Happy New Year to all!!

Wow! Time goes by so freaking fast. These are the last few days in the year 2014. This is literally unbelievable. This Wednesday, I say goodbye to far and away the best year of my entire life. From family, to best friends, to State Championships, to being in the greatest service in the world :) what an amazing time it has been! Now time to move on and make 2015 the best year of my life completely dedicated to the Lord!

This last week was awesome :) Merry Christmas to all! Thursday talking to the family was.... pretty freaking great :) I love you guys and thank you so much for that great opportunity! Also to hear that everyone is doing great and healthy, it was just a great day! Me and my companion worked super hard all week, so it was definitely worth it :) the next day, we had a huge MultiZone conference with about half the mission! And it was so much fun! We had a conference, played games, received gifts, saw pictures of our family (our picture at Liz and Calvin's wedding was easily the best looking), and just had a great time! It was super fun :) the gift we received... peanut butter and jelly! Hahahah freaking sick :)

This last Saturday we had another baptism! His name is Gerald and he's awesome :) he's a little kid but he was super excited to get baptized :) this week we should have two or three more! This week is the last week that Elder Castro and I have in his training. The thing that we are told as we begin someone are two things; be an example and baptize. And I think that hopefully I've done a good enough job :) 

Well not a whole lot to say because I just barely talked with the whole family... but HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! Let's make the very most of it. And the way we can do it is by serving the Lord :) love you all!

Elder Merrill

Pictures from their multi zone conference on Dec. 26th 

Elder Merrill with the new APs

Elder Benson and Elder Merrill

Merry Christmas!

Sam did not send an email last week.  Between Christmas and a multi zone conference, they were only given enough time to quickly email us and arrange for skyping.  Talking to him on Christmas Day was awesome!  He actually had quite a bit to say :)!  We learned he loves the food!!  That would explain the weight gain... His spanish is improving and he has a fun little spanish accent.  He has yet to see any really large spiders. His apartment is really small but relatively nice.  They drink A LOT of soda!  More weight gain!!  They walk everywhere.  He left his jump rope at the MTC, more weight gain.  He has learned a lot about the atonement and what it means to him. He still doesn't do his own laundry.  They study and plan in the mornings, then eat lunch at a members house, usually rice and some sort of meat and soda, of course.  Then they go to work.  They prefer to work at night when it is cooler.  They are only allowed to baptize one person per mission.  Ward members do the baptizing.  President Russell is very strict but was awesome when Sam was injured.  He motivates the missionaries by encouraging them to be obedient, work hard and baptize!!  Elder Merrill loves Hermana Russell, she reminds him of his mom ;)!  He looks and sounds so happy! 

THE LETTER!!

Well another week down in the books! Obviously I'm necessarily complaining right now, but holy crap this is going by way too fast. The fact that we're already midway through December is absolutely crazy! This mission is flying by! This week was great, but it went by so fast that I hardly remember anything hahahah.

I had my second interview with President Russell this last week! It was great, a whole 7 minute interview. Hahahaha he knows that I'm working hard, being obedient, and baptizing. That's basically all he wants! This last week we had a couple of miracles as far as baptisms go. The yearly goal for the mission was 1800 baptisms. Yes 1800. We're really close, but a little behind. And this week the Bishop brought his nephew to church for like the fourth time, and he's gonna get baptized this week! His name is Alexander. He's like six two, super tall. And a really good baseball player! He's so awesome, and I'm so excited to help him in this lil journey :) the plan for this month was originally two, and now we're hoping for 4 this month :)

Ok that's about it as far as the life here. But super importantly, today is December 15th. Which means the Anniversary of my amazing parents. I can't describe in words the gratitude I have for them, but I'm gonna try anyway :)

I don't have a lot of regrets from before the mission, but this is one of them. That I didn't give my family enough love and attention. I'm pretty sure they knew that I loved them and was grateful for them, but I wish I would've given them more. Something I learned yesterday from the mission is this: in life we pray and we pray and we beg for things, and when we don't get them, we notice. But sometimes, we don't notice when we DO get these blessings, kind of like they were expected. This should never be like that. We as sons and daughters of God need to get better at recognizing the everyday blessings, like somebody going to church or two amazing parents and three amazing sisters. Yeah I felt it, but I didn't truly come to recognize until here in my mission that I was literally placed into the perfect family for me. My mom is an absolute rock of a person. She has been my #1 fan from day one, and has been there to help me every step of the way. I have never seen her example waver. Never once. I promised myself I wouldn't tell the story to my Dad until after the mission, but on July 20th, my Dad changed my life forever. And I will never be the same. My two older sisters are the two hardest working girls I know, with once again, unwavering examples. And my lil besty Annie is such a light to so many people. I could not have grown up in a better home. A home centered on the Rock of our Savior Jesus Christ (Helaman 5:12). And for that I will forever be grateful. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad :)

Also wanna give a quick shout out to my life long best friend Elder Hanson for finishing up his mission in Brazil this week. As I was reading his final letter home, it brought absolute tears to my eyes seeing how strong he has become and how much he came to love the people. I know that he truly fulfilled his purpose of inviting others to come unto Christ. Love you Colin :) congrats and Go Aggies! 

