June 7, 2010

Hey,

First off, what's with the weirdo glasses that Kiersten was wearing? (at graduation) Pretty crazy how things change. That really hurt that Kayla got cancer.(our dog) I was fighting it a little bit when I was reading. She was my first dog and I wanted to see her again. That hurts pretty bad but all dogs go to heaven so I will see her again. I hope the weather all works out for you. I'm praying for you and that everything will all work out.

My trip down to Frankfurt was kind of weird. I had to go down there alone so that was different. I sat next to this guy who was on business, he was wearing a white shirt and tie so it wasn't as weird. There was only two goldens that came in so we played paper, rocks, scissors, who got to pick first. I won so I got the better one. His name in Elder Schuetz. He is from Irvine California which is right by New Port. He graduated in 2008 but waited a bit to come out so he could earn money. I have been able to learn a bunch in the last couple of days. I'm grateful for the opportunity to train but it's gonna be tough. I know that I can learn a lot during this time if not more than what he will learn. I would love to get some advice on how to become a good trainer.

We've been working hard this last week but it's taken a ton of time to plan for the transfer as well as having a Golden it takes a lot of time. Well I don't really know what to write. It's great to hear that everyone is doing good. Thanks for the picture from Priest lake. I love how Kory is trying to be a gangster. Funny kid. Speaking of kids, they are done with school so they should have plenty of time to write me but for some reason I haven't gotten anything for a while.

Well I love you all. I don't got a whole lot to say today just because I got a ton of things going through my head. By the way, since when was Meg getting married. I had no idea. Who else is getting married?

Well thanks for your prayers. I love you all and please remember that if you see someone that has any advice on training have them write me. Tell all my friends I want to hear from them.

"No Regrets"

Love,
Elder Merrill

5/31/2010

Dear Mom,

So I'm sticking around in Solingen. It looks like it could be for another cycle after that because President asked me to train. I'm pretty excited but a little nervous. There are only two missionaries coming in so I feel pretty trusted. I'll still be District Leader and so it should be a pretty fun, exciting cycle. I am going down to Frankfurt tomorrow morning to pick him up. I don't know who it is yet but I will let you know next week. Elder Chapman is heading to Darmstadt. It will be weird staying here for another 6 weeks. We will see if it's 12 weeks because usually trainers stay with their Golden for two transfers. So they found 12 bodies in Priest Lake? What happened? What made you decide to take a weekend trip? I got Kortneigh's letter and I plan on sending one back today. That's the only one I have to write so I should be able to do it. Who knows though I might be too busy :)

Yesterday Brother Phong was confirmed a member of the Church as well as receiving the Aaronic Priesthood. It was an awesome Sunday for us as well as for him. He has been studying the gospel everyday and also just bearing awesome testimony. Yesterday Priesthood and Relief Society was a combined class and he gave some sweet testimony saying that we (members) need to find those people to have the missionaries teach the gospel to. It was way awesome. The spirit was just great and the members were also impressed at how committed he is. It was just an awesome week and I love being a missionary. Dad I wasn't the one who found him but I was the one who started teaching him from the beginning. Just a way sweet experience to see him develop so much.

I really don't have too much to say. The Lord is watching over me and I know that he is blessing us because of the hard efforts we all put forth in serving him.

The Wuppertal Elders had trouble the whole week trying to find a new investigator, so I decided that Sunday afternoon Elder Chapman and myself would go and help them try to find a new investigator. We were able to do about 2 hours of finding time. We started off with prayer humbly asking the Lord to lead us to those that were ready to listen to the gospel. I worked with Elder Miller and Elder Chapman worked with Elder McArthur. The last floor we were let in by a man who spoke English. We went in knowing that this was the man who the Lord was leading us to. We taught him about prayer and he enjoyed it a lot. He enjoyed it so much that, what do you know, he invited us back. this is just a sweet blessing that the Lord blessed us with this week.

Just some sweet stories that we all collect on the mission. I'm working hard on trying to increase my vocabulary and knowledge in German. I'm at that point of my mission when I could sit back and not really develop in the language any more and get by. I don't want to. I want to keep increasing and just develop my German skills.

I will be praying for you all that you will have good weather and that the Lord may watch over you. He will do that according to the obedience to his commandments. I've come to find that out on the mission and so I would just challenge you all to take a little self evaluation and see how you can better improve in serving the Lord. At the end of chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel there is a sweet activity that has really helped me out to know what I can do better. Good FHE Activity.

Well I love you all and wish you the best. The Gospel is amazing and I know that it's from our Father in Heaven. He loves us all and wants to bless us. All we have to do is obey him and strive to live righteous lives.

"No Regrets"

Love,
Elder Merrill

P.S. Updates on any friends of mine? College and high school?

