Oh, How Sweet The Joy!! 5/27/14

OH, HOW SWEET THE JOY!

Great! My email time has FLOWN by! ah! okay , okay THIS WEEK WAS AWESOME.

Avery was baptized : ) it was so special. I love this family so much! The Gospel blesses families! TRUTH. This family has been changed through the mercy of our Savior and I’m just happy to know them.

 I finished Jesus the Christ by Talmage and I BELIEVE IN CHRIST. My faith is firmer than ever that He was no ordinary man; He is our literal Savior, our Hope of Israel, the Finisher of the Faith! I’m so grateful to know that He is at the head of this church and how humbled I am to be a part of His commission to bring others closer to Him.

We had such a neat sisters conference this week! Sister Mills taught us with great power about the sacred duty of our call. She brought it back to our eternal purposes and how our missions shape and train us for eternity! I learned so much. I LOVE LEARNING. There is so much knowledge and wisdom and truth this Gospel offers! I couldn’t love every moment of this mission anymore!

Yesterday was Memorial Day and let me tell you, it was a day of miracles! We worked our tails off all day long for the Lord. We found 11 families who all want us back to learn more about the restored Church of Jesus Christ again established on the earth today! As we prayerfully sought after the spirit, we were led by God’s angels to those hearts they have been preparing. It was a special day where I felt so empowered by the spirit of the Lord as I testified to so many as Jesus Christ’s representative. Man, I love being a missionary so much.

 I RAN A HALF MARATHON THIS MORNING. Yes, I am sitting here stiffer than stiff! I had to keep the Memorial Day 13.1 tradition going! Sister Maney and Jessica were so kind to run with me! I was grinning from ear to ear every stride! Sister Miller supplied us with bananas and Gatorade and even a fun sign along our run! I pondered these past 21 years/17 months and was so overwhelmed with love and gratitude! How beautiful are God’s creations?!...the world around us, our physical bodies and spiritual souls?! Incredible. Only a Loving Father above would allow us the opportunity to discover so much joy here in mortality. Look around you. God is real! I’ll remember those 13.1 miles forever. Thank you for the people who will be a part of that memory!

Happiest of birthdays to my dear baby boy Sammy! I love you and that family of ours with every beat of this ever expanding heart! I also love this land of Georgia with my whole heart and somehow Heavenly Father grants me the capacity to feel that way! Can you even begin to fathom how much our Father in Heaven must love us? I’m so thankful He allows me to feel just a tiny portion of His love for His children.

“Pure Christ like love flowing from true righteousness can CHANGE THE WORLD” –Elder Holland

Until next week!

Love y’all!

Sister Miyahara

Surprises + Faithful Predictions 5/19/14

THIS WEEK THE ACWORTH WARD THREW ME A FREAKING SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!!! Goodness, where so I even begin with my thank yous?! It was last week Monday and we went on a little splitzies and I came back to my companions who were supposedly in a lesson at the Camacho’s home and BAM!! There gathered my most loved friends in my life right now. I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT. I still cant believe it. Man alive, God is too good to me!..blessing me with these people! I will forever thank God for Acworth.  I even got to see my family and Olivia and brooke on the Camacho’s TV singing happy birthday and doing hysterical little dances for me! I was DYING of laughter! It was all too perfect! I was beaming with a smile ear to ear continuously! Thank you to all the wonderful souls who planned such a perfect event for silly sister miyahara to feel like a super star on the eve of her 21^st birthday! Wow. That night was something else. A night so special, I’ll cherish for eternity! So much love! So much happiness! So many blessings! I’m just a kooky 21 year old trying to do what my Father in Heaven wants me to do and life couldn’t be any more glorious!  THANK YOU to everyone who filled me with every good emotion this week. I’m forever grateful.

However, the most important event of this week was hands down the baptism of our sweet Emilie Boston J Emilie is a senior, graduating from high school this coming week and was introduced to the church by her -formerly not active member of the church- boyfriend dude (who totally rocks and is active now!) This sister of mine was prepared! When we taught her all in members home, the spirit was unforgettable. She faithfully read the Book of Mormon in between classes, during her break at work and throw the late hours of the night. She came to a firm testimony 100% on her own and we were just blessed to be a part of her conversion. The gospel has changed her heart; her desires to understand, serve and love God BLOW MY MIND.

