What doesn't break you makes you stronger...be grateful!

Hello world! Another week has come and gone, and honestly, it felt pretty long! Each day had activities of it's own and what happened earlier last week felt SO long ago!

On Tuesday, we had zone conference, and it was an amazing experience! It was a privilege to be able to play the musical number at the beginning of the zone conference and even though my hands were shaking like CRAZY, it wasn't too bad.

We focused on finding in our zone conference today. We talked about how we can make any situation a finding opportunity, whether we are talking to strangers in the streets, at a lesson with someone we're teaching, or at a member's home.

I always leave conferences and meetings so uplifted, like the excitement and energy that I need is injected into me. I love gathering with other missionaries- I feel so much stronger, as if the abilities that I have to teach people about the gospel that I love has increased tenfold!

We were also able to see a few miracles on Sunday!

We are currently trying to teach a family, but the mom has the craziest hours (basically working 12-hour shifts 6 days a week, AND also going to school full time). It's so hard for us to meet with them, but the desire that their 11-year-old daughter has to go to church and be baptized is SO strong! We've tried so hard to get them all to come to church with no success, so we decided to shift our focus to the daughter. We arranged a ride to church and she came!

She loves going to church, and she is such a good example to me, as well as the rest of her family. Even though she goes alone, she does not hesitate to make it a priority in her life. She used to struggle to read the Book of Mormon, but once we gave her a sticker chart (a grid on a poster board. when she reads the Book of Mormon, she puts a sticker on the board- kids love it!) she hasn't missed a day!

Sometimes, I don't understand the Lord's will. I want things to go my way- how and when I plan it to be- and sometimes, I hesitate to follow the Lord's will when it conflicts with mine.

But that is where faith comes in.

I want to have faith that everything will work out as I put my will into His hands- when I surrender my desires, thoughts and actions to Him. Because His Plan is perfect- He has the whole plan! He knows how to guide us, we don't always know how to guide ourselves because we are often in a fog. He often won't make the fog go away, but He will give us enough light to take one step at a time- we just have to have faith that He knows more than we do.

Our most progressing family has currently decided not to meet with us because of the conflicts that has come up in their family and it was the most heartbreaking thing that I have experienced since being on my mission. I was confused because they were progressing so much, and I was hurt because the family that I love so much is deciding to take a break from the gospel.

Nothing can bless you more in your life than the gospel- for me, it is as simple as that. Nothing has brought me more peace, assurance and guidance in my life than the gospel. My faith in Jesus Christ has carried me through the challenges I have experienced and I know that it will continue to carry me. I just need to put God first in my life and trust in His will!

God is good and there is so much ahead of us- so much yet to experience!

Let's end on a funny note:

We were at the park one afternoon and part of it is a skate park. There was a dad watching his young son on a scooter and so we go up to talk to him! It was made evident pretty fast that he didn't want to talk to us, but we push through the awkwardness to talk to him about the gospel. His son then comes up to him, gives his dad the scooter and then grabs his skateboard and rides away. The dad then picks up the little scooter (definitely too small for an adult to ride), and so he doesn't have to talk to us, he gets on the scooter and just rides away..without saying a good bye or anything! He just...rides away!

It was the funniest thing ever to see the middle-aged man get on the little scooter and quickly ride away, just so that he doesn't have to talk to us!

I am thankful for this week and for every experience that Sister Men and I had together- both good and hard. I know that everything we experience is for our good and will help us to become stronger and more like the people that God wants us to be. He will never give us something more than we can handle, but He will always give us things to help us grow and stretch. He gives the biggest challenges to His strongest warriors!

I love you all and I am thankful for your support. I would love to receive a letter or email from you guys!

Sister McCown

Life is like a piano and in more ways than one!

One of my favorite analogies to life is when it is compared to a piano. The black keys represent the hard days- the days in which their seems to be a cloud lingering above your head and you just want to crawl into your bed and not come out, for one reason or another. And the keys represent the good days of success and happiness- the days in which you can take a breath of fresh air and just be grateful. I love days like those.

Hopefully, like a piano, there are more good days than hard days, but I also think of the prettiest pieces that are played, with magnificent crescendos and beautiful melodies, and they all include the black keys! For me, that reminds me of 2 Nephi 2:11, that there, "must needs be...opposition in all things..."

How can we truly appreciate the good days if we don't experience the bad days? Can we really say that something is sweet if we've never tasted something that is bitter?

That is why I am grateful for the hard days, no matter how much we don't like it in the moment.

I've also been thinking a lot about the piano (not just because of the analogy above) but also because I've been asked to play a musical number in our zone conference this week! Ahhhhhh, I should've practiced more before my mission!

So I've been spending a lot of time on the piano this week during our dinner hours, so it's been fun!

