Monday June 18th, 2014

"Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. We must never allow doubt to hold us prisoner and keep us from the divine love, peace and gifts that come through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."‏

Sorry that I forgot to tell you all last week that my preparation day got switch to Wednesday this week, it is because we are going to the temple today!!! I am so excited.  I feel like so much has happened in these past 10 days and my faith has been really tested by the Lord. 

    Elvira is doing so awesome.  We finished teaching her the lessons last week, and everything turned out so much better then we thought.  One of the last lessons we taught her was on tithing, both Sister Hatch and I were nervous about how it would go.  She is still paying off medical bills from when her husband passed away from cancer a few years ago, she is a single parent providing for her two teenage children.  We thought that this was going to be a hard one for her to accept and it would really be a trial of her faith.  We had set up the appointment with her for last Saturday and we had invited her coworker that introduced her to the gospel.  Even though he lives out in Eagle we thought it would be the best because they have a good relationship and she really respects him.  Well when we pulled up to her house my heart just dropped because her car was gone.  My companion said not to worry and just to wait, but I had this feeling that we just had to call her. So I kind of disregarded what my companion said and called her, she was at her friends house and had forgotten about our appointment.  She was wanting to cancel, but I reminded her how Jackson(her friend) was coming out for the lesson.  She thought for a few seconds and then said that she would be there in ten minutes.  Let me tell you Satan has been working hard on us.  Anyway so we had the lesson with her and it went so well and two of her coworkers were there and just testified about the blessings that tithing would bring to her.  She agreed to live the law of tithing and asked us if she could start paying it tomorrow at church.  I couldn't believe it, that was the first time that I have ever taught that lesson before and the investigator wanted to start paying it right away.  We got to see her on Monday and watched the restoration video with her, we really have been trying to keep in contact with her and strengthen her testimony.  We were hoping to see her yesterday and this morning but she got called into work early, she has been working like 10-12 hour days these last few days, Satan is not wanting her to meet with us I can tell you that.  But she called us this morning and asked us if we could come over tonight and when we told her we could she was so excited.  I love this woman so much, the faith that she has inspires me, she makes me want to be a better person.  I feel so blessed to of been able to teach her, she was so prepared by the Lord.  So we were talking to her about her baptismal program and who she wanted to do what stuff.  She works with a Doctor Packer and has grown really close with him, he is a Stake President in another Stake, he actually called her when he found out that she was getting baptized.  She asked him to give a talk at her Baptism and he agreed.  We found out from Jackson(her co-worker) that Doctor Packer is President Packers grandson!!!! That is so crazy, I don't think she realizes that either.  When we told him that he would be speaking he was shocked and grateful, he is well respected at the hospital.  She is so ready for this Saturday and I am so excited for her, i know that it is going to be such an amazing experience.

    So update on Charlie.  So we really have been shooting for her to be baptized on the 28th, but we had been waiting to hear back from his brother in law to see when he could come up to do the baptism.  On Sunday when we saw him he told us that his brother in law would not be able to come up till the 12th of July, we were a little sad to here this but he said it wasn't for sure.  On Monday night we went to his house to teach us a lesson.  When we showed up, he told us that he had to cancel because his wife had a rough day and she was napping.  Then he continue to tell us that he didn't think that he was going to get Baptized till August because his sister in law wanted him to wait until the family reunion.  My heart just dropped.  He has been meeting with missionaries for 6 years and he has had so many baptismal dates.  We didn't understand why he was getting cold feet, he tried to assure us that it was going to happen, but we told him how he has said this before in the past when he has pushed off his baptismal date.  We told him we didn't understand because when we told him about the blessings he could bring to his family he was so gun-ho about being baptized at the end of June.  We talked to him about the blessings he would be putting off until August for his family and how if he was baptized next weekend, he would be able to baptize his daughter with all the cousins(Bishop was the one who told us that).  That really made him think, he said he would think things over and let us know but we haven't heard from him yet.  It is so hard to convey to people the importance of Baptism on their doorstep.  

    I was heart broken and devastated when we got this news.  I didn't understand, I had so much Faith that this would happen.  Sister Hatch and I have been doing everything that we could for this ward that we are in to see the fruits of the Boise Missions June Harvest(for ever ward to have a baptism by the end of June). (Elvira actually lives in another ward boundary but we have been teaching her because she is single and felt more comfortable with sisters teaching her.)  I felt like I had failed the ward, that all my efforts had gone to waste and that I had put all of our marbles in Charlies basket.  My mission President was right when he told us at the beginning of the month that Satan would be doing all he could to waver our faith and to disappointment.  I still have hope for Charlie, but it isn't as much as it was before we saw him Monday.  

