#BecauseofHim

Ismerio kids w/ Easter Presents from my family

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Well, for my 1 yr anniversary I successfully accomplished the missionary tradition of burning an article of clothing w/ out burning the apartment complex down. My companion was freaking out the whole time, but I was still being safety conscious (I was on a concrete patio, no one was watching, and we extinguished it w/ a bottle of water before the flames got too big) :) I think it had a whole different meaning to me though than it does for most missionaries. For me....fire means a Second Chance. A New Chapter. A Rebirth.


The Scarf I burned on my 1 yr mark :)

And what a better way to celebrate my "refiners fire" than by celebrating the Resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! For me...Resurrection ALSO means a Second Chance. A New Chapter. Rebirth. It was Easter last year, that I gave my 1st Farewell talk. I pulled it out the other day and read it and I'm just absolutely amazed at how much my testimony and faith has grown since a year ago. This past week we showed practically EVERYONE this video that perfectly describes my feelings @ this time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3TI4bYerU&feature=player_embedded

Because of Christ: weakness becomes strength. Because of Christ:defeat becomes victory. Becaues of Christ: Despair becomes HOPE. Not going to lie, this past week was rough for me. Saturday we had Interviews w/ President Clayton and it was the most spiritual interview I have ever had! Both me AND President were in tears haha But President told me about this story of a guy who was one of the Pioneers and how as they were crossing the plains he was so tired and had nothing left in him that he pointed to a rock in the distance and said "God, when I reach that rock I am going to fall over and die". But when he made it to that rock right before he was going to fall down, his handcart just kept going even though he wasn't pulling it anymore. He looked behind him and couldn't see anyone pushing it, but it still was moving forward. President talked about how when we give everything that we have, we need to turn to Christ for those extra reserves of strength and He WILL give us the strength or carry us to our final destination. As I walked out of that Interview I felt like I had just walked out of the Temple. My Spirit was rejuvinated and I had the hope to keep pushing forward and knew that I could accomplish everything that the Lord places in my path.

I KNOW that because Christ has Risen, we can overcome ANYTHING that comes across our path. I KNOW that it is by His Grace that we are saved after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23). I KNOW that Christ Lives. Because of that, I KNOW that all of us will live once again in a perfect and glorified state and can live with Christ AND our Heavenly Father for eternity. But the catch is: we must do ALL that we can in order for that to happen. If you feel like you don't know what else you can do, then turn to Alma 5 and write down all of the questions he asks and answer them for yourself. I PROMISE that you will find something that you can do to come closer to your Savior in that chapter. Make the most of this short and limited time that we have here on Earth! Cool fact that I learned this week: 1 day in God's time is 1,000 years in Earth time. Adam (the longest person to EVER live) lived to be 930 yrs old. So in reality-NOT A SINGLE ONE OF US will be gone from God's presence for more than ONE DAY. :)

xoxo Sister Morgan

Easter package from my family!

Comp Unity w/ matching SDSU shirts



REMEMBER THIS...

Hey everyone!

Well, the day has officially arrived. April 17th marks my ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of being a Missionary! As I have pondered and reflected on the past year, all that I have been able to comprehend in my mind is: ASDFLIUHADFIJSDFHALSDIJFHNSDKLJFHA;SOIDFHA;ODJSFHSODJFH;ASOIDJHF;SDKIJFH;SIDFH;KSADJHFAS;DKJH;AISUDHF;ASDJHA;KSDJFH

WHERE IS TIME GOING?!

 

It seriously just feels like yesterday that I was set apart as a Missionary and before entering the MTC thinking to myself, "I don't feel any different now..." But man, that changed REAL quick once I began throwing myself into the work. Now I can't even remember what it feels like to be a "Normal" person ;)

 

So for this special occasion I thought that I would share with everyone some of the things that I have learned in the past 12 Months. On the very last page of Preach My Gospel there is a section called "Remember This..." that kind of sums up everything that is in PMG. After most of the meetings and conferences I've had on my mission I will go through my notes and pick out the things that I want to remember/apply and title it "Remember This..."

 

So here is "Sister Morgan's Mission-Remember This..."

