September 15, 2014 — “Make a Wish . . . .”

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Mike Meservy

Sister Meservy’s Letter from September 15, 2014

Subject:  “Make a Wish . . . .“

To whom it may or may not concern,Can I share some of my wishes, hopes, and dreams with y’all? Thanks.

1) The Lord has said, “all things are created and made to bear record of me” (Moses 6:63) Well isn’t that the truth?! My wish is for each of us to live up to the purpose of our creation and bear record of our Savior Jesus Christ.

2) “There’s surely somewhere a lowly place
In earth’s harvest fields so wide
Where I may labor through life’s short day
For Jesus, the Crucified.”

As I’ve said before, mission life is short, but I am so grateful for this chance that I’ve had to labor for my Savior, and I have hope that I will stay determined to continue to labor for Him for the rest of my life.

3) “True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work.” David O McKay

I don’t know how many of you are aware of this, but the whole missionary thing still terrifies me. I still get scared when I go to talk to strangers, when I knock on doors, and when I head into set appointments. I still get scared when I bear my testimony and when I sing in front of people. You’d think 18 months would cure me of these fears- that’s what I thought at least. Luckily, I know I have the rest of my life to continue working at it and overcoming my fears and when I think of President McKay’s words I am comforted. Though I may be awfully scared of a lot of things, I can love the people around me. Even though I am scared that I may get injured, heart broken, or rejected I still have this undeniable desire to love all of God’s children and show them the love that He has for them. I think we are all made up of that desire to love and be loved, sometimes we just need to discover it. 🙂

4) “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” -C.S. Lewis

Missionary work can hurt. I have loved so many people on my mission who haven’t chosen to follow the example of Jesus Christ. I still love them and my heart aches as I think of the joy they could experience in accepting and living His gospel. I know that it is worth it to continue to love. No matter how shattered your heart is. No matter how broken you feel. No matter how scared you are- keep on loving. Keep submitting to your Heavenly Father’s will. First and foremost- be vulnerable to him. Follow the example of Jesus Christ and have the attitude of “Nevertheless, thy will be done.”

Christ’s heart was certainly wrung and broken- but he showed us the perfect example of giving his heart anyway. As we allow ourselves to be humble, meek, and vulnerable we may be broken down. We may feel that our hearts are penetrated. But we will come to know with all certainty that we are redeemable.

As Lehi of old testified to his son Jacob, We can be “Reedemed because of the righteousness of [our] Redeemer.” So trust Him. My dream is that we can all trust our Heavenly Father enough to allow ourselves to be vulnerable to him and vulnerable to others. To allow ourselves to love. Allow ourselves to Trust.

I’m learning a huge lesson of Trust right now as I end my mission. I cry a lot because of what I am going to miss and what I am leaving behind- but I know that there is a bright future ahead of me, and I am just grateful for the chance I’ve had to meet so many amazing people. I have been so blessed on my mission.

This week we were at Bozhi’s home for dinner and held up some pine needles to make a wish with Bozhi. Turns out we made the same wish. . . .

Bozhi and I both wished that I would be here for her baptism. 🙂

Well guess what?! Bozhi is getting baptized this SATURDAY! So I will be! 🙂  What a miracle. What a blessing.

I LOVE THIS WORK!

Adios my friends!

I will continue to do a weekly blog if y’all want to follow me after I get home. 🙂

LOVE,
Sister Meservy!

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September 8, 2014 — “Do you want to get married quickly?”

Posted on September 8, 2014 by Mike Meservy

Sister Meservy’s Letter from September 8, 2014

Subject:  “Do you want to get married quickly?”

Well HELLO!

You probably think I don’t have much to say today because I emailed last Thursday.  Well, my fair feathered friends, strap in your seatbelts and hold on to your socks because the email you are about to read is going to be…. pretty good.

On Friday Sister Huffaker and I got to train at Zone Meeting. One of the parts of our training was helping the missionaries learn to use the tools in our Adjusting to Missionary Life handbooks. Let me tell you, those books are inspired. 🙂 For those of you who don’t know, missionary work is stressful and hard and we missionaries need all the help we can get.

Our first activity was teaching the missionaries how to use positive self talk and talk back to negative thinking. That’s something I am always needing to work on so I stood in the middle of the room. Sister Huffaker stood behind my left shoulder and acted as a negative voice. Then we had some missionaries line up and rewrite my “negative thoughts.” However, to mix things up, they had to sing each positive thought. We started our own fun little musical and I got to stand there and hear Elders and Sisters sing things to me like, “You are a really great missionary and you are doing a good job. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Just keep working. You can turn this around.”

