Dear Family,
It warmed up a bit and so the snow is gone now. It's kind of nice because I was sick of walking around in it. So I think I'll let you know. My left foot has been bugging me pretty badly. I don't know if you remember at all but I had a bunion starting and the mission has just helped it along. My big toe crosses over my second toe which puts some good pressure on it and my tendon to my big toe is tighter than you can believe. You can feel it and it doesn't feel good. So I just wanted to let you know that it might be something I need to take care of this summer and have surgery. No big deal though, I'm still walking just fine just with a little pain :).
So this week was pretty fun. We had a Christmas party on Saturday so they wanted us missionaries to sing a song. We ended up singing "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas". We found it on one of our Christmas CD's that we have and it was done acapella. We couldn't do it by ourselves so we had the CD player right behind us playing. It was pretty funny. We got a video of it so I won't forget it. It made everyone laugh and they loved it. I think it was good that they saw that we can be funny as well. I think a lot of members think that we have to be serious all the time and not have fun.
This week we taught several lessons which was good but we also had a bunch of things fall out. It kind of gets frustrating when people just drop your appointment and think that it doesn't matter. It would make life a lot easier if they were to just tell us no. Laura, the nine year old little girl and her Mom weren't able to come to the Christmas party because she had to work. Her mom is really nice to me on the phone and I'm hoping that we can start to teach them both. Laura came to church with a less active member twice and loved it. We did have this lady show up the first hour of Church (Priesthood RS) and then we spent the next hour teaching her with the High Councilor from a different ward. She was pretty emotionally unstable and she has made some pretty poor decisions in her life that hasn't helped her out too much. She stayed for Sacrament meeting and I think it was really good for her. She was able to calm down and to think about Christ rather than her problems that she was going through. She wouldn't give me any of her information but she said that she would come again to church before Christmas. We are mostly back to the finding point in the work. We need a bigger teaching pool because we can't teach a ton. Things are going well though. Elder Trujillo is doing well. His Interview with President really helped him I think. He struggles a lot with the language but so did I. I still learn something new all the time. I can talk fluently and understand everything but there is still certain grammar principles that are super hard to understand that I work on as well as vocabulary. I'm working on verbs and trying to get my vocabulary solid.
I still haven't talked with President about whether I can call on the 27th and I will do that this week. My guess is that it won't be a big problem. I got your package this week. Thanks for not sending useless stuff. I am super thankful for all the treats that you packed in instead, so are my companions. My favorite pretzel stick is the Reese's chunks. It was a little piece of heaven.
Here is what I studied about this morning. It's great to know that the Atonement is there for us. It must be there in order for us to reach the full potential. We sang the song "More Holiness Give Me" this morning and there is the line 'more tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief' I was thinking about how powerful the Atonement is and if we were to totally understand the pain, sorrow, and grief that we wouldn't want to displease him and would have absolute no desire to sin. I don't have a desire to sin but sometimes I forget my potential and mess up. How great is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am so very thankful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord and to be apart of this his Marvelous Work and a Wonder.
Well I hope you have a good week. Any new Pictures? I would love to see some. Sounds like kids have grown up quite a bit. Thanks for your love and support. It's great to be a missionary.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
p.s. Did you get my packages yet?
Thursday, December 16, 2010
December 6 2009
Dear Mom, Dad, and Family,
So it's only been 3 days since I wrote you last so there isn't too much to say. Yesterday we didn't have anyone to church. It wasn't a very good week for us numbers wise. We have a couple people that we are working hard with and it will be tough to get them baptized by the end of the year. There is a 9-year old little girl that loves coming to church and wants to keep coming so we are going to try and talk with her mom to see if we can teach her and have a family take them in so she can get baptized. We went to Essen last week and it was Freezing! I didn't warm up the rest of the night. I sent off your package (Mom) and then another small package with the kids and Dad's presents in them. I hope you like them all. Thanks for the money you threw in the bank account. It helped pay for some of the costs, stupid exchange rates. Mom your package should be there pretty soon because I had to send it Luftpost. Be careful opening it and make sure you open it right side up. I also forgot to put to little pamphlet type papers in the box before I sealed it so I put them between the Box and the reinforcement. The Pink package chocolate is my favorite. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas this year because it might be the last Christmas that you get something from Germany.
When does Kortneigh get married again? I had better be receiving an invitation. Is Korbin playing on the A-Squad? Don't worry about sending another package, I'll consider this one my Christmas Birthday Package. If you really want to get me something wait 'til I get home because I'm probably going to need all new clothes, church clothes included. I ripped out a crotch the other day. I was just going to kneel down too. My suits are pretty shot. One suit on the inside of the coat it's all ripped up because of my backpack. My other suit is super thin and doesn't look too hot. I am fine though until I get home. I don't want to spend any more money before I go home.
We have some stuff planned to work with the members, caroling, less active visits, etc. We are going to have a Ward Christmas party this Saturday and we have to sing at it. We will be singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, upon request. I'm looking forward to this Christmas. I'll talk with President to see if I can call on 27th. Thank you for making up a resumé for me. I would like to see a copy of it just for fun if it wouldn't be of too much trouble. Thanks for all you do. It really is a blessing to have you all there as support. I love you so much and am thankful for this time I've had so for to serve the Lord and to understand more what it means to Love my family, the Gospels, and those around me. Thanks for being great parents too. We were talking about it last night about how our parents raised us. You've raised us well. Thank you so much. "No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
So it's only been 3 days since I wrote you last so there isn't too much to say. Yesterday we didn't have anyone to church. It wasn't a very good week for us numbers wise. We have a couple people that we are working hard with and it will be tough to get them baptized by the end of the year. There is a 9-year old little girl that loves coming to church and wants to keep coming so we are going to try and talk with her mom to see if we can teach her and have a family take them in so she can get baptized. We went to Essen last week and it was Freezing! I didn't warm up the rest of the night. I sent off your package (Mom) and then another small package with the kids and Dad's presents in them. I hope you like them all. Thanks for the money you threw in the bank account. It helped pay for some of the costs, stupid exchange rates. Mom your package should be there pretty soon because I had to send it Luftpost. Be careful opening it and make sure you open it right side up. I also forgot to put to little pamphlet type papers in the box before I sealed it so I put them between the Box and the reinforcement. The Pink package chocolate is my favorite. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas this year because it might be the last Christmas that you get something from Germany.
When does Kortneigh get married again? I had better be receiving an invitation. Is Korbin playing on the A-Squad? Don't worry about sending another package, I'll consider this one my Christmas Birthday Package. If you really want to get me something wait 'til I get home because I'm probably going to need all new clothes, church clothes included. I ripped out a crotch the other day. I was just going to kneel down too. My suits are pretty shot. One suit on the inside of the coat it's all ripped up because of my backpack. My other suit is super thin and doesn't look too hot. I am fine though until I get home. I don't want to spend any more money before I go home.
We have some stuff planned to work with the members, caroling, less active visits, etc. We are going to have a Ward Christmas party this Saturday and we have to sing at it. We will be singing Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, upon request. I'm looking forward to this Christmas. I'll talk with President to see if I can call on 27th. Thank you for making up a resumé for me. I would like to see a copy of it just for fun if it wouldn't be of too much trouble. Thanks for all you do. It really is a blessing to have you all there as support. I love you so much and am thankful for this time I've had so for to serve the Lord and to understand more what it means to Love my family, the Gospels, and those around me. Thanks for being great parents too. We were talking about it last night about how our parents raised us. You've raised us well. Thank you so much. "No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
November 23, 2010
pic: 2 of the 3 goldens that I've trained. I was hoping that Elder Schuetz would also be there.
Dear Mom, Dad, Family,
Sounds like you are going to have a fun Thanksgiving. You will have to tell them all that I love them and miss them. Tell Landon that we'll have to go skiing or something when I get back. Tell Taya good luck with marriage. Tell Tosha that I would like to hear from her. Hopefully things go well with Grandpa and his surgery. That's pretty cool that it's snowing there already. It's supposed to snow here tomorrow but I don't know if it will. It's cold enough to but I don't think it will happen.
With Sandra and Joserio, they weren't able to meet last week at all because they were sick and had lots of things going but hopefully we will set a date this week. The zone leader meeting was really good as it always is. I always enjoy going there and learning from the other missionaries as well as from President Ninow. There are so many things that I need to do better as a missionary and just as a person. There are many blessings that we receive for our work and obedience. We have a goal set for 200 baptisms this year and we need 60 more. If every companionship were to have a baptism in the month of December we would over shoot the goal. We are going to be working really hard for it. December is a month of miracles. I know that we can all achieve this goal. We just need to exercise our faith and put our shoulder to the wheel. Last year, December was our highest baptizing month and so this year we will also make it our highest baptizing month. I ask you all to pray that we may be able to achieve this goal and help those enter into a covenant with the Lord. Tobias is having a tough time and he won't answer our phone calls. I don't know really what's up with him but hopefully he'll be OK. I talked to his mom and she said that he is just in a tough situation and that's it. Another proof to how much the gospel blesses us in life. When we live the gospel and keep the commandments it makes us free from difficult preventable trials in our lives.
My new companion is Elder Trujillo (pronounced Spanish). He is from Roosevelt, UT. He is a good missionary, a little discouraged with the language and being away from family but he'll do fine. I try to help him out as much as I can. It's a great opportunity to train again. I hope that I can do it well and help him become an exceptional missionary. He is from a small family one older brother and one younger. He's the first to serve a mission so it's a little difficult for him not having any expectations. I love him. He is a good companion and works well. He is willing to learn and tries to do his best.
Today we will be going to the Christmas Market. I'm really excited. I'll make sure to take some pictures and send them to you. I think I might of told you last week but Dortmund has the biggest Christmas tree in the world. It's way cool. There is like a metal frame and then a bunch of trees are strapped to it. It looks really cool actually. I'm gonna make that my Christmas Card for this year.
Thursday we will be having Thanksgiving with the Zone. The Youngs are going to be making the Turkey for us so it aughta be pretty fun. Last year I remember not having anything. I can't believe how fast time is flying by. It's almost December!
Well I hope you all have a good week and hope to get some pictures of the party you will be having. I love you all so much. Thanks for being great parents as well as brothers and sisters. Keep working on the missionary work and you'll be blessed. 2 Nephi 4:8 Love you all so much.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
Monday, November 15, 2010
November 15, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and Kids,
So first off. I'm Training again. Elder Wilde is going to Mannheim and I'll be getting another Golden fresh from the States. I'm still Zone Leader with Elder Gunnell which I'm happy about. I am pretty sure that I will stay here in Dortmund until I go home. Funny story, I told Elder Wilde this morning when I'm going home and he was going crazy. He thought that I was going home a couple months later and so it was a shock for him. I'm going to do the same with this next companion and not tell him when I go home because he might be with me until I do go home.
I went on two splits last week that both were pretty good. The first split was in Paderborn with Elder Gardner's Golden, Elder Rampton and it was fun to be there again. Elder Rampton is a good missionary. The other split was in Siegen with Elder Elison. He goes home on Thursday.
I love my mission so much. There is just sweet people that you meet everyday that need my help and I love doing my best to help them on that path.
This last week we got another new referral from that less active member that we had helped. This referral is also from Brazil and she is great. They both came to church and want to keep coming. I hope that they keep this excitement going and progress more in the Gospel. We will be setting a baptismal date with Sandra, the new investigator, on Tuesday. She has never been baptized before and really wants to. She said that she met with the missionaries a long time ago in Brazil and that she also went to church there a couple of times. It's crazy how those missionaries that may have taught her will probably never know that she is investigating the Gospel and that she is progressing. I wonder how many people I've talked with who later met with the missionaries.
I'm excited to go down to Frankfurt again. I will go down tomorrow evening and stay the night there. We will have a trainers meeting with President and Sister Ninow and the Assistants. Wednesday morning we will find out who our new companions are and then back we will go to Dortmund. By the way next week we will be doing Pday on Tuesday probably because Elder Gunnell and I will be in Frankfurt for a Zone Leader Meeting. I love being able to serve others, missionaries and non-members especially.
Well we have some sweet miracles going down here in Dortmund and it's wonderful. If you could pray for Sandra, Tobias, Sister Wrobel (Vrobel), and Joserio that would be great. Maybe have the family pick someone they can pray for. I would really appreciate that alot. Thanks for being such a great family. I am thankful that you have the desire to do missionary work and help others learn to know the Gospel. It's a wonderful feeling to share it with those that accept it. I will be sending a Christmas Package in the next two weeks but I'll let you know when I send it. The Christmas Markets open up this weekend and so next week I'll be finishing up Christmas. I love you all so much and thank you for your love and support. The gospel is amazing and it brings so much joy into our lives. Hope you have a wonderful week this week. Let me know what your plans are for Thanksgiving. We will be eating with the Youngs (senior couple). We might try to organize a Turkey bowl as well. The work is going well.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
So first off. I'm Training again. Elder Wilde is going to Mannheim and I'll be getting another Golden fresh from the States. I'm still Zone Leader with Elder Gunnell which I'm happy about. I am pretty sure that I will stay here in Dortmund until I go home. Funny story, I told Elder Wilde this morning when I'm going home and he was going crazy. He thought that I was going home a couple months later and so it was a shock for him. I'm going to do the same with this next companion and not tell him when I go home because he might be with me until I do go home.
I went on two splits last week that both were pretty good. The first split was in Paderborn with Elder Gardner's Golden, Elder Rampton and it was fun to be there again. Elder Rampton is a good missionary. The other split was in Siegen with Elder Elison. He goes home on Thursday.
I love my mission so much. There is just sweet people that you meet everyday that need my help and I love doing my best to help them on that path.
This last week we got another new referral from that less active member that we had helped. This referral is also from Brazil and she is great. They both came to church and want to keep coming. I hope that they keep this excitement going and progress more in the Gospel. We will be setting a baptismal date with Sandra, the new investigator, on Tuesday. She has never been baptized before and really wants to. She said that she met with the missionaries a long time ago in Brazil and that she also went to church there a couple of times. It's crazy how those missionaries that may have taught her will probably never know that she is investigating the Gospel and that she is progressing. I wonder how many people I've talked with who later met with the missionaries.
I'm excited to go down to Frankfurt again. I will go down tomorrow evening and stay the night there. We will have a trainers meeting with President and Sister Ninow and the Assistants. Wednesday morning we will find out who our new companions are and then back we will go to Dortmund. By the way next week we will be doing Pday on Tuesday probably because Elder Gunnell and I will be in Frankfurt for a Zone Leader Meeting. I love being able to serve others, missionaries and non-members especially.
Well we have some sweet miracles going down here in Dortmund and it's wonderful. If you could pray for Sandra, Tobias, Sister Wrobel (Vrobel), and Joserio that would be great. Maybe have the family pick someone they can pray for. I would really appreciate that alot. Thanks for being such a great family. I am thankful that you have the desire to do missionary work and help others learn to know the Gospel. It's a wonderful feeling to share it with those that accept it. I will be sending a Christmas Package in the next two weeks but I'll let you know when I send it. The Christmas Markets open up this weekend and so next week I'll be finishing up Christmas. I love you all so much and thank you for your love and support. The gospel is amazing and it brings so much joy into our lives. Hope you have a wonderful week this week. Let me know what your plans are for Thanksgiving. We will be eating with the Youngs (senior couple). We might try to organize a Turkey bowl as well. The work is going well.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
November 8, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and Kids,
So this week was a pretty good week. My split with Elder Ellis was only a couple of hours long but it was enjoyable. We went to the District meeting in Hagen and it was really good. I think that the missionaries are doing well and they just need a boost of energy. We had some appointments that went well and some that didn't go quite so well. The other week we did some service and we got the referall contacted and are teaching them both right now. It's pretty cool. This is my first time that I've found an investigator through service.
