Monday November 24, 2014

A week of "A-has"‏

Let me start off with talking about one of the greatest highlights of the week: The Cuiellars' Baptism!!!!! So this is a family from the Summerset ward that I had been working with for over a year!!! So the Elders back in March 2013 tried to work with them but they had dropped them because they didn't know what to do with them.  So when I opened the area back in Sept. 2013 there was no teaching record or info of them.  It was when I was going through old progress records trying to get information on stuff that I came across them.  They were written in on only two progress records but a long time ago, but I decided to go and try to contact them again.  I started working with Juanita who is the mom.  I worked with them a ton and then when I left I didn't hear too much about them.  Until a month ago we got a text from the mission office about their baptism(i think i wrote about this a few weeks ago).  This was a testimony to me of how I always need to go through all old papers and information.  What if I would of thrown all those papers out assuming that the area was well organized and the teaching records would of been there(well i guess they never really taught them, we were the ones that started teaching them) they could of been lost forever and would of never came to know the truth.
    Anyways so I went to the baptism and it was so good!!! As soon as I arrived it was packed with members from the ward and missionaries.  I went right up to Juanita and her two kids getting baptized and just hugged them.  Juanita and I hugged for such a long time and just cried to each other.  I told her how proud I was of her and the example that she has been to her family and how strong that she was.  She told me that she has never been this happy before in her life and she told me that there was no way that she would be able to go through her Baptism without me there.  She is seriously an amazing woman, some day I will tell you all about it.  It was such a neat experience to see her get baptized.  When the Bishop was welcoming her into the ward he did something that he had never done before.  He had every that was serving a mission and had ever served a mission stand up, then he had those that were not currently serving to sit down, and then he had all the other missionaries that had not served in the Summerset ward sit down as well.  As I stood there with a handful of other missionaries Bishop Root talked about how valiant we were and how grateful he was to work with us.  It was there that I started to cry! It hit me as I look at Bishop Root and at the Cuiellars and at all the other members in that room how much I missed them all.  That area  and ward had such a huge impact on my life, I could never forget them.  I had an ache in my heart thinking of all the great memories there and it killed me to know I will never serve them as a missionary again.  But I am grateful for the opportunity that I got to go to that baptism and feel the spirit there so strong and to see all the ward members and to hear the impact that I had on their lives.  I promised them that when I get home that one day I will just show up in the church meeting.  That is a promise that I am going to keep!  That is one thing that I am grateful for that I got the opportunity to serve in a place so close where I could come back to visit those that I have served.
   So things are going well with Sally Fogg in our area, we got to see her this week a couple of times because she is off work, but she goes back this week :( She has already read most of 1 Nephi!  You can really see the spirit working on her.  Last night we went with her and her less active husband to Hymns of Thanksgiving.  It is a community event that was actually started by a member in the church where the sing hymns of thanks.  It was really great to be able to bring them there.  Sally always jokes about us that one day we will "tie her down to the floor" to convert because that is what she thought missionaries do before she met with us.  But what she doesn't realize that it is her that is really "tying herself down to being converted".  It has been great to really see the change in her these past few weeks.

   Things are still hard at times in our area, but I came to a realization and committed myself to something this week.  Okay my thoughts are scattered but I hope this will all make sense to you.  This came to me as I was studying for a training that I had to do at District Meeting. Our meeting was focused on "traps" as missionaries.  Mine was on finding vs. referrals and us falling into the trap of waiting and relying on our only source of finding through referrals.  I have decided that this is such a great time of a year where people hearts are soften and receptive to the spirit and listening to a message about the Savior.  Even our stake is doing a two night event where they have a live nativity that is outside with the youth as actors and they bring in live animals, even a camel!!! hahaha Anyways, so here is what I declared to my district and to myself.  That I want to go home with bloody knuckles.  I want people to think that I was in a fight because in all honesty I am, I am in a fight against the adversary.  I want to knock on every single door in our area, even though tracting is not as effective.  But you know what, I want to go home swinging, I want to go home knowing that I tried to bring every single person I could closer to Christ.  I can't just wait until they come to me, I keep saying the area is tough.  But I know that I can't stay that there is no work until I have knock on every house.  So that is something that I have committed to: to knock on every door.  I want to come home so tired!

