April 15th CCM letter

Nikki- I'm so proud of you girl for getting your Newberry award! You go girl!

Dad- I got your letters, thank you so much!!! Letters are the best ever and they definately made my week!

Erika- I love that you wear the future missionary bracelet and it's crazy that there are 100 kids with mission calls! Tell everyone you know to go on a mission. It is an experience that will change your life. I grow so much every day, and really just come to an awareness of what my potential is, what my purpose is in life,

and what I can do to help others. This is an experience you can't get
anywhere else.

Mom-I haven't gotten the package )= 

I'm so happy you guys tried beans for breakfast. I just love it! 

What a mission is: A mission is first and foremost hard work. It is exhausting all day, every day. We work on improving every aspectof our lives from (thanks to Hermana Shultz, the physical therapist assistant) our posture, to our attitudes, focus, teaching, and most importantly learning the gospel. Every day I think I just find out how
much I don't know, more than how much I know. It is the hardest, most demanding experience, and yet I am happy all the time. I can feel the physical stress this has put on my body, but like in Mosiah, when the Lord lightens the burdens of his people, I am strengthened and made equal to the task. The Lord didn't take away the burden, but instead he made them stronger to handle it. I feel this is what the Lord has done for me. Throughout this cold and,, a 2 week long period (I'm on meds for that now). I have almost not felt the effects. I can feel the symptoms, but I still have energy to do all I am supposed to do.

Now, how bout A Day in the Life of Hermana Merrill: 

6:30- wake up, shower, get ready. 

7:30- breakfast (the eggs are so salty!)

The next 2 hours of the day are the best. Personal study and idioma study. I have a list of things I want to know/read by the end of my mission. I love learning! Sometimes during idioma study I go to the tutor and she helps me with the language.
10:00 we have TALL lab which helps us with spanish grammar. 

Then throughout the rest of the day we have lessons on the gospel, grammar
instruction, teaching our teachers, or devotionals on some days. I love the devotionals here at the CCM when the apostles speak to us because they speak so familiar with us, we are both on the same team and they are so open, frank and honest with us. I feel like we are friends (the devotionals are broadcast from Provo from a few months ago or so). During the day we have so much food! The boys in our class are still hungry all the time (=. 

Deportes you heard is so fun.

9-9:30: My day finishes with planning for the next day & getting ready for
bed. Oraccion with the girls (song and a prayer). Writing in my
journal. 

10:30.  Going to bed

Tommorow is P-day and I get to go to Walmart!! We get to write today because

there are too many people here.

 Love you lots, got to go Hermana Merrill

Heather's April 10th CCM letter

Dear Family and Friends,

I am really so grateful for all you do and am so grateful for the love and support all of you give me. This week was a good week and a bad week. Really awesome because it was general conference which is basically a holiday at the MTC. A lot of free time! Bad because I still have a cold (=. It's Everlasting!! I wonder if it's just the climate or change because only my sinuses are a problem, it's not really in my lungs at all. I've gone through 2 whole boxes of tissues in my classroom, know where every box is in the MTC and temple, and have gone through half my bottle of hand sanitizer. (= Erika-- I watched the YW broadcast too!

I finally told Sister Livingston that I'm not dating her brother. It was actually kind of hilarious. She just kept saying really and then chastising me for not being honest as a missionary (=. Yes mom, I have 2 more companionships in my room. Right now there are 2 that are Latina and 1 that is American. They're both awesome! I sometimes play basketball with the Latina Hermana's, they're really funny! Another Hermana has a black eye this week and mine is basically gone now! (basketball)

Dallin, Erika, Nikki, and Ti, I love you all!!!  You all sounded like you had an awesome Easter and Conference. I love you all .

The temple is an amazing pace. I love the spirit I feel there and will be sad when there isn't one in Nicaragua. On the topic of temples, how bout that temple in Cedar City?! Oh and by the way I've perfected my "missionary voice" and am now trying to get rid of it (=.

Love you all, Heather  

 (Michelle, I love hearing from you!)

April 2nd CCM letter

I just got an elder Holland talk and I feel like talking like Elder Holland right now! BTW dear elder mail is great, I can read your letters for longer, since we only have 30 minutes on the computer.

Today we went to the Central market as a p-day activity. I wish I could send you pics but we're not supposed to connect anything to the computer here. It was so fun to get out in the sun and see Guatemala. The temple trip today was so great as well!

Guess what?! our real investigator our district had been teaching for a week, was actually not real. He is our teacher. Thanks for nothing. (= He's actually a  real awesome teacher though and he really knows how to teach and he's upbeat and funny. Kind of a dramatic change from when we taught him. He was a real good actor! As a district we even fasted for him!!! MTC lies to us! Real good examples.

This week I got a bloody nose and a black eye. Rough place the MTC. (both times playing basketball) both at different times. I'm the music coordinator now that the past coordinator has left to the field. I haven't been told what I'm doing yet though. We're teaching all our lessons in total Spanish now. (Not that they are even anywhere near good, actually probably hardly if at all understandable). We have so many things to do during the day it's impossible to do it all! Even with having 16 hour days! My companion is awesome. She has the funniest sense of humor. No emotion in her voice when she's cracking a joke. It's hilarious. We've both got kind of strong personalities, and we are working on how to plan and work together better in lessons. My district is awesome! It's a hoot and a half all day long. Our class mascot is Marilla, Elder cooper's cat.

The Latina's that were my angelita's left today. I'm going to cry just writing about it. There names are Hermana Flores (she was the one I took through the temple for her first time), Hermana Zelada (she taught me so much Spanish and we talked all the time- besties), Hermana Morales (she was just the best ever, the quietest one, but she opened up a ton at the end), and Hermana Chavez (we got in pillow fights all the time).

I have a cold.  It's not that great. Today we saw a guy just walking goats down the street, traffic is crazy, the raw meat just hangs, and I love all the hand crafted things people make! The food here is great, I've had to get used to eating beans at breakfast, they had a chocolate fountain the other day, and we can have ice cream once a day. My pillow is real uncomfortable (=. We can only bring 70 pound to Nicaragua (we'll fly there). 

I love you! Heather Merrill

March 27th CCM letter

There was an earthquake 2 days ago (we heard a big noise). The
days are long at the CCM, but I never have enough time. I am learning
the language fast, but still not fast enough.

 My two most favorite things here. Number one, my ultimate favorite, is my Latina
Angelitas!!! The Latinas in my room are seriously angels. We are
nothing less than family now. They help me a ton with my spanish. It
is a continuous game of charades. We first became friends during
desportes (sport time), My second favorite thing here at the CCM. We
do ab workouts together. I will cry when they leave in a week. We have
to prepare talks every week (not knowing if we´ll give it or not, they
call us at random) and we do switches with the Latinos. The companion
I had, helped me with my talk and put a marker in my scripture in D&C
31:3. Look it up, they are angels, seriously.

My teacher is Latino and can speak english but not perfectly. Se helps us with english for sure
though. (I actually kind of wish she would speak more in Spanish then
she does). We were teaching an investigator this week. His name is
Raul. At first our district was frustrated with him, because he had no
background in the gospel and seemed disinterested. But when our
district came together and really thought and prayed about him, and
focused on his needs, we could finally teach with the spirit and he
truly felt the spirit. We don´t get to teach him after next week.
Lame. )= He goes over to  the real missionaries. That will probably be
the best though. He would get 5 different lessons from us in one
night. (one from each companionship in our district). Our district is awesome.

They feed us well. A lot of food. My pillow is hard. I love it here. 

Love you all! Got to go! Hermana Merrill