"Come!"

Hey Everyone!

Things here in Chula are going super good! My new companion is Sister Mims and she is from Waxahachie, Texas! She is a true blue crazy Texan and has the best Southern Accent :) We came out to the mission field at the same time and actually sat right next to each other on the plane from SLC to SD! Plus, we were neighbors and in the same District in Poway for 3 months. She is an amazing missionary and has so much love and energy for the work. She is exactly what this area needed and has already taught me so much about the Work!

This week our area is already beginning to catch on fire and we saw some super cool miracles! The first was a man named Kebede. We were walking around this park trying to find a place to go chalking but for some reason we really didn't feel like that was the place we needed to be at. So as we started walking back to our car we waved and smiled at this older gentleman who was pushing his twin grandaughters on the swings. He looked up, waved his arm at us, and sternly said, "Come!" At first we didn't understand what he said and he must have seen the confused look we had on our faces, so he yelled a little louder, "COME!" So we walked quickly over to him and he asked Sister Mims if the book she was holding in her hands was a Bible. She looked down to the Book of Mormon in her hands and then replied to him, "No, this is actually The Book of Mormon-Another Testament of Jesus Christ!" He then proceeded to tell us about how he is from Ethopia and has only been in America for 5 months now. In his broken English and told us about his conversion story to Christ and how much he truly loves His Savior! Then he practically stared us down into our souls with tears in his eyes and said, "You have made me very, very happy today! Very, very, happy! When I saw you I knew I had to talk to you!" And literally the only response I could muster up without tearing up too much was, "Kebede, YOU have made us very happy today as well!"

We then proceeded to give him a Book of Mormon and invited him to come to Church. I shared 2 Nephi 25:26 with him and testified that if he reads the Book of Mormon he will continue to strengthen his relationship with Christ. We asked him to pray with us and he said the most beautiful and powerful prayer I have ever heard! And the whole prayer was in Ethiopian! It just amazes me how in-tune with the Spirit he is and how he truly recognized us as Representatives of Jesus Christ! As we walked away from the swings, in my mind popped the scripture in the Bible where Christ calls His Disciples and all He said to them was, "Come!" My heart was truly filled with peace and joy as I looked down and cherished the black name tag I am priveledged to wear at this time and feel the Spirit confirming to me that Christ truly has called ME to preach His gospel to the world!

I am so humbled to be a Disciple of Christ at this time and I can't imagine what the Lord has in store for Sister Mims and I at this time. I love you all and I pray that you can continue to follow in the footsteps of Christ and be a light and example of Him to all the people the Lord has placed in your path!

xoxo Sister Morgan

A Marvelous Work and a Wonder!

At the San Diego Zoo!

Hey Everyone!

So we had an absolute BLAST at the Zoo! It was way fun and we saw some super crazy animals! But this past week has been pretty crazy and today I finally had to take my "Granny" to the airport and send her back to Sweet Home Alabama! It was definitely a bitter-sweet moment and I will miss her! But I'm getting a new companion tomorrow so I'm also excited for this new transfer and to see even more miracles happen here in Chula!

This week soooo many different things happened! Last Tuesday night I finally was able to go back to Poway for a little bit and attend a fireside with Clayton M Christensen! He wrote the book "Power of the Everyday Member Missionaries" and it was SO good! I HIGHLY suggest that everyone reads his book!

So for Valentines Day I was able to have a different "Date" (companion) for the day as my companion was off at Departure Activities with our Mission President and all of the other Missionaries that went home today. I went with Sister Pond to the La Jolla YSA and had some really cool experiences! We went street contacting at the Pacific Beach Boardwalk and I literally felt like I was in a movie! Everywhere I looked there were people roller-blading in their swimming suits, families having picnics next to the beach, people carrying their surf boards around, bums sleeping on the park benches. Basically EVERYTHING you can think of when you picture Southern California! It was surreal, but we had some really good conversations with people and even handed out some Books of Mormon to some Brazilian guys slack-lining between 2 palm trees and helped an 18 yr old figure out a last-minute Valentines Day present for his girlfriend.

Valentine's Day Love from the Family!

Even though street contacting on the boardwalk is super exciting, according to Clayton M. Christensen, missionary work is more successful when a Member is the one inviting a friend or loved one to meet with the Missionaries. That is actually how our investigator family practically fell into our hands! They were going through a difficult time, so their friend who is LDS, suggested that they start attending Church here and meeting with the Missionaries. Here we are, 2 months later, and they are just soaking up this Gospel! I love this family and everyday with them is a whole new adventure!!! From crazy stories about killing rats in their house to watching them do sign-language to Christ Rock songs, they always keep us on our toes! :)

But one of the COOLEST adventures we have had with them actually took place while we were at the Zoo this past Tuesday. As we were walking around looking at all the cool and crazy creatures, we actually got a random text from that same investigator family. All it said was "Last night an angel visited me in a dream! She was giving me instructions for after I get baptized. Can I call you?" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH So of course we said YES and we got to listen to this super crazy dream on speakerphone as a million people walked right past us. It was such a spiritual experience and I literally had chills the whole time we listened to her dream! So on Friday we finally got all 4 of them with a baptismal date for April 5th!! Wooooohooooo!!!! It was definitely an experience I will remember and cherish forever! I LOVE teaching Families!

Everyday the Lord teaches me so many new and wonderful things and I am grateful for the many miracles that He allows me to witness. In my own personal scriptures study this week I read in 1 Nephi 22:8 that says,

And after our seed is scattered the Lord God will proceed to do a ^amarvelous work among the ^bGentiles, which shall be of great^cworth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their being nourished by the ^dGentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their shoulders."

