The Kate Update

Redirection

2009-07-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Kate's started a new blog.
She's new to the blogging world so it's still a work in progress as I'm trying not to take over and be a bossy older sister. Shoot her an email if you want to be connected to her there.

http://therealkateupdate.blogspot.com

This is my last proxy post, I SWEAR!

2009-06-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to hand over the complete reins of this blog to Kate... but I forgot to post these MOST important of clips!
So here ya go- closure to her 18 month absence from home.

a new author

2009-06-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hey! It's Kate. I returned home from my mission Thursday and am trying to jump back into the swing of things. I am currently trying to setup another blogspot.. so stay tuned, I'll let you know when it's already. Thank you for your interest in me and my mission experience. and sare.. thanks again for keeping this blog up over the past year and a half; it looks great.

Random clips to tide us over

2009-06-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

coming home.‏

2009-06-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

I feel all flustered.. we just went bargain shopping. Bah. I don't like shopping anyways... but knowing that the prices aren't fixed and that I'm getting ripped off left and right makes it all the more painful to endure. I'm not really buying anything... hopefully you understand and will still be happy to meet me at the airport. In the meantime, I'm going to do my best to allow my creative juices to flow through my angry "I hate shopping" veins, as I tell you about my week which actually went pretty well.

President and Sr GAYA were here for their last visit; they will be leaving shortly after I do. So our week was filled with meals, reunions and conferences. The zone conference we had was really motivational. Afterwards, President GAYA took us all out to a fancy pants restaurant placed right along the border of the ocean. The food was so beautifully presented. (Yep. Definitely fancy pants). I ordered a deep sea fish, that was cooked in citron and a mix of spices, then caramelized. It was SO good.

It wasn't until minutes after finishing my plate, that my face got really hot, and my head started pounding. I thought I was just tired, and so I quietly just put a cold water bottle up to my burning cheeks. A few minutes later, I was still just boiling.. when Sr Court looked at me and said "Sr Merkley, I think you're having an allergic reaction." I never realized how quickly people would react to a statement like that. Everyone in ear shot quickly looked over at me, my face going three shades more red than before. I don't ever remember ever being allergic to anything. Not knowing what to do, I asked the Soeurs without missing a beat, "uhh.. can you take a picture for me?" Luckily, I had no problem with my breathing.. my face, arms and neck were blotched red and white all over.. but nothing too serious.. just ugly.

Soeur GAYA's daughter (who had come down with her 10 year old son from New Caledonia to visit) was sitting next to me, and advised me to be as discreet as possible, if I wanted to ever receive my overly priced dessert (she told me that if Sr GAYA saw me, that'd be the end of this meal, and we'd spend the rest of the afternoon at the pharmacy.) I turned my back a little in the opposite direction, and so happily finished lunch with an ice cream sundae. As we had predicted, Sr GAYA caught me, and right after lunch, we went across the street and picked up some medicine. We still don't know what it was that triggered such a reaction; President GAYA thinks it was the spices.. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the fancy pants.

Soeur PICARDO was baptized Friday night. Her daughter and grandson ended up coming and were very touched by the service. Soeur PICARDO's reaction was my favorite. As her 69 year old body came out of the water, she was just laughing. Alice gave a talk about baptism (the first talk she's ever given); she presented it so simply, and yet so powerfully.. I was really proud of her. Yesterday at church, Sr PICARDO received the gift of the Holy Ghost. In her blessing, she was told that she would have the health to continue coming to church (she walks every single week); and that there would be members of her family that would join the church. She cried during the blessing, and has been just glowing ever since Friday.

I love these people. I remember saying that 17 months ago, and I meant it.. but saying it now, has such a deeper meaning to it. I really, really love these people. I feel at peace in knowing that it is time to move on to my next adventure.. but there is a certain sorrow seeing this chapter in my life closing. The branch is holding a party tonight in order to say goodbye to me, and two other members who will be leaving the area this month. I'll let you know how it goes.

For all of those who are reading this.. thank you for your loyalty. I've appreciated your prayers, letters, and other manifestations of support. I'm excited to see you.
With so much love,
Soeur MERKLEY

Pictures to tide you over

2009-06-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

LOTS of pictures to post before Kate gets home. Here's a sampling:

I thought these clips were fitting as it will be Kate's fond farewell at the airport this next week.

Au revoir!

Don't know why I didn't post this earlier...

2009-06-02T10:14:00.000-07:00

KATE'S HOMECOMING!!

Duh. You'd probably all like to know about it, right?
Here's the info:

She will be speaking in the Willow Creek 2nd Ward at 2400 E. Alta Canyon Drive in Sandy, 9:30am on Sunday, June 21st (...which also happens to be Father's Day...) There will be a get together at the Merkley abode afterwards. If you need directions to either the church or the Merkley house, email me and I'll help ya out.

Hope to see you there!
Yay for Kate coming home!!!

Happy Birthday ANDY!‏

2009-06-02T06:43:00.000-07:00

"Soe-e-e-ur-r-r-r MER-R-R-RKLE-E-E-EY!!" I was in the back room of our house getting ready to say my nightly prayers when I heard both Soeur GRAY and COURT calling my name. Their cries were then followed by sounds of beds moving, and planners slamming. I began walking into the living room where they were, and decided to walk a little faster once I heard them screaming out again. I laughed to find Sr GRAY out in the hall, and Sr COURT climbed up on her bed. What could make them behave in such a strange way?

My heart stopped at the thought of a mouse, or some other disgusting animal with teeth. My panic was short lived however as I followed the heavily concentrated eyes of Sr COURT directed at the ceiling, and merely saw a spider. Mind you, it WAS the size of my fist..but it was definitely no furry foe. For as much anxiety as I have around animals, I've been surprisingly blessed to have no real fear of insects.

The moment made me feel quite heroic, especially since it was now a petrified Sr COURT, whom I usually latch arms with or cry for when ever any dog, cat, or chicken is at hand. Seeing the task before me, a flip flop in one hand, and a kitchen stool in the other, I began chasing our 8 legged roommate all over. He was fast, and even made a jump for a hole in the ceiling next to the light.. luckily he came back out, where I unmercifully gave him his last breath of life. I actually didn't want to kill him, and even felt a little guilty afterwards.. but understanding that Sr GRAY was staying out in the hall until it was flat as a pancake, I was motivated to move a little faster. The only time I've seen a spider quite so big, must've have been when I watched "Arachniphobia".

On a lighter note.. the Relief Society President took all of the missionaries out to McDonalds this week (so.. maybe it's not much of a "lighter" note). With a 5 year old child glow in my eyes, I excitedly ordered the cheeseburger happy meal. It's been ages since I've eaten McDonalds, and was pressed to bite into this familiar and once adored sandwich and fries. Although it was alot of fun to spend time all together, I was surprised to find that the cheeseburger was not what I remembered it being. Not that the food here is different, I actually just think my taste has changed alot. Even though I was a little disappointed by the food (and blue spaceship I received as a toy), it was nice to remember that as time moves on we change. Who would've ever thought we could have such a philosophical awakening over deep fried cow and potatoes?

We had our District Conference Sunday. It was extremely enriching. All of the leaders in the branch spent a couple minutes explaining their conversion story, and why they are still in the Church. I felt inspired and intrigued through the whole thing. It was GREAT. Half way through the conference, they asked the choir to come up and sing. The members in the congregation looked around.. no one got up. Pres Ah Ping stood up and re-invited the choir to come up. It was at this moment that we realized, that the choir had not been informed about their musical number.. and therefore, it was a "whoever wants to come up to the front and sing" kind of a thing. The three of us jumped up with a few others and sang "Count Your Many Blessings". I counted the blessing that we surprisingly sounded really good, especially considering that none of us had rehearsed before hand.

We found a few new investigators this week. We're really excited about this COOL family that seems pretty interested. AND in the middle of the week, we ended up running into the mom and one of the daughters in the road randomly. We're praying alot for them, and hope we'll be able to get things moving with in the next couple weeks.

Sr Picardo is getting baptized this Friday! She nervously called Alice yesterday and invited her to give a talk at her baptismal service. It was so cute to see her talk on the phone and get all shy.. she's adorable. Her family should all be coming to watch. She's eagerly counting down the days.. We are SO happy for her.

Things are well. Have a nice week!! LOVE YOU.
Sr MERKLEY

visuals of the missionary life

2009-05-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

"What the heck are those two doing in a tree?" Yes. I admit it. I watched High School Musical.‏

2009-05-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

What does a set of drums, magazines from the 1970s, and random books about French dynasties all have in common? Give up? I'll give you a hint.. it has to do with Alice's new calling at church. Ok, ok, I'll tell you. Last week she received the calling as the branch librarian.. arranging books, making copies.. doesn't sound too difficult, eh? Unfortunately, nobody warned us that the library hasn't been cleaned out for over 10, maybe even 15 years. Therefore, all of the random stuff nobody knew where to put, over the past decade, found itself in this tiny upstairs room. AHHHH.

We went in with full force a few different times, literally throwing out bags and boxes full of random STUFF. With dirt on her hands, dust on her face, and church magazines from the time Ezra Taft Benson was prophet, Alice just looked at us with complete sincerity muttering the words "thank you. thank you. thank you." We still have alot of work ahead of us, but at least we can now see the walls.. and got rid of the drums. (we hid them in the broken, unused bathroom stall next door). I'm proud of her though for taking her new calling on with such enthusiasm and vision.

I could've closed my eyes Thursday night and sworn I was home. We had fixed the goal this week to have a family home evening (family night) with Mme PICARDO as well as her daughter and grandkids. It started out with only Mme PICARDO being there- no one else could be found. By the end of the opening song, barefooted kids and their friends started straggling in. The youngest kid was entertained by chasing the cat around; every time ANY scripture was read we had to repeat at least four or five times the page number and verse. Half of the lesson was spent trying to hush people, or talk over all the other little happy voices. We tried teaching them a game, but they didn't think it was very fun, and ended up teaching us a game (which was fine with us.. I still think that explaining game rules in French is one of the hardest things to master- bah.) You would've thought we had hid a one hundred dollar bill in the cookies, by how fast the kids swarmed and started putting their hands in the container once the lid was cracked open.

All of this noise and movement made me Merkley homesick indeed. Yet, as the three of us girls talked and laughed about the evening afterwards, I realized that nearly ANY and every family who attempts to host a family home evening, has found just as much chaos. Therefore, we walked away feeling that even though it wasn't the unrealistic family night we'd seen on the seminary videos, the family WAS together and the night was a success. (and no, no one ran down the stairs crying saying they never wanted to talk to anyone ever again.. I couldn't find anyone to adequately fill the part. Meg and I have played so many times in years past. Oh... memories of Family Home Evenings.. thanks Mom and Dad for all of your tireless efforts).

Speaking of Mme PICARDO.. she told us this week that she would like to be baptized the sixth of June! We are so excited! The branch is so excited! In fact, yesterday at church we literally had members fighting for a time to come and work with us throughout the week to pay her a visit. When I last looked we fixed four different rendezvous with her, with four different members.. one day with two different members coming to the same rendezvous. I appreciate the support of the members so much.. and am grateful for their examples.

We just finished up with our zone activity. The original plan was to go up to President Chion Hocks house and do service all morning.. however, the rainy weather demanded us to redirect our plans a bit.. and by a bit.. I mean alot. In fact, we ended up going to the church in St Denis and watching the first, the second and part of the third "High School Musical". I could take the somewhat catchy songs, and less than thought provoking script during the first film.. but found myself out in the hall reading by the second song in the second film. I did enjoy watching the first film however, as it reminded me terribly of John and Andy. I can still see them now, down in our basement breaking out in full voice while watching the sing-along version of "High School Musical".

Things are going well.. The three of us are working hard, and are still loving the South. Thanks for everything.
I love you.
Sr Merkley.

Crazy soeurs and pretty scenery

2009-05-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

In this clip, she's offering to share half of her potato... it took me awhile to figure out what she was saying...

So many prayers, to know where to go.‏

2009-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

So much happened this week, I'm not sure where to start. Sr COURT and I worked in St Denis. Knowing that we would only be here for 6 days, we decided to focus our efforts on finding new investigators. As a result, we did lots of contacting as well as porting. One night when we had finished porting a local apartment building, we came out to see a car parked dead square behind ours. We didn't know what to do. So we waited.. and waited. Then after taking the advice of a local bystander, we began to honk. Thankfully it was dark, and no one could see our faces, because these were not the short, "hi can you scooch over" kind of honks, they were the aggressive "get out of my way or I'm going to run you over" kind of honks. But that's what the local said to do.. so that's what we did.

Unfortunately, the honks did not entitle us to the car being moved. We prayed (haha.. you think that as missionaries we would've thought about that before). AND then the genius idea came to go up to the apartment where the local bystander told us that the owner to the car may have lived. So up the stairs we went (this is after our 10 minute debut). We knocked on the door to be greeted by a middle aged man. Timidly we asked, "uhh.. is that your car parked behind us?" He then had a little smile on his face and said, "so it's you who parked in my spot.." What? There are assigned parking spots? hehe.. sorry? He explained that he tried honking to get someone's attention, but since we were inside the apartment buildings talking with people, we had not heard the warning signal.. thus becoming locked into our ignorant decision of parking in someone else's spot. He was luckily really nice about it; we drove home nearly in tears because of how hard we were laughing. We made sure to stop by a couple days later with a little note and say sorry again. A lesson hard earned.

It was SO great to see the members of St Denis. I was grateful for the opportunity to come up one last time and say some very tender goodbyes. We had many investigators come to church on Sunday; it was nice to see their continual efforts to come.

We met up with Sr GRAY yesterday; although Sr COURT and I had an amazing week together up north, we definitely felt the absence of Sr GRAY, and were happy to get her back. She and Sr ROBERT (the mini missionary) had an equally amazing week; in fact, as we left as three missionaries, saying a temporary goodbye to Sr ROBERT, she began to cry. Over and over she told us what a great experience it had been for her.

So, another week has past.. we're all a little bit more experienced, a little more grateful, and alot more wise about where we park the car. Sr GRAY, COURT and I are serving in St Pierre again; it sounds like I will finish my mission in this area. Still no word of other Soeurs coming. Thank you for all of the letters, emails, and especially the prayers. I feel really happy right now. I can't explain (due to the lack of time, and sincere/personal feelings) but much transformation took root this week.

With so much love,
Sr MERKLEY

Zone outing to volcano and beach (ooh...)

2009-05-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

And just because we've got to cram pictures in before Kate gets home, here's a highlight of Soeur Gray's birthday:

Andy's tall, John has a pony tail.‏

2009-05-11T08:28:00.000-07:00

It was so much fun to talk with you this morning (the Mother's Day phone call)... as always, I felt it was way to short.. but it was still such great way to start out the day. I felt that it was a little push that will get me along these next couple of weeks. I still can't get over how deep the boys' voices are.. I'm anxious to see the grown up manly bodies that will match the grown up manly voices.. haha. I was thrilled to hear baby Asher.. even if it was the noise of him crying. It was a little more evidence that he really does exist, and that you're not all just pulling a big (very unfunny) practical joke on me. I was happy that Dan was there as well; but felt the absence of Missy, Ben, Meg and Jamo. Thanks for staying up, and for being patient with my terrible English.

It's been a strange week. I assumed (always dangerous) that I would be leaving the South permanently, and finishing my mission in St Denis with Sr Court. Yet, as we picked up Sr ROBERT in Port Saturday night, we quickly learned that she was only planning on doing a mini-mission until next Sunday. (a missionary serving for one week instead of one month led to a group of missionaries doing their best to hide their stunned faces.. and two very stressed out assistants doing their best to call up President Gaya in Madagascar and work everything out).

SO as of now, Sr Court and I are in St Denis.. Sr GRAY and Sr ROBERT are in the South. Apparently, we're going to have some changes coming up by the end of the week, even though we have NO idea what these changes will be yet. Pres Chion Hock is looking for another sister to replace Sr Robert, but it's rare to have a girl over 18 years old, available to cut out of work and school for a few weeks, and come and join the recruits of the missionary world. We are hoping that we'll find someone else, but don't feel overly stressed if not.. because the worst that can happen is that Sr COURT and I will go back down to the South. It may be a little embarrassing to say hello again after a week of passing by people's homes and saying goodbye... BUT I love the South, and they probably all think I'm nuts anyway.

We had a baptism Saturday night in Port. It was actually one of our amies who lives in the South, but her family lives in Port, and therefore she goes to church over there every weekend. She's in her late 60s, early 70s and is one of the most stylish old ladies I've ever seen. She was SO excited to be baptized.. and courageously bore her testimony afterwards. It was beautiful.

Sr COURT and I were warmly welcomed back to St Denis yesterday by all of the branch members at church. (in which we then had to explain, that we may or may not be here for only one week). We've prayed and made the decision to focus on finding new investigators this week. We want to walk and contact, as well as focus on "porting" as much as possible. We are both fired up with enthusiasm.. I'm excited to see what we will accomplish in one week.

We miraculously found a copy of "The Sound of Music" down here... so today, we're getting all of the Elders together in our area.. and will pass the afternoon away with crazy old "Maria" (whom I blame for putting the desire in me to become a nun when I was young... well at least until I found out that it was a completely different religion.)

Again, it was SO nice to talk with you all. I loved all the questions and random comments.. it made my heart yearn for you. It also helped me remember that the last day of my mission will come.. so I've just got to buckle down, focus and work hard right up until the end. I hope you had a nice Mother's Day. Love you all. My prayers will be with you this week.
Until Monday,
Sr Merkley.

Christmas- Part II

2009-05-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

oops. I forgot some of the Christmas recap- here's the rest...

Kate was always talking about letchis, and they mention Christmas towards the end, so I included it here...

"How can you be anything but low down saggy and blue? sad but true..." I know it's a bit random, but it's been in my head all week long‏

2009-05-04T08:15:00.000-07:00

What a week. We had a Zone Conference, then a fireside, interviews with President Gaya, a hike which lasted 12 hours, transfer calls and Alice's baptism!

The hike we did was with all of the missionaries, as well as President Gaya (who had organized it) and a few members. The three of us girls had spent the night at President Chion Hocks house, who lives really far up in the mountains. It was beautiful and peaceful. I think I could've spent all day up there.. unfortunately, we weren't able to even spend half of the day up there, or even a quarter of the day.. our wake up call was for 3am, and our "everyone out the door and into the car" call was for 3:30am. Sr Chion Hock was nice and had laid some things out for us to eat; chocolate crossiants, and hot chocolate (very typical French breakfast). It was fun to change up the setting and sleep over somewhere else, even if our sleepover was cut a bit short due to the early departure. Sr Gray and I shared a bed.. I couldn't help but think of the many, many sleepovers we've had as sisters.. or the big sleepover we have every Christmas Eve. haha

The hike wasn't extremely hard.. it was just LONG. It was "piton de neige", which is the highest point on the island, so high in fact that you can occasionally find snow on top. We didn't make it to the top, but did however reach a little cabin two hours from the top where we could sit and eat lunch. It made me laugh because the group I was in took lots of breaks and went at a fairly slow pace.. so the rest of the group had been at the cabin for a good amount of time before we arrived; and of course, 10 minutes after having arrived, they told us that it was time to pack up and head back down, in order to get to our cars before dark. I'm surprised the look of death that we had on our appalled faces didn't kill them all instantly.

We did have enough time however to use a bathroom that wasn't a little hidden bush, and eat our smashed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; and in the end, they were right. We couldn't have stayed long. Because although we descended faster than we had come up, the sun was still faster; we spent the last hour walking in the darkness, hovered around the two or three flashlights available. (unfortunately I was more concerned that morning with my hot chocolate than preparing ourselves with flashlights!)

It was funny to watch how our moods changed throughout the hike.. at first we were excited, and cautiously walking around the mud on the trail.. then we started getting tired, eating lots of trail mix, and still happy.. then we started getting really tired, laughing at everything, still eating trail mix.. then we began laughing because we were so tired (after 8 or 9 hours of walking), but halfway laughing to avoid crying since we no longer had trail mix nor water.. then we began to just walk, whether we stepped in a huge mud pile or not.. just determined to finish. haha.. we were filthy and exhausted, and have felt like old women all week due to our sore legs. We had SO much fun though. It will be a sweet memory of mine, for a long, long time.

Speaking of sweet memories.. Alice's baptism was so wonderful Saturday night. I was impressed with how many members and investigators came. She bore her testimony at the end.. and just glowed. It was one of the happiest moments on my mission.

Transfer calls hit us the same night as the baptism. Sr Court and I will be moving back up to St Denis (keep sending letters to the Belvedere address). Sr Gray will be with a mini missionary from port, and will stay here in the south. I'm really sad to leave the south; I feel sad leaving Sr Gray as well (we've been together since December). However, I'm excited for Sr Gray to have this opportunity. This will be her first time as a senior sister, and I think she will simply blossom. Life is full of changes, and like Pres Monson said in Conference, "our future is as bright as our faith". I feel determined to finish strong, whether here or in St Denis. I do feel very grateful, and humbled by the opportunity I've had to work in this branch, and meet the people I have.. it's been wonderful.

Some other random stuff (which I'm not sure how to put into a creative story.. so I'll just tell ya) Sr Fillerup will end her mission this week. Her parents are flying out to get her.. will you send me her home address? Did you guys ever get the pictures I sent you? They should be there this week. AND I learned how to make quiche this week. yay. I can't wait to talk to you all. I will call you Monday morning (for me) Sunday night (for you).

So much love, have a great week!!!
xoxo
Sr Merkley

Christmas Recap

2009-05-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

We finally got a CD of pics from Kate!!

And LOTS of 'em too. I'll try to get everything posted before she gets back in mid-June.

The following is the recap of her Christmas, according to my best abilities to figure out the chronology on her CD...

Riding through the mud but still smiling‏

2009-04-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

Winter has arrived. I found myself breaking out my black sweats and shawls this week (not worn together obviously).. and the most important winter item..(drum roll please) my favorite blue hoodie which has been nearly to the moon and back during the past 5 years, thus holding the title of my favorite jacket. The sleeves are practically held together more by my own stitch work than the original seamstress.. but I am proud to say that good ol' blue is still kickin' and despite all of the holes, is still keeping my now "spoiled to nice island temperature" body warm. It's rained nearly all week long. The people here don't like it at all.. I love it, and do my best to hide my obvious contentment when the thunder clouds start rolling in.

The weather made for an interesting branch activity this last Saturday, which was a bike ride near the ocean. Luckily there was a break in the rain during the morning hours we ended up riding; however, that did not protect us from all the mud it had created. I almost felt like we were in a video game, steering quickly left and right, trying to dodge the huge puddles; which no one knew how deep they were until you were half way through it! There was one part of the trail which went underneath a bridge, the water accumulated was so deep that as we pedaled through, our feet were completely under water. As my bike became more and more submerged, I got scared that I wouldn't have the strength or maybe the balance to make it to the other side. Yet, we all made it through.. bikes, riders, stinky wet shoes and all. There are surprisingly many people that cycle here; next to soccer, I'd say it's the next biggest sport on the island. It's been a long time since I've ridden a bike and found it refreshing.

