The End is Only the Beginning

Dear Family,

I can hardly believe that I am here at the end. The past 18 months
have been amazing! No words can describe the things that I have
experienced. I am so grateful for it. I am happy to say that I am not
the same person that I was when I started. I have been changed by the
Atonement of Christ. And I have watched His influence change other
people's lives as well.

This week I am so grateful for the Christmas season. I had the best
Christmas of my entire life! And it had nothing to do with
decorations, presents, or Santa Claus. I was able to spend my days
lifting and helping others. I was blessed because other people served
me and my companion.

I am most grateful for all of you! If you ask any missionary what they
loved most about their mission, they will always tell you, The People!
Thank you to my companions, the wards, my family and friends from
home, my new friends out here and anyone else who let me in to their
homes and hearts. I will never forget what you have all done for me. I
may not be the best at writing, but I want you all to know how much I
care for all of you. Thank you!

If any of you are in Utah, my Homecoming will be Sunday January 10th
at 9 am in the Church Building on Orchard Drive in Bountiful.

I just want to share my testimony with you, that I know that Jesus
Christ lives. He is our Savior and Redeemer and He loves us more than
we can ever know. Because He loves us so dearly, he has called a
prophet in our day, to lead and guide us back home. He gave us the
Book of Mormon so that we can know how to draw closer to Him. He
called Joseph Smith to be his prophet in the last days. I know that my
Redeemer lives!

Let me finish with our mission theme for the year.

 "Shall we not go on in so great a cause?"

I love you all so dearly!!! I will miss my East Coast family that I am
leaving behind. I am excited to see my West Coast family again. And I
look forward to seeing all of you again soon! See you next week!

Love,
Sister McGuire

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind." 

                                                          -C.S. Lewis

   

   

Merry Christmas!!

Dear Family,

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!!!
I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas! I know I will, because we
are planning to serve that day. Service is the most selfish thing you
can possibly do! Hahaha! It just makes you feel so good!
Anyway, today was PDay and we were caught in the insanity known as
Walmart 3 days before Christmas. We also had to emergency run a bunch
of Book of Mormons to a family in the Ward who wanted to give them out
as presents. So, once again, we have no time to email.
But I want you to know that I love you! And I wish you all a Merry
Christmas!!!!!!!!

Love, Sister McGuire

P.S. You ALL need to check out Christmas.mormon.org It will change your life!

Christmas Miracles!!

Dear Family,

As always, I got busy doing some things, and now I'm out of time to
write. But, thanks to my lovely companion, you still get to hear the
stories for the week! So, hear you go! This is Sister Eastmonds
version of what happened this week, mixed Dear Family,
As always, I got busy doing some things, and now I'm out of time to
write. But, thanks to my lovely companion, you still get to hear the
stories for the week! So, hear you go! This is Sister Eastmonds
version of what happened this week mixed with some of my own
commentary.

