1-26-2020 - Rod's Letter, "This Letter is Overdue"

Dear Friends and Family,

I was thinking it was probably time to send another letter and then I looked and discovered this letter is way overdue.  We are doing well in Georgia.  We still haven’t seen any snow- they say it only comes once every couple of years.  We have had some pretty cold mornings but usually by afternoon it is light jacket weather. 

We had a great Christmas.  We went with the other senior couples from the office and the mission president and his wife to a Christmas concert with the Atlanta Symphony and Celtic Woman.  It was a lot of fun. Christmas Day was spent skyping with our kids and grandkids.  And the day after Christmas Chelsie and her family drove down from Virginia and spent a couple of days with us.  This two room apartment was once again ready to burst but it was a lot of fun and we missed them after they left for home.

We didn’t do any travelling in November and December because of the holidays but we finally visited the North Carolina Raleigh Mission two weeks ago.  While there we were able to attend a temple session at the Raleigh Temple.  We also had the pleasure of going to dinner with Russ White’s brother Richard, and his wife Janet.  Janet is the Mission Secretary and Richard is the Mission Financial Secretary.  We also discovered that Janet is Glen Curtis’s sister.  I don’t know why Russell never told me that.  Or perhaps he did and my old brain just forgot.  We will be visiting the Kentucky Louisville Mission later this month.

Last weekend Carol and I accompanied a sick sister missionary to her home in Farmington, NM.  We didn’t actually take her all the way home but simply handed her off to her family at the airport.  When we learned that the missionary  was from Farmington, NM we were quite excited for a few moments thinking that the closest airport would be in Albuquerque.  Carlee lives only an hour south of Albuquerque and we thought we might have a chance to hug and squeeze her kids.  But no, the closest airport was in Durango, Colorado.  It was the smallest airport I have ever seen.   It was about the size of a high school gym and had 3 gates.  Two of them went out the same door.  We walked off the plane on stairs rolled up to it- just like the President.  Only a much smaller plane and much less impressive stairs.

We miss you all but we are having a great time here in the South.

Love you,

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

1-26-2020 Raleigh and Atlanta Zone Conferences

This week was another spiritual feast. Elder Montoya, a member of the Area Presidency and the Seventy, was the guest at our Atlanta Zone Conferences. He taught us many, many sweet truths and principles of the gospel; such as, the best way to love someone is to know them. Ask inspired questions. Ask, "What is you greatest concern?" Know their needs. Be aware of their environment. Eye contact. Listen carefully in spite of distractions. Reach out to them on their level, both mentally and physically. He also counseled us to pray for our Mission Leaders and our love for them will increase exponentially.

I was especially touched when he invited two sister missionaries to do a role play with him.  He played the part of the investigator and they were to teach him the law of tithing. As they were teaching, he told them several times that his son was sick and he was concerned about paying for his medical care. The sisters taught the law of tithing beautifully, but did not address his biggest concern, his son. After the role play was over, Elder Montoya empowered us all by teaching that missionaries have the authority to promise blessings in the name of the Lord, and encouraged all of us to use this power. 

Atlanta Zone Conference in Conyers, GA
Front Row: Sisters & Elders Potts, Read, Kone, Sister & President Clayton, Elder Montoya,
Hammonds, Merrells, and Reads

Atlanta Zone Conference in Atlanta, GA
Front Row: Sisters Hyland Beardall, Fotheringham, Elders & Sisters Meadows, Merrells, Michaels,
Elder Montoya, President & Sister Clayton, Reids, Reads, and sisters

Elder Merrell and I attended zone conference in Conyers, GA on Monday.  We drove six hours to Fayetteville, North Carolina that same day so Elder Merrell could give his "Managing Stress" presentation at their zone conference on Tuesday. Then we drove back to Atlanta to attend zone conference on Wednesday.  It was a busy and spiritual week.

On our way to the temple Saturday, we listened to Elder Uchtdorf's conference talk and were reminded to invite others to enjoy the blessings of the gospel and to continue to love them if they chose to not accept the invitation. He also said that it was okay to invite them again.

We felt prompted to invite our friend Chris to dinner and not wait for him to contact us. He accepted and added that he wanted to do more "bible study."  When the dinner time came, he didn't show up. Elder Merrell texted him, "Dinner's ready." He responded that he was sick and, if we would, to please bring a plate to him. Rod did so, and will soon be giving him a priesthood blessing when the elders arrive. I am so glad we had this dinner appointment. We would never have known that Chris needed help. He also texted, "Thanks for not giving up on me."

This is our new Fayetteville District
Back Row: Elders Todd & Bailey, Sisters Cheney, Beardall, McKee, Ray,
Front Row: Sisters Overmeyer, Fotheringham, Hyland, and Osterhoust
They are amazing missionaries!  I love them!

