Yes! Investigators Standing in Line to Talk to Sisters Lamb and Bergeson

Dear Family,

Love you!

What a week of miracles this has been!

After p-day on Tuesday, we saw Madison and Kate at their home. Kate apparently has really bad anxiety with leaving their home and all kinds of things and had thought about calling us many times to cancel, but for some reason (the Spirit) had not, so we were able to teach both of them together. Kate is so sweet, but can be confusing at times because she covers up a lot of her emotions, so it is hard to really tell what is going on in her head and what she is really thinking. Madison is excited to be baptized on the 18th. We still have a lot to teach her, but we will just keep pushing on through!

Wednesday was perhaps the most miraculous day of all. I think that because Sister Bergeson and I served in Oakview for so long, He is giving us a break and letting us see a lot of miracles to reward us for all the long hours of tracting and feeling unaccomplished. When we got to our area after district meeting, we only had two appointments scheduled with about 8 hours of time. We had set the goals of teaching: 1 member present lesson, 3 other lessons, and 1 less active/recent convert lesson. Our first appointment was with Aliyah, but when we got there, her mom said that it was really not a good time and asked if we could come back later, so we rescheduled for 6. We went to eat lunch at the church and while we were there, were able to make an appointment with Fatma and Fatwa for that evening as well. With the 45 minutes that we had before our 4 o’clock appointment, we did some tracting and taught a man named Earl about the Book of Mormon. We then headed to teach Patrick with Sister Staker. (sister Staker reminds me of what I think that Katie would be like in her Minnesota ward. she was a little nervous at first and her husband told us to go easy on her, but she has quickly some to love going on team ups with us. She is in her early 20's, super cute and sweet, not pregnant though :)) When we arrived at Patrick’s apartment building, Sister Staker (Amy) was waiting for us outside and talking to one of Patrick’s neighbors, an older woman named Patti. They made quick friends and were making plans to go to the apartment pool party a couple of days later together. Sister Staker introduced us to Patti and we are going to stop by and talk with her later when we get a chance. What a good little missionary. After seeing Patrick, we went to visit Fatma and Fatwa. When we got there, their mom had friends over, so they told us they had arranged for us to go to Madison’s house, just a couple blocks away, for the lesson. So, we got to teach both Fatwa and Madison together, making a member present lesson! Perfect. After we walked back to our car, we headed to see Aliyah. We talked to her about baptism and she is set to be baptized on Aug 11th, which will be just a couple of days before she goes to high school. It is coming up fast (especially because they now want us to have baptismal interviews a week before the baptism) and we have a lot to teach her, but we feel that it is the best thing for her so that she can have the Holy Ghost when she goes back to school, otherwise it may be a little tough on her. So, we will be teaching her a lot this next week. After Aliyah, we tried a referral that we received from the Skyline elders, a woman named Kellie and were able to teach her as well. She is quite an interesting person. She definitely needs the gospel, but she is going to need some work. She is recently divorced, going through all kinds of trouble with her ex-husband, has three young daughters, is living on disability, etc. so, she is going to be fun. She has met with the elders a few times before and likes what they have been teaching her, so that’s good! The elders are going to bring her to the TC on Tuesday (tomorrow) and officially turn her over to us.

One of the things that has been the hardest for me to wrap my mind around on my mission is setting goals and working hard to achieve them while still loving people and teaching them to help them, not just to check another number off of a list. When we set goals and think about them more throughout the day, we are better able to accomplish them and be focused and Heavenly Father is better able to bless us. It is hard to find the balance sometimes, but I felt like Monday was a good day for that. We were able to set high goals, work hard to reach them, while still desiring to help people.



Sister Melly at the fireside

It was also another one of those weeks where I got to do something a little unexpected. After all of the firesides, sometimes I feel a little jealous of all the sisters that are good singers and piano players and get to use their talents in the firesides. So, I was praying that I would be able to find a way to use my talents this week, and Heavenly Father helped me out with my request. On Thursday morning, I went to the home of a recently reactivated member in the Elmwood ward named Cindy. The guy that she has been living with has been being taught by the missionaries for a while now. I actually taught them once with Sister Pinchak a couple of months ago. They are getting married this weekend and then he is being baptized next week. She ordered a wedding dress from china and wanted some alterations made, so they asked me to do it. I was a little nervous about what she would ask. All she wanted was the neckline lowered, but I had to take off the sleeves to do it, so I had some fun :) it didn't take too long though and she loves it, so I am happy.

On Thursday evening, I had a unique experience. We went to visit a less active and as we left her apartment, we started talking to a man named Aaron. He has MS and is in a wheelchair. We gave him a copy of Finding Faith in Christ and set a return appointment. He said "Wow! I have never had two pretty ladies meet me, give me a present, and then want to come see me later!" It was pretty funny. As we finished up talking to him, another guy came up behind him, so we opened the door to let him through, but he said “No thanks, I want to talk to you." Have you ever had someone wait in line to talk to you before? Someone who you don't know? As a missionary? I never heard of it happening before, but that was what I would say it was. The second man, Joe, said that he had seen us around before and wondered what we were doing/what we talked to people about. We taught him right then and then again last night. He seems pretty sincere in his intent, so that's good. We are planning on turning him over to the elders soon.

So that was some of the miraculous events that happened this last week, although if I had more time, I could probably tell you some more. Those will have to wait. Pretty good I’d say! I liked it.

Well, I LOVE YOU! As usual. Have a happy 30th of July!

Love, Sister Melly

Sister Melly's mission car?

Sister Lamb Celebrates the 24th with Lunch and Shares a Pioneer Story

Dear Family,

Happy Pioneer Day! I hope that you are doing something pioneerish! Quick! Go have a stick pull!

