Famous last words

I CANNOT believe that this is here. You always know your last day will come, but you never believe it. Everyone keeps asking me how I feel, and I don't know how to answer. I feel 1000 different emotions all at once, which equals no emotions at all. haha. Not true: I feel happy, and I feel sad. I feel hopeful and fearful, excited and nervous/anxious.  Overall I feel numb though, because it just doesn't seem real. Nothing has changed yet. I still went to Kirtland Saturday, church on Sunday, taught all day yesterday, and today is p-day. See, nothing different. I've said most of my goodbyes, gave my Mayfield farewell on Sunday, had an exit interview, and it's still not real. But I have had a lot of opportunities to ponder and reflect on my mission. Normally, I feel like it would be a scripture or something that comes to my mind to summarize my mission--and there are some--but the best way to describe how I feel right now comes from the good ol' Kirtland movie that we show with every tour. Yes, I can quote it, and yes, if you ask nicely I will act it out for you. :) But at the very end of the movie, the Saints are driven by persecution and commandment to go to Missouri. A sad and confused Phebe Carter Woodruff comes to Ann Whitney in the store to figure out why. I love Ann's response:

"Kirtland is my home, Phebe. I expected to live my life here. But, Phebe, the temple is finished. We have received God's law. His promises have been fulfilled!"

That's how I feel. Kirtland has become my home. I do feel like my heart will always be here. This is where I grew, where I loved and served, and where I gave my all. That makes it my home. Times like right now, I feel like I will live here forever. I feel like you all are coming tomorrow just to visit Ohio for Christmas, then I'll be back to work. This is where I have found the greatest satisfaction. But I know that this is actually it, I am going home, but I can find a purpose there too. As for the rest of Ann Whitney's quote, there are just not words to describe how much joy and gratitude I feel. When I decided 16 years ago that I was going to serve a mission, I thought that the I would be the one who would be serving. I was wrong. Heavenly Father has blessed me with SO much growth and progression, that I just don't even know how to describe it. All the promises that He made to me, I have already seen fulfilled, and I know that this is just the beginning. How can 18 months change me so much!? It's the experiences that I have been given, the aid that I have received, and the faith that has developed. I am just so overwhelmed that I am overflowing with gratitude. That overflowing may or may not have carried over to my eyes, haha.

At the trainer's meeting several weeks ago, President Sorensen asked me to stand up and bear my testimony to all the brand new missionaries about how understand my purpose has helped my mission. I told all of the missionaries, and President, that I was in the running for the Most Improved Missionary award because of coming to understand my purpose as a missionary. Not to say that I was a terrible person before my mission--because I'd like to think that I wasn't--but just because everything has become more clear and beautiful and exciting and satisfying. When you have a purpose to everything you do, life is fulfilling! My mission has been the most fulfilling thing because of understanding my purpose, no matter how long it took. Now I am just so excited to move forward with my life, take all the lessons I've learned, find a purpose in everything that I do, and living a happy fulfilling life :) If the Saints can learn and grow from trials and experiences in Kirtland and then take those lessons with them as they moved on to the trials of Missouri, then I can do the same thing with the lessons that I have learned from the same place :)

I love Kirtland. I love Cleveland. I love Ohio. I love Ohioans. I love the Amish. I love the ghetto. I love my companions. I love my leaders. I love Joseph Smith. I love my Savior. I love my Father in Heaven. I love this gospel. I love my mission.  :)

Always and forever will I be...,
Sister Melissa Maughan

Can they get anything right with my mission paperwork!?

Hello family!

I hope that you had a happy Thanksgiving! It was a really great one here in Kirtland/Mayfield! Really busy, but great. In the morning after studies, we headed to Kirtland for games and music. We played the most intense game of spoons I think I have ever played!! No worries, I won :) But the last two rounds required us to run through the gathering room, past the Christus, into the theater and down to the front to pick up the spoon, haha. It was hilarious to see. After that, we headed over to the Messegee's home for the afternoon and Thanksgiving dinner! It was wonderful to be with them and their family, and we had the most delicious meal! It's helpful to go to Thanksgiving in the home of two chefs. Yum yum! They have such an amazing family, and I love being there. At 6 that night, we drove back to Kirtland for leftovers (which I had to pass on haha) and a movie. President had given us permission to watch the movie about Emma Smith! It was so great. I've been wanting to see that for a long time, and so it was the perfect addition to Thanksgiving :)

The next day was the lighting ceremony at sites that marked the opening of the Nativity Exhibit. It is even more grand and beautiful than last year! It was a fun little lighting ceremony, and the weather was nice. The down side was that Sister Denison tripped and fell right in front of the mayor, the stake president, and the sites director. She tore up her knee and has sprained her ankle...no fun for missionary work! Now we really have to avoid tracting whenever possible, ha. 

We had a great day for missionary work the day before Thanksgiving and found several new investigators, but wow, Black Friday is most definitely the worst day to do missionary work! Lousy lousy lousy. Everyone is rude, not home, and/or cancels appointments. But that's okay, we still have another full week to find and teach, and I am looking forward to every minute of it. 

So I already told this story to Mom, but it's just too funny to pass up. This week I got my trunky papers (that's not the funny part) and I refused to open them until after we had finished daily planning that night. In the large packet they gave me was a copy of the paper that they sent home to mom and dad about when to be at the mission home next Thursday. It says "Dear Brother and Sister Maughan.......would you please be at the mission home at 10 am to pick up Sister Webb." um...what!? Looks like I extended without even asking for it! Haha. I texted Sister Messegee about it and she said " they just can not get things right for you, can they?" Apparently not! San Diego, Cleveland and Peru [Melissa's second mission call told her to report to the Peru MTC to prepare to go to Cleveland!!] just to get on my mission, and "Sister Webb" to get off my mission! Ah, good times :) 

Well, I hope that you all have a great week! Enjoy the beginning of December! 

Much love,
Sister Maughan

Sureeeee you're not counting down....

