A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, February 25, 2013

Subject: Transfers??

Hello my dear family!!! Well this last Saturday was transfer calls...... and well... I'm leaving good old Vancouver and heading over to Richland in the Tri-Cities. I will be finishing training a sister over there. Her trainer right now has finished her mission and is heading home. I'm terrified and excited all at the same time!! I know the Lord calls us where he needs us. I'm going to miss this place like crazy. I have loved the people and the weather and BEAUTIFUL scenery! But I hear Richland is just as great. In different ways but just as great!

So we got a lot of really cool news this week! I'm sure you all have heard that Vancouver is going to be it's own mission!! Gosh when I found that out.. I might have cried. haha I cried because I was excited and because the Lord his TRULY hastening his work. The work in Vancouver is great but it's not totally booming. That means that the Lord knows there are people in this area that are waiting and waiting to just receive the truth. What this means for us missionaries in the mission is that our mission will be cut in half. They don't have any specific boundaries for us yet but the new mission won't be in effect until the end of June/ beginning of July. It is so cool!!!! I can't wait. So just because I am going over to Richland doesn't mean that I now am in the Kennewick Mission. I could be transferred back over here or I could stay there. The possibilities are endless!! So exciting!!

As for the work this week, we had another slow week. People canceling on us and not being available to meet. We did have something really neat happen on Saturday though. We had just met with our ward mission leader and remember that there were some people that we had forgotten to plan to go see. We had an appointment right after our meeting with a recent convert. I thought about calling and changing times or whatever we needed to do so that we could go and see these families. We thought about it and decided that we should keep our appointment with Judy and just leave a little bit earlier so we could do both. Well we got to Judy's house and she didn't answer. We took that as a sign that the Lord really did want us out visiting these families. We went to the first family. The Ostermillers. Turns out they are never home on the weekends and were just about ready to leave. We were able to share a message with them and get to know them better. Uhh hello! Haha if that is not the Lords hand than I don't know what is. haha The next family was pretty similar  They weren't as interested as the Ostermillers but the husband who is not a member is not home very often and only has 2 days a week off from driving truck..Friday's and Saturday's. The Lord is mindful of his children. I don't know what that did for either of those families but I know that spirit was there and I know that either way, It was a reminder to them that God loves them. Gosh how I love this work!! It is incredible!! I know the church is true. I know our Father lives. Love you all!! Have a great week!!!

Sister Mecham :)

I know that Sister Mecham would LOVE to hear from all of you!!

Washington Kennewick Mission

8202 West Quinault Ave

Suite D

Kennewick, WA

99336-1017

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, February 19, 2013

Subject: My dear family!

Hello there my dear family! We didn't email yesterday because of the holiday. We actually went down to the Dalles and had an epic game of nerf gun wars! It was so fun!! Needless to say, Sis. Neumayer and I are pretty sore today. haha This week has been a great one. The work is going great and our investigators are really progressing! We were able to go in exchanges this last week. There are 2 sets of Sisters in our Zone. The other sisters are in Goldendale which is about 40 mins outside the Dalles. Sister Neumayer went down to the Dalles and I stayed here in good old Vancouver. We had some really awesome experiences!! I'm telling you, the way to find is through members and through former investigators! I LOVE the area book!! There is wisdom in using the area book. We had been getting a little frustrated because we weren't find anyone... We just weren't looking in the right places. So while Sis. Neumayer was in Goldendale, Sis. Ellingson and I went and contacted a bunch of former investigators. We didn't find anyone that night but the really cool thing happened the next day after we had exchanged back. Sis. Neumayer and I went to go and visit a potential investigator who didn't answer the door, we realized that a former investigator lived on that same street. We had contacted them before but it was later at night and the Mom just wasn't really interested then. We decided to try again.. Well we knock on the door and this darling teenage girl answers and we tell her who we are and asked if we could take just 5 minutes of her time and share with her what we believe. She said we could and right there on her doorstep we taught her a simple version of the Restoration. It was so awesome! She answered questions, she shared little things that she thought were interesting. We asked her if she would like to learn more and she said yes! The Lord really is preparing people to receive the gospel. I knew that we were prompted to go to their home that day and talk to Doreen. We set up a return appointment for when she comes back from vacation. I'm so excited to teach her!!

 

Michael is doing great! He came to the second hour of church on Sunday which is a huge deal for him!! He is keeping commitments and progressing faster than I expected. The Lord really teaches us a lot. We think we understand something and we've got a handle on it. Our idea's may be good but there are not always in line with what our Heavenly Father has planned for us and for our investigators. It has been a really good experience for me to be able to teach Michael and the rest of the Bush family. I love them dearly! Transfer calls are this weekend and I could very well be transfered somewhere else. But good times are ahead!

 

Well my dear family, I love you all. I'm grateful for the things that the Lord is teaching me while I am out here on my mission. I know that this church is true and it is lead by a Prophet of God. Love you all!!

 

Love, Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, February 11, 2013

Subject: Well hey there!

