July 28, 2014

Dear family,

It has been a wonderful week! President Eaton spoke in our sacrament meeting yesterday and to the youth during the third hour of church. It was fantastic, as usual. He has such a way of making missionary work seem as easy as pie! I love how he talks about the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how when we experience the blessings of being forgiven and feeling clean, when we have that kind of personal experience with Jesus Christ, it makes it easier to love those around us, to see them as children of God, and to realize how much more important it is to open our mouths and share the gospel than to avoid a possibly "awkward moment." Christ's Atonement makes ALL things possible! We also had interviews with President Eaton this week and I asked him about how I could better have experiences with the Atonement and then be able to testify with more power to those we meet on the street. He said one thing that helps him is to try to say something that will help them get just a little bit closer to Heavenly Father, even if they say they are uninterested. One example that I loved was that of Michael Jordan! (President is very creative.) He said if Michael Jordan's son was on a basketball team, he would have a lot of potential to become an awesome basketball player. But he wouldn't reach that full potential unless he attended practice, ran drills, worked out, etc. That's the same way we are spiritually. We are God's children and we have this great potential! But we must live the gospel, go to church, pray and read daily, so that we can reach that potential. I love that analogy! And I Have really enjoyed trying to be a little more sensitive to the Spirit and saying what I hope will bring people just a little closer to Heavenly Father.

I love hearing every week about my awesome wonderful family. I'm glad that you are having some wonderful family vacations! And it sounds like church has been great these last couple of weeks. There is not much better than going to church and feeling the Spirit. The longer I am on my mission the more I realize how much the gospel should be everything in life. Nothing else is a guarantee in this life. But the Plan of Salvation never stops! There is no better plan. We will always be God's children and He will always want us back. And the Atonement of Jesus Christ is ever-present for us to come and drink from the "water of life" freely.

One miracle we had this week was when our plans fell through at 8:15 at night. We didn't quite know where to go, so we said and prayer and we felt like we should go contacting on the Inter-Urban trail. When we got there we said a specific prayer about finding someone who would want to learn about the gospel. We talked to a few people, but no one was super interested. It was almost time to go in, but there was one more Mom and daughter across the street that I really felt like we should talk to. So we went, and they were so happy to talk with us! The little girl, Kaily, loves learning about God! The mother, Mallory, wants to learn so that she can know what her daughter is learning about. They both wanted to come to church on Sunday! I love feeling like we are where God wants us to be. And I love feeling like we are helping those who really want to learn about Jesus Christ. I hope and pray that this mother and daughter will want to keep learning! Sadly, they haven't been in contact with us and they didn't make it to church, but I have hope for them!

Wow, I need to learn to type faster. I am always running out of time! I love you guys soooooo much! Almost as much as I love and miss going to the San Clemente Beach...Just kidding! I promise that my love for you way surpasses the beach ;) Here is an awesome video about the plan of salvation that will probably make you cry...but you will like it! http://www.mormonchannel.org/come-follow-me-the-plan-of-salvation?v=2034119581001

Love,

Sister Mecate

July 21, 2014

Dear Family,

I am happy today. There is so much work here to do in Auburn! One of the highlights of this week was meeting a young family at a park who said we could come to their home and share our message with them. We went on the day of the appointment and they weren't able to meet that day, but BJ, the father, said he really wants to sit down and talk with us and so we are going back this week! This family lives in humble circumstances and have already experienced the pain and sadness of losing loved ones. I am so grateful and excited to go back and teach them of the soothing balm of the restored gospel! This week in our Zone Meeting we learned about family history and how we can better use this wonderful blessing in our finding efforts and with our investigators that we already have. I was blessed to be asked to share my testimony of family history work and how the Spirit of Elijah has touched my heart. I talked about how Mom has given me some stories from my ancestors and how as I read them I felt a love and concern for them and a desire for them to know the great blessings of the gospel as well! I have always LOVED knowing that those who don't have a chance to learn about Jesus Christ and His Gospel here on this earth will have the chance to learn about it on the other side! And the scriptures teach us so clearly that this is really part of God's plan. Peter teaches us that those who were disobedient at the time of Noah were taught by Christ in Spirit Prison. (1 Peter 3:18-20)

 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put todeath in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while theark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

And my favorite scriptures come from the Doctrine and Covenants, section 137, given to Joseph smith concerning his brother Alvin who died before he could be baptized into Christ's church.

 7 Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, whowould have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;

 8 Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts,shall be heirs of that kingdom;

 9 For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.

 10 And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in thecelestial kingdom of heaven.

Talk about a hopeful gospel! Now is the time for us to prepare to meet God by keeping His commandments and living His gospel. But for those who didn't have the chance, there is always hope. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for temples where we can be sealed as families for all eternity. I watched this video called "Temples are a Beacon," and the Spirit really touched me. It's a story of what one family sacrificed to be able to go to the temple and be sealed together. 

