Feed my sheep

Dearest Love ones of Mine.....

Well here I sit another transfer has gone by and time is going by so fast. I'm entering now my 8th transfer Yikes!! We had an amazing mission meeting this morning that helped me understand yet again how important this work is. My heart is full of gratitude to the Lord at this time for all of the tender mercies I have seen this week. There were moments this week that I prayed for help and strength and in that moment it came. I would like to start my thoughts in reflecting on this transfer and springing forward to the next that lies ahead. I have been studying a lot lately of the life of Christ, his final moments, his teachings everything. And I was reflecting of who i would be in the last moments of the Savior. Would i be bold and testify who he was? Elder Holland spoke to missionaries in January at the MTC and we watched a little of it today. He said, " You need to be the best missionaries this church has ever had." We are in a war against the powers of Satan and we have to be valiant in all things so that we have the spirit as a shield. He brought our attention to the words of the savior... " if you love me feed my sheep." He asked Simon Peter 3 times because its that important, and if we really loved him that's what we would do. I am so grateful at this time to be a missionary to wear his name on my heart and teach his lost sheep. I love the Savior I love him so much he is my best friend, my brother, my savior and i will serve him until my last breath why?.... Because I Love him and in so doing i will feed his sheep.

I want to share an amazing miracle we saw this week... Adam

Adam was my RC call about 3 weeks ago and although he had heard many things about the church, none of it was true. He is a baseball star to say the least and is originally from Canada but now living here for school. He said that he would come for a tour, and i was so excited!! He had cancelled twice but the spirit said try again. I'm very sensitive to the spirit when it comes to people like this, because God would never give up on his children and i feel the same until prompted otherwise. Well he came and I was able to meet him, to look him in the eyes and tell him how much this gospel has blessed my life and who the Savior is to me. Thomas a member that actually gave me his number came with him and the most powerful thing happened. We were sitting in the conference center and Thomas turns around and pours out his heart to Adam and helps him understand what this means to him and why he was sharing it. I cried the whole time because I know Thomas has struggled in his testimony as well. The spirit was so strong and i was able to testify to Adam that his family would be together forever. For the first time I was looking in the eyes of someone i had found and taught. I was so grateful for that moment in time I want this for him more then anything and I'm looking forward to teaching him!

Its MotorCoach time!!...

You know what that means... 345734503945 people touring and me becoming super crazy and having nutts stories because I'm so excited for summer/ to tell the history ha. This week we took a dutch motor coach and I about died haha these old men would surround us and tell us we were very pretty haha. Then the women would ask a million questions! There were 45 on that tour and when we got the the Christus I just lost it. I could barely make it through my sentence cause the spirit was so strong as i bore my testimony on Jesus Christ, the whole room went silent and i poured my heart out to these guests that had come so far as families. Although none of them accepted a Book of Mormon or missionaries, they will never forget the spirit they felt.

Speaking of MotorCoaches ha.... My new assignment for next transfer....

Well president took me aside this week before transfer conference and pretty much told me everything i was doing ha which he never does. They said this was the hardest choice they had to make. I guess the brotheren are worried about who will be in charge of all the guests at the West Gate and VIP tours .... Well that is my assignment its bigger then being over a zone or district, I'm over the ENTIRE SQUARE. They are white washing it right now and I'm in charge of all tours for the summer, I talk with the tour guides, VIP services. If they have a problem it goes to me then to the APs. Ha no pressure, they called me in their office today and said, Sister Mettra we trust you with everything, God needs you here right now, with the summer coming we need your leadership, personality, and diligence to be the feet of the mission. If west gate fails, so does the square... hmm no pressure! ha so my new comp is sister Albyeta she is from Chino hills CA haha not to far so it will be good!

Time will tell.....

