It is hard to communicate all that I want to in a short email

Hola family! Como ha estado? It sounds like you have having a wonderful time in CA and Las Vegas and wherever you are right now :)

The wedding sounds like it was sacred, lovely and great to be with everyone. You are right about the San Diego temple. I haven't been there, but it sure sounds breath-taking. I hope you continue to enjoy it and travel back safe!

Also, I am glad you were able to drop by for Rachel's Farewell. If you are reading this, Rachel, I want you to know that I LOVE you and know you are going to be a Dynamite missionary!! God is with you and you have an incredible next 18 months to look forward to. The people of London don't even know the miracles that are coming their way :)

As for us here in flushing, we are nearing the end to another transfer (Transfer 5 for me). Next week there are actually more sisters coming in than there are sisters to train them (because the rest of us are already training!)There is something like 20 sisters coming in! And there are more sisters than Elders coming in. How cool is that!!! There is a lot of excitement with all of the new missionaries and it is cool to see the work hasten before my eyes. It is neat to be apart of it all.

Both Erady and Ayda came to church this week!!! And Erady's little boy let her even go to the baptism after church! I am so grateful for the members in this small flushing branch and their willingness to introduce themselves and make investigators feel loved and welcomed. It really makes ALL the difference.

We also had a powerful lesson (probably one of the most powerful I have been apart of) with a woman named Anna. Anna is a less active from the Dominican Republic. She was baptized about 6 years ago and has even served as a Relief Society pres. She finally let us in and we talked and listened to her why she isn't coming to church. She has trapped herself in a lot of sin, and she doesn't know where to turn and she feels people at church will just judge her. I felt prompted to share a scripture with her from 3 Nephi 18 where it talks about Christ wanting her to come (and for no one to cast her out) so He can heal her. She recognized it as what she needed and promised to come to the RS activity. She didn't come, and it was heartbreaking. I wonder if that is how we will feel when we get to the other side and notice some of our loved ones not there with us. I still enjoyed the activities and church, but it is hard to ignore who is missing. I know Heavenly Father feels that way about us.

Wow I am running out of time and words to write. It really is such a crazy concept to try to communicate all the emotions, experiences and relationships I am experiencing in such a short email once a week.

Love and miss you all!

Another cold wonderful week in Flushing

Feb. 5, 2013

Another cold wonderful week here in Flushing. And I am still with my same companion, so no crazy changes to update you on this week ha-ha.

One of the many miracles of the week: The Flushing chapel has a beautiful and barely touched organ. I had the thought this past week that I should try to play the organ instead of the piano as I accompanied the ward. So I brushed away the cobwebs from high school, and started to play a little to practice while all of us missionaries were waiting to go somewhere. It was a miracle how much I remembered. I decided to give it a go yesterday in Sacrament meeting. I have never been particularly good at sight reading, and I thought I was crazy for trying to sight read, while the congregation was singing, on the organ.....but I was blessed and the Lord able to do it. Also many of the branch members never had the privilege of singing with an organ before and they really enjoyed it and were very grateful. The spirit of the whole meeting was different. I am so grateful that I took the time and learned how to play the organ and that I had the courage to do it, even though I didn't know how it would work out. I have never felt particularly "good" at hymn playing, but then again I have never felt particularly "good" at speaking Spanish, finding families, teaching from PMG. This week has been hard because I am realizing that it doesn't matter. I think so OFTEN we refuse to give of our talents, skills or of ourselves because we are scared that they aren't at the mark that WE want them to be. It is so funny how we (at least I) get so caught up in how good I am at something, when the Lord just asks for me to trust Him and try, and seems perfectly comfortable in trusting His work to me.

I had my interview with President this week. It was incredible and exactly what I needed, it also was hard to hear. The night before, in my personal prayers, I had the prompting to pray to receive the correction and even chastisement if you will that I needed in my interview with president. I just have been really stressed and kind of bogged down with everything lately, and I knew something needed to change. When I prayed for it, it startled me, because, my first impression was, "I don't want that!" But I trusted and went with it. I got into my interview with president, and it was exactly what I needed, and exactly what I prayed for ha-ha. Essentially, he asked me some really hard questions, like, "Are you comfortable with yourself?" and counseled me that I was being way too hard on myself. He shared some scriptures that I had always read, but never applied like he described it. I learned that we often doubt ourselves, and get frustrated with our weaknesses, sins and mistakes when we have a loving Heavenly Father who is perfectly familiar and understanding of these weaknesses (in fact his son Jesus Christ suffered and died for them) and He is perfectly comfortable loving us and trusting us with His work. It is not possible to love, trust in and be comfortable in the presence of God, without first loving, trusting and being comfortable with ourselves. I am very grateful for a loving mission President who guides and counsels by revelation. In some ways, a hard doctrine to grasp--at least for a person with a perfectionist tendency like myself. I am so grateful also for a loving Savior who has provided a way for me to make such changes.

