January 21, 2014:
Subject: Miracle Moments!!
Hello there my dear family! This week has been really great! We've seen some really amazing miracles this week! They maybe little ones but a miracle is a miracle.
Everything here in Kennewick is going great! I'm loving it and I love serving with Sister Brand. She helps me more than she knows.
Monday night we were going to try a potential investigator Jeff. We knocked on the door and his wife Linda answered. In the past, there were missionaries that said that she wasn't very nice to them. As we talked with Linda she let us into her house and invited us to sit down. We sat and talked with her for about 30 mins all about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless her and why our Father in Heaven would want us to have it. As we talked you could see her softening. It was so amazing! We left her with a Book of Mormon and asked if we could come back. She told us we could in a week. She seemed interested but still hesitant. She said that she is a more a scientific thinker and that she would need some time to read.
Monday night we were going to try a potential investigator Jeff. We knocked on the door and his wife Linda answered. In the past, there were missionaries that said that she wasn't very nice to them. As we talked with Linda she let us into her house and invited us to sit down. We sat and talked with her for about 30 mins all about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless her and why our Father in Heaven would want us to have it. As we talked you could see her softening. It was so amazing! We left her with a Book of Mormon and asked if we could come back. She told us we could in a week. She seemed interested but still hesitant. She said that she is a more a scientific thinker and that she would need some time to read.
We were trying some less-active during the day on Tuesday and everyone we were trying wasn't home. We decided to try one more. Larry Menter. He hasn't been active in the church since he was young. We pulled up to his house, said a prayer and started walking up to the drive-way. He was standing outside smoking. We asked him if he was Brother Menter. He said he wasn't Brother Menter but he was Larry. haha at the beginning of us talking to him he seems to have this big wall up. But as we kept talking and finding more out about him, he lightened up. We asked him if he still reads the Book of Mormon and he hasn't been. We shared with him how it can and will bless him as he reads it. We told him that with the Book of Mormon comes prayer and that through prayer peace and direction does come. After we bore testimony, he asked us when we would be back and asked if we would come back in a coulple of weeks to follow up with him on his reading. It was amazing!!!
So many little things happened like that this week. One day we told the Lord that we were going to focus all on finding and that we would return and report to him how it went. As we did that we had a really amazing experience. We decided to go up into a part of the area that we are hardly in to go find a less-active women. When we couldn't find the street we decided to just go tracting. The last door that we knocked on, this girl answered and she was just a little rough around the edges. She told us she wasn't interested in what we had to share. We told her that we would love to leave her with our card so that we she meets someone that needs some help that she could give them our card. She stopped and said " Ya know, I have someone for you. Get out your paper and pen and write this number down. Her name is Kelly Dawson." Sister Brand and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe it. We both know Kelly Dawson from when we each served in West Richland. She is a less active women whose family has struggled for a really long time but I guess it has gotten even worse. We told her that we know the missionaries in that area and said that we would give them a call and let them know. We called the sisters and told them all about it. They told us they had just been talking about her with a member of the bishopric the night before. It was amazing!!
We were able to find two new investigators this week!! We were so excited!! On Friday night we went to go and see if Ruby was home. Ruby was a referral that we got when we were first here and we haven't been able to get in with her because she is always gone. Well we pulled up to her house and her car was finally there. We were going to go until we talked to Ruby. After knocked a two times she came to the door and let us in. We got to teach her all about Joseph Smith and the prophets. That lesson has got to be one of the best if not the best lesson I've ever been in!! The spirit was so strong!! She said that we could come back and teach her in a couple of weeks. At the end of the lesson I just felt like I needed to tell her that she is going to hear a lot of things about Mormons but that if she will just take it back to God and go to him, she will find the truth about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I felt the spirit work through me as I said that. It was powerful!!
I love my mission. I love everything about it. I know that is was apart of Gods plan for me to be here. To experience all of these amazing things and to grow more than I could ever imagine. I love it with all my heart.
I love you all! Have such a great week. I know that it really is by faith that so many miracles happen and that the Lord can give us those miracles. I know that this church is true and that Christ stands at the head of it.
