Sunday, February 16, 2014

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

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