7 November 2016 - "You've been here FOREVER!"

^^^ That's something that a BYUI student said when he saw me.  I don't know who he is.  Maybe it has been forever...?

So this past friday night, we spoke at a stake conference.  It was actually the same stake and stake president that I HAD when I was a student.  It was great - Pres and Sis Vickery (1st counselor in the mission presidency) also came and we all spoke about the new skype initiative happening at BYUI, where students can have us come and with them, teach their friends from all over the world.  During my 10 minutes, I asked if anyone in the congregation had a Favorite mormon message or church video that is special to them that they'd be able to access on their smartphone RIGHT then.  Many hands went up.  I called up one YSA guy to the pulpit by me and had him scroll through his friends list on facebook until the spirit prompted him to stop on one, or until a name stood out to him, then had him share the video with his friend in a message and invite him to learn more.  And he did it!  In front of everyone!  I left a commitment for the whole stake to do the same thing that night when they got home. Now every time we go to have lunch/dinner at students' apartments, we have them message their friends and invite them to learn more while we're there sitting with them so they aren't so scared to do it again later.  Great things have happened from this.  Since march, more than 43 people have gotten baptized ALL because one of their friends at BYUI invited them to meet with ward/full-time missionaries over skype first.

After the stake conference, two people came up to us, a girl named Sarah and she introduced us to her friend, John Solas.  John is a referral that we haven't been able to find or contact for WEEKS.  And here he was standing before us.  "I was wondering if you sisters could come and read the Book of Mormon and teach me more about it."  That's what he said.  A nonmember student!  It was amazing.  Miracles are happening.

ALSO JEFF GOT BAPTIZED THIS WEEKEND.  It was great.  I will send pictures later.  He was very happy and smiley the entire time, albeit quiet, which is just fine, because his smile was speaking enough about how he felt.

Have a great week!  Read D&C 6!

Faithfully,

Sister McIntosh

1. Sister Naitoko: "I look like an Asian school girl!" (Sis. Ganbold wasn't offended, don't worry... also, she wasn't there.)

2.  Selfie taken TODAY.

3.  Kriti's baptism last week.

4.  Jeff's baptism this week.

31 October 2016 - "I didn't fall!"

Hello, all!

This week's email won't be very long, due to time constraints and due to the fact that small children will be tracting for candy today.  We  aren't really supposed to dress up while in public, and we aren't allowed to be out in public at all tonight so... Not too many Halloween-y things in our schedule.

So many miracles have come our way this week.  Nonmember students will have called us on the phone asking us to teach them and help them get baptized.  I'm grateful to be in an area where the spirit can be felt so strongly and where the people get to interact with so many spiritual giants!!  I'm truly blessed.

Our investigator, Kriti, from Nepal got baptized this past weekend.  It was so sweet.  She was definitely shy at first about coming out in her jumpsuit and being the center of attention and was also terrified that she was going to fall and bonk her head and drown, but with baby steps she made it all the way through, and afterwards right after she came out of the font she was just hugging us crying saying thank you over and over again.  It was so tender and so so happy.  

This week, let's all remember that when we're shy and afraid about new or different things in our life, our Heavenly Father is likely holding our hand and hugging us along the way, until we're able to look back and realize that it was all part of God's plan.  Then we'll hug him and cry, saying thank you over and over again.

Haunted and spooky,

Sister McIntosh

24 October 2016 - Language Barriers...

Hello, all!

I will do my best to keep my eyes open as I write this to you.  We've had a short week with even shorter days, and don't even get me started on the month of October.  Time is flying by, and keeping up with everything is a challenge, to say the least!  I felt like my mom several times, who frequently says "I just need a couple extra hours in a day that nobody knows about!" - So true.  I'm very happy though.  We were able to teach a couple of skype lessons - one to a lady in Indiana named Crystal.  She's very spiritual, and talked about the "good energy" she was getting from us, even across the states!  Very open to learning, says she reads the Book of Mormon a lot and already knows it's true!!! I hope that we get to teach her again.  