All the missionaries even started snapping so they had something to sing to. It was may too fun.

Now you want to hear about our second activity? Sister Huffaker and I borrowed some instruments from Russell Lucki, our recent convert, so that we could help the missionaries in our zone apply the handbook’s teachings and relax. We used a rainstick, a tambourine, and some chimes. I wish y’all could’ve been there. Sister Huffaker had all the missionaries close their eyes and then she read to them:
Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
–
Concentrating on one part of your body at a time,
look for any tension.
Consciously relax that part of your body.
Feel all the tension draining away
like sand running through your fingers…
All this while having the soothing rainstick, the chimes, and the tambourine playing in the background. You probably had to be there but it was hilarious.  She continued through the whole exercise and everybody felt great after. I think they were all pretty certain we’ve gone crazy though.

I’m grateful for the resources our Heavenly Father gives us to have joy, relax, and progress. 🙂

I was at the Schulze’s this week and Elora (3 years old) got to be an “angelnary” (missionary) with me. 🙂 See attached picture. She likes to help us with the lessons. We were on splits this day so it was extra nice because I needed a companion. 🙂  She told me that her mom was having a baby and that she, Elora, was going to have her very own baby too. Her older Sister Savannah (5 years old) made sure I knew that it would only be a doll.

I asked, “Savannah, will you get a baby doll, too?”

She responded by telling me that she was way too big for that. So I asked her what things she liked and she told me. “I like big things. Like sparkly things. I like pretty things. I like rainbows. Rainbows are pretty things.”

So now I know, big kid things=rainbows, sparkly things, and pretty things.

Anyway. I’ve been giving a lot of my “Final Testimonies” the last few weeks. My last Zone Conference, Zone Meeting, MLC, and Sacrament Meeting. In MLC president forgot I was going home and had the others bear their testimonies, so I decided I must not be returning home. 😉 But I went up anyway and he said, “I guess we just don’t want to admit that some of you are leaving us.”

When I got up to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting, I looked at Bishop and he started to cry, which made me get teary eyed so I made Sister Huffaker go first so I could compose myself. Then Bishop came up to me after and said, “That was your last Sacrament Meeting testimony.”

I told him he shouldn’t say things like that.

However, with all of these “Last testimonies” I am really pausing to evaluate what it is that I do know. It’s a pretty cool thing. I’d like to invite all of you to reflect on the things you know and what you would say if you only had one more chance to bear your testimony. Then write it down. Will you do that? Thanks. 😉 I’ll follow up next week.

When I was on splits with Sister Tenny this week I got kissed. Elora, my missionary buddy gave me a kiss on the cheek. But what was really weird was watching my companion kiss a boy. Sister Tenny kissed her husband goodbye and I almost fainted. Then I remembered she’s married. 😐

When I was on splits with Sister Abrams (one of my role models) her husband asked me if I was going to go home and get married right away. How the heck do I answer that?!

I guess I should’ve told him to ask all the women of the ward. They are set on me returning and marrying David Archuletta. I get to hear about that all the time. Anyway. It’s a weird thing to have everyone know that I am going home soon. But it’s good because I feel like I get a constant reminder to WORK HARD AND FINISH STRONG. I have the rest of my life to be a member- I only have two more weeks to be a full time missionary. 🙂

I LOVE YOU. I love my mission. and I LOVE MY SAVIOR.

LOVE,
Sister Meservy

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September 4, 2014 — “This is going to be journal worthy.”

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Mike Meservy

Sister Meservy’s Letter from September 4, 2014

Subject:  “This is going to be journal worthy.”

Dear Peasants,

Joke. Not sure where that came from. Just wanted something new.

Oh boy, it’s been a week and a half since I wrote. I miss you. 🙂

I get to go to the temple today. I never thought I would move my Preparation day to a Thursday because I thought I would die before I made it that long. O contrare, my friends. I feel like my last Preparation day was just a few days ago. Every second is flying by. Anyway. Enough about that. Let’s talk about how much fun I had this last week and a half and all that I learned.

Once upon a time I went on exchanges with one of my favorite Sisters, Sister Lybbert. We got to teach her investigators Rick and Mary. They are RADDER THAN RAD.  Rick has crazy questions and the Book of Mormon has the answers! He was laughing about the phrase “And it came to pass” and kept using it. So to invite him to be baptized I said, “You know what I think should come to pass? Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?”  🙂 He said yes and decided on a date.

The next day we were following up with them and he was telling us about his reading and he said, “And it came to pass that I didn’t understand a thing.”

