Elder Merrill is soooooo close to being home! Woohoo!!!

Feb. 17, 2012 ~ So the excitement over Elder Ethan Merrill’s soon to be arrival home is growing!  We are happy to get his letter today, it may even be his last one! But we hope that he can send one more next week. Here is what he has to say:

“Maybe one more letter” ~ who knows? I don’t know what will happen until we leave Buenos Aires at 9:30pm but I have figured that it could be something like this:

Monday, the 24^th, is still a P-day for us.  So we have our studies until 10am and then we get to wander around Bahia Blanca until 6pm.  It’s like a normal P-day, we just do want we want to (or need do) until the end.  I honestly don’t know if we will get to write one more letter than or not.  If I get the chance I will, but this is all just a guess.  At 6pm, we have a Family Home Evening thing with President Parreno. Then Tuesday, I have no idea what will happen, but at the end of that day we leave Bueno Aires. Then I get home!

I’m not going to lie, it’s kind of freaking me out that I only have about 6 days left – but it’s weird too.  It hasn’t quite hit me yet. It was like that when I got to the MTC.  I don’t think that it quite hit me that I was on the mission until the 3^rd day or something like that.  But I’m doing fine for now, good and focused.

I’m super excited that my box arrived as well.  I was worried that it was going to arrive either, but here it is! And I’ve enjoyed the Doritos and Twix a lot. Also the Star Wars gummies.  I suppose everybody is on a Star Wars craze with the prospect of Star Wars 7 coming out at the end of the year or something like that.

So it’s Rodeo week huh?  That’s nice that you and Stuart get to go and visit the temple.  I can’t wait to go again; apart from all the spiritual blessings that come from the temple, I want to see this new video they put out.  Then it’ll be even more fun and cool when the Tucson Temple opens up.

Hmm…hot huh? Well, I don’t know if that’ll bother me or not, but heat is something I’m used to by now.  Whatever happens, I think that I’ll be fine.  Wow, hearing all about the changes that happened to my room and Jessica’s old room is nuts!  The house will be recognizable still right? Just kidding. I think I’ll like the new changes.  If we can clean and organize and re-arrange things every once in a while, it keeps the mind fresh and we can try out new ways to walk about the house.  Should be fun!

I wrote down the flight information in the case that they don’t give me it or if my tickets aren’t clear…but I really think that they are just holding them until I get to the mission office.  I’ll print it out, it’ll be good to have an extra copy.  Atlanta is one of the biggest airports in the states, right?  I think I passed through there, but there wasn’t much time so I didn’t see a lot of it.  I’d like to explore it a little but don’t worry, I’ll make the flight and everything.  I don’t know why but I like the feeling of airports. I’ll call collect too so we can talk!

Well, I don’t know just how excited you guys are but I’m CRAZY excited to see you all again! I know it’s only a short time more, but I’ll do my best to be focused and then it will be the time when I get home.  I love you lots and I hope that you guys have a great week! Have fun at the temple and I’ll see you all SOOOOOOON!!!!!

LOVE YOU LOTS!!!!

-Elder Ethan Merrill

PS. I’M SUPER EXCITED TO SEE YOU ALL AGAIN!!! SEE YOU SOON!!!!!

-Elder Ethan Merrill

The Christmas box arrived!!! Just in the nick of time!

Feb. 10, 2014 ~ Happy Happy Monday to us as we get another letter from Elder Ethan Merrill. I find myself getting so happy at the thought of seeing him again soon that I am both immensely excited and teary-eyed with happiness. It has been a blessing to know that he is serving faithfully and will be back home soon! I am also VERY RELIEVED that the Christmas box I mailed him in November finally got to him! I was quite sure at this point that he would come home without having ever received it, so I’m glad he got it. Not sure why the Argentinian postal service had to hold it for 2 ½ months, sheesh! But I am very glad he got it finally!

Heya Mom! (One more letter!) (Hopefully two, not sure when he will return to the mission home but I hope he will still be able to send us a Monday letter that final week) I´m doing good this week.  Well, we´ve just been going around doing what we usually do. Nothing really new, but we´ve found this family that we´re teaching.  They belong to a church that believes the Sabbath must be on Saturday. They think that the whole world believes in a lie and us in particular because the only day we have ´´worship´´ is on Sunday. Well, I won´t go into the details, but needless to say, we have some long chats with them. (one of the unexpected blessings serving a mission can bring is 1) an exposure to other cultures/beliefs and learning how to accept and respect others even if they believe differently and 2) a deeper understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a testimony of the truths that have been restored – such as the knowledge that while we may have formal meetings on Sunday, we truly worship every day when we try to live our lives as the Savior would have us do.)

           But apart from that, things are pretty chill. It´s not too hot, and I´m just coasting along until the 28th. That is pretty crazy to think about. That in just 2 short weeks, we´ll be seeing each other again! But I won´t get trunky. I´ll just do what I can to focus on the work and all that. But I still can´t wait to see everyone and do everything again. Heh heh. I´m glad that you got my travel papers and all that! I still don´t know any information, they´re probably going to give me it when I get to the office in Bahía Blanca. or just give me the necessary plane tickets. LOL. We´ll talk in the airport, so I´ll let you know where I am and when I should get to my next destination, so we can keep track of all that.  

