HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY ELDER MERRILL!!!

Hey guys!  This week was a good end to this transfer.  It's really hard
to believe another 6 weeks has gone by - but the next 6 weeks will be
much more of the same because I am staying in Little Rock with Elder
Anderson!  I feel blessed to serve with him for another 6 weeks.  It will
be good.  It's even harder to believe I only have 3 more transfers left!
I will fly home on Independence Day now  - July 4th!  

Tuesday and Wednesday we went on exchanges. I was so happy to
be able to serve with Elder Sotomarino one more time.  He is returning
home to Peru this week.  We have had a fun last week with him here in
Little Rock.  We had his "funeral" and were able to have some fun dinner
appointments with members of the branch.  We are really going to miss
him.  On Wednesday we ventured down south on our exchange and it
poured rain.  We were on bikes so it was rough!  We were able to visit a
less active member and it went really well.  Right after our studies that day
a member called and asked if he could come out with us - this was really
a miracle because that helped make the visit with this less active member
that much better.    

We have basically had a 4 day rain storm this past week - more that just
rain - I'm talking crazy tornado-like weather!  There were a bunch of flash
flood warnings and sirens.  Luckily nothing was damaged and the weather
was never really a safety threat.  It rained on us all week but Saturday was
the best - we totally got caught in a monsoon!  It was so insane we had to
video it!  We were riding home trying to beat the storm but we didn't make
it.  It literally slammed into us.  It was raining so hard we couldn’t even see.
We hit a puddle on a path that was as tall as our bike tires - it was crazy! 
We had rain jackets in our bags but the rain came so fast we were soaked
to the core before we could even get them out!  Lucky for us, some other
missionaries drove by and stopped.  They didn't have a bike rack so we put
all of our things (bags, books, tablets, wallets, phones) in their car and then
we biked the rest of the way home.  It actually ended up being pretty fun.
We were able to get back to our apartment, change our clothes, and get
back to work.  

Sunday was great as always!  After church we had dinner with wonderful
branch members where we ate the best pupusas ever!   We all ate way
too much - we could barely walk after. 

Today's P-day has been awesome!  We played some board games and
then went over to a birthday party - for me!   Everyone got together just for
me - I felt honored.  It was fun.  We ate hot dogs and birthday cake.  Elder
Anderson bought me a bunch of drinks so I was pretty happy about that.
Thank you somuch for the birthday package.  It was so awesome!  I love
you guys!  Can't believe I will be 20 years old tomorrow!

Love Elder Merrill 

HAPPY 20th BIRTHDAY ELDER MERRILL!!!

Elder Merrill & Elder Anderson

Excited to serve together for another transfer in Little Rock!

Little Rock Spanish Missionaries

Elder Merrill - Elder Gonzales - Elder Sotomarino - Elder Anderson

On Valentines Day we visited a member of our branch named Julio and his 

nephew Yayer who are living and working in the U.S. while their families 

are in Mexico. We took them a balloon and we had a fun lunch with them!  

We then sang hymns with them for a while which they both really enjoyed. 

Sacred music really invites the spirit and Julio really loved singing with us!

Elder Merrill and Elder Sotomarino

Elder Sotomarino's "funeral" 

Elders eating with the Ramos Family.

"Called to Serve.  We are happy to serve them!"

Guillermo had us over for lunch.  He bought street tacos 

for us and they were so good!  He said we are now officially 

as Mexican as he is. We took that as a compliment!

Elders with the Barrientos Family

The Monsoon!

Missionary Birthday Party!

Hey guys!  This week was a great one!  We had a few crazy adventures.  
Monday night a little puppy followed us home.  We let it come in for a bit 
and fed it a hot dog.  After that it didn’t want to leave.  We aren’t allowed 
to keep pets so this was a problem.  We ended up taking it to a neighbor 
for the night.  The next morning it was at our door again so we took it to 
a vet.  It was adorable and we were sad to see it go. 

Tuesday we had our district meeting and then went to work. Wednesday 
was a pretty slow missionary day.  We worked hard and tried our best to 
contact people -- knocking doors, giving out cards, but not really teaching 
anyone.  Thursday was an awesome day.  We biked down to the edge of 
our area.  There is a street down there that has a few Mexican tiendas so 
we can talk to a lot of people there by just hanging out around them. We 
talked to a few promising people which was good.  Since we were down 
there we stopped at a BBQ food truck for dinner that night.  It was pretty 
good but not Memphis BBQ good.  I really miss Memphis BBQ.  

Friday we stayed in our apartment for a bit to do our weekly planning.  
After that we went to visit a less active member that we hadn't seen in
awhile.  We had an awesome lesson about the Book of Mormon!  That 
night I went on exchanges with the zone leaders.  We also had a pretty
fun birthday party for Elder Anderson and I!  His birthday was this week
and mine is next week.  Elder Jorgenson was in town visiting the ALRM 
with his parents so they came to the party too.  It was really great to see 
him again!   