This week we did a lot of service. We also taught quite a few good
lessons. The ward Christmas Party was on Friday night so we spent a
lot of time working with the ward preparing for that.
Anyways, on Tuesday it was pretty warm, so we decided to do some
street contacting in Spring City (one of the towns in our area, and by
warm I mean 58ish°) so we were walking around talking to people, and
headed down the street from where we parked our car, and all of the
sudden we got a text saying we had a new media referral (someone who
went on mormon.org and requested something) this referral happened to
be in spring city and the address was the other side of Main Street.
So we started walking back that direction, and we stopped to talk to
this man that was outside of a door. Come to find out that he is a
door to door salesman. So we start talking to him about missionary
work and how we go door to door sometimes too, and he asked us how
much we get paid. We told him that we don't get paid, that we're
volunteers, and he was floored. He gained such a respect and
admiration for us that when we gave him one of the pass along cards
that has the new Christmas initiative and the website for it, we
didn't even have to invite him to visit the website, he was like "You
know, because you two girls are so dedicated to sharing this message
of Christ I'm going to go visit the website here on this card!" Then
he wished us luck and a good day, and he continued on his way down the
street. So we continued down to the end of Main Street where this
referral lived and knocked on the door. She had requested a Joy to the
World DVD, and unfortunately we had just run out of them, but weren't
going to be back to spring city for a few days. So we stopped by,
shared "A Savior is Born" and then set up an appointment to come back
and bring the DVD to her. She was a really nice lady, but all she
wants is the dvd. She is very devout in her faith and not planning on
changing anytime soon.
Wednesday we had dinner
with a less active family, the Palmers. They are this super funny
family of young girls. While we were at their home we were able to
build a pretty good relationship with them. Then we went to the church
to help set up the decorations for the ward Christmas party.
Thursday we had district meeting, and then we went out finding all
day. People weren't very open to talking. People were all in a rush
and didn't feel like talking. Then we had dinner with the Chiarlanza
family. Sister Chiarlanza is a member, but her husband is not. So we
are going to try to start teaching him. Sister Chiarlanza told us
later that the Sister missionaries were teaching him, but then they
dropped him and stopped meeting with him. She told us how devastated
she was when the sisters told her that they weren't going to meet with
him anymore. It has been about a year now, so we're going to try
teaching him again. He seems to already like us!
Friday we spent the day weekly planning and then helping out with the
Christmas Party. We got everything ready for it. We had tons of
non-members come and it was amazing! The food was great and everyone
had a good time! The best part was that every single nonmember that
was there, was being fellowshipped by a member of the Ward. They were
all taken care of! It was amazing! I loved the theme of the party. We
had a Christmas Luau. Surprisingly, three of the biggest families in
the Ward are Polynesian, so they put it on. The young men did the
Hakka and the young women did the hula. It was so fun! And we had
pulled pork, rice and macaroni salad for dinner.
Sunday was when the biggest miracle happened! Sister Lee was assigned
to speak in sacrament meeting. We were waiting anxiously by the door
to make sure that she was coming. Well, time kept rolling on and it
was almost time for the meeting to start. Then, finally at 9:59, we
see Sister Lee coming through the doors! We were so excited that she
came! And then........ We caught sight of Brother Lee and their son
coming in behind her!!!!!!!!!! We nearly fell over!!!!!! Brother Lee
hasn't been to church in a year! And he told us he would never come
back! Yet, there he was! And they stayed all three hours of church! It
was a Christmas Miracle!
Well, I love you all! Have a fabulous week!

Love,
Sister McGuire

December Already!!

Dear Family,

Time continues to fly on angels wings! I can't believe it's already December!
I have to apologize! We ran out of time today. Just know that I love
you all and I hope you have a fantastic week! I will send some
pictures, so hopefully that will make up for it a little bit.
Love you!

Love,
Sister McGuire

We went to Friendly's to get some Ice Cream Sundaes!

Robin, and us after we helped her decorate the Christmas tree.

Sister Hawk brought us food from Shady Maple! Shady Maple is a super famous Amish place in Lancaster.

What a Week!!!!

Dear Family,

Things are fantastic here in Pottstown!!!
It all started on Tuesday. We packed up Sister Sullivan and headed out
to transfers. There, I got my new companion! Her name is Sister
Eastmond! She is from Lehi, Utah. She has been out for a year. I have
known her from a distance, and we are super excited to be together!
She also has served in Salisbury and Newark (which is the area right
next to Bayview). So we have had a lot to talk about and we are
becoming fast friends.
Also, I'm not the driver anymore! Hahaha! Sister Eastmond gets carsick
super easily, but it helps her to be the driver, because she can focus
more and anticipate the cars movements so she doesnt get as sick. So,
we talked to the vehicle coordinator and we switched her to be the
designated driver. So, I dont have to drive anymore and I love it.
Over the course of my entire mission I have only spent 5 weeks not
driving.
So, we came back to our area and got to work! That first night we had
a huge miracle! We were going to service for a less active family in
the ward. We ended up staying for dinner. And for the first time ever,
the father of the family actually engaged in conversation with us! We
got talking about the gospel and Sister Eastmond asked them about the
last time he had had a spiritual confirmation that the church was
true. He shared some neat experiences from his mission, but realized
that he hasn't had any since then. So, we are now planning a trip to
go to the Priesthood Restoration Site with their family on December 7.
That will be an amazing experience for them!
Whew. That was all just on Tuesday... Hahaha! Honestly, I dont
remember much else from the week. It was just one blur of amazing
miracles and so much fun!
Oh yeah, and it was Thanksgiving this week! I had the BEST
Thanksgiving I have ever had in my entire life! We started off the day
by going to Manor Care, which is a nursing home. We have three members
of our ward that are living there right now. We were able to see and
talk to all of them. We read scriptures and sang songs and talked and
laughed with each of them. It was fantastic! After that we saw another
member of our ward who lives alone. We spent some time with her as
well. Next, we went to our Thanksgiving dinner with the Former Bishop
and his family! It was amazing! We got to spend time with their family
and friends. We even got to talk to his non-member parents a bit. The
food was great and the company was better. It was such a joy to be
with them.
Then we went and visited the Relief Society President and her family.
We got there just in time for pie. It was so good! It was also amazing
to meet her family! Sister Hawk is the only active member in her
family. The rest of her family is either less active or non-members.
But we were able to get to know them and start building relationships
with them as well. We even invited the whole family to our Ward
Christmas party next week. After Sister Hawks family left we were on
clean up Brigade! It was awesome! We made sister Hawk sit down and
talk to us while we did the dishes, cleared the table, sept the floor,
and put everything back together. We had a good time! She put on
Christmas music so we were singing along as we worked. It was great!
Finally, for our last stop, we saw Sarah. She is one of our
investigators. She is so sweet! She lives alone with her four dogs.
So, we brought some much needed company. She was especially sad,
because she didnt get to go home to see her brother in Virginia. But
we had a good time talking and laughing with her.
All in all, it was the best holiday ever! I am so blessed and so
grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve others! I think that
this Thanksgiving was so special because we simply spent the day
helping other people, and showing our Heavenly Father just how
grateful we are for His blessings.
I am so grateful for all of you! I Love Love Love LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister McGuire