            Wow, I knew about the Bryce going to Canada. That´s pretty cool. I may have to wait awhile until I see them again, but perhaps I´ll write them or something. It´s weird but cool to think about: most of the people I know going on missions and all that. Hey speaking of missions, that Christmas box that you sent to me arrived!! Thank you so much for the Doritos and Twix as usual, I also enjoyed the star wars gummies, cookies, lifesavers and the star trek shirt. I was pretty content to get those. But there you have it. I´m stoked that those got to me in time. 

         Sorry about your flu thing, I hope it´s not serious, but you can work and all so it sounds more like an annoyance than an impediment. (Stops you from working.) I´ve had a couple of problems here because of allergies. Nothing big, just the usual. A stuffy nose and sneezing a lot. But it doesn´t affect me much. 

          That´s cool about what you´re teaching your students and all. I always enjoy hearing what´s going on back home and all that.  When you told me that you were teaching your students the song, ´´ The Star Spangled Banner´´ that made me think about the time that I did it too. I don´t remember it too well, but I do remember that I was super scared at the time. Public speaking scares me, public performing is even more so. Thanks for all the compliments though. I do like volunteering, but I´m not sure why.  I guess it´s one of those personality things....

         Hmmm, hot weather? Well, that´s fine for now, with 2 weeks left, I´m really not too fussed about the weather. There´s a light at the end of the tunnel and everything now. I´m interested to see how things are when I get home. Here, it´s not as hot as it was, but it´s still hot. Back home, I wonder if it´ll feel super cold. Well, I won´t mind much I think, I´ll just be happy to see everyone again. Poor dad, I skimmed his letter before reading yours, and he told me that things were kind of chilly down there. I´ll see how things go when I get back. Anyway, I hope that things go well for you all, see you all next week! Love you lots! Bye!

                          -Elder Ethan Merrill

February! The last month of his mission! Way to go Elder Merrill!!!

February 3, 2014 ~ This is the month!!! The final month of Elder Merrill’s mission!  I can hardly believe it is finally here! Funny how it seems to take forever to arrive but then when it does, it didn’t seem so long all the time (just sometimes!).  He sounds good, more relaxed now that he isn’t penniless in a new city, whew! As always, it’s such a blessing to hear from him! We sure love you Elder Merrill J

Heya Mom! how ya doing?  I´m good here. Really good! I won´t be too trunky but I come home in 25 days!! I don´t know if I want people knowing when I get home or not.....I kind of want it to be a surprise. I want to scare the pants off of James when I get home, but I don´t know. If nobody knows when I get home, then I have to go and tell everyone, design a party, stuff like that. I´m still not sure what I want to do......(I will have to write him in his letter for next week that EVERYBODY knows when he is coming home! Many of them have been counting down with us and I already have a welcome home party planned, so yeah…..lol)

           But that´s enough of being trunky I suppose. Hmmm, this direction that I gave you, I hope it was right. I´ve never even heard of the streets Higgins or Lespade.(we were trying to look up his address on Google Earth…apparently we were not close, lol)  Well, at least you have the right city. I think that I´m close to the city´s center, but I´m not sure. Things are going good here for me. We have a lot of people to teach and it´s not nearly as hot as it was the first week that I was here. I´m just doing what I can and teaching everyone and all that. If I let trunky thoughts flood my brain, I´m doomed. But it´s not that bad really. It doesn´t even feel like I´m going home really. It just feels like another transfer. I guess it´ll hit me when I´m boarding the plane or something like that. LOL. 

            Sorry about your cough, I know it can be difficult to work when you´re not feeling 100%. It´s good that Kyle’s feeling better. I think that´s interesting that you´re having slightly cooler days. I would´ve thought it´d be going up slightly, now that you´re in February. That´s always a fun experience what with the quilt and all. I hope that I get to try that out one time before it gets too warm. Heh. It´s good that things are about the same back home. You still have that quilt you made for me right? That was really nice of you to make one for all of us. I want to use it when I get back I think.

             I didn´t know that Bryce was going to be in the MTC so soon! Wow....well that´s good for him. I can´t believe that Charlie got to be his welcome host, how cool is that! That story that Heather told? It´s true. Every word of it. Dogs are everywhere. Streets, airport terminals, hospitals, you name it, dogs are probably there. I suppose that Heather’s mission will be ending soon... but I can´t remember when. (Hermana Heather McRae is a friend of ours who is also currently serving a mission in Argentina – in the northwest area so far away from Elder Merrill. She drew us a picture of her area that had her little apartment and a little bakery and then a ton of X’s all over the picture – the X’s represented dogs. I knew Elder Merrill would laugh and understand since he has been telling us about the hordes of dogs all over the place his entire mission.)

               Yeah I still have those emergency funds. I doubt I´ll run into any problems, but you never know. But I´ve got plenty of cash on hand, American and Argentinian. So if anything happens, I´m not too worried. Thanks for all the complements! I try to be wise with money and all that, and I´ve only been in a kind of crisis once, and that was because they couldn´t send me the money fast enough. I´m doing just fine here. 

