Pressing forward on the Spiritual Climb!

Hello world! 

Another weekly email from yours truly! I can't believe another week has flown by- it's unfathomable! 

So much happened this past week, I don't even know where to begin! 

Let's start with last Tuesday...

We had exchanges this past week, so I spent 24 hours in Albany, a larger town about 20 minutes north of Lebanon. In comparison to Lebanon, Albany is so big and there is so much to do! It was crazy to see so many stores and streets and cars- there were roads above 25 mph! It hit me during the exchange how small of a town Lebanon is. I seriously love it though, I think I'm more of a small town girl. 

On the exchange I learned a lot from my sister training leader, Sister Lamb. I've been struggling with having confidence in myself as a teacher and representative of Jesus Christ. Sister Lamb helped me so much to see the broad spectrum of things and to NEVER forget that I have a work here to do and people to inspire, as do we all! 

We also had zone conference this past week, which was unusually early in the transfer in comparison to my past 2 transfers here. But it was SO GOOD! We focused on the Book of Mormon and how we can use it more effectively in teaching. President Tateoka is truly inspired and his humility and boldness motivated me to work harder. I walked away from that zone conference with a renewed energy, as if I had taken a huge breath of fresh air! I was so ready to work, work, WORK! 

After zone conference, I made a list of goals that I wanted to apply in my teaching: one being that I would begin physically carrying my Book of Mormon...everywhere! I realized, as we talked to people in the streets, that we tend to talk about the Book of Mormon, but we need to SHOW it! The Book of Mormon is the greatest source of conversion and it is what sets us apart as a religion; absolutely nothing can replace the Book of Mormon and the power we can feel from it as we read it with a sincere heart and a desire to strengthen our knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. 

We saw evidence of the power of the Book of Mormon just a few days later:

A part-member family recently moved into our ward. Only the 17 year old son, Eric, is a member and he was baptized a few years ago. On Saturday, he texted us and said that he was bringing his nonmember friend to church, and asked if we could teach her on Sunday night. 

What?! OF COURSE! 

We were amazed of how good of a missionary he was! We prepared to teach her about how the church was brought back to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and how the Book of Mormon is evidence of that and is another testament of Jesus Christ. We went over to his house, and his mom (also a nonmember) sat in on the lesson. 

I have never felt the Spirit so strongly when teaching someone the Restoration. My testimony grew so much, and I could feel that the words I was saying was true. It's one thing to know something is right and to vocally say them...but it's an entirely different thing to FEEL that what you're saying is true. To feel it burning within you as goosebumps run down your arms. 

The Spirit was so strong that Eric's friend began to cry, and his mom was listening very intently. 

And guess what! They accepted the invitation to read and pray about the Book of Mormon! The next day, we got into contact with them to see if they've been reading, and they both have read several chapters! We were blown away! Nothing could replace the love and testimony I have of the Book of Mormon...absolutely nothing. I know with every fiber in my body that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, given to us and specific for our day. Nothing has helped me to feel closer to my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. 

These past few days, I've been on a spiritual climb. Exchanges...zone conference...sacrament meeting...and now I am going to the temple today! I am so eternally grateful for the resources God gives us to feel closer to Him. I have seen how much happier I am the more I follow my Heavenly Father. Obedience and humility truly bring happiness that can not be obtained any other way! 

Thank you all for your love and support- I truly feel your prayers!

All my love, 

Sister McCown 

Out goes the doubt, in comes the FAITH!

Happy Monday, everyone! Holy cow, I can't believe October is already more than half way over! It felt like just yesterday it was a humid hot day in July. Now it's foggy and cold each morning and I wear sweaters on the daily!

Miracle of the week: We are currently teaching a girl named Kelcey. She is a few years older than me and has basically been learning about the church for about 5 years now, on and off. She's married to member and, at one point, was preparing to be baptized. 

