Dear Mom,
This week was pretty good. We were really busy with appointments which is good. It is so much easier working with another Zone Leader rather than a Golden. I loved working with all three of my Goldens but it just takes it out of you. On Thursday we were running to catch buses and running to appointments because they were all planned so close to each other. It's way fun. We had to sprint a quarter mile to catch a bus that drove past us and I realized how bad I am. It will be nice to work out again. We met with Lesesca this week. She speaks German and Spanish. We took a member, Alberto, who also speaks spanish and it was really good. She didn't come to church but hopefully sometime she'll be able to make it. We are also meeting with a guy named Basak. He is from Vietnam and speaks English. He doesn't know anything about God or Jesus Christ and so it's been fun being able to teach him from nothing. He likes coming to church and meeting with us. He reminds me of Brother Phong. Speaking of which I talked to him a couple weeks ago and he seemed to be doing OK. We talked on the phone for 10 minutes or so and he was thankful that I called. He goes teaching with the missionaries which is good for him. I haven't been able to get ahold of Sister Pickelein but I will definitely do it before I leave.
So to answer your questions about my foot. It hurts pretty bad when I run and walking it doesn't hurt too much. The callous has been there since I left on my mission but has only gotten bigger. It just puts on a lot of pressure on the side of my big toe and on the tip of my second toe. I'll survive. It's not a huge annoyance but not very pleasant.
We are going on a split today with Paderborn. I'm going with Elder Gardner which I'm excited for. He is one of my favorite companions. He knows why he is out here and has a super strong testimony. I loved being able to serve with him. Yesterday at church we had two people to church but Basak had to leave before Sacrament meeting. We have a pretty good week planned out and we are excited to work together in our area more this week. Last week we had the meeting in Frankfurt and then two splits. It's pretty fun to work with other missionaries especially when they have good attitudes and want to get better.
I love serving here in Dortmund because I've been able to get a lot of stuff going up here. I have had some good companions here that have helped me get the area to what it is now. It still can have more lessons taught during the week but we are getting there. Before I leave I want to have a solid unforgettable week. I'm going to tell all of our investigators one week that I'm leaving and that I want them to all come to church with me before I leave. It's crazy how fast time flies. Things are going well and I'm super pumped for this new year. To be honest with you I haven't really set goals for myself because I don't know what I should set goals for. Maybe after my exit interview with President I'll have a little bit better of an Idea of what I should set for myself.
I hope Grandpa is doing well. I am super excited to see him again and I am excited to talk with him. Hopefully he'll be excited and be able to talk with me. I'm guessing that he will want to hear all about my mission.
Well love you all so much. Thanks for the love and support you are giving me. I am so thankful for my family. I couldn't have asked for a better one. I love my mission so much. I am loving talking with all the people and teaching all of them. We have it good. I just hope that we can get a baptismal date set this week with Evalene. Keep us in your prayers.
"No Regrets"
Love
Elder Merrill