I have been trying to call this guy named Junior for 3 months now and we have never been able to talk. The Lord again helped me understand that I shouldn't give up at all. Today this morning i talked to him and now i know why the Lord had me wait. His heart is softened and he is getting married to a Mormon girl next year. The conversation wasn't long but I taught him about repentance and how much God loves him and wants him to make this step so he can receive more blessings. I felt the spirit so strong when all of the sudden this quote came to my mind... " The pain of sacrifice lasts only a moment, its the fear of the pain of sacrifice that makes us not want to do it." Silence swept the phone and i knew at that moment that is exactly what Junior needed, i committed him to pray to know Gods will and promised he would give him an answer. See only 8 minutes and this mans life will change forever. Because he will come to understand that a temple marriage is what he needs.

" Even if you can not always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can. For he is the very source of Light you seek. He does love you and he knows your fears. He hears your prayers, he is your Heavenly Father and surely he matches with his own the tears his children shed." - Elder Holland

I love you all you are never alone!

Love Sister Mettra

miracles

Dearest Babes...

Well this week has literally been a roller coaster of emotion. Ha I feel like I'm in a glass case of emotion ha.. maybe only funny to me whateves ha.... I have seen the Lord work miracles and right after Satan creep in and put his two cents in. I was pretty use to rejection before my mission, welcome to the entertainment world ha so I thought eh I'll be fine when people reject it but this week proved to me that there is such thing as Godly sorrow and I felt a lot of it. There are days where everyone tells you that your going to hell and what your doing doesn't matter but when it turns into many days sometimes it hurts. I asked myself, " Jenna what is your motivation, why do you keep going?"... My answer came through the spirit ... Miracles give you the motivation to push through the hard moments, Look ahead because your destiny and the miracles are right in front of you. Those words came out of my mouth and I wasn't thinking that in my mind, I was thinking of the Savior. But its so true pushing forward even when the road ahead is dark or clouded with uncertainty, I know that we are not alone because the Lord has been there. I thought about my moments of sorrow this week while listening to, The Lamb of God which btw everyone needs to listen too. But the song when Peter denies the Savior and he feels Godly sorrow, I realized how I would never want that moment to come upon me. So even when everyone says no and that I'm a failure, I can hold my head high and smile because I know that this is true and I don't walk alone. I testify boldly and with my whole heart that Jesus is the Christ the son of God and I will never deny that. I can not because I've seen his miracles in the eyes of the lost souls I find. Just think in your life, what motivates you? What keeps you going? I promise your answer will come in your own way cause God loves you and wants to help you.

God loves us so much that he has restored the priesthood back to the earth through a prophet! Sunday marked the 182 anniversary of the aaronic priesthood being restored. How grateful I am for the power of the priesthood and that through it, we can receive saving ordnance. And when talking to a group of young men and their mission prep class, tears filled my eyes looking at them and I was overwhelmed with gratitude for their choice to serve a mission. We need men to serve. why? Because without them baptism isn't possible and in that moment it all made sense to me why they encourage young men to go. I'm so grateful that the priesthood was restored at this time, and that I can receive the blessings of it. Men anyone who is reading this, do whatever you can to be worthy of the priesthood we need you. I have such a strong testimony of what that power really is, it changed my life. I'm so grateful for my brother and father that have that priesthood to bless our family. Every time I think about blessings I have received from it, I tear up because I know the Lord gave me that blessing. For those of you reading this and don't know what I'm talking about, ask me and I will explain.

Fabio breaks my heart!

