Heavenly Father likes to give us lovely sunsets

Sister Larrabee loves Christmas

18th Email: 18th Week in Salem

I love Salem so much. This week is transfers, and we know two of us are being transferred, but we won't know who exactly until Tuesday night. So we're all kind of freaking out! I know the Lord sends his missionaries wherever he needs them, and all I can say is I hope he still needs me in Salem! As of yesterday, I have been in Salem for exactly 4 months, and I have really come to LOVE the people here. I love the ward, I love our investigators, I love my companions...I just love everyone! I have loved watching people change for the better and progress in the gospel, and that's why I would love to stay in Salem. I want to keep being a part of their lives! I want to see R-- overcome his depression and anxiety with the help of the Lord and come to church. I want to see D-- read the Book of Mormon, rekindle his testimony, and realize that he can repent, and he can change. I want to see S-- find peace and comfort in the Book of Mormon as she is coping with the death of her husband. I want to see J-- come to realize that the Book of Mormon and the gospel can help her follow Jesus Christ more fully. I want to see V-- be baptized by her grandson and get to be sealed to her family in the temple! But I know that no matter where I am, that's where the Lord wants me to be, and I will come to love everyone I serve. It'll be hard to leave though, because the people here are seriously like family to me. It's crazy how you can come to love someone in such a short amount of time.

 

Anyways, this last week was great. I love Christmas! Don't worry, we had a wonderful Christmas and we were very well taken care of. We had 4 feasts throughout the week because the members are so sweet and so many wanted to feed us! It was so great to talk to my family on Christmas. I love you people so much! I am grateful for technology and whoever invented skype. Such a wonderful blessing!

 

Oh, so Saturday night was pretty exciting. It was 10:29, I was about to climb into bed, and there arose such a clatter. I went to where my companions were to see what was the matter. Turns out, the toilet was clogged, and while Sister Habibpour was trying to unclog it, it decided to overflow! Yup! Suddenly there was toilet water everywhere. We cleaned up the water with some towels...and then went to bed! Hopefully no one was too confused when they saw three Mormon missionaries at Walmart at 6:30 on a Sunday morning. We needed to use the restroom somewhere, and obviously, we can't handle our own indoor plumbing. Missions are full of fun adventures... :)

 

Well, I love you all, and I hope you have a great week. And a great new year! Sheesh...where in the world did 2013 go?

 

Love,

Sister Myers

17th Email: 17th Week in Salem

I love Christmas time! It's the most wonderful time of the year. For real though. Isn't it just the best? So joyful. Speaking of joy, we had an awesome meeting with just the sisters in the Roanoke Zone and one thing we talked about was having joy. This lady from the Vinton Ward came and talked about her "Joy Philosophy." It was really great. Happiness is a choice! One thing she encouraged us to do is to write 5 things in our journal at the end of the day that brought us joy. The more you look for and notice joyful moments, the happier you'll be! Makes sense, right? There is seriously so much to be happy for.

 

Next month Elder S. Gifford Nielsen will be coming to our mission and enlightening us with some great inspiration! Exclamation point! :D So that'll be pretty sweet. The whole mission will be meeting in Charleston, so it'll be nice to see my MTC buddies. I love them! I've seen a couple of them since I've been out, but not much.

 

We taught K-- on Saturday about the temple and family history, and soon she'll be on her way to the house of the Lord! So great! I think the youth of our ward are going in February, so that'll be good. Hopefull she can go sooner than that. There aren't any super close temples here. If you've got a temple near you, go! Take advantage of it! There are so many people who would love to go every week, but they just can't because it's too far away.

 

Well, I hope you all have a very merry Christmas! Christ is what Christmas is all about. Think about what He gave to the world. Think about what He gave YOU. What will you give to Christ this year? We are so blessed to have a knowledge of our Savior. He lives. He suffered and died for us that we might live. He is the Redeemer of the world! Let's share these good tidings of great joy with all people.

 

Love,

Sister Myers

16th Email: 16th Week in Salem

So this week has been wonderful. And long! And short. Missionary time is so weird. But I love it!

 

We taught V-- on Tuesday, and set her on date for the 22nd of this month. It was so sweet! She's great. She's the one who her grandson gave her a Book of Mormon in January, and she was a referral from a lady in the ward. She lives with her daughter, who is a member. For the past couple weeks she has been a little hesitant about baptism. She said she knew it was all true and she felt good about it, but for some reason there was just a nagging in the back of her mind, and she wasn't even sure what it was. They went out of town for Thanksgiving, and I guess she found peace while she was gone, because when she got back she was ready. It was so cute when we asked her how she felt about baptism because she said, "Well, I want to, but I don't know when I want to. I don't think I want to do it while the weather's so cold." We assured her that the water in the font would be warm, so the weather wouldn't be a problem. She said, "Oh, okay," and thought for a second and said, "Well maybe it could be Troy's Christmas present." (Troy is the grandson that gave her the Book of Mormon. He's in his late 20s.) How perfect is that? What could be a better Christmas present than to bring someone into the waters of baptism so they can covenant with God and commit the rest of their lives to following Christ? What could be a better Christmas present for Christ?? So anyways, her baptism will be on the 22nd, and we are so excited.

 

We had a meeting/Christmas Devotional with the Pitts on Wednesday, and it was awesome. I love the Pitts. Some of the missionaries did musical numbers, and since Sister Larrabee and Habibpour are waiting to go to Brazil, we decided to sing a Christmas hymn in Portugese! It was great! We sang Silent Night, and I have no idea what the words meant that we sang, but it was a lot of fun! I've been picking up on some words here and there from their language study. Who knows? Maybe they'll just ship me off to Brazil too!

 

One of this week's highlights was the fact that church was NOT canceled. It's crazy the things we take for granted without realizing it. Church has been such a constant in my life, and going two weeks without it was rough! So yeah. I love church. Ya'll better go to church every Sunday, because it's so great. And I'm so glad we had church because K-- and F-- were both waiting to be confirmed! I'm so happy for them. And for F--'s wife. She has been married to F-- for over 20 years, and hasn't pressured him at all about the church, and now he's finally come around! In his confirmation, it was mentioned that they would go to the temple. How beautiful is that? That's what this work is all about. Bringing families to Christ. Families. Together. The church is true. Go out and tell the world! Shout it on the rooftops! The world needs the light of the gospel.

