A Week of Miracles, Revelations, and Learning!

So all week I have been trying to think of some cool alliteration for the email subject that all started with M but I couldn't figure out another word for revelation or learning. #firstworldprobs Yes, I just used a hashtag...get over it.

So first of all: Birthday shout out to my sister Arielle, Elder Wilcox, and Kemerey Thompson!! You are all amazing and I hope you had a great day. Kemerey I would have emailed you personally but awkwardly enough, I don't have your email. Also...Aubrey Hansen Happy Birthday this Saturday! Your birthday is on my one month mark! (PS I also don't have your email...and also I really hope that it is Saturday or else this is just awkward).

Wait a second...one month? What? Is this real life?

Second of all: A few people asked to know more about my companions so here's a quick little thing about them: Sister Oldroyd is from Farmington, she went to BYU, and loves frozen peas and eats them like, all the time, and she also loves American Flags. Sister Carson is from St. George, she is a fantastic cook, and she loves Gnomes! Okay, there you go, there's a quick run-down of my comps. They are great, I love them so much.

Okay PS y'all should buckle your seat-belts if you haven't because this week was...well...you'll just have to read on and see for yourself. Amazing doesn't quite cover it.

So before I came Sister Carson and Sister Oldroyd tracted into this couple named Ben and Christine and so, when I got there we decided to follow-up on them. So the first time we went back we just set up a return appointment and then we came back. So, they are devout Catholics, and we talked to them for about an hour about the Restoration, some of the Plan of Salvation and about their beliefs and the Book of Mormon and the Spirit was seriously so strong. They said they would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it and so then we left. It was awesome.

So random funny story: So the Bishop's mother in law (Jacque Henry) is not a member of the church and so we've been visiting her and just been giving her spiritual upliftment. But the first time I went over there I didn't know that she was the Bishop's mother in law and I had only met the Bishop once and so when we got there I saw his picture on the wall and I thought he looked so familiar and so I was like, "Why does that guy look so familiar?" And Sister Oldroyd and Carson just busted up laughing and they were like, "Uh...maybe because that's the Bishop!" Haha and then they told me about how she was his mother in law and that's why his picture was up on the wall. It was just kind of a face-palm moment. Then later that week when we saw the Bishop again they told him about it and he just laughed. I was just like, "This isn't awkward at all!" It was pretty funny though.

Okay so the other day we were trying to decide where to tract and we decided on these 2 places and we were like, "Let's pray about it today and when we got tracting we'll tell each other the answer that we got." So we labeled them A and B and we all prayed about it. Then as we were going to go tracting we all told each other our answers. But, 2 of us got A and the other got B and so we were just like, "What?" And we couldn't figure out why and so we prayed again and then we were like, "Well maybe we need to go somewhere else!" So we drove around a bit and found this one street and we were like, "Yup, this is it! It's C!" The reason we were getting different answers is because it wasn't either one! Well, the first house we tracted was this mom with 2 kids and she loved to read about other churches and we had a really great conversation with her and she said she would read the Book of Mormon. (She even said as we left that she was going to do it right then!) We'll definitely go back to talk to her about it.

So we've been trying to increase our teaching pool and so on Wednesday, we were talking about it and we decided to specifically pray for 2 new investigators.

