June 22 - We Never Stop!

Hey there, everyone!

I feel like I'm always emailing from a different place on P-days. :) :) Today I'm in the mission home. It gives me flash-backs to when I first flew into the mission. I love it here. But the Packards are packing everything up, because they leave in a week.

I'll try to make this email shorter, since I know they've been crazy long these last few weeks! (Maybe.) So first of all, I wanted to tell you about a crazy project we did! You remember the huge, interlocking foam floor mat we got to paint a map of the world on for the Primary PVC events? Well, we got started! You'll have to look at the pictures to do it justice. It was a ton more work than I was expecting; I'm so grateful that the Weston 1st Elders took the time to help us out.

Here's what happened: We got a huge ladder in the church gym, Sister Moss climbed it onto the ceiling above the stage (with a projecter and a laptop), and we projected the map of the world down onto the pieced-together mat. Then, with the lights out, we spent a looooooooong time getting it positioned just right. It had to be the right size, the right angle. . . When we had it as perfect as possible, the four of us grabbed Sharpies and sprawled out on the mat to meticulously trace the entire world. It was so surreal. And SOOOOO cool. It looks great! That's just step one. We're hoping to paint it this week.

We went to the Ashford fair! It was really neat--we got to set up the Book of Mormon roundtable and contact like crazy! That's always my favorite. Missionary work at its finest. :) We probably passed out over 100 Book of Mormons!

Friday we had another tour in Hartford. It seems to be our favorite place, now! :) The full-blown thing was set up, specifically for the Spanish Branch. Lots of members came and helped contact, which was cool. Sister Moss and I actually let them have at it and shut ourselves in the back room. We were on a crazy time crunch to finish making the videos for the Primary event! Those kids answering questions about the Plan of Salvation were SO CUTE, and I love making videos! :) :) We almost finished, but then we had to take everything down, pack the Spaceship, and leave for Cape Cod that night. At like, 10:00. It's almost a 3-hour drive. :) Whoo!!!!!!!

Sister Moss drove us all the way there, and we arrived at the Cape Cod Sisters apartment at about 1:00 AM. We were out like a light, then up again at 7:00 to prep for our FIRST PRIMARY PVC EVENT EVER!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!! I was nervous, but you know, for our first time/test run, it was pretty great!!!!

We got to the Cape Cod chapel, set up all the displays, then set up all the activities to go with each display. Like different stations. :) One station was planting their lima bean so they could have their faith in Christ grow like a seed. One station was building their own prayer sandwiches (making and printing those was chaotic!), one was watching the videos we made of them answering questions about the Plan of Salvation, one they got to draw their families with the temple, and the BEST station was the map of the world! Sister Moss had some brilliant games they played, running all over and having a blast while still tying in the Book of Mormon. :) Those kids are crazy, but hey, it worked!!!! Now we just have to improve everything!!!!!

We attended Stake Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire. Got to set up displays there, then train the youth on how to give tours! Came home, caught up on some sleep, and then we went over to the mission home. Sister Moss and a bunch of other sisters were getting their exit interviews early, because there's just no time this coming weekend. Sister Packard thought she'd make it fun and make it a sleepover! Sweet!!!!

This whole transfer is berserk, because President and his family are leaving, too. We got transfer texts last night (but President let us just walk into his office and see the board! That was fun!). News is the same for me! Sister Cruz is coming to be my companion! The Packards are having their goodbye conferences all this week, transfer meeting is Saturday, and the Millers come into town on Monday. Life. Is. Crazy. Everything is always changing, everyone is leaving!

That's the MBM in a nutshell these days. :) Wish me luck with my musical number!

Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary

P.S. Sister Platt, my old companion, is ENGAGED. To an Elder we served with. WHAT?????

June 8 - Preserved by His Hand

Dear family and friends,

Can you believe it's June already??? Man, time is flying faster and faster.

This week was less jam-packed, until the very end. :) We actually had time to breathe! And sleep! And do some office work! Which was great, because it was so needed. We were able to get going on creating some of the content for the Primary PVC. Designing "Prayer Sandwiches", ordering fun stuff. :) The Cape Cod Primary sent us the cutest videos of the kids answering questions about God. Can't wait to put that into a movie!

