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