Canada Week 46: You are worth more than words!

Hello my lovely friends and family!  I hope everyone is doing well!  It's hard to believe another week has come and gone - it's wild!  I also still can't believe it will be August next week!  I hit my 11 month mark this past week as a missionary!  SO CRAZY!  Time is really flying and I am grateful for every day.  

Service, service and service oh my!  I love service!  I know I have mentioned how much I love service before and I will mention it again!  I just love it!  I love the joy I feel from serving God's children.  It is exactly what a spirit needs to be re-energized!  I love seeing how happy and grateful the people are for our simple services - it never ceases to amaze me.  Service can be so simple -whether it's pulling weeds in a garden, helping the elderly in their home, simple smiling and visiting.  Of course there are bigger ways to serve, but some of my favorite ways to serve are in the small ways like smiling at everyone I see, waving or complimenting someone with the hope that it will brighten their day.  Whatever it may be, I am so grateful I have opportunity to serve others and God in so many ways! 

This past week a few lessons fell through, but we were still able to teach a couple people.  We had one of our lessons at a member's home and he willingly performed a short version of a play he was in about the Plan of Salvation!  The best part was the "light bulb" moment the investigator had after the member performed.  He said that it made sense and it just clicked in his head what this plan that God has for us is!  It was so awesome!  Sister Petelo and I then shared some of our favorite things about the plan and we bore testimony of it and shared experiences we have had.  It was pretty amazing and the spirit was so strong! 

Another fun part of the week was going into Edmonton for a Facebook technology training.  It was wonderful to receive more training on how to effectively use Facebook as a missionary tool.  We can use it for finding and teaching those who are looking for peace and Christ.  It was also fun to see all the missionaries in our zone.  After the training we then had a district council and the spirit was oh so strong!  We did one of my favorite activities where we are timed and have to come up with as many names/titles that Christ is known by.  I love thinking and sharing about my Savior.  The spirit is always so strong and I get overjoyed with the love I have for Him, and for the love I have felt from Him every day.  My favorite title of Christ is simply friend.  Christ is my best friend.  He is my everything and as I have grown closer to Him.  I have grown to love and appreciate the love He has for each of us.  He is my support, my listening ear, my strength, my advocate, my source of peace, and my joy.  There are so many more things I could say, but simply, Christ is my best friend.  I know He loves each of us with a pure indescribable and incomprehensible love.  I am and will forever be grateful for Him.  To close our district council we all stood and sang, "Called to Serve."  It was absolutely incredible.  The spirit in that room was so strong - I can't find the words to describe the peace and joy that filled my heart as I pondered on my call to serve.  My year mark as a missionary is coming up and I am beyond grateful for this experience - the good, bad, hard, and fun.   

This week I studied a talk that my wonderful cousin shared with me called, "Value Beyond Measure," by Joy D. Jones.  It was amazing!  It was all about our value as daughters of God (this can also be applied to all of God's children).  One of my favorite things from the talk is the thought "comparison is the thief of joy!"  Too often we compare ourselves to those around us either subconsciously or consciously.  It's ok.  It happens.  It is natural.  That is why Mosiah 3:19 is so important.  We NEED to put off the natural man.  "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  We are so loved and so important and we tend to forget that.  I know I can be guilty of this.  It can be hard to wrap our heads around the idea that one God can love all of us the same, but I can testify that HE DOES!  I have not only felt this in my own life, but I have felt His love for those around me.  This is one of the best parts of missionary work!  I LOVE loving others!  Everyone deserves to feel loved!  

I want to share a couple more quotes from the talk by Sister Jones.  

"As we remove the distractions that pull us toward the world and exercise our agency to seek Him, we open our hearts to a celestial force which draws us toward Him.  If the love we feel for the Savior and what He did for us is greater than the energy we give to weaknesses, self-doubts, or bad habits, then He will help us overcome the things which cause suffering in our lives. He saves us from ourselves." 

"If the pull of the world is stronger than the faith and trust we have in the Savior, then the pull of the world will prevail every time. If we choose to focus on our negative thoughts and doubt our worth instead of clinging to the Savior, it becomes more difficult to feel the impressions of the Holy Ghost." 

I am so grateful for her testimony and the words shared in this talk.  It is so important for us to understand who we are and who we can become.  It we put our trust in the right source we can come to understand more fully that Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ love us beyond measure!   I just want to bear my testimony that God lives and loves each of us.  His son died for us out of a perfect incomprehensible love.  I know that we are understood and known by someone perfectly and that we are loved perfectly and individually.  Our individual worth is worth more than can be put into words.  I know that if we pray for the eyes to see ourselves as God does, we will.  We need to try not to compare our worst to someone else's best.  Staying positive doesn't mean being happy all the time, it means that even when you have bad days, you know there are better ones coming.  