May 25, 2010

Dear Family,

So on Tuesday we met with Brother Phong and we had an awesome appointment. We had Brother Braun there (My favorite Member) and he did an awesome job giving testimony. We have been, as you can imagine, focusing on baptism and the love of our Father in Heaven as well as the Savior. It was filled with the spirit and just great. He prayed to end and said an amazing prayer. He thanked the Lord for answering his prayers and for the opportunity he had to feel of the spirit. Just a great overall appointment. On Thursday we met again at the church and Bishop Pauly came (Second Favorite Member). The Zone Leaders came and interviewed him for baptism and it was just a great day. Saturday we dropped by on him and when I walked in the house the spirit was just burning. It was a great feeling. On Sunday he and his wife and kids showed up to church and just had a great Sunday. We had a good baptismal service after Sacrament meeting. The only thing that was a little tough was that his wife doesn't speak very good German at all so she couldn't really understand too much what the speakers were saying which is a little tough to feel of the spirit. The spirit was definitely strong though and I think she enjoyed the experience. I don't know how long it's going to take her to come to accept the gospel but I think she'll see the blessings that come from her husband and then eventually come too. This Sunday he is going to be getting the Holy Ghost as well as the Aaronic Priesthood. It just blows my mind every time I think about it; from not believing or knowing about Jesus Christ to being baptized and taking his name upon himself. I LOVE IT! It's experiences like these that just keep me rollin'.

On Tuesday they found a bomb from WWII in one of the cities where we work and we just happened to be there when they found it. I thought it was a joke at first when somebody told me but it was for real. It was pretty crazy cuz the cops had like all the streets blocked off and firetrucks driving through the city telling people to stay in the homes and to shut all windows and not come out. It was a chemical bomb so it could of done some damage. They had to defuse it so it took about an hour. It was pretty cool to see that. I think it was from England but not sure. They found it while digging a burial site for someone in a cemetery.

Well, Love you all I'm doing super well and I'll try to get Kiersten a letter this week. Sorry that I haven't done that yet. I'm usually way good at it. Have fun this week and I hope that everything goes well.

"No Regrets"
Love,
Elder Kyle Garrett Merrill

May 17, 2010

Hey Mom/Dad,

So it was great hearing from you both. Thanks for the pictures of the tractor. Elder Chapman said it looked like it got bombed. He really likes war stuff. Thanks for giving Kortneigh a hard time. Well looks like people are healthy and doing well. Thanks for the pictures. I love getting pictures of home. That's way awesome that you saw JohnHortin. If you see him again tell him I say hi and that I'm doing way good. It's pretty crazy how small the world is.

So we are working hard with Brother Phong but he is starting to doubt. He is having some trouble with tithing because he supports other members of his family as well. He is going to get baptized this week if he does. Really pray hard for him and that he will act on the feelings that he has. His wife isn't standing in the way at all. She accepts him getting baptized but it's a totally different life style that he would be taking on. I love that guy. He is so close and I hope that he makes the right decision. We have a bunch of support from the members which is a huge help. They want him to get baptized as much as I do. It's a really sweet feeling to be able to bring someone to a knowledge of Christ and his Atonement. It's amazing for me to look back and see that he didn't know anything about Jesus Christ. Through reading the Book of Mormon and our help he has come to develop a testimony in Christ. That is a proof that The Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I love it so much. There are so many blessings of being a missionary. It's going to be an intense week this week and I hope he makes it through it.

This past week we happened to meet this inactive member in a bus. He is CRAZY. no joke. He asked us if we could go with him to his house. We had time so we figured that that would be good to share a message with him and then leave. Well we found out that he is skiztsafrentic and paranoid. Pretty crazy combination. Yesterday he called me like 15-16 times. No Joke. I was pretty aggravated so I just shut the phone off. I let Elder Chapman talk with I didn't have enough patience.

We also had an appointment with Oma Friedel Pickelein (Frau Pickelein). She said that she doesn't have anything against being baptized. We tried setting a date with her but she wouldn't make one for some reason. There is a Sister in the ward that works really well with her and so we are hoping that she can set a date for us.

We are working way hard. I love this work so much. I talked with someone the other day on the street and he asked me if I could handle the responsibility of these people that are baptized. It was a good time for me to take a step back and see if I really could handle the responsibility. I testified to him that I could because I know that it is the true work of God and that what I shared with others was true doctrine of Jesus Christ. I can't explain the feelings that we have as missionaries. It's a marvelous work that we are able to help in. The Lord loves us so much. I thank Him everyday for the opportunity to give up two years of my life to help others come unto the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Well sorry it's so short but we are going to a castle today and we don't got too much time. I love you all and wish you a good week. "No Regrets"

Love,
Elder Merrill

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

May 3, 2010

Dear Mom,

Thanks for the email this past week. It is always really enjoyable to hear what's going on at home. So we don't really do "Street Preaches" very often. When we do it's usually that we have a little choir that sings and then there are other missionaries who go out and talk with people. I'm usually one of those that just talks with people the whole time because it's fun and I'm pretty good at it as well.

