Monday, February 18, 2013

My fantastic first real life week on the mish!

First full week on the mish could not have been better and I can’t wait to share!!

I am sharing the gospel in the “Southern” language.  This week's ridiculously silly phrase went like this, "How are you doing today?" -me "Well, I'm finer than a frog's hair split four ways!" -southern man.  hahah like excuse me, whaaat? Too \funny.  People find it "terribly odd" and "charming" when I use words such as gnarly, stoked, rad and so on.  What different worlds there are! and I love it!

So earlier this week we were teaching this incredibly prepared family and holy moly it was just incredible! I speak and my brain is flabbergasted that such things came out of my mouth! It's so awesome how the Spirit truly directs the lessons; it truly is the Spirit that is the teacher, never ever am I. It was seriously like all the stories of Alma and Amulek when they preach the gospel by the spirit and the people are "astonished." This family was astonished! God does prepare the hearts of His children to hear His gospel at the perfect and exact time. 

We were teaching this family how to pray and as we were teaching the basic structure (open the prayer by addressing our Father in Heaven, express the feelings of your heart and questions you want answered etc, and close in the name of Jesus Christ, amen). So then I decided that this week I really wanted to study prayer. 

I feasted upon Enos 1 and was just amazed by that chapter! Enos wanted to know what the gospel his father often spoke of concerning eternal life was all about and why it made the people so joyful.  Enos then says that the joy of the saints sunk deep in his heart and his soul did hunger to know of the truth.  Obviously, God in his almighty abilities spoke to Enos after he "cried unto Him mightily in prayer," and responded to him that because of Enos's unshaken faith unto the Lord he would be forgiven and blessed.  Enos then mentioned that his guilt was "swept away." How awesome is the atonement!?!  Our guilt can be, as Alma said, snatched away! We just need to come to our Father with a "sincere heart and real intent." I had heard that phase all through out my life but after deeper study I learned the actual definition of "real intent," it means that your gonna act on the answer God gives us.  Interesting! How often do we ask but fear the answer?  If God tells us something, it is a commandment and we will be held accountable if we don’t act!

Multiple times in Enos 1 it mentions "asking in the name of Christ" "receiving in the name of Christ" and so forth.  I wanted to know of that deeper meaning behind that and found that it means something so much more powerful and sacred that I had ever known.  I've closed every prayer in my life "in the name of Jesus Christ" and have heard every talk and such be closed "in the name of Jesus Christ" but never really contemplated it.  I learned that it literally means that we pray in Christ's name when we have the mind of Christ, and our wishes and wants are inline with the wishes and wants that Christ would see us fit for.  Does that make any sense? I read that many prayers remain unanswered because they aren’t in Christ's name in the slightest! That those unanswered prayers don’t represent Christ's mind, but our selfish greedy minds! MIND BLOWN. WORLD ROCKED. 

We need to call upon God, in Jesus Christ's name ever so often to help us out! I'm learning now more than ever that I am frankly a pathetic selfish person and I in no way can take on this work nor this life alone.  So thank the heavens that we don’t have to! God is there. Waiting for us to reach out so He can lift us up to the highest unimaginable! Let us all grasp our divine identities! Our identity as a child of God! I am so humbled to be out here in Powder Springs, Georgia fighting for a cause that will never ever fail.  This is the true church on the planet, fully restored today! How marvelous of a knowledge that is!

Some fun things: NO ONE can pronounce Miyahara and it's hysterical/insane.  I am PAINFULLY full every single night after being fed by the members.  Everyone has multiple multiple house cats and dogs and they usually reek and the vile odor that they emit is like nothing these nostrils have ever smelled! The confederate flag is everywhere and it makes my head tilt in confusion.  I am serving stateside yet I’m teaching recent immigrants from Ghana, Japan, Nigeria, and South Africa! Freaking rad! Thank you all for everything! I feel so undeserving of such abundant love! The mail and packages and such just lift my spirits and make me oh so happy! I hope ya'll have a "heel clickin" week!

All my love,
Sister Miyahara




Our Valentines dates

The Carnell's (the family we live with) surprised us with homemade cream puffs on Valentines day morning.
  Bless them!!


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