May 10, 2010

Dear Family,

Well I'm not really sure what to say because I just talked with you yesterday. You didn't send the pictures of the tractor. I was kind of looking forward to seeing what it looked like. (We had a tractor start on fire and burn). Sounds like everyone is doing pretty darn well. I didn't notice that Kelsey was crying yesterday. What can I say I'm her favorite brother and she misses me. The kids are great. I love hearing their voices and to hear how they have changed. Kiersten sounds like she has matured a lot and Korbin kind of sounds like I did when I was his age. Pretty cool to see how they all change. My knee is OK but I'm not sure what is going to happen. I'll probably talk with President about it next week during interviews but I don't think it's anything too big. I can walk just fine it just aches. I've been pretty blessed with my health.

Time is flying by. It's crazy to think that I have less than 9 months left. I still have a lot of stuff. to do. I'm glad that I will be able to see Brother Phong be baptized on the 29th of May. I think that might be the reason why the Lord has kept me here ever since September. The Lord knows what he's doing and he loves us all. It's been an amazing experience to see Brother Phong progress and gain a testimony of Jesus Christ. He knew absolutely nothing about Christ when we started teaching him and now he is going to be baptized! I love the mission so much. It's hard sometimes, especially when you are responsible for other missionaries, but the Lord gives us the strength to do the things that he has asked of us. Being District Leader is a humbling experience and it's also fun to help other missionaries out encouraging them and helping them achieve their goals.

I don't really have too much to say so I'll just close the letter saying that I love you Mom, Dad, Kids, family, and friends. Thank you for your examples to me and I hope that the Lord is blessing you all. "No Regrets"

Love,

Elder Merrill