When Sister Lybbert wrote that down to be the header of her email he said, “no, no, wait…. And it came to pass that I am going to make the best Mormon you’ve ever known. . . . Put that as your header instead. Quote me on that.”

What a jokester.

He made us call when we got home so that He and his wife could know we got home safe at night. 🙂 What a sweet man. He said, “I know this is a safe area, but I just want to make sure. I mean, the only drive by’s we get here are from missionaries.”

The sisters found Rick by pulling over and talking to him when he was walking his dog. They pried his address out of him even though he “wasn’t interested” and now he and his wife are both very interested. 🙂 I LOVE THE GOSPEL.

In our lesson with them, Rick was questioning the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and I felt the spirit flow through my whole being. I asked him if he felt like the book was leading him to do good and if it taught good things. He said yes. Then I said, “If this Book is good, if it is of God, then it couldn’t have been written by an evil man, it must be a true record, inspired by God.” It was silent for a second and then Mary chimed in, “Rick, she makes a very good point. It must be true.”

I am so grateful for the evidence of the Restored gospel of Jesus Christ on earth today. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God!

Now back to my area. We got to teach Bozhi this week about eternal marriage. 🙂 Bozhi was adopted from Bulgaria a year ago and then her parents decided they couldn’t manage being first time parents to a 16 year old who doesn’t really speak english. SO, miraculously, the Harp family is now adopting Bozhi and she is receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Harp’s already have 16 year old triplets, so now they have four 16 year old girls. 🙂  She really understood our lesson on Eternal Marriage and committed to live her life so that she can be married in the temple. I can’t tell you how amazing that is to hear.

We looked out the window after the lesson and their neighbor was lying on the grass.  Apparently he weeds like that because he has a bad back. The Harp girls said the first time they saw it they thought he was dead. Then, right after we left their house we saw a man lying on his grass, face down. He definitely wasn’t weeding though. So we were concerned… until we saw his foot move and decided he was taking a nap.  We drove on and then I made Sister Huffaker turn around so we could go back to talk to him. Couldn’t miss that opportunity. 😉

We walked up to this man on his grass and I whispered to Sister Huffaker, “This is going to be journal worthy.” And let me tell you… it was.

I said to the man, “Hello Sir.”

He responded with a moan into the grass his face was smothered in.

So I asked, “Are you doing alright?”

He looked up at us, obviously still a little sleepy, and got to his knees. Then he looked at me, and then to Sister Huffaker, “Bawya. . . .Tawnya. . . ” He looked at our tags and squinted. “Sisters?”

“Hello,” I said, not sure why I couldn’t get anything else out of my mouth.

Then he walked past us up to his front step, rubbed his ears, rubbed his eyes, grumbled, “Girls,” and walked inside.

Unsure what had just happened, we returned to our car. . . as giggly as Bawnya and Tawya could be. 🙂

It’s been a great week. I love you all. I LOVE MY MISSION. I love my Savior. 🙂

Keep praying for me- I’ve gotta keep sprinting to the end! 🙂

LOVE,
Sister Meservy

1-all of these Sisters have been my companions. 🙂 It’s symbolic.

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2- saying goodbyes.

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3- being sister tea’s backpack once and for all. 

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4- More Goodbyes.

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5- 14th and last Missionary Leadership Council. 🙂 
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August 25, 2014 — “I just can’t get myself to reach for an elder’s hand”

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Mike Meservy

Sister Meservy’s Letter from August 25, 2014

Subject:  “I just can’t get myself to reach for an elder’s hand“

Time is SOARING by. I can’t handle it anymore. Let’s just stop time. Alright? Sounds good to me. This week was full of craziness.  I am getting extremely worn out, but somehow I just have this burning desire to work through the exhaustion. I want to wake up earlier and work harder all day. I just know the end of my mission is going to be amazing. It’s nothing like I expected. It is just amazing though. Every time I talk to someone I can feel that this message of the restoration is TRUE. I know it with every fiber of my being.In the last few months I have felt some of the deepest, heaviest pains- and somehow, I have felt the most beautiful and indescribable joys. I know that the Atonement gives us a real power to cope with our struggles and rejoice. It is through our Savior Jesus Christ that we can overcome all things and have joy.Here, how about we have story time.Let me tell you about a family in our ward. The Schulze family. The Schulze’s have 4 beautiful kids, each with burning testimonies. Brother and Sister Schulze have been very less active, basically always. The details of their sins aren’t important, but they invited the devil to be a large part of their lives. Still, these four kids were a light. At age 9 Gavin decided to be baptized.  The Schulze’s wanted to get back to church but had so much they were struggling with and so much shame for the lives they lived. Us missionaries wanted to help, but couldn’t ever get in to meet with them.