So experiences that I've actually had this week that are email-worthy:

We TTI'd (to Teach, Testify and Invite someone we meet in the street) a woman named Rebecca at the beginning of last month and she is currently looking for a church. We set up a church tour with her, but on Saturday we thought it wouldn't hurt to invite her to church the next morning. SHE CAME!

I was so happy to see her there and she was able to meet a few of the members. Miracles really do happen!

Yesterday a girl in our congregation was getting baptized, and so we invited a family that we are teaching to go to the baptism! Only the daughter, Elexa, was able to go but it was such a special experience!

The girl was actually in Elexa's class, and Elexa loved seeing her get baptized and it got her more excited for her own baptism.

As we were at the baptism, I found myself reflecting on my own baptism over a decade ago (CRAZY!) and the things that I remembered about that day. Honestly...not much, but I remember how clean I felt and how happy I was. I remember wearing the dress and seeing my family and how proud they were of me.

As those years have passed, I've come to understand more of what baptism actually is and what it symbolizes as make that step in our lives:

- it's a promise to follow Jesus Christ, and to be proud of the individuals we are as children of God

- it symbolizes a rebirth, and that we are being reborn with an increased dedication to be better

- it cleanses our spirits and allows us to be worthy to receive the Holy Ghost, a constant companion that we can 

have to guide, warn and comfort us.

I am so thankful for my baptism and the things that I do now to remember that covenant, or promise, that I've made with my Father in Heaven. It is the best decision you could ever make in your life and I'm so thankful that I was baptized and receive the Holy Ghost, on that day so many years ago and even today, and forever!

I want to help others to make that same decision I made to be baptized and to follow Jesus Christ, because it has blessed my life in more ways than I can even count, and I know that it can bless their lives immensely. I know that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and as we turn over our hearts and will to Him, He can make far more out of us than we could on our own.

I love this work and I love all of you! Thank you so much for all your support- it means the world to me!

Have a great and safe week!

Sister McCown

A Vitamin D a day makes the sadness stay away!

Hello, world! The subject line is true! As missionaries, we have to take a Vitamin D pill a day because of the lack of sunlight that we see in the winter. HOWEVER, this past week has been pretty sunny, and for an Arizona girl, it's been pretty nice. I'm not used to seeing the sun and being absolutely blinded by it. But no worries, I pulled out the sun glasses (didn't think I would need to do that in January...).

Sister Men and I had some great experiences this week, all of which has only strengthened my testimony of our loving Heavenly Father who only wants to help and bless us. Since I've been on my mission, my eyes have been opened to seeing the Lord's hand more in my daily life. It's amazing! Heavenly Father truly is so involved in our life, ready to shower us with blessings as we live righteous lives. 

This past week, Sister Men and I have seen many miracles, and whether they are big or small, they are still miracles!

1. We are currently teaching an older man who recently lost his wife this past year. I can't imagine the things he has been going through and we've been trying to work with him to read in the Book of Mormon. I know that I can't relate to him because I have not yet lost a loved one, but I know that the Book of Mormon teaches about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice. I know that Jesus Christ knows how he feels because he suffered all things. And this past week...he finally read in the Book of Mormon! It was amazing! He said that even though he doesn't understand the scriptural language most of the time, he was able to comprehend most of the chapter and that he felt good and he read it! The smallest miracles make the world of difference!

2. We taught the Word of Wisdom this week to our most progressing family- the parents both struggling to live that commandment. They both want to be free of their addictions and they have faith that they can do so, but it's just so hard to break a habit! This past weekend we visited them again, but also brought with us 2 men in our ward who hold the priesthood. They gave them both priesthood blessings that night and it helped them SO much! They have a long road ahead of them of being free of the addictions that they have had in their lives for so long, but I know that they can overcome their addictions as they rely on Jesus Christ and the power of His Atonement. Jesus Christ overcame all, and He can give us the power that we need to overcome our individual challenges. 

I am so thankful for the priesthood power of God that we have on this earth. I know that what is said during the blessing is direct communication from our Father in Heaven through the priesthood holder. I have received so much peace and strength from the priesthood blessings I have received in the past, and I'm so thankful that they decided to receive blessings so that they can begin living the word of wisdom!

3. Sariah came to church! She is an 11-year-old girl and we are currently trying to teach her whole family, but it's been really hard to keep in contact with them. Sariah really wants to be baptized and really wants to come to church and it's been difficult to rely on her parents to come to church. 

So what do we do? We get a member in the ward to pick her up and bring her themselves. And she loved it!! 

4. The Lord knows where we need to be and when we need to be there. 

We have had a good number of empty days with no specific lessons. Much of that time can be spent contacting people who have shown interest recently, or people who used to be taught in the past, but there are only so many people on those lists!