Speaking of things I haven't done for a while.. this week we made pancakes! We practice English with one of the less active members in the branch, and after our lesson Thursday, she asked us if we could help her learn how to use a packet of pancake mix that she had received from one of her friends who lives in the U.S. We were thrilled to see pancake mix, along with raspberry syrup next to it! It was fun to watch this member make the pancakes, and compare them to crepes.. she even got her experimental pants on and put chocolate chips in some of them. Another night this week, we made fajitas for some of the members. It's fun to exchange recipes and traditions with each other.

One cultural tradition I have not yet learned to master, is the oriental art of origami. Unfortunately I didn't realize how terrible I was until Wednesday night when we had planned to teach the youth in the ward a thing or two about origami (for our weekly youth activity). Luckily, Sr GRAY knew how to make a box. The only thing I know is the fortune teller mom taught us to keep us quiet during church.. which to my surprise, every other parent in the world has apparently done the same thing (they all knew how to do it already). We had a few papers explaining how to make some birds and frogs.. but the instructions were difficult, especially in French. Although no real masterpieces were revealed, we still had a lot of fun trying, and laughing at our deformed paper swans. One of the girls (from Madagascar) brought a drink for all of us to try. It had corn and coconut milk in it, and was served hot.. it was really, really good.

While teaching seminary this week, one of the aunt's of a young member in our branch played us some songs on her clarinet. She knew a few songs by the Pretenders and Nat King Cole.. it was so much fun to listen to her. It reminded me of the good ol' days when Lucy and I used to be in band. Her aunt isn't a member, but agreed to come (with her band) to our branch talent show on the 15th to play a few songs for us.

Tomorrow we have a zone conference with Pres and Soeur GAYA. Also, the first Mission President who served in the Indian Ocean (around 1988) and his wife have come down to visit for two weeks, will also be attending. The couple will be staying in our apartment in ST Denis, so tonight we will be staying with Pres Chion Hock's family. (Sleepover! We're so excited to have a change of scenery.. we're even bringing "Phase Ten".. and don't worry, my blue hoodie is comin' too.)

Hope you're all doing well. Love you, and have a nice week. Thanks for all you do.. I miss you.
SR MERKLEY

"somebody's poisoned the water hole."‏

2009-04-20T08:25:00.000-07:00

No adventures of eating hedgehog this week.. but I did eat a fried fish that still had the head and eyeballs in tact, as well as all of the fins and tail. The first few bites were a little challenging, as I found myself battling with the nearly transparent bones.. but as the meal progressed, I put my fish eating pants on, and figured out how to eat around the bones, and straight to the meat.

Honestly, what has happened to me? I remember the time when I couldn't even tolerate the smell of canned tuna (not that it's hard, that was only 15 months ago.. haha). I continue to be dazzled by the food here. So much diversity. So many different textures and tastes that I've never experienced before. This week we also tried a new pasta and vegetable dish (a Chinese recipe), a rougaille goyuava, and another "whole fish, straight out of the ocean" plate that was decorated in this styrofoam looking pasta and sweet and sour sauce. During the next few days we have a few rendezvous with people where we will be teaching them all about fajitas.. I doubt they'll have the same stars in the eyes, but we'll do our best to give a good show.

It was Soeur Court's birthday on Wednesday. We put notes up all over the house, and made her a fruit salad for breakfast. We were touched to see the elder's and other member's of the church send text messages, make calls, and surprise her with birthday cakes. Later that night we ate dinner with some members in our branch. Their sister (who currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee) was there with her four year old daughter. Her sister has lived in the U.S. with her American husband for 11 years now.. it was weird to talk about things like Spongebob Squarepants, or which fast food is better Burger King or Wendys. It was even more weird to hear the little girl speak English; I'm pretty sure it's the first child I've heard speak English in the past year. Soeur Gray loved her southern accent.

We began watching General Conference yesterday. We didn't have to wait two months like the last time, because instead of watching it on a DVD sent from the states, the district president downloaded it off of the internet. It worked great for the first session.. unfortunately for the second session ,there was a glitch and we were unable to watch it all. It mattered little to me, because I was practically on cloud nine.. I was so touched and so grateful to see the progress in my French over the past year. i.e... I finally understood what on earth was going on during Conference! YAY! It still demanded all of my concentration, but I felt so happy and grateful that I could understand the stories and the inspired ideas, regardless of the fast pace or refined vocabulary. Thank you for all of your prayers. It reminded me once again of mom's favorite quote.. "that which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but that our ability to do so has increased." I was a happy girl. To top it off, we all ate together afterwards.. and if you have forgotten how much I love the food here, refer back to paragraph number one.

Alice is still doing well. She is going to start packing up her things for the big move this next week. I love and respect her so much. I'm inspired by her faith.

Missy and Ben, congratulations again for the good news about having a baby girl! It's exciting to see our family grow and change, and deepen in so many ways.
Have a nice week.
Love you.
Soeur Merkley.

"Can I get you the moon Mary?"‏

2009-04-14T08:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay. Yesterday nearly everything was closed due to Easter. We ended up not having time to do emails anyway, even if the library had been open.

Yesterday morning we met up with the elders in our district as well as some members of the St Pierre branch and some of our investigators and then drove up all together to Miot. Every year, all of the members on the island get together at Miot (a beautiful place in the mountains, which is close to the center of the island) to have a big picnic all together. Since we got there a little early, we drove up a little further and found an amazing look out point. We were so high up that the Indian Ocean looked so much bigger than normal; it was one of the moments where I remembered that we're on a tiny island. A few feet the other way, you could look over these huge cliffs into the hidden village of Moufat. As I looked over the edge, I was blown away by the view. I think it was one of the few times that I can remember literally having my breath taken away. (The other time I can think of is the time that Sare and I were camping in Guatemala, and being hundreds of miles away from city lights- I was stunned by the amount of stars in the night sky that I had never known even existed). It was BEAUTIFUL. And although I did my best to take some pictures for you, as usual, our manmade cameras did God's work little justice. (I'll show you the pictures when I get home anyway.. hehe).

The picnic was SO much fun. I loved seeing members from all over the island roll in.. so many memories, and so many friendships. The five hours we spent there didn't seem long enough. While the district presidency provided the meal, we were all asked to bring plates and silverware (which we ended up not bringing, and having to bum off another member in our branch) and a drink or dessert. I have NEVER seen so many cakes in all my life. After a fairly thorough round of cake tasting, I decided that there were two that tied.. a carrot spice cake, and than a white cake with apples in the bottom.

On our way back down we took one wrong turn and ended up practically taking a tour of the whole island..we were an hour and a half away from home when we got to the bottom of the mountain (which is alot since it take maybe 4 hours to drive around the entire island.. AND YES.. it was me that was driving. d'oh.)

After our little detour, we made our way up to Alice's house where we had a family home evening all together; we watched "WallE" (a Disney movie.. I think it came out a few months ago?) I'm not sure if you've seen it, or if you liked it.. BUT I LOVED IT. I loved the social commentary; I liked that there were hardly any words in it. It was creative and refreshing. Speaking of Alice...

We had a little obstacle this week with Alice in regards to her baptismal date for the 2nd of May. She lives with her ex boyfriend (who is currently dating someone else). There's NOTHING going on between Alice and him, so we figured that there were no problems with her boy roommate and her baptism. Yet we received a message from Pres Gaya this week explaining that she couldn't get baptized if she was living with him. We were nervous to talk to Alice about it. We didn't know how she'd react.. we hoped that she'd be positive about the news and still go through with the baptism. The three of us prayed and talked about how to present the situation. As we talked to her, I was SO impressed and touched by her faith. She told us, looking a little sad but ever so determined, "ok, well, we'll find a solution." She went on to explain that she has already talked to him about moving out, but that she had stayed in their house, because his parents were paying for their rent, and because she has only just moved here and started her own business, that money is tight, and paying rent impossible. Sunday at church (after this whole conversation) she held up three of her fingers at me during one of the meetings with a huge smile, mouthing the words "three weeks until my baptism." She's amazing. We're all convinced that the blessings will start pouring in now because of her faith and obedience. I feel so grateful to work with her; she's become a special and dear friend to us. She's already talked with some members that have opened up their house to her until she can get her feet on the ground.

We had a long day of porting Easter afternoon.. which means... lots of fun people, and crazy experiences. I think my favorite is when this lady offered us cooked hedgehog. Soeur Court loved it. I thought it was edible. Soeur Gray about died due to the grotesque taste. She ended up spitting nearly every 15 seconds for the next 45 minutes (whether we were in the middle of talking to someone or not). We laughed and laughed, because she really played it up (one time even lying down on the street as though she were literally dying). We asked 2 or 3 different people for water. A hedgehog taste could still be found, which apparently could be detected "all the way down into (her) throat" by this point. Then, because of all of the water she drank, we ended up having to ask a random lady to use her bathroom. Finally, I asked some other random lady (few houses down) if we could have some juice, or coke.. anything really.. she laughed as we explained that it was because we had just eaten some hedgehog. Although it is a traditional creole dish, the woman told us that she didn't like it either. (then ended up not only offering us juice, but lamb as well.. hehe). It was a really fun Easter. The three of us laughed so much; it was nice, because alot of people were home and with their families.. available to talk (and offer us juice, or Sr Gray's case, a remedy).

Hope you all had a great Easter weekend. We get to watch conference next week! yay! We're doing well... OH and thank you SO much for the Easter package. I loved it. Everyone enjoyed the candy. Thankyou.
So much love,
Sr Merkley.

Joyeaux Pacques

2009-04-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

We were a little surprised to hear our older amie (at least 70 years old) tell us that she preferred to be independent and make the 40 minute walk to church on Sunday rather than having a member come and pick her up. In her thick creole, she explained that she wanted to make a sacrifice, and now that she knew the way (having been there twice) she had no excuse but to walk. We told her that we'd be happy to walk with her, and designated 8am to be our meeting time. Unfortunately, when we got to her house Sunday morning at 8:03 am, that stubborn ol' bird had already left without us. (a woman of my heart).

Her two young grandsons (12 and 9 years old) were there and wanted to come to church, so we ended up walking down to church with them, practically choking on the dust that their speedy grandma had left behind. I was happy to hear that while walking to church, their grandma had run into a family in our branch that were walking to church as well; I was even happier to hear that our amie told them all about how she's in the middle of praying about May 16th for her potential baptismal date. (yay!) Sr GRAY and I had fun walking with the boys; they both had a nice time at church and asked us afterwards, "can we come back again next week?" We have an activity tonight with all of the branch, and one of the members has already been designated to go and pick this family up. The members are GREAT here. Very welcoming and supportive. This is why I was thrilled to hear that Sr Gray and I will be staying here for another few weeks!!

We received transfer calls this week, and although we had anticipated going back up North, the assistants surprised us and said that Sr COURT will be coming down south after Sr TUAHIVA leaves Tuesday. We'll be in an equipe of three again for a few weeks, and then if all goes well, we will have a young member from Port (an area 30 minutes from St Denis) coming to do a "mini mission" with us.. in which two of us will then stay here, and the other two will go back up north. We'll see how everything plans out; nothing ever seems to play out like we originally planned.. but either way, I'm happy that we'll be able to stay down here for a while longer with Alice, our cute church walkin' grandma (Mme PICARDO) and the wonderful members of St Pierre.

One of the members in our branch gave us a lesson this week on creole cuisine. On Wednesday night, it was my designated night to cook for a group of 10 people. SO, I did my best to follow his directions in making a "cary poulet". It was surprisingly much easier than I had anticipated. I was grateful for the opportunity to just get my hands in there and make it, because I understand alot better now, and will be able to make it for you guys much easier when I get home. It turned out pretty good. The member who was teaching us was really nice and patient; he told us to just try things out and see what happened, because that's "the best way to learn anything".

We have two new missionaries among us that flew in Friday. Because we are at such a shortage of missionaries here (down to 18, 16 on Tuesday) President GAYA sent over two of his missionaries from Madagascar. Elder Bell from California, is now in our district in St Pierre. He's really nice, and took some french in high school and is doing great to just jump in and get to work. I'm sure he's feeling a little overwhelmed.. it sounds like things over there are polar opposite. It's been interesting to here about the riots in Madagascar, as well as the people and their receptiveness to the gospel, their homes and language.. The other Elder is actually from Sandy, and went to Brighton. I haven't met him yet, but he knows Meg (what a surprise). These two Elders will stay with us for three months before their visas wear out.. hopefully by that time, we'll have a few recruits.

Things are going really well. I feel happy. I feel more and more stable and at peace as time moves on. Thanks for all that you do. Hope you have a nice Easter.
So much love,
SR MERKLEY.
PS.. Thanks again for the cd that you sent me for my birthday. I listened to it this morning as we cleaned the house, and it made me feel so close to you.

Karma

2009-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Karma.
Apparently it works just as well here as it does in the States. As you may remember, last week I had a good time laughing at Sr Gray's experience of burning the washcloth while cooking lasagna for one of our amis. Yet as Karma so predictably sings to us "what goes around comes around", it was Sr Gray's turn to laugh at me this week as I burned one of the member's sons pair of pants.

Thursday afternoon, a member asked us to come up and help her with her four laundry baskets full of ironing which needed to be done. Three shirts and a few pair of pants were pressed by me, no harm done. I then made the mistake of turning the heat up and also choosing a pair of pants made out of this crazy material. The poor thing didn't stand a chance. Within seconds of my hot iron touching them, they were smoking.. leaving a huge hole and brown color where this "crazy material" used to be found. I then looked up with the most apologetic face I could muster, luckily to find our member just laughing. She told me not to worry about it. I told her to tell her son it was Sr Gray, or put a picture of my face in the hole of his newly styled pants, so that he could remember who it was that had taken the initiative to restyle them. This may have been a good idea.. too bad I don't have a picture of my face big enough to fill the ginormous hole. Sorry again kiddo. Who knows maybe I did this woman a favor; for I highly doubt that he'll allow anyone else to even touch his clothes for a while.. I might've been the one who liberated her from years more of her sons ironing to do.

Where I found that I might not have a black belt in ironing this week.. we discovered a new talent that Sr Gray has.. that is, the talent to sound like a parrot. We ate lunch with one of our amies Wednesday, who happens to own a parrot. Every few seconds, he's making some type of noise. Sr Gray found him really funny, and while our amie was in the kitchen getting things ready, Sr Gray began repeating whatever kind of squawk he made. As if this wasn't entertaining enough, our amie then began telling him from the kitchen to be quiet, which made up laugh even harder because the parrot had stopped making noises and it was now Sr Gray doing all the squawking.. so in reality, our amie was telling Sr Gray to be quiet. We laughed and laughed.. then did our best to stop laughing. After minutes of this game, Sr Gray smiled at me, and I told her that I wanted to try. Of course, the first attempt that I made.. our amie came out in the middle of my heavy squawk and she then realized that it had been us all along making all of the annoying, repetitive noises... we were busted.

Morals of the week.. don't laugh at people when they burn kitchen rags, otherwise you're destined to burn people's pants, and get caught acting like a parrot.
All in all, it was a great week. Expect some changes in the next few weeks.. Sr Tuahiva leaves next Tuesday. Stay tuned..

Hope you're all well. I love you.
Sr Merkley.

Scenic Shots, by Kate

2009-03-26T15:22:00.001-07:00

This is the last of the pics until Kate sends us some more- enjoy!

Sr Gray's first St Patricks day.‏

2009-03-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

I thought that after serving with Sr Gray everyday for 3 months now, I knew her fairly well. However, I realized Tuesday that she had a secret just waiting to be discovered. She's not English at all.. in fact, it was St Patrick's Day Tuesday that helped me recognize that she's actually full on Irish, green blood at all. She wore green earrings, green bracelets, a green vest, and dress. She even made a hair tie out of green spools of thread. She used her green scripture case, to carry around all of her green pens and markers. To top it all off, she found a bright green umbrella to walk around with all day long. So, maybe calling her Irish is a bit of an exaggeration.. but I tell you what, with her first celebration of this Irish holiday she has put my 22 years of celebrating to shame. Grandma Shirley would've been proud of her.. and for me for proudly standing next to her all day.. even with the green umbrella.

Unfortunately, all of the green wearin', St Patrick's Day celebratin' did not entitle us to any luck in the kitchen. Wednesday night, we made lasagna for some ami's who were eager to learn some new foreign recipes. Sr Gray had enough luck, in the sense that the meal turned out GREAT... but not so lucky in the sense that the wash cloth she set down on the stove was too close to the cooking hamburger and ended up catching on fire. Luckily, our ami was close by and realized the growing fire.. I'm not sure how, but Sr Gray and I hadn't noticed the ball of fire, nor the smell of something on flames. We quickly put it into the kitchen sink. Nothing else burned, but it was definitely ruined. Our ami just laughed and laughed.. I realized then, that Sr Gray looks just as good in a blushing red than she does in her green.

Friday morning (6am to be precise) Sr Gray and I drove up to St Denis to work out some paper work at the prefecture. Afterwards, we drove out to St Marie to clean up the new chapel, and get it all ready for the open house we would have the following day. After cleaning for a few hours, Sr Gray and I went out to a specific area in town and knocked on door after door, inviting people to the open house. I think we were out there for close to 4 or 5 hours.. we were drained by the end of the day, but felt really satisfied by our efforts.

To top the day off, we had the Relief Society commemoration to attend in the evening (don't worry, we went home and showered first). The activity was SO much fun! All of the women members got together (Relief Society and Young Women) and we had a fashion show. Many of the women had made their own clothing. It was cool to see the different array of costumes and traditional dress wear; some of the different cultures included Chinese, Indian, African, Spanish and French. Many of the women would come in dancing as they presented their clothing. One of the older women (in her 80's) even got up and started dancing. It was such a neat activity. We all had a great time.

Saturday morning until Saturday night, all of the missionaries on the island were with the members of St Marie at the new church for the open house. It was SO cool to watch us all come together and greet the visitors. Sr Gray and I spent all day on the main road in town, which is right next to the church. We talked with SO many people, inviting them to come in and take a tour of the new church. There was one young man who we talked to that said that he had a couple minutes to go and look around; 30 minutes later, he came out with a Book of Mormon, and said that he had had a nice visit. We talked to another man who ended up taking a tour, then took some brochures to his friends who couldn't come. Later on, we saw him two different times talking with people on the road telling them about the open house. Talking with people on the road is one of my favorite things to do..people are so fun and interesting to talk to. Sr Gray and I had an amazing time, and once again went home feeling exhausted, but very satisfied. We made the two hour drive home that night.

Alice (our 25 year old amie who we've been seeing 2-3 times a week, and whom we did the hike with a while ago) sent us a text today, and told us that she wants to be baptized the 2nd of May! We had a great rendezvous with her yesterday and we talked openly about baptism. The Spirit was really strong. She told us that she knew certain things were true, and that she was going to pray about a baptismal date. One of the elder's amis is getting baptized this Friday, so Alice will come to see how it is all done. We are SO excited. She's become a dear friend. I feel so humbled, and grateful to be able to work with her.

Today we had a zone activity with all of the missionaries and President and Soeur GAYA. We drove to Cilaous and hiked for at least 4 hours! It was so refreshing.. I can't believe how much I've missed hiking. Cilous is gorgeous, so green, so hidden. The mountains were enormous and seemed to just swallow us up.

Things are going great. I think about you alot.. whether it's dressing up for St Patrick's Day, watching old women dancing, or spending all day in the mountains.. hope you're all doing well.
Love you.
Soeur MERKLEY

Domestic Skills

2009-03-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hear ye, Hear ye.. I have learned to make tortillas. That's right. I felt somewhat of a contributor to society after having learned to make crepes.. but this week, my domestic skills stepped up a bit, as Soeur Tuahiva taught us to make tortillas from scratch. Of course.. there's not much to a mixture of flour and water.. but I am still happy to come home with another recipe for you all. (But don't let the simplistic of ingredients fool you, it does have to be stirred just the right way, and the two ingredients must be added at just the right time, otherwise, you will have a complete disaster. Don't worry, I'll show you all my secrets when I get home. haha)

Wednesday night the six of us missionaries (assistants included) put on quite the production for all of the local people buying ice cream at LGM. We had just finished buying ice cream ourselves, when Sr Gray and I went to get into our car, and realized that our battery had died, and are car refused to budge. So the elders, pushed us out of our stall.. then down a hill (which we were hoping would get us started.. but unfortunately it did not). We then stopped on a far off corner of the parking lot and realized that we had an acid build up about the size of tortilla-making ego. The elders stood around the open hood of the car, and tried finding stuff to scrape the acid off with. As they scraped and brainstormed of other tools they could possibly use.. the crowd of ice cream eating civilians grew. Wow. I wish I would've known this tactic of gathering people months ago! Eventually, one of the elders remembered that they had jumper cables, and they were able to start our poor little car up and going. The next day we took it into the shop and had the battery replaced. I think as we pulled away, I heard the faint sound of an applause.

Other happy events of the week... We had a nice evening with one of our amies (the same one who we went hiking with last Monday). She's still understanding and reading really well.. it's exciting to watch her transformation and progression. Thursday night we went up to her house and after our lesson, we ate dinner together. I'm not sure why.. but Sr Gray and I were on another one of our laughing fits, and would break into the giggles about every other topic of conversation. Fortunately, Alice is about the same age.. with a very similar sense of humor.. we all get along great. She came to church yesterday, and will be coming to our branch Family Home Evening tomorrow night.

Sr Gray and I also went to the sewing morning, with the Relief Society. I only got REALLY (vocally) frustrated once.. definitely an improvement. I long to see the day where my sewing skills will be able to rightfully compete with my crepe making skills.. until then, I'll just have to keep wearing my crookedly sewn top, and learn to bite back the frustrated grunts and comments like "this is why, I hate sewing!.."

Today we are going to meet up with a family whom we are really close to in St Marie. It's their vacation time, so they are driving down to spend time with us at the beach. AND speaking of St Marie, the chapel's open house will be this Saturday. Pres and Sr Gaya will be flying in for the commemoration. We'll be up in St Denis all weekend.

I hope you are all doing well. Thanks for the prayers and letters. I know I say that nearly every week.. but it's just as sincere as ever. I love you guys. Have a great week! AND happy St Patrick's Day Tuesday!! (Sr Gray and I have already picked out our green clothes, and have made a shopping list of things we need in order to eat green food all day long!)

XOXO.
Sr Merkley.

Friends made...

2009-03-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Conference, waterfalls..‏.