I love you all! And Allie keep up the good work! Oh and Stephen, GET ON THE VISA STUFF!!!! I can't tell you how many missionaries had to wait extra WEEKS at the MTC because of delayed Visas. You don't want that, and I am grateful I am stateside and don't have do deal with it :) haha.

Megan

Cockroaches, dangerous umbrellas, & spitting

Hola family!

Yikes I don't have much time, but what a crazy and wonderful week here in the blessed land of flushing NY!

We had quite the miracles yesterday, ORLANDO CAME TO CHURCH! We had essentially lost contact with him and were about to "drop" him, but we sent him a text inviting him and he came. I was playing the organ so I didn't see him walk in. I almost leaped out of my seat when I casually looked out on the congregation and saw him. (If any RM is reading this, you know the feeling).

We also had another investigator come to church. Her name is Ayda. She is from Ecuador as well and has a lot of close family who are members in Utah and Canada. Sis Powell and I were standing on our "Soap box corner" (it's what we call it, located at Roosevelt Ave and Main St if you want to look it up) shouting out our usual "Clases de Ingles, Gratis" We noticed her and her son walk by, and they rejected our card, but with a smile. About 2 min later, my companion noticed they had stopped just 10ft down from us and were talking and looking back at is. "Go get them” she said as she pointed. Just as I turned to see who she was talking about, they approached us, but wanted to know about the church rather than the English class. We shared a little bit of our testimonies and invited them to come to church. They didn't come last week, but Ayda came this week and LOVED it! As we introduced her to members of the rama (branch), she kept referring to us as her "Angelitas" (angels) that God put in her path. She later told us that her and her son felt something as they passed us that made them want to turn around and talk to us. She said her son left our conversation with us with more light and hope in his face than what she has seen in a long time. This is what caused her to want to come to church. Again and again and again I realize and learn that the Lord is able to use us as instruments as we are obedient and repent, even when we don't realize it when it is happening.

Some of the quirks of living in China...I mean flushing (it might as well be):

1) Spitting---Chinese people love to spit. Our silent study time is usually full of the airplanes, honking and spitting that goes around outside.

2) Cockroaches----sis Powell killed her first one! Lots of squeals and sprays but successful!

3) Umbrellas---at 5'9'' My eyeballs are in the exact path of their umbrella spikes. Yikes! ha-ha

Love and miss you! Have a great week!

Love,

Megan

We had an amazing experience in Rockaways last week

Hi Family!!

How are you all? :)

Things are finally warming up a little bit here in NY. One day I only needed a light jacket! It was all quickly followed by another freezing snow storm......oh the joys of spring.

We had an amazing experience in the Rockaways last week that I ran out of time to mention last time. The Rockaway community has an annual St Patrick’s day parade, and they invited the Mormon Helping Hands to be apart of it. It was all kind of last minute, but all of us missionaries traveled down there again. Instead on grungy jeans and bandanas, we were wearing our proselyting clothes (Elders in Suits, and us sisters in dresses). We still wore our bright yellow jerseys and marched down the street in a big horde of yellow. It is hard to describe the emotions I felt as we walked down the same streets we worked on only 4 months ago. This time was much different. This time the gutters and sidewalks were full of celebrating and happy people instead of the toxic insulation and the remains of people’s lives. Kids were playing in the streets; people seemed to be living more normal lives. It was so good to see so many familiar faces, standing on their own two feet, full of hope and moving forward. Our reception as we walked down the street was overwhelming. I was privileged to walk on the side of the group and watch as people reached out their hands and gave out heartfelt and tearful thank-yous. It was an experience I will never forget, and it was all in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. That area is such sacred ground for me for the changes it has wrought within me and the people I have loved. It meant a lot to return and see it functioning again.