Well that was kind of personal and off topic, but hopefully we can all come to develop more gratitude for the amazing blessings that we receive every single day. I love you all so much and I'm so grateful for the support :)

Love,

Elder Merrill

Happy Purisima...

Merry Christmas! Almost. If you ever talk to a missionary, they'll always tell you that you'll have 3 constant companions; your actual companion, the Holy Ghost, and tiredness. And boy did I have my fair share of the third one this week. I can honestly say that this week I was as tired as I have ever been in my entire life. Every night, absolutely beat. And because of that, we're writing pretty early, then we're just gonna go sleep for the rest of the day. Super fun! I don't know, I guess that shows that we're workin hard right? :)

This last week.... hmm it was another really good week! What did we do this week???? Oh yeah, had a baptism! How cool is that? Hahaha. Elias' daughter, Maryeli got baptized this last Saturday, really fun! In all honesty, it is truly a miracle that these two were able to take this step and get baptized, I am so happy for them! I will send a picture next week because I don't have my camera!

Last night, December 7th, was the Purisima (can't remember what it'd be called in English). But it's basically a mix of Halloween, Christmas and 4th of July down here. A bunch of people set up shrines of the virgin Mary (I've told you guys that there's a bunch of Catholics here right?), and everyone goes and sings in front of her. When the kids sing, they get candy. And everyone was playing with fireworks and bombs and stuff. Super super super weird. There is some real corruption in this world. Hahahaha most the people here don't even know that they shouldn't be singing to an idol, they just do it for tradition! That is a big word here in Nicaragua... tradition. Super funny. So last night was the Christmas devotional for the church (good planning). If this doesn't show how strict and focused President Russell is, we had to take 4 investigators to be able to go to the devotional. Unfortunately we couldn't get 4, but we did get a family to go, so hopefully that will turn into something good! 

Other than that... not a whole lot of info for this week. Just a lot of fun and some really hard work! I'm really beginning to completely consecrate myself into this work. I know it, I live it, I love it! And now I just hope others can come to that knowledge as well! Love you all!

Elder Merrill

(P.S. I finish 1/4 of my mission this week... wow!)

The 4th of July in December?

It's December. I'm a little bit confused right now. How is it already December? Like what the heck? I hit six months in ten days. It's already December! What the heck! Hahahahaha it's super super weird here in Nicaragua. Obviously it's still pretty hot, but the people play with fireworks down here right now. I swear it's the 4th of July or something! It's super weird!

This week was another great week! The most important..... Elias got baptized! Wahoooooooooo! This is honestly a miracle of the Lord, and I am so unbelievably grateful for it. This young fella opened the doors to heaven on Saturday. Such a great moment. And even better, he got confirmed the next day (yes this can be a struggle sometimes in this mission)! Now his daughter is going to get baptized this week! We're super happy with this.

I'll be honest, this mission is really, really hard. The goal of baptisms for the year is 1800. Yes 1800. Right now we are 175 short going into December. It's going to be tough but I think we should be able to do it. But here in the mission there is SOOO much pressure to baptize and have good numbers, so you have to work extremely hard all day every single day to have success. And not just numbers, effective numbers! So it's lots of fun! Gotta love the pressure!

Last week we had transfers, and there's a new AP in town! His name is.... Elder Collado! My trainer, who has only eleven months in the mission, is the new AP! If that doesn't show how freaking sick he is, I don't know what does! I was so happy for him when I heard, and now I get to work with him sometimes here in the area (I've actually been missing him a lot lately). That's some other cool news I guess :)

On Thursday we had a little Thanksgiving dinner as a Zone! The food wasn't good, but it was a fun experience to spend a little time with the missionaries :) Elder Mataalii (from the MTC) and Elder Shephard (also from the MTC) are both in my Zone. It's always great to remember the memories and catch up :)

Just one quick little thing, and this will show you all a little bit about the Nicaraguans here :) We contacted a lady who was from some weird named (no one has ever heard of it) church. We asked her why there are so many churches in the world, and she said she doesn't know because the Savior only left 2 on the Earth when he was here (first super weird response). Then she told us those churches are the Catholic and Evangelical church. So basically this lady believes that there are only two true churches but doesn't actually attend either of them. The Nicaraguans :) I love them to death :)

I love you all so much and like always I'm super grateful for all the examples! Read the Book of Mormon! Even putting all my focus on investigators, it's continuing to change my life every day. Read, Pray, Serve. And Love!