2009-03-09T16:09:00.000-07:00

As I went to unlock the door Friday night, I couldn't help but notice that our key was not on our keychain. Trying to find some logic in all of this, I looked at Sr Gray and asked, "why wouldn't our house key be on the keychain, when all of our other keys are?" Her face than quickly mimicked the one I had, while replying, "I have no idea." We then did the "search frantically through our bag" dance.. unfortunately, our dancing led to no key.
We searched the car. No key.
We looked in the parking lot. No key.
"Ok.. ok.. let's retrace our steps a little.." Sr gray proposed. After a few minutes of thinking, she had the idea to go back to the church and look around. On the way to the church, we thought of back up plans of what we could do if no key was found.. first on the list was to go to McDonalds and buy some dinner (I already had a cheeseburger and ice cream crumble picked out). We searched the church, and eating dinner at McDonalds still looked as though it'd be our next destination. So back out to the car we went, and lo and behold, guess what we found in the parking lot? THE KEY! I'm not sure how, but it must've fallen off randomly! We quickly went home, opened the door, and were happy to lay our rifled through bags down. It was an answer to the prayer (even though I wouldn't have minded still eating that ice cream crumble).

We had an AMAZING district conference yesterday with all of the members on the island. Sr Gray and I participated in the choir. We all sang so loudly that I could hardly hear myself singing. It reminded me of when all the missionaries would sing together in the MTC. After this conference, all of the missionaries had a zone conference with Pres and Sr Gaya, and Elder and Sr Parmley (a general authority, who is over the Africa South East mission, in which we belong). It was so inspirational. Once again, I was reminded of the MTC.. feeling as though I could go out and take on the world.

It was fun to hear about what the rest of the Africa South East Mission is doing. They talked about the DR Congo, and how the Church has just taken off. They are wanting to break up one branch into two wards, because people are getting baptized so quickly. They told us that although the church is still not in Sudan, there are 9 "branches" who have somehow found the Book of Mormon, looked up information about the Church, and have organized themselves as though the church has been established there, even though NONE of them have been baptized nor received the priesthood. Sr and Elder Parmley continued to tell us that things are just getting started.. how exciting to be a part of it all.

This morning we went on a beautiful hike (which ended with a waterfall at the end) with one of our amies, and a few members. It was fun to talk and hangout. They were all in their 20's, so it was really laid back, and it felt as though we were all just a bunch of friends. It's still amazing to me that we can have conversations in french. wow.

Well, things are going great. Still no word of new sisters coming. There should be four elders coming by June.. all of which will be going to Madagascar. We're not sure if any more sisters will be coming here by the time that we leave.. it'll be interesting to see how things turn out. It sounds as though less and less Soeurs are being let into Africa, especially Soeurs whom are not native. Guess we'll see.. but until then, I'm going to keep on working hard, singing my heart out, and doing my best NOT to loose the keys again.

Have a nice week!
With so much love,
Sr Merkley

Kate and kiddies

2009-03-05T10:42:00.000-08:00

Angels and divine help.‏

2009-03-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week full of lots of service projects. We had a few different mornings filled with heavy gardening and lawn work. It's always fun to work really hard though, and feel that the people have enough confidence in us to ask for help. One was this old creole man, whose wife is blind and he's left with all the yard work himself. We pulled jungle type weeds for at least two hours. He was very grateful though, and even invited us to eat us to eat lunch with him. He didn't have enough chairs for all of us (we were with two other missionaries), so he humbly sat on a nearby cement step. His humility and generosity was really touching. We didn't finish, but will be going back this next Friday. Saturday we did service for this old woman who is friends with some members in our branch. She was like a cute old grandma you'd see in the movies.. she even tried to pull out some money and give it to us at the end.. we politely refused her money, but told her that we'd come back if she needed more help.

Tuesday was pancake day.. which, like boxing day, is alot more fun when you have a companion who's from England and actually celebrates this holiday. To start off, we made crepes for the other missionaries in our district, and made sure to place a little UK flag in before bringing them over. We then preceded to eat crepes (in the US we say crepe, in the UK they apparently say pancake.. hmm.. you learn something new everyday, eh?) for breakfast AND lunch. As exciting as this was, it wasn't the only thing that made this day quite so unforgettable. We actually had a few miracles...

In the morning, we were supposed to pick up a member, who was going to work with us.. the only problem was that she lived in a city we didn't know NOR had a map for. We did our best to call and ask for directions, but only understood a few key words. So, we just drove out there, and hoped that things would turn out. When we got into town, Sr Gray asked a random lady if she happened to know where this street was, "by coincidence" she happened to live on the same street, and said that we could follow her. So we hung tight as she went and got into her nearby parked car, then she drove for a good ten minutes, making turns that we would've NEVER made.. and eventually, we found ourselves driving up a field of sugar cane.. which happened to be the exact tiny road that we needed. The kind woman stopped when she reached her house, and told us that if we kept going straight, that we'd eventually find it on the left.

We felt confident that we could find it from there, but just to tell us more clearly that He was there, God provided us with another so called "coincidence". Two men happened to be working on telephone lines just outside this woman's house. They asked us who we were looking for, then told us that they had a list of ALL the people that lived in this area, and that they could take us directly to this member's home. So, we followed these men a few minutes further up the road.. and voila. We found her. Sr Gray and I laughed so hard by how obvious it was that we had been led. We got a little teary eyed as we laughed, and felt so strongly the Lord's presence.

The OTHER miracle happened a few hours after this one.. Sr Gray and I were crossing the street on foot, and were half way across the crosswalk when we saw a car coming fast.. we didn't think she was going to stop. And well. She didn't. This woman actually smacked right into Sr Gray. It happened so fast, and still can't believe that it did. But I just looked at Sr Gray who had a similar expression of shock on her face, then she grabbed my hand, we told the driver that she was fine, then walked to the nearby sidewalk. She had no scratches, bruises, or bumps. Honestly, I have NO idea how she didn't fall over. It was a miracle that she wasn't hurt. We immediately, right there on the sidewalk, said a prayer and said thank you. The thought that came immediately to my mind, was your prayers. THANK YOU. I know that there were literally angels with us. Never doubt or underestimate your prayers. I can't really explain it, but there have been times where I have been able to tell that someone was praying for me.. sometimes I even know who it is. Thanks.

Pres and Sr Gaya came in this week. We had our zone conference and interviews this weekend. It was nice to see them again.. they'll be back in a few weeks for the dedication of the church in St Marie (my old area). I gave the other Soeur missionaries, and Pres and Sr Gaya a copy of Sare's book.. all four of them were blown away AND so grateful. Thanks again for sending that Valentines package, I loved it. It was fun to watch everyone look so slowly and carefully over each painting.. Sare, it's beautiful. Anyway, things are going well. Don't worry, we're alot safer crossing the street now.. haha.. half the time, we're even linking arms.

Until next week my little love buckets..
xoxo.
Sr Merkley

Ward activities

2009-02-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

A trip to the waterfalls.‏

2009-02-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Last night Sr Gray and I were getting ready to go to bed when the Sisters from St Denis called us and told us that they had picked up a package for me at the post office. I knew it was from you guys and became SO excited. It didn't help that today we had a zone activity to go and see the waterfalls near the volcano! So there I was, last night at 10:30 pm.. with all this excitement and anticipation, and not sure what exactly to do with it. My mind wouldn't shut off as I thought about all that laid waiting for me in the next short 12 hours. "Go to sleep" I told myself. To which my mind then shot back in protest images of us at the waterfalls, or me looking ever so carefully over the pages of Sare's book (in the package).

I eventually found myself asleep, well, at least until 1am.. I then laid in bed for an hour.. until I finally decided that I had to get up and do something. This something, ended up being me eating an apple and writing in my journal in the other room. Around 3:30 am, I crawled back into bed, determined to give my tired self one last try.. it worked. And until 6:00am, I was out like a lamp.

Sr Gray and I excitedly got ready at 6:00 and met up with the elders in our district to drive out to an area near St Benoit and St Rose. The waterfalls were BEAUTIFUL. We parked near a beautiful rocky beach, where there where people fishing and taking out little boats. It was so incredibly green, that everywhere we turned seemed like the perfect place to take a picture. We played some games with all of the missionaries, then ate some baguette sandwiches.. and then.. the happy moment came where I received my valentines package! THANK YOU so much. It was such a thoughtful gesture. I've already looked through Sare's book twice, and have already made the list of who I would like to give the books to. Sare, they are stunning. Honestly, you have created something so beautiful. Thank you so much for signing them, and for sending several copies. (I especially liked the hand written note you sent.. thanks). The cards, the valentines, the candy.. all of it was so nice. Thanks. (hopefully I'll be able to sleep now..)

We had a bit of a slow week. We had lots of success with new investigators last week, but as we made our rounds to have our second rendezvous with them.. it seemed as though nearly every person ratted our rendezvous. So for this week, we have decided to organize all of the contact information we've received from people on the streets or from porting.. and we are going to go out and find them. We decided that God is only going to give us more amis who are interested in the message, when we show Him that we can take care of the ones He has already given us. It's proven to work too. Two days ago, we went back to a house where we had sung for an elderly woman.. and her daughter so happened to be there at the same time.. who so happened to meet with the sister missionaries a few years back. We will pass by her house for a rendezvous this week.. And hopefully, as we try again with all of our other amis (from this past week), they will be home, and we will be able to have another lesson with them. President and Soeur Gaya will be coming in this week. Our zone conference will be Saturday.

Thanks again for the letters and prayers.
Until next week,
Sr Merkley.

p.s. the book Kate is referring to is this one: A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief which can also be found HERE and hopefully soon HERE and HERE...

More missionary pics

2009-02-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

happy valentines day!‏

2009-02-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hey, we don't have as much time.. because we had a reservation.. and were a bit late. However.. this week was really great, and I'll do my best to sum it up for you with the time I have. Sr Gray and I have continued to do lots of porting. And by lots, I mean at least 3 or 4 hours of walking and porting and contacting every day. It's been really fun to walk as much as we have, and spend time talking with a variety of people. For example, yesterday we ran into this lady that was sitting down braiding her niece's black curly hair into tiny braids. It was hypnotizing to watch. We presented ourselves and talked about what we were doing here. They weren't interested in our message, but she did offer to do five or so braids on the side of our head... before we could adequately respond, there Soeur Gray was, with this random lady brushing through her hair. It was so funny. The lady was SO incredibly nice; we had a lot of fun talking as she beautified us.

Speaking of funny experiences, Sr Gray and I had a lunch appointment with the Elders in our district and our Relief Society president down here (who happens to be Pres Chion-Hocks sister). While we were there she was telling us about an activity we are going to do in our branch, which will teach us "what to do if you suddenly disappear". Its motive is to help us know who to call if someone goes missing, or what to do if we are kidnapped etc. It was a rather serious topic, but because of the extremely serious way it was presented, Sr Gray couldn't help but start laughing.. then when she looked up to see everyone staring at her, she couldn't stop laughing. I surprisingly found a way to keep my laughter in.. but I was definitely fighting it. I appreciate Sr Gray's fun personality.. It's a blessing to see how well we get along. She can really get me laughing.

All of our contacting and porting pays off.. as we teach lessons, and hear people say that they're interested to hear more, and that we can come back for a second lesson. One of which this week, was a cute couple who has been married for 15 years, and have two really cute kids. This couple is SO nice. He's a non practicing Catholic, and she used to be Hindu, but now believes very strongly in Jesus Christ. She has a group of friends that get together and pray every Thursday night; she's going to talk to them this week, and see if Sr Gray and I can come and participate one Thursday.

The other day, we did some porting in an farming area that looked and smelled exactly like Heber.. but as I turned around and saw the ginormous Indian Ocean I remembered that I was on the opposite side of the world. It made me miss you (family, and extended family) in such a tender kind of way.

We're working hard and getting a nice tan. Hope you all had a nice Valentines Day! (we tried making cookies for our neighbors, only to find that no one was home except for one couple, who told us flat out that they didn't want any. Three cheers for the Valentines spirit that has forgotten to pass by my house for the 22nd year in a row! haha) Have a great week.. sorry if I sound more rushed than normal.

xoxo.
Sr Merkley.

The Soeur Neubauer companionship

2009-02-13T14:33:00.000-08:00

Kate sure did seem to have a lot of fun with this companion- here are the more colorful clips and photos of their companionship together:

(Remember the post where she said they visited a lady's mom in the hospital? I can't remember which post it was, so I can't link back to it- if anyone else recalls the post's date or title, let me know...)

More hospital antics...

Sr Gray served here for 2 weeks. I've served here for 5. In other words, we don't know anyone.‏

2009-02-09T09:04:00.000-08:00

This week the weather screamed out that it was cyclone season. It was really hot, and then within a matter of hours the wind and rain would be beating heavily. One night we received a call from Pres Chion-Hock that we had to be in the house by 6 o'clock, due to the threat of a cyclone hitting. We were all excited, but then found our night of making Valentine cards with no cyclone actually coming, a little anti climatic. We had picked up Sr Tuahiva the night before at the airport, so it was nice to have a little extra time to organize the house and settle down a bit.

The next morning we had our Zone Conference. Pres and Sr Gaya are still stuck in Madagascar, so it ended up being a meeting with Pres Chion-Hock and all of the missionaries. It was a great conference though- we talked about the importance of working smart as well as working hard.

Afterwards, Sr Gray and I said goodbye to the soeurs, and made our way down to the south. The freeway here is the form of a large circle, going completely around the whole island. We took this road down to our new home Friday afternoon, but much slower than usual. Normally, you can drive a steady 110 km practically the whole way... yet this weekend, we were scooting a steady 50 sometimes 60km. The highway borders the coast, and so although no cyclone had hit.. the waves of the neighboring ocean were not ready to throw in the towel yet. For the first half of the drive, the waves continued to crash up against the walls of the freeway (we were about 25 feet or so above sea level). It was nuts. We had our windshield wipers going- not because of the rain, but because of the mist and the waves from the oceans. Although things were really wet, it was still hot.. so we drove with our windows down.. occasionally being sprayed with salty water. I'm glad that everyone was driving cautiously.. plus it was so beautiful, I didn't mind at all the increase in travel time.

The more south we headed, the calmer the waves began. As we looked out and saw a few surfers in the ocean, I knew that we were getting close to St Pierre. I had forgotten what a slower, more tranquil pace is down here. The Elders in the south happily greeted us as we pulled in, bringing over pie they had made as well as some other things we could snack on. (including marmite.. have you ever eaten that? It was my first time, and alot more salty than I expected! haha..) There are six of us down here as of now. Sr Gray and I; Elder Taae (from Tahiti), Elder Akubeze (England), Elder Cash (Utah), and Elder Rodriguez (Spain).

Not having any amis, and having no idea where to go... Saturday morning we got straight to work. We found an area, hoping it was ours, and started porting. After about 4 hours of talking with people door to door, we ran into some nice boys a little older than us that were setting up some things for a Hindu celebration. They told us that the following day they would be having a huge celebration, where men would be walking on hot coals. It was interesting to talk with them, and we were even more excited when they invited us to come and watch. After confirming three or four times that we could come, even though we weren't Hindu, we said our goodbyes and told them that we'd see them the following day. Luckily, the event was to take place during the same time as our dinner hour!

Sr Gray and I marched as confidently as we could the next day, through the crowds of people that had gathered for the event. We stood out like SORE THUMBS. If it wasn't the skirts and white shirts that gave us away, or our nametags, or white skin, it must've been Soeur Gray standing up on a fence post with my camera in hand taking pictures that clued everyone in that we weren't local. haha. Despite our obvious differences, everyone was very friendly to us. They helped us know where to go, and when to start recording things on our camera. I was touched by their acceptance.

In the center of the ceremony there was a large square filled with hot coals. I was at least 15 feet back, but could still feel the heat. At the four corners of the square, they had representatives of four gods. At the beginning, each god was offered fruit sacrifices. A group of believers (children and adults) came into the ceremony beating drums and dancing; this was followed by a few men walking on the coals. I thought it was amazing to see them so calmly walking on the steaming coals.. but was completely blown away when they did it more than once! The same few men walked over and over again. The last time they walked they danced on top of the coals, to the rhythm of the drums. I've never seen anything quite like it. The drums were so loud, I could feel the sound in my chest. It was exciting to observe so intimately a part of their culture. It all ended with a goat sacrifice. Sr Gray thought they were going to walk the goat over the coals, so she was still up on the fence post, filming the whole thing, as they took the poor little guys head off. It was quite the experience. I think my favorite part was when our friends from the previous night saw us while participating in all of this, and waved hello. I'm grateful to feel like we've already made some good relationships in the area.

We've talked with a lot of fun, and interesting, and hilarious people. Sr Gray, like myself, is terrified of dogs, which always makes for an interesting afternoon of porting (where there seems to be a growling dog every five feet). Transfers are always nice, because they make for new traditions, new ideas, and new beginnings. The branch warmly received us yesterday. And although we've come home absolutely exhausted the past couple of nights (as a result of walking nearly all day).. we are really, really loving it down here.

Hope you had a great week. Keep the pictures of baby Asher coming. haha.. I'm so grateful to be an aunt. I'm grateful to be a missionary. I'm grateful it was Sr Gray who saw the goat being killed, and not me.
With love,
Sr Merkley.

Day at the beach and then some...

2009-02-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

(I always think it's so cool to hear the French language in action- yes, I feel stupid 'cause I don't understand what the heck they're saying, but I'm proud to know that Kate probably does...)

hey asher!

2009-02-02T13:14:00.000-08:00

As the five of us missionaries waited for a meeting to finish up Sunday after church, we reminisced on TV classics such as Ninja Turtles, Doug, Magic School Bus, and The Chipmunks. We started playing a game to see who was the first one to come up with the theme song for each TV show. It was so funny. I was shocked when all of us broke out into the "Arthur" theme song.. we all knew it word for word. All that TV watching right after school, while eating chips and salsa, really paid off.

In this child-like theme of things, Sr Gray, Court and I were in the car Wednesday when we saw a chameleon crossing the street. There are lots of geckos on the island, but the chameleon are a bit more rare. As excited as we were, we couldn't just keep driving as though we hadn't seen it, so we flipped around at the nearest round point, and pulled over to the place where we had just seen this endangered species. Before I had even pulled up the emergency brake, Sr Court was out of the car with a large Malagash bag in hand chasing after the chameleon. The wise little reptile began running, so Sr Court ran after it. In fact, she ended up jumping into a ditch in hopes of catching in her bag. Don't worry, we didn't bring it home, nor did we hurt it in anyway.. but after five minutes of chasing after it, Sr Court did bring it over to the car so that we could take a closer look. It only bit her once.

We had two investigators come to church this week! One is a younger lady with the cutest little boy. She reminds me of someone I would be friends with before the mission. She's so cool.. I love meeting people that you feel like you already knew beforehand. The other amie is a Malagash woman. It's been interesting to teach her, because she speaks about as much French as we do.. and she can't read or write (even in Malagash). Luckily, we have some members which speak Malagash and can translate for us.. it's been something different for me though.. a new and fun challenge.

Pres and Sr Gaya were going to come over for a conference this week, but because of all of the strikes/problems in Madagascar, they are unable to take a flight over here.

We received transfer calls last night. Sr Tuahiva will be flying back from Mauritius Wednesday night. Then Friday, Sr Tuahiva and Sr Court will be staying in St Denis. Sr Gray and I will be going down south to St Pierre. I am excited to be in the south again.. the atmosphere is less busy, more tranquil, and more creole.. It'll be a nice change-up, although I am REALLY sad to leave this area. We've found alot of success in the past two months.. I love the people here so much. Still no word of other sisters coming in. Although, Sr Tuahiva will be extending her mission until April.. so that'll buy us some time.

Thanks for all of the letters/prayers. You can still send things to the Bellepierre address.. the assistant will be driving down to the south every week, so they'll be able to deliver my mail. Hope you're all doing well. Congrats again with baby Asher! YAY. Oh, and I got some pictures from Dan.. will you tell him thanks for me? He sent a couple from our camping trip (mom and dad).. it made me smile to think about. I laughed when I saw one of us falling off the log.

Until next week,
all my love.
Sr Merkley.

Working with members. Kids playing in puddles.‏

2009-01-26T10:01:00.000-08:00

"Are they still there?"

"I think so, let me check."

As soon as Sr Gray and Sr Court turned their heads from the door and towards the small gathering of neighborhood kids, half of them ran and hid, the other half started reciting their English phrases to us again.. "whats your names?".. "I love you"... and "good morning". As we spent the afternoon going from apartment to apartment looking for someone to teach, it seemed as though the neighborhood kids multiplied; I have never felt quite so popular. One kid kept yelling, "my name is crazy!" Although I thought he was really funny, I think my favorite one was the little boy who kept saying in his creole heavy English "you're beautiful." Hey.. now that's what I'm talking about. He can stick around.

Especially as we went from door to door having most people tell us that they weren't interested; and then there were those who we could hear, but pretended not to be home. At least we made some new friends though right? We didn't know what to do at first.. because these kids just kept following us.. but by the end we talked to them, which actually made them become a lot more timid, some of which ended up leaving. (although they were hiding out just one level above or below, still curiously watching our every move.. haha).

As we walked through the apartments of Bellepierre, we also ran into some kids that were playing in a nearby puddle which was the manifestation of our last big rain storm. I tried to overlook the fact that the puddle was filthy, and look at the scene as just a bunch of cute little kids.. but I couldn't help but laugh out loud, when the kids then got on their stomachs and started blowing on the wet pavement.. making gurgling noises, and some temporary bubbles... it was so funny.

We worked with two girls who live in Port this weekend, both of whom are preparing for their own missions. Their enthusiasm for missionary work was inspiring. It reminded me of all I did to prepare to be out here.. helping me to refocus and rededicate to working my guts out these last four months. It was there first time doing porting.. so it was fun to watch them nervously knock on the door, and testify their little hearts out. They had lots of questions; they were optimistic and curious.. It was literally a breath of fresh air for me. I loved it.

I've worked more with the members in this companionship than any other time on my mission. I think the fact that we can now have two companionships if we bring a member has been a good incentive for us to more actively ask for members to come out with us. It was intimidating for me at the beginning- I felt like they were too busy, and that I was bothering them to ask.. but I now have a new perspective. Although it helps us, and it helps our amis to have a member come to the rendezvous, I know that it also helps the members. It's fun to watch them get pushed out of their comfort level a little.. and then to hear them teach, and talk about how they've acquired their conviction of these truths.. it's so fun. The members leave the rendezvous exactly like us.. excited about what we talked about, full of ideas for the next rendezvous and activities we can invite them to, or things we can do for our amis. I wish I would've worked more with the missionaries more before I can out here. It's a natural environment to share your testimony, and as we've been instructed, it's in the sharing of our testimonies, that we discover them.

