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