You know mom, you say you are not counting down, but I took someone on tour this week who just moved into our neighborhood and Glenville Ward who told me you are counting down the 17 days I have left or something, so sorry...secret's blown!! :) 

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Can you believe it's Thanksgiving?! I love this time of year. It's so wonderful and happy, and we have SO much to be grateful for! I am grateful for so much: for serving a mission, for meeting wonderful people, for having the gospel in my life, for the world's most amazing family, for serving in such a sacred place, for a (semi) healthy body, serving around fantastic missionaries, and for recognizing the many miracles and blessings that I see every single day! Like I say, a happy time :)

This week has been a good week, but a weird one. For instance, I was in Kirtland for 78 hours straight. Now during the busy season of summer that would be tiring because I'd be on my feet all day every day giving tours, but during the slower season, it's tiring because you sit and make calls and do Mormon.org chatting all day! whew. But it was still really good. Sister D and I were on exchanges with the training sisters, and it was a really good experience for Sis. D to get some practice taking over the area. She did a great job, though she was very very nervous. I think it was good for her to see that she can do this though, that the Lord wouldn't call her to do anything that she wasn't capable of doing with the Lord's help. That was really good for her. 

Before we went on exchanges though, we had an awesome day on Wednesday! When we were planning on Tuesday night, I turned to Sister D and said "Sista, we is gunna have an epic day of findin'!" Yes, I did say it just like that, and yes, it was an epic day of finding!! We were able to get a member from the singles ward to come with us all afternoon, so we had an extra amount of faith, and off we went! We met with several investigators, did lots of tracting, and stopped by some potentials. We had several amazing lessons and new investigators and miracles that day, so overall, successful. Have I mentioned how much I love being a missionary?!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving! I love you all so much and will talk to you next week!

Much love,
Sister Maughan

Did I mention this is NOT the time to get sick!?!?

Seriously, this is just getting ridiculous. For someone who prides herself on her good health (that's the problem apparently--pride) I'm sure tired of getting sick! This week it has been a terrible sore throat, a sick nasty cough (you know, the ones that shake the house and make you worried you'll find a lung on the ground after) and a persistent fever. grrrr..... It's okay. I think the fever is finally gone for good. 

But apparently I am not the only who has been sick! These week, we had two sisters from our mission go home sick :( One of them was Sister Schwanke's companion in Painesville. So there were two sisters who were full time sites/chat who both previously served in Painesville who are shipped back there and so they were in a triple-up for 2 days...until a full proselyting sister went home sick! So now, Sister Schwanke is out full pros for her last 4 weeks as a missionary! I think she was really sad to leave Kirtland because she won't finish here, but she loved Lorain (it's west of Cleveland) so I think that is the only benefit. We sure miss her though. 

So we've had a pretty good week, and it was almost a normal week (minus a day for zone conference) and so we actually had real time in our area! Always a treat. We found a new investigator this week when a less active from another ward moved into our area. She is starting to come back to church--and she's bringing her boyfriend with her! We've only met with them once, but they both have great faith and I am excited to teach them! 

So....yeah....did anyone else wake up to 3 inches of snow on Friday?!? that was really not cool. That was the day of our zone conference in Cleveland and I was totally in denial. It is WAY too soon for solid snow! When we went to the conference everyone was wearing boots and thick jackets. Not me! I'm not conforming! So what did I wear?! Flats and a springy-flower cardigan hahahaha. That's right. Okay, fine, just to make you feel better, Mom, I also wore tights and a winter coat. Sigh. Thankfully, it has warmed up this week and we haven't had any more snow. Phew. Prayers are answered ;) 

Well, I think that is all I really have for today. I love you all and I hope that you have a great week! 

Much love without the snow, 
Sister Maughan

Daylight savings is God's gift to obedient missionaries

Happy p-day!! Oh wait...it's only my pday. But I can say Happy belated birthday to Erin Wilson, a happy current birthday to Elder Erickson and a happy early birthday to Brian Lowe, Tae Smart and Cassie Phillips! Does that work? Man, lots of birthdays this week. I'm disappointed that no one yet today has wished me a happy 22 and 1/3 birthday. pssh.

Things have been going pretty well this week, although not a lot of time in our area. With this new training program, we do 3 hours of studies a day (yay....) and we are told that we have to find that time. But with our responsibilities at Kirtland, and other meetings that we have been having, it is very difficult to find that time to study. At times I have to admit that it is really hard for me to sit inside and role play for 2 hours when I'd much rather be outside trying to find people to teach and actually doing the teaching! But that is when I really have to take a step back and a deep breath. The Lord has asked us to do this new program, and he is aware of this area and our situation. I am the one who is just not exercising enough faith. Sigh. I'm working on it, promise!

We had trainers and trainee's meeting on Friday, and that was incredible! We heard a lot of workshops about planning and purpose and how to be better just in general, and I just felt so inspired and uplifted. I really needed it. It's amazing how the Lord just gives us those things that we need, right when we need it. Somehow at that meeting we were asked to do an impromptu musical number (Sister Denison and I have identical voices...it's kinda weird.) and then right afterwards we went contacting in downtown Cleveland in Tower City. They put us into different companionships, loaded us up into the mission vans and randomly dropped us off and told us to be back in an hour and half. It was awesome! There were so many people and we got to talk to lots. My temporary companion, Sister Matsen and I were able to talk to lots of people and give out several copies of the Book of Mormon. We talked to one man for almost 25 minutes. His name is Bruce and he is the definition of searching for truth. It was an amazing experience to be testifying of this gospel and having him read from the Book of Mormon right there, in the middle of a big city. By the end of the conversation there was an amazing light in his eyes that was vastly different than how we started, and I knew that he now knew that he was not just somebody lost in a big city, but he was a loved child of Heavenly Father, who knew him. Bruce could not deny that. He agreed to meet with the missionaries in his area.

As we drove back to the mission office from Tower City Plaza, the sun was just setting. As I looked back, I saw the city silhouetted against the sunset, driving next to GORGEOUS Lake Erie with it's lighthouses, in a van full of excited missionaries, most of whom were just at the very beginning of their missions, and I have to admit I started to tear up. These missionaries have no idea what amazing experiences they are about to have in the next 18-24 months. And as I thought about Bruce, Lala, Andrew, Jason and the many others that we talked to that day, it hit me yet again that this is what my mission is all about. I can't believe I've crossed the line into my last month. It's just exciting to have the opportunity to keep serving and keep working and keep doing what I have come to love and live with all my heart. 