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages/topics/family?v=1383557640001

I cannot believe how quickly my mission is coming to a close. I only have 3 transfers left. But I do feel that these will be some of the best transfers of my mission! Oh, I forgot! This week I got to go on an exchange with my companion from the MTC, Sister Alder! It was one of the most fun days! She is my new Sister Training leader. I learned so much from her and her bubbly personality. It was such a neat experience to see how much we have each grown since we first came out on our missions together! Sister Evans-Bottoms and I are hoping to stay together another transfer, but we will see!

Here is a short but favorite scripture of mine from this week-1 Cor. 15:22-"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Every day we can have an experience with Christ. I testify that it is only through Him that each of us can be made alive and can find the greatest joy and peace.

I love you all thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much! Well actually more than that, but I figured you wouldn't want a whole page of the word "this." Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Mecate

July 14, 2014

Dear Family,

It has been a wonderful week! We had 4 investigators at church on Sunday-what a joy! When we go to church and we don't have anyone come it is so sad! It's like if you play a piano piece and no else can hear it or if you bake cookies and no one else eats them or you see an awesome movie and no one else watches it! When we go to church and no one comes it feels a bit like that, except more disappointing. The talks were really awesome. Two of the young men got up and talked about their experiences at Camp Helaman, a pre-missionary camp that they do up here in the North-West. The Spirit was strong as they bore their testimonies of the gospel and of the Spirit they felt as they strengthened their brotherhood. I just love church. Third hour was especially enjoyable. It was about Baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I loved the discussion we had about following promptings of the Spirit! The Holy Ghost is such an amazing gift. Just the other day we were driving somewhere and I had the thought/feeling that we should go invite a couple in our apartment complex to church. I almost didn't listen, but I did and we went. They ended up being asleep, but while we were in that area we ran into a young man that we met a long time ago and haven't been able to get in contact with. We now have an appointment to go teach him! I love how Heavenly Father works! He might tell us something that we don't completely understand, but He will always lead us to where we need to be if we listen. I love the video that was shared "Feeling the Holy Ghost," on mormonchannel.org. Feeling the Spirit = Feeling peace = Being truly happy! I love the gospel and I love you all so much! But I'm out of time, so I will talk to you next week! Just know that I love the White River Ward! And that I am meeting some wonderful people! I feel so blessed here!

Love,

Sister Mecate

July 7, 2014

Dear family,

This week has been filled with busy day after busy day! What a wonderful blessing for a missionary! The greatest happiness comes when we work our hardest and allow the Savior to take over. I have seen how when we set goals and make plans to improve on certain things, the Lord blesses us with things we didn't even expect! His work is all connected. He is aware of all that we do, and He knows the desires of our hearts. This week I had an eye opening experience about the Atonement and that has made such a difference. It's easy to be bright with hope when you know the Savior has suffered and died for you personally and that He has it ALL covered. We were teaching someone yesterday and he said something that really touched me. He said that we all need to let the hope of Jesus Christ in, and that is so true. Christ will never force us to change or to be happy, but He is always there for us to open our hearts to Him and let the hope and light of His Atonement change us. I am so grateful that we have this lifetime to learn how to do that!

We had an awesome church tour this week with one of our investigators. She is 19 and has a lot on her plate to deal with. She is possibly one of the funniest people I have met, though. I just love her. We had a young couple in the ward come with us to the church tour, and we were able to talk about the ways in the which the church has blessed each of us. It has helped us to build a foundation on Christ so that the adversary cannot knock us down. It has helped us to develop a relationship with our Heavenly Father so that we know who we are. It has helped us, because we get to experience the power of the Priesthood! And many other things. This young woman is such a neat person. Earlier that day we were able to read the Book of Mormon with her. She described feeling the Spirit as we talked about what we were reading. She said feeling God's Spirit is kind of like feeling wind go through you. When we would read the Book of Mormon she said she could feel this Spirit going through her. And when we stopped to talk she wouldn't feel it so much, and then when we would start reading again she felt the Spirit. This girl is so prepared and has such a great heart! She is always asking what more she can do to be like Jesus Christ. 

We also got to help an older lady, nicknamed Tuti, with her garden this week! She is quite the character. I feel like we would be great friends. As we pruned her bushes and trees, she told us of how much she loves camping and fishing and all that good stuff. I enjoyed talking with her. Then before we left we sang her a hymn and said a quick prayer. I love being able to do small service for people. It keeps me happy!

There is a video that we showed to quite a few people this week that is possibly my favorite Mormon message. I cried 3 out of 4 times. It's called "Mountains to Climb." You need to watch it! And then share it with someone who might be going through a difficult time. It is AWESOME!

Anyways, dear family, I've got to go! We missionaries have too much to do on Pday! But that's ok! I love you guys so much! I'm glad you had a good 4th of July.

