April is flying by!

April 22, 2013

It's time for another fantastic letter from our fantastic missionary!  We are glad to hear that he is doing well and trying to work hard. Keep up the great work Elder Merrill :) 

How are you doing? I´m good. April really is going by super fast! This is the 2nd to last week, and next week is the last one of the transfer. On May 14th, I´ll complete 14 months and that´s the date when I left the MTC, that´s crazy! The thing that gets me is that when I hit 16 months, every month mark in the mission from then on is some sort of milestone until 20 months, and then it´ll practically be over! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, I´m still at 13 months right now. That´s still a lot though, huh?

          What a crazy cat we have, I miss her a lot sometimes. Cats aren´t common, but I see a few every couple of days or so. I saw one this morning when I was on the roof of our house funny enough, it was on the ground and it just looked up at me and meowed a couple of times, then I went inside to eat something. We´ve had a relaxing P-day, but every single one is just so fast, and every week it seems shorter and shorter. Well, I´m told that´s a sign of getting older on the mission.

            My week was kinda slow truth be told. Like I said, we don´t have many people to talk to, and it seems like nobody wants to talk to us, but DON´T WORRY, I´m in high spirits and I´m always ready to try to find people the next day if we don´t meet any on one day. I hope that we still have people to talk to at the end of this transfer because if I go, I´m not leaving behind anyone for the next elders to talk to!!! If I stay, well, that could be a long transfer ahead of me....but like I say, don´t worry.

                    I haven´t finished yet, but the dentist told me that we´ll be finished the 29th, so one more week. Yeah, inactive folks here are hard to talk to; a lot of them do exactly what dad described, look at us and hide. And we know they´re there. I think exactly like dad said, and I want them to come talk to us, but it’s so much easier for them to hide and say nothing. Well, we´ll have to answer for the things we do, but one thing that helps me keep things in perspective is that I´ll have to answer for some of the mistakes that I´ve made too, so I prefer to worry about myself really, and not focus on the mistakes of others. Thanks, I really do try to keep content and calm, even if things are going bad, and funny enough, that helps. Panicking just makes things worse.

         I didn´t hear anything about this bomb thing that you´re talking about. What happened? Was anyone hurt? The younger brother was really only 19? That really sucks that he´s in prison for life then. I am thankful for the gospel because it really can help change our lives for the better if we let it. I have seen life with and without the gospel, and the answer is clear, life with this blessing is so important to have.

          The quilt is all done then? That´s awesome! I bet Kyle will like that. I got the pictures that you sent! He looks slightly different, but really he´s the same too. I can´t wait to see you all again in person!
       I said last time that Saturday the 18th doesn´t exist, that´s because I was looking at the month of April. Sorry. I´m gonna see if I can call home on the 19th, that way I´ll be able to see you and dad and the family together. If worse comes to worse and I can´t get permission, I´ll just call on the 12th like everyone else then. I´ll let you know. 
         I know that the time can seem long at time, but the time goes fast if I focus on the work and if you guys focus on the day to day things in your lives. I can´t believe that it´s almost May, then it´ll be June and that´s half of the year gone by! Then it´ll be the other half gone by and then I´ll be home! But, like I say, one day at a time. I´m doing good here, and I´ll be waiting for that package!  I sure love you guys and I´ll be doing my best to work hard! See you all around!
 

               -Elder Ethan Merrill