 

Love,

Sister Myers

15th Email: 15th Week in Salem

Well hello everyone. I hope you have had a great week. I hear the weather is a bit chilly over there! Today I didn't even wear my coat to the library. It's been raining a little, and it is kind of cold, but not too bad. Apparently there was supposed to be some huge ice storm yesterday, and so Saturday night the Stake Presidency decided to cancel church on Sunday. So we haven't had church for two weeks in a row! Crazy stuff! Pretty much there's a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord. And it's too bad because the weather wasn't that bad yesterday! It was pretty much the same as today. Also, R--, our investigator who has been progressing really well but has been nervous to come to church, was going to come yesterday! Bah! As Sister Vest from the ward says, the devil's in the details.

 

So remember how one time Sister Habibpour raked leaves for this lady and she invited us in? We've basically become really good friends with her, even though she's super active in a Methodist church. And when we saw her this week, our goal was to invite her to learn more about the church. I was super nervous to ask her, but I really felt I needed to, so I just did it, and it was great! I told her how there are three basic lessons we teach that give people a basic understanding of our church and what we believe, and how we'd love to share it with her because it will strengthen her faith in Christ. And she just said sure! It was awesome. And it all started with service! That's how we do things here in Salem--Ammon Style. I'm excited to share the lessons with her. I know she's not looking for a church and isn't planning on leaving her church, but I hope the spirit will just touch her heart and she can realize that there's a hole in her heart that she didn't know was there.

 

The coolest thing happened with R-- the other day (he's the one who is nervous about coming to church). We were talking about how important it is to keep God's commandments, and the blessings that come from obedience. Then we talked about how church is something God wants R-- to do. It's also hard for him to come because he takes care of his 98-year-old mother with alzheimmers, and he can't leave her alone, so he would need to bring her with him. He looked at her and said, "What do you think? Do you want to come to church with me?" Normally, if his mom joins the conversation, she kind of mumbles something random and usually incoherent, but when R-- asked her that question, she said, cleary, "That depends. It depends on whether or not you want to. If you don't want to do something, you won't do it." She said, "If you want to do something, you've got to make sure the circumstances are right." It was incredible! even R-- was a bit flabbergasted. I asked him, "So...do you want to come to church?" He said yes, and I asked him if he was willing to do whatever it takes to get to church on Sunday, to which he also said yes. Ah. It was such a great lesson. It was incredible to see the Lord work on R-- through his mother! The church is true.

 

Love,

Sister Myers

14th Email: 14th Week in Salem

Dear Everyone,

 

This church is true and I love it. So much! Frank C-- was baptized yesterday, and it was great. It was actually a miracle! So church starts at 11:30, and the baptism was scheduled for 3:00. We went to the church at 9:30 so we could meet with our ward mission leader, and during our meeting, the power went out. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. The bishopric ended up canceling church, because I guess there are liability issues with having church services without power. Also, without electricity, the baptismal font can't be filled with warm water. So Brother Reynolds said, "Well, looks like we're going to have to postpone the baptism." Gah! Our hearts were crushed! But nothing can stop the hastening of the work. We prayed that the power would come back on, and right around the time Sacrament Meeting was supposed to start...it did! Too bad church was canceled and most people had already gone home! So here we are at the church with over 3 hours and nothing to do until the baptism. We decide we're going to go visit some people we had planned to visit later in the day, but when we're just about to leave, guess who shows up? Our investigator, G-- R--! This was the first time he had come to church, and of course, it's the week it gets canceled. But this was a blessing in disguise. Since church was canceled, we took G-- on a tour of the building, and a few of the brethren from the church who were still around joined in and we pretty much ended up having a sweet lesson/testimony-bearing discussion with him. It was sweet! So we ended up staying at the church until the baptism.

 

The baptism was awesome. Frank is awesome! 3 Nephi 9:22 describes him perfectly. He really has come unto Christ "as a little child." He has been married to a member of the church for over 20 years, but has never shown an interest in the church, and she has never pressed it on him. Over time, his heart has been softened, and he finally decided he wanted to take the discussions. And from day one he has really become as a child, willing to submit to the will of the Father. I don't think he fully understands why he is doing everything he is doing, but he does it anyway because he feels that it is right, and that is enough for him. What makes it even better, his decision inspired his two grandaughters, and they were baptized yesterday as well. Families can be together forever! Oh, another reason this baptism was a miracle is the fact that he was even able to physically get in and out of the font without difficulty. Frank had a stroke about a year ago, and he doesn't have much strength or mobility with his legs, so he is bound to a wheelchair. A wonderful brother in the ward built a little dolly/chair thing for him to sit in, and there were five men in white helping him into the font. It was a beautiful sight, and I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood. Seeing so much white reminded me of the temple. Anyways, it was just an all-around good day, and we were beat by the end of it, but I am grateful to be tired, because I know we're working hard. And that's what a mission is! Work!

 

Oh, something else exciting about this week...we have a new investigator named C--, and he only speaks spanish! Hah! Pretty much Sister Habibpour knows some Spanish, she and Sister Larrabee know Portugese, and I took a year and a half of Spanish in junior high! We were able to talk a little about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon, and to tell him how to get to the church. And when I say we, I mean Sister Larrabee and Sister Habibpour. I think I recognized a total of two words that he said, and I knew how to say muchas gracias and hasta luego when we left. It was actually pretty fun! Anyways, we got a Spanish copy of the Book of Mormon, and we are bringing a brother from the ward who knows Spanish to our next appointment. We'll see how it goes!

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you ate a lot of yummy food! I know I did! Besides, the scriptures say that we should delight in fatness (2 Ne 9:51). I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Sister Myers

First Baptism

 

My first baptism! (Kassidy--16)

13th Email: 13th Week in Salem

Hello!

