72nd Email: Marvelous Work and A Wonder

I love being a missionary.

On Saturday we were out knocking on doors and passing out flyers for a family history workshop at the church. We picked a couple of streets that were close to the church and just started knocking away! Some people weren't home, some were politely disinterested, and others were not so politely disinterested... It was really cold, and the wind was blowing like crazy. Prime conditions for a discouraged heart? Perhaps. I tried to focus my mind on the importance of the work and the truthfulness of the gospel, which helped. Then, as we were walking up this one driveway, a scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants came to my mind. The Lord says to the early missionaries of the church: "I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up (D&C 84:88)." Right as the verse filled my thoughts, a strong gust of wind came from behind and blew towards the house we were approaching, almost as if it were urging us onward. I felt the wind surrounding me and moving forward with me, and I felt such a sense of peace and confidence, because I knew my Savior was right there with me. From that moment on the roar of the wind as it flustered the trees was a reminder to me of the power of God, and that this work is truly a marvelous work and a wonder--a stone cut out of the mountains without hands, that will roll forth until it covers the earth (Daniel 2:45). We didn't find anyone that was interested that day, but I know that the Lord was with us, and that we were where we needed to be. The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and we are so privileged to labor alongside the Master in sharing it with the world.

Sunday was a day of changed plans. Sister Scarff and I arrived at the church building a few minutes before 8am for a meeting with the Ward Council, and the Elders were there...but no one else was. Okay, maybe they're just running a bit late. 20 minutes later...okay, probably not. The Elders called the Bishop only to find out that Ward Council AND all the other Church meetings had been canceled due to icy roads on the outskirts of town. NOOO!!!!!!! I was so looking forward to Sacrament Meeting and feeling the Spirit of church. Also, we didn't have a backup for three hours of church. Now what do we do? Never fear, my friends! We happen to be in one of the very few areas in the West Virginia Charleston Mission where there are two meeting houses within 10 miles of each other. We texted our District Leader, and he told us the wards in Buena Vista would still be meeting and we were more than welcome to attend there. YES! So we went to church, and it was so wonderful. Best three hours of the week. 

The Rockbridge Ward started later than the Lexington Ward starts, so after church we were a bit behind schedule. Thankfully, our plans for the day happened to be very flexible. We were going to try to contact a couple of referrals out in Natural Bridge and try some investigators in Glasgow (Glasgow is about 20 minutes away, and Natural Bridge is 5 minutes past Glasgow). As we looked at our plans to see what needed adjustments, Sister Scarff felt that we should try the referrals first. We needed a bit more information about the referrals, so we stopped by the B--'s house to learn more about their neighbors that they wanted us to go see. As we talked, Brother B-- mentioned T-- B--, a woman we had recently been teaching, but decided she needed some time to figure things out on her own. He said that she had been feeling down and could really use a visit. We had just stopped teaching T-- about three weeks ago, but we thought, why not! 

So we tried the referrals first, met this awesome girl named M--, which is a whole other awesome miracle story I don't have time to tell, and then we went to see T--. She was excited to see us and invited us right in. We ended up talking to her for quite a while, and long story short, she told us she has been thinking about the church a lot. She feels the spirit in our church more than in any other church, and she has noticed that members of the church live the gospel of Jesus Christ more than anyone else she knows. She has been investigating the church for years, and has just never been sure if she needs to be a part of any one specific church. She's been having this spiritual struggle with God for a long time, and she told us that she came to the realization that she needs to just let some things go and do what God wants her to do. Then I asked, "So T--, what do you think God wants you to do?" She paused, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "God wants me to become a member of your church." ____ (Insert emoticon that portrays complete and total dumbfoundedness).....What do you even say to that? The spirit was so strong as she bore testimony of what she has come to know about the truthfulness of the church.

If our plans had not been changed, we probably would not have gone to the B--'s, which means we would not have gone to see T--. God knows His children, and He is in charge of this work.

I know that this church is true. Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and the work of Salvation is His. The work is hastening, and no power can stop it. The only thing we can ask ourselves is will we keep the pace?

Love,

Sister Myers

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

70th Email: Hug, BOOM!...Waterworks

Sister Scarff is really good at making people cry. 

