January 13, 2014

Hello Family!

This week was a little bit unusal but it was still good. I don't have much time today because I spent some time emailing others... I know that is bad because family comes first! I try to be better about that! :) 

The main parts of this week were that first I went out of my mission twice..... don't worry! I was given permisison. :) The first was that this part member family wanted to take us to Walmart in ValDosta which is not very far from Madison but it's not in the mission. The President said that that was fine. It was really good because we had the opportunity to really bond with this couple and we were able to talk a lot about the gospel and get in some neat teaching opportunities. We are hoping that they will be more willing to come to church and for the husband to want to get baptized. The desire is what is keeping him from baptism. He just doesn't completely want it yet. It is always sad! The husband is a nonmember and the wife is a less-active.

 The second thing that we went out of the mission for was to go to our branch president's mom's funeral. He wanted us to sing "O My Father" at it. We were able to go and we were able to ride with Debbie and Darryl (the couple that took us to ValDosta). The service was really neat and the spirit was very strong there. Aren't we lucky to know about God's plan for us?! That our lives don't just end here on earth. That is something that I am so grateful for! Our Heavenly Father has an amazing plan for us. We will get to be with our family for eternity! It'll be such a happy and fun reunion! My testimony was really strengthened that day at the funeral. On the way home it was a great opportunity for Sister Bunderson and I to talk about the plan of salvation with Debbie and Darryl and to talk about eternal marriage. Debbie had said to us that the funeral service made her really think about her life and how things might play out in the next little while. She is thinking more about making church a bigger priority in her life. How great would that be for her and her husband! 

I had a lot that I was going to say this week but I just don't have time. Stay tuned for my next week's letter and I will have a lot more to say about this past week and the upcoming week. I learned a lot this past week and had some neat teaching experiences that I'll share.

Sorry that I am out of time! I sure love you all!! Thanks for the support, love, and prayers! Can you believe that next week is transfers?! It is crazy... We'll see what hapens!

I love you guys!

Love,

Sister Merrill

January 6, 2014

Hello family!

First off, I was going to send some pictures this week but... my cord got left in apartment, whoops! I promise that next week there will be some. How are all of you? Did ya'll make your new year's resolutions? :) I hope so! I sure made mine. I'm excited for Nicholas and Alex! Marriage is an exciting thing! 

Alright first I'll tell you the funny experiences that happened this week. (Even if to you they aren't funny :D) I went to go get in the shower one morning after Sister Bunderson had already been in there and I went to turn on the light and it wouldn't work... The power in the bathroom had gone out. So, I had to shower in the dark! Well, it wasn't completely dark because I got a lamp we had and plugged it in the room next to the bathroom and luckily the chord was long enough to reach into the bathroom. We have been using that lamp for the past few days so hopefully we will be able to get a hold of the manager who has the key to unlock where we can turn back on the power. So for the second story... we went to bed one night and the next morning we got up as usual and starting our routine. As time passed, it got colder and colder in our house! We went to check what the heater was at and we had it set at about 78 but it was 65 in our house! We were freezing. We turned off the heater and decided to see if by night it would work again. We left for the day and were out working. When we got home, much to our dismay, the heater was still broken! SO, we decided to turn the oven to 500. We got our mattresses and took them into the kitchen and put them by the oven and we slept all night in the kitchen, with the oven on. It was a fun memory! It was a rough night cause it was a little cold and ovens make a lot of noise! But luckily by the middle of the next day.... our heater started working again!!! Woohoo!! I was so happy! Ya'll know that I am a whimp when it comes to being cold! haha. To make things worse.. it has been cold here in Florida and so that was why it was so cold in our apartment. I am grateful that I at least had a roof over my head and a oven to keep me warm through the night! haha and that the heater started working again! :)

Some of my goals for this upcoming year are to be diligent in what I do, to be more obedient (even to the small things), and to have more effective personal study. I want to have a greater knowledge then I already have about the gospel. With diligence I want to be able to look back at the areas that I serve in and the people that I teach and I want to be able to say to myself that I tried my best. I know that we can't be perfect and that there is always room for improvement but I want to be able to say that I worked my hardest and didn't totally slack off. With obedience I have learned that there are blessings that the Lord has in store for us that he'll give to us when we are obedient. We have to show the Lord, by our obedience, that we want to be better children of him. Then there is my scripture study. I have noticed on my mission that when I actually put all my effort and thought into studying from the word of God and being focused on what I'm reading that I gain a stronger testimony of certain principles of the gospel, I learn more that I didn't know before. I have loved getting closer to God by studying the scriptures! I want to be even more efficient in my studies and show God that I want to learn and gain more knowledge so that I can help his children come unto Christ. I'm looking forward to a new start and trying to better myself! I hope that all of you set some goals and work towards them. When we are trying to improve ourselves, Heavenly Father will bless us because we are trying to align our will with his.

