Ah! Where to even begin?! Please be patient with my brain, which is in
SHAMS as I attempt to put into words the joyous times of this past week.
Firstly, I love the Lord + it is Him who has brought me the happiest of happys
this week! I feel like a colored Baptist lady who wants to jump out of my seat
in the library and scream “hallelujah!” and do a little happy dance! I love
this life, I love this gospel and I love this week. Too bad my physical
body can’t keep up with my spiritual soul! I can’t wait till heaven when we
don’t have to take hours out of our day to rest our fleshy bodies but we can
just live + love + learn all the day long! Hahah k I’m getting carried away.
This week the Chase family was gathered to give thanks for all the
blessings we’ve been given (yes, Sister Watts and I have been adopted.) I feel
like Hannah Montana (no not Miley Cyrus…btdubs, I'm totally still in this world
but not of this world and holy heck, poor poor girl!). Sister Watts and I have
been living the best of both worlds. We wake up to family scripture study/
brekky (breakfast) and come home to dinner and family prayers and night chats
yet… we get to go out all day and work our butts off for the Lord and His
glorious work! It’s da bes. I’m so grateful for this wonderful family and all
they’ve been doing to love us into their family.
We had the neatest miracle this Thanksgiving. A local organic farmers
market donated boxes and boxes and more boxes of food for us to give out to
families. I can’t express to you the joys of serving others. We were able to be
an answer to so many family’s prayers yet I think I was the one who got the
most out of it. Mothers cried, husbands shook our hands with so much gratitude,
children jumped for joy, it was just so incredible. But the greatest miracle
happened at the last stop. We were on our way home (to the Chase’s) for
Thanksgiving dinner, we had a one box of food left. We pulled over and prayed
that the Lord would lead us to that one house that would be blessed by this
box. So I started slowly driving and both of us agreed a certain house. We
knocked on the door, no answer. Why would we both feel so strongly that we
should pull over to this random house? As we got to the car, a young man came
out. His southern accent was alarming. This was no transplant city boy. His
odor was evidence of his need for this box. After we taught him the message of the restoration, he
casually goes, “your guy missionaries have been over here teaching my grandma.”
Come to find out, this was a family the elders have been working with but
haven’t been able to get to the son. Kyle felt the spirit so strong that Thanksgiving
day. He enthusiastically committed to come to church. As we bore our
testimonies, we knew Heaven’s angels literally led us to this random rickety
home next to the train tracks. He came to church and he loved it. There is no
question that the Lord is in this work.
I want to bear my testimony that the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ has been restored in these last days. I know with absolutely surety that
Jesus the Christ leads this church and this work. I know that through the
prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord brought back in completeness His gospel. I
believe that covenants or promise with God are what will enable us to pass
through the gates and into heaven, but it is only by proper authority of God
these have to be made. I’m grateful for the covenants I’ve made with God when I
was baptized and when I went to the temple that are binding the Lord’s love +
guidance to me. I know under those sacred covenants, families can be together
forever. The knowledge I have of God’s great plan of happiness for me and my
family is real, undeniable and so perfectly true. I know that we are all
children of God, heirs to His kingdom. Our lives are full of purpose. He asks
for so little and gives so much in return. I’m grateful for this life and for
my knowledge of the life to come.
I just want to jump for joy! Alma sums up what I am
feeling perfectly in Alma 26:16 ," Therefore, let us glory,
yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we
will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold,
who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great
power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the
children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I
feel."
K so for the Funny stuff:
We have an investigator who is partially deaf and she needs us to
literally yell when we are teaching here and I always burst from laughter and
have to continually pray to keep the spirit and reverence but it’s just too
funny. Picture me and my comp teaching/screaming about plan of salvation.
Needless to say it’s true and it’s true no matter how it is delivered.
We’re at this less active family’s home
and they have SO MANY DOGS. Truthfully my immune system has almost wiped out my
allergies to animals out here (because every household in GA has cats + dogs
GALORE) but they still aren’t my #1 and probably will never be. I like to think
God gave me too much love for humans and spared little for animals. Anyway, so this PITBULL comes walking
out of the room, glaring at me and Sister Watts. I almost pee myself in fear
alone THEN they mention how she is a rescue pit and has trust issues. Excuse me
what? At a point in the lesson she starts growling at us. I hear myself
laughing/fearfully crying and this poor lady is not even phased by our obvious
terror. I grabbed my blue Book of Mormon to shove in its mouth if she went to
bite me and carried on with the lesson. We started screaming when we got
back into our car, in shock we came out of there alive.
Mom + dad, I love you! Cheers to the
freaking best week ever and cheers to living the best of both worlds! (cue:
hannah montana's laugh)
Peace and Blessings!
Sis. Avery Miyahara
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