Love,

Elder Merrill 

Elias' Baptism

Football on P-day

Happy Thanksgiving Dad :)

This week was about as mission as it gets. And I'm going to explain it to ya'll! First off... bad news.... I'M GETTING FAT. Ah I'm starting to get a belly just like Dad! We just eat sooooooooo much crap here, like so much. So it's really hard to eat healthy and we don't have the materials to get a whole lot of exercise. But I refuse to get too fat :)

Alright I got some dang good experiences from this week. First off, Elias. He is a guy that we found our first day here in this area. He is honestly one of the nicest guys I know! But like most Nicaraguans, kinda hard to work with and kinda hard for him to keep commitments. With the two weeks out of the field, it was really hard because he hadn't gone to church! When Elder Castro and I got back into the field, we decided that we'd try one more time with him. And by some miracle, he went to church! That week we decided we needed to teach him about the Word of Wisdom, but he had SOOOO MANY QUESTIONS about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. And he's got daughters who are always asking questions, so it was really hard to teach him about that stuff. It came to the 15th of November, and I said "If he wants to get baptized on the 29th we have to teach him about smoking". We knew it was not a great chance that he'd be able to quit like that, but we had to at least try! That night we taught him a little about Joseph Smith and then talked about smoking. He only smoked like 2 or 3 a night but said it was an addiction. AND HE QUIT JUST LIKE THAT. And then the next night we put a baptismal date for him for the 29th and his daughter for the 6th of December. It really was so cool! But that's not even the miracle.

So on Wednesday we decided we probably needed to teach him about coffee. And here we go with the whole mission thing. We went and taught him, and he basically told us that it wasn't going to happen. He knows we're men of God and understands that it come from God, but he just told us that it's been a tradition for his whole life and it'd be just too hard. I was heartbroken. Wednesday was one of the toughest nights of my life. From the first step I took outside of his house, I was in a fast for him. I fasted and prayed all day. I went back the next night with Elder Naisbitt and... he had completely and 100% changed. Literally a complete flip of attitude. That night he told us that he doesn't even want to drink coffee, just that it was hard to resist from all his peers at work. That day he drank four little cups, and he hasn't drunk since. Now we're planning on all 4 people of that family to get baptized. I can't even describe what happened. I am so grateful for the Lord and that blessing. Elias should get baptized this week!

But... I'm on a mission, so of course there are those downs also. Friday we had a super, super powerful lesson with a lady that wants to get baptized but wants to wait til January til her kids come. And that just doesn't happen in this mission :) we didn't have a plan going into the lesson, but we literally just completely followed the Spirit. And by the end, she was crying, I was crying, my companion was crying, we all were! Super cool. And Saturday.... we were scheduled to have three baptisms. Wismar who I didn't even know because he was completely from the APs, Mayling who is super cool, and Brian, the kid that we found by a miracle! Wismar got baptized in the afternoon. We went to pick up Brian, and he wasn't there. He hid from us all night. We later found out that it was because he drank coffee on Friday, but I can honestly say Saturday was the hardest, worst day of my entire life. I have developed an absolute love for these people and a desire to help them enter into the kingdom of heaven. All night I was thinking "because of my lack of obedience and hard work, someone isn't going to be able to open up the doors to the kingdom of heaven today." Yeah it sucked. I am still heartbroken for him, but we're gonna work to get it done! I have been so humbled here. I have realized so many weaknesses, and am starting to put every ounce of who I am to the Lord, because he is my only hope here.

Other than that, everything it great! Ya'll already know how grateful I am for each and every one of you guys. Seriously thank you so much for everything! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Elder Merrill

another lame, short email...

Umm... here we are, back into the normal missionary life :) so here comes another lame, short email! These last few weeks have been going by really slow, but now I'm back into the thick of things and this week was super super fast! I'll give ya all some quick updates :)

In answer to my moms question about the Spanish.... it's going great! I can basically say whatever I need to say (in bad Spanish obviously), and understand the majority. There are still plenty of times where I think... what the heck did you just say?, but it's not really too big of a concern anymore :) just pluggin along! 

This week... hmm... what did we do this week? Oh yeah, preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the only way to salvation! Lots of fun :) honestly there weren't a lot of memories, but this is something pretty dang cool. Although it's super hard, we get rejected, yelled at, hated, it's hot, and I still don't know Spanish, there really is nothing better than this work. It is truly an honor to be in the service of the Lord, seriously preaching the only way to salvation! I know without a doubt in my mind that this is the church of Jesus Christ on the earth. The only one. And we have to take the steps necessary to receive our salvation. What I love about this church and what separates us from the rest, is that this is a church of action! If we're not acting, we're not growing and we're not showing our faith! So go listen to Alex Boye and Carmen Rasmussen's song-can't remember what it's called exactly, and do something! Do something good today! Take action to strengthen your faith and others', whatever it may be! When we act, we are blessed. It's that simple. 

I know that the basis of this work is the Spirit. I've seen it so much already in my mission. It's guided me to the people that need the Gospel, and comforted me when I really need it. I work every day to obtain it more. The glory of this Gospel, is that we can feel the Spirit WHENEVER WE WANT. WE JUST HAVE TO GO FIND IT.