I love and miss you all!  Go smile at something :)

Love, Sister Merrill 

The "Sistrict" at the Edmonton Temple

Canada Week 45: Little assurances are all around us!

Hello hello my beautiful friends and family!  I hope everyone was able to smile at something this week, no matter how small!  I can't believe another week has gone by.  Our week was once again up and down, but it was oh so good!  We were able to do service, teach awesome lessons, find new people to teach, laugh a lot and make amazing memories!  I even got to hold a baby bunny and feed a bottle to a cute little baby goat.   

I found myself thinking about a few things this week.  The main one was the idea of really getting fo know God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  I read a talk by Robert D. Hales that had some great insight on this.  I loved that he said, "The light of belief is within you, waiting to be awakened and intensified by the Spirit of God."  I think we can too often get caught up in the "big" spiritual moments and experiences, and then feel let down when we are not having them.  I have learned time and time again that the spirit is felt more often in the small and quiet moments - in the little assurances that keep us going and adding light into our lives.  I know if we have faith and put our trust and focus in God and in Jesus Christ, that we will strengthen our testimony and belief.  Another part I wanted to share from this talk is about the strength and peace we can have from knowing God.  Elder Hales said, "Do not be afraid of ridicule. The strength and peace that comes from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His Spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.  Even more, with your own testimony of God, you will be able to bless your family, your posterity, your friends, your own life—all those you love. Your personal knowledge of God is not only the greatest gift you will ever give, but it will bring you the greatest joy you will ever have."  HOW AMAZING IS THAT?!  I loved this.  I know that we can truly experience great love, great peace, great strength, great understanding and much more from our knowledge of our Heavenly Father!  I also know that all of this isn't easy.  It is hard to fully comprehend what God is and what God can do, but through small and simple assurances we can get through anything with Him by our side.  He will help us strengthen our faith in Him and His abilities regardless of what we understand.  

Another talk I studied this week was called, "The Immediate Goodness of God," by Elder Kyle S. McKay.  He said, "Even while we are patiently waiting upon the Lord, there are certain blessings that come to us immediately."  This struck me this week as I studied about blessings from the Lord.  We may not always receive an answer when we want it, but once again, little assurances and tender mercies are all along the way if we just look for then.  I know that the Lord blesses me with an endless amount of little assurances and blessings.  I have seen them in each and every day of my life.  I can always find them when I look back on situations and experiences I have had and how God has blessed me.  I testify that He is all around us all the time.  Sometimes we just need to adjust our "mortal glasses" here and there and realign our thinking with His, and we will find Him and feel of His love for us.  

My companion and I were blessed to bear testimony of God's love for His children in our lessons this week.  There truly is nothing better than this!  I love being able to testify of His love and of our Savior's love for us.  Even though their love can be incomprehensible - it is always there and it can always be felt.  I can't speak for others, but I can speak for myself from my own experiences.  His love can be shown to us in so many ways.  I also know He also speaks to us in a way that we will understand.  I testify that His love IS there!  I just know that it is!

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for my Father in Heaven who watch over my family and I each and everyday.  I can't fully express what their love means to me.  I hope this week you can all find at least one way God has shown His love and that you can find one thing to smile at!  I love and miss you all!  Have an amazing week! 

Love, Sister Merrill 

Beautiful Sydnee in a beautiful Canola field

Sister Merrill & Sister Petelo

Canada Week 44: Service makes the heart feel JOYOUS!

Hello everyone!  Hopefully everyone had a good week and if not - I hope there were some good moments and that life gets better.  I can promise you that it will.  Want to know why?  Because GOD NEVER CEASES TO BE GOOD! 

The title of my email this week is because the majority of our week was spent in SERVICE!  I know I serve everyday as a missionary, but this week we were blessed with extra opportunities to serve and love others as Christ does!  My companion, Sister Petelo, and I are becoming experts in home renovation, painting, cleaning and yard work.  It is so fun to serve others in so many different ways.  I love seeing the light in the eyes of those we serve.  They are always so grateful, and sometimes I don't think we even realize just how grateful they are.  When I serve others I can't help but think about my Heavenly Father, and how grateful He must feel when we love and serve His children.  There are so many different ways to serve others, whether it is someone we don't know or within the walls of our own homes.  We can serve others just through the simplicity of a smile.  Service NEVER goes unnoticed!  One of my favorite scriptures is found in Mosiah 2:17, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the SERVICE of your fellow beings ye are only in the SERVICE of your God."  We are serving God as we serve those around us, and by serving others it increases our love for them and for God.  I LOVE SERVING!  It is truly amazing and can give us such a joyous feeling in our hearts!  I hope we can all find ways to serve and love others every day!   

