Hello, I’m Merik and I'm a recent graduate from independence high school. I will be set apart as a full time missionary tonight and have been called to serve in Eugene, Oregon speaking Spanish. As I’m sure the other departing missionaries can attest, the last few months have been filled with paperwork and endless interviews with President Kats and my dad, the bishop. There was a set of interviews for sending off my missionary papers, then another set of interviews for preparing to receive the Melchizedek priesthood, and a final set of interviews to enter the temple to receive my endowment. By the end of all these interviews, I felt like I was prepared to start interviews myself. *****Initially as I went through these interviews, it felt a little bit like we were having the same conversation over and over again.  But as I reflect back, I realize that many of the commitments and promises I was preparing for had a lot of overlap and were purposely trying to help me grow a little bi...