Canada Week 29: Be of good cheer!

Hello everyone!  Life continues to be full of adventure here in Canada!  I got a call at 7:00 am this morning from my mission president.  He told me I was being emergency transferred to a new area with a new companion because her companion was just sent home to Brazil.  This past weekend many of our international missionaries were sent home due to Covid-19.  So I spent the morning packing and gathering all my things from the past 7 months here.  It was so hard to say good-bye to Sister Woodruff - she has become my mission mom and I have been so blessed to live in her basement.  It was hard to say good-bye to the familiar.

My new companion is Sister Poore.  She is a sweetheart from Minnesota and has been out serving a transfer less than me.  My new area is a small outlying town to the city of Edmonton called Drayton Valley.  We drove about an hour and a half to get to my new home.  It is a really big change from where I've been and it will take some time to adjust, but I am super excited for this new adventure and change in my life here.  I'm sure God has big plans in store for me! 

I spent the week in quarantine...again.  The virus still isn't too bad in Alberta and I am grateful for that, but we have been taking all the precautions we can to keep us all as safe as possible!  The church takes care of their missionaries that's for sure!  This past week we reached out to our members, had a couple lessons, and worked with our ward council to figure out things online.  We were blessed to have another lesson with a less-active member we have been working with.  She shared her worries and stresses with us.  She feels scared because of the path her life has taken due to the choices she has made that she won't be able to return home to her Heavenly Father.  It was a really neat experience for us to then share our testimonies with her of the plan and of our Savior's atonement.  I told her that we all just have to keep trying to do our best and to find the strength to keep going!  His grace is sufficient for each of us if we continually try to be better and repent!  The discussion made me think about my everyday choices and ask myself what I am doing to align them with the will of God so that I can be the best missionary I can be here and everyday after I am released.  We also got to have a lesson with this less-active member's sister who isn't a member of our faith.  She opened up to us about her story and what her fears are.  I was amazed at how similar they were to her sisters.  She told us that she prays and that it helps her.  I thought how cool is it to meet all these people and witness what they believe in and how these beliefs help them!  I have found that prayer, in some way, shape or form, is a universal thing that a lot of people find comfort in.  I know I certainly feel peace when I pray to my Father in Heaven!

This week I studied some devotionals about happiness.  It was the perfect thing to study for our time right now.  Everyone and everything has been so stressed and fearful about the unknown with this virus taking over our lives.  The bottom line of it all is that "to be of good cheer" is a commandment from God.  All He has ever wanted for each of us - His children -is to be happy!  He desires for us to live after the manner of happiness, and to dwell in a state of never-ending happiness with Him!  This life is full of joy among the trials and turmoil.  There is always a blessing along the way and things to smile at!  Sometimes the trials we go though are blessings in disguise because of the lessons we learn from them. 

I know I am truly grateful for all the experiences I have been able to have thus far on my mission.  I know there are many more experiences to come.  I am grateful that my testimony has been able to be strengthened and deepened in so many ways.  I can truly feel that I have gained more confidence in Christ through Christ.  I know my Savior lives and that He loves me.  I am so grateful for His willingness to suffer for us.  Everything He went through was purely out of the love He has for us and for His Father.

I invite you all to be of good cheer and to not fear!  The Lord is with us every step of the way!

Love and miss you all!

Love, Sister Merrill

Be of good cheer!

Sister Merrill & Sister Costas

Sister Jensen & Sister Merrill

Quarantine crazy!

Quarantine baking!

Sister Merrill's missionary inspiration bulletin board

Good-bye Sister Costas!

Good-bye Sister Jensen! 

(together for 4 transfers)

Good-bye Sister Cuadra!

Good-bye Sisters!

Sweet Sister Woodruff!

-I will miss you the most-

Good-bye bunk bed!

Hello Sister Poore!  Let's go to Drayton Valley!

Canada Week 28: There is always PEACE in Christ!

Hello everyone!  I hope with everything going on in the world right now that you are able to find peace and hope in Christ.  It's amazing what can change in only a matter of a week, or even just a day!  Currently we as missionaries are, for the most part, quarantined.  We are still allowed to go to the grocery store as needed and are able to go on walks.  We have to follow all missionary standards when we are outside.  Social distancing is also here in Canada so we have to maintain a 6 foot distance with anyone we come in contact with when we are out.  We are not allowed to teach any lessons or eat suppers in members homes.  Everything is now online - finding, teaching and communicating.  It has definitely been a learning experiencing and will continue to be for who know how long.