This past week brought SO MANY MIRACLES!  God honestly is truly limitless and incredible.  Our lessons went well all week, but our Sunday lessons were amazing!  Sunday afternoon we decided with the little bit of time we had between appointments to go for a walk and try and talk to some people outside. The weather was nice so we try to enjoy that when given the opportunity.  We weren't exactly sure which way to go so we said a prayer.  After the prayer we began to walk and ended up near this cute little restaurant by our house.  We soon passed a guy getting out of his truck so we waved and stopped to talk him.  He wanted to know what we were doing here in Drayton.  We told him we were missionaries for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He then wanted to know what we do and if we have church services.  After talking to him for a bit he asked us if HE COULD COME TO CHURCH!  MIRACLE!  We got his number and have been in contact with him.  It was so exciting!  On that same walk we met a few other people that were not interested.  We even had one guy try to tell us he knows more about our church than we did.  He also tried to convince us that our church is still practicing polygamy in British Columbia.  Good times!  Sunday evening we had another lesson with Danny and ended up putting him on BAPTISMAL DATE!  I am so overjoyed with love and excitement for this gospel!  I feel so blessed to witness miracles and to be an instrument in God's hands - because nothing in missionary work would get done without Him! 

I am always grateful for my personal studies each week.  This week my studies centered on remembering the importance of trusting in my Heavenly Father and thanking Him for the love He gives me.  I have learned that life isn't always going to be full of sunshine and rainbows, especially when we find ourselves focusing too much on the success of others.  Doing this will only cast a shadow on our own success.  Comparison can be the thief of joy.  We are all here for a different purpose and are given different opportunities.  I admit I have been guilty of this.  Satan makes it easy to get wrapped up in joy others have that we forget to fully notice our own joy and the good that God is performing in our own lives everyday.  We need to trust in the plan that God has for each of us.  I am also learning to accentuate the positive.  I keep a gratitude journal and write down how I recognize God's hand in my life everyday.  This has truly helped with my mindset as missionary.  Life wearing the tag can be a roller coaster, but I am so grateful to be riding it with my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ by my side.  They always give me strength to hang on and keep going.  

Some of you may be wondering about what has happened with the cute Mohapi family I found from South Africa - I have felt prompted to write out their story.   

☆THE MOHAPI MIRACLE☆

A few weeks ago EVERYTHING my companion, Sister Poore, and I had planned, canceled on us.  We were feeling a bit stressed as to what we should do next.  A thought came into my mind to try to do some Facebook finding.  I honestly hadn't really tried to do this very much before that day.  I had joined a Facebook Bible study group with the intention to post questions, scriptures, and thoughts there but I never did.  I thought this was the perfect opportunity to finally do this.  I found the group and the first thing I saw on the page was a post from a guy about an experience he and his wife had.  They had a negative experience with a pastor from another church and found themselves wondering how they could know someone was called of God, and how to know if prophecy was from God.  I immediately became excited because I knew the answers to his questions.  My companion and I help people understand these very things every day.  I had the impression to send him a private Facebook message in a group chat so I did.  He responded and a few days later we were able to have a video call with his family.  I felt an immediate love for them.  We taught them the first few lessons the following weeks.  Though even more miracles we were able to find the missionaries serving in the area they live in South Africa.  During our passover lesson with these Elders this past week the family wanted to share their side of the story.  As they were explaining their experience they felt so blessed to have received my Facebook message that day with scriptures and thoughts to help ease their understanding.  They felt God had truly miraculously blessed their family in leading them to us.  They expressed their happiness and peace they have recently felt in finally feeling like they have found the truth after years of searching for the correct church.  They are so excited to be learning about our church.  They have now been meeting with the missionaries in person for the past week and have a physical copy of the Book of Mormon to read!  I am SO beyond happy that God used me as an instrument in finding the sweet Mohapi family!  They are one of the biggest blessings and miracles God has allowed for me to see and be apart of as a missionary.  I don't even have words to express my gratitude for this experience. I will forever cherish this sweet family.   

I am so grateful that God allows us to experience amazing things in life.  He is constantly blessing us and He is always beside us during our trials.  I know it is hard to see during the hard times - believe me - I have been there.  I know that as I have tried to hold on and trust in God's love and light, that I have been given the strength to keep going.  I feel His power in my life everyday.  I couldn't be more grateful for my loving Heavenly Father and for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  They are constant sources of comfort and strength for me.  

I love and miss you all.  I hope everyone has an amazing week! Remember - God is always there for you!  

