General Conference. I watched it in Romanian

From: Melissa Merrill Sent: Monday, October 07, 2013 4:56 AMSubject: General Conference. I watched it in Romanian

Well, since last time I wrote not a ton has happened, but that's ok! I'll think of something to write about!
I'll start with conference. I watched it in Romanian, so I couldn't really understand anything, which was kind of really sad because I love conference, but I seriously only understood a few lines through the whole thing. I got to watch Relief Society, Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning, but not Sunday afternoon, but we're going to try to watch it with the Powell's today in English! I guess I shouldn't say that I didn't understand anything. It was actually really cool. I tried really hard to understand all that I could and was praying so much that I would understand something, and I did! The few lines I did understand answered many questions I had and lifted my spirits so much! And more important, I watched the faces of each of the speakers more intently, and the spirit bore testimony to me that what they were saying was true. I saw how strong the spirit testified to them. I saw their testimony instead of hearing and understanding it. It was such a blessing to get to watch conference. And I really watched this time! It was such an amazing experience. Although, I still really want to watch it in English.
Sora Drotar and I were at the church pretty much all day yesterday. We went early just in case someone showed up for normal church and so we could do our studies there. At 11 these 3 kids we're teaching came and we were trying to language study, but they kept wanting us to play with them. So I played razboi (war) with them for my language study and I learned a lot! Like how to say, "Don't look at your cards"and "Don't cheat"and "don't choose" haha those are very important things to know. But it was super fun. I've come to realize that I really love kids. I love teaching them so much! They're so fun and are just so accepting of everything we say. We're teaching this family with a 15 year old son and he is so open! And extremely smart. He recognizes the importance of what the scriptures say and about what we ask him and keeps all of his commitments. He really wants to do the right thing. And he smiles all the time! I guess that's my favorite part about kids, they like to smile, and in Romania you don't see many people smiling, which is kind of depressing. But I can say that the members here love to smile and laugh and have fun! Although they're still small in numbers, I'd says they're the happiest people in Romania.
But anyways, going back to kids. I love them. They are such an example to me! I love giving them the attention they deserve when some others glance over them. This morning for personal study I read a talk from the April 2011 general conference called "Become as a Little Child." It is such a beautiful talk. I love the quote Sister Stevens used from Elder Ballard:

“And he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.
“And when he had done this he wept. …
“And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones” (3 Nephi 17:21–23 <http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/3-ne/17.21-23?lang=eng#20> ).

Elder M. Russell Ballard has taught us the importance of the Savior’s admonition to “behold your little ones” when he said: “Notice that He didn’t say ‘glance at them’ or ‘casually observe them’ or ‘occasionally take a look in their general direction.’ He said to behold them. To me that means that we should embrace them with our eyes and with our hearts; we should see and appreciate them for who they really are: spirit children of our Heavenly Father, with divine attributes” (“Behold Your Little Ones,”Tambuli, Oct. 1994, 40; emphasis added; “Great Shall Be the Peace of Thy Children,” Ensign, Apr. 1994, 59).

We can learn so much from kids. I love the scriptures that follow in 3 Nephi 17 that describe the experience of how angels came and surrounded the children with fire and ministered unto them. Why would Christ talk about children in such a reverent way and why would angels administer unto them if we're not supposed to learn something from them. I've learned that children are the first to humble themselves, the first to believe, the first to follow the Savior, and the first to desire to serve. They are so trusting! I look up to kids so much! If I accepted the truth as quickly and as easily as they, I would be a much better servant of the Lord. That is what I'm striving to do. To become as a little child, to love more, to trust more, to believe more, to appreciate more, and to laugh and smile more. What an amazing we have from all the children around us and of our Savior, who knows them, and loves them, and is so close to all of them.

Also this week I studied about desires. I read a talk, also from April 2011, by Elder Oaks. He described how our desire to follow Christ and serve His children should be greater than any other desire we have. If we have a strong desire to serve Christ, and if we love Him fully, we won't be afraid to talk to our friends, or even random strangers, about the gospel. Throughout the week I've really been thinking more about what I desire in my life and in the mission. I have a desire to serve the Lord, but I took a moment to consider how strong that desire is. I've seen that the desire I have to serve the Lord directly affects how many people I try to talk to and how focused my studies are. It also affects how well I get along with my companion and my mood. Heavenly Father grants unto us according to our desires; according to our faith (Enos 1:12).