Sister Bybee and I practiced for our musical number at President's goodbye Zone Conference. I'm super nervous, but it sounds beautiful! Sister Moss is stellar at the piano! And then the Weston sisters called and asked us if we (Sister Moss and I) could do a musical number for Zone Meeting, this last Friday. We were all excited, pulling out sheet music and examining our options. . . BUT THEN SHE ALMOST CUT HER FINGER OFF WHILE CUTTING BUTTERNUT SQUASH. Seriously though, it was bad! I thought she'd have to get stitches, but she narrowly escaped such torture. :P Turns out I'm not very good at high-stress situations when it involves blood. She's okay, though. And she still managed to play the piano for me while I sang "A Window to His Love" at Zone Meeting. :)

Speaking of terrible injuries, I have a miracle story to share with you. Elder Raymond, from Brockton, was biking in the rain last Monday night. A car didn't see him and hit him. Knocked him down hard, and the wheels went OVER his legs. Both sets. And you know what? He's going to be fine. He has staples in his knee, a black eye, cuts and bruises everywhere, but no broken bones or anything. It's truly a miracle. His companion thought he was dead. We went to Brockton for their Open House on Saturday and got to see him. He was dressed in proselyting clothes, looking a little worse for wear, but hobbling around and cracking jokes. It's something I'll never forget. Their Open House was pretty great, too! I love that ward. Lots of members and less-actives came, and they even filled the font for the tour!

Yesterday was HECTIC. Sundays always are. I didn't understand anything, again. But this time it was because we went on triple splits. TRIPLE. Haha. Sister Couto and Sister Asay went to Belmont for us to film the Primary kids there for the video we're making. Then Sister Moss and Sister Cruz took off to go to New Haven and train the YSA ward on how they could use the PVC! Sister Carvalho and I hitched a ride with the Assistants and eventually made it down to New London, CT for a baptism. I'd never been there before! It was fun, but really, it was all Spanish. I wish I could understand more Spanish/Portuguese. :) Because we were so dependent upon the Assistants for our ride back and they had to visit people, we didn't get home until really really late. But we made it home! That's what's important.

I love the mission, and I love the Lord! I can't wait for what's ahead, and I'm trying every day to consecrate myself to Him more completely!

Love you all! Thanks for all you do!

Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary

June 16 - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Spaceship

Hello!!!!!

It's pouring rain here in the forested hills of Connecticut. :) Our weekend road trip hasn't ended yet, and it've probably had one of the busiest days of my life this week.

Here's the happenings: The beginning of this week we were able to re-callibrate and get some great work done. We finished Haitian videos, created an "emaze" presentation for trainings, and even ordered our huge, interlocking foam floor mat for the Primary PVC! Now to paint it. . .

But then we started our road trip on Thursday! Guess where our first stop was? Central Falls! My home! I love that place! :) We promised the Spanish Elders we'd bring a display for their baptism this weekend, but since we couldn't attend the baptism, we set it up early with careful instructions, then had the opportunity to meet up with people I love.

I stopped by the Piescienskis (LOVE THEM), met up with Faith (she's the BEST!) and then we headed over to see. . . CRYSTAL!!! I don't know if you remember her. She's someone I worked hard with in Central Falls, and I love her dearly. I haven't seen her since I left, and she became pregnant when I was in Belmont, so now she has a big tummy. :)I'll attach a picture. It was soon good to see her. She's so excited to have a family. I also was able to have dinner with Sister Shea! She's my CF mom forever.

We spent the night with the Central Falls sisters, then early the next morning, we headed out to New Haven! We had some extra time, and it was right next to Sister Moss's old area, so we were able to meet up with a mother and a daughter she had taught for lunch. It meant the world to her. :) I'm glad we're still in touch with these people.

Then we went straight to New Haven for their Open House! Fun stuff! We've been there before. . . it's another high-foot-traffic area, right on Yale campus! How neat?? It's always frantic getting everything set up in there (there's 4 floors), but so worth it. A few solid RMs from the Singles ward came to back us up, and we were pulling people in off the streets like crazy! We even found a less-active and his Lutheran friend who were visiting the campus from out of state. He brought them over, and she was so golden. I love teaching about Christ.