On Sunday this Lady showed up for church and she went up half way through Sacrament and started talking at the podium. She was saying how the German country was so terrible for allowing gay marriages and how the world is terrible. She talked about how her brother is addicted to cocain and different things. She said that she was watching youtube videos and that she saw Chinese people eat dogs and cats. It was the worst I've ever seen or heard. The counselor to the Bishop got up and told her to stop. Pretty crazy. It's definately different here.
I'm going on a split tonight in Paderborn. I will be working with Elder Rampton. He is just finishing his golden transfers so it should be fun. I don't know what's going to happen with transfers. It's always a suprise. Today we played basketball a little bit which was fun. I haven't played for a while. I will be going to send a Christmas package to you all probably the last week of November. I need to wait until the Christmas market opens up.
I don't know what to say really. Not to much happening on my side. Kiersten sent me an email last week. She said that she's having fun. I'm glad that she can find time to write. Kelsey as well. It's starting to get cold. My clothes are reaching the end of their wear. I've got ripped pockets, torn out crotches, and ripped suit coats. They should be able to last me through the winter. I'm not really planning on buying any more clothes. I can make it all work.
Well not much to say this week. That's awesome that Korbin's getting to practice with the Varsity. I hope he gets the picture that he needs to work out and get bigger. We'll work on that. Hope you are all doing well physically. Did Grandpa get my email? Tell him that I send my Love. I miss him and can't wait to see him again. Thanks for all that you do. What happened to the Dino Rossi thing? Did he win? How about other news? Anything I should know about?
Well I love You all so much. Thanks for being a great family and great examples of the Gospel. It's great to be a part of the Merrill Family. I hope you have a good week and sorry again that the email is so short. Not much to write about. It's kind of hard to think right now because of some missionaries that I'm thinking about. I'll try to do better next week.
Love you
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So this week was a pretty good week. My split with Elder Ellis was only a couple of hours long but it was enjoyable. We went to the District meeting in Hagen and it was really good. I think that the missionaries are doing well and they just need a boost of energy. We had some appointments that went well and some that didn't go quite so well. The other week we did some service and we got the referall contacted and are teaching them both right now. It's pretty cool. This is my first time that I've found an investigator through service.
On Sunday this Lady showed up for church and she went up half way through Sacrament and started talking at the podium. She was saying how the German country was so terrible for allowing gay marriages and how the world is terrible. She talked about how her brother is addicted to cocain and different things. She said that she was watching youtube videos and that she saw Chinese people eat dogs and cats. It was the worst I've ever seen or heard. The counselor to the Bishop got up and told her to stop. Pretty crazy. It's definately different here.
I'm going on a split tonight in Paderborn. I will be working with Elder Rampton. He is just finishing his golden transfers so it should be fun. I don't know what's going to happen with transfers. It's always a suprise. Today we played basketball a little bit which was fun. I haven't played for a while. I will be going to send a Christmas package to you all probably the last week of November. I need to wait until the Christmas market opens up.
I don't know what to say really. Not to much happening on my side. Kiersten sent me an email last week. She said that she's having fun. I'm glad that she can find time to write. Kelsey as well. It's starting to get cold. My clothes are reaching the end of their wear. I've got ripped pockets, torn out crotches, and ripped suit coats. They should be able to last me through the winter. I'm not really planning on buying any more clothes. I can make it all work.
Well not much to say this week. That's awesome that Korbin's getting to practice with the Varsity. I hope he gets the picture that he needs to work out and get bigger. We'll work on that. Hope you are all doing well physically. Did Grandpa get my email? Tell him that I send my Love. I miss him and can't wait to see him again. Thanks for all that you do. What happened to the Dino Rossi thing? Did he win? How about other news? Anything I should know about?
Well I love You all so much. Thanks for being a great family and great examples of the Gospel. It's great to be a part of the Merrill Family. I hope you have a good week and sorry again that the email is so short. Not much to write about. It's kind of hard to think right now because of some missionaries that I'm thinking about. I'll try to do better next week.
Love you
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
November 1, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and Kids,
Dad, thanks for keeping up this writing streak. I really enjoy hearing from you. Mom does a great job writing me but there is something about getting letters from the Father that is different and it just makes reading emails complete. I got the voting ballot and I sent it last week so Dino's got my vote. I also got the package with the debit card, coins, and Letter in it. Thanks for that again. I really owe you for that. I got the medicine a while ago so that's OK. I don't take it all the time just when I need to. I am doing well though physically. I've gained weight back. I'm back up to 182 now. I'm still way under what I was when I left but we got some weights that we lift in the morning for exercise so hopefully I'll gain something back.
We were able to teach those people I talked about last week which was a good experience. Also this week we were walking down the street trying to find an address when a lady called out "Elders". We turned around and talked with this lady. She said that she used to meet with missionaries a while ago but hasn't in quite some time. She was moving on Saturday to a new apartment and asked for our help. When we were done moving all of her stuff for her (may I include that it was super heavy and up 4 flights of stairs) she said that she wants her boyfriend to learn more about 'her' church. I asked her which church she belonged to and she said "Yours". I questioned her asking if she was baptized and she was. She is an inactive member. We will be working with her and her two friends teaching them. It's amazing how stuff like that happens because I just had a feeling that day she talked to us to walk down that street.
When we watched General Conference we watched the whole Sunday Afternoon. This past Sunday we had Stake Conference. It was held in this Theater place which I did not enjoy. It reminded me of preachers on T.V. that walk around with a microphone and get excited and yell and do whatever they do. Obviously they didn't do that but kids were running all over the place and it was just super irreverent.
Tomorrow I will be going on a split with Elder Ellis, on of the assistants, and we will be visiting a district meeting. I hope that we can share something spiritual and powerful with them because both companionships in the district are struggling with the work and I think they both are losing their desire to do their bests. There are several things that are kind of stressing me out a little bit with the zone. I want to be able to help them out and to be successful. It's hard to train, keep your area going, and work in the zone all at the same time. The Lord is blessing me though, I can't forget that. There are so many different experiences that I've had in the past 5 weeks that have really moved me and strengthened my testimony and made me want to work harder as a missionary.
We are having fun altogether. We get a good laugh in several times a day and it's great to come in at night and share with each other the ups and the downs of the day. It keeps me motivated. The other night there was a Halloween Party that the older couple missionaries did for the YSA's in the stake. There were 5 investigators there. When they left one of the guys rolled his ankle and so Elder Young (Senior missionary) drove them home. At 10:30 p.m. Sister Young called me saying that it had been a long time since he had left and that she was worried about him. So Elder Gunnell (my zone leader Companion) and I ran to those investigators house to see if we would find the car or Elder Young anywhere. As we got there there was no car or Elder Young to be found but Sister Young calling me saying that he had gotten lost and that he was back now. We ran back home and on the way back home we ran into the investigators. We just told them that we had heard that one of them got hurt and that we were just coming to check up on them. They were thankful and then we left. We were running the whole time so by the time we got home I was sweating really bad and it took me a while to cool down and fall asleep. Just a funny story I thought I would share.
Well I love you all so much and look forward to getting pictures of the family. It's great to hear that everyone is doing good. I hope that your back will hold out. That's a big deal and I hope that you don't have to do it for a while. I am so grateful for your love and support that you give me. I know that Families are something special and I always feel a warm feeling in my heart when I think about my family. You mean so much to me and I want my family to be as strong as our family is today. I miss you all a lot but before you all know it we'll be back together. The Mission is a wonderful blessing for us all and I know that I'm growing a ton from the experiences that I've had. I hope the kids can maybe find time to write me know that sports are done with.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
Dad, thanks for keeping up this writing streak. I really enjoy hearing from you. Mom does a great job writing me but there is something about getting letters from the Father that is different and it just makes reading emails complete. I got the voting ballot and I sent it last week so Dino's got my vote. I also got the package with the debit card, coins, and Letter in it. Thanks for that again. I really owe you for that. I got the medicine a while ago so that's OK. I don't take it all the time just when I need to. I am doing well though physically. I've gained weight back. I'm back up to 182 now. I'm still way under what I was when I left but we got some weights that we lift in the morning for exercise so hopefully I'll gain something back.
We were able to teach those people I talked about last week which was a good experience. Also this week we were walking down the street trying to find an address when a lady called out "Elders". We turned around and talked with this lady. She said that she used to meet with missionaries a while ago but hasn't in quite some time. She was moving on Saturday to a new apartment and asked for our help. When we were done moving all of her stuff for her (may I include that it was super heavy and up 4 flights of stairs) she said that she wants her boyfriend to learn more about 'her' church. I asked her which church she belonged to and she said "Yours". I questioned her asking if she was baptized and she was. She is an inactive member. We will be working with her and her two friends teaching them. It's amazing how stuff like that happens because I just had a feeling that day she talked to us to walk down that street.
When we watched General Conference we watched the whole Sunday Afternoon. This past Sunday we had Stake Conference. It was held in this Theater place which I did not enjoy. It reminded me of preachers on T.V. that walk around with a microphone and get excited and yell and do whatever they do. Obviously they didn't do that but kids were running all over the place and it was just super irreverent.
Tomorrow I will be going on a split with Elder Ellis, on of the assistants, and we will be visiting a district meeting. I hope that we can share something spiritual and powerful with them because both companionships in the district are struggling with the work and I think they both are losing their desire to do their bests. There are several things that are kind of stressing me out a little bit with the zone. I want to be able to help them out and to be successful. It's hard to train, keep your area going, and work in the zone all at the same time. The Lord is blessing me though, I can't forget that. There are so many different experiences that I've had in the past 5 weeks that have really moved me and strengthened my testimony and made me want to work harder as a missionary.
We are having fun altogether. We get a good laugh in several times a day and it's great to come in at night and share with each other the ups and the downs of the day. It keeps me motivated. The other night there was a Halloween Party that the older couple missionaries did for the YSA's in the stake. There were 5 investigators there. When they left one of the guys rolled his ankle and so Elder Young (Senior missionary) drove them home. At 10:30 p.m. Sister Young called me saying that it had been a long time since he had left and that she was worried about him. So Elder Gunnell (my zone leader Companion) and I ran to those investigators house to see if we would find the car or Elder Young anywhere. As we got there there was no car or Elder Young to be found but Sister Young calling me saying that he had gotten lost and that he was back now. We ran back home and on the way back home we ran into the investigators. We just told them that we had heard that one of them got hurt and that we were just coming to check up on them. They were thankful and then we left. We were running the whole time so by the time we got home I was sweating really bad and it took me a while to cool down and fall asleep. Just a funny story I thought I would share.
Well I love you all so much and look forward to getting pictures of the family. It's great to hear that everyone is doing good. I hope that your back will hold out. That's a big deal and I hope that you don't have to do it for a while. I am so grateful for your love and support that you give me. I know that Families are something special and I always feel a warm feeling in my heart when I think about my family. You mean so much to me and I want my family to be as strong as our family is today. I miss you all a lot but before you all know it we'll be back together. The Mission is a wonderful blessing for us all and I know that I'm growing a ton from the experiences that I've had. I hope the kids can maybe find time to write me know that sports are done with.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
October 25, 2010
Dear Mom & Dad,
This past week has been a pretty good week. It's weird to hear that Andrew is home now. Is he starting to get a little more normal? That's good that Kelsey was able to play all five games and that they did well. It's weird that you don't have someone playing Varsity football. Is Korbin playing a lot. How has his season been doing? Hope he's doing well and working hard. He could be a way good athlete. I'm interested to see how Katie's athleticism has changed. Sounds like she is doing really well. Kory sounds like himself. Is he going to play basketball this year. He needs to make sure and play football with Korbin and Dad. How is Kiersten doing? That's sweet that you had two part-member/non member families over. Keep it up. Make sure that when you do have them over not to have them leave empty handed. Make sure you've got some sort of commitment given. It doesn't have to be something big but like going to the football game together is great. You've gotta keep the contact there and not let it go.
Our week was pretty good. We had a sweet story that happened to us on Saturday. We went out Saturday night and before leaving the apartment I said a prayer asking the Lord to lead us to our new investigator. When we went to the place we had previously planned I had remembered a smaller apartment building on the backside of a bigger one. We went there only to see a couple of lights on. We decided to do it. We started knocking and on the third door a student from Africa opened the door and invited us in. He went back into his room and brought out his laptop and showed us an email that he had received from his father that same day. His father had written to him to ask if he was able to find a church he could attend and to encourage him to keep praying and to stay faithful. What an amazing experience to be led by the hand of the Lord to someone who wants to follow the commandments and needs some place to feel welcome. It was an awesome experience. I've been thinking a little bit about all the cool experiences that I've had so far on my mission that they are so sweet. It's great to be able to learn and grow spiritually from all of them.
So I haven't gotten that Debit Card yet. Hopefully you haven't sent it and it got lost in the mail. We have a special zone training meeting tomorrow that is pretty much like a Zone Conference. It's great to get together as a zone and have President and the Assistants teach and train us on how to be better missionaries. It's always a good experience.
Yesterday we watched the Sunday afternoon Session of General Conference. It was great. I really loved Elder Bednar's talk. It's always an interesting experience to sit and watch everyone in church. I think its great how there are so many different types of people and how they all make up the church. We are all the Lord's Hands. Without one member it's not the same. It's just like the example of the body in the new Testament. Some people think that they aren't really a part of the church or ward but really they play a huge role. It takes the little things in order for the big things to function right. Kind of like a sheer pin on the fly wheel. (Don't know why, but that just came to my mind right then.)
I Love this work. It's crazy how fast it's all going. I look forward to being home but I wish that I could stay another year. That would really be the best. We are really busy now and we are trying to make our days even more affective and to use the littlest time to help those we can. Yesterday I started up a conversation with these two people and then it led to the Gospel and I was able to get their information and we will be meeting here soon. It's just little stuff like that that make it all worth it. We all have those experiences, all we got to do is make the best out of them.
Love you both. I thank you that you both write me every week. It's a blessing to have someone giving me encouraging words and cheering me up with funny stories and experiences. I'm thankful that I was born into a home where my two parents worked together to raise me up to be a bearer of the gospel with a strong testimony and help teach me to have a desire to build those around me.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
This past week has been a pretty good week. It's weird to hear that Andrew is home now. Is he starting to get a little more normal? That's good that Kelsey was able to play all five games and that they did well. It's weird that you don't have someone playing Varsity football. Is Korbin playing a lot. How has his season been doing? Hope he's doing well and working hard. He could be a way good athlete. I'm interested to see how Katie's athleticism has changed. Sounds like she is doing really well. Kory sounds like himself. Is he going to play basketball this year. He needs to make sure and play football with Korbin and Dad. How is Kiersten doing? That's sweet that you had two part-member/non member families over. Keep it up. Make sure that when you do have them over not to have them leave empty handed. Make sure you've got some sort of commitment given. It doesn't have to be something big but like going to the football game together is great. You've gotta keep the contact there and not let it go.
Our week was pretty good. We had a sweet story that happened to us on Saturday. We went out Saturday night and before leaving the apartment I said a prayer asking the Lord to lead us to our new investigator. When we went to the place we had previously planned I had remembered a smaller apartment building on the backside of a bigger one. We went there only to see a couple of lights on. We decided to do it. We started knocking and on the third door a student from Africa opened the door and invited us in. He went back into his room and brought out his laptop and showed us an email that he had received from his father that same day. His father had written to him to ask if he was able to find a church he could attend and to encourage him to keep praying and to stay faithful. What an amazing experience to be led by the hand of the Lord to someone who wants to follow the commandments and needs some place to feel welcome. It was an awesome experience. I've been thinking a little bit about all the cool experiences that I've had so far on my mission that they are so sweet. It's great to be able to learn and grow spiritually from all of them.
