The Mergenthaler Family

 September 12, 2022 This past week was super fast. It felt like yesterday I was writing an email to all of you. I have so many stories from this week. It was kind of crazy, and yes, there was a time when the bidet had revenge this week, but I'll tell you all about that in a little bit, haha. After P-day on Monday, we had to rush back home, like a sprint from the church home. It wasn't that bad but man, do I hate running. So after we rushed to get ready, we were again out the door and on a bus to a lesson with an amigo or, in other words, an investigator. After we got out of the lesson, which went well. We had to sprint to another bus stop to catch a bus to dinner. After we got off the bus, we sprinted to a member's house and had a peaceful dinner. During that dinner, they tried to talk to me in castellano, which is what they speak here. It's very similar to Spanish, just more slurred and bunched together. As we are eating, the members are trying to talk to me, and I h...

 September 5, 2022 Dang, it's been forever since I  last emailed all of you! It's been a crazy ride. There is so much to say, but we will see if I have enough time to say everything. Honestly, I don't know where to start, but I guess I'll start from inside the MTC. When I last emailed all of you, I was, I think, on my second to last week at the MTC. So I guess I started my last week with a bunch of classes. But after these classes, I would usually be able to go to the tienda and shop and get snacks and things, but apparently, this week was different because when I used my card, the cashier told me basically that I was broke. Which I was. I only had like Ocho pesos left which is nothing here in Mexico. So after that, I asked my companion, haha, and he helped me get some food. So after that crazy experience, nothing happened that week except that we were told how everything would go down when we flew out that next Monday. So after we said goodbye to everyone, we went to s...

 August 19, 2022 Man, it's been a crazy fun week. I don't know how to explain it because it's just like every other week, but the food got a little more interesting, but I mean, I accept it because I am in a different country. One of the weirdest things I have tried was having an enchilada in the morning. All of you are probably thinking that I am weird for saying that, but when the food slips out of you, you will also be scared of an enchilada in the morning. One other food here that I steer clear of is the tantalizing burrito. Those things wreck your system. I had a guy in my room recovering for three days because of it. Anyway, on to the things that were spiritual this week. This week I saw a guy from the first quorum of the 70, which was super cool. At first, I thought it would be boring, but it wasn't. Elder Douglass was so energetic and fun to listen to. In his talk, he gave us points and tips on how we as missionaries can make Christ's doctrine our doctrine...

August 12, 2022 OK, it's been a while since I last emailed you because I was traveling to Mexico City México to start my in-person mtc!!!! So, where should I start? I LOVE IT HERE. It's really hard to describe in words how it feels here. Let's say it's probably the most spiritual experience I've ever had. I'll set this email into three sections. The first section contains some of the crazy things I have eaten and then some weird stuff I have done. The second one is some spiritual experiences i have had here at the MTC. The last will be a bunch of photos, videos, and explanations. OK, so here we go on the crazy stuff. The first weird thing happened while I was sitting in on my first class at the MTC. I was chilling in class listening to my teacher teach us some Espanol when this huge moth flew in and landed on my knee yall right now, I think I am over exaggerating, but I do not trust me; when you see the photo, you will know, and it doesn't stop there the b...

  This week was so much better! I love it here at the MTC! The guys in my zone are funny, but when it's time to be serious, they are serious. They all try to speak Spanish most of the time so we can learn. They are interesting in a good way. For example, one of the guys in my MTC has eaten kangaroo, which is interesting. Another guy in my zone pointed out that my companion looks like Napoleon Dynamite which I think is funny. But if he is Napoleon, does that make me Pedro? To be honest, I am more of an Uncle Rico or Kip. You haven't lived if you don't know what I am talking about. Napoleon Dynamite is one of the greatest films ever made. If you haven't seen it, I suggest watching it, but to be honest, it's not funny until you watch it three times or whenever you would get in the car with your family. Anyways you guys are probably wondering what things I learned this week. I learned many things; it's hard to type all I learned because most of them just come with ...

  This week I learned many things about myself that I probably wouldn't have learned if I hadn't decided to serve a mission. For example, I probably wouldn't have discovered that music helps me to be super in tune with the spirit. I found this out when I was struggling with Spanish, haha. I still am struggling, but that's beside the point. Music also helps me calm down after a long day at the CCM.  One other thing I learned this week while in the CCM was that prayer helps a lot!! We have devotionals every Tuesday. This week's Devotional was a video from Elder Bednar; he talked to the missionaries about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and how miraculously it came about. During this time, he shared a video of the Whitmer family when Joseph Smith asked them if he could continue writing the Book of Mormon. Brother Whitmer tells his son that he could not house joseph smith because the fields were not yet tilled and their farm was not ready. So the younger Whitmer...

 We have been busy since May. Ricky had his one wisdom tooth removed. A couple of weeks later, he traveled to Tucson for his friend's graduation. His return flight landed in Philadelphia at 10:30 p.m. and wasn't scheduled to leave for State College until 6 a.m., so we saved him a night in the airport by picking him up in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia temple is my favorite nearby temple. We have hosted a lot of swim parties. I figure, since we're taking care of a pool, we might as well have people over to swim in it as often as possible. You know what? I have never swam in our pool, but I still love it because the kids have so much fun. I usually cut our boys' hair, but I'm not a professional. I fired myself from being Sean's barber after a particularly difficult haircutting experience with him. Sean went months without a cut because he feared those mean middle school kids saying something. He finally conquered his fear and went to a barber for the first time.  ...