    The Lord showed me though that when one door closes another one opens.  This was a miracle within itself and the timing was a miracle!  So there is a man in our ward who lost his wife last year and there has been this big controversy in his family because he was wanting to get remarried to one of his old friends from high school. Well about a week ago he went down to Texas to get married and moved her up to his house.  We went to go help them move boxes in and to unpack, we came to find out that Mary(his new wife) was meeting with missionaries down in Texas and had been going to church since February.  We asked her if she would like to continue to take the lessons and she agreed to it and she has been coming to church up here.  So last week we had set up an appointment with her for yesterday(Tuesday).  We went and retaught her the Restoration.  Sister Hatch and I decided to take a leap of Faith and asked her if she would be baptized on the 28th of June, and she said yes!!! She was so excited, I seriously could not believe it. I am still in shock! I know that we can get her ready by that day.  I have been going back and forth these past 24 hours trying to figure out if I am pushing this because I am wanting our ward to see the fruits of the June Harvest or if she truly is just ready and a miracle that the Lord has placed into my path. I just don't think I am use to this when teaching people.  I am so use to teaching people everything about the gospel and then finding out what their concerns are about baptism, not the other way around where they want to get baptized before they fully know everything.  I still have my hopes for Charlie for the 28th, but I am still so amazed at how the Lord is involved in every detail of the work.

    I cannot believe that it is already transfers coming up in just over a week! Where has the time gone.  This week when we were talking to our bishop it really hit me that it is about 90% that I will be the one to go.  I started to cry because I have grown such a deep love for these people here in this area, the members and my investigators.  It was such a struggle for me at first and I just wanted to be transferred out the first transfer but these last two I have really come to see and love the people how God does.  It is because I have worked so closely with the Bishop and created a relationship with him that I have seen how much he cares about everyone and loves everyone that it rubbed off onto me.  If I could have my way, I would want to serve in this area for the rest of my mission.  I don't want to leave these people!  The Lord has really opened my eyes in this area and pushed me.  My faith has been really tried these last few weeks, but I am all in on the Lord's side.  I look back at the last few days and feel silly for doubting my faith.  I didn't understand how Charlie could fall through when I had given it my all, when I had so much Faith and did everything that the Lord asked me to do.  "Sometimes we don't see the big picture when we are standing in the frame(right Nathan?)"  That is what I need to do better at is trusting in the Lord in what he is doing not only with my investigators, but with myself.  He is the one that sees the big picture and although sometimes we don't understand why He is taking us down the path that we are going down, but we have to be patient and have faith in Him.  In the end His way is always better.

    So for the past few weeks I have been really studying the Atonement, it has made such a difference in my life and has really opened my eyes to everything.  I have come to realize that in any relationship that when you spend time with someone more and get to know them a little better that you come to love them a little more a little deeper.  That is something that I have realized on my mission.  That as I have come to know my Savior a little more that I have come to love Him even more.  And that since I have been out on my mission,Heavenly Father and Christ have been showing me just how much they really know me.  This has been the only time in my life where in a sense I am taking the time to "spend" with my Father in Heaven and my Savior.  My relationship with them has strengthen, we have walked side by side in a sense.  Each time I study the Gospel and the Atonement I realize just how much They love me which in returns deepens my love for Them.  I can't not express how grateful I am for the things that I have learned thus far.

   My challenge for all of you this week is to think about your relationship with your Savior and think about what you can do to strengthen that.  Study about his life a little more, ask him for miracles in your life.  I read this talk the other week by Jeffery R. Holland(seriously my favorite), and I feel his words explained it perfectly. Each day i want to strengthen my relationship with both God and Jesus Christ every single day so when I make it to the next life I will be able to recognize their faces even though I have never seen them. I love you all so much!!!!

"When (Christ) comes, I so want to be caught living the gospel. I want to be surprised right in the act of spreading the faith and doing something good. I want the Savior to say to me: “(insert name here), I recognize you not by your title but by your life, the way you are trying to live and the standards you are trying to defend. I see the integrity of your heart. I know you have tried to make things better first and foremost by being better yourself and then by declaring my word and defending my gospel to others in the most compassionate way you could.”He will certainly add: “I know you weren’t always successful with your own sins and with the circumstances of others, but I believe you honestly tried. I believe in your heart you truly loved me.”


LoveSister Metcalf

Monday June 9, 2014

Random Thoughts On A Page

This week just seemed to fly by this week.

