Pictures

I know the sister on the left is Sister Malala, one of her favorites.


Sister Catherine we'll call her. She is one of the many friends from school that also got called to Temple Square.



Some missionary with blonde hair. Jenna didn't tell me who this was.


Sister Sanders from Germany.

Dec. 17

Hello everyone!!

This email may be a little shorter then others because i don't have much time!! But Ahh can i tell you that Temple Square is full of thousands of people every night i think 1 pulled a muscle in my cheeks!
This week i was able to really start teaching people and it was amazing! Although it is hard to go from a virtual world to a phone conversation to the square I'm trying to wrap my head around all of it! At the end of each day i am so tired i want to fall over... oh wait i do! I practically fall asleep planning haha not even kidding! But I love it ... I'm working my butt off and Its a lovely time!

Iceland lover!
Oh remember that one time i taught someone in ICELAND yesterday! sure NBD haha.... He wasn't ready for the gospel quite yet but it was amazing that i was able to reach clear across the world.

united Kingdom ROCKS... not just cause they have an accent

There was this girl, Abby we talked to on chat and she wanted to know where she could go to church! So we called her and taught her just about the basic basic beliefs and she loves church! She just moved to England and is going to find the missionaries at church!! But yesterday we prayed with her on the phone and the spirit was so strong!!
Now Jonsie is little lad we also found on chat!! We have a teaching appointment tomorrow and we will commit him to go to church!! its amazing I smile so big... I'm not kidding about the sore cheeks.

So now we are able to commit people to baptism so that's the next step!! i hope the Elders and Sisters that get our referrals will take it seriously because we have grown to love these people soo soo much!

Shervin the Persian... maybe i talked about him but he is from India originally and we are going to teach him until the missionaries get there!! he met us in person though on the square we had an amazing tour!!

the RC is full of miracles everyday..... I taught someone in New Zealand yesterday and he wants missionaries.... And almost all of Zach's have referred and dads and heathers! So mom and brek... its your turn!! its not me its the spirit ... but this past week i called 16 people and all 16 are having missionaries!!!! its amazing! i am always so excited to tell their friends!

Well at the close of this email I just want to bare my testimony on the power of the spirit and the power of prayer! I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers if we just act in faith!... i know that Jesus Christ was born in a stable and that through this miraculous event.... we can all one day return to our father in Heaven. I think about how it must have been for marry.. giving birth to the Son of God. I know that this church holds the fullness of the gospel and that Joseph Smith really did restore the original Christian church to the earth!

i love you all ... Have a good week!! CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!
next time we chat... I'll be 22.... Weird I'm getting old!

love you all

love SISTER METTRA
ps i love you

Dec 7th

Dearest Family, Friends and Loves!

This week has been amazing, so many miracles! I finally have stories for you and they are amazing! The Lord has been here every step of the way and I'm truly honored to be a missionary right now, what an amazing gift! Now miracles yes, but also it's me so, there has to be A) weird guests B) inappropriate guests and C) random things the spirit tells me to do :)

So the lights come up about 5:30pm each night and it's beautiful. I never really remember the lights from my childhood except,it was beautiful. I always remember the trees and how they looked but the assembly hall with orange and pin, so pretty. I will send pictures. I'm trying to figure out how to do that exactly cause i still have a ton of pictures from Thanksgiving! When the square lights up it's almost like the spirit is even stronger. Monday nights I sing Ave maria and It came upon a midnight clear. Last night it was my one of my better ones. I think it's 'cause I wore my leopard cardigan.( Mom ha it added a little punch. Sister Sanders said it was too sassy but i liked it so its ok!) This french boy came and found me about an hour after and was like,"you have a beautiful voice where did you learn how to sing German? "He was a foreign exchange student and investigating the church. When i close my eyes just for a moment and then smile as i reach the high notes, I feel like I'm in a different world, I love it!

Gift of tongues.... check!
Ok I know that when I was in high school I prayed for the gift of tongues to be able to know what to say and its a funny joke ha.... but I really know what it is now! kira and my other Spanish speakers reading this will enjoy this story! ... A man named Antonio was sitting by the christus and he had his head down, i felt like we should talk to him. And we walked over said hello and he was like oh i don't speak English very well sorry. So i said oh no problem and sat next to him and started a conversation in spanish?? Haha Sanders goes? Mettra when did you take Spanish... I didn't! So he kept telling me things and I understood what he was saying i just couldn't really respond except for Como se dice .... and he laughed and said hermana you have a good Spanish accent! :) I was smiling so big honestly i love people from Mexico i want to speak Spanish sooo bad! Well i taught him a Little about the spirit through reading a pamphlet with him in spanish! it was amazing and he already knew the church was true he had taken the discussions and guess what! ...... he kept saying thank you for your English testimony it was beautiful ( muy bonita) ...... HE GOT BAPTIZED on Saturday and wanted me to come but I couldn't!! But he came back last night and he was glowing! Amazing.....

Professional baseball player to humble member
I prayed for Dustin every night such an angel!.... We walked past him and i said i feel like I need to talk to him. Sanders said that's not where we planned to go and i said we walked this way for a reason we are going up there. Well we found him up at the christus sitting alone staring. I started talking to him with a big smile and he was SO nice! Well we talked for a long time and I told him no temporary satisfaction can replace the spirit. And told him about somethings in my life i gave up for something greater. He was inactive for a long time and just came back about a year ago. he has a wife and 2 kids a young guy. And he just wants to gain courage to keep going even when the past haunts him. I read him 3 Nephi 11:12-15 and he just said thank you so much. I said Dustin I know that God loves you and is so proud of you! Your wife will come around and you are never alone. He smiled and said thank you for everything. Ahh love him!!

Why does satan hate me?... he thinks he is a funny IDIOT
Well just standing in the middle of the square testifying to this HUGE group with about 40 in it. Testifying of the gospel and how it has blessed my life and all of the sudden.... a freakin snow no let me rephrase that! ICE BALL comes over the wall and hits my hip... um thanks? ha i laughed cause I didn't know what else to do but I wanted to cry ha hurt so bad! We all agreed it was satan because the spirit was there! Ha and then just a little while longer we are walking and.... this kid chucks a snow ball down my shirt! Good aim hahaha I was so mad! but i was laughing so hard I was crying cause seriously who does that to a missionary! RUDEEEEEE

Puerto Rico love..
We were planning the night before and I said....... Ok Sister Sanders we will meet 2 young guys on a road trip just passing through in scripture rev at 11am, they will need to know that Jesus is the Christ and is their personal savior......... Um ok go down stairs at 11.... there they are I said we need to talk to him..... it was actually a group of 8 but they were passing through on a road trip and we had 6 min with them and they were agnostic. I said can I show you this clip before you leave ( the Joseph smith clip) Ben looks up at me and said i think there is a prophet! .. I briefly talked about the BOM and he goes..... I want one the other one.... me to!! ok well missionaries will come and teach you more! .... Ok thanks hermana your so sweet and then left!! hahaha Um MIRACLE

Southern Accents..... You know i can hear them a mile away!
lets start off by saying southern boys are so nice! ha We were walking past the tabernacle and i said Sister Sanders we need to help them! she was like what? and i just walked really fast and followed them into the tabernacle. Well the minute I walked up they took off their hats and said hi mam how are you! ha I smiled and laughed and said we are going to to an acoustic demonstration if you want to take a seat. Well they sat down and were amazed! And then i chased them cause they thought that was it! NO NO NO NO ... i go what part of Texas and they were from Dallas area! YAY!! i love Texas i said. :) And i said we would love to show you a model of the temple its beautiful! And I started talking to cody and he told me he just found God. They are christian both Kaleb and Cody. Well we taught them about temple marriage ps these are young guys like 24 ish. And cody looks at me and says mam that's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard a marriage for eternity! and I said i know Cody that's what i want! Ah spirit was so strong and so we took them to the christus! Most amazing moment we were all sitting there and i told them about a personal experience i had with my life and we were all crying ( me Cody and kaleb ha sanders doesn't cry much.) They were like I feel refreshed i know that Lord sent us here for a purpose! Um YEAH HE DID !! So they both want missionaries and to find out for themselves if this is true! I wish i could just teach them!! Which i might actually get to do pretty soon over the phone!!!!!!!