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Dear Family,

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! I just want you all to know that as always, my
family is what I am most grateful for this holiday! I am also so
grateful for the gospel and the opportunity I have to share it with so
many others!
Hope you are ready for some stories!
We started off the week by doing some service for a less active lady
in the Ward. She needed help pulling out Christmas decorations and
winterizing the yard. So we got to take turns driving a John Deere
tractor around! Haha! It was awesome! We got some pretty cool pictures
from it, but I will have to email them next week.
That night the Relief Society President took us out to dinner, and she
brought along her less active sister!!!! That was awesome! I love it
when members reach out to others and invite them to meet us! We were
able to talk about the gospel and we invited her to come to the Ward
Christmas party, and she committed to come! We can't wait to see her
there!
On Wednesday we got to see Sister Irina again! She is so sweet! I love
teaching her the gospel! Even though she has been a member for quite
some time, there is so much that she doesn't know! And every time she
learns something new she treats it like a great treasure! So amazing!
On Thursday we got to help one of our recent converts give her crazy
little dog a bath! We looked like a comedy show! It was Robin and
Sister Sullivan and I trying to hold down this little tiny peekapoo
dog and give him a bath! That little sucker put up a fight! He did NOT
want to get wet and kept nipping at our fingers and the brush! I
wonder if that was how Daniel felt in the Lions den! Haha! At least
the lions mouths were closed!
On Friday we had three appointments fall through... Ugh. That's the
worst! Especially because we had a member out with us. But, it turned
out great because we were able to go a different investigator named
Morris. He hasn't really been progressing lately and we were about to
drop him. But when we got there, he told us that he had actually
started reading the Book of Mormon!!!! What!!!! We were so happy! He
had a lot of questions about where the book came from and other things
like that. At the end of our visit he told us about how much he misses
his wife, who passed away three years ago. We told him that God has a
plan for him to be with his wife forever. He said, "really? Do you
really mean it?" We said YES!!!!! He said, "Will you please teach me
how to do that? I would do anything to see her again." We almost died
of excitement! So we started teaching him the plan of salvation. It
was amazing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE seeing the gospel bring hope to people's
lives. And I am so grateful for the Plan of Salvation that tells us
about it! We are so blessed!
Well, we walked out of that lesson on cloud nine! We jumped in the car
and had another appointment to hurry off to. So, we pulled out of
Morris's driveway and I backed right into the car parked across the
street. Crap. No one was hurt. And the damage to both cars was
minimal. I think my pride was more damaged than anything else. Haha!
God said that he would have a humble people! And he works in
mysterious ways.... But..... Rather than going to our next appointment
we spent two hours going through the process of getting everything
taken care of with that. We now have an appointment with the body shop
in December. Whoops. Oh well!
That night we got transfer calls...... Drum roll please!!!!!!! ......
I am STAYING in Pottstown!! But, Sister Sullivan is leaving. :( so, I
will be getting a new companion tomorrow.
So, we have spent the last two days trying to get her packed and
saying goodbye to everyone. I can't believe the transfer is already
over! It went by so fast!
Anyway, I am so excited for Thanksgiving this Thursday! I hope you all
have a wonderful holiday! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love,
Sister McGuire

Stake Conference and More!!