Well we met these two young Swiss guys and they were so tender. Fabio and I just hit it off right away cause we are both musicians and love music and everything. Well we quickly realized that neither him or Lincoln believed in anything let alone God. As the tour went on Fabio would open up as we would walk and ask little questions here and there. Then we went to the conference center where miracles always happen as they walked in their eyes were so big and all they said was wow! We started to explain what happened inside, that a prophet of God speaks to the World. They thought that was cool but didn't really catch them as much as the building itself did. Sister Dantas bore her testimony of prayer, Sister Andersen about The Book of Mormon, and I felt the spirit lead my words to speak about the night I found God. Alone in my car one night while it was raining I asked if God was there, and through music my prayers were answered. Tears started streaming down my face because in that moment standing there, the memories and feelings came fleeting back into my heart. I couldn't speak my emotions were to strong, i looked up and Fabio had his hand on his heart he could feel it. I told him I know God loved them and I saw Fabio swallow big. I then decided to sing and it was almost like I wasn't there, I was back in my car. Fabio just smiled and again put his hand on his heart. We invited and Fabio looked at me and said you have a voice of an angel, but I don't think I need God........

Convention thought we would see the sights...... ya right!

We met this huge group from well all over the place and they were here for some crazy convention. Haha I'm laughing even typing this cause how funny these people were. I went into my crazy mood where everything was funny and my jokes were really good ok haha. Mike was the funniest one and he thought it would be a good idea for him to stand on the stage of the conference center and preach haha. He started walking down there and we were like well you can go to this point but not past it ha. He yells like he is about to sing... " I Bet the acoustics of this building are amazing." Hahah he was like talk singing and we were laughing so hard. Then they stopped the lady playing the piano and asked her to play stairway to heaven haha. They were NUTS, and to top it off they said now sing how great tho art! ... Um ok? I did next to the piano and it echos omg you kinda had to be there but it was funny.

How did you know?

I spoke to a girl this week named Hannah and the RC call was amazing, I really felt that I was suppose to talk to her that day. We started talking about why there is a God, how I knew and how she could know. The conversation switched really fast when I felt she needed to know that she was a daughter of God. We started talking about how people see women today, not the same as God does. Well she goes, how did you know? Ha I literally just got back from Ireland and you called. I had been holding onto her card for a while waiting for her to come back. Well She said yes to the Book of Mormon and everything and I was so excited to teach her. Cause for the first time in a while, I felt like I needed to talk to her. Well sadly 3 days later I get a text saying pretty much never mind. Just like with Fabio my heart hurt. Not cause I was discouraged or depressed but because they were so close. We will see what happens, at least I can say the spirit led that conversation, and one day she will remember how she felt.

Light...

At least three guests this week that did not refer, told us that we have a certain light about us. Its in your eyes girls, and like in your smile to? One of them goes really your teeth are white and your all happy what is it? ha we explained of course.

Hungary!

We took people around from Hungary/ Romania and it was amazing. They were all so old and really funny aka my favorite cause I can joke with them! Well in the conf center= miracles again... I felt prompted to speak about prayer and that's how you can know if the Book of Mormon is true, well I sang did you think to pray and no Joke the old man starts singing with me and they started crying it was amazing. I loved them! We will teach one of them which I'm sooo happy about!

Rob.. PTSD

We met this guy and he was totally inactive sadly due a lot to war, but as we talked I knew I needed to talk to him. He was this HUGE guy like 6'9 and like a biker dude. Well I wasn't afraid I made jokes with him and everything. He said he couldn't believe in God after what he saw and it was so sad. We showed a clip of Elder Holland and the atonement of the Savior. He started to tear up but was nervous to share emotion. Well Sister Andersen took the girl and I started talking to Rob. Long story short.. we were talking about when he lost his faith and I looked up to him with big eyes and pointed to him and said YOU MISS THIS. So loud ha I was embarrassed but whateves it needed to be said. I said don't deny what you feel you aren't dead yet be the man you read about in your Patriarchal blessing. Um ok ha really bold of me but he accepted it and said, your right I believe. I committed him to pray again! It was amazing/ really scary cause he probs could kill me ha.

Well Love you all! Next week are transfers so hold on tight!

Love Sister Mettra

May 9

Dear Loves...

