I certainly had a wonderful, jam-packed week! I can't wait to tell you all about it!
I went on exchanges to the Longfellow Park Wards on Tuesday. The singles' wards. That's an entirely different world, let me tell you! I was with Sister Moss. We had a neat day. Back-to-back appointments are the best, because at the end of the day, when you report to the Lord about what you did with His time, you feel good. :) We taught Bobby, Robert, Leo, Suat, Neliza and Bailey! Leo is this awesome, Russian man who walked into the singles' ward. He reminds me of a dark-haired Steve Martin. We mostly answered his great questions and tried to keep the topic gospel-centered as we passed him off to the Elders. :) I've taught Neliza before. She's been investigating for a long time. Sister Moss and I were bold with her. I love testifying!
Christmas Eve was really unique and a lot of fun! :) Sister Celeste Andrade invited us over for lunch. That was a little scary, because. . . well, she's an older woman that has good intentions, we're sure, but she doesn't take her medication, and she's very unstable. She yells at people a lot. Especially when they try to do nice things for her. But it was Christmas Eve and she had invited us over, so we braved the pouring rain (on Christmas Eve--can you believe it??) and went over there with smiles on our faces! It took her about 20 minutes to answer the door, and another 45 minutes or so to make our food, but she only yelled at us three times! :) And we learned a lot. She showed us some neat things, and she had me play her guitar. Once upon a time she was a very bright individual. I can't wait to meet her like that someday. Point being, I think we brightened up her Christmas a bit, and that's all that matters!
We had dinner with Bishop Cahoon and his family, and acted out the Nativity scene with them. That was fun! When we got home we were super tired, and we crashed an hour early to prep for Christmas!
Christmas was wonderful! We had clear skies and sweet gifts from home and a full day of celebrating the Savior to look forward to! The senior couples in our Zone made us a Christmas brunch, and we had a white elephant gift exchange. :) Then, of course, we were able to Skype! Yaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!! I love my family! Lots and lots! Being a missionary certainly makes you appreciate your friends and family more.
Saturday was the greatest. Farah got baptized. Sister Standerfer and I were busy filling the font for a few hours beforehand. That was an adventure. The hot water stopped working, so we were slowly filling the font with freezing water and stressing out. . . We ended up filling six big pots with water and boiling it, then dumping the contents into the font to speed up the process and take the edge off the chill! It was crazy! There's always opposition before a baptism.
Heavenly Father always pulls through, and Farah was baptized! Not only was it flawless, but she was so moved by the Spirit. I remember giving her a hug right after she changed into white, and she cried quietly, thanking me for being her sister and expressing her joy at this beautiful, wonderful day. I just want to promise everyone that there is nothing more joyful than being an instrument in the hands of the Lord to bring His children closer to Him.
We had a touching tender mercy last night. The Pettits are really amazing. We're so blessed to know them and have them in our ward.
I'm grateful for all of you and for the wonderful year 2014 has been. Thanks for helping to shape me into who I am today! I love you!
Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM Missionary
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