    Don't worry about me for Thanksgiving, I am going to be well taken care of! We have a Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Desserts, and lots of other people that have asked us to stop by the home on this wonderful day.  I think I might be too well taken care of this holiday season, hopefully you will still be able to recognize me when I get back ;)
   So I had this realization today as I was having personal study of why as missionaries we don't live in the world and the reason for the rules that we have.  They are all there to help us build our testimony.  This is the time in our life's where I have solely focused on spiritually things. I have been able to figure things out and question things while focusing on getting those answers by using spiritual resources(i.e. the scriptures and prayer) and not having the influence of the world.  There has been no other point in my life where things have been so clear to me and I know exactly what I know to be true with out a shadow of a doubt.  I realized how important it is for me to write down my testimony that I have right now because when I go back home that influence of the world will try to start to put its input into my testimony.  I see those that I am working with how the word has shaken their testimonies, it made me realize that if for whatever reason I start to question what I know to be true that it will be because of what the world is trying to make me think.  That I can look back at this point in my life and realize where I should when I was not apart of the world.  That is something that really burned deep inside me today and I just had this overall reassurance of how important my testimony is not only to me but to those around me. I realize how special and precious it is as well and that I need to continue to nourish it when I get home.  I challenge all of you that may be struggling or questioning things about what you believe to "take the world out of the equation". Study it out in the scriptures and talk it over with your Father in Heaven.

   I can not tell you how much my testimony has grown not only over the course of my mission, but so much even more this past transfer.  As I have been rereading the Book of Mormon and studying the conference talks about Joseph Smith, my whole body burns with the testimony that I have of him.  Over and over there is evidence that he was called to restore Christ original church and that there is no way that he himself could of written this "book from heaven".  I also had a realization this week as I was studying talks how important it is for me to know where my testimony is at and to strengthen it before I can help others.  

    If there is one thing that I could be grateful for this time of year it would be the opportunity I have had to be here out serving a mission.  This period of my life has changed my life and has changed my testimony for the better! I needed to serve a mission not only for others, but for myself.  I now know that I will never waver because of the experiences I have had on my mission that have built my testimony to where it is at today.  I am even more grateful for my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ.  Isn't it interesting how Thanksgiving come right before Christmas? That we realize what is good in our lives to humble us and prepare us to receptive to the spirit to remember what our Savior has done for us. Coincidence? I think not.  And last but not lease I so thankful for all of you. For all your love and support that you have given me on my mission, you will never realize the impact that you have had on my mission and life.  It is because of all of you that I am out here and still out here serving a mission.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Take a moment to not only public express what you are grateful for to those around you, but specifically to your father in Heaven as well.  

Love

Sister Metcalf

Pictures: Juanita Cuiellar and I

All the missionaries that I have worked with them

Sister Broberg and I in Idaho City

Monday November 17, 2014

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

This week has been another slow one for us up here in Meridian.  We walked most of the week to help keep us busy trying to talk to people on the street.  It ended up snowing Wednesday night up here and no joke probably snowed for almost 48 hours straight.  It was so nuts!  We really didn't have much planned for Friday so we headed so we spent a good part of the day shoveling peoples driveways.  Man I have never been so sore in my life.  We defiantly slept well that night.  A lot of people looked at us like we were crazy offering to shovel to shovel their walks for free. 

    The ward had a chili cook off which is such a great opportunity for them to invite their friends to.  I don't think that was ever anything that we did down in Simi, but I think it is a great idea.  I feel like in this area almost every ward does it.  Even though the roads weren't that great and it was pretty cold Friday night there was still a really good turn out.  It was also a great opportunity for me to be able to meet more people in the ward.