So I haven't gotten that Debit Card yet. Hopefully you haven't sent it and it got lost in the mail. We have a special zone training meeting tomorrow that is pretty much like a Zone Conference. It's great to get together as a zone and have President and the Assistants teach and train us on how to be better missionaries. It's always a good experience.
Yesterday we watched the Sunday afternoon Session of General Conference. It was great. I really loved Elder Bednar's talk. It's always an interesting experience to sit and watch everyone in church. I think its great how there are so many different types of people and how they all make up the church. We are all the Lord's Hands. Without one member it's not the same. It's just like the example of the body in the new Testament. Some people think that they aren't really a part of the church or ward but really they play a huge role. It takes the little things in order for the big things to function right. Kind of like a sheer pin on the fly wheel. (Don't know why, but that just came to my mind right then.)
I Love this work. It's crazy how fast it's all going. I look forward to being home but I wish that I could stay another year. That would really be the best. We are really busy now and we are trying to make our days even more affective and to use the littlest time to help those we can. Yesterday I started up a conversation with these two people and then it led to the Gospel and I was able to get their information and we will be meeting here soon. It's just little stuff like that that make it all worth it. We all have those experiences, all we got to do is make the best out of them.
Love you both. I thank you that you both write me every week. It's a blessing to have someone giving me encouraging words and cheering me up with funny stories and experiences. I'm thankful that I was born into a home where my two parents worked together to raise me up to be a bearer of the gospel with a strong testimony and help teach me to have a desire to build those around me.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
October 18, 2010
Dear Mom and Dad,
First off, Happy Birthday Katie and Kory. Alrighty--I know that it is bad but Kory is 11 and Katie is 13, right? That's terrible I know but I haven't thought about it since probably I was at home. I was just thinking yesterday about Andrew and whether or not he was home yet. That's great that he looks good. I would like to see a picture of him. Dad has written me 4 weeks in a row now. That's a record for my mission I think. It's great to hear from him and to hear about the farm.
I'll let you in on a little hint that will make sure that nobody goes inactive. You have to keep it a secret because none of the Germans know about it. It's called Home Teaching. It's pretty sad how they don't take it seriously but now I understand and realize how important it really is. We are trying to meet with the inactives but some of them haven't had any contact with the church for years and so it's really easy for them to say NO and then slam the door.
Armstrong's baptism went great. There was a lot of people that showed up and a bunch of YSA's. There was a YSA meeting just before and so they all stayed for the baptism but Armstrong thought they all came because of that. He really enjoyed it. I had to play the piano for the baptism because Alberto (a member that was supposed to play) got sick and couldn't come. I enjoy playing a lot but I wish that sometimes I would at least have time to know before hand so I could practice. I had to play in church yesterday as well and they just asked me the hour before hand. I was able to give Armstrong the Holy Ghost and confirm him which was a good experience.
All is well and things are pretty busy but could always be busier. I've been super tired lately and haven't been sleeping well but it's ok. It doesn't affect me too much just ready to lay down for the night. Tell all the kids that I'm waiting for an email or letter from them.
Elder Gunnell served in Düsseldorf which was in my district when I was in Solingen. I was his District Leader for a transfer. The Goldens are doing well but still don't trust themselves very much when they speak. The other day we were doing doors and it was Elder Wilde's turn to start off. He started off and asked a question. The man answered but he didn't understand and he looked at me. Instead of saving him I just looked at him and said in English, "Sorry I don't speak German". Elder Wilde turned back to the man and tried to talk with him for a little longer. It was good for him to jump into the deep end by himself and swim to the side. I don't want him to always turn to me when he doesn't understand something so I try to make him work it out. We get some good laughs out of it as well.
This week we will be doing quite a bit of finding time trying to find new investigators so keep us in your prayers and pray that the people we talk with will be open to the message of the Restoration. There is some sweet miracles happening and I love this work so much. I know that there is so much that I've learned so far and it's through the love that we help others have happiness in there lives. Thanks for doing everything that you do and for teaching correct principles as a child so that I can help these people here in Germany. I love you all very much and love hearing from you all every week.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
First off, Happy Birthday Katie and Kory. Alrighty--I know that it is bad but Kory is 11 and Katie is 13, right? That's terrible I know but I haven't thought about it since probably I was at home. I was just thinking yesterday about Andrew and whether or not he was home yet. That's great that he looks good. I would like to see a picture of him. Dad has written me 4 weeks in a row now. That's a record for my mission I think. It's great to hear from him and to hear about the farm.
I'll let you in on a little hint that will make sure that nobody goes inactive. You have to keep it a secret because none of the Germans know about it. It's called Home Teaching. It's pretty sad how they don't take it seriously but now I understand and realize how important it really is. We are trying to meet with the inactives but some of them haven't had any contact with the church for years and so it's really easy for them to say NO and then slam the door.
Armstrong's baptism went great. There was a lot of people that showed up and a bunch of YSA's. There was a YSA meeting just before and so they all stayed for the baptism but Armstrong thought they all came because of that. He really enjoyed it. I had to play the piano for the baptism because Alberto (a member that was supposed to play) got sick and couldn't come. I enjoy playing a lot but I wish that sometimes I would at least have time to know before hand so I could practice. I had to play in church yesterday as well and they just asked me the hour before hand. I was able to give Armstrong the Holy Ghost and confirm him which was a good experience.
All is well and things are pretty busy but could always be busier. I've been super tired lately and haven't been sleeping well but it's ok. It doesn't affect me too much just ready to lay down for the night. Tell all the kids that I'm waiting for an email or letter from them.
Elder Gunnell served in Düsseldorf which was in my district when I was in Solingen. I was his District Leader for a transfer. The Goldens are doing well but still don't trust themselves very much when they speak. The other day we were doing doors and it was Elder Wilde's turn to start off. He started off and asked a question. The man answered but he didn't understand and he looked at me. Instead of saving him I just looked at him and said in English, "Sorry I don't speak German". Elder Wilde turned back to the man and tried to talk with him for a little longer. It was good for him to jump into the deep end by himself and swim to the side. I don't want him to always turn to me when he doesn't understand something so I try to make him work it out. We get some good laughs out of it as well.
This week we will be doing quite a bit of finding time trying to find new investigators so keep us in your prayers and pray that the people we talk with will be open to the message of the Restoration. There is some sweet miracles happening and I love this work so much. I know that there is so much that I've learned so far and it's through the love that we help others have happiness in there lives. Thanks for doing everything that you do and for teaching correct principles as a child so that I can help these people here in Germany. I love you all very much and love hearing from you all every week.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
October 12, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and everyone else,
This past week has been sweet. We've been working really hard and it's so much fun. My Golden's name is Elder Adam Wilde. He is from Dallas, Texas. He graduated in '08 like me but is a couple months younger. He went to school at West Point Academy. He also played football there. he is a pretty stacked kid, even though he says he's way out of shape. We are having a lot of fun with the four man Apartment. We have it set up so that in the morning we study first while Elder Gunnell and Elder Tryon shower and get ready for the day. Then we shower while they study. Elder Gunnell didn't get his Golden until Friday. Elder Tryon got sick on the flight over. During the layover in Dallas (where he lives) he had to go home for a couple days then he came. Elder Gunnell and I were gone all day yesterday in Frankfurt for a zone leader meeting so the Goldens were by themselves and had to rule the streets with 5 days of experience. They had a good time but were happy when we got home last night. It's so fun. Elder Wilde has already taken German in high school and so he can already speak pretty decently. He still has a lot to learn but it's a ton easier for me. We will still be doing splits with Elders in the zone. We have a split on Friday with a new district leader. I will be training him on his responsibilities as a district leader so it should be pretty fun.
Armstrong is going to be getting baptized on Saturday at 12:30. He is great. We are going to meet with him tonight. He is really excited to be a member and he will do well. He asked me to confirm him which will be really cool. This will be my third time confirming someone. Ayten is also doing really well. She comes to church without reminder calls and really enjoys it. She will be getting visiting teachers here in the next two weeks which will be good for her.
Yesterday at this zone leader meeting that Elder Gunnell and I went to, we talked about the mission and how to help the missionaries be more affective in the work. The mission has made a ton of progress this year compared to last and we want to keep progressing. There is a lot of miracles happening and because the mission is doing well there is a lot of adversary working against us. I don't want missionaries to fall into this temptation but to work through it and strengthen their faith. That's one thing that needs to be worked on is strengthening our faith. I have been praying for help in strengthening my faith and I know that the Lord will help me do it. It is a righteous desire and we are commanded to seek after those gifts of the spirit.
My love for this work, the missionaries, and investigators has grown a lot in the past year. I was able to share my testimony yesterday at the meeting and I was really moved by the spirit. I testified of the love that God and Jesus Christ have for us. The love that I have for others has just really grown. I cried a lot giving the testimony. I hadn't cried in over a year. The Spirit in that meeting was super strong. All of the missionaries there are super great examples and I hope that I can also be one of those examples for the others around us. An Elder shared his testimony about Faith. He read the story about the Sunday school teacher that was from Ireland and the boys in the class were super rowdy. Well at the end of the story it said something to the affect that you could warm your hands by the fire of this man's faith. He applied to how he always want to talk with every that passes by but he can't. He said that we need to have our faith so strong that when we are talking to one person, the other walking by needs to feel that warmth coming from us. It was an awesome testimony.
This work is so great. I love it all a ton. It's amazing how things work out and how the Lord leads us to do his will when we are obedient to the whisperings of the Spirit. I love you all and wish you a wonderful week.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
October 4, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and Family,
First of all thanks for the updates. It sounds like things are really changing alot. It is kind of disappointing that Kortneigh is getting married before I get home but it's ok because it's a good decision. I'm excited for her and Shayne. Tell her that I would like to hear from her at least one last time before she gets married and that she better have some good explanations to what's happened in the last 10 months. Tell Kaitlan that I want to hear from her as well.
I got your letter this past week. Thanks for the printed off receipt, I hope it will work. I have thought a little bit about your question of working or going to school. I can't really tell you at the moment but next week I hope to be able to tell you. I'm going to ask Jake whether or not he's serious about going to school. If he goes I will most likely go. I would also like to know about how much money they would pay and for how long the work would last for. That's everything about that subject. Don't worry it didn't really distract me at all because I still feel like I have a year to serve.
This last week was pretty interesting. We didn't have to go on any splits which was kind of nice but at the same time it's good to be able to work with the other missionaries from the zone. I found it also quite interesting that you asked about my new companion. Elder Brecheisen still has one more transfer so it could have been possible that we stay together. He is getting transferred though. I am getting Elder Gunnell as a new Zone leader companion and then to throw a twist in the whole thing we are both getting Goldens. That means that we are both training as well as being Zone Leaders! We will all be living in the same apartment which ought to be fun. I've never had a four man apartment so it will be interesting. I am going down to Frankfurt tomorrow and will come back on Wednesday. Before the end of the year we will be getting 60 new missionaries. By the time I'm in my last transfer half of our mission will be super old and the other half will be super young. I'm super excited about it all though. I will be interested to see how it all works out this next transfer. I have a lot to learn still and the conference talks helped me to know what I need to work on and how I can better improve myself.
There are many things that I enjoyed in conference but the best talk was from President Uchtdorf about Pride. Elder Gardner and his Golden, Elder Rampton, stayed the night at our place on Saturday because of conference and I was talking to Elder Gardner about how all sin is because of selfishness and selfishness is a form of Pride. Many times we don't need to even sin to be guilty of pride but pride is sin. Elder Uchtdorf is a wonderful teacher and has a great testimony. There was a baptism here in the ward in August that was kind of referred from President Uchtdorf. It was an exchange student that was in Utah and he was able to have a connection to President Uchtdorf and he had lunch with him. President Uchtdorf taught about the Restoration and gave testimony. Pretty cool experience this boy had.
This last week we were given a referral by an inactive sister. She said that she would set up an appointment Saturday for us. We went to the appointment not knowing what to expect. The man was home and let us in. His house was a disaster. He said that he has lost all hope and that he wants to change his life around. We sat down with him and taught the Restoration. He was moved by the spirit. He said that he could feel that we were sent from God. It was a great feeling. We offered to help him change his life around and he agreed to do what it takes in order to come closer to the Savior Jesus Christ. We have an appointment set up for Tuesday morning and will be helping clean up his life. It's a great feeling to help others feel the love that God has for them.
"No Regrets"
Love you,
Elder Merrill
First of all thanks for the updates. It sounds like things are really changing alot. It is kind of disappointing that Kortneigh is getting married before I get home but it's ok because it's a good decision. I'm excited for her and Shayne. Tell her that I would like to hear from her at least one last time before she gets married and that she better have some good explanations to what's happened in the last 10 months. Tell Kaitlan that I want to hear from her as well.
I got your letter this past week. Thanks for the printed off receipt, I hope it will work. I have thought a little bit about your question of working or going to school. I can't really tell you at the moment but next week I hope to be able to tell you. I'm going to ask Jake whether or not he's serious about going to school. If he goes I will most likely go. I would also like to know about how much money they would pay and for how long the work would last for. That's everything about that subject. Don't worry it didn't really distract me at all because I still feel like I have a year to serve.
This last week was pretty interesting. We didn't have to go on any splits which was kind of nice but at the same time it's good to be able to work with the other missionaries from the zone. I found it also quite interesting that you asked about my new companion. Elder Brecheisen still has one more transfer so it could have been possible that we stay together. He is getting transferred though. I am getting Elder Gunnell as a new Zone leader companion and then to throw a twist in the whole thing we are both getting Goldens. That means that we are both training as well as being Zone Leaders! We will all be living in the same apartment which ought to be fun. I've never had a four man apartment so it will be interesting. I am going down to Frankfurt tomorrow and will come back on Wednesday. Before the end of the year we will be getting 60 new missionaries. By the time I'm in my last transfer half of our mission will be super old and the other half will be super young. I'm super excited about it all though. I will be interested to see how it all works out this next transfer. I have a lot to learn still and the conference talks helped me to know what I need to work on and how I can better improve myself.
There are many things that I enjoyed in conference but the best talk was from President Uchtdorf about Pride. Elder Gardner and his Golden, Elder Rampton, stayed the night at our place on Saturday because of conference and I was talking to Elder Gardner about how all sin is because of selfishness and selfishness is a form of Pride. Many times we don't need to even sin to be guilty of pride but pride is sin. Elder Uchtdorf is a wonderful teacher and has a great testimony. There was a baptism here in the ward in August that was kind of referred from President Uchtdorf. It was an exchange student that was in Utah and he was able to have a connection to President Uchtdorf and he had lunch with him. President Uchtdorf taught about the Restoration and gave testimony. Pretty cool experience this boy had.
This last week we were given a referral by an inactive sister. She said that she would set up an appointment Saturday for us. We went to the appointment not knowing what to expect. The man was home and let us in. His house was a disaster. He said that he has lost all hope and that he wants to change his life around. We sat down with him and taught the Restoration. He was moved by the spirit. He said that he could feel that we were sent from God. It was a great feeling. We offered to help him change his life around and he agreed to do what it takes in order to come closer to the Savior Jesus Christ. We have an appointment set up for Tuesday morning and will be helping clean up his life. It's a great feeling to help others feel the love that God has for them.