Love you all!
Sister Mecham
January 13, 2014:
Subject: Success!!!
Hello there my dear family! This week has been really great! We've seen some really amazing miracles this week! They maybe little ones but a miracle is a miracle.
Everything here in Kennewick is going great! I'm loving it and I love serving with Sister Brand. She helps me more than she knows.
Monday night we were going to try a potential investigator Jeff. We knocked on the door and his wife Linda answered. In the past, there were missionaries that said that she wasn't very nice to them. As we talked with Linda she let us into her house and invited us to sit down. We sat and talked with her for about 30 mins all about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless her and why our Father in Heaven would want us to have it. As we talked you could see her softening. It was so amazing! We left her with a Book of Mormon and asked if we could come back. She told us we could in a week. She seemed interested but still hesitant. She said that she is a more a scientific thinker and that she would need some time to read.
Monday night we were going to try a potential investigator Jeff. We knocked on the door and his wife Linda answered. In the past, there were missionaries that said that she wasn't very nice to them. As we talked with Linda she let us into her house and invited us to sit down. We sat and talked with her for about 30 mins all about the Book of Mormon and how it can bless her and why our Father in Heaven would want us to have it. As we talked you could see her softening. It was so amazing! We left her with a Book of Mormon and asked if we could come back. She told us we could in a week. She seemed interested but still hesitant. She said that she is a more a scientific thinker and that she would need some time to read.
We were trying some less-active during the day on Tuesday and everyone we were trying wasn't home. We decided to try one more. Larry Menter. He hasn't been active in the church since he was young. We pulled up to his house, said a prayer and started walking up to the drive-way. He was standing outside smoking. We asked him if he was Brother Menter. He said he wasn't Brother Menter but he was Larry. haha at the beginning of us talking to him he seems to have this big wall up. But as we kept talking and finding more out about him, he lightened up. We asked him if he still reads the Book of Mormon and he hasn't been. We shared with him how it can and will bless him as he reads it. We told him that with the Book of Mormon comes prayer and that through prayer peace and direction does come. After we bore testimony, he asked us when we would be back and asked if we would come back in a couple of weeks to follow up with him on his reading. It was amazing!!!
So many little things happened like that this week. One day we told the Lord that we were going to focus all on finding and that we would return and report to him how it went. As we did that we had a really amazing experience. We decided to go up into a part of the area that we are hardly in to go find a less-active women. When we couldn't find the street we decided to just go tracting. The last door that we knocked on, this girl answered and she was just a little rough around the edges. She told us she wasn't interested in what we had to share. We told her that we would love to leave her with our card so that we she meets someone that needs some help that she could give them our card. She stopped and said " Ya know, I have someone for you. Get out your paper and pen and write this number down. Her name is Kelly Dawson." Sister Brand and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe it. We both know Kelly Dawson from when we each served in West Richland. She is a less active women whose family has struggled for a really long time but I guess it has gotten even worse. We told her that we know the missionaries in that area and said that we would give them a call and let them know. We called the sisters and told them all about it. They told us they had just been talking about her with a member of the bishopric the night before. It was amazing!!
We were able to find two new investigators this week!! We were so excited!! On Friday night we went to go and see if Ruby was home. Ruby was a referral that we got when we were first here and we haven't been able to get in with her because she is always gone. Well we pulled up to her house and her car was finally there. We were going to go until we talked to Ruby. After knocked a two times she came to the door and let us in. We got to teach her all about Joseph Smith and the prophets. That lesson has got to be one of the best if not the best lesson I've ever been in!! The spirit was so strong!! She said that we could come back and teach her in a couple of weeks. At the end of the lesson I just felt like I needed to tell her that she is going to hear a lot of things about Mormons but that if she will just take it back to God and go to him, she will find the truth about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. I felt the spirit work through me as I said that. It was powerful!!
I love my mission. I love everything about it. I know that is was apart of Gods plan for me to be here. To experience all of these amazing things and to grow more than I could ever imagine. I love it with all my heart.