Everyday that I'm on my mission I learn the true meaning behind the Gathering of Israel. It's not just a mass event that is going on, but it is a personal, and individual experience. As I have served I have experienced what it's like to "carry them in my arms and upon my shoulders" and to have such a Christ-like love for these people! This truly is a Marvelous Work and a Wonder and I am SO grateful that I have been able to be a tool in the Lord's hands to further His Work even more!

I love you all and I hope that you have another wonderful week!

xoxo Sister Morgan

 

Pic 1: At the San Diego Zoo!

Pic 2: Valentines Day Love from the Family!

Solar Flares & Stained Glass Windows

San Diego Temple

Hey everyone!!!

Sorry if my letter is a little bit shorter today, this is my companions LAST P-day in the mission before she enters into a life of "eternal P-days" again :) So we are trying to make the most of it and are going to the SAN DIEGO ZOO today!! So hopefully my letter makes some sense to you all haha

But this week was SUPER good for us! We had some really interesting experiences that defintely keep me on my feet everyday. On Sunday we had a lady just walk into Church in street clothes, so of course as the Missionaries, we went up and introduced ourselves to her. Her name was Roxine and we sat down with her in a pew right before Sacrament Meeting started. We asked her what brought her to church today and she said that she "had studied Hebrew before" and some gibberish about Hebrew that I really didn't understand.....then she apologized to us about her hair (it was cut really short and not even) and she said that her hair got burnt off by a "Solar Flare" and that we could watch it on YouTube......once the meeting started I explained the structure of it and she seemed super interested because apparently she had studied how to give sermons before. But then right after the water was passed around, she just grabbed all of her stuff and said, "I have to go!" and then just left.......it was suuuuuuper weird and she really wasn't all entirely "there" but I just hope that a seed was planted somewhere deep down inside her!

Then on Sunday we had a really awesome lesson with our Investigator Family at the SD Temple! The Spirit is always just SO strong there and it truly inspired the whole lesson! All of the kids bore testimony to us about how they have prayed and now KNOW that the Book of Mormon is true! It just truly made my heart SO happy and I really do love how genuine and pure little children are!

Oh and I almost forgot! Random tangent for a minute! JEREMY AND JARED WERE BAPTIZED THIS PAST WEEKEND!!!!  AHHHHHHHH I was SO sad that I wasn't able to go and see their baptism, but I just feel so humbled that I was able to find and teach them and experience the pure JOY that comes from sharing this Gospel! I LOVE THOSE KIDS!

SO back to our Temple lesson :) While we were walking around the Temple Grounds, we look up to the stained glass windows of where the Celestial Room is at and the whole room was GLOWING! The Sun was beginning to set and it was at the absolute perfect spot, but it was SUCH a Tender Mercy for me! I truly felt the Spirit testify to me that the Temple IS the HOUSE of the LORD and that it is a place that helps us to draw nearer to His presence. It was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen!

But I love you all and I am so grateful for all of your love and support! I promise that once I "kill off my grandma" (once Sis Roberts goes home next tuesday) that I will be better about writing more spiritual and in-depth letters :)

xoxo Sister Morgan

Making Cookies!

"How is your relationship with Christ?"

Hey, Hey, Heyyyyy! Hope you all have had another blessed week!

This week for Sister Morgan has been pretty good! This past Sunday the whole State of California fasted for Rain because of the draught we are in and guess what! Sunday night we had a beautiful and looooong rain storm. And rain every night since then! God DOES answer prayers! So that was super cool to see the fruit of our faith so far!

But this week I forgot to bring my planner with me to the library soooo I'm kind of blanking on what happened this week......haha that little book has seriously become my LIFE and I would be so lost without that. Mission brain is killer! At the end of most days I have a hard time remembering what all we did that day, so i'm sorry if my thoughts are a little bit more scattered than usual.

This week I have been reflecting a lot about something that my Mission President asked me about in Interviews a couple of weeks ago. The very first thing he asked me before even asking how my mission was going, was "How is your relationship with Christ?" The more that I have pondered that question, the more that I find things I can do to improve my relationship with Christ. In my personal studies I finished reading the Book of Matthew in the Bible and so Christ's sacrifice and resurrection were on the forefront of my mind as I turned to my Book of Mormon and read from where I left off. I read 1 Nephi chapter 19 vs 9 and that scripture truly touched my heart in a way I don't know how to explain.

The Spirit testified to me how truly inspired the Bible and Book of Mormon are, especially as they both testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Everyday I am continually amazed as I read the New Testament and Book of Mormon side-by-side and how they both teach me how to come closer to Christ. But as I read vs 9 the words of my Mission President came into my mind, "How is your relationship with Christ?" As I read that verse again my heart was filled with LOVE for my Savior and the sacrifice that He made for me. He could have easily saved Himself from all of that pain and torture the Jewish people put Him through. But "he suffereth it" so that WE wouldn't have to suffer. He did those things out of pure LOVE and so that He would know how to succor His people.

After pondering about that, the words of the Apostle, M. Russell Nelson came into my mind that he said to us in our Mission Conference last June, "Always have Gethsamane on the forefront of your mind!" As I have pondered about my relationship with Christ I have realized how I truly need to have Gethsamane more on my mind and continunally remember Christ in ALL that I do! Sometimes I feel like I forget the magnitude of the Atonement and how it applies into my everyday life. But as I have been praying about this I have started to be more concious about the things that I think and do. I have started to ask myself, "Will this strengthen my relationship with Christ? Or will it detract from my relationship with Christ?"

I know that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer and I invite ALL who read this to ask yourself the same question, "How is your relationship with Christ?" I know that by doing so you will know what things you need to change in your life that will help you to feel our Savior's love more often and help you to overcome all trials placed in your path.

I love you all and thank you for your continual love and support!

xoxoxo Sister Morgan