WELCOME HOME ELDER MERRILL!!!
Returned from the Arkansas Little Rock Mission
July 4, 2018
Well done thou good and faithful servant!
WE LOVE YOU KADEN!
WE LOVE YOU KADEN!
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Monday, July 2, 2018
My last missionary letter - The Gospel of Jesus Christ is Amazing!
Hey guys! Wow - the last missionary letter. Crazy to believe that my
mission has come to an end. My last week was slow - hardly anything
happened. After we baptized our investigators we just didn’t have too
many people left to teach. We did visit Jack and Kenny a few times
which was great. I will always remember them.
As I look back on the past two years serving as a missionary here in the
Arkansas Little Rock Mission so many things come to mind. There have
been so many ups and downs, lefts and rights, forwards and backwards.
Having experienced both the Southern and Hispanic cultures I know I am
better rounded person - I know I am a better person now. There are so
many things I have loved and learned. Here are 10 of them:
mission has come to an end. My last week was slow - hardly anything
happened. After we baptized our investigators we just didn’t have too
many people left to teach. We did visit Jack and Kenny a few times
which was great. I will always remember them.
As I look back on the past two years serving as a missionary here in the
Arkansas Little Rock Mission so many things come to mind. There have
been so many ups and downs, lefts and rights, forwards and backwards.
Having experienced both the Southern and Hispanic cultures I know I am
better rounded person - I know I am a better person now. There are so
many things I have loved and learned. Here are 10 of them:
1. Experiencing new cultures.
2. Eating crazy foods
3. Having awesome companions
4. Getting to know the members in my areas
5. Witnessing people come into Christ
6. Learning a new language
7. Learning how to see people as God sees them
8. Realizing my parents were right about everything
9. Having two awesome mission presidents
10. Being changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ
I feel like I have changed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is amazing and
it is powerful enough to change anyone who lives it. I know that the Book
of Mormon contains the fullness of the Gospel and if we study it everyday
we will come closer to Christ. I know that Joseph Smith truly saw God the
Father and his son, Jesus Christ. They spoke to him and ordained him a
prophet to usher in this last dispensation. I’m so thankful for a living prophet
today and the twelve apostles. They lead this church through revelation. I
hope that as we each continue down the path of discipleship we will continue
to improve and push ourselves to love and serve others every day.
I want to thank everyone for the support you have given me. It really meant
a lot to me. I love you all and can’t wait to see you!
Love Elder Merrill
RIP Elder Merrill - Good-bye ALRM
THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE!!!
Elder Asay & Elder Merrill - SERVICE WITH A SMILE!
THE GOSPEL MAKES US HAPPY!
Elder Merrill with the Kistners
A message on Facebook from Sister Kistner
"Sweet missionary going home this week - Elder Merrill.
You can tell by my red eyes how much I am going to miss
him. We do so love the young missionaries. At a time many
young people are only thinking of themselves, they give
themselves to serving others and teaching the gospel.
We wish every good thing in life for him and will miss him!"
One last meal with Elder Merrill in the Wahlquist Home
Monday, June 25, 2018
Another Baptism in Batesville
Hey guys! It was another awesome week here in Batesville, Arkansas!
Tuesday we had some really good lessons which was nice. We finished
teaching the lessons to Jack in preparation for his baptism. That evening
Brother Traylor took us out to the nicest restaurant in Batesville as a little
going away party for me. I ate some of the best chicken I’ve ever had in
my life. I'm really going to miss that guy!
Wednesday we held our Book of Mormon class and went on exchanges
with the Mountain View Elders. I spent most of the day in Mountain View
Wednesday as well as Thursday. It is a really fun place - it's the folk music
capital of the world. As you walk around in the evenings people are always
sitting around the parks picking on their guitars. It was fun to walk around
and listen to all the music. The Elder I was serving with there returns home
with me so we had a great time talking about our missions and what we are
going to do when we get home. We exchanged back Thursday evening.