I love you all! Have such a great week. I know that it really is by faith that so many miracles happen and that the Lord can give us those miracles. I know that this church is true and that Christ stands at the head of it.
Love you all!
Sister Mecham
January 06, 2014:
Subject: Happy 2014!
When I write the date, it still throws me off.. I just can't get used to it! haha
This week has been a great week!! I feel like each day and each week I learn so much that it is hard to remember everything. We were able teach a little bit more this week. We are still trying to find new investigators and trying to be in the right place at the right time. Something that I am trying to learn is that success comes through inviting and we know that we are successful when we feel the spirit working through us. Not necessarily by the outcome but by what leads you do to what the savior would do. It is all about learning how to trust in the Lord more than ourselves, yet still have confidence that you can do the things that the Lord has commanded. It's about balance. I think it is a lot easier sad than done.
I think that I have told you about the 4 essential truths... 1. Jesus Christ is our Savior and redeemer. 2. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. 3. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. 4.Priesthood. So we have been focusing a lot on teaching these 4 essential truths. We had a really cool experience teaching about the Book of Mormon on Thursday night. We were teaching Brenda. We met Brenda while we were tracting. She is interested in learning more about the Book of Mormon when we talked to her the first time so when we went back we followed up with her. The spirit was just really strong as we were teaching her and asking inspired questions. More than anything, I love asking questions that get them talking about what they are feeling. When Elder Ballard came to the mission he said "In conversion or reactivation, it is always what they feel rather than what they know." I know that they has been true for me. Feeling first and then that feeling leads to knowing and the pattern just keeps on going! Brenda is 22 so we will either have to hand her over to the Hermana's or to the YSA Elders.. fooey but that's okay.
We got to meet Colleen finally this week. We have a return appointment with her on Wednesday! :)
Also, Did I tell you about Ron and Rachel? Ron and Rachel were found by the sisters that were here before us. They have a crazy work schedule and so teaching them has been hard. We got to finally meet them and teach them right after Christmas! It was really fantastic! We taught them about the Book of Mormon! Ron has been the reading it for a really long time and knows so much about it! When we were teaching he was even helping us explain things as we were going. Rachel said that she has narrowed it down to 3 religions... Mormons, Roman Catholics, and Greek Orthodox. haha She said everything else is just doesn't seem right. Because of their work schedule, getting a return appointment is hard but we are going back this week. They really want to come to church! Sister Brand and I are speaking in church on Sunday so maybe that will get them to come. Something that I learned in teaching them is, that when people have questions, we can't just have a lesson on answering questions. As we teach them their questions will be answered. It's amazing how much that makes a difference.
Well my dear family! There is so much more but those are the highlights for the week. We are also trying to improve the quality of our tracting approaches. Talking to people is what really makes me happy. There have been so many times where we are at a door and we can just feel the spirit so strong! It's frustrating when they reject it.
I was thinking about why this makes me so happy and really is because I am keeping my covenants. We had a lesson on this in one of the wards yesterday in Relief Society. It was by Sister Burtons talk this last September. She says in there "Are we joyfully keeping our covenants?" It reminds me of the story in Mosiah 18 after Alma teaches them all about baptism " they clapped their hands for joy and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." They shared this fantastic quote by Elder Holland:
"A covenant is a binding spiritual contract, a solemn promise to God our Father that we will love and think and act a certain way- the way of His son the Lord Jesus Christ. In return, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost promise us the full splendor of eternal life."
I just loved that so much!! When we simply really do our part, the Lord is bound to give us the blessings that he promises us! It helps me to be more motivated each day to do his work.
Well my dear family, I love you all! Have a great week this week! The church is true.
Love Sister Mecham
December 31. 2013:
Subject: Happy New Year!!
Hey there my dear family! It was so great to see you all last week! I can't believe that it was last week! It seems like just yesterday. I hope that the rest of the Christmas season was great for you all!