              I´m glad you enjoy being a teacher. That´s funny about the Grandparent’s day becoming Grandperson’s day. It was the Grandparents that visited? Or was it the whole family? If it was the whole family I can see it being somewhat crowded. Whatever the case, it was still fun I suppose. (At my school, for Grandperson’s day, family members came to class and my class played a jeopardy game based on things we had learned so far and then the kids and families all got to eat lunch together, so it was a fun day for all).

                Well, I don´t know if anything we did is worth telling. It´s just the same thing. We walk and talk and we do what we can to help everyone we see. There are some crazy things that happen every once in a while, but aside from that, there´s just nothing new really. Things are winding down to a close here. Everything exciting that could happen has basically already happened. Our area is part city, part sandy desert. There are parts that we go that are not-so-fancy and there´s a lot of sand and nothing in those parts, but on the whole, the houses that we visit are kind of well-kept. On the whole, it´s an area that I enjoy. Kind of big too, we don´t run out of areas to visit during the day. I hope that the pictures that I take will serve as good images as to how my areas look. Well, we´ll see them all soon enough I suppose. 

               That´s about all for this week I guess. I hope that you all have an awesome week back home and just know that I´m thinking about you guys and I´ll see you guys REALLY soon! I can´t wait! But I´m going to do my best to focus for right now. Have a good week! Love you lots! See ya around! Bye!

                               -Elder Ethan Merrill  

Saying goodbye to January and Hello to February 2014

Well, we are getting down to what will be Elder Ethan Merrill’s final month in his mission! At home, we are setting up his room, which means buying him a bed and emptying it of all the things we stored in there while the house was getting fixed from the flooding. I find myself so insanely happy and anxious for this last month to end. I remember when his older brother Stuart was on his mission and the last 2 weeks were so painfully torturous! It is a good thing I am teaching this year as that does keep me super busy.  But I am so ready to see my son again! J

Heya Mom!  I’m trying not to be too trunky as well. (I had said, for the first time his whole mission, a countdown – that we would be seeing him in 30 days and that I couldn’t help getting a little teary, for joy, at the thought!)  It’s fairly easy, we have a lot to do here.  Our area is nice and big, we have lots of people to contact.  I still can’t believe that I’m here at the end of the mission!  It hasn’t exactly hit me that in 30 days I’ll be seeing you all again, but I figure it’ll hit me when I have like 2 weeks left or something like that.  Heh, that’s pretty crazy when I think about it!

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I was able to receive the money you sent me and that you were online right when I needed your help!  It’s nothing short of a miracle.  I can’t tell you how depressed I was feeling because I didn’t have any food and I didn’t know when I would get some either, so I didn’t have any glimmer of hope inside.  I was kind of discouraged.  I am truly grateful that all that was sorted out as you put it “fairly easily.”

That stinks about having that cough going on back home.  It’s pretty annoying that your voice doesn’t work either I bet.  I had that once in the MTC, but after that, I never really had any voice-altering symptoms.  I’ve been sick one or two times, but for the majority of the mission I’ve been in high health.  LOL, I’d hate to come back just to get allergies when I come home.  (One of the trees that triggers his allergies is in high bloom currently L ) We’ll see what happens.

So I live on a street called Brown.  I live on the second floor, but there isn’t a first floor.  There’s just a garage.  I’ll show you all the pictures when I get home, but it’s just that basically.  We live on a house that is elevated.  It may be hot this week, but I don’t think it’ll be as hot as when I first got here.  I’ll be fine as long as I drink plenty of water, and lots of people give us water.  My companion, as you guessed, is from Chile.  He’s fun and a good teacher, but he talks A LOT! I don’t have much to do when we’re teaching because he wants to teach everything. J  But that’s alright, he’s still got 10 months left so more practice will be good for him. 

Whew, I feel lucky! I’m glad that this e-mail site saves the drafts that we write up automatically! The computer just restarted out of nowhere, so I had to wait a little bit for it to boot up again.  Anyway, to end, the branch I’m in is kind of small, but we have two branches that meet in the same building, so it’s somewhat packed on Sundays.

Hey, I’m going to head out now, but I want to thank you for always writing me and giving me support and info on life and all that!  I REALLY can’t wait to see you all again! I’m going to focus until the end but just know that I’m always thinking about you guys and hoping that you have a great week!  Love you lots! Bye!!

-Elder Ethan Merrill

A nervous week but all ends well

This week’s letter is a testimony to the way Heavenly Father helps us and blesses us.  Some people may read this story and think, whatever, it’s no big deal. But I know, and Elder Merrill knows, that we are given challenges as a way to grow and even more importantly as a way to exercise faith and see miracles, no matter how big or small, as a result of that faith.  I am grateful for the opportunities our Heavenly Father gives us to see his helping hand.

Hot. Hot. HOT.  It’s way too hot here.  (checking Santa Rosa’s weather we learn it’s a balmy 106*….yep, that’s hot!)  Wow, I didn’t realize how much traveling I did.  Like always, I usually sleep on the bus ride.  Santa Rosa is a pretty big city, they divided it up into 5 parts.  3 and 5 are in one zone and 1, 2, and 4 is another I suppose.  We’re in the capital huh? (yeah, Dad and Mom love to google Elder Merrill’s areas and see what we can learn about where he is – and yep, Santa Rosa is the capital of the La Pampas province and is just a little south of the center of Argentina.)  I suppose I knew that but it never really hit me…well, I know now.  Ok, like you said, it is WAY TOO HOT here!  I can’t sleep at night and the refrigerator doesn’t work properly during the day.  We live on the 2^nd floor and all the hot air rises so it’s a pain during the day and it doesn’t cool off much during the night.  I don’t mean to complain, but I have some problems and it’s kind of miserable here at the moment for me.