I love this Gospel, I love my Savior, and I love you all. Thank you immensely for the examples and the love that you've given me. Que Dios les bendiga!

Love,

Elder Merrill

I haven't been jumped this week!

Here we go! (Thinking of Mario right now I'm not sure why). Hahahaha officialy another great week down in the mission field! Livin the dream in Nicaragua! This was my first full week with my "son" Elder Castro, and man we threw some fire! Hahahah here are some updates :)

We made the decision that we are going to be exactly obedient. And that is what we tried to do the best we could. And would you look at that.... we got some dang good blessings out of it :) Monday we went looking for a guy named Anner, who's had times in the church but has basically been lost. At about 8:30 at night, we went back to his house one last time, and he was there! He told us that for awhile he never felt ready to get baptized, but now he wants to get it done as quickly as possible, and we're hoping for this month :)

Wednesday we were walking around contacting, life every single day, and I saw a little side street and thought "hmm that might be good to contact". We went back there a little later, contacted some 16 year old boy who's BEEN GOING TO CHURCH FOR LIKE HALF A YEAR BUT THE MISSIONARIES HAVE NEVER TALKED TO HIM AND HE WANTS TO GET BAPTIZED. So he should get baptized this week or next week :) we also found some other new really good investigators this week. Just gotta be obedient and trust in the Lord! 

My Son, Elder Castro, is great! He loves to work, loves to contact, and loves to talk! And for someone that doesn't have a huge interest in talking like me, it works out perfectly :) We work well together, but above all we're working hard and being super obedient. Sometimes that's all you can ask for :)

Other than that, not a whole lot is going on here :) other than I haven't been jumped this week! Although it's been close a couple times :) I love the members here in Managua, and I love being a missionary por La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias :)

Love you all,

Elder Merrill

 

These two pictures were taken on his last day in Granada

Reppin' the #5

Elders Merrill, Collado and Hartley and a family in Granada

These pictures are from transfers

Elder Castro (new companion), Elder Collado (former companion and trainer) and Elder Merrill (pre-dental probs!)

Elders Bennet and Jimenez, good friends from last area (Granada)

He's back!!!

Hola familia y amigos. Crap I´m sorry I´m really horrible with the whole picture thing. I promise that I took pictures and I brought my memory card to send them, but this place that I´m at will only take USB cords and I didn´t bring that... next week I promise! Hahahah sorry!

Ok this is going to be relatively short, but I had my surgery on Friday! They took out two teeth completely, put in two metal posts, and the implants! I was in the dentist chair for about two and a half hours... let´s just say it wasn´t the most pain free day of my life :) 

Hahahaha yeah so Friday afternoon, with a huge mouth and quite a bit of pain, I spent the whole day at the house of the Beals, the senior couple. It was a really long day hahaha. I spent the night at the house of the Secretaries and APs, then Saturday I rejoined my companion and we got right to work! Another thing that I love about the Lord. Do His will and He will provide. I've hardly felt any pain during these three days!

To be able to work with my companion Elder Castro again is truly a blessing (I promise I'll send pics next week sorry). He is such a good kid and such a hard worker. We have decided that we are just going to be as obedient as we can and work as hard as we can, with a lot of prayer in between! Not a whole lot to say because it was only a few days! Oh but I couldn't eat again until today... we ate McDonalds and it was glorious :)

Ahhhhhh something else I forgot.... I have a retainer! Hahahahah They couldn't put the implant in, so right now my top tooth is part of a retainer that I can take out at any second! Super weird but super fun. Once again I will send a bunch of pics next week!

I'm so grateful for my Savior and for this wonderful opportunity I have to be here in Nicaragua. Amo ser misionero. Lo amo, lo vivo, y me encanta. Love you all :)

Elder Merrill

We would like to thank all of our dear friends and family for your love, prayers and fasting these last 2 weeks.  We feel so blessed!!  President and Hermana Russell were so good to keep us updated and they took such great care of Sam.  We will forever be grateful for all that they did for our quiet Elder Merrill ;)

 

Back to liquids...

Email sent yesterday

Brother and Sister Merrill,

Elder Merrill finished his dental procedures this morning around 10am.  All the specialists were there and took great care of him.  President went into the procedure room several times to check on Elder Merrill.

After it was completed, Elder Merrill walked out into the waiting room and didn't even have a chance to sit down when I took this photo of him for you.  

Of course, his mouth was still numb. I asked him how it was and our Elder of few words honestly replied: "Rough".  He is a brave soldier.  I told him that the worst was over: two extractions, two posts placed., and two temporary teeth in place.

Elder Merrill wanted to go back to the mission office and enter Baptism Records, but President and I told him no.  His orders for today were to sleep. We told him the office work will be there for him tomorrow. 

(He is currently sleeping, so he is obedient!)  Elder Merrill is one elder with a great work ethic.  Thank you for teaching him the importance of work.