Well, this week was pretty slow because of the holidays and New Year's but we still were able to see some people and get in a lesson or two. One thing that I gained a stronger testimony of this week and that we taught to a couple of people was the secret to happiness. If you are not happy with where you are in life, whether it be with who your friends are, your school work, the way you treat others, or how things are playing out in your lives you can look at two things. That is your scripture reading and your prayers. How are you doing in those things? If you could be more prayerful or be reading and studying more often than we can see that that is why we aren't happy. I have noticed that since I have come on my mission that those two things have increased. I have been better than I ever was at those two things and I can say that I am happier than I have ever been. Of course I still could use A LOT of improvement and I am not even close to perfect but because I am praying more often and I am studying out the scriptures everyday, I am happier! I enjoy life more and I have a better spirit about me because of it. I hope that all of you will try to work on those two things, even though I'm sure you are all doing great at those two things, but look at the difference in your happiness. Like I said earlier, we taught a few people this this past week because we wanted them to see for themselves the importance of reading and praying in their lives. We wanted them to know that we could meet with them all day and they still wouldn't be happy. They need to act on what they have been taught and show the Lord that they want that happiness in their lives and that they want to change. Although it was a slow week, I was glad for the lessons that I learned and for the people that we were able to teach. 

Well my time is up but I just wanted to share with you all what I have been teaching people and what I have been learning. There was other things this week that I wish I could talk more about but I'm out of time. One of those is Charity. I have been studying that this week and it has been really neat. I suggest to study it if you can. Let me know what you learn :) I'd love to hear! I hope all is well with my family! I love you all so much!! Thank you so much for your prayers and support! Ya'll are the best!

Love,

Sister Merrill

December 30, 2013

Before I post her email from today, I'll report that the family was all together (with google hangout) when Jenni called.  She looked great!  She was her happy self.  She and her companion sang us "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas"  They changed some of the words to make it more missionary appropriate :)  "...the mistletoe, hung where you can see.  Nobody waits for me, but that's the way it ought to be." They added some fun harmony in there too.  It was fun to hear them sing together since music has been a big part of Jenni's mission so far. She sounded happy to be a missionary and we're so grateful for modern technology that not only lets us hear her voice, but see her lovely face!

Now, for her email:

Dear Family!

Christmas is gone already, I can't even believe it.  Not much to catch you up on, because we got to talk on Wednesday!  We had a great Christmas day with the family of my Branch Mission Leader.  It was so fun watching their little kids get so excited.  I can't believe that December is come and gone! It is definitely crazy!

The day after Christmas, we went to visit Sapphire, but she was just leaving town so we rescheduled. She is the girl that has a baptismal date. Walking back to the car, Sister Bunderson heard someone playing a keyboard, so we investigated! Cause she loves piano. A few backyards away, 2 men were out jammin Gospel with a little keyboard.  We joined them :)  Not only was it very fun, but we got to teach and invite them to church.  

On Saturday, we went out to a Branch activity on the very border of our area.  We drove through miles and miles of dirt roads. Finally we drove up to their house; a huge, beautiful white southern palace! We learned a new phrase 'as southern as possible' ASAP.  When we are on a road marked 60 mph and the car in front of us is going 15, we call that ASAP. 

We've been having nightly snowball WARS. Sister Bunderson's cousin sent us some yarn balls that we use as snowballs. Our apartment is huge and built like a perfect snowball fight arena, especially in the dark. Ya'll know that I can't see in the dark and so Sister Bunderson whuped my trash! It was very fun! I can't just blame the dark... I am just bad at snowball fights.

So something that was interesting that we tried for food was eggs and rice. For breakfast, they eat fried eggs BARELY COOKED, put on rice and stirred together.  We were fed that a while back, and I'm pretty sure the eggs were rotten, so it was death.  They will also do this with grits.  I think it wouldn't be too bad, but I'd have to make it myself, I'm losing my trust with Southerner's ability to fully cook an egg.

They also mix rice with anything that needs to be stretched.  We had lasagna with rice.  Some lasagna, lots of rice, all stirred up.  It's not bad.

It was so fun to talk to all of you this week!!! I'm glad that we could get the whole family together! It made me so happy! :) I love you all and hope that you all had a great Christmas and have a happy new year!! 

Love

Sister Merrill

December 23, 2013

Hi family!! 

I cannot believe that it is already Christmas!!! It doesn't feel like it at all... BUT I am so excited to talk to ya'll!! So I don't have much to say but I do want a favor from each of you. Think about all that you are doing and be ready to tell me about it. I want to hear mostly about you guys instead of me talking all the time. haha. I will have a surprise for you though! Don't worry... it is nothing scary or something like dying my hair. It'll just be something fun. :) You'll just have to wait and see.