This week, we're going to try and make some traditional creole dishes. Keep us in your prayers.. it may be a little frightening. Oh, and this morning we found our keys had been on the outside lock of our front door, all night long. oops. no wonder people find us amusing to follow around. We're working hard, and are getting along well. I'm really happy.. and pray that you are too.

All my love,
Sr Merkley.

"Never say Never, whatever you do.."‏

2009-01-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

Well for an update on last week, the art museums were so much fun. By the time we got all of the shopping taken care of, and did our three hours of proselyting and such, we only had 2 hours.. but it was worth delaying our p-day to Tuesday! I hadn't realized how hungry I had become to slowly move my way around an art gallery. The first museum had lots of abstract African art, the second was filled with lithographs. I enjoyed looking through the second museum because it explained a lot of the history of the island.. battles with Africa, slavery, European colonization.. all very interesting.

As for today, our district was going to go on a hike to some nearby waterfalls.. unfortunately it has been non-stop raining yesterday, so we didn't have a chance to go this morning (we were worried about the safety of going out.. it's hurricane season again, so it can get raining, really hard). For a back up plan, Elder Bair (our district leader) went to the local video shop and checked out "An American Tale" AND "Fievel Goes West". Both films made me a bit nostalgic. haha.. I'm not used to watching that much TV.. I'm a bit worn out now.. buh. You know that feeling when you realize almost four hours have past by and you haven't really done anything? haha.. I hate that feeling. BUT it was really fun to spend time with all of the missionaries.. I was surprised that the big mouse that the created "the secret weapon" still scared me a little. I'm 22 years old.. you would've thought I had grown out of it.

We had so much success this week! We have five new amis, and taught 18 lessons. The three of us felt very excited as we made a review last night of the past week. Perhaps this success has been influenced by our efforts to branch out and talk to EVERYONE about why we're here. And by everyone, I mean even the Catholic nuns. Whenever we see the nuns walking by, we always make sure to wave.. I feel like although our avenues are a bit different, I can relate to them a lot better now. While I was in a rendezvous with a member, the other two sisters had gone out to talk to people on the streets, where they had run into some of our nun friends. They ended up talking to them longer than normal, explaining why we're here, and a brief summary of our message. It makes me happy that we have a good relationship with the other religions here. I'm continually impressed by the diversity as well as tolerance found here... it really is a very unique island. We also ended up talking to a Catholic priest this week as well. He was very friendly, and very professional. He introduced himself, and we told him what we were doing here. I was very touched by his kindness. As he walked away, I thought "yep. That's what a Christian is supposed to be like." I hope that I can always be as friendly as well as professional with leaders of other churches. Besides our few encounters with the Catholic church this week, what else can I tell you.. hmm..

I received a letter from Erica Stuhff as well as Lisa Best this week. It always makes me happy to hear from friends I've had since I had braces and secretly liked N'Sync. She's getting married the 19th of July!! If at all possible, can we make sure not to plan Disneyland for this time? let me know. It looks like the 9th of June will be my departing date.. I'll let you know as soon as I receive more information. I'm thinking that meeting up with Ben and Missy in France may be a bit stressful/unpractical, even though it would be REALLY cool. It may be cool to have them fly out for Christmas or some other holiday later on.. do what ever you all think.

Well, things are going really, really well. Sr Gray, Court and I are blossoming in our companionship.. every week our communication is more clear, our vision more united.. I'm really enjoying this transfer. I hope you all have a great week. Oh yeah.. I got sick of the blonde dye in my hair.. so one night when the Soeurs were asleep, the little devil on my left shoulder whispered too loudly that there were some lonely scissors on the oh too conveniently close shelf.. and so the story goes.. I ended up cutting a lot of my hair off. yikes. It's extremely uneven, yet can still go into a pony tail.. with the help of a few bobby pins.

Love you all.
Miss you, but am working hard.
xoxo.
Sr Merkley.

Visiting Silvie's Place

2009-01-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

These are pics to go with THIS POST way back in early October.

I surprisingly like Rochfort.‏

2009-01-13T08:37:00.000-08:00

Sorry if the delay of my email has put any one into a panic.. we've decided to take our P-day today instead of the typical Monday, because we've been dying to go to some art galleries downtown.. unfortunately, they are always closed on Monday. After emails, we will make our way down to "la rue de paris" and visit a few of the museums near by. We are so excited. Anyway, sorry for the confusion.. but don't you worry, I'm still alive and kickin.

President and Soeur Gaya were nearly all week. Sr Gaya actually worked with us Friday.. and by us, I actually mean me. And yes. I was terrified. Because there are three of us, we figured that it'd be more effective if one person went to the rendezvous with Sr Gaya, then the other two could spend the time visiting other people. I was the one elected to go with her, to a rendezvous we had in the bagatelle. Sr Gaya is so nice.. but the fact of teaching with someone that knows missionary work backwards and forwards, and who speaks impeccable french.. gave me just a tad of anxiety.
I prayed a lot the night before.. then a lot the next day.. and I can't remember the last time I ate my cereal that fast.. but I just couldn't sit still. I knew that we were going down to pick her up at 8am. So as I checked and rechecked my watch, I began psyching myself out with things that I could possibly mess up on, that would completely ruin the day. haha.. but as always, all my worrying was for nothing.

We picked her up at 8am. The 30 minute car ride with just the two of us, was surprisingly really natural and nice. (thanks Dad for making us ride with strangers on the ski lifts, in hopes of teaching us the art of carrying on a conversation. It paid off. I just kept on shooting off questions. haha). The rendezvous was amazing. Sr Gaya was very bold, and yet very, very sympathetic. Because she's closer in age to our amie, she could talk more comfortably about things like love and marriage.. and all that grown up stuff. I'm so grateful she came, and that I didn't mess anything up too bad.. haha.. I think her presence really helped our amie reflect about some things we've been discussing for months now. We can do hard and scary things.. and very often, we look back on it afterwards, and realize it was just our mind that was playing games with us.

South Africa has yet to send over new planning agendas for us. SO in the meantime, we've had to either erase our markings out of old planners, OR make our own. I've decided to go with the latter. I've found white paper to glue over the pages of my last agenda.. it's way ghetto.. but it's been a nice excuse to let my creative mind budge a bit. And it's a comfort to know that everything takes forever to get here.. not just the things mailed with "Sister Merkley" written on them. Speaking of which, I got a package from Kim and my old roommates from SUU this week. It was definitely a highlight. I loved hearing how they've been doing.

Yesterday we did some porting in a building which had a lot of Malagash people in it. Nearly everyone we talked to would open the door to us, and whether they told us that we could come back or not, they were VERY friendly to us. We felt very grateful. One family even fed us some of their Malagash style doughnuts that they were making. We scheduled four rendezvous for next week, just because of the people we talked to in the building.. it was amazing. One of the women we spoke to hardly spoke French, and with our thick accents it was nearly impossible to communicate. SO we said a prayer, and sang a couple of songs.. then fixed another rendezvous for this Saturday. Luckily, we have a lot of members that are Malagash that we can invite to come with us to teach. We're excited. I really love the Malagash people, and always feel a bit spoiled to have a chance to work with them.

We had an activity with all of the branches on Saturday. The activity was split up into two sections.. there was a pool and a game of soccer. The pool seemed fun.. but as missionaries we couldn't participate. (which is probably a blessing, because my shoulders are terrifyingly white, and I would've gotten cooked). However, the soccer game (with 30 men aggressively playing, and the scorching afternoon heat) didn't look to appealing either. So the three of us Soeurs, and an 18 year old girl (the one that was considering to a mini mission with us a few weeks ago), decided to play pitonk. Pitonk is a game similar to horseshoes, but with metal balls instead of horseshoes. Each of us had a thing that we would do, if we won. Sr Court and Leticha (18 year old girl) would have us run around the track once. Sr Gray had us play another game. And my bet was that if I won, we could sit in the shade for five minutes. Don't worry, Sr Gray and I won nearly every time.

Summer is just peaking for us. Letchi season is on its way out (it was two euros for a kilo today.. which is the highest it's been since early November). We're doing well, and feel grateful for the flood of potential amis we've been finding lately, as well as the huge support we've found from the branch. President Gaya asked me about what day I will be leaving the mission.. bah. It looks like it'll be June 9th. How does the 9th look for all of you? I got an email from Bishop Wadsworth.. will you tell him thanks for me?

All is well. Talk to you all next week.. hope you're happy and geared up for 2009.
Love you, so so much.
Soeur Merkley*

Pictures of Halloween

2009-01-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

Recap of Kate's Halloween. Click HERE for the original posting.

Have a great week! Can you believe its already January?!‏

2009-01-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

There are some advantages to working in two areas.. Two times the church activities. Double the teaching opportunities. Yet, there is also twice the responsibility. For example, we now are halfway living in two apartments (one located in each area).. which is twice the cleaning. We're not the best home keepers.. we either forget to bring toilet paper to one of the apartments, where we are then obligated to use cotton swabs found in the medical cabinet, AND I think three of four light bulbs have burned out this week.. which we haven't had time to replace. (which leads to some stumbling adventures in the middle of the night as I go to get a drink). We also have two cars, although we tend to use the one with a CD player and air conditioning a lot more.

AND we have two cellphones.. well, maybe I should say, we HAD two cellphones. Two weeks ago, we misplaced one of them.. we checked both apartments, both cars, all three of our bags.. alas, it is no where to be found. We officially declared our Nokia phone "lost" this week. This isn't the first thing we've lost in the past few weeks, and am positive it wont be the last; it's so easy to assume that Sr Court has everything, who assumes that Sr Gray has everything, who assumes that I have everything. Oh, the vicious cycle of assumption. haha... The assistants weren't too upset that we lost the phone however.. but I wasn't surprised to hear that another set of elders will be taking one of our cars. oops. But don't worry, these forgetful sisters have been told that we'll be able to keep our air conditioning and CD player.. as well as the other cotton swab filled, light bulb lacking apartment.

Happy New Years! Nothing overly exciting on my end. We spent the night with a few other missionaries. One of the elders made a really nice creole dish. We ate and talked.. then were home all ready for bed by 10:30 pm. The locals had fireworks at midnight, and I was completely zonked out. The next day, we had our Zone Conference with all of the missionaries on the island, as well as Pres and Soeur Gaya. The conference was really great; we spoke about New Years goals, and how to improve our planning, and the influence our clothing has on our behavior. After the conference, we had a bit of a talent show. We had anything from two elders singing the Aladdin/Jasmine duet "A Whole New World", to limbo. We also ate a galette des rois. Which is a traditional cake they eat here (usually on the first Sunday of the new year). They hide a little toy in one of the pieces of cake, and whoever gets the toy, is the queen/king. You may break one of your teeth, but at least you get to wear a cool paper crown (which so conveniently comes with the store bought cake). I found the toy! and Sr Court got second place in the limbo competition.. it was a fairly successful afternoon.

Last night we had forty minutes until the end of our dinner hour was over... SO we pulled out the "Book of Mormon character cards" Nikki gave me for my birthday, and we played that game that we play as a family (you know the one where you pull out a name and have to describe the character, then the second round you have to act it out, and third round you can only say one word.. then the other people have to guess?) I'm alot rustier with scriptural names than I'd like to admit.. it was still fun however.. we never did get to the third round, but would like to finish up sometime this week.

We have a new missionary, Elder Dummily, from France. He's so nice, and it's always refreshing to have a new face, and new set of ideas on the island. Still no sight of new soeurs coming. I got the most anxiously anticipated family newsletter this morning. Sr Gray read it to me in the car.. and, as always, it was hilarious. Thanks. Also, will you tell Sr Marquette Mansell and Tanya Martin and Garn Nibley thanks for their letters. I especially loved the ward newsletter Sr Mansell sent.. It was cool to hear about how everyone's doing (the missionaries on specific) and I was surprised with how many names were new to me.

All is going well. I'm excited about the New Year.. So many things will take place this year. I'll become an aunt, finish my mission, return to school... so crazy. Anyway, we're working hard. I appreciate your letters and prayers.
xoxo.
Sr Merkley.

More birthday pics

2009-01-01T21:19:00.000-08:00

Here's a photo sampler of Kate's birthday- sorry for the delay. Still trying to figure Picasa out...

I "wish you a merry christmas and a happy new year!"‏

2008-12-29T07:01:00.000-08:00

"Demain?"
"muffle muffle muffle"
"Attendez, Demain?"
"muffle muffle muffle"
And so the miscommunication on the cell phone goes.. I continued to ask the less active member, if his wife wasn't there, but would be there "demain" (tommorrow). Yet as hard as I closed my eyes in mere concentration, or used my left hand to plug my other ear.. I could not hear Frere Clain. SO I asked once again,
"Demain?"
In which he responded very loudly, and slowly,
"Salle de bain"... which for those who do not know this translation.. means that Soeur Clain was going to the bathroom. oops. Too bad that "tomorrow" and "bathroom" sound just about the same in French. I quickly said,
"oh, ok I understand.. I'll call a little while later."
As I hung up the phone, couldn't help but make a high pitched cry of complete embarrassment as I looked for the other two soeurs, to whom I could recall my moment of stupidity.

With embarrassing moments put to the side, this week was very peaceful and pleasant. Christmas Eve we spent the night with a cute young family that reminds me alot of my parents as they started out our family 20 something years ago. They wanted to make the night special for us, so they asked each of us what we wanted to eat and told us that they'd make anything we wanted. So, for Sr Gray they hand squeezed local Reunion oranges and made fresh orange juice.. for Sr Court they made egg nog (which was a completely new thing for them.. they looked up the recipe off of the internet).. and for me they made a huge fruit salad with passion fruit, mango, letchis and pineapple... it was probably one of the best things I've tasted here. yum. If the personalized food wasn't enough, the family (with two kids, ages 5 and 3) put a puppet show on for us of the nativity scene. You could tell that they had practiced all week long.

I LOVED talking with all of you on Christmas Day. It was one of the happiest things for me during the whole week. Afterwards, we made a big pancake breakfast with all of the missionaries, then had a gift exchange, then watched "The Grinch". It was really laid back. I loved it. Afterwards we went up to a members home and ate creole food for lunch. I had a really nice Christmas.. I hope you did as well.

Boxing Day (the 26th) is a lot more fun, when you live with someone that actually celebrates this mysterious holiday. I've always seen this holiday printed on the calendars.. but never really understood what it was. Apparently, it's a big thing in England.. so with Sr Gray showing us the way.. the three of us happily joined in for a third day of partying. She told us that she was unsure about the origins of the holiday.. so we spent time in the car trying to come up with the first Boxing Day. We decided that George W Box was the founder.. who also happened to be the inventor of the cardboard box. I think we were pretty close.. check the internet if you don't believe me, I'm unable to give you any sources. For dinner, we went to a member's house, and Sr Gray made us a big traditional English breakfast.

Thanks again for the phone call.. for the emails.. for the presents (I love the headbands, stuff for amis, cleaning stuff). AND tell Grandma Shirley thanks for her card and that I'm proud of her courage for sending an email. We're all doing well here. Still no word about going to Mauritius. We will however be getting a new elder from France on Thursday. Pres and Sr Gaya will also be coming to see us this week. Work is going well.. We set up some new goals yesterday during our planning (in regards to finding new amis).. We're excited to put them into practice. I also finished my new years resolution yesterday.. how are all of your goals coming along? I'd love to hear about them..

Happy holidays. I love you guys.
xoxo,
Sr Merkley.

"I'm cute. She finks I'm cuuuute!" (a quote from Rudolph for all those who dont get it)‏

2008-12-22T12:39:00.000-08:00

With Christmas so close, we've had the occasion to do a bit of Christmas caroling this weekend. Caroling isn't quite as big here as it is in the states, but it is a blooming tradition that the members have come to love doing for their neighbors every year. The first night we ended up getting in touch with some less active members; I had never met them before, but they were very friendly and kind to us. Their 3 year old daughter danced around as we sang. Sr Gray brought her recorder, which everyone really loved. Singing with the recorder made the octave a little higher than I was used to, and my voice was completely beat by the end of the night.. but it was worth it. We had such a great time.

Last night we sang again with some members that live by the riviere de la pluie. It is GORGEOUS. The houses tucked up in the mountain side were fairly distant from one another. So as we walked from house to house, we had a great time talking; we also had fun finding big weeds, and putting them in peoples ears (having them think it was a mosquito) haha.. and in between teasing each other we had a competition to see who could find the smallest snail.. One of the neighbor's we sang for were a little nervous at first (to have these strange white girls singing to them with thick accents and a recorder).. but it was neat to see the way the music transformed them. By the end, the people in this family were the ones choosing the songs, asking if we could all sing "one more" all together. We spread out the hymn books we had, and had fun singing all together. As the sun set, the sky looked just enormous and beautiful. From their house, we had a great view of the ocean. It was one of those days that you couldn't really see where the line of the ocean began and the sky ended.

We had the St Marie Christmas party this week. Every year they have a nativity production with all of the kids, followed by a nice dinner. I've never seen so many cute angels with homemade hanger-bent wings in all of my life. There was one little angel, who wandered between Joseph and Mary, then between all of the tables, and pretty much wherever she wanted.. but for the most part, all of the little kids took the production very seriously and were ready to enter the nativity scene at their designated time to make their debut. Joseph's robe was too big, and as a result he had to walk more carefully then normal (so that his strained belt didn't come down, which would result in him drowning in his own cloak). Mary had bright red lipstick. The three wise men (all three brothers of the same family) came in an hour late.. but were right on time for their cue. A few of the singing angels had Santa hats on, which blinked red lights almost perfectly in-sync with the music. It was perfect.

Goodluck with your book Sare! I can't believe it's your release date today! Can't wait for a few copies (signed svp)! I'm so excited to talk to you all this week! Merry Christmas! By the way, I got your second package in the mail this morning! I'm going to fight back all my urges to tear it open with my grubby little fingers.. I just need to keep telling myself.. "a few more days.. I can wait a few more days". haha..
Love you! Thanks for everything.. I'll be thinking about you guys like crazy.
xoxo
Sr Merkley.

New crop of clips!!!

2008-12-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

Whew! We finally got a CD full of new pictures and video clips from Kate. They're all from old stories, so I'll try to play catch-up over the next few weeks.

Here are the video highlights from Kate's birthday (click HERE for that post):

(sorry this one is sideways... couldn't help that...)

(Birthday blowout)

(Creole Birthday greeting)

(This is from later the next day- the post gives details...)

Lots of Christmas preparation. Too many goodbyes.‏

2008-12-15T09:58:00.000-08:00

With the three transfer calls this week, it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster for the three soeurs on la Reunion. We assumed that the three of us would serve together after the departure of Sr Neubauer Thursday night. So, our first loop was the call that informed us that Sr Gray and I would be working together in St Marie and Sr Court would be with a mini missionary in St Denis. The following day we received the call that the 18 year old girl that was going to serve with Sr Court wasn't able to anymore. Her dad (a less active member) was against the idea, and felt that she should finish her studies first. We then geared up for the three of us to serve in St Denis. Yet, the next night we received another call from the assistants, who told us that we will actually be the missionaries for both St Denis AND St Marie. haha.. so with the combination of organizing our rendez-vous, and moving suitcases, saying goodbye to Sr Neubauer, and figuring out a rough plan of how on earth we can visit all the people we need to with the limited time we have... you could say we've been fairly busy.

It's been fun to see how Sr Gray has changed the dynamics of the companionship. For example, the other night we had our three hour weekly planning.. and for a reward of staying focused for the whole thing.. we went out and got ice cream for dinner at LGM. She also loves buying fancy pants French cheese at the grocery store. Sr Gray LOVES musicals, literature, drawing and all that other artsy stuff (which I adore as well). So we've had fun listening to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" in the car, and talking about Harry Potter. Sr Gray and Sr Court were companions in the MTC, so they already have a really cute friendship; and I have felt like the three of us have just nicely complemented each other.. we laugh alot. We're doing great.

It was hard to say goodbye to Sr Neubauer this week. I was touched by all of the missionaries, as well as members that came out to say goodbye. One of my favorite families from St Andre drove out to the airport to say goodbye.. unfortunately they were late and she was already through the detectors and behind the security wall. It was sad because the security wall was glass, so they could see each other.. but were unable to say their final goodbyes... LUCKILY, like our mom, the mom of this family has God on her side, and somehow manages to find last minute lucky breaks.. she talked to the security guard, and she and her kids got special permission to go through the line, through the security, and say goodbye to our little crying Sr Neubauer. It was such a classic Merkley moment; I couldn't help but smile. I was doing really well with all of the goodbyes, until we mounted the stairs and looked down from a big glass window they have.. where we could see Sr Neubauer and the other two elders sitting nervously in their seats, waiting for the plane to be loaded in a matter of hours. As I waved to say goodbye, and she blew me a kiss.. I got a big lump in my throat. Choking down the tears, the three of us girls sadly walked back to the car. We drove home in silence.

One of the blessings of having three missionaries in an equipe, is that if we work with a member, we have the permission to divide ourselves into two groups. We've been trying to do this, and have found a lot of success. While one missionary and a member teach a lesson, the other two can go and talk with people on the streets. Isn't it nice to feel productive?

I received your package last week.. thank you! I've already begun handing things out to members and amis. Speaking of which... one of the elder's amis was baptized Wednesday! His name is Loic, and is 18 years old. He is so nice. His mom comes to church with him every week, and occasionally his older brother and dad come too. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them were baptized.. they are very spiritually sensitive.. just really open and kind people. We gave him one of the French hymn books you sent.. he was way excited. thanks again.

Anyway, we're still in the process of figuring out new traditions and habits (which always comes as a result of transfers). In the meantime, I'm loving the French cheese and bread.. as well as our ice cream runs. We're working hard. I'm learning alot.. wow. Being with two people, every hour of the day.. is like a crash course of social skills 101.

Have a great week. Happy Birthday John on Saturday!!

Love you guys.

A la prochaine,

Sr Merkley.

Sr Neubauer's leaving Thursday

2008-12-08T16:05:00.000-08:00

My fingers are currently sticky with letchi juice. I have eaten so many letchis in the past two weeks, I'm surprised that they're not coming out of my ears. I don't feel a bit guilty about it either, because I am well aware that letchi season will come and go in a flash.. and we're doing all we can to take advantage of the three happy months of having letchis welcome you every corner you turn.

We had an activity Saturday with the single members on the island. Our activity was to create center pieces for the Christmas party we'll be having here in a couple weeks. The center pieces were green paper plates with poupourri and candles glued onto them.. doesn't sound too difficult huh? haha.. that's what all of us thought. THEN one hour later.. all 13 of us were singing a different tune. Actually, it didn't sound much like singing.. more like grumbling. I think I had more glue on my hands than on my plate. Our goal was to make the decorations nice enough so that members would want to take them home.. I just hope that whoever takes mine home has a hard time of seeing.. I'm pretty sure it looked like a five year old did it. (no offense to all you five year olds out there.. it just didn't turn out to be the artistic masterpiece that I had planned on). Some of the missionaries began making little people out of their pourpourri and candles.. haha.. it was really fun. We laughed alot. Then with our glue covered hands, we had a nice picnic outside all together afterwards.