I feel like I studied a lot this week, even though it hasn't been more than any other time. I feel like a ton of time was taken away from us this week because of Zone conference and then general conference. Not saying that was bad, we really just weren't able to meet with very many people this week. I hope everyone enjoyed conference! What an amazing blessing it is to be able to listen to the prophet and apostles of the Lord every six months. And you can here their words anywhere in the world and in almost every language! It's absolutely amazing!

Also, another really cool experience, in district meeting Elder Reid asked everyone to find a "comfort scripture"and share it and your testimony. I cheated...I used a quote. It's from the April 2009 general conference by President Eyring on Adversity. He said:

"The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love."

I love this quote. I absolutely love it! Heavenly Father allows us to go through trials and adversity to that we can grow! So that we have an opportunity to turn to Him, to trust Him, and to allow Him to change our hearts and our will to better fit His love and His will. It's absolutely amazing! As I shared this quote I testified that I know God loves all His children, especially His missionaries. As Christ said to the Nephites (and during the Sermon on the Mount, but here I'm quoting from 3 Nephi 12), "And blessed are all they who are persecuted for my name's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I have felt the love of God so much this week. He strengthens me every day. I have seen my heart change so much this week. I know that the more I trust in the Savior, the more I desire to serve Him, the more I change, and the more I repent the closer I am to Him and a better instrument I am in His hands.  

Transfers are this week and either Sora Drotar or I are leaving. President Hill doesn't keep companionships together for more than 2 transfers. Sora Drotar says that she thinks she's leaving, but I honestly think I'm leaving. We'll find out Friday! It's so sad that we're getting split apart, but hopefully many good things come out of it.

I hope everyone is doing well! I love and miss you all! I really hope you are all serving the Lord with all your might, mind and strength! There's an urgency in this work and the Lord needs member missionaries! He needs you! Trust Him and He will help you!

Cu iubire,

Sora Merrill

P.S. Here are the pictures I took this week:

Everything's Jolly

7/10/13

Another week at the MTC has flown by! And I have to say, it's just getting better and better! 

This week we've really been focusing on having the spirit present in our lessons and as we prepare. It's crazy how much I feel I've learned, but also how much I feel like I don't know. It's kind of a weird feeling. At our devotional last night that guy who spoke (I kind of forgot his name) talked about the importance of inviting. He said something like, "the human spirit only responds to invitations." That's why our purpose as missionaries is to "invite others to come unto Christ." We don't teach. The spirit teaches. And then it is up to the investigator to choose what they want to do.

That was another interesting thing we talked about in class and in devotional. Heavenly Father doesn't direct us in every decision we make. I mean, it makes sense. He did give us agency. But so often we get hung up on if we're feeling the Holy Ghost or not. Well, like what Elder Bednar said in a devotional he gave here (i don't know when) is that it doesn't matter! Stop worrying about it! Just try to be a "good boy or good girl" and if it is a prompting from the spirit, then maybe you'll find out someday that you headed a prompting. He told a story about how on his mission he gave Elder Packer 20 marks to travel out of Germany and it saved his wife from being taken off the train when some east German soldiers came on the train. Anyways, that's probably some very insufficient information, but Elder Bednar didn't know it was going to help Elder Packer so much! He just thought they might get hungry. 20 years later Elder Bednar heard the story of what happened. so it goes to show that it doesn't matter if it's a prompting or not. If it's a prompting to do something good, whether it be your thoughts our thoughts the spirit puts into your mind, do it!

So yeah, that's my spiritual note of the week. For something funny I'll tell you about what happened in TRC! Elder Crane and I were teaching a lesson on receiving inspiration through the Book of Mormon. I read a scripture about how those who open their minds and hearts will receive more knowledge than those who close their minds and hearts (I think it's in Alma 12...maybe) and I was explaing and said "Noi avem sa inchide inima nostru si inchide minte nostru la primim revalatie..." which means "We have to close our hearts and our minds to receive revelation." I said "inchide" (which means close) multiple times. Then I finaly realized I was saying inchide instead of "deschide"which means "open". I finally switched and we all laughed and then I told Elder crane to start talking before I preached even more false doctrine. And then when he started talking he shared the same scripture I had previously. I guess he didn't realize I had already shared it. It wsa just a pretty funny experice. =)

Well, less than 2 weeks before I go to Romania! I can't wait! Sorry this was short, but I don't really feel like I have much to say. I love you all! Thanks for all of your letters! I have noticed that they are getting fewer and fewer, but that's ok. It just makes it more exciting when I get a letter! I think I got letters from: Mom, dad, marshall and ashley, sister Roberts, Uncle Bob, Uncle Mark, Suzanne (which was awesome because not many people from BYU write to me), and probably a few other people I'm forgetting. Just know that I love to get them!