"No Regrets"
Love you,
Elder Merrill
September 27, 2010
Baptism of Ayten
Pizza Hut with Elder's Quorum - 15 Pieces :)
Dear Mom, Dad, Family, and Friends,
First off I want to thank Dad for writing me this week. I was thinking a lot this week about how I hoped Dad would write me. It's always great to hear from you and I really appreciate it because I can only imagine how busy you are. Mom I hope that doesn't make you feel that your letters aren't appreciated. I love getting your letters. You always have good stories to tell that make me happy and excited for you all at home. Thanks as well for the little stories. I love to hear about those little things happening and it's great to hear how everyone is changing. I hope that the weather goes well and that everything is able to work out with 4th cutting. I'm praying for you and hope that you all are safe, healthy, and happy. I look forward to your letter mom. I haven't got it yet but I sure hope that it will come tomorrow. There is something about receiving things from loved ones that just makes me happy. It's wonderful to hear from everyone.
I'm super excited for General Conference this week. It should be interesting for me. It's going to be the last time on the mission that I'll be able to watch it so I'll make sure to take super good notes. I love listening to the prophet and hope that our investigators that will come can also feel of the spirit when he speaks. I was looking back at past Liahona's and noticed that the church should have reached 14 million members this month, if the pattern continued. It's great to see how the church is moving along being taught in every land and in every tongue. I am so thankful that I've been able to serve here in Germany and help them hear about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. It's an amazing opportunity to be serving at this time. There are many many things that I have learned and things I have also developed that I don't think I would have been able to If I had not been able to serve a mission.
This past week we were able to go on one split with some Elders but I don't know how effective it was. The Elder that I went with was pretty closed off and didn't want to change very much. It's kind of frustrating when you want to help others but they don't want to be helped at all. This week we don't have any splits planned so it should be a lot easier to just work in our own area. One of my companions was sent home this last week because of stuff before the mission that wasn't cleared up. I felt really bad for him and I hope that he is able to make the steps necessary to make things right. I found it interesting that this wasn't told until the transfer before he went home. I am super glad that we are all able to repent and to remove those sins that will keep us from our father's presence. Another thing I've also noticed is that Obedience isn't Obedience unless it's 100%. In my interview with President Ninow this past week we talked about this a bit. I asked him how I can better help the missionaries around me want to be obedient and have this desire. We talked about the desire should first come from a love of God. Then from a fear of God, fear meaning a respect or knowing that God is a fair and just God and then we talked about how each one of us must report to God our missions and that we are accountable for everything that we do. I am grateful that I have made correct decisions on my mission being obedient and following the council of my leaders. It's because I've done this that I've been able to have success but not only success but a love and joy as I am in the work.
I know that this is the one and only Gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth today. I know that it's through His Atonement that we can better ourselves and repent of the mistakes that we make. I know that through the grace and mercy of our Lord that we can be forgiven. I know that through the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, the Lord speaks to his saints. I know that through our Faith great miracles can come to pass.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
September 20, 2010
Dear Mom,
So I got your package today. Thanks for the rice crispies, the letters, and the camera cord. It was really nice to get some letters. I haven't gotten one in a super long time so it kind of lifted my spirits a bit. I'm pretty sure almost every letter said, "we miss you here at the cabin". You can let them all know that I missed the cabin but I totally forgot that you even had a family reunion. It was good to hear from some of those that I don't hear from. The rice crispies taste good. The camera cord doesn't have a special adapter for my camera so I think I'm gonna go to the store today and see if I can't find something. I hope I can find something because my camera is dead and I can't charge it. We did go to Pizza Hut in the Evening which we were able to have some new members and less actives come.
So this week it was a pretty decent week. Ayten was baptized and then I confirmed her on Sunday. She looked really happy and she feels really good, she says. It was great to be able to see her get baptized. She has two little girls that the ward really helps out a lot with during church which is a huge relief.
Armstrong is doing really great. He always has a smile on his face when we see him. He laughs a lot. We are planning for the 16 of October for him to be baptized. It might be later because he might insist on doing it on his birthday. He doesn't have any family here in Germany. He is studying at the university. It's super fun to be able to meet with him. Last time we saw him we talked about the Sabbath day and it was so stinking easy because he believes it all and lives it already. It's super awesome.
So I'm just gonna post parts of the email I sent to President because it sums up the splits I went on pretty well:
This past week we were able to go on two splits, one with the Gelsenkirchen and Essen Elders. I was able to work with both Elder Chapman as well as Elder Bergquist. Elder Chapman is a good missionary that wants to do his best and have success. We had a good talk about his district and companionship needs. I encouraged him to work closely with his district, following up with them and developing a close relationship with them. We had a good enjoyable split and I felt that it was uplifting for him as well as for me. Being able to work with Elder Bergquist was also a privilege. My goal was to help him understand that he is loved and cared for and that even though the language is tough that he can have success and find joy in serving the Lord. It was a great experience. For companionship study in the morning we went through the first lesson and I showed him how to make an outline of the first lesson. I let him know that he was doing a great job. He kept that outline with him the whole day and referred often to it trying to memorize some of the phrases that he made. It was a really good experience for him and he is doing great.
It's a super great privilege to be able to be a Zone Leader. I love helping other missionaries out. It's been a huge blessing for me in my life. I've come to forget about myself personally and to focus on the needs of the zone. Last night we talked a little bit about the zone and how we could better help them. I feel that they are all kind of a little down a bit so I want to put together a lesson that I can share with all the missionaries that will lift their spirits and something that they will remember for the rest of their live. I will always remember the lesson that Steven gave us in Priest quorum when he wrote on his shirt and the wore a jacket to church to cover it. I want to be able to share something like that with the missionaries here that will lift them up. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.
This week has been a super quick week but also seems like it was super long as well. This week we have another two splits that we are going on and we also have interviews with president. It will be an interesting week and I hope that it all works out well and that The zone does well. This is such a great work and I love it so much. It's great to be able to serve here and to do the will of the Lord. I love you all and wish you all the best this week in school, work, sports, and being a Mom.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
p.s. if there is anything you would like me to do different in my emails to you or what to talk about just let me know. and it doesn't make me think about home or get homesick when you talk about going water skiing and that kind of stuff. Please just tell me everything.
So I got your package today. Thanks for the rice crispies, the letters, and the camera cord. It was really nice to get some letters. I haven't gotten one in a super long time so it kind of lifted my spirits a bit. I'm pretty sure almost every letter said, "we miss you here at the cabin". You can let them all know that I missed the cabin but I totally forgot that you even had a family reunion. It was good to hear from some of those that I don't hear from. The rice crispies taste good. The camera cord doesn't have a special adapter for my camera so I think I'm gonna go to the store today and see if I can't find something. I hope I can find something because my camera is dead and I can't charge it. We did go to Pizza Hut in the Evening which we were able to have some new members and less actives come.
So this week it was a pretty decent week. Ayten was baptized and then I confirmed her on Sunday. She looked really happy and she feels really good, she says. It was great to be able to see her get baptized. She has two little girls that the ward really helps out a lot with during church which is a huge relief.
Armstrong is doing really great. He always has a smile on his face when we see him. He laughs a lot. We are planning for the 16 of October for him to be baptized. It might be later because he might insist on doing it on his birthday. He doesn't have any family here in Germany. He is studying at the university. It's super fun to be able to meet with him. Last time we saw him we talked about the Sabbath day and it was so stinking easy because he believes it all and lives it already. It's super awesome.
So I'm just gonna post parts of the email I sent to President because it sums up the splits I went on pretty well:
This past week we were able to go on two splits, one with the Gelsenkirchen and Essen Elders. I was able to work with both Elder Chapman as well as Elder Bergquist. Elder Chapman is a good missionary that wants to do his best and have success. We had a good talk about his district and companionship needs. I encouraged him to work closely with his district, following up with them and developing a close relationship with them. We had a good enjoyable split and I felt that it was uplifting for him as well as for me. Being able to work with Elder Bergquist was also a privilege. My goal was to help him understand that he is loved and cared for and that even though the language is tough that he can have success and find joy in serving the Lord. It was a great experience. For companionship study in the morning we went through the first lesson and I showed him how to make an outline of the first lesson. I let him know that he was doing a great job. He kept that outline with him the whole day and referred often to it trying to memorize some of the phrases that he made. It was a really good experience for him and he is doing great.
It's a super great privilege to be able to be a Zone Leader. I love helping other missionaries out. It's been a huge blessing for me in my life. I've come to forget about myself personally and to focus on the needs of the zone. Last night we talked a little bit about the zone and how we could better help them. I feel that they are all kind of a little down a bit so I want to put together a lesson that I can share with all the missionaries that will lift their spirits and something that they will remember for the rest of their live. I will always remember the lesson that Steven gave us in Priest quorum when he wrote on his shirt and the wore a jacket to church to cover it. I want to be able to share something like that with the missionaries here that will lift them up. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.
This week has been a super quick week but also seems like it was super long as well. This week we have another two splits that we are going on and we also have interviews with president. It will be an interesting week and I hope that it all works out well and that The zone does well. This is such a great work and I love it so much. It's great to be able to serve here and to do the will of the Lord. I love you all and wish you all the best this week in school, work, sports, and being a Mom.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
p.s. if there is anything you would like me to do different in my emails to you or what to talk about just let me know. and it doesn't make me think about home or get homesick when you talk about going water skiing and that kind of stuff. Please just tell me everything.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
September 13, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, Kids, and Everyone Else,
So this past week was a good solid week. We were able to go on a split with Elder McArthur and Elder Elison. I went with Elder Elison. We had a good enjoyable time together. It was pretty different being together because I haven't been with anyone from home in a super long time. We were able to have a good time together. I'm super thankful that I'm able to go on so many different splits because I am able to learn from so many other missionaries. I know that I have to be an example and to help the other missionaries be successful but I think it helps me out more than it does them. There are 22 missionaries in our Zone, 11 wards/branches, and every one has one companionship in it.
The weather here has also cooled down a bunch and it's been super rainy for a couple of days. It's not bad though because we usually are underground in the subways going to appointments. So we will also be having a baptism this Saturday. I don't think I told you that. Her name is Ayten. Her parents are from Turkey but she has lived her whole life here in Germany. She is in her late 20's and has two daughters. One is 6 with down syndrome and the other is 2. They are a big handful for her since she is a single mother. It's interesting to teach her because she isn't the greatest at remembering things. She makes an effort to do her best which is all the Lord expects of us. When we love the Lord and do our best we keep his commandments and repent. She has been blessed with a testimony of prayer because her children have calmed down considerably and she feels more peace in her life.
We are also teaching a guy from Cameroon. He is 29 and is amazing. His name is Armstrong. He is studying here in Germany and wants to get baptized in October. He's just an awesome kid. I love teaching those that are prepared for the gospel like he is.
We are going to Pizza Hut with the men in the ward on Wednesday. We are trying to get a bunch of inactive members to come and take part in all you can eat. Great stuff. The Ward here in Dortmund is kind of like Basin City, everyone is related. I haven't totally figured it all out yet but I think I will be able to get a hang of it. It's not super big--about 80-90 members on average in Sacrament meeting. They don't really have any teenage youth which will kind of hurt them a bit. They all just need to have more kids. The average German only has like 2, tops 3 kids. There are several YSA which is fun to talk with them a bit. It also helps out with the missionary work because they accept the YSA investigators pretty well.
So this week we have another two splits which I'm looking forward to and so hopefully they will both go well and it will help encourage the missionaries. One of the Splits I'm going on is with Elder Chapman. He just became a District Leader so I will be teaching him a bit about how to be a District Leader and how he can help his District out and be successful in the work. The other one is with Elder Bergquist. Other than that this week should be just another normal week of work. Please pray for me, for us all that we can be effective tools in the Lord's hands. I want to be the best I can be. I need your prayers and your words of encouragement. I pray for you all and hope that you are all doing well. Tell the Kids I would love to hear from them. Hopefully they put letters in the package. Thank you so much and tell all the grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, and friends that I love them.
"No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
p.s. Kelsey looks like she's grown up a bunch. She looks pretty. tell Kelsey and Kiersten that I want a letter from them!
So this past week was a good solid week. We were able to go on a split with Elder McArthur and Elder Elison. I went with Elder Elison. We had a good enjoyable time together. It was pretty different being together because I haven't been with anyone from home in a super long time. We were able to have a good time together. I'm super thankful that I'm able to go on so many different splits because I am able to learn from so many other missionaries. I know that I have to be an example and to help the other missionaries be successful but I think it helps me out more than it does them. There are 22 missionaries in our Zone, 11 wards/branches, and every one has one companionship in it.
The weather here has also cooled down a bunch and it's been super rainy for a couple of days. It's not bad though because we usually are underground in the subways going to appointments. So we will also be having a baptism this Saturday. I don't think I told you that. Her name is Ayten. Her parents are from Turkey but she has lived her whole life here in Germany. She is in her late 20's and has two daughters. One is 6 with down syndrome and the other is 2. They are a big handful for her since she is a single mother. It's interesting to teach her because she isn't the greatest at remembering things. She makes an effort to do her best which is all the Lord expects of us. When we love the Lord and do our best we keep his commandments and repent. She has been blessed with a testimony of prayer because her children have calmed down considerably and she feels more peace in her life.
We are also teaching a guy from Cameroon. He is 29 and is amazing. His name is Armstrong. He is studying here in Germany and wants to get baptized in October. He's just an awesome kid. I love teaching those that are prepared for the gospel like he is.
We are going to Pizza Hut with the men in the ward on Wednesday. We are trying to get a bunch of inactive members to come and take part in all you can eat. Great stuff. The Ward here in Dortmund is kind of like Basin City, everyone is related. I haven't totally figured it all out yet but I think I will be able to get a hang of it. It's not super big--about 80-90 members on average in Sacrament meeting. They don't really have any teenage youth which will kind of hurt them a bit. They all just need to have more kids. The average German only has like 2, tops 3 kids. There are several YSA which is fun to talk with them a bit. It also helps out with the missionary work because they accept the YSA investigators pretty well.
So this week we have another two splits which I'm looking forward to and so hopefully they will both go well and it will help encourage the missionaries. One of the Splits I'm going on is with Elder Chapman. He just became a District Leader so I will be teaching him a bit about how to be a District Leader and how he can help his District out and be successful in the work. The other one is with Elder Bergquist. Other than that this week should be just another normal week of work. Please pray for me, for us all that we can be effective tools in the Lord's hands. I want to be the best I can be. I need your prayers and your words of encouragement. I pray for you all and hope that you are all doing well. Tell the Kids I would love to hear from them. Hopefully they put letters in the package. Thank you so much and tell all the grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, and friends that I love them.
"No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
p.s. Kelsey looks like she's grown up a bunch. She looks pretty. tell Kelsey and Kiersten that I want a letter from them!
September 6, 2010
Dear family,
So first off you should give President Barber a call and tell him that C.Z. got baptized a couple weeks ago. The family doesn't know that she is baptized and so make sure that he doesn't spill the beans. It's a super complicated situation. She got permission from her husband but he didn't want to know when, where, or how. They have a super nice family and they seem to enjoy us visiting them but it is just a weird situation. So at the moment we have four baptismal dates. I hope they all go through. Two of them are gonna be interviewed by President so hopefully they have repented and are able to be baptized. One of them is named Armstrong. He is a super cool kid. 29 from Cameroon and is awesome. It's super fun meeting with him just because he is really progressing alot and just loves coming to church activities. The other one I haven't met yet. He is going to be getting married to a member and he wants to get baptized before that. It's pretty sweet.
Laura is going to be speaking Vietnamese and she goes into the MTC January 5th. I'm trying to gain a little weight back. I've made a goal to do at least 100 Perfect Push ups a day for the last 6 months. So far I haven't missed a day.
