Hola Amigos!

You all are sick of me saying this... But this week (again) was FULL of miracles!

Also ps. My sweet sis Lynds updated my blog with all the pictures that didn't go through last week. Haha (sistermorganinmissouri.blogspot.com) 

Anyways, back to this week. So many exciting things happened. Here are the top 5:

- our investigator, Kyle. Ahh! We invited him to be baptized on Friday and he said yes! He has been wanting to be baptized for a while now, he has just been wanting his mom and dad to be more supportive and they have been gradually becoming more supportive. This Sunday at church, he was soo happy. It is so amazing to see him progress and see him change so much from the time we first met him. This gospel changes lives! He has so much light about him and is always so happy.

"When you choose to follow Jesus Christ, you choose to be changed" -President Benson

 And THEN, yesterday, we got a call from a woman in our ward, whose son (John) has been really good friends with him and said that Kyle has some news for us but wanted to tell us in person.... So he came to the Visitors' Center while we were on shift to tell us. He came running in and was so happy and said that his dad said he could tell baptized and that he wanted us to push his baptism date up a week so that his friend, John, could be there and baptize him before he heads off to school. We are planning on September 5 for his baptism and we are all soo excited for him!! Miracles happen people. I can't even describe to you the feeling of joy that comes from watching and helping people change their lives around and seeing them find so much joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Thank you so much for the prayers that were directed to him this past week. It is through faith, that miracles are brought about! 

Quick scripture break before we move onto the next miracle:

Moroni 7:35-37. I love these scriptures that I read this morning. Has God ceased to be a God of miracles? Absolutely not. I can testify that He still is and always will be a God of miracles. 

- so, this whole week has been a miracle. We found 7 new investigators, which is, for us, HUGE! All of the investigators we found are solid too. They all really want to learn more. Three of those investigators speak Spanish.... And only Spanish. Ha. I want to tell you Rosa Maria's story. We found her when we were looking for a less active member in her apartment complex. And we were able to set up a return appointment with her for Sunday. Before I go on, quick shout out to my mom, dad, and Sr. Peterson. Thank you so so sooo much for giving me the opportunity to learn so much Spanish. 

Anyways, we have been studying so much Spanish up until Sunday. And praying so much for the ability to teach this lady in her native language. I have read a whole 4 chapters from the Spanish Book of Mormon (ha which is not a lot for the amount of time I spent haha)

Anyways, fast forward to the lesson. We were able to teach the whole first lesson (the Restoration) in Spanish. And... I think she understood it! Haha jk, she did. Thank goodness for the members. I was trying to translate back and forth for Sister Hansen throughout the lesson. And wow, everything that I was understanding and was able to speak in the lesson was because of the help of God. It was incredible. When we were telling her the first vision, the spirit was so strong and seriously the whole lesson, the spirit was so strong. We were talking with her about how Christ came to the Americas after He was resurrected. And we read in 3 Nephi 11 with her of when Christ came to preach to the Nephites. Ahh! Guys! We invited her to baptized and she said maybe and told us that she already knew that Christ came to the Americas (wow. sooo prepared for this message!!) she told us of these dreams that she has had.. Pretty much exactly what we read in chapter 11. 

And yeah.. Miracles happen. I can promise you all that everything and anything Rosa Maria learned in that lesson was through the Spirit, and not through what we were telling her... Because.. Well... We don't know Spanish!!! Haha. Heavenly Father is preparing everyone to hear and accept His gospel and it is such a blessing to be able to see that. 

- we went to the Kansas City Temple on Saturday to do baptisms with Randy, one of our recent converts and it was such an incredible experience. 

The temple is amazing. The opportunity that we all have to be sealed to our families for eternity in these temples is so incredible and such a blessing! I can't even begin to describe to you how important temples are and my feelings towards the blessings that come from them. 

- this week is going to be an absolutely crazy one. We are transitioning EVERYTHING over to iPads. And our mission president wants what normally takes other missions months to transition and record everything to take 1 WEEK for this mission.... Haha yeah. We are supposed to spend two hours each day transitioning our records to the iPad. Which... When we already have a 6 hour VC shift, 3 hours of study, 7 new investigators to try to visit, and other appointments to teach, it can be hard to find the time.