The big problem that I have right now that’s affecting me is this:  I had to use all that was left of my money to travel here and the mission will give me the money back.  But, what usually takes 2 days has already been a week.  I don’t have any money which means I don’t have any food.  I’m starving right now and my companion doesn’t have any money either.  I don’t mean to complain or worry you, I’m just in a bad fix.  The mission said the money would arrive today and it hasn’t so that made me feel frustrated and kind of hopeless.  But like I said, don’t worry about it.  It’ll probably arrive tomorrow. But I kind of need some money today as I didn’t have groceries yesterday and I don’t have any today.  I could call the zone leaders for some money but I want to go with plan B and get some money from Western Union.

(about 2 weeks ago, Elder Merrill’s debit card was lost.  So we came up with a plan of using Western Union to send him some cash to use for the rest of his mission.  I hunted up locations there in Santa Rosa and in my email to him this week, sent him those locations with maps and directions as I knew Dad and I wanted to make sure he had some cash.  Now I’m even gladder I did this!).

I don’t know if the money will arrive tomorrow or maybe it might take 2-3 days.  I can only communicate with you on Monday but I’m going to try and write to you tomorrow to see your answer to this.  What happens now, I don’t know.  Will you do me a favor?  Can you try and send the money today or something and then write me? Tell me the details about how to get it.  I’ll come to a computer tomorrow and check to see if you have sent me a letter.  I’m sorry this letter is short, but I feel super ‘down’ at the moment.

(In the wonderful way Heavenly Father blesses us for faith and obedience – I actually had this day off of work – it’s a Monday holiday and so I was home to chat live with Elder Merrill and so could work immediately on this problem for him!)

Mom:  Hey son. Go to this place to get the cash from us.  We will send you $200 and you can let me know if you need more.  I LOVE YOU! This is a difficult challenge and I’m sorry about it! We will get you taken care of as soon as possible.  What kind of ID do you have with you? I want to make sure I put the same name on the money transfer.  Love Mom

Elder Merrill:  I have an ID here for Argentina. It’s my full name.

Mom:  Ok, the money transfer will be instantaneous as it’s an electronic transfer.  I can send it from Fry’s which is right up the street.  If you think you can hang out at the computer for another 20 minutes, I can come back and let  you know if it’s done or not. Then you and your companion can go hunt the location down. Love Mom

Elder Merrill:  hmm, the longer I wait here, the more money I use up.  Would it be alright if I just come back in like 40 minutes after we’re done?  Do you have anywhere you need to go this morning, like school? Apart from that, it sounds like a plan!

Mom:  that sounds fine.  Let me go to the store and do that and then you check back in with me in 30-40 min.  Ok, I’ll talk to you soon! (no, I don’t have work today so I have plenty of time to help you!)  LOVE YA! Mom

Elder Merrill:  Alright. I’m going to head to that location in about 40 minutes to see if it’s there or not.  I’ve seen a form for Western Union.  It says that I need a code to take out the money I think.  Do you know anything about that? – me

Mom -  Ah, I see what you mean by code.  It’s the tracking number.  So I will need to give that to you before you go pick up the money.  Can you do that, do you have any money to get back on the computer station?  Also, will the amount I’m sending be enough? Love Mom

Elder Merrill – Yes, that will be more than enough, don’t worry.  Ok, this tracking number.  Go to the store and then write me what it is.  I’ll come back here in roughly 45 minutes or so.  I’ll grab the code and then head on over.  If I have the money, I’ll write you, if not, we’ll see what happens.  You’re going to Fry’s now right? – me

Mom:  Sounds like a good plan. Yep, I’m going right now and I’ll chat with you again soon, when I give you the tracking number.  Talk to you soon son! I love you! J Mom.  Bye for now.

Elder Merrill:  Alright, I’ll come back in about 45 minutes.  Drive safe and don’t worry.  I can’t tell you what comfort and peace I have that you were actually here of all mornings when I needed you the most! I’m gonna go now but I’ll be back. See you soon. Love you lots! Bye! Elder Ethan Merrill

30 minutes later

Mom:  Hello son! Here is the number you need.  You can take that to any of the Western Union places and if you give them that number they can look up the transfer and give you the money.  Make sure you have your ID with you.  I don’t know if they will charge you a fee to pick it up, hopefully not.  I’m sorry you have had a stressful week about this. I’m very glad that I was able to be online with you today!! Heavenly Father blessed us with technology that is for sure!  Good luck! If you can, try and let me know if you were able to get the money ok. If you can’t, don’t worry about it.  LOVE YOU SON!!! You are a great man doing great things! Love you so much! Mom

Elder Merrill – OOHHH Thank you so much! I’m going to run over to Western Union to see if they have it or not.  If not, don’t worry, we can always try a little later.  Like I say, I’m in a hard spot right now, but it isn’t often that I find myself in situations like this. Almost never really.  I don’t think that I’ll have to get another transfer from you again.  I’m going to head over now.  I don’t know at this moment, but sometimes the stores close at about 1:30 here.  I hope that it’s still open when I go.  If not, I’ll have to try later on, but before P-day ends (6pm here, 2pm your time.)  I’ll let you know if I have the money or not.  See you around! I love you lots! Thank you so much for your help and willingness to help me out! Me

Mom:  Good luck! Love ya!

