So this week has been craaaaaaaazy! (Don't ever do laundry in the MTC if you can avoid it. People let Satan into their hearts down there, I've decided.)

We taught a lady in the TRC (Teaching Resource Center) who was raised in Venezuela and had 5 kids...very Catholic. However, when I told her aaaaall about how my dad was raised Catholic, and that he had been baptized into The LDS Church, it opened the conversation up quite nicely :)  Our second time with her we decided to talk about prayer, and found out that she hadn't prayed since she was a child. She said that the rote prayers lost their meaning to her pretty quickly. I was able to tell her about my experiences with prayer and how it has helped my mother, which she liked to hear about. She actually ended up saying the closing prayer! It was so awesome.

I have about a billion stories to tell, and no time to do it. Friends, write me snail mail instead if you could! (see address below)

I got really sick this week (I now use my hand sanitizer religiously) and had to go to the health clinic. The doctor tested me neg. for strep, which is good, and prescribed me some ibuprofen and a decongestant that has saved my life. I still feel really dizzy though. I have no idea why. Prayers, please :)  

Also, I have a new companion! Sister Hutto is from Dallas, Texas, and was delayed a week due to medical issues. Teaching in a trio is quite the trick, let me tell you. However, when you eventually DO get it down, the miracles are plentiful. We taught one of the most amazing lessons ever the other night in our little trio and it totally boosted my spirits.We are so blessed to have her :) She's leaving us Monday morning, though, to head to the Fort Collins, Colorado Mission. So sad. However, me and Sister Williams are terribly happy that she is going now instead of having to wait another week. Me and Sister Williams are going to be leaving Monday night, and our flight leaves at 1:00 am. Loverly.

Have a wonderful week and I'll write again soon!

(From WV...Eeep!)

Mission Home Address:

888 Oakwood Rd, Ste 310

Charleston, WV 25314-2071

Meaghan's First Email from the MTC:

 

Heeeeey there. It's P-day, or, as I like to refer to it, yoga pants day.

Anywho, my adventures have been grand. I got a beautiful new blister from running on Tuesday and Wednesday morning (gotta shake the stress away) and then when I got to the MTC, it popped. And hurt. A lot. I stopped at the bookstore with my host (the sister that showed me the way to my room and stuff) and got some Vaseline and a Band-Aid. I fixed myself up as best as I could, and then hobbled on over to my first class. When I got there, I met all my new classmates, who urged me to remove my shoe to ensure that I would be more comfortable. We then realized that I was in the wrong classroom.

And that, my friend, is the story of how I showed up to my first class minus one shoe, plus one giant blister, and with a fabulous new strut (i.e. limp).

I'm so classy.

On another note, my companion's name is Sister Williams and I pretty much love her to death. She's from Texas, but she's a tiny little thing so in this case, we really can't say that everything is bigger in Texas. I just got assigned to be the senior companion, which means that for now, I am the Doctor and she is my companion. A metaphor that she gets because she is a Whovian as well :) Proof that the Lord knows me and wants me to be happy! She is more on the reserved side, and me with my much more outgoing self gets toned down a bit when we are together. Which is always. So that makes life just grand :) We go on many adventures...meaning we get lost a lot and make the best of it, haha. We are both really happy to be one another's companions', in any case. She has been patient with me, and I have been the friend that she has needed for her first few days here.

Oh! So we were studying in a little alcove that we found close by our classroom yesterday and a man that works here comes up to me and says:

"Hi Sisters! Can you do me favor?"

"Suuuuuuure."

"I have a girl in there that's auditioning to be an 'investigator' for missionaries to practice teaching on in the TRC and we need to see how she interacts with the missionaries. Could you guys come and teach her a lesson so we can see that?"

Whut.

Of course we accepted, and while it was not my finest moment (give me a break, it was my 2nd day here and I was given appx. 30 seconds to prepare) it was cool because we were going to teach The Restoration, but after praying, we decided to teach her The Plan of Salvation. Later in the lesson we found out that she had a little brother die when she was about 7 years old and was looking for a way to mend her family back together, as things have never been the same. 

Little miracles :)

Experience Leaving.

