So the week started out a little slow, just because the
students weren't back yet from the break. Also, it was super cold. The high on
Tuesday was probably around 5 degrees. And...our pipes froze! No indoor
plumbing for us! Haha that was an adventure. It wasn't too bad though. They
were only frozen for a couple of days. It was funny though, because the last
night they were frozen, we decided to just spend the night at the other
sisters' place so we could shower over there in the morning, and guess whose pipes
froze that night? Yup! So the four of us had to go to the OTHER sisters'
apartment in Morgantown (There are a lot of missionaries in Morgantown) and use
their shower.
On Tuesday Sister Larkin and I taught at our Zone meeting
with the Zone Leaders. It was so good! We talked about the sons of Mosiah and
why they were so successful and happy as missionaries, and then the Zone
Leaders talked about the army of Helaman. Then we went into the gym and played
a sweet game of toilet paper dodgeball! One team was the stripling warriors and
the other was the Lamanites. Before the game started, we gave everyone on the
Lamanite team a handicap that represented some form of disobedience (i.e. one
missionary slept in late, so he had to be blind folded for the whole game. He
wanted to keep his eyes closed anyway!). After the game, we sat in a circle,
had a couple missionaries share their testimonies, and Sister Larkin and I sang
a hymn to invite the Spirit. Then Sister Larkin and I taught from a talk called
"The Fourth Missionary." It was so great! It talks about how there
are four kinds of missionaries. The first two are disobedient; the first
goes home early, but the second stays for the full 2 years or 18 months. The
third and fourth missionaries are both obedient, but the difference is the
third missionary hasn't given the Lord his heart. He has only given the Lord
his might and strength. The fourth missionary has given the Lord his heart,
might, mind, and strength. We talked about how the only missionary who is
truly happy is the fourth missionary. The second, third, and fourth missionary
all give up 2 years of their lives, but only the fourth missionary is happy
about it. We need to want what the Lord wants. The talk says, "you can't
be happy unless you WANT to do the things that lead to happiness, even if you
do those very things." Let that really sink in. Being an obedient
missionary is something that leads to happiness, but third missionary doesn't
really want to be obedient, so how can he be happy doing it? It just makes
sense! Anyway, that talk is really, really good, and I can't do it justice by
summarizing a few points, so go read it!
On Friday the whole mission gathered in Sissonville, WV to
hear from Elder S. Gifford Nielsen. Exclamation point! (Normally we would have
gone to Charleston, but the Charleston church building is under renovation). It
was so good! It was really cool to have the whole mission together and to see
all the friends I've made so far. (There are around 225 missionaries in my
mission). Anyways, Elder Nielsen was great. He's really funny too. He talked
about a lot of really great things, and I wish I had time to talk about it all,
but just know that it was great! He went into a little more depth about the
story of the missionary who worked so hard and had really tattered shoes at the
end of his mission, and his stake president had the shoes bronzed as a
memorial. He ended his talk by challenging us to look at our lives, and if
there is anything amiss, fix it now! My time as a missionary is precious, and I
can't waste a minute of it. When else will my life ever be so simple? Right now
it's just me and the Savior. It was really cool because Elder Nielsen talked
about a lot of the same things that we taught at our zone meeting. Man, this
was just the perfect way to start the new year. Awesome zone meeting, awesome
general authority address... It hit me the other day that, this year is pretty
much it for me. After 2014 is over, I only have about a month before I go home.
This is it! I need to make 2014 the best year, because it's all I have. Kinda
crazy to think about. 18 months really is not very much time at all. Tomorrow
is my 5 month mark! Ah. So anyways, I just want to do my best for the Lord.
This is His time, not mine, and I don't want to waste it.
Love,
Sister Melissa Myers
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