We met Kelcey about a month ago and began teaching her right away. She is so prepared to receive the gospel, but faces A LOT of family opposition. We've been challenging her for weeks now to tell her parents that she is meeting with us and preparing to be baptized... and last night she finally did it! She's now conquered the obstacle that led her to back out from being baptized a year ago and we are so immensely proud of her! It was a miracle! We know that it was a tender mercy to see her build up the faith and confidence she needed to tell her family- faith and confidence that she gained through prayer and reading in the Book of Mormon. We saw a change in her as she dove into the daily habit of scripture study- slow and steady, but noticeable. It amazes me how the gospel of Jesus Christ truly does change lives! 

Anyways, it was another crazy week, with tons of miracles and challenges. The funnest parts of the week were our improv lessons. There would be times during the week where we would go over to people's houses for service, to introduce ourselves, etc. and we would end up teaching them about the Plan of Salvation or about the gospel of Jesus Christ for the next half hour. Those lessons are the BEST! It's during those lessons that you have to rely solely on the Spirit to know their needs and the specific things you need to teach them that day. Of course, in every lesson we listen to the Spirit to know what we need to teach, but most often we go in with a planned outline of what we'll teach. But not in improv lessons!

This past week has, yet again, been a struggle in finding people to teach. At one point in the week, we were only teaching 1 person... which is a huge contrast to the 5+ people we were teaching a couple months ago.
It was a huge exercise of faith for us to stop teaching a couple people that were very difficult to contact or wouldn't keep their commitments. It would be easy to keep "teaching" them, just so we could say we were teaching more people, even though they weren't really progressing. But I know that starting out with a fresh teaching pool will give us more time to find those who are truly prepared!

And guess what! God truly does bless us for our exercising our faith!

The next morning, we felt prompted to visit a member a few blocks from us and then to walk the long way home through the park. We ended up talking to three different people, whom all showed interest and said we could come back another day to teach them more! It was a huge tender mercy!

This principle reminded me of a scripture in the Book of Mormon. In Ether 12:6 it says, "...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

I know that God blesses us as we exercise our faith and have complete trust in Him. Often, the things that help our faith to stretch and grow the most aren't easy to experience. Because when do you progress and not experience challenges? Never!

And challenges come in very different forms and intensities.

Being on a mission has allowed me to experience SO many different things- especially emotions that are all along the spectrum.

Never have I at times felt so inadequate or incapable in the things I am doing. Never have I felt like I will never be good enough. Don't worry, it's not all the time, but those feelings are real! Satan is real! He seems to sound just like me, whispering little bits of doubt in my mind. And it's easy to listen!

But something I've come to learn is that I am NEVER alone, and that I should not be trying to face these obstacles by myself. I have a companion who wants to help me. I have a family and friends who supports me. I have a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for me!

Never have I felt so close to my Heavenly Father and seen His hand so directly in my daily life. A huge comfort to me in all the hardships I face is the Book of Mormon. It is my armor and sword in fighting back the adversary that tries to enter into my mind and heart. We all go through so many different challenges, no wonder God has given us the Book of Mormon!

I know with every fiber in my body that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, written by prophets and translated through His power for us in our specific day. What a miracle it is!

I love the Book of Mormon and the knowledge and testimony I have gained of my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who is so willing to give us truth in our lives if we are humble enough to ask for it. And I am so immensely grateful for the opportunity I have every day to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon with those who have never heard of it. It truly changes lives, and I know that, because it's truly changed mine.

I love you all and I am so thankful for all your support! Have a great week!

All my love,

Sister McCown 

Miracles make the challenges endurable!

I can't believe another week has gone by since I last emailed! So much has happened, last pday seems like a century ago! 

The Pioneer area is doing pretty well! Other than many potentials appointments falling through and losing contact for a while of our most progressing people, it's great! No seriously, we've made progress throughout the week and my love for the work grows each and every day. 