The emotions of leaving are something else entirely. You have been dreaming, hoping, wishing for this day to come--and now it's here.

And you can't seem to take the next step.

This phenomenon has got to be the oddest thing about the human experience. We can want something--something big, something dramatic, something that will completely change the course of a person's life--and the hardest thing is taking the first step required to enter into that longed-for place.

It's difficult because you realize that that first step, that wonderful, beautiful thing that you have imagined time after time is also your last on the path that you have become familiar with. All of a sudden, the sights that you looked at with apathy on a good day and disgust on a bad one, are now the most beautiful things that you have ever had the blessing of beholding.

We fear change because there is nothing to grab hold of when the storm sets in. Our familiar surroundings are in immediate danger of being severed from us, nevermore to be the same--even upon return. In our cozy world that we've created, we have built up our rituals and our comforts for when the night seems dark and the winds are never-ending. We have cried, laughed, experienced the space that we have formed from a combination of the personal decisions and events that make up our lives.

In leaving, you are saying goodbye to all of that. You never realize that when you're dreaming.

But now is the day that you say goodbye. You release your grip on the life you have lead up to this moment. Roll your suitcase forward and get ready for a big wide wonderful world that you have yet to inspire, influence, and experience.

And don't forget to smile.

A Humbling Experience.

Today I received my letter from my Mission President. Such a small thing...and yet is had a very profound effect upon me. Here's an excerpt from what I wrote in my journal immediately following the experience that occurred while I was reading all of what my mission sent to me.

"Included was a list of guidelines that made me honestly question whether or not I really wanted to go on a mission. It seems shallow, I know, but the confidence I had once had in my decision was shaken. I got a glimpse of just how hard this all is going to be, and it frightened me. Everybody says that missions are hard...I guess that I had just pushed that uncomfortable truth to the back of my mind to make the decision easier to make. Despite all these doubts that had flooded my mind, a revelation full of light made them vanish as quickly as they had appeared. In preparation for my mission, I have been thinking exclusively of myself. I have been thinking of the experiences that I'm going to have, all of the things that I'll miss. I have been so immature and selfish. But this isn't about me. It's about going out and doing the Lord's work. It's about loving the children of His, and then laboring in His name and for their sake. It's not about the recognition that is received by becoming a successful missionary. It's about doing His work, acting in the knowledge that it's His will, and standing as best as I can in His place. I want to become the woman that He has in mind for me to be. And I will give it my all to do so. Not for me, but for these people."

I have been so impressed while writing these words how much potential the Lord sees in us, despite our flaws. And that is what it means to love us as He does. To see that potential in every person that I meet. I have also been impressed as to how this mission is so completely perfect for me. This is His will, and His will is perfect.     

Almost Heaven

Lookie Lookie! My Aunt was driving through my mission while on a road trip and sent me pictures!

This one's my favorite :)

Ehrmahgersh I'm so excited! It's so pretty!

Oh, byyyy the way, I had the wonderful opportunity to guest post on the blog One Year Six months Forever, which I absolutely adore. You can check out my little blurb here.

Choose Ye This Day

Satan is a very real being, that knows us on a level that should make everyone feel very, very uncomfortable. 

(I don't beat around the bush.)

I'm writing about this because he has recently been throwing some of his finest curve balls my way. 

First off: Guy that I kinda-sorta-dated comes back into town and makes things get a little crazy in my head. There are some...interesting stories that I could tell about that one. I start questioning if I really want to go on a mission after all. If I leave, he will get married while I am gone. The thought ran through my mind constantly.

Next: I see my one and only ex-boyfriend in town. I NEVER see this guy 'just around town', okay? Things did NOT end well. At all. I've only seen him once before post-break up, and that was a freaky event that I wished never to repeat. Seeing him throws me off my game, plain and simple. SO, when I saw him during the midst of my I-haven't-gotten-my-call-yet-and-I-really-am-barely-keeping-my-cool craze, 
(with the lovely addition of Guy #1 issues), seeing him at this point made me want to cry/scream/throw up/pull my hair out. As if this cocktail of emotions wasn't enough, this ex-boyfriend of mine decides that it would be a really good idea to call me a foul name as I walk by. I cried after rushing to the nearest corner out of sight.