So this week has been a great week! Something that I learned... We as a Zone have a goal to get 500 lessons by the end of the month. 500 lessons with members present or other lessons with investigators. Something that we can get caught up in here is less active or recent convert lessons and those could easily fill our day fast. Something that they really are focusing on is us making sure we are seeing our investigators and filling them as much as we can. These people are the elect. We need to be focusing on that. I was little worried and wanted to make sure that we could do our part of this. Each companionship needs to get 5 other lessons during the week. Now that doesn't seem like much and for some areas that's a piece of cake but for us.. it has been challenging. So with last Sunday being fast Sunday  one of the things that I fasted for was to be able to meet our goal of 5 other lessons... My dear friends and family, I want to bear testimony that the Lord hears our prayers!! He hears them and is aware of the strength we need to be able to get through anything. By Friday we already had 4 other lessons and would later meet our goal on Sunday. I am so grateful for the Lord. Although this may seem small, the Lord knows what is important to us and is willing to bless us as we strive to do our VERY best. He knows and loves us.

 

Not only did we get 5 other lessons and accomplish our goal but we were able to get some member referrals and gain some more trust in one of our wards. From missionaries that had served here long ago members had lost some trust and didn't know think that they could trust us with their friends.. That is somethings that is a big deal to me. Having other people trust me and want to give us referrals. The Lord has blessed us this week as we have tried to think of new ways to help the members and new ways to involve them in missionary work.

 

Michael is doing great! This week he told us that all of this sounds appealing and that he has the desire to pray... UHHH! I think I might have started to cry. We shared with him Alma 32:27.. "Experiment on my words and your will receive a desire... " He really seemed to respond to that! It is so cool to see people change and myself change in that way. Gosh I love this Gospel!!! Well my dear family and friends. I love you. I know that this church is true. I know that as we stick to what our Heavenly Father has taught us and work hard, He will bless us more that we can even comprehend.  

 

Love, Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, February 04, 2013

Subject: Say what?!

Hello my dear family! So this week is week has been another slow week. We had some awesome things planned and lots of things to get done but as we all know, people have their agency. Darn that agency!! We make appointments and then people totally forget or they cancel and then... We tract :) haha it is all good though! Frustrating at times but it's good. We were low on miles and trying to safe up for a drive that we had to make out ot Washouagal which is about 15 miles away. So therefore, we had to walk everywhere which we weren't used to but it was actually really nice! It made me appreciate the luxury of having a car :) The appointment in Washougal cancelled... We tried really hard to laugh when that happened as we looked at our blisters and swollen feet :) hahhaha it all worked out in the end.

 

This week was like I said really slow but we did have some really great experiences! I keep forgetting to tell you all about Judy and her patriarchal blessing. Oh my goodness!!! How I love her!!  Judy is my girl. haha She is the kindest, sweetest person in the world. And just down right funny. Judy has a hard time understanding things and putting together things about the Gospel but she loves it so she tries really hard. She shared with us her patriarchal blessing and wanted us to tell her what everything means... Sis. Neumayer and I read through it with her and asked her questions about what she thought.. Helping her learn and not us telling her. After all, that's not how it's suppose to go anyway. As we were reading through her blessing, the sweetest feeling was there. If there was anything that I learned from that experience is that God knows us. I just felt this insane power that he knew Judy better than I will ever know Judy and that he loves her. Sis. Neumayer and I bore testimony of his love for her and how we can't interpret that for her. She needs to read it over and over. It was beautiful! I loved every minute of it! We had a lesson with Michael yesterday and Sis. Neumayer pointed out something that I didn't even think about. Michael always has these super deep deep questions about the Gospel and just life in general. We in the past would answer those questions to the best of our ability. What we were missing in those moments though, was the simplicity of the Gospel. He needs to build that foundation and not worry about the deep stuff yet! Gosh! I knew that we needed to get back to the simple stuff but I think I was just lost in how to do it. This is why the Lord sends us two by two. We need companions. We are working with Michael in that core foundation. We will see how this goes. The Lord loves him and will help him. Shada is really keeping her commitments.. we still work with her and pray that her heart is open to an answer from the Lord.

 

A quick something funny that happened last week while Sis. Neumayer and I were tracting.. We knocked on this ladies house and she answers the door. We state who were are and our purpose. She then tells us she isn't interested. We tell her thank you for your time and say our goodbye's. Just as she is about to shut the door she opens in back open and says "I believe in womens rights and your church just doesn't support that. Thank you, goodbye." Sis. Neumayer and I just looked at eachother and start to kinda laugh.. As we walk away thats when I really got what she had said to us. That's when I got mad and said something about how she was a mean person and whatever else... Here comes the lesson... As we walked away there on the sidewalk was dog poop. Who doesn't see it? Me. I step right into it. Moral of the story!! We are all God's children. We shoud head to the counsel in Mosiah 4:30. Watching my thoughts and my words.... hahah

 

Well my dear family. I love you!!! The church is true!!

 

Love, Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, January 28, 2013

Subject: Because I know....