Yesterday after church we came home for a quick bathroom break before heading out to Glasgow, and I was feeling stressed about a lot of things. Just random, normal missionary stuff. I don't know why, but it had just kind of been an off day. I started to tell Sister Scarff how I was feeling, and my emotions got a bit too close to the surface and I could feel tears in the corners of my eyes. (Side note: I don't really cry. Like, almost never.) Sister Scarff, being the awesome companion she is, reached out and gave me a hug, and right as she hugged me, BOOM! Tears started flowing like the Nile! And the worst part is I don't even know why I was crying! (Don't worry, Mom, I'm completely fine. I'm pretty sure crying is just something that's required by every full time missionary. It's probably in the white handbook or something) So anyways, once all that was over, I felt a lot better. I guess sometimes when life stresses you out, you just gotta let the stress flow out your eyeballs.

Fast forward 30 minutes, we're in Glasgow. We go to visit an investigator who wasn't able to come to church, and it turns out she has been feeling super stressed too, except, the things stressing her out are way more serious than the things stressing me out. She starts talking to us about everything that's going on, gets a little emotional, Sister Scarff hugs her, and then BOOM! Instant replay, tears everywhere. 

Anyways...sorry for the doom and gloom. On a brighter note, we had an awesome week! We went on two exchanges to Buena Vista and Forest, Virginia, which was great fun. Sister Packard (serving in Forest) just got her tonsils out and has to rest for two weeks before getting back to work, so instead of doing a normal exchange, we just all had a party in Forest. Sister Scarff stayed inside with Sister Packard so Sister Maddox and I could go out and work in their area, since they haven't been able to do much lately. Then we all slept at their apartment, so it was like a great big sleepover! We stayed up late...watched movies...had a pillow fight...... Okay we didn't do any of those things, just normal missionary stuff, but it was still fun!

This next week is going to be a busy week! MLC (Mission Leadership Council) is tomorrow in Charleston, WV, then we have a zone meeting in Buena Vista on Thursday, a zone meeting in Lynchburg on Friday, and a bunch of great appointments in between! Should be good. :)

Love ya! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Myers

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

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

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

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

65th Email: He IS the Gift

Joy to the World, the Lord is come! "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9). What a beautiful time of year. There's something about Christmas time that just makes everything a little brighter and everyone a little happier! I'm grateful that we celebrate Christ's birth in the middle of Winter. How else would we make it through the cold darkness of the season? It's cold outside, the trees are bare, the days are at their shortest, but who cares! Christ the Savior is born! Bring on the snow (or rain, if you're in Lexington, Virginia) and darkness! Nothing can separate us from the love of our Savior. He is the Gift. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas. Really, every day is Christmas because we can receive the gift of Christ every day!

We taught L-- and C-- again, and it was so great! They are just absorbing everything, including the Book of Mormon. L-- is almost finished with 1 Nephi, and C-- is trying to catch up with her (He got a little behind waiting for the Spanish copy). Anyways, they are so awesome. They are honest seekers of truth. So I know they'll find it! It is so fun to teach people who are starving for truth and light.

So sometimes when we run out of things to do, we go around looking for people with Christmas lights, and then we give them a "He is the Gift" card. The other day we were out and about, and we saw this huge spider! (See image below) It was so cool! Unfortunately, the people weren't home, so we just left the card on their door. The next picture is a herd of cows (if you couldn't tell). But this isn't just any old herd of cows. I'm pretty sure they're a special breed of psychotic cows. We parked on the road next to them and when we came back to the car, they had gathered around the car, but when we got close they all ran away. When they were a safe distance away, they turned back around, stared at us, and started to slowly walk back toward us. We had a fun time waiting for them to get close, and then jumping and saying, "Boo!" and then watching them bolt in the opposite direction. Sometimes they would just run away and form somewhat of a line (like in the picture) and they would just stare at us. It was kind of creepy.

Well, I love ya, hope you have a wonderful week, and find someone to serve!

Love,

Sister Myers

Lexington pretty much always looks like this.
BEAUTIFUL.

64th Email: Plethora of Miracles

I love Lexington!! And I love Heavenly Father. He's so cool, and I love being His daughter. He likes to spoil his children sometimes. So this week was full of miracles and witnesses of God's love for us and the people here in Lexington, but I unfortunately don't have the time nor the finger endurance to tell you everything. I'll tell you one of the highlights, and then I suppose you'll just have to read my mind for the rest. Sorry.