We had the opportunity to eat with a few members this week. We always love the opportunity to get to know the members better. Last night we ate with a member who has recently moved from France. She works at the prison here, so it was really interesting to hear her stories and insights about the justice system, and the differences between the male and female prisons. I was especially impressed with her attitude about treating the prisoners like people that truly had the ability to change and recreate a normal life after jail.. she told us that too often people treat the prisoners as animals, and as a result they continue to remain in their carnal ways, and will usually return to prison. It was really neat to talk with her.. it made me miss my sociology classes a bit.

Speaking of dinner appointments.. I was really touched yesterday as members invited us to a picnic the Monday before Christmas. We also received the invitation to make pizzas with a family on Christmas Eve. I'm grateful that the members, as well as investigators, are doing the best to look out for us. It sounds like we'll have some activities planned among the missionaries for Christmas Day.. I'm currently not aware of too many details however.

Dad asked me about Christmas traditions here... The Christmas season is just taking off.. so I'm just starting to see how it is that the Reuniés celebrate. I know that the flamboyants as well as the letchis are comparable to snow for us during the holiday season. It's been fun to sing French Christmas carols, of which I didn't know at all before the mission. They even have Christmas songs specifically for La Reunion. It seems like in the states, families get together, eat alot, and open presents from each other and from "Papa Noel". It's interesting to watch the dynamics between the people.. because there are alot of Catholics who obviously very strongly believe and celebrate Christmas.. but then there are also a lot of Muslims, that don't believe in Christmas at all. They do have a traditional creole meal, where they eat with their hands, rice and cultural dishes, straight off of banana leaves.. I haven't yet eaten off of the banana leaves.. I hope that I'll have the opportunity to do so while I'm here.

Anyway, sorry not much to report this week. We're working really hard. I hope you guys are all well... Thinking about you. Soak in the Christmas holiday.
All my love,
Sr Merkley.

We give tanks, we give tanks, we give tanks foe food an fwends.‏

2008-12-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

As Soeur Court and I talked with people on the streets this week, we didn't think anything of the 25 year old girl that told us that she wasn't interested in hearing more about our message. We were however a bit taken off guard, when she turned around a few minutes later, and came back to talk to us. She explained that she was a journalist for an online newspaper and was interested in writing a story about us. We nervously agreed. We found a small parking lot off to the side of the road, and spent a few minutes talking about why we're here, our typical daily routine, and other such questions. We did our best to explain our goal of being out here.. I just hope she understood our voice shaking, thick American accents. haha. She took a picture of the two of us (that'll teach me to take an extra minute or two every morning to get ready-yikes). We invited her to the baptism we were holding on Saturday; she didn't end up coming. Yet the baptism was still a very special and beautiful day.

Mme Vidot was the woman getting baptized; she has been meeting with the missionaries nearly every week since October 2007. She's Malagash; so completely humble and pure. She has such a contagious laugh, and has found such a tender place in my heart. We visited her that morning, to make sure she's feeling okay. We brought over her baptismal clothes.. she already had her hair all fixed up, and church clothes picked out. (dangit, she's so cute). After the baptism, the branch president gave her a moment to share her thoughts with us. Mme Vidot had previously jotted her feelings down on a square piece of paper; she spoke for no longer than a minute.. but it was simple and powerful. What a great day.

Yesterday, a few of the members invited the missionaries in my district over (10 in total) for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was touching to see how carefully they made the food, and set the table.. to celebrate this American holiday with us. Before we began eating, one of the Elders explained the origins of the holiday (which was funny, because it seemed like each of the Americans had their own version of the famous first meal between the pilgrims and indians). It wasn't exactly like the Thanksgiving dinners I've had in the past.. but it was fairly close. Some of the main differences were that we had tons of rice and creole dishes, and the fact that I ate the meal with my hands (straight up creole style). It was a Thanksgiving feast in which I'll never forget. Although all of the missionaries had a difference in opinion about the details of the Thanksgiving story, I was happy to find out that each of us had the tradition among our families to go around and say what we are grateful for. We taught the members this tradition. It was fun to go around our large group of 30 and hear what it was people were grateful for. It was a breathtaking sight to watch the harmonious collision of cultures.

Today, we returned to the old man's house to help him with his yard work. Once again, he was surprised that we actually showed up. I'm really glad we stopped by, because he told us that it had been a bit of a lonely week. After helping him haul out thorny branches and weeds for an hour, we drank juice again and talked for a while. Right next to his house is a gorgeous catholic church (which is actually celebrating its 150 year anniversary.. It's called l'eglise de la delivrance if you want to google it). We had our skirts in the car.. so we found a nearby public bathroom (which is a miracle in itself, since public bathrooms are practically non existent here); we changed, and then the two of us reverently entered the beautiful church.

Being a Monday morning, not many people were there. Some soft choir music was playing. It was very peaceful. After admiring the paintings, architecture, and statues we sat down on the wooden benches and offered a prayer. As we were walking out the door, we talked to this woman who was selling candles as well as history books about the church. She asked why we were here on La Reunion.. we paused for a bit, not knowing if it would cause conflict to say that we were missionaries of another church. Yet, figuring it was better to be honest, we explained that we were missionaries.. she was SO excited, and open minded about the whole thing. We spent the next few minutes talking about how much we gorgeous their church building was, and how often she is there. She ended up inviting us to a picnic in January that their congregation will be having. It was touching to watch us create a little friendship, right there in front of the of the St Expedit staute within the first chamber of the church.

Things are going really well. Sr Court is so much fun; she works so hard.. and is someone that has learned the trick of loving how to work. We're doing our best to teach AND serve. As I said yesterday at our Thanksgiving dinner- I am so grateful for all of the ways I've changed in the past year; as well as for all of the people I have been able to meet. I got a letter from Sr Fillerup this week.. then another from Rachel Nasella.. than one from Nikki.. I feel overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the support I've received from friends and especially from family in the past year. Thank you.. I know you're praying and thinking about me..

love you.
Sr Merkley.

Happy Birthday Sare

2008-11-24T10:44:00.000-08:00

In our apartment, we have these two awkwardly placed closets, that face each other. Unfortunately, the wind blows them open, and so to avoid having them block the passage way of the hall, we have to use the key to lock them up every time we get in and out of them. The thing which is even MORE unfortunate, is the fact that one of these closets is mine. Usually, I have no problem; I've actually become quite accustomed to locking and unlocking it throughout the day. What I hadn't quite anticipated, is the fact that it was very possible to lose the key (the only key I might add) to the closet. Yet, there I was yesterday, getting ready to change into my pj's.. staring blankly at the empty key hole.. where my loyal key was supposed to be waiting for me to turn it and open up my world of neccesities. No one seems to know where the key has gone too.. so, this is when I turned to my trusting companion with a huge smile, and asked to borrow some pajamas. We found no more luck this morning.. so I am currently wearing all of Sr Court's clothes. Do you think it's against missionary rules to hack the closet door down? hmm... other problem solving options don't seem to have the same appeal.

I happened to notice yesterday as we began church that our one dependable piano player wasn't there.. after singing the first song accapella, I motioned to the music conductor, that I could give it a go for the next few songs. I haven't played the piano much during the mission.. I also wasn't too familiar with the songs.. and I was shaking and so nervous.. with all of these dynamics combined.. it made for quite the entertaining meeting. During two of the songs I played the piano with only my right hand; often hitting the wrong note, or missing a sharp. And for the other two songs, I was asked to simply play the first note.. then just sing for the rest of the song along with the congregation. haha.. It was a little embarrasing.. but mainly funny. Sr Court and I have begun counting experiences that push us out of our comfort zone. We realized that we often pray to grow and change.. but then when God gives us these experiences, instead of embracing the intimidation, we hide from it. ANYWAY.. this little moment in church, definitely made my "pushed out of my comfort level" list. haha.

We had two baptisms this week. One in the St Marie branch (my last area), and one in the St Denis branch (my current area). The woman baptized in the St Marie branch is an older woman. She was baptized 17 years ago; then after a series of events was excommunicated. Yet, she had never stopped reading the Book of Mormon. For the last couple years, she's been preparing to be re-baptized.. so it was a sweet, sweet moment. Sr Neubauer and I saw her almost weekly, so I felt really blessed to be able to be there and see her huge, brilliant smile. (yay!) For our branch, we had an eight year old girl baptized. Her family has been one that I have been really close to since than the beginning of my mission.. so I was equally excited to see her get baptized. We went and saw her last night, and the first thing she told us was "Hey! I'm an official member of the church now!" It was cute to see her new sense of belonging, and responsibilty.

This last week, we were checking up on people who we had contacted on the street. We were looking for this one woman.. and thought we had finally found her house.. yet when we knocked on the door, and old man came out and said that he was the only one that lived there. We couldn't help but notice he had a large garden, as well as some shaky 80 year old knees. We told him we would stop by later on and help him out a bit with his yard. So, this morning, we went back with grungy working clothes on (Sr Court's working clothes). He told us that he had thought that we were just kidding. Surprise! We weren't! We spent the morning pulling weeds. Never found the woman we were originally looking for, but found new friend, and weeks full of yard work ahead of us instead. We drank some juice with him afterwards, and had fun talking outside.

The elders had given us a referral this week, that we ended up following up on. She had remembered little details of which she had heard from the elders (things like Moroni, Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon). We were even more impressed when she told us that had already read the introduction and opening testimony in the Book of Mormon. We have seen her twice this week (once with a member). She's really fun to talk to.. asks great questions.. and is so sincere about doing what the Lord wants for her to do.

The work is going great. Sr Court loves practicing French; we speak French nearly 24/7.. I really love this language. (It still kicks me in the face.. but it's another fun challenge that makes my "pushed out of my comfort level" list.. daily in fact.. haha).

Happy birthday Sare.. AND happy thanksgiving! (I think it's this week?)

All my love, thanks for the prayers.

Sr Merkley.

Time with Soeur Court

2008-11-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

twelve months down.. still kickin.‏

2008-11-17T10:04:00.000-08:00

So much has happened this week. For starters we had transfers! I'm currently serving with Sr Court in St Denis (third time here.. still happy to come back.. by the way, the mailing address is still the same.) I was really sad to pack up my bags and leave Sr Neubauer and St Marie.. especially since the day I was packing my bags up was November 13th, which so happened to be the same date that I found myself packing up my bags up last year for the MTC. So I couldn't help but get a little nostalgic and think about the birthday party we had for Sare the night before I left.. and how Dan stayed and helped me pack till the wee hours of the night. Yet, like always, with goodbyes come beautiful hellos and new beginnings.

I was grateful to be greeted with the happy face of Sr Court, who is so much fun. I had forgotten just how naturally we get a long. She's always really excited to learn new things (French vocabulary, new contacting approaches, etc). Plus, she's the one that grew up on a farm.. so she knows how to work.. wow. It's so much fun to feel like we can just run as fast and hard as we can. The other soeurs are also doing really well; I LOVE the group of soeurs that we have out here.

Before transfers however, Sr Neubauer and I had one more grand hurrah.. which took shape in the form of fixing our kitchen sink. After having the same stagnant water sitting in our kitchen sink for two days, not being effected at all by the draino we had tried using, we finally decided that it was time to take things into our own hands. This is when I found Sr Neubauer underneath the sink pulling and twisting different intimidating black parts of the sink. I quickly jumped in and joined her.. unfortunately our enthusiasm for this little adventure led us to pulling things apart without realizing where they all went. After having deep cleaned all of the plugged pipes, we ended up spending at least an hour with blank stares on our faces asking each other "where does this one go?".. and "do you think this piece is essential? Because I can't figure out where it goes." haha. We eventually figured out the solution to our little riddle, and stood back with sopping wet skirts and proud expressions, feeling very resourceful for having done it ourselves. Hey dad, I fix stuff.. I'm a fixin girl.

Saturday the four of us girls went to Port for the afternoon. This city has a reputation of being a little rough.. which is why sister missionaries are currently unable to serve there.. which is also why all of us have coveted the idea of being able to work there. (you always want what you can't have). BUT Saturday was a day that the branch president had designated for us to go and work with the members. They would like to get a second church out there, and are trying to spiritually prepare the area. I worked with a woman member from Port for the day, and had such a great time. I was surprised that we could casually carry on a conversation.. we laughed and told stories.. it was so much fun, and I definately felt it was a bit of a victory for me. (yeah french barrier.. you're comin down!) She told me that she went to Utah in April, to go to conference. She doesn't speak or understand English.. but she saved up her money, and went all alone.. just so that she could see the Prophet. It was very touching to recognize her devotion and conviction to spiritual things. She was so nice.. and will hopefully be coming to Utah again this next October! We contacted all afternoon.. and came back with no numbers or names of people that were interested; however, the other equipes that went out, returned with more than a handful.. we felt the day was very successful.

Yesterday was the primary program. They are just as endearing and entertaining here as they are in the States. I think my favorite part was when one of the girls held up a picture of Jesus as they sang songs about him. Unfortunately her sign was backwards, having the audience only see the whiteness of the back of the image. One of the primary teachers, as well as her dad kept trying to tell her to turn it around.. but then she'd look up at her picture on the big stick she was so proudly holding, see the picture of Christ, and then be confused why every one was telling her to flip it around.. she could see Jesus.. so what was the problem? haha.. This went on throughout the whole musical number.. I tried so hard to stop laughing, but like you all know, this is definately not a strength of mine.. It was one of the best sacrament meetings I've been to all year :)

Well, things are great. We're working hard. Although transfers can be a little rocky at first (due to all of the new changes), they are also very refreshing.. It's like the first day of the year.. so full of hope, energy, and new goals.

Hope you are all doing well.

Love you guys.

Sr Merkley.

"You mock my pain"

2008-11-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Three main topics of conversation during the week...1. Jesus. 2. Barak Obama winning the elections. 3. All of the strikes going on due to high gas prices. As soon as people find out that we're American, they begin telling us how wonderful Obama is (as though they were childhood friends). It makes me smile to realize that the people here, although half way around the world, know more about American politics than I currently do.
Due to high gas prices, the trucks and buses on the island have started a strike this week. Don't worry.. nothing violent. But it has been quite the adventure driving through the streets. Mainly, because their strike is manifest by parking their big vehicles where ever they please. There will be a huge tourist bus, so conviently parked perpendicular to the freeway exit.. forcing all of the cars to rest on the freeway.. for hours. Yesterday, we were driving to St Pierre from St Denis, and saw five or six buses parked right in the middle of the freeway. There was one tiny path still opened for passing cars, but it was like a maze going through the array of buses. The police are just as mad about the high gas prices, so we will often see them parked just beside the buses.. calmly, and so passively, waving cars through. It's nuts. It looks as though a big T-rex picked up the buses, and then just set them back down, completely at random.. Good thing it's not a T-rex however.. and just angry truck drivers.. otherwise we'd really have some problems.

It's had an influence though on the schools (kids not being able to take the buses), and the tourism (the planes don't have enough gas to make the long flight).. nearly all of the gas stations are scrimping for gas (since the trucks that distribute the gas, are parked in the middle of the street all day). It's a little scary to see how fast things can completely change face, realizing how utterly dependent we are on other things.. but it sounds like this will pass over in the next couple days. (Strikes are not uncommon.. the school system alone has had two or three strikes since I've been here).

I worked with Sr Court one day this week in St Suzanne. We contacted (talking with people in the streets) for over three hours. We had so much fun! Talking to random people, and having the chance to hear their stories and make friendships is so cool. It's especially rewarding to see the progression I've made in French.. by the fact that the conversation is a little more comfortable, and definitely more understood. There are still moments where the people look at us with blank stares.. so completely confused by our french.. haha.. BUT it's gotten better. I feel very grateful.

LETCHI season is here! Wahoo! We were excited to discover that we have three letchi trees outside of the soeur's apartment! Every time we came in or out of the apartment, we'd stop by a letchi tree, and pick a few off with our greedy little fingers. (Letchis are so good.. and so different than anything I've eaten in the states.. they remind me a bit of grapes, but with a shell on the outside) We laughed as we came home the third day after our letchi discovery, and saw a sign posted up on the outside door of the apartment building. It read something along the lines of.. "the letchis are not yet completely ripe. Please wait, and we will designate a specific time for each resident to come out and pick some letchis, so that we can all benefit from them. You stupid little girls on the third floor.." OK, so I made up the "stupid little girls" part.. but we could read between the lines.

OK, well.. that's about all for now. We are going to the beach today with all of the missionaries on the island. yay. Hope you're all doing well. Miss you.. wish you were here to cheer on the protestors and steal letchis with me.
xoxo.
Sr Merkley.

....................................................................................................................

I got curious, so here's some more info on Letchi Trees for all you curious folk out there...

Goofy Missionaries

2008-11-07T19:42:00.001-08:00

It is getting SO hot.. I had forgotten.‏

2008-11-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you have four giggly girls, two in black suits, one as pirate, and another as a witch? Give up? ok, I'll tell you.. it was me. Well, I was technically just one of the four girls.. I was one of the black suit bearers. Sr Neubauer was my side kick. In order to dress up for Halloween, we asked the assistants for their suit coats, and dressed up as elders. Sr Court was the pirate, and Sr Gray just wanted to rat her hair all crazy.. so she ended up dressing up as a witch. We didn't really know what to do after dressing up, since trick or treating isn't quite as popular here as it is in the states.. SO we went to the other missionaries' house and surprised them with our excited door bell ringing and carefully prepared disguises. They wanted to join in the fun.. so for the rest of our dinner hour, we were privileged enough to hang out with a sheperd, a quail man, a truck driver, and "the responsible parent that follows all the kids around while trick or treating". It was a fun way to celebrate the 31st.. it's easy to forget sometimes that we're just a bunch of 20 year old kids, that need to dress up and be crazy from time to time.

I am grateful for the principle of karma.. that is, as long as I do my best to be nice to other people. Karma gently kissed me this week, as I realized Friday night that we were staying at the soeurs apartment, and couldn't find my toothbrush. Now for you consistent readers, you know that just last week, I whined about sharing my toothbrush with Sr Neubauer. (oh the ironies of life). This is when I turned to Sr Neubauer with the most innocent smile I could muster, and said.. "haha.. you're not going to believe it.. but haha.. umm.. I forgot my toothbrush, can I use yours?" Luckily, she's so nice, had no problems with it; and hey we got even a little closer and I gunked all my germs onto her toothbrush. (Meg, don't get any ideas.. this is an merely an act of a desperate missionary).

We teach this couple in St Marie fairly often. It had been about four weeks however since we last passed by... and we were sad to stop by this week, and see that the husband had picked up his alcohol habits. It has been 6 months since he's been dry.. yet had started into it again starting at the end of September. His wife told us that he had been completely intoxicated for four days straight now. It made me really sad to see him.. his countenance was absolutely transformed.. a different person. She looked exhausted, and just discouraged. We talked with her for a bit. Two days later and went on a walk with her (to get her out of the house). We went down to the bakery all together, grabbed some pasteries, than spent the morning on the beach. It was nice to talk with her; I like to think that it helped her morale a bit.

Things with Sr Neubauer are really great. We are still LOVING our area, and our branch. I love you guys, and hope all is well.
Til next Monday.
Sr Merkley.

ATTN: KATE BLOG READERS

2008-10-28T07:47:00.000-07:00

Very shortly, I will be giving the opportunity for you to link your own blog from Kate's site here. I don't know who all reads this, so if you are interested in having your own blog linked, PLEASE let me know. You can either submit your blog adddress (and your preferred name and how you know her) in the comments section, or email me the info at: sarahemeline@hotmail.com
It will especially help Kate to keep track of where you all are and what you're up to when she gets home... in a little over 6 months!!!
Feel free to let other connections to Kate be notified, and I'll hear from you all soon!
Sare
(chief blog editor)

I've got my birthday pants on.

2008-10-27T13:19:00.000-07:00

"Sr Merkley. I forgot my toothbrush."
"Oh really. That's too bad."
"Uhh.. Can I use yours?"
SIDE NOTE... For years Meg has asked me the same question, and without missing a beat.. I have said absolutely no. It's not that I'm a germ fanatic.. it's just the thought of someone cleaning out the stuff in their mouth.. and then having me use the same tool to clean out all the stuff in mine.. it's just a little gross.. ok, so maybe I'm a germ fanatic.. HOWEVER, I found myself saying
"Yeah. It's in the little pocket in my black backpack."
The weird part.. is that it didn't gross me out as much as I thought it would.. and five minutes later, I was in there using the already wet toothbrush to follow the work that Sr Neubauer had just taken care of. We laughed about it the next morning (after going through the whole routine again) and realized that this newly pushed boundary line had actually brought us closer together as a companionship.

Sr Neubauer might be forgetful when it comes to packing our bags to stay at the other soeur's apartment.. but I tell you what.. she makes a killer french toast. Wednesday morning, before I had taken more than five steps out of my bed, I could hear her singing "happy birthday" and making french toast in the kitchen. My birthday was simply magical. Sr Neubauer did all she could to spoil me all day.. one of our investigator's made me a card.. two of the members surprised me with cards and homemade birthday cakes. All day long, we received phone calls and texts from members and missionaries wishing me a happy birthday. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the outstretch of love.

By the way.. thank you for the package. I LOVED it. I have worn the necklace every day since.. and we listened to the CD you made all day long in the car (I told you, Sr Neubauer was a good sport and spoiled me all day). I hadn't realized how hungry I had been to hear your voices. I love that you sent stuff to hand out to our amis.. I've already given half of it away.. thank you. Sare was right, it is a perfect gift idea for a missionary.

As the joyous day came to a close, I received a "happy birthday" creole style. In other words, four kids came running over and smashed eggs onto my head. Good thing it was our last appointment for the day.. because I had eggs just dripping off my hair and clothes. I quickly learned that the egg smashing was just the first part of this creole birthday tradition.. moments later, the kids (members) came out and dumped flour on top of me. And if you thought I looked horrific, you should've been there to smell me.. I really think egg has got to be one of the nastiest smells out there. We laughed and laughed together.. it's not exactly the birthday greeting I was expecting, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate getting a bit of the creole lovin'.

