September 2013 is here and Elder Merrill is doing well

Sep. 2, 2013
Today is our favorite day - it's time to get a letter from our awesome Elder Ethan Merrill.  I'm especially happy because it is a day off of school, so I got to be home and say a little hello to him again.  It is such a paradox; we are so grateful for Elder Merrill's service as a missionary and his willingness to give up this time in service to the Lord - but we still miss him like crazy! But we are 3/4 of the way through and before we know it, we will be welcoming him home! Go Elder Merrill :)

How ya doing?  I suppose when you get this, you´ll be at school. I know that it can get a little crazy with the schedule sometimes, try a planner or an alarm so you can set the important things down somewhere. It´s the only thing that helps me remember all the things that we have to do during the week. But that´s just if you feel overwhelmed and can´t remember all the things that needs to be done. 

         Yeah. It got hot than cold than hot and today it´s rainy and cold. The weather is all over the place in Argentina. Anything can happen. Even more so in the city I´m in: Quequen. Well at least it´s not too hot yet. I won´t enjoy summer. 

         Wow, I wonder if the bathroom will look a lot different or just a little different when I get back. If it really is in 2 weeks to get everything done, that might go by slow for you, but it goes by fast for me. The time is really flying over here. 

          Like I said, with your job and all, no worries. You´re a great teacher and I think things will go well. I remember reading Holes. I think I was in the 7th grade when I read it. I think I read the book and then saw the movie, but I don´t quite remember. 

            Yep. This is the last week of the transfer. It comes every 6 weeks. Can you believe that I´ve got 24 weeks left of the mission?  It seems short when I say 24 weeks but it seems long when I say half a year. It gets hard to fight the trunky thoughts at this point. 

             Sorry if this letter is shorter than usual. There´s literally nothing new to report really. Things go on the same. I often wonder how Andrew is doing. He goes home in the end of November, that´s just about 2.5 months away! I wonder how I´ll do at that point.......trunky I imagine. 

            No worries about the birthday package, I bet that it takes about a month to arrive here, so luckily, you have a little time to find it and get it out. If it arrives early, I think I´ll wait until my birthday to open it. If it arrives late, well....I´ll open it when I get it and everything will be good. 

            Hey, you guys have an awesome week okay? I´m doing good here, maybe I´ll be in another city when I write next week. Who knows? I´ll always remember to work at doing my best on the mission with all the people that I come across. I´m praying for you guys too and I hope that everything goes good for you guys in school, work and everything in general! love you lots!!!

         

                           -Elder Ethan Merrill        

Hi son!!! It is Labor Day today so no school - so I'm here!!! YEAH!!!  I'll read your letter and then write some more :)   LOVE YOU LOTS!!! Mom :)

cool, just respond when you´re done and chat until my time is done. love ya.-me

Hi best missionary ever!!!

Yeah, today it is very cloudy here this morning, which is a nice surprise because it is supposed to be 102* I think. Maybe the clouds will stay and keep things a little cooler.

The bathroom will look pretty much the same when it is all fixed back up. The only thing I'm changing is in the computer room. The top half of the wall is covered in this wallpaper that I never really liked so instead of replacing that, I'm just going to have them paint it instead. Yeah, it will be really nice when everything is all done.

Let's see, according to Sis. Stockton, Elder Stockton comes home the first or second week of December - I think it is the first week. I will be happy to see him because it will mean you won't be far behind, lol.

So transfers are coming up again. Gosh, it seems like maybe just a week ago that you had them!  Yeah, I hope I can uncover the birthday box soon, lol.  It will be fun to send that out to you.

So the missionaries here have been focusing a lot more on visiting the less active and trying to get referrals from members. Do you guys still do a lot of tracting there or do you mainly visit less active members too?

Oh yeah, I had asked earlier, so when you went to renew your visa, did your companion go with you? That sounds like it was a really long day, but yep, necessary. In Turkey, we had to renew our gate passes with the Turkish officials to get on and off the base once a year and that was always a pain but again, necessary.

