From: "Jacob Merkley"
ElderJacobMerkley@myldsmail.net(complete with the famous Merkley spelling)Greetings from Florida!
hello, hello, hello everyone! this week has been a trial of faith, but i have learned that the Lord works in mysterious ways sometimes! first, to answer some of yall's questions, dad-thank you for giving me no pressure about writing, but trust me, its very healthy for me...in fact, i love writing! yes we walk alot...the reason is because TCC is right across the street and there is no point riding the bikes...however, come to think of it, i am pretty sure we still bike more. in fact, this week we probably averaged anywhere from 15-30 miles a day this week, plus going up and down the hills. i am sleeping better, but it never seems enough! when my president called me, he was asking me about one of the other missionaries that came out with me...there was some changed mid transfers and he wanted to know if this certain elder would be good for the "college areas"...i thought it was really random, but cool that he asked me! and it sounds like the cabin is coming along quite nice!
ok, for the rest of my letter! like i said, this week was a trial of my faith. it was spring break here in tallahassee and it was a ghost town. we tracted about 8-10 hrs every day, rode our bikes 15-30 miles everyday up and down the hills, plus, not to mention it's been heating up with humidity and so...needless to say, it was the most exhausting week of my life. i slept great, for once, but 8 hrs never seemed enough.
on tuesday, i was having a very selfish day for some reason. i was thinking way too much about myself when i needed to help other people. i was having a rough time and gave my president a call. I love that man! seeing him in his position has taught me a lot about the nature of God...he told me a lot about how to find joy in the hard work...he told me that as long as i kept working, the happiness would come in time. he told me that i had had much success already and would have lots of success over my entire mission...go figure that once i started working that day, on the last door, the Lord blessed us with finding someone that was interested. Lesson learned...when i serve others, there is satisfaction and joy that comes into my life. "Fun doesn't always mean joy and satisfaction...however, if you have joy and satisfaction, fun will alway be there." the key is to find those things that bring the most joy in life...and then if you work hard, it will most definelty be fun.
on wednesday no one answered their doors...however, after talking to my president the day before, it felt really good to word even though it was exhausting! we finally had a dinner appointment! we don't get very many...maybe 2-4 times a month if we are lucky...we can only have dinner appts with the men in the ward, and they don't know how to cook and since they are college kids they can't afford to take us out...but we had an appointment with this guy and he grilled steak for us! it was amazing!
on thursday, i received an amazing complament from my companion, elder lewis... there is a very big chance that he will be transfered soon (transfer ends in 2 weeks) because he has already been here for over 6 months. he said, "elder merkley...if i leave, i feel very confident in leaving this area in your hands. you work hard, your obedient, you love the people, we have seen success because of you...and this area will continue to see success if you do those things. you are a better missionary than many who have been out a while already." it came out of no where, and shocked me. i said thank you and didn't think about it, but that night i thanked my Heavenly Father that he has helped me so much! on friday we tracted for 10 hrs...it was very hot and humid and my companion and i feel asleep during a dinner hour because we were so tired...after that, we decided to walk since we didn't think we could ride anymore...we were already out and wondering what to do...we decided that we wanted to go see some 'potential investigators' and so we started in the direction of the apartment complex that we were going to. Right after that, a taxi pulls up to the curb, it was a member of a differnet
ward and he said, "hey elders, hop in...i will drive you wherever you need to go." well, my companion and i did just that and we felt like the taxi was confirming that the Lord wanted us to go to that complex.
we knocked on all the potentials and not a one opened the door. we sat down, exhausted, and wondered why Heavenly Father had wanted us there... no sooner after those words had come out of our mouths, a college girl drove up and parked her car right in front of us. she got out and said, "why are you in front of my door?" we told her straight up that we had been trying to talk to people all day and no one had answered there doors, and so we were sitting down resting. she then commented, "well, why don't you just come on in and talk to my roommates and i" my companion and i were completely shocked!!!! we went in and talked to both of her roommates and her. we started casually talking to them...to be honest, my companion and i were just grateful to be on a nice couch, sitting in an air conditioned home, and we were just relaxing. we spent a good amount of time talking to them. i began to think that we were wasting the Lord's time with just casually talking to them... exactly after that thought, the girls started asking questions about the Church!!!! (i couldn't believe what was going on that night) we told them about the Book or Mormon, how it could bless their lives, and about the church. when we were testifying of the book of mormon, one of the roommates spoke up and said, "what is this feeling! i feel so peaceful...so happy...so warm inside!" my comp's and my jaws dropped! we had never had someone so receptive to the spirit... we told her about what she was feeling and she was so excited to read more! it was an amazingly spiritual experience! and the funny thing is that the Lord knew that we needed to go to that complex...He knew that the potentials were going to not answer...He knew that we needed to be sitting there when the girl pulled up, so He sent the taxi. i want to testify to each and every one of you...that God know how to help his children! It is after the trial of our faith that we recieve witnesses to that faith. we were tired and done knocking doors when she pulled up. the best part about this story is that the girl had been praying the night before...and we were able to answer her prayer!
it has been a humbling experiment being an instument in the hand of the Lord! it is very rewarding to see miracles and answers to prayers on a daily basis!
on saturday, Carly got baptized! my first one! the spirit was amazingly strong and i know that her parents, who aren't members felt the spirit. i sang "i know that my redeemer lives" with my companion and two of carly's friends.
the Lord helped answer my prayers...i was having a rough day on saturday. for some reason i was missing yall more than i have before...i got down on my knees and poured out my heart to my maker. i received a letter that day! it was an answer! it was from Elder shreeve and everything in the letter was geared towards helping me!
also, elder shreeve told a wonderful story that i would like to share with yall! a chinese government official (not lds) came and talked to all of them and asked what missionaries do...and such. Evidently, this man will have a huge part in helping get missionaries into mainland china! how cool is that!
anyways...my week was really long, hot, humid, boring, and yet rewarding, satisfying, and very very meaningful to my mission so far. i know that God lives and answers prayers! i see miracles everday! i know that it is by our faith, that those answers are answered. i know that it is after the trial that we get help! i love helping these people! i love it!
i love yall and hope everyone has a great week!
elder merkley