Are you surprised that there is a subject to my email this time? I kind of surprised myself as well. :) I always put smiley faces at the end of everything now, well not everything, but a lot of things. I picked that one up from Sister Belka, although sometimes when I do it, I surprise myself as well. I can't decide if I like it or not. :) Ha-ha.

So, today is Pioneer Day! We celebrated today by having a pioneer celebration at the TC. Just barely, we had a hamburger lunch with all of the young sisters, the senior couples, and a couple of elders in the basement of the TC. Elder Lund sacrificed himself to cook the hamburgers in the heat outside (he looked pretty hot and sweaty) and then we toasted smores over the grill and had ice cream. A few people shared stories about the pioneers and bore testimony and had a few musical numbers. I convinced Sister Atkin to sing a song that they she and Sister Arnold wrote. The lyrics are a poem that they found in the library and put to music, so you can listen to that one once you get the flash drive. I am sending you my flash drive with all of my pictures (its really not too many more than what you have seen already) but it also has recordings of a few of the songs from the fireside. I am not in any of the ones on there (almost all of the songs in the fireside are solos and duets), so don't get too excited, but there is just so many talented sisters here that it drives me crazy! I love it. A lot of the songs that we sing in the firesides were written by the sisters serving here.

Ok. So, this last week  even though I am no longer with a trail center leader, Sister Bergeson and I have only had about 4 hours in Millard since we have been companions because we have spent so much time in the TC, but I have had some neat experiences.

The first one was completely unexpected. It was a family from Utah, the son just gotten his mission call, and they were on their way to Missouri for dad's business trip. As they were watching "Zion in the Wilderness", the 15 minute film that we show most tours, I was looking through my pioneer stories and had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to focus the tour on and what stories I wanted to share with them. As soon as we started into the gallery, things just kind of fell apart. Everyone scattered and it felt like no one was really listening to anything I said. Usually if this happens, I go back and forth between people, talking to them about what they are noticing and sharing with them individually. But every time I went to talk to someone, I just didn't know what to say. Sometimes, I would think of something that I could share with them so I wasn't just being silent the whole tour, but I just felt like I shouldn't. The whole 2nd half of the gallery, I didn't say a word and as we reached the end, I just wandered away from them. It was so odd that I just didn't know what to think about it. The father came over to me at the desk to thank me for the tour, but I just assumed that it was because he felt bad for some reason. Before they left, they were talking to Sister Herzoff for a moment, and as I talked to her after they left, she said that they had also expressed their thanks to her and that they had loved the tour. I still felt odd about the tour, but apparently it was what they needed. The Spirit instead of me  was talking to them, which I guess is absolutely fine, I just felt kind of awkward about it.

Another tour that I was able to take was part of a big family reunion. Sister Bergeson took half and I took the other half through the gallery, then we met up and headed for the cemetery, where we helped them locate the graves of two of their ancestors. Gathered around the graves, the grandpa addressed the whole family and added his testimony of the pioneers, then the grandma spoke for a few minutes, sharing a story about the cemetery that she had written and was published in the ensign in 1978. As we stood with them, I just felt like I was part of their family. It was a neat feeling to be there with them, connected by our common forbearers, the pioneers. It is the stories of the pioneers that connect all of the members of the church. They give us an example to follow, an opportunity to recognize what we are capable of accomplishing with the Lord on our side.

In honor of Pioneer Day, I want to share with you a story that I share frequently on tour. It comes from a talk given by James E. Faust, printed in the April 1979 ensign.

Stillman Pond . . . was an early convert to the Church, having come from Hubbardston, Massachusetts. Like others, he and his wife, Maria, and their children were harassed and driven out of Nauvoo. In September 1846, they became part of the great western migration. The early winter that year brought extreme hardships, including malaria, cholera, and consumption. The family was visited by all three of these diseases.

Maria contracted consumption, and all of the children were stricken with malaria. Three of the children died while moving through the early snows. Stillman buried them on the plains. Maria’s condition worsened because of the grief, pain, and the fever of malaria. She could no longer walk. Weakened and sickly, she gave birth to twins. They were named Joseph and Hyrum, and both died within a few days.

The Stillman Pond family arrived at Winter Quarters and, like many other families, they suffered bitterly while living in a tent. The death of the five children coming across the plains to Winter Quarters was but a beginning.

The journal of Horace K. and Helen Mar Whitney verifies the following regarding four more of the children of Stillman Pond who perished:

“On Wednesday, the 2nd of December 1846, Laura Jane Pond, age 14 years, … died of chills and fever.” Two days later on “Friday, the 4th of December 1846, Harriet M. Pond, age 11 years,… died with chills.” Three days later, “Monday, the 7th of December, 1846, Abigail A. Pond, age 18 years, … died with chills.” Just five weeks later, “Friday, the 15th of January, 1847, Lyman Pond, age 6 years, … died with chills and fever. Four months later, on the 17th of May, 1847, his wife Maria Davis Pond also died. Crossing the plains, Stillman Pond lost nine children and a wife.

Having lost these nine children and his wife in crossing the plains, Stillman Pond did not lose his faith. He did not quit. He went forward. He paid a price, as have many others before and since, to become acquainted with God.

The Divine Shepherd has a message of hope, strength, and deliverance for all. If there were no night, we would not appreciate the day, nor could we see the stars and the vastness of the heavens. We must partake of the bitter with the sweet. There is a divine purpose in the adversities we encounter every day. They prepare, they purge, they purify, and thus they bless.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be able to serve at the Trail Center and to be able to learn and share the stories of so many great pioneers. The Church does not put so much into making sure that these stories are known just because it is interesting or a good thing to know. Their stories are a guide by which are able, even expected, to live our lives. There are three parts to the success of the pioneers. 1 Vision of what Heavenly Father had told them they were capable of accomplishing. 2. Faith that they could accomplish it, and 3. The hard work necessary to achieve their vision. Their stories prove that we, too, are capable of accomplishing great things through our vision, faith, and hard work. I know that the pioneers could not have accomplished all that they did without God on their side. We too are not able to reach our greatest potential without turning our lives over to the Lord.

