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! .....