Well, on that note...I'm gonna send a picture of me and Sister Denison! We took it on a fall walk around the sites during a break. You can see the sawmill/waterwheel behind us. The other one is taken behind the sawmill and ashery. Love you all! have a great week! and I hope you thoroughly appreciated your extra hour of sleep due to daylight savings! 

Leaf piles of love,
Sister Maughan

Wanted: hairdresser who speaks English!!

Hello family!

Happy Halloween! Although I must admit I keep forgetting that it is Halloween. To me, it just seems like another day, I am not festive at all. In fact, I'm wearing a red skirt and a white shirt with a black cardigan, so that doesn't make anyone think of Halloween, haha. It's never been my favorite holiday anyway.

Our p-day has been switched back to Monday! I have to admit, I am going to miss having Wednesday p-days, those were so nice in the middle of the week, but I have no doubt my companion is grateful that there was only 5 days before her first pday, as opposed to 8, haha. My greenie's name is Sister D and she is from West Jordan, Utah. She's sweet, and I really like her. It's a big adjustment coming into the mission field, and it's especially big when you know that you have only 6 weeks before you have to take over the area, but I'm trying to help her adjust as easily as possible. It just takes some time, but it will just get easier and easier. That's the plan anyway.

We did lots of tracting this past week, and trying to introduce Sister D to members of the ward. We just jump right into missionary work in Mayfield! haha. And to make things even more fun, we both gave 15 minute talks in church yesterday and she had to give a 15 minute workshop this morning in District Meeting! haha. Oh boy. But this is a fantastic mission--truly the best ;) -- and so from what I can tell, she is loving it. 

Hm... I'm trying really hard to remember what else happened this week that I can report on...Oh! Before I forget, my schedule at Kirtland changed: Now we are there Tuesday mornings, and all day Thursday and Saturday. So nothing too different, just a switch from Monday to Thursday. Also, thanks for the treats from Fo' Castle Farms!! It was so nice to get some nice treats from home! They were yummy! From what the Messegee's told me last night at dinner, it sounds like they had a WONDERFUL time with the family. Not that I am surprise at all. I have to admit I was a bit jealous that I could not be there with my family and my second family! It's okay though. That reunion will happen again sometime soon. It was crazy to see pictures that they took in the house. This was my thought process: "oh look at cute little Elaine!!....playing with the doll I got in Ghana.......in my bedroom....on my bed....?"  Weirddddd. I'm glad that you all had a wonderful time too! 

Well, I can't really think of much else to tell you, and I'm sorry to say that I forgot my camera today, so no pictures this week. Which may not be a bad thing considering my new hair cut. NEVER get a hair cut from someone who does not speak English, thinks that they are supposed to give you a facial, cuts off 4-6 inches when you wanted 2, and gives you an IDENTICAL haircut to their own crazy style. And absolutely don't let that happen 6 weeks before you go home from your mission. Not that I am speaking from experience.... haha. (I must admit, I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry hahaha) 

Love you all! 

Buckets of Love,
Sister Maughan

It Should Be An Extensive Surgery

Well, here we go!....

....Tomorrow is transfers! Unbelievable. I can't believe it's my last one.  I'm excited though. It's going to be quite the change. I feel like Sister Schwanke and I have been companions for my entire mission! And I feel like we are conjoined twins that will have to go under extensive, painful surgery to separate us haha. But really, we have practically the same mind and thoughts at this point! It's very bizarre. But I guess that is what happens when you are with someone for 24 hours a day without spending even a second apart. But it's exciting to have a new missionary. Mom, you asked if she's been in the area for a bit, but whoever my companion is, she is coming straight from the MTC!! In fact, as we speak she is flying somewhere between here and Cleveland and will arrive this afternoon. Whoever she is, both my options are from Utah, so it looks like I'll be finishing with a Utah companion! Not that that means anything, haha. It's just kind of interesting, since everyone always guesses we are from Utah, and the answer is never 'yes'.

Well, I'm trying to see what exciting things to tell you...Schwanke and I both got some sort of 24 hour bug last week, but unfortunately that went from Thursday morning til Friday afternoon, which is more than 24 hours I realize (thank you very much, my math skills haven't deteriorated THAT much!) but still short lived, although it cut a chunk out of our proselyting time! Sigh. But on Saturday we got to make up for it a little bit. We went on exchanges, but it was funky exchanges. President asked Sister Schwanke and I to BOTH go into another area and work with one of the sisters who serves there. Weird, right? A triple up in another random area! It was really fun though, and brought me back to my time with Sister Everson and Wattles in South Euclid! :) We did lots of tracting, taught some less actives they had never met, and found some new investigators. It was fun to be serving in another area, especially since I'm in my last area. But it still made me so grateful that I am staying in Mayfield :)

It's hard to believe that the Messegees will be with you all this week! Everyone laughs when I say that my Ward Mission Leader and his family are staying in my home with my family! Heck, sweet little baby Elaine will probably even be playing with my old toys in my room!! haha. I'm gonna say that has hardly happened in any mission ever, haha. One of the many joys of serving close to home!

Well, time for more class registration. I just signed up for beginners badminton! hahaha. SWEET! Then I can take everyone down! ;) Sorry this is so short, but not much to report on. I love you all, hope you have a wonderful week! 

Much love,
Sister Maughan

Becoming a 'Mommy'

The wonderful Kirtland Sisters

Hello family!

I didn't really have a fear of becoming trunky as I get ready to begin my last transfer here in Ohio, but now I REALLY have no option but to not get trunky! President Sorensen called Saturday afternoon to let me know that I will be training a new missionary for my last transfer. Whoa! Training at the very end of my mission. Should be interesting/cool/stressful/good. At our trainers meeting on Monday, it was confirmed that I would be training in Mayfield, so that means that I will spend HALF my mission here, a full 9 months. That's a long time, but I have to admit I am SO glad that I will be finishing my mission here in Mayfield. I love it here! and I hope that my new greenie will love it too :) Transfers are a week from today, so we'll have one more pday to email home (next Tuesday) and then I'll meet her on Wednesday. I'm sad Sister Schwanke is leaving, and I know that she is really bummed too. It's been such a good 4 1/2 months... :( But that's okay, there are great things in store for her wherever she goes for her last transfer.