Elder Merrill:  Thanks a lot! Love you too. Tell Dad the same! I’ll write you as soon as I can to let you know if I have the money or not. Me

Several hours later

Elder Merrill:  And the verdict is:   Hey ya Mom! I have the money!  Thank you soooo much for being able to help me with this! Don’t worry, I’ve got more than enough money to last me to the end.  I’m not a crazy spender either so I won’t be running out.  So thanks again! I was actually super depressed/worried because I didn’t have any money or food, but now I’m all good.  It took such a long time to get back to you because the bank closes at 1 and doesn’t open again until 4:30.  Argentina is kind of crazy like that.  But the transaction was smooth and I have enough money to survive until the end of the world if I wanted, lol.  I hope that you’re all good back home and I’ll be writing you next week to tell you about this area.  Love you LOTS! Thanks again! See you next week!!   -Elder Ethan Merrill

Transferred. AGAIN. But for the last time!

Jan. 13, 2014 ~ Well, we must admit we were surprised when we got Elder Merrill’s email and found out he was transferred again, since he hadn’t been in Mar Del Plata for that long.  But hey, it’s another area to explore and see and experience.  We looked it up on the map and yep, I can see why it was an 11 hour bus ride! He has moved away from the coast and has moved inland about 350 miles.  It is exciting to know that this is his last transfer until he comes home. Keep up the good work Elder!!!! WOOHOO!

Hey there mom!  How are you doing? I’m good. Well, as you may have guessed, I got transferred again.  I was only in Mar Del Plata for 6 weeks!  I don’t think the amount of areas I’ve been to is normal for a missionary, but I’m fine with it. It just means that I’ll have something new to do for these last 6 weeks.  Can you believe that? Only 6 more weeks! They’re going to fly by so fast! The place that I’m in now is called Santa Rosa.  Its climate is a lot like Arizona.  It’s just a bit greener and it’s not quite so hot.  The mission is divided into 5 areas here so the city is a big one, but our area of work is small.  I have a new companion; his name is Elder Rojas.  He’s got about 10 months or so left on his mission.  I can’t wait to work in this place, it seems like a good place to be.  I had to take a bus ride which lasted 11 hours to here though.  It was kind of a long trip!

My week was good.  All the things that we’ve had to do have kept my mind focused on the work, so I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to be in areas that are filled with work to do.  I want to thank you for always sending me words of encouragement and strength, they really do help me to continue on and do what is right.

People here have been telling me about the weather in the states right now.  They make it out to believe that it’s like “the day after tomorrow” weather.  That everything is freezing over and people are dying in the streets, but I don’t think that’s true…is it?  The weather here is a little hot, but nothing unbearable.  I haven’t had much problems with the heat, but the people here always comment that I look super red.  I guess my face doesn’t tan that easily.  I don’t know what it’s really like here in Santa Rosa yet. I’ve only been here for about 4 hours.  I don’t know if we’re in for some really hot weather or not, but we’ll find out soon enough.  That’s funny about the kids being crazy later in the week. (I was telling my students were too tired after winter break to be crazy on that first Monday back to school but they sure were back to normal later in the week!)

That’s funny about so many missionaries being in the same place for dinner.  I’ve actually been in a lot of situations like that in Mar Del Plata.  There were 6 missionaries in the ward so sometimes the families invited all six of us to come over for lunch.  It was pretty fun! We all get to talk and have fun as a big group.  I’ll need to play this Farkle game when I get back.

Things are calm here for now.  I think we’re going to focus on cleaning our apartment today.  I think that things will be fine here and I’m excited and everything to work in anew area.  I bet things will go well here.  I hope that you all are doing well back home.  It won’t be long until I see you all again! I’m super excited but I promise to do all that I can to help everyone follow Christ and his church!

Hmm, there is one thing that you could do for me.  If you could send some money through Western Union, no more than $100.  I won’t need more than that.  But I’d like to have some back up cash in case anything goes wrong.  If you could also send me the address of one that’s close to me, if it exists, that would be great.  Remember: I’m in Santa Rosa now.

I’m going to do all that I can to have an awesome week and I’ll let you know what happens.  The Christmas box still hasn’t arrived, but I bet it arrives next week, like the 21^st or something.  I only know if it has arrived every Tuesday, but hey, I’ll keep you posted.  I’m going to head out now, but I want you to know that I’m thinking about you guys always and I hope that you’re all good and safe! See you next week, love you lots and I’ll see you REALLY SOON!! Bye bye!