- and, I can't remember what the fifth thing was that I was going to tell you, so I just want to tell you that I love you all. And want to let you know how much I LOVE this gospel and how much it changes lives. If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, read it. If you haven't prayed, pray. And if you have done both of those things, keep doing them. This gospel is for anyone and everyone. Jesus Christ lives everyone. He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross for you. He knows everything you are going through and is always there to help you and comfort you. He has never and will never forget about you. Don't forget about Him!

Love you all,

Sister Morgan

Long time, no see... Or email. Haha

Sooo... I just typed up a loonng email for y'all andddd.. It got erased 

So talk to ya next week! Ha. Just kidding. But seriously, technology sometimes. 

First things first.. First transfers! And welcome to Tuesday p-day with this transfer! I am staying in my ward (inde 4th ward) which I am sooo happy about. I love it. I could seriously serve my whole mission in this ward and be totally okay with it. The members are amazing and I love all the people we meet in the area. 

Yesterday, we took one of the youth in the ward out with us on a team up and it was so fun! We found 3 new investigators with her there! #miracle

We also had the BEST day on Thursday with the youth. We taught them their mutual activity lesson and it was soo fun. We tried to give them a little MTC experience. We taught them our favorite parts of the plan of salvation. (This is the part that I had typed out in my last email but.... It was soo long. Haha. So maybe another time. We gave the a lesson that focused on the scripture, Moses 1:39, which I could literally talk to you about for hours, so it will probs come up another week)

But we shared with them how much our Heavenly Father and Savior love us. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, died for us in order for us to have the opportunity to experience eternal life and be able to live in God's presence. 

Then, we talked to them about missionary work and finding missionary opportunities. That was my favorite part. We got to teach them all about using social media for sharing the gospel and invited them all to make a Mormon.org profile and share it online (soo... Here's mine, we always like to do the same commitments we leave with people we teach haha. http://www.mormon.org/me/H6QC/Cydne). We also challenged them to share a Book of Mormon with a friend of acquaintance at school this school year and helped the, find ways to do that. The Book of Mormon is amazing. If any of you haven't read it, read it. It changes lives. 

Ah! I LOVE working with the youth. It is my favorite thing. And I still consider myself a youth, so really it's just a party. We even snuck into the Laurel class at church this week because we couldn't stay away :) ALSO, we got the idea we had for mini-missions approved by the bishop! We are having youth come out with us for a whole weekend and be our "mini-missionary". We are gonna have them sleepover with us and do a shift at the VC! I'm so excited for it :)

Afterwards at the VC... We may or may not have blasted efy music in the car all the way there. He he. 

Last p-day, my bae, Hermana Cuevas taught us how to make arroz con leche :) she is the cutest person ever. She was having all the American sisters teach her all the English slang and idioms. Haha, "bae" is one of them. 

Hermana Cuevas got transferred to someone in Kansas which was so sad. We had to say goodbye to her Thursday morning :( 

Afterwards, Sister Hansen and I took all the new missionaries that came in (29!) through the VC in the morning before they met their new companions. It was so fun. 

Also with transfers, we got a sister from Tonga that is serving in the VC and that lives in the Willis house with us :) Sister Hafoka. I told her I was on Tonga last summer and her face was priceless. Haha. Here's us at the temple lot across the street from the VC. Ps. She has the prettiest hair in the world. I told her she can't wear her hair in a bun anymore after I saw it down. She just laughed. Haha. It is seriously so long though. 

Poor sis hurt her knee the other day in p-day sports so we made her roll around in this all day. Haha. We got to act out one of the scenes in God's Plan for His Family with her as the grandma. Feat. Sis. Helmbold as grandpa. Hahahah

The Wednesday before transfers they have a departure breakfast for all the sisters that are going home that were serving in the VC and the Liberty Jail, which means we had to say goodbye to Sister K. Hansen. 

She is seriously amazing. She gave me so much perspective and motivation to be diligent on the mission. She has a testimony like none other.   Here are all the sisters from the breakfast :)

Miracle moment: we had a lesson with our investigator on Friday and wow. So many miracles I could tell you about in that short amount of time. But, his sweet mom finally agreed to sit in on the lesson! The lesson was the best we've ever taught. The Spirit was so strong and they were both so focused (which is abnormal) it was a miracle. We taught the Restoration to them and invited her to read the Book of Mormon.    Another miracle.. Normally, there are like 10 people over at their house and it's always madness and so just having it be them two was amazing. No joke, as soon as we said the "Amen" to the closing prayer, the door opened and the rest of the family came home from the pool.  #tendermercies

They also invited us to their Civil War reenactment on Saturday which was soo fun!