Saturday was a good day.  I was still on exchanges and we spent the day
in a town called Bryant.  It is a really spread out town.  It was also a gloomy 
day so not a lot of people wanted to talk to us.  That night I had an interview 
with President Hansen.  He said I might stay in Little Rock for the rest of my 
mission!  He also said Elder Anderson and I would serve one more transfer 
together and then I would probably train my last two transfers here.  So we 
will see if all of that actually happens.  Sometimes President Hansen says 
things and then the opposite happens so who knows.  I will happily serve 
wherever the Lord wants me to serve.  

Sunday was great as usual.  We had dinner with the Branch president and 
family.  They are really awesome.  She made us falso conejo - I’ll let you look 
it up - haha.  It was pretty bomb!  It's hard to believe I am going to turn 20 
next week!  It's even harder to believe I only have 3 transfers left!  Thanks 
for everything!  I love you guys!  

Love Elder Merrill

Missionary Birthday Party! 

Elder Gonzles, Conner Jorgensen, Elder Anderson & Elder Merrill

A party wouldn't be complete without Dr. Pepper!  

Elder Merrill and Elder Anderson 

with their new 4-legged friend

Super missionary Elder Merrill

It's always cool to serve!

Hey guys!  This week was great.  It was a quiet week but were able to 
make some good things happen from it.  Today for P-day we went to a 
trampoline park.  A good time was had by all!  

Tuesday we helped with a sweet service project with the English Elders.  
We went down to one of the churches in the area and helped with their 
food bank.  Every Tuesday they give out a bunch of food to the homeless 
people in the area.  We went and helped them set everything up and get 
ready in the morning.  We didn’t end up passing out the food but it was 
really cool to see the church - plus it's always cool to serve!  It was so nice 
to talk to people from another church and not have them hate on us.  We 
were all just there to serve and that’s all that really mattered. 

Wednesday and Thursday were exchanges.  It was awesome because I 
got to serve with Elder Gonzalez again!  This is the first time I have been 
around him since we served together here in Little Rock about a year ago.  
It was just like old times being in our old area together.  We weren’t able 
to teach a lot of people but it was great to catch up.  Then on Friday Elder 
Anderson was sick so we stayed in.  That day was a little long for me but 
he got better so it was worth it to stay in and rest.  We worked a little on 
Saturday since he was feeling better.   

Sunday was great!  We had an awesome dinner appointment with a less 
active family.  Then Elder Anderson and I had a good talk about where we 
are on our missions and where we want to get too.  Good stuff!  It rained 
one day and I found out that my slick tires have no traction in water. I can 
basically power slide into a 180 with them.  Good times!   Love you guys! 

Love Elder Merrill

Anyone ever eaten Chicken Wangs? 

Elder Gonzales and Elder Merrill 

Elder Merrill and Elder Anderson enjoying some Southern food

Eating tacos with Edgar - a new member

Elder Anderson and Elder Merrill with the English Elders and their "sticks"

P-day trampoline park party

Read it everyday folks!

Hey guys!  We started off our week strong by teaching an awesome 
family.  This is the family we received as a referral from the English 
Elders. The mom's main question for us was what church the Savior 
will save when He comes. She had a lot of deep doctrinal questions 
for us. It made the lesson challenging but she is genuinely interested 
so we will do our best to answer all her questions.  

Wednesday we had a wonderful Zone Conference. President Hansen 
gave an amazing lecture out of the New Testament about the Savior's 
life. I really loved learning even more about my Savior.  I now have the 
goal to finish reading the New Testament before I return home.  I know 
it will strengthen my testimony to learn all I can about my Savior - His 
life and His love for me.  

Thursday was a normal missionary day - nothing too exciting.  Friday 
we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders.  I got to serve with Elder 
Brinkerhoff again.  We had a great time and were able to set a return 
appointment for next week.  The lady we found seemed interested so 
it should be good.  

Sunday was Stake Conference. We talked a lot about councils that are 
happening in the church now.  It was really long and I had to translate 
the whole thing - my voice was dead by the end of it.  The highlight was 
President Hansen's talk on how the Book of Mormon basically improves 
our lives in every aspect.  So read it everyday folks! 

Today's P-day was pretty chill.  The bike shop I purchased my bike at 
sent me a free tune-up so we took it in. They basically just cleaned and
oiled it.  It was free so that was nice.  We still ride almost everyday - it’s 
fun.  We then went shopping at Ross.  It was awesome because I found 
the best deal ever on new pants - I found a pair of Nike golf pants for $3!  
Yep - 3 bucks people - steal of the century!  I am a very happy missionary!  
I also bought a couple new ties because it’s been awhile since I’ve had a 
new one.  They are cool!  Well I sure love you guys!  Have a great week 
and read the Book of Mormon!  

Love, Elder Merrill 

 Happy P-day!