-Elder Ethan Merrill

Oops! But nothing too serious so no worries :)

Jan 6, 2014 ~ We got an unexpected note from Elder Merrill earlier in the week explaining a bit of a glitch.  When he was using his debit card to get some money out, the card got lost. Yikes! Luckily he was able to let us know right away so I was able to cancel the card to protect his account.   I did let him know in a later letter (that he hadn't gotten yet by the time he wrote this letter) that no money was missing and that we can wire him money as he needs it. I'm glad this happened at the end of his mission and not earlier! Based on the fact that he still hasn't gotten his Christmas box, I would hate for him to have to be dependent on the Argentine post office for something as important as a new debit card!  
WHEW!

That´s a relief about my card.  Hmmmm, just one or 2 questions then,

 1) is there money still in my account?

  2) even if I find the card, I won´t be able to use it, right?

        I´m most worried about if anybody took out any money, so I don´t know if there´s a way to find out or no. well, at least this is all taken care of. That makes me relieved. I´m going to go to center today to see if I can find the place and then to see what I need to do over there. 

            I have been here for a while haven´t I? This week are transfers, so we will indeed know if this is my last area or not. They drive on the right side of the road here but the traffic here is crazy sometimes! The Argentines are really good at using the brakes. LOL. 

           I´m sorry again about the card. Like I say, is there a way to check how much money is on my account? You can just tell me if there is still money there, I just hope that they weren’t able to take anything. I hope no one took anything, but they couldn´t do anything with it if they took it. I think.

            I hope that class goes well for you this week! Tell Kyle that I wish him the best with college as well. Sounds like everything is going well at the house then! Kyle still being creative, Stuart keeping to himself, and the both of them playing Frisbee with everyone. The weather is pretty nice here as well. This last week we´ve had a pretty calm week. The weather has been not to hot nor too cold. But, this week it seems to be heating up a bit again. I don´t know hot it´ll turn out, but there you have it. I never really know. Heh. I´ll be sure to write jess a note.

              Hmmm, still no box for me yet, but I still have a lot of hope that it´ll arrive tomorrow or in a week. It didn´t have much in it right? And if there´s no peanut butter or beef jerky, it should be fine.

             That´s about it for me as well. Life is going by smoothly, doing what I can, and we´re having a lot of success with everything that we do. I like it, it keeps me busy and not trunky. Can you believe that I´m going home in 6 weeks? That´s insane! I just filled out a paper that they sent me about information going home. I wouldn´t be surprised if the mission sends you some information about that. We´ll see how it all goes. Well just know that I love you lots and that I´ll see you later! Bye! Love you!

                                               -Elder Ethan Merrill

Saying goodbye to 2013 and ready to welcome in 2014

December 30, 2013 ~ Well last week's Skype call from Elder Ethan Merrill was so wonderful and fantastic!!!  He looked awesome and he sounded great!!!! I have missed that grin so much! He did show us his shoes which currently look as if every stray dog in Argentina has had a chance to chew them for a bit, but he is determined to keep using them until the end! So crazy!  John got to join in so we had a 3 way call and that was pretty cool.  Jessica and Brad, Stuart, Kyle and Mom were all here in AZ so it was a great event!  Dearest son, we are so pleased with your efforts to work hard as a missionary and to serve Heavenly Father with faith and dedication! All too soon the phone call had to end, but we have our weekly letters to keep us going! Here is his latest:

What a blur! It feels like so long and so short ago!  Talking with you guys it really felt like it lasted only 5 minutes! I was so excited to talk with you all I couldn´t remember all the things that I wanted to say or ask, I swear my brain shut down from the excitement. I was super nervous, I wanted to call at 11:00, and I was waiting and I couldn´t sit still. (We were just as excited here at home too!!! Mom must have let out a monstrously loud cheer when Skype started ringing that a call was coming in!)

I promise to always give it [my mission] my all and stay focused on the task at hand.  I´d heard about this new temple video that they put in the temple. I wonder if they´ll have it here in Buenos Aires? I don´t know if I´ll get to visit the temple here or not but it would be a fun experience. We do get a lot of blessings from the temple don´t we? People need to understand that the things found in this religion are necessary for our salvation; the authority to do these things, baptism, sealed forever, all that are blessings from heaven, given to man if they seek it. 

           I´m super excited for the New Year. It´s weird, I have trouble remembering that it´s 2013, I´m still stuck where I left off in 2012. So if something was made in 2009, I think ´´oh, that was 3 years ago.´´ instead of 4. LOL.  There´ll be A LOT of fireworks for the New Year here. So much that we probably won´t be able to sleep again. But that´s fine. It´ll still be fun. I´ll let you know the moment that the box arrives!

           I´ll write Charlie a little note or something like that. I´m interested to know his thoughts about serving a mission and all that. That´s good that it´s such nice weather back home. Here, we´re having record heat. They say that it hasn´t been this hot in 43 years. What a blast that I get to be here during this special time. LOL. Don´t worry, it´s nothing that I can´t handle.

           I hope that you guys have an awesome new year! I´m good here and I can´t wait to see you all again! I´ll write you all again next year! I´m just doing what I can here and I´ll be seeing you all soon enough! Bye!

                              -Elder Merrill 

2 More Days Until We get to Talk with Elder Merrill

December 23, 2013 ~ WOOHOO!!! Just like Elder Merrill, we are getting so excited about his upcoming phone call home on Christmas Day. Even better, he will be able to do a video call with Skype, so we can see him too!  What a great blessing this use of technology will be to our family and our faithful missionary!! Hurry Up Christmas!

