February 3, 2014

Hey Family!

How are you all this week? I am doing pretty good! Things were pretty slow this week and there was nothing too exciting going on but another week has come and gone. That is crazy to me. So this week it got pretty cold here! All of Madison shut down because it was "hazardous weather". It was pretty funny because even though it was a little rainy and super cold, there still wasn't ice and it wasn't anything compared to Utah or where there is snow! Luckily it is back to warm weather again though. That is good!

Well I am low on time today but I what to ask three things:

1. Are you searching your scriptures diligently everyday?

2. If not, what are your excuses for not reading them?

3. Are these excuses good enough for the Lord?

It is so important that we are reading our scriptures everyday! I wish that I had done better before my mission. It is such a sacred time that we have to be able to have the Lord talk to us. It is a time that we can become closer to our Heavenly Father. Scripture study and prayer. These two things will give you so much peace and happiness that nothing worldly can give you. How are your study and prayer habits? Think about that. 

Sorry I am out of time but know that I love you all!!! I keep each one of you in my prayers! Thanks for being a great family. You make life easier :) Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Merrill

January 27, 2014

Hello Family!

How is everything and everyone? We had a pretty good week this week. We taught quite a few lessons and had some interesting experiences. 

The first neat thing that happened this week was actually on Monday. We had this referral that we needed to contact that was a less-active. So we decided that we should go contact her since we had the miles and we had an open day. Well her house is about 15 miles away and so we drive forever to get to her house and as we pull up there are these two pitbulls that are barking like crazy. We stayed in the car for a while and decided that we needed to get out and be brave little girls! So we do and luckily the dogs had calmed down a bit. We were nervous that they were going to start attacking us though but they didn't! We made it to the door and knocked. The girl that answered is probably 19 or 20 and was definitely not the girl that we were looking for. So we asked her if Sister Poyer lived there and I guess she had moved so we ended up talking to the 19 yr old, Hannah, and she was very interested in learning more about the church! It was very exciting. We set up a return appointment and went and taught her on Saturday. The lesson was so good. The spirit was strong and she really enjoyed it! We gave her a Book of Mormon to read and are going back on Thursday to have another lesson. We were able to bring Alana to the lesson with us. Alana is a member of the branch. She is a convert and so her testimony was perfect for Hannah. It was just a neat lesson. Who would've thought that we would get a new investigator by trying to contact a less-active referral. It was neat! Things like that are highlights from the mission :)

We went tracting for the first time on my mission! We found this random street that seemed really cool and so we took an afternoon and knocked doors. Mostly no one answered except for 2 people. One of them wanted to learn more and accepted a Book of Mormon. The other said he knew a little about the Book of Mormon and just wasn't interested. He was good with his church. Sometimes people are like that down here in the South. Here is a funny story about a lesson we taught this week. We were teaching a 9 and 11 yr old and we were talking about the story of Ammon. Well at the end of the lesson we asked the boys "What did you learn about God?" The 11 yr old said, "Oh I know, i know! That boy Almoy used his powers to do the goats in the pen." Then the 9 yr old says, "Nuh uh! Ammon used God's power to slay the guys arms off." Oh man.... I'm glad that at least the 9 yr old was paying attention! Sometimes that is how lessons go as well.

We had Stake Conference this weekend and it was regional. It was very neat. One of my favorite talks was from Sister Carol F. McConkie. She talked about God's commandments. Why we have them and what they do for us when we keep the commandments. She read through the hymn of Keep The Commandments. It is so plain and simply stated... "Keep the commandments, in this there is safety, in this there is peace. He will send blessing." That isn't all of it but it is right there. If we keep the commandments, God will bless us and keep us safe. He gave them to us so that we will have the guidance that we need and the safety and peace that comes from following the commandments. She then talked about 3 things that keeping the commandments do for us. They are: 1. Helps us to know the truth. 2. Blesses us with happiness 3.Unites us with God and prepares us to return to Heavenly Father. I love the last one. What better way to live our lives then with being united with God and being prepared to live with Heavenly Father again. If we do not keep the commandments in this life then we won't even feel comfortable living with God again. I am grateful that God gave us commandments so that we can have guidance and be protected and find peace. They are there to help us. And if we love God, we'll keep his commandments. (John 14:15)

Well I have no time left but I love you all!! Hope you're week is great! Read your scriptures and say your prayers! You is the best way to have the spirit with you. 

Love,

Sister Merrill

January 20, 2014

Dear Family,

 

This week has been a really good week. You know how I said I'd write a lot this week... well I don't have anytime because it is a holiday and we are using a member's computer and we don't want to take up all of their time. So here goes for the highlights of this week.

 

This week I did an exchange with the sister trainers and I learned a lot about teaching with the spirit. We were able to visit 3 people that day and teach them. We had planned lessons for all of them but when we went to go see them the spirit told us to go in a different direction. It is so neat to be able to recognize the spirit talking to me and directing me in my teaching. We were able to comfort one of the ladies that we taught named Peggy. She had found out that her mom wasn't able to come because she wasn't able to get her visa and she hasn't seen her in 7 years. We shared multiple scriptures of comfort with her. We helped her know that the Lord is always with us in our trails and we helped her understand that even if we don't understand why things happen to us we need to trust in the Lord and know that he will help us through those things. Some of the scriptures that we shared were John 14:18,27, Alma 36:3, Ether 12:26, and D&C 58:2-4. It is neat to see how scriptures can comfort us in our times of trials.

 

At the end of this week we had a mini MTC in the branch I am in. In the morning we had a few classes to learn more about missionary work and how we can do it. Then we had lunch. After lunch we got split into companionships with the youth and had people we needed to go visit. Once we were done with our visits we met back at the church for dinner and a testimony meeting. It was a good experience to see the youth sharing testimony and going out to do missionary work. It was also cool to be able and use the power of the spirit and share whatever came to my mind.

 

Well I am excited to stay in Madison!! I love this area and I love serving with Sister Bunderson. IT will be such a fun transfer. There are a lot of people that we have to teach and to bring closer to Christ. I love what I am doing and love always striving to be better. I love you guys and hope you all of a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Merrill