Miracle of the week:

Jenny has committed to stop drinking coffee! We were a little nervous to teach her about the Word of Wisdom this past week because she struggles to keep other commitments of reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church, but we followed our promptings and went forward with faith! She was pretty shocked to hear that we don't drink coffee or tea, but we testified to her about how it is a commandment from God and that not consuming it allows us to be spiritually clean and more receptive to the Spirit in our lives. She loves being close to God and wants to implement that more into her life, which led her to accept our invitation to live the word of wisdom! It was amazing! After the lesson, we helped Jenny to get rid of all the coffee and tea in her house and the next day we brought her hot chocolate mix to have as a substitute. By the next day, we could already see a HUGE difference in her- she was more alive and much quicker to respond. She says it's been a challenge, but we expressed our faith in her that she can do hard things! I know that Heavenly Father is so proud of her in the steps she is taking in her life to follow Him. She has a desire to have a better relationship with God and she's putting that desire into action! God is so good!

Another cool experience:

Sister Schmoekel and I started a family history class at an old folks home! It was SO fun! We had our amazing family history consultant come with us and for our first class, we told them about what family history is and why we do it, and then helped them to fill our their paper pedigree charts before we put them on familysearch.org. We helped them to fill out information they already knew about their families (birth dates, death places, marriage dates, etc.) and they were so funny as they told us about their families. Many of the conversations went like this:

Me: "Okay, so do you know where your grandma died?"

Resident [thinking REALLY hard]: "Ummm....I'm not sure, I can't remember if she died in the hospital or at home..."

Me [biting back a laugh]: "Oh, I meant, like what CITY did she die in?"

It was hilarious!

This past week we had our first class, and we actually had a pretty good turnout! We had about 10 people there, and only one was a member of the church! When we went to the old folks home to tell them about our idea of having a family history class, they said that some of the residents expressed interest recently and they were more than excited to have us do it! 

I'm excited to do it more in the future and tell them about the importance of doing family history. As I've been out on my mission, I've learned more about it and I wish I would've done more of it when I had the chance! It is truly amazing to connect our family together, piece by piece, and giving them the opportunity to accept the message of the restored gospel. We are doing work for them that they can't do for themselves- what a huge responsibility. What a privilege! And who wouldn't like to learn more about where they came from?! Family search has so many stories and pictures- all at our fingertips! I'm so thankful for the technology we have to do so many things!

Well, those are the highlights of my week. There was a lot of walking, talking, contacting and teaching all in between those two experiences I wrote about above. 

I'm just thankful that, at this time of year, the sun is still out- which means people are still out! I can't imagine what the work will be like and how we'll have to adapt when the clouds start rolling in. I guess at this point, I need to take advantage of the sunlight we still have! 

Thank you, everyone, for all your love and support! I am so thankful for this work that I have to be apart of, and for the opportunity I have to be serving God with all my heart, might, mind and strength! It is a great time to be alive and a great time to be working hard! 

One quick spiritual thought: We had stake conference yesterday, and they focused on family history and temple work. Man, do I miss going to the temple! Before my mission, I worked at the temple and attended regularly, and hearing all the speakers talk about the blessings of the temple just made my heart swell with longing to go to the temple! I know that my responsibility right now is in Lebanon, but I encourage everyone to make temple attendance a greater part in their life! If there is anything that will strengthen your faith and knowledge of Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, it is going to the temple! It truly is the house of the Lord and the closest place to heaven on earth! 

Till next week!

Sister McCown

Hello world!

I hope you all watched General Conference this weekend, because there were some MAJOR news! If you didn't, I'm not going to tell you, because I want you to find out! Go to lds.org and listen watch the talks given by our beloved and inspired prophets and apostles. 

Due to conference this weekend, much of last week was spent preparing for it and making plans to watch it with people that we are currently teaching. Unfortunately, a lot of plans fell through last minute that resulted in us watching it with members in our ward. 

Big tender mercy this week: the clouds are rolling in and I don't think they're going anywhere- but it's okay, because we have a car now! It seriously came at the perfect time, and we are seriously so blessed. It is cloudy about every day now (I'll need to start taking those Vitamin D supplements soon!) and it's been raining the past few days. Goodbye sunshine...see you in April! 

This past week I've learned a lot about patience. Patience with others, patience with the lessons, patience with finding, patience with God, and patience with myself. 

We are currently teaching a middle-aged girl who has a mental disability that causes her to have the learning ability and attention span of about an 8-year-old. It's hard working with her sometimes because she often doesn't keep her commitments. 

