Monday, February 26, 2018

Hello!

Such an awesome week...I don't even know where to begin!  But, I'll start with updating you on a few of the people I love so dearly!

Jessica and the Bensons!

We had an incredible lesson with them yesterday!  Right after church Zach was ordained a Priest and passed the Sacrament for the first time ever.  Seriously, coolest experience--just watching how happy he was.  We were able to teach the Plan of Salvation yesterday, and, my oh my, the spirit was so strong.  It was amazing because Zach just opened right up to the Doctrine and Covenants and started teaching Jessica all about it.  I love teaching about the Great Plan of Happiness that Heavenly Father has given us because to me it gives us a purpose in all that we do.  In every decision we make, in all that we do in life, we have the Plan of Salvation that helps us understand our divine purpose--to return to live with our loving Heavenly Father again.  He truly wants nothing more than for each of His children to return to Him again.  One of my favorite parts of the lesson was when Jessica said, "So, wait!  We all were given the choice before we came to this each, and because I'm here and all of us are here, we chose this plan already, and now we need to just choose it again??"  "YES!!"  Oh my goodness, happiest moment ever because it's so true.  Each and every one of us chose this wonderful plan before we came to the earth and sometimes we just need to be reminded of that.  We have dinner and another lesson with them this week.

Matthew, Danielle, and Kathrine

They are doing SO amazing, and they are just some of the most AMAZING people.   Each time we meet, I love it that they just get more and more comfortable with us, and they are pretty much the greatest people ever.  We just laugh and laugh, and also feel the spirit so strongly.  They are on date for baptism on the 17th, and it has been so incredible to see the faith that they have been exercising.  We had two lessons with them this week, and the first one was about the Plan of Salvation.  We started the lesson, and she was in a super bad mood (she even admitted it), but as we went through the lesson she just got happier and happier.  After we went through the plan, she said, "This just makes complete sense to me--complete sense."  She then pointed out that she hasn't felt as happy as she has in a long time.  We invited her to pray about the Plan of Salvation, as well as read and pray about Joseph Smith.  In our next lesson we followed up on her commitments.  In the most humble way she said, "I pray and read, and I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet called of God, and that the Book of Mormon is true."  It was such a powerful moment.  The spirit testified to me in that very moment the same exact thing--the Book of Mormon is true, and Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God, and the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored in fullness to the earth.  We went right into the Word of Wisdom, and the spirit was so strong.  After we talked and shared the blessing, they both said, "YES!  We will do all that we need to live the Word of Wisdom, no matter how hard it is.  We will try our very best."  I love this because all Heavenly Father asks of us is to try our very best, and He will make up the rest.  We are so excited for them and so truly blessed to have met them!

The Muffin Lady, aka Terry Freetag!

We felt so prompted to tract this one street, so we started knocking doors and met some awesome people, and found some people for YSA (Young Single Adults).  As we were about to leave the street, this lady comes out of her house yelling at us.  The first thought that went through my head is, "OH, NO!  This is either going to be really bad or really good."  We went over to her and she handed us a bag of muffins.  Long story short--We started talking and she said she had seen us walking and knocking on doors, and wanted to give us something.  She let us in, and we found out she was baptized not too long ago in another ward.  When she moved, she just kinda fell through the cracks.  We had a great visit and invited her to church.  At that same exact time, our High Priest Group Leader met her boyfriend, started sharing the Gospel, and invited him to take the lessons, meet with us, and he said he would love to!  He wants to be sealed in the temple!  Our High Priest Group Leader called and was telling us this story.  Before he said her name, we asked if the person the boyfriend lived with was named Terry, and he said, "Yes!  How did you know?"  We were able to tell him in that very moment the miracles we just witnessed.  It was amazing to see how involved the Lord was in that one!  We have dinner and a lesson with them this week.  It's incredible to see how the Lord prepares people and places them in your path.  He is so involved in this great work.

I could go on forever, and my companions can testify of that, but I'll save ya some time.  I know that the Lord is involved in every detail of our lives, that Heavenly Father has such an amazing plan for each of us!  I know that the Plan of Salvation truly is the plan that God has created for our happiness, not just temporary happiness but eternal happiness!

Sending bucket of snow and lots of baby sheep love from Alaska!  Have a great week!