Love you! Happy Pioneer Day!

Sister Melly

Transplanting in the Cornfield after a Crazy Week

Dear Family,

Today, we don’t have a lot of time because it has been a crazy day! We spent the night with the Lakeview Sisters last night at a member’s house. They were on vacation and told us we could sleep wherever, so we all had a sleepover in their living room. It was a lot of fun. We visited Katie Ford this morning. She got an eviction notice on her door yesterday, but we got that all sorted out :) We were kind of nervous for her, but it is turning out to be a good thing. Hopefully she learned something through all of this, even if it is only that when we put our trust in the Lord, He will help us. We also played soccer with the elders and some of the young men in the ward. That was fun :) ha ha. We grocery shopped and cleaned our apartment. And most importantly, we heard about transfers! I am . . . . . staying in Millard and will be companions with Sister Bergeson (again!). Kind of crazy. Apparently there was something that we didn't learn from each other the first time, so now we are getting another opportunity to learn. I am excited for Sister Bergeson to be in Millard because she has been serving in a rough couple of areas, so I think that it will be a relief for her to just get in and teach a whole bunch of lessons. Sister Belka is going to be opening up Rockbrook (just to the east of Millard) with Sister Sakurazawa. So, tomorrow will be the big change!

This last week, we had a fireside on Sunday with the cast of Come Home to Kanesville, which we are going to see tonight with Julie. We will see how this goes.

We have also spent a lot of time with the Elmwood Sisters this last week because Sister Atkin has been sick. It has been absolutely amazing! We took turns staying with Sister Atkin and going out with Sister Jarman to either our area or theirs. We saw so many miracles! It is amazing how even when we have less time, Heavenly Father is able to direct us to the most important, most effective things that we need to do so that we are able to get about the same amount of things done in a much smaller amount of time. In Elmwood one morning, we went to go check on a less-active that was not home. Then, Sister Jarman and I each choose a house to go knock on (keep in mind that it is often hard to find people at home during the day). We went to the one I chose first. They opened the door, the husband invited us right in. the wife was about to leave but decided to stay to talk to us. They had a million questions about everything, so we did our best to answer as many as we could and keep relating everything back to prayer and truth and feeling the Holy Ghost. They are such a neat couple! I just wish I was serving in Elmwood so I could go back and teach them again. Then, we went to the house that Sister Jarman picked. We met a young, college-age man and also taught him about prayer. Heavenly Father blessed us so much to be able to go straight from one prepared person to another and teach many lessons in the few hours that we were together. So amazing!

Let's see, other miracles this last week. Madison, the 14 year old, who we have been teaching for a couple of months now, is dong great. We had her read a scripture and then she called us an hour later and says that she got addicted to the scriptures. we shared a song with her from lds.org and now she listens to it all the time and plays songs for us over the phone :) Yesterday, we taught her about modesty as she was sitting in her short-shorts and a swimming suit top and she just expressed to us how much she wants to keep the commandments and was instantly coming up with ways that she can make the clothes that she wears more modest. She is so cute! She is set to be baptized on August 18th. Aliyah, the other young girl that we have been teaching has been out of town for a couple of weeks, but will be back this Saturday, so we are excited to start teaching her again so that she can be baptized as well :) there are so many great things happening.

Well, I love you!

Sorry for the short email this week,

Sister Melly

Sister Melly Mermaid Under the Sea and Sister Belka Comes Out of her Cocoon

Dear Family,

Love you! So much!

Today we went to the zoo! Yesterday, there was a bunch of people that went, but today it was just Sister Belka, me, Sister Brown, Sister Jones, Sister Kirby, and the Openshaws. It was nice because we were small enough that we could all stay together and do what we wanted to do. The Openshaws and the Watsons kept referring to us as their grandchildren, which was cute. All the senior couples are a lot like our grandparents. We have a lot of fun together. Unfortunately, my camera made it through the entire zoo, but died as I was uploading the pictures, so I only got a couple of them, but I will send more next week.

I keep having dreams lately about coming home, which is the weirdest thing, but it reminds me over and over how quickly this time is going and how quickly it will soon be gone. Next week is transfers and then only 5 transfers after that, but I should stop talking about that.

It seems like last Monday when I emailed you last was an eternity ago. Wow.

Last Tuesday, we had Meet the President with the Westons (which, by the way is very confusing between President Weston, Elder Watson, and Elder Westover.) The Westons are great. President Weston is definitely different than President Kunz, but both have been and will be awesome, I am grateful already though to see the way that two different people do things and to understand that there is not just one right way to serve. We each bring something different to the table, and that is just fine! Some things that he is very focused on is working with the members, new member retention and seeking out the lost sheep. He is already doing away with the 4 pm dinner schedule so that we can spend more time strengthening and encouraging the members in their work, which I think will be good. It’s kind of a special place that missionaries are in with members feeding us. It gets us into their homes to be able to talk to and strengthen them. Other people in the church can't send around a sign up sheet and expect people to feed them everyday for a long period of time (although I have never tried it, so who knows), but missionaries can! It gives a unique opportunity to be in the homes of the ward members. President Weston is also vey big on obedience. He said that as his life work, he has been reading through all the scriptures and counsels given by the prophets and apostles and looking for everything they have told us to do, then implementing all of those things in his life so that he can be more obedient. So, you can tell what kind of a person he is. We also had interviews with him that day, which was kind of neat. We talked more about obedience, in fact. He said something interesting, that for missionaries, the amount that their family is blessed is in relation to how obedient they are. So, I will be being trying to be more exactly obedient in the future :).