We were supposed to watch a session of conference with her, but she backed out on the last second. So on Sunday, we decided to just drive over to her house and watch the morning session with her (it was a huge tender mercy that she even had the channel that general conference was on!). And she really liked it! She would pause it every now and then to ask questions and even took notes like Sister Schmoekel and I! 

That day I learned that I need to be patient with those that we teach. Not everyone will learn and soak up the gospel immediately- they are all at a different pace! It's also so important to recognize the progress people are making. It can be easy to see what they need to learn, what they need to do that they aren't or how they can improve. But it's like looking at the positives in life- you have to look at them, or else the little negatives will tear you down. It's so important to look at your progress. If you just look at all the things you have to do or all the things you want to be better at, it will soon look unattainable. Look at how far you have come- reflect on the person you used to be and how you're different. I know that as I've done that, it's given me the confidence that I can continue to improve and be the missionary that God needs me to be. 

I am so thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for all that I am learning. Sister Schmoekel and I are working really hard here in Lebanon to find the meek and prepared. It's hard and stressful, but so rewarding and fulfilling. I have really come to know more about my Savior and how I can continually turn my heart to God to improve and be more of the missionary that He needs me to be. 

Thank you all so much for your support! It means more to me than words can describe! 

Sister McCown 

Same area, same companion, NEW CAR!

Has it only been seven days since I last emailed? I swear, I sent last week's email yesterday! It's been a crazy week here in Lebanon and the work is picking up again! For starters- we found two new people to teach this week...WAHOO! That's a lot of progress compared to the last month we've had not finding a single person to teach! 

Anyways, the biggest news of the week was probably transfer calls! Sister Schmoekel and I will both be staying in Lebanon, and we got the news that we would be getting a car! No more bikes! It is such a relief and we are super excited. However, as much as we are looking forward to the car, we reflect on the last two transfers and we can see how much the Lord has blessed us with the bikes. For starters, it makes me feel not as guilty eating dessert at member's homes for dinner. But there are many people that we have met and are currently teaching that we wouldn't have met in the first place if we hadn't been on bikes! 

But as the clouds are rolling in and the wind is picking up, we are pretty excited to have a car! 

Miracles of the week! (because I'm too lazy and there just isn't enough time to talk about them in depth...)

1. Jerry stopped smoking! He is a member that hasn't gone to church in 40 years, and two weeks ago he committed to stop smoking...and he is totally free of the addiction now! We were blown away by how fast he was able to stop!

2. Kelcey went to the temple! During our last lesson we committed her to praying about a specific date that she can prepare to be baptized by, and after church today she drove to the Portland temple and walked around the grounds! It was a huge sign of faith to see her turn to God for an answer to the question that has become so important to her. 

3. Alyssa is just awesome! She is a teenager we are currently teaching and I have not yet taught someone as accepting or willing to keep commitments as much as her. It is absolutetly amazing! She understands that this is the path God wants her to be on, and every time we sit down to teach her, my heart swells with gratitude and love for her. I am so blessed to be able to be teaching her and I know that I learn more from her than she does from me! 

Spiritual thought of the week:

GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THIS WEEKEND! 

Holy goodness, I have never been so excited for general conference in my life! Sister Schmoekel and I are making plans with many of the people that we are teaching so that we can watch it with them. For the past week during our dinners with members, we give them the challenge to ponder about certain questions that they want to go to general conference to find answers to. It's hard because I want to take on that challenge too, but I don't have much time to think about it, because I'm too busy thinking about other people and what we're doing next! 

We are so privileged to hear from the prophets and apostles this weekend, and I challenge each and every person who reads this email to take on that same challenge: prayerfully consider questions to take to general conference that you seek the answers to. I know that if you listen intently and pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit during general conference, that your questions WILL be answered. 

How blessed we are to hear direct guidance and counsel from God through His prophets whom He has called! How blessed I am to be apart of this work and to help others to come unto Christ!

I love you all and I am so beyond thankful for all your support! See you next week! 

God be with you till we meet again, 

Sister McCown