Marijuana and visions?
Of coarse I find the crazy man that comes and says he is having visions and that he needs spiritual guidance! sister Sanders looked at me and shook her head! NOOOOOO cause he had long hair and smelled like smoke.... well I say he is still i child of God so lets take him to the christus! Ha she wasn't happy with me and I told security to watch us through out the tour just in case this man snapped.... Well he smelled like a Field of marijuana and told me he wasn't on drugs and i was really forward with him and said i can smell it! he was like it was a long time ago this morning haha WHATEVER!.... Well this man had some serious problems and his wife was with him but she said nothing. I was afraid for her I think he is abusive :( Sanders didn't talk the entire time! She just stood next to me she was afraid of him. I handled the situation really well with what i was given hah. Every time I taught about the gospel he brought a vision he had.... and guess what kira!!! HE ASKED ABOUT GAYS! I was so prepared and i bridged marijuana to the plan of salvation haha Wow most interesting thing I've ever done but it was beautiful. I guess ken got ordained into this church as a joke and i think he had the wrong spirit there.... And I said i think your possessed with a evil spirit. And he agreed. But I was baring my testimony and i was protected. But I'm pretty sure that I would have never been able to talk to him anywhere else but my mission cause he said these visions tell him to kill people.... hmmmm comforting! I smiled and said well that's weird you shouldn't do that. And Sanders face went white practically ahaha.... well i read him for the BOM and taught him and then i said ken don't speak right now just listen. And don't think about drugs either. I said you are a son of God and he loves you so much. You need help and you came to a good place to feel the spirit but drugs is keeping you away from the Lord so you make the choice..... he just started at me like i was crazy...... Then the security came and helped him and his wife find a place to stay/ that's all i could take ha.... So intense and literally so scary but he was a child of God so he is important too... i would be the one that talks to him. But all the sisters said i would be the only one able hah.

We had transfer conference yesterday and it was amazing like always! president really made us see that Jesus Christ is the reason for this season! We need to put away the clutter and focus our lives on Jesus Christ. As i invite members to share the gospel with their friends through a phone call from me it feels like I'm giving the most precious gift i could ever give. I'm So grateful to be a missionary at this time in the world. Temple square is an amazing place full of the spirit anyone who walks in can feel it. My new companion will be sister taraaveich from new jersey! ha another east coaster! my Pday will change to Fridays so I can write you again on friday and tell you more things happening right now. Sister Malala is my District leader now! haha So excited!!

I love you all i miss you and thank you so much for everything you do.
Love Sister Mettra

ps... I'm now being transferred into the South Zone! That's fun too but i will miss north! .....

White out! Nov. 29

Family!!!

Oh I missed you all so much this past week for thanksgiving.... mom even more grateful for your cooking! Ours was catered and i only ate salad and some potatoes. This past week has been very COLD!! My goodness I am so cold ha but I wear my boots everyday and I have to take good care of them so they don't ware and tare! Ok so I've been asked to sing every Monday night in the NVC! It is such an honor and a dream come true! I'm singing Ave maria in German, my favorite! Sister Sanders is very impressed with how good my German really is! Last night I sang and i felt home I almost started crying for a moment. Two things I love being a missionary, and singing in German :) Everyone stopped and just listened and I pretty much take over the whole visitors center with my song ham, oops! But it was amazing and I'm so excited to do that every Monday night! Sister Moore is in charge so of coarse she put me after 8 so more people would be there haha love her! I am so grateful to be a missionary right now and what I sacrificed is so worth it! I just have to keep praying when the butterflies come :) ( family knows what that means).

So this week the square was really slow and i hope you all received my letter home! If not it should be there tomorrow with pictures and a VERY INTERESTING STORY! haha

But I have to share a miracle that made me so happy... We met people from Germany!! And I planned for them I said sister sanders we will have 3 Germans at the map at noon!... AND THEY CAME!! I let Sanders teach because i wanted it to be in German! but at the end i could feel exactly how Inge was feeling. I knew she needed to hear my testimony about the temple and so I bore my testimony in English and told her that this is the most important thing in the world. There was a moment in my life where i had to choose the world or the Savior. and i choose the Savior. This gospel is the greatest gift anyone could ever have! Sanders said that was the perfect thing to say and i invited the women for missionaries and she accepted!!!!! Now she said she is baptist and doesn't need any other book but that's OK. President always says its more important they feel more and see less! Or in this case, know less and feel more! At the end of the tour the old German women found out I sang and asked me to sing! AND I SANG IN GERMAN!! It was amazing.

In the RC i taught a women who literally was mocking me the entire time! and doesn't believe in God. she said Jenna you don't know God is real you haven't seen him. And i told her i know that a loving God would never leave his children and that this gospel is true despite what the things of the world may say! She said how old are you? and i told her i was 21 she laughed and said honey you don't know! And I said June children even know that Jesus loves them.................. hmmmm she thought about that one! Well i invited for her to receive a BOM and she wants one..... then when I said that missionaries would come SHE literally FREAKED OUT! She was like DON'T YOU DARE SEND ME STUPID 19 YEAR old BOYS that don't know WHAT THE HECK THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT TO ME!!!!!
Ha i said OK.... she goes I connect with you for some reason will you send me a BOM marked up and call me back to talk about it?? i said i would love to!! ...

WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT!!!....

Starting in 2 weeks temple square is a TEACHING MISSION!!!!! 8 Zones ALL TEACHING!! That means that June will become my investigator and i can call and teach her! We teach these people and get them to church and then they are comfortable with other missionaries...... AND WE COMMIT THEM for baptism!!!!!!!!! So i could be teaching people all over the world!! Even in the blessing i had before i left Kira's it said, you will never know how many hearts you have touched till you are on the other side! I cried when i found this out!!.... but shhhh we can't tell everyone!! :) AMAZING THOUGH!

Last night i was going down the elevator and I turned and saw Elder Christofferson coming up. i said " hello Elder christofferson and smiled he said hello Sister! And then he watched our performances last night!! So i don't know if he heard me sing! But he might have!!

Sorry this is shorter but pdays are now in the morning so we have no time!

* I met Asians from Irvine .... they live in west park! they don't believe in God and pretended not to speak English! hahaha
* Sunday night the APS found me and said sister Mettra a choir cancelled will you sing for 45 min right now.... uhhh sure? hahaha
* pray I don't slip on the ice!!! I'm nervous!!

I love you all so much thank you for be such an amazing family! At this time what greater gift can we give then the gospel of Jesus Christ??? Please think of your friends and send their name and numbers to me.... Dad, heather, and Zach have seen the results .... no matter if they accept or not is irrelevant. They feel the spirit for the first time in their lives!! WHAT GREATER GIFT!!

I LOVE YOU!!..

Love SISTER METTRA

Pictures before the storm

A rainy day on the Square.

Hugs

The besties.

Special visitors.

BEAUTIFUL

Sister Rathgaber and Sister Mettra.