Oh my dear family!! This week has been one of growth. This week I learned how to ride the "big girl missionary bike"! No more training wheels for this Sister missionary. Sis. Brox left me on Wednesday morning at 8:30 and headed off to the East side to Kennewick. I may or may not have cried most of the way to the transfer site. hahaha I know I'm a big baby. I just realized at that moment that I Sister Mecham would have to take over the wards and the area and I had only been there for just a short time and how the HECK was I suppose to help another Sister get to know the area. But alas, the Lord showed me yet again that he loves me and is mindful of my every need. That is why he sent me Sis. Neumayer. Oh my GOSH! I just love her to pieces. She is from Orange County, California and is a professional opera singer!! I am just the luckiest sister ever! Her favorite color is green and we get along wonderfully! She has some awesome things to bring to this area and is so patient with me as I get us lost every once in a while. ( More often than not haha)

 

This week we have done a lot of planting and not harvesting. There is one thing that I have learned and that has been confirmed to me over and over again as I meet different people and as we teach them. That God lives. Lately, we have been hearing from investigators that they don't believe in God and that this life is just a mindless event and then we are just going to die and that is all. My heart aches for those people. We simply extend commitments to them so that their faith will grow but they won't keep that commitment because they don't have that foundation to build on. As I came out on my mission I thought that I would be teaching people who were just eager to learn about that Gospel and who just need to hear that one thing about the church that would ring true to them and then they would want to get baptized and receive the Holy Ghost and come to church every week! But what I have come to realize is that the Lord has a different plan for me. He wants me to learn that he is there. He lives and loves me. He loves the people that I am teaching and because he loves them and me, I have to learn how to help them create that foundation for them so they can build on it and come to know for themselves the truthfulness of the gospel. It makes me think of the story that Elder Jeffery R. Holland tells in his last conference talk, The First and Great Commandment. The story of Peter and Christ asking him 3 different times, "Do you love me?" after Peter answers " Yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." He then tells Peter "Then feed my sheep." That is the commandment that He has given us. To feed his sheep. I'm so grateful for this opportunity! There are a lot of times when it is hard but I love it so much!

 

Well family! That is what I have learned this week. Our investigators are doing great. We have some hurtles that we need to jump and some foundation that needs to be put down. After that, these wonderful people are ready to go! Thank you so very much for your prayers! I feel them all the way over here in good old Vancouver. Love you all loads and loads!

 

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, January 22, 2013

Subject: Transfers...

Hello my dear wonderful family!! So as you can tell this week is transfers week and well.... I'M STAYING IN VANCOUVER! Sister Brox is being transferred to Kennewick and is being doubled in and training at the same time. If there is a sister to do it, it is Sister Brox. I have complete faith in her that she will do exactly what the Lord as asked of her. I will be getting a new companion tomorrow and her name is Sister Neumayer pronounced ( noi-my-er) haha. Sister Dilworth ( Sister Brox's comp. before me) trained this sister and I have heard great things about her! I can't wait! Next time I write to you I will tell you all about her and where she is from.

This week has been a great week. With last P-day starting out with a wonderful session of the temple to the different lessons that we were able to teach this week. We saw lots of people and had some great lessons! I find myself becoming more bold as the lessons happen. Which I am grateful for. I know that Lord is with me in that. There is no way that I could do that without him. I would love to just be the sweet little sister missionary I always thought that I would be but I guess the Lord has different plans for me ;) We had two of our recent converts and less actives get their patriarchal blessings on Sunday. HOLY COW! I love being able to testify that the Lord will help us through our patriarchal blessings. These two women are women who I have come to ABSOLUTLEY love! Judy, is a recent convert. She has had a rough rough life. But Judy is the kindest, sweetest person. I love her! She was one of the first people I met when I came to Vancouver. We spend a lot of time with her and I love it. We will be going there today so Sister Brox can say goodbye and talk about how she felt getting her patriarchal blessing. Sister Puppo is a Less active but is actually more active than not. Went over last night and talked about her experience and how she felt. It is such a beautiful thing! I love it! 

We had a great lesson with another less active. Pasty. She has been working on her family history so we got to go with her to the church this last week in the family history center and help her figure some things out. I didn't think my love for that would play into my serving a mission but it has. I'm grateful that I was able to help Pasty and see how important it is that we are indexing and using that information to help complete work that needs to be done. We had a great lesson with Michael on sunday. I challenged him twice to come to church but he is just not budging! That's okay.. all in the Lords time :)

Well my dear family! I love you. I love this Gospel. I know it is true with all my heart!! Love you loads and loads. :)

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, January 15, 2013

Subject: Step by step

This week has been a great and challenging week. The Lord helps you learn knew things each day and will benefit us in the end... sometimes we don't see that but I know that it's true. This week we had some really awesome lessons! We had a great lesson on Tuesday with Shada! She prayed for the FIRST time out loud while we were there. I know that the Lords hand was in that for sure! Wednesday we had interviews and training from Pres. and Sister Greer. That was sooo good!!! They are working hard to help us understand and know the 42 principles found in Preach My Gospel. They picked a principle and gave us an outline and we went through it step by step and picked out the key main points. It was so good for me!! I learned so much!! I know that Pres. and Sister Greer are so inspired and how they can helps us in working hard to further the kingdom of God.