Love Sister McKenna Lake

Anchorage Alaska Mission

Update on Mama the Sheep--She had BABIES!!  Now we have three pets.

Wasn't kidding when I said buckets of snow.  This is what we woke up to this morning!

One last Bears Tooth run--Greatest pizza you will EVER have!  No joke!

Monday, February 19, 2018

Three is better than two!

What a wonderful week!  We got a call Tuesday morning from President, and we are now in a trio for three weeks!  We now have Sister Clawson as a companion; it has been so fun.  We have just hit the ground running, and it's been so amazing.

Our trio right before our chapel tour

Tender mercy for the week--I got to see Sister Cox twice this week and be companions with her again for a quick two minutes.  We were able to teach about the Book of Mormon, give a book away, AND set up a lesson with this awesome guy named Tito.  So fun being able to share the Gospel with Sister Cox...brought back so many good time memories from North Pole and Oceanview!  

We were able to do a huge service in Anchorage this past week for the Iditarod, the big dog sledding race.  It was so fun, and we had so many amazing opportunities to share the Gospel and just open our mouths.  There was no coincidence that we were working with these people that day.  So cool to see the Lord's hand in all of this!

Service for the Iditarod!

Reunion with Sister Bentley!  So Sweet!  Love this girl!

We had an amazing lesson with some people that walked into church on Sunday with our member.  The husband is a less-active member and is coming back to church.  His wife and daughter, Danielle and Kathrine, are just the greatest!  We were able to teach the Restoration, and the spirit was so strong.  So strong!!  We extended the invitation to them to be baptized, and they said, "YES!"  They are preparing for March 17th, and we are so excited for them.  I love teaching families and just seeing how the Gospel blesses their lives but, more importantly, how the Gospel blesses their entire family.  So incredible!  Yesterday, we had Family Home Evening with them, another family we're teaching, and our ward mission leader, and it was so AWESOME!

We also had another incredible lesson with another one of our investigators.  We really focused on the power of the Book of Mormon, and she shared with us the sweetest experience that they had with their kids the other night.  They gathered around to read and for the first time ever the children were actually listening.  The family was reading together about Christ and how the people treated him.  She looks up and her little boy is just in tears because of how they treated Christ, and she just felt the spirit so strong in that moment.  Hearing that made me realize the real power of the Book of Mormon and how it truly is ANOTHER testament of Christ!  It testifies of Christ's life and the love He has for us.  We will never be able to comprehend all He went through, and He was willing to suffer in pain so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and savior Jesus Christ again.

Friendship bracelets with our investigators' sweet daughter!

Sundays are some of my favorite days, and lately our investigators as well, because they all just love coming!  It's the greatest place for them to be, and it just makes me so happy knowing that they will do all they can to make it to church and feel of that spirit that is present.  It has been truly so incredible to see how the Lord has been preparing the hearts of these people. The spirit is so powerful and truly testifies of truth.

Reunion with sweet Wright family from Oceanview!  Sure miss them!

Something I have been thinking a lot about these last couple days is how aware the Lord is of us.  I was listening to the talk that Elder Holland gave called "Songs Sung and Unsung":

"There is sunshine in my soul today," Eliza Hewitt wrote, "more glorious and bright than glows in any earthly sky, for Jesus is my light."  With radiance in every note, that marvelous old Christian hymn is virtually impossible to sing without smiling.  But today I wish to lift out of context just one line from it that may help on days when we find it hard to sing or smile and "peaceful happy moments" do not seem to "roll."  If for a time you are unable to echo the joyous melodies you hear coming from others, I ask you to hold tenaciously to the line in this hymn that reassures, "Jesus listening can hear the songs [you] cannot sing."

I love this song, and have sung it hundreds of times on my mission--It's kind of our theme song here in Alaska during the dark winters, and it truly does bring such a big smile to my face.  I love when Elder Holland points out the line that says, 

"'Jesus listening can hear the songs you cannot sing."'  Sometimes there are times we cannot find the words to sing or can not muster up the courage but in those moments we can find peace and solace in knowing that our Savior can hear those songs we cannot sing in this moment."  

