57th Email: God's Not Dead

Heavenly Father is the best. I love Him so much! And I love Fairmont, and Sister Morgan, and all the super spiritually prepared people out here. It's incredible. 

Sister Morgan is such a blast! She has only been here for 4 days, but we have already laughed so hard, had so many awkward moments, and witnessed so many miracles. I know that Heavenly Father sees every part of this work. He sees our effort, and He wants His children to receive the gospel. We just have to work! Put your hand to the plow and start pushing! Don't look back! Sometimes it can get discouraging, but we can't give up. "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end (Hebrews 6:10-11)."

Before I got to Fairmont, the sisters were out knocking on doors, and they knocked on the door of a young man named William English. (Side note--there is a young couple in the ward and their last name is Espanol, but they are American).  William is in his 20's, and he joined the church in Louisiana when he was 13. He got baptized because his dad was getting baptized, but he didn't really understand anything about the gospel. Then he moved out here, didn't know where the church was, and never really found his relationship with God. And we didn't even know he was there!! He has had a rough life, has two little kids, wants them in church, and really just wants to figure out what he believes. So we are basically starting from square one with him. He knows nothing about the church. The sisters gave him a Book of Mormon, but he didn't really touch it until one day when he watched the movie "God's Not Dead," and for some reason, that inspired him to start reading. He read about 30 chapters that day. He is so cool! He's one of those people that just has a light in his eye, and you can tell that he's hungry for the gospel.

I love being a missionary. The more I study and teach, the more true this church becomes. I love it! It just makes sense! This morning I was studying about the Book of Mormon, and how it can resolve any concern. On page 109 of Preach My Gospel it says, "The only problem the objector has to resolve is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation." That goes for everything! Just read the book! What could it hurt? I know that the Book of Mormon is true. 

It was 34 degrees when we went out for our run this morning. Brrr.

Love,
Sister Myers

Quote of the week:

"The only difference between a stepping stone and a stumbling block is attitude."

Pictures are Always so FUN!! :D

56th Email: Transfers!

Heavenly Father is the best. He is so unconditionally patient and forgiving. It never ceases to amaze me! He is also a God of miracles. I know that this is His work and that His will WILL be done.

We had a really good week! We reconnected with some investigators we haven't been able to see in a while, and they are still doing great! That's always a nice feeling. As missionaries, I think we tend to get a little paranoid and think that if we haven't seen someone in a while they probably aren't interested anymore, or they hate us and are trying to avoid us or something. Silly us.

Church was awesome on Sunday. Brother Bott (Elder's Quorum President) gave a fantastic talk, the lessons in gospel principles and Relief Society were both on prayer and were spirit filled, and it was just a great day!

I was studying about humility on page 120 of Preach My Gospel, and it was really cool. I was thinking about how this chapter is called "Christlike Attributes," so obviously, these are attributes that Christ has. Everything in this chapter should apply to his character. So I started to read it and imagine Christ reading it to himself. Each sentence really does apply to him. "Humility is...to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished...It includes gratitude for your blessings." My mind went to John 11, when Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. In verse 40 He testifies of the glory of God, and in verse 41 He thanks Heavenly Father that He heard Him. Then He explains that He said it out loud so the people would know that it was Heavenly Father that sent Him, and by His power that Lazarus came forth. Christ is truly our perfect example.

So tomorrow is transfers! (Hence the Wednesday email). Sister Whitaker is getting transferred to Logan. Logan, Utah, that is. Her new companion is a nice returned missionary. We don't know his name yet. And I'm staying in glorious Fairmont! Yay!!! My new companion is Sister Morgan. I. LOVE. HER. I served around her when I was in Milton, and she is so awesome! She's from Morgan, Utah, and now she'll be in the Morgantown zone. Coincidence? I think NOT! Anyways, I'm super excited.

You'ins have a blessed day.

Love,

Sister Myers

55th Email: Conference...uh, AMAZING!

What a great week!! General Conference was so great!!! Don't you just love all those Mormons? A few of my favorite speakers were Christofferson, Uchtdorf (so good!!), Andersen, Klebingat, Hamula, and Bednar. A few of the people we're teaching came to the church to watch a session and they loved it! Krissy and Alan are this super sweet couple who just love everything about the church. Alan has so many questions and has such an open heart. During Elder Allan F. Packer's talk Alan leaned over and asked what "temple work" is, and so I explained how we research our ancestors so we can get baptized for them in the temple. Then he asked what he would have to do to get baptized for his grandmother.  I told him the Fairmont church has a family history center with consultants who can help him do his family history and find his grandmother's name. I also explained to him that you have to be a member in order to enter the temple, and he quickly replied, "Well I definitely want to be baptized." They are working towards being baptized on November 22nd.

I received some cool revelation during President Uchtdorf's talk about light and truth. Krissy and Alan have so quickly embraced the idea of getting baptized and joining the church. It's awesome to see, but in the back of my mind there has been a hesitation, because they don't fully understand yet what the church is all about and why it's different from other churches. My thoughts turned to them as President Uchtdorf said that we need to "nourish and encourage ALL light, until it grows bright and true." That helped me to see the vision of who Krissy and Alan can become, and it reminded me that we all have to start our spiritual progression somewhere, and we GROW in knowledge and understanding. A seed takes many, many years to become a towering tree. (P.S. Was anyone else disappointed when he didn't give his talk in German??)