  On Monday we had a super good lesson with the Wilson's, we really focused on how we have a short period of time here on Earth to prove our self.  I used the talk from general conference about four minutes by Bishop Stevenson.  That really hit him hard, we got him to call his Brother in law to see when he can come up to baptize him.  He left him a voice mail so we will hopefully find out tonight what the verdict is.  We are starting over on teaching him the lessons, even though he has had them a bunch of times but it has been about a year.  We are teaching the plan of salvation tonight and are really going to direct it towards him.  I am excited, I have really come to love being bold with people.  

   We also saw one of our part member family investigators that we dropped a couple of months ago just to see how things were going.  She told us that this week she had the desire to start having family prayers each night.  It might see like a small step but this is moving her in the right direction to prepare her to make the bigger commitments down the road.  I know I won't see the fruits of that while I am in the area, but I know that I have helped her along the way.

   We also saw Elvira this week a couple of times, she has so much faith and such a strong desire to be baptized.  We taught her a few commandments, one of them being the Word of Wisdom.  We were nervous about this lesson because she has an issue with coffee.  We explained to her the reasoning and blessings from keeping this commandment from God.  She said that she knew it was going to be hard, but that she would and that she had the Faith that the Lord would help her.  Sadly she was sick this week so she wasn't able to attend church.  My companion and I were trying to figure out if she would be ready or not to be baptized on the 21st of June.  It was weighing on us yesterday.  It is funny how the Lord answers your prayers though, as we were sitting in gospel principles class we were talking about baptism, which was perfect for Charlie Wilson to hear.  And a comment that the teacher made was an answer that I was looking for.  He was obviously stating his own opinion but he was talking about his opinion on baptisms.  How some bishops or missionaries are afraid to let investigators to get baptized because they are not sure if they will stay strong in the church.  But he said that if they have that desire to be baptized we should do all that we can to get them there and have faith and trust in the Lord that if they are to fall away that someone will reach out to them and help them to come back.  It is hard for me to explain it right now, but Sister Hatch and I both got the feeling that we should keep Elvira on that date, that she has such strong faith and desire to be baptized. 

   We also had our Missionary Leadership Council this week, sadly our Mission President was sick so he was not there, so his wife was in charge.  It was interesting but we learned a lot.  This week Sister Hatch and I did the training at our Zone meeting, we focused on Christlike Attributes.  We did this activity that was really cool.  We tried to focus on them seeing the bigger picture on things that their mission is not just for a season but for the rest of their lives.  We had them right down who the wanted to be at the end of their missions, what qualities that wanted to carry over from their mission.  We then had them all close their eyes and imagine that they had reached the end of their missions that they had flown home and had greeted their family.  Then they got to the stake presidents office and were released, we had them all take off their missionary name tag off.  We had them reflect if they were the person that they hoped that they would become and to write down what they needed to do to reach that point.  I know for me when i did this activity, that it was a scary moment.  There is so much more that I want to do and work at to become the person that I need to be.  We talk about them taking this day to be a turning point in their mission whither they have 2 months left or 22.  I feel like I have been reflecting a lot lately the person that Heavenly Father needs me to be and who I want to be when I go home.  I promise I am not getting trunky, this just instilled a deeper desire to work even harder and progress a little faster.  This week I have started to go through the book of Mormon again and highlight all the Christlike attributes, it has really opened my eyes as well to the scriptures.  Sometimes I feel like I don't have enough time out here for myself as I study for others, but then I am reminded that I have the rest of eternity to work on myself and to learn for myself.

   At the end of our zone meeting we paired up with someone and we wrote something down that we wanted to work at and they had to commit us to that item.  I ended up being paired up with Sister Winder(Mission Presidents wife), which I was so excited about because I knew that I would be held even more responsible for what I chose.

    I have been rereading the conference talks from April, that is something that I would encourage you all to do.  There has been so much more that I have been getting out from it. 

   I love you and miss you all, so sorry that this email is so short. Hope all is well with you! Look for the Lord's hand in your life daily! 

Love 

Sister Metcalf

Quotes:

When (Christ) comes, I so want to be caught living the gospel. I want to be surprised right in the act of spreading the faith and doing something good. I want the Savior to say to me: “(Megan), I recognize you not by your title but by your life, the way you are trying to live and the standards you are trying to defend. I see the integrity of your heart. I know you have tried to make things better first and foremost by being better yourself and then by declaring my word and defending my gospel to others in the most compassionate way you could.”He will certainly add: “I know you weren’t always successful with your own sins and with the circumstances of others, but I believe you honestly tried. I believe in your heart you truly loved me.”

- Elder Holland

Your happiness depends more on the principles you choose to follow than on the external circumstances of your life.

-Bishop Causse

If it were possible for you to receive a letter from your premortal life, what would it say? What impact would such a letter from a forgotten but very real world have on you if you were to receive it today?