The Fourth was not a huge deal for us. In fact, I felt a little bit like a Jehovah’s Witness because we did so little to celebrate and Sister Belka kept telling people that we talked to that we were not doing anything to celebrate. In the morning, we went to the Bellevue 2nd Ward breakfast. A group of 6 sister and 6 elders sang the National Anthem, including me :) Ha ha and then we had breakfast and a little program. We worked at the Trail Center, had dinner with a family in the ward, did some tracting, and taught a few lessons. It actually didn't turn out to be too bad of a night, even if there were a lot of people out partying.

On Thursday, we were visiting Fatma and Fatwa Luka, two teenage recent converts. Fatma has come with us a couple times to some appointments and apparently has made Fatwa (the younger of the two) jealous by telling her how much she enjoys it. Fatwa wanted to come out with us so badly, so took her with us and did some tracting a couple of blocks away from their house. After the first lady that we talked to, she said "So that is what it is like to be a missionary. That was so great!” It made me think about what my view of missionary work was before my mission. I think that I didn’t really think about what missionaries do because I was so focused on what missionaries don’t do, but I have since realized that there is a lot more to it than just that. After a few months of being away from all of the things that you leave behind to go on a mission, you kind of forget what it was like to live that way. And then there is a whole new world of opportunity that opens up.

We had another fireside this Sunday and have another next Sunday for the cast of Come Home to Kanesville (which we get to see on the 17th), then another the Saturday after that, so they are keeping us busy! That has been a lot of fun, and apparently, we have had 7 baptisms already that have come out of the firesides in the last couple of months. I know that it has also been a huge factor in the progression of some of our investigators. When President Weston first came, I was a little nervous about what he would say/do about the firesides or if he would stop them all together, but that fear was quickly set aside after he told all of the missionaries "if you can find a way to mix music and testimony in your teaching, please do it!" That was even before he knew about the firesides, so that is definitely a good sign!

Love you! Have a great week!

Sister Melly

Change of Guard (Scarecrow?) in the Cornfield and Sister Lamb Sends Home Some Extra Hugs

Sister Melanie with President and Sister Kunz

Dear Family,

Love you!

Not a lot of time this week, I was making sure to write a really good email to President Weston for his first week here. :) I know what Ryan is saying right now. . . suck up! Ha ha.

But, maybe that is a good thing that I don't have a lot of time because I will have to be more concise. This last week was so great! We didn't have a lot of time, as usual, but the time we had was good.

On Wednesday, we met up with Cory, the man I made the blanket for, and he bought us lunch at the cheesecake factory :). I had to stay up late a couple of nights to get it finished, but now it is done and I don't have to worry about it any more! We talked to him for over an hour while we were having lunch about the Restoration and then had to leave to go to the Trail Center, so he met us up there a couple hours later and we talked for another couple of hours. He is an awesome guy, very philosophical, and a lot of things that he said are right in line with what we believe, but we just don't know what to think because it just didn't feel like anything that we were saying was really sinking in with him. He said we could have the elders in his area come over and talk with him some more, so we will see how that goes. I think that he will do well with elders. There are just certain types of people that need elders and others that need sisters, so hopefully the elders work out well for him. If not, maybe we will be seeing him at the Trail Center some more.

On Saturday, we had an appointment with one of Aliyah's neighbors, but they were not home, which worked out perfectly for us because we went to visit Aliyah instead and taught her. She is set for baptism on July 28th! She is so fantastic. The Jensen’s (aka our ward mission leader) got to spend a lot of time with her on Sunday when they took her to the fireside and they agree that she is so solid. Her willingness to believe is amazing; we just need to get her family on board!

Saturday was an interesting day. We had dinner with the Young’s (I don’t think we are related), who live all the way out by the Elkhorn river, the very outside edge of our area. They picked us up from the church, which is in the middle of our area, and it took 20 minutes to drive there, a lot of which was through cornfields and through a very hilly, wooded area where their house is. We felt like we were in the mountains for a little bit. Yes, please. They had invited Maria as well, who has been investigating the church for a couple of years now and we had dinner and taught them about repentance. After they took us back to our car, we spent an hour trying to find a referral we had received and everyone we tried was not home. Everyone was out celebrating the 4th of July, so we will see how this next week goes. We finally ended up at Julie and Walter's home. Julie is a recent convert and we have been teaching Walter. Walter sees us as his daughters. He is so cute, always watching out for us and making sure that we are being taken care of. Walter was in a really bad mood and they were leaving to take some thing to Goodwill, so we followed them there with a few things that didn’t fit in their car and then they took us to 2nd dinner at Village Inn. And it was a good thing. By the end, Walter was in a much better mood and we taught them while we were eating, so I would say it was worth it, even if we were very full by the end of the evening. Nutella crepes. Yes, please!

I have been learning a lot about prayer this week. rather than leaning over my bed and falling asleep while I am praying, I have been saying my prayers out loud, kneeling in the living room, where there is nothing to lean against and fall asleep on. I felt really awkward at first, but after the first couple of days, my prayers have become so much more effective. I think I felt a little of what it is like for investigators praying for the first time, but once I got over feeling awkward, it was so worth it. I am so grateful for prayer.

Well, that's it for this week!

Love you!

Sister Melly

Some answers to some questions I asked Sister Melly:

For the Fourth, we and a few others are singing the National Anthem for a ward breakfast (I know, right?) and then we are working at the Trail Center until 3, then having dinner with the Gunns in our ward, then we have a few appointments set for the evening, but we are not really sure what to expect because we think that they probably forgot that it was the 4th when they set them up, so we will see what happens. We thought that President Weston may not want us out on the roads that night, but we have not heard anything yet and I am sure that he is so overwhelmed right now that he won't think about that. Tracting probably won't be super effective that night, but we will see what happens.
The next fireside is this coming Sunday for the Council Bluffs stake. I will just be singing in that one. Then we have one on the 21st in the morning for the Papillion Stake's Pioneer Day celebration, then I think the 19th of August we are going down to Lincoln to do one there. Once we get through the next couple, I think that they are going to start planning some more maybe at the Trail Center or round 2 for some of the stakes now that the word is getting out more. I think a lot of it will have to do with what President Weston thinks about the firesides. He could love it and want us to do more, or tell us not to do any more. That is the same situation with the Come Home to Kanesville. We are supposed to be going in a few weeks, but they haven't said anything about it yet because ultimately, it is going to be up to President Weston to decide.

