Mission Scripture

Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.

D&C 68:6

About Me

Hi welcome to my blog! I have been called to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and am speaking Spanish here in the Ft . Lauderdale Florida mission. I am currently serving in Hollywood. I am a part of the greatest work of all time.."

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Mission Baby and Mom


Burnsey


From President Hale

It's been an interesting few days at the mission home. The wife of Haiti Port-au-Prince Mission President was airlifted out of Haiti a few days ago following the quake with her two young boys, ages 5 and 7. She was due to deliver a baby at any time and we're now pleased to announce that she delivered a healthy 6 1/2 pound baby girl this evening. Sister Welch was amazing! She was right there every step of the way. Nice to have a nurse in the mission. I'll bet she never anticipated assisting in the delivery of a baby on her mission! Nor did I ever really anticipate shopping for newborn diapers, clothing, car seat, etc. etc. for one of our little missionaries - but what an eventful day it has been. The happy father ... a 29 year-old Haitian mission president is thrilled with the receipt of each additional emailed photograph of his new little one. Imagine that! So I guess that makes all of you Aunts and Uncles to little "Burnsey". Never a dull moment in the great Florida Ft. Lauderdale mission - We do it all!

My First Alligator


Can you find the Hidden Alligator


Sleeping Alligators - a cute family


More Alligators


At the Beach


Hi

hey everyone, its been more on the uneventful side this week, but it was a good week none the less. i sent an envelope home with sister olson, so when you see her sunday remind her and she'll get it to you. the everglades were super fun and it was really pretty !!! so weird that its "winter" and yet its in the 80s. we saw lots of alligators! this week we got lots of new contacts but not really any potentials yet... sister eland met someone outside the library while i was watching our stuff so maybe she'll be cool. i dont have too many highlights to talk about so i'm resorting to telling you about my food i ate... we were eating at a Brazilian families house and they thought it was a treat to have the missionaries over so they made shrip and fish and these strange brazilian potatoes. well i didnt have a choice so i just chewed it all up and amazingly it all stayed down. never again do i want a seafood meal. yuck. i met with dr hartog, he wants to see me in one month and he says it is healing properly. he likes to call me a pioneer cause i went through all that for so long without getting medical help. ha. we took sister olson to this fritanga restruant last night (niguraguan food) and i just want you all to know, soy latina. i just cant even explain how much i love latins. ah! so much! i am staying here another transfer with sister eland. Mom sent me a baby bottle full of jellys for my 9 mnth (thanks for that by the way) and guess what. the elders ahve this awesome investigator kenya who is getting baptized soon. she is super cute and she's 24 or 25 and single and prego. but she's a GOOD girl and really excited to get baptized. so i gave her that bottle as a gift. man you always send the most helpful items. along with many of you, i am laughing that its been a year since that farewell and our family photo shoot and everything else.. wow. ok we only rode our bikes one time this transfer so i hope we can ride A LOT this next transfer. sis eland is using sister olson's for now. we have been focusing so so much on the book of mormon and the place it holds dear in my heart is taking over... it's been the only way we're contacting people, and i know that because the Book of Mormon is the keystone to our religion, that it is through it others will be converted. we didnt have any investigators at church.. oh wait we dont have any investigators, period but i am hoping that will change!!!! yest we went at 6am to watch the sunrise at this marina close to our house. we live like 10 min from the ocean and went to a place called Black Point Marina. I saw so many sailboats there dad, you would love it. do you know how many west marine stores i've seen in south florida. maybe the same number as years you are old. i have so many goals i am setting for myself and so many i'm still working on accomplishing. there is so much going on and such a little amount of time. i decided i wont let myself sleep at nights until i have completed my reading 10 pages in my Book of Mormon project that day, and 4 pages in my daily reading. I want to have the Book of Mormon project done March 15 and the Book of Mormon finished April 6. Hopefully I don't become too sleep deprived. gotta run but love you alll and will talk to you next week!!
Loove, hermana call

Wednesday, January 20, 2010



Sister Eland, Addy, me, and Sister Olson at Addy's baptism on Sunday.


Me with Addy, Elder Wilcox, and Elder Mendenhall.


Me opening a Christmas box I got from my friend Jamie a few days ago.