So much Love,

Sister Mecate

June 30, 2014

Dear Family,

The first week of this new transfer was a week that will lead us to many new adventures. We saw the blessings of being obedient to the Elder Ballard's council for each missionary to talk to 10 new people every day. Last week we made it to 7 each a day, on average. This week we taught 17 lessons, 5 more than the week before! We were so excited to see the fruits of our labors, and we are inspired to revamp our efforts and talk with as many new people as we can. Missionary work is quite rewarding, but it can be heartbreaking to meet some of God's children who need Him so badly but who are so caught up by the world they feel they have no escape. Some see no need for an escape from the world. Others are ashamed or discouraged and aren't ready to face it. It's hard to see people choose to reject what would be the best thing in the world for them, living the gospel and accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior. I can't imagine how the Savior feels when we choose not to make changes (in other words repent) to come closer to Him when he has paid the ultimate price for us. This week I was reading in Alma 34. I feel a renewed drive and inspiration to teach people about the amazing gift of repentance! I love verse 32: "For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." When I read this I started thinking about all the people in the world who are making no preparations to see God. They are going to be tormented when the day comes to face Him. They need someone to tell them! And that's where missionary work comes in. Doctrine and Covenants 88:81-"Behold I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." I never want to forget the amazing gift I have been given, and I hope to never forget to share it! Alma 34 also got me thinking about my own preparations for meeting God. Just like I only have so much time on my mission to be a full time servant of the Lord, we each only have so much time on the earth to prepare to see our Heavenly Father again. I am pondering what more I can do to be prepared.

I did not forget that Mom's birthday was this week! In fact, Heavenly Father gave me a great blessing on her birthday. We went to help Sister Hopkins make jam, because she has a bad back. It was a fun adventure to make delicious raspberry jam with her. Before we left, she showed us her sewing room and embroidery machine. (She makes amazing quilts). It's filled with oodles of good stuff! I thought it was so fitting that I could spend the morning of Mom's birthday doing things that Mom likes to do! It was a tender mercy of the Lord. It made me think about how much I love my mom and all she has taught me, from making jam to saying my prayers! I also love Sister Hopkins. It is always so wonderful to go visit her. We are going to start teaching her husband soon, too!

We had some awesome lessons this week, most of them on people's doorsteps! We are getting good at those! We are teaching a young man who lives across the way from us in our apartment complex. He is awesome! He has the best questions and a sincere desire to learn. In the middle of teaching him about the Book of Mormon, we taught him a mini Plan of Salvation lesson. We were also teaching another young man in a different apartment complex. We just taught him on his steps outside. My favorite moment from our lessons with him was getting him to pray. He first thought I asked if I could say the prayer and he readily agreed. Then I explained we wanted him to pray, and he had to rethink it! But he did pray and it was great. That is one of my favorite things, helping people to pray who usually do not. The Spirit is always so strong. I love seeing people begin to become connected to their Heavenly Father. It always makes my day to help others pray. There are so many other people I want to tell you about, but I'm about out of time! Oh, but we also had some great service opportunities this week! We helped an old lady clean her house and we helped one of our members paint her basement. I love service!

Anyways, sorry this email is all over the place. I love you guys so much! Happy 4th of July! Watch some awesome fireworks for me!

Love,

Sister Mecate

June 24, 2014

Dear Family,

"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it." Matt 13:45-46. I was just watching the Bible Video called "The Kingdom of Heaven." It hit me as I listened to Christ's words, that the kingdom of Heaven is worth the sacrifice of anything else we could obtain in this life. It is worth more than our worldly comforts, our bad habits, and our wasteful luxuries. It is even worth more than the good things we do in order to have fun or entertainment. Any sacrifice we make in order to come closer to our Heavenly Father is worth it. And in the end it ends up not being a sacrifice at all, because we are all the more blessed for it. That is how I think about my mission. of course, I do feel as though I am making sacrifices. It's not an easy task at all to be a full time servant of the Lord. There are moments that are quite the opposite of "easy." But this is really no sacrifice at all in the eternal scheme of things. I came here to serve the Lord, but really He is doing me a service by allowing me to be here. I only have 6 months left, which is crazy! And I've been contemplating more what I want out of the rest of my mission. Yesterday, 2 missionaries from our zone went home, Elder McDonald and Sister Loyd. It was so hard to see them leave! It was a weird feeling to think that that day will come for me as well. And it made me think about, as I often do, what I want to think and feel at the end of my mission. And really the most important thing to me is to make sure I am right with my Heavenly Father, to make sure that I am connected to Him spiritually, and to never lose that connection! Just like Christ taught about the kingdom of Heaven, our connection to our Heavenly Father is worth more than all the world can offer. I am so grateful to have the tools I need in order to build that relationship: prayer, scriptures, my baptismal covenant!, the sacrament, the temple, and the list goes on and on.

