THE HOLY GHOST

Hello!

I've learned a lot this week. That's what I love about the gospel, is that we are able to learn so much, yet we are never going to know everything. The opportunity to continue to learn and progress is so exciting! My studies have had a theme this week. "Be Clean."  Clean meaning different things. Spiritually, physically, environmentally. We need to be clean in all we do, say, act, and think because we never know who is watching us and what kind of impression we are leaving. There is a quote from President Hinckley that I just love! "You are His chosen servant; you have been [called] to something holy and wonderful. You cannot live in the world and partake of the ways of the world. You must be above all of that." And it's true!

We have the baptism of 9 year old Jeremiah this weekend! We are so excited for him, he has learned so much these past couple of weeks we have been working with him. His parents are both converts but have been inactive for a long time now, but have started to come back due to Jeremiah's example. Yesterday his best friend passed away in a car accident, we went to see him and because we had just taught him the Plan of Salvation Jeremiah knew his friend was okay and watching over him and he will see him again. It was so sweet to see him share his testimony with us. (:

Our teaching pool consists of 9 year old boys and old single men... There is no in between. But there's a couple pictures with my favorite 9 year olds below (:

My testimony of the guidance of the Holy Ghost increased this week as my companion and I were wondering where we needed to go. We made some solid plans the night before all on the other side of our area. We left in the morning but after about an hour of being in that area we receive a call that unexpectedly brought us back for a couple of hours. It would take a lot of miles to go all the way back to where we had planned to be but we didn't know what we would do in the area we were in either. My companion lovingly reminded me that as we pray and seek the Lords help, He will take us where we need to be. We said a prayer and both felt very strongly that we needed to be at the Less Actives home, where we had planned to be the night before, even though it would take several miles to get there again. We knocked on the door and Brother Reid's daughter (a nonmember) came out.. "Are y'all Mormon?" "Yes" "Come in!" As we go in, we meet brother Reid who is 80 years old and very deaf but so happy to see us. His daughter goes back into the kitchen and starts crying. We go over, put our arm around her and ask her what's wrong. She said that she has been praying for help to take care of her father and also for the knowledge of how to grow closer to Heavenly Father when we knocked on the door. She knows that God sent us at just the right time. I know that as we follow and rely

on the Holy Ghosts guidance, and have the humility to follow the promptings, we will be led to those who are prepared to receive the message or who may just be in need of us at that time.

I hope y'all learned lots this week too! I look forward to hearing from y'all.

Love, Sister Merritt

Exchange with Sister Hosman

HENRY

Hey'all.

SOOO... I moved... Again. Moving is stressful but now I live in Loganville in the nicest little apartment y'all have ever seen. And it's a lot better than my last which was in a red zone, near a mental hospital, and smelled like smoke... Until our downstairs neighbor was arrested Easter morning. Really safe. But my new address is:

333 meadows drive

Loganville, GA 30052

This week I went on Exchange with Sister Lang in the fort Yargo Ward. She is seriously darling. I love her to death and we had so much fun and witnessed so many tender mercies. We met 5 new investigators and helped the nonmember father of a member family cry because the spirit was so powerful in our plan of salvation lesson. One of the new investigators was a potentials roommate. She (Talaya) answered the door, said the potential wasn't there and was about to close the door when we said really fast "Well, do you want to learn about our church?" She opened it up and then said .."actually, yes. I would." We taught her about the restoration on her front porch and invited her to church right as the potential walked in. Talaya then turned to her and said "I think I'm going... Actually. I KNOW I'm going to the Mormon church Sunday, are you coming?" Solid! They both went to church yesterday and loved it. (:

We had a really cool miracle happen this week. We had a lot of referrals because the Monroe sisters referred everyone over to us who lived in the Loganville area. So We had a lot of Uncontacted referrals and were rebuked by sister Bennion. So we repented and sat down and called every single person we had in our area books and we were able to find great new investigators from doing so. One of which was Henry. Henry had been a Book of Mormon referral who came in a couple months ago. The sister gave him the Book of Mormon but we hadn't been able to get back in with him since. When we called him, he sounded very excited to talk to us, he told us he would like to meet so we set up a church tour for Saturday evening. The church tour went GREAT! The spirit was so strong especially as we sat in the chapel and talked about the sacrament. He said he had never felt as peaceful as he did at that moment. He even pulled out the stress test on his phone. We invited him to be baptized and he accepted a date and he even set a time!! The next day he came to church, telling us he would only stay for the first hour. After sacrament meeting, as he is exiting the chapel he runs into one of the members which so happens to be his neighbor. They talk and the question arises, "Are you Mormon??" To which Henry replied, "Not yet, but someday soon!" The Ward was great!! Every single person introduced themselves to Henry and pulled him into Sunday school AND priesthood with them. After church we asked him how he liked it. "I loved it! Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You'll see me here next week." All yesterday we were recieving calls from the members asking if they could come with us to the next lesson with

Henry. The Ward is definitely on fire! They are so excited for missionary work and missionary experiences. (:

Anyways. We had a great week. Lots of miracles and lots of blessings from our Heavenly Father. I love this work more than anything. It has completely changed me. I still have a lot of changing to do, but I know that if I give everything to my Heavenly Father I will only grow into the person He wants me to be. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to experience these miracles first hand.

I love and miss y'all lots.

Love, Sister Merritt

EVERYDAY IS MAGNIFICENT

Hello!

Okay, how good was general conference?? So good! I absolutely loved every single second and everything seemed to apply to my life and was definitely an answer to prayer. I loved W. Christopher Waddell's counsel to "Learn, Listen and Walk" to find the peace the gospel brings. President Uchtdorf's words of comfort telling us that our Heavenly Father can and will rebuild us and that we are worthy of rescue simply because we are loved by the Good Shepherd. Elder Holland's promise that "Everyday is going to be magnificent. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be." And of course the words of our dear Prophet that our choices determine our destiny. EVERYTHING WAS SO GOOD.

My week has been good. I went on exchange with Sister Nuusa this week which was so much fun. I learned a lot from her. She's the cutest. And we were able to see so many miracles. I learned a lot about body extending commitment invitations and how it shows our faith in the gospel and in the investigator/less active.

I got to see Trevor and Anna this weekend because Trevor's mom lives in this Ward! Anna had great news to tell me. So ever since I've been teaching her we have been asking her and asking her to pray about what we have been teaching and about the Book of Mormon but she has been so stubborn and hasn't. Well she told me that she indeed WAS praying about it but just didn't want to tell us. She told me that she finally got her answer. "I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet. And I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know everything that you've taught me is true." Ahhhh!!!! I was just bawling. I'm so happy for her.

We had a cool miracle happen this week. We were trying to contact a referral we have had for awhile. They didn't have a phone number, just an address. As we pull into the trailer park we realize that we are supposed to be looking for lot #1 but the trailers only had letters, not numbers. We see a woman outside and ask her if she knew the people we are trying to find, she didn't and neither did anyone else we talked to. We decided to just try the first trailer in the park. We knocked on the door and a man named Hank answered. He tried to help us with our referrals but he didn't know them either. So we started teaching him instead. His sister-in-law was just baptized into the Mormon church and he told us how he saw a change in her after she started meeting with the missionaries and how much happier she has become since she had been baptized. We taught and testified about the Book of Mormon and how it brings peace and joy to our lives, after which, he asked where he could get a copy of one. We gave him a copy, a reading assignment and made a return appointment. It was amazing to see how Heavenly Father leads us to the places where he has been preparing His children.

Anyways, I'm so grateful to be here at this time. I am so grateful for a living prophet to guide us in these days. I know he is truly the mouthpiece for our Heavenly Father here on earth.

I love y'all!!

Love, Sister Merritt

Quad Squad

Hey Y'all.

