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