It was great to hear about Jude's baby blessing. I'm sad I missed it, but it sounded like a very touching experience. I hope he and his parents are still doing well! Tell him that I hope he remembers me and that I love him! Also tell him that I'm the best aunt ever, even if I won't see him for the first year and a half of his life. But you can tell him Aunt Melanie and Aunt Ashley are pretty cool too.

Oh! And Melanie! Tell your neices and nephews hi! I forgot to tell you that last time! Tell them I loved playing with them at your wedding! It was very fun!

Oh and in reference to my subject, Sorella Carter always says stuff like, "That's so jolly!" I liked it a lot, and I think it's strarting to rub off on me.

Well, I think that's it! I'll try to send more pictures today...with captions so you know who people are. haha well I love you all! I think I've said that many times and I hope everyone knows it!

Love,  Sora Merrill

 ...

The picture of me shaking the elders hand...that's Me and Elder Poaletti (my fhe brother from BYU) I see him a lot on Sundays and occasionally other times since his classroom is in the Italians building

The picture of the Elder rockin' the Romanian flag: Elder Harris with his Romanian smile...haha there's a Romanian verb book in our classroom with a picture of the author and she's not smiling at all and the teach we have who's from Romania says that's how all Romanians smile

The picture of everyone is all the missionaries going to Romania...from left to right starting in the back goes: Elder Speyer, Elder Harris, me, Elder Contos, Elder Derdan, Elder Lenhart. In the Front on

So these pictures are :

1) Sister Carter, Sister Smart and I on our first temple walk

2)Ashley Nelson and I on her last Sunday before she went to Chile

3)Me and Sister Taylor who was in my BYU ward

the left is Elder Crane and then Elder French. And this is our Romanian smile picture =)

The Plan of Love

Buna Ziua everyone!

I didn't think it was possible, but I love the MTC soooooooo much more than I did last week. It just keeps getting better and better. I love having pday on Wednesdays because that's when all the new missionaries come! We always take at least a half an hour to just sit and watch all the families say goodbye to their new missionaries. It's just a wonderful experience to watch. It just reminds me of how far I've come in just three weeks of being here. Wow! I've been here three weeks! It's so hard to believe!

So, I'm going to spend most of my time writing about our Plan of Salvation lesson we had this week in class. It was seriously the best lesson I have ever had on the Plan of Salvation. Our teacher, Fratele Sandberg, gave his view on what the Plan of Salvation meant to him. I'm going to try my best to write what he said, but just know he said it so much better than I probably will. So here it goes...

He started out asking us why God allows us to experience pain, affliction, sarrows, etc when we came to this earth. We gave the answer that it was because that's the only way we could feel joy. He said that was right, but then asked why Heavenly Father just didn't give us easy trials to go through. Why do we have to go through so much in order to feel joy. Well, he wasn't sure...

He said that after studying the subject for a very long time, that's all he could come up with, but then he told this story...

Before we came to this life we lived with a Heavenly Father and Mother. We spent eternity with them, learing and growing and gaining as much knowledge as we could in the state we were in. But then came a day where our Heavenly Father gathered all of His children together. He must have said something like this:

"Hello my wonderful children! I have gathered you together today because I have heard some of you talk about how you have progressed as far as you can and how you have a desire to become more like me. I have gathered you together today to present to you a plan. This plan will allow you to go down to this world I have created and receive bodies, like mine. Here you will learn and grow. you will come to know of joy and love."

Oh what excitement we must have felt when we heard this! A place where we could progress! A place where we could become more like our Heavenly Father! But then He continued...

"However, this journey will not be easy. You will experience pain and affliction. You will experience death of close loved ones. You will go through sickness, sorrow, and many other afflictions you can't even imagine. You will also experience sin."

At this, many probably became very unsure of this plan. although we probably couldn't fully understand what our Father was describing, we knew it didn't sound good. But He continued again...

"But I have provided a way for you to overcome these pains. My beloved son, your elder brother, has said that He would take upon Him all the sorrows and pains of the world so that you can be supported. Through this atonement you will be able to repent of your sins and if you use it fully, you will be able to return to Me and live in my presence forever."

Now this is exactly what we needed. To hear that we weren't alone in our journey. To learn that it was possible to return to our Father who we loved so much.

But then another spoke.