Oh my goodness. This week has been the craziest yet. First off, I am now in the Monroe Ward serving in Loganville. I am with Sister Palmer from Kaysville, Utah. She has been out for 1.5 months and is a trooper because she is taking over this whole area. The rest of us are pretty much whitewashing. But as of right now we are living in Monroe with another set of sisters, Sister Holmgren (MY BABY) & Sister Hosman. We live in this small home. A family lives in the basement and another family lives in the front part of the home. But our little corner of it is nice and cozy. Especially with four of us. We have air mattresses and one bathroom. One. It's a struggle, but a fun struggle. We have fun. We call ourselves the quad squad. The Ward is absolutely wonderful. It's so small, a lot smaller than I'm used to. But by the time we are through here, it will be a lot bigger. There are great things happening here. We are excited.

It's perfect here in Loganville. Literally perfect. It's a perfect mix between country and city. There are TONS of rolling hills with cows and horses grazing in it and the only thing keeping them in there are cute white picket fences. The homes are so precious. Big porches. Gardens. There are some dirt roads here and there. But there's still a Walmart and chic-fil-a, so we good. And the members are solid. They are so missionary minded it's awesome! We get so much help already (:

One of our miracles was Jeanne. Wednesday we were going around, trying to meet all the members and less actives, when we pulled up to a less actives home , prayed, and was about to jump out, my companion turned to me and said she felt we weren't supposed to be here right now. We prayed again and looked through the area book to see who was in need off us at that moment. We spotted Jeanne (a referral) and both felt like we needed to see her. Jeanne was introduced to the church by her friend from work at the hospital in Atlanta. Her friend knew she was struggling with seeing hope and the joy of life so she gave her a Book of Mormon with her testimony written inside and referred the missionaries (us) to her home. We knocked on Jeanne's door and she answered. We told her that her friend had sent us and she was SO happy, but was just about to leave for work. (We caught her JUST before she left for work). We set up a return appointment for Saturday. When we visited her on Saturday we found that she has been reading the book of mormon and has felt God's love for her through it. The Spirit was so strong, we were all in tears as we bore testimony of

the restored gospel. We asked Jeanne if she has found Jesus Christ's church, she responded "I think I have." She is now on date for April 30th and she couldn't be more happy. We really can't do this work alone. We NEED the help of members. Because Jeanne's friend gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon, she is able to have the joy she has been searching for in her life.

I hope everyone had the greatest Easter! I know sometimes we get caught up in the fun candy, Easter bunny, and everything else, but I hope we all remembered the Savior this Easter and what he went through for us. I am so grateful for His sacrifice and the knowledge that because of the atonement I never have to go through anything alone. He lives.

I love y'all. Happy late Easter.

317 B Alcovey street

Monroe, GA 60655

Love, Sister Merritt

Our first night. We were so tired.

TRANSFERS!

Hey y'all:

So transfer news: I will be going to Monroe and finish training Sister Palmer! I don't know too much about her. But I do know she is just darling. I will also be serving as a Sister Training Leader. I'm excited. Plus I'm still in the same zone so that's good because the Athens zone is THE absolute greatest. (:

We were able to get 12 investigators to church. TWELVE. It was crazy trying to make sure everyone was taken care of, but they all loved it!

We have been able to see way too many miracles this week. EVERYONE wants to be baptized! WOO. When I first got to Athens we met a lady named Glenda and her 10 year old son. They seemed really interested but could never get in contact with them, so we ended up having to drop them. But this week we had an impression to stop in on them. Victor (the 10 year old) has been reading the Book of Mormon every day and wants to learn more. So we have visited Glenda and Victor every day this week. We brought them to a baptism and Glenda talked to us afterward "So I was thinking, could victor and I be baptized?"