Now we wait for his mouth to heal. Elder Merrill is back on his Ensure and Special K drinks for about three days and then slowly adding back softer foods. I told him that tonight I would bring him some fruit and we can try to blend up a smoothie.   In about three months he returns to the specialist for placement of his two new permanent teeth.  This followup visit will not carry with it any pain. If there are any problems before then, we will resolve them.  

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Best Regard,

Hermana Peggy Russell

Nicaragua Managua Sur

Eating a hamburger with a knife and fork!!

Brother and Sister Merrill,

Before we left the office Monday, President took another look at Elder Merrill's lip.  He commented that it was healing very nicely. To which Elder Merrill replied:  "I am disappointed I won't have a scar". This is obviously a man's perspective, and he is adjusting very well to his circumstances!

Yesterday, President and I took the office elders to Mombacho,  an inactive volcano in Granada. Elder Merrill is part of the office group right now, so he also came along on our hiking adventure. (The Office Elders and APs work so hard that they often miss their Pdays.)  

Elder Merrill's dental procedures are tomorrow morning and then we will have him rest.  We will take good care of him.  Thank you for your continued support.

Hermana Russell

Nicaragua South

I thought you might enjoy these photos from yesterday.

Burgers after the 2.5 hour hike .

Elder Hayes (Materials Sec),  Elder Araniva (AP), Elder Benson (AP), 

Elder Merrill, and Elder Naisbitt (Gen. Sec.)

They all ate two of these huge 1/3 pound hamburgers!  Elder Merrill needed a fork and knife so he could get the burger into bite size pieces but that didn't slow him down.

Happy to be eating again!

Dear Whoever Actually Reads This,

I ate food on Monday. Literally the best day of my entire life. Hahahahaha that's about how my week was last week! But it was a pretty good week nonetheless. Here is a quick breakdown of what happened last week!

Every day I worked in the office with the office missionaries til about 4:30-5ish. Then I'd go with the Senior couple Elder and Sister Beals to their house until one of the APs or Secretaries would come and pick me up. I stayed and still stay at the house of the Secretaries and APs, and it's super fun there! My "hijo" or son or companion Elder Castro is currently working and staying with other missionaries while I'm getting all this dental work done. So my "companions" for right now are Elder Naisbitt (Utah), Elder Hayes (North Carolina, no relation to Jord), and the APs. They are all awesome! Every single day last week, all I did was drink protein shakes. And an occasional yogurt. And water. Needless to say it was a pretty long week hahahaha. But... I got some great studying in, and I did do a little work in the field! The problem was that I couldn't open my mouth very much to talk, and I had two shattered teeth hahahah. But hey we had two baptisms on Saturday! I don't have the pictures but it was lots of fun :) that's about it for last week, but I have some good details on what is happening right now.

So I went in Monday for my operation to get the one tooth taken out and another fixed..... and it turns out that I have to lose two teeth :) all they did on Monday was take out part of the lower tooth, so I'm currently without a tooth! The toothless wonder! And tomorrow is officially the big day! They are going to take out the rest of the lower tooth and all of the upper tooth, drill in titanium posts, and fill in the fake tooth! It'll take about 4-5 months for these posts to recover and solidify with the gum, and that's when they put in the new teeth around the posts. So tomorrow is going to be lots of fun listening to doctors drill metal into my mouth! Then in a couple days I should be good to go completely! I've eaten a little this week and it has literally been the best thing in the entire world because I can chew on my right side! Life is so good!

Yesterday we went out to Mombacho! It's a Volcano here in Nicaragua, and it was sooooooo sick. President took the whole office staff out there. Us 5 missionaries hiked like 2 million feet up and my legs were absolutely dead afterwards, but the views... wow it was worth the pain :) President is really, really strict, but he can have some fun too :)

Not a whole lot to say, but I just wanna send a big thank you for everyone that has given me support here. It's really not all that bad, I just got a rock thrown at my face, but the love that I've received here in Nicaragua and back in the States is a testimony to me how great this world really is. I'm pretty dang lucky to have the people I do in my life, and I don't know what the heck I did to deserve it. I thank you all and love you all :) Que Dios les bendiga!

Elder Merrill

John looked at this picture of Sam in the hospital and said "That's embarrassing, there's hardly any blood!"

Temporary Companions Elders Naisbitt and Hayes

Mission APs

Smiling!

Not smiling...

Worth the pain!

President and Hermana Russell

Stitches removed!

We received this email late last night!

Brother and Sister Merrill, 

Elder Merrill is now working with the Office Elders and they have their PDay on Wednesdays.  You should hear from him on Wednesday. 

The stitches were removed on Saturday, as I mentioned in my other email, and the wounds are healing wonderfully with no signs of infection. The maxiofacial surgeon did a great job and there should be little to no scar. (President took the photo below of Elder Merrill this afternoon.)