Kyle was so happy that we came. Haha he showed us everything in the little "village" including the tent he slept in the other night...

He said they didn't smile back in Civil War times so he wouldn't smile for any of our pictures. Haha. He came to church on Sunday with his beard shaved off! And walked in with the biggest smile ever. It was the cutest thing. He was so happy to be at church. It was the best. Please pray for Kyle and his mom, Candi. They are so amazing and it has been such a blessing to witness all the miracles that have happened in the last two months. We are hoping to put Kyle on date to get baptized later this month! :)

We "introduced" (we can't call it hazing... He he. Jk. It really wasn't) the new Willis sisters to the Willis dungeon. Aka our sketchy basement that we get to hang out in during tornados :)

That awkward moment when Jehovah's Witnesses leave this on the door of the house that 8 Mormon missionaries live at. Haha.

Oh and also!

I caught a firefly this week finally! Except the picture doesn't show it :(

Everyone.. I love you all. So much. I love hearing from you. And wow. I hope EVERYONE is having fun in Hawaii! Haha. I mean... Missouri's got the humidity, the heat, and all the Polynesian people though :) just missing the ocean I guess. Haha. 

I hope you are all having a great last few weeks of summer :)

Thanks so much for the support and all you do for me. Remember to pray everyday this week and read the scriptures. You really will begin to notice a difference in your life as you make those a priority. :)

Here's some fun things to check out this week:

Love,
Sister Morgan

2 months!

Hello family,

So many thoughts for you all this week. 

I just wish I could share with you everything that goes on here each week along with everything that I have learned, but it really would be impossible to do that. 

But, fortunately, every single one of us has the opportunity to learn just as much through the Spirit. We can each learn from our Father in Heaven what we are supposed to be doing in our lives as individuals. What a blessing that is. I can't even begin to describe how incredible this Gospel is. 

I am so looking forward to this Thursday when we have the opportunity to teach the Young Women in mutual about missionary work. It is something that stuck out to me after hearing their testimonies after they went on a church history tour. I may have already said this a couple of weeks ago, but the youth of the church are incredible.  Just reading emails from my sissies about efy, girls camp, and missionary experiences that they've had truly shows that better than me just saying that does. And hearing the testimonies of the youth was and always is life changing. I want every youth and every single person on the earth to have that fire. That fire for the truth and the Gospel. It changes lives. 

As my companion and I have been studying for this mutual activity, which is so important to us, we both have thought that it would be so important to just teach them principles in the Gospel before we talk about how to share it, etc. So that is what we are doing. I am so stoked. 

We are going to teach them about the Plan of Salvation and how necessary it is in everyone's life and how much we NEED our Savior. God's whole plan for us on this earth is centered around Jesus Christ. We need Him. 

Ah! I am getting so pumped just typing this out. Again, it is truly impossible to tell you all everything right now but I just want each and every one of you to know that your Heavenly Father has a plan for you. You are loved. And you are here to find that plan that he has for you. I was reading in Helaman the other day and these two verses really stuck out to me.

 Helaman 14:30-31.  (Go look them up)

We are all given agency. As I was reading that, I was really understanding how important agency really is. And how that shows how much Heavenly Father loves us. He wants us to be happy so deeply that He is willing to let us choose where we want to be after this life. Obviously, He wants us to return to live with Him and have eternal life, but He and our Savior want us to want that as well. How incredible is that!? 

Use that agency. Choose to do good. Choose to learn more of your Savior. Choose to accept Him and follow Him. Make the decisions and choices necessary in this life that you will be able to have the opportunity to hear Him praise you for your life here when that time comes. 

I love you all so much. I can't even begin to say how much. 

So anyways, I hope you enjoyed that little sneak peek into my thoughts. Haha. This gospel is just so so amazing. 

And if you care to keep reading about how my week went... Ha

The trailer park neighborhood seems to be our favorite because we somehow happen to be here everyday. Haha. It really is great though. And this is a cute little puppy we were so tempted to take home with us the other day. It was so crazy and cute. I fell in love. 

We are in the process of teaching a few people in that neighborhood right now. It is so awesome to witness miracles in other people's lives. Getting to see people change because of this gospel is such a blessing. 

We had a a mid-training conference meeting this week (apparently normally it's a conference call). They are having some people train new missionaries this transfer that have only been out 6 weeks because President is trying to increase the experience of the mission quickly because these next three transfers, we are losing 90 missionaries and getting 90 new missionaries. The meeting was so so good. I honestly can't remember too much what the training was about, but the Spirit was so strong. We learned so much about the Savior's life and His Atonement.