This week has gone to show me that, nothing is impossible with the Lords help... and a little Sunshine :) Well I'll say it, I miss my ocean and sunshine but it makes me more grateful when the sun does come! I'm feeling better since last week and know that only through the Lords help am i really where i am. I know that a good attitude and faith can endure anything that come our way. When i was studying this week i really came to understand how much the Lord loves each and every one of us. Although we are not even close to perfect, he teaches us with love. I came across this quote this week and really love it,

"Pause to ponder the suffering Christ felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. In the awareness of the depth of gratitude for him, you appreciate every opportunity to show your love for him by diligently serving in his church."- Elder Bushe

And it has made me understand now, how utterly alone the Savior was during the moments in the garden.... But he was alone so we would never have to be. And how grateful i am for that in my life especially on a mission. I love my Savior and all he did for me because no matter what happens to me I know I don't walk alone in this work.

Kieth

i had an RC phone call this week that helped me see really that the spirit will tell you exactly what you need to say if you will let him. As i started to talk to Kieth he talked about how he was a strong catholic and everything but as the minutes past he started to soften up little by little. I finally found what he needed, to know that God was really there. He said you know Jenna, i wish i knew God more you seem to really know him. And I said the phrase that comes into my mind often, "I always believed that there was a God but it wasn't until i got down on my knees and asked till i knew." The spirit pressed a pause and he said, that was the most beautifully worded sentence i have ever heard. I said Kieth I'm calling to tell you that God loves you and he wants you to know him. He wants to bless your life, will you let him? .... We will be teaching him this week :)

Angels on the Square...

Sister Andersen and I received the pleasure of being at the desk for a little bit this week! My Favorite!! Cause when people walk into temple square, you are the first people they see. Aka you better be excited to see them, as i am :). Well Joan and Berry were talking to us a couple from Australia and they said when they walked around here they just felt peace. And they wondered what it was? We were able to bare or testimonies about the pioneers and of coarse tears came to my eyes as they always do when i speak about the Savior or the pioneers, well in general the gospel. But as i was testifying Joan says, your heavenly almost like an angel, hunny do you see that glow. Its the way you speak and your eyes just light up. And sister Andersen and i were able to tell them why we were different. That was an amazing moment where i really felt the lord magnify us.

Indie guys on the bikes.....

We were walking across the conference center back to the square and i was like oh sorry sorry cause i was in their way and he goes your fine your fine..... wow you are fine hahhahahha i was laughing so hard I almost tripped.

Miracles surround the Temple

Sister Andersen and i tried to something a little different then we usually do, and that was to walk on the grounds of the temple in the early evening to find some people. Well we saw these three guys and we kinda were following them ha but its ok to be creepy sometimes we are just helping with salvation haha. So my comp was like no Sister Mettra they saw us, and i said so what ha lets go. She was embarrassed so i just put on my smile and started talking to them. They wanted a picture all together so we took their picture and they were so funny especially TONY. So tony was this young black guy from TN! And he was visiting his friends here from the army. Tony was baptist the other two have been inactive since they were 14 pretty much. As we started teaching about the temple the spirit was so strong and i knew that this would be a miracle. Half way into the tour tony said, wow this place is heavenly! We felt the spirit prompt for the conference center which i love! .. We talked about prophets and what it means that we really have a prophet today! They took a seat at the very top and my heart started beating so fast. I saw for just a moment how much God loved each of these young men. They had all been to war and served their country well, but all had broken spirits wounded in the battle of life. As We stood there I told them i would like to share a hymn with them. They got so excited and all sat there and one i saw a tear come down Tim's face. The spirit overcame all of us i couldn't speak this truly was a song of the heart trying to heal the wounds of these men. We invited Tony to learn more about the restored gospel and he said yes! He then looked at me and sad something I'll never forget, he said... Sister Mettra you will never know how many lives you have touched through that voice. And you will never know how your message is received, thank you for sharing, thank you.

Opium?

Some guy was just walking past us on the square and told us how to make our own personal opium stash hahahah how thoughtful?