1-19-2020 - Zone Conferences in North Carolina

We were spiritually fed this week at Zone Conferences in North Carolina. President Matthew Holland taught his missionaries with the spirit and we learned right along with the young elders and sisters. I now have a deeper understanding of agency. He taught that the first law of heaven before the world was, was the law of obedience. He also taught that the first commandment is to love God with all our heart, might, mind, and strength and our fellowman. We learned that to describe the deep powerful abiding love for God and our neighbors, the Greeks used the word "agape." The English translation for "agape" is "charity." I will never look at charity the same way again. I knew that to love my neighbor was charity, but I've never thought that my love for God was charity. We show our love for God when we choose to be obedient, which creates an eternal round from obedience to love to more obedience and more love, etc. President Holland spent an hour teaching these concepts, and I have simplified them into a few sentences which hardly does it justice. Zone conferences lasted three days and I am so glad that I could hear the same lesson several times. I just kept adding to my notes.

President & Sister Holland and Sister & Elder Merrell

This week we came across a number of people with connections to Tremonton during North Carolina Zone Conferences.

Elder & Sister Merrell and Sister and Elder Richard White

Elder Richard White is the brother of Russell White, a dear friend from Tremonton. We also learned his wife is the sister of Glen Curtis from Tremonton. Glen and Nancy Curtis are dear friends of my sister Bonnie and her husband Shel Barfuss.  It is a small world!

Elder & Sister Webb and Sister & Elder Merrell

We were also delighted to see Elder Larry Webb and Sister Paige Webb who are serving as CES instructors. Elder Webb coached our sons Justin and Trent in basketball. Paige taught me how to stay calm during a basketball game through her example. Coach Webb also taught AP History at Bear River High. Our daughter Brooke loved his class so much that she graduated in secondary education with a major in history.

Elder Dederick, the grandson of Bob & JoLynn Jex 
who are dear friends of ours from Tremonton. 

Elder & Sister Cooke and Sister & Elder Merrell

We also met Elder and Sister Cooke, old family friends of our neighbor and Tremonton's Chief of Police, Kurt Fertig. We learned Kurt grew up and attended church in the very building we were meeting in.

Sister and Elder Merrell at the Raleigh North Carolina Temple
It is always a welcomed oasis to our souls to attend the temple.

Beautiful stained glass window at the Raleigh North Carolina Temple

Spring has sprung in North Carolina!

We loved this creative cell phone tower in North Carolina.

We followed a prompting this week that opened the door to another answered prayer.  We have been praying to meet Ana's husband and haven't had the opportunity since we have met Ana.  This week I felt prompted to take a freezable dinner to her home.  I knew she hadn't been feeling well, but she has always refused my help in the past.  This time I wasn't going to ask, I decided to just take it to her.  I prepared the meal, I texted her to make sure she was home, and Elder Merrell and I jumped in the car to make the delivery.

Ana was gracious and asked if I would like to meet her husband. Of course I said, "Yes!" They welcomed Elder Merrell and me into their home for an enjoyable visit.

Elder Merrell and I accompanied a sister missionary home with medical problems. It was a sweet experience. Our hearts went out to her, and we pray for her. Our short trip took us to Durango, Colorado and the smallest airport we've ever been in. We thought security would be quick, but these people were thorough! 

Durango Airport

Four departures for the day

Security was only open a few hours a day.

Durango Gate 2 
There were three gates total.

Our incoming plane with deboarding passengers

Boarding the plane
I remember my first plane ride to Hawaii with our high school choir. 
We boarded the plane at the Salt Lake Airport just like this.

1-12-2020 - A Regular Missionary Week

This week was filled with routine missionary agenda items.  

We participated in several Mission Health Councils. They include the mission president and his wife, mission nurse, area medical advisor, area mental health advisor, and church family services. We attend the meeting from our apartment in a video conference call.  I just love new technology!  What would we do without it. We had to smile when one of the mission presidents thanked his mission nurse for teaching the missionaries to have grit when it comes to some of their minor health issues. She really has been a good nurse and has helped the missionaries become a little more medically self-reliant.

We served at the Mid-West Food Bank this week. During December we made twenty copies of the video, "The Christ Child: A Nativity Story" on thumb drives and gave them as gifts to the people that we have come to know and love at the Food Bank. We hoped they would feel the spirit of the message and also know that our church does believe in Christ. Jim sincerely thanked us for his copy of the video. We could tell that his heart had been touched. Wendy overheard our conversation and joined in by thanking us and also telling us how much she liked it. It was so nice to hear and know that they watched it. We were not sure how it would be received.

Billy (from the food bank) celebrated his 94th birthday this last week. He lifts and packs the food supplies just like everyone else and some of those items are heavy, especially the bottled drinks and spaghetti cases.  He is amazing.  He likes to always tell me that he is voting for me to become an elder. At first I tried to explain that the women in our church have lots of leadership opportunities without being "elders." Later on I made it a little simpler and just shrugged and said, "Billy, I don't want to be an elder." It's no use. His mind is set. Now I just smile at him and tell him, thank you. I hope that's okay.

