Scripture

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."
Alma 26:12


Email: megan.mouritsen@myldsmail.net

Leah's Mission Timeline

Leah's Mission Timeline

Monday, October 26, 2015

10/26/2015: Gone too fast...

Hello, good morning my family :)

I don't have much time... I've been having to send in a whole bunch of pictures to the office today...

But I can't believe it's almost the last week of the transfer! It just freaks me out so bad. I remember being in Cayman and saying that I was only in single digit months haha.... I think I blinked. I must have because I've passed 18 months! Nosah..... Sister Lewis and I were talking about it and it seriously is just the most bitter-sweet feeling I have ever felt in my life. I still trying to figure out whether that's a good thing or a bad thing haha....

Not too much happened this week though. We had some great lessons and experiences for sure though!

We saw Demarce and he had some questions about why bad things have to happen. Why can't life just be all good and great haha. Personally I'm glad it's not. Because then we really wouldn't even know what joy is or happiness. 2 Nephi 2:25.  We are meant to have joy in this life. So we shared with him and read in Doctrine and Covenants 121 &122. It was a great and powerful lesson. It really helped me out as well. So much has been going on this week........

We had a lesson with a less-active who is coming back :) Brother Pinto. We talked about consecration and read in Mosiah 3:19. Awesome verse. I'm sure you all know it off the top of your heads. But we had a really good discussion. As I had been studying for that lesson I was reading a lot about obedience. We have to give up our disobedience so that God can consecrate us. I had also read a story about a mission president and a missionary. He wanted to go home because the mission was hard and the mission president sat with him and they talked about things that he could do better to help him. Of course a lot concerning obedience things. And near the end of the interview, the missionary said to his mission president, 'you are not asking me to change my behavior... but you are asking me to change my nature.' And that's exactly how it should be. When we change our nature, we are changing our heart. We change because we love the Lord, we love Christ. Not just to show other people our obedience and that we are good. It's not enough merely just to change our behavior. And this definitely isn't just for missionaries haha! It just comes down to the fact of whether we love God or not. But Brother Pinto really took it to heart I think. He came to church on Sunday which was awesome! 

We were able to have a fantastic lesson with Kelly, and Sister Morrison was able to come with us. We talked all about the Sabbath Day. We read in Ezekiel 20:12,20. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that verse before but it is definitely my favorite one to use for the Sabbath Day. How we keep the Sabbath Day is literally a sign we are showing to God of how much we love him. Haha. Back to obedience and consecration and all that good stuff. 'So Sister Mouritsen, you are saying that if I love God then I'll keep the commandments and everything God says?' 'Yes. That's exactly what i'm saying.' 'So why should I do that?' 'So that God can dang well bless you. Duh.' haha..... After all... He is our HEAVENLY Father. He just WANTS to bless us and is bound to bless us. D&C 82:10. Com nuh man. 

Goodness. Rain a fall this week man! Friday we just got DRENCHED! It totally reminded me of the Ochi days when all it did was rain this time last year. haha. Everyone we called didn't want to see us because it was raining. They all said they were sleeping or going to go sleep. haha. Literally everyone. We tried Demar, a guy we met a little while ago and he said we could come! It was awesome. So we hiked up this mountain with a waterfall pouring down it just to find out that we couldn't have a lesson with him because there wasn't a female there or around and we weren't able to bring a member with us. Haha. It was a good experience though. :) Lots and lots a wata!

Yes. Friday was my 18 months and also Elder Davidsen our District leader who came out with me. Yes. We got floured....




Saturday was great! We had contacted a guy named Jonathan last week and told him that he could invite whoever he wanted to join us in the lesson. So we get there Saturday and there is a WHOLE bunch of potential priesthood holders. Yes. Potential Priesthood holders. It was so awesome! We had a great lesson about the Godhead and our purpose as missionaries and they were really interested! We are going to see them again tomorrow so it'll be awesome! I'm really excited. :)

Well, I love you all! Thanks for all the emails! Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Mouritsen  

10/20/2015: Missionary Work is the Greatest Work!