 

Thursday we were on exchanges all day. Sis. Ireland ( who I was with in the MTC) came and got to work in my area all day Thursday. We started working and since it was my area I was in charge... Oh boy. I was scared that I was going to mess something up and that I wasn't going to get done that things the Lord needed me to get done that day. Sister Ireland and I headed out and lots of the appointments fell through. I was getting a little discouraged and thinging that I must have not applied myself the way I needed to in my studies that morning or I was listening to the spirit last night when I was planning and so on and so on.. So I'm feeling like a slacker sister missionary and that I let Sis. Ireland down. We started tracting and door after door didn't answer... till.. drum roll please! Someone answered the door! Cute darling little boy answered the door. I asked if his Mom was there and he ran to go get her. She came to the door and kind of looked at us like she knew us. I said who we were and what we were doing and asked her if she had heard of the church before. She went on to tell us that Sisters had some by 2 years ago and never came back and she wanted to learn more. Uhhh.. say what?!?! Alright!! Ya got time now?! She didn't but we got a return appointment for this Friday at 11. The Lord works in mysterious ways. He loves us and is always waiting to see if we will listen and submit to his will. I'm grateful for those tender mercies of that Lord. That moment I knew that He was watching out for me. Telling me how much He loved me.

 

This week was just full of good things but just not enough time to tell it all. Transfers are next Wednesday. We will see what happens! I should know by Monday when I write you next. Love you all!! Thank you for the support that you have gvien to me and continue to give to me. Love you!!!

 

 

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, January 07, 2013

Subject: We got snow!!!!

That's right! We got snow last Monday! We were coming back from hiking Multnomah Falls and it was snowing! The hike was BEAUTIFUL and the snow just made it even better. This week has been a great week. We had lots of lessons and one new investigator! Katie is her name :) We found her tracting and everytime we came back to see her she just seemed like she didn't really want us there. She would always say that she busy or no one would answer the door. So she came to the Portland Ensign Choir and Orchestra concert with us awhile back and we hadn't been able to get in with her untill this last Friday. We had a HUGE lesson on the Restoration and Joseph Smith. It was kind of like Gospel vomit all over the place but just pray that the Lord guides her and that she heard what she needed to hear to give her that added desire to hear the truth. We have an appointment to go back and teach her on Friday. Pray with all your hearts that she keeps the appointment and doesn't cancel on us. haha

Another awesome thing that happened with week was As we were planning on Monday night we felt inspired to go and see a recent convert, Abby, in one of our wards. We put her as a backup and said that if something fell through we would go see her. We didn't get a chance to see her that day but as we came home that night at the end of our day, Sister Combs informed us that Abby had fallen while sledding with her family and had really hurt her knee. Therefore she was confined to her bed and couldn't do much. Sister Brox and I made it a point to put her as a definate plan for the next day. The next day we went Abby's home prepared with a church movie, popcorn, hot chocolate, and some other goodies. As we got there she was upstairs in her room. She told us that she would come down because her room was a mess. Sister Brox and I were not going to let that stop us haha. After some convincing she agreed to stay up in her room and let us come up. We helped her clean her room and things all looking good. We sat down and had hot chocolate and treats and enjoyed the movie. We were talking about that movie after it ended and that different things that we learned from it and she informed us that the day before she had had a horrible day and with her knee hurting and not being able to do all that she wanted to do she was just feeling sorry for herself. She prayed and literally right after she got calls from the sisters in the ward and here we were the next day at her home after being prompted to go to her house. She said that she "got it" haha she got that the Lord was trying to teach her that He loves her and is mindful of her. The Lord really is mindful of our every need. I know that as we follow the promptings of the spirit we will be blessed from following HIS will. We watch the movie Legacy and in the movie Joseph Smith says some thing that I loved. "The Lord chastens us to teach us obedience and faith in Him". I loved that!!! I know that to be true. Rely on him and he will guide. Love you all!! You are all amazing!!

Love Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, December 31, 2012

Subject: Happy New Year!!

Holy Cow! I can't believe that Christmas was a week ago and we are getting ready to ring in the new year. So crazy! I've never really thought about the new year and the opportunities that it really brings to our lives. In church yesterday the talks were centered around the new year and how that can help us in our lives. One of the members that spoke said something interesting that I hadn't really thought about until he mentioned it. He talked about how even the Lord at this time of year is pleased when we try to meet and set goals. Our goals for the year can be inspired and help us grow in ways that we didn't really think were possible. I thought about the different goals that we set as missionaries each week and how that helps us in carrying out the Lord work and will. I loved it! I never really thought about that before! Kind of a no duh but it hit me as we sat in Sacrament meeting how that can be a blessing to us.