Still being hyped up on the birthday spirit.. the four of us soeur misisonaries decided to spread our excitement to the Mission President's wife, Sr Gaya (who just so happens to have her birthday the day after mine.. AND was staying in the apartment directly beneath the soeurs in St Denis). This "excitement" came in the form of a tray full of crepes, fruit and juice.. oh yeah.. and pounding on their door at 6:30 am. Apparently, the birthday spirit chases away all sense of logic. Waking the exhausted couple up at 6:30am sounded like a good idea. So good, in fact, that even after we rang the door bell 5 times, and no one came to the door, we decided to knock on the door instead. President Gaya met us at the door within seconds after the pounding.. in his pajamas.. telling us to stop singing and in the most loving way possible, to be quiet because Sr Gaya was still asleep. oops. We dumped off the birthday tray of fun, and then with red faces quickly ran upstairs. (where we then probably kept the poor couple downstairs awake, by our stifled laughter and telling and re-telling of the embarrassing situation.. as if we hadn't all been there). Pres Gaya was nice though, and a couple of hours later, came up and invited us to eat with them. We spent the morning together. It was pleasant. He told us later that it's the best birthday she's had on the mission. SO although we made fools of ourselves, it was worth it in the end.

Well, things are great. We're staying at the soeurs tonight.. but don't worry, I made sure Sr Neubauer remembered her toothbrush. haha. Things are going well. Love you.. and thanks again for helping my birthday be so wonderful.
xoxo.
Sr Merkley.

Two days till my birfday.. YAY!‏

2008-10-20T12:06:00.000-07:00

We had a Relief Society activity with the women in our branch this weekend. We went to a park near the church and hiked up this hill, that had the most gorgeous view of the city. The seven of us sat up on the top of the hill, talking on the grass and enjoying each other's presence. It was peaceful, and just fun. I'm grateful for this branch, I feel like we are part of their branch.. and not just some missionaries on the side. I'm really appreciative of their kindness towards us. We've gotten to the point where we can tease each other now. haha.. When we got to the park, the ladies were teasing Sr Neubauer and I by the way that we drive with the windows down, and our hands sticking out. They told us that we look like little California girls. As we hiked down the hill, I sang a creole song with one of the older members. We held hands, because of the steepness of the hill.. it was a tender moment.

Yesterday we watched General Conference.. and it was SO good. I couldn't seem to stop smiling during the first session.. because of the obvious progress that has been made. Six months ago when we watched the April session, I understood hardly anything, and left the meeting nearly in tears. YET.. yesterday, I was absolutely blown away.. because I understood! This was spiritual in itself.. but the inspired talks given just engulfed me with an intense feeling of peace and enthusiasm. I was especially touched by Elder Wirthlin's talk.. and have now set the goal to laugh more in situations that have the potential to become stressful.

The other soeur missionaries surprised us with lunch this week. They made us fish and couscous, with a vinaigrette salad. I am still surprised with how much I've grown to love fish.. keep an eye out for any good fish recipes.. I'm going to try and adventure into the fish cooking realm when I get home. To thank the soeurs, we made them dinner.. we didn't make fancy pants fish, but we did make some killer crepes. WE even went to LGM and bought a carton of ice cream for them. We happily dug our spoons in, and laughed around the table. The four of us have gotten really close.. still no plans of more soeurs coming over. I'm more and more confident every week, that I will be Sr Neubauer's last companion on the mission.. but I guess we'll see. We stay at the soeurs apartment about once, maybe twice a week.

Tomorrow we have a zone conference. President Gaya is flying over tonight. We're doing well. It was a good week with the language.. and with the determination to create happiness where ever I am, with what ever I have. Things are good.. really really good. ESPECIALLY since I can open my birthday package this week. Its been sitting on my desk for two weeks now. Sr Neubauer and I have only made two holes in it.. two peeking holes which we use to get a little peek into the package every once in a while. haha.. thanks again. Love you guys.

Your little birthday, "California drivin'" girl...
Sr Merkley.

I'm so weak. Old habits are hard to break.‏

2008-10-13T14:31:00.000-07:00

I caved. My goal was to grow my hair out during the mission.. then come back and take everyone by surprise by how long and beautiful my hair had become.. but I'm sure it'll come as no surprise for you that know me that this goal is as unrealistic as ..... Yep. That's right. I cut my hair off this week. The situation went something like this:

"Sr Neubauer I hate my hair. It's too long and hot."
"I think we should cut it during our companion study"
"Ok. Do we have any scissors?"
"Yeah. These ones." (pulling out the kindergarten style scissors with red handles, and a blade no longer than two inches.)
"Ok, that'll work."
"You're sure? Ok.. here I go... crap... haha.. it's not TOO bad.. uh oh.. don't worry Sr Merkley. ooops. that was shorter than I meant to cut it... don't worry I'll fix it... oops..."

After having two go's at it.. my hair finally got to the point where we felt ok about it. I actually think it looks pretty good. (especially considering the awful scissors.. and no real hair cutting experience on Sr Neubauer's end). We did bring the little red scissors to church though (just in case we found more loose ends during sacrament meeting). With my hair now being an inch or two above my shoulders, my neck now feels a lot cooler.. and with perfect timing, considering that summer is about to hit us right in the face.

Another highlight of the week was visiting our beloved "mami" in the hospital. Mami is the 70 year old mother of a member in the branch who is currently staying in the hospital to relearn how to walk. We've been visiting her every couple of days during the past couple of weeks to keep her company (and give her a good laugh with our huge language barrier.. she's VERY creole). She told us last week that we could call her "mami".. which is 'grandma' in Creole. Because our conversations are usually a bit challenging.. we usually end up singing to her alot. We surprised her with a traditional creole song this week (that our district leader had given us the words to). Mamie ended up knowing all of the words, and sang along. We were both shocked as she got out of bed and started shaking her hips and arms to the beat. This was the first time either of us had EVER seen her get out of bed. I quickly grabbed her arm (a little afraid that she might have fallen).. in which she grabbed me right back. It was at this moment that I realized that we were in the dancing position.. and that she wanted to dance along to this creole song. So, I did my best to puff up my chest and take on the male part, and lead us around the dance floor of her hospital room. We only shuffled our feet about 3 inches, due to her condition, but it was still one of the funniest and more tender memories of my mission. While dancing, we all continued to sing the creole lyrics.. Sr Neubauer sat on the hospital bed, red and just laughing. Oh mamie.

We spent SO much time porting this week. We met some really cool people. AND it rained throughout most of it (which I always like). Sr Neubauer and I realized that it's easy to fall into the trap of visiting people, just to fill up the schedule and get into routine.. even if they're not progressing. And although it's good to keep good relationships with these people, it's not necessary to pass by as often.. and with this time, we should be actively searching for those of whom are eager to learn and embrace the message we have. It's interesting to see how easy it is to get into a routine.. just for the sake of getting into a routine, and feeling comfortable. I challenge each of you to find something this week which you do merely out of easy repetition.. and change it.

Well, Sr Neubauer, Mamie and my short hair are all doing great. I hope you guys are well.. I pray for you lots.. I'm grateful for you, and I love you. Have a nice week. Until next Monday,
SR Merkley.

A ward activity? or something?

2008-10-08T13:32:00.000-07:00

Fairly Ordinary

2008-10-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

All the missionaries are in the South right now. It's been fun to be back in St Pierre, and feel nostalgic about my five weeks here with Sr Court. We came down last night, because we have a zone activity today with all of the missionaries and a zone conference tomorrow. We (the four sister missionaries) felt that since we were here, that we might as well take advantage of the opportunity and visit some old amis and members.

The first on our list was Sylvie FONTAINE (the woman who was baptized August 2nd). We made crepes last night, and decided that we would show up with them this morning at her house and suprise her. Unfortunately, her gate was closed and our yells from the road weren't loud enough to wake her up. So, we did what any other overly-eager sister missionary would do.. We climbed up her stone wall, with crepes, fruit, milk and all. Sr Neubauer was courageous one who jumped completely over the 7foot wall, and knocked right on her front door. Within seconds, Sylvie opened the door. Those of us still contently perched on the wall couldn't see very well, but we knew that she had been there, because we could hear Sr Neubauer squealing, jumping and laughing. haha.. Sylvie was as nearly as excited as Sr Neubauer was. (which says alot, because it was not yet 8 o'clock). She quickly welcomed us in, and we spent the morning happily indulging ourselves with crepes and happy memories.

One of the happiest points of the week, was the fact that one of our less-actives that we've been visiting the past two months came to church this Sunday! wahoo! She (Sr Clain) is such a sweetheart. She and her husband haven't come to church for a year or two.. but this weekend, she felt the desire to come.. so she asked her husband and daughter to join her.. and even though they said no, she courageously came all by herself. We had a rendezvous fixed with her after church. We read the scriptures with her, and were happy to see her husband come in half way through and sit in the back. He said he didn't want to join us, but we could tell that he was intently listening in. They are such a great family.. I'm really happy to work with them. Sr Clain surprised us at the end, with a carefully prepared dinner for Sr Neubauer and I. She knew that we were fasting, so she even wrapped it up all nice for us, so that we could eat it later on that night. She fixed a very French style dish.. A vinagerette salad, with hardboiled eggs and sourdough bread. SO good. She even packed us a pineapple tart for dessert. It was very thoughtful and we were touched by her kindness.

Nothing too eventful happened this week. We ported alot. We visited less actives. We taught seminary for the youth (whom I absolutely adore). Fairly typical.. but we have definately felt blessed. We have three new amis this week. (AKA three new people who may be interested in this message, that we can begin teaching). I'm excited for our activity this afternoon with all of the missionaries. It's always refreshing to see everyone. Oh, and mom, I got the package that you sent (as well as your letter). Thanks.. I won't open it until my b-day! I feel so spoiled... haha.
All my love.
Have a great week you guys.
xoxo
Sr Merkley.

More pictures

2008-09-30T18:15:00.001-07:00

a little note from the fork prodding fool.

2008-09-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

I was in the shower when I heard Sr Neubauer scream out "uhhh... Sr Merkley? Sr Merkley!" Luckily I quickly discovered that her screams were not caused by a burglar or even a fire... but rather, a little gecko which she had found it our box of cereal. In thinking that the gecko was dead, she looked at me with big puppy eyes and gave me the box, hoping that I could do something to make the situation better. Not being one to be overly compassionate with tiny crawly things.. I grabbed a near by fork and prodded a bit. To our surprise, he began squirming around! Good news: he was still a live, and even managed to run out of the box and hide into another part of the house. Bad news: this was our favorite cereal (the only one we had at the house I might add) that Mr Sleepy-Pants had been wallowing in all night. Good thing we're complete dirt balls, and ended up eating the contaminated cereal anyway. (its funny what you come up with when you're hungry). The best part is when Sr Neubauer teasingly told me yesterday, "I didn't mind eating the cereal, because you ate out of it first.. and therefore YOU are the one that got all the gecko germs." To which I replied ever so honestly "Actually, the top of the cereal grossed me out.. So I shook up the box really good so I wouldn't know what our little gecko friend had touched or not." We laughed and laughed, and said "Sr, why didn't you just throw out that top part of the cereal that grossed you out?" I had no response. It was a good question. Hmm.. Funny what you come up with when you're hungry.

Saturday night we had an activity with the branch that lasted for 7hours! We had SO much fun. We made Malagash food.. then played some basketball. I can see why people like this sport so much now. As I played against the 11 year olds, I realized that they wouldn't stuff me every time I tried to shoot AND that it didn't matter if I only dribbled with my right hand. By the end of the game, nearly every one there was playing (even the branch president). We honestly played until it was dark and we literally couldn't see the ball anymore. I haven't laughed so much and so hard for awhile. To top it off, we ended the night with devouring all of the malagash food which we had previously made. There were some fun (and healthy) salads, and fresh fruit. The main course was rice and pineapple pork.. so good. It was the responsibility of the youth to sponsor the event. So they went around serving everyone.. AND even did the dishes at the end. I really love this branch, and am grateful for the solid friendships in which we are currently nourishing.

We are still working hard to get ready for the chapel that's going in at the end of the year. Any spare time we have, we are porting and contacting. As a result, we are having plenty of funny experiences AND making alot of new friends. We just started teaching a lady named Mme Riviere. She is really curious, and wants to understand exactly what we believe.. she asks great questions, and is already sharing what she's learning from the Book of Mormon with her friends. The work is going well. We're still spending alot of time with less active members. Things are great. THANK YOU, thank you, thank you for your prayers and your letters.

Love you,
Sr Merkley.

P-Day Activities

2008-09-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

"It says, 'crunchy'"‏

2008-09-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, Sr Neubauer came down with a nasty sickness this week, which resulted in 4 days in the apartment, two bags full of medicine we picked up at the pharmacy, and at least an entire garbage can full of used tissues. She slept most of the day.. which left me on my little lonesome in the apartment. Luckily, I've never been one who doesn't appreciate good alone time. I took advantage of the quiet time, and studied my little brains out. It was fun to study whatever I want, for as long as I wanted. I rediscovered my love for poetry. It's been a while since I've dramatically expressed myself in the form of measured lines and provoking words. It was deeply theraputic. I LOVED it.

Although I enjoyed the time to meditate and study, I was ALWAYS excited to hear the stirring in the bedroom.. indicating that Sr Neubauer was awake.. and therefore I could have some healthy human contact. She lost close to eight pounds this week. poor thing. But, with the weight loss, she didn't feel as bad telling me that the only thing that sounded good to her was ice cream..We then quickly jumped into the car, and drove to the next city over (since St Marie doesn't have any big grocery stores) and got her two different flavors of ice cream. We even found mint! haha.. you can tell what kind of a week its been, when one of my highlights is buying mint ice cream.

Earlier in the week, we had another zone Conference with Pres and Sr Gaya, and then a couple from Africa, Elder and Sr Kola. It was interesting to hear about the church in Africa, as well as their solid testimonies of this work that we're all so vigorously involved in. It was truly inspiring to hear them speak; I was especially impressed by the way they conducted themselves.. very humble. very consistent. very real. Wow.

We did exchanges with the Soeurs yesterday; Sr Gray and I worked together in St Marie. We met this old creole man, that reminded me exactly of Nikki Saenz's grandpa (Javier). Haha.. I couldn't stop laughing. I'm sure he was thinking the same thing about us.. because he reminded me so much of Javier, I acted like it WAS Javier. I was very teasy with him, as though we had been friends for years. haha. He invited us in, we met his wife, then his son and daughter in law. We sat around drinking coke and talking about Christ. It was a happy memory. He didn't live too far from where we live, so I told him we'd be dropping in again. He smiled, called us angels, then laughed when I turned down his bisous (the kiss on the cheeks.. its a mission rule).

An another adventure Sr Gray and I had, was when Sr Gray and I were walking back to our car, and noticed this strange vegetable looking thing growing in a nearby tree. As we more closely examined the bizarre objects in the branches, we realized that the green veggies looked like patch work quilts.. there were many layers of different shades of green. We let our curiosity get the best of us.. and I found myself, climbing a little fence just next to the tree. I then jumped off of the fence, stretching my arm out for one of these bizarre vegetables. I somehow grabbed one right in midair.. which led us then to our next obstacle.. finding out what on earth it was. We proudly carried the grapefruit sized mystery fruit around with us, asking some of the local kids if they knew what it was.. unfortunately, none of them did. When we got home, we showed it to the other Soeurs. For a good couple minutes, Sr Court slammed it down onto the cement.. but with no prevail. The shell of the veggie, nor the mystery to our riddle, could not be cracked. We still have no idea what it was.. who knows.. maybe one of these days we'll find it on our plate while eating with the locals.

I felt really positive about the language this week. I'm still learning how to overcome the fear of speaking.. and just getting it out there.. it's coming. It's always rewarding to try really hard to talk to people, and then taste the benefits of having them understand. (Who knew that a simple conversation about what college degree I want to pursue, would ever be such a victory?!) Things are going well.. Sr Nebauer is still feeling a little under the weather.. we'll see what this next week will entail.

All my love.
Sr Merkley.

My heart has been stirred this week. I am revolutionizing my perspective.‏

2008-09-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

President and Sr Gaya were here this week for a zone conference with all of the missionaries. The conference was great, I enjoyed seeing all of the missionaries. While Pres Gaya was here, we decided to go to the park and play soccer. He used to play professionally, so it was fun to watch him run around and psyche us out with his fancy footwork. Soccer really isn't my thing, but I played. And by played, I mean I ran around half thinking about the game, half singing Disney songs or trying to find out where the ball was, or understand why everyone was running the other direction. I'm grateful that I wasn't completely locked into the game though, BECAUSE.. guess what I saw in the ocean during the game? Yep. That's right. We saw two whales swimming past. I've been looking in the ocean for whales my whole mission.. and there they were, blowin' their water and everything. It was really excited. And then when they passed, I went back to singing Disney songs and running around the turf field acting like I knew the rules.

We visited an interesting less active this weekend. His wife is still an active member. He had served a mission two years after his baptism (which was a little over 20 years). A few years ago he had even been the branch president here in St Marie.. then.. he mysteriously stopped coming. So, we went up to his house to introduce ourselves and find out a little more about him. I LOVE his personality.. he's a little skeptical.. but is sincerely looking for the truth. The way he talked about the truth, and things he believed was very intriguing. I appreciated his openess with us. After talking for nearly an hour, he had to leave, but he told us to stop by again.. so we're excited about our new found friendship with him. We ended up staying and eating dinner with his wife after he had left. What a great family. It's amazing how willing people are to invite us into their lives.

We currently have three churches on Reunion. A fourth one is going up and will be finished in December. AND guess where this church just so happens to be... ST MARIE. (Our area!) So in preparing for the new church, we have set the goal to knock on every door in this city. Unfortunately, there is NO map for St Marie.. I'm not exactly sure why.. but there's none to be found. As a result, we've decided to make our own map. We are currently in the process of going from street to street, on foot, making a little hand-drawn map. It's quite the ordeal. But it's exciting to feel involved in such a big project.

Every week we pass by this one family's house and share a spiritual message with them. Part of the family has been baptized and is now less active, and part of the family have not been baptized yet. They like animals, and since we come every week, we've been able to see their little puppy grow. It's been interesting to see how his little body matures and his personality changes every rendezvous. Well, it was interesting, at least until this week.. when we turned up for the rendezvous and the puppy had transformed into a devil dog. I'm not sure exactly what has possessed him in the past week, but I can tell you that he hated my black shoes. He kept gazing at the them, and would bark and bark.. and then try and nip. My heart was going nuts. ahhh.. I was tempted to just give him my shoes, and walk home barefoot. But I felt this would've been a little unnecessary, so instead, I just tucked my feet up onto the couch, underneath my skirt, and then kept on teaching. haha.. Sr Neubauer and I laughed and my awkward, and very hostile, body language... but I am happy to announce that I left their house with all ten of my toes.. and even my two black shoes are still completely intact.

Well, we have another conference tomorrow, with a general authority. Thanks for the letters and prayers. Happy Birthday Missy.
Until next week, all the love in my heart..
Sr Merkley.

Bonjour

2008-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

We helped another less active move this week; the elders were nice enough to come and help us out. The seven year old niece of the woman moving continued to follow the elders around. It wasn't much of a problem, until she started pulling their shirts and slapping their behinds. It's been a while since I've seen anyone look so uncomfortable. The elders just looked at us with puzzled faces like "how do we politely get out of this situation?" haha. Unfortunately for the poor elders, the moments of pure embarrassment were not quite over.

As we got to the woman's new apartment and began unloading her things, Sr Neubauer and I came across a bag of her lingerie. We felt it would be better to leave it alone so she could take such personal items inside herself. This was a little foolish of us, because we didn't realize that the elders didn't know of our little thought process.. so.. in went an elder, he reached for the bag, and then by the redness of his face, we could tell that he had found the bag full of little personal, not missionary appropriate material. oops.

To make it worse, he did his best to be professional about it and take the sack in anyway (acting like he was completely oblivious as to what laid inside).. and it was at this moment that the bottom of the bag broke, and half of the skampy material fell out completely exposing itself. Up to this point, Sr Neubauer and I had been laughing from the side, unable to move. But as this poor missionary did his best to hold the ripped bag in one hand, and clumsily try and catch everything falling with his other hand.. we finally realized it was time to jump in and save him from this incredibly awkward situation. haha.. the poor thing. The woman we had been helping came out just in time to watch the whole scene. We all just looked at each other afterwards and laughed and laughed.

hmm.. on that spiritual note.. what else can I say about this week. Well, Sr Neubauer and I spent alot of time contacting and porting (door to door) this week. We met alot of great people. Contacting is so much fun.. it's such a great way to see the people, and become familiar with their culture on such an intimate level. As you talk with people, you are flooded with so many different stories, and personalities, and beliefs.. I find it refreshing. It's one of the things that make me laugh and definately smile the most on the mission.

I received dad's package the other day, and read through the articles yesterday. I was absolutely devastated to hear about Mandy (who was killed in the plane crash in Cedar City). She was a happy and sweet friend. Wow. It was a shock. It reminded me alot about two years ago when my friend Dave died. I found it hard to sleep yesterday. My mind was filled with memories of reading through his journals with Chase; or driving up to the hospital with Kristen. What heartache. I'm grateful for the knowledge we have about all the life that awaits us after death. It helps us realize that death is just a change of scenery.. that we keep on living.. however, even with this knowledge, there is still a definite degree of suffering with death. I've been thinking alot about her family.. please keep them in your prayers.

I also was sad to see the articles about the Guatemalan couple that died in a plane crash about the same time. I cant believe Sare and I knew them.. what great people. Pray for their kids too. All of this news was a big kick in the face for me.. it's so easy to become overly consumed with my own obstacles.. like the french.. or the cold I caught this week.. and then, within an instant of hearing news like this.. it seems to put things back into prospective. Life is fragile. Thanks for letting me know whats going on.

All my love,
Sr Merkley.

How bizarre, how bizarre

2008-09-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

Ok.. as if little 13 year olds aggressively playing video games on the computers next to me weren't distracting enough.. the little email place we're at is also playing "American Classics" such as "How bizarre, how bizarre".. haha.. to say the least.. I find it hard to concentrate on writing you an email right now.. bear with me.

No fights this week. In fact, we spent alot of time rendering help to a single parent woman in the branch, who has one 4 year old and one on the way (due in March). It was neat to spend time with her and hear about her conversion.. and her sweet and endearing testimony. She is only a few years only than us, so it feels like we're just spending time with a dear friend. We laugh and have a lot of fun talking. One night this week she called us up and asked us to come over and help her paint up her old apartment (so that she could get her full deposit back). She gave me the long roll brush to paint her walls white.. that much I understood. The part I didn't catch, is that she asked me to paint her OUTSIDE walls white. oops. I was quickly corrected after I started painting her living room wall white. She quickly grabbed a wet rag and began scrubbing it off. Luckily, the living room wall was a similar color.. and we had more paint to go over my mistake with. BUT she was definately more careful after that.. she'd explain things to me two or three times, going through every action, and leading me exactly to where I needed to work next. haha. I'm at kind of a rough point with the language.. because I can follow the conversation just fine.. and with some gestures I can usually figure out exactly what they're saying. However, it is really easy to think that I got the whole message, when in fact.. I didnt hear the important phrases like "don't" do such and such.. or "we already" tried such and such.. or in this case "don't ruin my inside already perfectly painted living room walls. Paint the outside walls you poor little trying to help out missionary you." Three cheers for learning a new language. haha.