Good morning family :)

No I did not email yesterday, as I'm sure you all have figured out by now... haha. yesterday was Hero's Day.

And last week I told you about how our District Leader, Elder Davidson, wanted me to write a poem about the life of a Sister Missionary in the Jamaica Kingston mission, so here it is.... Bear with me..........I'm not very good at rhyming.... 

The JKM Sister Missionary

Well... Where to start?
I guess from my heart,
I hope you'll like these few words,
They may just be absurd...

In the Jamaica Kingston Mission,
You'll find sisters full of ambition,
The life of these missionaries,
Is definitely not that of sparkly fairies...

Our hair is most times frizzy,
Because we're just too busy,
It may be up in a dumpling,
Because of that hot something,

Our clothes not always zeen,
maybe they were when we were green,
Our shoes may have holes,
on the bottom near the soles,

But despite what the mission will bring,
Underneath they're Daughters of a King,
Where the Lord knows them best,
And has granted some this quest,

To testify of truth,
(while they're still in their youth),
To Christ they'll bring many,
Not even for a penny,

Though they be 'Whitey!' and 'Brownin'',
They'll never be frownin',
And for heaven sakes,
Not those long handshakes...

But even through it all,
They'll grow Spiritually tall,
To Celestial they're bound,
Where there they'll be crowned,

In Glory above,
With all those that they love.

Sister Mouritsen

Oh man........That's kind of embarrassing. I hope you understand it...

Then this past Wednesday Elder Davidson asked me to find a scripture for the District to ponderize together. I chose one of my FAVORITES from Doctrine and Covenants section 15, verse 6. Just go ahead and read it and you'll see why. It was either that one or D&C 16:6. or both. ;) hahahahaha...

D&C 15:6 And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father. Amen.

I guess you have to read it to get my joke...... Wow...... That was a really bad joke. But I was also debating on whether to use D&C 88:67 or D&C 6:13. I just love Doctrine and Covenants. Period.

So last Tuesday we had the opportunity to go to DLT, District Leader Training. It only happens twice a year and I went to it earlier this year when I was a District Leader in Nassau but I just Skyped in. Anyway, it was really cool to have all the District Leaders together. Sister Lewis and I and the Boulevard STL's taught about Ministering to the one and seizing teaching opportunities. We talked about all the places that we can minister and how we need to be ready for those opportunities when they come because they may be unexpected sometimes. And of course we linked in the Atonement. It went really well I would say and I learned a lot from all the Zone Leaders teachings. I just will never cease to love how much the Book of Mormon can be applied SO well to our day today. No matter what we are doing. :)

President Brown spoke during the meeting as well and it was so great! As always. He talked about how in these days we can't just take a 'leap of faith' into the wilderness as Lehi and his Family did, but we also are required to take the 'voyage of faith' as they did when they crossed the waters. It's really not enough just to leap anymore. And when we leap and voyage into the dark, it's not a timid step, making sure there is ground but it's jumping with both feet into the dark with confidence. After all, that's the faith. Faith is not faith without action. We all know that. It was just really cool though. :) I love that man.

Thursday we were asked by President Brown if we would do a split with the sisters in May Pen. So Sister Lewis went with Sister Frey and Vincent and I went with Sister Dasha and Clyde and it was a great day! I had an awesome time getting to spend the day with them! We woke up at about 5 to get to their apartments before studies. haha. It was an early morning and a great day. We did service, washing all morning for an investigator named Stacy. Yes, I prefer to hand wash clothes now. It just works so much better than the washers we have. If you use Blue Power cake soap. BUT anyway... We were happy to help her out. 

We also had a POWERFUL lesson with a lady named Olive who is elect! We shared the Restoration with her and she just soaked it all in. Holy cow I just can't tell you how strong the Spirit was! I had just said the First Vision to her and the Holy Ghost was testifying and someone from outside called to her saying they wanted to buy some corn flakes from her and she left.... :/ :P I don't think I can properly create the face that I was making and still make for it.... haha. But the good part was that when she came back it was the SAME feeling still there! Boom. It was just awesome. And then we committed her to be baptized. It was a great lesson! 

