I think this weekend was the biggest adventure I've had on my entire mission. I could write a book about what happened. My journal is filling up so fast here. . .
I'm going to start at the beginning of my road trip. Road trip. Hard to believe that I actually had one out here in the mission, but there's no other way to describe it! Friday morning Sister Couto and I packed all our bags, jammed the Spaceship full of TVs and displays and cords and tools and poles and stands (that's a workout, let me tell you), then took off!
We actually had a quick stop and met up with Kevin and Katie LaBarge and the Weston Sisters for breakfast on the way out! That was so much fun!!!!!! It was so good to see them again and catch up on life! Not to mention the restaurant was delicious. . . :D Haha, andthen we were out of there. We took the 2 hour drive to New Haven, Connecticut. Wahoo! Sister Couto has this thing where she falls asleep the second we hit the freeway, no matter how hard she tries to stay awake. So usually on the road I'm on my own, singing to myself and whatnot. :) I don't know if we just didn't think things through, but we got to the chapel in New Haven, right next to Yale University, at 1:20. Their open house/church tour was scheduled for 2-6. We had 4 big displays, 3 small displays, and a Book of Mormon round table to set up artistically in a building we'd never set foot in before. Ha. That was soooooo silly of us. Even with the 10+ missionaries who showed up to help, there was no way. And then, of course, everything seemed to go wrong! Poles wouldn't stand up, Apple TVs weren't connecting, the ceiling was too low here, there weren't any outlets there. . . by the time we got everything up and running, it was nearly 3. After that, though, it was so successful!!!
We had a lot of foot traffic in the area (Yale University. . . of course) so despite the cold, we flung open the front doors and nearly all of the missionaries hit the streets, talking to people and inviting them in for a tour! It was amazing! Some members came, some came with friends, but mostly we got those students from the streets. Even many who didn't come inside for a full tour we had great discussions with. And we had eleven people come in and see it all the way through. Eleven. I know we can become more busy than that with more preparation, but think about it. What would a missionary give to have eleven full lessons with non-members in one day? Inside the chapel, nonetheless? That could easily be the best day in a missionary's two years. :)
We stayed later than we had originally intended because we felt bad for being so late. :P Most of the missionaries had to leave, so we took everything down and piled it all in the Spaceship with only two other sisters. Then we had to hit the road again. We were driving to Cape Cod. That's a 3 hour drive. Sheesh. The best part was that we left at 9, then half an hour into the drive we got a phone call from the frantic sisters, saying that we forgot our laptop, Sister Couto's precious camera, and her bag. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we drove back half-way to meet them and pick it up. Tender mercy we didn't make it all the way to Cape Cod before realizing our mistake. Still. I was so tired, and we made it to the Cape Cod Sister's apartment at 12:30 AM.
They were so kind. I felt so bad for waking them up, but we were out like a light. Good thing, too, because the next morning we had to wake up at 5:30. :P Up again, off to the next part of our weekend adventure! That's when we took the Spaceship onto a ferry. Hahaha! Crazy, right??? It was less scary than I thought. I drove that monster van onto a BOAT, and we just chilled until it reached Martha's Vineyard, a tiny island about 45 minutes away. :) We didn't have a chapel tour there, but we set up our Family History display right along with our Temple display for the island's big genealogy gathering, hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! It was so neat! I was really impressed with how many people from the island showed up, wanting help with their Family History. They had experts and beginners there, lots of displays and pictures and old journals, and lots of computers being used. Our displays fit in ever so nicely, as an easy way to say, "Hey, this is why Mormons love Family History so much!"
We took the ferry back to Cape Cod and spent the night there again! So nice of them. :) The next day we went to their church, packed up, and took off once more! This time for Middletown, Rhode Island. Yeah, three different states in one weekend. Craaaazy. President Packard was doing a fireside on the Restoration there. "What the world knows because of Joseph Smith." He really managed to nail it. I love President! Anyway, we got there really early and set up the displays for anyone who wanted a tour before or after the fireside! Not many people did the tour, but lots of people just looked around and played with the videos. The Book of Mormon round table (with all 92 languages) was a hit, especially for the youth. :) By the time we packed everything up again and hit the road, it was 10:00, and we had another hour and a half drive home.
We made it!!!!!!!!!! As I said, CRAAAAZY weekend. So adventure-full! I really love being a PVC missionary. <3 I can't wait for more adventures! This weekend we get to travel back to Central Falls! I can see Jamique get baptized!!!!
Also, Heavenly Father is really looking out for us. We beat a storm that hit Massachusetts, then made it back before the real blizzard that's hitting us tonight. We're supposed to prepare for no power and to be red-dotted (no driving) for a couple of days. 3 feet of snow, here we go!!!!!!
Love all of you soo much! Good luck to all of my friends who are starting big new chapters in their lives (Stephen, Kori, Cassidy, Tallie. . . and others!)
Thanks for everything. I couldn't do this without you!!!!
Pictures coming. ;)
Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary
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