The dad and the daughter.

Sister Mettra goes to Lizzy's wedding or something like that .

Missionary power of course.

7am-9:30pm in class, dig it.

District love with color coordinating outfits.

Missionary glow or just really bright colors.

I'm Thankful-Nov 23

Dearest Family and Friends!

This has been an amazing week and I'm so grateful that I am here at this time on the square! So many things happened this week and because of the white out coming in about 3 hours everything is closing down so I only have a very short time to write everything! Sister Sanders and i have felt the love of the Savior this week in many different ways and I'm so happy to be a part of this work.

Lets start in the RC shall we:
I called a man by the name of Jr and talked to him about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ has changed my life. He is a less active and the spirit was so strong during that phone call. Both of us cried as we talked about the trials of life and how they can be overcome if we are but faithful! He was such an angel i was honored to talk to him and I'm so grateful that I was a missionary again. He told me the words i spoke were inspiring and that it was exactly what he needed to hear. He commit ed to go back to church and i will call again and follow up.

Chris the marine:
This girl came to temple square to give us a potential..... Let me explain how we even met her. she was from Hawaii and she had such a sweet spirit. Sister Sanders invited for us to take them through Gods Plan. They were touched by the spirit so much. And at the end were in tears sharing how this had answered their prayers. Then the spirit told me so strongly to sing be still my soul.... As i started they both started crying. And at the end said that was what they needed. The girl looked at me and said, God answers prayers i know now because of your testimony I need to serve a mission! I was so humbled by this! Well i called Chris he was in north Carolina at boot camp getting ready to go to Afghanistan. He was touched by the spirit and I told him he needs this gospel to comfort him through the dark months ahead! he accepted missionaries :)!!

Nigeria :
These very important people from Nigeria came and we ran into them so we were able to take them on a tour! I will never forget this tour because the spirit was so strong and it was filling the room. There is more to this story but i will write about it in a letter...... But the man looked at me and put his hand on my shoulder and said, you could be my daughter! Tears in his eyes he said, I know that this gospel is true. I told him what i had given up to be a missionary and we all just cried and i bore powerful testimony that this is the most important thing in the world! 2 of them want missionaries.

I cant close this letter without telling you about the amazing once in a life time chance that i had.....

We had a mission conference in the conference center to end our zone conferences. President made arrangements for our testimony meeting to be in the conference center.... And then a moment i will never forget. He said we would have a testimony meeting on the stage right where the prophet speaks! As i walked up when it was my turn looking over the conference center at 21,000 seats i felt the spirit so strong it overcame me and words couldn't express my gratitude for this moment. I stood where the prophet stands and testified that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith did restore the fullness of the gospel back to the earth. As i walked down from the stage I felt an overwhelming power that this is the only true church. Then president had something bigger in store..... he took us to the back of the stage and up the stairs. He said he had gotten permission to have us sit where the choir sits. I couldn't help but cry as we sang called to serve in the conference center! That has always been my dream. I know the lord hears our prayers there were so many miracles this week but here were just a couple. I love my mission and i know that I'm suppose to be right here right now!
I love all of you and thank you for all the love and support.

Happy Thanksgiving!!! We have lots of fun things planned for Thanksgiving!
Funny thoughts...
We were all walking into the SVC and all of the sudden a huge avalanche drops on my head! No one else just me, out of 60 of us haha, President was laughing really hard!

Also.... I got asked to sing in December!!!! More details to come!

Be thankful for everything the Lord has given us at this time! We are living at the best time in the WORLD!!

Love you all
Love Sister Mettra

I'm back

Dearest family and friends whom I Love!

I'm back on the square and it feels so good!!! My goodness this has been quite the journey but one that i am so grateful i went on. First day back was hard to say goodbye to Kira and Owen! They are my best friends and I will miss them so much. But sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!
I got to the square about 1:45 and unloaded my stuff for about 10 min and then bam we were back on the square!

On Saturday my companions Sister Sanders from Germany and Sister kuo from Korea were so loving and welcoming me back! I had a sign on my bed saying Welcome home we missed you Sister Mettra!! It made the transition a little easier for me because I have separation anxiety a little bit ha!! I ate a banana and said lets get out there!! I took a moment to look at myself and who I had become over this month. I saw myself as i hadn't really seen before, As a true Daughter of God. Tears came to my eyes and the spirit said, " your ready Jenna you have done well." I humbly smiled, looked in the mirror and put my tag across my heart and said a prayer in gratitude for all i had been through. i know that there are moments in our lives when we can't walk another step alone, i know the Lord has carried me and will continue to do so until i finish my mission for him. I am not alone and i have grown to have so much faith.

We walked onto the square and i had a different spirit about me i felt like I could truly relate to every guest even more then before! We only had 1 tour and it was pretty short and I remembered everything!! It was like I never left. As I walked around in my bright yellow cardigan ha sisters eyes just lit up as they saw me! One by one they came over and gave me a big hug and said welcome back sister Mettra EVERYONE missed you. You are just glowing you look amazing. I saw sister Rathgeber and we shared some tears as she welcomed me back. I miss being her companion we had a lot of fun together and taught very well together! Ha i am now with a German, Korean and then me the crazy American! haha LOTS of culture! We took a korean tour and I tried to introduce myself in korean..... aka didn't quite work out they just laughed and so did I! ahhaha

The most amazing feeling so far were the 2 miracles we had :)
First night we went into the RC and i called a guy from my list that I had on there since conference! I said a prayer the spirit would be with me. I called this guy mike and he literally laughed at me when I said I was a missionary. And i said, " oh really tell me everything you know about the church" and he knew quite a bit! But the spirit came as I told him about the Book of Mormon. I said, " Mike do you think God loves his ALL of his children? he said I know he does! " Well mike God loved the people in America just as he loved the people in Jerusalem. And he goes i guess your right. And i said, I would love to send you a Book of Mormon for yourself so you can have one and find out. He said, you know I always said if I was given the opportunity I would accept it. And I said well I'm happy I called then, he said me too... he refers for missionaries to come teach him more and receive the book of Mormon. I called his friend that refers him and she just cried! She said thank you so much. I know that I needed to be back today to Call mike!

I'm ROMAN CATHOLIC...THANKS
ha lady from new york with a very strong belief in the roman catholic Faith comes and we start talking about Jesus Christ. Sister S and K were talking to someone else and we were walking upstairs to the Christus. I bore my testimony to her about when Jesus Christ came to the Americas and read 3Nephi 11:15... she said I have a lot to think about when I go home. She didn't want a Book of Mormon quite yet but I know she felt the spirit.

Muslim ...and from Malaysia
Sister Sanders and I took this man from Malaysia around he spoke some English but was a very devote Muslim! The spirit was so strong the whole tour! Especially in the Assembly hall when the light came in through the window and I was baring my testimony on the power of prayer. We took him to Scripture and Revelations and taught him about Joseph Smith. He was just silent and said that was a very powerful experience that boy had. And we said yes because God restored his church back on the earth through Joseph smith!.... sister Sanders told him more about why this was so powerful. And then I took a moment gathered my thoughts and bore powerful testimony that his was not just another Book and that through this book he would see how much God loved him! I said :) We would love to send a Book of Mormon back home to you in your own language with missionaries to explain more! Because its that important!.... he said he would love that!