So this last week there was a big demonstration against Nazi's. There were police all over the place. 160 people ended up being arrested and 7 policemen injured. It was pretty cool just seeing all the police and their riot gear. It was also my third time going to the temple this last week. I love going to the temple and learning. The spirit is amazingly strong and it's a great pleasure to be able to go to the the House of the Lord.
I really hope that I can help some missonaries out and help them understand that we only get one chance to serve the Lord with all we've got. I am super excited to go on splits and I've been praying for a while that I can help some missionaries. It's a super big responsibility but I'm super thankful for it because it's bringing me closer to the Lord and helping me humble myself. There are many things that need to be changed and I really hope that I can help them all become better missionaries. It's all about serving through Love. Without love they just feel that I'm getting after them, with Love they understand that it's through our commitment to our covenants to serve the Lord our God. I know that the Lord watches over us. I know that he loves us beyond what we can comprehend. My goal in life is to return that Love and serve him day in and day out. I have a testimony of this gospel and I know that through making and keeping covenants that is the only way we can return to live with our Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ.
I love you all so much. I thank you for supporting me. I love this gospel and the opportunity to serve here in Germany. There is nothing better than losing ourselves in the work. It looks like it's going to be a rough ride but I know that through prayer and love that it will all work out. I love this time of my life. There isn't another experience that I've ever had that has helped me grow more, both spiritually and physically. I know it's the work of the lord and that we must all strive to do our best to serve him with all our mights.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
So first off you should give President Barber a call and tell him that C.Z. got baptized a couple weeks ago. The family doesn't know that she is baptized and so make sure that he doesn't spill the beans. It's a super complicated situation. She got permission from her husband but he didn't want to know when, where, or how. They have a super nice family and they seem to enjoy us visiting them but it is just a weird situation. So at the moment we have four baptismal dates. I hope they all go through. Two of them are gonna be interviewed by President so hopefully they have repented and are able to be baptized. One of them is named Armstrong. He is a super cool kid. 29 from Cameroon and is awesome. It's super fun meeting with him just because he is really progressing alot and just loves coming to church activities. The other one I haven't met yet. He is going to be getting married to a member and he wants to get baptized before that. It's pretty sweet.
Laura is going to be speaking Vietnamese and she goes into the MTC January 5th. I'm trying to gain a little weight back. I've made a goal to do at least 100 Perfect Push ups a day for the last 6 months. So far I haven't missed a day.
So this last week there was a big demonstration against Nazi's. There were police all over the place. 160 people ended up being arrested and 7 policemen injured. It was pretty cool just seeing all the police and their riot gear. It was also my third time going to the temple this last week. I love going to the temple and learning. The spirit is amazingly strong and it's a great pleasure to be able to go to the the House of the Lord.
I really hope that I can help some missonaries out and help them understand that we only get one chance to serve the Lord with all we've got. I am super excited to go on splits and I've been praying for a while that I can help some missionaries. It's a super big responsibility but I'm super thankful for it because it's bringing me closer to the Lord and helping me humble myself. There are many things that need to be changed and I really hope that I can help them all become better missionaries. It's all about serving through Love. Without love they just feel that I'm getting after them, with Love they understand that it's through our commitment to our covenants to serve the Lord our God. I know that the Lord watches over us. I know that he loves us beyond what we can comprehend. My goal in life is to return that Love and serve him day in and day out. I have a testimony of this gospel and I know that through making and keeping covenants that is the only way we can return to live with our Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ.
I love you all so much. I thank you for supporting me. I love this gospel and the opportunity to serve here in Germany. There is nothing better than losing ourselves in the work. It looks like it's going to be a rough ride but I know that through prayer and love that it will all work out. I love this time of my life. There isn't another experience that I've ever had that has helped me grow more, both spiritually and physically. I know it's the work of the lord and that we must all strive to do our best to serve him with all our mights.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
September 2, 2010
Hey mom,
So the new area is good but different. I feel like there is a huge responsibility on my shoulders. I have a lot to do. The past three days we were in Frankfurt and we had some training going on. It was great to have all the leadership of the mission there. My companion is also a zone leader. He goes home next cycle. Our responsibilities are to make sure that all the districts in the zone are doing well and making sure that they are having success and growing spiritually. We work alot with the district leaders and try to help them introduce certain trainings so that they can be successful. I really want to help a couple missionaries out and help them find joy in the work and develop a desire to serve the Lord. I feel that there are several missionaries that just are doing the work because it is what is expected of them, whether that be from the mission leaders, families, girlfriends, whatever it may be. I want to help them find that joy in the the service of the Lord. I have found that when I really invest myself in the work that I develop a greater love for the gospel, family, and those things that really do mean a lot to me. I know that through study, prayer, and with the Lord's help that I can help those missionaries become who they ought to be.
We were able to attend the temple on Tuesday which was great. The spirit was super strong and it was great to be able to go there again. It was a great opportunity and I felt lifted by the spirit. I love going there and wish I could go more often. It's great being able to serve a mission. I love it a lot but there are definitely things that are tough. The Lord will humble us if we ask him to. I feel that I have so much more to learn before I go home. I want to stay focused and give the Lord all I got. I really want the others to succeed in the work and have the blessings fill their lives. If you please would remember me, my companion, as well as the other missionaries in your prayers. It's amazing at the love God has for each of us. I can give testimony that the Lord reveals secret truths to us if we seek after the righteous things in life. I was sitting in the Temple after the session was over and I felt this amazing overwhelming feeling come over me. Some certain thoughts came into my mind telling me what to do and what I needed to focus on.
I'm giving it my all. I know that the Lord will continue to bless me if I have righteous desires and serve him in this his Holy Work. I love my Lord and my God. I know that there is nothing more greater than to be able to serve Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I've started to see over the past couple of weeks a little of how I have changed from my old self to who I am now. That has been one of my greatest desires is to change into a better man. I want to become one who is looked to as a hero in the gospel, not for the pride of being the best but for the joy of helping others develop more along the road to be more like the Savior. I want to be one, who speaks, speaks with the power of the spirit. My desires and wishes have not changed too much but the priority of them has changed as well as the focus that I want to put on them. I love this gospel so much and I know that it is a great and marvelous work. I am incredibly thankful for the blessing to serve. It's amazing how much joy and happiness I receive just for talking with people about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just writing this email fills me with joy and happiness. I love you all so much and I wish you all the best. It will be good to hear from you all again next week. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. I pray for you all everyday and thank the Lord for blessing you as you all live the Gospel in serving him.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So the new area is good but different. I feel like there is a huge responsibility on my shoulders. I have a lot to do. The past three days we were in Frankfurt and we had some training going on. It was great to have all the leadership of the mission there. My companion is also a zone leader. He goes home next cycle. Our responsibilities are to make sure that all the districts in the zone are doing well and making sure that they are having success and growing spiritually. We work alot with the district leaders and try to help them introduce certain trainings so that they can be successful. I really want to help a couple missionaries out and help them find joy in the work and develop a desire to serve the Lord. I feel that there are several missionaries that just are doing the work because it is what is expected of them, whether that be from the mission leaders, families, girlfriends, whatever it may be. I want to help them find that joy in the the service of the Lord. I have found that when I really invest myself in the work that I develop a greater love for the gospel, family, and those things that really do mean a lot to me. I know that through study, prayer, and with the Lord's help that I can help those missionaries become who they ought to be.
We were able to attend the temple on Tuesday which was great. The spirit was super strong and it was great to be able to go there again. It was a great opportunity and I felt lifted by the spirit. I love going there and wish I could go more often. It's great being able to serve a mission. I love it a lot but there are definitely things that are tough. The Lord will humble us if we ask him to. I feel that I have so much more to learn before I go home. I want to stay focused and give the Lord all I got. I really want the others to succeed in the work and have the blessings fill their lives. If you please would remember me, my companion, as well as the other missionaries in your prayers. It's amazing at the love God has for each of us. I can give testimony that the Lord reveals secret truths to us if we seek after the righteous things in life. I was sitting in the Temple after the session was over and I felt this amazing overwhelming feeling come over me. Some certain thoughts came into my mind telling me what to do and what I needed to focus on.
I'm giving it my all. I know that the Lord will continue to bless me if I have righteous desires and serve him in this his Holy Work. I love my Lord and my God. I know that there is nothing more greater than to be able to serve Him with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I've started to see over the past couple of weeks a little of how I have changed from my old self to who I am now. That has been one of my greatest desires is to change into a better man. I want to become one who is looked to as a hero in the gospel, not for the pride of being the best but for the joy of helping others develop more along the road to be more like the Savior. I want to be one, who speaks, speaks with the power of the spirit. My desires and wishes have not changed too much but the priority of them has changed as well as the focus that I want to put on them. I love this gospel so much and I know that it is a great and marvelous work. I am incredibly thankful for the blessing to serve. It's amazing how much joy and happiness I receive just for talking with people about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just writing this email fills me with joy and happiness. I love you all so much and I wish you all the best. It will be good to hear from you all again next week. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. I pray for you all everyday and thank the Lord for blessing you as you all live the Gospel in serving him.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
August 28, 2010
Hey, so we have a mission leadership meeting for all the zone leaders, district leaders, and Trainers from Monday to Thursday. I don't really know when I'm gonna be able to email you but don't worry. I think we get to go to the temple.
"No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
"No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
Monday, August 23, 2010
August 23, 2010
Dear Mom,
Thanks for your letter. I'm sure it was a super great opportunity to go to education week. I always loved going to class because I was always able to learn so much from those that had more experience than me. That's how I also kind of feel on the mission. We received a call last night from President and he asked Elder Gardner to train. He asked me to go and serve in Dortmund as well as to be Zone Leader. I'm super nervous. My new companion is Elder Breckheisen. He is going home next transfer so my guess is we'll stay together for two and then I'll get another companion for two. I am nervous but also excited. Elder Breckheisen is a super good missionary and I know that I can learn so much from him. I would ask you all to please keep me in your prayers that I may fulfill this assignment to my best ability. I know that the Lord can work miracles.
This week was a pretty good week. We were able to teach more lessons and to also find more new investigators. It's great to keep the finding going and making sure that they progress. On Saturday we had a lesson with Ben and Felista, they're from Africa. We have had several lessons that have been super good and that we've really felt that they've been progressing and accepting the message. We invited them to come to church and they said no. I asked them if it was a bad time or if they weren't comfortable, they said that we (missionaries all together) always invite people to come to our church but we never go to other church's. I asked them what time they had church. They said there was one service at 11 and one at 6. I told them that I would make them a deal. I said we'll go to church with them if they come to church with us. They agreed and so we were super excited. I was excited as well because I have never been to another church's service before but now with me getting transferred, I won't be able to do it.
The Branch is going to be sad that I'm leaving, especially the Branch President. The branch hasn't had motivated missionaries in years and so they loved me and Elder Gardner. I haven't told him yet but he is coming with us tomorrow to teach an inactive. I'll miss this branch as well. Yesterday we had an appointment and it was pouring rain like crazy. Our only way of transportation is with bikes so I was riding one handed holding an umbrella like a shield in front of me. We got super wet but it was a good appointment. The Lord blessed us with having an inactive member there and so we were able to get his phone number and also set up an appointment to help him move. I've come to find out that there are really no such things as coincidences on a mission. Everything happens for a reason.
I hope the farm is doing well and that you are able to get fourth cutting up. I am praying for you all and I love you so much. There are so many blessings that I have seen in my life and I hope that you are also able to see the blessings take place in yours. I love this work so much and I know that the Lord loves us, each individually. Tell everyone I say hi and tell Kiersten that she'll be getting a letter soon at BYU. Love you all. "No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
Thanks for your letter. I'm sure it was a super great opportunity to go to education week. I always loved going to class because I was always able to learn so much from those that had more experience than me. That's how I also kind of feel on the mission. We received a call last night from President and he asked Elder Gardner to train. He asked me to go and serve in Dortmund as well as to be Zone Leader. I'm super nervous. My new companion is Elder Breckheisen. He is going home next transfer so my guess is we'll stay together for two and then I'll get another companion for two. I am nervous but also excited. Elder Breckheisen is a super good missionary and I know that I can learn so much from him. I would ask you all to please keep me in your prayers that I may fulfill this assignment to my best ability. I know that the Lord can work miracles.
This week was a pretty good week. We were able to teach more lessons and to also find more new investigators. It's great to keep the finding going and making sure that they progress. On Saturday we had a lesson with Ben and Felista, they're from Africa. We have had several lessons that have been super good and that we've really felt that they've been progressing and accepting the message. We invited them to come to church and they said no. I asked them if it was a bad time or if they weren't comfortable, they said that we (missionaries all together) always invite people to come to our church but we never go to other church's. I asked them what time they had church. They said there was one service at 11 and one at 6. I told them that I would make them a deal. I said we'll go to church with them if they come to church with us. They agreed and so we were super excited. I was excited as well because I have never been to another church's service before but now with me getting transferred, I won't be able to do it.
The Branch is going to be sad that I'm leaving, especially the Branch President. The branch hasn't had motivated missionaries in years and so they loved me and Elder Gardner. I haven't told him yet but he is coming with us tomorrow to teach an inactive. I'll miss this branch as well. Yesterday we had an appointment and it was pouring rain like crazy. Our only way of transportation is with bikes so I was riding one handed holding an umbrella like a shield in front of me. We got super wet but it was a good appointment. The Lord blessed us with having an inactive member there and so we were able to get his phone number and also set up an appointment to help him move. I've come to find out that there are really no such things as coincidences on a mission. Everything happens for a reason.
I hope the farm is doing well and that you are able to get fourth cutting up. I am praying for you all and I love you so much. There are so many blessings that I have seen in my life and I hope that you are also able to see the blessings take place in yours. I love this work so much and I know that the Lord loves us, each individually. Tell everyone I say hi and tell Kiersten that she'll be getting a letter soon at BYU. Love you all. "No Regrets"
Love Elder Merrill
August 16, 2010
Hey Everyone,
So I don't have too much to say this week. We are kind of in a hurry because we have to help a lady move into her apartment and then we have to go to another city to have a p-day with the district. Sounds like the house is changing again. You are going to have two kids out of the house. That's so weird.
We had a pretty good week this past week. We found 3 new investigators which makes our average for the past four weeks 2 per week. It's probably the most constant affective finding I have had my entire mission. We were also able to increase in our lessons as well as had our first investigator to church this cycle. It's wonderful to see how many miracles are happening right now and I love the fact that we are all here for the same purpose, to serve our Lord and our God. I love the gospel so much and I know that the Lord blesses us for our obedience and desire to help his children return to his presence.
We are really working hard to teach more and share the gospel with more people. We hope that this week will be even better. It's crazy that it's already the middle of August. Time is going by too fast. So I got an email from Laura and she's going on a mission. I haven't read the whole email but it looks like she is going to Cambodia. That's so awesome but a little weird that girls my age are either getting married or going on missions. It seems like they just barely finished high school. They still should be just going to school.
Well that's pretty much all I have because my brain is going crazy. Hope you all have a good week and tell Kiersten good luck.
Love you all,
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So I don't have too much to say this week. We are kind of in a hurry because we have to help a lady move into her apartment and then we have to go to another city to have a p-day with the district. Sounds like the house is changing again. You are going to have two kids out of the house. That's so weird.
We had a pretty good week this past week. We found 3 new investigators which makes our average for the past four weeks 2 per week. It's probably the most constant affective finding I have had my entire mission. We were also able to increase in our lessons as well as had our first investigator to church this cycle. It's wonderful to see how many miracles are happening right now and I love the fact that we are all here for the same purpose, to serve our Lord and our God. I love the gospel so much and I know that the Lord blesses us for our obedience and desire to help his children return to his presence.