That night we had Jack’s baptismal interview and basketball night.
Friday was another good day. We went and visited Jack and got everything
planned for his baptism Saturday. We also did our weekly planning. That
always seems to drags on forever so I'm kind of glad it was my last one. That
evening we had a couple lessons which went well. We also typed up Jack’s
baptism program and made all of the copies.
Saturday was easily the highlight of the week because it was Jack’s baptism!
Jack has been such an awesome person to get to know. He is such a great
example to me. He has been meeting on and off with missionaries for the
past five years. He has completed all of the missionary lessons three times
and has read the Book of Mormon almost twice. I feel so blessed that I am
serving in Batesville at this time - the time when Jack was prepared to follow
our Savior Jesus Christ. He really is an amazing person. He has been blind
almost his entire life but he doesn't let it stop him. He plays the guitar really
well and has taught me some fun stuff that I'm excited to try when I get home.
His baptism went really great. His daughter came to support him. She lives
in Little Rock and is a non-member. He was so excited that she came. He
now wants to send the missionaries to teach her - ha ha. President Vaughn,
our Branch President, baptized Jack. After the baptism we went over to the
Wahlquist's home to eat and hang out for a bit. I am going to miss their family.
After all of that we did our studies for the day and contacted a few people.
Jack was confirmed in sacrament meeting on Sunday by Brother Traylor. It
was really special. We also had some really great meetings about missionary
work and ministering. After church we went to a birthday party for a less active
member's son for a bit. Then that evening we had dinner with the Simmon's
family. They are a new family in the branch that we met at basketball night.
They moved here from New Jersey not too long ago. I discovered that Kinkade
served in their ward and they got to know him really well. They thought it was
pretty cool that I knew him and had played baseball with him. It truly is a small,
wonderful world in the church.
This morning we went to visit Jack. He gave me a gift - a ukulele. He noticed
that every time we were at his house I would pick up one of his ukuleles up and
play it so he thought I would enjoy taking one home. I was really touched by his
kindness. I will always remember Jack. I will always remember so many people
who have changed my life for the better while serving as a missionary. I feel so
blessed to have served here in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. It's really hard
to believe it will all be over in 10 days and will return home and take off the tag.
Thanks for sending pictures of the boys in their baseball uniforms. I actually miss
playing sometimes. I’m excited to take them over to the park when I get home and
play some ball! Well I can’t wait to see y’all! Love you!
Love Elder Merrill
Tuesday we had some really good lessons which was nice. We finished
teaching the lessons to Jack in preparation for his baptism. That evening
Brother Traylor took us out to the nicest restaurant in Batesville as a little
going away party for me. I ate some of the best chicken I’ve ever had in
my life. I'm really going to miss that guy!
Wednesday we held our Book of Mormon class and went on exchanges
with the Mountain View Elders. I spent most of the day in Mountain View
Wednesday as well as Thursday. It is a really fun place - it's the folk music
capital of the world. As you walk around in the evenings people are always
sitting around the parks picking on their guitars. It was fun to walk around
and listen to all the music. The Elder I was serving with there returns home
with me so we had a great time talking about our missions and what we are
going to do when we get home. We exchanged back Thursday evening.
That night we had Jack’s baptismal interview and basketball night.
Friday was another good day. We went and visited Jack and got everything
planned for his baptism Saturday. We also did our weekly planning. That
always seems to drags on forever so I'm kind of glad it was my last one. That
evening we had a couple lessons which went well. We also typed up Jack’s
baptism program and made all of the copies.
Saturday was easily the highlight of the week because it was Jack’s baptism!
Jack has been such an awesome person to get to know. He is such a great
example to me. He has been meeting on and off with missionaries for the
past five years. He has completed all of the missionary lessons three times
and has read the Book of Mormon almost twice. I feel so blessed that I am
serving in Batesville at this time - the time when Jack was prepared to follow
our Savior Jesus Christ. He really is an amazing person. He has been blind
almost his entire life but he doesn't let it stop him. He plays the guitar really
well and has taught me some fun stuff that I'm excited to try when I get home.
