I have so much I could tell you. I'm BURSTING with thoughts and feelings and experiences and stories I already have from this first week on my new assignment. I'll try to summarize and just tell you the highlights, hopefully in a way that you can really understand my new responsibilities.
Transfers came fast. I couldn't believe it. Suddenly I was at the Weston Chapel again, with 3 jam-packed bags and a new adventure ahead of me! Transfer meeting was great, as usual. The sad part was saying goodbye to Sister Slater and Sister Platt. That's right, my trainer and my previous companion went home. I'm so excited for them, but it'll be different for them. Besides, it's a reality check. I really don't want time to move so quickly.
I better tell you about my new companion! Sister Couto is amazing! She's beautiful and fun and from Brazil, as I mentioned earlier. She has a truly kind heart, and she's super strong. Not physically or even necessarily in opinions, but in character, if that makes sense. We're easy friends. I'm excited to work with her.
You know that monster van I told you about? Well, everyone calls it the spaceship. :) I was so relieved that I didn't have to drive it home in the dark my first night. Elder Vail, who works in the office, took it for us. But the very next day I watched a video, took a test, and had a mini-driving lesson with Elder Vail. Ha. That vehicle is a beast. I'm already getting used to it, but. . . I'll just have to attach a picture so you'll understand what I'm talking about.
I spent my first day figuring out driving stuff, then we went back to the chapel to take down all of the Portable Displays that had been set up for transfer meeting. I am SO excited! These displays are beautiful, and I learned pretty quickly how to set them up and take them down. It takes awhile, and it's really heavy lugging back and forth from the van into chapels, but there is just something so exciting about it! I'm going to be super strong soon. And technology-savvy. :D
I accidentally left my GPS in Belmont, so we were going off of memory to get home after, driving the spaceship at night. . . Not smart. We got SOOOOO lost. My first night. Elder Vail saved our lives. We were on the phone with him for an hour as he guided us back home. Hehehe! This should be fun. (Don't worry, mom. He also bought us a brand-new, voice-activated GPS. I'm all set now.)
I had my first event on Friday! We were booked to bring our beautiful big "God's Plan" display and our "Temple" display to. . . an adoption party??? Haha, this woman was celebrating because she had finally managed to adopt these four beautiful kids. They were so cute! She invited everyone who had been involved in the long process or that just loved her family. Which meant that the chapel was simply bursting with non-members. Ideal place for us!!!!! If anyone had a question, ("What is this building we're in?" "Four kids??? Why does she want four? Why is family that important to her?" "She mentioned something about . . . sealing her family together. . .") we could say, "Well, we have this video right here that will answer your questions perfectly. . ." and BOOM--the Spirit would be felt as they took a look at our inspired displays and videos. It was so neat!!!
The next day we went to a baptism in Billerica. That, too, was fun! I think I'm spoiled. I get to see the best events around the entire mission. We love going to baptisms, because usually a lot of non-members are there. These videos are aimed toward them, so they understand who we are, what we believe, and why we really truly believe it. The Spirit is always so strong when these videos play. Just so you can kind of get a feel for what I'm talking about, here's one of the videos The PVC Sisters before me have created. This was scripted and voiced by President Packard himself. :)
Okay, last big event! We went to Lynn, MASS to train a ward on who we are, what we do, and how they can most successfully use the Portable Visitor's Center! It was a Spanish Branch, so we brought our Spanish displays, showed them videos, and talked. They loved it! They're so excited to bring us back for a church tour, and they're so excited to share the gospel with all of their friends!
The Portable Visitor's Center is inspired. I know it is! I love it so much. I'll send you some more pictures so you can understand more clearly. Please ask any questions you might have about this! It's so hard to capture exactly what I'm doing, and I'd love for you to love this as much as I do. :)
This week we're working on projects, booking our schedule, and traveling ALL OVER this weekend! Really. . . we're taking a ferry to Martha's Vineyard--a tiny little island in our mission. With our spaceship. And we're going to Connecticut and Rhode Island. . . :D I'm so excited! Prayers of safety would be appreciated!
I'm praying for all of you! Thanks for everything!