This unknown virus has been really scary and worrisome to a lot of people.  It has also been cool to talk to members and together we have been able to point out the positives.  Now you're probably thinking 'positives - what positives?  What good is coming from all of this?'  Take a look around.  Everyone is spending more time with their families than every before!  People are learning how to be families again!  I think that is so beautiful.  The family is central to God's plan and now is the time to build strong relationships and to learn, grow and have fun together!

My week was interesting.  We learned something new every day about what we could and couldn't do as missionaries.  In one week it changed from normal missionary work to being quarantined and teaching online.  Covid-19 isn't too bad here in Edmonton yet.  I guess I'm in one of the safer parts of the world and everyone is taking precautions to try and keep it that way.  Rumor has it that Canada is following the virus case curse so the situation could change quickly.  So for now I will remain here while the church takes care of the missionaries in the harder hit areas of the world.

This week we were able to reach out to our members and had a couple online lessons!  Our first lesson was with the less active member we have been working with.  She expressed that prayer has become her rock and that she feels like she is starting to have a stronger connection to God.  She is also currently working on giving up smoking.  It was awesome!  She is trying so hard and is grateful for the messages of peace and hope that are out there and that we have been able to share with her.  Our second lesson was with a cute family in our ward who asked if we could share a message with them over face time as part of their Sunday discussions!  We were so happy to do this!  We shared with them our insights from our study in Jacob 4 from Come Follow Me last week.  The teachings in this chapter are very applicable to life right now with everything going on.  This chapter expresses that they knew of Christ and followed his teachings and commandments and that the people searched the prophets.  What great counsel for us right now especially with General Conference coming soon.  We need to listen to what the prophet and his apostles say.  They lead and guide this church and know how to best help everyone.  As we read and listen to their words, we will attain a hope and a stronger faith that can't be shaken. 

One of my favorite verses in Jacob 4 is verse 7, "Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescensions unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things."  I linked it to Ether 12:27, "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."  I was thinking about how we now have a lot more downtime to ourselves to connect with God.  There aren't as many distractions as before.  We have a great opportunity to have that one on one time with Him and really 'Hear Him.'  As we connect with God and hear Him, He can show us the things we need to work on so we can continually better ourselves, to be more Christlike.  His Grace is always sufficient and is always there to help us every step of the way!  I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and for the relationship I have been able to strengthen with Him.  I am also grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am grateful for His sacrifice and for His atonement that I may access the gift of grace and therefore have the ability to access the enabling power of the atonement more fully.

Our zone is currently doing "2020 scripture madness."  Our zone leaders put together a bracket of 64 names from the Book of Mormon and Bible.  We each filled out our own brackets to guess who would be the champion just like March Madness.  It has been super fun!  Each day they go through 8 battles.  We have had to be creative with our learning so we don't go to crazy in the quarantine.  I have been doing a study of these people of the scriptures because of this.  I know a lot of their names but could not tell you all their stories.  I am doing the Book of Mormon first and it has really helped with my understanding of the stories in it and it has been really insightful. 

This week my personal studies were again focused on personal revelation and understanding the spirit.  I listened to and studied a few talks by Tad R. Callister and Bruce R. Mckonkie.  The overall theme I was finding was how personal everything is.  Many times we get caught up in how other people are feeling the spirit and how it speaks to them.  Or we focus on how others are receiving revelation and often times we miss God speaking to us because we are looking for others ways and not our own personal way.  I have made the goal to really focus on how God speaks to me.  I have learned that it can be in multiple ways.  I watched a video that was about a faith crisis.  It helped me understand that answers to prayers, revelation and the spirit doesn't always fit in one box.  God, more often than not, will answer you prayers outside of the box.

I hope that everyone can find at least one thing to smile about every day this week.  Think about how you 'Hear Him.'  I also hope you can find news ways to connect with your Heavenly Father and to be with your family more.  Keep the faith and keep the hope!

"Fear and uncertainty become faith and peace as we connect with Jesus Christ."
 ~Russell M. Nelson ♡

Love, Sister Merrill

There is always peace in Christ!

Canada life in quarantine!

Birthday cake from the Elders :)

Canada Week 27: Let FAITH defeat FEAR!