I have another plan," he said," I will provide a way where none will fail to return. A plan where we will all return. I will do this and the glory shall be mine."

What sorrow our Father must have felt when one of His children went against Him. However, He knew this would happen. Our Father banished him from His presence. He would never be able to return.

But there were still more who didn't agree with the plan. They chose to follow the other, the plan that went against our loving Heavenly Father's. As they turned from our Father and were banished, we all realized that 1/3 of our brothers and sisters had left. 1/3 of our Father's dear children, who He had spent eternity with, turned from Him and from their heavenly mother. What pain and sorrow He must have felt as they turned away from Him as if to say," We don't believe in you, we don't trust you, we never want to see your face again."

And then we came to earth. The 2/3's who chose to follow that plan. we experience pains, sorrows, sickness, and all other afflictions. And what brings us most sorrow is sin. We don't only feel sorrow for our sin, but our Father feels sorrow when our choices don't line up with His commandments.

But like He promised, He provided a way for us to be freed of that sorrow and guilt. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. He atoned for our sins and felt every pain and sorrow we have felt. Through His atonement we can experience the joy our Father promised us. Through Him we can also be able to achieve eternal life after this one.

But still, there were and are many of our Father's children who haven't followed His commandments. They have sinned and haven't used the Atonement or accepted the covenants He has given them to come closer to Him, to progress, to learn of His love and His mercy. And because of this, our Father morns, He feels sorrow and pain and hurt. Even though He is God, He still hurts, He still sorrows because of the disobedience of His children.

So why then did He present this plan? Why did He allow His children to have agency, to make their own choices, if He knew that would mean losing many of them? Well, this is what I understood...

Our Heavenly Father loves us!

He gave us a plan because we wanted to progress. We wanted to become like Him. He loves us so much that He was willing to allow many to fall away just so that we could have this opportunity to come to this life, receive a body, learn, and then return to Him. He loves us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son to atone for our sins so that it would be possible for us to be forgive and to overcome death. It's impossible for us to comprehend even a small piece of our Heavenly Father's love. But the love we can feel is absolutely amazing!

So then I thought, if we are trying to become like our Heavenly Father, what does that mean we are really supposed to experience on this earth? Yes, "Adam fell that man might be, and man are that they might have joy," but joy is not our purpose on this earth. What really are we supposed to learn?

Well, we are supposed to love! We are supposed to learn tol love as our Father loves. We are supposed to learn to love so much that we learn to sacrifice anything for the people we love. We are supposed to learn how to have charity, which is the pure love of Christ.

That's why it's important that we use the atonement. When we use the atonement, the gift our Father and our Elder Brother have given us, we feel a greater amount of His love and we gain a desire to share that love with all our brothers and sisters on the earth. We share so that they can feel that love, so they can learn to have charity.

In Moroni 7:48 it reads:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen." 

 When we learn how to love as He loves, we become more like Him. That when we may appear we shall be like Him because we have obtained that love that He has for all of us. I know this is true. I know that we cannot comprehend all of His love. I know that because He loves us what is important to us becomes important to Him. Shouldn't we strive to be the same? "Without charity, ye are nothing."

I'm sorry I didn't write much about my week, but I just really wanted to share this with everyone. I've been pondering it all week. I hope that I can have even just a tiny amount of charity, that I will be able to share that love with the people in Romania. I hope that all who read this will receive the desire to try to have more charity for everyone around them. I hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for all of the letters! I love them! I love you all! Bofta! Te iubeste!

Love,

Sora Merrill

 

 

 

 

Every Member a Missionary - June 26, 2013

Buna Ziua!

Well, this week went much better than last. I was kind of expecting it to be like that just because that''s what everyone told me. I''m understanding a lot more, but can still barely put sentances together unless I think about it for a long time. But from what I've heard, I could barely put sentances together in 2nd grade, and look at me now! And this time I have the Spirit! So I have faith that I will learn it enough to say at least a couple sentences before I leave.

Yesterday we got "new investigators" to teach. Elder Crane and I accidentally gave a 55 minute lesson to our first investigator. We're trying to get off using notes when we teach and it helps a lot to actually get to know the people we're teaching instead of just reading something that we're not sure what it means. Unfortunately for me, that means it takes much, much longer to say what I want to because it takes me forever to put it together in my head. The other lesson we gave was a door approach. Actually that lesson went really well, although we need to ask more questions. We tend to talk too much because we're so focused on saying the right thing that we don't engage the investigator as much as we should. Also, sometimes I'm just worried I won't understand them.