So much has happened!!! I can't believe how much can happen in just one week! It has been one of the most incredible, mind-boggling weeks in my entire mission!
I'll have to just tell you the two biggest pieces of information. First of all, President Packard called for an impromptu Zone Conference, so we all drove to the Weston Chapel on Friday. This Zone Conference was called because we had all set another goal after the miracle of November. The goal was to make what had previously been the impossible the norm by getting a baseline of at least 70 baptisms every month until President Packard goes home in July. He sensed that we didn't have the same fire for this goal than we did for the goal of November. He knows more than anyone that we all have to be united in faith and effort and will, 100%, if we're going to accomplish this amazing feat. It seemed to be that the biggest concern in the mission was the worry about the emphasis on numbers. To me it's so clear. It's not about numbers!!!! These are real people we are bringing to Christ. It doesn't matter about the number, really, but the number inspires us to do the best we can to further the Lord's sacred work. President came up with a brilliant solution to the division in opinion, though. It's an obvious one, too. We're already setting monthly goals for new investigators, investigators with baptismal dates, and baptisms. We're going to take these goals and make them even more prayerful and inspired. Every monthly goal that we set already is required to have a name attached to it--it's not a number until President gets the grand total of names at the end of the day. And that grand total, every month, is now officially going to be our respective goal. We're still going to have a baseline of 70, but now these are our names. Our people.
The mission is filled with the fervor we had in November! December and the beginning of January were slower, but somehow being back where we had been after the Lord had given us a taste of His vision is motivating us again now, if that makes sense. We don't want to ever go back to how we were. He's shown us what's possible--we're giving Him everything! I can't wait to be a part of it!
After the Conference, Sister Standerfer and I snagged Sister Packard to talk to her. Sister Standerfer had a question, and was already very emotional. Then Sister Packard put her arm around me, looked at Sister Standerfer, and said, "You are probably going to be losing your companion this transfer. Are you going to be alright?"
We locked eyes. Sister Standerfer put her hands to her heart and her eyes filled with tears. That did it. We both started crying and hugging. Poor Sister Packard was so concerned! But we were so grateful for the warning. I love my companion, but I know the Lord knows best. So yes, my streak of a new companion every transfer lives on.
Are you ready for the big news? We got the transfer texts.
I'm on a special assignment, doing what I've been drawn toward since the beginning of my mission. The Portable Visitor's Center!
Oh my goodness! I'm so excited!!!! This is crazy news! That means I'll be working exclusively with this project, 24/7. This incredible idea that President Packard dreamed up. Do you remember what the Portable Visitor's Center is? I've talked about it in a lot of my previous emails, especially in Central Falls. It's what the church tours were all about. This is something specific to our mission that President Packard dreamed up and is hitting amazing heights. Assuming you understand what it is, here's the skinny. . .
My home base is WESTON 1st WARD, where I started my mission!!!!!!!!!!!! Really, though, I won't be seeing much of it. I'll be traveling around the entire mission, bringing the PVC to baptisms, open houses, firesides, you name it! I'll also be creating videos and displays and interactive activities.
I got a phone call from President Packard last night. He talked to me for about 20 minutes, telling me about his vision and his expectations. I've never felt so daunted in my life. I'm so excited, but I've never had to humble myself like this before. I have NO experience. We have about $100,000 at our disposal, with a vision and free rein. No other mission has this, and Elder Oaks and others are watching it closely. I have full, unflinching confidence that the Lord is more than capable of using me. But I feel completely blind, and I have no idea even where to begin! I'm just praying that I can somehow manage to turn enough of myself over to the Lord where He CAN use me the way He needs to, so my extremely limited knowledge and capabilities don't hinder His great work. I have never had this much tangible responsibility in my life.
My new companion is from Brazil again and speaks limited English. Also, she's beautiful. :) I'm so excited to work with her!
I should get going. Thank you for everything! I wish I could explain the PVC more fully to you, but I will take on that challenge next week, complete with pictures!
I love you!
Love, Sister Merkley MBM Missionary
P.S. I'm the designated driver for the Portable Visitor's Center. I'll be driving the biggest van President says he's ever seen in his life. 15 passengers. Across the whole mission. Pray for me!!!!