Once upon a time, the best ward in the whole entire universe (a.k.a. the Lexington Ward) decided to put on a special Christmas event at the church building. Members of the ward gathered as many Nativity sets as they could find and displayed them on wonderfully decorated tables and boxes in the gym. After hours of preparation and the transportation and careful organization of over 200 Nativities, the doors of the church were opened to the public! Citizens of Lexington (member and nonmember alike) flocked to the church, having heard about the event through friends, neighbors, and even the good old newspaper. The event was to last from 2pm to 7pm, complete with yummy snacks and some special musical performances. There are three companionships of missionaries in the Lexington Ward, so we decided that we would rotate through to ensure that there were always missionaries present. Sister Tobler and I were assigned the 2pm time slot, but at 1:20, Brother Kohl (who was already there helping set up) called us and said we better hurry on over because people were already starting to show! We hopped into Lachoneus (our faithful and most trusted form of transportation), and zoomed over to the church. As we pulled into the parking lot, a green minivan pulled in at the same time. We held the door for the two women with small children and proceeded to show them around the beautiful displays. They loved it! We gave them a "He is the Gift" pass-a-long card and explained what we do as missionaries. And guess what?? They said we could come to their house and teach them! The next day!! Oh, and guess how they heard about the Nativity display? The newspaper. I'm pretty sure the newspaper was invented so that L-- and I-- would come to the church to see the nativities, and eventually receive the gospel. No joke.

Fast forward to the next day, we drove out to Glascow and when we got to their house at the appointed time...they weren't there! Bah!! L--'s boyfriend was there, however, and he told us they would probably be back in about 15 minutes. Okay. Relax. We can come back. So we went back, and right as we were knocking on the door, L-- pulled into the driveway with her cousin, C-- (who just moved here from Puerto Rico, knows a bit of English, and loves the Bible!). We went inside, and to make a long story...not as long as it could be....we taught L-- and C-- the restoration (I-- ended up not being interested), they loved it, she told us she hasn't been able to stop thinking about us since she left the church, she recognized the spirit in the lesson and feels really good about learning more to bring her family closer to God, C-- told us to get him a copy of the Book of Mormon in Spanish and that if he liked it he would come to church, and they're excited for us to come back. Has the day of miracles ceased?? I say unto you nay! What if we hadn't gone to the Nativity? What if there hadn't been an ad in the newspaper? What if we hadn't gone 40 minutes earlier than we had planned?? Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. He knows His children.

The other day I was thinking about the time when the early apostles were out fishing all day but didn't catch anything. Christ came to them and told them to cast their nets on the right side. These men were fishermen, and he (a carpenter) was telling them how to do their job, something they had been doing their whole lives. Nevertheless, they cast their nets, and they caught a multitude of fish, so much that their nets broke! If Christ can direct fishermen in their own profession, how much greater can he direct us in His profession--fishing for men? This is the Lord's work, and He knows how to have success. He's never not succeeded! Do I always do things the way He tries to direct me? Do I cast my nets (knock on a certain door, talk to the cashier at Walmart, etc.) when He tells me to? None of us are perfect, but I know that as we follow the guidance of the Savior, we can be instruments in bringing about His great work.

Y'all have a blessed day. :)

Love,

Sister Myers

63rd Email: Just Around the Corner

So...basically I don't know how life could get any better! I'm a missionary in the most beautiful part of the country, my companion is one of my best buds from high school, and the people here in Lexington are incredible. Seriously, everywhere we drive I just stare out the window at the hills and farm land. It's gorgeous! And...Sister Tobler and I are pretty much having a blast together. We totally got to skip the "getting to know you" part of the transfer and just dive right into the work! What's cool about it though is now we get to know the spiritual side of each other. It's the best! We had a ward Christmas dinner on Saturday, which was great. The food was delicious and I got to meet a bunch of the members here. It's a pretty big ward, and the building is pretty new. It looks exactly like most of the churches in Utah so I get a little thrown off when I'm inside. So yeah. Basically I'm lovin' life.