Well, another great week has blown by. We had a baptism yesterday! :D It was simply wonderful. Her name is Kassidy, she's 16 years old, and she is pretty much the sweetest girl ever. When I came into the area, she had already taken almost all of the discussions, she's been coming to church and YWs for a couple of years, and she was pretty much good to go! She lives in New Castle, which is about 40 minutes away, so setting up appointments has been a little difficult, which is why it's taken so long, but we finally got through everything, and yesterday was her big day! It was a little stressful during the week, trying to get everything set up and organized, because I've obviously never done it before, and my companions are only 6 weeks out, so they had no idea either, but it all worked out! There was really no reason to worry.

 

Brother Vaassen (the one in the picture) baptized her, and he is such a great guy. He has a great conversion story, and he has done so much to help the Lord in the work, on both sides of the veil. Every transfer, he gets up around 5 am, drives a 15-seater van up to Charleston, West Virginia with a load of missionaries being transferred, and comes back with another load around 5 or 6 pm. He has missionaries at his house all the time, and he is so involved with our work! Then once a month, he takes the same van with a load of members from the ward up to the D.C. temple. He makes so many sacrifices, and I admire him a lot. Next week, he is getting his knee replaced, which will be so hard for him--not being able to do everything that he usually does. He is such a trooper!

 

Speaking of transfers, our new companion, Sister Larrabee, is great! She is from Rescue, California...and I just realized that's where my friend from BYU-I is from, so I asked Sister Larrabee if she knows her and she totally does! Haha such a small world... Anyways, Sister Larrabee is great. She has such a sweet personality and a strong conviction of the gospel. Oh, something else about transfers...so when Sister Tuckett was here, Sister Habibpour's money was put on Sister Tuckett's debit card, because visa-waiters don't have their own card. Anyways, when Sister Tuckett got emergency transferred to Christiansburg, she got all the money she had left on it in cash and left the card with Sister Habibpour for her to use. Then, we had to figure out a way to get it back to Sister Tuckett before transfers because she needed to turn it in before she went home. So we decided we would give it to Brother Vaassen the day before transfers and he could give it to her. All of a sudden, 10:15 the night before rolls around and....we still have her card! Bah! So we're scrambling around trying to figure out what to do, and long story short, we woke up at 4:30, called Brother Vaassen, slipped on our shoes, drove to his house to give him the card, drove home, and climbed back into bed. So fun.

 

Anyways, y'all are great, I love you, and the church is true. Know it. Live it. Love it.

 

Love,

Sister Myers

Camel

 

I made a new friend this week!

We drive past this big guy every week on our way

to an investigator's house.

12th Email: 12th Week in Salem

Okeydokey! It's transfer week again! So Sister Habibpour and I are staying in Salem but....(drumroll)...we're getting a third companion! We'll be a trio once again! Tomorrow we will pick up Sister Larrabee, who just so happens to be Sister Habibpour's MTC companion! Yup! They are both waiting for visas, so it should be interesting to see what happens this transfer, if one of them or both of them get their visa... Who knows!

 

Anyways, I'm really excited for this transfer. We've got three baptisms coming up, and it's just gonna be great!

 

I'm still learning a lot all the time. This week I learned that service really is the way to go! The other day we were driving around trying to visit some less active members, and on the way to this one guys house, we saw this lady out raking her leaves. Sister Habibpour and I looked at each other and said, "yep." We were thinking the same thing. We finished raking her yard for her and she was so appreciative, she invited us in for a drink of water. We ended up talking to her for over an hour. She's a very active Methodist, but we were able to talk a lot about Christ and his Atonement, and we even shared some of our beliefs that might be different from hers. And it was super chill! When we left, she said to come back any time. She did say that she wouldn't want to leave her church because it feels like home to her, but still! If we had just knocked on her door and tried to get her to listen about the church, she would have said no then and there, and that would have been the end of it. But now, we're good friends, and even if we aren't able to teach her the lessons, I know we've planted a seed. Maybe in the future when missionaries knock on her door, she'll remember us and the good feelings she had while we were there. I totally feel like Ammon in the Book of Mormon! The first thing he does when he meets the Lamanites is serve. Three days go by before he even tries to teach! That's when the timing is right.

 

Yeah. Good stuff. Oh, and my testimony of the Area Book has increased. Yesterday I looked through it and wrote down some names of former investigators that stood out to me, and we went to see these people who investigated 6 years ago. We talked to them for quite a while, and they said they saw missionaries in the past, but then one of the sister missionaries went to a different country, and they just stopped coming. What the? It's a family of 5, and all the kids are old enough to be baptized. How did this golden opportunity somehow fall through the cracks?? So, we're going to start teaching them and see what comes of it!

 

Whelp, I love you all. Keep on keepin' on. Oh, and here's my favorite quote from our last district meeting: "There's no comfort in a growing zone, and there's no growing in a comfort zone." If you want to get to the top of the mountain, you have to go uphill!

 

Love,

Sister Myers

11th Email: 11th Week in Salem

Okay, this last week was Ca-razy. Just crazy! It started out fairly normal, but when Tuesday hit, the craziness started. Okay, it wasn't that crazy, but anyways, on Tuesday Sister Pitt (Mission president's wife) called and told Sister Tuckett they needed her to spend a few days in Christiansburg (which is about 30 minutes away) because the sisters there were struggling. I'm thinking, okay, I guess this is good... Sister Habibpour and I will have a little taste of what it will be like when Sister Tuckett goes home. Um...nope! JK! on Wednesday, Sister Tuckett called and said, "Hey, I'm getting emergency transferred to Christiansburg today. I'll come home around 6 to pack up my things and go." Whaa? So crazy. Sister Tuckett goes home next week and she just got transferred. Didn't see that coming! Needless to say, the next couple of days were a little more stressful than usual. I mean, of course I knew Sister Tuckett would be leaving, but I just thought I still had two weeks to prepare for it. But it's all good! Sister Habibpour and I just took it in stride. Or at least we tried to! Technically, Sister Tuckett was still training me, because I still have another week of the training program. I guess I'll just have to train myself while I finish training Sister Habibpour! No big deal haha.