Well, everything is great here in Madison, FL. We are being fed really well by the branch. I promise that I have probably gained some weight, it's so bad! But we are very appreciative. Last night we went to a member's for dinner and I was having a laughing fit.... it was so bad but it was also hilarious. The family was laughing too and so it wasn't just me, luckily. Anyways, this week we had a half mission conference. It was good. We did a little program where there were songs and little narrations in between. Sister Bunderson played a beautiful song on the piano. It was Silent Night with Clair Delune mixed. She did awesome! She is so good on the piano. We sang Mary's Lullaby as well. It went pretty good. After the program we introduced all of the districts that were there and our district used the poem Twas the Night Before Christmas. Dave I thought of you reciting it while we were making it up :) The funny lines that we put in there were... 

"Elder Nelson was fighting for all to see,

MMA, UFC, HIJKLMNOP.....

Then arose Elder Perkins upon his fine steed,

and roped those poor reindeer with gusto and speed." 

It was fun! Then we did a stocking exchange with everyone there. It was a fun little Christmas get together! 

Well I better go but I'm excited to talk to everyone on Christmas!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

Love,

Sister Jenni Merrill

Ps... I'll send some pictures of our little Christmas tree and decorations next week :) I can't figure out this computer this week haha.

December 16, 2013

My dear family,

Hello!! Sorry this week is going to be short.... but This week has been pretty good. I don't remember half of what happened though. haha Sometimes that is what happens on a mission. All the weeks blur together. Well on Tuesday we had our last district meeting with our district and we went to Tallahassee for that. Afterwards we stayed to do a recording of a song that Sister Bunderson made for a mission video that they are putting together. She is way good!! So we pretty much were busy all day. On Wednesday the had a little Branch primary party that they had at the church. It was fun to be involved with the little party they had. On Thursday we had a RS dinner where we started eating at one of the members house for salad and then we went to another member's in a limo to eat lasagna. Afterward we went to the church for cheesecake and a white elephant gift exchange. It was very fun!! And we got Debbie to come which was a huge step for her. She is a less-active and her husband is taking the lessons. We are going there tonight for a little bday party for Sister Bunderson. Then Friday and Saturday we went around Madison with the new elders to show them around and show them different people that we are working with. I really don't have time so I'll just send a few pictures home! I sure love you guys!! Sorry this is all over the place and doesn't make sense :) I'm excited for Christmas!!

This is the branch Presidents daughter and Debbie with Sister Bunderson and I! :) At the RS dinner

This is the limo that we got to drive in!! It was fun :)

Well, I know that this gospel is the only true gospel! I love it with all my heart and am grateful to be able to share it with everyone! I love serving the Lord. It gives me so much joy! 

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Jenni Merrill

December 9, 2013

Dear Family,

My first transfer is pretty much up! I can't believe that time has gone by so fast! I feel like I have learned a lot and have grown so much in the last 6 weeks. I will be staying here in Madison, FL! I am excited! I love my companion and the area. :) The Elders in the area are being transferred out though so we will be having two new elders in Madison. I am excited! The last Elders weren't putting their all into the work and it got a little frustrating sometimes because we would have to pick up on their slack sometimes. We are excited for the new change!

Well I hear that it is very cold in all of the areas ya'll live in!! It feels so nice here. :) I am very grateful! I love not having to turn on the heater in our apartment. It's great. I don't think that Florida knows that it is December already! So how are ya'll doing?

I am doing great! I have had some neat experiences this week that I'd like to share. The first is that the Lord answers prays. We have been struggling to get members to come with us to our lessons and so we have been praying really hard for us to be able to start making that happen. Well on Tuesday we had a member in the branch take us out to dinner. Her name is Kim and she is a solid woman. She rides her bike from her house to the church every Sunday which takes about 45 -60 minutes! She is great. Well she met us in Madison (which again is about an hour to drive to from where she lives) to feed us. We offered to drive her home since we were going that way to see one of our investigators, Tammy. We asked, thinking that she would say no, if she would be willing to just make a stop with us and teach her. Kim was so willing and came with us. It ended up that they got along really well and became friends. So not only did the Lord provide us with a member to come to the lesson with us but he provided a member present lesson that had a purpose to it. It was such a neat experience to see that the Lord is watching out for us and hearing our prayers. He wants us to be successful. The lesson with Tammy was great! Especially because we had a member there to bear testimony as well. The second experience was last night. We had planned to go visit the Carters, a less-active couple. When we got to their house they weren't home and so we walked slowly to our car and just waited awhile for some weird reason and then as we decided to drive away very slowly they drove up! So we stopped and went into their house and started talking. Well then their friend, Darlene, showed up. They introduced us to her and we started talking about the church and she said that her son was starting to look into the Mormon church. (He is in a correctional facility) She said that he had been trying to get her to look into it for a while but that she was never really interested but that now she would like to learn more and see what we believe. We gave her a Book of Mormon and we got her phone number. Right as we were talking with her, her son called and so we got to talk to him for a bit and he brought up the Christmas Devotional that was going to be on and so Sister Carter turned the TV to the BYU channel. It was still only about 645 and so we watched a devotional that was on right then. It was Elder Holland and he was talking about Alma 32:21. It was a miracle because her son had just told her to look up that scripture and said that Elder Holland gave a talk on it on time. Little miracles like that happened at that house last night. Darlene had to leave before the devotional but we are going to call her this week and meet up with her.