Even though its only been a couple of days and my companion is now just Sister Sanders! I love this mission and all the change that constantly happens! I know the Lord needs me here now and I'm so humbled by that! Thank you for all the love and support through all of this i have felt Gods love so strong! Its starting to get COLD!! and I'm wearing my coat and gloves daily!!

ps. We were about to go for a mission activity to the art museum at BYU... it was so touching and just what i needed to see. There was one painting by Carl Bloch that I loved when the savior is in the garden of Gethsemane and there is a an angel holding him! I know that Jesus Christ really has felt everything we would ever go through!

i love you all MISS YOU!!

Love Sister Mettra

But for a small moment

Hello everyone,
The next email that I write will be from the square. Many of you know that I was sent home early in October, right after conference. I was trying to keep it a secret so I could stay in my mission "bubble." Mission Medical didn't cover the problem that I had, so President Holmes saw no other way to treat me, other than to send me home. From the beginning my leg started going numb while standing all day on the square. Soon after dragging around my left leg, I began to have shooting pains up my leg. At that point I decided to just casually mention it to my president, although he didn't think it was a casual problem. I was sent home pretty soon thereafter. I went to my sister, Kira's house. While I was depressed to be home, I did my very best to study, get better, and do missionary work. I studied with my sister and did more roll plays than I wanted to. I watched conference talks and read, Our Heritage and The Book of Mormon. One of my favorite parts was going to the temple daily. Going to the temple helped me KNOW that this was all going to work out. Also seeing little baby Owen put a smile on my face:) I went to Dr. Smith at Elite Chiropractic care, where I was put on the DRX machine DAILY. I wanted to punch someone in the knee cap, it hurt so bad. The decompression machine pulled my spine apart, to allow my L4 and L5 discs from pinching my nerves (hence the numbness and shooting pains in my leg.) Later a VERY kind lady in Kira's ward named Anne White, gave me massages daily with her essential oils to help alleviate some of the pain. I call her "Mad dame butterfly." I was treated so well and was so excited when my treatments were coming to a close and my president said I could go back and THEN THE MIRACLE HAPPENED.

There is a great scripture in The Book of Mormon, Ether 12:6: ... "I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen.; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. " This scripture is comforting and even more comforting if you actually have those trials of your faith. STORY: On fast Sunday I got up to share my testimony in Kira's ward. There had been a baby blessing and there were tons of people. It was great to share what I knew to be true with such a large group of people. I had already had an extra week added on to my treatment so I was VERY READY for it to be my last Sunday as "Jenna." After the meeting, a man by the name of Dr. Campbell came up to me and said, " I need to talk to you." I was a little nervous but he told me that he was from the Missionary Medical department and that he was at church that day because his son blessed his baby. He proceeded to tell me that I was just the person that he needed to talk to! He said that he is collecting names of Doctors to present to the brethren, a, proposal to get chiropractic care accepted in the mission field. He talked to my doctor and told me that towards the end of my mission, chiropractic care would be approved!!!!! WOW! I felt so blessed to be part of the Lords process in helping other future missionaries not have to be sent home like I was. It was truly a miracle and I know that God loves and REALLY KNOWS our hearts and hears our prayers. I will be going to Dr. Smith just a few more times which is also a blessing. I get to go back on Saturday and I have a companion from Korea and Germany. I have been dreaming and thinking about this return everyday since I left. I love my mission and everyone that is supporting me. This Church is SOOOOO true and I can't wait to be back!
-Sister Mettra

Oct 12

Hello Everyone!!! :)

I'm smiling while I'm typing this because I just love all of you oh so much, I hope you know that. This week has been quite interesting that’s for sure, ha maybe you have heard a little bit on the news, maybe not! Let's just say these are the last days before the Savior will come again, but we need not to fear when we trust the Lord in every footstep. I know that prayer is essential to overcoming anything that is thrown our way. I feel like I need to talk about faith during this email because I have learned a lot about it and have grown a love for it. I think about the moments in my life when I have lacked faith and how lost I truly was. I always talk about this presentation called, "God's Plan for his Family," that we take people through. It is one of my favorite things to show people because, God loves all of his children and wants families to be together forever, not just in this life. At the end of the presentation there is a line that I reflect on a lot, " A light shall break forth among those that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fullness of my gospel." How powerful is that? Yeah I love it!!! How many of us are sitting in darkness, whether it be spiritual, mental, physical and we can't find the light? The gospel of Jesus Christ is the light at the end of the tunnel I know that with all my heart. When we have a eternal perspective on the things of this world, all the worry clears and we can see the light. It makes me reflect on one of my favorite hymns... "Be still my soul." How perfectly titled this song is to a lost soul and how simple yet complex this phrase is.

Be still my soul the LORD is on thy side
With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain
Leave to thy GOD to order and PROVIDE
In every change HE FAITHFUL will REMAIN
Be still my soul thy BEST thy heavenly friend
Through THORNY ways, leads to a JOYFUL end

Be still my soul thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as he has the past
Thy hope, thy confidence let NOTHING shake
All now mysterious shall be BRIGHT at last
Be still my soul the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below

Be still, my soul The hour is hast'ning on
when we shall be FOREVER with the Lord
When disappointment, greif and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, loves purrest joys restored
Be still, my soul when change and tears are past
All SAFE and blessed we shall meet at last.

I know that Heavenly Father hears every word we speak and that He is waiting to pour out the blessings of heaven if we will just pray.

Old people are so tender...
This old couple was just siting on the couch for like a hour seriously and just staring at everything. We were covering desk aka my favorite aka miracles always happen then! Well they started talking to me and the old lady had her arm around me and called my hunny ha. She was such an angel. Sister Rathgeber was talking to a New York couple ( perfect for her) Anyways I started to just tell them about how amazing the story of Joseph Smith was. I knew that they needed missionaries. I literally didn't even give them the choice I invited for missionaries, pulled out the card and smiled. I said I would love to send you a free DVD about the history behind it all. They felt the spirit for a small moment and they accepted. That was a tender mercy because it was pouring rain and NO ONE was on the square. That couple was only there for a short time but the spirit on temple square in undeniable to anyone that walks through those gates.

God does love all of his children...As you may have heard we had some visitors to the square on Thursday :) ... We were all safe we actually were sent home early with security and they closed temple square at 5:00pm. We had to go quietly so they wouldn't notice. There were 1,000 gay protesters circling the church office building. They laid down dressed in all black to symbolize the death of young gays. President Packer's talk really caused some people to have some harsh thoughts. I love and sustain President Packer(the President of the quorum of the 12 Apostles) and I know that he speaks on issues our Heavenly Father needs us to hear. I know that God does love all of his children and that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can overcome anything. We will have many people with this issue coming to temple square and we are advised to just love. And that's exactly how I feel just LOVE. Those who truly understood President Packer's talk have only LOVE in mind, although the world would interperate his talk as hateful.

I Love you all, I hope this email comforts those who may have a burdened soul at this time I just felt like this was important. I'm grateful for trials that make us stronger and I know that we have a Loving Heavenly Father and a Savior who knows exactly how we feel.
Phillipians 4:13

Love you all so so much Have an amazing week!
ps. They are changing stuff around right now on the square so if your thinking to come and visit you might not be able to find me and I would hate to miss you... November after transfers things will go back to normal!! :)

Love Sister Mettra

Oct 5

What up!!! True or false conference is literally the best time in the world...... TRUE!! I am so grateful that i was able to be so close to the prophet and apostles!! ....The spirit was so strong this weekend words literally can't express. Even the lovely protesters felt it I'm sure of it. I wanted to just stand on top of the conference center and sing! But I was to busy greeting our.... 100,000 guests haha literally I felt like I was in Tokyo on the streets... I've never been there ahha but I can imagine! Um how about conference is so intense and I loved every draining minute. I have never been so tired in my life honestly woke up at 6:00 on the square by 7:15 and walking all day till 9pm....I was able to go to the first session! President Monson bore a powerful testimony of how important missionary work is through members! ... That was truly inspired and I know that Heavenly Father was helping us reach our goal as a mission. It was bright sunny skies Saturday and Sunday and then Sunday night..... STORM... aka miracle. Our mission goal was 5,000 potentials. That means 5,000 non members we call personally and invite them to learn more about the gospel. On Sunday night we met together as a mission in the tabernacle at 9pm to total our numbers and have some words from President. WE DID IT.... actually more.... 5,683!!! Everyone was crying and screaming. I was so mentally, physically, emotionally drained that I wanted to fall over. My feet are blistered and my legs about to give out. I was literally falling asleep while walking. Best feeling in the world because i knew i worked as hard as I could with a smile!

