09-29-2019 - Rod's Letter, "News from the South"

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been another month since I last sent a letter.  It sure went by fast.  I send a report to the missionary committee every Sunday night and it seems like I just sent my last report yesterday and yet I need to send another one today. 

I am not going to attach any pictures to this letter but Carol has a bunch at her blog: merrellmission.blogspot.com.

We have had a very enjoyable month.  We didn’t travel as much this month.  We attended zone conferences in the Georgia Atlanta Mission (our home mission) and the Georgia Atlanta North Mission so we were at home each night.  Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel to Raleigh North Carolina to attend the open house for the re-dedication of the Raleigh Temple.  Chelsie and Trent and their families came down from Virginia so we were able to spend time with them.  It was great.  We spent Friday visiting some interesting museums in Raleigh and then the entire group went to a miniature golf course and then to dinner.  The following morning we attended the temple open house and then we drove about 30 minutes to Hillsborough, North Carolina.  In June 1771 my 8^th great-grandfather, Captain Benjamin Merrell was hung there by the British.  He was one of the leaders of a group called The Regulators who protested the oppressive taxes a year and a half before the Boston Tea Party.  There was a battle between the British and the Regulators and even though Capt. Merrell was not present at the battle he was held responsible for the uprising and was hung with six other men on a hilltop in Hillsborough in front of his wife and children.  There is a plaque at the site and it was fun to take a picture of my grandson Benjamin Merrell in front of the plaque remembering another Benjamin Merrell.  After we visited the site we played in a park for a while and then found a barbecue joint for a delicious lunch before parting ways and returning home. 

We have continued our service at the food bank.  One of the regular volunteers there is a man named Billy Hargrove.  Billy was born the same year as my father.  He is 93 years old but I have to work hard to keep up with him.  He is a veteran of World War II and is full of stories and really fun to talk to.  One day two weeks ago, while we had a little bit of down time, he leaned over toward me and said, “You know, I’ve got one of your Book of Mormons.  I have even read a little bit.  Still don’t believe it though.”  I laughed at him and told him, “ Just keep reading, Billy.  Keep Reading.”.   Billy remembers sitting on his aunts porch when he was a boy and listening to her tell stories about Sherman’s army burning their hometown of Milledgeville at the end of the civil war.  She told of how the Union soldiers took all of their bedding and food and then tromped down their garden with their horses.  Billy was playing football with his friends on December 7, 1941 and remembers one of his buddies running up to them and telling them that Pearl was getting beat really good.  They asked, “who is Pearl?”.  The boy said he didn’t know who she was but that his dad was really upset about it. 

Yesterday we went with several of the elders and sisters to a slave cemetery near the Antioch Baptist Church about 10 miles south of here.  The cemetery has been neglected for many years and most of the graves are not marked.  The church there has a record of who is buried in the cemetery and whose slaves they were but no record of which person is in which grave.  The graves are quite easily identified because the dirt is sunken so there is a depression at the site of each grave.  Our job was to identify the graves and then clean off the weeds and bushes down to bare dirt.  Later they will come in and place crosses at each grave.  We completed about 1/3 of the cemetery but plan on returning again next month. 

We are looking forward to general conference.  We just got Direct TV this week so we now have BYU TV and will be able to watch conference here in our apartment.  We have invited the elders and sisters in our district to watch with us if they don’t get invited to watch in members homes.  We plan on feeding them a late lunch between sessions.  Sessions here are at noon and 2 PM. 

We are happy and healthy.  If you get a chance sometime we would love to hear from you. 

Love,

Elder and Sister, Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandma, Rod and Carol Merrell

09-29-2019 - More Sweet Experiences

Sister Clayton and I tagged along with Sister Cockrell and Sister Faasavalu this week to teach Phyl.

Just a little background info on Phyl - The missionaries found her the end of July sitting on a bench waiting for her daughter to finish shopping at Kohl's. Our sweet Sisters Cockrell and Faasavalu were there because they were with a member who needed to stop and shop also.
The sisters struck up a conversation with Phyl and ended up visiting for about 20-30 minutes. Phyl has been having regular lessons and coming to church ever since and has been reading the Book of Mormon faithfully. Phyl's husband passed away a few years ago and I was told that when she was taught about temples and eternal families her heart was so full that she just couldn't speak. Eternal life and eternal families are truly the greatest gift Heavenly Father can give us. Seeing it through the eyes of a new convert makes me have a renewed sense of awe and gratitude.
Her baptism date is set for October 11.

