Jul 28, 2014

Hello Family,

I was in Cork this week, and for one reason or another there were tons of Spaniards on vacation there.  We had several opportunities to GQ (street contact) them and spoke to a few of them.  On a couple occasions I was able to speak Spanish with them, and even talk a little about the church and what we do as missionaries, I was able to express myself well and can honestly say I spoke the best Spanish I ever have. It was good; I also speak quite a bit of Spanish with our Brazilian investigator, who speaks Spanish, Portuguese and English. She is so solid, she invited us over for breakfast last week and fed us this huge Irish breakfast with fruit and pancakes and the whole lot, we love her. 

It is highly unlikely that I will be transferring this moves, as Elder White is going home so I will get a new companion when he goes.  Life is good here; the zone is doing fantastic in many aspects of the work.  We have lots of work; the zone has baptized 4 people this month, which is great as well.

Last Thursday I flew to Edinburgh for a 24 hour exchange with the Assistants.  We had a great day, did some tracting, taught a couple lessons and even had a dinner appointment.  It was cool being back in Scotland for a couple hours, and travelling alone was fun as well.   It was very warm, the hottest day of my mission easy.  I flew back the next day, feeling tired and fulfilled.  Missionary work is the best. 

I love you, thanks for everything you do.  16 months down. Crazy, every day is only a few minutes to me now. 

Love you

Elder Merrill

To his little Brother about a hard choice he made this week:

Life is full of tough choices, and quite often we are faced with the decision between the right choice and a choice that we really want to pick.  We show God what matters to us most by how we make these decisions.  Choosing the right shows discipline, patience and strength, and builds the same.  Choosing the wrong always shows weakness, immaturity and lack of self-mastery.  Making the right choice is rarely the easy decision and always takes faith.  There is a reward in heaven for every sacrifice we make on Earth.  I'm proud of your good decisions and impressed with your self-discipline, you made the right choice.  

Good luck and enjoy yourself; I love you, take care of your sister,

Your bro,
Elder Merrill

July 21, 2014

 

Hey Dad,

It was another great week  indeed.  Walks are nice, you certainly wouldn’t want to be walking around Limerick after 10pm ha-ha but we did go on one in the afternoon yesterday with an investigator who is progressing nicely.  The walk was on a beautiful golf course called Doromond Castle I think, it was nice and we got a lot closer to  ………..   She and I spoke lots and lots of Spanish and I’m pretty sure my Spanish is as good as it has ever been, we spoke quite fluently about all sorts of things. 

………  and his family came to church again, he is doing good and still preparing for his baptismal date on august 2nd.

This week, on Friday, we had an All-Ireland Multi zone conference and Elder Dyches from the Quorum of the Seventy came and spoke to us.  He and his wife gave us all some great instruction and I had some time to speak with them both for a while afterwards before they flew off to Germany.  Have any of our Merrill’s served missions in the New York area?  Sister Dyches was wondering. Very spiritual and uplifting conference. 

I hope your staycation goes well and that you have lots of safe fun. The HG is an incomprehensibly important blessing and gift.  Certainly one of Gods greatest gifts, as it tells us in the Gospel Principle manual.  He always speaks, so we have to listen all the time.  Because as Brother Williams story shows, it can come any ANY time at all, and especially when were not ready for it. And because we never know when the HG will prompt us, we have to be worthy and in the right atmosphere to receive impressions all the time.  That’s why were counselled to always live worthy and keep our body free of influences of any kind that can pollute our spirit.  

 

Loved to see all the pictures of you at the beach, you all look healthy and it was good to see you away from work and relaxing a little bit.  Rest is an important part of work, as is recovery.  I love you Dad, stay strong and safe and I will see you in no time. 

Elder Merrill

 

 

 

July 14, 2014

Hey Dad,

Wow we certainly had a great week.  As an area and as a Zone, Limerick saw much success and witnessed miracles.  We set considerable goals every week for our areas, DLs set District goals, and then we set the Zone Goals.  We have done very well on all of our goals and even blew away a few.  This week we had 4 with a baptismal date, 6 at church, and 5 less actives at church, 6 new investigators, and 5 progressing.  And the zone has baptized for the past two weeks, which is great. Here is a story I sent to mom, Miracle time:

Last Monday Pday we had a couple of hours left in the day and weren't sure what to do, we decided that playing ping pong at the church would be decent and went to the chapel.  About 45 minutes after we arrived there, we were lounging around and two men walked into the chapel and began speaking with us.  Their names were …….. and ………, from the Czech Rep and Slovakia, and immigrants to Ireland.  ………. was a Less active member, who hadn't been for years, ……., his friend, expressed a desire to join the church.  They live in Ennis, 45 minutes away.  …… told me they had been discussing the Bible and got on the subject of the Book of Mormon and the Church, at which point ……. filled ……… in on what he remembered about the church.  ……… immediately felt like visiting the church and asked …….to take him into Limerick, …….. told him it would be closed but ……… insisted and they ended up at the church talking with us.  We set an appointment for Friday and went to visit them.  We were greeted by 14 Czech/Slovaks who listened intently to our message, accepted the book of Mormon, and agreed for a baptismal date for August 2nd.  Many were already members, Less Active, but four will be baptized and possibly more later on.  They came to church and loved it, met many good people and expressed again their desire to be members.  Including them and others we found this week, we have gained 6 new investigators.  And 6 are progressing.