I can't just sit here and not tell you about some amazing things the Lord allowed me to be apart of......

Poland angels

First things first, I love people from Poland. They are so humble and they are so prepared! We met this couple from Poland and some how I understood polish ha. We brought them to the statue of Jesus Christ and this women just started crying. The spirit was so strong and she knew that this was true. I told her that Jesus loved her so much that he died for her so she could return back to her father in Heaven. She was silent and she just looked into my eyes and said thank you thank you. And I love you in polish. I was so humbled to be apart of this moment. Missionaries in Poland will teach her and i know she will be baptized. I gave her a big hug and I wish i could be the missionaries to teach all the lessons. But this was just the seed :)

Real men wear Pink...

Oliver this cute little lad from London haha.... he was actually 24. I was walking towards him and I knew I had to talk to him so I stood in his way so he couldn't walk around me haha. I said hi where are you visiting from and he just smiled and said London. He had bought a one way ticket to the US. Hmmm not by chance! Well I didn't give him the choice to talk to me or not I just said come over here I would love to show you this building... ha. Sister R was laughing cause I was being so bold. And she said my eyes were sparkling in the sun. (tender) ... Well we brought Oliver down to scriptures and Revelations and he felt the spirit so strong. He was atheist... I tend to attract those. And I looked him in the eyes and said Oliver, I know that Heavenly Father is waiting to bless your life. I read Moroni's promise and told him that when he prayed he would feel more peace then he has ever felt before. I said Oliver I would love to send you a BOM and he just smiled and said I only have a phone number. And i said well that's perfect I will call you and find out where you are so missionaries can bring it to you.... Later some other sisters found him reading the book of Mormon. He was talking to him and said, Sister Mettra said that i would feel peace so i decided to start reading this now. :) Yeah that's right!! OLIVER ..... I am so grateful that I was able to speak and teach Oliver by the spirit. The Lord knows his Children.

Singing in the MIDDLE of the Square.....

Come on you knew it was coming haha.... We met two men Sister R was talking to one and I talked to the other in front of the flag pole. Bob started asking questions about the temple and why they were so important. I told him how amazing temples really are and why they are vital to return to our Father in Heaven. Then bob started asking me about the scriptures and what they meant to me. I read him Moroni's promise and told him it was just for him. I said you know Bob... You stopping here today was suppose to happen. Because you need to know that Heavenly Father loves you personally. He knows your heart he knows your struggle and he wants to help you. I would love to send you a BOM. He smiled and said yes. The other one asked me how I knew all this. And I told him that Heavenly Father answers our questions of the heart exactly how we need them to be answered. I talked about how music answers many questions of my soul. And I then felt like they needed to hear that. I sang I need thee every hour in the middle of temple square. Perfectly on pitch and with a pure testimony in my heart. People stopped to listen and I just kept smiling and singing. Bob had tears in his eyes. And after I just said, I know this is true. And he goes I can feel it! ........ YAY i love the spirit cause it teaches i don't do it!!

Sacrifice brings powerful moments...

This is short but i was telling these 3 ladies how I walked away from singing in Austria and the lead at school .. to be here right now. This lady was just balling her eyes out and she said God Bless you sweet heart. So many will be blessed from your heart. She was to overwhelmed with the spirit she didn't even know she was feeling it. She had to walk away. But i know that I went through that trial so others may understand how important this really is!

Just passing through for a convention.... Yeah right

Dee this little old angel here for a convention... Sister R was talking to the other women and I pulled this one aside teaching her about the temple. I read her 3 Nephi 11:15-16 she just looked up and said WOW I got goose bumps.... And then I just said to her Dee do you see how each soul is important to Jesus Christ?... You are so important and that's why you feel this way when you read the Book of Mormon. The spirit you feel right now is because you have a Savior that atoned for us so we could return to our father in heaven. She just sat their quietly and I told her I want to send her a gift that will change her life. And she accepted missionaries and a BOM :)

I love the gospel and I know that this is the only true church. General Conference brings a whole new light to the world. I prayed that I would be able to hear President Uchdoft and Holland.... And I was in the first session and Elder Holland was the first speaker.... Heavenly Father is listening keep praying.

The prophet Joseph Smith lived and died for his testimony of the restored gospel... "Shall we not go in such great of cause?"

I love you all. Thank you for all your prayers and support! This mission is incredible. And when I am so tired and worn I remember how important these moments are!

LOVE YOU

Sep 28th

Hello Everyone!

This week has been so rewarding and semi the hardest week on the mish so far ha. Don't you love how Heavenly Father just knows you so well! Uh how about I met angels this week and I wish i could teach them all the lessons and go to their baptisms!! Its so humbling to know that the Lord trusts me with each person I meet. And with these stories I think you will start to understand what I mean! BTW I am in denial about fall coming but when I meet people from Jersey Shore and they all have fake tans ahah it makes me see how seriously white I'm getting. But hey I have the NATURAL GLOW of the spirit and that's all that matters :) ( that was really good haha I give myself 5pts)

TENNESSEE WHAT UP!

This is for kira.... I met 2 young guys from KNOXVILLE TENNESSEE!! .... and more specifically Farrgut! Uh you should have seen my eyes I was so excited to talk to them. So I saw one of them and I went up and just started talking to him and he was really nice and ok fine he was pretty good looking ha. But that's not the point... I started to teach him about the BOM because he had all these bad things to say but that's because he had never been taught the truth. The spirit was so strong and I stood in between these tow guys and read Moroni's promise and said, When you pray Heavenly Father hears you. And I just started bearing my testimony about the gospel. One of them smiled and was like dude I have chills. And i said, dude its the spirit and this is real stuff. I would love to send a BOM home to you and have missionaries ( aka Durrant, Hoyt you Reading this!) come teach you more. They just smiled and said I would love a BOM i have never heard that Jesus Christ ever even came to the Americas. Then the other friend goes.... Well we are staying with our buddy tonight and he is a RM and he would love to teach us more and give us a copy i bet! Thank you so much for talking to us cause we are for sure going to talk to him .... NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I was so close.... but its ok the Lord heard all of this and I pray every night for Jared and Phil and for missionaries to find them! But I loved this story and had to share!.

I'm glad it rained...