Then, one day, Brother Schulze decided to pick up the Book of Mormon and read. He started reading every morning, during every lunch break at work, and every night before bed. He never missed a day. He started reading out loud to his kids who LOVED to hear the stories in the scriptures. Everything about Brother Schulze changed. He started coming to church weekly. He let the missionaries in. More importantly, He allowed himself to access and use the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In one week Brother Schulze had quit smoking. In 4 weeks he had finished the Book of Mormon and was on his 2nd time through. The Schulze family started reading together. They started watching uplifting TV shows. They came to church every week.

Brother Schulze read the Book of Mormon and felt the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He felt the love of God and knew that there was hope for even him. In just over a month I got to watch this family change completely. Brother Schulze got a blessing this week that told him if he would remain faithful and continue the things he is doing EVERY ONE OF HIS CHILDREN WILL GO ON MISSIONS AND GET MARRIED IN THE TEMPLE. I have no doubt about that. I can testify that reading the Book of Mormon opens the door for the Savior to enter our lives and change us. We can only do it with his help. It is the little things in life that make all the difference.

No matter our personal strength, testimonies, and faith- IF WE FORGET THE LITTLE THINGS ALL IS LOST.  Read from the Book of Mormon every day. Feast on the words of Christ. Say your prayers- with REAL INTENTIONS to communicate with your Loving Father in Heaven. Take the sacrament EVERY WEEK, and remember the covenants you are renewing. Repent and let the power of the atonement fill your heart and soul. Let it lift you.

I know that reading the Book of Mormon draws us nearer to Jesus Christ than any other book can.

“It is not just that the Book of Mormon teaches us truth, though it indeed does that. It is not just that the Book of Mormon bears testimony of Christ, though it indeed does that, too. But there is something more. There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.” -President Ezra Taft Benson

I got to sing at my last Zone Conference this week. When I was in the MTC my district sang “I’ll go where You want me to go” in church. My district and I sang that for Zone Conference this week. The words in the last verse hit me, “Where I may labor through life’s short day for Jesus the Crucified.”

I am so grateful I was called to the Washington Spokane mission to spend a piece of life’s short day laboring for my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ.

He is my Savior. I need his Redemption. This is HIS church. Thomas S. Monson is a living prophet, here to lead and guide the world to Christ.

Love,
Sister Meservy

PS: We played Ninja at Zone Conference. You have to hit the hands of the other players to get them out. In the end it was me against 3 elders. I couldn’t handle it. No matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t get myself to reach for an elder’s hand. So I got out and I was extremely relieved.

Anyway. LOVE Y’ALL.

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August 24, 2014 — Schedule for Missionary Reports

Posted on August 24, 2014 by Mike Meservy

Sister Meservy’s Reports Her Mission

Subject:  “Dates for Sister Meservy’s Reports.

This is a message from Sarah’s Papa. . . .Sarah is so blessed because her parents moved during her mission.  She will have the wonderful opportunity to report her mission at least twice.  The tentative planned dates are below, because if there is anything between now and then from the wards perspective(s), these may change but for now these the planned dates.

So you will be able to choose which meeting you go to or if you want go to both (A GOOD Choice).  For the first report it is a counting month and so any attendance there would help the ward tremendously.  We will reach out to family and discuss these two dates with you.

It is hard to believe this is coming to an end.  It has been so wonderful to get Sarah’s weekly reports and try to figure out how the subject of her email has anything to do with the contents of the letter.

Thank you so much for each of your support for Sarah while she has been gone.  This letter goes to a good sized list so appreciate those that have wanted to keep up with all that she is doing in the Lord’s service.  She has a wonderful way of telling about how her week has gone. Hope it has been a good experience for you and that you have enjoyed it.

Thanks again.

Report #1

Suncrest 3rd Ward
14977 South Round Tree Lane
DRAPER, UTAH 84020
Date:   September 28th, 2014 
Time:   9:00am
We are in the planning stages of what will happen after the meetings but I am sure that it will be good.  And besides you will be able to see how wonderfully Lynn has decorated the house.

Report #2

Country Park 7th Ward
2447 West 11400 South
SOUTH JORDAN, UTAH 84095-8329
Date:   October 12th, 2014 
Time:   11:00am
Meet and greet after will be at the home of Debbie Newman.  Planning still to be done as we get closer to the date.Have a GREAT SABBATH.Mike and Lynn

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