Commitments

So... I didn´t have changes this week! I still have my same companion and Jimmy and Sadia have a baptismal date for this Saturday along with a man named Arenoldo we´ve been teaching for a long time! So excited. Thanks for everyone that´s been praying for them and please keep praying for them so that this thing will happen! Jimmy was talking with his pastor for a long time there and wouldn´t open his heart a lot to feel the message, only wanted knowlege. I really fell thought that he has started feeling the message and he´s prayed about it and is still reading the book of mormon and I just sense a lot more peace in him. I am so excited for that family! A week or so back he said that if he becomes a member he said that he would be an hundred percent member not a 20% or algo, but a 100% member. They are seriously so awesome! Arenoldo is really awesome to. He comes to church every Sunday and bears his testimony on fast sunday and really can talk. and talk. and talk. (= He just had some problems we had to work through, but he has a firm date for this Saturday and it´s going to be awesome!

We have a farewell for President Arredondo this Wednesday. I really hope our next President focuses on retention and activation. I want to baptize people who will stay in the church, I want to focus more on building up the church in this area and retaining the people we baptize and having the wards help us with the missionary work. Hermana Chinchilla is more likely than not going to have emergency changes on the 27 and I´m going to get a new comp here in Bello Horizante. President hinted at that during changes meeting. (He consequently also told Hermana Chinchilla she probably ought to buy a house here in Bello because she´s been here so long (= ) Love you all, sounds like you´re all doing fantastic things, Hermana Heather Merrill

His will becoming my will

Answers: Yes I definitely enjoyed the pollo. (she is responding to question regarding the whole chicken delivered to them) Yes we play sports on p-days. This p-day we played futball and I whipped all the elders (Just Kidding, solo un broma). We´ve also played kickball and volleyball. We were able to find some good prospects for investigators this week. We tried to visit some of them this week, but haven´t had much success reaching many of them in their homes. Lately seems like I´ve been led to study mercy and justice, obviously in connection with the atonement. It´s been really awesome. I love love love the study time in the mornings, definitely the highlight of my day. And about the ward. I play the piano every week in Sacrament meeting and this last week for the choir, because it was a ward conference this week! Sadia and Jimmy came to the church this Sunday which made me really happy. They came 30 or so minutes late, but miracles happen! I´m not sure what to do for that family, Sadia is so ready for baptism, but her husband has so many doubts. He´s evangelicist and knows the bible really well. He listens to his head more than his heart. He is open to learning our message, and much of the time really likes the knowledge. He doesn´t feel the message though, and still has many doubts and questions. his preacher also gives him lots of doubts. MY comp says this about him. If he wants the answers in the bible (which he usually does), we can give him the answers in the bible, that´s the great thing about the message, it´s perfect. The bible supports everything. Until he really feels the message though, until he knows in his heart that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the BOM is true, that we have living prophets today who receive revelation, he´s not going to make any progress. He need to open his heart just a little bit. I totally know what you mean about prayer. Whenever I go into a prayer wanting to ask for something, I usually come out with a better way or like you said a heart more aligned to the will of His will. That is if I am willing to listen to him. Submitting my will to His is definitely one of the things I´m am learning to do on my mission. Trusting Him that His way is better than my way, and that if I put my life in his hands he will direct is better than I ever could. I´m not talking about part of my life. I mean all of my life, all of my desires whether they be bad OR good. All of my hopes and dreams changed for His hopes and dreams for me. That takes trust. Trust that He knows best, that that will make me happy, and even if not, that I should do it and in the end will be the best for me. Because really, who know best, me or God? God does want us to be happy though, and so when we trust his will over our own, we will be happy. Exchanges are this Wednesday. Which means more likely than not I´m losing my comp because she´s been in Bello Horizante for 7 MONTHS. This bishop likes to call the mission president and request that his missionaries (the ones he likes) not be transferred. So she´s been here for a long time, but at the last changes, Presidente said it would probably be her last. She great though, and we´re really starting to have fun and make progress together so I´ll really be sad to see her go. The other scary thing about her leaving is that I will need to orient my new trainer to the area. I will need to remember where all the houses of RC and families we are teaching as well as bus stops to the different areas and Hermana Chinchilla knew where lots of the members and menos activos lived which could make our days really productive. All I had to do was ask who could do this for us, or is there a menos activo that lives in this area we could visit, and she had a name and knew where to go. She´s super awesome. Hermana Merrill

