President and Sister Merritt - California San Diego Mission Blog

It is amazing to think that in two years of service here in San Diego, we are sharing our 15th post. I had hoped to do a bit better, but life gets busy, and our mission time has been no exception. We like to say we are busy in the best way and feel so blessed for the time we have here. I have received a few emails asking for an update and have had "blog" on my list many mornings. Here goes. Since our last post we have had the distinct privilege of welcoming our ninth grandchild, Van Meade Buttars, into the world on July 10. Armenay was fortunate enough to be there for his birth and to assist following the exciting event. This gave her opportunities for many fun times with Van's three older siblings. We picked apricots and made apricot jam, to supplement the other basic meals we prepared together in the kitchen. We attended summer camps for archery and science experiments and fun and most of all we celebrated Van who, at 23 inches long, wins the prize for longest baby in t...

May 12, 2024 It has been a while. . . and we want to begin by wishing all the mothers out there a Happy Mother's Day! Not one of us would be here, without the gift of life our mothers provided to us, and we are always indebted to them for that gift. Today, I, Armenay would like to begin with a tribute to my mother, Meada Ouzounian, who passed away April 7. Her legacy is one for which I am thankful, mostly because, as the scripture that titles this post says, she was a woman who not only heard the word of God but attempted to both do it and live it.  Born to ranchers, the eighth of nine children and raised between Utah and Wyoming she was a woman grounded in the gospel. She was fortunate to attend college and also afforded the opportunity to complete a Masters of Nursing. For a period of time, due to an injury my father sustained, she was the primary breadwinner for the family, a family that, over time grew to include 10 children. While my mother was highly educated for her time and...

 Happy Valentine's Day! Your first thought might have been, "You're late." Or perhaps you thought, "Chocolate? Candy?" Hopefully, you also thought about Love. That has been our focus for the last month or so. Pure Love. At times, Christ's teaching to love others as the Lord loves us seems easy, other times difficult. This transfer cycle we have focused on God's pure love and how we can better feel and share His love with all those around us. We have shared scriptures, studied passages and stories and practiced charity. There is so much joy in loving others! Since we last posted, our missionaries all enjoyed a service-day at the beach. Normally the beach is off limits for missionary work. So this was an extra special day to experience as a mission. We began our beach adventure by picking up trash for 40 minutes or so. We then shared thoughts before enjoying some volleyball, football and visiting, all while downing donuts and hot chocolate. These were ...