I’ve learned so much about courage from this young lady! I think about me and my friends at the end of our senior year of high school. I’ll be the first to say that my focus was surely not on spiritual matters. I ‘m reminded each day how important it is that we prioritize our thoughts, dreams and our focus. This is our time to show our Father our love and loyalty! Now is the day we must be full of faith, constantly repenting and progressing.  When we procrastinate our repentance by putting things not of worth in the forefront of our lives, we will not become any better than we were the day or month or year before…SAD DAY when we waste away our days. Emilie Boston has entered the gate of baptism and is well on her way to become a more refined, righteous and faithful daughter in God’s kingdom and because of her, I am forever blessed.

This week I learned that everything God gives us is so that we can turn it around and serve others. He makes our weaknesses strengths so we can help others, not ourselves! When we have that mentality, God trusts us with more opportunities to serve His children. Everything must be to the end to bring glory to God, not ourselves. The abilities and talents we have been given are not so that we can be the cool kid on the block but so we can lift others and bring them closer to Christ. Everything must be to that end, to come closer to Christ. There is no other option to true happiness! “I believe in Christ, so come what may!”

Thank you again to everyone for making my life the happiest, a million bagillion hugs to you all!

All my love,

Sister Avery Kimi Miyahara

Confronting reality with God is pretty awesome! 5/5/14

It’s been quite a humbling yet a beautifully gratifying week. God gives us these sweet opportunities to be stretched, molded and changed. As I studying the atonement of Jesus Christ fervently this week, I found myself asking myself questions like… where is your heart at? How willing am I to change? How quick am I to respond to a prompting? Am I doing everything I can to serve the Savior well? What tends to hold me back or make me feel apathetic? And so forth. I’m doing more than I ever imagined I could, yet I know progression is endless! Such an beautiful doctrine.

Confronting reality with God is pretty awesome.

I came out on my mission to be pushed. I didn’t know much to expect but I knew I was leaving comfortable and embarking on everything uncomfortable. That was scary. But the Comforter, even the Holy Ghost has guided me each baby step of the way. The journey we are all walking may not be all in the light or the end clear at sight. God may allow one baby step to be illuminated without the next. But with faith, we take that step. That’s how my mission has been. Small baby steps of faith, simply trusting in the force guiding me forward.  It hasn’t been easy. But boy, it is a marvel to look back and rejoice in the journey achieved and the bright future ahead.

Sister Iverson and I will be staying in Acworth next transfer; however, we will be getting a new sister! We will be in a triple companionship for my last transfer : ) IM THRILLED to finish this nearly perfect mission in this ward/area I’ve grown to love to deeply. I’m so thankful right at this moment.

This week we had the greatest opportunity to go to the Atlanta Temple TWICE. God knew Sister Miyahara needed the solace of being in the Lord’s house. On Wednesday we went with Nikki for her first time to do baptisms for the dead (1 Corinthians 15: 29) (http://www.mormon.org/faq/baptism-for-the-dead).  RS President and first counselor- Sisters Petersen and Maney joined us as well as our ward mission leader- Brother Beckman. Missionaries typically never get this privilege to be in the temple with their recent converts BUT not only that, the temple workers asked us if we wanted to do baptisms. Sister Iverson declined but I JUMPED ON IT! YES! I got in a white jump suit with these women who have changed my life and had moments that I’ll cherish forever. We were the only group in this newly renovated baptistery. It was stunning. Angels surrounded us! The spirit was so strong. I felt so humbled to be a part of this all. I knew that this would still all happen with or without me because it was God’s will, but to be able to be there was a perfect taste of heaven. Nikki was baptized three weeks ago and now was able to perform baptism by proxy for 13 family names, real people who walked on this earth who now can accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and continue onward in righteous progression. So Cool

Then we had a temple trip/zone training meeting with all of us up here in Carterville. My mind was opened to glorious new insights and understandings! I was able to go through for one of my ancestors and I felt her sweet spirit with me the entire time. The reality of the temple ordinances hit me hard this week. God loves us so much. The temple is open to all who are willing to take those sanctification steps!

I’ve been putting my whole heart in this. It’s the best thing to be in the service of God. All I want to do is serve Him and bring glory to His name. I want to make sure I share this glorious good news to every person God puts in my path. I have desire like never before to surrender 100% of my will to His. I feel and see the spiritually wounded being healed each day and I couldn’t feel more humbled and blessed to be in Georgia. I love every second of it.

After testifying to our investigator, he looked at me dead in the eyes and said, “I believe everything you just said. I’ve never seen anyone glow like you do when you talk about your faith. I want that and I believe you sisters can offer me that. What can I do to glow like you do?” wow, was I humbled.  I felt so blessed and forever grateful for these moments where I can glory my God and thank Him for allowing me to embark on the uncomfortable and have it change my life.

DOUBT NOT! FEAR NOT!

I love you! See you on Sunday: ) Skype date wahoooo!!!

Sister Miyahara