"This is your ultima vez"

Well I have made it to this point in the mission. Today is the first day of the last transfer. The last time I have to nourish my vineyard. The last 6 weeks to work as dilligently as I can. To build my conversion, and to love the people here in Ecuador, I really will only be a missionary once. There will never ever be the opportunity again. Now is the time, the last time.

"And the Lord of the vineyard said unto them: Go to,and labor in the vineyard, with your might. For behold,this is the last time that I shall nourish my vineyard; for the end is nigh at hand, and the season speedily cometh;and if ye labor 

with your might with me ye shall have joyin the fruit which I shall lay up unto

 myself against thetime which will soon come." Jacob 5:71

I am with a new companion, Hermana Arcya she is 22 from Peru and has I think a year on the mission. I will be here in Tarqui for chirstmas and to finish the mission. I am super pumped we have tons of actividads planned for the ward this month, to help unite the members and remember the birth of Christ. 

This past week we had the most intereesting service of my mission, first we went in the woods looking for wood and then built a roof, WHAT? Welcome to a 3rd world country. We saw a nice gang fight in a bus stop that ended with the police exploding gas everywhere and almost dying of a gas attack. Being in the bus with a theif, listening to the spirit to not get off the bus if he did, we didnt get off and got of on the next stop. Came back and there he was being arrested. The Lord watched over his childeren, I really am arm in arm with my Savior each  and every day each and every minute. 

Say your prayers and remember who you are.

Hermana Merrill

https://www.mormon.org/christmas

Zone Chillogillo

Cotopaxi in the backround

Building houses on a saturday morning

The beautiful new chapel that we have

Child playing with my "yellow" hair

Venesuelan trying to teach me to make arepas! 

Week 65

I think something I have learned is that the mission was never going to be easy, but it really is worth it. I have felt the love of my Savior so much this week. I know that the gospel is centered around families, and that one day families can be together forever. it is only through families that we will be able to live with our father again.

This week we started teaching anwesome family, the dad Cristian and lives with his two kids, we contacted them on the street. Well the real story is we talked to his kids and a bunch of kids on the street and the kids brought us to his dad. So we went tom visit them and bammm his girlfriend was there and come to find out she is an inavtive member! Well that was that, talk about amazing and they all came to church on sunday. 

Other than that this week was just dandy, tons of rain, a fun service and we went today with the zone to a place called MR JOY, it is like a chucky cheese for adults, pretty sweet,  and i ripped my pants along with like 5 elders it was great.  I SAW HERMANA DIAZ AGAIN! Made my day!

I just want to leave this email with this, scripture: Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully doall things that lie in our power; and then may we standstill, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation ofGod, and for his arm to be revealed. D&C 123:17.

As we do all things cheerfully and dilligently I know we are blessed. There is a bigger a better plan, he is with us through the thick and the thin, he loves us.

Just be good this week, serve someone and do what is right.

Love always

Hermana Merrill:)

Week 67

Things are getting a little bit real, the flight plans are here and I will be home on January 12th.

On a different note, this week went by faster than ever. We ran around teaching in the pouring rain. I never have felt like my shoes feel like wet bread so much in my life. The roads turn into mini rivers and the hills seem even coler when it rains. I really have gained a strong testimony of fuzzy socks, especially the 4 pairs Grandma sent me for Chirstmas last year. If you have not heard, the church has been in Ecudaor for 50 years. On Saturday we had a Marethon for the stake on saturday. 

This week I have set some new goals for these last 7 weeks here on the mission. One of them is to read the Book of Mormon over again cover to cover. As Elder Anderson said, "When was the last time you read the Book of Mormon cover to cover? Read it again it will increase your Faith." Setting goals is the best thing we can do to help us progress and become better. If we never set goals we will never get anywhere. So set some goals, write them down and more than anything complete them. 

The work here is great, we are working with the memebers this week and are teaching a new investigator named Alberto. He knows perfect english and is Columbian. We are working with another great family of from the Coast I will be sure to send tons of Pics. This week our zone had the invterviews with the President. Something he mentioned to me is how much I have progressed here, how much I have grown. I have never never felt so tired in my life, but so ready to keep working, to keep growing, to keep walking and to keep contacting each day. 

I hope that everyone has a great week, love you all and thank you for your prayers and support. This is the best decison I have ever made and will ever make.

xo

Hermana Merrill:)

I¨ll never no never forsake

Let´s start with the Ecuador update this week, we beat Paraguay 2-1, and Coptopaxi has yet to erupt! The grand city of quito is still kickin, we had a service project saturday, I will include a picture of us on the roof of the house we fixed up. I also started my BOM again on friday and I am in the middle of 2 Nephi, I have a goal set to finish it again before I go home.

Well remember the awesome family from last week? Yeah they left today to move to Spain. WHAT? We left them with a book of mormon and desire in their hearts to be baptized. Talk about opositon. Other than that the work here is different than the jungle, the people accually live in cement houses and we walk the hills daily, our area has just stairs, we LOVE climbing them.

A quote that really made me reflect this week, and just today my aunt sent me the same quote I have been thinking about all week Glinda from the Wizard of Oz says, "You´ve always had the power my Dear, you just had to Learn it for yourself." This is exactly what I have learned this transfer here in Tarqui, and here on the mission. I really have learned to do it all for myself, through other people. First I have learned to live in the craziness of Ecuador a different country and learned to love the companions I have, learned to love the people, but the most important thing I have learned is to be converted unto the Lord. To leave my personal life behind and serve the lord on a mission. To really truely be obedient for myself.

Love you all

Hermana Merrill:)

¡Que Bestia!

In Ether 15:34 it says, "Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am ."

Another week just flew by. Somehow I made it through, I think the shorter the time gets the more real it seems that I will be able to contact or teach or have the same calling ever again in my life. Something we have been working on as a zone, in companionship and personally is to practice ponderize scriptures. It has helped me to stay focused and feel the spirit throughout the day. I invite each person to do this throughout you week, to remember what really matters her on this earth. 

This week I have  thaught  my compaion some great english words, she now responds to me in the night with yes and not si! Special thanks to some David Archuleta hymns we almost have done the whole song "The Spirit of God". Progress!! She is really tons of fun, we had cake and pizza for her at a members house last monday night, for her birthday.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween, here it is the day of the dead, so everyone is at the cemetery, drinkning Colada Morada and guaguas de pan. google it. 

Have a great week, the best is yet to be.

Hermana Merrill:)

My area..THE HILL

Hermana guevaras bday

Encebollado..the best fish soup in town, but really it is amazing

where we live...