We are really working hard to teach more and share the gospel with more people. We hope that this week will be even better. It's crazy that it's already the middle of August. Time is going by too fast. So I got an email from Laura and she's going on a mission. I haven't read the whole email but it looks like she is going to Cambodia. That's so awesome but a little weird that girls my age are either getting married or going on missions. It seems like they just barely finished high school. They still should be just going to school.
Well that's pretty much all I have because my brain is going crazy. Hope you all have a good week and tell Kiersten good luck.
Love you all,
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
Saturday, August 14, 2010
August 9, 2010
Dear Family,
So this week I got a wedding announcement from Rachel (Hawk) Matheson. Pretty crazy. They're getting married in only a couple days. I didn't even know that she was engaged. I'm glad they sent me an announcement though. Super nice of them. Pretty awesome that Andrew gets to stay a little longer. Keeps our gap a little smaller.
So our talks went well this week. Everyone was back from vacation so there was more people there. Elder Gardner talked about The Book of Mormon and how it's a way that the Lord shows his love for us. He did a really good job. He talked about how much work it took, from the beginning to the end, to produce The Book of Mormon. I spoke about the Family. Probably my favorite subject to discuss. I talked about how families are able to stay strong in the church and how we can keep one another strong. It was a great topic because Elder Gardner and I were just discussing the week before what is necessary for someone not to go inactive. We came up with the conclusion that is man were to pray morning and night and study the scriptures daily, that he would not go inactive. I was given a talk from President Faust which said for the family it is Family prayer, Family Scripture study, and FHE. I spent a good amount of time preparing it so that I would talk clearly and say the things that the spirit would give me. I ended up taking 20 minutes and I didn't get the chance to finish everything because of time. I was nervous about giving the talk and I prayed a lot hoping that the spirit would guide me on what to say because there are several families in the branch that are dysfunctional and I didn't want to offend them and scare them to inactivity. I shared a couple stories of some of our FHE's and what you and Dad did to help us build our own personal testimonies. I really love you all so much. It was fun to think back on the things we did as a family to build one another spiritual as well as to build our relationships.
We weren't able to meet with that Fiji couple this week, we think they went on vocation. We were able to meet some other Fiji people though. We have an appointment tomorrow with one of them. I was hoping grandma and grandpa would give me some names of people they know there to maybe make a connection. One of the ladies opened up the door and then said, "See I told you there not. They're LDS." She was talking to her friend and it was pretty awesome. We weren't able to teach them right then but hopefully we can meet with them this week as well.
I'm really working on my knowledge of the scriptures lately, memorizing, knowing stories, and knowing where things are. That's one thing that I can say that I have improved immensely on is my knowledge of the Scriptures. I have so much more to go though. I want to have an awesome knowledge and know where things are so it's easy to teach, discuss, and study. At the time we don't really have any super solid investigators. We are probably going to say bye bye to one of ours because he's been meeting with missionaries for 3 years and just doesn't keep commitments other than reading. I feel that if we were to stop teaching him for a little while that he will find that something is missing and then when missionaries do start teaching him again he'll understand that it was the spirit that the missionaries brought is what he was missing. Then hopefully he will act on his faith and really progress. If you would like to, you could pray for Amelia. She is one of the Fiji women. She has 3 young children and I think that she is just super awesome. Pray that she will understand that we are disciples of Christ and that she will recognize the spirit as she hears about the message of the restoration. If you could also keep Elder Gardner and myself in your prayers. We really want to increase the amount of lessons we are teaching per week and we need the help of the Lord in order to do that.
I'm doing super good myself. I am happy and love serving in this country. There are so many people that need our help finding the right path in life and I hope that I can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in achieving our goal to help other come unto Christ. I think everyday about what I need to do better. Sometimes I just don't know where to start. I don't want to go home at the end of my mission and not have changed at all. I want to be one of those that has changed and that others can see that I am more like Christ. It's a special opportunity to serve him in his work and I love it. There is so much joy and happiness that I receive from serving other people. I wish I would have served more before my mission. I would encourage you as a family to serve someone else at least once a month. I know that you and Dad do it pretty much everyday with your callings and being parents but it would be great if you were able to serve as a family. Take lots of pictures as a family. I wish that was something more I had, is pictures.
Well I love you all and hope that you have a great week. I'm glad no one got bit by rattle snakes. Stay safe and I keep you all in my prayers. I love you all so much and am so proud of my family. Anyone that asks me about me family I am super excited to show them pictures or tell them about you. I thank you for all your love and support.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
So this week I got a wedding announcement from Rachel (Hawk) Matheson. Pretty crazy. They're getting married in only a couple days. I didn't even know that she was engaged. I'm glad they sent me an announcement though. Super nice of them. Pretty awesome that Andrew gets to stay a little longer. Keeps our gap a little smaller.
So our talks went well this week. Everyone was back from vacation so there was more people there. Elder Gardner talked about The Book of Mormon and how it's a way that the Lord shows his love for us. He did a really good job. He talked about how much work it took, from the beginning to the end, to produce The Book of Mormon. I spoke about the Family. Probably my favorite subject to discuss. I talked about how families are able to stay strong in the church and how we can keep one another strong. It was a great topic because Elder Gardner and I were just discussing the week before what is necessary for someone not to go inactive. We came up with the conclusion that is man were to pray morning and night and study the scriptures daily, that he would not go inactive. I was given a talk from President Faust which said for the family it is Family prayer, Family Scripture study, and FHE. I spent a good amount of time preparing it so that I would talk clearly and say the things that the spirit would give me. I ended up taking 20 minutes and I didn't get the chance to finish everything because of time. I was nervous about giving the talk and I prayed a lot hoping that the spirit would guide me on what to say because there are several families in the branch that are dysfunctional and I didn't want to offend them and scare them to inactivity. I shared a couple stories of some of our FHE's and what you and Dad did to help us build our own personal testimonies. I really love you all so much. It was fun to think back on the things we did as a family to build one another spiritual as well as to build our relationships.
We weren't able to meet with that Fiji couple this week, we think they went on vocation. We were able to meet some other Fiji people though. We have an appointment tomorrow with one of them. I was hoping grandma and grandpa would give me some names of people they know there to maybe make a connection. One of the ladies opened up the door and then said, "See I told you there not. They're LDS." She was talking to her friend and it was pretty awesome. We weren't able to teach them right then but hopefully we can meet with them this week as well.
I'm really working on my knowledge of the scriptures lately, memorizing, knowing stories, and knowing where things are. That's one thing that I can say that I have improved immensely on is my knowledge of the Scriptures. I have so much more to go though. I want to have an awesome knowledge and know where things are so it's easy to teach, discuss, and study. At the time we don't really have any super solid investigators. We are probably going to say bye bye to one of ours because he's been meeting with missionaries for 3 years and just doesn't keep commitments other than reading. I feel that if we were to stop teaching him for a little while that he will find that something is missing and then when missionaries do start teaching him again he'll understand that it was the spirit that the missionaries brought is what he was missing. Then hopefully he will act on his faith and really progress. If you would like to, you could pray for Amelia. She is one of the Fiji women. She has 3 young children and I think that she is just super awesome. Pray that she will understand that we are disciples of Christ and that she will recognize the spirit as she hears about the message of the restoration. If you could also keep Elder Gardner and myself in your prayers. We really want to increase the amount of lessons we are teaching per week and we need the help of the Lord in order to do that.
I'm doing super good myself. I am happy and love serving in this country. There are so many people that need our help finding the right path in life and I hope that I can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in achieving our goal to help other come unto Christ. I think everyday about what I need to do better. Sometimes I just don't know where to start. I don't want to go home at the end of my mission and not have changed at all. I want to be one of those that has changed and that others can see that I am more like Christ. It's a special opportunity to serve him in his work and I love it. There is so much joy and happiness that I receive from serving other people. I wish I would have served more before my mission. I would encourage you as a family to serve someone else at least once a month. I know that you and Dad do it pretty much everyday with your callings and being parents but it would be great if you were able to serve as a family. Take lots of pictures as a family. I wish that was something more I had, is pictures.
Well I love you all and hope that you have a great week. I'm glad no one got bit by rattle snakes. Stay safe and I keep you all in my prayers. I love you all so much and am so proud of my family. Anyone that asks me about me family I am super excited to show them pictures or tell them about you. I thank you for all your love and support.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
Friday, August 6, 2010
August 2, 2010
Dear Family, friends,
So yesterday at church it was pretty crazy. There was only 4 priesthood holders there. Us two elders, counselor in branch presidency, and one other. I had to play the piano for sacrament meeting, Elder Gardner blessed both bread and water, the counselor presided, and the other passed the sacrament. All together there was 19 people there. We had one visitor from Frankfurt with her two kids. There are several families on vacation so it shouldn't be that bad again. Next week we both have to speak in church. I will be the closing speaker which I'm kind of nervous about because it could be anywhere from 5 minutes time to 35 minutes time. The past week I thought a lot about you. It didn't really bother me at all that you were at the cabin, I just kept praying for you that it would be a relaxed, love filled vacation. Thanks for those pictures of all the cousins together. Dillon is a crack up. I got a letter today from Kiersten, Kelsey, and Kory. I have only read Kory's.
This week was pretty decent. We didn't have any appointments set up to start the week off, just because we didn't have much to draw from but we were still able to teach a bunch of lessons and find 2 new investigators. One night we were walking down the "boardwalk"(don't know what it it called in English) and I saw these two Polynesian people and I had this quick sudden feeling that I should talk to them. I did and ended up they were from Fiji. I was super excited to talk with them and told them that Gma and Gpa served there. We are going to meet with them tonight. Hopefully we can keep things going and get them coming to church with us.
There are so many miracles that are happening right now and it's great. The other day we were trying to see some inactive members. One of the addresses that we had had 0 as the house number and so we weren't sure. We tried finding something similar but didn't. I then had this feeling to go to house 10, maybe there could of been a typo. We got there and this members name wasn't there. As we were discussing what we should do it started pouring rain. A black guy walked up to the door and I started talking to him. We talked to him for a bit and then he said that he was a member of Christ's church. I took that as him being religious. anyways we figured out that he was actually an inactive member as well and was living with his buddy for a while. He invited us in out of the rain and then we taught him. He has had some problems in the past couple of weeks and it was just a miracle that we come in contact with him. The Lord definitely led us there to teach him. It's amazing how there are so many experiences how the Lord guides us through his spirit to those that need our help.
This week we have several appointments already made out and we are hoping to be able to teach 20 lessons this week. I have been trying for a while now to reach it but haven't quite been able to. It's great being able to serve here in Germany. There are many things that have helped me grow into a better person. I'm understanding more and more what really is important in life and how we must focus our lives around Christ if we ever want to achieve anything.
Well, I love you all and wish you the best.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So yesterday at church it was pretty crazy. There was only 4 priesthood holders there. Us two elders, counselor in branch presidency, and one other. I had to play the piano for sacrament meeting, Elder Gardner blessed both bread and water, the counselor presided, and the other passed the sacrament. All together there was 19 people there. We had one visitor from Frankfurt with her two kids. There are several families on vacation so it shouldn't be that bad again. Next week we both have to speak in church. I will be the closing speaker which I'm kind of nervous about because it could be anywhere from 5 minutes time to 35 minutes time. The past week I thought a lot about you. It didn't really bother me at all that you were at the cabin, I just kept praying for you that it would be a relaxed, love filled vacation. Thanks for those pictures of all the cousins together. Dillon is a crack up. I got a letter today from Kiersten, Kelsey, and Kory. I have only read Kory's.
This week was pretty decent. We didn't have any appointments set up to start the week off, just because we didn't have much to draw from but we were still able to teach a bunch of lessons and find 2 new investigators. One night we were walking down the "boardwalk"(don't know what it it called in English) and I saw these two Polynesian people and I had this quick sudden feeling that I should talk to them. I did and ended up they were from Fiji. I was super excited to talk with them and told them that Gma and Gpa served there. We are going to meet with them tonight. Hopefully we can keep things going and get them coming to church with us.
There are so many miracles that are happening right now and it's great. The other day we were trying to see some inactive members. One of the addresses that we had had 0 as the house number and so we weren't sure. We tried finding something similar but didn't. I then had this feeling to go to house 10, maybe there could of been a typo. We got there and this members name wasn't there. As we were discussing what we should do it started pouring rain. A black guy walked up to the door and I started talking to him. We talked to him for a bit and then he said that he was a member of Christ's church. I took that as him being religious. anyways we figured out that he was actually an inactive member as well and was living with his buddy for a while. He invited us in out of the rain and then we taught him. He has had some problems in the past couple of weeks and it was just a miracle that we come in contact with him. The Lord definitely led us there to teach him. It's amazing how there are so many experiences how the Lord guides us through his spirit to those that need our help.
This week we have several appointments already made out and we are hoping to be able to teach 20 lessons this week. I have been trying for a while now to reach it but haven't quite been able to. It's great being able to serve here in Germany. There are many things that have helped me grow into a better person. I'm understanding more and more what really is important in life and how we must focus our lives around Christ if we ever want to achieve anything.
Well, I love you all and wish you the best.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
Monday, July 26, 2010
July 26, 2010
Hey Mom,
First off, I'm really disappointed at the choices you've made this past week. I can't believe you gave into temptation and bought a Ford! That's pretty low. No, If you felt that it was the best choice and that it was in good condition I'll support you in it but you don't have my blessing hehe :).
Sounds like it's gonna be a crazy time at the cabin. I hope it all turns out well and that it is a fun time for everyone. Are Dillon and Heidi going? How about Terry and Shelly? Sounds like it's gonna be a full house.
This week has been pretty awesome. To start off, we have to travel an hour and a half by train and bus for district meeting every week so it takes a big chunk out of our days on Tuesdays. We've tried to set up some appointments with former investigators that made a bunch of progress and so we were able to have a couple of appointments. There is an English Base here in Paderborn and so there are little neighborhoods full of Brits. The other day we decided to do doors there. They were so stinking nice. Everyone of them talked to us and only a couple of them said that they didn't have interest. We will be teaching several of them this week. One kid, he was 23, opened up the door and told us, "come in, come in. You look tired" He had a beer in his hand so I thought maybe he was just going to try and mess with us and try and tear us down. We sat down and he gave us some water to drink and then he asked us if we would like something to eat. We said that it was alright but then he insisted. He brought us out some good Tai rice. He didn't have interest but he wanted to let us come in and take a little break. He had a nice little family and just a super nice kid. That was the first time on my mission that I had been let in by a stranger and they fed us. We were sure to keep him in our prayers that night. It's great to meet people that are just friendly.
Last night we were going to a potential investigator and as we were walking to the door this guy walked around the corner and said hey wait. We stopped and looked at each other. I asked Elder Gardner if he knew him and he didn't. The first thing he said was, "hey you are LDS right"? we agreed and then he went on to tell us about how his cousin converted to the church several years ago. This man loves the States too. He's been to 46 of the states. The only four he hadn't been to were the Dakota's, Alaska, and Hawaii. I'm pretty sure he knew his way around the states a million time better than the average American. It was great talking with him. Just another way nice man.
Sounds like Pioneer day was fun. I miss Homemade Ice Cream! We have been invited over to eat at a members house once since I've been here. The Branch is decent. There is probably 30 active members counting children. Last week President Piotrowski asked me to play during priesthood meeting. I don't know how he knew I could play but I think it was Guido and Karin Braun that told him since their related. Anyways yesterday at church he came up to me again and asked me if I could play for Sacrament meeting. The sister that usually plays just moved away and the back up is on vacation for 3 weeks. I said I guess I could and so I played. Very cool. I enjoyed it a lot but I need to practice next week a little because I don't really have all the hymns down. My piano skills have really increased a lot surprisingly but I want to increase them even more. If you could do me a favor. If you haven't sent that medicine yet if you could put in some music for the piano. I would like to do a number sometime again in sacrament meeting.
