Dear Mom,
Hey Thank you for sending me a sweet email. It was nice to read about what's going on at home. That's sweet that Eric came to church. Thanks for inviting him to church. I had to laugh that Kiersten tried to bribe the cop by wooing him. (She got a ticket for jaywalking.) She should of told him to get lost and find something better to do. I only got two pictures, The one of Gary's wedding and then the one of Kory. The fireplace looks really nice. Before I forget, did you ever send the medicine? If you did I never received it. How are all the kids doing? It was nice to get an email from Kelsey last week. My mail has pretty much ended now. :( That's alright though. This morning I weighed myself and I was 168 lbs. I was a little dehydrated but I am kinda sad because I don't have hardly any muscle left.
So for the weeks events. We had to move to a different apartment in Solingen because the contract ended and that was a pain. We took almost all of Wednesday to do that. On Thursday we met with a member who is the only member in his family and we wanted to be able to teach him and his family. We were able to set up a new appointment and so I'm hoping that that will turn out well. We are meeting with them tonight and we are going to teach a first lesson. On Friday we had a Split with the other misisonaries in our district and we went to Frau Pickelein's (Oma Friedel). She is a sweet old lady and I hope that she can make some more progress. We talked about the baptism with her and made it clear to her that she wasn't baptized by the authority of God. I think she understood it but we will have to review it again to make sure she grasped it. These past couple of days have been really spiritual draining for me, actually just yesterday. We met with a former investigator who is from Italy. She doesn't speak very good German at all and she doesn't understand it very well either. During the appointment I was praying very intensely that I would be able to not only understand the things she was saying but that she would be able to understand what I was teaching. It was a powerful experience. Also yesterday while we were on our way to this appointment we ran into a man that I had talked to on the street. He told us that he has been through a lot and that he was wanting out. We told him to meet us at the church at 6:00 and we would talk more about it. We showed up and there he was waiting for us. We went inside and he just started telling us about his life. There was some things that I would never want to live through. I had a prayer in my heart throughout the whole time praying that I would be able to help him. We spent the rest of the night with him trying to help him realize that God loved him and that he had a plan for each and every one of us. We got back to the apartment after 10:00. I was beat. He wanted to change his life but he denied our help we wanted to give him. Last night I laid in bed for a long time just thinking about the day and how the spirit led me to know what to say and do. This morning for companionship study we talked about yesterday and how we both felt the spirit guiding our lives. Right now I'm pretty beat. I know that it will go away here soon.
So that was a little bit about the week. It's definitely tough sometimes in life but the Lord is with us. My study the past week or so has been in Mosiah. I read two days ago I think ago in chapter 23 verse 21, "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith." Sometimes in life we as people think about the here and now and why we have to suffer certain things but it's all for our benefit. I've seen how the Lord has molded me as his servant and I realize that it's because he loves me and wants the best for me. The blessings he sends us are not always in the forms we would like them to be or in ways we don't recognize them but I know and I have a testimony that God loves us and knows how we feel and the things we need help with. Christ is our savior and he suffered everything possible. He loves us and taught in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." We always, as children of God, have the opportunity to turn unto Christ and take his yoke. I love my Savior for his example for me and for making it possible for me to repent of my weaknesses. I am striving to come closer to Christ in my thoughts, words, and what I do. I love this gospel with all my heart and I know that God loves me. I want to thank you all for being part of my life. The things I have experienced have helped my testimony grow in the Savior. I love you and wish you the best this week. Have fun in Hawaii. Maybe you could have the kids write me an email or something. I would like that.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
p.s. Picture of new comp and my favorite German car (Porsche Cayanne)