Hi Everyone

hi everyone... how are you all? mom and dad i want to wish you a happy bday and if you haven't opened the box yet then how about mer can you open it and tape shut the little present in there? i finished it in line at the post office and didn't have time. sorry the box isnt full of gifts mom and dad, so dont get your hopes up. i'm not sure when the next time you send stuff to me will be but when you do will you send another journal? no rush, but i think i'll just need 1 more for the rest of my mission. thanks. i had a sick week but i'm feeling better now and i'm glad the elders left some robutussin in the apartment cause i had to drink a lot of it. we have this fam in our ward the Beck's, they are taking us the everglades today and i think i'll see a million alligators! i'm excited and scared!! their mom and 2 daughters came out iwth us a few days ago so it was great we were able to each have an exchange and get 3 times the work done! i met this lady named Joy when I was with Becken (who is prepping to go on a mish) and we did a soft baptism date with her. I hope we can meet with her this week and that she'll progress. During my PPI President Hale made me senior companion for the rest of the transfer and a few other changes that should be helping our companionship. He suggested for me to go to BYU-Idaho but I'm praying about it and haven't really gotten an answer. Any ideas on how I can more clearly recieve answers to my prayers? He suggested I talk to Sister Hale about it and I plan on doing that this week. Okay something people do in this area nobody has done before is not call us the sister missionaries.. they call us the lady missionaries. it is so funny and i still laugh when they do it. isnt that horrible what happened in hati? I dont know too much about it but i know its bad. as a mission we fasted on sat/sun for them. i have met some sweet hatian people and i love them. we got to help pack boxes of food and clothes to send down there yesterday. my comps have both been sick this week and sleeping a lot so i've had to be self-productive in order to move the work along. it's been challenging at times for me but I've had the Lord's help. we saw robert green, the hobo, get off a bus the other day when we were driving to a potential's house and pulled over and got to teach him. he was complaining that he wants to read the Book of Momron but it's too small. i happened to have this little magifiying glass in my bag that mom had sent me and gave it to him. he was so thrilled and happy to be able to read. (but mom, i dont need another one. thanks though). it was neat to be able to help him out! thanks mom! can someone add my new friends on facebook? during my MRI i know this sounds impossible but i fell asleep.. i was so tired.. that machine was making a whole lot of racket but it was a fri night and i was out within 5 minutes (it lasted like 30), sister brady who took me is soo cute and i love her, mom you should have her number cause she called fri night after the MRI and fell free to text her anytime she says. i got a CD with the pictures on it and i look at it with sister boix on saturday. it was very interesrting to see my brain and now i know how large it is. sister brady and i got to share the gospel with her friend pilar. pilar babysat her kids while we went to my MRI. Pialr is going to come to church next sunday. yay!! the elders had a family of 4 get baptized on satudaya and confirmed sunday and their baby blessed sunday too! the family was a member referral from the stake president. it was really cool for them, and the family was counting down week, days, and hours til they could be baptized! my friend adi and i gave geogre ( the man who listened to MoTab) a BOM on sat and hiome he will accept the elders to come and teach him. we had a cool lesson with michael and he told us how the Book of Mormon is like going into a candy shop and if he could choose any candy there, he'd choose the Best kind. and the book of mormon is the best kind-thats what he said! we really want him to come to church so he can progress but he needs court permission first. also on sat sister eland tried calling the number of a potential. but it was a wrong numebr and someone naswered who was at a park. the person said we could come teach him at the park so we went there and met this guy named brandon who is 22. it was kind of a crazy thing to do but will do crazy things to share this gospel with everyone. i hope you all have a good week and that you are happy and well. i love you so much. thanks for all your love and support. take care. xoxo
hermana meryl call