Well, you'd think we would have learned something from this little story....and you'll see what I mean in a minute. So Sister Oldroyd was telling us that she had been feeling that we needed to go to this place called Rockvale and so we planned a few hours to go there. So we drive there and we start driving around and praying to know which way to go. So we prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed over and over as we got to each street. Usually 2 of us would get an answer and the other wouldn't really feel anything so we would just go with the 2 and so on. So we get to this one place where we can go right or left and we all prayed and we ALL got the answer to go left and so we did. Now, for this story to make sense because it's hard to describe I'm going to call this road that we just turned onto road D. So we turn on road D and we start passing all these houses and we were like, we should probably tract these at some point. So we get to the next T in the road and we all pray about which way to go and we all got different answers. So we just kind of picked one, we'll call it road E....so we start driving down the road and I tell my companions, "I think we should go back and tract those houses." And so they said, "Yeah we will for sure." So we keep driving and we turn down some random roads and we're like, "Nope this isn't right." So suddenly I get this impression that we need to listen to the Mormon Message "Wrong Roads" by Jeffrey R. Holland. So we do and then we keep going and I just get this feeling that we should go back. So I tell my comps that and so they are like, "OK". So we start driving back (still on road E) and we come up this this place where we have an option of turning or just going straight and Sister Oldroyd was like, "This is the road. We need to turn." So we turn down it and guess what? IT WAS ROAD D!!! Yup, we felt pretty dumb. We thought, "Man we should have learned from the A or B thing that since we all got different answers that obviously none of those ways were the way we should go." Then they kept apologizing since I had said to go back but I said, "Whatever...now, like in the Mormon Message we have no doubt that we are in the right place." The thing that kind of makes this story really amazing is that really nothing happened tracting on that road. We talked to a couple people but there were really no miracles. We didn't get the 2 new investigators that we were praying for.  I think the miracle was that we learned about revelation and really how to work together. And, perhaps it was just to learn obedience.

So I told you about the Minters in my last letter. Well, quick background: Mom and Dad and 11 year old joined but the 18 year old, Lauren, and the 15 year old, Jay, have not and Jay has been totally against it and Lauren almost joined but has been not as progressive lately.
They haven't been very good about reading the Book of Mormon,. even the parents who are baptized. So after we went to Rockvale on Thursday we went to their house for dinner and Lauren's friend was there with her, and so  we showed all of them the Mormon Message called, "Testimony of the Book of Mormon" by Jeffrey R. Holland. You should watch it because it's so powerful. Anyway, then we bore our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and we asked them if they have been making it a priority in their lives. Then we did the object lesson with rocks and rice and how if you put the rice in a jar first and then the rocks then it all doesn't fit but if you do it vice versa then it does - and then talked about how if we put God first then everything else will go into place. The Spirit was so strong and the Mom and Dad bore testimony of how the Book of Mormon has helped them to their kids and Lauren friend Alicia. So then we asked all of them if they would make it a priority and they said yes. Then we asked Jay if he would read the Book of Mormon and pray (previously we have asked him but he has just flat out said no) and he said he would! Then we asked him if he would be baptized if he came to know that it was true and he said YES! Also we talked to Lauren about baptism and now both she and Jay are working towards baptism on August 9th!!!!! But wait, it doesn't end there. We gave Alicia a Book of Mormon and asked her to read it and she said she would! BAM! Jay and Alicia are our 2 new investigators! Heavenly Father answered our prayers! Definitely not in the way that we expected. But you know, maybe the whole thing in Rockvale was to test our obedience and because we were so obedient, He blessed us! Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways!

Okay a couple of other random things: We went to this less active families house (the Aments) and we were talking to them and they said they had puppies and so they brought one out for us to hold for a bit! She was so cute!

Also for pioneer day, they had a pioneer activity on Saturday in the ward and so we went to that and it was pretty great. I have some pictures from it and the pictures of the puppy on my iPad so I'll try to send them to you. Also, near the Bishop's house where the activity was there were these people that owned like 15 zebras! Yes, you read that right, ZEBRAS!! They were just chillin a pasture as we drove past. What? Can you imagine?

Alright, here's the last thing story or whatever. We went on this hike this morning to this place called Old Stone Fort and it's these ancient ruins from like, 2000 years ago or something. They were amazing. And get this, Elder Christofferson came and visited it a while ago and he said that some of the things that took place in the Book of Mormon took place there...so like...this was place where people from the Book of Mormon did stuff! I say stuff because he didn't say who or when but it was so amazing! And the Spirit there was so strong! I got some pretty cool pics of the some waterfalls and stuff nearby also (and I also got pics of the actual thing too). Anyway, pretty amazing.