Oh, and yes, transfers are this week. So this next transfer, my p-day will be on Tuesday!

Saturday, we helped out with a baptism of two kids in our ward. It was so fun. And exciting to see their excitement. I wish I remembered my baptism more! Haha

Today, Willis House got together and had breakfast together. Sister Helmbold and Marshall made us all French toast. I love these girls so much. It has been such a tender mercy to be able to live with all of them this transfer and get to know them so well. VC life is the best. 

My mind is running blank on what else happened this week... Haha. The weeks go by way too fast here. Can you believe I've already been out 2 months!?!  Crazy stuff. 

Anyways, I hope you all have a fantastic week. Don't forget to read your scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, and pray every single day :) I'm being serious though, do it. 

Jesus Christ, our Savior, lives. 

WATCH THIS VIDEO. It plays on loop at the VC at one of the displays. So sometimes I find the song make an appearance in my dreams ... And oops.. Sometimes in my prayers. Haha but it is truly amazing. As you watch it, think of your Savior and think of everything He has done for you and what He continues to do for you each and every day. 

He Lives - Celebrate Easter Because Jesus Christ Lives

Love,
Sister Morgan

Celebrity Sightings in Independence

Hello All!

His week has been complete craziness. But as usual, miracles all around. Here's. Few fun things that happened this week:

Monday night, we went my visited the sweetest little old lady in our ward. Her name is Sister Moyer. She is 93 years old and the chorister for Sacrament meeting. She is from Japan and wow. Just so precious. Her husband passed away 8 years ago. She always talks about him and the advice he would give her.  This week's advice was:

If someone says something that offends you or says something that isn't true about you, as long as you, in your heart, know it isn't true, don't worry about it. 

I love it. So simple. 

She is seriously the cutest thing. 

We went to Cracker Barrel with the Andrees in our ward. Wow. Talk about memories from home. I'm gonna miss Labor Day in St George with you all! They had just gotten back from Vegas last weekend too. So literally, the whole dinner we were talking about home while eating at one of my favorite restaurants. Haha but they are the cutest couple. She is the sweetest, always making sure we get fed every night. Haha

Ah! Now to the celebrities. But first, just gonna say again how much I love the VC. It is an absolutely incredible blessing to be able to bear your testimony to so many people each and every day. (Especially when outside of the VC, no one cares to listen😬 haha). But seriously, I want to challenge each of you to bear your testimony out loud each day this week. Preferable to someone, but even just out loud by yourself. You learn so much about what you know when you do that. Even simple testimonies are powerful.   So celebrity sightings have been:

 - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.  Well, that was last week but unfortunately he didn't come to the VC. He went to Liberty Jail with his family. EVERYONE go look up the "Lessons Learned at Liberty Jail" talk by him. Life. Changing. 

- Brad Wilcox. 

- John Bytheway! He came in yesterday with his tour group. SO COOL! His son was in my tour group! 

We got invited to this Samoan family reunion on Friday for dinner. It was the coolest. So there are about 3 Fuimaono families in each ears out here. And all of them are related plus every other Samoan out here. And they are the best. Story is that one of their ancestors joined the church back in Samoa and read in Doctrine and Covenants about Independence being Zion and moved here with his family generations ago. Anyways, they do a reunion every year for their Fam here, California, and Hawaii, and this year was missouri's year to host. It was so fun! They rented out the stake center because there were like 400 people here. It was filled with good Polynesian food, dancing, and just fun. Reminded me so much of Tonga. I miss the Pacific Islands but these people make me so happy. They know the gospel and they love family. Perfection. 

We got to clean Sandy's ceilings this week as well! Who knew ceilings needed to be cleaned. Haha

We also learned how to garden a bit with another member. Haha so much randomness this week. 

Our investigator, Kyle, is progressing so much. He is really coming to know for himself this gospel. We had a great lesson with him on Saturday and he came to church on Sunday... And now onto the church craziness... Try to follow along if possible. Haha

So ward council at 1. Church at 2, in which I had to give a talk in. While we were walking into the chapel, we were reminded that we are giving a short talk in primary. And... At the same time as that talk, we have to make an announcement in young women's for the mutual activity we are doing (I'll talk more about that in a bit. I'm so excited for it) anyways, gave the talk on D&C 135:3 and the Book of Mormon and how important and necessary the doctrine inside that book is for us. Then, we head over to primary and the teacher gets up and says that we are teaching the whole primary for 20 minutes.. 😳 ha ha. Good thing we prepared. Haha. Anyways after running around the chapel looking for the elders and trying to keep these two children in class, we made it to young women's and found out the elders were teaching primary! Phew. Haha. Craziness. But it was so great. We got about 20 minutes of peace in Relief Society and it was great. 

