Never know what to put here!

Oi!

Woot! This week was better! We had a conference with Elder Godoy and with President. It was a needed conference. We learned a whole lot. It was very very good. I am very excited! We learned a lot. I also learned a lot about teaching and how we as missionaries should teach. It´s an essencial tool that we must have. I´m very humbled by the expierence that we passed and I can´t wait to put it in practice. We tried very hard to get some people to the church this week but without results. It´s frustrating when this happens. You want so much that the people progress but when they don´t it just hinders things. We have some families that we are teaching that still haven´t gone to church and still aren´t completing with some other compromissos.... I don´t remember that word. I just would like that they get baptized! That would be awesome :) haha 

We will have interviews with president this week! Woot! :) I always like interviews with president. It´s good stuff. It always helps to have interviews ever so often! It will be a very good expierence.

It´s weird that people still are going to school hahah. When on the mission you just think that the only thing that exists is mission work sometimes. haha. It´s good :) It´s a very weird feeling sometimes, but I love being a missionary. Helping others is just the greatest :P hahahah. I can´t believe that Sara and Whitnie are going already! That´s crazy! 

So Gavin is 3 now?!? What the! When did that happen?!? That´s craziness right there! Man... That little guy is growing up and I´m not even there to watch it all happen! freaky cara!

It picking season so then? Man, even though it was annoying sometimes, I do miss the whole picking pears thing :) That was and is enjoyable! :)

Things are going well here in Jaraceí! We are teaching some people, but we just have little people that we are teaching. We made a goal this week, to have 25 people in our group of teaching. So I really hope we can get that! :)

But it´s time for me to skidaddle! alrighty? Ta bom! Tchau!

I love you guys!

com amor,

Élder Grant Shaw Merrill!

Hard week!

Oi!

Well another week gone! Weeks don´t even seem to go by it´s just all one big day always haha. It´s just all the same day going by, I just happen to sleep sometimes. hehe. So this was a hard week. We haven´t been having too much success lately in this area, so we decided to change to a different part of the city and try there. Things are going a better, but still we are low on investigators. Makes it difficult. Also my districts baptism fell yesterday! Ah. He was so close to being baptized. He was so ready but decided to back out in the end. But it´s all good. haha.

We have a family we are working with that I hope they can be baptized this week. Please pray for them! :) André and Juilana is their names.

Man, there´s tons of people married or getting married huh? That´s crazy! haha. Man, things like that can´t happen without me being there :P haha. Life isn´t suppose to continue hahah :P

So the folsoms moved out? Well that´s sad! Definitely i´ll miss them. Don´t know what i´ll do now! :P haha. I did get the envelope I loved the pictures :P and the autority line! It was awesome!

You guys are seeing tons of peole that I want to see as well :P what jealously! :P hahah. things are going great here! I´m in love with Jacareí. I don´t want to leave this place. I have been learning sooooooo much in these past couple of weeks and I hope to become a lot better :) Thanks for everything! Lve you guys!

com amor,
Élder Grant Shaw Merrill!

Lets roll! :)

Oi!

Well, I lied! My companion is brasilian not american just his name is Elder Wilker which is not brasilian but that´s okay I´m happy with that :) my second one! He´s pretty cool! I´m excited to get working! He has 4 months on the mission and he´s excited :) I hope I can be a good example to him! So now, we are going to be moving to a different part of the city because where we have been working is dead for right now. We need new investigators and find the elects of the lord. I know that there are more waiting for me. There is a purpose why I´m still here just have to find it. The members joke that I´m already a member here :P at the end of this transfer it will have 7 months here in Jacareí! Whoa! Awesome! But anyways Chiara still isn´t baptized (I don´t know if I talked about her before or not but she is a girl that really REALLY wants to be bapitzed but the dad and grandparents are against it) but we are still working away with her. Just need to find new people. We have a lesson tonight that I think will be really good :) I hope! Anyways

Exactly how much money do I have in my checkings and savings account? I would like to know :) It sounds like Sara is a cuite pie :P haha. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHIL! YOU´RE OLD! hehe.. It´s okay my líder de zona is 27 years old haha. Hey sister Bailey is probably going to pass by house. I was going to leave some stuff with her but she didn´t have enough room in her.... malas... bags but I did leave a note for you guys with her tá? So say hi to her :) She was an awesome missionary!