His baptism went really great. His daughter came to support him. She lives
in Little Rock and is a non-member. He was so excited that she came. He
now wants to send the missionaries to teach her - ha ha. President Vaughn,
our Branch President, baptized Jack. After the baptism we went over to the
Wahlquist's home to eat and hang out for a bit. I am going to miss their family.
After all of that we did our studies for the day and contacted a few people.
Jack was confirmed in sacrament meeting on Sunday by Brother Traylor. It
was really special. We also had some really great meetings about missionary
work and ministering. After church we went to a birthday party for a less active
member's son for a bit. Then that evening we had dinner with the Simmon's
family. They are a new family in the branch that we met at basketball night.
They moved here from New Jersey not too long ago. I discovered that Kinkade
served in their ward and they got to know him really well. They thought it was
pretty cool that I knew him and had played baseball with him. It truly is a small,
wonderful world in the church.
This morning we went to visit Jack. He gave me a gift - a ukulele. He noticed
that every time we were at his house I would pick up one of his ukuleles up and
play it so he thought I would enjoy taking one home. I was really touched by his
kindness. I will always remember Jack. I will always remember so many people
who have changed my life for the better while serving as a missionary. I feel so
blessed to have served here in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. It's really hard
to believe it will all be over in 10 days and will return home and take off the tag.
Thanks for sending pictures of the boys in their baseball uniforms. I actually miss
playing sometimes. I’m excited to take them over to the park when I get home and
play some ball! Well I can’t wait to see y’all! Love you!
Love Elder Merrill
Elder Merrill with his gifted ukelele
Elder Asay & Elder Merrill with Jack
Monday, June 18, 2018
The Lord was saving the best for last!
Hey guys! The past couple weeks have been so great. We have been
really busy teaching. I think we have taught a sit down lesson everyday.
It has been so awesome! We also had dinner with a member here who
made us some amazing Mexican tacos. I have been missing Mexican
food so it was delicious!
Last Tuesday we went to Memphis for Zone Conference. Elder Perkins
of the Seventy came to visit. We had an awesome meeting. It was quite
different than many of our other meetings with General Authorities. He
taught us some great missionary skills I will be able to use my last two
weeks here AND after I return home. He also gave us some really good
returning home from our mission advice. He told us that it is a lot easier
to stay in spiritual condition than to get back into it. For some reason that
really hit home for me. It makes me sad when missionaries say that they
need to take a little break when they return home. Serving a mission has
made me super excited to serve in the church.
Wednesday was an awesome missionary day! We finished the lessons
with Kenny in preparation for his baptism Saturday. We also had a visit
with Jack. That night we taught one of our best Book of Mormon classes
and I typed up baptismal program.
Thursday we began exchanges with the Zone leaders and had Kenny’s
baptismal interview. I served with Elder Murdock. He was in Memphis
when I was there and it was fun to serve with him again. We had a good
exchange in Batesville together. We ended up getting a Bible referral for
a homeless guy. We met with him in the local park and had a 45 minute
lesson that went really well. We don’t really know what the policy is with
teaching homeless people and need to find out.
Friday we exchanged back and Elder Asay and I did our weekly planning.
We then went to visit Jack again. Jack called us a couple weeks ago and
said he wanted to meet with us. He has been through all the discussions
twice and read the Book of Mormon once. He didn’t get baptized before
because he found some anti stuff against the church. Our first lesson we
had with him he told us he wanted to get baptized for real this time so we
set a date for this Saturday. It has been really amazing to work with him.
We have taught him all the lessons and are having his baptismal interview
this week! We are super excited.
Saturday was definitely the highlight of our week thanks for Kenny baptism.
