July 1, 2013

The Chapel in Stranraer
 

  Dear Family,

Finally, P-Day. The hottest it’s been while I’ve been in Stranraer is around 71 F and I was burning up.  In Cork, Ireland last week it was around 85, which is bliming hot for these islands. This last week has had a lot of rain, but from what I’ve heard this next week should be fairly dry and warm.  I think because I’ve adapted to the climate here, Utah weather would probably kill me.   Everyone here talks about Utah as a vacation area and those who have been loved it.  My appreciation for where we live has definitely grown since I’ve left.   I’ve been out just over 3 months, seems like a long time but it’s gone by fast.  Some days are longer than others. My new comp is Elder Park; he's a nice 6 foot 4 guy from West Jordan, UT.  Fairly mellow kid and we get along great. All he’s been able to talk about since he got here is how small and old the flat is, it really is crap ha-ha but I don’t mind it, we aren’t ever in it anyways.  He came from Edinburgh, and he has served in Inverness, and all the way up in the Isle of Skye.  Lucky.

We had a very solid investigator at church yesterday, and after talking with some members for a while she expressed desire to be baptized in the sea.  Her name is Angela McCleary and we have been teaching her for around 4 weeks. She likes me a lot and calls me her dude.  She wants me to baptize her; we have a great relationship. She is more a friend than an investigator, and get this... her maiden name is Patton.  She’s great, she’s working on giving up smoking, and yesterday when church was over she said she hadn’t had coffee or smoked that whole day. She’s a relatively heavy smoker, so this is great. She is living with her fiancé, and they’re not due to get married until November, so that’s my only concern, but she is really solid and has been fellowshipped greatly by the branch here.  She received a very strong witness one day, while we were reading from the book of Mormon.  I remember the exact words I was reading when the spirit testified to her about it, I was reading in Moroni 10:3-5, a fairly widely known and used scripture.  I had read the words, “to know if these things are not true", and right then she told me the spirit filled her heart and she knew it was true.  I invited her to be baptized and she accepted. She will hopefully be baptized on the 14 of July.  She and I will hopefully stay in touch throughout my life. 

Hope this story can enlighten your day; I’ll send a picture of Angela and me.

Were also still teaching Martin, our Czech friend.  He's doing very well, and his life is really being blessed.  He missed church yesterday, but we've ordered him a Book of Mormon and all the lesson pamphlets in Czech, and hopefully that will help him progress much better.  

I hope all is well at home and I love you all very much. Enjoy the rest of your week and I look forward to hearing from you next Monday.

Elder Merrill

 

Martin, our Czech friend