Love, Sister Merrill

Sister Petelo and Sister Merrill

Canada Week 43: Find a reason to smile :)

Hello everyone!  Sister Merrill here again.  I hope everyone found a reason to smile this week even though sometimes it is tough! :)  I have learned that some weeks are slow, some are long, and some are hard, but there are always moments within them that are good - little moments that can make us happy and bring a smile to our faces!  This week was a mixture of all of the above for me.  It was bittersweet, hard, and full of change, yet God's hand was in it all the way, and everyday He provided a reason for me to smile! 

As I mentioned last week, we had received our transfer calls and learned that my companion and I would be going separate ways.  Sister Poore would be going to a new area and I would be staying in Drayton Valley training a brand new missionary!  While the news was exciting, it was going to be hard to say goodbye.  We had gotten really close and worked well together the past 3 months.  I found myself feeling a bit stressed and overwhelmed as sometimes change can bring.  I prayed for God's help and each day got a little bit better.  I found myself thinking about "change."  It is all around us - it happens all the time.  As President Thomas S. Monson once stated, "nothing is as constant as change" (Oct 2008).  His talk, "Finding Joy in the Journey" is a wonderful reminder to find moments amid life's craziness that bring us joy.  It is one of my favorite talks.  I am so grateful for the joy that is mine everyday because of my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father who help me to see these moments! 

Wednesday July 1st was Canada Day!  It was also the day I took Sister Poore to the mission home and I picked up my new companion.  Her name is Sister Petelo.  She is from Montreal, Quebec Canada.  She speaks French, was learning Spanish to serve in Panama, and due to Covid was reassigned to the Canada Edmonton Mission.  She does speak English and she is awesome.  I am excited for the opportunity I have to train, teach, and serve with her.  

We had a lot of good moments this week.  We were able to teach quite a few lessons and discussed the importance of God's role in our lives.  We taught of the love God has for us as His spirit children!  We also were able to help those we are teaching learn more about the importance of ordinances we participate in and the covenants we make.  It was cool to see how they connected the dots between faith in God and doing their part.  This week we were also blessed to offer our service to those around us.  We helped with some yard work, and even helped a member with their basement renovations and painting.  I am always grateful for the joy I feel when serving others!

Have you ever thought about "the Son" verses "the sun"?  We have had a lot of rain here in Drayton Valley, and because of this, it helps me appreciate the sun even more when it shines.  I started thinking about how "the sun" and "the Son" each provide us with light and warmth!  Christ's love for us is warm like the sun and brings light into our lives.  We read in the scriptures that He is the light and life OF the world, and "the sun" is the light FOR the world and gives life to things upon it.  My other thoughts of this were of my appreciation for it.  If we have sunshine all the time we don't stop and appreciate it, or necessarily feel grateful for it.  I think we tend to also do this with our Savior.  When He is in the details of our lives during our everyday craziness, we sometimes forget to stop and appreciate all that Christ has done for us.  How often do we take the time to say thank you?  Is it only once a week as we partake of the sacrament?  Maybe we do here and there when good things happen to us?  Whenever it is, I hope we can all choose to develop a greater understanding and appreciation for all that our Savior does for us each and every day.  I am beyond grateful for His priceless gift of the atonement, for His unconditional love, and for His everlasting strength. 

My closing thoughts this week revolve around a talk I studied from the last general conference called, "Spiritually Defining Memories," by Neil L. Andersen.  It is so good!  We all are having spiritually defining moments, but it depends on how we look at them.  He quoted another talk about an experience of a young man stating that he had never had a spiritually defining moment.  Elder Oaks then responded to him by saying, "perhaps your prayers have been answered again and again, but you have had your expectations fixed on a sign so grand, or a voice so loud, that you think you have had no answers."  This really stuck out to me because I feel as though we can have a fixed mindset instead of a growth mindset.  We sometimes have a preconceived idea of what an answer is going to be, or what kind of experiences we're going to have.  These ideas often come from observing others around us.  This made me think about just how much we are constantly aware of those around us, the experiences they are having, and what they are doing that we don't recognize our own milestones.  We are all having spiritual moments and we are receiving answers to prayers - we just need to learn how God speaks to us personally, and not how He is speaking to those around us.  Take a moment to look at what God is doing in your own life and pray to have eyes to see it.  

I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and for my Savior Jesus Christ!  I am grateful for their love!  I am grateful for my Savior's light and warmth, and for the opportunity I have each and every day to learn and grow and progress.  

Love and miss you all!  Have an a amazing week! 

Love, Sister Merrill 

Covid in Canada!

Goodbye Sister Poore

Hello Sister Petelo

Sweet Sister Syd!

Canadian Leaf Earrings

Love and Miss my family!