Tune Your Heart

Drum roll please...... I have hit my 5 month mark!! I am truly amazed at how much I have changed and how much I have learned. The gospel is true and when you fully immerse yourself into it God shapes you into who he knows you can become. 

Some miracles of the week.

On Wednesdays we are in Sturgis which is about 35 minutes from Three Rivers and we were praying so hard to be effective missionaries while we were there. We were led to a members home and she was alone, her kids had been gone about a week. She was not expecting us so we caught her off guard when we showed up. We shared a message with her and then left. On Sunday she came up and thanked us for stopping by. She said she didn't realize how sad she was and that we really helped her. It was incredible. God knows His children and he knows what their needs are. 

JOSEPH CAME TO CHURCH!! We have been trying to get him to come to church for a very long time and it finally happened. It was really funny. People saw him and they were like "Hey who's investigator is that? Is it the Elders or the Sisters?" I took a look at him and I was like I have no clue who that is. I looked again and I was like hold up that is Joseph!!  You see he always wears a bandanna and so I have never seen his head. He looks a lot different. He even wore a white shirt and tie. I was so impressed. Prayers have been answered. He loved church. I could tell he felt the spirit. We showed him the font and he made the comment that it had a special feeling about it. He also said that we have a lot to talk about on Tuesday when we meet. I am so excited for him. MIRACLE! PURE MIRACLE! 

I got the opportunity to sing in church with Nicolle Ritchie! I just love her! and Shayna Petersen accompanied us! It was so fun! I only got to practice 3 times so that was intimidating. BUT the spirit filled in! I could feel the spirit so strong while we were singing! I love being able to share my talents. I know that I was given them for a reason so I love it when I have opportunities to share. People loved it too. We got lots of compliments and someone even wants to record us.

Brother Garners viewing was yesterday and the funeral was this morning. It was sad but really cool to see how many lives he truly touched. He was an incredible individual! I have really been thinking about how short life is. When I was little my Sister Kaysha used to tell me some wise words that I have never forgotten. "Life is to short to be mad." (I used to have quite the temper) I may not have applied them the best in my life at that time but I feel like the words are sinking in. We have got to be the best we can in this life and we are meant to have joy so Life is too short to be anything but happy! 

Also, I have been thinking about how people tend to treat life like a contest. It is not. This is a team sport and we are all here to work together. There is not a occupancy limit it Heaven. So why not help everyone as much as we can so we can all get there? 

Well, thanks for tuning into another week with Sister Young(: I am still loving my mission and learning so much! I appreciate all your prayers and support! I hope you are all having a fabulous week! I love you all!! 

"Hold Fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes."

-Elder Holland

I love this quote from Elder Holland so much. I read it this morning in my personal studies and it brought me so much comfort. We experience so many trials in life where we think WHY? WHY ME? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Well we know that God has a plan for us and that everything is going to be okay as long as we "hold fast" to that knowledge. He will never leave us a lone. We may leave Him but he is constant and will ALWAYS be there for us. 

This morning I got some shocking news that was not expected at all. 

​Brother Garner, my ward mission leader, passes away last night. I was in shock and was not expecting that at all. 

This is where the quote comes in. I know that God has a plan for each of us individually. I do not perfectly know the plan He has but I do know that there is a plan. This life is such a small portion of Eternity. Yes it is sad, but we can rejoice because this is not the end.

 

"The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take the love out of life." 

Aren't we so blessed to have so many loved ones? So many friends and family who care about us dearly. In this life we will experience so much sorrow and grief but because we know what that is like it makes the happy times so much better and we can experience so much joy. 

I am so grateful for this knowledge of the gospel. It brings me so much peace and happiness. This is the one and only true church and I gain a greater testimony of that every single day. I am so grateful for the time I have to serve as a missionary. God knew that is what I needed far before I knew that is what I needed. "I will follow God's plan for me. Holding fast to His words and His love. I will work and i will pray I will always walk in his way. And I will be happy on earth and in my home above." 

(Those may not be the exact words but I have faith that they are close;) 

I have an a really good week. I love the people in Three Rivers. It is so fun to walk down the street and have people say Hi and wave and I am like "This is my town!" Haha but I am famous in Three Rivers! A while ago Sister Roberts and I took a survey about downtown Three Rivers and they took a picture of us doing it. Well we are now on posters all over downtown! I AM FAMOUS!! I knew this day would come;) haha It is pretty great. It isn't to serious yet but people are letting us into their homes more so there is good coming from it;) Ok it has no relation.

BUT... people are letting us in more. We got 7 new investigators this last week. 

Keisha and Jerrod- They first thought that Mormon's did not believe that black people have souls. I was like no no that is Red heads... haha I love teasing Sister Edwards for being a redhead. She makes jokes about it to so all is well. SO after we got that false doctrine fixed we found out that Sister Edwards knew her brother from the first area she served in. In fact, Jerrod used to go play basketball with the Elders in St. Joseph. They were really interested and it was cool to see that we are able to harvest seeds that other missionaries have planted. It doesn't matter how many baptisms we get, none of our work is a waste. 

So as a missionary we encounter so many different people. We try to help all. We set up a lesson with this guy who was really wanting to change. So the day comes and we are waiting for him but he was not able to meet. He went to jail the night before unfortunately. SATAN!!! Ahhh... Why does he have to work so hard on people when we are trying to help them? Oh yeah because he wants to make every one miserable! Haha that is ok because Satan doesn't win in the end! SPOILER ALERT! 

Be Quick to Forgive

Why? Because it brings freedom.