Monday's are always great. Filled with car washing and grocery shopping with our favorite companionship. My comp discovered the panorama feature on the iPad. Haha

Also gotta love friends coming to visit at the VC and the indescribable level of awkwardness that taking pictures with boys is. Haha #missionarylife 

And when this happens at the VC 😂😂 Elder Wagner. Haha

I love you all so much. Remember that your Heavenly Father cares so much about you. I am so grateful to have this gospel on my life. It has changed me. I cant imagine living this life without the knowledge of eternal families. I am so grateful for temples and the opportunity we have to be sealed with our families there forever. What a blessing.  The church is true. 

Love,
Sister Morgan

I'm practically a Missourian now!

Hey Family and friends!

Here's to another great week in the mission!  Have I mentioned before that Heavenly Father answers prayers? No? Oh, cause He totally does. Haha, that is seriously the story of my life and every missionary's life. So if you remember one thing about my mission, remember that I know that God answers our prayers. In such a personal way that really shows how much He loves Each and every one of us.

So this week,

Sister Hansen and I had a great p-day last Monday. If you know me at all, you will know how much I really enjoyed this:

LOVE thrift stores shopping. and not gonna lie, Missouri's got some good spots! (Note the section we're shopping in. Haha it made me laugh). Also, grandma skirts are my new favorite.

Also, the Missouri summer heat has finally hit. Like wow. You walk outside and after two seconds, you are drenched. Humidity is not my favorite thing, but we're getting used to it, slowly. Haha. Last week, we had to teach two lessons outside on the hottest day of the week because we were teaching two different guys and weren't allowed to go inside. (Because there was no other woman home). Sister Hansen and I jinxed each other after the lesson and said how we could feel sweat dripping down our back. Hahaha. That trailer park neighborhood is my favorite. The people are so nice (well mostly.. Ha). I love it though. When you're teaching someone about the gospel and you see them start to get excited about the message we are sharing with them, you forget everything else. 

Wednesday we had District Meeting and Lunch. It was so fun! We went to a place called Courthouse Exchange (mom, you'll be happy to hear that I got chicken friend steak and asked whether or not they made it there or not 😉 they did. And it was yummy, we'll go one day). The restaurant is in Independence Square, which is the CUTEST downtown ever. I'm obsessed with cute little downtowns. We are going to the old fashioned soda fountain shop today ☺️ 

My district is seriously the best. 

So funny that all 4 of us from Building 28 at BYU that got called to Independence ended up serving in the VC together AND all 4 of us live in the Willis house together AND sister Helmbold and I (who were in the same ward) are in a district together and sister Hixon and Moss (who were in the other ward together) are in the other district in our zone. Hahaha still blowing my mind as you can tell haha.

Anyways, my district rocks. They are so so fun and such hard workers. I love it. 

Friday and Saturday we had exchanges, I stayed in our area with Sister Sneed. She is the cutest. I love her.

And we didn't even plan the twinning that happened ☺️ 

Sunday. My favorite day of the week. I was supposed to give a talk on Sunday, which I was super nervous for. Cause the bishop here assigns your talk on ONE verse of scripture. Which I actually really like a lot, but wow. Definitely hard as the speaker. Haha. Anyways, we walk into church and bishop walks up to me and said they've had a change in plans and asked if I could speak next Sunday. 🙌🙌❤️ definitely an answer to a prayer, because I was really just wanting to enjoy sacrament meeting and knew that'd be a lot harder with the stress of having to talk. Buttttt... Now I gotta give it next week. 

Anyways, the reason he moved me was because the youth in the stake just got back from youth conference. Which, ps, is like the dream youth conference. They drove all the way out to Palmyra, NY and went to the Sacred Grove and hit all the Church History sites on the way back. SOOO PERFECT. 

