Canada Week 7: Trust God and the blessings will always come :)

Hello family and friends!! I hope everyone has had the most fantastic week!

This past week was transfers so I got my new companions on Wednesday.  Sister Neff is my new trainer and will finish out my training - she is the best!  And we got a greenie that I am co-training!  Her name is Sister Jensen and she is the cutest!  It has been such a fun week already!  I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to learn and to train and for the blessings I have already seen.  God truly has so much in store for each of us if we will just wait and trust in Him through the hard times!!

This week we worked a lot with the members.  We have a bunch of member lessons set up to get to know them better and to help them come closer to their Savior.  We will also help get them excited about member missionary work within the ward!  We had a lesson yesterday and we shared with her the Book of Mormon map.  This is a visual of how the Book of Mormon came to be.  We each shared our testimony about the book and she shared with us her favorite story of Christ.  It was so cool!

My new trainer, Sister Neff, was actually trained in Whitemud and reached out to a bunch of former people she was teaching and set up lessons with them.  We got to meet with one this last week named Wen.  He is hilarious!  I'm super excited for the work to pick up and to see all the miracles God has in store here!

Some things I focused my studies on this week were patience and submissiveness.  I chose these to learn how to be patient with the Lord and with myself. I also wanted to know how to be submissive to how the Lord wants me to be that instrument in His hands :) I learned that it takes time and practice just like anything in life.  Being submissive takes patience and practice as we stay in tune and listen to the spirit.

Some fun things that happened this week:
- we shopped and un-shopped at Walmart after we realized we weren't going home to a fridge...so we gathered all our groceries and then put them all back - ha ha!
- we attended a Halloween party for the YSA last night and had a non-member we are teaching come as well!
- I am the designated driver and let's just say we've taken a wrong turn or two but nonetheless have made it on time to everything so God continues to be good :)

I have grown such a strong testimony that patience and endurance brings blessings and miracles.  God literally has so much in store for each of us and is anxiously and eagerly waiting to bestow those blessings upon us but it takes a lot of patience and action on our part to be ready for them.  I am so grateful that I have such a loving, caring Savior and Heavenly Father.  I wouldn't be where I am or who I am without them.  The power and strength I get from my Savior astounds me most of the time and it honestly is a miracle to look back and think that I made it through my first transfer!!  I can't wait to see what this next transfer has in store for me and I am so grateful I have been blessed with such amazing, fun loving companions!

I wish everyone the best! Love you all!

Love, Sister Syd Merrill :))

"God is so Good!"

Transfer Day:  

Sydnee with her greenie Sister Jensen and her new trainer Sister Neff

All the new missionaries and their trainers

Mission Tour picture from last month

Sister Jensen, Sister Merrill and Sister Neff on the LRT

The "Tripan" with Wen

 

"I saw Sister Smith (MTC Comp) at transfers!!!"

Sydnee will forever love Sunsets!

"The power and strength I get from my Savior astounds me!"

Trust God and blessings will come -

a blessing like Sister Neff!

Canada Week 6: Transfers - God is in the details!

HELLO FAMILY & FRIENDS!!  I have officially made it 2 months!!!  And I have made it through my first transfer as a missionary in Canada!

I hope everyone had a fantabulous week full of love of joy!!  God strikes again and still continues to be oh so good!  This week was really good!  We got to go on splits with the  sisters in the Devon-Leduc area.  It was sooo fun!  My Prayers of getting to do service with the elderly came true!  We got to go hang out, sing and dance with some elderly folk.  I was in heaven!  Old people are the best and so full of life I love it!!

A few highlights from this past week were a couple lessons we got to teach as continuations from last week!  We finally got to meet with this guy named Eddy who we have been trying to meet with since I got here.  He is a guy that was being taught and put on date before I arrived in Canada.  We had actually tried to drop him twice.  A week goes by and the sisters in our zone held a special for miracles to find new people.  Friday rolls around and we got a text out of the blue from Eddy asking if we can meet so of course we said yes!!  We met with him and asked how he was doing.  He told us he had been reading the Book of Mormon and going to church in Calgary during the weekend.  We asked if he wanted to continue working towards getting baptized and he eagerly said yes!  It was really cool!  We read Ether 12 with him and he told us different things he could do to show and exercise his faith.

The next highlight was our lesson with Cleo!  We had a great discussion about prayer and the importance of  communication with God.  We also talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon.  She asked us why the word fun or play never came up in the book and asked if we aren't allowed to have fun in our church.  It was actually hilarious!  We explained that the teachings from the Book of Mormon help us to achieve eternal joy and happiness.  She then wanted to know why we came on our missions.  It was an awesome opportunity to share why I am on a mission with her.  I explained to her that I chose to serve a mission to listen, to love and to serve people just as Christ did.  I had a desire to help others come closer to their Savior and access His atonement to feel of His mercy, forgiveness and love that He has for each of us.  She started to cry and said that was beautiful.  I felt the spirit so strong and was so grateful for her and for the opportunity to share my testimony with her.

TRANSFER NEWS!!
I am staying in my area in Whitemud Creek!  I am getting a new trainer and together we will be training a greenie!  We got our call and President asked if I would be okay if he kept me in my area.  Of course I said yes!  He told me who my trainer would be and THEN he was like AND you will be co-training a greenie!  So I will now be in a tripan finishing my training and training another missionary.  I am SO EXCITED FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY!