On Saturday during the day we were out trying to contact a referral, but he wasn't home, and our back up plan was to tract near his house. So we knocked! And knocked, and knocked... most people weren't home, and the few who were...weren't the most friendly I've ever met. Oh, and by the way, it was raining. That's always fun. Something I've learned on my mission, however, is that whenever things seem rough, there's always something good around the corner! And there was! We knocked on one more door, and an older woman answered it. Without even asking us who we were she invited us in from the rain! How nice! We started to talk to her and her husband and explained what we do as missionaries, and we asked if we could sit down and share the message of the restoration with them. They said sure! So we sat and talked for about 30 or 40 minutes about prophets and apostasy, and how truth has been restored to the earth for our day! They listened very intently, and were open minded to the everything. They agreed to read the Book of Mormon, and they said that if they came to know it was true they would be baptized by someone with Priesthood authority. We're excited to go back this week and keep teaching them!

I can't believe I totally spaced out last week and didn't mention it, but has everyone checked out Mormon.org/Christmas and watched the "He is the Gift" video? It's basically the greatest thing ever! It has been a really great missionary tool, because even if someone isn't interested in hearing about the Church, everyone loves Christmas and is willing to watch a 3 minute video about the true meaning of Christmas. If you haven't watched it go watch it. If you have watched it, go watch it again. And share it on facebook!

Well, I love you all. Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Myers

62nd Email: Myers and Tobler Unite!

Baaahhh!!!!! Have you ever felt like your heart was ripped in half and you wished you could just move everyone that you love into a 5 mile radius from you and never leave or let them leave?? Yeah. Basically that's how I feel. It's transfer week already, and it's time for me to leave Fairmont! Ah, I never imagined how much I would come to love this place and the people here. It's so hard to leave! I'm grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve here. It definitely has a special place in my heart. So I'm sad that I'm leaving Fairmont, a bit flustered because I thought I was going to stay, happy because I got to know all these people, excited to go to Lexington, Virginia to serve with Sister Tobler (One of my super good friends from high school!!! When does that ever happen??), and overall I feel peaceful because I know that Heavenly Father is in charge and has something great in store. Ron Weasley was pretty close when he said, "One person couldn't possibly feel all that at once. They'd explode!"

I know that I was meant to serve in Fairmont, West Virginia. There have been so many instances that have confirmed that to me, but there is one experience that stands out in my mind specifically. This experience actually starts about 7 months ago when I served in Morgantown, which is about 30 miles north of Fairmont. Sister Christensen and I met this awesome man named Chris Grant, who grasped onto the gospel so quickly and was baptized soon after we met him. Sadly, we both got transferred right before his baptism, but we knew he would be taken care of in Morgantown. I heard from him once while I was in my next area, and from the sound of things, he wasn't doing too good. He still had a strong testimony, but he had moved to Fairmont (his hometown) and hadn't gone to church since he had been there. He kept in contact with the Morgantown missionaries at first, but his contact with them started to dwindle until it ceased completely. He didn't know the missionaries or members of the church in Fairmont, and he just kept to himself while he tried to figure out some difficult details of his life. So fast forward...I got transferred to Fairmont 3 months ago, and I was basically the only person who knew he was here! None of the other missionaries or members had any idea. He was a bit difficult to get a hold of for a while because he really just wanted to figure things out on his own, but finally, my companion and I were able to meet with him. After our last meeting, he thanked us and decided it was time for him to stop secluding himself and to reach out for help. He's planning on coming to church and getting back the relationship he had found with God. Was it coincidence that I came to Fairmont at the time I did? Would Chris have totally fallen through the cracks if Heavenly Father hadn't sent me here? Who knows? "Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways (Jacob 4:8)."

Love ya! Have a splendid week. I'll give you my new address once I get to Virginia. :)

Love,
Sister Myers

61st Email: So Much to Be Thankful For

"O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come 

before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms (Psalm 95:2)."

There is so much to be thankful for!! Seriously. Just sit down and start thinking about it. Have you ever thought about the human body, for instance? This is one of the greatest gifts we have ever been given! One of my favorite things about the body it's ability to heal itself. Can you imagine if every scrape, bruise, paper cut, or BUG BITE never went away? We'd all go crazy! So yeah. The human body is so cool.

The greatest gift, of course, is the gift of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We are eternally indebted to him, and what's crazy is he doesn't expect us to pay him back! All he asks us to do is to use the gift. Don't let Christ's sacrifice be in vain! If you haven't ever read Brad Wilcox's talk "His Grace is Sufficient," go read it now! https://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/09/his-grace-is-sufficient?lang=eng
 

Why are you still reading this? Click the link! 

So basically, I love Sister Morgan and I never want to leave Fairmont. It's like a fairy mountain! So magical! haha get it..? Fairmont...fairy mountain... It really is such a great place. We've been finding such great people everywhere. It's the best! 