Yeah, so I'm trying to learn how to ask good questions that will help us teach with the spirit and help the investigator learn for themselves and gain a testimony. Unfortunately, I did not inherit Dad's asking questions gene because I hardly ever have questions at all. Therefore, it's hard for me to think about what questions the investigator might have and it's hard for me to put together questions that are open ended and will help the investigator the most. But that's why I'm still in the MTC! To learn how to teach better.

Some awesome things that I accomplished this week is that I memorized "Our Purpose" in Romanian and I also memorized D&C 88:33 in Romanian! I also spoke in Romanian all morning one day this week...I really need to speak my language more than I do...that would probably help a lot.

I absolutely love the Romanian Elders! They are amazing people! And they're extremely funny which is really nice to have when you get really discouraged. They always find something to laugh about. Yeah, some of them are a little immature, I mean what do you expect? Some of them just got out of high school, but that definitely makes it interesting. Like the other day we were on TALL (it's like a program that helps you speak better) and two of the Elders were pretending they were pilots because apparently the headsets look like those pilots use. Our teacher came in and was like "maybe you should just practice words instead of phrases." It was pretty funny, but you probobly would've needed to be there. Anyways, I have a good time with them. They're all great!

My companions and I still absolutely love the sharing shelf and the give-away boxes! I got a robe and a Jesus The Christ book from them! 

And we got to go to the temple again! But this was our last time because they're closing the temple for cleaning or something for a while. Which is extremely lame.

I hope everyone got to watch the world-wide broadcast on Sunday! I really enjoyed it! I was in the choir, but I was standing in the middle of the girls, so even if the videos weren't playing while the sisters were singing, you probably wouldnt've seen me. But that's ok! I really was there! I promise!

 But I also thought the message was extremely important. Although Elder Holland did address that full-time missionaries could now use the internet for contacting, I really don't think that was the full purpose of why they had the broadcast. They had it so they could address ALL the missionaries, specifically the members of the church. The members can't be afraid to share the gospel with their friends. That's where missionaries get their best investigators. It's also extremely important for members to go with members to discussions. They are the connection between the respresentatives of the church who have been called of God and the investigator. Seriously, members help others in their conversion process. They bear another testimony of the church and of Jesus Christ. It's not just the missionaries job. So, I encourage everyone who reads this to pray about who they can invite to learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So that's really all I want to say about the broadcast, but I guess I will say that I think it's a good idea that missionaries can use more technology since it will be much easier for them to get in touch with their investigators and the members. I also think it's a good idea that they're opening church buildings for tours, although I really hope I don't get stuck giving tours...although it would probably ok, I just really don't want to get stuck doing that. I'm not even sure Romania has real church buildings since most of their congregations are branches.

some really important things I learned this week was to trust the Lord. I mean, I always knew that was important, but that's something I focused most on. For example, not being afraid to try to get off reading notes while teaching and being patient with myself and really believing Heavenly Father will help me learn the language. I also realized that studying the scriptures is way more important than studying the language. Even when you study the language, you should be studying the Gospel and learn to help you teach the investigator. The first week I was so focused on learning the language that I was getting frustrated! This week I focused first on the investigator and the Gospel and then the languange. Everything went to much smoother. And I felt like the Lord was guiding me to what I needed to say more. So for all you missionaries trying to learn a language, remember that. The Lord comes first, then the investigator, then the language. I've been trying to read a chapter out of my Romanian Book of Mormon each day out loud to help with my pronunciation and understanding and that helps a lot too. Heavenly Father blesses His missionaries.

There is so much more that I want to say! But I really don't have tons of time, so I'll just write one more story.

On Sunday, My companions and another sister companionship going to Italy had an awesome scripture sharing study where everyone would pick a couple of their favorite scriptures and share it with each other and tell why they liked it. Here are some of the scriptures we used:

D&C 6 (specifically 10-11, but the whole thing is good)

Moroni 8:2

Abraham 3:25

D&C 101:78

3 Nephi 5:13

Moroni 7:45-48

Moroni 7:33

Yeah, you should read them. They're good =)

I love you all! Thanks for the letters from Marshall, Melanie, Mom, Dad, Sister Roberts, Uncle Mark, Aunt Robin, and Alyssa! Don't be afraid to send more! I love to get them!

