We have a Picture!!!!!

Feb. 4, 2013 ~ Well, the exciting news is we finally got a picture from Elder Merrill (who has dwelt these many many months in lands of not-so-plenty-internet service). We are thrilled to get this picture! The bad news, for some reason, after trying all kinds of options, we can't get the blog to post it straight from a download, so I had to take a picture of the picture with my digital camera and then post it here. However, in the whole translating process, the picture keeps turning blue. I don't know why. It just likes that area on the color spectrum. But a blue picture is STILL a picture so here you go, Elder Ethan Merrill, during his blue period at Carmen de Patagones:

Doesn't he look AWESOME!!!!!  And to make the day even better, he finally got his Christmas box!!! It took 2 1/2 months and I had given it up as a goner but he got it!!!! WOOHOOO!!! Here is his letter:

The Christmas package arrived! Thank you for all the candy you sent me! My companion enjoyed the box that was filled with candy for him too! He´s from Argentina so he hasn´t really tried those kinds of candies before. The shirt was funny too! I like the ¨wish you were here¨ scribble on the side!  The tie was fun too! I needed an orange one because I wanted to make a tie rainbow, a rainbow with all the ties as the colors. I took a picture of it and everything. The letters and all the primary kids’ notes were fun too! Thank everyone who had a hand in that from me! The nerf guns were awesome too! Don´t worry about the twix, they arrived fine. Thanks for everything you sent me!

      Tuesday, we find out if we got anything in the mail because we have a reunion that day, so every Tuesday we all go to a church building and have a conference as missionaries and receive mail while we´re at it. I got the package the day right after you said that, “rats, I guess your package got stolen.”  Here´s a photo for you: [see above photo] It took about 3 minutes to upload that picture, that feels like forever when you only have an hour. I hope that you weren´t to crushed about the package not getting here, It had me worried for those 2 months or so. But it finally came! The peanut butter was still inside too.

To answer your question last time about if I was still coming home early, the answer is yes. What happened is that they asked for your E-mail about ohh.....3 months ago maybe? I didn´t have it on hand and I forgot to write it down, so they couldn´t have sent one because they don´t know it. I thought I might have given it to them, but maybe they forgot to E-mail you. but I am coming home in about a year. 1 year and 20 days more or less! I can´t believe that this mission is already about half way done!

          I really want you to send me only 2 more packages. One for my year mark in March, and the next for my birthday in October. I really don´t want one for Christmas, because that would be too close to my departure, and by the time I got it, I would be on my way home, so what´s the point I figure?

         I´ve taken a lot of awesome pictures of the river here, and me next to it, I can´t wait to show you guys! I have a bunch from my other areas too, so don´t worry, you´ll get to see all the different types of the cities. The streets here are really confusing, but I think I told you that. It´s also really windy! Like you wouldn´t believe! I like it though, because without it, it´d be even hotter. Well, there´s ups and downs to that. It´s a really dusty place, so the dust and dirt kicks up and gets in our eyes sometimes, but it´s not really that bad.

       As always, I love hearing about home. I can´t believe Sparky sits in peoples' laps now, I remember she wouldn´t get on the couch, let alone in our laps! We were in an investigators house and they had a small black kitten who was very interested in what was on the inside of my ear. I took a video of it licking my ear. I´m glad to hear that primary is going awesome!

      I finished the Doctrine and Covenants, but in English. I´m working on the Spanish version of the Book of Mormon now and I´m in 3rd Nephi. It´s gotten easier to translate and read, the trick is to read for understanding, if there´s a word that I don´t know, I look it up in English. That way, I´m bound to learn it because there´s a good chance that the word will appear again. I´m working hard and in good health and high spirits! Stay safe and I´ll see you next week!

          -Elder Ethan Merrill