    A tender mercy from the week was picking up a new investigator.  Her name is Sallie Fogg, her husband is a less active member. The sisters had visited with her before but she hadn't shown much interest.  When I came into the area she has had some events in her life to humble her, she got a priesthood blessing the first week that I was here so I really didn't get a chance to know her.  This week we went by to see her because she has to now stay home due to some new health issues.  While we were talking she randomly asked us when church was and where just in case she ever wanted to sit in the back and observe.  This just blew our minds, no one has ever been the one to bring up going to church to us first, so we talked to her about learning more.  She has really come along ways and we invited her to take the discussions and she agreed.  We taught her the Restoration and it went really well, we committed her to read the Book of Mormon. And when we went by her house Friday to shovel her driveway for her she had told us that she had been reading! From what Sister Broberg has told me she has been taking leaps and bonds this transfer, we really have high hopes for her. We have really been trying to push the work along in this area and its been tough not gonna lie, but it was such a blessing from the Lord to be able to pick up a new investigator.

    One thing I learned this week as well came from a less active family.  They don't as active or don't come to church very often due to their daughter playing basketball.  The don't force her to go to mutual because she claims that their aren't girls there that she gets along with or play sports.  Their whole life revolves around her and her sports, they see her playing in college so they are doing everything in their power to help her make it there.  It made me realize how grateful I was for you Dad and Mom, that you didn't let my life be revolved around sports.  That you helped me see the importance of the Gospel in my life.  That one day I wouldn't be playing sports and their were different things that needed to be a focus in my life to prepare me for that day.  You helped me to start building my treasures up in Heaven then here on earth.  So thank you for helping me to build my testimony when I was young and making me go to mutual to help me to branch out and to be friends with those around me.

   This week we have been going around contacting people and teaching the members the Lesson of the Restoration to talk to them about those around them that would be receptive to hear our message.  It has been a great experience and it really has affirmed to me over and over again how true this message is.  It just burns in my heart and soul, one of the members we taught returned from his mission five years ago and he said to remember the feelings we have on our mission because we will never be able to feel them with that much intensity again.  That really hit me, so I went home that night to write my testimony down and to write the feelings that I had.  I love being out here teaching and testifying to everyone even when things feel like they aren't going at the pace that I would hope.

   I am just trying to enjoy every moment of the mission, snow or shine!

Love

Sister Metcalf

1-So much snow!

2-Us by our car before we went to go shovel peoples driveways...got to bundle up! 

Monday November 10, 2014

Faith has a short shelf life

Dear Family and Friends,

      I feel like at different points of this week that it went by quickly and other times it went by slowly.  The area I serve in is different from the one that I was in previously.  I know one thing that I wanted for the end of my mission was to be diligent and work hard and I feel like the Lord is really testing me.  There is not much work going on in this ward, and it is less than a square mile big so I am really going to have to dig deep and work hard to build up this area and get the work moving along.  Most of this week I spent the time organizing things and getting the area in order so we could more effectively plan and work.  It is funny because I feel like I really don't OCD about things but I guess when it comes to the Lord's work I like it to be organized.  I was a little shocked coming into the area because not much was marked up and not much information was written by people.  Luckily they had progress records from all the way back to before I came out on my mission which was funny to see.  So i went through all of them and wrote down the important stuff on the ward directory or teaching records and then threw out the rest that weren't recent.  TO be honest a lot of them just said about people not being home.  We then went through and redid our white board that way we could see everyone and all the potentials that we have to work with and even went through and created a street list( a list of all the members by street).

    We pretty much walk around a ton because our area is so small.  I think that is one thing that has been hard for me this week that our area is so small and their aren't really many people that we are working with.  We have one investigator but he is a schizophrenic and has actually removed his names.  So staying busy is really hard, I have been trying to figure out how to approach things in a different way here because it is so small and because it has already been worked in so much.  But I am going about it in a positive attitude.  I have so much faith that there is people in this area that are ready to be baptized, and that is something that we want this transfer.  We might have to track the whole area to find them(which we could probably do by the end of the transfer to be honest).  A lot of people have heard about the church before or know of us and so your typical door approach just won't cut it here.  Luckily we have a lot of activities coming up and holidays as well which should help.  I guess this is my big test to really see if I am willing to be diligent and work hard till the very end. 

