A possible transfer and more missionaries? How exciting!

~ Oct. 21, 2013 ~ Hooray for another letter from Elder Ethan Merrill, always a special time!  And I just realized that in 2 months it will be time for the Christmas call, yeah!!!  I hope he can Skype again, but we will be thrilled with any chance to talk to him live and in person!

Heya mom!  So, even though I´m writing this week on Monday, today isn´t actually P-day. This is how our week is shaping up: 

 Monday (or today.) : normal day

 Tuesday: we receive transfer calls

 Wednesday: P-day (and we leave if necessary)

It’s kind of weird, but I have a feeling it’s for all the new missionaries that are arriving in the mission. Someone told me that we´re getting 40 or so. I haven´t had to train an elder yet, but I have a feeling that I might get called for that. Hmmm....I´m not to excited for that....but whatever comes, comes. I don´t know if I´ll stay in this area or not, but I think that I´m headed to a new area. Ever since last week, we´ve had the rumor that they´re taking us out and putting in sisters. Well, that would make sense, there´s a lot of new sisters in the mission fields. I think I´ll see them a lot more in the zones. Until now, I´ve hardly seen any sister missionaries.

        I bet it´ll feel good to have the house back in order and all. I don´t have any idea what the scope of the damage was, but I bet it was kind of crazy.  We´re having a bit of an issue with the water in our apartment right now too.  There´s a leak in the floor and it bothers the people under us. So some people need to come and fix it. All the floor is cement and tile, so they need to tear the floor apart, find the leak, fix it up, and put the floor back to what it was. But we can´t shower in the morning because of this. So after 4 days I said, ´´enough! I´m going to the apartment of other elders to shower!´´ So that´s what I did this morning. I kind of hope I go and arrive at a new area where there´s a shower that works. And a washing machine. And a table. And chairs. 

        So Langston is serving in the states? You´re right, I can´t imagine him on the mission. I still have it in my mind that he´s 12, lol. (I know Elder Merrill – there are so many of our young friends growing up and serving missions and it seems like it was just a week or two ago that we were in cub scouts doing the rain gutter regatta or something similar!) There are a lot of people serving missions now aren´t there?

        I can´t tell you how much you´re right about the chaos in the world. Every day on the news here it seems as though there´s something about people dying. You´re spot on about the gospel bringing hope and joy to the lives of people. There is a bright side to the darkness, it´s not all gloomy days and sadness ahead of us. The question is if we´re willing to see it or sit in the dark and do nothing. 

          I´m glad that everyone is good back home. I didn´t know that Brad had a brother, just his sister, Dawn, if I remember correctly. I hope that they enjoy being in Washington, I don´t know what sights are there, but I here that the temple up there is big and breathtaking. That´ll probably be something cool to see if they´re passing by it.

           The birthday box hasn´t arrived yet, but I don´t expect it to until November 9th or around that time. Don´t worry, I got a pizza and an ice cream cone for my birthday. It was fun.

          Speaking of birthdays, tell Kyle that I say happy birthday tomorrow!! I hope that he has a fun party or whatever he has planned. Take 1 or 2 pictures if he´s having a party in the house at some point during the night. I hope that you´re all having a good time back home! I´m doing well here.

        That´s about it for now. I´ll see what tomorrow brings, If I go or stay, and I´ll write you next week and tell you what happened! Know that I love you guys lots and that I´m always thinking of you guys! It won´t be long now! See you next week! Bye.         

  -Elder Ethan Merrill  

Elder Merrill is 21 now! Happy Birthday son!!!

~Oct. 14, 2013 ~  It's been a sweet and little sad week, as we think about our wonderful young son and send him all our birthday cheer and wishes! A little sad because we miss him so much and wish we could give him birthday hugs in person. However, at the same time, we are bursting with joy and gratitude that he is working hard as a missionary and willing to work in a foreign land to help others and bear testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for this wonderful man and the blessing and example he is to us! We sure love you Elder Ethan Merrill.

Hi there!  I’m sorry I´m a little late! We went and bought all the stuff that we needed for the week, and that took a little longer than expected. I just finished writing president, so now, all that´s left is to write you guys!