There are great things happening in Mayfield, and we have seen lots and lots of miracles this week! We found a couple new investigators, who are all searching for truth! It's incredible. They both came to church on Sunday and both just loved church! The greatest thing is that they were both found from different members. That is a miracle in and of itself! To see the members of the church doing missionary work is fantastic. Truly, this is the Lord's way of doing missionary work! Yes, we can--and do--go door to door, but the members are really the ones who share the gospel. But we did a neat experience tracting this week.........

We were supposed to have dinner with our neighbors, but at the last minute she got called into work so we got to do our backup...tracting! woot woot. So we were tracting one street just as it was getting dark and no one was even close to interested in talking to us. Some were rude, some not, but either way we weren't finding much success. Then we knocked on one man's door. He was nice and talked to us for a while, and you could tell he was interested, but when we asked if we could come back sometime and bring him a Book of Mormon, he hesitated then said no. 


Just as we were getting ready to leave, Sister Schwanke asked if we could sing him a song! So we sang him "I am a Child of God". Singing while proselyting has been something President has been pushing for a month or two, and we really are finding success with it. By the time we finished the song, Bill was bawling. Then he opened up to us. He said that his mom had died 2 months ago and the next day was supposed to be her 90th birthday. All day he had been feeling lonely and sad, and when we sang "...has given me and earthly home with parents kind and dear" it really touched him. We talked with him about God's plan for the family, and about life after this and his eyes lit up. By the time we finished, he wasn't letting us leave! He wanted us to keep telling him more! He accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon right there and said we could come back. That really showed me how amazingly aware the Lord is. We never would have gone to his house right at the time that he needed us if our neighbors had taken us to dinner. But Heavenly Father knows His children, and helped us to be sure we were at the right place at the right time :)

Well, I'm going to attach some pictures for ya before I go. But I love you all lots and lots! Surprised?! haha. Have a fantastic week, and Scott/Elder Maughan, I would love to send you a snowball for Christmas :)

Much love,
Sister Maughan

Schbaptize Maughanthly!

Hello Hello!

This has been a great week! Although, time is flying. Transfer decisions are next week! I can't believe how fast time is going. I think it's a discussion that Sister Schwanke and I have daily, and it never ceases to amaze. I know today is October 12, but tomorrow it will shock me that it is October 13. haha. We're just putting our heads down to work. And combining our names to set a goal for ourselves haha.

So we have had a lot of pretty amazing realizations this week, mostly about the need to be more creative in our missionary work and break out of traditions. When you are transferred into a new area, the trend seems to be that the remaining missionary just teaches the transferred missionary the things that have been going on in an area and the ways things are done, and that continues from missionary to missionary. Foolish traditions, right? Well, if we get caught in that rut, we're doing the same things over and over again! So this week, we finally realized that that has been going on here in Mayfield for quite some time. But we found a scripture this week that is now our motto, basically:

"For there are many promises which are extended to the Mayfield Sisters; for it is because of the traditions of their mothers that caused them to remain in their state of ignorance; therefore the Lord will be merciful unto them and prolong their companionship in the land." (Alma 9:16...with some alterations ;)

We know that there is SO much potential in this area, and we can feel it. So many promises...So we're gonna take it and run! We wrote out many of the traditions of our "mothers" and we are going to abolish them. It's things like stopping the weekly service that missionaries have done for years that really isn't bringing forth much fruit... now we have a new service opportunity that Sister Schwanke and I are REALLY excited about.... EMERGENCY ROOM! It makes sense we'd be excited to be back in the hospitals again :) I'm REALLY excited! We start tomorrow! The main volunteer position is comfort care for the patients and their families, but the coordinator said that with our nursing background, she's quite sure we'll get to do some nursing things. We're really excited, for the nursing, yes, but also because it is a GREAT opportunity! We get to help out in the community and have great exposure and especially get to help people when they are really in need. Christ helped the sick and the needy, so shouldn't His servants?!

Also, little update on our neighbor! We've had some good conversation with her back and forward through texting, and we got to talk with her yesterday. We're going to have dinner together later this week; she said that she has a lot of questions for us. That's what a missionary likes to hear! She is so nice and we are all really looking forward to dinner. 

Well family, I love you all. I'm so happy, and I'm so happy that you are all doing so well. Talk to you in another week! which will feel like a day haha.

Sister Maughan

One of those stories that you think will never happen to you...

Hello Family!!

This has been such a great week, although it was really long week though too! Sister Schwanke and I both agree that a pday has NEVER looked so appealing before. It's probably a result of 10 days since our last pday, plus our old tiring bodies needing rest, plus all the hard work this week! whew! But we were able to see lots of good things this week. We found some new investigators, we were finally able to meet with other investigators who had fallen off the face of the earth for a time, we had some awesome experiences chatting, and we were able to find some less active members that we haven't been able to get in contact with! Yesterday, we even had an awesome experience. Sister Schwanke and I were invited to the mission office to attend mission council. This is an all day meeting with President Sorensen, the assistants, and all the zone leaders...and us. haha. There are all kinds of workshops and lessons and role-plays that we do,  and then there is a council in the afternoon where we discuss the needs of the mission and work together to figure out how to improve it. It was a really neat experience to see how the leadership of the mission works. It became very clear to me that we are not the ones in charge of this mission. The Lord really inspired all of us so that we were able to receive revelation that was very specific to the needs of the Ohio Cleveland Mission. It was incredible, really. I was really glad that I was able to go to that meeting and see how the Spirit works.

So we had a real miracle this week. Last Sunday night, we woke up around 11:30 pm to a tapping noise. After quite some time, we figured out that the tapping noise was actually someone at our door! I went to the door and it was our neighbor across the hall. She's pretty young, and a nurse, and I think she used to think we were weird--not totally uncommon haha--until we talked to her one time by our cars and made the nursing connection and told her what we were doing in Cleveland. Anyway, she had been knocking on our door for a LONG time, letting us know that our car light was on. This was extra weird because the light that was on, was the light in the back seat, that we never turn on for any reason. But we were really appreciative, especially because we had 'zoned out' the next day and had to leave extra early that morning. We thanked her profusely, then went back to bed. The next day we wrote her a thank you note, slipped in a mormon.org card for her to check out the website, and slipped it under her door, and that was that.