So the weather the past couple of days has been colder than usual which isn't very fun but that's alright. We are already in the third week of the transfer which is way crazy. Time just flies by. I'm afraid because I've been here so long that if I get transferred that time is only going to go faster. So this past week we were able to find two new investigators. We have been finding on average about 1.7 new investigators every week for the past five or six weeks. It's pretty cool. We like to teach alot. We have been teaching more and more lessons and they've seemed to be more affective. We are still meeting with Brother Phong. I am really hoping that he'll come to the decision of getting baptized. He is almost there and it would bless his life so much. His son is 6 and he loves me. Every time we go over there he always wants to sit by me and listen. If you could, please pray for him and that he will feel of the truthfulness and get baptized. I want to help him make this step and I think that's why I'm still here in Solingen. I do need to remember that it's the Lord's timing and not mine. I love this gospel so much.

This week we have zone conference so I am super excited to learn from President and the Assistants. They are amazing teachers. I'm working on my teaching abilities and working on being more Christlike in my teaching, teaching through the Spirit.

I love you Mom and wish you the best this week. Thanks for giving me an update of the family. I think Korbin is still gonna be weak when I get home. I'll take him down like nothing. How much does he weigh now? He probably weighs as much as me (175). I'll still be able to give Dad a run for his money. Thanks for all you do.

"No Regrets"

Love Elder Merrill

pics: Sky (brother Phongs Son), Mahlzeit! (meal time)

April 26, 2010

Dear Family,

Wow, sounds like last week was crazy. That stinks that the tractor caught on fire. I bet Grandpa was shaking pretty bad afterwards. Maybe you should have the kids pressure wash all the tractors and stuff. It might be good for the farm. I've noticed that on the mission when you stay clean and organized that things run a lot smoother and more efficiently. That's my counsel for the week :)

Well Dad, I'll have to say that was a pretty good email that you wrote me. I think that was the best/longest email I have gotten from you. hehe Well, they are all good. It's finally warm here again. It's about 20-25 degrees and with the sun shining. I'm pretty happy about that because all the people are happier. We stepped up again this week. We have been teaching more lessons per week since the beginning of March. It's way sweet to see the progress we are making. This past week we had a couple appointments fall out but that's part of life. Yesterday we went to the Braun's for dinner. They are a younger couple but don't have any kids. They are my favorite family in Germany. I love there style and we get along very well. They talked to me yesterday about marriage which was pretty cool but kind of weird to think about. They have a really good marriage and so I listened well. The best part of the whole appointment was at the end. We shared a spiritual thought and then Brother Braun said "Ich habe eine epfehlung für euch". I have maybe heard that five times my entire mission. He said that he had a referral for us. I felt really good afterwards. I felt trusted. I knew that he was serious about this referral because he said when you go there let us know and we will pray for you. It was just a sweet experience.

I'm loving the opportunity to serve here in Solingen. Even though it's been over 6 months I feel like we are seeing a lot of success. Elder Chapman is really improving in speaking German and also teaching. We are lucky to be staying together again. So because of the volcano in Iceland you know that all the flights were canceled, well the goldens couldn't come to Germany when they were supposed to and the missionaries scheduled to go home had to stay an extra week. Pretty crazy how one volcano can affect the world like that.

So I don't know really what to write about. I'm really busy these days and I love it. I'm way thankful that I have a obedient companion that work along side me, not in front or behind me. Our district is really sweet and doing awesome. District meeting last week was filled with the spirit and it's great. I love being filled with the spirit and joy of the Gospel. Today we are going to go do something with the Wuppertal Elder's.

So tonight we are going to meet with a family in the ward and have FHE. The Dad is not active and the Mom left the family a couple years ago, sad story. I'm pretty sure they haven't had FHE in a really long time and so I'm going to try and get it going again in their family. We planned out a lesson. We are planning to read a talk from the Liahona about the Cubuca (Monkey Trap). We used an old soccer ball and made the trap. We have a racquet ball and we are going to write things of the world that can help us lose concentration on the gospel and lead to addictions. It's going to be a sweet lesson. Then we are gonna play UNO and have Berliner's. I'm pretty excited about it. I can't wait 'till I can have family night every week with my own family. I miss getting all together and just having fun. We don't get many such opportunities so I'm gonna make the best out of it.

I hope that all who are able to read my email's on the blog enjoy the stories and experiences that I share. Thank you for every one's love and support in this calling. I love you all. I'm thankful for the blessing of the gospel in my life. It is a priceless gift. I hope that we all take the chance to share our testimonies this week with someone we normally wouldn't. It will bless your lives as well as those with whom you share it with. Matthew 10:39 "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." It's the same way with testimonies, if we don't share and exercise our testimonies we will lose them. Exercise your faith in Christ and work towards helping others receiving the gift of the restored gospel. I love every single one of you very much. I am truly grateful for my family and friends. "No Regrets"

Love,
Elder Merrill