Skip to main content

I’m Sweating

The title of Emily’s email this week is actually, “I’m sweating out of all the orifaces of my body,” but it was a long title and I’m not sure if orifaces is a word. Spellcheck doesn’t think so. We had a great video chat this week, but super short because all of the Suriname sisters were meeting up at the cyber to head off on some adventure together. When I say, “all of the sisters,” you should know what a big deal that is. Last Thursday, the count of sister missionaries in Suriname went from two to five. That’s huge and the work is now moving forward. I’m so glad these lovely ladies (and Elders) got their visas. Here’s the email:

I am a mother! My companion Zr. Penman, who visa waited in Utah for a transfer, is finally here where she belongs. And GUYS. I LOVE HER. She and I were definitely meant to be together. She is hilarious, a hard worker, has amazing Dutch, and likes to have fun. President also changed my area to Rainville, so I'm back where I started my mission for good! This week we:

-contacted our bums off. We talked to everyone and their dog. It was so fun. Zr. Pen got burned cause I'm a bad mom and forgot to tell her to wear sunscreen....oops. 
-caught a lizard and made him a little house in our apartment. We named him Koning Triton Diamond (inspired after The Little Mermaid because he has two tails). We are quite fond of him.
-had an amazing lesson with Clive about prophets and the priesthood/commandments. At the end he goes, "Wow, thank you guys so much. I was feeling on edge before you came, but now I feel so good. I feel lighter." We were like, "it's the holy ghost, our fav jamaican bro!" I loved seeing Zr. Penman meeting/teaching Clive because he's just so elect. We always bike away from his lessons like singing to eachother haha.
-got bashed by this really bitter guy who called us racists and then tried to use the Book of Mormon to prove it. He made Zr. Penman cry, which I did not appreciate at all, but we just smiled, told him we knew God loves everyone and walked away. He was actually in our second lesson with Clive and Clive was defending us and telling him how much peace this message has given him. If you can't tell, I freakin love Clive. 
-a guy came up to me while we were talking to his friend and said "I love you" (in English). I turned to the guy we were contacting and go "He said he loves me!" and we both died laughing. The guy who professed his love also lost it. Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hilarious. 
-they are playing disney music in the cyber we are right now and I'm trying not to stand up and dance
-Rayon read to 2 Nephi in a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And would have come to church if his boss didn't make him work...but next week he's coming!
-taught this really cool new dude named Kibwe who gave us chocolate cake. The cool thing was he was right after the lesson where the bashing guy made Zr. Penman cry and on the way to Kibwe, she was like "I just need some chocolate!" God answers prayers peeps. It was so sweet.
-we were on our way to a lesson that I wasn't completely sure how to get to. I turned onto this random street and saw this spanish dude. We stopped to talk and learn that he was praying for help because he was . He goes, "you guys are an answer to my prayer!"

So yeah, life is good. The gospel is true. God is loving. Mangos are delicious. Clive is elect. Missionary work is the best. Oh yeah, and Richard got his papers figured out so he's gonna get doped next month hopefully! 

Love you guys,
Zr. Mergenthaler










Comments

Popular posts from this blog

That Sinking Feeling - Real Talk From Your Mother

Also found at Letters from the Nest:   https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/that-sinking-feeling?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Dear Nestlings, I hope you don’t mind a little stream-of-consciousness letter today. I don’t know if I have anything specific to share, so let’s see what floats to the surface. It’s a bright fall Friday morning. These last few weeks in central Pennsylvania have been lovely, sunny, and warm. I know winter is coming, so I try to be outside as much as possible to take advantage of the sun before it hibernates. I just completed the forty-minute round trip to drive one of you to the high school. You know who you are, but maybe in a few years, when you read this, you won’t know because every one of you has missed the bus sometimes and has endured lectures about planning better and showing your respect for my work by not requiring forty minutes of my life for your convenience. Anyway, everybody is at school and work except...

Gavin in a Million Words or Less

 Way back when Emily was in 6th grade, her teacher, Ms. Grey, asked parents to write about thier children in a million words or less. I posted what I wrote about Emily on our blog. I wish I were more organized and tech-savvy to find the link to that post and put it here, but I'm not. It's a nice idea that maybe I'll do later. Anyway, you get to read what I wrote to Gavin's fifth grade teacher who made the same requests of parents: Gavin is the youngest of seven children. His three oldest siblings have flown the nest, so he talks to them on the phone and looks forward to holiday visits. This summer, his oldest sister had a baby, so he’s an Uncle! He has three older brothers, who sometimes make life tricky for him, but are also sources of wisdom, rides to the store to get candy, and annoying TikTok phrases. He sometimes wants to be more grown up than he actually is. This little guy is academically oriented. He loves to read BIG books. He rarely reads a standalone nove...

Back To School Meanies

 Letter From the Nest August 15, 2025 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/back-to-school?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web One August, more than twenty years ago, at an evening book club discussion, my “older” friends (now I look back and know those women were the age I am now), were discussing the woes and triumphs of back-to-school season. One woman was anticipating her youngest child’s senior year of high school. She said, “For more than two decades, our lives have revolved around the school district’s academic calendar. I don’t know how I will plan my life without knowing about school breaks or holidays.” I remember her bittersweet tone as she anticipated freedom from school schedule constraints but also mourned how those constraints guided her choices. What would she do? Other women joined the discussion, wondering if their kids would have good teachers, if they’d be able to balance volunteering in the classroom, how to streamline school supply pu...