Sisters Merrell, Cockrell, Faasavalu, and Clayton
on our way home after teaching Phyl

Sister Clayton and I were included in the lesson planning session to teach Phyl about the law of tithing. During the planning, I shared my tithing story, and it was decided that it would be part of the lesson. When the time was right I told Phyl my story:

Earlier in my life my husband and I, along with three children, lived in Amarillo, Texas.  Rod, my husband, was working as an intern there when an opportunity to finish that internship in Utah came.  We decided to move to Utah.  We had very little money, just enough to pay the rent and bills, but we did have four months to earn the extra we would need to move.  I began really pinching pennies, cooking everything from scratch, sewing for people, babysiting, etc. One month before the moving date, an unexpected bill came and took everything we had saved. Our savings account was back to zero. For the first time I was tempted to not pay my tithing, thinking that we really needed that money for the move, and we could pay it back later. But I knew paying tithing was the right thing to do, so we did pay our tithing and prayed for the Lord's help. 

The Lord heard our prayers. Rod was given an opportunity to earn money while working at the hospital, which was unheard of. Some good person sent us some cash anonymously. The truck rental company did not have the size of truck we had ordered, so we had to take a smaller, less-expensive one.  It was smaller than the truck we moved to Texas in.  I remember thinking that our things will never fit in that small truck, but they did. Everything fit, except the baby crib mattress. It was okay because Trent had outgrown it, and we wouldn't be needing one for a while.

Rod had to stay behind in Amarillo to finished the internship, so Grandpa and Grandma Merrell came to help me and the kids move. When the move was over and I drove the moving truck into my Mom and Dad's driveway, I had a quarter left in my pocket.  The Lord blessed us with everything we needed to move and a little to spare.  

When I told Phyl this story, she just smiled and nodded. When I finished she said that she has paid tithing all her life. She shared her sweet tithing story of how the Lord poured out blessings on her and her family. When her husband was diagnosed with cancer and couldn't work anymore, she was blessed with a new, better-paying job that she wasn't even qualified for and also blessed with unexpected money from a co-worker that paid for her husband's radiation treatments.  Phyl already had a testimony of tithing!

I'm planning to go to Phyl's baptism.  All her family will be there which includes eight older brothers, a daughter, and a granddaughter.  She told us that her brothers support her and look to her as the leader even though she is youngest.  I hope there will be more baptisms.

When the missionaries asked her about her copy of the Book of Mormon, she confessed that it wasn't the one they had given her.  She had given that one to a friend. :)


We were invited to a cemetery cleanup day at the Antioch Baptist Church.  We worked in the "servant" (slave) section where the graves were unmarked. The goal was for each volunteer to clear the tops of three graves. The graves could be identified by the sunken earth. After the cleanup each grave would be marked with a wooden white cross made by a local scout. We along with the missionaries in our district and a number of other people pulled weeds and vines and hoed and raked until it began to look nice.

Cleanup at the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery
Servant Section

Donna Hann, the woman in charge, took Rod and me on a tour of the neighboring baptist church. The original chapel was built in 1829.  Donna showed us the place where the "servants" (slaves) would climb up a ladder to attend church from the balcony. She told us that there was a 5 foot file filled with information about the people buried in the cemetery and how precious it was to her.  I told her how our church preserves records by digitizing, transcribing and making them available for people to find their ancestors.  She was very interested in learning more and invited us to a meeting at her church.  I'm going to have to do some checking with local church leaders to know what is available here.

Elder Merrell

Sister Merrell finishing up

We spent two days at the food bank and had more good conversations with more people we've never met before. On Friday we were asked to go to the Peachtree Meeting House to help with a service project. To our surprise we learned that one of the agencies picking up food at the MidWest Food Bank this week needed to use our meeting house for distribution. His church building was in use that day.

We set up tables and began sorting food into piles for people to pick up.  It was so delightful to see the actual people that some of the food goes to.  The sisters and elders helped carry the food to their vehicles.

Sorting food for needy people in the area
at the Peachtree Meeting House
Unknown ward member, Sisters William, Toole, Hart,
Elder Crook, and Sister Nebeker

Sister Williams, Toole, Hart, unknown, and Elder Crook

Sisters William, unknown, Sisters Hart, Toole, Nebeker, Elder Crook,
Elder Merrell, Sister Clayton

Elder Inskeep

Our crew: Sisters Hart, Williams, Toole, Nebeker, Clayton, Elder & Siser Merrell,
Elders Inskeep and Crook

Morning Mist on the way to the MidWest Food Bank, Redwine Road
Photo taken while traveling in our car.