I have such a strong testimony that God is in the details of our lives.  He is always there, always looking our for us, always placing people and miracles in our paths.  I have gained such a strength from my Savior this last transfer.  He has truly carried me on His shoulders and has molded and continues to mold me into the instrument He needs me to be on this mission.  To be honest, it has been extremely hard and I have been in a hard situation.  My current trainer has been particularly rough and hasn't provided much of any training for me.  I have been basically training myself with the Lord's help.  Looking back I can see the Lord's hand through it all.  I have learned many valuable lessons I wouldn't have learned if I was placed in a different situation.  I have learned how to rely fully on my Savior and how to access the strength I can receive from Him through the enabling power of the atonement.

My studies this week have been focused on my purpose as a missionary and how to better recognize and understand the spirit.  I have learned that God is EAGERLY waiting for us to reach out to Him, to ask for His help, to tell Him the desires of our hearts and to give thanks for His tender mercies.  I learned that as missionaries our spirits are so strong that most of the time we have a hard time recognizing that we are feeling it because it becomes a constant thing. I have learned that I need to not look so hard and focus on trying to have this crazy burning spiritual experiences and rather trust God, remain worthy and just love the people and speak with the power and authority I've been given and the spirit will be there every time.  I was reminded that my purpose as a missionary is to represent Jesus Christ, the only perfect example that we have.  We need to do all we can to represent Him in every aspect of our lives.  I have seen the miracles that can come from focusing solely on our Savior.

I am SO grateful for this opportunity I have to be a full time representative of my Savior Jesus Christ!  I am so beyond grateful for the opportunity I have to love and serve just as He did and to deepen my conversion to him.  I can't wait to see the miracles and blessings that are in store for my future.  His hand truly is in EVERYTHING and we with our mortal natural man eyes fail to recognize it most of the time.  I have been able to see it by keeping a tender mercy journal everyday.  I am grateful for God's presence and love. I love this gospel and I love my Savior!

Have an amazing week!  Everyone is always in my prayers!  Keep enjoying life :)

Love, Sister Syd Merrill <3

Sister Merrill survived her 1st transfer in Canada!

Celebrating 2 months as a Missionary 

& International Sloth Day!

Wal-Mart Party

Sister Tela and Sister Merrill

Sister Hathaway and Sister Merrill

Syd made 95 cookies to take to people as a service!

Syd sure loves hanging with old folks!

It made her miss her days as a CNA serving them

Syd dancing & loving her new old folk friends

ZIPLINE!

Syd still loves her sunsets!

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!

Canada week 5: Canadian Thanksgiving

This week was better than my previous weeks here on the mission so I called it a win and have a hope that it will only continue to get better from here :)

This week we got to go on exchanges with the traveling sisters we live with.  I got to serve with cute Sister Bain who is from Scotland.  She is the best!  While we were on exchanges we found 3 new people and talked to some cool people on the train.  We found a girl at the mall named Phyllis.  She is AWESOME and so ready for the gospel!  God is truly preparing her.  We then found 2 girls at Starbucks that we met while doing tasks there!  We actually got a lesson set up with one of them.  We met with her Wednesday night and taught her about the restoration.  The amazing thing was we taught it according to her needs.  I remembered that from the MTC.   I learned that you don't necessarily teach people lessons and that it is okay not to get every point across because if you are teaching with the spirit they will learn what they need to and we will be able to discern their needs.  I honestly don't remember a whole lot of what I said and it was the coolest thing because God used me as an instrument in His hands to speak to Phyllis.  I also had a random scripture pop into my mind that was exactly what she needed that totally pertained to her situation and it was THE COOLEST THING!  I have only had that happen once before.  I am so grateful to be an instrument in His hands and a vessel for the spirit and Lord to work through!

This past weekend was awesome!  My companion and I were able to meet with another lady we found at the LRT station named Cleo.  She grew up semi-religious and sees herself as spiritual.  She knows about God but wanted to understand why there are so many "gods."  We taught her what we believe in and ended up teaching her about the restoration.  I taught her about Joseph Smith and the first vision.  I taught how God has blessed us with families and the gospel and that we have a Savior who has an infinite love for us!  I again don't remember a whole lot of what I said, but the spirit was so strong and I was so excited to bear testimony of the things I had studied and learned that I knew to be true!!  It was so awesome!

This past weekend was also Thanksgiving!  Fun fact - Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October.  We had a big dinner with the Sorochan family on Sunday.  They eat all the same food, but the day isn't as exciting as it is in the states and there isn't a Macy's day parade to watch.  :)   It was still fun to be with their family and to express the things we are grateful for!

I am so grateful for the Lord's tender mercies and miracles!  He is everywhere - we just have to look for him!  I am grateful for the love He shows me and for the strength I have been able to draw from my Savior through the hard times.  Who better to turn to than the one who suffered my exact feelings.  I know He understands perfectly what I am going through and feeling.  The peace I get from my Savior is a peace I can't find anywhere else - it is everlasting!  I love this gospel and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a full time representative of my Savior Jesus Christ!

I hope everyone has an amazing week!  I love and miss you all!  Always be grateful and look for the Lord in every day.
Keep on keeping on :)

Love, Sister Merrill

Sydnee on the LRT

I month in the mission field

Sister Bain and Sister Merrill in hippie glasses

Eating salads in the car in 20 degree weather

Trying Poutine for the 1st time

Deer Sisters :)

Serving the Sorachan Family

Fall leaves

Service = raked 10 bags of leaves for 

sweet Sister Woodruff who they live with

A couple Elders thought it would be funny to 

stack the 10 leaf bags in front of the Sisters door

Sister Merrill has studied on average 3-4 hours a day and has learned so much.  

She has always loved to study and truly finds joy in learning good things.  

Inspirational thoughts on the mirror

She says she always feels like a business women in her pants :)

Sister Woodruff made some of her favorite biscuits

Canadian Maple leaf cookie

Fun purple Sunnies!

"God is so Good!"