Whole Chicken for Starving Missionaries

This week there´s not too much to talk about, we didn´t have very many people in church, ok 0. It seems like everyone that we´re teaching right now all the sudden decided to have problems. Love it. Something funny that happened this week--- the members who the elders are staying with asked them who they have dinner with. They told them they don´t eat dinner. The members asked why and Elder Stark said it was because they didn´t have enough money (which isn´t true, the elders just spend it all at the beginning... (= ). The family told the bishop this and they announced it in Relief Society, and asked for help from the members. (We weren´t in Relief Society this week). We got a call from an Hermana in the ward who said they had a whole chicken for us. (Don´t worry it was cooked). So we have a chicken sitting at our house right now, and when my comp got off the phone and said the Ortegas have an entire chicken for us, we both just started laughing. We had a paint war for P-day to day.... Some interesting food I had this week. This is traditional soup, or sopa. It was actually quite good I enjoyed it a lot. Hermana Merrill Love you all.

Washing Machine, Real Shower and BOM challenge

Okay so questions first. I think basically we never have an address here in Nicaragua, it´s just going to be the mission office. I´m in Bello Horizante. I moved from the apartment I was in to a member´s house. I love it and the shower a lot! They have purified water all the time though. The members are natives. Our quarters are actually smaller than at the other house, but I like living here so much more. The spirit is stronger at this house. The big reason we moved is because the owner of the apartments we lived in before always had his TV on super super loud, in English, and he didn´t watch very good shows. The AP´s came to our casa once to get their projector back we had borrowed from an activity, and told us we should move. So we did. The members are so nice! And we get to do our laundry now in there washing machine! We´re paying them to use it, but it´s much nicer. The pictures I sent were from a really awesome activity we had with the ward this week. This one was my brain child. I remembered when our whole ward was challenged to read the BOM and decided this could really help this ward. We talked about the BOM and bore testimonies, watched testimonies of the Prophets and Apostles, and also the invitation to read the BOM from President Hinckley. We challenged the ward to read with us by reading the story of the title of liberty in the BOM and then as our title of liberty everyone who committed to read signed one copy of the BOM. Every one who completes the Book of Mormon this year gets a certificate. We´ll keep reminding the ward. I hope people take the challenge. One success we had this week was more Menos activos and recent converts at church! It´s raining so hard outside at this very moment. It hasn´t rained hardly at all though for winter in Nicaragua! Oh, and I truly hope too mom, that Maria and Felix at some point go to the temple. That´s real success. That would be so Awesome! Love always, Hermana Heather Merrill

Happy in Nicaragua

 I guess Nicaragua sent all the rain to you. This is invierno, or winter, the rainy season in Nicaragua, but we haven´t gotten any rain yet. It´s been really hot, in winter... It´s actually not as bad as I thought though. When we walk there´s a breeze and at night we have a fan blowing directly on us. The worst times are in family´s houses without a fan on. It´s crazy how fast ice melts here though! As far as fruits and veggies go, mom, I get some. Fruits more than veggies, if I had more time at night I would make a salad or something but usually I don´t, so I don´t buy the stuff for it. I did the first week I was here, but not anymore. The food isn´t bad here, I just wish there was less grease in it. The people who make our meal put so much fat in our food! I said the first week I was probably going to lose weight, but I´m actually not sure. (=

Love my Companion

Mac N Cheese Nicaraguan Style

Maria and Felix got married this week and Maria got baptized, It was so awesome!!. Maria looked so awesome and happy and I really think that family is going to be awesome in the church. Felix was a member and is now coming to everything, He wants to baptize his son and take his family to the temple. Belen´s mom has been in the hospital and Belen has been there with her, so we haven´t been able to make much progress there. Jimmy and Sadia are awesome, he has a lot of questions, and lately doubts, but they´re coming along. He just needs his own testimony. She really loves the church. We´re doing a FHE with them tonight. We have some new investigators, an old couple that came to church on Sunday, They´re really awesome, I can´t understand a word he says. (=  

Nicaragua Here I Am!

Nicaragua  Capital

I´m still loving it here and I feel we´re making progress, but there is still so much work to be done. The Church in Nicaragua is so new!

