Wednesday, January 21, 2015

69th Email: That's What's UP

Baaaahhh!!! This has been such a long, awesome week! There is so much going on in Lexington, I'm trying not to explode.

L-- and C-- came to church again and they LOVED it. Last time L-- came in pants, and she felt a little uncomfortable, but she didn't have any skirts to wear and couldn't afford to go buy one, so she MADE one. That's what's up. She and C-- just seemed so happy at church! I love it!

Have I talked about E-- before? Well E-- is basically amazing. When I got here, she basically knew everything and now, she still knows everything. Today we had a lesson so Sister Scarff could get to know her, and we decided to go through a teaching record with E-- just to double check her understanding. E-- looked at the teaching record, said it's all common sense, and then proceeded to teach all the lessons to us briefly and simply. She's basically ready to teach gospel principles! The only thing holding her back from getting baptized is the fact that she and her boyfriend need to get married because they're living together. And that should be happening soon because she's already picked out the ring. She's so great! She loves everything about the church. She's so excited to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead, be able to ride in our car to go teach lessons with us, and have a calling in the church. I love her so much. She's so funny. We're going to be friends forever.

So there used to be three sets of missionaries in the Lexington Ward, but the number of missionaries in our mission is decreasing, which means some areas have to be closed down. The Lexington walking elders' area was one of those areas this transfer. Now it's just us and the Lexington North elders, so we'll be taking over the teaching of some of the walking elders' investigators. So that's exciting! Sister Scarff and I have just been running around all over the place. So much to do! There is so much potential in this area. Heavenly Father is hastening His work and preparing the hearts of His children to receive the gospel. Such a fun time to be a missionary! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful week. Go talk to someone you wouldn't normally talk to!

Love,
Sister Myers

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

68th Email: Fruit Flies

So you know how it usually takes some time for time to pass? For some reason missions think they don't have to follow that rule. Time just flies like fruit all over the place! I feel like I just got to Lexington a couple weeks ago, but all of a sudden the transfer (6 weeks) is over! Didn't we just have Christmas? And now we're halfway through January?? Oh, and to make matters worse, today is my 17 month mark. I have 6 weeks left in my mission. WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?? I think we should all just go back to elementary school where a 15 minute recess seems like an hour and a 3 month summer vacation seems like a year. Deal?

Anyways, despite my dismay, it IS transfer week, and Sister Tobler is leaving, unfortunately. My new companion will be Sister Scarff, a real, live Canadian from Canadia! I've served around Sister Scarff a lot and gone on exchanges with her a couple of times, so I know her pretty well. She's great! She's left-handed like me, so we won't have to worry about bumping elbows at the dinner table. We'll definitely get along! I'm sad Sister Tobler is leaving, but I'm excited to serve with Sister Scarff. The usual transfer emotions... I told Sister Tobler we better be friends after our missions. Shouldn't be too hard considering we were friends before.

Bunches of wonderful things happened this week, and I wish I could tell you everything! Miracles literally happen every single day. Today's miracle is that it finally snowed in Lexington!!!! :D Such a beautiful sight. 

I went on exchanges this week with Sister Maddox, who was in my MTC District. I love her so much! She is a sweet heart. We had a really good day. Cold, but good. So...I've been a Sister Training Leader for a while, but sometimes (most of the time, actually) I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing. I basically feel like a lost puppy at the front of a dog sled in the middle of a snow storm. I've come to realize though, that Heavenly Father knows me perfectly, and he just wants me to keep running, trusting that he won't let me go the wrong way and fall off a cliff or something. Before the exchange, I had no idea what Sister Maddox needed, but I just did my best to lead and help her however I could. We had some really good conversations about how to be better missionaries, and we worked hard right up to the last minute of the day, which resulted in miracles. 

I know that Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to be perfect, and he will work with whatever efforts we give him, as long as it's our best. When the brother of Jared asked the Lord how they would have light in the barges as they traveled across the ocean, the Lord basically told him to figure it out. So, the brother of Jared selected 16 stones, brought them to the Lord, and asked the Lord to touch the stones with his fingers to give them light. Did the Lord say, "Now, that wasn't really the best idea..," or "You know, it would probably work better if the stones were a little bigger.."? Of course he didn't. The brother of Jared did his best, and Heavenly Father worked with it. And as long as we are doing our best, Heavenly Father can work with us.

Love ya, 
Sister Myers

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

67th Email: Best Day Ever

Happy 2015!! It's that time of year again... Time to self-reflect and beat ourselves up for everything we did or didn't do in 2014 and make resolutions for the new year that we're never going to accomplish, right? Wrong! Sometimes that's how I feel when I self-reflect, but that's not what Heavenly Father wants. Remember what Alma said to his son, Corianton? "And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance" (Alma 42:29). It's good to reflect and realize what needs to change, but only for that purpose: to change. And we have to be realistic with ourselves. We had a leadership meeting in Charleston, WV on Tuesday, and we basically talked about a billion things we can do to be better missionaries and leaders. Needless to say, I was a bit overwhelmed because I have SO much room for improvement, and I pretty much felt like my head was going to explode! Thankfully, we had a nice long ride back to Lexington and I was able to relax my mind and work things out with Heavenly Father. I realized that I can't change everything at once (if I did, I'd be translated immediately), and I needed to take it not only a day at a time, but a task at a time. All of a sudden everything became a lot more simple! Heaven Father is so patient.