Okay last thing: you should all read the book by M. Russell Ballard called "Our Search for Happiness" it is seriously the greatest - so powerful.

Also here's a quick quote that I heard this week that I just love: "There are cracks in everyone, that's how the light of Christ gets in."

Hope you all had amazing week and I hope this week is also amazing!

Love you all!
Love,
Sister Myers

Drop the Toothpaste

Okay so there are like 5372 things that I want to say but I can't say it all. Also, my brain is so packed full of stuff that I hope I make sense...

First of all...I am great! Besides the fact that I am literally being eaten alive. Seriously! No matter what time of day...you get eaten! Yesterday we went to this person's house for a follow up and they weren't home but in the time that we walked to their door and then walked back to the car I got like 16 mosquito bites! Okay not really...actually just 2 but still! It's insane! Also, the weather here so far is fantastic! Everyone keeps telling me how lucky I am because apparently it's NEVER like this at this time of year. I'm just bracing myself for the million degree weather that's coming. Also, everyone here is SO nice. Seriously...like, not to be rude or anything but people in Utah are rude! At least compared to these people! Also, I'm in this place called Murfreesboro and it's like...in the country and even in the suburby areas, houses are so much further apart! I mean, the space between 2 houses here could fit 2 more houses in Utah! I don't know if that made any sense.....

I SAW FIREFLIES!!! They are seriously the most amazing thing on the entire earth. Yeah...I'm pretty weird...but they were cool.

Okay so now about the subject line. So in the MTC, Bro. Mills told this story about faith and he told about how every year he would get toothpaste from his mom in his stocking and so when he was on his mission, it was Christmas eve and he only had a little bit of toothpaste left and he had enough for another day, but instead of keeping it for one more day just in case, he threw it away, knowing that there would be some in the stocking his mom had sent him. And he then he talked about how that is faith. He had no doubt that his mom had sent him toothpaste.

So, our district in the MTC really took this story to heart when we were flying to Tennessee on Monday. So we were supposed to fly out at 7:30 from SLC to Atlanta Georgia, and then have a 2 hour layover and catch a connecting flight to Nashville. However, the flight to Georgia kept getting delayed and delayed and we were starting to worry that we would miss our connecting flight. So then we started saying to each other when we would start to worry, "Drop the toothpaste." So, the plane didn't leave until 9:30. Well, we got on at 9:30 so it didn't leave until 10. So, we missed our connecting flight. Great. So now what? So we ask when the next available flight is (Also, keep in mind that there are 22 of us) and they said that there were seats available...the next morning! But they told us to get on stand by. So, we kept on getting on standby over and over for like 6 hours....seriously. And of course...no such luck...I mean how are you going to get 22 people on a plane on standby! Throughout the day we just kept saying, "Drop the toothpaste."

So finally, that night the airport gives us a hotel for the night and we got up the next morning and got on our flight and got to Nashville without a hitch. But, something amazing happened that morning. So all night I kept asking myself, "Okay, what are we supposed to learn from this. We dropped the toothpaste...so now what?" Well, the 4 Elders in our district had to go to the airport early because they didn't get a ticket printed and so they go up to...I don't know...wherever you go and they run into this lady and she's like, "Oh the Jesus people!" and she takes them to the front of the line and helps them and one of the Elders was telling her how worried he was that he wasn't going to get a ticket and that he wasn't going to get there and she pointed to his name tag and said, "Remember who is on your side." And right after she left the Elder decided to give her a Book of Mormon but she had disappeared. They could not find her. When the Elder's told us that I thought, "Wow. What if all God wanted us to learn is that He is on our side and so we just need to drop the toothpaste."

So...after we finally got to Tennessee we met President and Sister Anderson right away! Man were they a sight for sore eyes! It was pretty awful to meet him when we were wearing the same clothes from  the day before and had spent the entire day in the airport. So we went straight to the transfer meeting right after that and I met my trainers Sister Carson and Sister Oldroyd. They are seriously the best!