It’s almost Christmas! I can hardly wait!  It´ll be pretty fun to talk to you all again. I hope that everyone has a fun time getting prepared and everything. I´ll give you the what´s-what on how I´ll talk to you. 

           I´m going to try to call at about 11:00 your time, 3:00 my time. There´s a 4 hour difference between Arizona and Argentina. I´ll be calling Christmas day, so we´ll get to have a nice chat in 2 DAYS!!! It feels like just a short time ago that I called home for Mother’s Day. Now here I am again. Calling for Christmas and then heading home in 2 months. 

           Yeah, the Christmas conference was fun. The funny thing was, there was something wrong with the food and some of the elders got sick. We think it was the warm mayonnaise. I was fine though.  Sorry, the box hasn´t arrived yet, but we got a letter saying that the people in the mail room here in Argentina are holding some packages because there´re some things they don´t allow into the country; like beef jerky and peanut butter. We´ll see what happens.

            I bet the Tubac fieldtrip thing was fun. I like the fact that all the kids wanted to sit in the corner with the dunce cap. I may have done the same. LOL. I wonder if the thought crossed their mind of having to do that every day. One time would be fun, but everyday living under those conditions would be kind of tiresome. 

             Sparky could have cancer? I hope she lives long enough until I get back. No doubt you´ve thought of this, but maybe it´s depression about another different cat in the house? Who knows? Well, at least we´ll have Hobbes still for sure when I get back. 

              It´s HOT here. I´m more used to it now, but it is crazy hot here some days. I get to go home in the end of summer, so I get to suffer all summer long and then go home when the heat starts to go away. But don´t worry, I´m laughing as I´m writing this, so I have a good attitude about it. 

            We´re going to travel around center (or downtown I think it´d be. It´s the center of the city) today. I´m going to look for gifts and what not, but for a tourist city, there´s not much to get. Just clothes basically. But there´s usually one or two items of interest. We´ll see what happens.

              Hey, sorry this is short, but we´ll have lots of time to talk this Wednesday for Christmas!! I can´t wait to see you all again and share some time together! Like I say, I´m going to try to call at about 11:00 your time, 3:00 my time. I don´t think there should be any problems, but you never know when unforeseen circumstances could get in the way. But I think we´ll be fine. I love you all and I´ll see you guys in 2 days’ time! I´m so excited! Love you lots! Bye!

                         -Elder Ethan Merrill

Elder Merrill has some fun for the Mission Christmas Conference - Double email edition

Dec. 9, 2013 ~ As I was updating the blog, I realized that I left this letter out – and since I have no idea how to insert it chronologically in between letters already posted, I’m just going to insert it here with this post.  So enjoy 2 weeks’ worth of letters from Elder Merrill. J

Almost Merry Christmas! Yep, it’s getting to that point.  Sorry the translation you put for the title of your email doesn’t make sense.  It translates to:  “I believe you sent us to your time.”  I don’t get what you wanted to say.  (lol, I meant to say I believe you sent us your rain.)  But that’s alright, you can tell me what you wanted to say next week or whatever.  I wanted to see Andrew when he got back, but it’s ok, in a couple of months I’ll be seeing him.  If he really is tall, that’s ok, I think I might be too.  My new companion, Elder Hutchings is really tall too.  So, if Andrew is taller than me, I’ll be used to it!

Hmm, my new area is really big.  For the first time in my mission, I’m serving in a ward, not a branch.  Like you said, my current apartment is much better than my last “new” apartment.  I hope that they are doing good back there. (I hope so too! A working toilet, power, a fridge and a stove WOULD be nice!)

If you look up Mar Del Plata on the internet, I’m certain that you’ll find a lot of things.  Much more that you would for my last areas.  I want to get a couple of last gifts because this is a pretty touristy type of area.  I’ll send an address if I can, but I’m in a strange little place.  I’ll take as many pictures as I can, but it’s hard to ask to borrow a camera.  But I’ll do what I can so don’t worry.

I wonder what Dad will do if he isn’t going to work in North Carolina. He’s a hard worker and I think if they are wondering who to keep and who to let go, he’ll be on the list of those to keep!

Good luck with your lesson.  I know that you’ll do a good job.  People always say that you’re a good teacher, it comes with all the practice you’ve had I guess.  I feel like I’m a lot better now as a teacher, after having taught who-knows-how-many lessons.  I think that it’s also helped me to be a more fluent talker.  If anything, the mission helps improve your social skills.  Hey, I gotta go now, but I’ll be calling with Skype for Christmas.  I’ll let you know the details like when I’m calling and if it is going to be on Skype, but I think we’ll be able to do it again for Christmas.  Anyway, for now, I’ll see ya later and I hope that you have an awesome week! Love you lots! See ya next week! Bye!

-Elder Ethan Merrill

December 16, 2013 ~ Only a few more days left until Christmas and the much awaited phone call home from Elder Merrill. We are so excited about that! But, to keep us in good spirits and cheer, we have another great letter from him for this week:

It’s good that you like to feed the missionaries.  I know that I enjoy it when members give me food.  I´m good. The crazy weather has now shifted to not so crazy weather. Now it´s hot all the time! I don´t mind too much though, having gone through similar times of heat has helped me to get used to it. I like it too because during the summer, there´s vacations and all that, so people are usually in the house. 