The sun is just coming up on the way to the Food Bank

09-22-2019 - Raleigh North Carolina Temple Open House

The highlights of our week were attending the Georgia Atlanta North Zone Conference, the Raleigh North Carolina Temple open house with Trent and Chelsie's families, and seeing the memorial to Captain Benjamin Merrell, Elder Merrell's 8th-great-grandfather.

Georgia Atlanta North Mission
Elder & Sister Merrell and Sister & President Marsh

Sister Merrell, Sister McKinney (mission nurse), and Elder Merrell

We love attending zone conferences and feeling the spirit and energy of the wonderful young elders and sisters as well as their Mission President. President Marsh's message was that our Heavenly Father is preparing people's hearts to hear the gospel.  We just need to find those people He has prepared.

One companionship reported a sweet story that I want to share.  Three sisters were in a companionship and felt impressed to go to a particular apartment complex. When they arrived they noticed a younger woman moving into an apartment, so they offered their help. She accepted, and in a short time she told them that she had been praying to find friends. The missionaries happily responded that she now has three. She also was willing to hear the gospel message they had to share.  

As these sweet sisters began teaching the lessons, her boyfriend, mother, and sister also attended.  When the sisters taught the lesson about chastity, this young woman proposed to her boyfriend right there in front of the missionaries and he said, "Yes."  She promptly asked the sisters to be her bridesmaids :) 

They will be married shortly and all, the young woman, boyfriend, mother, and sister, are planning to be baptized in October.  Their hearts were prepared to receive the gospel!

Dinner with Trent and Chelsie's families at Red Robin in North Carolina
Daphne, Ben, Gabe, Trent, Elder Merrell,
Sister Merrell, Chelsie, Dan, Hyrum, Brock, Adeleine, & Ruby

We met Chelsie & Trent and their families in Raleigh, North Carolina this weekend. What a treat it was to see and just enjoy being with them! The weather was beautiful. We went to some museums, played miniature golf, and felt the peace and saw the beauty of the Raleigh North Carolina temple. I loved being in the temple and hope that each grandchild will love being there like I do!

North Carolina History Museum
Sister Merrell, Ruby, Elder Merrell, Hyrum, Daphne, Chelsie, and Dan

Adeleine makes a hole in one!

Adeleine is getting ready to make her putt
Chelsie, Dan, Sister Merrell, Adeleine, and Elder Merrell

Waiting for our turn to enter the Raleigh North Carolina Temple at the Open House
Here are some of the best grandchildren in the world!
Brock, Gabe, Ben, Ruby, Adeleine, Daphne, and Hyrum

  

Raleigh North Carolina Temple Open House
Back- Elder Merrell, Hyrum, Dan, Brock, Trent, & Gabe
Middle- Sister Merrell, Chelsie, Ruby, Erin, & Ben
Front- Daphne & Adeleine

We also went to Hillsborough, North Carolina where Captain Benjamin Merrell, Rod's 8th-Great-Grandfather, was hung by the British 19 June 1771 for being one of the leaders of a rebellion.  He had helped form a group called "The Regulators." This memorial honors the sacrifice he and five other leaders made to free our country from unfair taxation and British rule.  The gallows were built on this hill near the main road coming into the city. Trees were also removed so all could see what happens to those who rebel against the British. Benjamin Merrell was hung, drawn, and quartered along with five other men while their families were forced to watch. Some historians believe that this was the catalyst that fueled the fires of rebellion at Concord and Lexington.

Hillsborough, NC Capt Benjamin Merrell Memorial
Back- Dan, Hyrum, Chelsie, Trent
Front- Daphne, Ben, Gabe, Ruby, Brock, Adeleine, Erin, & Sister Merrell

Hillsborough, NC Capt Benjamin Merrell Memorial
Elder Merrell and our Benjamin Merrell

Hillsborough, NC playing a fun new game called "Gaga ball."
The object is to not get hit by the ball below the knees.
If you are hit, you have to leave the ring.
You can throw or hit the ball toward your opponents.
Last person standing wins.

09-15-2019 - Another Good, Busy Week

Another enjoyable week has flown by.  We have settled into such a routine that it's hard to report on anything that seems note worthy.

It was load-out week at the Food Bank again, and we love working with the good people there. I overheard Will, the manager, explain to a new volunteer, "It's not everyday that a Catholic, a Baptist,  a Muslim and a Mormon hold hands and pray together, but it happens here all the time!  This is a faith-based organization."  