Oh and don't buy any of the dearelder cookies to send to me. Although I am very grateful for the cookies mom sent, there were 12 cookies in there and they all have about 440 calories in them...so I'm not too sure what to do with them because I don't want to eat them all. Plus they give us cookies, brownies, cake, ice cream and such all the time and it's really hard not to eat the. So yeah...don't send me cookies =) Thanks so much, though!

 

Love,

Sora Merrill 

Riding Solo

June 19, 2013

It's Wednesday! And that means lots of new missionaries and my pday!

I hope that no one is freaking out because I haven't gotten to write yet, but I am definitely alive and well.

So, it's been a pretty crazy week, but nothing really that I wasn't expecting...well most of it. When you go to the MTC the first thing you do is go get your name tag. I got mine, they put it on me and explained to me that I was a solo sister! Soon after I found out that meant I was the only sister in my district. So that was kind of unexpected and kind of difficult to get used to, but honestly now I wouldn't have it any other way.

Because I'm a solo sister I have companions who are going to Italy. they are Sister Carter and Sister Smart! I absolutely love them to death! They're always super happy and we laugh a lot! During class I just stay with the Elders. There's only three of them in my class, but then there's another district of another 4 Elders. They're all super fun and I get along with them really well. They're all short though, well at least all the Elders in my class are =). I'm the tallest one! haha that seems to happen to me often, though. But they all have amazing testimonies and I really enjoy discussing the Gospel with them. They have an amazing love for people. It's truly inspirind for me.

So, the first day in class my teachers only spoke Romanian...actually, everyday they only speak Romanian. It can get very frustrating when you don't understand, but they're usually pretty good at acting out what they're trying to get across. One of my teachers, Fratele Sandberg (Fratele=Brother), has the most amazing hair I have ever seen...haha that's  not very important, I just thought I would mention it. Romanian is such a beautiful language. Well, at least I really like it. It doesn't sound as good coming out of my mouth as it does others, but hopefully I will soon get better at speaking.

This week I've learned so much about patience! Mostly being patient with myself. I kept having to remind myself that as long as I'm diligent and try my best and pray a lot that Heavenly Father will bless me! I know that there is obviously some reason that I have been called to Romania at this time. I mean, it could've been easy for the First Presidency to let me wait 6 weeks and have me leave then so I could have another sister going to Romania with me, but they didn't. They called me to leave on June 12. I know there is some reason for that. Maybe it's so that I could have Sister Smart and Sister Carter as companions, or maybe it's because I'm just supposed to be in class with a whole bunch of Elders. I'm not really sure why. But I know I am supposed to be here now. That's why when why I didn't write to the Presidency to give me a later date to report. I know that you're not only sent to where you need to be, but you're sent when you're supposed to go.

Anyways, moving foreward. When we have our pratice teaching I teach with one of the Elders in my class since I don't have a Sister with me. I teach with Elder Crane. He is an amazing person and really listens to the spirit. We teach a fake investigator named Cristian...well sort of.Since we can't really speak very much we use a whole bunch of simple phrases and then try our best to respond to his questions. Before our last lesson we taught, I was praying so hard that I would just understand somethings during the whole lesson. I am having a pretty hard time understanding anything so I've been getting frustrated a lot, so I was just praying so hard that I would understand at least one thing. we were teaching about repentance and baptism. Elder Crane was teaching the part on repentance and Cristian kept asking how we could obtain a remission of our sins. And as hard as Elder Crane tried Cristian just kept asking, "Cum?"--"why?" and then it just popped in my head! I knew how to answer it! so I did! I said, "Prin Botez, Demneseu ne promite iertarea pacatelor." "Through baptism, God promises us a remission of our sins!" And that's pretty much all I said through the rest of the lesson...haha. But Heavenly Father answered my prayer! and because I followed the spirit we were able to commit him to being baptized! It was amazing! Heavenly Father answers your prayers! I mean, I always knew that, but now I know it even more!

So, other stuff going on. You know that huge missionary broadcast thing the First Presidency is doing on the 23rd? Well, I'm going to be in it! My companions and I got into the choir, so look for me! It's going to be awesome! All the first presidency and quorem of the twelve are going to be here! So I might run into some of them...well...maybe. I'm not sure. I'll be in my classroom most of the time.

I've seen quite a few people I know here! I've saw Ashley Nelson, Daniel Poaletti, Jake Lewis, Zander White, Marlee (sorry I forgot her last name), John Akagi, Kyle Hakes, Julissa Wilcox, and probably a couple more people I'm forgetting about. Most of those people are from my BYU ward. It's so great to get to see all of them preparing to go on missions! I love it!