Fast forward to this past Sunday night. We were getting ready for bed, when we saw that there was a card addressed to us under the door. We opened it, and it was a thank you card from our neighbor! Then we opened it and found a miracle inside -- a wonderful note that shared her faith in God and His hand in her life, and how much she enjoyed the stories and experiences on mormon.org.
It really is such a miracle. Preach My Gospel says that we need to develop faith to find those who are prepared, and that they will find us. This was a huge testimony builder for me. If we live worthy of the Spirit, the Lord will inspire us and well trust us with His children. Now we have this goal to remain as humble as possible and receptive to promptings so that we go forward the way that the Lord wants us to. I have no idea what the future holds for our neighbor, but I know whose Hand was involved in two nursing students/missionaries living right across the hall from a nurse who is searching for truth in her life...

All I really have to say is that missions are the best! I'm so glad that I get to serve and see miracles and tender mercies on a daily basis. The lessons that I have been learning and will continue to learn are more valuable to me than anything I could ever imagine. I love you all so much! Have a great week!


Much love,
Sister Maughan

Chat-a-lat

Well this week has been interesting. We had VERY little time in our area. Sister Schwanke and I were called to be the trainers for Chat, so we've had to go in several times in the last week to train companionships. Right now, some missionaries are a little stressed about this "new" form of missionary work, but really, it's just exciting! I LOVE doing it! I must admit, it is pretty complicated to try and sort things out, scheduling and such, but we are just trying to explain to the new sisters that this is just exciting, and the same thing that we are always doing, only typing instead! Hopefully over time, it will become second nature. Yesterday I actually chatted with someone from Salem Virginia!! Crazy, right?! We can--and do--chat with people all around the world and yet I talk with someone from my second home. Coincidence? I think not. :)

Because of change in schedule last week, we have extra time in our area this week, which is really nice! We're in our area for 3 1/2 days straight! So we are having a lot of finding this week!

I have to admit, that this past week I have been able to do some of the most fun things of my mission...We work hard, but we play hard too!! Here's some snippets :)

1. Last p-day, we went with the South Euclid Sisters (Sisters Bringhurst and Manwaring--we are the quadruple up!) into Cleveland to walk around Little Italy, enjoy some AMAZING Italian food, and then over to the house that was used in the movie The Christmas Story! Complete with leg lamp and all. haha. I personally am not crazy about the movie, but I remember watching it with the Brooksbys, so I've already written Jared about it. :) Plus it was the fulfillment of Sister Bringhurst's dreams so she was a happy camper! Man, you should have heard her squeal! haha

2. We had another Zoned Out on Monday! That is the big mission wide p-day that they have every year. It was SO fun! We go to the John Johnson home, take a quick tour, and then just play games and other fun activities with the mission. I ended up playing football for 2 1/2 hours...and not being able to walk all the next day. haha. Dad, I miss the days of playing in the front yard where you draw on on your hand where you want me to run, haha. Good times, yet again. Although we were both strangely sentimental as we left. It's weird to repeat significant days of your mission. I remember last Zoned Out like it was yesterday.

There's some fun things for the letter today! I've attached some pictures of each of these events. Hope you all have a good week! Pray for us to find!

Love you all,
Sister Maughan

The Christmas Story house

Me and the Johnsons. Sister Johnson used to babysit my mom when she lived in England!

Ask Jeeves--> Ask Missionaries! :)

Hello family!

Hope you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather! I'm serious,  I'm pretty sure that autumn came just overnight! Literally. But I have to admit, it is absolutely beautiful! It's pretty funny to go to sites though and see all the sisters wearing coats. Sister Schwanke and I are in denial, though, and have decided that we are not wearing coats until at least the first day of October...and we wonder why we get sick? haha.

We have had a really amazing opportunity come up at Kirtland that we are really excited about! We got a call from the Training Sisters this past week asking us to come in early and be trained in a new program called Chat. It has been in a trial run for the last 2 1/2 years, but now they are starting it up in a few visitor centers around the world: London, Kirtland, and one other place, but I can't remember. It's something similar to what Eric and I would do when we would volunteer at the MTC before my mission, but it's even better. Sister Schwanke and I are heading up the program here in Kirtland, so it's still pretty new and we're learning, but we as companions talk to people who chat on mormon.org. We are able to answer their questions, refer them to different videos and different links to help them understand the gospel better, and it truly is amazing. We are reaching a whole new level of people! So far in the test program, they average 1-2 baptisms a week with a 95% activity rate! It's incredible! 


The end goal when we talk to these people is not for them to have the missionaries come to them, but to move at their own pace. But make no mistake, we aren't ask jeeves or anything. This is the incredible part: we are literally teaching them! We teach them principles from Preach My Gospel, we extend commitments, follow up with them, and even have return appointments with them! We literally have investigators! And for those who have served missions, we even have an online area book where we keep track of what we teach them, and what we should do to help them next. 


We have only done it one day, but it is incredible to see the miracles. The spirit is so strong as we chat with these people, and we meet sincere seekers who want to know more. We have 2 investigators already, with return appointments and a desire to read the book of mormon and pray. Sister Schwanke and I were able to talk to 2 people in Brazil, 2 in the UK, and many all around the USA. We talked to a 14 year member who was struggling with her testimony of Joseph Smith; a man with no faith in Christ who is a recovering alcoholic looking for happiness in his life; a recently married woman who has lots of LDS friends but was to afraid to ask them how they made their marriage eternal and why they are so happy; a less active woman in Ohio (!!) who hadn't been to church in 11 years, had requested to not be contacted by the church, but now wanted more than anything to come back but was scared...These are just a few of the people we chatted with one just one day! It is incredible.

It seems like every day someone (or something) is reminding me that I go home next transfer, and as a result I've been able to think about what has already happened in my mission thus far. Especially with the addition of Chat this week, I have been filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the chance that I have to serve in literally the best mission in the world!!! How many people get to say that on their mission they get to:

• proselyte 5 days a week teaching and tracting and baptizing
• give tours of a spiritual and significant church history site, teaching church history, testify of the restoration, our Savior, and a true and living church on the earth and strengthen the faith of others
• call others around the world and invite them to learn more about Christ and how a faith in Him and the Book of Mormon can help us find eternal happiness
• chat online with people with all different backgrounds and allow them a safe place to open up and have their concerns met as they have questions answered about the church
• PLUS, get to serve right near their hometown and therefore get to see family and friends from time to time!?!?

