Why Serve a mission?

When I was 15 years old I listened to the mother of a close friend talk about serving a mission. For the first time I remember really wanting to serve a mission when I turned 21. I just had to hear hundreds of missionaries sing "Called to Serve" in the MTC! Time went on, and I prepared for the different eventualities of life. When the age sister missionaries could serve dropped to 19, I was super stoked! I was 19, almost 20! I could go early! Well, it turned out that wasn't the time for me. November of 2013, I felt strongly like I should reconsider the mission idea. I did, and the pieces of the puzzle fell into place :) This is all really nice, but it's not really the WHY, it's more of the HOW.

So WHY am I choosing to dedicate 18 months of my life away from my family, friends, school, and a closet full of clothes to talk to people in Missouri? Well, 33 years ago, 2 male missionaries started talking to my dear sweet Momma. The message they shared with her changed the course of her existence, and our family. I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and the knowledge I have of who He is, and what His plan for His children is. I can't help feeling like if I choose not to share this message with others that I'll be ungrateful for the amazing gift that I've been given. I've also been blessed with some talents that I'd like to give back to the Lord. As much as I love my family and the other things listed above, I love my Heavenly Father and Savior more. They have called, so I'm answering.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left.." D&C 84:88


"I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left.." D&C 84:88

Hello Everyone!

I hope this email finds you all happy and well. Things are going so well here in St Louis, MO! We have been seeing so many miracles! We've also been laughing a lot and working hard. It's the best!

So last Monday we were at Target and our checker told us that we looked Fierce! We asked her what she meant, and she said, "You two just look spot on!" It was neat because we explained to her that as missionaries we're representatives of Jesus Christ. We got her number and started teaching her! Sadly we discovered she's not in our area, but the YSA sisters will take good care of her. It's amazing how much the Lord hears and answers our prayers for people to recognize us as His representatives.

I know I mentioned it before, but we've been taking the bus lately, and man there are SOO many adventures! Monday night we were talking to this guy outside of the bus who teaches dance. We talked with him our whole trip home. We pulled the string to get off the bus, and he asked us, "Are you going to teach someone here, or do you live here?" We were kinda creeped out, but he said, "I live here! I wondered how you knew that." We got to talk with him some more. It was really neat to see how the Lord placed us in his path. That seems to be a common trend lately!

On Tuesday morning, we took the bus to go help someone clean their house, but it didn't work out, so we did some street contacting instead. We got so caught up talking with this man that we had to sprint to catch our bus! Later that SAME DAY we were with a young Mom we're teaching, and she was pretty depressed and needed motivation to go and take care of some very important paperwork since she's an immigrant from Africa. We knew she wouldn't do it if we didn't go with her on the bus, so we went with her. The walk to the bus would normally have taken 20 minutes, but we had to do it in 8. We sprinted up the SAME HILL we had earlier to catch the same bus! While we were running, I was praying for everything to work out. The scripture in my subject line kept coming to my head. The Lord promises us as missionaries to prepare the way. I felt like Sister Dahlberg and I were doing that for the young Mom we're teaching. I was running ahead to slow the bus, and Sister Dahlberg was carrying her purse so we could make it. If we were willing to do this small thing for someone that we love, just imagine what our Savior is willing to do for us! It's truly amazing to me :)

Yesterday, that young Mom came to church and brought her 2 year old son. It was so great! When I first met her she told us, "Sorry, but I dont' think i'll ever step foot in a church building again." She also had a lot of anger and hate built up from the things she's experienced in her life. Now, little over a month later, after coming to know and love our Savior Jesus Christ, her eyes are filled with greater light and love, and her smile comes from her heart. It was so great to see the transformation that has occurred within her. I am looking forward to see the rest of the transformation in time.

I love you all and hope all is well. Don't forget you have a loving Savior who cares so much for you and is there for you. He has "gone before your face" and prepared a way we can return to live with our Father again. I love this work! I am learning so much and growing so much as well. Keep up your good work!

Lots of love and support,
Sister Edgel

Thursday, May 14, 2015

The Lord answers our prayers

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're having a great day! We've been enjoying the rain the past few days. I never understood the phrase, "April's showers bring May flowers" until my mission where I've discovered what REAL showers are! What can I say, I'm learning so much!

On Saturday we were meeting with a recent convert outside of his apartment, and this 10 year old boy with his dog walked past. The recent convert talked about dumping out this broken looking kiddie pool and throwing it away, when the little boy said, "There are tadpoles in there". We seriously didn't believe him. Really? Tad poles in some random dumpy pool full of water? After our lesson, we walked over and sure enough he was right! There were tadpoles! Life can spring from the most unsuspecting places :)

So this Wednesday we had transfers. I got my new companion, Sister Dahlberg! She is the cutest thing and exactly what this area needed. We have had so much fun already. I am truly so blessed! It never cease to amaze me how aware the Lord is of our needs and concerns.

Last Monday I had a really unique epiphany. We were standing in line at Aldi's (the grocery store) and the lady in front of us had a lot of groceries. I asked her if she needed help and helped her put her stuff up. You could tell she was touched. I felt so happy I got to help one of God's children. Later that day, we were at Ross shopping. If you know me, you know I love to shop! For some reason I wasn't finding as much enjoyment as I normally would have. That's when I realized how much I've truly grown. It makes me so much happier to serve the Lord and be an answer to someone's prayers than to do what I want to do. I am so grateful for my mission and how much it has changed me.

My testimony has been growing so much lately of how the Lord can use our unfortunate circumstances for good! A few weeks back, Sister Adams and I missed our bus and had to catch a different bus to a train station, to take another bus, to walk to where we needed to go. We were 1.5 hours late for the activity and missed dinner. It was quite a bummer, BUT while we were waiting at the bus stop, we met this lady who had talked to missionaries before. She had also read parts of the Book of Mormon. I didn't think we'd ever see her again, until a few days later we ran into her outside of her apartment that happened to be in our area! Saturday we stopped by at the perfect time and were able to talk to her and her friend Will. It was really neat how the Lord used our unfortunate circumstances to bring about good!

The Lord is so aware of us and answers our prayers even when we're not aware of them! A few weeks ago, I talked about how we met another woman on the bus, but it turned out she wasn't in our area, but was in the area right next to our that happens to be the AP's (the head missionaries in the mission). We gave them the referral, and they called us on Saturday night to tell us that the lady had read the pamphlet, made notes, and had been waiting for someone to get back in contact again. She said the main reason she let us in was because she knew we were representatives of Jesus Christ. How we looked, spoke, acted, and the love we shared let her know that. I'm not telling you this to brag, but because the past few months, those specific things have been my specific prayers. I had no idea the Lord was answering my prayer in that moment. The Lord is so aware of us! I just can't say it enough. He answers our prayers, even if we're not aware of the answer at that moment.

I love my Savior. I love having the opportunity to show my gratitude to Him to serve a mission. This is the best decision I ever made! If you can go on a mission, GO! It's the greatest thing to come to know the Savior, and learn to love Him far more than you ever did before. I love you all and hope all is well. Have a wonderful week!

Lots of love and support,
Sister Edgel