Skip to main content

WEEK OF MIRACLES

 August 21, 2023

What is up, people of North America?! This week was so crazy and actually really, really good.

 On  Sunday night at like 2 a.m., a group of missionaries pulls up to our house to stay with us for a few days. On Monday, which is our preparation day, I'm thinking they'll all wake up at like 7, like we usually do, right? Well, I was wrong. I got up at 7 and did all my stuff, but I couldn't shower until 9 y15 because nobody was awake. It was probably the nastiest time of my life, but it's all good because in the end I went to the central part of my zone and shopped around and did some other fun things together. 

The miracle happened that night when we went back to work. I went out with Elder Castillo, one of my old companions, and I had an idea that we should hit up this part-member family even though I think it might be a waste of time. We knock anyway. I say knock, but here we clap our hands outside to let people know we're there. So we clap, and this girl runs out and is like, "Ayy, you guys! My dad's here so you can talk to him." Turns out that this dad was a member that hasn't been coming for a while. So we get talking to him and turns out his daughter (I think 🤔 to be real here in Argentina in some weird way everyone is related so this girl could have been his daughter or his niece or cousin). Anyway, his "daughter" isn't baptized, so we talk to her and set a date to have a lesson, and we leave. But that's not even the coolest part! The next day we come back for our lesson. This time, it's me and Elder Sellers (2 white American dudes). We teach the lesson and let me tell you, the power that was there was crazy. After the lesson, we're getting ready to pray, and the dad goes, "I'm gonna say the prayer." I'm like, "Let's go!" Well, during his prayer he's like, "Heavenly Father, help me COME BACK TO CHURCH!!" And then that was it! But, ya, we have a lesson tomorrow with them so will see what happens 🫣 

On to the next miracle. Wednesday we had a really wack day because we had zone council, and that sucked up a lot of our time, but in the afternoon we were able to work. Our first lesson wasn't there, so I called up a sister in our ward and went over to give a lesson to her daughter, Ximena, who isn't a member. After Ximena, our first lesson said we could come back, so we sprinted our butts over to our friend Kevin's house and we began to teach. This lesson was so good because at the end of the lesson, we scheduled 2 MORE BAPTISM DATES!! But literally during that whole lesson we felt the spirit so strong. It was incredible 🙌 Two miracles in one day! But Kevin didn't come to church yesterday, so my companion and I are pretty sad about that, but it will be OK.

On to the last of the last miracles. Well, you know how I was talking about Ximena, the daughter of the member? Well, we went over two times this week, and let me tell you, Ximena is a bouncing ball full of energy. This little girl could run a marathon and be ready for another. This makes it hard to teach her. On our last visit, we sat her down to have the lesson. After the lesson, she usually picks who she wants to say the prayer. This time, she wanted to say the prayer!! 

Those are a few of the miracles that happened this week. Obviously, every day as a missionary is a miracle, but you might get bored with too many stories, and I gotta go because my fingers hurt from typing on this little phone, and I'm craving a refreshing drink, so, I'll leave you with this: I know my Savior loves me. I know He has a plan for each of us even though at times it is difficult to see the plan, His love and purposes are always there. I know that Jesus Christ suffered for each of us so that, 1) we could have someone at our sides through the thick and thin, and 2) we could overcome physical and spiritual death. I am so grateful for this Gospel and the blessing it is to me! I love you all so so much! 

Bye!! 

Elder Mergenthaler Out 






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Legacy Stinks

 Letters from the Nest https://lettersfromthenest.substack.com/p/my-legacy-stinks Lately, I have been asking you, “What will you do to make Sunday special?” This is me encouraging you in your worship without giving you a prescribed list of things to do. One thing I do differently on Sundays is that I read a Sunday book that’s “different” than the fiction I read during the week. Usually, it’s a religious book, but sometimes it’s an inspiring biography or narrative nonfiction with an uplifting theme. My Sunday book for the past few months has been “Both Things Are True,” by Kate Holbrook. This collection of essays explores a range of topics, including faith, forgiveness, women’s roles, trials, history, and more. Each chapter contains a dichotomy that fuels the discussion. For example, the chapter on forgiveness explores both the concepts of forgetting and remembering. Last Sunday, I began reading the chapter entitled "The Weight of Legacy," in which she discusses the dichotomy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lyme Disease??

Let me just preface this by saying that I am soooo grateful for good health insurance. I have been to the Dr. for the kids lately so often, that I am embarrassed that they recognize our family when we walk in the door. So, here's Ricky's story. A couple of weeks ago he was extremely sick. He had a fever for over a week, complained that he couldn't move his legs, and ended up with an awful looking rash all over his body. We went to the Dr. 2 times for this. The first time, she said, it was a virus and it should run its course. When Ricky was getting worse, instead of better, we took him back in to a quick clinic where the nurse diagnosed him with strep (even though the short test was negative). Well, after a priesthood blessing and antibiotics (which we discovered later that he didn't even need to take--and in fact they may have made him feel worse), he got better. Then, last week, I discovered a new, crazy rash on his legs which continued to grow, turn purple on the in...
5 comments
Read more