Craftiness and Creativity- necessary attributes for success!

Hello, world! So it's been a quick 3 days! It's so weird to already have another pday, this past week and a half has been so crazy! Even in the threeish days since I last emailed, Sister Boss and I have seen so many miracles and tender mercies.

God is so good!

In my last email, I talked a little about Light the World and how exciting it is! One way that Sister Boss and I decided to spread the word about it was by creating vinyl stickers to put on the back of our cars! We designed it and then our ward mission leader made them with a little vinyl machine he has. It was so fun!

After church yesterday, we put the stickers on a bunch of the member's cars. It was so cool to see how excited and supportive they were for Light the World!

We are currently teaching a family and they are the cutest! They have 4 kids ranging from 11 years old to 8 months and they are so crazy. We go in to teach them a lesson and it takes about 15-20 minutes to get them from running around the house to sitting on the couch. They are so fun though!

It's been great practice, though, in helping our lessons to be more interactive. We have to bring little games that relate to the lesson or make fun analogies that help them to pay attention. When we taught them about the restoration, we played the game telephone to teach them about the Great Apostasy. The great apostasy is a time of wickedness and pride after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ in which His teachings were rejected by men, and thus, wasn't on the earth for a time. That is why the Restoration was so necessary!

They loved playing telephone and they were laughing as the craziest things were said.

They love church and the ward! It's amazing to see how much the ward is bringing them in and helping them out. Money is tight for them right now, and it was a miracle to see ward members bring huge piles of wood to them for the winter. Service truly does soften the heart!

We aw many other lessons and miracles- I just don't have the time to write them all down! We are teaching quite a few people, which is both super exciting and really refreshing! The Lord truly is hastening His work in this area and has blessed us with so many solid people to teach.

Sister Boss and I are working really hard and I love her to pieces! We are always laughing about something and cracking jokes wherever we go. We actually both have the same color coat and rain boots (something worn EVERY day now for us), so a bunch of members and people we meet in the streets always ask us if we are wearing uniforms. We aren't- we just have the same coincidental clothes. So funny!

Changes are coming and an announcement was given this past week that we will no longer have dinner with members during the week! It was so crazy!

It's starting in December, and they are giving us crock pots and a little extra money to help us out. We will still be able to have dinner with members on the weekends, but they are doing this to help us be outside proselyting during the prime hours of 5-7pm when people are home. It makes total sense, and we are excited to see how our work will be affected for the better!

*Please send easy and crockpot recipes for needy missionaries who don't know how to cook! :)

Spiritual Thought of the Week:

It is absolutely amazing how much Heavenly Father blesses us...just amazing! I can't even fathom how much he actually helps us in all that we do as we strive to do what is right...I know that I only see a small percentage, and 

I'm already mind-blown!

I know that every sliver of success I experience is because of Him. There is just now way that I could do this without Him.

This scripture reminded me of this principle that I have come to learn as I have been here in Amity. I know that I have seen more of God's hand in my daily life as I have prayed for the ability to do so and as I thank Him for all the things He has given us. It's crazy to think how my eyes are opened to see more blessings as I pray in gratitude for what He has given me.

Alma 26: 11-12:

"But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my   own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in   his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

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

All my love,

Sister McCown

Lighting the world one heart at a time!

Hello, everyone! Happy Happy Thanksgiving!!

I can't believe November is already half way over...that's crazy!

So much has happened in the past ten days since I last wrote! We didn't have pday on Monday because of Thanksgiving, so we had to go an extra three days without one. It was super weird and kinda tiring without a little break, but we kept strong!

Updates!

I am in a new area! I'm in McMinville, but my area covers a small part of the south end of McMinville and then this tiny town called Amity. There's not even a grocery store or gas station there, so pretty tiny! I love it though and I've met many of the members in the ward and they're all amazing!

I'm also with a new companion! Her name is Sister Boss and I just absolutely ADORE her! She is amazing!! We have had so much fun together in just the ten days I've been with her. We're always laughing and having a good time, and still working really hard! She is from Utah and this is actually her last transfer! So sad! But it's good though, because she wants to work as hard she can till the very end, so we are always zipping around doing so many things and never wasting a moment!

Christmas is coming! So that means...Light the World is coming!! For those who don't know what Light the World is, it's a campaign that the Church puts on in the month of December with a focus on serving those around you, so that everyone can feel that Christmas Spirit. And it is so fun! We've been sharing Light the World with everyone! There are 4 videos on Lighttheworld.org that I would highly recommend that everyone watch if they have not already!

