53rd Email: The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

What a fantastic week! This church is true and I love being a missionary.

On Tuesday we went to a woman's house because we had an appointment to do some service for her. We were all dressed down in jeans and a t-shirt, but when we knocked on the door she wasn't home! We brought our skirts with us so we could just change at her house after doing some yard work, but obviously, we found ourselves needing somewhere else to change clothes. We were in a super small town called Rivesville (which apparently used to possibly be called Riverville because it's right next to a river, but somehow got written down wrong over the years or something), and we didn't have a lot of options, so we went to the nearest gas station. No one was in the gas station except for the cashier, so while Sister Whitaker was in the bathroom changing I was able to talk to her a little bit, and then Sister Whitaker talked to her while I was in the bathroom, and she turned out to be pretty great! She grew up Methodist, but hasn't been to church in a while because she works every Sunday, and she said we could come by her house any day! So yesterday we went back and had an awesome first lesson with her. We invited her to be baptized and she said she has never been baptized but wants to so she can be saved. We gave her a Book of Mormon, and she said that she always sees things like this as a sign from God (random people coming up to her and talking about God or praying with her). Sometimes the Lord works in mysterious ways! Sometimes he makes sure our appointment isn't home so we have to go to a gas station to change clothes so we can meet someone who is ready to learn about the gospel!

Zach was baptized on Saturday, and it was beautiful. He was so ready, and the Fairmont Ward has been so supportive. There were a lot of people at his baptism, and there were actually quite a few rowdy kids during the talks, and it was pretty distracting, but you could tell it didn't bother him. He has gotten to know most of the the families in the ward pretty well, so he knows most of the little kids. It's almost like they are his little brothers and sisters. He got up during Sacrament Meeting after he was confirmed and bore a powerful testimony. He knows this church is true.

One of my favorite things about seeing people receive the gospel and join the church is pondering what the future holds for them. Zach has so much to look forward to! He'll get the priesthood soon, and a patriarchal blessing, he'll go on a mission, get married in the temple, raise a family in the church, read the Book of Mormon over and over, and just keep growing for the rest of his life! I know that the gospel blesses individuals and families, and I am grateful for how it has blessed mine.

Sometimes being a missionary is hard. You meet people who hate the church, have been misguided by anti-Mormon information, think you're trying to manipulate them, or have just had a really bad day and you get the brunt of it! Most of the time I don't let it phase me, but every once in a while my heart just breaks as I walk away from a door. It's hard because I know that this church really is true, and every single person I talk to would benefit so much from a testimony of the gospel. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Heavenly Father knows everyone's heart, and me knocking on their door is definitely not the only chance they will have to receive the gospel.

On a lighter note, there are so many people who are ready to receive the gospel! Just this last week we met several soft-hearted, open-minded people. I know that Heavenly Father knows and loves all of his children.

Love,
Sister Myers

P.S. My new address is 25 Murray Ave #3 Fairmont, WV 26554

P.P.S. So I guess I picked the computer that won't let me attach pictures. Shoot...

52nd Email: Lovin' Fairmont

Well I'm in Fairmont, West Virginia, and basically I'm already in love with this place. My companion is awesome, the city's beautiful, and there are some incredible people here. It's a little surreal being in the Morgantown area again. We went to the institute building in Morgantown on Saturday for a meeting with the zone leaders and district leaders, and it was so weird being there! It was really great to be able to see some familiar faces. Oh, and yesterday was stake conference, and guess who was the first speaker? Tara!!! Sister Larkin and I taught her in Morgantown, and she was baptized in April. She told her conversion story and testified of the truthfulness of the gospel. It was beautiful. Sister Larkin just got transferred back into this stake too, so we both got to be there for Tara's talk. It was so great! I love Tara so much.

Fairmont is great! Just in the last few days we have had some awesome lessons and found some great people who are interested in learning about the gospel. I feel like a bunch a miracles are just waiting to happen. Oh, and I got to meet this sweet guy named Zach, who is 19 years old and is getting baptized this Saturday. He has a really cool story and just loves the gospel. He wants to serve a mission!

Not too much to report, except that missionary work is basically the best thing ever. If you're having a down day, go share the gospel with someone. It'll make you feel better. :)

Love,
Sister Myers

P.S. I just found out Sister Habibpour got her visa and is now in Brazil!!!

P.P.S. I also found out that the computers here WILL let me attach pictures, so hopefully next week's post will be a bit more colorful!

51st Email: Fairmont, West Virginia Bound

Transfer week again?! Bah! Time is flying like there's no tomorrow. Literally! I think we've just skipped a few tomorrows here and there and that's why time is going by so fast. Anyways, the trend of spending three transfers in one area is going strong! Tomorrow I'll be leaving half of my heart in Milton and heading up to Fairmont, West Virginia! Transfers are always bittersweet. I love so many people hear and hate to leave them, but I'm excited to find more best friends in Fairmont! My new companion is Sister Whitaker, and I don't really know her, but I've heard she's awesome! Also, probably the main reason I'm so excited to go to Fairmont is to see how Chris is doing! Chris is the super awesome, crazy smart guy that got baptized in Morgantown right after I left, and he recently moved to Fairmont, which is just 20 minutes south of Morgantown. I'm super stoked!