• ALWAYS carry hand sanitizer with you everywhere you go. Don't forget to "gel in and gel out".
• 6:30 am is still way too early to be getting up & it is possible to be crying for your bed @ 9:00 pm.
• Morning studies can be a Spiritual Feast! Make the most of those 2 hrs!
• When people stare at you @ Walmart, smile just in case they want to post a picture of 2 white girls in dresses on "The People of Walmart" website. They are helping you spread the Gospel!
• Keep your planner close to hand so you can write down all of the funny quotes your investigators say.
• Always have a prayer in your heart. Prayer is WORK but it is "the means of obtaining the highest of all blessings. Pray like everything depends on God and then get up from your knees and work like everything depends on you.
• The Atonement or At-one-ment is a continual process of becoming at one with Christ! And the Sacrament or Sacra-ment is a sacred action that allows us to be spiritually cleansed and united with Christ.
• God gives us talents to bless the lives of everyone we come in contact with! If you hide your talents away, He WILL take them away from you. So get to sharing!
• Your calling gives you Authority, but your Covenants give you Power!
• Put Sarcasm on the "altar of sacrifice". Develop "compassionate communication" and share Christ's love through your words and deeds!
• Receving Personal Revelation is not always an easy walk in the park. It takes patience, gratitude, and keeping an open heart & mind to whatever God's answer is. Personal revelation is most likely not going to be like flipping on a light switch. It is more like walking towards a light during a foggy day where all you can see is a few steps in front of you!
• The Bible AND the Book of Mormon work hand-in-hand and BOTH contain the fullness of Jesus Christ's Gospel.
• Find the good in everyone you meet. INCLUDING your companions...especially when you are getting annoyed at them. 
• In order to become a true Disciple of Christ, you must give God the only thing He hasn't already given you-your HEART!
• As Disciples of Christ, how can we expect NOT to experience some of the hardships, temptations, and rejections that Christ experienced? Pick up your Cross and follow Him!
• LOVE everyone as Christ would. Give your heart to the area. To your investigators. To your Members. But most importantly, to the Lord.
• The best way to share the Gospel is to LIVE the Gospel! That is what will bring true happiness and JOY in your life-despite your circumstances.
• Alma 26:12 (my favorite scripture)-Humility is the KEY to receving God's strength. It is only through Christ's Atonement that weak things can be made strong
• THIS IS THE LORD'S WORK-NOT MINE

I am truly SO grateful for everything the Lord has taught me this past year. I know that my testimony of this Gospel has truly been strengthened in so many different ways and that these things are helping me to lay a secure and firm foundation in Christ. I can't wait to see what else the Lord has in store for me these next 6 months!

 

xoxo Sister Morgan

Amusement Park Flashbacks

Hey Everyone!

So this past week has definitely been a rOlLeR cOaStEr! Which isn't too surprising, since everyday in mission life is NEVER what you expect or plan for it to be. But instead of the normal "Splash Mountain" kind of days or the occasional "Pirates of the Carribean" excitement, this past week was a little bit more like the one time that my friend Emily and I spent @ Santa's Workshop riding the "Tilt-or-Whirl" a whopping 8 TIMES IN A ROW. Wooof. I hope you can all visualize that beautifully now :)

But General Conference was EXACTLY the "funnel cake" or "cotton candy" pick-me-up that I needed! I LOVED Elder Holland's talk in the Saturday Morning Session. It was one of those talks that just resonates in my mind and mainly because I was able to put it into action literally hours after it was given.

As Missionaries, it is pretty common for us to meet the occasional "Bible Basher" or "Mormon-hater". Especially here in SD where everyone did their research with Mitt Rommey and most likely found their information on "less reliable" resources. After awhile you just learn to brush it off your shoulders. But this past Saturday, my faith was truly tested!

Sister Mims and I had decided to go to the park and chalk out some quotes and as we were there this man walked up to us and started asking us about what we were doing. We started talking about Christ and he was so happy to see young people sharing their faith in Christ. But then I asked him if he had heard about the Book of Mormon or knew anyone that was LDS and that is when things started to get interesting. He was a very intellectual man and started listing all the reasons why he couldn't believe in our religion just like the normal bible-bashers. But then he started to get in my face......and a year ago....maybe even a day earlier...I would have definitely not reacted the way I did.

He started telling me that I have a "bad seed" planted in my heart and that our church just takes the truth and twists it. He even told me to "graduate high school and move on to college" in my religious views. But the whole time he was talking to me, the words of Elder Holland just kept replying over and over and OVER again in my mind. When he finally took a breath, with all my heart and energy that I could muster, I just stood up for my beliefs and bore my testimony with all the power and authority that I have as a set-apart Representative of our Savior Jesus Christ. After I finished talking, I realized that I was shaking the Spirit was pumping through me so powerfully! I could tell in his eyes that he felt the truth that I was testifying of and that he felt the Spirit just as strongly as I did. After a second though, he blinked and that light was extinguished from inside of him and he used his agency to deny the power he felt. I left him with a mormon.org card and invited him to check it out if he has any more questions and that was that.