After a long, wonderful, exhausting 5 hours or so, we took everything back down and crashed with the amazing New Haven sisters for the night. Haha, we only got about 4 hours of sleep, then we were up again early the next morning! For an even crazier day!

We drove to Warwick, Rhode Island for the Gaspee Days parade! The church was right there, on the street where the parade was going to be. The Elders were so excited. The craziest part was the wind. We had to tie the outdoor display to keep it from falling over. :) Parades are great! It means summer is really here! :) As soon as the Parade was over, we packed up again and took off. We had to pick up the display we left in Central Falls, go to Brockton and set up a display for their baptism, then get ourselves all the way to Worcester for another Spanish wedding! Whew! We made it with minutes to spare and set up at top speed. Spanish weddings are fun, and it's ideal. There are so many non-members who attend and are curious.

As for the craziest day. . . that was yesterday!!!! Ready for it??? Okay, went on splits with the Boston Spanish sisters to cover all 6 of our events. :) That means Sister Bybee and her companion, Sister Sutherland! Sister Bybee and Sister Moss went to Hartford to train the Spanish ward on how to give tours. Sister Sutherland and I set up a display at the Boston chapel for a Portuguese baptism, then took off for a the Dragon Boat Chinese Festival! Oh my goodness. It was so much fun. There were about 3,000 people there! Two sets of Chinese Elders, the Chinese group ward mission leader, and a few members came to the booth they'd rented out for us to help contact. We set up the Book of Mormon roundtable and our small displays, and you know what? We didn't even have to contact! People flocked to us! We answered questions and testified and passed out so many copies of the Book of Mormon! Sister Sutherland and I took on all the English-speakers, the Chinese Elders talked to everyone else. :) :) :) It was amazing! I even learned some Chinese! The best part was when I talked to this kid Peter. He was a Harvard student with a lot of questions. We must have talked for a good 20-30 minutes. I needed so much direction from the Holy Ghost on what to say, but I know he felt the Spirit. He was very impressed that someone could believe something so strongly. He wants to be that sure of something in his life, and I told him he could be. I have high hopes for him.

We got back in time to switch out displays and set up for our first Haitian baptism! Wahoo! Except we couldn't stay. Sister Moss and I (we exchanged back) had to leave behind another display (that scares me) and book it back to Hartford. Another 2-hour drive. Traffic was soon bad, and we were so late for the fireside President Packard was doing on the Book of Mormon, but we quietly set up the Book of Mormon roundtable and the Restoration display so it would be ready for them when the fireside ended. President Packard is so so so so so amazing! I wish I could teach about the Book of Mormon with his clarity, knowledge, and passion!

Crashed with the Avon sisters, and now we're here in Connecticut for P-day! :) :)

My life is crazy!!!!!!! We're going 100 mph! I love it. I love my Savior, I love the sensation that I can sprint to the finish and be an influence for good in this unique, powerful assignment. Thanks for all the support and prayers. I'm feeling it over here.

Love you all!

Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM Missionary

June 1 - Stand ye in Holy Places, and BE NOT MOVED.

Happy June, everyone!

It's misting here in Massachusetts. Kind of like rain and humidity combined. It looks deceitfully dry. You can't even see raindrops, but by the time you get to your car in the parking lot you'll be soaked through. It's a thing here. New England character.

It was a beautiful week! I love my life. :) I have been so exceedingly blessed. Sister Moss and I were able to go to the temple for an endowment session after we emailed last Tuesday. President gave us permission, because we missed going through with our Zone on Monday. It was beautiful, and a small group. It just so happened that President Haight was there, too! And a fresh-off-the-plane return missionary, not even released yet! He came from the Rome mission and knew my friend Jerrick!!!! Small world. :D

We had some time in the office for once! And then on Friday it was back to our busy schedule for a jam-packed weekend! After district meeting, we drove back down to Providence for our monthly open house. Sister Moss had never been there before! This time it was more successful than the last few times. We had two sets of Sisters and two sets of Elders backing us up, and we all took turns hitting the streets, inviting anyone and everyone in for a tour and powerful videos! Haha, Providence can be rough! We got some hard-core rejections. But some of those people who came through made it all worth it. It was neat! The Providence Spanish Sisters found someonegolden. He's so prepared for the gospel. And it really felt good just to be a regular missionary, talking to everyone we see about the gospel. We got home at about midnight. . .