We're teaching a man named Mick, who is married to a member of the church, and he is such a great, humble guy. We had a lesson yesterday about the ten commandments and the law of chastity, and afterwards his wife invited us into the kitchen to have some biscuits and gravy (which was delicious, by the way). While we sat around the table, Aimee (Mick's wife) hollered to Mick, who was still in the front room, "Are you gonna come in here and talk while they eat?" (they had already eaten before we came). He said, "I'm reading! I wanna get a head start on my assignment." (We've been assigning him sections of Preach My Gospel to read). He has some health problems, but is so dedicated and sincerely wants to learn. He's great!

On Wednesday I was studying about Christlike leadership in Jonh 10:1-15. It says that we need to "enter by the door" before we can be a shepherd and lead the sheep. Later, Christ says that He is the door. So we need to enter by Jesus Christ. This door is the door of salvation, and in order to help people come unto Christ and enter through the door, we need to have entered the door ourselves. How can I teach someone about the atonement and ask them to repent if I have not first gained a firm conviction of the divinity of the Savior's mission and gone through the very process of change I am asking people to go through? I've thought about this a lot on my mission. There are a lot of things about myself I have tried to change on my mission, and in some areas I have been more successful than others. Keeping this in mind gives me patience when I teach someone a principle about the gospel and they don't immediately do a 180 flip in the right direction. Sometimes when someone we are teaching forgets to read the Book of Mormon or is too lazy to come to church, my initial reaction is, "Really? Come on, it's not that hard. Don't you realize how much it will bless you life?" But then I look at myself and all the bad habits I've tried to quit and the good habits I've tried to start, and then I have to say the exact same thing to myself. It goes back to how spiritual progression is gradual.

Most of the green has left the leaves. I can't believe it's fall again!

I love you all so much! Thanks for being who you are, and for all the love and support.

Love,

Sister Myers

54th Email: Heart Might Mind AND Strength

"For behold, the field is white already to harvest; and IT IS THE ELEVENTH HOUR, and the last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard." Something that motivates me throughout the day is to ask myself the question, "if today was that last day you could be a missionary, what would you want to do?" Missionary work is hard work, and sometimes I just want to sit down and rest, but if today was my last day to wear my name tag, I would want to get out and knock on every door in West Virginia until I either ran out of doors or daylight. I'd want to be out the apartment door no later than 10:00 am and come home no earlier than 9:00 pm. I'd want to be exhausted at the end of the day and have the knowledge that I gave the Lord everything I had. I need to put my whole heart, might, mind, and strength into every single day. It can't wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow is always a day away! Today is the day for miracles to happen. Why wait?

I was reading in 2 Nephi the other day, and I realized that I have never payed attention to the context of Nephi's psalm in chapter 4. Most people are pretty familiar with Nephi's humble cry to the Lord in verses 17-35. I don't think this is just a seemingly random self reflection for Nephi. In the verses prior, Lehi gives words of love and counsel to his sons, and then he passes away. Lehi was Nephi's father, so of course that would be tough on him, but Lehi was also the prophet. Guess who is the prophet now? Nephi! I can't imagine the weight of the responsibilities of being the prophet, but as Nephi contemplated his new calling, he probably had a lot on his mind! I'm sure he, as most of us do, felt inadequate for the task ahead, not to mention the fact that after Lehi dies, Nephi still has to deal with the rejection of his wayward brothers. Now he doesn't even have his father's shoulder to lean on. While Nephi recognizes his weaknesses, he doesn't get too down on himself. He knows in whom he has trusted, and he looks forward to the future in faith. I love Nephi!

My testimony of the Holy Ghost grew this week. I know that the Holy Ghost can bring things to our remembrance, even things that you didn't realize you should have payed attention to as they happened. I went on exchanges to Buckhannon, WV this week with Sister Reed. When I served in Morgantown several months ago, I went to Buckhannon for exchanges twice, so I was excited to be in the area again. As Sister Reed and I were planning for the day, my mind went back to a woman and her son whom I had met on a past exchange. I couldn't remember their names, so I flipped through the area book hoping something would spark my memory. And it did! I found their teaching records and explained who they were to Sister Reed. I had met them with Sister Scarff about 6 months ago, and we picked them up as new investigators. According to their teaching record, there hadn't been much follow-up, and they didn't even have an exact address. It just said the name of the trailer park they live in. I had a super vague image in my mind of her trailer, but I really had no idea. We called a member and got directions to the trailer park, and as we were driving through the park the Holy Ghost totally just took over. I was able to remember where the trailer was, what way it was facing, and as we drove past it I was able to pick it out. I had no idea what I was looking for, but when I saw it, I knew that was the one. We ended up going inside and teaching the woman, who is still interested, and while we were teaching, her brother, his girlfriend, and her daughter walked in and joined the conversation. The spirit was very strong, and they all said they want to learn more and come to church.

Heavenly Father knows his children and he never forgets any of them!

Who watched the General Women's Conference?? Wasn't it so great?? Ah! I love the spirit! 

Love ya, have a blessed day.


Love,
Sister Myers

Picture EXPLOSION!!!

Zach Moffatt was baptized on the 20th of September.

 I've only taught him a few times, and he is super solid. 

He wants to go on a mission and all this fun stuff. 

He was baptized by his friend, Ayden, who is the bishop's son.

Me and my current companion, Sister Whitaker. 

(Don't worry, we were at a stop light...I would never distract someone while driving! haha)

                                               We do service at a cemetery every Saturday.

                                             It's only creepy when it's foggy.

          Silly GPS...our car won't fit down that horse trail...

                             RAAWR!!