Our second lesson was with a girl named Amanda from Colorado.  Her skype didn't end up working, so we did a whole lesson over the phone.  She's met with missionaries before, but didn't really enjoy it because she was expressing her concerns about her purpose, where she came from, what's going to happen in the next life and they just kept talking about Joseph Smith and getting baptized next month, which weirded her out.  She didn't understand why that applied to her.  She still doesn't - not yet, at least.  We started teaching her about God's plan - the Plan of Salvation, and it ended up being just a discussion on prayer - how to receive answers.  The conclusion that we came to was that God will speak to us through the Holy Ghost in whatever way we allow Him to, in whatever way we'll listen.  Some hear God's voice through music, others through the scriptures.  Some feel him in nature, others in feelings.

We tried to explain this concept to another one of our investigators, Ethel.  She's an 86 year old widow, and is stubborn as all get-out.  I'm allowed to say that because she and I talk about her being stubborn all the time haha.  She's been through all of the lessons and believes all of it.  She feels it's true, but "hasn't gotten an answer" about being baptized yet.  She says she doesn't know if it's really what God wants from her.  We had a good, long talk with her about how God talks to us.  She's going to try an experiment this week - she's going to pray for answers with a BELIEVING attitude.  Instead of asking what to do and then waiting for a fireworks show, she's going to pray and tell God that she knows it's true and she wants it in her life.  She's going to pray with a believing heart.  When we do that, it breaks down some language barriers of the spirit. 

Learning to hear and recognize the spirit is a lot like learning a language.  I haven't had to learn a new language on my mission, but all of my companions except for one has had to learn a language, and let me tell you, ENGLISH IS WEIRD.  It's way too complicated.  I didn't realize to what degree until I helped mongolians, tongans, samoans, and mexicans speak it.  I am convinced that learning to recognize the spirit isn't as silly as learning to speak English.  The Spirit already speaks our language, just in a different way than we're used to.  When I say that the spirit speaks our language, I don't mean English, spanish, mandarin, etc.  The spirit speaks to our SOUL in a way that OUR SOUL will hear it.  

The hard part is learning to break the language barriers that keep us from recognizing the spirit, like pride, anger, cynicism, disbelief.

Instead, let's be humble, happy, positive and believing!

Love you all so much,

Sister McIntosh  

PS - I took a total of 0 pictures this week, so there's no way to know if I haven't dyed my hair black or gained 50 lbs.  Sorry. 

17 October 2016 - Spiritual paycheck time

I wish I could tell you about each appointment we taught.

I wish I could tell you about each investigator we have.

I wish I could tell you about each new person we found who wants to learn about Christ.

I wish I could tell you about the spirit that has been felt.

I wish I could tell you every single one of the miracles.

The reason I don't in my weekly letters is because of 3 Ne 17:17

"And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard . . . and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time."

Now, don't get your knickers in a twist, I don't mean to be blasphemous and say that my experiences are just as marvelous as the prayers offered and lessons taught by Christ himself, but my point is that this week was one of those ones full of experiences that I don't know how to describe.  But I'll try:

We had a baptism this past weekend - a 14 year old girl named Brittany.  I didn't get to teach her too much before her baptism, she was a part of the other area that I just started working with.  But it was one of my favorite moments on my mission so far.  We invited literally EVERYONE in our teaching pool - investigators, less actives, recent converts, everyone.  And most of them came.  It reminded me of when I worked in the temple pre-mission; one of my favorite posts was in the celestial room.  I just liked to watch people come in and reunite with their spouse/friends/whoever that they came with - it was so happy!!!  I was playing prelude/postlude for the baptism, and I'd just sort of watch from behind the piano as my companions were introducing the people we were teaching to each other, and to Brittany, and to everyone else.  Seeing the people we were teaching meet each other was honestly indescribable, and I'm not even really sure why. Because we cover so many wards, the people we teach have never met each other - until saturday.  It felt like a glimpse of heaven, having them all there in one place, meeting other people who are also on a journey learning to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ.  My trainee is a convert of 3 years, and relates really well to recent converts and investigators in a way that I can't.  Non-progressing investigators were meeting progressing investigators with a date and talking about their future baptisms, less active members were meeting recent converts and talking about their recent conversion... it was just SO cool to watch them.  I won't forget that... that day has meant more to me than previous baptisms, and not even because of the baptism itself.  It was seeing all of these people meet each other, talk about how the gospel has changed them, and share the journey with one another!  

I love you all.