It was soo good to talk to you all on Christmas! This might be creepy but it was so very good to hear all of your voices! Everyone was looking great!! Our week was a good week! We tracted a lot and made contact with people that we hadn't been able to reach yet. The Lord really is preparing people. That is a testimony to me each time we meet someone new or continue to meet with different people. There is a difference in their eyes. You can just see it. I appreciate so much when people are honest with us about that gospel. Whether they are interested or not. We had a baptism on Saturday night! Sondra ( Mamma S) was baptized!! It didn't count for your numbers considering the fact that she is not in our area but requested Sisters but nonetheless! She was baptized and it was beautiful! Sister Brox and I got to stand at the top of the font and watch her go down into the water and watch her come our and walk up to us. I nearly cried. Seeing her face right after she came out of the water was priceless. It was one of the sweetest moments so far on my mission. She was so ready and excited. Oh gosh I love this work!! We are still working with Michael. He is so stinkin great!! It's a good thing that I have Sister Brox there with me because I would not be able to answer all the questions that he asks. I just testify that through prayer we can know God and through the Atonement and the Doctrine of Christ we can know our Savoir Jesus Christ. We had a powerful lesson with him last night. Things are looking good over here in the wonderful Vancouver Washington. The church is true. God lives and loves us. I love you all!! 

Sister Mecham  

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, December 24, 2012

So I'm a little behind on posting Sister Mecham's letters! Forgive me! But here are her letters for the last few weeks. We should be getting another one today!

Subject: Love you all!!

Can't wait to talk to you all tomorrow! You are all so amazing! Thank you for the pictures and the letters. They mean the world to me. Thank you for all that you have done for me in supporting me here on my mission! Being able to be a representative at this time of the year is so very special. The Lord is truly preparing his children to receive the gospel. This will be just a quick little letter since I will be talking and seeing you all tomorrow :) Sondra is doing amazing! She is prepared for baptism and is looking forward to it on Saturday. She is just soooo amazing!! I can't even get over it! Well I love you all and I am so excited to talk to you all tomorrow :) Love you so very very much. Thank you for your sacrifice and helping me while I'm here. Love you! 

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, December 17, 2012

Subject: I love this time of year!

Oh my goodness!! I love this time of year! Everything about it is absolutely amazing! We have some pretty awesome people around us here in Vancouver that are helping us feel the Christmas spirit more and more each and every day. We had an awesome week this week! Sister Brox as been sick with this really super bad and nasty cold and we just pray that she starts to feel better so we can get some more things done. Last we was awesome but this week is going to be even better. We have some really great goals in sight and we are on our way to reaching them. Last week was transfers week and the news is ...I get to.... Stay here in VANCOUVER! Yahoo! I get 6 more awesome weeks with Sister Brox! She can impart all her wisdom on me so that I will know what to do once she leaves me.

This week we had so many wonderful things happen. We had an awesome lesson on Tuesday with an awesome lady that we have been teaching since I got here a month and half ago.. CRAZY! Angie is so awesome. She was raised catholic and has been investigating the church for a long time now. She is really diligent in learning all that she can. We had a great lesson on Tuesday about modern revelation and how we can read the words of the Prophet today as we listen to conference and read and reread those talks. Angie has a real thurst for knowledge and the Gospel. On Wednesday we had a lesson with S&S. It went for a good 3 hours! They have so many questions! It is so wonderful! Toward the end of our lesson Mama S started asking some more questions on baptism. We answered her questions and then ask her if this is something that she would want to do. She said for a minute and said that she would love to be baptized and she has been thinking about it for sometime. Sister Brox and I just got so excited for her! She is so absolutley amazing!! I love her to death! Daughter S is working things out and is taking it so seriously and for that I am truly grateful. I have learned a little something from her in that fact that this gospel really isn't something to think lightly of. It brings us light and direction but it is something that will change our course forever once we accept it.

Saturday night we had the opportunity to go out of our area to a Christmas concert that one of the members in the Lacamas Creek ward got us! He sings in the choir, got us tickets as well as a potential investigator that lives across the street from him and his family. We rode with his wife and daughter the conference and the whole time we were kind of freaking out that the investigator wouldn't show up. The only way that we were able to go to this concert was because we would have an investigator. We sit down in our seats and we were right on the front row, dead center. Awesome seats! The opening song starts and no investigator... We are getting worried. We were trying to figure out what to do and there really wasn't much that we could do. As soon as we thought that, lo and behold, our investigator and her son walk down the isle and wave at us. The Lord had us in mind and was watching out for. He knew of our struggle and was so quick to help us. Our desire to be there for the right reason made it possible for him to inspire Katie and her son to come to the concert. I firmly believe and know that he answers our prayers and is always willing to answer them and long as we have faith in his will.

Well family of mine, I love you much! I will be skyping home next Tuesday!! I'll be calling 1pm my time, so 2pm your time. Sister Combs will be emailing you with the skype name so we can find each other on there!! Love you and can't wait to see your smiling faces in Tuesday!!!

Love Sister Mecham

Just because so many of you have asked, here's Whit's address again:

Washington Kennewick Mission

8202 West Quinault Ave

Suite D

Kennewick, WA

99336-1017

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, December 10, 2012

Subject: Sweetness to my soul!!