Swedish Babes

We found some Swedish babes with tats at the flag pole and decided that they needed a little tour! As we took them around we quickly learned.... they didn't know anything about God. I've never testified so bodily of the power of God before. At the christus after playing the narration in Swedish, I know that God loves you so much that's why he brought you here to salt lake city to be right here in this room. I felt my face and my spirit just glow because i could feel the Lord by my side speaking with me everything I said the spirit double testified. We will teach them in a couple of weeks!!

Youth Conference..

I was privileged to be asked to sing at a youth conference this week and Sister Ching and i came up with an arrangement with did you think to pray and Joseph Smiths first prayer! it was amazing i wish you were all there. I haven't felt the spirit testify while I'm singing so strongly in a long time. My heart was pounding fast and i knew that this was exactly what many needed to hear in that room including me. Before singing i was able to bare my testimony of how the power of prayer is real and that's what led me here!

Well as always there is much more to say but i must say goodbye now with a thought.....

Don't look behind you to your past because your destiny is right in front of you... are you looking at it?

Love you all!

Love Sister Mettra

All is well

Hello Loves!

This week has been quite a interesting one and this email may be a little shorter then others but all is well! This week i had to take a little midnight stroll to the ER. Not the greatest thing to start off with but none the less has to be addressed. Wednesday i started to feel really dizzy and sick but kept working, and then Thursday nothing was getting better just worse. My DR wanted me to go to the ER for blood tests and everything and i said nah i will just keep working. Well that day i went to stand up after taking a nap and fell right back down and gravity took over the rest ha. Sister Andersen said i was passed out in my bed for like 2 hours. I became a little nervous and decided to be humble and just go even though i didn't feel like it. Well after being checked into the ER i was on a IV and blood tests right away. 12am,1am,2am the Doctor came in and said all looked pretty normal but felt like we needed to also do a EkG. Ten min later he comes in very concerned that i had abnormal Twave inversions? i don't know medical people you can figure that out. But pretty much i didn't have enough oxygen getting to my heart and he said if i was a 50 year old male he would think i was having a heart attack haha comforting... Well 3am we finally got home and i was drained and went to sleep. The next morning they took me back to the hospital to have a stress test of my heart super fun! All these wires hooked up to me running on a treadmill and a echo. They aren't quite sure still whats wrong everything thing looks fairly normal .... so I'm a mystery case aka totally normal to me haha. But through all of this I remember one of my favorite hymns....

" Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard? Tis not so all is right! Why should we think to earn a great reward, if we now shun the fight? Gird up your loins fresh courage take, our God will never us forsake and soon we'll have this tale to tell all is well, all is well." As i continue to fight and smile through the bumps the Lord will be right by my side, all is well :)

A miracle in the mess...
David we met on chat and he had many theories about the church ha aka not true! But he could feel the spirit as we testified to him that God loved him and that this really could bless his life.... He accepted missionaries in...... IRELAND!! We taught him 2 days ago and look forward to speaking to him again!!

God loves your Daughter
We had a little tour yesterday with Elders and their investigators! My favorite cause the spirit is always there, this man was so shy with his wife and baby but they were so humble to learn. They had brought the family to church that day and the Elders were able to give a baby blessing! I looked at the father and said, do you know that blessing came from God? He said i dint know.... words cant express how i felt during that blessing. And I said, " God loves your daughter so much that he brought back his authority through a boy named Joseph Smith, so that you could have that moment." He just smiled and kinda put his head down the spirit was so strong and he is excited to learn more from these Elders!! YAY!

I know that I'm not perfect and still have a lot to improve on. But what i do know is that when we humble ourselves before the Lord, we can learn a lot in the midst of a "rough patch." ha I think I've learned to love them cause A I can learn a lot, B something good is coming around the corner if i keep the faith!

I love being a Missionary and how much joy it brings to the world. And I've really learned how far a smile can go, even when the road ahead looks a little grey!

Love you Alll :)
Sister Mettra