Once upon a time there were some Sister Missionaries (We aren't perfect) who got in a little argument because we cannot read each others minds. As Much as they wished they could... they could not! So this argument caused tension and that is not okay in a companionship because then there is no room for the spirit. One Sister Ended up apologizing and the other was left with the choice to forgive or to hold a grudge.

 Well... I forgave her and it was the coolest experience. I am one to hold a grudge. It is something I have been working on for the longest time. No matter how hard I would try to forgive someone what ever they did still ate me alive. This time it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was truly able to forgive.

Being able to forgive is a charitable act and it is hard but as we strive to develop charity we can forgive. My nature has been changed time and time again. If we will let the Lord help us change and become better we WILL change and become better! 

This gospel works miracles I can promise you that! 

I hope you all have a fabulous week!! FALL IS COMING!! YAY sweater weather is among us!!! 

I love you all! The gospel is true! 

Mosiah 4:9 

A picture is worth a million words! I love this picture so much! John is the one in the back and he got baptized on Saturday August 15th! We were so excited that his mom was able to come and that Alexza was able to baptize him! Words cannot even explain how special of an experience that was to have our recent convert introduce his best friend to us and then a month later baptize him! The spirit was so strong. 

One thing that I really love about this story is that Alexza had the courage to share the gospel and he was an example to John. He was never pushy he just cared enough about him to share something very precious to him with him. We never know how big of an impact we may have! Miracles are waiting to happen we just have to help them along and have faith that they will come!  I have to strongest testimony of that! 

Another cool experience of the week! 

Last night at about 10:05 we got a phone call from the Assistants to the President and we panicked! One does not simply just get a phone call from the AP's! As we talked to them all they did was praise us! They got our numbers from this last week and they were impressed! Sister Edwards and I work really well together! We had really good numbers and they told us that they were grateful for all our hard work and they knew that we were being diligent and obedient! It was an incredible compliment! They were like "Sisters how do you do it?" haha it was funny! I really love being a missionary!! 

Sister Edwards and I adopted a cat for a while. haha we named it Po! It was adorable! 
​
​This week in the Book of Mormon I learned how important it is to not murmur! Remember when Nephi broke his bow and Lamen and Lemuel's had no spring and everyone was complaining and freaking out because they were like ahhh we are going to starve! Nephi was like calm down God will not let us starve and he went and made a bow and asked God where he could find food. I love this because if we just sit and complain we will not get anything done! WE MUST ACT!! Don't dwell in self pity try to better your situation! That really hit me! God will never leave us we are the ones to leave him. He is always there ready to help us at anytime! 

As we fully engage ourselves into the Lords work we will experience so much joy! I cannot even explain how much happiness I have experienced in these 4.5 months! This is exactly where I am suppose to be. God has a plan for each and every one of us and he will show us where we are suppose to go if we will let him. I have learned that when we ask for counsel we must act on it. If we don't what is the point in asking?? 

I hope you are all enjoying these last few weeks of summer! Missionary Roasting season is coming to an end and soon fall will be here! I promise you I will have tons of pictures Fall is going to be gorgeous here with all the trees! 

I love you all and appreciate all your support! Have a fabulous week!(:

​So, I am going to put my Grandma and Grandpa on the spot right now because after I got this picture I was obsessing over it! I have been thinking about it all week! (forgive me for not asking for permission- haha) 

In January my Grandpa received the Priesthood and then in January him and my Grandma were sealed in the Temple for Time and all Eternity! That is a very powerful statement that has a lot of meaning. We are experiencing but a small portion of what our life includes. (My thoughts are kinda scattered right now so bear with me.) 

The Gospel has eternal significance, it is not just for now it is for always! As we apply the principles the gospel teaches we can experience JOY! As I look at this picture of my grandparents I see joy written all over them! I can't help but smile when I see this picture! The goal is to return to God and live with Him. HOW CAN WE DO THIS? By making and KEEPING the covenants we make in the Temple. We should always keep our sights on the temple. That is where we can experience this joy. The world is trying to tell us other wise but remember that is Satan and he wants all men to be miserable like unto himself. So my advice is to be in the world but not be of the world and always live worthily to enter into the temple. 

Haha I am missing the temple if you cannot tell! 

My week has been super busy! We had a Half Mission P-Day which is where half of our mission got together and played games all day! it was so much fun!! I hung out with Sister Guest all day! she is awesome. We bonded haha I love that! You can just go up to a missionary and Insta friends! it is fantastic. It was fun to just relax and have fun! we played a lot of water games and I am tan! haha it is great! 

I was in Kalamazoo for the day on Thursday for Trade offs and I learned so much from Sister Cornia. She is my Sister Training Leader and a fabulous missionary! We walked A TON!! Haha I ended up with a hole in my foot! haha It was great! 

So I decided to share with you all some of my favorite responses from the door step as of why people cannot meet with us or cannot learn more about Jesus Christ. Starting with my favorite:

1-My Dogs are Barking

2-I am taking care of my palnts.

3-My Kids aren't home

4-I'm going out of town and I don't know when I am coming back.

5-I am showering

6-I travel a lot

7- I have kids

8- I can't open my door, my dog's a runner

9- My door won't open

10- I have an opinion but I am not going to participate 

11- My daughter is sick 

12-I have to keep my heart rate up

and of course you have all the classics 

-I am really busy 

-I am comforatble

-I have Jesus in my home 

-I have a church

-I have been saved

and then there are those who look at us and just say 

NO NO NO 

and then close the door! hahaha it is great! 

Well I Love you all and hope you have a fabulous week!