There was a part of the parade that the people were cheering "Mormons! Mormons! Mormons!!" I turned to my new companion and assured her that this isn't how we missionaries are usually received in this city ha-ha.

Another miracle of the week Erady came to church! Erady is one of our investigators from the Dominican Republic. She was found by the sisters before me and went to church with them, but she didn't enjoy her experience. Her little boy (Eriel) is a happy ball of energy and doesn't let her leave his site and so the first 2 times she came, she spent either battling him or in Nursery with Him. She was hesitant about returning. We have been praying for a while that she would come and that she would enjoy her experience. Yesterday she came! But it doesn't stop there. After I played the organ for the first part of the meeting, I returned to the audience to sit with her, Eriel and my companion. I remember thinking that we were sitting next to a ticking time bomb ha-ha. I prayed so hard that he would stay calm and let Erady go to the classes. And HE DID!!!! When she dropped him off, he looked at her and said, "Okay bye mommy." She loved and participated the entire time at church. It was nothing short of a wonderful and simple miracle! He answers prayers and provides away. We can trust in that, ALWAYS.

Imagine Dragons?? I went to one of their concerts on top of a parking garage in Provo and we had a lot of fun. I hope you enjoy it especially at Red Rocks!!! (You know you are in the middle of your mission when your parents start buying tickets to the bands you like!!!! ha-ha)

I love you and miss you! And hope you are all doing well!

I am doing well and I love being a missionary!

Hola!!!

How are you all! Thanks for the email and thanks for the letter chip! I hope you all had a wonderful b-day, ski day and BYU. Things are going well here, lets see how much I can write in the 26min I have left.

You are right mom, I haven't talked about the people in a while. Which is funny because they are all the reasons why I am even here. So an update. We are teaching a man named Orlando from Ecuador. Its quite miraculous how we began teaching him. When I first got to flushing, and Sis Reid left, I was almost scrambling trying to quickly learn who everyone was that they were teaching. The missionaries before me were teaching another man Orlando, so I called the Orlando that was in the phone.......turns out it was the wrong Orlando, but I didn't put that together till we already had an appt with him! Of course we kept it but for 3 weeks straight our appts with him fell through, 1st my comp was sick, 2nd the snowstorm hit, then he changed his phone number and we didn't have a complete address so we completely lost contact. We prayed that he would call us again and He did!!! We set up another appt, but he wasn't there and the member we had called couldn't come (so even if he had been there, we probably couldn't teach him anyway. (we can't enter homes where there isn't a woman). So as we walked home, disappointed, we felt prompted to go back and talk to some of the people we had passed by and failed to fearless so we did. As we were walking back to the church again, we came to the exact same spot that we were prompted to turn around before and Orlando called us!! He said he was sorry he missed us and invited us to come back. We said turned around again and said a prayer of thanks and that there would be a woman there so we could enter. We got there and there was! He has two 20 year old sons and they had a college friend over. We taught the Restoration and gave Him a Book of Mormon. His sons and their friend were listening too. After we shared with him the 1st vision, he told us that He felt a power he hadn't felt before that almost gave Him goosebumps. He also said that He had a Mormon friend growing up that always invited him to church, but Orlando never went and never believed what His friend would talk about. He then went on to say, " You mean to tell me that Jesus Christ and the Eternal Father, appeared to Joseph Smith. Why didn't anyone tell me that before???"

And so it began. We have been back 2 times to teach the Plan of Salvation. He has a lot of good questions all of which we have been able to answer by just turning to the Book of Mormon. He is loves how the book CLEARLY answers his questions and how he feels the same way reading it as he does the Bible. His mother overheard what we were teaching in the other room, and came in to ask where in the Bible we were reading from because she could feel power from what we were teaching. We taught her that it was in the Book of Mormon, at this she jumped back and told us that it couldn't be true. Right then, Orlando jumped in and defended the book and talked about how it is a complement to the Bible. It was really neat to see that he understands it. He even told us that at first he was caught on the golden plates and why all 8 witnesses are in a couple families, but now he feels that there is a power that overshadows those doubts and he is beginning to recognize the truth of it all.

Sadly, he didn't come to church yesterday, and we haven't been able to contact him (which is weird because he is usually so responsive) But we are praying hard that we can find what happened.

I love you and miss you all! I am doing well and am loving being a missionary and trainer. Is it hard and taxing, si pero Vale la pena :)

Love

Megan