Saturday was insane. So insane. We woke up at 5:00 to get to this Regional Women's Conference up in Lowell. It was for. . . 5 states? I think? Women came from everywhere! Sister Larsen, our Stake Relief Society President, got permission to pull however many helpers she wanted from the missionaries, so TONS of Sisters were there! Sister Moss and I helped out with the Humanitarian donations, registering, and passing things out for the first few hours. You wouldn't believe it--I ran into a girl who danced with me at UVU! Crazy! And I got to see Sister Lima, Sister Fernando, Sister Francis, people from Central Falls and Belmont wards, and so many others I loved! :)

Guess who made a surprise appearance? Elder Holland!!!!!!! He showed up and spoke briefly at the Conference. We were able to catch the end. I love that man. We knew he was in town, because he was meeting with the MLC and President that weekend. Also, we were planning to set up displays Sunday night for a fireside he was giving! How blessed are we?

The rest of the day at the Conference was even crazier! We didn't get clear directions on where to set things up, so we made it up and set up at TOP speed in the middle of a crowd. It was so hot! We did lots of lifting and directing and didn't really get a change to breathe at all until it was over at 4:00. Then we had to take down and pile it all back into the Spaceship. I was so grateful Sister Moss drove, because I was out like a light and slept the whole way back.

Sunday was a day I didn't understand. Literally! :) We went to Brockton first thing in the morning to give a training to the Portuguese Ward Council! That was pretty cool. :) Didn't understand much of their jabbering in Portuguese, but when they turned the time over to us, they didn't even use a translator--they all knew English. :D And they appreciated our training on how to make their upcoming Open House the most effective. Sacrament meeting is a completely different experience when you don't speak the language. And then we trained the Youth on how to give their own tours. We even taught the Primary kids using the PVC display! They loved it. They're so cute, and their testimonies and questions are so pure.

After Brockton, we had to jet to the Weston chapel for Elder Holland's fireside! We were the only English-speaking missionaries there. The fireside was for all the Latinos in the MBM. We brought our Jesus Christ display in Portuguese and our Restoration display in Spanish. It was pouring rain, and trying to get that heavy gear and technology into the chapel in the rain was a trick! Everyone came so early, of course, so we were dodging people and frantically setting up for awhile. But it all worked out, and we were able to retire to our seats on the stage in the back for a perfect view.

Elder Holland is amazing. Truly. There's something about that man. I think President Packard could be the next Elder Holland--they are men of the same caliber. Four testimonies were shared before Elder Holland stood, but I didn't catch a word of those! But when Elder Holland spoke, even when he chose to speak in his limited Spanish, I could understand him perfectly. Addressing the non-members, he taught the Restoration from the pulpit. So incredible to hear an apostle teach the same thing we teach every day, using the Preach My Gospel pattern. He invited all those investigating to be baptized, and to go talk to his grandson Elder McCann (who is the assistant to the President now and was in the office). It was humorous but powerful! And then he taught us all about standing in Holy places. Make your home a sanctuary. Go to the temple. Stand in holy places and be not moved.

In closing, I wanted to share what I wrote down of his powerful witness.

"Wherever you want to go in your life, professionally, economically, personally, I ask you first to come to Him. I know of no other way for us to. . . succeed, be safe, carry our burdens, or find that 'happiness which is prepared for the Saints'. My desire for you is to have more firsthand experience with Him. Cultivate your faith and your testimony, and I promise you that the dangers and concerns you face will be steadily resolved and turn into eternal triumphs. Whatever difficulties in your path, whatever heartbreak you face, you cling to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you will feel the strength of the Lord in your life."

I know Elder Holland is an apostle of the Lord. I know he holds keys--authority given to him from God. I know he is a special witness of Christ, and that Christ does live, and He cares, and He will be there the moment we turn to Him.

I love you all so much. Thanks for everything!

Love,
Sister Merkley
MBM PVC Missionary