This letter might say something like: “Dear me, I am writing to you so you will remember who I want to become. I hope you will remember that my greatest desire is to be a disciple of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I support His plan, and when I am on earth, I want to help Him in His work of salvation. Please also remember that I want to be part of a family that will be together for all eternity.”

One of the great adventures of life is finding out who we really are and where we came from and then consistently living in harmony with our true identity as children of God and with the purpose of our existence.

-Bishop Causse

Monday June 2, 2014

"You're either Pregnant or you're not"‏

Okay Okay, I know exactly how Megan feels about subject lines.  I know mine seems odd, but you will have to read my email for it to make sense.  Never a dull week here in missionary life, i seriously feel like this last week just blew by.  We didn't meet our goals we had set for lessons this week, but that is driving us to work harder this week. Overall this was a really good week for us, the Lord has been really forcing me to turn outwards and focus on others which I love! We actually did some biking this week because it was the end of the month so we had to save on out miles.  It has been a ton of fun, we actually asked the members if we can use their bike a little bit longer.  Only story from that is that some how we both have managed for both bikes we were on for the pedals to fall off! hahaha I think the worst one was on Thursday, we were in a hurry because we thought we had a meeting on Saturday, but the people text ed us that morning and said it was today. So we hurried up and left our apartment and started biking the two miles to the church where we park the car.  It normally takes ten minutes, well my companion forgot to tell me how on the previous day when we were on exchanges she used my bike and the pedal fell off. So we got about a quarter of a mile and the pedal fell off and we didn't have the tools to fix it. I tried but it would only last for about 10 feet. So I ended up running/jogging the rest of the 2 miles with the bike. People were looking at us like we were crazy, but I just kept laughing. Tender mercy from the Lord was the cool breeze he would send my way. Let's just say that that was an eventful day for us.That is one thing that I have been trying to do better at.  Is being grateful during my times on trial. So far it has been tough but has been working out really well.

    This week we went on exchanges with some sisters that we are over, they are really struggling so that was a big focus for us this week.  They don't communicate with each other, which is a huge part in companionship unity.  We told them how this is just preparing them for the rest of their life, that they need to voice their opinions and speak up when they feel like something that the other companion is doing is wrong.  We had a good talk with them and they seem to be doing a lot better these past few days which has been good because I was worried about them.  

    While on exchanges, Sister Hatch stayed here and met up with our investigator, Elvira. They read the Book of Mormon with her and it just went so well.   We have to go a little slower with her because we read a verse in English then she reads it in Croatian (her native language) and then we talk about it.  She knows English really well, she has been in the U.S. for 13 years but it is the old English that is hard for her.  She is just amazing and just soaking everything up.  She knows that she doesn't need to understand everything now that it will take time and she will always be continually learning which is just awesome that she already knows that from this point.  She has been really feeling the spirit and she is just glowing.  We sent a Baptismal date with her last week for June 21st!!! She is so excited, she went to church for the first time yesterday and just loved it.  She told everyone about how she was getting baptized and is just so excited, she has even told all her co-workers who are LDS and were the ones that introduced her.  She just has that desire and drive, now we just got to make sure that she is ready for that.  It has been a while since I have had an investigator like this, one who is ready to get baptized before they know everything and are ready.  Usually its the other way around, they know everything but they have concerns holding them back.  I know that the Lord has prepared her and she will be ready by the 21st.  She keeps telling us how good she feels when we teach her and when she prays(she loves to pray!), and we explained to her how that is spirit! Its amazing that she knows that she is not going to know everything and she doesn't let that over whelm her.  Everyone just loves her, and I am just so excited for her.  She even asked us on Sunday to meet with her this week on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday!

   Now we are just hoping to get Charlie on date tonight.  Since march our mission has been doing a "harvest", us as leaders wanted our mission to strive to have each ward to have a baptism by the end of June(which is about 130)/  We are short by just 45.  I have so much faith and hope that our mission is going to reach that, I know there will be obstacles put in our place but we will over come them! Just talking to the other sisters that I am over, it is amazing the miracles that the Lord allows us to see as missionaries.

    On Saturday I got to go to a Baptism in my last area, it was a daughter that I started to teach of a lady who is trying to come back to church.  I don't know if you every remember me telling you about Ursula or Mercedes? Well it was Mercedes baptism.  It was so good to see them both and to hear how they were doing.  I miss them, Ursula really challenged me and asked me hard questions.  She always kept me on my toes, she was so happy to see me too. We had a good talk about how things are going and they seem to be going well for her. She will always hold a special place in my heart, she is such an amazing person. The baptism was great, kind of funny because she had a 2 year old cousin that just kept shooting things out like "I want to say the prayer" or "you go get into the water Mercedes"

   Also on Saturday we had a last minute meeting, all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders got called in to have a talk with Elder Godoy.  He talked about how we need to be better leaders and set the example to those missionaries we are over.  We talked a lot about obedience, it was just so good and really made me want to be a better missionary.  What he said really hit me, he said "we are either obedient or we are not, there is no in between" "Just like being pregnant you are either pregnant or not".  It was funny that analogy he made but it made sense, we can't pick and choose the rules that we want to follow, we either follow them all or we do not! I wish I could just send you all my notes. He made me feel like I need to have a better responsibility over the sisters that I am over. It overall was great and he was just so funny.