             Mar Del Plata is definitely a tourist hot spot, but more for argentines than for people from the states. It´s a nice place, there´s no doubt about it that there´s a lot of people from all around that come here. Mar Del Plata IS huge. 

            This week we had a Christmas conference with the mission president. He came and we went out and sung carols in a plaza. Then we went to an old folk´s retirement home and sung there. Then, 3 other elders and myself were chosen to go to one of the churches here to sing, because the Church was donating wheelchairs to the people who needed them. They were doing that in all parts of South America. Afterward, the people had the chance to go and learn a bit more about the Church and its teachings. It was good fun. Then we went to go have lunch and a little message from president.

            I got the card that you guys sent me! Thanks for wishing me a Merry Christmas! Tell everyone that I miss them a lot and that I want to thank them for writing me and wishing me luck and success! You guys are seriously the best and I can´t wait to talk to you all for Skype!

          I don´t know EXACTLY the details for when I´ll be calling, I just know that I´ll be calling on Christmas day using Skype and that we´ll talk then. I´ll write next week letting you know what time I´ll be calling. 

            Tell Andrew that I´m sorry that I missed his coming home talk, but that I hope to see him at mine. I´ll have to be sure to include 2 or 3 stories in my coming home talk then. I can´t wait to see everyone when I get back too!

             Where is Tubac? I assume it´s in Arizona, but I´ve never heard of it before. Let me know how it goes and all that. 

                Hey, I hope that you have an awesome week! I´m always thinking and praying about you guys too! I can´t wait to talk to you guys face to face and all that! I hope that everyone is doing fine and that the Christmas season treats you all well! I haven´t gotten a Christmas package yet, but there´s still time, I don´t expect it to arrive until later on this month. Anyway, I hope that you all are good and just know that I most certainly am!   See you all later! Love you lots! Bye!

  -Elder Ethan Merrill

Transferred to a new area - more adventures for Elder Merrill

Dec. 2, 2013 ~ Well, after reading the first paragraph, I'm really glad that Elder Merrill has been moved to another area! And glad it seems like a more livable/capable apartment! lol

How ya doing?  I´m good here. A lot has happened really. When it got to the end of the transfer, we began to pack up because we were staying in the house of a member, but her daughter came to move into the house we were in, so we had to go.  We found an apartment, and it was really nice.  Big and spacy, and it was in a part of the city that was pretty safe. But it didn´t have a fridge or a washing machine, and there was no power and the stove didn´t work. Then the toilet got clogged by another Elder and we got an infestation of ants. 

  Then transfer calls came in the next day. and I got transferred. AGAIN. Right now, I´m serving in a REALLY big city called Mar Del Plata. That means sea of silver. I´m right on the coastline, just like in Necochea. The apartment that we live in now is really nice, but a little messy. I´m taking the place of an Elder who just died, or finished his mission. I think he must´ve been a hoarder or something because you wouldn´t imagine the junk that this Elder left behind. Basically the whole apartment is a mess.  But it´s a big apartment, so it´s not too bad. My new companion is called Elder Hutchings. He´s from Las Vegas, Nevada. Apparently, he´s passed through Phoenix to go see basketball games and stuff like that. That´s pretty cool I thought.

             I missed having Thanksgiving with you guys....but don´t worry, we´ll be seeing each other soon enough. I think that´s funny about Jess sleeping in a bit too late.  (She was ‘supposed’ to come help prepare the stuffing and turkey but as mentioned earlier, she slept in too late to help)  I can see that with her. I hope that you still enjoyed it even though it was a small thanksgiving. 

           And now to answer some of your questions.  Christmas for us is a conference with half of the missionaries. One half goes to the city of Bahía Blanca and the other half goes to the city where I am now, Mar Del Plata. I don´t remember when, but it´ll be in two weeks or something like that I think. And then I get to call home when it´s Christmas! I can´t wait to see you all again! It feels like it was just yesterday that I called home for mother´s day.

             Thanks for sending me a package! I´ll let you know ASAP when it arrives. If it doesn´t arrive in time for Christmas, it will not long after. Christmas here is kind of weird because it´s hot outside. I don´t what it´s like for the argentines, but I lose a bit of the Christmas spirit walking around in the heat. It´s just not the same. Scratch that, it´s completely the opposite! But they still celebrate with trees and stuff like that. There´s just no reference to snow.

              Wow, Andrew comes home in 4 days, that´s pretty crazy. Say hello to him for me, and tell him that I´ll be there not long after. Speaking of missionaries, tell Ryan that I´ll be kind of bummed that he won´t be there either, but I´ll write him all the same. Send me Charlie’s E-mail for the mission and I´ll send him a letter.  The weather here has been hot but also REALLY weird. Hot, then rainy, then windy and cold, and all in the same day! I can´t tell you how weird it is to experience such calm and then inclement weather all in the same day.

              Hey I hope that you have a great week as well. You won´t be getting many more letters from me. Only 11 more! I get a little trunky if I think on it too much, so I´ll avoid the subject. I love you all and I want to thank you for all the support that you send my way! See you all later! Love you! Bye!

                                                                                -Elder Ethan Merrill