Bishop wanted them to get the opportunity to bear their testimonies. Wow. They are amazing. They are such amazing, powerful, and strong youth. It just happened to be that I brought my journal from when I went on that trip with me to church (because my talk was on Joseph Smith when he was at Carthage). I got the chance to go back and look at some of the stuff I had written. I was so close to losing it after every testimony. The spirit was so strong and it reminded me so much of the feelings I had when I got back from that trip. It changed my life. That is why I am out here on a mission. Ah, I definitely needed that sacrament meeting though. It was perfect. 

Now to the stuff you all really care about. He he. 

COMPANIONSHIP STUDIES!

: 

Ha. Or more like have fun at the elementary school play ground. Haha

Also, if you wanna make a missionary's day in your ward: have your adorable children who they adore (and low key want to steal) draw them a picture of sister missionaries 😍

(one of the) VC Miracle(s) of the week: ok, well two. But they're similar. 

This family that was moving across the country came in. They weren't members and we asked the, why they came on and we found out their truck broke down right in front of the VC. Hmmm, seem like a coincidence? We got to teach them so much and took them through a few presentations. They loved it. And I love VC miracles. 

Other one: this guy came in who has apparently been investigating churches for a couple years and told us how he always happened to run into the elders randomly but never really thought anything of it. He walked into the VC. he didn't even know what church owned the building! He was like, well, I guess this does mean something. Haha. Miracles all day, everyday here. 

One last highlight: I got to talk on the phone with one of the investigators I met in the MTC with Sister Jones. He is so awesome. He's catholic and has been investigating the church for like 2 years now. Heavenly Father has been with him every single step of the way. He is so prepared. AND he went to. Hutch yesterday!

I love you all so much. I love hearing about everyone's weeks. Thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. I think about you all constantly. 

D&C 6:36 "Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

Have a great week everyone! Don't forget to pray and study the scriptures. They are the best cheat sheets we have to this navigating this life. 

Sister Morgan

Ps. So I said I'm practically a Missourian now... Except for the fact that I still don't know why it's called the Show Me State..  So if any of you privileged souls with Google would do me a favor and do a quick search... I'll, well, you'll get my very first email next Monday! Haha

Miracles in the MIM!

Hello Fam and friends! 

How are you all doing!? Thanks so much for all the updates :) I love hearing how things are going back home in the "real world". Keep 'em comin :)

But as for me... "And my house, we will serve the Lord" 

Ha. Sorry, #missionarylife though. Just couldn't help it. (smh at myself) We shared that scripture with a Mormon message to the member family that we ate dinner with last night. Go look up "Choose this Day" Mormon message. It's awesome. 

Anyways, a few things about this past week:

But first, a short story that will hopefully make you laugh. If any of you remember the video I made for my Fam before I left, you'll remember this little quote from cute little lynds when asked about how being a big sis was..

"I love it!"  "Already?"  "Yep!"

That has been the motto for me these past couple weeks. People ask me how the mission had been and my response it.. I love it! Already! 

If you haven't seen the vid. Go watch it. Just the part of baby lynds though. Cause she was adorbs and I know she was low key waiting for a shoutout ;) I gotcha sis. 

Last Monday, we got stuck in our basement because of a tornado warning. Hahah it was so freaky. Sister Helmbold and I snuck out of the basement to look at the sky for a few seconds and the sky does turn green! Haha, we were laughing so hard because the sirens went off, and all of grab as much food as we could (which included ice cream that ended up melting ha) and ran downstairs and then watched the Joseph smith movie. Haha. #firstworldprobs haha but yes, we are safe :)

Oh yeah, besides ice cream we brought all the stuff downstairs to make musebi.. Some Polynesian lunch that sister Hansen taught us how to make. :)

Last Monday, we went to the Community of Christ temple and did a tour and went to their daily prayer service. In their museum, they have the original door to Liberty Jail and the original Joseph smith and Emma smith paintings ❤️

And now, the moment you/I've all been waiting for... MIRACLE TUESDAY!

So remember last week how I said that our Heavenly Father answers all of our prayers? And how we were already seeing miracles from the mission fast? Yeah, I really had no clue what I was talking about. And still probably don't. Those statements are both still 100% true but on Tuesday, I experienced them like no other. 

I was having a little bit of a hard time with the whole mission thing and just still getting used to the schedule etc. etc. and that morning, in my prayer, I just poured my heart out to Heavenly Father and I asked for three specific things.. To see a miracle related to missionary work, to find someone who really wanted to learn about the gospel, and to get some personal motivation for myself for this work. And wow.  He literally handed both of things to me within 5 hours. One, being within 10 minutes of me and my comp walking out the door. 