Can you see why I am overwhelmed with gratitude? I love this. I love my mission, and I love all the experiences that I have already had, continue to have and WILL continue to have :)

I love you all sooo much! Thanks for all your love and support! Have a fantastic week!

Sister Maughan

"So, my darling, you shall have a home and a cow"

Dear Family,

This has been a crazy week. After so much sickness last weekend when we both had to stay in, we left the house for the first time to go to Mentor (right next to Kirtland) and tour the only thing Mentor itself is famous for: The home of James A. Garfield! Anyone know who is he? anyone? anyone? 20th President of the United States, but only served 200 days in office before he was martyred. Yup yup. Very exciting. No worries,  I had no idea who he was either until I came here. It was an interesting tour. It was mostly exciting because we were the tour takers not the tour givers! The subject line was written on the wall, something he had told to his wife. I plan on telling my husband that I, too, need that. At least written on my wall.

So we were able to get out and about for a little bit on Tuesday and then we went to sites on Wednesday. As soon as we got to Kirtland, I looked at Sister S and she was sweating and looked so flushed. I felt her forehead and she had a very high fever! Complete with fever rash and all! Finally, after 2 months of being sick consistently, Sister So told Sister S that she needs to stay inside and rest for at least 3 days...the ultimate torture for a missionary. But she was obedient, and was in until Sunday, when we went to church just for sacrament meeting, then to our dinner (with Emily! That's awesome you got to talk to her!) and then rest. Sister S is definitely feeling better, but still is being careful about resting, because her body is still fighting.

With Sister S staying in, I've had different companions each day to go out into the area with me to work. So I have had 3 different companions this week. There was a pretty big possibility that one of us would get transferred, so I thought that I would have 4 companions in one week, but it turns out S and I are staying together for a third transfer! This will be 7 1/2 months (at least) in Mayfield! Whew! Should be good though :)

One of my temporary companions and I had an awesome experience on Friday night. We got to take one of our recent converts over to the Cleveland Stake Center and hear from Cheryl Esplin of the Primary General Presidency and Barbara Thompson of the the Relief Society General Presidency! It was FANTASTIC! They were so nice and absolutely hilarious! Most of all, the Spirit was so strong. They are incredible women who are so inspired. It was a perfect meeting for our recent convert with us. Everything that they said, especially Sister Thompson, was just perfect for her. She talked about family, and the temple, and how to become holy women. It was phenomenal and to hear Chris talking on the way home, she was incredibly moved by the things that were said and that she felt. It was a huge tender mercy for us to be able to go. At the end, when we got to meet them, Chris gave them both a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek :)

Well, I love you all lots and lots, and I hope that you have a great week.

Much love,
Sister Mayfield

I mean, Sister Maughan

Transfer of sickness continued....

Hello Family!

 

Well, I feel like I just very very recently talked to you, so there's not a whole lot to give an update on. I appreciate all of the updates on Sister Bentley. It breaks my heart. She, her family, and Sister Love and her family have been the focus of many many prayers here in the Ohio Cleveland Mission. Thanks for keeping me updated. Truly.

So our transfer of sickness has definitely continued. In fact, today is the first day that we will be doing missionary work since Friday. We were stuck inside ALL weekend! All in all, I think we are on the mend for the most part now. Which is good, because I can't handle this for the last 3 months as a missionary.

 

I've learned an important lesson this week that I want to share. We had an interesting week with one of our investigators. She was found just before I got here, and so I have been teaching her regularly for 6 months now. I love her. I feel very close to her. She LOVES the gospel, she loves coming to church, she loves the Book of Mormon, and she has such a testimony. Before we had even taught her the Word of Wisdom, she heard about it at church, and gave up coffee before we had even asked. But she's not baptized, and is now no longer progressing. She refuses to live the law of chastity. That's it. She is willing to live every commandment, keep every commitment, except one. Granted, it's a big one, but the principle is still the same. This week, we had to drop her, because she flat out refuses to live the commandment. We can't progress if we aren't willing to completely follow Christ's example, in everything. It breaks my heart and has been difficult for me to think about not teaching her anymore. But I keep thinking how happy we are if we just are obedient to the commandments...ALL of them! It's not to restrict us, but it really is what brings us true happiness. When we teach someone who knows that they are living wrong, they are miserable. The guilt that she felt would make our lessons start out a bit awkward, because she knew she was wrong and she wasn't happy. It makes me think of Mosiah 2:41. Just consider the blessed and happy state of those who live the commandments, and then choose to be obedient to them all! So many blessings await when we do.

 

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a better week than they had this last week, I love you all.

 

Sister Maughan

Baptisms with Gladys Knight, pianos, and IVs

Hello family! 


This day is so weird, for so many reasons: 1. It's Wednesday. That's always weird. I feel like I am breaking rules. 2. We got permission from our mission president to get on our old emails and BYU websites to figure out nursing/school/registration. Now I REALLY feel like I am breaking rules! 3. Thinking about registering for classes in January is causing great anxiety! 4. Right after emailing, Sister S and I are going over to a member's home (who is a nurse) and practicing IVs on each other! haha. 


Whew. Anxiety. But we're back now! 


In missionary news--which is totally the point of this emailing weekly thing--it was a great week! H's baptism and confirmation was Sunday night and it was an EXTRAORDINARY success! It was perfect. There was a great turnout from the ward, including all the YW, which was the reason for the rescheduling. But it's amazing to see how much the Lord's hand was in the timing of the baptism. If we had done the baptism when it was originally scheduled, we would not have been able to have some very important potential investigators come. Anyway, her entire family was able to come and they loved it. Her mom was even crying and she didn't even know why, she just felt so "happy". H sang her own version of I am a Child of God, which was awesome. Gladys Knight style... oh Cleveland :) it was great though, and it definitely brought the Spirit. She is so happy and I'm excited to see all that she will do for her family. 


We also had mission conference yesterday. It was so great! Elder Nash of the Seventy is a remarkable speaker and leader. He taught us so much and I really got a lot of inspiration for Mayfield and for the rest of my mission. I love knowing that we can always improve, always get better, and that all comes through the Atonement. I really learned even more about the importance of the Atonement and how to more fully access the blessings available through it. It was truly an amazing experience yesterday. In the words of Oliver Cowdery, "these were days never to be forgotten." 