Monday, January 11, 2010

I'm Cold

gosh do you guys even know how cold its been here this week? its freezing here. i have been a little sick but taking my airborne (thanks mom!) and i'm doing just fine! our new comp, sister eland, is awesome! i love being in a threesome. she is from berthod colorado. we like to talk about our loveland friends. she is a very good missionary. she flew out here with me, she and i were the only sisters that came in that transfer. she is very obedient and a hard worker.. she is however a talker and even at bedtime likes to talk til she falls asleep.. but thats ok! i love her anyways! sister boix gave me this coat i wear so i can stay warm. its doing a pretty good job! in a few days i'll never have to wear it again! so my doc, dr. hartog told me i have something cracked in my neck. some bone or something. yeah it hurts a teeny but not that bad. like i'm not sure i need an MRI. i just dont know waht to do. maybe it'll heal on its own? we as missionaries in homestead are getting rid of dinner appintments compeletely. we were not called here to come to eat, and most members think the way to serve us is to feed us. but we need member referrals! i want to tell you 2 quick stories. wait mom and dad i am send a little b0day thing this week but dont have much i'm sorry. but watch for that that in the mail. we went to anthony's and this assisted living house cause most of them were in jail or something bad. but they are good guys and we have loved teaching them. their caretaker told us last weekend they cant go to church and we can only come on weekends..(he only speaks spansih) well i went on sat with an exchange, adi who is 18and speaks fluent spanish. during the lesson the caretaker (george) starts playing Mo Tab in his room. how firm a foundatino. we were shocked.. well we got a sec to talk to him after and i'm gald adi was tehre cause i dont know how to say mormon tabernacle choir in spanish.. and turns out this guy loves the book of mormon, pearl of great price, and jospeh smith. i asked if he was a member, he said no and called himself an investigator. excited for the spanish elders to teach him this week! later that cold rainy day we went to mcdonals to get hot coco and we met this homeless man, robert. he is super cool and funny. i gave him my orange and granola bar snacks and we also gave him a Bible and Book of Mormon. he had tears rolling down his face and said nobody had ever been so ncie to him before. he was soo cool. he said he'd come to church the next day and i wanst too surpiserd when he didnt show. a man in the bishopbric came and got us 3rd hr out of relief society and said there was a man there to see us. robert had ridden the bus down and spent a few hours lost, walking around but found the church and it was super cool he came :) - we cant contact him so not sure when we'll get to teach him again. but it was an okay week and i know this week will only be better as i am involved the greatest work of all time
love you all, take care of yourselves and dont get sick!
hermanita meryl call

Monday, January 4, 2010

Hoollaaaa

feliz ano nuevo mi familia!!! como estan... hi i am just happy today and i think mostly cause tomorrow we are getting a new companion and i'm soo excited. so i'll be in a trio again and i liked being in a trio before! because her comp is leaving tomorrow, i think it will be sister pirotta but its a surprise til we pick her up tomorrow night at tri-rail. ok seriously those choco toostie rolls i got, were those homemade? those were sooo good. i lvoed my treat package. thank you. it is all in teh freezer for now, i have too many treats. enough to last...til july at least. and i have 2 tupperwares full! it was my frist time sleeping thorugh new years, no i did not wake up at midnight. it wasnt a big deal i guess but at 10:30 everyone was doing fireworks nad screaming outside so it made it harder to fall asleep. what goals do you all have for 2010? i want to read the BOM 3 times this year, focus more on my DAILY missionary goals, and contnue to learn about the temple cause i cannnot hardly wait to go there again!!! i made this list of my 2009 highlights and that was fun thinking about what a great '09 i had :) hope you can all say the same. the elders in our ward had a baptism on tues, his name is steve and his story is incredible. i'll tell you on a voice tape, after coming out of the water he practicially screamed overcame with joy. it was super cool. another thank you for all the love and mail i've been getting.. i get way more attention here than i do at home.. so i wonder if i should be a missionary forever? i have a doc appointment on thurs for my shoulder so i'll let you know how that goes. i'm using missionary medical insurance. read email to pres for sad story on our 3 baptismal dates :( there was this lizard in the car a few days ago and i went to put the car in park and the lizard was 1/2 inch away from my hand crawling down the cd player thing it was sooo freaky. i loved my letter from nin that incluided copies of the testimonies in the BOM. thanks for sending that :) lately everywhere we go people want us to pray holding hands so i've done that a few times and i try not to laugh but i know taylor would've loved every second of it. this one lady we went to teach who ordered a Bible, she told us that Satan would be after us but then she looked me in teh eye and told me he'd especially be after me. it was kinda freaky. she told me that twice while we were tehre. agh. hope she didnt pull a spell on me. we taught this lady hermane and she just wanted to knwo what the correct way to be baptized was! i was happy to tell her but it was sad that she just doesn't understand. that is so frusterating when i try to teach authority to people but they just dont get it! ahhh!! we had this member bring her non memeber friend patrick to church yetsterday he;s mid 20s and was so so happy to be there and even bore his testimony about God. it was a little scary at first cause it was his first time in the church ya know but he did good. we are going to visit him satuday. talkign to him after church he just was saying how happy he was and that "i love jesus!" ..its been chilly in the 50s did i already say that? sorry cant remember. yesterday in relief society the teacher just kept talking about "when i was on my mission..." and i'm pretty sure thats going to be me in 7 months or so... so prepare yourselves now for me to talk about this for forever... i love you guys so much and tahnks for all your love and support and know i pray and think of you often
xoxoxoxo
hermana meryl call