Wow. Miracle #1 of {so many}

A member called us as we were leaving our house and said she was on her way to the VC with a nonmember following behind her and she was gonna take him through God's Plan and it'd be a good idea for us to be there. She is golden. A cute little old lady from Finland. I'm literally obsessed with her. She served a mission when she was younger which would explain why she is the perfect member missionary in our ward. But we got there just as the presentation finished and got to teach her friend all about eternal families and families here on earth and how the Book of Mormon and this gospel blesses families so much. And it was just perfect. And really what I needed. 

Miracle #2

Had an amazing lesson with our investigator. We read 1 Nephi 1 with him and it was just amazing. It was the first time we felt that he was really able to get that personal need for reading the Book of Mormon which was awesome.

And THEN Miracle #3 (.2 minutes after that)

We were leaving pour investigator's house and we stopped to talk with this guy. And he was super nice but said he was heading out for work so just told him to have a good day and left. (Still on a high from how our lesson went) and then! He pulled up next to us in s truck and said "did I not seem interested enough to hear about what you two had to say?" Like WHAT. #missionarydreams right there. Anyways, he got our number and said he would text us (like ok, cue The Best Two Years mistake right here) BUT, he texted us like 15 minutes later and set up an appointment. 

So yeah, miracles happen and prayers are answered. 

The joy that we saw on our investigator's face when we were in the lesson. THAT is why I am here. THAT is my motivation for this work. Seeing how this gospel can bless others is amazing.  

So yes, Tuesday was amazing. All that happened before we even made it to the VC. And every second at the VC is literally a miracle. So yes, Miracle Tuesday was amazing. And yes, we celebrated with ice cream :)

Other amazing moment of the week:

HOTEL TRACTING!! 

Hahaha ok fine, so not really. But, we received a referral from Salt Lake for this address on Thursday. They wanted a free bible. So we had been meaning to go over there since then but just barely found the time to go last night. We are looking and looking for the address and we were so confused because there were no houses on this road. Just like businesses. So we started looking at their addresses and we found it! The address was a hotel address! Haha like what! So we were like, well, let's go in anyways. Who knows, maybe the person inside will be wanting to learn about the gospel. We said a prayer before we went in that we'd be able to help whoever we came in contact with in the hotel. Turns out, it was like we thought, the hotel manager was trying to get free copies of the bible for their hotel, which, isn't really our purpose in giving out free bibles. Haha anyways, we kept talking to the front desk lady and got to share with her the plan of salvation, gave her a Book of Mormon, and will hopefully be meeting with her soon. She had never heard of anything like it and seemed interested to learn more about it. 

Also, we found out, she normally doesn't work the evening shift.. Aka would not have been there the other evenings we had meant to go contact the referral. #miracles

Favorite quote from district meeting, "the highs of the high outweigh the lengths of the lows" so true. There are so many highs and lows but it has been amazing to see how the highs really cover up all the low moments and you forget all the people that have yelled at you or the feelings of inadequacy. This gospel is true. The Book of Mormon is true and it changes lives. Read it. As Joseph Smith said so well, "a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts than by any other book". 

Here's a pic of finding people in the rain! More Miracle stories there too but y'all are probably sick of hearing from me. 

I love you all, I promise that you can find joy in every day and moment of life through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because of what He has already done for us. 

 

Sister Morgan

Fireworks, Crazies, and Tornados. Oh My! Hahah

Hello from the MIM!

This past week flew by! Like its so crazy that it's already p-day again! 

Well, I'll go ahead and start with 4th of July. The 4th was so fun. We were on shift at the VC in the morning which was an answer to a prayer in and of itself. (We got asked to switch shifts the night before) I knew that Sister Ewell's youth group from Vegas would be there that morning and was so bummed I wouldn't get to see them. But, turns out, Heavenly Father is not only aware of our needs in this life, but also our wants and desires. I am constantly in awe at the love that He has for each and every one of us. And allowing others to see that love and feel of that love is such an amazing thing to be apart of.  

I took a try of the 55 youth on a tour of the whole VC. I loved it. I love seeing where I was 5 years ago and hearing how their trip has already changed their life like it did mine. I feel such a connection with them because if it weren't for those three weeks, I would not be on a mission right now. Walking where the prophet walked and learning about the saints in the area is so inspiring and it makes me want to always be striving to be better. It's so cool to be apart of the spirit teaching during tours. Every. Single. History tour is completely different that I take. And obviously not because the history changes each time but because the people that come through change and our Heavenly Father needs each one of them to learn different things. The Spirit is vital in the tours on helping them understand what they are to learn and take away from their visit. My favorite part about the VC life :) I learn something new every single tour. It's the best. 