   Things here have been going really well overall. Things have been great. I am just loving the work and enjoying all the moments.  I hope that all is well with you! I love you all so much and love hearing from you each and every week. Know that if the small things matter to you, then they matter to your Father in Heaven.  Read your scriptures and say your prayers every night!

Shout out with love,

Sister Metcalf

(from the Gem State)

P.S. You may laugh at me but for the longest time I thought Idaho was the potato state until I saw it on a license plate and said something to my companion. She just laughed at me. You learn something new everyday.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Happy late Memorial Day weekend! I hope you all had a fabulous time enjoying the nice weather,I know I sure did.  Sorry that this letter is a little late, all the libraries were closed yesterday, and sadly this letter is gonna have to be a short one because we only have half the time to email and I already spent half the time trying to read everyone's emails. If I didn't respond to you this week I am sorry, I promise to next week.

    The last week was a really good week for my companion and I lesson wise.  We finally hit 20 lessons this week which is the standard of excellence(only 20% mission is suppose to hit that mark each week).  This is the first time I have hit since all the changes and clarifications on the lessons.  We were both super excited to have met that. 

    To be honest this week was a blur to me.  We went on exchanges with some sisters this week which went pretty well, we also went to lunch with another set of sisters that we are over that were struggling.  To be honest this is the one thing that I love about being over sisters, is that they feel like they can trust me and I am able to help them out or give them advice when they need it.  As much as a strain it takes to go on exchanges I love being able to meet so many different sisters and learn things from them. 

   Things have been going really well with me becoming bold, we have done a little bit of tracking each day but not too much. I have gotten a lot better this week just opening my mouth and being bold with everyone even members and less actives.  Its really been great, and its like how Nathan explained it to me, I feel totally different as a missionary.  I was always nervous to not "upset" people but it hit me a few weeks ago that I am here to cry repentance and was reading in the Book of Mormon that the words that I am here to give are not suppose to be smooth, that it is going to upset some people but that is just the way it is.  I really try this last night with the Wilson's. They are the family that we are working with where the wife is a member and he is not. My companion and I were just bold with him talking about the blessings that he could bring to the family.  There has been a lot of concerns that they both have that we have been trying to over come. The wife made a comment that was so directed by the spirit that hit him.  We had a good conversation about his desire and acting on that and we asked him if he sees himself getting baptized in the near future or down the road.  He said near future so when we asked him when he said sometime in June, we told him to pick a  day this week and really pray to know how we can help him to be ready and he said he would. So we are super excited about that.

   Well I am out of time, I am so sorry, i would love to write a longer email but I am trying to be as obedient as I can so I am respecting my Mission Presidents wishes on our shorter emailing time.  I love you all so much and I hope you have an amazing week. I know I will because I will be going back to my old area for a baptism. I will have to tell you about it next week! Keep being awesome.

Love

Sister Metcalf

Monday May 19, 2014

Does anyone know how to slow down time?‏

I can't believe that it is already Monday again, i feel like these weeks have just been flying by here.  This week was a busy one for us and a pretty successful one as well.  This week we met with our golden investigator, Elvira.  She is seriously so awesome! We taught her the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation, it was great! The spirit was there so strong and she accepted everything that we had to tell her.  We extended the baptismal date of June 21st which she accepted.  When we met with her again yesterday we asked her about that date and she feels so right about it and she prayed about it.  She talked about the feelings she gets as we teach her and when she prays and we explained how it is the spirit.  I am just so excited for her!  The lesson on the Plan of Salvation was so amazing.  She lost her husband a year ago and she hopes to be with him again.  At the end of the lesson I just bore a simple testimony to her about how she can be together with her family forever through the gospel.  We both started to cry, i can not explain the feelings I have for her.  All the pain, hard-work, and tears are worth it for this one person that I have been able to teach in this area.  I can see how much it has already changed her life and how much more blessed she will be.