Hermana Heather Merrill

Arrival in Nicaragua : May 6th Letter

President Arrendondo and his wife Lorena.  Heather's Companion Sister Chincilla from Costa Rica

We are guessing this is the welcome to Nicaragua meal.  The sister next to Heather is Sister Combe 

First Thank you sooo much for the package! I looove the stickers and the kids do too. I also love the pictures of our family, thanks so much! I've actually used them in a lesson. And the treats are perfect. 

Alright. Nicaragua. Nicaragua is fantastic. I don't even know what to say though. I couldn't even come close if I tried to describe it. Also my comp is so nice, and she really teaches so well! I couldn't ask for a better companion. We're teaching some awesome families. I'm excited for all of them. Belen, Jimmy and Sadia, and Maria I'm so excited for. Belen and Maria are families to complete (which means there spouses are members). Belen made us lunch this week, with dessert even. She made a fantastic key lime pie! Who does that?! Maria and Belen both have fecha's and they're all super tuanis (spanish word of the week, only here in Nicaragua, it means fantastic). Jimmy and Sadia came to church this Sunday and they loved it. They're real awesome, they know a lot about the bible and all the stuff we teach them really makes sense to them. The really great thing about it is that they ask tons of questions. I think they'll be really awesome members after they get baptized. (they don't have a fecha yet, but I know they will soon). I walk so much! Details I've forgotten my area is in Managua and it's called Bello Vista, and my companions name is Hermana Chinchilla. The food is pretty good. I don't really have complaints. I can already tell I'm going to lose weight here though. We eat lunch at an Hermanas house, and when we get home we eat dinner, but with all the walking we do by the time I get home I usually am just really thirsty and only eat a little bit. (I carry water with me, but it is quickly warm, so when I get home I usually drink about a liter of cold water from the fridge (= ). My president and wife are awesome! Hermana Arredondo is hilarious.

Heather

Heather with her CCM companion Sister Taylor

                                         

April 23rd : Final CCM letter

Mission Buds

So just by the way, the keyboard on the computer I'm using is
different because it's a spanish keyboard and I also can't enter
unless I push save draft so thus if my letters are horribly written
please don't judge (=.

In exactly a week I'll be in the field! Next Tuesday I leave at
4:30 in the morning to get on a flight to Nicaragua!!  I'm told in
Nicaragua we get 1 and a half hours of email time! but I'm not exactly
sure when I'll email next because I don't email again before I leave
the CCM.

Esta Semana: the new girls arrived, and funny comment of the
week was from one of them. (This is after the first day aka. the
eternal day, around 10pm) Hermana Taylor and I walk into the room.
"Hello, how was your day!" (from us, we proceed to talk to them for a
minute, mostly us talking because at that point in the day they are
mostly zombies) and then one girl, "you guys seem so emotionally
stable and normal". Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha.

Walmart was good, I got some good stuff I needed, a big awesome organized notebook, notecards,
pens. That kind of stuff.  Presidente was awesome and he bought us all
lunch and we didn't have to pay for our bus ticket. (I think actually
the mission payed for it, but we didn't have to!)

I'm so ready to leave the CCM and get serving in the field! I love, love, love my
night Maestro! He's so awesome and every night I learn something so
valuable I can use on my mission. He's really tough to teach to though.
Kinda like an onion you've got to peel and then your eyes get foggy
and so you can't see where to even start peeling. Ah well, good
experience.

Nicole, I miss you a lot and love your emails, keep up the good work,
I pray for you every night! 

Erika, I totally know how you feel- I would always count the weeks until I

could "breathe". Somehow though, it didn't ever seem the breathing part was

ever as good as it sounded. Or usually something else started happening. (= Ah well, love life!

Dallin- Thanks for your encouragement, I'll try to be the "best
missionary ever" for you! You would laugh if you saw what basketball
games are like with the sister missionaries. It's quite hilarious. We
don't really call any fouls and travels abound (=. Good luck on your
play, I wish I would be there!! 

Mom-  I wonder if you could give me Grandma Merrill's email, when's
she home? I would love stories about my ancestors, and I just know
she's the one to ask. I'll for sure look into that package! Thank you for

your example in my life!

Dad- thanks so much for your letters, they mean so much to me, and always

encourage me when I'm a little down. 

Hermana Heather Merrill

Final Group Picture from the CCM