SURE LOVE YOU!!! :) ~ Mom

wow.....I didn´t know it was labor day! How I´ve forgotten some things....    

            

             Huh, the way I understood it, is that the whole bathroom is utterly destroyed and there´s a hole that leads outside at the end. But maybe it´s not like that.....that´s just the image that I have in my mind. LOL. I can´t wait to come home and see it all.

            It´s true, Andrew comes home in December then...and 2 months afterward, I come home. It´s interesting, but 2 months can go by really fast or really slow, depends on if you´re really exited on what´s coming up.

            I forgot to say it, but happy anniversary to you and dad! I hope that things all go well back home for you guys.

             Hey I´m sorry, but my hour is up.......I gotta go now........I love you lots and just know that I´m thinking of you guys always! You all have a great week and just know that everything is going fine for me here! See ya around! Love you!!!!

                            -Elder Ethan Merrill

August 26, 2013 - One of the things we enjoy the most about Elder Merrill is his great spirit and his talent for being compassionate, kind and always thinking of others. We hope he is doing well and as always, we keep him in our hearts and prayers. Have a great week Elder!!!!

It should be getting warmer…but it’s not.  I don´t know why, but we´re getting snow and hail! It´s very odd. Well, we´ll see what this week brings. 

                  I got all the paperwork done. I´m officially legal again. But, it´s just that it took 10 hours of traveling and about 8 hours of waiting and it took about 2 minutes to sign some papers and give my fingerprints. Well, a break from the routine is nice. 

                  No....no luck with the apartment. Transfers are in 2 weeks so I doubt that I´ll still be here if we find a new place. But you never know. I could be here another 6 weeks.

                 Well, I talked with you about the house getting flooded, but wow, that´s probably a lot of cleanup work from what you described to me. It´s nice that people let you guys do the things you need to at their houses, like laundry and sleeping. Well, let me know how things have progressed in a week. 

                  Trust me, teaching in front of people and especially kids under 12 can be a little hard and difficult. Well, you´re a master teacher, so you probably already know this, but just teach for attention. Do something that´s fun. Teaching adults and teaching kids are pretty different. (but truth of it is, some of the adults here in Argentina I need to treat like I´m teaching kids.)

                    Well, despite the craziness of the week, I´m glad that everyone is doing well. (I wonder how Sparky reacted to the house being flooded?) It´s true what you said about challenges in life. Even though we live the gospel, challenges can and will still come. 

                     It´s like you said, I´ve had tough times in the mission, but it´s alright. We grow with these challenges. Again, thanks for always giving me support, they really help me to keep on keeping on. 

                         Hey, sorry that this is a short letter, but it´s about time for me to go now. Just know that I love you and the rest of the family! Sorry about the pipes  :(    Know that I love you lots!

                                             -Elder Ethan Merrill   

August 19, 2013
It's adventure time for Elder Ethan Merrill as he completes his visa-update since he has completed his 1-year mark in Argentina.  We enjoy his letters, especially when he describes little aspects of his life over in Argentina.  Here goes:

Yeah, today isn´t as cold as it usually has been.  I´ve already hit the 1 year in Argentina point, It´s a little crazy, to think about. There´s actually something that I need to do with my visa, but I´m finishing that up this week. It´s not difficult, I just need to do a lot of waiting. I need to wait on a bus for 5 hours to travel to Bahía Blanca, then I need to wait in line forever, then I need to sign a paper, and that takes about 10 seconds, then I need to get on the bus and that takes another 5 hours. Like I say, a lot of waiting just to do something small. but it´s a break from the routine, so that´s nice. 

      President says that we have to write him during this time. I´ll explain why it´s so annoying when I get home, but let´s leave it at that this time slot of writing you guys annoys me. But I´m cool with it.

       I forgot that you were trying to be a teacher. Congratulations on getting the job! Are you exited? Nervous? It´s been awhile since you were in the classroom, when I was really young I think. Let me know how it all goes. You probably already know this but mesa verde means ´´green table´´ funny. No worries about writing me, getting a letter a 7 in the morning I thought: ´´´maybe she´s still sleeping.....´´ Do what ya need to and all. 