Okay quick small world moments: Sister Oldroyd knows Kate Hadley! They did SBO stuff together. Also, she was like best friends with Ryan and Lyndie's roommates at BYU! What?Also, Sister Carson is from St. George and she knows Uncle Dave! Well, she knows him from being a teacher, not personally but still!

We got to got to the temple this week because we got special permission because a recent convert was going for the first time! It is so small. Like as small as a church building almost. There are like...2 changing stalls. Not even kidding. It is so pretty though.

So...Miracle/amazing story #2: We were teaching this guy named Allen that we've been talking to for a while and some time during the lesson he pointed across the street and said we should go talk to the girl that lives there and so were like, "Alright." So when we left we were saying, "Should we go now or later?" And we had this thought that we should go now. So we knock on the door and this girl answers and she is crying and she told us that she just heard that her best friend's Dad passed away and we so we talked to her about the Plan of Salvation a little bit and gave her a Book of Mormon and she was like, "Yeah, I need to go to church. I think I'll show this to my friend too." And then I had this impression to share Alma 7:11-12 (Atonement) and so I did she just cried and cried and told us thank you. Then we left and as we were driving away we saw her on the porch looking at the Book of Mormon. Amazing. We actually haven't heard from her since but we will definitely go back don't you worry. I know that we were prompted by the Spirit to go talk to her because if we hadn't right then...it might have been too late. 

Okay random but is it really weird that I really like tracting? I don't know why, there's just something so fun about it. Yeah, I'm a weirdo.

There are so many great people here. One of the families that we talked to that were recent converts are the Minters and they are so amazing! I love them so much already. It's taken me a while to warm up to some of the (many) people that we go see because I'm new and so I don't know them like my trainers do but the Minters were great. I felt like I had known them forever!

So we're teaching this girl named Sadie who's 15 and she's awesome! She really wants to get baptized and she came to church on Sunday! We have a baptismal date for August 2 but she hesitant because she doesn't know if she should do it in our church or hers. We just explained to her about priesthood authority and stuff and told her to pray about it. I think she is going to do it in our church but her pastor is really trying to convince her to do it there so it's hard.

Garrett dies in a month! What? I'm still a baby! RIP Elder Myers...well almost.

Okay, well I will talk to y'all later. I love you so much. Everything here is so great. Everyone here is so great. Sorry this was so long. There is more to say but I gotta email the mission president so yeah. Have an awesome week!

Love, Sister Myers

Yahoo!

Yahoo!!! I made it! It's hard to believe that I'm actually on a mission right now! It's seriously like...crazy. Wow....anyway. Life at the MTC is so great! I love it! I really don't know why everyone says it's so hard. Maybe cuz I'm not learning a language. Who knows.... :) But, although the MTC is fun and stuff...I just really want to get to Nashville. I'm so excited. I don't know how people can last 9 weeks (that's the longest people are here now I'm pretty sure).

Okay, the MTC is so spiritual. You feel the Spirit everywhere you go and in everything you do. I mean, not that you can't feel it otherwise but you know what I mean...hopefully. Also, I am learning so much that I think I might explode. Like really. It's like a firehose. They just spray you and spray you and feel like you are drowning but the water is so refreshing that you don't want it to stop. I don't know if that made any sense but yeah.....Also, if you want some kind of analogy of how I feel learning/spirituality wise that makes a little more sense....well take all the spirituality and learning that you get from an entire week at EFY, times that by about 67 and pack it into one day at the MTC. Yup, that sounds about right.

The first couple days were super slow. Super great, but super slow. It's hard to believe that I've already been here over a week. It's felt like 3 years but it also felt like just yesterday. Time is weird here.