We love hearing the prayers of gratitude from the Deacons, Pastors, Ministers, etc. who come to collect food for the needy people in their areas.  Their prayers are from the heart.  Every once in a while, they ask us to pray.  I wish they all wanted to know more about our beliefs.  We have so much to offer!

We have grown to love Billy, a faithful volunteer at the Food Bank. He was born in 1925, the same year Rod's dad was born, and is 93 years old.  His 94th birthday will be in November.  

We were blessed to be assigned to a "pick team" with Billy this week. Billy insisted he and Rod would load the cart and that I was to push it. Some of those cases of bottled drinks and frozen food are very heavy, but that didn't slow Billy down. He kept right up with Rod. I heard Billy joke later, "When I get old, then I think I'll start slowing down. :) 

Billy and Elder Merrell on break at the MidWest Food Bank

Billy always has a story to tell. Listening to him brings history to life.

He remembers the moment he heard that Pearl Harbor was under attack. He said he was playing a touch football game with his friends out in a field in Milledgeville, Georgia when a young boy came running with the news that Pearl was really getting beat up bad. The boys asked, "Who is Pearl?" The boy said, "I don't know, but my Daddy is really upset!" 

Billy joined the army at age 17. He was transferred from base to base for various kinds of training to become a navigator in the army air-corp. On one occasion he found himself in SLC hitch-hiking home to Georgia.  He said he had three eye-opening revelations on that trip home.  

One, he couldn't buy cigarettes in Utah until he was 21 years old. 

Two, the family that picked him up were "Mormons" who had a son on a mission in Georgia.  He couldn't believe that there were missionaries in Georgia because his church sent missionaries out from Georgia, so why would Georgia need any missionaries. 

Three, in a town square somewhere in the midwest he saw a civil war statue of a Union soldier and since Sherman's army had burned his hometown of Milledgeville, GA, he was quite upset that anyone would erect a statue to a Yankee soldier.    

Billy's great-aunt told him stories of the civil war.  She told him about when she was 6 years old and stood on the porch next to her mother. Her 4-year-old sister stood on her mother's other side and her mother held her 2-year-old sister in her arms.  They all stood together and watched as the union soldiers took all the food from their home and tromped their crops and garden with their horses. It was November.

Billy also said to Rod, "I think I can talk religion to you."  

Rod, "Sure you can, Billy!"  

Billy told him, "I have a copy of your Book of Mormon, I've even read part of it, but I still don't believe it."  

Rod told him, "Keep reading, Billy, keep reading!"

Billy just smiled.

Our Wednesday Pick Team
Back: An Agency Rep, Billy
Sister Merrell, Pam, and an Agency Rep

Wednesday Loading Team
Elders Crook (Star Valley) Inskeep (Blackfoot)
Sisters Hart and Nebeker and two more volunteers

Thursday Pick Team
Janet (retired airline stewardess) Agency Reps,
Elder and Sister Merrell and Nadine (retired nurse)

Thursday Loading Team
Sisters Nebeker, Williams, Toole, and Hart

Thursday Loading Team
Sisters Nebeker, Williams, Toole, and Hart
(Sister Hart would like to be taller)

We were also blessed to attend the temple this week and sing in our stake choir for stake conference today.  The meetings were wonderful.  President Clayton, our Mission President, spoke about loving our Heavenly Father, loving our neighbors, and loving ourselves.

09-08-2019 - A Baptism in our District

Wonderful news! Saturday Sister Fatma Mohamed was baptized. She was being taught by Sister Williams and Toole from our district. Fatma has been attending church for two years, but never quite ready to make baptismal covenants until now.  She spoke after her baptism and said that she was feeling so many things but didn't know "how to say them." She also said she felt weightless like she could fly. She did lots of smiling and expressing her love for all the people there. We could see that the ward members love her also.

Sisters Hart and Nebeker were also in attendance with one of their investigators who is ready to be baptized. We hope to be attending her baptism soon.  I love the gospel and the joy it brings into all our lives.  I love our missionaries!

Atlanta Zone Conference lunch with my favorite sisters
FR - Sisters Tippetts, Rice, Toole, Williams, Hart
BR - Sisters Nebeker and Merrell

Zone Conferences were in our own Atlanta Mission this week. It was so nice to sleep in our own bed and drive an hour or so to the different conferences. We especially enjoyed seeing and being with the missionaries we know and love and miss.