Elder Merrill saw two specialists (endodontic & orthodontic) today and did great at his appointment. The lower tooth they thought could be repaired with a crown was found with a fracture that reached 4mm below the flat break along the backside of the tooth. Unfortunately, there is not enough good tooth left to repair with a crown. Today they also made molds of his upper and lower teeth. 

On Friday, they will pull both the upper and the lower teeth. At the same time they will install the two titanium implants, pack with bone graft material and then wait 4-6 months while the implants bond to the bone. Once they are confident the implants have properly bonded, they will then install the permanent teeth. In the meantime, he will have two temporary teeth (for cosmetic reasons). 

Elder Merrill was in no pain and when the anesthetic wore off, simple ibuprofen handled the small discomfort. Within hours, I saw him in the office eating a banana (or two) and happy to be having some solid food. 

I hope this helps to answer some of your concerns and relieves some of your worry. Should you have any questions, please let us know.  

Best Regards, 

Hermana Russell

Lookin' Good!

This is an excerpt from Elder Tanner Redding's Oct. 27 email:

As I was reading this week I read in Alma 38 about when Alma the younger was giving his son Shiblon council.  I read vs: 3 and 4 which say:

"3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the Zoramites. 

4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with patience because the Lord was with thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee."

When I read this I thought of Sam. I was completely overcome with Sam's experience but more importantly Sam's response. To realize then that he may have suffered quite a bit of pain and the time but to completely direct it outward and be thankful for our Savior and for Joseph Smith is a testimony of Sam's dedication to The Lord and this work. It is very natural for us to look inward when we have things go wrong, or get drilled in the head by a rock. That is the natural man, that is not Sam. Sam has always been a great example to me as a friend and continues to be an example to me in this great work. I love what Alma says to his son. He tells him the he has had great joy in Shiblon because of his hard work and patience. I can say the same thing about Sam. I know that our Heavenly Father is proud of him and his hard work and patience. I know that he is proud of all of My greet friends and their great service. I am so grateful for the great friends I have who are amazing examples to me! 

We sure love Tanner and all of Sam's friends!

Back at his apartment?

Sister Russell sent this email last night.

Sister Merrill, 

Minutes ago, Elder Merrill left the mission home and I was able to share with him your message.  He was audibly touched by the amount of people that have emailed and prayed for him. Thank you for having such a wonderful family who offer great support to Elder Merrill. 

Sincerely,

Hermana Russell

Thank you to all of our friends and family for your love and concern! We will continue to post updates as we receive them.

Another update

Today, the swelling in Elder Merrill's lip has decreased dramatically.  He faithfully takes his antibiotic and his pain pills.  He is drinking well and we are putting him to work in the office assembling packets for distribution to investigators about to be baptized.  He is involved in missionary work of a different variety and happy to be working.  Yesterday, he helped with the organization of the training meeting of 52 missionaries and was given a few much needed hours to rest in the late afternoon.  Tomorrow he will help with the behind the scenes work of the Mission Council, setting up tables, bringing materials and mail for distribution, and bringing in lunch. There are many areas of missionary work and Elder Merrill is happy and willing to work wherever he can be of service. 

To answer Brother Merrill's question, Elder Merrill will be under local anesthetic for the procedures on Monday. President and I will be with him. His appointment is at 9 am.  I know you will be thinking of Elder Merrill and praying for him.  

I saw Elder Merrill this morning and will most likely see him again tonight.  I will make sure he knows of your love and prayers and of all of those back home who are concerned and will also inform him of the Merrill Family Fast.  Without a doubt, this will bring him great peace and comfort. 

 I am not sure if I mentioned it in my earlier emails, but in the hospital Sunday evening, two things happened you might like to know about:

1. President and AP Elder Benson gave Elder Merrill a blessing before the plastic surgeon arrived to stitch the wound.  I believe this brought comfort to Elder Merrill.

and 

2. While we were waiting for the specialist's arrival, President took it upon himself to gently wipe the dried blood from Elder Merrill's chin and hands.  It was a tender moment I will not forget.  Most missionaries see their Mission President as someone who teaches and guides and who also expects them to follow the mission rules.  All of our missionaries know that President Russell loves them and cares about them, they can feel it; but the softer side of his love for them is not often shown in such a distinct manner.  President cares greatly about each and every missionary.  He loves Elder Merrill and appreciates his willingness to serve diligently.

I, too, love Elder Merrill. We will continue to watch over him and pray for him.

Best regards,

Hermana Russell

Nicaragua Managua Sur

Dental update

Sister Merrill,

Elder Merrill is easy to love.

Here is the panoramic x-ray of Elder Merrill's mouth taken this afternoon.  With Brother Merrill's expertise, it will help answer most of the questions you both have concerning his upcoming procedures. One upper left tooth needs to be extracted and have an implant.  One bottom left tooth needs a root canal.  

Elder Merrill continues to feel no pain, for which we are grateful. He is in good spirits.  He knows you love and support him.  He is excited to be able to help in the mission office all day tomorrow.