The next Watson wagon is going to be next Monday. We are going to the zoo! So that will mean that p-day will be on Monday again next week - they are figuring out the schedule so that everyone that wants to go can go on Monday instead of breaking it up into two days. The Watsons will go home at the end of January, so I will spend almost my whole mission with them. Don't worry; I am getting plenty of hugs. Every time we walk into the Trail Center, you would think that we hadn't seen each other in years and there is an obligatory round of hugs from everyone we see. You are probably the one who needs more hugs, so here are a few for you OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I think that should cover you until at least next week :)

Love you!

Sister Melly

Sister Lamb at the Children's Theater Costume Closet

Sister Missionaries on Stage

Last Words of President Kunz to the Nebraska Omaha Mission

Hello to the greatest missionaries in the Church!

I truly believe that you are the greatest missionaries in the greatest mission in the Church! This is my last email to you, I will miss writing these weekly letters to all of you I love so much! I have certainly loved reading your emails to me. Your email today will be read by me before I leave on Saturday. Your email next week will be read by President Weston. I hope that everyone will write President Weston next week and welcome him and Sister Weston and Jackson to the greatest mission in the Church!

Last Words

I want to summarize what I taught during Specialized Training, so you have it in writing. I tried to share with you some very important life lessons that I've learned and have tried to live my life by. I hope that they are of help to you as you continue your journey through life. The answer the Savior gave to the question, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" (Matthew 22:36) sets a wonderful pattern for life. He said, ""Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all they mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40). You must get your priorities right in life. If you always know where you face then your course is more sure and you are able to make daily decisions that will help you arrive at your final destination. Always face your Heavenly Father and the Savior, keep focused on them in all that you do. Strive to emulate their character traits and think what they would do as you are faced with decisions and life's choices. I have pondered often the definition of neighbor and have determined that the right sequence of importance in life is as follows:

1. Godhead

2. Spouse

3. Children

4. Extended Family and Friends

5. Home / Visiting Teaching and Church Callings

6. Education / Work

I never told my boss at work that he was number six, but for some reason, it never interfered with a successful career, in fact, I know that my priorities helped to achieve my success in business. To help you further, I will explain some principles that will help you to fulfill the top three priorities in life: First, your relationship with the Godhead: Power in prayer; Inspiration from studying and pondering the scriptures; Sabbath day worship (the three R's); Frequent temple attendance; and Live a healthy lifestyle. Sabbath day worship includes the three R's: Repent, Renew, and Recommit. Second, your relationship with your spouse requires: Live the gospel; Place the happiness of your spouse over your own; and Create a strong spiritual bond with your spouse. And third, your relationship with your children involves: Consistent family prayer; scripture study; and family home evening; Establish family traditions, and Create opportunities for your children to have spiritual experiences.

I desire so much for each of you to be happy throughout your life. I know you will face challenges and trials - that's a part of life. I also know that as you live the doctrine of Christ and learn to utilize the Atonement in your life that you will learn and grow from your challenges. You know how to receive answers to prayers, you know how to gain inspiration from studying and pondering the scriptures. You know that by living the doctrine of Christ that you will continue throughout your life to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to help others!

The gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth through the prophet Joseph Smith. The Book of Mormon is the word of God and is a witness that Joseph Smith was a prophet. We are led by a prophet today in President Thomas S. Monson. I know that he holds all the priesthood keys necessary for us to receive all the ordinances and covenants necessary to provide us the opportunity to live with God and the Savior again as families. I know these things because I have felt the power of the Holy Ghost in my life numerous times. I have experienced an abundance of the Spirit throughout these three years. I have felt the Lord's influence upon me as I have counseled with missionaries and made required decisions, there has been almost a continuous conduit with the heavens as the Spirit has constantly communicated God's will to me. I am completely dependent upon Them for Their guidance and am so grateful that it has come. I have felt a part of the love They have for each of you . . . you are loved, you are of great worth, you have incredible potential, you are wonderful! Thank you for teaching me, thank you for your example, thank you for all that you've done, thank you for living the doctrine of Christ!

I Love You!

President Kunz

This is President Kunz's last email. He has said in the past that he loves reading the last couple of chapters from each book in the Book of Mormon to read the last words that each wanted to tell, so these are his last words. I wanted to share it with you. Don't worry, its not to make you feel guilty about anything. Haha. Love you!
Sister Melly

( I guess Sister Melly has been gone too long and she has forgotten her family is perfect. Why else would she mention that we should not feel guilty. Silly Sister Mel.)

Sister Melanie Gets in Touch with her Theater Roots and Gets Ready to Welcome New Transplants to the Cornfield

