President and Sister Ferrin arrives as the New Mission President!

Below is a letter we received today from President Ferrin. please include them in your prayers as the endevor to hasten the work of our Savior in the Bacolod Mission
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Sister Ferrin and I are so pleased to introduce ourselves to you and thank you for your missionary's consecrated service in the great Philippines Bacolod Mission!

We are thrilled to serve with your missionaries here and we look forward to their miracles.

We add our faith and testimonies to yours as we pray for the recovery and health of President and Sister Lopez. They are our dear friends and we have served with them here in the Philippines for the past two years. We spoke with them several times this week. He is out of the hospital and they have been given an apartment in Salt Lake near the Church headquarters. His body is weak but his soul is full of faith. They feel your prayers and express their gratitude. He will begin his full time employment with the headquarters CES department in March. She will return to Bacolod the last week of February to retrieve their things. They are optimistic and hopeful. Please keep them in you prayers. They are marvelous saints!

When we arrived here in Bacolod on January 28th we bid farewell to the departing batch. Elder and Sister Echo Hawk of our Area Presidency conducted the departing missionaries final interviews and blessed them with their testimonies.  Your  missionaries will long be remembered and appreciated. Their experience and success will inspire us all.

Also on January 28th we welcomed the 20 newly arrived replacement missionaries. Sister Ferrin and I had the blessing of traveling from Manila with these wonderful new missionaries. She and I had been serving in Manila for the past two years as the Missionary Department's In-Field Representative for the 32 missions in the Asia and the Philippines Areas. Traveling with these new arrivals reminded us of our days as the Mission President and wife in the Philippines Naga Mission in 2007.  What a treat it is to be with your missionaries! We look forward to loving them all!

We seek your support and prayers as we go forward. We know this is His work! Our prayers are with you in this great Hastening of the Work. Your support for your missionaries is essential to thier happines.

With sincere love and appreciation,

President and Sister Ferrin, Philippines

Bacolod Mission

Onward ever onward!

Baptism!!! then... Transferred.

Dear Surprised Family of Mine,

Yeah so transferred... I am mad, slightly. I was really beginning to love being with Elder Allam and being in Dian-ay. Sorry this letter might not be super long. I am kind of in the grog of just... ANYWAY! 

Thank you so much for the Happy Birthday Wishes! I am sorry I can't get email all of you today I just have very little time. My birthday was interesting. We had the training, but instead of President Lopez giving it... we did! yeah last minute thing! So yeah for my birthday I gave a training then went on exchanges with Elder Mccleary because we needed to have an interview in our area, but because Dian-ay was so far away we had to do a one day exchange! It was a good birthday overall, I got to work and teach thats all I cared about. 

Well had a baptism on Saturday! Great baptism! Brother Pompe Canete! Stopped all his vises on his own! He stopped them before we started teaching him! He actually stopped them so we could teach him! He is a great an humble person that I love! 

Well I miss my companion Elder Allam a bit! He was a great Elder and me and him got along super well! I really loved that companionship! Right now I don't have a companion because they forgot to call him last night. I am in a far area almost 4 hours away from Bacolod! I hear it is great though! I will let you know next week how it goes! I will probably just be sleeping here in Bacolod tonight and then head to Tapi tomorrow! 

I am doing good feeling good! I love you all and miss you all a ton! Please keep smiling and keep strong!

Love,

Elder Minson

 

Sad News and Glad News this week.

Dear Bacolod Missionaries,

On Sunday, President and Sister Lopez returned to the United States so President Lopez can receive urgent medical treatment. It is not anticipated that they will be returning to complete their mission.

We ask that you join with the Area Presidency in prayer and faith on their behalf.

Arrangements are being made for a couple to be in Bacolod to lead the great work you are doing. In the interim, Elder Mower who serves in the mission office will be able to respond to your immediate needs.

Sincerely,

Philippines Area Presidency

Brock Continued to say referencing the graphics below,
"This is what I live by... He started this Vision and it is now my Vision!" 
A mission who understand his purpose is an amazing thing to watch, Brock is dealing with the news in the best way he knows how, he is going to work.

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Dear Family in Whom I Love so Much!,

This week has been good. Very trying and very amazing! Lots happened this week and I might not be able to share it all.... Just not really in the greatest mood to email a ton today... I will try my best! 