I hope all of you have a delicious Thanksgiving, and a happy week. Thinking of what I'm thankful for always makes me happy. Love ya!


Love,
Sister Myers

60th Email: Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

Hey Dad, remember when you always used to say before I went to bed, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite!" I used to think that was just a funny little saying to scare children. I WAS WRONG. Who knew bed bugs were actually a real thing?  I've learned a lot of things on my mission, and the reality of bed bugs is one of them. And the idea of not "letting" them bite is just laughable. Bed bugs do what ever they want! Needless to say, the highlight of the week was hearing the exterminators knock on the door on Wednesday. No more bed bugs biting Sister Myers! :D

Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways! The exterminators told us we needed to run all of our clothes through the dryer before they came so that any bugs on our clothes would die. So, we emptied our closet and drawers and headed across the street to the laundromat! That was a lot of fun. Long story short, we met this girl at the laundromat who is looking for a church to go to, and she was very excited to come to ours and have us come over and teach her! If it weren't for the bed bugs we never would have gone to the laundromat at the time we did.

Despite the fact that we had bed bugs, our apartment is actually a really nice apartment. everything in it is new. (We must have picked up the bed bugs from someone else's house). Well everything except the water heater. That looked pretty old. We noticed a little bit ago that the top of the water heater was leaking--not drastically, but enough for it to pool on the surface. So, we called the land lord (he's probably sick of us by now), and he sent someone up right away to look at it. He assessed the damage and said he'd be back in the next couple of days to replace the top. Fast forward...Sister Larkin and I (exchanges with old companion! best thing ever!) got home late at the end of the day, and our downstairs neighbor was out in the stairway. She looked a bit frazzled and said that something was leaking from upstairs down into the hallway. Uh oh! The maintenance man had come around noon to replace the top of the water heater, but didn't quite attach it correctly, so it had been leaking for about nine hours.... haha what next? Sister Morgan and I have learned to just laugh. That makes life a lot easier!

One of my favorite things about being a missionary is watching the gospel change people's lives. We have been teaching K-- and A-- for a little while, and in just this short time, I have seen the light of the gospel fill their lives. They've tasted the goodness of God, and they want more! The gospel is about change and they are definitely wanting to change their lives for the better. K-- actually quit smoking, cold turkey, about two weeks ago, and we hadn't even taught them about the Word of Wisdom! They keep having experiences during the week between our visits in which they are faced with a choice and they choose the right. The gospel is about learning to make correct choices consistently, and that's what they are doing! The spirit is obviously more present in their home and in their hearts. 

We just started teaching this awesome woman named H--. She is a coworker of one of the members here (whose name happens to be Sister Myers), and she came to a little craft activity with the Relief Society. Sister Myers is such an awesome member missionary! She is really good friends with H--, and she has been talking to her about the church for quite a while and always invites her to activities. We invited her to learn more, and she readily accepted! Our first lesson was so awesome. We went over to H--'s house with Sister Myers, and it went so well! She definitely has an open mind and a willing heart. She kept mentioning that she had this hunger and thirst for something, and she is willing to do anything to get herself and her family closer to God. The thing that I love about it is that Sister Myers didn't do anything crazy or out of the ordinary. She was just being herself and sharing something she loves with her friend, whom she loves. 

Whelp! I love ya! Have a great week!

Love,
Sister Myers

Quote of the week: 

"Sometimes the Lord's delays seem long, some last a lifetime, but they are always calculated to bless." ~President Eyring

59th Email: Busy Busy BUSY!

Holy smokes! I feel like this week had a month's worth of stuff crammed into it! Last Monday feels like ages ago. We did a lot of driving this week (I absolutely love all these curvy roads that make me carsick...), Mission Leadership Council in Sissonville on Tuesday, Clarksburg Zone Meeting on Thursday, Morgantown Zone Meeting on Friday, which was followed by an exchange with the Morgantown 2nd Ward sisters. I spent the day in Morgantown with Sister Call and it was so fun! And cold. Sister Call is incredible. She goes home in a few weeks (to Springville, Utah, funny enough), and when I asked her why she decided to come on a misison, she proceeded to tell me the coolest story ever about how the gospel has changed her life and how she gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Basically she inspired me to be a better missionary and to become more deeply converted to the gospel.