We stayed and watched the devotional which was so good! I loved it. I felt the spirit very strongly. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. I know that he is. I know that Christ was born and that he lived and died for us. I love my Savior and am grateful for his example. I love teaching people about Christ and being able to bring them closer to him. I have the best job right now, serving the Lord!

I hope you all have a great week! I have to go but I love you all!

Love,

Sister Jenni Merrill

December 2, 2013

Hey family!

It's December! And sometimes here in Madison, it sure doesn't feel like it. Some days it is freezing outside and other days it is the perfect weather and there is just a nice breeze outside. I love the weather here. How was every one's thanksgiving?! From what Mom and Dad told me it sounds like you guys had a ton of fun! I thought about you guys a lot and imagined what you guys would be doing. I heard you didn't really get to play football or ping-pong very much though because of Wilford and Ben.... I'm sure you still had a lot of fun though! 

Well this week was very busy but in a good, productive way and I loved it! It rained quite a bit this week and was super cold for a few days. On Tuesday we had a zone training meeting in Tallahassee, which is an hour away, and so we drove out there for that. That took up all of our morning and afterward we had to do our studies. So remember how I told you that we were going to teach Tiffany? Well we taught her on Tuesday night! It was so good. The spirit was very strong. We prepared and prayed a lot for this lesson and we felt really good about how it went. Because it was the first time that we were teaching her we did a lot of getting to know her and what she expecting out of us teaching her and what she wanted to learn. She has had a pretty rough life and she was raised baptist but she knows that that is not what is right so her and her husband are looking into different churches to see which one is right. We taught her the Restoration and we thought it helped her alot with her questions and concerns about religion. We gave her a Book of Mormon and she committed to reading part of it. At the end of the lesson we got her to offer the closing prayer. It was very powerful and very touching. I had the best feeling. I love teaching this gospel to people! It is so fun to see it change others lives. 

The rest of the week we did a lot of visiting people like usual and then on Friday we did an exchange with the sister trainers in our zone. So I stayed in Madison while Sister Bunderson went to Tallahassee. I learned a lot from doing the trade-off. I'm excited to put some of the things that I learned to use and see if it effects my work here in Madison. So I forgot that this week was Thanksgiving!! It was very different being away from home but it was still good. We ate a lot of different types of food though. We had this carrot soufflé, homemade Mac n' cheese, no rolls or bread, hardly any pies, twice baked potatoes, etc. We ate at a members home and they had family over that were in-active. So that was good. Then we just went and visited some more less-active and people who needed the visits. Sister Bunderson made some cheesecake and pecan pie so we brought a cheesecake to one of the members houses. By the way... the say pecan like this: p can. It is very different from back home in Mesa. I just laugh. 

So this weekend we had the opportunity to sing in a musical number in the Tallahassee stake christmas program but we played on the organ instead. It was very fun! We went there on Saturday to practice and then performed on Sunday. So we did a lot of traveling. It was fun though. I know a little more about playing the organ which is neat. During the program I was sitting next to this guy that was from the stake there. He kept looking at me and then would took his phone out and was doing something on it. Well after one of the songs he leans over and asked me where I was from. I said Arizona. He said, "Mesa?" Well he asked if I knew Wilford and I said that he was my brother! Come to find out that he was in Wilford's district in the MTC and then worked with him in the MTC just barely! So he had been texting Wilford during the meeting. It was fun to see someone that knew my family! I love when that happens! It is a small world! Mom said that she saw the picture so I hope you all got to see it! 

Well I am going to put some pictures on another email but I love you all! Have a great week!! And happy December! :)

Love, 

Sister Jenni Merrill

The day I went into the MTC

This one is on the day of exchange and so it's Sister Harris and I and then a less-active member in the branch. Her name is Sister Ponce. She is the 89 year old. She is hilarious. The two kids are her grandkids:

This one is of Sister Bunderson and me after the concert last night: