. From the top we could see over the whole city and ocean. Here is a video of Elder Hemmert sneaking into the church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QR6d7wT8w8
• The sun is out, my skin is burning, and I'm loving everyday. Definitely a Highlight each week.

We recently met our next door neighbor who turns out to be an inactive member for about 20 years. On our second appointment we brought two members. We were shocked to learn that one of those members was really good friends with the inactive, but they hadn't seen each other for years. As we spoke with the inactive, he explained that he couldn't go to church because he had too many sins in his life. We explained that the church isn't for perfect people, but rather for people that want to be better. In one week we taught him and his wife three times and shared with them about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and Repentance. This last Sunday they attended church. When they arrived they were immediately swarmed with members that recognized the inactive member. They all explained how happy they were that he had come back, and they introduced themselves to his wife. After church the two of them explained how excited they are to continue coming to church. I know that the Lord is preparing souls, and sometimes the preparation period is 20 years or more. However, no matter where we are in our spiritual progression the Lord is always calling for us with open arms.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: General Conference Weekend!!!!!

Prepare yourself for an uplifting weekend filled with the words of the Living Prophet and Apostles. I promise that if you will take the time to listen to them, finding answers to your questions, then you will receive revelation from God that is intended for you personally. Check out this website.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/church/events/october-2019-general-conference?lang=eng

Elder Hemmert
Lemery, Batangas

A HOPE THAT EXCEEDS DEATH

Magandang Araw Po,

It's More Fun in the Philippines:

• The storms last week were absolutely insane, and we came home soaking wet everyday. Fortunately those storms have now stopped and the hot sun has come back out. SO we are still coming home soaked each night, but it is due to sweat instead of rain.
• The Tagalog here has quite a few differences from the Tagalog that I am used to. People here in Batangas have different accents, which changes pronunciation of certain words and even involves using a few words that are brand new to me. I have adjusted quickly, and I'm doing my absolute best to copy the accents of the natives here. Pretty soon I'll be speaking like I grew up here hehe.
• The water hates us in our new apartment. We woke up Thursday morning to a small flood inside our house due to leaking water coming from our fridge. And then later that night we came home to no water in the house. Apparently we didn't pay our water bill, so our water was shut off haha. We ended up showering at our neighbors house instead.

Someone we are teaching recently went through a very difficult hardship. Their 6 year old daughter passed away due to Dengue Fever. This little girl was always so happy to see us and of course we were so happy to see her. She is deeply missed by us, and even more so by her family. We have been going back to the family often to support them through this trial, and each time we visit the father opens up to us about the pains he is experiencing. He described to us that he always cared for his daughter and did all he possibly could to protect her and keep her healthy. But even with everything he did for his daughter, he says, "A little mosquito was all it took to kill my daughter."

This father is going through a trial that outweighs all other trials I have ever experienced. As I look back I realize that my life has been all in all without any large hardships. Everything in my life seems to work out for the better. Even the small difficulties I have encountered have ultimately just been hidden growing experiences for me. I feel a great deal of sympathy for this man and his family, but I also feel Hope in the plan that Heavenly Father has created for us. Trials are often difficult to accept and endure, but they are ultimately there for our growth.

WEEKLY CHALLENGE: I testify that God has a plan for you, and it does not end at death. We can enjoy the peace that comes from Hope even in our hardest trials, and I know that God will not leave us comfortless IF we seek his support. Because of the plan of our Heavenly Father and the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ "we may Hope and be assured that the ending of the book of our lives will exceed our grandest expectations."

Explore the following videos and put your Hope in God:https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media-library/video/2013-05-009-a-mothers-hope?category=topics/hope&lang=eng

Ether 12:6

Elder Hemmert

A picture of the meeting house that the sisters go to for church

Elder Curtis trying to avoid getting wet in the flooded alleys of our area

The view of the ocean from the home of someone we are teaching

a little girl that asked if she could have my keychain, so I gave it to her