The only bad thing about the day was a really sore back! I was asked to play the piano for the conference, which included an hour and a half of prelude with everyone just sitting there listening to me and feeling the Spirit, and then an additional hour throughout the day. Sitting on a bench that long is intense! But I'm really glad I got to do that, as well as sing with Sister M. We sang a version of "Jesus, Once of Humble Birth" that was really powerful. It was a beautiful arrangement that really emphasized the words of the hymn. 


Anyway, it's time to go eat lunch then do IVs! No worries, I'll be sure to photograph this monumental event :) Speaking of which, I'll attach some photos from H's baptism. Love you all and have a great (half of a) week! 


Much love, 
Sister Maughan 


p.s. the last picture, of me in the font, is actually a funny story. We had to walk back through the font after we turned on the water, because the other door was stuck and wouldn't open! whoops!

1 missionary nurse + 1 missionary nurse = 2 much medical advice!

Hey heyy!

I hope things are going well at home! Is it cooling off there, too? Because it is like low 70s today and only mid 70s tomorrow...It's windy and breezy today and feels like mid-late September. Weird.

H ended up not getting baptized on Friday, but for no other reason than scheduling concerns. There are very few youth in this ward (like 10...and 2 are our investigators), and of that only 5 are baptized young women. Last Monday night we found out that FOUR of the young women were not going to be available Friday night for the baptism! Probably not a good idea to baptize a 12 year old girl without her member fellowshippers. haha. But that's okay. We just rescheduled for this coming Sunday night, which will work a lot better for many reasons. It gives H more time to feel prepared, and we can make sure that we can get everything done that needs to get done!

It ended up probably being a tender mercy that H's baptism was rescheduled, because my companion continues to be sick :( We only went out for 3 hours on Thursday and 4 on Friday. She even slept 15 hours one night! We're not sure what's wrong, but right after this we are headed to the hospital to get some blood work done. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to be stuck inside as a missionary, especially when you are sick, and Sister S is feeling that. People keep joking that it's a good thing that we've been getting sick while we are both companions since we are the two here in this mission who have medical knowledge, and we just have to laugh because it's probably NOT a good thing! We are very aware of what we should and should not be doing! haha. Sister S is probably getting sick of me telling her that she needs to rest or drink water or go to sleep early or stay in bed. haha. Don't worry though, it goes both ways. Hopefully we can figure out what is going on and both of us can get back to feeling 100% again! 


Here's the funniest story for this week: Thursday morning, she felt really awful, so she called our mission president's wife, Sister Sorensen. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, she told me that Sis. Sorensen had told her that she should rest in the morning, so Sis. S argued that we should go out and keep our appointments with the L family, H, and correlation meeting in the afternoon. I challenged that, and thought she should stay in and rest, but she won. So we went out and taught, and then at correlation meeting, she mentioned to one of the ward missionaries that Sister Sorensen had actually told her that she should rest ALL DAY!! haha! The little stinker! I gave her a hard time about that, especially because we were supposed to teach gospel principles yesterday at church, and what was the topic? Honesty :) hahaha.

We had a really powerful investigator fireside last night at Kirtland. It was a music fireside and it was absolutely amazing. There are very few more powerful ways to feel the Spirit than through music, but I am probably totally biased. It was OVERFLOWING, so much so that people were standing in the gathering room outside the theater just trying to listen, and others couldn't even do that, so they just had to walk around sites. Thankfully, we had reserved seats because they had asked me to speak (which, let's be honest, draws away from the spirit of music!) but I was really glad to participate in that. It was a very powerful evening:)

By the way, speaking of music, we are having two session of mission conference next week because we have Elder Nash of the Seventy coming to visit our mission. They've asked me and another sister to sing a duet at the Monday session, so we won't be having pday until Wednesday. Just a heads up!  Well, I hope things are going well for everyone! Love you all!! Have a great week :)

Sister Maughan

If I fall, you're going down with me!

Hello family!

Well, sickness has hit our companionship this week, which is always a real shame as a missionary, especially when it is both in a companionship! Although there are benefits of us both being sick...it is Heavenly Father's little nudge that we really do both need to rest and take care of our bodies!  We had different symptoms, but for both of us it was just one of those illnesses that leaves you totally wiped out, yet still feeling like you can and should do things! Which is more frustrating than I can express. Luckily, we found a good balance and had a great week.

Good news! H had her baptismal interview this past week and did fantastic! So her baptism is all systems go for Friday night! We're really excited and the ward is very supportive and excited too. This will be the first baptism in quite some time, so we're hoping for a good turnout. H is really excited and is inviting all of her friends and family--perfect!



We also had a miracle this week. We've been really looking for a family to teach, and that really has been what our efforts are focused on. This week, I think we found one :) It's a family that had been taught years ago, but they just were not all on board. Then Sister M and I started teaching the dad--C--but again, there just seem to be some discord and disconnect. So we taught for 2 months or so then let that go. But just a few weeks ago, the wife, who was really not on board when the elders were teaching them years ago, was suddenly very excited when we stopped by one night and wanted to meet with them. We met with her and their daughter J a few times before our lesson this week. It is amazing to see the family's excitement! The entire family of 5 was all there and actually interacting and reading the Book of Mormon together! They even said a family prayer, and that was something that they have never done before. C told us that never before has he seen his daughter and his son  interact with missionaries, but they were really excited that we were there! They have a desire to participate in Scouts, and the mom is VERY excited about Family History work, and we just get a good feeling about this! In the 5 months that I have been serving in Mayfield, I have never seen any of them so excited, and especially not ALL of them! There are still a lot of things that need to happen, lots of changes, but we're really excited and have a good feeling about this family :)

Hm... I'm not quite sure what else to tell you about this week. It has been a good one! Overall, just loving life and my mission and all that that entails :) It's exciting to get some pictures of Scott at the MTC in Brazil! I'm glad he made it safely. He looks so great as an elder :)

Well, sorry this letter is short. But I love you all lots! Have a fantastic week!

Love,
Sister Maughan

"Draw a picture of what your brother would look like if you weren't born"

Hello family!