 

Anyways, it actually turned out to be a pretty good week, and I learned a lot. One thing I learned is that everything about missionary work all boils down to agency. I can teach and teach and teach, and the spirit can testify of what I teach, but unless the person I teach chooses to accept it, they can't be converted. We taught S-- F-- this week (one of our investigators whose husband is a member), and this was confirmed to me. S-- is active in another church, and she has some very firm beliefs, but she is very friendly and lets us come teach her in hopes that her questions about our church will be answered. Lately, we've been really focusing on the Book of Mormon. She has a bunch of questions about things like the priesthood, temple sealings, and endowments, and we have tried to explain to her that she first needs a foundation before she will really understand those things. When we saw her last, we talked more about the Book of Mormon, and we read 1 Nephi 1 with her, because she has refused to touch the Book of Mormon. Anyways, long story short (too late), it seemed like everything was going really well, and I really felt guided by the spirit in what I said...I shared some of Alma 32 with her and asked her to just give the Book of Mormon a chance before she rejects it. I felt like I had said everything I needed to, and that she would finally say, "okay, I'll try it," but she didn't. After all that she still said she wouldn't read it. 2 Nephi 33:1 says that the Holy Ghost will carry truth unto the hearts of the children of men. Unto. Not into. The truth can only touch their hearts if they use their agency and open their heart to it. That's the only way it'll work! haha and it's frustrating! But I know that that's how it's supposed to be.

 

Oh, so the other day we met this guy named G-- R--. He investigated the church a little bit about 8 years ago, and he is pretty much the nicest guy. And he LOVES history. he's 63, and he came out and talked to us on his porch for about an hour, mostly about a bunch of random history facts he knows. We played off of a lot of what he was saying and tried to connect it to the Book of Mormon (like Christopher Columbus being mentioned), and he seemed pretty interested! He said he'd add it to his stack of 20 books that he is currently reading. haha great! Maybe he'll get around to it someday. Just a few minutes before we left his house, our phone rang. He didn't hear it, so we just ignored it, and when we got into the car and checked it, it was a member of our ward, Sister Welcker. Apparently she had talked to Sister Tuckett about having dinner at their house that night, but Sister Tuckett forgot to tell us, and now she's in Christiansburg, of course! So we went to dinner anyways, even though we were 45 minutes late. Meh! What can ya do?

Well, I love you all very much, and I hope you have a fantastic week. (And I love you, random citizen!)

 

Love,

Sister Myers

10th Email: 10 Week in Salem

This week was pretty good! Not as much success as we were hoping for, but we had some good things happen! We started the week off with a great game of soccer with the Salem Elders, which was great. My legs have been itching to play the beautiful game since I got here! So that was wonderful. Oh, and we got to split wood again! Super fun. We split wood for our ward mission leader's mother, who is 84 and lives alone on a farm. And she was out hauling wood with us and telling us how to do everything. What a trooper! Not to mention the fact that one of her "four legged children" stepped on her foot that day, so she was in a lot of pain.

 

We taught one of our new investigators, C--, this week, and it was great! He investigated the church a long time ago and was actually going to be baptized, but he got turned away by some anti information about Joseph Smith. But now he's super open and wants to learn everything he can about our church. And there's some icing on the cake! He's got a 20-year-old son who sat in on the lesson, and he is super elect. He's a really good guy and just wants to do what's right. He just needs a good group of friends. He seemed pretty excited when we talked about the singles' ward! Anyways, good stuff.

 

V-- is doing great. She came to church yesterday (2 weeks in a row!!). Oh, and F-- came to church too! Which was so awesome. It's been so hard for him to come because he had a stroke, so he's bound to a wheelchair and transportation is super hard. Plus, he lives 40 minutes away from the church, which doesn't make the situation any easier. But he made it! Anyways, we taught V-- this week and she just takes in everything we teach.

 

So Sister Tuckett goes home in a couple weeks, which is crazy! It's going to be hard without her here. But I know Sister Habibpour and I will be fine. The other day Sister Tuckett went to Botetourt to work with Sister Stone and Sister Stringham, so it was just me and Sister Habibpour in Salem. It was nice to get a little taste of what the next transfer will be like. Of course, who knows when Sister Habibpour will get her visa, so things will be changing again soon! Bah! Anyways, Sister Tuckett has been an awesome trainer, and I'll miss having her around. But alas, everyone must eventually go the way of all the earth.

 

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love, Sister Myers

Fall Explosion

 

The trees have finally decided that it's time for fall, and there has been

an explosion of yellows, reds, and oranges.

So Beautiful!!

 

 

9th Email: 9th Week in Salem

This has been a pretty good week! It has had its ups and downs, but what week doesn't? There are a lot of good things going on here in Salem.

 

On Tuesday, we taught V--, who we've been teaching for a few weeks. She's the one who lives with her daughter (who is a member), and her grandson gave her a Book of Mormon in January. She's been progressing really well! We taught her the Plan of Salvation, and we invited her to be baptized. She said, "Well I was already baptized when I was younger..." My first thought was oh no, she doesn't think she needs to be baptized... this could get tricky... But then she said, "Can I be baptized again?" It was so cute! We told her of course, yes, and we testified that it's what God wants her to do and that it will be done by God's authority and all that jazz. So yeah, she's on date for the end of November, and guess what else? She came to church yesterday!! Bah! We actually had 3 investigators at church yesterday, which was so exciting because we haven't had any for several weeks. R-- still hasn't come, but we'll be working on him this week.

 

On Friday, we were getting a little discouraged because we didn't have a lot of referrals to work with, we hadn't found any new investigators for the week (our goal was to find three), and we felt like we were just hitting a wall. But we prayed, went out with faith, and then found a new investigator on Friday and two more on Saturday! It was awesome. I know God hears our prayers and is more interested in our work and our success than anyone else. And it makes sense that He is! These are His children we're dealing with, and He wants them to be happy and to come unto Him.