We spent our Saturday at the Atlanta temple with the Reads and the Reids. Yes, the new mission secretary and financial clerk are the Reids from Lindon, Utah. In order to eliminate some confusion at the mission office where the Reads also serve as the car man and historian, we call the Reads, the "old Reads" and the Reids, the "new Reids; but the "old Reads" don't seem to like that.  We'll have to figure something else out.

Sister Clayton suggested a senior sisters' night out this week. She and President Clayton were doing interviews nearby so she had some free evenings. We all piled into "Hoss." That is the name of our our twelve-seat mission van and Sister Clayton, who has always wanted to drive that big thing, drove us to the Salad Express and then to the movies. She even backed the van into a parking place which impressed us all very much. We watched Little Women and loved it. We giggled about the fact that of all the 40 or so people in the theater who were all women, we naturally sat together in a group in the middle. If men were attending a movie, I'm sure they would have been spread out all over the theater. :)  I love being a sister in Zion!

1-5-2020 - Transfers

The Latter-day Saints Around the World: Country Newsroom Website ran an article about our Service Project at the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery on December 30, 2019.  You can view it at:
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/latter-day-saints-and-baptists-clean-graves-of-slaves
Elder Merrell and I are in the first picture, upper left corner wearing dark jackets.

Tuesday we invited our District Council to our apartment for our weekly meeting and for lunch. We have found it to be the best place for the missionaries to bring their "Flight Books" where they write parting messages to each other.  The term "flight book" refers to the time they will read the messages while flying back home to their families. We love these missionaries and have learned so much from them! It is hard to see them be transferred. Elder Dicus, Sister Nebeker, Sister Clarke, and Sister Toole will be moving to other districts.

District Council Lunch
Elders Todd, Dicus, Sisters Nebeker, Ray,
Elder Merrell, Sister Clarke, Elders Bailey, Parker,
Sisters Hyland, Toole and Osterhout

Transfer meeting with Sister Toole.

Transfer meeting with Sister Clarke.

Sister Nebeker is being transferred.
Sister Ray will stay with us.

The last dinner and testimony meeting with our well-seasoned missionaries.
They all fly out in the morning.
Elder Rushton is in the  middle with a white shirt. We love him.
He was in our first district and helped us move in on his P-Day.

There is not anything else to report this week, except we did go to the Atlanta Temple Saturday to do sealings and initiatory and enjoyed our time there.

12-29-2019 - Christmas Celebrations

Chelsie, Dan, and the grandchildren drove down from Virginia the day after Christmas and spent their holiday vacation with us. We loved it! It was so nice to be with family. We went to the Atlanta Temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was Ruby's first time. While we were waiting for names to be recorded, Ruby said, "Now I know why you like to do Family History, Grandma." 

Elder Merrell and Daphne at the Atlanta Temple

Daphne is 10 years old and looking forward to the time she can participate in temple ordinances.  She and Grandpa ate donuts and drank hot chocolate and walked around the temple grounds to get their steps while waiting for the rest of us to finish in the temple.

We also visited the Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary in Locust Grove, GA.  

Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary
Enjoying a small and very loud monkey making jungle sounds
 Closest to fence: Daphne, Ruby, Hannah Hind, and Dan
Next row: Elder Merrell, Samuel Hind, Chelsie, and Hyrum

An alligator at the Noah's Ark Animal Sanctuary

We visited the Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, GA with a confederate soldiers' section.  Rod found some Merrell/Merrill headstones and looked them up only to find they were not part of his family tree, at least not yet.

Oak Hill Cemetery in Newnan, GA

Harrison Merrill Headstone in Oak Hill Cemetery, Newnan, GA

We also spent time playing games! My how my grandchildren are growing taller and taller!

Hyrum, Daphne, Ruby, Sister and Elder Merrell 

Ruby, Hyrum, Elder Merrell, and Dan playing a Merrell Family game of "500"

This week Margaret came to our church for the first time. Her story: Missionaries came to her door in 2001 and left a DVD with church contact information. Last week she decided to call the number and a referral was sent to our Elder Todd and Elder Bailey. They found her, taught a lesson, and invited her to come to church.  She came!

After sacrament meeting Margaret said the talk was just for her. (The speaker talked about faith and doubt and how to overcome doubt.) She told us that God brought her to our church. She is 66 years old and has gone to the same Church here in Fayetteville all her life. This was the first time she had ever gone to another church. 

She loved the Relief Society discussion.  Our sisters share from their hearts and the spirit of love and harmony is always there. Margaret could feel that and participated in the discussion. She said she thought she was that only one struggling and now she knows that these ladies are just like her. She also knows that Satan is working on her. She told us that she is coming back to our church next week. She said the we "made her feel like one of the church families."