Fishing in the Lagoon

2/11/14 

I started getting a little bit sick this week so I was packing some honey lozenges 

 So we went into a house to teach a new family, the family aguero.  We were waiting for them for a little bit on the couch so I figured that I might as well pop out a honey drop and throw that sucker in my mouth.  Right as I was opening it a whole herd of kids walked into the room.  So I being the only one with the only candy felt like I should eat the last one with discretion... so I sat on top of it... and then we taught a bomb lesson... and then when we got up to leave and I snatched it up.   When we got outside we said goodbye and started going off.  I looked at the candy and saw all sorts of stuff stuck on it, hair, dirt, other stuff... does a little bit of hair stop me from eating a honey lozenge? Nope.

The next day we had a birthday of an investigador.  So We pitched in and bought a little bit o peanut butter here (we had to pitch in cause its more expensive here that shredded gold) and being as creative as possible we made a 15 stack pancake cake for her birthday.  In the end they didn’t like the peanut butter too much....dang...

We had a bomb lesson with an investigator this week where we taught him in the house of a member.  Everything was going golden but then while we were talking about the 1st vision the member gets up out of nowhere, turns on the tv, and puts in the dvd of the 1st vision... and then it ended up not working out... so we just had a good old ruckus for nothing.

 I am either sick in the head or I’m getting old cause I am losing everything. This week I did indeed lose the cellphone...so we went on a wild goose hunt looking for the darn thing. Everybody was saying "you lost it on the bus? Its long gone..." so we called it on Wednesday and somebody answered saying "hello?" in English.  I was super confused so I answered in Spanish saying "hola?" 

And then they hung up...

So we called them again and somebody told me that they were talking in English again. So I put the phone up to my ear and I heard "WHO IS THIS? YOU HAVE THE WRONG NUMBER! STOP CALLING!" and then they hung up again.

When we called the next time the phone was turned off.

It’s been over 14 long days since we heard from phony... I don’t think I’m gonna find him again...

I got a flashback to my good old Albion years this week when several of my zits from my old years started coming back to visit.

My companion, being an opera singer, had to have a good ol clean face every night so he showed me a home remedy of how to clean up my face with lemon and sugar.  Now you could say that I’m so clean I could be on the acne clear commercials.  Lookout acne clear girls, here comes Elder Andrew Huber Merkley

We were riding on bikes this week when we had a car pull up to us, say "here brother", hand me a paper, and drive off...

Dazed in confusion I looked down and realized that it was a Jehovas witness flyer.  

I found a store that sells 10 peso ties:)

And…my comp slapped a bee out of the air

And that would about sum up last week that I didn’t have time to write cause we went to the temple this week and the day that we were supposed to write we thought we were supposed to work and then the next day we had 2 different intercambios that we had to go on.... my bad...

So we went and we had a sweet lesson with the family aguero, the wife and kids.  We taught a dope lesson and everybody loved it.  We have super awesome new bikes so I tried riding away in the sunset like a sweet cowboy would do it, just on my bike. 

So I stepped on my pedal and pushed a couple of times about to hop on the bike when my foot slipped and I totally ate it hard in front of the whole family... I got up redder than my cherry tomatoes and said "I look like such an Idiot!"

We rode off and down the street we were laughing and then one of the kids came over to us and asked, "Hey my mom wants to know if you need anything."

Do you have something to help me recover my pride? If so give me all you got...

Later that day we went to a members house and her son went fishing and gave us a good ol big 10 pounder for free Woo!

So when we were leaving I was trying to ride with the fish in the bag in my hand.  I went over this small dip thing in the dirt road and I don’t know how but it launched me off my bike.  Luckily I have cat like reflexes and I landed on my feet a good 3 feet from my bike. How I do it? Very carefully.

The next day we had 2 lessons planned and then we said that we were going on a bus at 2 after eating lunch.  For one of the first times on the mission everything worked out perfectly....      strange...

The next day we got up bright and early to go to the TEMPLE!!! Woo! So while we were going the devil tried kicking off 30 missionaries and the bus started lighting on fire... and yet all 30 of us were strangely calm about everything.

We went to the temple, it was super sweet. 

I went on 2 intercambios this week.  The first one with Elder Mathews in Canuelas and the 2nd with Elder Sandberg in Monte.

For P-day we went fishing in the lagoon in Monte and it turned out to be sweet.  We didn’t catch anything like in Deer Creek but still we had 2 elders who had never been fishing.  I have never seen anybody so excited to go fishing in my life.  Grandpa Merkley they may have even been more excited than you.  They were screaming while they put on the bait and worms.  My little white legs got burnt, and we ate some good ol sandwiches with watermelon on the lake.

That night I was on intercambios with Elder Sandberg.  We went and had a lesson where we were teaching like 10 little kids in a family and we tried hyping them all up to do a prayer after that it was like we were Mickey at Disneyland.  There was literally a line for who was going to do the prayer next.

We then went and had a sweet little lesson with an investigador Oscar.  We taught him about where the church comes from and how he can know it.  We gave some sweet testimonies and felt the spirit super strong and then without us even inviting him he said "well.... I guess we should say a prayer right now to see if its true right?" yes... yes we should:)

Then we went and knocked on a random door and a family just answered it and before even asking who we were said, "come on in!"   We went in and it was a family of the mom and dad, 3 sisters, a cousin that they adopted, and their son who is 4 and has some problems in the brain and cant walk.  We just sat there and talked with him for like 40 minutes.  He was just so happy about everything.  Even though he couldn’t even walk he was just a happy little camper, laughing more than everyone else.

It then came to my mind the scripture in D&C 9:6

 6 Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.

Many times we complain because of what we have or what we don’t have.  The more I am out here the more I see that God has something for all of us.  Even though it will be hard to accept sometimes God knows what will be the best for all of us.  We just have to thank him and like a wise man one said "don’t worry be happy"

I love you all.  Have a great week.

Love,

Elder Merkley