Sister McIntosh

10 October 2016 - Change is in the air!

Greetings, loved ones:

Public service announcement.  For the next monthish, my address will not be 1292 Fairview Avenue.  If you would like me to smile and be happy, feel free to send things to:

124 S 3rd W

Rexburg, ID 83440

If you have sent something to the Fairview address, I can still go and get it from the lady I used to live with, but for now I'm in another house.  

My new trainee is Sister Намуун Ганболд AKA Namuun Ganbold.  If you want to see her singing in General Conference, go 6:22 on the Saturday morning session, she's the asian sister wearing a light pink/peach shirt in the bottom leftish.  OR there's a nice close up of her at 1:30:56.  She's the asian in the light pink/salmon shirt.  She's from MONGOLIA.  She speaks MONGOLIAN.  And another language that I've never heard of before.  I found out 30 seconds ago that she's a part of an LDS singing group that sang on MONGOLIA'S GOT TALENT.  So that's intense.  

We're staying busy all the time, and meeting some wonderful people!  One of the BYUI students that we started teaching has grown up in SE Idaho all of his life but never was interested in learning about what "the mormons" believe.... until this last week.  We taught him the Restoration - introduced prophets, the priesthood, Joseph Smith, The Book of Mormon etc, and he was responding really well to everything, asking awesome questions, and responding well to everything!  At the end we invited him to be baptized.  And he said YES.  After trying our hardest to not to happy dance, or hug him, or cry, or do anything else that may be socially inappropriate, one of his friends who came along asked him how he felt when we invited him to be baptized.  His response: "It felt good, like I already knew it was right.  This is what I've been yearning for, thirsting for, for all of my life it seems.  I want this."

AMAZING.  I have pondered his response for awhile after that.  And it reminds me of Alma 32:28 talking about a seed planted in our hearts that we need to make room for.  I always thought for quite awhile that the seed is faith.  I, no surprise, was wrong.  The SEED is Christ and his doctrine.  If we make room for it in our life, and in our heart, "it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me."

That's how Alma describes it anyways.  Don't you love those moments when you learn/realize something that enlarges your soul? I personally love that phrase.  

The student we taught - the doctrine and gospel of christ was something he THIRSTED after.  

Alma - the doctrine and gospel of christ was something that was DELICIOUS to him.

Usually when we talk about the gospel, we talk about FEELING or HEARING the spirit.  SEEING miracles.  How interesting that the gospel can change and influence all of our senses, desires, and actions, if we give place for it to do so.

May we all strive to do that!

Thanks for everything,

Sister McIntosh

3 October 2016 - Third Time's the Charm!!

Hello, family and friends!

I have news.  As a reminder, my companion, Sister Dodd, was actually called to serve in the Samoa Apia mission but was just here awaiting her visa paperwork.  She arrived here along with a few other visa-waiters to serve in our mission in the meantime.  This past week, she (along with a few others) GOT HER VISA and got on a plane and left me this past Sunday :(  It was sad seeing her go, but I'm really excited for her to serve the people in Samoa.  She'll be a wonderful missionary there as she was here!
Transfers are also THIS WEDNESDAY.  President Nelson called me a few days ago and asked me to train a new missionary again - my 3rd trainee so far!!  It'll be so fun!  I don't know who it is I'll be training yet, but I may train another visa waiter again.  It'll be good for me - I love working with the greenie fire!
Until Wednesday, however, I'll be working with Sister Naitoko. I met her at the MTC and we came out together.  She had been training a visa waiter that left, as well, so we'll just hang out together, working in both of our areas until Wednesday.
The biggest change, however, is that when my new trainee gets here on Wednesday, she'll join Sis. Naitoko and I and we'll be in a TRIO covering both the BYU-I are and Sis. Naitoko's area in Rexburg.  Meaning my area will have 24 wards added to it.  We will be covering 152 wards.  Prayers are welcome and appreciated. :)

This week I also got the opportunity to go on exchanges with the Sisters in Sugar City - my FIRST AREA! I have so many fond memories and beloved friends there.  I was only there for a day, but it made me happy to think about how wonderful it is to be a missionary and interact with people in such a unique way.  I love seeing others in a way similar to how Christ sees them.  It's liberating an d mind-opening, if that makes sense.  I love meeting new people.  I love serving people.  A lot of this week was spent washing others' dishes, packing boxes, sweeping floors, weeding gardens.It's amazing how when you're doing those things in Christ's name and for the love you feel for them, there's a very noticeable holiness that begins to accompany a task like scrubbing the crusted mac'n'cheese out of bowls and pots.  And I actually mean that!  The things that seem mundane, boring, lonely, stupid, difficult, or pointless become SO much more meaningful when you realize how it plays a role in the ETERNAL plan that God has for us.