Life is good! The church is consistently true! Heavenly Father loves us! I love being a missionary! I love the people, I love the gospel, aaand I've never been more tired in my life! Maybe I'll take a nap today. Eh...probably not...

Sorry it's short again. Busy, busy, busy! Love ya!

Love,
Sister Myers

58th Email: Spiritual Feast

 We had a meeting on Thursday with the north half of the mission (over 100 missionaries). We learned from our wonderful mission president and his wife, President and Sister Salisbury, and we also had the privilege of hearing from Elder Renlund of the 70 and his wife, Sister Renlund. What a spiritual feast! I learned a ton and Sister Morgan and I have already been trying to implement the things we learned into our missionary work. One principle that really stuck with me was the fact that our conversion is never stationary. Our faith is always increasing or decreasing, depending on our actions. The slope of our line of faith is never zero. This means that if we invite someone to read the Book of Mormon to increase their faith, and then we come back and they haven't opened the book at all, their faith has obviously not increased. What I didn't realize, however, is that their faith doesn't stay stagnant. If they are not acting, then their faith is decreasing. We are constantly gaining or losing light. We can never plateau! It was a really good meeting.

This week I learned from Greg Scur that you can't judge a book from it's cover. The gospel is for everyone, and anyone can change their life! 

I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Sister Morgan and I dressed up as missionaries.... 

Love,
Sister Myers

57th Email: God's Not Dead

Heavenly Father is the best. I love Him so much! And I love Fairmont, and Sister Morgan, and all the super spiritually prepared people out here. It's incredible. 

Sister Morgan is such a blast! She has only been here for 4 days, but we have already laughed so hard, had so many awkward moments, and witnessed so many miracles. I know that Heavenly Father sees every part of this work. He sees our effort, and He wants His children to receive the gospel. We just have to work! Put your hand to the plow and start pushing! Don't look back! Sometimes it can get discouraging, but we can't give up. "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end (Hebrews 6:10-11)."

Before I got to Fairmont, the sisters were out knocking on doors, and they knocked on the door of a young man named William English. (Side note--there is a young couple in the ward and their last name is Espanol, but they are American).  William is in his 20's, and he joined the church in Louisiana when he was 13. He got baptized because his dad was getting baptized, but he didn't really understand anything about the gospel. Then he moved out here, didn't know where the church was, and never really found his relationship with God. And we didn't even know he was there!! He has had a rough life, has two little kids, wants them in church, and really just wants to figure out what he believes. So we are basically starting from square one with him. He knows nothing about the church. The sisters gave him a Book of Mormon, but he didn't really touch it until one day when he watched the movie "God's Not Dead," and for some reason, that inspired him to start reading. He read about 30 chapters that day. He is so cool! He's one of those people that just has a light in his eye, and you can tell that he's hungry for the gospel.

I love being a missionary. The more I study and teach, the more true this church becomes. I love it! It just makes sense! This morning I was studying about the Book of Mormon, and how it can resolve any concern. On page 109 of Preach My Gospel it says, "The only problem the objector has to resolve is whether the Book of Mormon is true. For if the Book of Mormon is true, then Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was his prophet, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true, and it is being led today by a prophet receiving revelation." That goes for everything! Just read the book! What could it hurt? I know that the Book of Mormon is true. 

It was 34 degrees when we went out for our run this morning. Brrr.

Love,
Sister Myers

Quote of the week:

"The only difference between a stepping stone and a stumbling block is attitude."

Pictures are Always so FUN!! :D

56th Email: Transfers!

Heavenly Father is the best. He is so unconditionally patient and forgiving. It never ceases to amaze me! He is also a God of miracles. I know that this is His work and that His will WILL be done.

We had a really good week! We reconnected with some investigators we haven't been able to see in a while, and they are still doing great! That's always a nice feeling. As missionaries, I think we tend to get a little paranoid and think that if we haven't seen someone in a while they probably aren't interested anymore, or they hate us and are trying to avoid us or something. Silly us.

Church was awesome on Sunday. Brother Bott (Elder's Quorum President) gave a fantastic talk, the lessons in gospel principles and Relief Society were both on prayer and were spirit filled, and it was just a great day!