President Clayton has a casual, relaxed leadership style, and the missionaries love him. He emphasized the importance of spirit-led invitations. He reminded the missionaries before extending an invitation to teach doctrine pertaining to that invitation and the promised blessings that always follow using the scriptures, then extend the invitation along with any help their investigators may need to succeed.  We continue to learn wisdom from the president as well as all the missionaries here.

Zone Conference lunch
Sister Read, Elder & Sister Jacobsen, President Clayton

Elder & Sister Kone

Elder & Sister Kone and Elder & Sister Meadows

Rod's presentations on managing stress were well received.  He always has a way of mixing a little humor with good information and gospel doctrine.  President Clayton liked it so much that he asked permission to record it. He plans to show it during the orientation of new missionaries.

Elder & Sister Kone (Atlanta Mission Nurse) and Sister & Elder Merrell

The last day of zone conference was held in Atlanta, so our senior missionaries decided to take advantage of the location and go to the temple after the meetings. What a blessing it was to be there and what a blessing it is to have the Atlanta Temple in our mission. I love being in the temple! After, we ate a delicious dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. 

Dinner at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen
Sister & Elder Merrell, Sister & Elder Read, Sister & Elder Jacobsen, Elder & Sister Kone

09-01-2019 - Good Experience at Midwest Food Bank and Transfers

Rod's Food Bank Report:

Sister Merrell and I had a great experience at the Midwest Food Bank this week.  As I have mentioned before, the Midwest Food Bank is a large warehouse/distribution center that supplies food to scores of agencies, ministries, and homeless shelters throughout southern Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.  The woman who is the director of volunteers at the food bank discovered that I am a doctor and asked if I would do the training for their employees and regular volunteers on the use of AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillator).  I said of course, but decided that since I would have a captive audience of about a dozen people I would also teach them about the missionary program.

The personnel at the food bank are all familiar with the elders and sisters who serve at the food bank and they love them because they are always radiant and happy.

I told my audience about how young missionaries receive their mission calls.  I told them about the requirements to serve a mission, the interviews, and the letter.  I told them that missionaries do not choose where they will serve and they could be called to any of more than 400 missions. (Rod told them that the lucky ones were called to the Atlanta, Georgia Mission, which brought smiles!)

I told them that these wonderful elders and sisters are paying for the privilege to serve and that there are more than 70,000 of them around the world.  I explained transfers and companionships. Then, when I was finished and ready to begin the AED training, they stopped me and said, “Wait, we have questions.”  We spent about 10 minutes answering their missionary and church related questions.

 

Finally, the director of the food bank said that he had been talking to his counterpart at the Phoenix AZ branch of the food bank and was told that the Phoenix facility has a great relationship with our church.  In fact, there was a missionary couple there who were serving full time at the Phoenix food bank. 

He said he would love to have members of the church on his board and would really love to have full time missionaries serving here.  I told him that perhaps that was a possibility and that I would find out how to make it happen.

We left that training feeling great and we feel that we have opened up a dialogue so people there now know that we are happy and willing to answer questions.  We will be here for 14 more months and hope to expand on what we have started.

There are many misconceptions about our church here in the south and perhaps in a small way we are helping to correct those misconceptions- at least with the good people at the Midwest Food Bank. 

District Council was in our apartment this week with lunch after.  Elder Phipps is the only person in our district being transferred. We will miss him so much!  

 Our Wonderful District Council
(L-R) Elder Bailey, Sister Nebeker, Elder Phipps, Sister Williams, Elder Merrell,
Elder Crook, Sister Hart, Sister Toole, & Elder Sillito

Transfer Day

The Sisters and Elders keep track of time by transfers. They happen every 6 weeks. When you ask them how long they have served in an area, they will respond with three transfers or one transfer, etc.  Elder Phipps served in our Fayetteville District two transfers.  We love him!

Elder Phipps, our district leader, was transferred to a
zone leader training assignment.

Elder Dunn served in our district as the Assistant to the President
and spent his last transfer in Southern Georgia at Fort Benning
 where he taught the gospel to many, many soldiers. 
Elder Dunn has served faithfully and is going home.
He is such a good, kind, fun, caring person. 
He will succeed in whatever he chooses to do in life.

Elder Crook has served one transfer in our district.
He came to us straight from the MTC. 
He is from Star Valley, Wyoming. 
We are watching him grow with confidence right before our eyes!

Elder Rushton was in our district when we first came to Georgia.
We were so glad to see him again. 

Elder Hopkins was in our district for one transfer.
We were so glad we could see him at transfers again!

Sister Bennett and Sister Hulce.
Sister Madison Hulce is from our home ward in Utah.
We are always glad to see her and send a photo to her Mom.