My companions and I have an obsession with the sharing shelf in our hall. It's pretty much just a shelf that people leave their unwanted food on when they leave for their missions. The sharing shelf actually supplied my dinner the other day because I wasn't going to be able to go to dinner because I had to teach and then right after go to devotional because I was singing in the choir. So my companions brought me these really good raspberry sticky bun things they found from the sharing shelf! They were great! and I haven't gotten sick yet, so I'm pretty sure they were safe to eat =).

On to a more spiritual note. Today in my personal study I was reading in Alma 26:27 (26 is pretty much my favorite chapter ever, so if you need something to read...read that). It says:

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamenites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."

That scripture touched my heart. I have seriosuly had probably one of the hardest weeks of my life. I'm not complaining, I absolutely love the MTC. But being here has shown me so many of my weaknesses. I've learned that when it comes to other people, I'm a super patient person, but when it comes to myself, I'm probably the most impatient person I have ever met! I just want to be able to say whatever I want in Romanian right now! But obviously, that's not going to happen for a while. But I know that the Lord comforts those who stand in need of comfort. he strengthens our weaknesses. If we are patient and do our best, He will give unto us success.

Another scripture I found today was Alma 28:14. This scripture pretty much just reminded me of why I'm here and why so many people have responded to the call to serve:

"And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing--sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life."

Christ is the light of the world. He is the reason we can have joy in this life. He is the center of the plan of happiness! I know it! When we repent and come unto Him, He gives us joy and fills our hearts. I know I'm going to have hard times on my mission. Most of those hard times will be caused because people won't want to listen to the message we have to share. It's seriously the saddest thing in the world! The message we share is love and happiness through Jesus Christ and His Gospel!

There's another scripture I read that touched my heart, but I don't have much time left, so I'll just tell you it and you can read it for yourself =). It's alma 29:6-9. Read it! It's good!

Thank you all for your support. I was hoping more people would send me dearelder letters. They're the best because when you're having a bad day, sometimes a letter from family and friends just cheers you up! and if you don't know what to say, just tell me about what's happening in your life! Or tell me a scipture you really liked! Or just whatever comes to mind!  

Well, I hope everyone's doing well! letters and dearelders really are the best way to contact me. I don't have much time to email. Thanks again for all of your support! I love you all!

Pa pa!

Love,

Sora Merrill  

How to Write to Me!

If you would like to send me letters on my mission, there are a couple of ways to do so.

Handwritten or Packages
Please send all handwritten letters and packages to the address below. Note that the address will change in 6 weeks when I leave for Romania.

Sister Melissa Merrill
JUL23 ROM-MLD
2009 N 900 E Unit 114
Provo UT 84602

Dearelder.com 
If you would like to send letters that will get to me quickly and that you don't have to pay for, use dearelder.com. I think you have to create an account, but after you do go to "Write a Letter" at the top and follow the instructions. When you get to the part where you fill out the missionaries information, my unit number is 114. That's mostly all you need besides my name.

Email
Although I am allowed to email friends now, I cannot guarantee that I will. From what I hear, you really don't get that much time on the computer, which I understand completely. So, if you email me, don't expect to get an email right back. I might write you a handwritten letter instead. If you do email me and you want a response, please include your address.

My email is melissa.merrill@myldsmail.net

I would love to hear from you all! I can't wait to share my experiences with you! Thank you for the years of support I have received!

The Start

It took me a while to decide to start a blog for my mission. What finally made me do it is the fact that perhaps someone would be affected by something I say and may decide to strive to change and become a better person. I know I am not the most amazing writer in the world and if anyone gets anything out of my poorly structured posts I will be overjoyed! My hope is that through my experiences that I share here(through the help of my mom), I may be able to touch the heart of those struggling in their trials, that the Lord will give them an answer through me. I am nothing, but an instrument in His loving hands.

When President Monson announced the age change to when and Elder or Sister could report to serve a mission in the October 2012 General Conference, I was initially shocked. As he said that young women could now serve at 19 that only thoughts that ran through my head were, "I can go on my mission next year! I need to go on a mission!" I knew that serving a mission was something Heavenly Father not only wanted me to do, but needed me to do. It's also something I knew that I needed to do.

Unfortunately, I was not able to leave on my birthday like many of my friends did. As many of you that read this blog probably know, I high jump for BYU and therefore needed to finish out the season before I could report. However, I always knew that I was going to serve a mission when I was done with this year of track and with school. As I began work on my papers, the desire to serve grew. Again, I received a strong feeling that serving a mission was what I needed to do. I finished my papers at the beginning of April.