Well that's about all I've got for this week. I hope you take a lot of pictures, since I will be gone and you could even do a family night activity and have everyone write me :). Not required. Well love you Mom, Dad, kids, and family. It's been great hearing from you all and I know that the Lord is blessing us all because we want to serve him and follow his commandments.
"No Regrets"
Love you
Elder Merrill
p.s.Quick story. Last week we came from church and we found two pigeons in our apartment. I punished one of them. end of story
First off, I'm really disappointed at the choices you've made this past week. I can't believe you gave into temptation and bought a Ford! That's pretty low. No, If you felt that it was the best choice and that it was in good condition I'll support you in it but you don't have my blessing hehe :).
Sounds like it's gonna be a crazy time at the cabin. I hope it all turns out well and that it is a fun time for everyone. Are Dillon and Heidi going? How about Terry and Shelly? Sounds like it's gonna be a full house.
This week has been pretty awesome. To start off, we have to travel an hour and a half by train and bus for district meeting every week so it takes a big chunk out of our days on Tuesdays. We've tried to set up some appointments with former investigators that made a bunch of progress and so we were able to have a couple of appointments. There is an English Base here in Paderborn and so there are little neighborhoods full of Brits. The other day we decided to do doors there. They were so stinking nice. Everyone of them talked to us and only a couple of them said that they didn't have interest. We will be teaching several of them this week. One kid, he was 23, opened up the door and told us, "come in, come in. You look tired" He had a beer in his hand so I thought maybe he was just going to try and mess with us and try and tear us down. We sat down and he gave us some water to drink and then he asked us if we would like something to eat. We said that it was alright but then he insisted. He brought us out some good Tai rice. He didn't have interest but he wanted to let us come in and take a little break. He had a nice little family and just a super nice kid. That was the first time on my mission that I had been let in by a stranger and they fed us. We were sure to keep him in our prayers that night. It's great to meet people that are just friendly.
Last night we were going to a potential investigator and as we were walking to the door this guy walked around the corner and said hey wait. We stopped and looked at each other. I asked Elder Gardner if he knew him and he didn't. The first thing he said was, "hey you are LDS right"? we agreed and then he went on to tell us about how his cousin converted to the church several years ago. This man loves the States too. He's been to 46 of the states. The only four he hadn't been to were the Dakota's, Alaska, and Hawaii. I'm pretty sure he knew his way around the states a million time better than the average American. It was great talking with him. Just another way nice man.
Sounds like Pioneer day was fun. I miss Homemade Ice Cream! We have been invited over to eat at a members house once since I've been here. The Branch is decent. There is probably 30 active members counting children. Last week President Piotrowski asked me to play during priesthood meeting. I don't know how he knew I could play but I think it was Guido and Karin Braun that told him since their related. Anyways yesterday at church he came up to me again and asked me if I could play for Sacrament meeting. The sister that usually plays just moved away and the back up is on vacation for 3 weeks. I said I guess I could and so I played. Very cool. I enjoyed it a lot but I need to practice next week a little because I don't really have all the hymns down. My piano skills have really increased a lot surprisingly but I want to increase them even more. If you could do me a favor. If you haven't sent that medicine yet if you could put in some music for the piano. I would like to do a number sometime again in sacrament meeting.
Well that's about all I've got for this week. I hope you take a lot of pictures, since I will be gone and you could even do a family night activity and have everyone write me :). Not required. Well love you Mom, Dad, kids, and family. It's been great hearing from you all and I know that the Lord is blessing us all because we want to serve him and follow his commandments.
"No Regrets"
Love you
Elder Merrill
p.s.Quick story. Last week we came from church and we found two pigeons in our apartment. I punished one of them. end of story
Monday, July 19, 2010
July 19, 2010
Dear Family,
So this past week has been pretty Crazy as well. I got to Paderborn on Wednesday night and come to a big pigsty. It wasn't from Elder Gardner at all but from the past who knows how many missionaries. They have been some weak sauce kids that pretty much just wasted their time as well as the Lords. We spent a whole entire day cleaning the apartment, filling garbage bags full of garbage and old clothes. We finally got everything cleaned up and I just felt a ton better and the spirit was a ton easier to feel. We have a pretty nice, big apartment. The bathroom is the biggest bathroom I have seen in Germany. It has a shower and then a tub on top of that. It's not a Jacuzzi but it's about the size of one.
Elder Gardner is from San Antonio Texas. He has been in Germany for about four months. I like him a lot. He comes from a family of 6 boys. He has had two brothers already go on missions and one that is one a mission right now that has been out as long as I have. We are going to have a lot of fun this cycle and have some sweet miracles happen. He loves to work hard which is great because I do as well. It's just been an awesome experience all together so far.
That's sweet that you were able to go to Allred's. I guess I don't know what's up with their pond. I guess I'll have to hit it up when the Fearsome Foursome (Austin, Dexter, Jake, and Myself) get back together. They are an awesome family. If you could do me another favor and get his address again for me. I sent him a letter a while ago but I think I messed up. That would be very nice of you. Tell them I say hi too. I know that they do have a pretty nice boat. Was Kelsey a good driver? Tell the kids to write me an email this week that would be sweet.
On Saturday we had a Street display like we did in Langen. There were several members that came and helped a bit. The Branch President came and I got to talk to him for a couple of minutes. I probably talked with or tried to talk with nearly 500 people within 2 hours. It was pretty sweet. We got an appointment out of it as well as a couple phone numbers. After the Street Display we went to a members house and had a little BBQ. The Branch was all invited but only 3 families showed up. Again I was able to talk with President Piotrowski. We talked about a lot of things. I felt like I should apologize for all of the past missionaries and he was thankful that I was sent here. The Lord knows what he's doing. I served the last 10 1/2 months in Solingen and his parents/brother-in-law live there. His Brother-in-law is Guido Braun. Guido Braun and his wife are my favorite members that I have ever met and I think that they really like me as a missionary. They trusted me and told me many things that they wouldn't tell people from the ward. We had a super good relationship and so they talked me up to President Piotrowski so when I met him there was already a sense of trust and respect.
I love serving a mission so much. The time is going by really fast though. I don't know if I wrote this in other emails but I would like Dad and others who have served missions to give me tips for what I should do and what kind of goals I should set to be the most successful missionary I can. Andrew comes home in about a month. If you would I would like you to ask him to write me about his last 6 months and what helped him out. I'm getting kind of nervous if you haven't already noticed. I want to serve the Lord with all I've got. I feel I've been doing that for the last 17 months and I want to keep on it, I want to step it up. It's amazing at how the Lord loves us each individually and knows what we need in order to progress to be better in life. Thank you for all your support and love. I love you all so much. It's been really awesome to be able to see people progress and want to follow our Lord, Jesus Christ. When I said good bye to Sister Pickelein and Brother Phong it was kind of sad. Sister Pickelein was just excited that I got to go somewhere else to preach the gospel to others that weren't following the commandments and Brother Phong was a little sad. He said that he felt that he was losing a Brother. It's been great watching others change their lives to return to live with our Father in Heaven.
Love you all,
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So this past week has been pretty Crazy as well. I got to Paderborn on Wednesday night and come to a big pigsty. It wasn't from Elder Gardner at all but from the past who knows how many missionaries. They have been some weak sauce kids that pretty much just wasted their time as well as the Lords. We spent a whole entire day cleaning the apartment, filling garbage bags full of garbage and old clothes. We finally got everything cleaned up and I just felt a ton better and the spirit was a ton easier to feel. We have a pretty nice, big apartment. The bathroom is the biggest bathroom I have seen in Germany. It has a shower and then a tub on top of that. It's not a Jacuzzi but it's about the size of one.
Elder Gardner is from San Antonio Texas. He has been in Germany for about four months. I like him a lot. He comes from a family of 6 boys. He has had two brothers already go on missions and one that is one a mission right now that has been out as long as I have. We are going to have a lot of fun this cycle and have some sweet miracles happen. He loves to work hard which is great because I do as well. It's just been an awesome experience all together so far.
That's sweet that you were able to go to Allred's. I guess I don't know what's up with their pond. I guess I'll have to hit it up when the Fearsome Foursome (Austin, Dexter, Jake, and Myself) get back together. They are an awesome family. If you could do me another favor and get his address again for me. I sent him a letter a while ago but I think I messed up. That would be very nice of you. Tell them I say hi too. I know that they do have a pretty nice boat. Was Kelsey a good driver? Tell the kids to write me an email this week that would be sweet.
On Saturday we had a Street display like we did in Langen. There were several members that came and helped a bit. The Branch President came and I got to talk to him for a couple of minutes. I probably talked with or tried to talk with nearly 500 people within 2 hours. It was pretty sweet. We got an appointment out of it as well as a couple phone numbers. After the Street Display we went to a members house and had a little BBQ. The Branch was all invited but only 3 families showed up. Again I was able to talk with President Piotrowski. We talked about a lot of things. I felt like I should apologize for all of the past missionaries and he was thankful that I was sent here. The Lord knows what he's doing. I served the last 10 1/2 months in Solingen and his parents/brother-in-law live there. His Brother-in-law is Guido Braun. Guido Braun and his wife are my favorite members that I have ever met and I think that they really like me as a missionary. They trusted me and told me many things that they wouldn't tell people from the ward. We had a super good relationship and so they talked me up to President Piotrowski so when I met him there was already a sense of trust and respect.
I love serving a mission so much. The time is going by really fast though. I don't know if I wrote this in other emails but I would like Dad and others who have served missions to give me tips for what I should do and what kind of goals I should set to be the most successful missionary I can. Andrew comes home in about a month. If you would I would like you to ask him to write me about his last 6 months and what helped him out. I'm getting kind of nervous if you haven't already noticed. I want to serve the Lord with all I've got. I feel I've been doing that for the last 17 months and I want to keep on it, I want to step it up. It's amazing at how the Lord loves us each individually and knows what we need in order to progress to be better in life. Thank you for all your support and love. I love you all so much. It's been really awesome to be able to see people progress and want to follow our Lord, Jesus Christ. When I said good bye to Sister Pickelein and Brother Phong it was kind of sad. Sister Pickelein was just excited that I got to go somewhere else to preach the gospel to others that weren't following the commandments and Brother Phong was a little sad. He said that he felt that he was losing a Brother. It's been great watching others change their lives to return to live with our Father in Heaven.
Love you all,
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
Monday, July 12, 2010
July 12, 2010
Dear Family,
That's right, I'm getting transfered. The one time that I was sure that I wasn't going to get transfered I did. Last night I couldn't sleep at all. I layed in bed thinking about how much I just felt like I was leaving home. I'm getting transfered into the Hamburg Mission area that we took over. It's kind of wierd because it feels like I'm leaving the mission. My new address is going to be: Friedrichsstr 45
33102 Paderborn
I'm looking forward to it a bunch. Last night as I was thinking about what it was going to be like. I felt somehow that I had already heard of this branch and that I needed to be there. It was just a sweet confirmation of the spirit.
My new companion just got done with his first two cycles of being a golden so it otta be way fun. Sounds like things at home are busy again. How is everyone doing? Korbin has some pretty blonde hair it looked like from the picture. Oh by the way I don't know if you knew or not but I have not missed a day wearing my retainers since my first day in the MTC. That might cheer you up a bit. I don't really need anything. I'm doing fine with all my clothes. I had to buy a pack of socks a couple months ago because some of my others were too "wHOLY" to wear.
We also had another sweet experience that was about asking always to help serve others. We contacted this lady by doing doors and she said that she couldn't because she was moving. We asked her if we could help her out and she was shocked, but said yes. It turned out that she was able to finish it all before our appointment but she thanked us for our willingness to help. She said that we could set up another appointment because she wanted to know what two young men like us are teaching about if we are willing to help others and serve them. We set up an appointment yesterday and she said "Don't be shocked when you show up and there is 5 or 6 people here. I told my friends about you and they want to hear it also, so I invited them." Just a sweet story that helps build my testimony of how striving always to serve people really does pay off.
So for the weeks highlights. Sister Pickelein got baptized on Saturday which was really awesome. She didn't want anyone there that she didn't know so it was our Ward Mission Leader, us, and a member family who baptized her. Afterwards she wanted to take us out to eat and so we went to this restaraunt and dropped 104 bones on five people. It was pretty good food. She looked great in white and was really grateful. When she went under the water I was worried that they wouldn't get it in one take but luckily they were able to. When she came out of the water she said, "Did I do it right? Do we have to do it again?" Super funny. I just smiled and it was a great experience. Sunday I was able to confirm her. That was a special experience for me. It was a spirit filled chapel, that's all I have to say. After the confirmation, I sat down and just felt an overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness. This baptism has really meant a ton to me and I love this lady so much. I'm kind of sad that I am leaving her right now but it's alright because we have had some good experiences over the past 10 months. She has been coming to church every Sunday since December or January. She was found by missionaries two months before me. Well, she stopped the missionaries and said that she once got a Book of Mormon and that she wanted another. I LOVE IT! I gave her a hug the other day and told her that you all say hi. She said hi back and that she loves your son. I think I have claimed myself another grandma, a German Grandma. Speaking of grandparents, tell all of them I say hi and that I love them very much. I'm thankful for there examples and living the gospel.
Well I don't know what more to really say. I love you all and I'll give a little more information next week. Please be sure to put my address on the blog A.S.A.P. because I'm expecting a bunch of letters. hehe
Love you all. Hope this week goes well for you and I love you all so much. Maybe you could all take a family picture together and send me one in an email, I would like that. Send me some pictures of you all boating too.
"No Regrets"
Love Elder merrill
Sunday, July 11, 2010
July 5, 2010
Dear Family,
So yesterday was the fourth of July. No sign of it here. I think that's the holiday that makes me the most home sick. Don't worry though because It doesn't make me super home sick. I like it where I am here. I don't have too much more time and I want to make the best of it. Thanks for the pictures. I liked seeing what it's like in America. You would never see someone buying that much food here in Germany. I don't think you could find a place to buy that much food. How much did it all cost? How is the farm going? It should almost be time for round two.
This past week was just a great week. We have received the assignment to go to all the inactive members in the ward and see where they stand and try to share something with them. We have been planning our time very carefully trying to go by on members that live in areas of investigators or if that isn't possible than to do finding time in the near of that member. It's been a way sweet deal. The other day as we were talking to an inactive through the speaker box the door to the apartment building opened. The man stood there and waited until I was done talking. As soon as I was done he asked me, "Seid ihr Mormonen?" I told that we were and asked him how he knew us. He had met with missionaries several years ago and he had even been to church with them a couple of times. We asked him if he had a couple minutes that we could sit down and share something with him. He agreed and we went and sat down and taught him a lesson. He had some great questions that we were able to answer. That was just a sweet experience that happened through fulfilling assignments from our Ward Mission Leader.
We are super busy and trying to increase the amount of our lessons and increasing our skills and talents of teaching. Sister Pickelein is doing great. I can't wait for Saturday. She wants it to be kind of private with nobody there besides us missionaries and a member family that she likes. A member is going to baptize her.
Today we are going to Düsseldorf to do something with the district so we gotta get going here pretty quick. I love you all Thanks for your love and especially for writing. I love hearing from you and what crazy is going on at home.
Love you all. "No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
So yesterday was the fourth of July. No sign of it here. I think that's the holiday that makes me the most home sick. Don't worry though because It doesn't make me super home sick. I like it where I am here. I don't have too much more time and I want to make the best of it. Thanks for the pictures. I liked seeing what it's like in America. You would never see someone buying that much food here in Germany. I don't think you could find a place to buy that much food. How much did it all cost? How is the farm going? It should almost be time for round two.