I was studying about humility on page 120 of Preach My Gospel, and it was really cool. I was thinking about how this chapter is called "Christlike Attributes," so obviously, these are attributes that Christ has. Everything in this chapter should apply to his character. So I started to read it and imagine Christ reading it to himself. Each sentence really does apply to him. "Humility is...to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished...It includes gratitude for your blessings." My mind went to John 11, when Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. In verse 40 He testifies of the glory of God, and in verse 41 He thanks Heavenly Father that He heard Him. Then He explains that He said it out loud so the people would know that it was Heavenly Father that sent Him, and by His power that Lazarus came forth. Christ is truly our perfect example.

So tomorrow is transfers! (Hence the Wednesday email). Sister Whitaker is getting transferred to Logan. Logan, Utah, that is. Her new companion is a nice returned missionary. We don't know his name yet. And I'm staying in glorious Fairmont! Yay!!! My new companion is Sister Morgan. I. LOVE. HER. I served around her when I was in Milton, and she is so awesome! She's from Morgan, Utah, and now she'll be in the Morgantown zone. Coincidence? I think NOT! Anyways, I'm super excited.

You'ins have a blessed day.

Love,

Sister Myers

55th Email: Conference...uh, AMAZING!

What a great week!! General Conference was so great!!! Don't you just love all those Mormons? A few of my favorite speakers were Christofferson, Uchtdorf (so good!!), Andersen, Klebingat, Hamula, and Bednar. A few of the people we're teaching came to the church to watch a session and they loved it! Krissy and Alan are this super sweet couple who just love everything about the church. Alan has so many questions and has such an open heart. During Elder Allan F. Packer's talk Alan leaned over and asked what "temple work" is, and so I explained how we research our ancestors so we can get baptized for them in the temple. Then he asked what he would have to do to get baptized for his grandmother.  I told him the Fairmont church has a family history center with consultants who can help him do his family history and find his grandmother's name. I also explained to him that you have to be a member in order to enter the temple, and he quickly replied, "Well I definitely want to be baptized." They are working towards being baptized on November 22nd.

I received some cool revelation during President Uchtdorf's talk about light and truth. Krissy and Alan have so quickly embraced the idea of getting baptized and joining the church. It's awesome to see, but in the back of my mind there has been a hesitation, because they don't fully understand yet what the church is all about and why it's different from other churches. My thoughts turned to them as President Uchtdorf said that we need to "nourish and encourage ALL light, until it grows bright and true." That helped me to see the vision of who Krissy and Alan can become, and it reminded me that we all have to start our spiritual progression somewhere, and we GROW in knowledge and understanding. A seed takes many, many years to become a towering tree. (P.S. Was anyone else disappointed when he didn't give his talk in German??)

We're teaching a man named Mick, who is married to a member of the church, and he is such a great, humble guy. We had a lesson yesterday about the ten commandments and the law of chastity, and afterwards his wife invited us into the kitchen to have some biscuits and gravy (which was delicious, by the way). While we sat around the table, Aimee (Mick's wife) hollered to Mick, who was still in the front room, "Are you gonna come in here and talk while they eat?" (they had already eaten before we came). He said, "I'm reading! I wanna get a head start on my assignment." (We've been assigning him sections of Preach My Gospel to read). He has some health problems, but is so dedicated and sincerely wants to learn. He's great!

On Wednesday I was studying about Christlike leadership in Jonh 10:1-15. It says that we need to "enter by the door" before we can be a shepherd and lead the sheep. Later, Christ says that He is the door. So we need to enter by Jesus Christ. This door is the door of salvation, and in order to help people come unto Christ and enter through the door, we need to have entered the door ourselves. How can I teach someone about the atonement and ask them to repent if I have not first gained a firm conviction of the divinity of the Savior's mission and gone through the very process of change I am asking people to go through? I've thought about this a lot on my mission. There are a lot of things about myself I have tried to change on my mission, and in some areas I have been more successful than others. Keeping this in mind gives me patience when I teach someone a principle about the gospel and they don't immediately do a 180 flip in the right direction. Sometimes when someone we are teaching forgets to read the Book of Mormon or is too lazy to come to church, my initial reaction is, "Really? Come on, it's not that hard. Don't you realize how much it will bless you life?" But then I look at myself and all the bad habits I've tried to quit and the good habits I've tried to start, and then I have to say the exact same thing to myself. It goes back to how spiritual progression is gradual.

Most of the green has left the leaves. I can't believe it's fall again!

I love you all so much! Thanks for being who you are, and for all the love and support.

Love,

Sister Myers