So I didn't get to tell you much on skype about what happened when we first got here. Sister Brand and I got here about 2 weeks ago. We started looking through the area book and trying to find people that we could go and see. The sisters that were here before us told me that there was this lady named Colleen that they wish they could go back and teach. Sister Brand and I decided to go for it! The teaching record didn't have an address on it so that meant we would be tracting the street out trying to find her. We parked our car and out we went. As we kept knocking and trying, lots of people weren't home. Our intention was to ask every person at their door if they knew Colleen and where she lived... That's kinda hard to do when no one answers their door. haha Finally a lady named Kris answered her door and we started talking with her. As we talked she told us that she wasn't really interested in the church. We asked her if she knew Colleen. She asked us to stay there and came back with Colleen's full name, address and phone number. It was amazing!!!! We told her thank you and all but ran to Colleens house! As we got closer I realized that we parked almost right in front of Colleens house.. hahaha. Colleen wasn't home but we got to talk to her son and ask him when a good time to see Colleen would be.
The next night all of our plans fell through and we didn't know where to go. We had spent forever trying to find this referral that we got but we couldn't find it anywhere. We decided to go and see Colleen. I wasn't too sure about it but Sister Brand was and I am so grateful for that! We went and knocked on Colleens door and her husband Walt answered the door. We had another sister with us that night which gave us the perfect opportunity to go in and talk with him. We shared with him the Joseph Smith experience and it was amazing and absolutely fantastic! Walt has been searching and needs the gospel! After we shared the first vision, it was quite. The spirit was so strong and it was amazing! One of my favorite things is baring testimony of Joseph Smith and of the love that God has for his children to bring back the gospel in it's fullness through a prophet. It is always one of the most spiritual moments for me. We had a return appointment for the next day but we needed to reschedule for after the first of the year. So later this week :)
The wards are so great and they were so inviting and accepting of us on Christmas! They wanted to make sure that we were well taken care of and had places to be. It was one of the best Christmas' that I have every had. I love it. I couldn't have asked for a better place to be. :)
I got to go to the Roberts sealing on Saturday. Oh my! Talk about a Merry Christmas! It was so amazing!!! Sister Meyers got to come down from Yakima to the sealing and we got to sit next to each other and watch them be sealed. It was one of the most tender and spiritual moments of my mission. I just thought, this is what it is all about. This is why we do what we do. We leave our homes and share the gospel so that other families can be together for ever. As the sealing ended, the Roberts stood there and hugged everyone. I hugged Sister Roberts and the girls and shook Brother Roberts hand and we just cried. They kept thanking us and I kept thanking them! It was just amazing!! I could not have asked for a better amazing experience where I got to witness the fruits of our labors and workings of the spirit. FANTASTIC!!
Just yesterday we had another great moment when we were trying some part member families. We stopped by the Webbs house. Sister Webb is a member but Brother Webb is not. Sister Webb is from Okinawa and had some cool amazing stories to tell us! We started talked to Brother Webb about his beliefs and boy howdy is he fighting the spirit!! He will be baptized one day. We are working on it :) The spirit was so strong while we were talking with him. It was another moment when I realized again the importance of teaching simply and truly only by the spirit.
Okay I promise this is the last story :) haha The Gentry's are another part-member family in one of the wards. We are teaching Brother Gentry. Brother Gentry has been taking the lessons for 3 years. His brother-in-law who is in our other ward told us on Christmas after shared a message with his family about Christ being our personal savior that that is what Brother Gentry needs to hear. So we went in and started sharing with him the message. The whole time he just kept telling us that he knows all this stuff. He really just doesn't know it in his heart yet. The Atonement is going
to be the biggest thing for him to come to understand and know. I just know that it will come over time. He invited him to pray and ask God to help him be forgiven through the Atonement. He said he would so now we just have to help him in realizing the fruits of repentance and change and the blessings and miracles that come from it.
Well my dear family, that has been my week. I love you all so very much. Thank you for all your support. I know that our Savior lives and that he does love us. I know that he is our advocate with the Father and that through him eternal life with our Father in Heaven is possible.
Happy New year!!
Love, Sister Mecham :)