The highlight of my week this week was when Lucas was baptized. Nothing can compare to that feeling! Seeing someone that you have grown to know and love enter the waters of baptism. It is so ABSOLUTLEY amazing! There are no words to describe it! The baptism went great! We had some little bumps in the road but as to be expected when someone is about to make a covenant with God, the dirty devil likes to creep his way in. But we didn't let him get too far. :) Can I just say that there are some stinkin awesome people over here in Vancouver?? We have one of the best wards ever! They are all so supportive and willing to help. People are so missionary minded and they really help us in our efforts to find. Harmony ward is Lucas' ward and they are amazing. The young mens Leaders and ward missionaries have made a big difference. I never understood it before the mission how vital the Ward is to missionary work. I am so very grateful to them!

 

Our week this last week felt like it was all sorts of crazy goodness! We had some greats times tracting in the rain and people getting mad and slamming the door in our faces :) Oh gosh... is it bad that that is one of my favorites things? haha I find it to be oddly wonderful. They say it takes 7 different contacts from the church before some people will let you in the door and accept your message. I like to think that when they open the door and we are there just smiling away that we planted one of the 7 seeds for them to accept the Gospel. It makes it all worth in the end :) We had a Doctine of Christ training on Wednesday with President and Sister Greer. They are so stinkin amazing! We "unpacked" 2 Nephi 31 and they helped me see that chapter in a different light. It is the Doctrine of Christ chapter and it's right before Nephi dies. He says right in verse 2 that he is to say one more thing and that he MUST speak of the Doctrine of Christ. He MUST. He is about to die and this is what he wants to talk about?! Got to be pretty important. And it is! He is the way we get back to our Father in Heaven! The Doctrine of Christ is, faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, recieving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. "There is no other way where man can be saved..." Beauty! Read it! It is beautiful.

 

Well my dear family, I love you! I miss you terribly but I'm so happy to be here!

 

Love Sister Mecham

A Friday treat courtesy of Katrina Roberts...

I've been really lucky to make friends with one of the ward missionaries from Whit's area on Facebook and she sent me this gem today! It's Whit's profile from their ward news letter. Enjoy!

Meet Our New Missionary Sister Mecham

Sister Mecham is from Pleasant Grove, Utah.  She has only been on her mission for 2 months, including her time in the MTC.  We in the Harmony Ward have the unique opportunity to set the bar high as her FAVORITE area.  Sister Mecham is supported and missed dearly by her family members that all live in Utah.  All except for her father's brother who lives in Spokane, WA and apparently looks exactly like her own father.  

Before coming on a mission, Sister Mecham's favorite thing to do was spend time with her family. They are her best friends. She also loves working with children and used to work with children that have disabilities. If you haven't guessed already from her amazing fashion sense, Sister Mecham loves to shop. She also can play the guitar a "little" bit...as she puts it. When she grows up she wants to be a Speech Therapist. Her favorite scripture is Omni 1:26 "And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should a come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved."

Sister Mecham's favorite part of being a missionary is being given the opportunity to testify of her love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are lucky in the Harmony Ward to be able to welcome Sister Mecham into the mission field. Please take a moment to introduce yourself to her and Sister Brox. We have been blessed with outstanding Sister Missionaries. 

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, December 03, 2012

Subject: Oh Joyous December!!

Hello Family!

Okay so this week has been great! We have had so many opportunities to share the Gospel with people! I love this time of year for the reason that it softens peoples hearts. The Lord is hastening his work and you can tell. So we have these awesome ladies that we are teaching. They are mother and daughter and goly gee they are so awesome! I just love them! We saw them the first full day I was here in Vancouver but we couldn't get an appointment set up with them for the longest time. So many different things kept coming up but we went and saw them on Thursday and that was so awesome! I'll call them S&S :) Momma S had some great questions on baptism and daughter S had some great questions about the temple and about why we don't share some of the things that happen in the temple. They are both moving along great and even decided to not participate in their bible study class because some of the member in that class were not accepting their choice in learning more about "the mormons". We went with them to the Festival of Nativities which is an awesome festival the Stake puts on for a whole weekend. Their are some many different nativities from all around the world and they put them on display for everyone to see. They have beautiful musical numbers and everything. Sister Brox and I loved it and so did S&S. Their was a gentlemen there that was truly inspired to come and talk to them while we were looking at all the nativities. He was able to bare simple testimony of finding out for yourself if the church is true. I love when the Lord prompts other to help the missionaries! 

Lucas is doing great! He is getting excited for his baptism this Saturday and we couldn't more excited for him. We had an awesome lesson this last Friday on the commandments. He was so good! He kinda just looked at us like...okay cool.. No problem. hahah He is living the commandments and is ready! The rest of the family is doing great as well. Michael still has awesome questions about the priesthood and about the apostacy. Good thing I've got Sister Brox cause I would be sitting there with my mouth wide open. Haha his questions are some that I have never really had to explain or think about so it's good for me to be there. I'm learning right along with him :)

Well dear family. I love you all and I am so very grateful for all that you do for me while I'm here and before I came out. You have all been amazing influences in my life and I'm so grateful for it. Merry Christmas to all of you! The church is true. Our Savior lives! Let your light so shine! 

Love, Sister Mecham  

We got a letter from the mission office today asking that any and all packages being sent to missionaries in the Kennewick mission be sent to them by December 15th if they are to be received by Christmas. Also, they asked that you send them priority mail through the postal service as it makes it easier to get them sent on to the missionaries. This is especially important because transfers will happen December 11th and we don't know where Whit will be. 