So Sister R and I were covering the SVC desk so that means we greet people and if they have questions we can talk to them and stuff. So Sister R was talking to this man about the BOM and i saw this guy outside and i knew i had to talk to him... Well it starts POURING and he comes inside. He was about 6'4 scruff and looked like Bon Iver brek... ha so really cool! plus he had vans! Well I just smiled and welcomed him and I told him to go see the new temple display and come back and tell me what he thought. Well he came back and we started talking about life and what not ( building the teaching environment ha) And I found out he is a film editor and writer and musician ... Uh sureeee. So i felt prompted to talk about temple marriage for some reason so i did. And I remember thinking what the heck am i doing talking to this 25 yr old about eternal marriage ahha. But i kept going. The spirit was so strong and I felt so much peace talking to him. And he thought I was funny so obviously that made everything better ha. I taught him about what the Book of Mormon means to me and what it could do for him. I said I would love to send you one and missionaries to come teach you more. He smiled and accepted. After he filled out the card we started talking about how the Lord answers prayers and I don't him about the experience I had with music. How i feel so passionate about it and Heavenly FAther knows that. And so the Spirit testifies of it. He thought that was really cool. He thanked me for being so insightful and I told him it wasn't by chance we met. He just laughed and shook my hand and then i said bye........That night I prayed so hard for Jon. And that hw would be safe, because he was traveling alone cross country. The next morning guess who came back...... jon! I saw him again and he came back to thank me for the day before. He said that it was truly inspiring and life changing. He wanted me to give him my favorite scripture so he could have it when he got his own copy. I was so humbled because the lord let me meet Jon and he needed my testimony. He said remember how i told you I'm happy it rained.... well as I left there was a hail storm! I thought you would think that was cool. I don't know sister Mettra this trip has been really eye opening. And then he told me he was going through a divorce his wife just left. Now i know why I felt prompted to talk about temple marriage. He said sister Mettra you talk about marriage with such a sacred reverence and its really nice. And i said Jon when you find the person you love and treats you the way you should be and respects you for you... don't you want to spend eternity with them? The spirit was flooding out of this conversation. I will never forget Jon and he took a picture of me as one of the people that are life changing. Heavenly Father is mindful of his children and i know he sees Jon and his struggles. I'm just grateful i was able to be apart of it for a moment. Its times like this that help me understand the true call of a missionary. Temple Square is where I needed to be at this time so i could meet jon.

The prophet is peaceful....

We met a Man named Alanzo really nice black pastor from Oklahoma! He was so sweet and humble in everything he said. His wife was the same way and they just wanted to learn all about the church. We took them to Scripture Revelations and showed them a clip of jospeh smith he was taken back and felt the spirit. We asked him if he thought it was possible for a prophet to be on the earth today? And he said well i think so, the bible says that moses and Elijah will visit a prophet so i guess if that happened then yes..... Uh sister R and i just started at each other and smiled... as we taught him that event actually happened. He was so impressed and as we walked into the conference center he said, man I wish I was here next week so i could hear the prophet.....We said you can listen back at home! As we walked past a picture of Pres Monson.... he just stopped and said, there is something about that man he is so peaceful. I just feel good when I look at it. OK NOT KIDDING! this man was so prepared and he and his wife wanted a DVD about Joseph smith, the Book of Mormon and missionaries! It was one of the most amazing tours we have ever had.

Celebrating life!

Couple from Louisiana. He is celebrating the fact he survived cancer and they decided to take a trip out here. He was just tearing up at the end and wanted to hear more about the book of Mormon and how families can be together forever. The spirit prompted me to sing...... I need thee every hour. i sang and the assembly hall was empty and the spirit filled the room. Tears coming down their eyes they said, hunny you are an angel. And we said it wasn't be chance we met. I know we need the savior every hour of the day and he loves you so much. AMAZING

Beehives?

Canadian young guys come and want a tour of temple square. We gladly took them ha for some reason all of the sisters give me the young guys cause they cant focus...ha I don't get distracted for some reason. Well anyways we are walking to the Christis and they go hey our logo for our company is a beehive and we hear that the Mormons have that too? Where can we find out more about this ..... uh the Book of Mormon haha and we showed them and they thought that was really cool. ALL of the question they asked were answered in the book of Mormon.... We taught about the temple about 10 am outside of the temple. It was beautiful and peaceful... the spirit was so strong and i started into this guys eyes and told him marriage and families are for eternity. Sister R said he was literally staring into my soul and the spirit was so strong she almost started crying. They sadly denied the spirit and didn't accept missionaries but its ok ... but he has a book of Mormon and he said because of that moment he will open it up again. Powerful short moments is what stick with people!

Don't be afraid

Steven investigating the church 16yrs old. The missionaries sent him to us to take him around. Well we took him through Gods plan and he was a teenager with few words but he felt the spirit. We both testified that the peace he felt was the spirit telling him this is true..... and then the spirit took over and i said. Steven when the missionaries talk to you about getting baptized... Don't be afraid! You know this is true and Heavenly Father is waiting to bless your life. Baptism is just your first step.... It was so cool cause I felt like I was committing to baptism which i kinda was ahha!!

Last experience...

I was in the Tabernacle at music in the spoken word. And the choir sang a child's prayer.... The spirit was so strong i just started crying. No matter how small the prayer may be he HEARS you don't forget that!!.... in fact we met a man from Scotland that wanted missionaries because of the peace he felt during the song.... I LOVE the SPIRIT!

Well I love you all so so much and miss you! I sat a couple hundred feet away from the prophet on Saturday night during the relief society broadcast. And I know he is a Prophet. The power and message he shared was undeniable and I love him. I am so humbled that i had that opportunity and i will get to go to conference!!.... there will be thousands of people here!!

i love you all MISS YOU

LOVE SISTER METTRA

Remember...... When you trust God... you become fearless :)

Sep 21

Good Afternoon little loves!

Well here we are a week and a Day later! ... I'm in the north Zone now i think i told you that last week... but that means that my P-days are now Tuesday! Well this week has been slow to be honest, our numbers are getting a little less and less because people are going to school or something pshh ha. But that means... prime time for seniors and Germans!! We counted up our transfer numbers on Monday.... guess what! 83 referrals! That means 83 people closer to Christ with missionaries in their homes!! That is a miracle, people were telling us that is out of control no one ever gets that. But to me its all i know ha. Sister Rathgeber says its me because I'm so intense and become peoples favorite person. But its not its the Spirit.

Yesterday would pretty much be the most eventful day so I'm going to talk about that one! We started off with a tour with a man that literally knew more about opera and the gospel then me ha. Aka we were meant to meet each other. I told him some of my favorite operas and he made me sing a little. The only thing he was missing about the gospel, were the basics... that's where i come :) I was telling him about book of Mormon stories and how it all came back to us today. He kept asking me why i wasn't singing in Germany and i said because Jim this is really really important... He felt the spirit really strong and he couldn't deny it. He wants a book of Mormon to read more.

Run away Nun

Yep that's right we met a nun of 17 years she left the convent a couple years ago because she wanted a new life. She was so sweet and humble though so she didn't bible bash even though she knew more then i did. What she didn't know was about the temple and how important families are. She was so impressed and tears came in her sweet blue eyes as we taught about temples. She didn't refer for missionaries but that's OK because we planted a seed!! Oh and BTW I sang to her because she asked me to, amazing grace. As i sang ( picture this ha) I'm standing in front of the temple and shell fountain, the sun parts through the clouds and the wind blows my hair back! uh thank you Heavenly Father!

Barking Humans

This might not be as funny to you.... but it was really funny to me. We were waiting to cross the street to the conference center and i was talking to my comp and all of the sudden this Indian women came around the corner and talked in my ear! Ha i was so scared i literally barked at her in a scream haha. And she jumped it was seriously so funny I was almost crying.