    This week we met a lot of people, mostly those that are not interested, but Sister Broberg and I just saw that we are weaving out the "tares".  We had zone meeting this Friday which was really good, we actually have 30 missionaries in our zone which is a huge difference from 12 in my last zone. Things are moving along and we are determined to keep the work really picked up in the area.  It has been good serving with Sister Broberg, I feel like we are laughing all the time which is great and helps when we find those that aren't ready to take the next step in their life.

   So here is a little rewind for you, I didn't get an opportunity to write about zone conference that much last week so I wanted to this week because it was so great! The theme of Elder Godoy's address was "Every phase is building the future of you". He really focused on marriage and future families. As missionaries we've all gone through the stages of being a new greenie/missionary. Some of us have been a new leader or trainer. One day we will all be new RMs, new couple, new parents or grandperents, new dead person on the other side (he mentioned how he's pretty sure there is a MTC for the newly deseased). One day we will all be new gods talking classes like 'How To Create Worlds 101'. Elder Godoy brought up the idea that as important as DOING what you're supposed to in what ever phase of life is BEING who the Lord wants youto be. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." No one can be perfect in every phase as Christ was but we each have a level that we are perfect at. An apple is perfect as an apple should be. A banana is perfect as a banana. One should not look at the other and judge according to what they see as perfection (And then he started to go off on the Barney song about apples and bananas. I told you, he's crazy in the best possible way). So we all are given a level that we have to achieve at that time and no more. Just a brilliant talk. He then brought up that the baptisms in the world have gone up 11% across the world and 13% in the United States. How much in the Idaho Boise Mission? A grand total of 31%! Wooh! Just random tidbit he threw in:)

   Things here are good! I read a talk this morning by Elder Eyring, where I got the title of my subject.  This talk was so good and really hit me hard. I really feel like you all should read it! Spiritual Preparedness . You all should read it and really apply to your life, we need to be doing things daily to build our faith, we can't just build it all up and store it for a time that we need to dip into it.  This talk was given almost ten years ago and I feel like it applies to us so much today, it is a testimony builder today that the Prophets and Apostles have been called my the Lord to prepare us.

    I love you and miss you all and hope that you have a great week.  Pray with faith for and expect miracles, I know I am.  Create those miracles and tender mercies in your life.