Everything went great. He has a sister that is a member who lives in Little
Rock at the moment but she is moving to Batesville in about a week. We
called and asked her to speak on baptism. She did a great job and she was
so excited to see her brother get baptized! I baptized him and it was a really
special experience for me. He is the first person on my mission that I have
taught every lesson to and then baptized. It really was a special day that I
will always remember. I still think it is funny that we had our very first lesson
at Hardees (the Carl’s junior of the south). From that moment on he just ate
everything we said up. He loved every minute of learning the gospel. It has
all just been a really awesome experience.
Sunday we confirmed Kenny. There was such an amazing spirit. He was so
excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. After church we had our monthly
potluck that was delicious.
Batesville has been a pretty special place for me and I will be sad to leave. I
have had more success here than in any other area of my mission. I guess
the Lord was saving the best for last! I definitely have a strong testimony
now of enduring to the end. Sometimes we might not be able to see it, but
there will always be a blessing waiting for us at the end of the tunnel.
I love you guys! I’m excited to see you in a couple weeks!
really busy teaching. I think we have taught a sit down lesson everyday.
It has been so awesome! We also had dinner with a member here who
made us some amazing Mexican tacos. I have been missing Mexican
food so it was delicious!
Last Tuesday we went to Memphis for Zone Conference. Elder Perkins
of the Seventy came to visit. We had an awesome meeting. It was quite
different than many of our other meetings with General Authorities. He
taught us some great missionary skills I will be able to use my last two
weeks here AND after I return home. He also gave us some really good
returning home from our mission advice. He told us that it is a lot easier
to stay in spiritual condition than to get back into it. For some reason that
really hit home for me. It makes me sad when missionaries say that they
need to take a little break when they return home. Serving a mission has
made me super excited to serve in the church.
Wednesday was an awesome missionary day! We finished the lessons
with Kenny in preparation for his baptism Saturday. We also had a visit
with Jack. That night we taught one of our best Book of Mormon classes
and I typed up baptismal program.
Thursday we began exchanges with the Zone leaders and had Kenny’s
baptismal interview. I served with Elder Murdock. He was in Memphis
when I was there and it was fun to serve with him again. We had a good
exchange in Batesville together. We ended up getting a Bible referral for
a homeless guy. We met with him in the local park and had a 45 minute
lesson that went really well. We don’t really know what the policy is with
teaching homeless people and need to find out.
Friday we exchanged back and Elder Asay and I did our weekly planning.
We then went to visit Jack again. Jack called us a couple weeks ago and
said he wanted to meet with us. He has been through all the discussions
twice and read the Book of Mormon once. He didn’t get baptized before
because he found some anti stuff against the church. Our first lesson we
had with him he told us he wanted to get baptized for real this time so we
set a date for this Saturday. It has been really amazing to work with him.
We have taught him all the lessons and are having his baptismal interview
this week! We are super excited.
Saturday was definitely the highlight of our week thanks for Kenny baptism.
Everything went great. He has a sister that is a member who lives in Little
Rock at the moment but she is moving to Batesville in about a week. We
called and asked her to speak on baptism. She did a great job and she was
so excited to see her brother get baptized! I baptized him and it was a really
special experience for me. He is the first person on my mission that I have
taught every lesson to and then baptized. It really was a special day that I
will always remember. I still think it is funny that we had our very first lesson
at Hardees (the Carl’s junior of the south). From that moment on he just ate
everything we said up. He loved every minute of learning the gospel. It has
all just been a really awesome experience.
Sunday we confirmed Kenny. There was such an amazing spirit. He was so
excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. After church we had our monthly
potluck that was delicious.
Batesville has been a pretty special place for me and I will be sad to leave. I
have had more success here than in any other area of my mission. I guess
the Lord was saving the best for last! I definitely have a strong testimony
now of enduring to the end. Sometimes we might not be able to see it, but
there will always be a blessing waiting for us at the end of the tunnel.
I love you guys! I’m excited to see you in a couple weeks!
Love Elder Merrill
ELDER MARRINER KADEN MERRILL
Elder Asay and Elder Merrill
at Zone Conference in Memphis
Zone Conference lunch
Elder Smalley & Elder Merrill
Kenny's Baptism!