Light the World is amazing and gives us so many opportunities to take the time to serve those around us. To serve as Jesus Christ would!

Next Saturday, December 1st, we are having a worldwide day of service organized by the First Presidency. Sister Boss and I are organizing a specific activity for our area to do on that day, but I challenge everyone to make plans on that specific day to serve someone around you- whether it be yard work, caroling, or just spending time with them! It is an amazing opportunity for us to make a difference in our community and the lives of others!

Sister Boss and I made a transfer goal to recognize the little miracles that we see each day. Because those are the things that lead up to big miracles and ones that we often overlook! So each night, we'll tell each other our favorite miracle of that day and it has helped me so much in being more grateful for all the things that Heavenly Father blesses us with!

I'll share one miracle that we saw this past week:

About a week ago, we were walking back to our car from a lesson in the dark and met a guy that was outside. His name was Chris. We didn't talk to him too long, but we scheduled to have a tour of the church with him later that week. (The cool thing was that our conversation with him wasn't super spiritual or lengthy, but he still said yes!)

A couple days later, we were at the church all ready to go, when he texted us and said he couldn't make it. We rescheduled for the next morning, but he didn't show up to that one either. By that point, I figured he wasn't really interested in learning more about our message, but Sister Boss (being the hopeful and amazing missionary she is) wanted to try one more time.

We scheduled another tour for that afternoon...and he came! It was a really good tour and he felt the Spirit so strongly while he was there. We brought a sister in the ward as well and she was able to testify of how much she loves church and partaking of the bread and water there. The Spirit was so strong and we eventually committed him to coming to church on Sunday. What a miracle!

From that experience, I learned that persistence and diligence is key, and that everyone needs to be given more than one chance to learn more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

Miracles are everywhere, all around us. It amazes me how much God truly blesses us. This past week, I've been able to recognize more of the miracles of everyday missionary work, and I know that I still only see a small percentage of all that God blesses us with. I challenge everyone to look for the little miracles, and I promise that your ability to show gratitude will increase tenfold!

I love you all so much, and I am so thankful for all your support! Happy Thanksgiving, and I will email in a few days! :)

All my love,

Sister McCown

Goodbye, Lebanon! Hello, Amity!

Hi, everyone! Happy Monday!

I feel like so much has happened this past week, and it feels like forever since I've emailed! I don't even know where to begin and I wish I could say every cool experience I had, every feeling I've experienced and everything I've learned...but I don't think anyone has the time to write/read that! 

So...I'll sum it up and hopefully I get all the most important details!

For starters, it is getting COLD! And it's getting DARK!

We usually have dinner at 5pm and by 5:30, it's completely dark outside. People think we're crazy trying to come and visit them at night, especially when the temperature has plummeted this past week. Tights and coats are a daily necessity when we go outside now- sometimes with a scarf and gloves if we know we won't be back till the end of the night. 

Tender mercy of the week! 

We have a worldwide day of service coming up on the first of December, and this past week we've met with church leaders to organize it and brainstorm some ideas on how we can best help the community and have the entire ward involved on this day of service!

A few days ago, we focused our prayers to find service projects in the community. It was one of those days that we didn't have much planned, so we walked in the bitter cold for probably half the day. Anyways, so we felt impressed to go to a specific neighborhood on the south end of our area, and while trying to find a parking spot, we see a woman standing next to a giant pile of dirt with a shovel in her hand. We get super excited, trying not to run to her so we can offer to help her. 

She starts telling us about the project her family was doing of gutting out all the grass in the back and a ton of dirt, and replacing it with better dirt and a fresh layer of grass. It turns out that her family had moved to Lebanon earlier that year and knew practically no one! We also came to find out that her husband is a member of our church who hasn't attended in years, and that she was interested in meeting with missionaries again!

Not only was it an answer to our prayers, but we were also blessed with the opportunity of having someone new to teach! 

So I have big news: I am getting TRANSFERRED!

We got the call on Saturday night that I am going to be transferred to Amity, OR. I haven't heard much of what Amity is like, but based on many of the member's replies of, "Where's that?" when I tell them I'm going to Amity, I'm imagining it to be pretty small. 

Amity is close to McMinnville, which is a bigger city just 10 minutes north of Amity. I'll actually be living in McMinnville, and I put my new address below! :)

My new companion will be Sister Boss, who has been out the same amount of time as Sister Schmoekel! She has only 1 transfer left of her mission! I'm really excited to be with her- I have meet her because she was my STL during my first transfer. 

These past couple days have been hard. I'm so sad to leave Lebanon, my companion and all the wonderful members here. But I know that Amity is where God needs me to be at this time and I am excited for the adventures ahead! 