   This week my companion and I also did some training at Zone Conference.  We were a little nervous the morning of because the night before we kind of switched up our game plan and were a little unsure about everything.  But overall it went so well and our Mission President was so appreciative of what we talked about he said it was what the missionaries needed to hear and set the tone for the rest of the conference as well as lead in perfectly to what he talked about.  Sister Hatch and I talked about our purpose and I started out with talking about the reason why we all decided to come out on missions and borrowed someones call letter to read.  We talked about what we committed to when we accepted the call as well as the blessings that are promised to us.  We then went through faith, repentance, baptism, holy Ghost, and enduring to the end to us as missionaries and how that applies with us.  We talked about how we are hear to invite others to come unto Christ, which means we first have to be there.  We ended with a video clip of elder Hollands about Missionary Work and the Atonement.  It was so good and talked about how missionary work is not meant to be easy. Overall the Zone conference was really good.  President and Sister Winder talked to us about the families and the importance of us standing up for our beliefs because of what is happening around the world.  And it just really hit me that we will most likely be the last one standing on our beliefs about the family and marriage.  It is crazy how much everything is changing out there in the real world, I feel like I am stuck in my missionary bubble.

   This week we also had our Stake BBQ and it turned out a lot better than we thought it was going to.  It was pretty much my companion and I that were spear heading it.  Not a huge turn out like I am use to for stake activities but about 175 people came out.  There were a lot of non members as well as some less actives.  Over all I feel like it was a pretty successful event.  As well as at church yesterday we had a couple of less actives that we are working with come out to church, it was so awesome to of seen them.  I feel like the week was really successful for us.  I can not believe that it is already a new transfer.  My companion and I ended up staying together which we were excited about.  (But we have moved apartments so it kind of still feels like transfers to us.  I can't remember what our address is but I promise to send it in my next email so just keep sending my stuff to the mission office and they will forward it to me.)We sat down last night and set some goals for us this next transfer, we are really hoping to see a lot of success.  I also have decided to fully give up my fear to the the Lord and we are gonna do some productive tracking every single day.  We do track but usually not everyday so I have committed to do that.  I know that there are people out there just like Elvira that are in a famine and are thirsting to hear about the gospel.  I loved this week, I felt like our Zone Conference re instilled my drive and desire and made me want to kick everything up a notch.  

   I am glad that everything is going so well with all of you! I love you all and am glad to hear that everything went smoothly for the funerals.  Sorry that this is a short email again. I love you all! I feel so blessed to be out here serving a mission right now. I am so grateful for the knowledge that I have of the Gospel and the opportunity that I have to share it with those around me.  I am so grateful for family and the love and support that I receive from all of you!

Love

Sister Metcalf

Monday May 12, 2014

"Every little thing is gonna be alright"‏

Wow, I feel like it has been forever since I have last written you all.  This week was a long one for me and to be honest was probably the toughest week for me since I have been out on my mission.

   This week we had MLC (Missionary Leadership Council), this is where all the leaders in the mission get together to receive training as well as talk about things going on in the mission and changes that need to be made.  It is hard to explain but by the time it came to this meeting I was kind of at my wits end with somethings that my companion and I had to deal with and just stressed.  The meeting was really good, this month our mission is focusing on Christlike attributes.  I encourage all of you to study those in preach my gospel this month as well.  As we we taught, I just sat there and thought "Do I like the Missionary I am right now?"  And honestly I didn't, it is funny how the lord humbles you and shapes you to the potential that he sees in us.  There are so many little things I want to become better at and develop certain characteristics as well.  It hit me how far along in my mission I am and how there is so much I still need to accomplish in this short period of time.  I honestly love meetings like this because they motivate me and instill a desire in me to want to change to be a better missionary and person.  A lot of changes have been happening in our mission, and this time our mission president is changing up our preparation days now.  He feels like we aren't using our preparation day to prepare for the week but we are seeing it as a play day.  It is difficult in our mission since it is the 3rd smallest one in the church.  We have gone from mission wide p-days to zone p-days(20ish missionaries).  But I honestly I felt like that was good.  So every Monday we get together with our zone and last month an area seventy told our mission president that we shouldn't be getting together with our zone every preparation day.  So our mission president decided we can only get together with other missionaries every other week.  It was hard for a lot of missionaries to take that, but it really made me step back and think.  As I listened to the what ifs and the arguments going on, i really thought about what my purpose is being out here.  Yes preparation days are great and they are a way to relieve stress for the week, but were people up set about the change for the mission sake our their own.  My main reason of being out here is to serve the Lord and to invite others to come unto Christ. 