Friday we had a good day too! We also had the Friday Night activity once again and Brother Denton came and watched and he was just in awe over it! He loved it! I was really glad that he came. 

Saturday we had an awesome day as well! We were FINALLY able to find a recent convert who has gone missing. It was great! I have been trying to locate this lovely member for almost 6 months. haha. He is very sweet too. It's just reminding him of his testimony and bringing him closer with the Spirit back in his life. Markus is so awesome though.

We were also able to have a lesson with a man named Renee (Rennie, he's very particular about how it's said. haha:) ) It was great. He had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. This was our first actual lesson with him. Before he had joined in on Kelly's lesson when we taught her about tithing. We had given him a Book of Mormon and he was confused I guess because he started in First Nephi. So we read through the introduction with him and he was able to understand it much better! He's a cool guy. :)

We saw Nevell on Sunday and also talked about the Book of Mormon with him. It was a powerful lesson and he said he would begin reading it and accepted a baptismal date for December 6th! YES!

Well.. my time is up as always... Today we are having a Zone P-Day talent show and I'm excited! I love you all! Have a fantastic week! Listen to the Spirit! Every decision counts. :)

Love

Sister Mouritsen

10/12/2015: Another awesome week :)

Good morning my sweet family. :)

Yes I don't have much longer out here and it completely breaks my heart to think about.... I have never felt so torn in my life. I love these Caribbean people with all of my heart. I truly have come to know since being out here that this is where I was supposed to be over these past (almost) 18 months. That has definitely been confirmed.The mission is something I will never ever regret in my entire life. Like I've said before, I don't think I could have learned all of the things that I've learned out here anywhere else. This has changed my life forever for the better. 

Tuesday was a great day! It was actually Sister Robinson, Bogle, and Smith's 5 months!! Oh my goodness... I remember talking with them about how when they turn 6 months, I will have been home the night before... Nosah!

We saw the Denton family again on Tuesday as well and were able to follow up on how he liked Conference. He said that he LOVED it! And that nothing was wrong with anything they were saying. haha. Of course not. You can count on them to speak truth. ;) We also talked more about he Book of Mormon and Restoration and we also saw them yesterday and were able to share the Restoration video. We were finally able to extend a baptismal date for November 28 for them both and they accepted! It was interesting because his mother was there who seemed to just love to talk.... Gotta love distraction but we were able to testify with power and it definitely seemed to penetrate their hearts. Sister Denton should hopefully be getting her cast off of her leg today and then she should be able to come to church soon! As long as she gets the cast off today though. She says that whether they say yes or no, it's coming off! Hmm... That just reminds me of one of my siblings who kind of said the same thing. ;) Ha. Colt.... love ya. 

We also had some appointments fall through and so we went finding up in the Spaulding area, specifically a place called Spit Virgin. We got to this area and drove past some men working on an old truck. We looked at each other and said, 'we should go talk to them.' haha. So we did. We parked the car, said a prayer and walked over to them. At first they were just like,'what the whiteys?' and were saying things like, 'you know it's dangerous for you to be out here and stuff you know.' Mind you it's like 3 in the afternoon... hahaha the sun is shining and hotter than hot. Eventually another man seemed to come out of nowhere through some tall grass that was way above his head and we began a conversation with him. His name is Reggy and was telling us that he has already met with the Jehovah's Witnesses. We quickly corrected him and told him that's not us and he began to be more interested. So we gave him a Restoration tract and invited him to be taught. We haven't been able to meet with him yet though because of the rain. He wouldn't let us come. Which happens too often. But it was a cool experience. :)

For district meeting on Wednesday Elder Davidsen told me to write a poem and what it's like to be a sister Missionary. It wasn't a bad poem actually! haha. The tragedy is that I left it at the apartment... Sorry. I'll have to read it to you next time if I remember. 