         Ooooooh....another leak, yikes, that´s a little expensive to get it done, but I think that in the long run, it´ll be good for the house. To change ALL the pipes might take a little time though. 

         We NEVER EVER EVER get thunder here. Just rain. Argentina is really calm weather-wise. Like I said, it´s getting a bit hotter here now. We haven´t found a new place to live, but we decide, the zone leaders nor president need to authorize it. It just can´t cost too much money. 

         It´s like spaghetti what we eat. Red tomato sauce with ground beef. I don´t much like having it everyday, so we try to have it once a week. It´s not that I hate the taste, but having it every day gets old. 

       Hey, I hope that you have an awesome week too. Good luck with teaching and all that stuff, let me know how teaching 4th graders are. I imagine it´s something like teaching primary. know that I´m praying for you and I´ll see ya around next week! Say hi to everyone for me! Love ya lots! bye! 

                              -Elder Ethan Merrill 

Heya, I got a note to add.

         I forgot to write some of the things that I want for my birthday package. If you haven´t sent it yet, and if it´s not too much trouble, I´d like the following:

     -twix

     -doritos

     -reese´s pieces

     -jelly beans

     -fruit gushers

 I think that you´ve probably thought of some of these already, but just a short list of goodies. Also, I wouldn´t send any peanut butter if I were you. I can last out 6 months more without the stuff. anyway, love you lots and see ya around!    -Elder Ethan Merrill

Earlier emailing time from our favorite Argentinian-exploring missionary

August 12, 2013
It's another happy day as we get our weekly letter from Elder Ethan Merrill. He is working hard and doing well.  He is our hero!

How ya doing?  Don´t worry about the whole robbery thing....I have everything I need really, so it´s all good. Thanks for saying what a trooper I am...I don´t feel so special at times when people do this kinda stuff to us as missionaries, but we do what we can and we try to keep our heads up. it´s what Jesus would do...right?

          Don´t worry about the suitcase and all, I found one that´s pretty cheap and I found a place where they sold the memory cards for cheap too. I had the same idea, just use a memory card with his camera. I´ll buy those 2 things today.

       

   ---- Hey this isn´t too important, but it´s something you should know. The mission president changed the time we get to write and now we HAVE to write at a specific time. We have to write him at 11:00 and we only get an hour to write now. Kinda stinks, but well....whatever. You´ll get this letter at about 7:00 - 8:00 in the morning if it´s 11:00 here I think. Well, that´s probably how it´ll be from know until the end of the mission. just thought ya better know. ----

       Don´t worry about the whole week thing. I try not to take out money from my personal account if I can help it. But I´ll keep in mind the whole $350 deal, but I don´t think I´ll ever have to take out that much money.  

         CHARLIE´S GOING TO JAPAN??? That´s so cool! I´m super jealous! I bet Jessica is a bit too if she knows. LOL.  

       It´s actually pretty windy and cloudy today. A bit of rain, but this is the last of it we´ll see. When September rolls around, we´ll be seeing a lot more heat. Well, it´s the last season of the mission for me...so it´s kinda cool, kinda sad and exciting and scary all at the same time. can you believe that this week marks 17 months in the mission? I´m practically old now! And my 21st birthday is in 2 months? That´s crazy!

         I don´t have much things for my wish list birthday box, I made a list, but due to the time change, I forgot it in the house. When I E-mail you next week, I´ll have the items and you can mail it to me. I PROMISE! 

         Good to know that life is pretty much the same for the family. With college and stuff, things should be interesting, but it´ll be like school I suppose. Homework and tests and all. I hope that things go well for you guys! I´m thinking of you guys too and it´s hard to fight the trunky thoughts at times! 6 more months and I come home! I´m super exited and I hope that you´re all exited too! I have a bunch to tell you and I´m so thrilled to be here on the mission! see ya all later! love you lots!

                  -Elder Ethan Merrill