I love black people

This man came with his wife... he was 75 she 81 Oldies but goodies... Well after we taught about temples and the Book of Mormon... jim told me that he had read the entire bible! And so i read him Moroni's promise and he said, The good Lord saved me for some reason because the rest of my family died. And I just promised him that his will bring him the questions of his soul. .. He is having missionaries :)

Seniors Rule

A tour of 35 old ladies and gentleman came on a little walk around temple square with us. I love big tours because i get to tell stories! Well this was more like a press conference ahah. We were in the tabernacle and these people all had 5 questions each and all were deep doctrine haha. It got to the point where I was taking half of the group and sister R took the other half. One of them even asked if I knew the lords prayer. And don't doubt I re sited the entire thing catholic? thanks dad? haha She said that's nice you know other religions other then your own haha . And i just smiled cause i laterally had no idea what i was talking about haha. Then their tour guide stood up and started preaching about the building telling historical facts and all of the old people were falling asleep. I tried really hard not to laugh but i couldn't help it haha. But in the Assembly hall is where the spirit came. We taught about the BOM and Joseph Smith aka my favorite. And the prompting just came.... sing Jenna. So I most definitely sang and again a light came in the windows and it was complete silence. Everyone was crying and we got like 5 referrals. it was a tender mercy.

Conference is coming soon and I'm so so excited!!!

I love you all so so much thank you for everything.

Remember... " all our loses will be made up, If we are faithful"

Joseph Smith

And when things get hard I pray for a song to come into my head that will help ease the burdens... And clear as a bell the other day this one line appeared... Fear not I am with thee oh be not afraid. Heavenly Father hears your prayers! Keep praying!

I LOVE YOU ....... AHHH i miss everyone!!

Two of my best friends came to show me their left hand..... Jennie marie Jackson... and alissa Manning!! I love them and I'm happy/ so sad I wont be there!!

Love sister Mettra

Sep 13

Dearest Family!

Oh my stars where to begin this week, words can't express all that has happened in only a week span It is truly incredible. The Lord has sent many prepared people this week and I was privileged enough to be an instrument in his hands. We have met people from New Zealand, Switzerland, Hatti, Germany, France, Holland, China, Irvine ha pretty much everywhere ... and lets not forget the south! I love people from the south... especially the funny black ones, i literally plan for them ha :) Unfortunately this week I didn't have as much time on the square as i would have hoped for. My body decided to hate me and I got bronchitis and a really bad cold/ kinda flu. I was in bed for an entire day with FYI is never allowed in the temple square mission. But my Zone leaders saw that i was trying to fake it and act like i was ok when in reality, i was dying ha. I was so sick, like the same sick I was in the fall almost ha minus the heart monitor. But Wednesday I decided I was going to just not be sick even though it took everything out of me. Mom I could have used some of your soup ha. Even though my body ached with every step, I kept smiling and here are some of the Miracles that I was rewarded with.:)

Wednesday night Krystal Osborne came to temple square to see alyssa and I!!! It made me so so happy I will send pictures because we are literally twins. So we were walking out of a conference room when this College Soccer team walks into the SVC. One of the sisters motioned for me to come over to the desk and said, " Sister Mettra your good with this kind of stuff will you take them cause we are to nervous." Ha nervous cause they were a GUYS soccer team. I gladly accepted ha and my companion just started laughing because she knew i was happy they thought of me. So we took 25 Soccer players around temple square and taught them about the gospel. I'll admit many of them were looking at their cell phones and not paying attention. But I started making jokes so they thought i was kinda funny so they started paying attention. At the end we broke up in smaller groups and invited for missionaries to teach them more. 2 Of the guys with me accepted and the coach ( 23 yrs) Just started laughing at me. And said first they have you read, then they want you to come to church. And I turned and said, " oh really coach so sassy, you know you want the Book of Mormon too."....ha ... he accepted :) Then sister Rathgeber told them i was an opera singer... Uh great! They said i had to sing for them ha it was about 8:45pm no one on the square standing in front of the temple. They got the other members of the team and all made a circle around me and waited for me to sing. Ha 35 guys arms around each other looking at the temple as i sang nearer my god to thee. ( the only thing my voice would sing) ... They swayed and snapped along one tried to even make beats to it ha. The spirit was so strong they couldn't deny it. So mark that down in history I sang for the sterling Soccer team from Kansas ha. Sister Rathgeber was like " only with you sister Mettra would that ever happen ha."

We are here for certain people...

We met this women Elle from Arizona. She was traveling with her husband and was so interested with everything the church had to offer. We took her to the NVC and showed her the Christs she was blown away and couldn't express what she was feeling... aka the spirit. She was asking me some questions and my comp was talking to her husband. She said honey you explain things so well I understand everything. After walking around for a while she wanted to go to the humanitarian center. We were walking out and she said I know I was suppose to meet you Sister Mettra thank you. I agreed and told her I knew it wasn't by chance. The next day we saw her again and she was enthralled with the Temple display and wanted to know everything. She said she had filled out one of the cards we had so I thought she already accepted missionaries. Um when I asked her again she said oh no i don't want anyone coming to my house. I was so confused, she wanted to know everything but she didn't want to hear it from anyone else. I told her to just accept it and be open. ha aka COME ON! again she said no.... I said you know what Elle.. you came back today cause the lord is trying to tell you something. You know that this is true and I know you will get baptized. Ha spirit said it not me! She was taken back and just said, really? And I said Elle I can promise you, that you will go to the temple one day with your husband. She said well we will see then. I said no I know you will, and she told me she would write me a letter when that happens! Ha The spirit has a way of being blunt even when I didn't want to be ha.

Miami gueedos ( brek you know how to spell that ha from jersey shore)

This last experience will not be one I will soon forget. We were standing outside of the tabernacle waiting for music in the spoken word to get out on Sunday morning. A man came up to me and asked where he could get a tour. He was a member but had work friends that were not. We gladly started showing them around. At first i couldn't read these guys, they all had crosses so i knew they believed in Jesus Christ but I didn't quite know their needs yet. As we were walking downstairs in the NVC i was talking to one of them named Sean. He looked about 28 maybe and he was married. We started talking about families and how they can be together forever and he goes, yes so happy I got married later in life. And i said what your like 28 ish. he said... Uh I'm 42 hahaha WHAT I hit him ha oops I was like stop being weird you are not 42. He was but he looked really really young. Anyways that was a side note. At the end of the tour for some reason the spirit just ran over my body talking about September 11th. As I poured out my heart and soul to these guys they were tearing up. I said the BOM brings me so much comfort word cant even express. I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers, and I would love to send you a BOM back home to Florida where missionaries can teach you more. ALL of them EXCEPTED the missionaries. I was in a different world honestly I can't even remember what i said. Then when we were saying goodbye, Sean says sister mettra that was incredible and just grabs me and gives me a huge hug like a bear hug haha and kisses me on the cheeck ha I didn't know what to do. As the rest of them did the same haha. All the sisters were just looking at me ha I can't help if they feel the spirit ha! You should have seen my face I was so thrown off. Sean said, I felt it thank you:)

Couple from NYC

This couple from NYC was so funny ha I can't even explain. The husband had a thick new york accent and was amazed by everything and anything he saw. His wife just rolled her eyes and laughed at most of what he said. They were 26 and had a little puppy all blinged out ha. We took them through Gods Plan and the spirit was so strong, they slowly became interested about learning more. They said that they were on a spiritual journey right now traveling all over the country.... GOOD STOP! ha Sister Rathgeber and I bore powerful testimony of why this message is so important. They are excited to have missionaries come teach them back at home. They were so grateful we stopped and talked to them and said there must be a reason why. Then the husband gives me a big hug and says thank you for everything hahah WHAT is the deal all of the guest just hug me haha. It just makes me laugh to look at the sisters around me!

Well there are more stories to share but until next week!