 

I know missionary work is hard and trying, but I just want everyone to know that it's fun too! There's always room for fun. Always. Sister Tuckett, Habibpour, and I have fun every day and I love it. And it's the simple things that make it fun. So have fun!

 

Anyway, I don't have that much to say this week, but it's been good! I can't believe October's almost over. Halloween's on Thursday? Wha?? Didn't October just start a few days ago?? Man, time's a flyin'! Happy Halloween everyone! You better all have the wildest costumes. As for me, I'm trying to decide what I should dress up as. What do you think about me dressing up as a missionary? Would that be too mainstream?

 

Love, Sister Myers

 

Oh, ya know, just out tracting in the beautiful trees of

Virginia with my two lovely companions...

 

Have you ever heard of Apple Butter?

It's fantastic. So good.

And here I am, stirring 50 gallons of it!

8th Email: 8th Week in Salem

Hello! How is everyone? Good? Good. Life's great!

 

Seriously, I've just been thinking a lot lately about how great life is. My testimony of God's plan for us has been strengthened a lot, and I'm so grateful for it! I love that we often call it the "plan of mercy." It really is! God is so merciful, and the fact that he is brings ease to my mind. I know that I can trust him, and that as long as I am striving to follow him, things will all work out in the end. All we have to do is endure our lives well. And he will be there with us, helping us every step of the way! More proof of his great mercy! Anyway. The future is bright, and nothing in the world can dim my hope in Christ.

 

This week has been good. We keep seeing the Lord's hand in the work, and it's awesome! On Saturday, we had an appointment to visit with a part-member family. The appointment fell through, which totally caught us off guard, and so we had a moment where we were at a loss of what to do for the next hour and a half (I know, I know, we should always have a back-up plan...). Anyway, we started talking about what we could do.  We'd already used a lot of our miles that day, so we wanted to stick close. We could go to the library and do an hour of mormon.org time...we could visit members that live close to us.... Then we had a better idea. First of all, rewind. A few weeks ago, Sister Tuckett and I sat down with the map and we decided to pick several streets that we would keep in mind for tracting in the future. So we each picked a few, and then, we prayed and asked Heavenly Father to prepare the hearts of the people on those streets for when we would meet them. Fast forward. We decided to pick two streets to go tract, and we hopped in the car and went on our way. We got to the first street, and as we looked down it we thought, great. This isn't even a real street. We couldn't see anything but a gravel road with trees on either side. But we thought, why not. Let's check it out. So we parked the car at the end and started walking down the road, and we finally got to the end, where there was only one house! Just our luck...we picked a road with only one house! Anyway, we knocked on the door, and you guessed it...out came our new investigator. We talked to him for a little bit, and he was pretty interested, and we couldn't set up an appointment because he wasn't sure about his work schedule, but he gave us his number so we could call him. Anyway, it wasn't anything super spectacular, but I know, without a doubt that God was involved. I don't know how he does what he does...maybe we were inspired to chose the road we chose because the guy we met was already ready, or maybe the Lord started preparing him after we chose it...I don't know! I just know he's here and I love it.

 

We are still having a hard time getting our investigators to church. It's so tricky when people have legitimate reasons why they can't come! But that's going to be our focus this week. Getting them to church. Our investigators are progressing in other ways though, and it's great. The other day, we were doing our weekly planning, and we were making a "know, feel, do" for our investigator, R--. A "know, feel, do" is simply when we think about and discuss what our investigator needs to know, feel, and do, and then we tailor our lesson to that. R-- has been doing great. He reads the Book of Mormon all the time, and he really likes it, and he accepts everything we teach him. We decided that we want him to know that the Book of Mormon is true. We think he already knows it in his heart, but we want him to come out and tell us. We decided we want him to feel inspired to act. He has the understanding, and now he needs to just get up and go. We've talked about baptism, and we know (and he knows) that that's his next step. And then the "do" for him was to act. Come to church. Commit to be baptized. Anyway, we were planning on seeing R-- that day, but I don't think it was even an hour after we made his "know, feel, do" that he called us. He told us that he'd been reading 2 Nephi 31 (talks all about the doctrine of Christ--faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end), and he knows he needs to change. he told us he knows the Book of Mormon is true, and that this is the path he needs to take. He has some concerns though--he knows it's going to be hard. So he's hesitant. But we got so excited! God was in our planning session and he knew what we wanted for R--! It was seriously so cool! We haven't seen R-- since then, but I can't wait to see him this week. He's getting there. He knows the Book of Mormon is true, and he knows he needs to act. Ah. Such a miracle!

 

Anyways, I love you all! Go be missionaries and take the gospel to all the world in whatever way you can! Remember, many are lost only because they don't know where to find the truth. Let's show them where it's at!

 

Love, Sister Myers

7th Email: 7th Week in Salem

Dear Everyone,

 

This week's been great. There's lots to do and not much time to do it in, all the time, it seems! But we are having a blast every day. So our new companion's name is Sister Habibpour (hobby-pour) and she's from California. She's fresh out of the MTC, and she's actually waiting on her visa! So that's exciting! She's getting ready to go to the Campinas Brazil Mission. And she's great! It's fun to have the opportunity to train her, and I feel like I'm learning from her at the same time! Even though she doesn't have much experience, she's bold and confident when it comes to talking to new people. She's a great example!

 

Let's see, what exciting things happened this week...

 

Well, I was on exchanges with Sister Nisse (who's been out as long as I have) and we had a little adventure. I won't go into much detail...but let's just say it's hard to go anywhere when the car keys are locked in the trunk.... Thank goodness for miracles! haha good times...