My district are so amazing. I think I told you about them but since I have plenty of time I'll tell you a little more. There's my companion Sister Svedin, (pronounced Swuh-deen and her name is from Sweden). She's from Melba, Idaho and she's super awesome! She really knows her stuff and man can she sing!! Elder Hansen jokes that she sounds like birds...by that he means like a princess from a Disney movie because birds should be flocking to her. I don't know if that makes any sense but yeah, he's hilarious. So yeah, Elder Hansen is from Nyssa, Oregon, which he says is pretty much in Idaho. He is super funny and just graduated. All the Elder's in the district just graduated. His comp is Elder Morgan and he is the greatest. He is a super great teacher and he's got a really strong voice. And he loves to learn! Then there's Elder Jensen and he is one of the funniest people I have ever met. He just has the funniest facial expressions and says the funniest things. What a goofy Elder. He's from Hyrum, Utah. His comp is Elder Daines from Centerville and he is so quiet! But he's this huge football player and whenever he talks, the spirit just pours out of him! And he has the greatest smile that just lights up the room! He should smile more. Then there's Sister Halbeisen (Haul-bison) and she's from somewhere near Denver, Colorado and she is so sweet! I love her to death! And she is super smart and loving! Her comp is Sister Laws, also from Colorado and she is so great! She looks sort of like Anne Hathaway and she's so enthusiastic about everything! Yeah, my district is the best in the MTC.

We have the best teachers ever!!!! Brother Mills and Brother Call are our main teachers and they are just so great! They teach everything so well and we all love them! There's also Sister Carson and Sister Paravato and they are so amazing! I love them!!! They are so helpful! They've helped me and Sister Svedin learn how to teach simply and apply our lesson to the investigator!
Also random story about Sister Paravato. After we met her the first time we forgot her name and in class one day one of the Elder's was referring to her and he didn't know what to call her so he just called her Sister Paranoia and it was so funny. Then one of the teachers that was in there just busted up laughing and corrected him. Now it's a running joke in our district.

Okay, if you think that you are just going to come to the MTC and learn the lessons from Preach My Gospel and then teach them to people by applying it to them then you are WRONG! It is so much more than that! We've been focusing on finding the NEED that each investigator has, not their concerns or interests, but their need and we are learning how to make the whole lesson work around that one need! It's a skill that we are working on and is A LOT harder than it sounds!!! But, I'll get there.

So as part of our teachers teaching us they also act as investigators that they know really well from their missions and we teach them. But it is seriously not even like they are acting, they do a really good job. I think of them as 2 separate people. Brother Call is our current "investigator" and his name is Don. And really though, when we go into the lesson, I think of him as Don, and not as Brother Call, they are seriously different people. Don is so great. He is tough though. He refuses to pray because he doesn't really know who God is. Whenever we have gone into lessons he is has just sat there while we prayed. But we've been focusing on his need to know God and so we decided to teach him about the Atonement. Boy we are dumb. I don't know why we didn't think of that at first because after we taught that then BAM! he committed to pray!!! When Sister Svedin and I left we could not stop smiling because the other things that we taught him were just not what he NEEDED...we were focusing on addressing his CONCERN....not his NEED! Anyway, we have one last lesson with him and we haven't decided what we would teach him but it's got to be good!!!

The other person that we are teaching is an actual non member. She gets taught by other people but it's still real. She's from Korea and her name is K-min (it's longer than that but that's what she goes by). She is great but really hard to connect with. We've been struggling with her. We've learned more how to teach her simply but we just can't figure out what she really NEEDS. We'll get there. She wants to be baptized but not until she can keep all the commandments, and she's worried about her husband asking her to do things that she shouldn't do. She just needs to trust in the Lord!!

Okay. Um. I don't have any letters or notes with me so I'll try and answer people's questions and stuff. The 4th of July was fun. Arielle was right, we had a devotional that night and some guy, I don't remember who, talked about freedom and heros of the BOM and stuff. Then we watched 17 Miracles! That was awesome! Then yes, we got to go outside and watch the Stadium of Fire fireworks and have ice cream. I skipped the ice cream but the fireworks were awesome. Except we didn't see all of them because they stopped for like 5 minutes and so we thought they were over but then we could hear them again in our room. Oh well, it was still fun.