 Something really weird about the mission that i was thinking about is basically how could I leave from here? Especally this area it has become my home. It´s like I feel like the past almost never existed.. It´s really weird hahah. But yeah.

I loved the footloose story hahaha, because I can see mom doing that right now hahah. The sad thing is that i do now because I don´t have a way to remember the words. Man I think the theme song of transformors has been stuck in my head for the past year or so. I believe that was the last movie I saw in the theaters but I don´t remember.

Well, I think I´ve got to be wrapping this thing up now tá bom? Perfeito. Então, vamo lá! I love you guys so much! You guys are awesome! :) I can´t believe that now I have more 11 months to make and then I´m home. It passes by soooooooooo quickly.... I don´t like it hahah. it sounds like Jared is doing good! pass me Louie´s too! Louies, David´s, Jareds´, and Jordans! (I still haven´t sent him a letter O_o) but that would be sweet! Anyways, I love you guys! :)

Tchau!

com amor,
Élder Grant Shaw Merrill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

WHAT?!?

I posted more photos so take a look at the pictures tab!

Oi!

Minha Família! My mission is so weird. It´s very very good, just it´s all WEIRD! haha :P Let me explain. So I have been here in Jacareí since February 28th and it has become my second home. There are so many people here that I can call my second moms and dads and brothers and sisters. On sunday I gave my testimony bascially talking about that and crying how I would miss everyone. Yeah.. I cried haha. But I love everyone here in Jacareí, I was not wanting to leave here at all. It is the most special place I have ever been. I can´t imagine going anywhere else. My mission really feels like to me Mission Jacareí. I don´t know where else I could be. My recent converts are my favorite people in the world. I feel at home at the house of the family Arruda. (the family I baptized here) I want to go to the temple with them muito! (a lot). With all this, I was saying goodbye to everyone, saying my good lucks and getting free food in every place :P hahah. And then today came... The day we learn where we will go or stay. Well, elder squires and elder halls will stay here in the branch for a 4th transfer together (they live in the same house as me and elder squires is the elder that was the compainion of elder schenk) and I´m staying! But elder steele (my son) is going away! And I´m getting another american! WHAT?!?! That´s super crazy!  Man things are crazy now... WEIRD! But I´m very happy :) I´m staying as Leader of District I´m pretty sure as well. :) Man... It´s very weird, but I´m very excited! I hope to make more of a difference here :)

I won´t have a lot of time right now because my companion wants to make some visits. Sorry, I know I just write little :P but!

Oh so i´m sure it looks like lot of activity going on my facebook but it´s not me promise! :P hahaha. But yes those pictures you saw was an activity we did with the jovens (young people? haha) During July we told them that each week they had to bring people to church and each person they brought to church would be a point. And it would be between the girls and boys. Well, girls won  and we had a baptism out of it too, and then we did this activity that had a treasure hunt, one minute to win it games, volley waterball, and things like that and in the very end the girls ended up winning! WOOOOOO! So bascially the prize was you get to throw whipped cream pies in our faces. So they did :P an then they put flour on me, and water :P hahah. Man that was sooooooooooo fun :P I loved that hahah. They are so awesome. Man, the family Arruda was getting super sad cause they totally thought I was going, the dad almost cried. Rafaela (the 11 year old girl) loves the heck out of me and didn´t want me to go and gave me a hug (that was awkward hahah :P). Man, I´m just happy to stay. Well, time for my companion to say bye to some people I love you guys! Sorry I couldn´t respond to the e-mail but I will. Sounds like all is sweet! :P