We will continue to keep you updated as things move along.   

Removal of stitches is scheduled for Friday.  Dental procedures are scheduled for Monday.  As always, Elder Merrill will be in all of our prayers and we will watch over him.

Hermana Russell

Nicaragua South

October 20, 2014

Hahahahahahhhaahaha what a freaking week. I can't even describe in words what happened... but I guess I'll try! Started off with Tuesday... when I found out that I was going to have changes..... AND TRAIN A NEW MISSIONARY. When Elder Collado first told me I was going to train, I didn't believe him. But it's true! Elder Collado had changes too, so Tuesday night we went and said goodbye to everyone in the area. It was so hard. I've come to love the people in Granada so much, and I hope and pray the absolute best for them. Also, Elder Collado turned into one of my best friends. I love that kid so much and thank him for everything he did to help and train me. On the sheet of paper that a trainer receives, it says "your goal should be so that when your missionary finishes training he should be able to train a new missionary." Elder Collado did his job. And he's a Zone Leader now!

Changes. We have a big change meeting and it's lots of fun. And I found out that my "son" is..... Elder Castro. He's from Guatemala and he's super awesome. He speaks practically perfect English which is great, and I can tell he has prepared a lot for this mission. He obviously still has a lot to learn about the mission, but that's why I'm here. I'm excited for this amazing opportunity. We had to open up a new area (kind of). We're actually now in the area of the AP's in Managua! They are hardly ever there so it's basically ours, but man it is so awesome to work with them. Elder Araniva and Elder Benson. Elder Benson is from Utah and already in my mission he has helped me so much. I got to work with him on Saturday and he teaches with such power. I wanna be like him some day in my mission. I love that guy (and more on that right now).

Now to the fun stuff. I GOT JUMPED LAST NIGHT. Here's the story. We were walking down the street and we heard a few guys say something about the Mormons (we get a lot of crap down here). Some guy started to walk up to me, but I figured it was just another drunk guy being stupid. But it wasn't. He demanded me for my phone, so obviously I just gave it right to him (not a big deal the phones are crap). Then he started to walk away, but another came up to Elder Castro and asked him for his phone. Elder Castro doesn't have one though. We were trying to tell him that he doesn't have one when it hit me. Like literally a huge rock hit me in the face. Hahahaha it hurt so bad. I was super dizzy for a second, spitting out blood and all that. I turned around and Elder Castro was still talking and I just yelled at him "c'mon let's go!" So we left. I wanted to go to a members house that we know but we couldn't freaking find it. So we found a random lady on the street and used her phone to call Elder Benson. All this time I was spitting out blood, and my shirt was covered in it. And I could tell that my teeth were destroyed. Sorry for the details hahaha. Elder Benson came flying in the truck, we called President Russell and went to the hospital. It never really hurt, there was just so much blood. I don't have the picture with me but I"ll send it when I can :) there at the hospital I got a BUNCH of stitches, I don't know how many, but a lot. I spent the night at the Presidents house, and I'm going to have to spend the next few nights at least here. I learned today that I'm going to lose one tooth on top, and they're going to put a post in and replace the tooth. On the bottom I just have to get a crown and root canal and fix it all up. It should be a pretty long process, and I know I'm going to have like a 2 hour surgery next Monday. Fun!

 

Now for the best part. The blessings that I received as a result of this. First, I'm so grateful that it wasn't Elder Castro. Extremely grateful. I'm thankful that it hit me in the mouth and not higher in the head. The guy that threw the rock(same guy that stole my phone) probably could've done a lot more but for some reason he didn't. Elder Benson was right there to help us, and was so loving. President Russell and Sister Russell, I can't even describe my gratitude for them. They are honestly so amazing. They had been traveling all day and there were right there with me every step of the way at the hospital. I was there til about 11 doing the surgery. And they've been so loving today. Sister Russell has more love for these missionaries than anyone could ever imagine. She reminds me so much of my mom, and that gave me so much comfort at the hospital. And lastly, I received an even greater testimony and love for the Prophet Joseph Smith and our Savior Jesus Christ. I just got hit with a rock. They had soooooooooo much more done to them. So don't worry about me :) be grateful for those two men.

I talked to Dad on the phone this morning, and it really was so simple. I'm alive, so I'll just get right back to work when I can :) love you all so much and I'm thankful for your prayers and support!

 

Elder Merrill

 

Sister Merrill,

 

As a mother of four, three who served missions, I know sometimes our "mother's heart" feels things differently than our husbands do.  For this reason, I am writing to you. 