We also met this great guy named Jacob who had met with missionaries 15 years ago in Alabama. We have met with him a couple of times this past week and we brought up baptism. "Baptism! I've been baptized before. Come to think of it, it may have been in your church! If I did get baptized into your church, does that make me a Mormon?" "Yes." He grins really big and says "that's exciting!" So he comes to church this past Sunday and LOVES it and says he would really like to come back every week, which of course we agreed with.  Well we asked the ward clerk to see if Jacob was a member and HE IS. We found a long lost less active who loves church, so that's exciting. We're just confused as to how you go about forgetting if you've been baptized or not?? Weird.

We also met a woman named Brittany. She's a single mom of 4 and super sweet. She let us in allowed us to teach her the restoration and asked right off if she could be baptized. So yay!! We didn't have to ask anyone to be baptized this week. They all just want to!

Speaking of baptism... It's amazing being able to see lives completely change when their faith in Jesus Christ starts to grow. We met Herman when he was living with some recent converts when I first got to Athens. He was very shy, wouldn't look at us when we talked to him, didn't keep any of the commitments we left him, and whenever we came he would have a cigarette in his mouth. We don't know why we kept going back. He didn't even seem interested in learning. But for some reason we kept going back. Well, the landlord was going to sell the house. The recent converts found a new small place to live, but Herman wasn't able to. He went back in his tent, which he had lived in for 5 years before living with the members. He was homeless. We kept meeting with him. We would meet just out on the streets, or in McDonald's, or in members homes when we could. We eventually found out he had a big problem with drugs, alcohol, and the law of chastity. We brought him to the 12 step addiction recovery programs, read the Book of Mormon with him and the elders gave him a blessing. He came to church every week, wore his camo (the only thing he owned) but wouldn't talk to anybody and would sit in the back of every class. We kept meeting with him. We would teach him little by little and over and over again until he understood. Eventually he prayed for us, he started reading the Book of Mormon on his own, he stopped doing drugs and drinking, he found an apartment. He was changing. Or should I say, the gospel was changing him. He wanted to be baptized! We went through a lot of interviews. A member of the mission presidency told us to wait for 3 months to a year to have him be baptized. He also thought it was best if the elders started to teach him instead.. We were disappointed, but we obeyed. 3 months later, though, brings us to Saturday. Herman was finally able to be baptized. It was the most spiritual experience I have ever had and his testimony of the gospel is so strong. I have a strong testimony that Heavenly Father loves each of us. The gospel is for everyone and it can change lives if we allow it to.

Love y'all!!

Sister Merritt

Our Methodist ministry friends. (:

SPRING!

Hey y'all!

We have had a great week. It's been such great weather. The flowers are blooming. The leaves are coming back, which makes Georgia so much more pretty. The bees are buzzing. Spring is here!

Friday we had set the goal to get one lesson with a member present. We had one scheduled, but our lesson and member both cancelled. It was getting toward the end of the day, but we really wanted to make this goal. We decided we would just tract this neighborhood that has been in the back of our minds for awhile. As we were walking down the street we saw this guy outside talking to some people in a car. We walk up to him and start talking about the church, only to find out that he's a long lost less active! We ask him if he had ever talked to his friend about the church. He said "no they have a different belief." So of course we then proceed to talk to his friends about the church, in which they were really interested! The member was able to bear his testimony and tell his friends about Joseph Smith and how wonderful the church was! We were able to get our lesson with a member present! It was amazing to see that as long as we set goals in faith and then work as hard as we can and talk to everyone, the Lord will do the rest.

We had such a crazy big sister exchange but it was so much fun. I went on exchange with sister Gray in Greensboro which is ALL country. I am in love with that place. They live in a cute cabin right on the lake and fields of cows and horses all around. IN LOVE. <3 We were able to see lots of miracles and find a lot of new investigators. We were able to have a lesson with a recent convert whose mom absolutely HATES the church, but the mom actually sat in on the lesson and agreed with everything we had to say regarding the plan of salvation, so that's cool. We also were able to tract a little bit. One lady answered the door, we complemented her on her cute home, to which she responds "do you want to see the inside??" "YES!" So we were able to get in, see the home, share a message, and she wants us to come back the next day.

More quick updates:

>> we now do bible study, every Monday and Wednesday night with a whole trailer park. It's crazy.