 

We've got some good things going on in the Salem area. New investigators...progressing investigators...and lots of help from the ward! Our ward is seriously the best, and they are all so enthusiastic and willing to help us with our work. There are still some disappointments, but I've found that there's always something bright around the corner. For example, when we were teaching S-- and C-- (two of our investigators with baptismal dates), they were talking about how stressed they feel and how they don't feel ready to be baptized, and so we decided to just drop their dates. We could tell that the dates were causing a lot of pressure, and it was hindering their progression. So it's good for them, but it's kind of hard, because of course, we don't want to drop baptism dates. But, guess what was around the corner? So we taught S-- and C-- on Friday, and then on Sunday, we taught a man named F--, and a girl named C--, and set them both on date! What a tender mercy from the Lord! I know that the Lord is with us, and he wants us to succeed.

 

Anyways, a little about F--: He's an older guy who's married to a member, and he's never really been interested in religion. She's never pressured him about it, and until recently, he's just not really cared. In the last year or so, though, his heart has gradually been opening. He had a stroke a while ago, and it's left him pretty disabled. He's bound to a wheelchair, and is not sure when (or if) he'll be able to walk again. While he was in a physical rehab center, his roommate was a member of the church, and some missionaries would come visit him every now and then. Then one day, F-- said to them, "hey, when are you going to give me a spiritual message?" And it just kind of grew from there. We've gone and taught him three times, and each time, he's talked about baptism. The first time, it was kind of in joking...he said (refering to the fact that he's in a wheelchair), "how are gonna get me in the fishtank??" But then later, he expressed his desire to be baptized. He's never really had a strong belief in God, but he's been praying, and we know he's been feeling the spirit. Anyways, we're really excited for him. And for his wife as well. She is so happy every time we come.

 

C-- is 16 or 17 years old, and I guess she's been taught almost all of the lessons a few times. Yesterday we went to visit her because we'd never met her, and we just wanted to see exactly where she's at. She said she feels good about everything she's learned, and she wants to be baptized. When I asked her why she had that desire, she said that it's because she just feels good when she's at church, and she knows she's supposed to be there. So we set a date for her, and we'll be spending the next few lessons making sure she's learned what she needs to learn and that she's ready, which I think she is. It's so great how the Lord prepares people. I know that he is in this work, without a doubt.

 

I hope all is well, wherever you are! This gospel is so true and I love it!

 

Love, Sister Myers

6th Email: 6th Week in Salem

So this last week was kind of crazy! But it was great! On Tuesday Sister Tuckett went to MLC (Mission Leadership Conference) up in Charleston, West Virginia. She drove up with another Sister Training Leader, whose companion stayed with me in Salem. And the funnest part is they took the car! So Sister Isobe (who has only been out one transfer more than me) and I were stranded in Salem with nothing but the shoes on our feet and our burning desire to share the gospel! Haha! Oh and they took the GPS as well. Perfect. So we got to use the good ol' map! What an ancient artifact! Sister Tuckett and I made a list the night before of some people Sister Isobe and I would go visit, but that morning, I realized I didn't have some of the addresses for those people. So I was texting Sister Tuckett with a few questions, but then her meeting started and she said, "Sorry, can't text anymore. Good luck!" So that day was just a grand adventure. But it was fun! I actually enjoyed walking...getting some fresh air...

Transfers are this week, and on Thursday, we found out that Sister Tuckett and I are both staying in Salem (I have another 6 weeks of training and she has 6 weeks until she goes home!) but...we're getting a third companion! Yup! One of the new missionaries coming out will be joining us, and so I guess how it's going to work is Sister Tuckett will finish training me, and at the same time, we will both be training the new Sister. So, according to missionary lingo, the new missionary will be both my daughter and my sister....does that make sense? And then after Sister Tuckett leaves I will finish training the new sister. Sounds like an adventure! I'm super excited. I've heard trios are really fun.

Oh, on Wednesday we exchanged with the sisters from Vinton, and I was with Sister Wines. And guess what! She was totally in my ward during the Fall Semester at BYU-I! But neither of us recognized each other! We were even in the same relief society. She lived below me and two doors down in the dorms. Crazy small world.

Umm...did anyone else LOVE Conference? So good! I can't wait to read all the addresses again! Oh, and here's a fun story. So we invited R--, our investigator to watch Conference, and so Sunday morning we called him to see if he watched any of it, and he did. Then we asked him what he thought, and he said, "Well they all had good things to say, and the one guy..the head guy," "the prophet??" "Yeah, he just spoke with a lot of power. I mean he just told everbody how it is. He wasn't asking, he was telling!" I'm sure you can imagine us on the other end of the line, freaking out. Yeah! He's a prophet! He's the best! Thank you, President Monson, for speaking with power and touching our investigator! Anyway. We're super excited for R--. He's still having a hard time getting to church because he has to take care of his mom, and he's not sure about baptism yet, but he progresses more and more every time we teach him.

I'm not sure what else I want to say...this past week has kind of just been a blur! But it's been great. I'm learning a lot. And as I'm coming unto the Lord, he is definitely showing me my weaknesses. but it's good! Because he'll make weak things become strong!

One of my favorite scriptures right now is Ether 12:4. "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." I love the imagery the word anchor provides. If you think about a ship's anchor, it is what keeps the ship in it's right place during a storm. The waves can crash and crash, but as long as the ship is anchored down, when the storm settles the ship will still be in the same place. When trials and tribulation crash on our lives, which they undoubtedly will, we can "with surety hope for a better world." Because of our faith, which leads us to act and follow Christ, we can get through any hardship and feel confident when the storm settles that we are still on the right path and headed in the right direction, whether the storm settles tomorrow, next year, or after this life on earth is over.

Lots of love from the hills of Virginia! Keep doing what you're doing and being who you're being because I love you all! Anchor yourselves to Christ! He is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Love, Sister Myers

Virginia's Beautiful Sunsets Paint the Sky

Pictures!! :)

Map signed by all the missionaries that have previously 

lived in my apartment.

Cute little chickies!

5th Email: 4th Week in Salem

Whelp! Another week has flown by! And this week has been just great....(said with slight sarcasm) JK, JK, it really has been good. It's definitely been interesting. At the beginning of the week, Sister Tuckett and I were all excited because we actually had several appointments set up! Our schedule wouldn't have to be filled with wandering around tracting and knocking on tons of doors that don't open! But Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, and He decided that He didn't want us to spend our week at all those appointments. He had something else in mind. Seriously though, almost all of our appointments fell through.