This past week was just a great week. We have received the assignment to go to all the inactive members in the ward and see where they stand and try to share something with them. We have been planning our time very carefully trying to go by on members that live in areas of investigators or if that isn't possible than to do finding time in the near of that member. It's been a way sweet deal. The other day as we were talking to an inactive through the speaker box the door to the apartment building opened. The man stood there and waited until I was done talking. As soon as I was done he asked me, "Seid ihr Mormonen?" I told that we were and asked him how he knew us. He had met with missionaries several years ago and he had even been to church with them a couple of times. We asked him if he had a couple minutes that we could sit down and share something with him. He agreed and we went and sat down and taught him a lesson. He had some great questions that we were able to answer. That was just a sweet experience that happened through fulfilling assignments from our Ward Mission Leader.
We are super busy and trying to increase the amount of our lessons and increasing our skills and talents of teaching. Sister Pickelein is doing great. I can't wait for Saturday. She wants it to be kind of private with nobody there besides us missionaries and a member family that she likes. A member is going to baptize her.
Today we are going to Düsseldorf to do something with the district so we gotta get going here pretty quick. I love you all Thanks for your love and especially for writing. I love hearing from you and what crazy is going on at home.
Love you all. "No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
June 28, 2010
Dear Mom, Dad, and Kid's,
This week was kind of a bummer week with many appointments that didn't go through for some reason or another. It's been fun watching Elder Schuetz grow up and increase his skills. We have had some sweet times together and I am really trying to make it fun and enjoyable for him. This past week we met with an inactive member and she really likes having us come over. She feels the spirit and loves talking about the gospel. She said something this week that kind of shocked me a bit. She told me that she wanted to be like me because I was perfect. I told her that I was far from perfect and that I had many weaknesses and troubles that I have to work on in my life. For some reason she couldn't accept that. I thought a lot about it that day about the outward appearance that we, as missionaries have and how much people watch us. Mom I really liked the last part of your email about how you think that it was a lot of little poor decisions that led to David's apostasy. That's so true. All those that I have talked with who are inactive can't really remember when or why they stopped coming to church. We all have to be constantly focusing on our personal growth and making sure that we are increasing our testimony not losing it.
Sounds like life has been super hectic at home. Pretty funny story how you got lost hiking Dad. I'm glad that everyday I go hiking through the cities of Germany I've have a map with me so I can fix my mistakes quickly. How was the whole encampment. How did Korbin like it? What's the weather been like back at home? Here it is finally summer and it is super hot. Constantly sweating. It's fun stuff.
This last week we were able to find a new investigator and several people who we will meet with during the week this week. It's awesome just being able to share the gospel and see miracles. Everyday there is something new. I love it so much.
Sister Pickelein is amazing! I love that lady so much. She calls me her Grandchild (she doesn't have any children) and so we are something pretty special to her. She loves how we are always talking with people about the gospel and how we live righteous lives. It's amazing how the lord works. 4 months ago she didn't want to get baptized at all but now she's going to do it next week. I'll be sure to take pictures so you can all see. I will be a witness this time so it will be interesting to watch. It's been a while since I've actually have seen a baptism so that will be pretty sweet.
I love the gospel so much it's just been amazing serving the Lord these past few months. It's been fun being able to share my testimony with others and help them find the path to eternal life. I've been blessed by the Lord so far on the mission and I know that through faith, obedience, and hard work the Lord will continue to bless me. I have had quite a bit on my mind these last couple of weeks and it's been interesting just pondering about some gospel subjects and how the lord works. In zone conference President talked about the scripture Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is Perfect". He talked about what it means to be perfect and how the footnote says "complete". I've been thinking a lot about how I can be more complete in my life as a missionary and in teaching the Restored Gospel. I've been working really hard the last bit on my studying and especially with my German study. As I increase my German vocabulary and abilities I'll become more "complete" in my teaching.
So that's about all I got for the week. Sorry it's not super interesting but that's all I got. I always forget about the previous week when it comes time to write. Dillon's letter was super funny cuz he just told me about his life and the things he's been up to. He has a new dog that he had a little trouble with and then he was also charged by a moose while fishing and he sent me some pics of him and Heidi. It was just a good letter. Well love you all. Thanks for telling people to write me. I haven't gotten any letters but it's alright cuz I don't really expect much. If you ever see Julie tell her I say hi and good luck. Love you all so much. Thanks for you love and support.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
This week was kind of a bummer week with many appointments that didn't go through for some reason or another. It's been fun watching Elder Schuetz grow up and increase his skills. We have had some sweet times together and I am really trying to make it fun and enjoyable for him. This past week we met with an inactive member and she really likes having us come over. She feels the spirit and loves talking about the gospel. She said something this week that kind of shocked me a bit. She told me that she wanted to be like me because I was perfect. I told her that I was far from perfect and that I had many weaknesses and troubles that I have to work on in my life. For some reason she couldn't accept that. I thought a lot about it that day about the outward appearance that we, as missionaries have and how much people watch us. Mom I really liked the last part of your email about how you think that it was a lot of little poor decisions that led to David's apostasy. That's so true. All those that I have talked with who are inactive can't really remember when or why they stopped coming to church. We all have to be constantly focusing on our personal growth and making sure that we are increasing our testimony not losing it.
Sounds like life has been super hectic at home. Pretty funny story how you got lost hiking Dad. I'm glad that everyday I go hiking through the cities of Germany I've have a map with me so I can fix my mistakes quickly. How was the whole encampment. How did Korbin like it? What's the weather been like back at home? Here it is finally summer and it is super hot. Constantly sweating. It's fun stuff.
This last week we were able to find a new investigator and several people who we will meet with during the week this week. It's awesome just being able to share the gospel and see miracles. Everyday there is something new. I love it so much.
Sister Pickelein is amazing! I love that lady so much. She calls me her Grandchild (she doesn't have any children) and so we are something pretty special to her. She loves how we are always talking with people about the gospel and how we live righteous lives. It's amazing how the lord works. 4 months ago she didn't want to get baptized at all but now she's going to do it next week. I'll be sure to take pictures so you can all see. I will be a witness this time so it will be interesting to watch. It's been a while since I've actually have seen a baptism so that will be pretty sweet.
I love the gospel so much it's just been amazing serving the Lord these past few months. It's been fun being able to share my testimony with others and help them find the path to eternal life. I've been blessed by the Lord so far on the mission and I know that through faith, obedience, and hard work the Lord will continue to bless me. I have had quite a bit on my mind these last couple of weeks and it's been interesting just pondering about some gospel subjects and how the lord works. In zone conference President talked about the scripture Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is Perfect". He talked about what it means to be perfect and how the footnote says "complete". I've been thinking a lot about how I can be more complete in my life as a missionary and in teaching the Restored Gospel. I've been working really hard the last bit on my studying and especially with my German study. As I increase my German vocabulary and abilities I'll become more "complete" in my teaching.
So that's about all I got for the week. Sorry it's not super interesting but that's all I got. I always forget about the previous week when it comes time to write. Dillon's letter was super funny cuz he just told me about his life and the things he's been up to. He has a new dog that he had a little trouble with and then he was also charged by a moose while fishing and he sent me some pics of him and Heidi. It was just a good letter. Well love you all. Thanks for telling people to write me. I haven't gotten any letters but it's alright cuz I don't really expect much. If you ever see Julie tell her I say hi and good luck. Love you all so much. Thanks for you love and support.
"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Merrill
Monday, June 21, 2010
June 21, 2010
Hey Everyone,
So we're doing good here in Solingen. This last week we had Zone Conference and I had to give a talk on "Sanctification". I was super nervous but I think it turned out alright. We talked a lot about finding new investigators so hopefully we can apply that well and start finding like animals. We are doing well as a mission and it's just going to get better when the missions combine. I'm way excited to see how it all works out next transfer. I don't know if President is going to mix it up right away or if he's going to keep them somewhat separate.
Sister Pickelein is doing well. She's just a sweet old lady and I love her. Brother Phong is doing great. It's awesome how he participates and everything. Some old missionary came and visited the ward this last week and he told me how amazing it is that he was baptized less than a month ago. I just hope that he stays on the path and that through the time he will help his wife come along the way. I know that his sons will for sure. That family is just super nice and it's great that I was able to get to know them so well. These next couple of weeks I will be doing a couple of splits which will be fun and a good experience to teach other missionaries.
So I just got your email. Thanks for telling little Grandma that I love her. It's been pretty cold here the last week and a half. Probably in the 60's. Hopefully it will get warmer. It's better than being terribly hot though. I remember last summer when we would always want to be standing in the shade because it was just so stinking hot. It's been some pretty crazy weather this year.
So it sounds like everything at home is crazy. Good thing you have two extra drivers. I hope everything works out with the hay. I'm hoping that it doesn't end up too bad. How's the ward doing? Tell Roy that I found me a girl to bring home (Sister Pickelein). He'll get a kick out of that. Well I don't have too much to say. I got a letter from Dillon this last week and it was probably the funniest letter I've gotten my whole mission. Thanks to all those that have written me. It's great to hear from friends and family.
Love you all
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
So we're doing good here in Solingen. This last week we had Zone Conference and I had to give a talk on "Sanctification". I was super nervous but I think it turned out alright. We talked a lot about finding new investigators so hopefully we can apply that well and start finding like animals. We are doing well as a mission and it's just going to get better when the missions combine. I'm way excited to see how it all works out next transfer. I don't know if President is going to mix it up right away or if he's going to keep them somewhat separate.
Sister Pickelein is doing well. She's just a sweet old lady and I love her. Brother Phong is doing great. It's awesome how he participates and everything. Some old missionary came and visited the ward this last week and he told me how amazing it is that he was baptized less than a month ago. I just hope that he stays on the path and that through the time he will help his wife come along the way. I know that his sons will for sure. That family is just super nice and it's great that I was able to get to know them so well. These next couple of weeks I will be doing a couple of splits which will be fun and a good experience to teach other missionaries.
So I just got your email. Thanks for telling little Grandma that I love her. It's been pretty cold here the last week and a half. Probably in the 60's. Hopefully it will get warmer. It's better than being terribly hot though. I remember last summer when we would always want to be standing in the shade because it was just so stinking hot. It's been some pretty crazy weather this year.
So it sounds like everything at home is crazy. Good thing you have two extra drivers. I hope everything works out with the hay. I'm hoping that it doesn't end up too bad. How's the ward doing? Tell Roy that I found me a girl to bring home (Sister Pickelein). He'll get a kick out of that. Well I don't have too much to say. I got a letter from Dillon this last week and it was probably the funniest letter I've gotten my whole mission. Thanks to all those that have written me. It's great to hear from friends and family.
Love you all
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
Thursday, June 17, 2010
June 14, 2010
Hey Mom,
I'm glad that you had a fun time in Utah. Crazy how things are changing so fast. I didn't know that Jessica is getting married. Crazy! I didn't even know that Meg was getting married. Sweet stuff.
So guess what, Sister Pickelein is getting baptized! Pretty awesome blessing. She is 90 years old and still wants to do it. I love her! She'll be getting baptized on the 10th of July. That will be a sweet experience. I'm way pumped. I told her also that you and Dad want to meet her someday. She was super happy to hear that and she hopes that she can meet you both. She sends her love.
We are working hard here in Solingen trying to save more souls but it's pretty hard with the World Cup going on. Last night Germany played at 8:30 and I could tell you the score without even watching the game. 4-0 they won. People were driving through the town honking their car horns, air horns, as well as blow horns until about 11:45. I couldn't fall asleep until then so I'm assuming that it all calmed down about that time. It's crazy how much people love soccer.
Oh ya, I think I forgot to tell you. A couple weeks ago I played a musical number in sacrament meeting. I thought I was going to do it the next week but then the Bishop told me that I was doing it that day. Luckily I had practiced up a bit the week before. I played "I Need Thee Every Hour". It was a simple arrangement but really cool too. I did pretty good for not being able to practice before hand. I was supposed to play again for Zone Conference again this week but President wants me to give a talk instead. I'm kind of nervous but I'm sure it will all turn out alright. I'm doing sweet. I Love serving here. It's just great. We get some pretty good laughs at how some people react to us even if they do reject us. Crazy responses. I'm doing well training so far. I got a email from Landon and he gave me a bit of advice which I'm very thankful for. If there is anyone else that can give me some advice I'm all ears.
Elder Schuetz is from Irvine California. He's a good kid. His Dad is a convert to the church and he was 22 when he joined the church and then married his mom a couple years later. He is the first one to serve a mission. He turns 20 in October but graduated in 2008. He is great! We are different characters but nobody is the same. I love it all. I'm learning a ton and sometimes I feel like a mom just trying to teach him everything from buying train tickets to chewing with his mouth closed. It's good for me though. I think that I will probably get more out of all of this then he will.
Well I don't have too much more to say. If you ever get the chance to talk to little Grandma tell her that I love her and that I'm praying for her that she will be happy and free from pain. I love my family a ton. It's crazy how much being away from home makes you love your family more. It's like Dad said, "Separation makes the heart grow fonder". Love you all and wish you all an awesome week.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
I'm glad that you had a fun time in Utah. Crazy how things are changing so fast. I didn't know that Jessica is getting married. Crazy! I didn't even know that Meg was getting married. Sweet stuff.
So guess what, Sister Pickelein is getting baptized! Pretty awesome blessing. She is 90 years old and still wants to do it. I love her! She'll be getting baptized on the 10th of July. That will be a sweet experience. I'm way pumped. I told her also that you and Dad want to meet her someday. She was super happy to hear that and she hopes that she can meet you both. She sends her love.
We are working hard here in Solingen trying to save more souls but it's pretty hard with the World Cup going on. Last night Germany played at 8:30 and I could tell you the score without even watching the game. 4-0 they won. People were driving through the town honking their car horns, air horns, as well as blow horns until about 11:45. I couldn't fall asleep until then so I'm assuming that it all calmed down about that time. It's crazy how much people love soccer.
Oh ya, I think I forgot to tell you. A couple weeks ago I played a musical number in sacrament meeting. I thought I was going to do it the next week but then the Bishop told me that I was doing it that day. Luckily I had practiced up a bit the week before. I played "I Need Thee Every Hour". It was a simple arrangement but really cool too. I did pretty good for not being able to practice before hand. I was supposed to play again for Zone Conference again this week but President wants me to give a talk instead. I'm kind of nervous but I'm sure it will all turn out alright. I'm doing sweet. I Love serving here. It's just great. We get some pretty good laughs at how some people react to us even if they do reject us. Crazy responses. I'm doing well training so far. I got a email from Landon and he gave me a bit of advice which I'm very thankful for. If there is anyone else that can give me some advice I'm all ears.
Elder Schuetz is from Irvine California. He's a good kid. His Dad is a convert to the church and he was 22 when he joined the church and then married his mom a couple years later. He is the first one to serve a mission. He turns 20 in October but graduated in 2008. He is great! We are different characters but nobody is the same. I love it all. I'm learning a ton and sometimes I feel like a mom just trying to teach him everything from buying train tickets to chewing with his mouth closed. It's good for me though. I think that I will probably get more out of all of this then he will.
Well I don't have too much more to say. If you ever get the chance to talk to little Grandma tell her that I love her and that I'm praying for her that she will be happy and free from pain. I love my family a ton. It's crazy how much being away from home makes you love your family more. It's like Dad said, "Separation makes the heart grow fonder". Love you all and wish you all an awesome week.
"No Regrets"
Elder Merrill
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