>> we met a dog named Lucy in Colbert who literally followed us to every home we went to. She's pictured below.

>> we got to feed some horses.

>> we had a southern day, Talulah Gorge, which had precisely 536,362 steps. peach cider, honey stick, moon pies and the best BBQ you have ever tasted. Ever.

>> AND HERMAN IS GETTING BAPTIZED. Do y'all remember him? He was the homeless man we were teaching when I first got to Athens but we had to hand him over to the elders because "he wasn't safe"... But now he's getting baptized and I'm soooo happy! (:

Love y'all! Have a great week!!

Love, Sister Merritt

The 'Blessing'

Hey y'all.

This week has been an interesting one.

First off, about a month ago we met this 27 year old girl named Katherine. She is heavily involved in the Methodist ministry on campus and LOVES Jesus Christ. Well, a couple weeks ago she invited us over for dinner with her and her ministry friends, of course we are expecting a big bible bash as we go inside, but we were pleasantly surprised when they just wanted to learn more about our church. Last week she called us up again and said that she wanted to "bless" us because she knows how draining it is being a missionary and she wants to give us a recharge. It sounded interesting (plus it gave us another chance to teach) so we accepted the invitation. We went over with a bunch of her friends, they prayed over us and they begun. Two twenty minute sessions. One for sister Foster & one for me. They basically just close their eyes and tell us what they're seeing and then they interpret it in a way that could maybe/possibly/ try to apply to our lives. They had a scribe writing it all down for us so don't worry, I have it all on paper! Basically it's like the Methodist version of a patriarchal blessing. It was a cool experience. And of course we were able to teach them and they want to come to church YAY!

We had a mission wide sisters conference this week which was definitely the highlight. There are 62 sisters in our mission and I love them all <3 We had a bunch of trainings given by the sister training leaders and Sister Bennion on our divine nature, and "straightening our crown." The BEST thing was our role plays though. ...I never thought I'd say that. Sister Kong and Barben showed us how exciting it is extending invitations, promising blessing, and following up.

"Sister Barben, will you come to Sisters P-Day with us as we hike Kennesaw Mountain at 12?"

"... Ummm I don't know. I have so much to do. Wash the car, clean the apartment, grocery shop, and email my family. I don't know if I'll have time."

"I can promise you that once you make it to the top of the mountain, you will be refreshed by that cool air and the view will be amazing."

"Well.. Umm.. I'll definitely try. I'll try to make it."

"Okay....OH! I forgot to tell you! Elder Holland.."

"Yeah??"

"Elder Holland. You're favorite Elder Holland is going to be there!!!!"

"WHAT?!"

"He'll be there at noon at kennesaw mountain! So will you come?!"

"YES YES YES."

"OH AND ANOTHER THING. HE IS GOING TO BE HANDING OUT ENVELOPES WITH OUR FUTURE HUSBANDS PICTURE INSIDE!!"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Yes!! SOOO.. Will. You. Come. On. Monday. At 12?!"

"YES! I'll be there!!"

We were laughing so hard all of us. We were crying and laughing and laughing and crying. Envelopes with our husbands pictures in them became our inside joke, But it was so wonderful. President Bennion gave us all roses at the end and we all had a good time and learned a lot.

Ever since Sister Foster has been here she's had this really bad cough. Everyone just thought it was allergies. We called the mission nurse a bunch of times and she would just tell us to get some cough drops and Claritin. Well the cough had just been getting worse so we just decided we would go into urgent care. Turns out she has had Bronchitis this whole time! Poor thing. She's a trooper though. Her cough won't stop her from working her hardest.

Anyway, we have had some solid lessons this week with some great new people! We have been biking lots thanks to a deal we have with an investigator... We will bike 10 miles a day if he'll read the Book of Mormon 10 minutes a day. So far we have kept our end of the promise..we'll see if he has kept his this week. That's about all that's new here.

Love y'all!

Love, Sister Merritt