So started with exchanges in Colonia Divina, with... guess who? Elder Wade! haha! The Elder has followed me around his whole mission! He has not had a Zone Leaders Training without me there! Colonia Divina is one of the hardest areas of all! It is also the top baptizing in the mission! The people are great! It was a good but tiring day! 

So then me and Elder Allam had some great teaching days! Nothing crazy really happened, but it was all just good! Lots of seen progress in our ward, and in the investigators here! 

Saturday we had a great Baptism for the Acak family! Sadly no member showed up... it was raining really hard! Luckily though it went through and they are the best in the whole world! Like I said Brother Sario Acak has already been given a calling as a teacher and he says he needs our help! Haha! He is excited though and we love him! 

So we are getting building plans for our special sacrament! We are making a big hut type thing so we can have our own personal building for sacrament! So hopefully this next month I will be able to build with tools again!!! WOOHOO!! We then will have tons of success because that is one of the only set backs on why people don't attend! So progress will happen!

So we have this new investigator family and they are just amazing! The Teralba family! I think they will be like the Acak family! There is 12 of them though! Haha! So yeah they love this gospel! Sister said that she did not have an interest in religion until she met us! She had 3 of her older kids go to church on Sunday and next week hopefully they all will!! 

Well other then that I just want all of you to keep President Lopez in your prayers! I love President Lopez with all my heart. He has been one of the greatest leaders and greatest examples for me! 

I love you and miss you all! Please keep safe Keep strong! Thank you for the Birthday wishes! I am sorry if I am not able to respond to all of you but just remember you are all in my thoughts! I love you all keep those shoes on!

Love,
Elder Minson

Still going strong! Still keeping happy!

Dear Bout nga Pamilya ko,

Well this week was an amazingly quick and spiritual week! Lots of work and travel and work!

So we will start with being in Bacolod for our training! We had a good P-day filled with tons of miracles! We were worrying about getting the right license for the 2 marriages we have coming up. Well we got on a Jeepeney and it just so happens a return missionary sat across from us and we started talking. We then decided to ask about the marriage stuff. Well he just so happens to be one in a million people that knows how to get it done the fastest! He is from Himomaylan and he gave us his number and said he will hook us up with what we need and will pay for us! Brother Beno was a blessing for us! 

Then Brother Michael took us to dinner! He is awesome please send him some messages for me! I am thankful for his help! He also helped us with the marriage stuff and got us 2 licenses for one couple! Just awesome! So blessed here! 

Then on Tuesday we had an amazing training by our assistants and President Lopez and Sister Lopez! So much about finding, through 15 minute member visits! Members are the key to the work! And after this week I can testify! We had 6 contacted referrals and over 34 new investigators this week, even though we had 2 days taken out of work! The things we have been learning and applying have helped so much! 

So this week we had a baptism! Sister Mary Ann Regodos! She is one of my favorite investigators of all time! She is so willing to learn and become a new person! She is the first to be baptized in her family! She text us last night how she wants her family to join so bad, because she sees that they work on Sunday, but no money comes from it really anyway so they might as well just come to church. It was so strong and she is so powerful in the Spirit! She is 24 and wants to go on a mission! Hopefully we will that happen! 

Also went on exchanges with Elder Farner. So he has been in 3 of my past zones and is going home this month, along with Elder Mu and Elder Newton. We had a great exchange lots of strong work and great lessons and good laughs as well! He is a great missionary and I can tell he will be a strength to his family when he gets home. I wish you could see his homecoming, but he lives in Colorado... Maybe you can see Elder Newtons because he is over by Park City! These have been missionaries that I have spent my whole mission with pretty much and they are leaving... It is going to be hard to see them go! 

So this week we will be have 4 baptisms. The rest of the Acak Family. Rosario, Jomar, John Mark, and Jambi. They are so amazing and such a power house as well! Brother Rosario told us yesterday he is excited to get a calling!! ... he says he reads the Book of Mormon and goes to Church and wants to teach others the word of God! Haha! So awesome I love them so much as well! 

So that is my week lots of great things! Still going strong! Still keeping happy! Still doing the things which I need to do! One thing for all of you! Stay obedient, keep a goal in mind, and shoot for that goal! Keep those shoes on! I love you so much! Keep strong! 

Love,

Elder Minson

Photos!! Brock at mission Leadership Training meeting With President Lopez.