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

All my love, 

Sister McCown

I was a leper for Halloween- whether I liked it or not...

Goodbye, October and hello, November! 

The other day I was reflecting on these past few months and how fast they've flown! The missionary schedule I live daily now is strict and concise, but so good for me! In some ways, I feel like I've been a missionary for a lot longer than 4ish months, and in other ways, I still feel like a "greenie" that just arrived in Oregon. 

On Tuesday, Sister Schmoekel and I got to go to the temple and it was an AMAZING experience! Most of the day was spent traveling and being inside the temple, and by the time we got home, we only had an hour and a half to email, clean, eat and do our laundry. 

It was such a physically tiring day, but so spiritually renewing! It was felt so good to be inside a temple after 5 months of not be able to attend one. It was so hard because before my mission, I went to the temple weekly, and now, we're just so busy and focused on the Lord's work that we only have a few opportunities to go to the temple. 

I know that the temple is the Lord's house and is the closest place to heaven on this earth. The Spirit that can be felt there is timeless and just can't be found anywhere else! It is there that I am reminded of my divine identity as a daughter of God and spiritual energy feels like it's being injected into me. I came out feeling so pure and at peace with everything. I can understand why President Nelson challenged us to go to the temple more consistently and I urge every one of you to make it a priority in your life to go to the temple

This week was more mellow than weeks previous, sadly, concerning the people we're working with. As the clouds roll in and the time changes for daylights savings, our opportunities to talk to people outside just minimized tremendously! It's dark by 5:30 now and our strategies of missionary work have been shifted so much these past few weeks. Now we try to prioritize lessons in the evening, and the light we have during the day has become very precious to us! It's great though- it helps us to plan out our day more productively. 

Wednesday was definitely one of those days. Because it was Halloween, we had to be in our apartments with the doors locked by 6pm for safety reasons.

To explain my email headline for the week, it's a joke between Sister Schmoekel and I that I was a leper for Halloween because pretty much all last week, I had hives (AKA nasty, itchy rashes that were splotchy all over my skin). So I had a costume this year for Halloween. 

Was it by choice? Not really. Could I take it off afterwards? I wish...

We don't know the cause of it, but the night before Halloween I hardly slept because of the hives. Being inside and weekly planning on Halloween night was hard because I wasn't moving constantly until 9pm. Then the medicine I took made me really drowsy. The only thing that got me through that night was knowing that I just couldn't stop working. I'm giving my whole heart and soul into the Lord's work and I can't stop to breathe! It was a blessing, though, because I know God magnifies our every effort as we exercise our desire to follow Him. 

Just an update: 

The hives are gone now (thank goodness!) but it definitely made for some pretty interesting days! :) 

Spiritual Experience for the week:

The Book of Mormon is amazing! I don't think I could ever fully express the love and gratitude I have for the Book of Mormon! I have seen it time and time again how it has opened hearts, answered prayers and been a guiding light in people's lives. Just this past week, I can think of multiple times that I have seen this on the street and in lessons, but because I don't have time to write a novel right now, I'll tell two of these experiences!

1. We had a Book of Mormon reading with Kelcey and the Spirit was so strong as we read 1 Nephi 8 about the iron rod and the tree of life with her and members in our ward. Before they came, we talked with the members about what we wanted them to specifically talk about (because one of the members had faced family opposition before he was baptized like Kelcey). He came in just at the right time and bore the most heartfelt testimony that was so much more natural and spirit-led had we not prepped him beforehand. 

2. We had a lesson with Codi, someone we've been teaching for about a week now. Her 17-year-old son was baptized a few years ago and now she is showing interest, but comes from a pretty strictly religious background. We taught her about God's Plan for us and the importance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Plan of Salvation. For the first 20 minutes of the lesson, she seemed really skeptical about the things we were saying. But what changed the entire atmosphere and really opened Codi's heart was when the member we had brought with us opened up to Alma 32 and bore her testimony of faith in God's Plan during the challenges we face. Her entire countenance changed and she accepted invitations to read the Book of Mormon and come to church next week- invitations we weren't sure she would've accepted had we not opened the Book of Mormon and brought it to life. 

Something that really stood out to me was the importance of APPLYING the Book of Mormon to the lives of those we teach. They need to be able to connect to the words of the prophets and see how it is more than a story or history book. It is so much more- it truly is another testament of Jesus Christ! 

I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon and the bounteous experiences of peace and relief that it has brought into my life. 

Thank you everyone for all your support- it means more to me than words can express. 

Have a wonderful week! 

Sister McCown