           How are you doing? I´m good here. I had an awesome birthday and some of the families here in the ward are going to make me some treats and stuff. Should be fun. It feels weird to be 21 now. I don´t much feel it but that´s what comes with a birthday. You don´t feel the change in 1 day, but over time. I can´t wait to receive that birthday box! I´m super exited to see what´s inside! LOL, the card that you sent me off with is super funny what you put inside! 21 dollars for 21 years! I got a kick out of that. Apart from that, there´s not much to do here, the birthday feeling is winding down now. All that left is to wait until Christmas, and then wait until February. That´s a little crazy! I hope that it comes soon, but I want to do all that I can in the time I have left.

           I just got the pictures of the car. You must´ve just sent it right? I like it...It looks pretty neat. I hope it´s not hard to drive, the bigger the car, the more difficult it seems to me. I suppose I´ll have to learn how to drive when I get home, but I still remember the basics. And not having to drive in Argentina helps because it doesn´t confuse me or anything for when I have to come back. 

          The neighbor’s yard looks pretty cool too. Like you said, it probably looks better night, but it looks pretty cool still. 

        The work here is pretty good. We don´t have a ton of investigators like we did in our last area, so that´ll be one of our focuses this week, finding new people. I hope that we do, working in the city, nobody really wants to talk if you knock their door, so a lot of the contacting we do we have to do in the street.

         I saw the pictures of the car and I want to know.... what happened to the front lawn?? All the grass is gone!! Well, it´s all good. We´ll see what happens, maybe it´ll grow back?

        It´s funny, the lesson you had on Lorenzo Snow is the exact same one that we had here in Argentina. I saw that question too! Why am I here? It made me think about why I´m here too, and think about the importance of the mission.

        I can´t believe that Bro. Reidhead won´t be in the ward when I get back! Like you said, he did a great job...I´m really going to miss him. I hope that we still are in contact with him and his family when I get back.

       The weather here is interesting. It should be hotter, but we´re next to the coast, so it´s cooler here than in other parts of Argentina. But the ´´downtown´´ that´s next to our apartment is more and more crowded everyday now. Tourists from other parts of Argentina are coming here. It´s unlikely, but I´ll be on the lookout for any Americans.

       Hey, I gotta go now, but thanks for always writing me!! I hope that you guys have an awesome week! Today marks 19 months in the mission for me!!! November is the big 20!!! I can´t wait to see you all again!! Love you lots!! bye!!!

                                   -Elder Ethan Merrill

Elder Merrill's last week of being 20!

It is so hard not to miss Elder Merrill as we get ready to celebrate his 21st birthday. But even though we miss him fiercely, we wouldn't want him to miss this time to serve a mission. He has definitely grown in wisdom and experience and after all, we get him for eternity! What a blessing!

A special week indeed. (I said in my letter to him this week, that it was a special week because we are celebrating his birthday!)  I still have that card that you sent me off with. It says ´´don´t open until your 21st birthday.  I´m excited to see what you all wrote me 19 months ago. As always, thanks for giving me support and love in your letters! I can´t believe that I´m turning 21!

            Yeah, I figure a small get-together on Monday with some of the other Elders in my zone and pizza and ice cream sounds good. 

           Conference was pretty good. I liked what President Monson said about this one being one of the most inspiring conferences that he´s attended. I thought so too. The things that they said were really uplifting and important to the way we should live our day to day lives. I can´t believe that this one marks the last one in the mission for me. Time is slipping through my fingers like crazy. 

          So, the house is all repaired? That´s good. Just putting everything back in its place is all that´s left. Do you want to put everything back where it was or move some decorations and furniture around or something? Elder Holmquist told me that it´s good to change some things around so it´s not always the same thing for 3 years in a row. I find new a little refreshing sometimes, but I don´t want to come back and find that EVERYTHING is different. Tell me what ya think.

             Huh, end of the first quarter already then? The second one ends in  December right? It seems like such a short time away from my point of view, but I bet it´s forever for the students. Well, good luck getting all the stuff set. Seems like just yesterday I was getting report cards. Weird.