Love you all!

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, November 26, 2012

Subject: Through small and simple means...

Hello Mi Familia! 

Oh goodness what to say! This week has been a great week. Lots of things have happened over here in the great state of Washington! I growing and learning right along with our investigators and it is a great thing. The Lord really does prepare a way for his children to do the things that he has commanded of them. I have felt that this week in the lessons that we have taught and in my own personal missionary life.

 

This week we had a lot of people cancel on us and that is to be expected because of the Holiday but at the same time it was hard. But! Like I said the Lord prepares a way for his children to do his work. So even though we didn't get as many lessons taught as we would have liked, we saw a lot of people this week that needed to hear the message of Jesus Christ and all that he has given us. As we set up appointments we decided to share with people the Mormon Message Thanksgiving daily. It was so powerful! As Elder Oaks shares his testimony in that short clip, it helps you understand that true meaning of giving thanks to our Savior even in the hard times. That has been a testimony to me this week as we have met with different people and heard what is happening in their lives. How they can over come them and face them with strength and faith in our Savior for all the many blessings he has given us.

 

This week we also watch Legacy with Michael ( Erika's husband) and Erika. It was awesome! We were able to talk a lot about the priesthood and how women in the church still hold a special place even though we are not priesthood holders. It was amazing and so wonderful to talk with Michael about the priesthood and how it has shaped my life and how grateful I am for the worthy priesthood holders that I know. His understand was that women in the church were just meant to be stay at home moms and live as though she was less than her husband. Sister Brox and I quickly corrected him. haha Michael I know has the desire to know more. He is someone whether he wants to admit it or not that is search for something more than what he already has. LOVE IT!

 

Another awesome thing that happend this week was that Lucas ( Erika and Michael's) son said he wants to be baptized and we set a date for Dec. 8th! Lucas is awesome! It's just getting him to say more than 3 words at a time. hahah But we are so excited for him and the opportunity it is for him to set an awesome example for Sabrina and Michael. Pray for Lucas that he will continue with his plan and make and keep this sacred convenant.

 

Well I love you all!! I'm so very grateful for you and everything you do for me while I'm here! Love you much!! The church is true!!

 

Love Sister Mecham

Just a reminder!! 

Sister Mecham's address is:

Washington Kennewick Mission
8202 West Quinault Ave
Suite D
Kennewick, WA
99336-1017

I'm sure that she would LOVE to hear from all of you doing the holiday season. What better time to write a missionary?

Love, 

Sister Mecham's sister

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, November 19, 2012

Subject: Come What May and Love It!

Hello my dear family and friends!! So this week as been a busy, humbling and exciting week. On Wednesday we had the opportunity to meet Elder Piper from the Seventy! He came and shared so much with us! He has so much knowledge and it was so wonderful to be able to kind of pick his brain and see what it is about missionary work that I'm not quite getting. He did a question and answer and super honest with us which I loved. He talked a lot about how we need to help our investigators come to the answer themselves. They ask us a question and we need to GUIDE them to the answer not flat out tell them the answer. That way in this process of conversion they can truly know for themselves if the gospel is true. I loved this! I thought it was absolutly perfect! Especially at this time in work that Sister Brox and I are doing. People have questions. The one way that they will be able to really truly say "I know this church is true" is exactly how Joseph Smith came to know which church was true. He studied diligently and prayed with a sincere heart and real intent. That's what our investigators need to be doing. What better way than to GUIDE them to the answer.

 

The bad news for this week is this... Our Skaugstad family dropped us. Sister Brox and I went over on Thursday for our lesson and we sit down and Sister Skaugstad said that they had been thinking out all of this and that it is not the right time for them. Gosh darn that adversary! He knows how to get people. But at the same time I truly think that although they were seeking truth, they weren't quite ready for this. They are such wonderful people and I love them so very much but I know that the Lord has a plan for them. One day they will be baptized. They are looking at other religions but they said themselves that there is not another church that will have the same values and beliefs that we do that they have come to know and love. As for now, Sister Brox and I just simply pray.

 

On a happier note! We have a part member family that is so stinkin awesome! Erika ( the mom) is a member and has been for just about a year now. She has two kids, Sabrina and Lucas who have been taking the lessons for sometimes now and truly are on their way to the waters of baptism. Micheal ( the dad) is not a member and well... Lets just say... He will be. hahah He is so stinkin solid! He doesn't believe in God.. yet. After all that has happened, with Erika being baptized and his kids taking the lessons Micheal finally said he wanted to learn more "just so he knows what it is his kids are getting themselves into" So we taught him last night and pray with all our hearts that his heart with change.

