Wasn't Easter Weekend and General Conference wonderful?? It was the perfect upliftment I needed, complete with personal revelation and stirrings of the Spirit! I hope we'll all run, not walk, to take this inspired counsel to better ourselves and to depend more and more upon our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I have had a crazy whirlwind of a week. :) Lots of crazy news--lots of crazy happenings! Here's the skinny--
The first half of the week was a little less frantic. We actually drove to Belmont on Tuesday! My last area! On the way to a meeting, we stopped in to see Susan, if you remember her! She's the greatest. :) I love seeing friends again. Her tummy is bigger than ever, and she's glowing with excitement to be a mom! We had a great chat with her and her husband, then took off for our meeting with Sister Sattler, the Primary President of Belmont 1st ward. She's the greatest! She invited her secretary to the meeting, and we spent over two hours brainstorming and planning for the amazing Primary PVC events we're going to start! I'm so excited--this is so inspired. I'll have to share with you videos we're making and pictures of the activities we're going to do!
I can't resist. Skipping ahead to the big news. Friday morning, during companionship studies, our phone rang. It was President and Sister Packard. We were cheerful and totally oblivious, and he said, "Sister Couto! You're getting released as a Portable Visitors' Center Sister and called to be a Sister Training Leader! How do you feel about that?" Whaaaat???? We were sure we had another transfer together!!!! I'm always wrong, I know, but. . . still!!! We could hardly believe it. He told her she'd be close if I needed her help with the Adobe Programs and such. He told me my new companion was a "Spanish speaker with fire!" And then he hung up! So that left us speculating and going crazy for the next few hours, until transfer texts came in at 1:00. Hahahaha, Sister Couto is transferred to Weston 2nd ward! Which means she's in my old area, in my district, and now my Sister Training Leader! How crazy is that? As for my new companion, it'sSister Bybee!!!! Do you remember when Sister Godoy and I split up to train? Well Sister Godoy left me to train Sister Bybee. She's awesome and confident and funny and brilliant. I'm so excited!!!!
Okay, so we got T-texts when we were packing up the Spaceship at the Storage Unit, then we took off for our next events! We took the long drive to Norwich, CT. That's where the next Missionary Easter Fireside was going to be. I was pretty bummed that we weren't going to be watching it again. It was so good. Waterbury had booked us for a chapel tour, though, so all we could do was set up a display in Norwich before heading out to the tour. The missionaries let us in, then left for an appointment. Miracle happened here. While setting up, we realized we were missing part of the display, so we ran out to the Spaceship to grab it. When we turned back around, we realized a few things very quickly. 1) All of the chapel doors were locked. 2) Our phone was inside the chapel. 3) No one was even close to our area.
I think our reaction was a mark of the faith we've developed as missionaries. In this dire situation, (we were also on an inescapable time-crunch) within seconds we were on our knees, praying on the sidewalk for guidance and direction. We expressed our knowledge that He is mindful of us and all-powerful, that He could help us, and then we stood to try all of the chapel doors, just to make sure. When we got to the last one and found it locked, I noticed a keypad by the door--one that I knew held a key to the chapel inside. It was one of those that you have to spin to the right number combination before it unlocks. I said another quick prayer in my head and followed the prompting to try changing the very last number on the keypad. I started at zero and started going up, and at five, it clicked open, and there was a key to the chapel. Before even unlocking the door, we were back on our knees, thanking our Father in Heaven for his hand in our lives and his immediate answer to our plea for help.
After that miracle, we raced over to the Waterbury Chapel (1 1/2 hour drive) and set up for a church tour there! We had a mixture of Spanish and English displays to accommodate the diversity. A lot of missionaries were there, and I was truly impressed with the turn-out of members and less-actives! We felt the Spirit as we gave tours in different languages. I love guiding tours and testifying of the truths I know.
When the event ended, we took down everything and drove back to Norwich. We must have gotten to bed at midnight (different schedule as a PVC sister) and had to wake up early the next morning! We hear the Fireside went well, and we took down the display and drove to Brockton to set up another! Then we drove all the way back home, making it in time for the first session of General Conference with the Algers. :) They're so sweet. They had a wonderful lunch out for us. General Conference was incredible! I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did! Second session of General Conference we enjoyed at the Dowlings' home! They're as wonderful as ever!
Easter Sunday was beautiful--and the most chaotic. I'm grateful for the trust I have in my Savior making up for all of my short-comings and mistakes, otherwise I don't think I would have made it through yesterday! After a fabulous Easter breakfast with the Algers, the Johnsons, and the Marlborough Elders (picture included) we drove into Boston for our first ever Portuguese Chapel Tour! It was Sister Couto's first area, and she was so excited. Unforunately, we weren't as prepared as we should have been. While Sister Couto was setting up the displays, I was frantically trying to download the last Portuguese videos we'd created/cut onto all of the iPads. We finished setting everything up, enjoyed the morning session of General Conference immensely, then ran to start tours. Everything seemed to go wrong. Videos wouldn't play, sound would cut out, screens would go black, adapters wouldn't work, Apple TVs refused to connect-- everything. Somehow, somehow, the Elders giving the tours managed to play a few things and let those on tours still feel the Spirit. We still don't know what happened. We're going to test run everything before she leaves.
I loved the rest of General Conference. I can't wait to put what I learned into action, and continue to dance to the music of the gospel. I can't wait to become more of what my Father in heaven sees that I can become. I'm nervous to show a new companion what being a Portable Visitors' Center missionary is all about, but it's overshadowed by the confidence that I have in the Lord preparing the way before me. As I push forward in faith, I'll be able to accomplish with Sister Bybee and the Lord much, much more than I could ever hope to on my own. Please pray that I'll be able to figure out these advanced Adobe programs quickly, so I can create Haitian Creole translated videos successfully (among other projects)!
Thanks for everything! I love you and pray for you all, and I'm grateful beyond words for the support and love I feel from home!
Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary
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