I was reading in 2 Nephi 25:26 and it says how we teach of Christ and we preach of Christ and prophesy of Christ and then it says we rejoice IN Christ.  No matter where we're at, how we're feeling or the words we are lacking to say, we can find that joy in our Savior Jesus Christ and rejoice in Him knowing that He hears and knows those things perfectly.  

I love this Gospel!  I absolutely love being a missionary with my whole heart!  I know that Christ loves and loves us.  I know that He knows how we feel perfectly and invites each of us to come unto Him and rejoice in Him!

Love you all.  Have such a great week!

Sister McKenna Lake
Anchorage Alaska Mission

Also, quick side story--We have a pet sheep living in the garage below us waiting to have little babies.  Every morning when I go and hop on the treadmill, I get to run right next to Mama the Sheep.  How lucky am I???

Mama sheep--AKA my running buddy!

Monday, February 12, 2018

Happy Days!!

Hello!
Happy days cause it's getting so bright out...still cold and windy, but the sun has been shining so bright!  Also, because the Lord is so aware of these people here, and His hand is so evident in this work!

We had such a wonderful week and met so many incredible people.  We did a lot of finding and definitely saw miracles from our work.  It always amazes me how, as you listen to the promptings of the spirit, you are led and guided to those exact people that are just so prepared, or they are led to you.

We also had some incredible lessons with our investigators this week.  Because of lack of time, I won't go into details, but I will say the spirit was SO strong with each of them.  They all just have this sincere desire to know for themselves and are really looking for the truth.  There were some incredible experiences.  I truly just love all the people we are teaching SO MUCH!  Greatest humans and families ever!  I feel so blessed that the Lord has prepared these people at this time so that I can learn and grow from them.

Yesterday, though, was literally a dream come true.  Like I said, we have been doing tons of finding through Tracting, formers, and part-members.  Along the way, we have found so many people that are members but have not been active in years, have just moved up here, AND their records never followed.  We invited them to come to church, and yesterday they just continued to walk through the doors, one right after the other.  It was so incredible!  On top of that, our incredible investigators just walked through the doors one after the other. Then to top that off, the coolest family walked in with this ward member!  Our member had met them a couple of weeks ago when she felt super inspired to pull over and help this guy whose car was broken down on the side of the road (something she said she would NEVER do).  Long story short, they became good friends, and she invited his family to come to church.  He was a member growing up, and he brought his wife and 10-year-old daughter yesterday.  They LOVED IT!  We have a lesson with them this week, and they are so excited, and we are so excited!  Seriously, coolest family ever, and they just showed up to church!

Isn't it just so cool to see how the Lord is involved with this work?  Each of our incredible investigators right now pretty much showed up to church themselves, and we met them there.  The Lord is truly preparing the hearts of the children of men at this time, and it is amazing to witness it.  

I sat there yesterday in Sacrament Meeting as we were singing the opening hymn with the biggest smile on my face as I looked out and saw all of the amazing members and investigators, and just felt so grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve.  These people here in Alaska are truly incredible, and I am so thankful for each of them.  

This is the true church...I cannot deny it.  The feeling of joy that overcame me yesterday sitting there as I looked out on these people that I can call family, and thinking about how incredible it is that we were all here to learn from one another to renew the covenants we have made, and remember our Savior Jesus Christ.  I love this Gospel, and I love being a missionary!

Also, so cool, Gerard received the Priesthood and a calling yesterday!  Happy day!  He is just glowing.  

We heard some awesome talks yesterday in Sacrament Meeting.  One of the thoughts was on the word "remembering" from Helaman 5.  The speaker shared the Hebrew definition of "remembering."  I don't remember the definition exactly but, basically, to remember is to act, and it means to act upon those things that we remember or that are brought to our remembrance.  Woah!  I thought and realized how often I remember something, or the Spirit brings something to my remembrance, and I think about it but don't ever actually do anything about it, and I do that ALOT.  I then though about the word "remember" in the Sacrament prayers, and how we can't just partake of it and remember our Savior Jesus Christ in that moment, but we need to, instead, remember Him every day and act upon those thoughts and impressions.  Anyways, that was probably a whole bunch of rambling, but I love this Gospel, I love my Savior Jesus Christ.  I am so thankful for the infinite act of love he showed.  I'm thankful for the Book of Mormon and know that the book truly is another testament of Christ!  I love you all.  Have a great week.