Haaaaaaaappy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How was it for each of you? Us? Well, we went to bed at 10:30, the way missionaries do. It was fantastic. :) We also taped up our New Year's Resolutions! I don't really like thinking of them as resolutions, though, because people break resolutions. These are more like promises to God; what we're going to do better, what more we're going to give. President phrases the question we should ask God this way: "What lack I yet?" When we know the answer, we know what more we can do and give to Heavenly Father. The New Year is a perfect time to try this out.
First of all, we have this scripture goal. It's a crazy goal. We've actually been working on it for awhile, but with the New Year, we gave it a deadline and everything. We are memorizing what is happening in every chapter in the Book of Mormon. If that makes sense. So if someone said, "Alma 15", we'd know exactly what was happening in that chapter. We want to do that for every chapter. So far, it's been more successful than we thought! We tackled Alma first, because that's the biggest book. Now we're on Mosiah. It's pretty exciting! Now that I'm matching up all these story-lines I know and love to their respective chapters, I feel like I understand and can navigate the Book of Mormon better! I can't wait to finish this goal on February 21st! I give you full permission to keep us accountable and check up on how we're doing. :)
Let's see. It was kind of a slow week. Lots of people were gone for the holidays. We had our second real snowfall that stuck for one day! And not very many appointments. Trouble is, we're not allowed to knock on doors here. It's considered invasive. And people don't just wander the streets in the middle of January in such a financially stable area. We've also been asked not to stop-by member's homes unless we have called in advance and set up an appointment. Which is difficult. We side-stepped that a bit this week and returned all of the dishes and tubberware and decorations and lights we've accumulated over the Christmas holiday.
Jess and Suzanne (a recent convert and her recently reactivated roommate we spend a lot of time with) had us for dinner twice this week. They're great.
New Years Day we had weekly planning (my favorite), and it ended up being a great day! We sat down and discussed our personal, companionship, and area goals and visions. We're really excited to get going and try to help this area reach the potential it truly has! Now we have a game plan. Get ready. :)
Poor Sister Halloran lost her brother on her way home from visiting him in Switzerland this week. :( We brought her a flower and shared a message about peace. She is a strong, sweet woman.
I think Sunday was the most chaotic and wonderful day of them all! Fast Sundays are the greatest. We fasted for the new mission goals, and every single missionary in the mission bore their testimony in their ward this Sunday. We also taught the 16-17 year-olds again. It's so much fun! We role-played with them! They will make amazing missionaries soon. Sister Standerfer showed them how it's done by teaching me (the investigator) the Word of Wisdom, then the boys taught me Tithing and the girls taught me the Law of Chastity. Pretty good!
That's about all! Sorry it wasn't as exciting of a letter, but hey! This is the work of Salvation. It's the best decision I've ever made, and I'm so blessed to be a part of it!
I love you all. Have a great New Year. And really--I invite you to get on your knees and ask Heavenly Father that question: What lack I yet? Set goals and make promises accordingly. It will bring you blessings!
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!
I hope that this week has been positively wonderful and FESTIVE! I hope you've each had some spiritual moments as you've taken time to remember what Christmas is all about. :) I'm truly humbled to know that my Savior--our Savior--was born in a stable, in a manger, and came into the world to do whatever it took to save each of us.
We had a wonderful week here in Belmont, Mass! Our teaching pool is building, our faith is strengthening, and our experiences are indescribable! There's so much to cover, so I think I'll be more brief and try to hit all the topics!
The famous Clayton Christensen, author of The Power of Everyday Missionaries and 1st councilor in my mission presidency, had us over on Monday night with Ajit! Ajit is the Indian potential we rake leaves for. He's awesome! And he's so in awe of President Christensen. All three of us were really humbled to be in his home for a lesson. It was a neat experience! The Christensens are a brilliant, wonderful family. I'm so blessed to have them in my ward!