It makes me nervous when we have those empty slots because I don't know where Heavenly Father needs us to be, but I've learned that being nervous and fearful of those big blocks of time is not exercising my faith.

Faith is knowing that the Spirit will direct my companion and I to where we need to go, or who we need to visit. We are here in Oregon doing the Lord's work in helping others to come to Christ, so He will help us in doing His work! He promises to guide and assist us as we live worthy of the Holy Ghost and live righteously. And the more pure desires we have and actions we make, the more we will feel the guidance of the Spirit in our lives. And I know that to be true, because I have experienced it! 

5. And there are so many more miracles all throughout the days and weeks that I can't even begin to type...because I just don't have the time to! 

I hope you all are doing well and are continuing to grow your faith in God! I love the analogy in Alma 32 where it compares faith to a seed. If we plant a seed, we can't expect it to grow unless we water it and give it sunlight. When it begins to grow, we can't stop watering it or hide it in a closet- it will whither away and die! 

So we must continue to grow our faith in Jesus Christ. I love how faith is described as an ACTION word...it is SO much more than just believing in something that you don't have perfect knowledge of, or something you can't see. Faith is built as we read the scriptures, as we pray to Heavenly Father, and as we go to church. Learning more about our Savior increases our faith in Him and His ability to help us in any circumstance. I think it's amazing that because Jesus Christ suffered and died for each and every one of us, He is able to relate to us. We can't say, "no one knows how I feel"...because Jesus Christ went far below the lowest of lows...so He knows EXACTLY what we go through. With that knowledge, I am given comfort and strength, because I know that He will help me to endure through any challenge I may go through. 

I love this gospel and the wonderful peace it gives to me. I know that as we continue to pray and seek for guidance, He will give it to us. That's because we are His children...and He wants to help us! What a magnificent blessing it is! 

I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep praying and working hard! Read in the Book of Mormon...and never forget that you are a child of God!

All my love, 

Sister McCown

Oh man...I haven't emailed since last year! :)

Happy January everyone, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oh my goodness, it is actually insane how fast this past year has flown by. It's only a week into the new year, and I definitely still write "2018" on journal entries and such. But hey, I've got 11ish more months to get it down! 

This week has been more eventful, now that the holidays are over. It has been hard though- many of the people we are working with have been out of town or sick. It's the weirdest thing, but hey- the work must roll forth! 

Due to the lack of lessons in comparison to other weeks, we've had a lot more time to find and contact other people who have shown interest in the gospel in the past. We've also been able to contact a lot of formers, which basically means people that used to be taught by missionaries in the past but are no longer being taught for one reason or another. We've been able to see so many miracles due to these interactions and a lot more teaching opportunities. God is so good! 

Coolest experience of the week:

Sister Men and I have been trying really hard to help Brooke, Nathan and their family to have consistent scripture study and family prayer. It's been a struggle for them, especially during the winter vacation. 

During our planning, I had an idea! We spent some time making a family prayer sticker chart to give to them! We drew a giant grid on a poster board and wrote the dates in each of the boxes. We made it all fancy, of course, and the purpose of it is to remind them to have family prayer every day. Each day they pray as a family, they put a sticker on that specific day. It was so fun to make, and it was even more fun to give it to them!

Brooke was SO excited and said it will help them so much to remember to pray. Nathan went out immediately to the garage, grabbed a nail and hammer, and nailed it right on the family room wall, right then and there! It made my heart so incredibly happy!

Better yet, we went back to visit 5 days later, and they have only missed 1 day of family prayer! Brooke said that Elexa (their 8-year-old daughter also preparing to be baptized) has been really on top of reminding them to pray every day. I felt on top of the WORLD!

Through this whole ordeal, I've come to realize how lucky I have been to grow up with prayer in my life, not only as an anchor, but also as a habit. It's so hard to make a new habit or break a bad one, and I'm so blessed to know the importance of daily (for me, it's hourly now haha) prayer. It's been amazing to see how prayer has helped Brooke's family to be more at peace in their home. 

Another thought that I have had a lot this past week (because of the good amount of time we've spent outside walking)...is how excited I am for summer!

Don't get me wrong- I like rain and it's been fun...but I'm also kinda tired of it being pitch black at 4:30pm...and it's not super super fun to walk around in the rain. You get wet..and there is also no one outside. Yup..so I am excited for long summer days when people will actually be outside! 

Nonetheless, I love being here in Oregon! I love Amity and McMinnville and all the people here! 

I can't complain- I have an awesome companion and I'm serving here in the best mission ever, serving my Heavenly Father by teaching His children about His Beloved Son Jesus Christ. What more could I ask for?! 

Have a great week, everyone! I'd love to hear from you!

Sister McCown