This past Sunday we had a New Convert Fireside. It was AMAZING. We got to sing in the choir again. The Spirit was so strong as the recent converts bore their testimonies of the restored gospel and the priesthood authority. One man spoke of how he used to be a drug dealer and how he had been baptized multiple times in different churches, but that when he was baptized by the priesthood authority of God it was different. He could feel it counted. He had such a strong spirit about him! Another woman bore her testimony about the Book of Mormon and the role it played in her conversion process. She has a strong testimony of how we have a living prophet on the earth today. And one musical number that I loved was "Come Unto Christ." Sister Kirschner was a part of the group that sang in it, and there was even an elder who played the cello in it. You can watch a version of it onmormonchannel.org.

"Come unto Christ: 2014 Theme Song (4:48) | Come Unto Christ"

Also at the fireside, one of my dear friends from Maple Valley came-LaChelle! She came with Sister Peterson. It was amazing to see them! A part of my heart still lies in Maple Valley-I love that place! I am so excited for the day when I get to see the many people that I was able to meet there accept the gospel and be baptized and be happy from all these wonderful blessings!

Yesterday, we got to be in a trio companionship, because Sister Walker's companion, Sister Loyd went home. It was a most fantastic day. Sister Walker is one of the most bubbly, exciting, and absolutely wonderful sisters I have met. We spent the day in laughing fits. She really brings out my goofy side. Sister Walker just has an excitement for life! We had some awesome lessons yesterday, too. My favorite miracle of the day was when a less active young woman told us she loves it when we stop and that she would like us to come more! And we thought she hadn't wanted to talk to us! During that visit we sang "Lead Kindly Light" and the grandmother was in tears. Sister Walker brought an awesome harmony. There was just such a beautiful Spirit in their home as we visited with them. I am so excited to get to know them better and to teach them about the gospel. Sadly, I don't think Sister Walker and I will ever be companions, because we would always be in laughing fits, and we'd just want to shop for our entire P-day. But that's ok, we will be friends after our missions and we can shop and laugh all we want then! Also, I forgot to say that Sister Evans-Bottoms and I get to stay together another transfer in the White river Ward! We are so excited! Auburn is just a most glorious place to be! I love the people here, and we are expecting many miracles this transfer!

So time is up as usual. I love you!!!! Have a wonderful summer week!

Love,

Sister Mecate

June 16, 2014

Dear Family,

Sadly, we don't have a whole lot of time to email today, because we had choir practice today and we have a dinner appointment in 20 minutes! So I'm sorry if my email isn't very long this week. But it's been a great week. We talked with a lot of people! Every day I get more comfortable with awkward situations as we truly try to talk with everyone we see. In fact, some of the best moments come as we stop and talk with people who are riding by on their bikes or who are way across the street or who are out gardening or who are up on their balcony. I am learning to love talking to strangers! People's lives are very interesting!

This week we had a baptism in our ward! The elders, Elder Tibbits and Elder McDonald, were teaching a couple, Charlotte and Gary. Charlotte was already a member, but wasn't active for a while. And Gary wasn't a member. Gary and Charlotte got married this last week and then Gary was baptized on Saturday. The Spirit was so strong at his baptism! Anyone could tell that God approved of the decision that Gary was making to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ by someone who holds the priesthood authority of God. During the intermission, Elder Tibbits taught a short Restoration lesson and then showed the video "Sanctify Yourselves," a powerful video that teaches about priesthood power. You can watch it on mormonchannel.org! I have been reminded this week over and over of my testimony of the restored Priesthood on the earth. We taught a lesson about the priesthood to our investigator, Jim. I learned about the priesthood in Alma 13 in my studies this week. And in church on Sunday, we talked about the keys of the priesthood. And I just feel blessed as I reflect on how the priesthood has blessed my life. Especially since this last week was Father's day, I am so grateful to my wonderful dad who has worthily held the priesthood so that our family can have those specific blessing of priesthood power in our home. I am so grateful for the Restoration, for the prophet Joseph Smith who sacrificed so much to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, and for the Savior who sacrificed ALL so that we can be redeemed from our sins. I love the gospel, and I love the priesthood!

Also, we had an awesome lesson with a sweet Filipino couple this week. At the end of the lesson, the husband, Alex, prayed in Tagolog about the Restoration. The Spirit was so strong during his prayer. After the prayer, he and his wife said  they felt that Joseph Smith really was a prophet. And before we left, Alex said that we made their day. It was a wonderful experience!

I love you all so much. Have a glorious week! Oh and this is an awesome video for Father's Day on lds.org-"Earthly Father, Heavenly Father." Oh and you can visit fatherhood.mormon.org. Anyways, have a good one!

Love,

Sister Mecate