I gave Kenny this tie for his baptism
I feel like you would only see this in the South - ha ha
Zone P-day in Jonesboro today!
Monday, June 11, 2018
Batesville Missionaries go Spelunking!
Due to Elder Merrill's spelunking adventure today we got the following
short message.
short message.
Hey guys - Sorry I don't have time to write a longer letter today. We had
an amazing outdoor and underground adventure at the Blanchard Springs
Caverns in Arkansas today for P-day! They are located in Mountain View
Arkansas. It was awesomely beautiful and a ton of fun. I'm so grateful I
had the opportunity to experience one of the most interesting Arkansas
attractions! I promise to write more next week!
an amazing outdoor and underground adventure at the Blanchard Springs
Caverns in Arkansas today for P-day! They are located in Mountain View
Arkansas. It was awesomely beautiful and a ton of fun. I'm so grateful I
had the opportunity to experience one of the most interesting Arkansas
attractions! I promise to write more next week!
Monday, June 4, 2018
My 3 Favorite Spanish Missionary Things
Hola everyone! Another week has somehow gone by. Only 4 more weeks
to go - crazy! Tuesday we had a good day. We decided to bike and in return
we did a lot of finding. We visited one of our ministering families and talked
to them for a while. It went really well. Then that night we went and visited
another ministering family who lives about 30 minutes away with a member.
It was a busy good day.
Wednesday we had interviews with President Hansen. He sat me down and
the first thing he said was "the next time we do this you will be headed home."
That was kind of a scary thought. After our interviews I instructed our district
meeting. We discussed how to become preach my gospel missionary. It went
really well. President Hansen actually stayed and participated in our meeting.
That was a little intimidating but he said I did great job. After the meeting we
began exchanges with the Mountain View Elders. I served with Elder Jackson
here in Batesville. He is from Arizona and we got along great and we were able
to teach a few lessons together.
Thursday we did service for Habitat for Humanity which is always fun. We have
established a good relationship with the people who work in the store. After our
service we drove up to Melbourne which is about 45 minutes away to exchange
back. The rest of that day Elder Asay and I drove around the outskirts of our area
contacting less active members. It was really fun to be out in the countryside and
drive down dirt roads in our little car. We drove around for about three hours. We
returned just in time for basketball night. We found an awesome family last week
and invited them to come play basketball and they came! Hopefully we can start
teaching them soon because they are basically a Mormon family already. They
are seriously one of the nicest families I’ve met on my mission.
Friday we had our usual weekly planning and spent the rest of the day contacting
people. Saturday we served at the Methodist breakfast again and then returned
home to continue our studies. That afternoon we went to lunch with Brother Trayler.
He is probably my favorite old man ever - I could talk to him forever. He has done
just about everything you can think of. He has really taught me a few things about
life. He really enjoys coming out and visiting people with us. He took us to a nice
Italian restaurant and bought us each a 14 ounce steak. It was delicious!
Sunday was a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. I think every member got
up and bore their testimony. Then Elder Asay and I taught priesthood and lead
a discussion on missionary work. After church we went to Cave City for dinner
with the sisters and had an awesome family home evening with the family there.
We are teaching the father of a family who is not a member. Our hope and prayer
is that he will become a member soon.
As I look back on the last 2 years of my mission my 3 favorite things about
being a Spanish missionary in the South are:
1. Learning about all the different cultures here -
2. Eating all the different amazing food -
3. Learning that God loves all of his children equally.
It is amazing to be able to have a conversation in an entirely different language
and understand that the meaning is the same. I have really come to love all of
the people I have met and served here in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. I
have been truly touched by their willingness to follow Jesus Christ. I feel that I
have served two different missions since I have served in both Spanish and in
English areas - the contrast is crazy. The South is definitely a unique place and
I have been forever blessed to serve there people here. I will really miss it a lot.
Thank you for everything. Have a great week.
