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