Here's most of the VC sisters outside of the VC (feat. Community of Christ temple in the reflection. Haha)

So patriotic. It was presh. After our shift, we went to dinner at a member's house and then helped out at the big 4th of July event they had at the city. Our church and the Community of Christ church got together and had a show at their auditorium and then we provided the fireworks outside of the VC at the pageant grounds (also ps, heard a rumor that the stake pres is gonna try to start up the pageant next summer. Fingers crossed) so anyways, the church asked us to usher for the show at their auditorium to kind of put us out in the public so people could see the missionaries. It was fun! The Brett Family (?? Idk. Apparently they're a big deal) from Branson came to do a show. They're super nice! From McKinney, TX originally mom!

then, we got to go to sleep listening to the fireworks. Haha. Mission rules still apply on the fourth we found out mom. Haha, so in our homes by 9:30 ha. But it was such a great holiday. 

Next to the crazies, well not crazies... It just worked better for the title. Just interesting people. There's lots of them. But we love all of them. Haha. I'll write more about them later if I have time. Ha

And yes, we had our first tornado on Wednesday! And yes, I was freaking out. But hey, we were safe! We were teaching our beloved Rick in the library. He is a new member and wow. Such a rockstar. He has had such a hard life and still is going through a ton of stuff. But he told us that the only thing that has brought him joy in this life has been getting baptized and talking to other people about God. I know right!? He's amazing. We had him team teach gospel principles with the elders on Sunday and it was amazing. He lives with another guy that just got baptized as well, Randy, and they are both awesome. Randy bore his testimony during sacrament and he knows so much. I love it. 

But anyways, we were teaching Rick at the library when the tornado warning went off so they had us go into the bathroom for shelter for an hourish. And Rick just walked home!! 😱 Crazy! The tornado went like 2 blocks north of where we were. 

What we have to do when tornado warning happen : find shelter in members' basements or stores and text the mission pres where we are and when the warning is over. Haha but we made it out alive! 🙌 haha sister Hansen and I were freaking out. Haha. Well let's be honest, mostly I was. Haha the people that worked at the library were just laughing at us. Lol

Next... Jason! He is our new investigator as of this week. He rocks. He was a referral from a member in the area. The people here are so humble. They live out of trailer homes and just love life through all the trials they have went through. I can't tell you how many people have told us that they've lost their jobs recently. It's so sad. But all (well most. Haha) love God. Jason definitely does. It was so cool to teach him the Restoration. He takes everything that is said to heart and really thinks about it. Which is awesome! We are teaching him again tonight. 

Wednesday, we had a mission wide fast to get some inspiration on what we needed to do as a mission. We have already seen so many miracles from it. The Lord is aware of everyone! And especially those who are searching for the truth. 

Funny Sunday moment: oh my gosh. I'm dying thinking about this. The cutest little boy got up to the podium to bear his testimony. We could only see his little eyeballs he was so small. And he gets up and starts talking about missionaries. #dyingalready and he had just barely learned a new word "inspire" I guess. Because he used it like 30 times in his testimony. No joke. He talked for a good 8 minutes. Just repeating himself like 5 times. But hey! I know the feeling of learning a new word and overusing it! Hahah but every time he said inspire, he would say "expire".  It was the cutest thing. He talked about how the missionaries "expire" everyone to do better. And how they "expire" people to learn about the Book of Mormon and Joseph smith. Etc. etc. etc. haha and then he said at the end thank you to all the missionaries for "expiring" him. Like oh myyy. #tender. So yes, church was awesome. Don't forget to be expired daily. 😂😂

Things for you all to do to be expired:

-Watch The Hope of God's Light. My favorite Mormon message. 

-Read (well the Book of Mormon) but chapter 8 in the teachings of spencer w. kimball book. It definitely expired me this morning. Also, fun fact, kimball served his mission in independence! ❤️

Also, we heard about the sad news of President Packer the the other day. I went back and read his talk from October 2014. It is so good. We are praying for his family and the rest of the quorum of the 12 apostles as they are now going through the loss of two apostles. They are both already greatly missed. 

I love you all so much and think and pray about you all the time! 

Sister Morgan