Farah! Oh my goodness! So much has happened with her! She's our investigator from Iran. It's a crazy story. She grew up Muslim, had a vision of Christ, and became Christian. She fled her country, leaving behind her children to come here to America and escape the consequences of her actions. She doesn't know English very well, so she speaks Farsi. She feels as though she has been brought by God to our church, and she has faith to move mountains! This woman is amazing. She set her own baptismal date for the 27th. But there's a couple of problems. First of all, we have no idea how much of the lessons she truly understands. We have a translator who has a tendency to filter. Also, we have to make sure she's cleared to be baptized by our mission presidency, due to her unusual circumstances. AND there's a crazy, overly dramatic problem about it between the two wards (1st and 2nd) because they both want her baptized into their ward. Of course there's a clear boundary line, but she's moving and fellowshippers (friends) are more concentrated in one ward and there's this silly rivalry. . . Huh. This is the work of salvation. We all have the same goal. Let's just work together, shall we?
So anyway, that's been fun. And intense. And hectic. :) :) :)
We did service at Beech Street (the old folks' place) during their Christmas lunch. Holy moly! Lots and lots of people! And we wore Santa hats and frantically served all of these sweet old people for a couple hours. Thankfully we had help from the local high school. They made me feel old. . .
Suzanne and Jess made me this marvelous belated birthday dinner! Breakfast for dinner, my favorite! Jess makes the best Eggs Benedict!
FRIDAY was the BEST day of them all!!!!! We had our Christmas Conference! Sister Standerfer and I had been in charge of decorating, because everyone came up to our chapel. It was GORGEOUS! Gold tablecloths, red pointsettas, tea lights. . . I'll have to just show you the pictures. We were proud of us. :) Half of our mission was assigned to Friday. We started off the day by going to the temple right above our chapel. Absolutely beautiful. And amazing! After that and a break for lunch, we headed in for the Conference itself!
I wish I could explain how amazing it was! The Packards spoke and inspired us again! President Christensen got up and talked for nearly an hour, and he touched our hearts, too! Then amazingly talented missionaries performed song after song for us. The program was phenomenal. Sister Hyoung, world-renowned pianist, played for us. We had a soprano sax and an organist and some violins and flutes and a few killer voices. The spirit was so strong.
After, we had the BEST dinner, and every zone played the video of their Christmas skit. It's a tradition. ;) It was SO funny! Ours was epic; I'll have to send it home at some point. :D They put together a video with our pictures in it, and we all got key chains and packages from home. . .! It was so amazing. Best Christmas ever. And somehow the unity and the closeness with Christ made all the difference.
For me, the best part was getting to reconnect with a bunch of people I have come to love! The Tanners were there (the senior couple from Central Falls) and we got to catch up. Sister Chadwick and Sister Slater were there, along with Elder Garrido and Elder Fish. . . ! These missionaries have inspired me and helped shape my entire mission experience. It was so good to see them again.
Quick jump to Sunday--probably the most hectic day I've had in Belmont. You try handling two overlapping wards, two ward councils, 8 stob-bys, two investigators to see, and two dinners. That is all.
This is getting long, so I'll just end by telling you that this was a wonderful week, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful Christmas! I love you all. Don't forget why all of this matters. The gospel has blessed my life in countless ways--I wouldn't be anywhere near what I am today without it.
I managed to cut out most of my time by prioritizing other emails, so I'm short on time. I'll tell you some fun stuff in the short time I have, though!
He is the Gift is going wild! I'm so happy that this amazing video is being widespread! What better way to share what Christmas is about? If you haven't seen it, look it up! He is the Gift! It is so beautiful and powerful!
MY HALF-WAY DAY WAS FRIDAY! But. . . unfortunately. . . I got the flu. I'm better now, but I was out of commission for a couple of days. I dragged myself out of bed long enough to make it to Zone Meeting. That was fun, despite the fact I felt awful. Our Zone Leaders are hilarious. They made it entertaining and spiritual and motivating! :) :) We went back and I slept the rest of the day. And most of the next day. Don't worry, members care about us. Both nights someone brought over soup and bread. <3
Sunday was so hectic! Not only was it my birthday and I was recovering from the flu, but we had back-to-back appointments all day long!!!!!!!! Which is how it should be. But when it's Sunday and you're over two wards that overlap and you're teaching multiple classes. . . you tend to get a little frazzled. :) We had correlation after church, then ran to the Vergilios and straight over to the Boaz's. . . and then we had this crazy appointement with an investigator that is really just hard to explain. She speaks Pharisee and needed a translator, and our member was highly interactive, so it was an unusual lesson! We'll see where it goes.