Sister Schwanke and I have been having some real crazy dreams the last few weeks, so it is always entertaining to wake up in the morning and tell the stories. One morning, she told me about a dream she had where she was taking an exam and one of the questions was to draw a picture of what your brother would look like if you weren't born, hahaha. I thought about that for a bit, and I had no idea how I personally would draw that picture. I still have no idea what I would draw, but considering I got to see, talk to, and hug my brother this week, I have a much more fresh image! Oh my goodness! I cannot explain how happy I was when I saw Scott!! Although, maybe I don't need to explain it, considering it was caught on video. It's probably a good thing that I threw down my backpack because I probably could have taken someone out with the intensity that I ran to hug him haha. I don't know why I get to be so spoiled on my mission. I think in this case, Heavenly Father knew it's already hard enough to not be with your entire family for almost 4 years. But it's even harder to not see your your younger brother for over 3 years! I'm so glad that he was able to come just days before he leaves for Brazil. Everyone was telling me later that he is going to be an amazing missionary, which I already knew. There was an incredible power and spirit when all the sisters (and Olivia and Scott) knelt down in the call center to start our day and Scott said our prayer. It was so powerful. It made me proud to be a Maughan :)

Well I must say that was without a doubt the highlight of my week, and one the greatest highlights of my personal life, probably haha. But this week was still really good in addition to that! We had some sickness in our apartment (...Schwanke...) and so we were a little limited in our area time, but we saw amazing success this week! It was exciting. One of the highlights is working out the details of Heaven's baptism. It is scheduled for August 19, next Friday. She was so nervous and had no idea what to expect, but after church yesterday we were able to show her the baptismal font and then do a dry run to show her how she would be baptized next week. She is not so anxious anymore, yay! It's always a bit stressful the week or two before a baptism, but we're praying that everything will run smoothly as we get closer. I'll keep you updated!

Well, other than those things, I feel like there is not a whole lot to tell! So I'll send some pictures and let them do some talking! :) I hope that you have a great week, especially as Scott is entering the MTC. Scott, have a safe flight to Brazil, give away some pass along cards on the way, and keep being amazing. You will be a fantastic missionary, and I am so excited to hear all of the amazing things that you are going to do down there :)

Love you all so much!
Sister Maughan 

I'm going into unknown territory now...

Hello family!

Well, I am excited to say that I am experiencing a new "first" as a missionary...The first time I am spending more than three transfers in one area! Sister Schwanke and I were excited to learn that we will be staying together for another transfer! That will be at least six months in Mayfield for me. Actually, this is a funny transfer, because only one sister in all of Kirtland is getting transferred, and that is only because her companion is training. It's weird that everything is going to stay exactly the same for 12 weeks in a row. That's also untread waters! I'm so glad though, my heart was hurting just thinking about leaving Mayfield. I love it so much. There are so many good things happening here and I am excited that I get to stay and keep throwing everything I have into this area. I know this area is just going to keep building and building! I can feel it in the air :)

Thanks for sending me those pictures of the tour from Naperville! I loved the pictures, and I loved the tour! It was so much fun to take them, and it was especially fun as they talked about Grandma and Grandpa, and even Mom and Scott!  How fun that you got to be in Chicago right before the ward came to take a tour. It was a fantastic tour. I'm glad that they enjoyed it as much as we did. There were some really powerful moments, and lots of fun times too. For instance, you know how nowadays people are always telling "your momma" jokes? Well, we were in the School of the Prophets, and I had asked them what things they learned in school and it was dead silent except for one boy who said history. So I made some joke about how I wished I had gone to their school, and suddenly, real quiet in the back, one of the YM said "Your mom went our high school". hahahaha. Maybe it was one of those "had to be there" moments, but I hope that you can appreciate the humor that we had. I'm really glad you forwarded that email to me from Bro. Boswell. It's especially interesting to hear about Moroni 10:32 becoming their theme for their trip. I have never used that scripture before in any part of any tour, but it's amazing how the Lord inspires us to do certain things. When we were in the School of the Prophets, I felt very strongly that I needed to use that verse. We don't often get to hear the other side of the story, so I'm really glad that those boys appreciated that scripture. I hope that they do always remember their experience here in Kirtland. With the spirit so strong here, it really can be a huge source of strength for them.

As for the non-member special guest on the tour, that wasn't Georgie or Heaven...it was actually Corrina! She has a very interesting story, but it has been one of the best experiences on my mission. Back at the beginning of June, the elders who are serving in Parma came to Kirtland with a family that was getting baptized at the end of July. Corrina was the daughter of the family. Sister Mayer and I got to take them out. Throughout the tour, Corrina gave the impression that she was just a stubborn, somewhat rebellious teenager: they way she dressed (or didn't dress...), her attitude, etc. She kept saying that she didn't even believe in God and she wasn't going to get baptized with her family. We had a fantastic tour, and it seemed the whole time that we needed to focus on her. At the end of the tour, she gave me a comment card that said "Sister Maughan, thank you for answering all of my questions. Now I know that God is there, and He loves me and I'm His daughter". WOW. Now I know it wasn't me at all, and it was completely the spirit but I was so glad I got to witness that. THEN she came back with her family again the week before their baptism, and they brought some more family members who are not members. This time, Sister Schwanke and I got to take their family on tour. She just looked so different! Her countenance had COMPLETELY changed, she was dressed so different, and she was happy! We again had one of the most powerful tours I've been on, especially in the school of the prophets. I wish I could describe how much Corrina and her whole family got out of it, we could all just feel it. Unfortunately, Corrina opted not to get baptized. BUT, she loves Kirtland, and it is here that she has been gaining her testimony, so the elders asked President Sorensen if she could get permission to shadow us as a missionary for a day. She came with us last Saturday for several hours and helped on two tours. She bore testimony, acted on the spirit, and gave all kinds of knowledge about Kirtland! It was an incredible experience. At the end of the day, she said that she was reconsidering, and now she is planning on being baptized. I don't know when-- I only wrote her a letter yesterday--but it has been such a powerful experience to see Corrina change so much. I love that girl to pieces!

Anyway, sorry I am rambling so much today. But I'm just sooooo happy! Life is good :)

Love you all! Happy August!
Sister Maughan