Sister Lake
Anchorage Alaska Mission

Monday, February 5, 2018

MOOSE ARE FRIENDS, NOT FOOD!

Hello!
It has been such a wonderful week!  Just a few highlights...

--Gerard was confirmed yesterday!  It was such a special day, and the spirit was really strong.  He also received a calling, and we are just so excited for him!!

--Gerard's best friend/neighbor wants to learn more about the Gospel, and all about "the thing" that has changed his life so dramatically in such a short period of time.  We stopped by and talked with her, and she said, "Yeah, when Gerard decided to live that Word of Wisdom thing, I decided to do it as well, and so I stopped drinking and smoking and even stopped drinking coffee.  I'm ready to find God."  How amazing is that?  We shared with her our purpose as missionaries and invited her to take the lessons--she agreed!  We will be starting the lessons this week, and Gerard will be able to help with all of them.

--We had an amazing visit with one of our investigators right after church yesterday.  They just moved up here, and the husband is a returning less active, and she has been coming to church with him the last couple of Sundays.  We had a little FHE lesson with them on Monday, but then were able to talk with them yesterday about taking the lessons from start to finish.  They both said they would LOVE that.  We were able to go to their home right after church and sit and get to know them.  We started out talking cruises and their trip, and all of a sudden it turned into such a spiritual conversation about faith and God's plan for them.  It's always my favorite when those Gospel conversations come about so naturally, and they are the ones that bring it up.  We have another lesson with them this week, and we are so excited!  They are just the cutest and sweetest family, with the cutest kids ever!!

--We had another incredible lesson with another investigator yesterday evening, and it was one of those moments that I just kept realizing, this is why I love being a missionary.  So much!  We had planned on teaching the Plan of Salvation, went in, and the spirit totally directed it a completely different way.  We followed up on the commitments we extended and then asked if they had any specific questions.  We knew they did, and so after a minute or so of silence, they just started blurting out these questions.  They would ask a question concerning the Restoration, and we would go right into the scriptures and answer them.  And then, they would ask another question and the same thing happened.  We did this for about an hour!  And it was amazing---the spirit was SO strong.  It was cool to see how the spirit was bringing to remembrance scriptures to us as missionaries that helped answer those questions, and truly filling our mouths and lips with the exact things we needed to share.  It was one of the most incredible lessons I have been a part of.  The mother has such a strong desire to know for herself, and it is clear and evident in how much she is searching for answers.  Such an amazing family, too!  They will be so hard to say goodbye to.

--Yesterday, we had fasted as a zone, and we saw so many miracles.  As we were leaving our last lesson last night, we really didn't think it could get much better because we had just walked out of such an amazing lesson where the spirit taught us all--we were wrong!  We had a missed call and voicemail from an unknown number.  When we called the number back, Eric and Rebecca answered.  These people were these potentials from a couple of weeks ago, and they kinds just kept blowing us off.  So, we told them that when they were ready and wanted to learn more, to give us a call.  They called and with such sincerity said they were ready and set up an appointment with us.  MIRACLES!!!  The Lord is so aware of these people, and fasting, coupled with prayer, is so powerful.  This experience made me think of a scripture in Alma 6:6:

6:  Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.

We have such an amazing work to do, not just as full-time missionaries, but every single member in bringing the Gospel to those who don't know God and are searching for more meaning in life.  Through prayer and fasting, Heavenly Father WILL put people in our path, or bring names to our mind, of people that need the Restored Gospel!  What an incredible work we have to do.  

--We also had Trainer and Trainee Meeting, Zone Conference, and I had my exit interview with my mission president.  WE WERE ON A SPIRITUAL HIGH!!  They were absolutely incredible meetings, where the spirit was SO strong.  We learned from the scriptures the entire time, which was absolutely incredible.  I would share but am so out of time.  I love President Toone!  I love being a missionary, every second of it--the greatest decision I have have made up to this point in my life.  I love the scriptures and know without a doubt that they are the word of God.  There are many people looking for more in life and simply do not know where to find it, but we, as member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, have it, and so let's share it with others!

Have such a great week!
Love, Sister Lake

Haha, moose are friends...just look at these pictures!

Brother Collins, our ward mission leader, and his sister on his research facility