Dear Family,
Love you!
This last week has been absolutely amazing!
To start off, last week after I emailed you last, we headed to downtown Omaha for a tour of the Rose Theater, an old theater which houses one of the largest children’s theater companies in the nation. Sister Maldanado, a woman in the Millard ward, is holding some workshops there right now, so she was able to take us on a tour. We saw their costume storage and costume shop, all the backstage areas, dressing rooms, etc. I jut felt right at home and Sister Belka was pretty funny, she was so excited. After that we had sushi at a restaurant in Old Market for Sister Coats's birthday. We had fun.
A lot of time this week has been devoted to making the blanket for that man that we met at the fabric store a couple of weeks ago. It has turned out to be quite a project. The biggest problem that we ran into was that we lost his phone number, so we had no way to get into contact with him and couldn't remember his name, so we weren’t sure what to do. On Wednesday, we had Specialized Training with the Omaha and Papillion Zones and in between some of the trainings, Elder Powell from the Skyline Ward told us that the guy had come into his church building looking for us and had talked to some of the members of his ward, but they hadn't gotten any contact information for him, so we were still at a loss of what to do, but I just kept working and figured that it would work itself out eventually. On Saturday, we got a call from him. We had written our phone number on the back of a pamphlet and given it to him. He said that he had read the pamphlet but that after he read it, he lost it for a while, but he found it between the seats in his car that day and then called us. We were so relieved! I finished the blanket this morning. I don't have a picture of it right now, but it has a cat embroidered on it and little hearts quilted every so often and is very soft and cozy. I may have a hard time giving it back, but we are meeting him on Wednesday for lunch and then hopefully we can get some other missionaries over to meet him since he does not live in our area.
The other highlight of the week was the musical fireside that we put on on Sunday night. This was the first of a series of 4 firesides called "Pioneers Past and Present" that we are doing for the Omaha, Papillion, Lincoln, and Council Bluffs Stakes. Sister Coats and I narrated and then we had about 15 musical numbers- mainly solos with some group numbers- performed in the cultural hall. President Kunz recorded it so; hopefully I can get you a copy some time soon. The first one was for the Omaha stake. We had a lot of people from our ward there, including many of our recent converts, but best of all was that Aliyah and Walter (two of our investigators) were able to come! Aliyah we met a couple of weeks ago. She is 15 and just really needs to find some direction in her life. She came to church and loved it and then came to the fireside and really felt the spirit. She is so great! So trusting and humble and ready for some good changes in her life. Now we just need to get the rest of her family on board. Walter is the husband of Julie, who was just baptized a couple of months ago. He is so supportive of her and he says that the only things that are holding him back from being baptized are that he doesn't have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and he says he has felt the Spirit before in his life, but not yet in the Church. He is expecting it to be an overwhelming, cleansing feeling, so we are continually trying to help him understand that what he is feeling is the spirit, because we know that he has felt it, including at the fireside.
I have really come to realize what a unique and special opportunity that I have to serve in this mission and at the Trail Center. We have so many talented sisters and being here together allows all of our talents to combine so that we are able to do all of these neat, neat things. My view of missionary work is completely different than what you would probably hear from most other missionaries, but I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to participate in these great things. Almost everything that has meant the most to me on my mission has come as a direct result of serving at the Trail Center. It just reminds me that there is not just one way to do missionary work that different people are touched by different things and need to different experiences for their testimonies to develop.
The Lord just keeps putting a lot of awesome people in our path lately. There are so many people that are prepared for the gospel living in the Millard area. We also keep finding awesome people for other missionaries to teach. I feel like the experiences that a couple months ago I would qualify as great miracles are now becoming almost commonplace. They just happen all the time!
Oh, also, I met Katie and Cody’s new ward mission leader from their Minnesota Ward. He came into the TC last night on their way down to Arizona for the summer.
But, this is President and Sister Kunz's last week. They leave and the Westons arrive on Friday. It makes me a little nervous, especially with all the things that we have going on right now. I feel like we are doing some really great things now and I hope and pray that he catches the vision of what we are trying to accomplish. But, President Kunz keeps telling us, the only reason we would not feel completely loyal to President Weston is because of our own disobedience. So I am sure that everything will be fine in the end.
Love you! Have a good week!
Sister Melly

Cornfield ABC's: Accountability, Baptism and Cleaning

Dear Family,

Love you!

Wow! What a week, but I guess I say the same thing about every week. Lately, we have been so rushed with everything it feels like I hardly have time to take a breath. We get up at 6:30 and exercise and try to wake our bodies up- that is probably the most relaxing part of the day. Then we hurry to get ready by 8 so we can get started into personal study time. It seems like it gets harder and harder to get ready in an hour. We keep saying that it would be so nice to be an elder and not need very much time to get ready in the morning, but I suppose that is the same thing that all women say - how nice it would be to not have to get ready every morning :). Some days, we get to have personal study and companion study, but those days seem to become less frequent than we would like. Between having to be at the TC at 9 most mornings and then a night full of appointments, it is hard to find time for our studies. I can definitely tell the difference. I tend to feel a lot more stressed and overwhelmed when we are not able to have our full two hours of studies. I may be in quite a predicament when I get home and no longer have that time set aside, but I guess that will be up to me. Speaking of home, I keep having dreams about going home. It is the weirdest thing. Anyways, then we work all day, usually get home at 9:30, plan for the next day until 10, phone conference with the elders and Brother Jensen until 10:15, and then quickly get ready for bed. And then do it again!

So the highlight of this last week was the baptism of Erika Dallon on Saturday, although it all came together so quickly that by Sunday when we were adding up our numbers for the week, Sister Belka had to remind me that we had had a baptism. We saw Erika on Monday to teach her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then on Wednesday she came to the Trail Center and Sister Belka and Sister Sakurazawa (who speaks Spanish) taught her about some of the commandments, and then on Thursday Sister Jones and I taught the rest of the commandments with the Council Bluffs elders as translators. They interviewed her right after the lesson. It was so perfect because Erika tends to be a little shy at first, but by the end of the lesson, she had warmed right up to them. She is so smart and sassy! The elders were telling her that they probably wouldn’t be able to come to her baptism because they were doing service for an investigator and she told them "Well do it fast!" While hey were interviewing her, it was taking a really long time, so I was a little worried about what was going on, but when they finished, the elders said that when they asked her about the sacrament, she started quoting a whole bunch of stuff from the Bible and at some point was reciting to them the story of Moses and the Red Sea. She is so funny. So on Saturday, we got to the church and it was pouring rain. We went in to the church and there were a good number of people there 15 minutes before the baptism was set to start. As we were running around getting some final preparations made, they had to keep adding more and more chairs for people to sit in the Relief Society room until finally, we had to move into the chapel and it was pretty full. All the speakers spoke mainly in Spanish, but translated parts of their talks so the rest of us would know what was basically being said. The Spirit was so strong! It was such a reminder to me that the power is not in what we say, but it comes from the Spirit. Even if we have no idea what is being said, the Spirit can still testify to us of the truthfulness of what is being said. It was amazing!