    This lead perfectly into our Zone meeting, my companion and I were asked to train the missionaries on whatever that we felt inspire to from our MLC meeting.  We decided to focus on Our purpose and why we all decided to come out on missions.  It went really well and I felt like the spirit was so strong as we taught.  I love teaching others, wither it be missionaries or others.  I love the preparation time that goes into it because I learned so much more when I am studying for others.  I guess the Lord is really testing me on what I can handle because my Mission President this week asked my companion to train at our Zone conference, (where about 80 missionaries will be there) on Our purpose as missionaries and the Doctrine of Christ.  I am excited, but at the same time am a little stressed out.  I have been praying to know how we can better inspire and help these missionaries that we will be speaking to.  As well as I really do not enjoy public speaking, i am fine with small groups, but when it comes to large groups and speaking in church I do not enjoy that.  I know that everything we be fine, but I really want to help these missionaries out here to live up to their calling and see the potential that they have.

   The rest of the week seemed like a blur to me, we went on exchanges on Wednesday with some sisters that were struggling.  It was nice for me to take off the stress of the week and focus on someone else and to help them out.  I just want to testify that a mission is really the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.  Things were great that day and really looking up for me and we just had a good time on exchanges.  It was about right after that we exchanged back that my mission president called me to give me the news at Grandpa Raiser.  Not going to lie it hit me pretty hard and that night it was pretty hard for me to wrap my mind around what had happened.  I am grateful for how my mission president handle it, he had me talk about my grandpa with him and he told me about how he has lost both his parents since he has been out here serving.  He told me about those personal experiences and we had a good heart to heart.  I talked to me for some time and then asked me if it would be okay for him to call back Nathan to see what happened because he realized that this was a sudden thing and wasn't expected.  Nathan he seriously talked so highly of you and how what a great young man you were, which made me cry a little bit more.  After hearing about everything it made me worry about all of you back at home and how you were all doing.  I was a little upset with Heavenly Father because I felt like it was the worst timing ever with mom having her back surgery.  That night I gave one of the most sincere prayers that I have given in a while on my mission, just bearing out my heart to my Father.  I cannot explain to you the feelings in that room as my companion fell asleep(it was kind of a long one for me).  But at that moment it was reconfirmed that Heavenly Father was aware of me, the spirit was so strong and I felt as if both Grandma and Grandpa were there with me as I prayed just hugging me and comforting me.  It was something I have never really experienced before.  After I finished up my pray I really came to terms with things and felt peace in my heart.  I feel like that really prepared me as well for President calling me again Friday night about Grandma Metcalf.  To be honest I was in shock when he told me and it didn't feel to me.  Right now though I am at peace with everything and are moving forward with the work.

   I pray for all of you, it was so good to talk to Mom yesterday as well as with Dad and Megan.  Know that I seriously and doing okay now.  I wish I could be there for the funeral, but I know there is no other place that I am suppose to be then out here.  I love you all! Stay strong, know that you will see them again.  Find peace in prayer, the atonement and the love that the Savior and our Heavenly Father has for each and everyone of you!

  By the way transfers are next week and I may be moving to a different apartment so send all mail to the mission office until you hear from me next Monday.  I love you all so much and am proud of you! Sorry for the short email, i just ran out of time. Did I mention I love you all?!

Love

Sister Metcalf

Monday May 5, 2014

This is not something we do,but become‏

Table rock

Random poster for a ginger fest hahaha 

This might have to be a short one this week, i spent a little more time this week responding to peoples emails individually.  This week has been a pretty good week for us, well we started off strong in the beginning of the week and started to die towards the end, and a little of that had to do with Stake Conference this weekend as well.  We finally got to meet with Elvira who is one of our golden referrals that we received a while back.  We had a really good lesson with her and gave her a Book of Mormon in her native language, she was so excited to begin to read it.  It has been really hard for us to meet with her because her life is so crazy and hectic and she works so much since she is a single mom to two kids.  Her children are just awesome and such good kids, we actually picked up her children this week as new investigators.  She is really trying to look for something religious and something that will bless and help her children as well. I see such great things for her in the future, now if the adversary could just stop getting in the way that would be perfect. But I guess that we don't live in a perfect world.

    We saw the Wilson's this week as well, Sister Hatch and I have been able to be really bold with him which has been great.  I feel like we have a good relationship with him, but are helping him see the blessings the gospel can bring into his life.  We are actually going to teach him the Restoration tonight, he has been visiting with missionaries for so long, but they haven't taught him anything really besides sharing scriptures for at least over a year.   We are anxious to see what will happen tonight, he likes to joke around a lot, so my companion and I have decided that we need it to be serious. And if he is joking about it that we are just gonna stop and explain to him how the things that we are teaching him are important to us and can change his life if he lets the spirit touch his heart.  I feel like he is progressing well though, we just need him to commit and strengthen his testimony.