After that: My little sister and I have a rocky relationship right now. We used to be the best of friends. We barely speak now, and I miss her more than I could possibly tell you. I understand that being a teenager is hard, and that there are times when all you need is lots and lots of space. But I'm leaving in less than 3 months. She...she'll be so different after I get back. In a last ditch effort to make contact, I asked if she was going to write me while I was gone. She responded with a very short, very prompt, and extremely serious, "No."

Finally: The first person that I ever invited to take the missionary discussions who also ended up getting baptized has recently fallen away from the church and said some extremely nasty things to me just a few short days ago. She told me that I was going to be the worst missionary ever, and that I was going to fail miserably in the field. She told me all about what an awful, horrible person she thinks that I am. She exploited some very real insecurities that I have to make me feel very, very small. She wished many bad things would happen to me. Now, I don't very easily doubt myself, but this? This did it. 

And Satan knew that it would.

So why am I writing this? I'm normally pretty peppy on here, aren't I?

I'm writing it because of this:

All of this, the big kickers, (plus the zillions of little things) force you to either:

a) Break and crumble under the pressure

or

b) Come closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as well as the Father. 

Trials are just the things that make us choose. We either devote ourselves, or fall. There is no other way.

So. What did I do?

I told myself that Guy #1 is just a guy. Albeit a very good guy, but in the end? Just a guy. My Savior needs this time with me more than I need time with Guy #1. (Through prayer, I was also able to realize that we're just really good friend anyways.)

I cried about what my ex-boyfriend did in the past, as seeing him re-opens old wounds, and I cried about what he said as I passed by. Did I deserve that? Of course not. Will I be reduced by it? When pigs fly.

I wrote my sister a note telling her how I felt, seeing as how she won't talk to me. She ignored it, but I feel better knowing that I at least tried to do something to salvage the relationship before I leave for the next 18 months.

I did not retaliate in anger as this girl that said these incredibly rude, uncalled for, and viscous things to me. I let her know that it wasn't okay to treat me as she was, apologized for the wrongs that she believes that I did, and left the situation. 

And then I prayed. 

Our Lord, Christ, The Redeemer, The Prince of Peace, The Son of God is always there for us. He was confused with me, He cried with me, He longed with me, and He was wounded right alongside me. Every single step of the way, He was with me. He knew what I was feeling during each of these events. But He also knew that I could make it through them. 

When you're feeling weak, there is always Somebody that knows that we can make it. 

Even if we don't know it ourselves.  

Have faith in that, and take the next step that you can in the right direction. Leave the rest of it up to Him, and He will bless you for your strength.

He will be with you, even when you feel alone.

He will guide you, even when you feel lost. 

He lifts you, even when you feel low.

And most importantly: 

He will love you. Even when you feel unloved.

Especially when you feel unloved.

He will never abandon you. 

A Young Girl's Thoughts on Flying.

Me?

I'm not so special.

I mean, I have my finer moments, but you wouldn't know that from just looking at me.

You wouldn't know that I fully believe that Imagine Dragons is a gift from heaven from just a glance.

You'd probably never guess that I'm an avid smoothie maker/adorer when you pass me on the street.

And most likely, you wouldn't guess that I'd decided to put everything that makes my life familiar and comfortable on hold to move to a place that I've never been to solely to talk to people I've never met and tell them about my story--and more importantly, Somebody else's story that has effected every choice I make. That knowing what I know and living how I strive to live brings an exquisite joy, and how coming to that same knowledge about what He has done for them can change their lives as well.

It's crazy how much a single choice can affect a life. Big ones, small ones. They all have the same consequence upon many, many souls.

So ya, I'm only 18. Soon to be 19. Going out into the world all by myself into the world for the very first time in 3 months.

But goodness. Come what may, I'm going. I'm going to that place that I've never been to to talk to anybody who will listen to me about our Lord and Savior and how they can be happier after hearing what I've got to say.

Because there is not a single thing that I believe more fully, not a thing that has captured my heart with more rapture. Nothing that could be of more worth to so many people, as well as myself.

Just watch me.