Please know that President and I are doing our best to take very good care of quiet, kind Elder Merrill. We love Elder Merrill.   President and I spent all morning with him at medical appointments and purchasing food that will be easier for him to eat than rice and beans.  We have contacted the absolute best doctors/dentists and have been seen immediately. Last night in the ER probably felt like a long time to Elder Merrill because we were finished long past his missionary bedtime of 10:30 and because he is a morning person versus a night person!  He is tough and uncomplaining.  I monitor his pain, which he says he has very little of or none at all  Probably one of the hardest things for him is not being able to work.  He has asked to help out in the office tomorrow as he wants to continue serving the Lord in any way he can while he waits for future appointments, less swelling and healing.  

It takes wonderful parents to raise such a fine missionary.  He knows why he is here and wants to fill each day with service.  I am sure he will write to you, but should you personally have any questions I can answer, please let me know. Thank you for sharing Elder Merrill with us.

Hermana Russell

Nicaragua Managua South

October 13, 2014

I'M OFFICIALLY DONE WITH TRAINING. I'm no longer a new kid in Nicaragua. Which is great, but it also means that I have a lot more pressure on me. And I love that! After this next change, I'll already have 6 months in my mission :) it's unreal how fast it goes out here! This week was a great week! Changes are this week, I find out tomorrow if I have transfers! It's probable that I will have transfers, but we'll see!

Some good experiences. First time in my mission that we brought a whole family to church yesterday! Ah it was so great. Four people, Reinaldo, Ingrid, Gabriel and Jordin. I love this family! The goal here is to baptize families, but it's really hard. So to have this here is awesome and inspired of the Lord! 

We had two baptisms this week! And wooooow, was it tough. First Rosario. At the beginning she wasn't all that great because she didn't want to listen... but somehow her heart was opened and she opened the door to the celestial kingdom! 

 

Rosario

And this chabalo Juan Jose. He's 12 years old, and he was pretty easy for most the way! But we went to pick him up this Saturday and he didn't want ANYTHING, he was not going to go. We have this thing in the mission called Jarron Azul, which means do absolutely anything you can to not let the people make a bad decision. Elder Collado and I were there for more than an hour trying to convince him. And I can honestly say that I have never prayed harder for anything in my entire life. During that time I was thinking, "because of my lack of effort and preparation, he's not going to get baptized", and that was killing me. So I prayed and gave it all to the Lord. I said "Father, I will accept anything. Sickness, pains, anything. Just open his heart and let him open the door to thy kingdom." And after a long time, he finally accepted. (I was pretty sick yesterday and today). I am so grateful for my Savior and Heavenly Father. My prayer was answered and I have a new found motivation to work as hard as I possibly can. Because this will be over before I know it. 

 

Juan Jose

 

Today we went to the beach and played a little soccer. And it's my mission best friend's birthday today! We got to throw some eggs at Elder Bennett, good day :) another picture is with Elder Bennett and Elder Jimenez (The Big 3). We came together and expect to leave the area together :)

 

Elder Bennett's Birthday Egg?

 

The Big Three!  Elders Merrill, Bennett and Jimenez

I am so unbelievably grateful for my family and friends. Annie you also having somebody in Nicaragua praying for you! Take care everyone and keep up the good work! Love you all!

Elder Merrill

 

Some random statue...

Roll Tribe!

RollTribe Called To Serve....8 for 8

This past Spring our Baseball Team at Bountiful High School won it's first State Baseball Championship in 26 years by beating Spanish Fork 6-4 in the Championship Game.  We were led by a group of 8 Seniors, all of whom played a pivotal role in the State Championship Run.  Over the course of the last 6 months, one by one, each of these 8 seniors received their mission call to serve the Lord for 2 years as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Last evening, I, Coach Boog, received a phone call from Masen Jones, our baseball team's catcher, telling me that he had finally received his mission call to serve in the Washington Vancouver Mission departing November 12.  Masen was the final member of this group of 8 of the finest young men on the earth today to receive his call.

As their coach, I am grateful for their accomplishments on the baseball field.  It was a surreal experience and one that everyone of those young men as well as all the other players on our team deserved.  But more importantly, I am very proud of each and everyone of their desire's to serve a mission and serve other people.  Baseball helps build character, serving missions for the Lord reveals their character to the world.  This in my mind is an accomplishment of the highest levels of commitment.  I am honored to be their coach for both of these wonderful accomplishments.  Go Forth Young Men and Serve with all Your Heart, Might, Mind, and Strength!  I Stand All Amazed!

From Left to Right

Elder Tanner Redding (SS) - Taiwan Taichung

Elder Jordan Hayes (LF) - Samoa Apia

Elder Masen Jones (C) - Washington Vancouver

Elder Ryan Stringfellow (1B) - Madagascar Antananarivo

Coach Boog - Japan Kobe (1988-1990)

Elder Ryan Curtis (CF) Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Elder Andrew Naegle (RF/DH) - Ecuador Quito

Elder Brayden Muir (RHP) - Brazil Rio De Janeiro

Elder Sam Merrill (DH/RF) - Nicaragua Managua South

#RollTribe - #CalledToServe

Thank you to Coach "Boog" Stringfellow for this post copied from Elder Ryan Stringfellow's mission blog.