"We live in a time of turmoil. Earthquakes and tsunamis wreak devastation, governments collapse, economic stresses are severe, the family is under attack and divorce rates are rising.  We have great cause for concern.  But we do not need to let our fears displace our faith.  We can combat those fears by strengthening our faith." 
                                                           ~President Russell M. Nelson

Hello everyone!  How is life under semi-quarantine?  I'm not quite sure how everyone is living life back home - nor am I informed a whole lot about what is going on with the Covid-19 virus because of missionary life.  I am aware of the panic and fear a lot of people are experiencing because I have seen it.  We have a less active member we are working with who is quite frightened because of it and we have been able to help her connect with God and look to faith and comfort to combat and overcome her fears.  It has also been a neat experience connecting the dots between the signs and blessings that are still prevalent in our lives despite the tumult.  God is still with us.  He is still in the details.  He is still in control.

All is well here in the Canada Edmonton Mission.  We do have health precautions we have been guided to follow.  We are still allowed to do everyday missionary work except for knocking on any doors because we don't know who is self-quarantined.  We are allowed to continue contacting and be out in public.  Sadly they have cancelled all other missionary gatherings.  They cancelled our combined zone conference for the month, but we can still have in person district council.  We also aren't allowed to go to the church on P-days for zone sports.  I am very grateful for a mission president who keeps us informed and keeps us safe!

This week we were still able to have a lesson with a guy we have been teaching and getting ready to pass along to the YSA sisters.  He had so many questions about the Book of Mormon and what it contained that he couldn't find in the Bible.  It was a really cool lesson!  He also expressed that he has been trying to find a new church that is smaller and has more people around his age - so ding ding ding!  We told him about the YSA ward we wanted to introduce him too.  My companion and I gave him a Book of Mormon in which we marked a few scriptures for him to start with as he read it.  I am so grateful for the opportunity we have had to meet and teach him!

We also had a Skype lesson with a less active member we are working with and we shared with her D&C 121:7-9 
7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
9 Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands.

If you look at the foot note for small moment - in Isaiah 54:7 it states, "for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee."
With GREAT MERCIES He will gather us!  He doesn't ever leave us.  He is always there - even when He is silent.  He continually gives us the strength to keep going and He provides the peace we need in our lives that is eternal.  A peace that we can't find anywhere else.  This is something that we really need right now with everything going on in the world.  Our less active member found a lot of comfort in this teaching and we all felt at peace.

This week in my studies I studied a lot about personal revelation and receiving answers to things.  There is a really good devotional that David A. Bednar gave a while back about this very subject.  He stated that we are in a constant state of revelation.  People get so caught up with the idea that we need to prepare ourselves to receive revelation, but in all reality, we are always ready.  That is the promise of the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.  We just need to be continually striving to keep our covenants and promises we made with God.  A lot of what I was getting from the devotional was that it has to do with our mindset.  What are we doing to let "virtue garnish our thoughts" and what is our attitude?  Our focus?  This study went right along with a Book of Mormon reading we did with some members in 2 Nephi 32 where it states to "feast upon the words of Christ."  We gain answers through the study of God's word.  Bednar also touched on the idea that in order for people to be converted or to gain a great testimony, they need some big experience like seeing an angel, when in fact they don't need a big experience.  It is the small whisperings of the spirit that change our hearts and strengthen us.  It is changing the idea that revelation and answers are linear.  Prayers are answered in various ways, not just one.  Personal revelation is similar, that is why it is PERSONAL.

I want to bear my simple testimony that I know my Savior lives.  I know that He died for me and performed the atonement to succor me perfectly.  I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had, and continue to have, as I serve and draw closer to both my Father in Heaven and my Savior.  I know they can bring us the peace we need during the most difficult and even simple times.  Let God be there for you in all things.  Trust him and let him guide you! :)

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday.  It was definitely one to remember!  It was a really special time and I am grateful for all the friendships and relationships I have made here in Canada and that I have back home.  Thank you for the constant support and love.  You all are the best!  I hope you have a wonderful week and stay safe and healthy.  Always look to Christ and call upon His strength.

Keep the faith.
Love, Sister Merrill

"Let FAITH defeat FEAR!"

Happy 20th Birthday Sydnee!

Birthday package!

Zone Games

Sister Cuadra, Sister Jensen, Sister Costas & Sister Merrill

CEM MISSIONARY CHOIR

Sister Merrill, Sister Smith, Sister Wright