I do love when people ask questions; it’s my favorite teaching environment.  I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that when questions are posed, I can always pause for a moment, think, and feel perfect guidance when I open my mouth.  It really is an amazing feeling, and it never ceases to amaze me that as I answer according to the spirit, I can watch the persons face become content and their heart soften.  They recognize the answer as truth and that shows me I’ve said the right thing.  Great experiences, great teaching moments.

I love you Dad, thanks for being a worthy role model and a hero.  I love testifying of the Savior and the book of Mormon, but of course everything Gospel related testifies of the Savior.  That’s really what the gospel is, and what the scriptures are.  Everything we do is to remind, teach, direct or otherwise console us in the direction of Jesus Christ and who He is and what He does.  The sacramental prayer isn't just for the time that the sacrament is being passed; to be forgot when the class bell rings.  Instead, that prayer should carry on in our hearts throughout the week.  Our covenants aren't just for Sundays either.  I love the Gospel and the doctrine and everything about the church. Can't get enough. 

Loving my mission, things are hard but obviously the work is fruitful and time is flying by.  I lie down to bed every night thinking, holy smokes I swear I just got out of this thing.  Crazy.

I love you Dad, thanks for everything. 

Elder Merrill

PS allergies gone.

 

July 7, 2014

Jul 7, 2014

 

 

Mom,

Im doing great and loving the Limerick Branch, and the people here.  ……… is in the Canary Islands all last week and gets back tomorrow, so unfortunately we haven't seen her in over a week! But she is solid as can be and loving the Book of Mormon, we just need her to experience sacrament meeting, to feel the spirit in the church and to meet some of the great members in this Branch.  She has a testimony and has received a few spiritual witnesses of the truth.

 

For the fourth of July, we had a BBQ at a members home(the wife is American) and we threw around a football, they even had a baseball and gloves.  I could still throw the baseball but I was definitely rusty, remember the old days when we used to throw the ball around in the back yard?  Those times were alright.

Interesting you talk about Grandpa, I was actually thinking about Grandpa Jim last night!  I was filling out a My Family - Family History Booklet - and contemplate the few yet vivid memories I have of him.  My earliest memory, is looking at Grandpa Jim while we were playing that little frog game where the frog would spin around and you would flick the little flies into its mouth.  Great memories, he was a good man and I'm very sure he instilled many of the healthy mannerisms that I have today.  You and dad raised we very well on top of that, I have often thought to myself, "If I can raise my own kids the way Mom and Dad raised me, they will turn out alright".  Lets be straight, I will need pointers along the way, but I can recollect a few principles of parenting from you and Dad.  One thing was, you guys always spent time with me, it always amazed me and still amazes how much time, money and energy you both sacrificed for me.  You may not know how aware I was of all the sacrifice because I may not have said anything, but I can think back and recall how I felt the many many times you or Dad did anything for me.  Whether it was 5 dollars for a movie ticket, a ride to a friends house, a small word of advice, or a vacation to Alaska.  All these things made a huge impact on my life and whenever I was faced with decisions between right and wrong, my relationship with you two was the first thing that influenced that decision.  It always pulled me to the right way. Thanks for that.

I love you Mom, thanks for your endless service.  Surely there is reward in heaven for every single sacrifice you have made and do still make for us, tenfold. Your a great mom, couldn't be happier.

Elder Merrill

 

 

 

Pday Photos with Brother Kelly

Gap of Dunloe

Elders Kerry, White, Thomas, and Merrill

Kilarney Range

The Villages behind us are Waterville and Kerry

PDAY Cliffs of Kerry and Beach of Sneem

Cliffs of Kerry

Beach of Sneem
 

June 30, 2014

Hey Family,
First of all JIF peanut butter in a package would be great, thanks.  Second, moves call follows as such.  I have been reassigned to go to Paris, France.  Just kidding, I’m staying in Limerick with Elder White for the last six weeks in his mission and I feel good about it.

I’ll be sending some photos soon from last P-day in Kerry, in about an hour we have a lesson with ……. at the church, where we are emailing, then it’s off to Dublin to help with moves and all. We do lots of driving.

To answer Dads thoughts on the Book of Mormon.  The Book of Mormon certainly does change lives, it has mine.  I've learned more about the modern day dangers that exist now from that book than I ever did from the hours and hours I spent watching and studying history and the political spectrum.  It testifies of Christ and reveals his enemies, which are many.  I do love the Book of Mormon and mine has become my most valuable worldly possession, and really my only worldly possession of much worth.

I'm happy and doing well, it’s just really busy work and dealing with a lot, but way too consumed in the work to worry or think about much else. Being ZL keeps you busy, and focused, which I like.  I love you and miss you of course.  Hey, I actually speak quite a lot of Spanish out here which is weird, but yeah it turns out its beneficial to know other languages. Glad to be educated. Keep up the great work back home, see you soon Mum.

Love your son,
Elder Merrill