Let’s see, other great things that happened this week. We have been working on lots of stuff at the Trail Center, figuring out how to make the sisters more personally accountable for the miles that they drive (all the sisters are given an allotment of miles that they are allowed to drive each month). Because we all share cars, this has been difficult in the past because the sisters tend to just do whatever and then hope that at the end of the month, all of the miles work out. This has worked for the most part in the past, but we have to be more careful now because of more shifts at the Trail Center, meaning more driving to and from areas, and an extra companionship because we got more sisters than we lost this last transfer. So, Sister Belka and I have been working on a better system of accountability for each companionship. It was pretty exciting, but also reminded me of how important accountability is between us and God. For the most part, we are responsible to be accountable on our own and then to be the one to return and report. We have to take action and not wait to be asked to go and do or to report what has been done.

On Thursday, we had the Great Cleaning Day. We spent the whole day cleaning our apartments and getting them looking fantastic for the new mission president (even if he will never see them:) ). But, it was so nice to get it all clean. I feel so much better now. That is one of the major downsides of having no time: it seems like the cleanliness of our apartment tends to be neglected, but we just never have time! President Kunz is leaving next week! It’s hard to believe that it is already time!

So, another busy week as usual, and it looks like this coming week will be busy as well! It’s crazy because all year it seems like everyone would be referencing what summer would be like, saying "just wait until summer! The Trail Center will be so busy! It will be so hot! etc. etc." and now it here, and before I know it, it will be over. But, the busy hasn't felt too bad. I am more tired at the end of the day, but that’s not too bad. It is definitely getting hot, but it’s not too bad so far. We will see how it goes from here.

Well I love you! Happy June 18th !

Love,

Sister Melan

Sister Melly Shares Wealth with the Elders

Dear family,

I don’t feel like writing a letter today. I just feel like taking a nap. I was lying on the floor of our apartment for a little bit a while ago and I think my brain fell asleep even if my body did not. But, I have a lot to tell you about this week, so I had better get started.

So Thursday was day one of having the elders in our area. We love it! We met with them on Thursday to fill them in on everything that is going on and to give them some of our contacts and investigators for them to visit. I think that they were in heaven. Elder Miller, who has been out 22 months (sometimes I feel like an oldie in the mission until I hear someone say something like that. Then I don’t feel so old any more.) He kept laughing the whole time and saying that he had never been treated like this. We just handed him a list of great potentials and less-actives to visit and investigators, ward lists, everything they would need to get started. Brother Jensen’s wife made them pancakes and we talked about how everything works in the ward. He was so shocked. I am very grateful for the great support we have from the ward and the many miracles that we see, but it just made me realize how lucky the sisters are in this mission. We are all centered right around Omaha, where the most teaching and finding is done and where there is better support. I don’t know if the success is because of the sisters or if the sisters are here because of the success, but something I have realized this last week is that the reason for why things happen is not as important as what we choose to do with what happens. I have long been wondering why I am always paired with Trail Center leaders. I finally realized that it doesn't matter at all. Even if I could figure it out, the knowledge wouldn’t be getting me anywhere. What is most important is for me to look for the unique opportunities that are available because of being with a Trail Center leader and then make the most of them. As I have been doing that this last week, I have been feeling a lot more satisfied with the work that I am doing.

Let see, other great things this week. On Friday, I was with Sister Rhoades (Sister Proctor, Trail Center leader #2's companion) in the Millard area. We went to go check on some old potentials at a couple of different apartment buildings that are fairly close to each other. As we were walking in between the two buildings, we ran into a younger girl probably about 14, named Aliyah who was walking to a gas station to buy some candy for her little sister. She wasn't super interested in what we were saying, but told us to go meet her mom, because she "loves that kind of stuff". We went and knocked on her door and she said that she would like to talk to us, but was really busy cleaning her house and just didn't have time at the moment. However, another one of her daughters- Rainee, begged her mom to let us in. so she did. As we talked to Shawna, the mom, Rainee went and got her bible and reading glasses and sat next to us and listened. After a while, Aliyah came back and listened for a minute and then we wrapped everything up and headed to another appointment. 1/2 an hour later, we got a text from Shawna. She said that Aliyah was really comfortable with us and wants to join our church. . . So that's great! We will let. her :)

Now for an update on Erica. She is the recently adopted daughter of the Dallon family. When we met her for the first time, we set her for baptism for the 23rd of this month. Before we saw her the second time, Brother Dallon called us and asked if she could be baptized instead on the 16th because of some logistical issues on the 23rd. So, surprise! We have a baptism on Saturday. We taught her last Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, we will teach her tomorrow and on Thursday, then she will have her interview on Thursday and yeah. . . baptism, on Saturday. It is/ has been quite a whirlwind, especially because she doesn't speak English, so we have to have an interpreter when we teach her. But, hey! I am learning some Spanish!

There are just too many good things going on to explain. Even with the Elders, we still feel a little overwhelmed with all the people we are teaching! I think that I have finally adjusted from being in Oakview to now, so hopefully it just all keeps on coming!

Love you! Have a good week and Happy Father's Day!

Love, Sister Melly

My release date is February 14, so just about 8 months from today! I know I told Katie that, but I guess she didn't tell you :) We actually only end up serving about 17 1/2 months because of the way that transfers line up. Most full proselyte sisters go home a few weeks after their 18 month mark, but because of the Trail Center and being in the MTC an extra week, they send us home earlier.

