71st Email: Unity

Normally you would think that exhaustion is a result of a large amount of physical exertion, but I have come to learn that this is not always the case. On Tuesday we had MLC (Mission Leadership Council) in Charleston, WV, which meant we had to get up at 3:00, drive for 5 hours, sit in an awesome, spirit-filled meeting for 5 or 6 hours, and then drive back for another 5 hours. By the end of the day, and for the next couple of days, I was so tired! I now know that it is indeed possible to exhaust yourself simply by sitting. All. Day. MLC really was great though. My favorite thing we talked about is unity. We are trying to be unified as a mission, and we talked about what it really means to be unified and how we can become unified. Something that hit me in my studies the other day is that the best way to be unified with each other (as a mission, companionship, couple, family) is to first unify ourselves with the Lord. In 4 Nephi, it talks about how the people were all converted unto the Lord, both Nephites and Lamanites, and because of that, there was no contention in the land. They unified themselves with the Lord, and thus were naturally unified with each other because they did things the Lord's way and treated one another as Christ would treat them. Why do we ever try to do things our own way? The Lord's way is always, always better.

We had a zone meeting in Buena Vista on Thursday and another zone meeting in Lynchburg on Friday, so with those meetings and MLC on Tuesday, we had a lot less time to proselyte this week. But guess what? Nothing can stop the work of the Lord. We were able to teach more lessons this week than last week, and after doing all we could to help our investigators come to church, four people came! E--, R--, G--, and D-- all made it to church. D-- came for the first time! He is doing so great! He's working towards getting baptized on March 15th. Speaking of baptism, there were two people baptized in Buena Vista this week, and we invited all of our investigators to come so they could see what it was like and especially so they could feel the spirit of the sacred ordinance. After inviting everyone, a few people said they would try to make it. D-- said he would come, but he didn't know where the church was, so we told him we would come to his house half an hour before the baptism and he could follow us there. Now, to preface what happened, it's important to note that while missionary work is the greatest thing ever that's full of excitement and miracles, there are a lot of moments of....disappointment. People not being home for lessons...or coming to church...yadda yadda yadda... So as we were walking up to D--'s door, there was this almost instinctive part of me that was like, "Ah, he's probably not home. He probably forgot." But that was just Satan trying to get me down! Get outa here, Satan! We knocked on the door which soon was opened to reveal.....D--! Well, of course it was D--. It was his house. But he was home! And he was wearing a suit!!! He remembered! Sister Scarff and I were as giddy as children on Christmas morning for the 15 minute drive to Buena Vista. Needless to say, D-- thoroughly enjoyed the baptism and is looking forward to the day when he can be baptized as well. 

Yesterday was a day of first-timers for me. It was the first time I have ever walked around on a February afternoon and seen people washing their car and having a barbecue because is was 75 degrees outside. No big deal. Also, before yesterday, I had never had a rat named Skunk urinate on my arm. Also not a big deal. I am grateful for all the experiences that I have had on my mission. 

Whelp! Time to go save the world! I hope your week is "a little bit better than fantastic!" (Said by some missionary whose name escapes me...) 

Love ya!

Sister Myers