 

On Tuedsay we were supposed to teach J-- (a less active), R-- (our investigator...have I ever told you about him? He's great...I'll have to give you the scoop on him in a minute), and the T-- family (potential investigators), but none of them were home (or at least they didn't answer the door). So...we went tracting! Well first we tried to contact a member of our ward, but he wasn't home. And this is where the Lord's mysterious ways come in! When the member wasn't home, we decided to tract his street. We didn't get an answer at most of the houses, but at this one house the guy who answered invited us in. He and his wife are probably in their late 50's, and they told us they're just "churched out." I guess they've gone to a lot of different churches during their lives, but they're just tired of "man-made religion." They don't like how one preacher in a church teaches doctrine one way, and another preacher from the same church teaches the doctrine another way. I thought, perfect! Let me tell you about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It's run by God! The problem is, they've heard about our church and about Joseph Smith before, and they're not sold on the fact that he's a prophet. They think he just started another man-made religion. But they were super open and let us talk to them for a while. We testified of Joseph Smith, Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and told them that the knowledge we have was received from God through the Spirit, and that that's the only way they would be able to truly know the same thing. We gave the husband a copy of the Book of Mormon and he took it politely and said, "I'll take it, but I'm gonna be honest, I'm probably not gonna read it." We had talked about modern prophets and how they give us counsel on things of the world today (media, finances, etc...) and he thought that that's what the Book of Mormon was all about. We explained that it's not...that it's actually a book of ancient scripture, records of the inhabitants of America from around the same time the Bible was written, and he was like, "Oh...really? Hm. Maybe I will read that..." So that was pretty sweet! When we left, they told us that we should come by again if we're ever in the area. Of course, they also said they travel a lot, so it might be hard to catch them, but still! They could be some dynamite investigators!

 

Later that day, we were tracting another street that a member lived on, and the guy who answered the door (probably in his late 20s) told us he was pretty set in his church, but then he said, "my dad on the other hand...you guys should talk to him! He used to be a preacher at my church, but he was looking to join the Mormon church a while ago." What??? Sweet! So when we got home we looked through the area book, and sure enough, he's one of our area's former investigators. So that was pretty great! We haven't been able to get back to try and talk to him yet, but I think there's definitely some potential there!

 

Okay, so R--. He's great. Probably one of my favorite people. He's got such a funny personality and he's super nice. He's also tricky to teach. Ah, it makes me laugh every time! So when we first met him we pretty much taught him the Restoration on his porch, and he seemed pretty intrigued. He told us he's really into reading spiritual stuff, and he spends a lot of time reading. Perfect! We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and told him to read the first 50 pages by the time we came back the next week. And he did! We've taught him a few times, and he seems pretty interested and willing to hear what we have to say. The tricky part is actually getting a word in while we're at his house! He loves to talk and talk, and about the most random things! And we'll ask him an inspired question, and he'll start to answer it, but then something else will pop into his mind, and he'll go off about that! But he's great. He makes it interesting. And he really likes the Book of Mormon. We're just trying to teach him that it's more than a good book and that he needs to pray about it when he reads. This week we're going to teach him the Plan of Salvation.

 

Well...that's pretty much my week! (Actually there's lots more and I wish I had time to tell you every little detail...but I don't! Shucks!)

 

Hope all is grrreat, and that you all have a wonderful week!

 

Virginia is BEATIFUL, in case anyone was wondering.

 

Love,

Sister Melissa Myers

4th Email: 3rd Week in Salem

Where to begin?

This week has been great. We taught B-- and C-- on Saturday and then this morning as well. Oh and they came to church on Sunday! Chaching! Yeah, I was super excited about that. B-- is doing great, he seems to just take everthing in, and actually from how he responds it seems like he already knows everthing. His eyes say, "tell me something I don't know!" I think he's just being patient and waiting on his wife right now. She's great, and she believes in God and Jesus Christ. Her biggest struggle right now is that she's prayed a lot in her life, but she's never felt like she's received an answer. So we really focus on prayer and the Holy Ghost and what kind of answer she can expect (in her mind and in her heart...thoughts and feelings...), so hopefully that'll get figured out. I've decided this is tough work! I mean, I knew it was going to be hard, but that was more of just a naïve acceptance of what I've heard from return missionaries. Now that I'm experiencing it I'm starting to understand it more! And I know I've got so much more to learn, but anyways, it's hard because no matter what I do, no matter how much I have the Spirit with me, no matter how well I teach, it all boils down to what the investigator does in the end. I wish I could just take my life's experience in the church and stick it in C--'s heart and say, "here ya go! This is what the Holy Ghost feels like! The Church is true!" But it doesn't work that way. She can only learn how the Spirit works with her by testing it out and having her own experiences. I can't force a relationship with God and Jesus Christ on her. She has to want it, and she has to be proactive about it. But anyways. There's my little rant. But I've got high hopes for B-- and C--. Oh, and they're scheduled to be baptized on October 19! :)

I've learned a ton in the past month. Mostly though, I think I've been learning about myself. I'm discovering certain things about myself that I didn't realize before, and I'm really learning what kind of person I am and what kind of person I want to become. I've got a lot of room to grow, but I think I can see my weaknesses more clearly, and I feel more resolved and motivated to change. I'm far from perfect, but I'm going to do my best to be as close to perfect as I can! Ah. I really just want to make the best of my time out here. I want to be exactly obedient, and I want to do everything the Lord expects of me. I don't want to disappoint him, or miss any opportunities to help his sons and daughters around me! That's another thing I'm working on...trying to recognize and follow promptings of the Spirit. I still just have such a hard time telling the difference between my random thoughts and spiritual promptings! And I know that even if a random thought isn't from the Holy Ghost I should just follow it, as long as it's good, but I just feel like I have random thoughts all the time, and it would be impossible and silly to try to follow all of them! So I tend to not follow them more than I follow them, which I know I shouldn't do, and I'm worried that I'm missing choice opportunities Heavenly Father is placing in my path. Anyway, I don't know if that made sense at all, but that's just something I'm working on.