Love Elder Merrill
to go - crazy! Tuesday we had a good day. We decided to bike and in return
we did a lot of finding. We visited one of our ministering families and talked
to them for a while. It went really well. Then that night we went and visited
another ministering family who lives about 30 minutes away with a member.
It was a busy good day.
Wednesday we had interviews with President Hansen. He sat me down and
the first thing he said was "the next time we do this you will be headed home."
That was kind of a scary thought. After our interviews I instructed our district
meeting. We discussed how to become preach my gospel missionary. It went
really well. President Hansen actually stayed and participated in our meeting.
That was a little intimidating but he said I did great job. After the meeting we
began exchanges with the Mountain View Elders. I served with Elder Jackson
here in Batesville. He is from Arizona and we got along great and we were able
to teach a few lessons together.
Thursday we did service for Habitat for Humanity which is always fun. We have
established a good relationship with the people who work in the store. After our
service we drove up to Melbourne which is about 45 minutes away to exchange
back. The rest of that day Elder Asay and I drove around the outskirts of our area
contacting less active members. It was really fun to be out in the countryside and
drive down dirt roads in our little car. We drove around for about three hours. We
returned just in time for basketball night. We found an awesome family last week
and invited them to come play basketball and they came! Hopefully we can start
teaching them soon because they are basically a Mormon family already. They
are seriously one of the nicest families I’ve met on my mission.
Friday we had our usual weekly planning and spent the rest of the day contacting
people. Saturday we served at the Methodist breakfast again and then returned
home to continue our studies. That afternoon we went to lunch with Brother Trayler.
He is probably my favorite old man ever - I could talk to him forever. He has done
just about everything you can think of. He has really taught me a few things about
life. He really enjoys coming out and visiting people with us. He took us to a nice
Italian restaurant and bought us each a 14 ounce steak. It was delicious!
Sunday was a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. I think every member got
up and bore their testimony. Then Elder Asay and I taught priesthood and lead
a discussion on missionary work. After church we went to Cave City for dinner
with the sisters and had an awesome family home evening with the family there.
We are teaching the father of a family who is not a member. Our hope and prayer
is that he will become a member soon.
As I look back on the last 2 years of my mission my 3 favorite things about
being a Spanish missionary in the South are:
1. Learning about all the different cultures here -
2. Eating all the different amazing food -
3. Learning that God loves all of his children equally.
It is amazing to be able to have a conversation in an entirely different language
and understand that the meaning is the same. I have really come to love all of
the people I have met and served here in the Arkansas Little Rock Mission. I
have been truly touched by their willingness to follow Jesus Christ. I feel that I
have served two different missions since I have served in both Spanish and in
English areas - the contrast is crazy. The South is definitely a unique place and
I have been forever blessed to serve there people here. I will really miss it a lot.
Thank you for everything. Have a great week.
Love Elder Merrill
While out finding one day we went to check this address
and instead of finding people we found this empty lot - lol
Elder Merrill and Elder Asay
Enjoy this little video -
Thought you would like seeing what Arkansas looks like.
Fun with the Wahlquist Family making homemade tortillas!
Elder Merrill and Elder Asay suited up for the job
Look at Elder Merrill go!
A hot buttered tortilla you rolled yourself....nothing better!
We loved having Elder Merrill and his new companion Elder Asay
in our home. I made them work for their supper again! We had
chicken tacos, but I made them roll the flour tortillas themselves.
Any reason to get the Elders in an apron, right? LOL!
They got pretty good towards the end and took the recipe for tortilla
dough home with them. My great granny Maria Nina Perea Valdez would
be proud. She housed missionaries for 15 years in an apartment on her property.
She took the lessons and joined the church as well. But she feed them and taught
them all how to cook for themselves before they left her. Tortillas and beans
all day long! Many of them even brought their wives back to have her teach
them how to cook "real" Mexican. Carrying on the tradition generations later!
-Sister Michelle Wahlquist
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