After painting her OUTSIDE walls all white, I was then assigned the task of painting the ceiling. I continue to be surprised with the crazy tasks we're given. There was that one time dying the woman's hair. Or the time we cut down banana trees. Painting someone's ceiling was right up there. It was definately a first for me. I felt like Michaelangelo as he painted the Sistine chapel.. except that my ceiling was all white.. and a lot sloppier. BUT just like him, my neck was craned straight upwards, paint was dripping in my eyes, and I started to feel a little perfectionistic. The woman who we were helping eventually had to stop me, as I had gone over the same spot more than five or six times.

I bore my testimony during church yesterday (as all of the assigned speakers had so happened to not show up.. haha). I looked out at the congregation, and was overwhelmed with emotion. My tight throat made it hard to speak, but I did my best to express that my love for these people has deepened, and I know that my heart is changing and deepening because of the Lord. He is teaching me. He is working beside us. The people here are wonderful. They are doing their best to valiantly establish the church on this tiny island. It's very inspiring. I'm grateful for the oppurtunity to be here; and appreciate all of your support and prayers. Things are going great.. I'm not blind and my neck isn't permanently damaged after the extensive paint job.. lookie there.. we really do experience miracles.

All my love.

Sr Merkley.

goodluck with school (and the move) this week!‏

2008-08-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

You won't believe it. But Sr Neubauer got roped into another fight again. We were pleasantly driving along, looking for a less active's house.. when we heard a man yelling at his girlfriend on the sidewalk just next to us. We look out at our window and were shocked that the man was as aggressive as he was for the public setting. We were even more shocked that absolutely NO ONE was doing anything. We kept moving forward slowly in our car wondering what we could (or should) do. We finally couldn't take it anymore, and found the nearest place we could to pull over.

We then scrambled out (completely united and determined) and told him to knock it off. He backed her up into a corner and yelled that 'this was his woman' (as if that justified it in the least). The woman was cowered into the corner, shaking and crying. Sr Neubauer asked him if we could talk to her. I'm not sure if it's because we're little American girls.. if it was because of our nametags with Jesus Christ written on the front.. or if it was just the hand of the Lord doing His thing.. but the drunken and raging boyfriend surprisingly told us yes. We passed him, and immediately went over to his girlfriend.

The man who had been driving behind us had gotten out of his car just moments later and was distracting the boyfriend and telling him to knock it off, while we talked with the woman and did our best to comfort her. The man who had gotten out of his car was just as mad as we were about the situation, and while he talked to the boyfriend, his wife (still in the car) was calling the police. After a couple minutes, the man from the car got back in and drove away with his wife. (I was happy he had gotten out and helped us.. it restored my confidence in humanity that there are still people that will jump in to protect a complete stranger.. )

We told the girlfriend that the cops would be coming and asked her if she would like us to stay until the arrived; she told us yes. So there we stayed.. the abusive man still yelling, hitting the walls and his head with his fists. He kept telling his girlfriend that he was going to kill her and her family. More than a few times he asked us if we could get out of the way so that he could talk to her.. we calmly said no. It was a weird situation.. because as terrifying as it was, we felt protected. We knew that we were supposed to be there, and that we had the ability to protect her.

As Sr Neubauer talked with her, I held her in my arms and just hugged her as tightly as I could. She was trembling so badly. I got a little choked up at how someone could treat someone like this. I felt sorrow for both of them. What an awful situation. The police eventually arrived, and then as soon as the officer began taking her information, Sr Neubauer slipped her a picture of Jesus with our number on the back, and then we went on our little way.. we sat more quietly in the car. We felt very grateful that we had been led there.

Not to bring up another less than cheerful topic.. but unfortunately, this week, the family AHMED dropped us. They were the two women who had been preparing to get baptized next Saturday. Their mother is very against the church, and in consequence to the opposition, they have decided not to get baptized or be taught anymore. It was a complete shock. We're sad because they have tasted the light and the truthfulness of a life in accordance to Christ's teachings. It's interesting to see how vigorously Satan works on us to cause us to doubt and live by fear. We still have hope though that something could happen with this family. We haven't been able to see them yet this week.. but are hoping to this coming week.

We're still working alot with less actives. And it's been rewarding to see the progress made with them. I really love this area, and am surprised by how fast it's been for me to get attached to the people in this sector. We're working hard. Getting along great. And are doing are best to be representatives to Jesus Christ. I read some old letters from you guys this week, which helped boost up my moral. haha.. so thanks for the ongoing support.
I love you, and will write again next week.
Sr Merkley.

I hit my nine month mark. Ahh!!

2008-08-18T12:20:00.000-07:00

Sr Neubauer, with only five months left on the mission, has decided to lose some weight she's gained over the past year. The scary part is that she has asked me to help her. As Nikki can clearly remember, I have only tried one diet and this was my sophomore year in high school when I set the rules to "not eat as much bread, and I can't eat any cheese." I have no idea WHY I thought this was a good diet at the time.. since soda, doughnuts and chocolate were still within my limits of what I could eat. haha.. And now that I think about it, I don't even think I stuck with that diet for more than a week. I have tried hard to establish a healthy diet on the mission.. but I know very little about the whole "weight losing" thing.

hmm.. as a result, we've bought tons of fruits and vegetables AND for dinner we try to go all French style and eat smaller meals. These smaller meals usually consist of soup and a side of one fruit and one vegetable. It's been funny to watch our creative minds get a little more creative as our routine of soup every night has surpassed over two weeks... We buy crazy soups we've never seen before.. adding all sorts of spices and vegetables. haha.. She's feeling with our efforts however, so we're happy.

Our diet has become fairly routine, yet we did something at church this week that was entirely new for me.. we helped watch the kids in nursery with one other woman in the branch. It was comical due to the fact that according to our missionary rules, we can't technically pick up or hold little kids.. so we did lots of cutesy voices and gentle prodding to keep the kids from escaping the nursery. One kid kept trying to run away, so it was my job to sit up against the door while reading a book to another girl.. he cried and cried.. this was only minutes before one of the girls in the corner peed through her little church skirt and all onto the floor. (and yes, I was the lucky one who got to come in with a wad full of paper towels and random cleaner I found in a nearby closet) Although I'm sure one day I'm sure I'll be excited to have my own kids, this momma cryin, diaper leakin 45 minute experience made me happy to be on a mission.. where having kids is the last thing on my mind. Sare and Jamo, get ready. haha

Sr Neubauer and I were in the pursuits of finding a less active's home this week. She lives SO far away, and her home is hidden amongst the sugar cane fields. You can't get there with out driving on dirt roads.. and by dirt roads.. I mean jagged rocks. Part of the road we needed to take was blocked off due to construction. We sat there for a minute what on earth we should do. We then saw a truck go past the "deviation" signs telling us to turn around.. and as we saw him disappear into the direction that we needed to go, we decided to follow him.

Unfortunately, the mysterious truck was no where to be found.. but how hard could a random dirt road be to follow, eh? Well, 10 minutes later we decided that our poor car had taken enough beatings for the day.. and that the fact that I had stalled it two times was a sign that the road was too steep for us to keep going. We laughed at what a ridiculous scene we must've been making. Two sister missionaries, doing our best in our little wimpy car to go four wheeling up these boulders.. completely isolated from human life, due to the ginormous sugar cane fields.. oh wait.. we're not isolated. Isnt that a man? Is he watching us? Is he laughing at us? And sure enough, there was a man riding his bike, that had stopped to watch our stupidity. He kept shaking his head no as he laughed and laughed and our continual efforts to go forward when the car, and the rocky path were both saying no. He ended up coming down to where we were eventually and offering his help. He helped us find an alterate road.. and we grabbed his name and number and will hopefully have a chance to pass by next week to teach him the first lesson. haha.. so we looked like dorks, and our car has some emotional problems that will most likely be permanent.. BUT we left the situation with a new friend.

We are currently teaching two women that have been meeting with the missionaries for several months now (the family Ahmed). They want to get baptized and are SO excited about it. They came to a baptism held this weekend (an 11 year old ami of the elders) AND they came to church! YAY! They are progressing really well and love to study the scriptures. Yesterday we tried taking the bus with them so they could learn which buses they needed to take to get to church (about an hour and a half trip on bus). We rode one of the buses with them, but then for the second bus we needed, there wasn't enough room.. so Sr Neubauer and I got them on waved them goodbye and then we found another bus which took us back to where we had left our car. (what a joke..) BUT they learned how to do it.. and now have the ability to come to church every week. Alot of people don't have cars here.. so the bus is an obstacle in which we've had to learn how to conquer. Another miracle is that Georgette was on the same bus, so she acted as a little guardian angel to tell them when to get off, since there wasn't enough room for us. We taught the family Ahmed about temples yesterday, and how we can be married for eternity and not just "till death do we part". We explained that yes baptism is a requirement to live God after this life.. but he has created a way for ALL of his kids to receive baptism. It was a great rendezvous.

Sr Neubauer and I are doing well. She's so great. We're working hard, and are focusing alot of our time on less actives in the area. I'm happy and am doing my best to love those around me. The language is still coming.. this week I learned how to say "strangely familiar" (entrangement familier). Hope you guys are having a great time out at the lodge. Hope you had a nice birthday Mom.

All my love,
until next week.
Sr Merkley.

Haha.. This random muslim man just walked in and was strangely recording everyone on his cell phone camera. I happened to make eye contact with him, and he came over and stuck his face right next to mine.. and then started flipping my ponytail with his fingers. He's gone now, by my face is so red, and the other soeurs can't stop laughing. oh the never-ceasing adventures..

kinda long‏ (... but worth the read!)

2008-08-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

As we loaded up all of our groceries, we nervously watched the checkout screen getting closer and closer to 72 euros. 72 was our goal, because 72 was what was left in our lonely little pockets for the month. As the woman at the checkout (Caroline) rang up the total, we realized that we had gone over two euros and had to put something back. Luckily, we had been previously talking with Caroline about her day and the pretty necklace she was wearing, because she was gracious enough to have compassion on us. We had tried putting back some juice, and Caroline quickly ran her card through and bought the juice for us... as well as giving us four euros back in change. We were completely shocked and touched by her generosity. We may be running low on the financial sides of things, BUT we did have lots of spiritual wealth stored up in the car... in the manifestation of the Book of Mormon. Feeling it was the least we could do to repay her for her kindness, we sprinted out to the car, grabbed a Book of Mormon, wrote a quick note inside and then ran it back in. She gave us a big smile and said thanks. I'm not sure if she's started reading it or not, but we left feeling like we made a new friend.

Our second miracle that involved money happened this morning. Because the four weeks of allotment had ran out, we received our month's spending money last night in an envelope from the assistants. Unfortunately this morning, as we were headed out the door, we realized we couldn't find the envelope. I'm not sure if Caroline could've bailed us out again by buying groceries for the entire month of August.. so we furiously searched the apartment. We prayed. We looked. Nothing. We prayed again. Looked again. Still nothing. I even resorted to looking underneath the mattresses and in the oven. Nothing. After about 30 minutes of tearing our house apart, we finally found it in a binder in my backpack. Oops. I didn't know it was in the binder. Sr Neubauer didn't know that I had the binder. It was a miracle though that we had stayed pleasant and optimistic through the whole thing.. and it was a definitely a miracle that we found it.

The biggest miracle we experienced this week occurred while we were walking home from a rendezvous Thursday night. The sun had just gone down, and from far away we could hear a little voice crying. As we walked, the voice got louder.. and eventually we could see that the voice was coming from a little kid that was getting beat up by another kid. Not knowing exactly what to do.. our instincts took over, and we ran fiercely towards the two and broke them apart. The boys were 9 and 11, brothers in fact. I was surprised by the intensity of the fighting, especially for their age. The older brother (Ben) quickly stopped when we came over, and looked a little embarrassed. He told us that his mom had sent him out to bring his little brother (Hassan) home, and for some reason, Hassan didn't want to go. After a few minutes Ben left for home, and Hassan was hiding against this wall on the side of the street, crying hysterically. He was having a hard time catching his breath and even had drool coming down his lips from the severity of his crying. We tried talking to him, but he wouldn't talk back. Eventually we felt like there was nothing else we could do, so we went home.

However, the entire way home, our hearts felt heavy and just sick. The image of this little 9 year old boy, was weighing down in our thoughts, and conscious. It was at this moment that we realized that we had a whole bag of cookies (that we had forgotten to bring to a rendezvous earlier that day). So we grabbed the cookies from our apartment, and drove back in hopes it wasn't too late. And there he was. Hassan was still in the same exact place in the same emotional state. We got out and talked with him, as sweetly as we could. We gave him the cookies, and a card with our number on one side and a picture of Jesus on the other. Eventually, he began slowly answering our questions... as well as making eye contact... his crying died down.

A few minutes later we found ourselves sitting on the side walk like old friends, eating cookies at 8:30 at night laughing and talking. He told us that he had seen the missionaries before, and that one of them had taught him some magic. It was fun to see his personality begin to come out as he developed more trust in us. We took him home, and felt safe about the situation. What a difference in moods. I can't believe we almost went home and let ourselves justify that there was nothing we could do. We told him at the end of the night, that we were friends now, and if he ever needed anything, he could call us. We've seen him twice on the streets since that night, he waved and smiled both times. Sr Neubaurer felt like it's one of the most missionary things we've done on the whole mission.

The soeurs that are currently working in the South will be coming up Wednesday to start working St Denis (one of the two areas we're working). I love St Denis, but know it's better for both the areas to have the attention they deserve. Sr Neubauer and I will be able to focus more energy and time in St Marie. We're doing great. The branch is incredible. The language is still slowly coming.
All my love.
Sr Merkley.

friends and family, thank you for the letters, sorry I'm awful at responding.‏

2008-08-04T10:31:00.000-07:00

As Soeur Neubauer and I drove to the south on Saturday, we practiced singing a song we would be performing that night. As if the windy small roads weren't enough to make us a little sick... but after two hours of singing, we were light headed, and decided it was time to take a break from the singing for a while. (it was probably a good move, since soon after my voice was so worn it began to crack). The drive was completely worth it though, as it was for... SYLVIE'S BAPTISM. It was so amazing to see her all dressed in white, with the excitement comparable to the first few steps you've taken after getting your ticket taken and walking into Disneyland. haha.. her smile was so big. I don't know who was more excited- Sylvie or her 6 year old son Adrian, who had his hands on the railing of the baptismal font, standing on his tiptoes to get a better look.

Elder Skip (the missionary who did the baptism) was obviously really excited too.. and a little nervous. haha.. as a result, Sylvie needed to be baptized three times. The first time he forgot part of her name, the second time he raised his left hand instead of the right, but the last time was perfect. She just laughed about it, and was just so excited to be baptized. Afterwards, the four sister missionaries, Sylvie and Adrian went to the beach and ate lunch.It was really fun. We could've stayed there talking with her all day, but Soeur Neubaurer and I were quickly back into the car and on our way to the North. (and yes, we practiced singing all the way back home).

We flew through our apartment doors, and ironed Georgette's baptismal dress, then flew back out of the doors and made our way to the St Denis chapel. Georgette was waiting for us by the front gates, with a smile she somehow stole from Sylvie; it was just as big, and just as exciting. Saturday night was also the baptismal date Georgette had chosen, and Sr Neubauer were lucky enough to be able to attend both of them. We had a quick rendezvous with her, and then she went into the bathroom to slip on her (well ironed) baptism dress :) The branch members began to show up, and she happily greeted them. I was VERY excited to see Frere (Mr) Fontaine there; he even had a nice button-up shirt and a tie. The baptism was very nice.. calm and nice. Georgette bore her testimony afterwards, and it was one of the nicest moments I've had one my mission so far.

Sr Neubaurer are working really hard. And after a week together, we feel a little more settled with the transfer. The area and amis are still a bit unfamiliar; but we get along great, which makes things alot more fun. We're doing our best to find a balance between the two areas, as well as discover the balance between spending time with members and amis.

One thing I really love about Sr Neubaurer, is her sense of humor. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. She's very frank, which I find completely refreshing; plus, it's nice because we can communicate openly what we're thinking, make a decision, and then not be wondering if it's truly what the other person wanted or if they were just being passive. We laugh alot, and we're having a great time taking on this new (huge) area and singing in the car. Oh, and she speaks French VERY well. She studied Hebrew, Arabic and linguistics at BYU before the mission; she truly has a gift.. and she is very patient and kind to share her talents with me. We're happy. It's been a very spiritual and joyous week.

Hope you're all doing well. Sorry it's been a while with the hand-written letters.. I will hopefully get a CD off in the next month. thanks for being patient.
All my love.

I love technology.

2008-07-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

I just wrote a 6 paragraph email.. and then the computer turned off..
SO sorry for the short substitute.. but on bref...

We had transfers this week. Sr Call and Sr Tuahiva left today for Mauritius. I will be serving in the North again. Sr Neubaurer and I will be working St Denis (my old area) and St Marie (the area Sr Call and Sr Gray worked). The area is so big that we will be living in two apartments... in other words living out of our suitcases.(you can continue to send things to the Belvedere address) We have a big job ahead of us, but I feel excited about the challenge. Sr Gray will be working with Sr Court in the South. She's completely ready to be senior companion. I loved serving with her... it was tough to say goodbye to her as well as the area... I got really attached in just 5 weeks. Georgette (the lady Sr Tuahiva and I taught for 5months, has been seeing the missionaries for nearly 8months now) and has decided to get baptized! The service will be this SATURDAY! Yahoo! Sylvie (from the South) will also be getting baptized Saturday, along with an ami of the elders. We are all really excited!

Sr Court and I had an intelligent conversation this week with two men at a café.. in FRENCH. It was really exciting.. and we felt very grateful afterwards.

Sorry again for the computer.. I'm sad I lost all the details, but I'm happy... and nervous for all of the changes. Pray for me. And as always, I am praying for you.

I heard a Frank Sinatra song this week. I was really excited.

2008-07-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

We had an activity this week for all of the youth. For the activity we watched "Remember the Titans" in French. I sat next to one of the girls, and I was grateful for her companionship, because we just so happened to squeal, or flinch, or gasp at the same exact moments. Also for the event, Sr Court and I made 60+ samousas. We felt quite native.

Since we are still working the area without a car, we continue to have fun adventures on the bus. Along with these fun adventures, we also have a lot of fun talking and spending time just getting to know each other. This week Sr Court and I played that game where you have two things and you have to choose which of the two you would rather. (This was during one of our 40 minute bus rides.. oh and we can't proselyte on the bus or we'll get kicked off). I was surprised with how many things we had in common. For example, we both chose a cabin over a boat, watermelon over grapes, and mexican food over Chinese... I'd like to say we're kindred spirits.

She also saw a different side of me, as an American song started blasting on the bus and I just broke into laughter. The song was the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" song that Meg and Ben did a music video too. I did my best to describe the funny image painted in my mind... but every time I would open my mouth, all I could think of was Meg rolling on the floor in spandex, and Ben dramatically lifting his arms to the beat of the music. She did her best to laugh along with me even though I'm sure she was a little confused why I kept lifting my arms in the same manner as Ben, insisting that "it really is funny". haha.

She also caught a glimpse into our family while we talked about birthday traditions. She was shocked that we light the candles more than once... in fact, she was shocked that we light the candles more than three times. I also told her about the Christmas tradition of lining up on the stairs with a large sheet over the doorway. I made sure to explain how the youngest gets to run through the veil of Christmas bliss first, then each of us can go one by one. And that our que to run, is the scream of delight from the person who just ran through. She was very sympathetic of your position Sare.. you poor "last one to go" child. I forgot to tell her about how we hide Baby Jesus in the lamp or under the rug.. oh well, good thing we still don't have our car. Looks like I have the conversation starter for tomorrow!

This morning for our zone activity we had a talent show for all of the missionaries. It was fun to see the array of talents. We had face painting, guitar players, golf players (who used a broom instead of a club). I pulled out the song I learned in 9th grade, which taught me all of the 53 countries on the African continent. No standing ovation, but I think they were still a little impressed. haha. Some of the elders did an interpretaive dance about contacting people in the street. It was SO funny. We laughed alot, and ate lunch together afterwards.

After our zone conference last week, Sr Court and I have been trying to improve our lessons. The biggest focus is looking at our lessons as lessons, NOT speeches. We're trying to ask more questions, and create an environment where our amis feel more comfortable to share their ideas, or tell us when they don't understand. As a result, we've had some pretty incredible RDVs this week. There was more than one occasion where we just started dancing when we left their apartment! One of our amies in particular, the RDV was a break through. We decided to define some of the words we've been using now for months.. like atonement and sin. And it was neat to see her listen, understand and then explain back to us what she thinks about these topics. SO COOL.

I hit my 6th mark on teh island a few days ago. Wow. It's nuts. We're working hard. AND loving it.
All my love.
Sr Merkley.
Tell Lane and Laurie (and Jess) thanks for the letter.

Kate's Peculiar Foods

2008-07-15T14:32:00.001-07:00

Have you noticed how Kate mentions food like, ALL the time in her updates? Even more interesting, she TAKES pictures of food too. This is a tribute to all the food pictures she's sent us in the last little while. Bon appetit:

Half way through July.‏

2008-07-15T13:39:00.000-07:00

Due to our zone conference early Wednesday morning, Sr Court and I found ourselves with our bags in hand marching down to the bus station at 7:00 pm. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we got to the station that we realized that the last bus to St Denis had already left. Before we made our happy way back home (a 30 minute walk) we checked the schedule to see if there was a bus going up to St Denis early enough for us to make it to the conference. Fortunately, there was. Unfortunately for us, this bus happened to be leaving at 4:20 am. We just laughed as we trudged on home from the station, as we thought about the little (and very early) expedition we would be taking the next day.

The laughs weren't as hearty the next morning as my alarm went off at 2:50am, so that we could shower, eat and make the walk back to the station in time. BUT on the more positive side of things.. as we waited at the bus stop in St Denis for the soeurs to come get us, the sun was coming up, and it was BEAUTIFUL. Also, we got to eat breakfast three different times. (When we woke up, on the bus, and at the soeurs). Another positive thing about the experience, is that the conference was wonderful and completely worth the trip. Plus all the other missionaries thought we were very hard core and dedicated for having woken up so early; we definitely got the sympathy we deserved. (the elders even let us take THEIR car home, and they took the bus back down South).