Thanks for all your support! All ya'll are great! Love ya!

~Sister Myers

Safe and Sound in West Virginia

 

Hi! I made it!

 

 

They found me...President and Sister Pitt

 



3rd Email: 2nd Week in Salem

Hello!

Where to begin...this week has kind of been forever long, but it's flown by at the same time (let's be honest, ever since I entered the MTC it's been like that).  Sister Tuckett and I are still just trying to feel out the area and get to know people, but the work is moving right along. I feel like we've been led certain places to talk to certain people, even though it doesn't seem like we've had a lot of success. There have been a few people that have talked to us for a while on their porch or even let us in, and they tell us they're not interested or something along those lines, but most of the time when I walk away from the house it feels like a success. I don't know why! Like the other day we talked to this lady who was raised in the church, but she's been going to a Pentacostal (I have no idea how to spell that) church for 22 years. I guess her parents were super strict and she felt forced to do a lot of things in the church, and she was actually taught some false doctrine. She told us that she refused to believe that all the good people around here who go to different churches can't go to the celestial kingdom because they aren't Mormons. We immediately explained to her that that's not true at all, and we talked for a while about other things, but by the end of our little porch chat she expressed to us that she's just not that interested. While we were walking away though, I just felt like even though our visit didn't seem too successful, I think we did some good. Maybe we planted a seed or sparked a long extinguished flame...I don't know! But really, that's kind of how my whole time has been out here. No obvious or super visible successes, but I think those will just come with time. Of course, I am super excited about these people we met yesterday. Their names are B-- and C--, and they met with the Elders in our area about a month ago, but then they moved or something, and just kind of went off the radar. Brother T-- from our ward, however, knows where they live, so he gave us their address and we went to introduce ourselves. So I don't think either of them are members of any church, but B-- has been really trying to find the right church for him. He's gone to a bunch of different churches and researched a lot of things on the internet, and that's how he came across our church. Oh, and did I mention that he read the Book of Mormon before he even met the Elders? Twice?? Yeah! Super cool! Super Elect! Anyway, we asked them if they'd be interested in learning more about our church and they said yes, so we're going back on Saturday. I'm really excited to teach about the restoration because B-- will totally be able to relate to Joseph Smith and it'll just be awesome. And I can't wait to ask him what he thinks about the Book of Mormon. He read it twice! Ah. So awesome.

Well, not too much else exciting is going on... Well unless you count the fact that I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think I counted 25 bites yesterday....yeah! Fun stuff! (Yes, Dad, I have heard of bug spray, and I think we even have some, but I never think about it until I'm already out the door and it's too late. Maybe I'll learn someday) Oh, speaking of bugs! The other day we walked up to this house that kind of looked a little rugged...long grass, spiderwebs and dead bugs all over the porch...it kind of looked vacant. I don't know. Anyway, I rang the doorbell and turned my head to look at the yard or something, and when I glanced back at the door, there were ants crawling out of the doorbell!! Since when do ants live in doorbells?? Could've been worse, I guess, but really, I felt like I was in a scary movie or something.

Well, I love you all! Take....luck!

~Sister Myers

2nd Email: 1st week in Salem, Virginia

Well, Hi!

How's the weather over there? Oh that's nice. The weather over here is HOT. And HUMID. Mostly humid. But it's great! So, I know you've all been dying to hear where I am so....(drumroll).....I'm in Salem, Virginia! Yup! I'm sure none of you know where that is, but that's where I am! It's in the Roanoke area, and guess what. Nevermind. You'll never guess. So remember how Aunt Sherry was like, "Oh hey, my parents live somewhere in your mission. Maybe you'll bump into them!" And I was like, yeah! But in the back of my mind I was thinking probably not, it's a big mission with a lot of people...what are the odds that that would happen. Um....guess who's in my ward in Salem? Yeah. Brother and Sister Turner. Sherry's mom and dad. So crazy! But yeah, they're super nice.

So anyways, wanna hear something else super crazy? Of course you do. So my companion's name is Sister Tuckett, and she's from good old Payson, Utah! I know, right?? She's three years older than me and she went to Payson High, but her senior year she went to Salem High (also crazy because we're in Salem, Virginia right now) so we never crossed paths. But if she hadn't gone to Salem we totally would have because she played soccer so we would have been on the same soccer team! So I guess I probably saw her at soccer games but I never knew her. But she's good friends with some people I know, like Candace Rowley and Rylee Johnson (Rosenbaum...?). Yeah. Super crazy. We get along really well though.

The first week out here has been a little rough because we got "doubled in" to this area, which means Sister Tuckett is new to this area too, so neither of us have no idea what's going on. We basically started going through the ward directory and started trying to figure out where people live, and we've been going around introducing ourselves to the members and trying to find less actives and nonmembers. So it's been fun! We taught a lesson to these two girls, Stacey and Caitie (they're our investigators and they already have baptism dates because there were taught by the elders that were here before us), and it went really well. They're both great. Especially Caitie. She's 16 or 17, I think, and there's just something special about her. She doesn't really have any religious background, but I can tell she really needs and wants something in her life right now. She seems a little hesitant, but I can tell she really wants to believe that our church is true. She's very hopeful.

Let's see...what else...Oh I know. I'll tell you some things I've learned since I've been here:

1. Knobless dresser drawers are super hard to open.

2. Humidity has the ability to seal envelopes.

3. The people who made the movie Avatar probably came to Virginia to brainstorm ideas for how the creatures should look. (I have seen some weird looking bugs out here.)

4. Oh, and the church is true! Oh wait, I already knew that...

Seriously though, I'm loving it out here, and I can't wait to get some more investigators and just start spreading the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I hope all's well in Utah, or wherever you all are, and I want you all to know that I love you! A lot!

~Sister Myers