Members were so sweet. A couple of them gave me presents and I was sent a ton a birthday texts from other missionaries! :) :) :)
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and for all the love! You're the greatest! :) :) :) And I'm old! Hahahaha!
It has been quite the festive, eventful week! I can't wait to tell you all about it. :)
You know how I told you about Belmont's extravagance? Well, these people are lovely and quite wealthy. They tend to make an event hard to forget. :) On the last night I spent with Sister Fernando, we went to the wreath-making activity. Turns out it's the biggest event of the year. Can you believe that? Wreath-making. It was a combined event for both wards, the building was decked to the nines with garland and lights and the nativity and huge wooden cutouts with lights behind them to look like silhouettes and trays and trays of delicious food. . . Also, the gym floor was completely covered in brown paper, and there must have been about 40 tables lined in there, with ribbons galore and most of all, pine branches.
So, I didn't realize this before, but wreath-making isn't decorating a wreath with a bow and pine-cones. No, it's taking a metal circle and a honking tree and cutting and binding until you have your own fat, jolly wreath. Georgia Sundahl and I made a beautiful one!!!! And poked ourselves a million times, but you know, it was worth it. :) The best part? There were about 50 non-members there! Talk about prime time for sharing the gospel!
The next day was transfer meeting. It's strange. Now Sister Platt, Sister Fernando, and Sister Standerfer are all in my zone. That's three companions. I'm really making my way through everyone. Haha. Transfer meeting was amazing, of course!!!! I cried so hard. For the first time ever, I had a companion go home. Two of them. Sister Hoellein and Sister Godoy. :'( Sister Hobbs went home, too, and a number of other sisters I've come to love. Their testimonies were touching. Then of course, President Packard stood and spoke. WOW. He told the story of the month of miracles from his point of view. There was hardly a dry eye by the time he was done. We all have a bigger sense of the Lord's vision for this mission. We're going to do great things here, because of Him. This is HIS work.
After I took millions of photos and ran around saying goodbye, I finally found my new companion! Sister Standerfer! She's amazing! I can't even tell you how amazing she is! She's from Snowflake, Arizona. She's happy and has a Disney Princess voice and she's so much fun. I am so blessed to be serving with someone so wonderful, especially for the holiday season! We're already the best of friends, and we've set a bunch of goals that we're determined to achieve!
Friday night we had an amazing experience attending the Messiah. Except here they do it differently. The soloists and orchestra practice for months, and everyone else just shows up! If you show up, you grab the music and you just sing. The people here in the Cambridge stake know how to sing. It was so much fun and so powerful and wonderful!!!!
SATURDAY, back to the extravagance, was 2 Christmas parties. I think they always celebrate here. We're constantly preparing for the next huge event. There was a party in the first ward and a party in the second. There was this big Nativity set, everyone dressed up like they were from Christ's time, and the Primary acted out the Christmas Story for us. :) :) It was so fun, and we were able to set goals and get to know the members better!
One last thing to tell you about. I hope you all got the chance to watch the Christmas devotional last night, because it was superb! We had the opportunity to see it at a member's home. The Boaz's are so fun! They have two little boys that just melt your heart. One of them, Ean, dragged most of his bedding out to the couch and spent the first 20 minutes constructing the perfect, most comfortable place to sit. Once he was finally situated, he hopped right back up and ran back to his room to grab more blankets. He promptly threw them on top of us, along with a good amount of squashy pillows so we could become comfortable, too. And then he made a final trip to his room to grab Sister Standerfer and I each a stuffed animal so we wouldn't be too lonely. It was the cutest thing! Children are so tender-hearted!
Alright, I'll stop telling you all the details! :) Thanks for everything. I love being a missionary! It's the best calling in the world!
Oooh, I have pivotal week this week. NINE MONTH MARK. Half-way, hump day! And my birthday! Should be fun! Shout out to STEPHEN, who is opening his MISSION CALL this week, too!!!!!!!!