             Hey Hey! You found the box! Well, like I say, I´m not worried, just so long as it arrives really. I can´t wait to see what´s inside this box and inside the birthday card that I have. LOL, I´m getting all trunky thinking about it. Again, DON´T worry about it not getting on time. I´ll enjoy it the same as if it arrived on time!

              The weather is pretty good here as well. The only thing is that it´s warming up instead of cooling off. It´ll begin to get a little crazy when November rolls around. But I´ve survived 2 summers already, I´ll survive one more. They have Halloween here in Argentina, but it´s kind of low key. I´ll see if I´m still here on the 31st, but maybe with a bigger city, It´ll be a bigger deal here. Take a picture of the yard, the way you describe it makes me want to see it. (new neighbors across the street have turned their yard into a very cool but not super scary graveyard)

           Hey, as always thanks for helping me with all the support that you send my way. I want you guys to know what a blessing you are to me while I´m serving here and that I´ll always give it my all and serve the Lord as best as I can. I´ll see ya around next week and I´ll tell you how my birthday was! Love you lots! See ya later! Bye!

                    -Elder Ethan Merrill

Sea Lions and conference, what a week!

How fun to get a birthday wish from Elder Merrill.  His is coming up soon as well. Pretty exciting to spend your 21st birthday on a mission in Argentina! Here is his great weekly letter home:

Heya! Happy (late) Birthday Mom!! (I don’t think being one day off when you are serving a mission in a foreign land and can only email once a week counts as being late! We can cut him some slack this year, lol)

           So, I swear I remembered your birthday, had it marked in my calendar and everything. I just wanted to wait until today to say it, and not last week, 7 days early. How was it? Did you do anything fun? Get anything you wanted? I hope that you had a party or something! How cool that you were sealed on your birthday. I bought you a gift and all, but you´ll have to wait until February to receive it. LOL.

             Huh, yeah send me a picture of the new car when you get the chance. Like I say, with all the stuff that you all have to do, it´s probably important to have a car. And if it moves, that´s the main point. (And maybe have air conditioning too.) 

             Do you think that the house will be finished this week? If you start moving all the furniture back, that´s when you start looking for the birthday box right? Well, I´m not fussed when I get it, with 4.5 months left....oh... I don´t know. I´m just more excited to see you guys than seeing a package.

             I´ve never ´´trained´´ but I´m fine with that, I don´t think that I´d do such a bang up job.  I feel like I´m going crazy just working with a normal companion, showing a rookie the ropes, I don´t know if I could do that. Well, we´ll see what happens with these last 3 transfers. 

              Yep. We went to see the sea lions, they´re bigger than me....but not massive. They sound like they´re belching when they make noises. And all they do the majority of the day is sleep on the beach. Apparently, they can run fast and can get antagonized if you get a little too close, so there´s a sign saying that it´s prohibited getting close to them. I don´t know if anyone was ever killed by a sea lion, but I don´t want to find out. Or lose an arm. (Using the force wisely young padawan…)

              Wooooow....conference is this week. I´m so excited! This marks the last conference that I´ll have in the mission, but that´s fine, there´ll always be another one at home. I´m glad that I have the opportunity to spread the gospel with everyone, and that we have prophets and apostles to guide us!

               We have Halloween here in Argentina, but I´m not sure how popular it is. It´s where kids go around and get candy and stuff, but people don´t make a big deal out of it like they do in the states. What a shame that I´ll never be able to do that again. Let me know how the party in your school goes. I think it´ll be funny to think about adult sized minions. They´re really short in the movie. You´d be perfect for that costume though. (juuust kidding.) (uh-huh…..)

                 Hey, thanks for sending me the letter and thanks for making plans to send the smaller package! I really can wait, I don´t mind, you don´t need to spend more money. I´d say send it if you can´t find my birthday box, but....it´s all up to you. I can´t believe that I´m 21 in 11 days! I promise to work hard and that I´ll do my best to preach the gospel! I love you lots and have a good time at general conference! I hope that you all have a great week and know that I´m always praying for you and thinking about you guys! Love you! Bye!

                                              -Elder Ethan Merrill