Oh yeah and in the devotional they announced some stuff that was put into place this week!
1. Now, all the lessons will be taught before baptism (including the 5th lesson which used to be taught after) and in addition, all the lessons will be retaught after baptism.

2. After baptism, missionaries must work closely with converts for 3-4 months after baptism and keep in contact for up to 1 year. Also, missionaries must make sure that each convert has at least one friend in the ward.

3. Missionaries must participate in ward council! (I know that they already do that sometimes but I guess not everywhere)

So yeah, that might not be much a shock or anything but I know that any return missionaries or might find that interesting. Also, sorry this letter is getting so long. I have a whole hour to write and I don't have like...anyone's email so yeah...I'm spending a lot of time just writing a long letter.

Neil L. Anderson came and spoke to us on Tuesday! Wahoo! That was so great! He talked all about the Spirit and how it works! Not really how we feel it but just how it works...like how we can't force it and sometimes it only gives us a few answers. Anyway, things like that. It was seriously awesome and I think it was super important for us as missionaries since we pretty much rely on the Spirit for EVERYTHING!!!!

Okay, I really can't even think of anything else. Thanks for those who have written me!! It's fun to get letters. Also, mom, the cookies are delicious!!! Thanks for making them in my honor haha. :) Hm...I really can't think of anything else to say. This week has been awesome! I only had a minor breakdown on Monday after ALL our lessons went awful! Sister Svedin sort of did too. The Elder's gave me a blessing and it was super awesome! Every time they have given a blessing to one of us the Spirit has been so strong!!! Our Elder's are so great!

Okay, well, I guess that's it. I probably left a ton out but I'm running out of time. I guess that's the important stuff that I really wanted to say to whatever! :)

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Myers

I'm alive!

July 2, 2014

Dear Family,

Well, this is my first letter!

Okay, I don’t even get why everyone is saying that this first day in the MTC is so hard.  It has seriously been amazing!  I mean, like 3 years long, but so great! Anyway, I’m getting kind of scatter-brained.  They said we could write a letter home tonight—they being the Mission president (I think).  I’m not even sure.  Although today has been amazing, it has also been exhausting…and confusing.  I’m sure I’ll get the hang of what to do when.

You wanna know what the best part of today was?  Putting on my nametag!  It just feels to great to have that nametag on!  I don’t even want to take it off!

My district is awesome.  There’s Elder Jensen and Elder Danes, Sister Laws and Sister Halbeisen (pronounced Haul-Bison). They are my roommates.  Then there are Elders Morgan and Hansen, and then me and my comp, Sister Svedin  (pronounced Swuh-deen).  

This is seriously like EFY on steroids. When Sister Svedin and I were walking somewhere today we were just by ourselves, and I kept thinking, “Wait, where’s our leader?”  Like we needed a counselor or something!

I saw my friend Scott!  Oh wait, Elder Wilcox.  I wish I could have hugged him!  I also saw Sister Giles!  Love her to death!  And I could hug her!  J  I’ve seen a couple others I know, but those are the ones I know the most.  

Well, I think I’m going to end now.  My hand is already starting to get tired, and I still need to write in my journal.  Read 2 Nephi 22:2 – it’s awesome!

Love you all!

 

Love, Sister Kaylee Myers  (it’s weird to put that—but fun!)

P.S. P-day isn’t until next Thursday.  If you want to send letters, send through dearelder.com.  My unit number is 160.  I will be here until Jul 14.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

"I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit Power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

"I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

"My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear.

"I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

"I won't give up, back up, let up, or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.

"And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for 'I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.'"

In about 3 hours I will be set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am nervous but I am also excited. I have done lots to prepare myself for tomorrow and many people have helped me along the way. But the people who have helped me the most are my Heavenly Father and my savior Jesus Christ. I owe everything to Them. Now I am giving everything to Them for these next 18 months as I embark on a hard, but joyful journey to bring others to Christ.