I love you all so much and you are in my prayers .... ps this morning was transfer conference ... I'm staying with sister Rathgeber! .... but moving to the NORTH ZONE!! aka I will be in the North visitors center!! yay!! I'm so excited... oh and alyssa.... Sister Lamprecht was just made.. AP. WOW and kathryn... aka Sister Moore is coming on wednesday and I can not wait!

I love you all!! Miss you so much!!!!

Love Sister Mettra

Sep 6

Dearest Family,

I believe that this heading for an email is perfect for my lovely week haha. Lets be honest I love football and i act like I know what I'm talking about when I meet people who play! This week Pittsburgh played the U and UW played BYU. So we had many visitors!! Lets start by saying... people are so interesting and apparently i find the strangest people possible. This week has been very interesting with many ups and downs that is the truth! First of all... i feel a chill in the air aka ew its getting colder aka I think coat shopping might need to happen soon. We had so many people from all over the world and I loved it!! I try to stand in any possible sunlight to get tan.. its fading:( And I'm starting to get whiter which is NO BUENO. I am learning so much about the gospel its hard to really explain it all. For studying I have to know.. All of the history behind temple square itself, then all about the buildings, then the legacy of the pioneers, and then oh the entire bible, oh and don't forget the Book of Mormon please! Its a lot to study and honestly I don't know half of anything ha but I'm leaning every day a little more!

I was shocked when these two things came out of my mouth... we were taking around this guy with some elders for a tour. He is from Japan and he is interested in the church... now the Elders didn't tell us anything about him or where he is in his spiritual journey so it was purely by the spirit we knew what to say and where to go. We went down stairs in the NVC to talk about prophets and the cycle through out time. This man believed in the bible so we used to bible when talking about prophets. We came to a Scripture on the wall from John 14:26 " But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." I felt very strongly to share this scripture and then I asked him, what he thought it all meant. He replied well if we are trying to go to heaven maybe we will need to know things for the future? I then said .." see how it says that he will bring all things to your remembrance?" That means that he knew us before. In Jeremiah 5 it talks about before i formed thee in the belly i knew thee, that means that we lived with our Father in Heaven before this life and when we feel the spirit it feels familiar like something we knew already. He just stared at me as did the elders with big eyes, as did my trainer with a smirk. I literally didn't know how that had come out of my mouth... it was all purely through the spirit. As we walked into the next room one of the elders just looked at me and whispered Thank you! I felt so good after that tour I knew the spirit was working through me and that I wasn't alone. At the very end I said... When you read the Book of Mormon and pray with all your heart, you will feel the same way your feeling right now. And you won't be able to deny it.... again silence and the man couldn't speak he just said thank you i will. It was so intense but i knew the spirit was the teacher in that moment! I would have never said any of that before the mish... let alone would i have been able to explain it in such a way.

Dean Lovewell.... Is a legit angel. He was standing by the construction of the temple and the minute i saw him i just walked right over. My comp didn't want to go over to him cause lets just say... he was very good looking haha. I just smiled big and told him all about the temple, he was so nice 24 here for a business trip. We started taking him around the different buildings and getting to know him. Dean had no religion and all he did was work. We went inside of the assembly hall and i started telling a pioneer story that the spirit led me to bridge to my testimony. Dean was literally staring into my soul ha it was so intense as I just bore out my heart pretty much. Telling him how this book would comfort him when life gets hard. Then I invited him... i said Dean can we send you a copy of the Book of Mormon back home in Pittsburgh?... he just smiled and said i would actually like that. He is excited missionaries are going to come teach him more. Umm we were only with him 20min it was amazing! He was like.. I'm glad you came and talked to me.. and i said me too. HAND SHAKE goodbye and he was on his way:) ! I wasn't flirting if that's what you were thinking... RUDE I'm on a mission pshhhh.

This is a story of a man named nick... he is the clipper for the Pittsburgh panthers...and grown men DO cry

We met nick and his other friends around a painting in the SVC. We started talking to them and saw they were decked out for the game against the U hah.And me being me i pretended to know everything there was to know about football and what a clipper does ha. I was smiling so big cause I legitimately had no idea what i was talking about haha. But it worked cause they let us take them around. There were about 7 men all around 40 and they were football guys if you can picture that. As we took them around.. i noticed that Nick was more of a one on one kinda guy... so naturally I took him under my wing. He started asking questions about the temple and what it all meant. I told him how marriages are for time and all of eternity... He was really impressed. But as time went on and we talked about Joseph smith he thought that probably wasn't possible to have such authority. In the Tabernacle we talked about general conference and then he had many questions about us and missionaries in general. His eyes got so big when we talked about how we are sent all over the world, he was like " Uh no God wouldn't let women just wonder the streets of Spain without a man or protection." I said of coarse not... missionaries have God as their protection. He didn't quite understand that but I saw his heart start to soften. He then I told my comp to go in front and I would walk behind with Nick. We talked all about the church and life and what it all meant. He was a very big family man and loved his family and children so much. He was stuck on the fact that no man has greater authority then another. I prayed with all my heart to know what this man needed to hear. Clear as day it came in a question, he said " sister mettra what about your family? How are they?.. tears in my eyes i said you know Nick .. not so good to be honest. He got really angry for a moment telling me I needed to be home and I shouldn't have left my family.... He then said, sorry this must mean a lot to you if your out here huh, I'm so sorry to hear about your family. I stood tall and said something i will never forget... " Nick the reason why I am here today, my purpose on this mission...Is to spend time away from my family so YOU can spend ETERNITY with YOURS." Tears started forming in this mans eyes. I said nick you can know this for yourself. We started talking about the authority and I said, I have had a blessing from my father with that authority when I was sick and I was healed. Nick then walked aways from me crying he couldn't hold it in any longer. I said nick you love your family so much the Melchizedek priesthood is such a powerful thing a man can have. And you can protect your family with God on your side. He sat down and we were both crying... all of his friends were just staring at us along with my comp.... I invited for missionaries to come teach him more and bring the Book of Mormon... he filled out the card and said we will see what happens when they come to my house. It was such a miracle I have never felt the spirit like that before. I knew i needed to have the trials I've been through to help me express my true feelings. i will never forget this man and I pray that he will be baptized... In fact I'm pretty sure he will be.

Last but not least.... the couple from Russia! They were so cute and they spoke very good English. The wife's brother was a member but her husband had never heard anything about this church. They were only a couple years older then us and here we were answering lives deepest questions. I want to tell you the whole story but i will tell you the part that sent chills down my spine. After teaching them for sometime we took them to a display that had a book of Mormon in Hungarian and Russian. We let the husband hold and read through the Hungarian copy... I felt impressed to read the promise so I had him turn with me in his book to Moroni 10:4 and read along... he could not speak he was silent and so was she... we invited for him to have his own copy in his language... he said yes he would. Then we were walking into one last room and these men asked sister R a question so I took the couple into a room and showed them a clip from Elder Nelson on prayer... after words I couldn't help but have tears in my eyes. I said mike and daria you love each other you want to be together forever... open your heart and read this book together. I promise that when you do this and pray together with a sincere heart you will know this is true. The spirit was so strong it was just me and this couple. they both thanked me so much and I know that they will accept the gospel.

Its stories like this that keep me going and help me love my mission. I was reading my patriarchal blessing and it says that i will touch many hearts... Heavenly father needed me hear to talk to hearts from all over the world this work is the most important on the earth and I'm started to feel that everyday. I hope you all paid close attention to that last line in the story... the definition of a missionary is one that spends time away from their family so others can spend eternity with theirs! Its true

i love you all I'm praying for you!!

Love sister Mettra