So...yesterday (Jan 4) was the best day ever. L-- and C-- told us they wanted to come to church, but that it would depend on how everyone was feeling (Everyone and their dog has been getting sick lately). Sacrament Meeting was getting started and they still weren't there. We stared and stared at the door but eventually gave up and redirected our attention to the meeting. All of a sudden, Brother Foster came up behind us and said, "I think your investigators are in the hall." We hopped up and walked briskly (but reverently) to the foyer....and there they were! We brought them over to sit with us, and then it seemed as if every testimony was directed right to them. Testimonies of the Book of Mormon, and God's love, and forgiveness...it was perfect! Then this little boy got up and bore a beautiful, sweet testimony, and I heard L-- whisper to herself, "If he can do it, I could do it." A few minutes later she leaned over and asked, "So..do you just go and sit up there?" I smiled and said, "Yeah, if you want.."  She sat quietly for several more minutes, listening intently to everything that was said, and she kept grabbing her Book of Mormon and flipping through the pages as if looking for a certain passage. Time was winding down, and there was only about five minutes left in the meeting, so I leaned over and asked L-- if she was going to go up, and she said, "Yeah, but I don't want to go by myself." And so, with Book of Mormon in hand, L-- and I walked up to the front of the chapel. After I bore my testimony, L-- got up, introduced herself, explained how she met me and Sister Tobler, and basically told the congregation that she felt like this is where she needs to be, especially to raise her daughter, and that she wants to become a part of the church. I was still sitting up on the stand, so I had to stay composed, but inside I was like !!!!! (I'm sure my emoticon of a happy dancing man won't show up on the blog. Oh well.) The rest of church was great. Once Sacrament Meeting ended, C-- and L-- were basically celebrities, surrounded constantly by people who wanted to meet them and thank L-- for her testimony. It was perfect. :) The Relief Society Lesson was exactly what she needed too: a message from the teachings of President Benson about the importance of prayer and reading the Book of Mormon. As we were walking out of the meetinghouse after church was over, L-- was like, "Are you still coming tomorrow at 5? And who's this Benson guy?" We're excited to go teach them today about modern prophets and revelation.


Well, this has turned into a novel! Better rest my hands before I get arthritis. The church is true, the book is blue, and L-- loves it all!


Have a great week! Go find someone who doesn't know about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and tell them about it!


Love,
Sister Myers

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Say 'Hello!' to our food pantry friends!


66th Email: White As Snow

Every week when I get on my email and start reflecting on the previous week and deciding what I want to tell you all about, I am so confused by time. The weeks fly by, but when I think back to something we did at the beginning of the week, it seems like forever ago. Was Christmas really this last week? Did we really just see them on Tuesday? It's weird. Anyways, Christmas WAS last week and I hope everyone had a wonderful time! I hope the Christmas Spirit doesn't go away with the lights and the wrapping paper. The Spirit of Christmas is the Spirit of Christ, which should definitely fuel our hearts each and every day.


Sister Tobler and I had a great experience on Christmas day. We taught L-- and C-- about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We specifically talked about faith in Jesus Christ and Repentance. It was so beautiful. We learn from experience and from the scriptures that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)." Like everyone else, L-- and C-- have made mistakes in their life, but before that Christmas lesson, they believed that there are some things for which they can't be forgiven. C-- is still a little unsure, but it was neat to watch the Spirit work on L-- as we testified of the cleansing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and how even though their "sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about hope. Hope for a better world. Hope for a brighter world. Hope for forgiveness. Hope for true peace, not peace in the way the world understands (financial stability, fame, fortune, etc.), but the peace that the Savior brings (John 14:27). Because of Jesus Christ, L-- and C-- have the potential to put their past behind them and to become something new, to be born again. It doesn't matter what they have done. To say that we can't be forgiven of something is to limit Christ's power. Interestingly enough, sometimes we do limit Christ's power. Helaman 5:9 states: "And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance." Christ has power because of repentance! If we don't repent, Christ can't save us. Even though he has already accomplished all that the Father sent him to do, all of his efforts cannot save us unless we want them to. We have to choose salvation through our repentance. I know that Jesus Christ lives and that he came to save us because he loves us. We are so blessed.


The New Year is another great blessing. 2014 was great. We did a lot of great things. We also made a lot of mistakes. Let's put it behind us! 2015 has so much potential. It's a fresh, clean, white canvas. What will you paint?


Love,
Sister Myers