I really appreciated this visit from Pres and Soeur Gaya, because we had more opportunities to talk with them one on one and get to know them more personally. We had our usual interviews with president, but also an additional meeting with Soeur Gaya. Pres and Soeur Gaya invited all of the sisters to their apartment one night for dinner. They made these really great (vegetable packed) dishes. They ate like rich people. wow. their manners were so delicate and dignified. And although we were all impressed with their eloquent ways, we caught a glimpse into their comfy habits as well.. for example, for dessert we had fruit sauce and ice cream. It was funny to open the carton and realize that one of the Gayas had been a little eager to eat the ice cream, and had already taken a bite or two out of the carton. It was even funnier to open the chocolate ice cream and realize that the same dessert taster had left their mark in this carton as well. haha. We laughed alot, and had such a great time.

The other unique event we had with them this week, was the fact that we took a 6 hour hike up to Mouffat. (a small village completely surrounded by mountains). What a beautiful part of the island! There are many huge and lusciously green mountains; then from the mountains there are long and skinny waterfalls just pouring out over the sides. I have never seen so many waterfalls in one setting in my whole life. Just one after another. It was very exotic feeling. And for once, I felt grateful we didn't have a car; because as a result of no car, we could sit in the back of the sister's car and let our eyes indulge. It was nice to spend so much time talking and laughing with the other missionaries. Our stiff bodies are still feeling the repercussions of the hike.. but I will never forget how wonderful the little village of Mouffat is.

Sorry I didn't have a chance to write an email yesterday. The 14th of July is actually the Independence Day of France. Sunday night they shot off fireworks right on the beach. We couldn't see extremely well from our apartment, but we were able to catch a couple of the high ones that soared past our neighbor's roof. To celebrate yesterday we made crépes at one of our amies homes. She surprised us by making us dinner.. it was very Creole.. and very good.

Our amies are doing well. We're trying hard to have a balance between our efforts of: conversion (amis/contacts/porting), retention (working with members), and reactivation (less active members). Its been really fun to get to know our amies and the members better. Sylvie is still preparing for her baptism, and is doing really well. Shes amazing. I love this area, and have loved working with Sr Court. We laugh alot, and have alot of unity in our efforts. Oh, and I talked with the missionaries from up North this weekend, and they told me that Mr.. or should I say.. Frére Fontaine, was confirmed as a member of the church during Sacrament meeting on Sunday. He also bore the sweetest and most sincere testimony (or so they told me). He told the members, "You continue to tell me that you're here for me if I need anything. But I hope you know that I'm here too. And you can depend on me." Wow. I am SO, so, so happy with how things are going for him right now.

The language is still pluggin along. We continue to learn new phrases and words, and push ourselves to speak French all the time.
Thanks for the emails and letters.
I love you.
Soeur Merkley.

I learned a new Creole recipe this week.

2008-07-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Sylvie set a baptism date this week! She'll be baptized the second of August! We were so excited, but we did our best to hold back our screams and happy dance until after we left her house. Unfortunately, we were scared we were going to miss our bus... so we ended up doing all the screaming and dancing as we ran 15 minutes towards the bus stop. I'm absolutely positive that all of the people we passed thought we were nuts, as we were in a complete sprint (in our skirts) and laughing and waving our arms with excitement the entire way.

And speaking of baptisms... we had the opportunity to take the bus up to St. Denis on Saturday for Mr. Fontaine's baptism. It was INCREDIBLE. I have never seen him so happy... or so humble. It was a very precious moment to see him with tears rolling down his face, and a huge smile.. wow. I talked with him for a little bit after the service and he just continued to smile and tell all of the missionaries and members, "thank you. thank you." It was one of the happiest days I've had yet on the mission. It's been amazing to watch his transformation take place. He's so great.

We've had alot of changes with the missionaries this week. We received four new elders, and the missionary whose been an assistant since I've been here, got moved to be a trainer. One of these new missionaries is in our area now, Elder Jeppson. He's from Idaho, and is really cool. We did our best to make a big fuss about his day, to make sure sure he felt welcome. haha.. We told our district we'd make lasagna for all of us, so we could eat together and get to know Elder Jeppson better. About five minutes before we were supposed to meet up, Sr Court was taking the lasagnas out of oven, and one of them accidentally dropped and splattered all over the floor. We looked at each other... and almost in complete unison, we found a bowl and started shoving the lasagna inside with the intention of still serving it. haha. The elders didn't mind the appearance of our messy dish. And honestly, I don't know what I was more afraid of... the fact that there could have been some glass in the lasagna (because of the broken dish) OR the fact that we didn't mop our kitchen floor last week... hmm... no one has said anything since... so I think we're ok. Oh, and to make our "perfect dinner" that much more perfect... we had bought a baguette and sliced it into little pieces, and then carefully put it in the oven so that it'd be warm. Perhaps we had carefully put it in there.. but we had definitely not carefully pulled it out. We had actually lost track of time, and only took the bread out because we could smell it being completely broiled. Bread on one side. Charcoal on the other. We thought it would make the elders be a little more sympathetic about the lasagna if we showed them that we messed up on the bread too... so we brought them both out for dinner. As with the lasagna, the other missionaries didn't care. Elder Jeppson even told us that the burned baguettes tasted like "big croutons". And from this comment, I'd like to believe that our welcome dinner was a success.

This morning Sr Court and I went to the beach to do our studies. We sat on the sand. Listened to the waves. The sun came up while we peacefully sat there. Afterwards we went to a bakery near by and had some french pastries for breakfast. I'm really enjoying my time with Sr Court. She is SO easy to get along with. I'm really, really happy.

I hope you're all doing well. Still in my thoughts and prayers.
All my love,
Sr Merkley.

We're writing our emails in a bar right now. Oh the ironies of life.‏

2008-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, President Sorg (the president of our branch) announced that a baptism would take place this next Saturday (July 5th). We were really surprised... especially since none of our amis have decided on a date yet. He then went on to explain that he had the faith that SOMEONE was going to be baptized.. but who? Not even President Sorg was quite sure who it would be. He encouraged all of our amis to pray and see if July 5th felt like a good date for them to be baptized. His example of faith and boldness was incredible. I'm grateful he followed the spirit and made this commitment, because... MR. FONTAINE has decided to get baptized this Saturday! We are are all so excited.

His baptism date wasn't the only shocking news we received this week. Tuesday night we received a call from the assistants explaining that due to some events taking place in the South, I would be moving down South. They then went on to tell me that I had to be ready by 8am the next morning! Sr Tuahiva and I were completely surprised.. especially with the quickness of the move. To help cope with the shock, we went to the local creamery, grabbed some ice cream.. then went home to pack. I made a few phone calls to say goodbye to our amis, and then spent the rest of the night running around the house trying to gather everything up. The soeurs from St. Marie came over the next morning to wish me off and stay with Sr Tuahiva until one of the sisters from the South would be coming up later on that day. We all ate some crepes together.. said our goodbyes.. then the assistants drove me down to the South.

The South is a little different than the North. There are more farming areas.. and the Creole influence is a bit stronger. So far, I've been nothing but impressed. Yesterday at church, all of the members were so kind to me. We teach Sunday school... which was a bit intimidating... but it turned out great. There are currently 3 Elders in this area (we're getting a new one on Tuesday from the US)... then Sr Court and I. The first night we were here, the Elders made us dinner and we had a picnic outside. It was really fun, and it was nice to receive such a nice welcome. Not only is the area different, but I've also become a senior companion. It works out nicely though, because Sr Court has been in this area since she arrived (Februrary).. so we are really depending on each other. I feel the unity between us thus far, is really nice.

Sr Court is from Missouri (I knew her for a little in the MTC). She's really happy, and NICE. I've loved getting to know her better the past couple of days. She grew up on a farm and adores horses, she was home schooled for a while; her family participates in the foster care program.. It's been fascinating to hear about her ideas and experiences. (She's even handy with home repairs.. she fixed the kitchen sink just this morning). She likes to jog (yay) and has a very sweet countenance. It's been a week of mixed emotions.. because it was sad to say goodbye to Sr Tuahiva, and at the same time I am really excited to start an adventure in a new area with Sr Court. Oh, and the other major difference in this area is the fact that the soeurs crashed the car a couple months ago, and still don't have it repaired... SO we walk EVERYWHERE. Sometimes it makes things difficult to plan... on the other hand it's been a great opportunity to talk with people on the streets. We've had a lot of fun, and have already met lots of great people.

Speaking of the car... we took the bus up to St. Denis on Saturday in hopes of picking up our car (which was supposedly fixed and ready to go). Yet, after our two and a half hour voyage... we found out that the car was NOT yet finished. The assistants took us to my old apartment to pick up a few groceries Sr Tuahiva had set aside for me (bless her heart)... then back to the bus stop it was, to make the two and a half hour bus ride back down to the south (St. Louis). We were so exhausted from being on the bus all afternoon... not to mention starving. As the assistants pulled away and we waited for the bus, we began tearing through the bag Sr Tuahiva had given us. We found a couple apples.. and what? what is this? milk (the kind in a box that doesn't need to be refrigerated) and cereal? Sounds like a meal to me. But where could we get a bowl... or maybe a spoon? It was at that point that we realized a little street vendor still open. We were poor and couldn't really afford buying dinner from the vendor.. so we bought a little roll, and then bashfully asked for a plastic spoon. The lady looked at us like we were nuts. It didn't help that I then nervously asked if I could have another one. She said no. So back to our lonely bench we went, to munch on our random dinner and wait for the bus. We ended up emptying the noodles (also found in the bag Sr Tuahiva gave us) into another sac, then used the ice cream container which had contained the noodles as a bowl. Sr Court ate some cereal (with our one stupid spoon) first... then I took a go at it. Usually it's hard for me to share dairy products like this... but hey. I'm taking my new calling as a senior sister seriously. haha... of course I had to let her go first. And somehow, sharing the spoon didn't gross me out. I'd like to label that as a tender mercy. haha

We have an amie down here which is planning on getting baptized the last week in July, or the first week in August. She's INCREDIBLE. We had lunch with her, her boyfriend, and their son today. She's very in tune with the spirit, and has a tender testimony... wow. Her boyfriend is a less active, and is very supportive of her decision to get involved with the church. I'm sure I'll be talking more about her in later emails.

Well, it's been a wild week. But I'm happy.. and am working hard. Sr Court loves speaking French, so we're doing our best to speak 24/7. Oh, and I can still receive letters from St. Denis...
so don't stress if you've sent letters to my other address. The Assistants can bring them down every week. (in fact they're bringing a package from the family down today.. yay. THANKS! I can't wait). BUT I will get a hold of our current address for you next week.
All my love.
Sr Merkley.

La Reunion intro

2008-06-23T06:52:00.001-07:00

This is the view from Kate's apartment. Kinda makes you wish you were there, eh?

A creole woman told me I have a small nose. I didn't know how to reply. So I just smiled and said thanks.

2008-06-23T05:56:00.000-07:00

We just barely finished our zone activity at the church, and it was so much fun! We had an Olympics type thing, where we had four different groups of missionaries and played random games. I participated in the "History of La Réunion" event (where I didn't even get one answer right. haha... oh yeah, I got one right, but it's because Sr Tuahiva told me the answer). I also participated in the "football throwing contest".. which I happened to win, I might boastfully add. It was great to spend time with the other missionaries, and as usual we laughed alot.

Sare tried to warn me before the mission that your humor becomes a little corky. Yep. The fact that I just used the word corky should indicate that Sare was absolutely right. Just for a couple examples of the missionary sense of humor... I found myself marching around the house Thursday night with the other Soeur missionaries singing on the top of our lungs "Vote for Women step in time. Vote for women step in time. Never need a reason never need a rhyme. Vote for Women.(bum) step in time!" Then, last night Sr Tuahiva spent the night making a turtle shaped rice krispie treat. We thought we were so funny, and were sure to bring it to the activity today to show the other missionaries. (In fact, we made it for one of the elder's b-days. He was... happy. A little surprised with the form of his cake, but happy. Our turtle even had little eyes made out of raisins.)

Despite all of our corky ways, we can still find a way into the hearts of the people of La Reunion. This week, I found common ground with an ami in a very uncommon and unexpected way. He asked me if I knew of this specific series on TV.. after he said the name (in french) I said no. BUT he was confident I knew.. so he kept on trying to describe the series. Finally something he said sounded a little familiar. I asked him to repeat. "Lad-a-and-jalls". What? "Loa-da-an-gal".. I finally made the connection that he was saying, Laura Engalls from the series "Little House on the Prairie". Since we grew up watching this TV classic, we spent the next few minutes discussing the Ingalls family specifically the crazy adventures of Mary and Laura. haha...

We had exchanges this week. The first day of exchanges, Sr Gray and I worked in this area. Our first rendezvous was with a creole woman that Sr Tuahiva had promised she would teach her how to make her famous chocolate cake. Unfortunately, Sr Tuahiva was in St Marie with Sr Call.. which left Sr Gray (who had never made this cake before) and me to try teaching our amie how to make this cake. We ended up playing charades while trying to explain thing like "liquid ingredients need to be in one bowl and the dry ingredients in the other.." haha. The batter was really lumpy.. and the last time we checked the cake in the oven it was also very lumpy.(dangit. we even followed the recipe!) So we did what any smart missionary would do... we said quick goodbyes, and left before the woman took the "cake" out of the oven. Bonne chance, mon amie!

The next day Sr Call and I worked together in her area. Our first rendezvous was with this woman who has been meeting with the missionaries for nearly 2 months. Before going in, we planned on teaching the plan of salvation and extending the commitment to read 2 Nephi 2 (in the Book of Mormon) before our next rendezvous... yet as we were in the rendezvous, the spirit led us another way, and Sr Call ended up inviting this amie to prepare for baptism. It was silent for a few minutes.. then the woman calm said "yes." My heart was just exploding with happiness. It was such a neat moment. All three of us were in unison, and we felt peace. It is one of the most spiritual moments I've had on the mission so far. It confirmed to my heart once more that God truly is listening to us. He's aware of our desires and our challenges. He knows each of us, personally. He is a God of miracles.

Things are going really well. Sr Tuahiva and I have served together for nearly 5 months now, and are doing great. The language is still coming along. Our branch is incredible.
As always, thanks again for your prayers and letters.
All my love,
Sr Merkley.

MTC Pictures- Part II

2008-06-16T08:17:00.001-07:00

Presenting Kate's companion: Soeur Fillerup:

"Cake. Cake. Cake."‏

2008-06-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Since we had a little bit of cash kickin' around at the end of last month, we figured we would surprise the other Soeur missionaries by buying some french pastries. We were looking for a pastry called "religeuse" (which is the word for nuns), and it took us three bakeries to find. Yet it was worth all the searching for, because the other Soeurs were so excited. We also bought a foret blanche and a foret noir. It was a fun afternoon, and once again the french culture crept its way even deeper into my heart by way of food. We didn't know that two of the pasteries had alcohol in them... at least until we were telling a member about our little bakery adventure, and with wide eyes and an open mouth explained the contents. oops. It didn't help that I had just finished explaining that out of all the pastries we've tried, the one with the alcohol was my favorite.

Speaking of french desserts.. yesterday for father's day we had lunch with the Ambrosi family; for dessert they had these two beautifully decorated French cakes, with letchis on top. I couldn't help but laugh through out the entire meal. I could've closed by eyes and sworn I was home. The grown ups sat on the grown up table, and the kids all sat on a picnic blanket on the floor. You could hear the kids practicing the poems they had memorized at church for their dads. Then, as soon as the cake was brought out, all of the kids jumped up and started screaming. It wasn't long until the youngest of the group started chanting "cake.cake.cake." Then they all started chanting "cake. cake. CAKE." (progressively getting louder and more earnest). After we gave each of the kids a piece of cake, we hadn't even placed the knife back in to cut another piece, when they came back with frosting covered lips and sad eyes pleading "please sir, can I have some more?" No we didn't begin rebuking them by replying "MORE?!" and breaking into song (reference to "Oliver!" for all you who are completely lost in my stream of thoughts right now). It was a great way to celebrate Father's day. I missed you guys... but the liveliness of the Ambrosi Family helped ease the homesickness.

We had a zone conference this week, and Soeur Tuahiva and I were in charge of giving a ten minute talk on why it's important to use the scriptures in our rendezvous. We came up with the brilliant idea to interview our investigators and branch members on Soeur Tuahiva's camera! With this idea, we could get a new perspective.. and we didn't have to talk as long. THE ONLY PROBLEM, was the one we ran into the night before the conference: we couldn't get the filming loaded on the computer. A branch member was doing his best to help us (and ended up working on it for 2 hours, bless his heart). But alas, we found ourselves once again defeated by the mysteries of the world of technology. (Ben, Jamo and Andy.. stop rolling your eyes.) We ended up having 15 minutes before the conference to hurry and throw something together.. and when I say "something"... I mean a game of "telephone" and a scripture. We both left feeling like it went better than we had imagined.. so I consider that a success.

As we ran around filming our investigators and members.. we also found ourselves running into an embarrassing situation (surprise, surprise. haha). We hooked up the camera to a member's TV, so that they could watch the interview they had just given. Unfortunately, the world of technology once again blew right past us, and we couldn't figure out how to find the interview. We didn't, however, have any problems finding all of the pictures we had taken of us shoving cake in our mouth... or the pictures of Sr Gray climbing the walls in our apartment in her skirt. We continued to tell the family.. "uhh.. I don't think it's working. We can turn off the camera now." In which they would reply.. "No, I'm sure it's on here.. maybe if we just keep on going through these pictures.. woah. Sr Merkley, how did you get your face to pose like that? woah. Sr Tuahiva what are you doing in this picture?" haha.. we left feeling like they knew us (and the reality of the life as a missionary) a WHOLE lot better.

Mr. Fontaine told us this week that he has decided to be baptized on either the 25th of July or of August. Georgette was out of town this week, but we will hopefully see her two or three times this next week. We have some great rendezvous set up in the next couple of days. We're excited, and are working hard. I hope Father's Day at the Merkley home was just as energetic as the one I had at the Ambrosi's (which I'm assuming was no problem). Meg, I hope you know that we're all prayin' for you. Thanks again for the prayers everyone.. and the letters/emails.

All my love,
Soeur Merkley.

MTC pictures- Part I

2008-06-09T09:52:00.001-07:00

"I love to laugh.. ha ha ha ha."

2008-06-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

Soeur Tuahiva's health was still a little shaky this week, so we spent most of the week in the apartment. The highlight of my weekend was a marriage procession that drove by. It's a tradition here that when someone gets married, as the guests drive to the party, everyone honks their horn all the way there. For some reason, the sound of the approaching honking riled us up. We ran to the window to watch all the cars drive by. Yep. As the hours in the apartment rolled by, it seemed like everything was more exciting and a lot more funny. For example, Soeur Tuahiva danced around the house making up raps about the Book of Mormon one night. (She sang, I did the sound effects). Then there was the day that we drew a picture of everyone in our mission; we made sure to include the inside jokes about Sr Gray and the burning letter in our toaster AND how Sr Tuahiva always makes these amazing cakes, and then tells everyone that I (yes me) made them. (It'll be a stressful day when transfers come and I'm stuck in an area where everyone thinks that I can cook).

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about our nightly dash to get our mattresses out in the living room before 10:30 pm. Like most of you have probably guessed, we gave up. No, not on getting to bed by 10:30, but we gave up on the whole mattress thing. We still like sleeping out in the less mosquito-infested living room, so we've decided to just leave our mattresses out there on the floor. Don't worry mom, we still take the time to make our mattresses every day. Not that our folded sheets make our living room look any more appealing, due to the two dominating mattresses now taking over.

Like I said, we were in the apartment more often than normal this week, so we didn't have as much time to see our amis. We did find a couple occasions however to visit Georgette, who is still doing well. We had a great conversation about why she is hesitant about setting a baptismal date; it's her coffee drinking habit. Which, to me was a relief. BECAUSE, she has a testimony that this is Christ's church, and that it has been restored through the prophet Joseph Smith.. therefore, she has the desire to pray and overcome this obstacle. Speaking of Georgette, she made us dinner one night this week. We ate shrimp.. with the legs still on them and everything! We also ate tomatoes with this really strong pimot.. I think Sr Tuahiva drank half of Réunion's water supply just trying to get the spicy taste off her tongue. haha.. oh the Creoles and their pimot. I love it.

I'm still working hard on the language. I've felt really excited about studying out of my grammar book lately (ok, who's been prayin' for that?). AND I received another speaking assignment for church next Sunday (my third in 5 or 6 weeks). Our branch is doing well; they are so supportive of our efforts, and are excited to help out in any way possible. (in fact, one of the members brought a drink to church yesterday for Georgette, which acts as a substitute for coffee). So nice.

Things are going well. Sr Tuahiva and I are working hard.. especially now with all of our built up energy after some days in the apartment.
All is well.. until next week, all my love.
Soeur Merkley.

The pictures have come!!

2008-06-02T10:53:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo! So we FINALLY got a CD full of pics in the mail from Kate that our computer could actually read, and there were well over 250 pics on them! So to spare everyone an endless stream of images and let the fun last until the next CD of pics comes in the mail, I'll post them here as chronologically as I can remember them in groups.
AND as Kate's already edited through what she sent to us, we assume that even though we don't know half the people in these pictures, someone out there looking at this will. SO, I'm cutting very few of them (mostly repeats) out for the sake of fond connections by others.
Enjoy!
Chief Editor,
Sare

My new p-day is on Mondays

2008-06-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

La Réunion has two seasons (and this is legit information.. I even asked the locals): Summer and Winter. (Soeur Tuahiva told me that in Tahiti the two seasons are sunny and rainy. Oh the simple life of the beautiful Pacific isles). It's currently winter, and for the most part it's weather comparable to Southern California. However, this week it has rained ALOT. I've loved the weather. I now study, eat, exercise and sleep as close to the windows as possible.. just to get a better view. Soeur Tuahiva doesn't wish to celebrate the rain with the same enthusiasm; the rain this week has been colder than normal.. which has resulted in her coming down with a bad cold.. which resulted in us staying in the apartment for a couple days. After reading for six hours.. I finally decided my brain was going to explode.. SO I drew a little picture for Soeur Tuahiva. It wasn't anything fantastic (it was a little sketch of her favorite flower) BUT it was nice to let my creativity run wild for an hour. I haven't drawn for nearly seven months now.. so I found it quite therapeutic.

Yesterday at church I looked at our branch and had such an admiration for the members. They are such incredible people.. they've been so friendly to us. It was neat to look at each of them and think about memories we've with them.. and things we can do for them. Sorry this email is so short.. but not too eventful has happened in the past four days, especially since I've had my nose stuck in books during half of those days. Soeur Tuhaiva is doing well.. and we're all fired up to get back to work.

I'm doing well, and REALLY appreciate your prayers and letters/emails. Thanks.
Love you.
Soeur Merkley.