   We also got to see one of our investigators Kent this week, he is one that the sisters were teaching a while ago, but he hasn't been taught a lesson in almost 4 months.  We usually see him outside and talk with him and his wife about things and they say they are gonna come to church but then it never happens.  So this last time we were straight up with him and sked what he wants from us and if he is serious about learning more or if he has that desire to learn more.  He kind of stopped and thought for a second, and he said that he truly does and he really has been slacking these last few months and been letting little things get in the way.  On the positive side he says he now has Sundays off work(he has been working crazy hours lately),which is just awesome.  He said how he is gonna start making church a priority and we are going to start teaching him again next Sunday as well. 

    So this week we met again with one of our investigators Ann, she is seriously so amazing! I love her, she is just so hard on herself and feels like she won't be able to live up to the "standards" of the other women in the church.  She thinks they are all so perfect, we had a nice long talk with her.  I feel like this was my week of being bold with everyone.  I kind of laid down the law with her and shared the scripture in Alma 34:32-34 about not procrastinating the day of her repentance.  That really hit her hard, she actually in that moment called the Stake Executive Secretary to set up an appointment to meet with the Stake President.  I really have grown a deeper love for her.  She expressed to me how I really push her, and it is hard, but she says this is what she needs and she is so grateful that I am her missionary right now in her life.  I expressed to her how much I love her and I push her because I know the blessings that she can receive from entering back into the gospel.  She has low self-esteem which is tough but she knows that we can talk to her all we want and build her up, but she needs to see in within herself first.  I told her how I want her to feel worthy when she enters in the waters of baptism, that when the Stake President says that she is ready that she should see him as a representative of the Lord. As if the Lord was there telling her that she is worthy and ready.  It seriously was such a powerful meeting a lesson with her.  This is the first time that she has really opened up to us and expressed what is holding her back.

   Looking back on this week I feel like there have been so many tender mercies from the Lord, we have been able to visit some less active members in the ward that we haven't met before.  Things have been really progressing, slowly, but it is happening.  I am just staying positive on everything.  I set a goal this week to remain positive and I feel like I have been tested on that, with possibly one of our investigators just up and moving somewhere else, running into anti people as well as not having gas yesterday so we had to walk around a bit.  Okay I know we should of been smarter about the gas thing, but I saw it as a blessing because we got to talk to so many people on the street.  Not much came from it, but we did receive coupons from a lady.

    Stake Conference this week was so good, Elder Bats came and spoke and he is seriously so great! HE was so funny and at the same time had some really good things to say. A lot of good one liners. One that I want to pass off to you all is to "Get the missionaries off the streets" hahaha but seriously members need to give missionaries referrals for their friends to see.  God is trusting us that we will take care of his children.  This work is really not that complicated.  We just are to express love to others.  When we love our brothers and sisters, that is what changes lives and we need to continually invite, they have their agency to choose what they may.  Their are members of the church that have fallen away that are just wanting to feel apart of something.  Missionary work is not something that we do, but what we become.  Know that there is no such thing as "no" in hastening the work, when others say they are not interested, they are just saying they need a little more time.  I really like that idea and it is so true when you think about it.  We need to be a light in the world, but that desire to share the gospel has to come from within.  We need to do the little things to strengthen our testimonies, not just church, pray ,and read the scriptures, but bear your testimony.  Say to yourself everyday so you never forget it.  Tell your children, grandchildren, spouses, friends, whoever so often so that they know that you have a testimony of the gospel.  You can't just bottle it up and expect people to know that you have a testimony.  It doesn't have to be done at church.  John 14:18, look it up.  I know there are a lot of random thoughts in here, but this is some of the things that I pulled away from the seventy(Elder Bats) that came.  He made me want to be more bold and just track every house, I am gonna try to be a little more witty at the door when people respond to us. For example if some says they aren't a member, i want to respond "your not? well you seem like such a great guy that you would be a member? Do you want to learn more?"  It is kind of hard to express what I am thinking right now, but overall I just loved it.

   I want you all to know that I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has the fullness of the Christ gospel on the earth today.  There is no doubt in my mind that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and our Savior.  I know that we have a prophet today to lead and guild us, just like prophets of old.  God still loves us, so why wouldn't he still have prophets on the earth.  I know that the message that us missionaries have to share can bless the life of everyone.  I am so grateful for this opportunity that can see the happiness that it can bring into peoples lives and see them change their life around!  There is no other thing nor no other place I rather be then out her sharing the gospel to others. I Promise you that if you kneel down in faith and pray to our Father in heaven to have a missionary experience he will give it to you!

   I love you all and miss you!!! Thank you for all your love and support.

Love

Sister Metcalf

 Random swarm of bees,seriously so gross and like an inch think of bees piled on each other 

      

 Breakfast on the porch

Boise State, got to represent I guess