Love
Sister Metcalf

Monday November 3,2014

"Dropping the little kids off at the pool"‏

Okay so I will start off with transfers, I got transferred to Meridian South :( I was really sad to leave Eagle. The people there are just amazing and the ward there is amazing and the work is going so well up there.  It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone up there that I have grown so close with.  I am no longer an STL any more, i went down to be co-senior companions with Sister Broberg! Yep you heard right, I am serving with the only other missionary that is from Simi Valley, CA hahahaha This is her last transfer so I will be "killing" her off.  I can just tell we are gonna have a blast this transfer and just work it! As sad as it was for me to leave I know that it had to happen in order for me to possible train before I go home.  I think it might happen.  Because since this is sister Broberg's last transfer i will have to get a new companion next transfer. She will be my 12th companion...that is just nuts to me, but I have loved every companion that I have had! So looks like I will be leaving with the lucky #13 companions(my favorite number...looks like the Lord does work in mysterious ways ahahah). I will be back to covering one ward :( And apparently it is small like half a square mile big, but hey I can work with that! I plan on seeing miracles this transfer and sending out Sister Broberg with the best transfer of her mission!
        This week was such a great week of tender mercies I feel like from the Lord.  The beginning of the week started out a little slow, but I feel like it ended with a bang for sure! On Thursday I was leaving the house with a feeling that it was going to be a great day, have you ever had those feelings before? I seriously love them on the mission.  So last week we had received a media referral for a girl who had referred herself. She said that she had taken the discussions before and wanted to refresh her memory.  Well we tried all last week to contact her but was having no success. Finally as a last resort we texted her on Tuesday.  On Wednesday we had gotten a text back from her about her losing her phone but had set up a time to see her the next day.  We met her at the church with our R.S.P. and taught her the Restoration. She is so amazing and so elect. She was just soaking up everything and asking about church on Sunday.  The sad thing is is that we will have to pass her off to YSA because she is 19 :( After that experience I was super jealous of Megan.  I would love to serve in the YSA ward, I agree with Megan that there is just something different about teaching those that are the same age as you.  Yow can just relate to them and be so much more bolder with them.  We are meeting up with the YSA Elders this week to pass her off to them. The lesson went super well and she excepted a soft baptismal invite! Meaning when she comes to know these things are true she will follow the example of her Savior Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God! Sometimes I think I get too attached to people, she is seriously so great!!!
    To top off that amazing day, as we pulled in to our house, Sister Clegg was going back reading through all the texts that the mission office had sent because they had kind of sent a lot that day. As she was reading text one of them was to tell me how the Cuillers for Boise West were getting baptized!!! I had found that family a year ago!!! That just blew my mind, I was so stoked to hear that.  I was overwhelmed with love and tender mercies from the Lord that day.  That sometimes when the going gets tough you keep going and pushing through and the Lord will bless you. Sometimes you don't see it right away, sometimes I won't see them at all in the mission, but I felt blessed that the Lord had allowed me to be even more blessed! It was a testimony builder to me that sometimes others take longer than others, but we just have to be patient and trust in the Lord's timing!
     We had zone conference this week with Elder Godoy, and it was just amazing, he is seriously such a funny guy.  Such a great spiritual experience, I wish I could write about everything that I learned and came away from it, but I don't have enough time :( He focused a lot on Chapter 6 of Preach my Gospel which was Christlike attributes. So he focused a lot on us becoming the person our Father in Heaven needs us to be! He was really inspiring. I also had to give my trunk-a-mony or my last testimony in Zone Conference, it was so surreal to me. I started to cry a little bit, it was a little rough. It kind of hit how quickly this is all coming to an end but I quickly reminded myself as well that I still have so much more time left to see miracles and so much more that the Lord needs me to do.

   Yesterday was probably my favorite Sunday in my whole mission! Well Alex(the new investigator came to the family ward on Sunday all by herself!!!!! She came there because she felt more comfortable since she knew us there.  There were quite a few less actives that came out as well as some of the youth brought some non-memner friends!!!! At first the fast and testimony meeting started out a little rough and i was nervous not gonna lie! But then it was amazing! Some of the most powerful testimonies I had heard were given about the basics of the gospel, about Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith which was seriously just perfect.  I ended up bearing my testimony as well, I just love doing that! There were tons of youth that bore their testimony as well, they are seriously awesome. I just know they are going to be great missionaries when they go out!
   So last tender mercy of the week, so as I was packing up this morning which was hard for me to do, not gonna lie. We got a text from Alexandria(the new investigator) just talking about how much she just loved church.  She also said she had been praying a lot about what we had taught her and she said she wants to get baptized! My heart was filled with so much joy! I felt so blessed to of been able to see this last tender mercy from the Lord before I left.  We told her how excited we were for her, I told her I would make it back for her baptism!

    The church is true! All of it, every single bit. Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know it to be true, to the world it doesn't make sense logically but to me it makes sense spiritually. I know that it is true and all the other stuff that people are trying to say about him do not matter. Don't let it matter to you either.  If you know that the First Vision occurred that is all that matters, that means that He was called to be a prophet of God, and that he translated the Book of Mormon.  No one is perfect, but I know that if he wasn't suppose to be a prophet or wasn't "worthy" or did things that don't seem the greatest, God would of pulled him from leading Christ's restored Church.  I love you all and pray for you all! Keep doing what you are doing!

Love
Sister Metcalf

P.S. I know that the title doesn't make sense, but it does to me. It is a quote this week that I don't want to forget hahaha

P.P.S. My new address is

2746 East Easy Jet Drive
Meridian, Idaho
83642

 Slot Cars

 Sister Haas and I where I probably lost my camera

Pre-Trunk Papers