I haven't had time to work on the blanket yet, but hopefully I will soon. I am still not sure if I really know what I am doing, since I am not much of a quilter. The other quilt is almost done. I think it just has the binding left to do. Sister Wright showed it to me last night.

Sister Aunty-to-Be Gets to Work with Vision and Talent

Dear family,

Love you!

This last week, I finally got Katie's letter about her good news. It was postmarked on the 22 of May, but I did not get it until the 1st of June. I immediately ripped it open and read it. Hooray! Baby! I told Sister Belka and she said "Sister Lamb! we are going to be aunts!" I guess she was a little confused about who was having the baby. I told her that I was not sharing. Every once in a while, I will remember and look at Sister Belka and say "baby!".. It makes me happy.

So, today we found out about transfers and tomorrow is the day when we make the switch. After a long wait (we were some of the last ones to find out what was going on) we found out that. . . Sister Belka and I are staying together in Millard. She will still be Trail Center Leader with Sister Proctor. We are also getting a second set of missionaries in the Millard area. It will be Elder Miller and he is training a new missionary. So that is awesome! We are so excited! There is lots of work to be done in the Millard area and we are trying to figure out how this will work, but its going to be so fun!

There is a quote from President Monson that I feel like helps explain the beginning of my mission a lot. It says "Work with out vision is drudgery. Vision without work is daydreaming. Work coupled with vision will insure your success." I like that quote a lot and I share it with people all the time. The beginning of my mission felt a lot like Work Without Vision. We worked really hard, but it felt like it was to no point. We just put in a lot and got nothing out. But a big part of that was that I didn’t really know what it was that I was trying to accomplish. I did not have any vision of what we were working towards, so the work was terrible because I had no motivation. The second part of my mission was a lot of fun and we still worked, but we still were not accomplishing a lot. At the beginning of the transfer, Elder Watson told us that we were supposed to have a lot of fun that transfer and we did just what he said. We got along very well, we had fun, we tried not to worry too much. It’s not quite like vision without work, but its kind of the same idea. Now, I am in phase 3 of the mission. We work hard and we accomplish a lot. We have a very clear idea of what we want to accomplish, we have a great support system from the ward, and we are seeing so many miracles! We see many of them every day. I think that what I have been learning this last transfer is really love the work and how to work hard and have fun. I am so grateful for the time I have been able to serve with Sister Belka and I am so excited to be able to spend another transfer with her. We were both really nervous that we were going to get split up, but we ended up being one of the only companionships that did not get switched around, along with our roommates the Lake View Sisters. So, our little family is going to be staying together.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in the Trail Center. Before I came here, my idea of what visitors centers are was just like a tour where they tell you nice things and then pressure you into giving a referral. I hated visitors centers. But, I have come to realize that that is not what visitors centers are for. They serve the same purpose as the missionary purpose, to invite others to come unto Christ- both members and nonmembers. Although there are people that come into to Trail Center just looking to learn about the history and don't need much, there are many people that come in that need a lot more. They may not have come in looking for answers to their questions or to gain a new perspective on life or for a desire to change, but that is what many of them leave with. I remember a college teacher saying "Treat everyone you meet like they are going through something serious and 90% of the time you will be right." That is so true. There are so many people that are in need of the Savior and we have the unique opportunity to help them find that relationship through the example of the pioneers. The Trail Center isn’t just where people go to learn about the history, it is where lives are changed every day! It took a man coming into the Trail Center and saying some really rude things to me about missionaries in Visitors Centers for me to realize that, but I am grateful now that I was able to step back and evaluate what we do here because my testimony of the power of the Trail Center has grown so much. I am so grateful to serve here.

Well other than that, we have seen so many miracles this last week. With only 8 hours in the area this week, we were able to accomplish so much! We have a ton of referrals from other missionaries and members and it is so awesome! Sister Belka took a nonmember from our area on tour at the TC and he wants to continue meeting with us. We met a man who was so thrilled to talk to us because he saw the mormon.org commercials and really wanted to know that we believe. A family in the ward just adopted a girl from Peru and she is getting baptized on the 23! So many miracles! I can't even list them all. Its so great!

Sorry if I say the same things over and over again. I feel like I think about things a lot and then I am never really sure what I actually say and what is just rolling around in my head. I guess if you hear it more than once, it means that I think about it a lot.

I am always amazed how Heavenly Father puts us in the path of the people that need us the most and that we personally will be most able to help. A couple of weeks ago, Sister Belka and I bought some dresses. They have long, sheer skirts, but the slip underneath is too short, to we decided to buy some fabric to add the the length of the slip. We stopped at Hancock today and as we were walking in, a younger man and his daughter were following us in and he asked us if we do alterations. We were both kind of confused and said no, sorry. In my head I was just thinking, I can’t do that because I am on a mission. Then later, we saw him at the cutting table and started talking to him about what he was doing. His daughter had a blanket that she had had since she was born that was totally shredded and dirty, so he was buying some new fabric to make a new one. The only problem was that he didn't know how he was going to put it together, which is why he was asking us if we do alterations. Still in my mind, I was thinking, that's too bad. I hope that he can find someone to do that for him. . . After talking to him for 10 minutes or so, it finally hit me and I told him that I would put together the blanket for him. (basically just two sheets of minky fabric) - Hello service project. I am so glad that Heavenly Father was patient with me and gave me enough opportunities for me to realize what was going on and that it is OK for me to sew, it just has to be for the right reason. So, I will be getting to work on that. We gave him a restoration pamphlet and he said he was interested in learning about the church, so that good. Let's just keep the sewing service opportunities coming! It has amazed me lately how so many of the sisters in the Trail Center have been finding opportunities to use their talents, so I am happy that I am able to use mine too!

OK! Love you so much!

Sister Melly

I hope that you are doing so great!