Two weeks later I had my call in my hands. I could not wait to open the white envelope and read where I would be serving the next 18 months of my life. I read the words written by the First Presidency of the church:

Dear Sister Merrill:
You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Romania/Moldova Mission. 

I couldn't believe it! I mean, I kind of felt I was going to go somewhere in Europe, but Romania! No way! I honestly kind of forgot it existed...( here's some pics of Romania)


The most shocking thing was that I was leaving June 12! That was practically 2 months before what I thought my availability date was, but due to a miscommunication (probably my fault), my stake president told the First Presidency that I wanted to leave as soon as possible! Although I was kind of panicking at first because of all the things I wouldn't be able to do, I soon calmed down and realized that there must be a reason that the miscommunication occurred.

So now I'm here. A little more than a day before I get on an airplane to fly to Salt Lake to enter the Missionary Training Center in Provo, I sit at my parents computer and share the feelings I'm having. Honestly, I can't wait to get out of here. Not that I don't like being here, but just that I want to be there. I can't wait to get out and serve.

Throughout today I was pondering the scripture Alma 17:2-3. It reads:
"Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God. 
But this was not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God."
I couldn't help, as I read this scripture, to think of all the people I know who have chosen to serve missions, especially my roommates from this last year at BYU. I know I haven't even begun my mission, and they have a little time before they begin theirs, but I couldn't help but wonder what it will be like when we have all returned. I feel like this is what it will be like. We won't only be happy to see each other again, but we will also rejoice to see that we have grown and have experience what it is like to fully consecrate ourselves to our Heavenly Father who we all love eternally. Although I am excited about going and serving, and I know it will be extremely hard for me to return, I can't wait for that day where I get to see how much my dear friends have grown in the gospel and in their testimonies.

I also thought of my friends staying behind. I completely understand why may young women I know have decided not to serve a mission; that is simply not what the Lord has in mind for them. They have a different path. However, I know that we can have the same experience I will have with my roommates and other friends who have chosen to serve missions. A mission doesn't guarantee you a testimony for life. What does is faith, study, prayer, making and keeping sacred covenants, repenting, forgiving, and enduring to the end. I know that anyone can do this. Missionaries, to be successful, are required to do this. However, I have met many people who have been diligent in doing these things. Because of their diligence, they have been blessed with strong testimonies of their Savior, and of His gospel. I know that as my friends stay behind, they're not really getting left behind. They can continue to grow as the many young people who have decided to serve. As they grow, they can also have the joy felt between Alma and the sons of Mosiah.

This scripture also reminds me of the importance of friendship and family. As we continue in this life, we need to help those around us to endure to the end, especially those who are struggling in their testimonies. All of us need to become instruments in the hands of the Lord and be the angels the people around us so desperately need. I know I have not always been the best friend or support I sometimes needed to be. That is one of my weaknesses I have been striving to improve. However, that does not mean that I don't have a testimony that it needs to be done. Sometimes I think of all the members of the church who have fallen away or have become inactive because of the simple things I didn't do. I think of my friends who aren't LDS who I could have shared the gospel with, but failed to do so.

I know that as we study the scriptures, pray, and fast we can obtain the spirit of prophecy and teach with the power and authority of God! Trust the Lord. He will tell you the words you need to say. He will literally fill your mouth with words. I know this is true. Stay faithful, trust, be believing, and do not fear. Love the Lord, love His children. As we progress down the path to eternal life and as we help those around us to do the same, we will be filled with joy! I know this to be true.

I would like to finish my post with the scripture I decided to put on my plaque. Alma 26:15-16

"Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yeas, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love, yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."

I know the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has the fullness of the gospel. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, that he saw the Father and the Son in the Sacred Grove and that he restored the gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness on this earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God, the truest book of the earth today, and that by abiding by the teaching found there we can come closer to Christ. I know President Monson is the prophet on the earth at this time. I know he was called of God. I know Christ atoned for our sins and that through Him we can become clean. I know Christ lives. I know we will be resurrected as He was resurrected, for He overcame death. We will stand in the presence of our Father again at the judgment seat. I know that families can be together for time and for all eternity through covenants made with the Lord in His holy temples. I know that these covenants are some of the greatest blessings given to man. I know I need to serve a mission. Heavenly Father needs servants. You don't have to be perfect, the only thing our Father has to work with is imperfect people. Humble yourselves, become worthy to serve. "If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work" (D&C 4:3).