Thursday we had MLC, which I just always love! Yes it was my last one and I had the opportunity to bear my testimony. Which is the first of several more to come. It's as though I was very emotional before my mission and at the beginning of it and then I got tough and NOW I've become emotional again. No man. Wat a gwan wid dis!?

On Thursday Sister Garrett also hit her year mark which absolutely freaks me out because last year around this time we were together... Wow....We had to opportunity to do a trade off with her and Sister Bogle in Montego Bay. Sister Garrett came with me to Mandeville. It was so awesome to catch up and it was REALLY cool to be able to teach again together. Man that girl is amazing and so strong! We had some great times. We've definitely both grown since being together, which was cool to see. 

Sister Lewis and I and a member had a great experience last night. We went and visited with a man we had contacted the other day whose name is Nevell. He let us into his home and was so friendly which was funny because when we contacted him he was just trying to get away.. haha! But we went in and were able to meet with his son as well, Oshane. And they seemed really interested! They told us that they have 2 Books of Mormon already and that they just saw them the other day in their house haha! Wow. We talked about the Book of Mormon and how it is important. We read the Scripture in John 10:16 when Christ talks about His other sheep and then we corresponded it with when Christ comes to the Americas and tells them that they are His other sheep that he was talking about. (3 Nephi 15:21) It was really cool and we are excited to get to see them again soon! 

All in all, things are going well! I love this work with all of my heart.This church is true!

I love you all. Thanks for the emails.

Love,

Sister Mouritsen

Monday, October 5, 2015

10/5/2015: One month from today...No Man!

Good afternoon! 

Man... I just have so much to say and so little time... And a really slow delayed computer... hahaha. Bear with me....

Last Tuesday we were able to have a really great lesson with the Denton family about the Book of Mormon! They started reading it!! We also discussed the priesthood again. They seem to understand it better. Brother Denton even came to the Book of Mormon night on Wednesday and loved it! He said he really likes the Book of Mormon. And what's even better, he came to conference yesterday!! He got there around 1 when the first session ended but stayed for the second session at 3! Oh my goodness it was so great! He said it was awesome and noticed how we definitely read the Bible. haha! We have an appointment with him and his wife on Tuesday and we can't wait to follow up more on conference! Man I love them!

We also got to meet with a man and his family who are referrals from Montego Bay. His name is Damian and he is so humble and willing to listen. We had our second lesson with him yesterday after conference and we talked all about the restoration. It was a GREAT spirit-filled lesson. He was able to understand the real importance of the Book of Mormon from it and said he would pray about it and also come to church on Sunday! He lives far in Christiana.... BUT he has a car! Which is so awesome!

Wednesday we had Zone Meeting and Sister Lewis and I talked about asking inspired questions. It was a great Zone Meeting. Very inspirational!

We had a trade off with May Pen this week. Sister Dasha from South Africa came with me and we had a great lesson with Demarce! We talked about the importance of a modern day prophet and read with him in D&C 68:2-4 and then D&C 21:4-6. We then committed him to prayerfully think of some questions that he could bring to conference. It was a powerful lesson. I can't wait to see how conference went for him when we see him Tuesday. 

Conference was just FANTASTIC! I wish I had more time to talk about it but I definitely recieved a lot of answers to questions I have been having.  I LOVED President Nelson's talk though. It definitely bigged me up. :) 

Well. Sorry this is short again. Know that I love you and I hope I can get a quicker computer next time. Gotta love when the power goes out..... Have a great week! Be safe. Be good. Don't forget to apply what you learned at conference or it was all for nothing. haha. Seriously though. That goes for me most of all.

take care!

Love,

Sister Mouritsen

Long prayers and "holy" chairs 
Out Denton's front door. Literally I'm on the front step. 
By Damians house. 
National bird. I've been trying to get a picture of it for 17 months..... Score! 
The doctor bird or swallow tail humming bird (Trochilus Polytmus), is one of the most outstanding of the 320 species of hummingbirds. It lives only in Jamaica. These birds' beautiful feathers have no counterpart in the entire bird population and they produce iridescent colours characterstic only of that family (
http://jis.gov.jm/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/).