 

One other cool thing about this week and about Wednesday and meeting Elder Piper is that I got to meet with him personally. At the end of the meeting President Greer got up and said that Elder Piper had chosen some missionaries that he wanted to meet with and could only meet with 10.... Pres. Greer said my name and I think I might have almost wet myself. I was so nervous and excited and everything! But it was so wonderful! He truly is a man of God! He told me to put in my letter home to thank my parents from him, for raising me and for supporting me here on my mission. So thank you Mom and Dad. I am so very grateful for the love and support that you and everyone else has shown me as I have been out here on my mission. I feel it and I am eternally grateful. Words can't describe how it feels when I'm having a bad day and I remember the loving family and friends that are supporting me back home. Love you all! Happy Thanksgiving! This is my favorite time of year. We have so much to be grateful for! I am grateful for my Savior. The love He has shown and giving to me. For loving me so much that He took upon him my sins and afflictions. For giving me the opportunity to be able to live with my Father in Heaven again. I love this gospel. I know it's true and I'm grateful to have this chance and opportunity to be a representative and disciple of him.

 

Love you all!!

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, November 12, 2012

Subject: 4 people my dear friends

Oh my goodness.... This week. Hahah. Lets just say that it was an awesome week! Sister Brox and I had a rough start to the week. All of our appointments and our back-ups fell through and we serious almost broke down and started to cry. But what good would that have done? So Monday and Tuesday were like that. But then the golden day of Wednesday came around. We had an appointment with our investigator family, the Skaugstads and it was on obedience, follow the Prophet, and the Word of Wisdom. Word of wisdom was something they have been wondering about and had some issues with but nothing the Lord couldn't handle! So after we got them to kind of understand and commit to try their very hardest to live the commandment Sister Brox says the magic line..." Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God?".... My heart stopped. The Spirit was SOO strong you could have touched it. What do you think they said?......

 

YESSSSSS! Oh my! I started to cry! haha Sister Brox and I had prayed together and individually about a date for them to be baptized and both came up with Dec. 1st. The Lord answers prayers my dear friends because when Sister Brox asked if they would prepare themselves to be baptized on that day Brother and Sister Skaugstad started to cry and answered YES. Their daughter Hannah is so excited to be baptized with them on Dec. 1st. Man, this was an absolutley powerful lesson. We go back tonight to teach them about continuing in prayer and scripture study.

 

Monday and Tuesday were trials of our Faith and Wednesday was a blessing and answer to prayers. Sister Brox tells me that it doesn't always happen like this haha. We met with this guy named Perry. He lives with his grandma who is a member and has taken the lessons before but suddenly up and left but is now back and wants to be baptized. We put him on date for Dec. 1st aswell.. Keep him in your prayers. Pray that he will have the true desire to make and keep this sacred convenant and that he understand what it means.

 

I love you all! Thank you for your prayers. Sister Brox and I feel them! I know this church is true, It bring such happiness and comfort to my life as I live it. And as I watch others strive to live it aswell. Love you!

 

Sister Mecham

A Letter from Vancouver: Monday, November 05, 2012

Subject: Oh hey there, Vancouver!

Family! 

Alright so here I am. I'm in Vancouver and it was my wish to be sent here! I was so happy to know that this was my first area. It rains almost all day and is cloudy all the time. Never thought that I would say that I missed the Utah sunshine but sometimes I do. I looked out the window the other morning and I could have cried when I saw just a little bit of a blue sky! But really truly and honestly it is not bad at all. I love it here :)

Well my compainon is Sister Brox and she is from Oklahoma. She is the youngest of 4 kids. Her favorite color is purple and she is a power house! She has been such an awesome trainer in helping me get to know the area and the Investigators and helping me feel confident in my teaching. She is the best!

We have so many people that we are seeing right now! We cover two wards and we have got some awesome people that help us carry out the work of the Lord. We have a couple of investigators that are getting close to baptism. Darn that agency! Satan works so hard on them! We have Sabrina and Lucas. Sabrina and Lucas are brother and sister. ( Sabrina: 14 and Lucas: 17) Their mom Erika was baptized about a year ago and is such an awesome influence and such a power house when it comes to the Gospel. With Sabrina and Lucas, we just have to push through somethings but man are they ready to take upon them the name of our Savior.

The Skaugstads are a darling family. Brother Skaugstad was searching for a religion and happened about the Church and just showed up to church one Sunday. They are so solid in the Gospel! They have a daughter named Hannah who is 10 and so we are also working with her to get her baptized. They have an amazing testimony of Tithing and everything. We just got get them to enter the waters of baptism! They will. I just know it :)

We were tracting last Thursday and tracted into a wonderful lady named Laura. She was raised catholic and doesn't really attend the catholic church anymore. She has got two absolutley beautiful children and they are just so darling! Her daughter Gillian was the one that set up the appointment for us to come back! hahah So cute. When we came back yesterday for our appointment, we heard Tray ( her son) running to the door screaming "They're here! They're here!" So darling. I could just eat him up. The lesson went so great! The BIG news..... I invited her to be baptized!!!! WHAT?! I know! I did!! I wasn't too sure about it but then Sister Brox kicked me under the table and told me to do it. haha So I did. Laura wasn't too sure about it but we got to the roote as to what is holding her back and with the help of the Lord, I think we can push through it.

Well dear family, I love this Gospel. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a representative of my Savior Jesus Christ and the opportunity I have to be helping his children enter into a convenant with him. This Gospel is true. I know it. With all my heart. Love you all!!

Sister Mecham