I have loved serving with Sister Boldrin for the last three months. I have no idea how so many miracles and life-changing lessons have been packed into these two transfers. I could write a book (during all the spare time Sister Boldrin and I always talk about). I have learned so much. One thing I have learned is that repentance can be easy and forgiveness is immediate. The Savior wants to forgive, and once we put our minds to it, we can change, which causes the windows of heaven to open and the blessings to flow. I have learned about the love that God has for all of His children. It is unconditional and has to power to soften hearts.

The world is so full of people who are ready for the gospel! They're literally EVERYWHERE!! Just recently we felt like we needed to go through the ward list to get a better hold on exactly what members are in our area, and who all the inactive members are. We made a list and decided we would try to contact all of them. Last week we tried a man named Jess Aliff. We knew nothing about him, and as we pulled up to the house (which is hiding way up a holler), and I realized that I had already been there before. Sister Wines and I had tried a while back, but no one was home and we didn't persist. Sister Boldrin and I knocked on the door, and Brother Aliff and his two daughters (7 and 9 years old) came out. They were super nice and we connected with them right away. He invited us in, and we had a great discussion. Brother Aliff hasn't been to church since he was about 12 years old, and he doesn't really know much about it. We told them about family home evening, and he said he has lots of good memories of doing FHE! He remembers primary a bit too. Anyways, he told us he would love for us to come back and have a family home evening with his family. As we left he thanked us and told us he sincerely enjoyed the hour that we were there. So, we went back on Saturday and had an awesome FHE! We didn't bring up church because we didn't want to pressure him into anything, but he actually started bringing it up and said he wants to come to church with his family next week! He and his wife (who is not a member) have been talking about getting back into church for the last couple of years. I'm so excited for them! It's so crazy to think they have just been up the road the whole time I've been in Milton. Guess it's the Lord's timing! Anyways, that just built my faith that there really are people out in the world who are not only ready for it, but who WANT the gospel.

Go get your daily dose of the Book of Mormon. It's wonderful.

Love,
Sister Myers

50th Email: Friendships

The library was closed yesterday because of Labor Day, so that's why I'm emailing on a Tuesday. And next week is transfers, so I'll be emailing on Tuesday next week too!

So many miracles!! I wish I had time to tell you all about every one of them! I know that Heavenly Father is in charge, and His plans cannot be frustrated. Everything works out in His on way and in His own time. Missionary work doesn't have to be hard and scary. Just be yourself and act like Christ would act! A couple of months ago, Sister Boldrin and I were walking past the little Presbyterian church around the corner from our apartment, and we saw a couple of older women out weeding the flowerbed. Naturally, we asked them if they needed any help, and they paused before they said, "You know what? Just 5 minutes ago we were talking about how we needed to hire someone to pulled the weeds around the Sunday School building. You are an answer to prayer!" One of those women was the pastor's wife, and they live right next to the church. We see them outside a lot, and over time we have been able to establish a great relationship with them. When we stopped by to visit them the other day, we asked a few questions about their beliefs, and then we asked if we could come back and share the things that we believe that mean so much to us. They said, "of course!" Christ loved and served before He taught.

Most of the people I have met out here just don't really know what we're all about. I think about that a lot, especially when we're out knocking on doors. If only they knew what the Book of Mormon is, or who Joseph Smith really was, or that we actually do believe in Jesus Christ before they say they're not interested and shut the door. There are so many misconceptions out there, but once people hear even a bit of truth, their eyes can see so much more clearly! We had an experience with this in the last few weeks. We were walking past the park and saw an older woman with her three granddaughters just leaving. We talked to her briefly and asked if we could come over and have a family home evening with the girls, and she said we could. We went by the next week with the bishop's wife, and it couldn't have gone better! We had a little activity and lesson in the front room with the girls while the Sister Carico talked to their grandmother in the kitchen. She told her all about the Book of Mormon and what our church is all about, and by the end, the woman said she would like us to come back and teach her more. Friendships are so important. If we had just knocked on this woman's door, or the pastor and his wife's door, would they have been as open and willing to listen? Maybe, but more likely not.

This last week I went on exchanges with Sister Maddox, who was in my district in the MTC. I love her!! We had a really good time, and learned a lot from each other. The best part of the day was when we went to see an investigator, and she wasn't home, so we knocked on some of the doors on her street. We knocked on this one door, and a woman answered it and invited us in because it was a hot day. We explained that we were missionaries and that we had a message about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and we asked her if she had some time that we could sit down and share a bit of it. She said yes! (THIS HARDLY EVER HAPPENS) Then we had the BEST restoration lesson ever, pretty much, and she just took it all in. We felt impressed to invite her to be baptized when she came to know that the things we taught her were true, and she quickly said yes. I asked her why she wanted to be baptized and if she had been baptized before, and she said that she hadn't been baptized because she didn't want some random guy to just dunk her under water. She wanted to make sure it was right. We had taught about the priesthood really simply and she said it made a lot of sense. There are a few other beliefs she has that are right in line with what she believes. For example, she doesn't like organized religion because she doesn't want someone else's beliefs or opinions forced on her. We explained the organization of our church and how it is led by a prophet who receives revelation from God, and she liked that too. It was so awesome!! I wish I could just replay it because it went so well. She is so prepared and I can't wait to go back and teach her more!

The Church is so true.

Love,
Sister Myers