I hope you all watched General Conference and enjoyed it.
My initial faves/highlights:
**Quentin L. Cook's talk about the stumbling blocks to our testimony.  We don't need to be looking beyond the mark (Jacob 4)!  The gospel is much simpler than we make it out to be and we need to question whether the things in our life are HELPING or HINDERING us.
**Kazuhiku Yamashita's talk about having AMBITION for Christ.  I love that.  It really inspired me to stop having pity parties, even if they only take place in my own head.  None of us really ever has reason to make excuses or complain.  It's time that we feel JOY and EXCITEMENT about serving our Savior in whatever capacity we're blessed to.
**M. Russell Ballard's talk about, well, so much.  My absolute favorite part was when he discussed how just because something is inexplicable to US doesn't mean that it's inexplicable period.  Living the gospel will never not be difficult, so we just need to have faith.

There was a lot more that I learned.  Sorry this is kind of a novel, but I just wanted to let you all know that Jesus Christ is on your side!  He and Heavenly Father want nothing less than your complete joy.  They know what you need in your life in order to attain that.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear y'all's thoughts from conference.

Thanks so much for everything.
xoxo
Sister Mc


We didn't take a whole lot of pictures this week, but here's a mediocre-quality shot I got of Sis. Dodd the night before she boarded her plane to Samoa.  :(  I'm going to miss her!

26 September 2016 - OLD FAITHFUL

This past week was definitely one of my favorites in the whole mission. Seriously. First of all, earlier this week we had a mission tour - meaning two general authorities came to meet everyone and hold zone conferences with us.  Elder Brent H Nielsen (gen ath 70 and head of mission department) and Elder Joaquin Costa (gen auth 70) came.  They're brilliant.  We had a zone conference and 2 missionary leadership council meetings with them.  One of my favorite parts was when our mission president, in order to illustrate the allegory of the olive tree (see Jacob 5) literally GRAFTED TWO TREES AT THE PULPIT IN THE CHAPEL.  Our mission president owned a very successful nursery of trees in Oregon for his business.  Meaning he literally grafted trees all the time.  It was wonderful. I'm still reviewing my notes from the whole mission tour, but I'm excited to be a better missionary because of it.
Then, we got to go to Yellowstone National Park on Wednesday which was beautiful and JUST the soul-cleansing that I needed. It was probably the sulfur haha. That's why I didn't email last week.
THEN we got 3 new investigators this week - from Nepal, Germany, and Vietnam. And each of them are SO prepared in their own ways. The one from Nepal agreed to a baptismal date yesterday, and the other two have said that they want to get baptized!!
Another amazing thing is that we were looking for a particular house, supposedly "Jared" lived there - a nonmember that the elders before us found that was interested in taking the lessons. When we get there, we learn that nobody named Jared lived there (anymore, at least) and now a young couple with a daughter lived there. The wife told us that she was baptized a few years ago, but now she and her husband were less active. They're both smokers, but said that they've been looking for a way to quit and come back to church and invited us over again for a lesson!!!!!! We're so excited. But we're still looking for Jared, too.
THEN to top it all of, we got to watch the General Women's conference of the church.  I enjoyed ALL of the talks, but my favorites were Sister Oscarson's and Elder Utchdorf's.  Sister Oscarson's talk, like, made me just want to cheer the whole time.  I could have genuinely just started applauding at multiple points because of how unapologetic and straightforward and hardcore she is.  Then Elder Utchdorf, if he isn't enough of a charmer already, told wonderful stories about having faith and enduring and trusting God.  A lot of what he said very literally answered some of my questions in very real ways.  It was amazing.  I encourage you all to look into the conference regardless of whether or not you are a woman.

I love you all.

This week was great.
I will send pictures.

xoxo
Sister Mc