After that experience, I feel like my testimony and faith in this Gospel is even stronger and more powerful than before! I am SO grateful to have a modern day and living Prophet on the earth today and I am SO grateful for the truth that I have in my heart. This Church is TRUE and Jesus Christ is coming faster than we think! SO continue to "Defend your faith and defend your God"! He WILL bless you!

I love you all!
xoxo Sister Morgan

"There once was a Man named Jesus Christ"

Hey everyone!

Transfer calls were this morning and I get to stay in Chula for at least another 6 weeks! Woohoo! I'm super excited to continue to see miracles here!

The Ismerio Family Baptism!

Well things with the Ismerio Baptism this past Friday went SO GOOD! We had a lot of people show up to support them which was exactly what they needed. They had 4 different men baptize all of them but it worked out pretty well! It was so touching to watch all of them be baptized and then stand on the steps and watch the rest of their family members be baptized. I watched Jennifer's face the whole time and it seriously brought me to tears because she just looked so clean and happy! Sis Mims and I actually performed the special musical # and sang "When I am Baptized" with my Ukulele. I love being able to share my talents to bring the Spirit in! I had never seen Jennifer cry before and she actually cried during our musical number so that was really touching.

As they were all getting dressed, we did the intermediate presentation. For my last baptisms we just showed a Mormon message and then bore our testimonies. But then Pres. Clayton decided that we shouldn't show videos any more at baptisms but he wants us to take that opportunity to teach the restoration lesson. So Sis Mims and I on Thursday night decided that we wanted to teach it in a more unique way than we normally had. Sis. Mims is a beat-boxer and at dinner she was kind of joking about how we should do a rap and be like, "there once was a man named Jesus Christ, who came to this earth to live a perfect life". So then of course the long lost poetic side of me started to kick in and I actually wrote a poem that we read at the baptism to teach the Restoration! It was super cool to finally use a talent that I had kind of forgotten about and to use it at such a spiritual moment as a baptism!

So I decided that for my letter today that I would share my poem with you all because it truly does express all of my feelings and testimony that I have of this Restored Gospel and of my Savior Jesus Christ! Keep in mind: we wrote it the night before and it kind of started out as a "rap", so hopefully that will help you to understand the rhythm of it better haha. Enjoy! :)

There once was a man named Jesus Christ
He came to this world to live a perfect life
He walked on the shores of Galilee
And bade His Disciples to "Come Follow Me"
He taught them the love our of Heavenly Father
And established a church unlike any other
It had the authority to act in God's name
To cleanse us from the sins that bring us shame
Christ taught His Disciples about faith and repentance
which help us learn during this earthly sentence
though sinless He was baptized by John the Baptist
to set us an example so that we may have this
eternal life and the gift of His spirit
but only if we open our hearts to feel it
He was perfect, He was loving, He had brotherly kindness
in His sufferings He saved us from spiritual blindness
In the garden and upon the cross at Calvary
He freely gave His life, so we may be free
Even though He was innocent and taught so bold
the Jews rejected Him like prophets of old
one by one His Disciples were martyred and killed
which brought to pass prophecy fulfilled

Like a mirror crashing down, His church was shattered
When His Priesthood authority, which has always mattered,
was take from the Earth causing an Apostasy great
leaving the people to a corrupted fate 


Doctrines were changed, and some did hide it
the truth was lost so they could no longer find it
men like Luther and Tyndale began the Reformation
which opened the way for the final Restoration

At 14 yrs old in the year 1820
Joseph Smith was in a town with religions plenty
"Which church is true?" he questioned in his heart
He read James 1:5 and knew where to start

"If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God
That giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not"

At once Joseph knew he had to pray
Among a grove of trees he knelt one Spring day
His first verbal prayer he did humbly offer
and this is what happened when he plead to the Father

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me...When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling my by name and said, pointing to the other-- 'This is my Beloved Son, Hear Him!'"

From that day forward the world won't be the same
As we now have Christ's Church restored in His name
If you read the Book of Mormon and ask in your heart,
You will know it is true right from the start.

You will know Joseph Smith was a prophet in these days
And Christ's priesthood authority is on the Earth to stay

There once was a Man named Jesus Christ
He came to this world and lived a perfect life
His Gospel is Restored so now you can see
He is bidding ALL His children to "Come Follow Me!"

I love you all and I am SO grateful for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! It truly has changed my life and it is SO humbling to watch it change GENERATIONS of lives as well!

xoxo Sister Morgan



Crazy Chula District!