Dear Family,

Well, Once again, so much has happened this week and I don't have much time to write about it! Haha! But, hey, what's new? The biggest thing that happened this week was Stake Conference, so most of my stories are about that.
Story 1: Sister Lee
Sister Lee is a less-active woman in our ward. She hasn't been to church in over a year. She has many trials in her life that are pulling her away from the gospel. Last week, she showed up at church!!!! We were astonished!!!!! It was an amazing miracle! But, now comes the real problem..... How do we keep her coming? Our biggest obstacle was the fact that this week was stake conference. If it took her a year to get the 3.5 miles to church, how on earth are we supposed to get her the 25.6 miles to Stake Conference? We thought and worried and prayed about it all week. Well, on Saturday she called us up and needed some help with her house. They have been remodeling the dining room, and needed so extra hands. So we went up and helped. While we were working, I slyly asked her what her plans were for stake conference. She replied, "Hmm... I don't really know. I'm thinking about going." In missionary language that means, 'I'm not going, but I'm just saying that because I don't want to say no to your face.' Great. What am I supposed to say to that? Then, the thought occurred to me. So I said, "Oh okay. We just really need a ride, and we can't seem to find anyone who can take us." With that she perked right up! She said that there was no way she could let the missionaries miss stake conference and she would be at our apartment early the next morning to make sure that we got there in time to get a good seat. WOW!!!!! Miracles!!!!!! That was awesome!!!! So, not only did she come to stake conference, but we got to talk with her the whole hour drive there and the whole hour drive back. It was fantastic! On our way home she said to us how she knows the church is true with every fiber of her being. She has just been letting things get in the way. She apologized for not always coming, but she asked us to never give up on her. It Was INCREDIBLE!!!! It made me so happy to hear that from her!
Story 2: The In-Laws!
So, we got to Stake Conference early right? We got walking into the auditorium (the meeting was held at the local high school, because there isn't enough room for everyone in the stake center) and the first people I see is Brandon and Jeanette Mattson, Amelia's sister and brother. I start heading over to them when I realize there is someone else there too. It was Sister Koltz, Amelia's Mom!!!!! I was so excited to see all of them! It felt like a mini family reunion! Hahaha! Out of all the places to see my Brother's in-laws, it would be stake conference!
Story 3: Whitehall!
Since we were at Stake Conference, the entire Whitehall ward was there as well! I LOVED IT!!!! I got to see some of my dearest friends again! My favorite was seeing Sister Britto, the lady we lived with in Whitehall. It was awesome!
Story 4: Absolutely nothing to do with stake conference.......
Hahaha, random funny story. On Sunday morning I jumped in the shower to get ready for the day. I have noticed over the past week that the drain in the shower is getting slower and slower. On Sunday it hardly worked at all. I saw a little bit of hair build up on the top of the drain, so I assumed it was just plugging up the holes. I reached down to pull out the hair. As I pulled it got longer and longer and I kept pulling and pulling and pulling! It kept coming! There seemed to be no end! It started out the size of a small string and it kept getting bigger and bigger and nastier and nastier. Finally, this ball of hair the size of a small rat popped out of the drain! I was fighting a gag reflex like mad! It was made up of hair from I don't even know how many sisters for I dont even know how long! It was so gross!!!!!!!!! Hahaha!
Story 5: On a much more Spiritual note.......
We went out finding last night and we met 4 people who are interested in learning more about the gospel! One of them was named DeAnn. About 3 weeks ago, we got a media referral that she had requested a bible. So, we went to her house and knocked on the door. The dog was barking, she was on the phone and someone else was coming over to talk to her. Obviously, it was not a good time to talk. So, she took the bible and we left. Normally, bible referrals never want to see us again. with the whole experience it really didnt seem like she was interested at all. But, we have had her in the back of our minds. On Sunday we could no longer ignore the prompting that we HAD to go and see her. So, we awkwardly knock on the door while to the chorus of her dog once again howling like a banshee. DeAnn came to the door and chatted with us for a minute. I managed to ask her why she had requested the bible. She nearly broke down in tears while she began to tell us her struggles. Her health is declining and she has several auto-immune diseases that are basically eating her body away. She feels lost and like she has no where to go. She doesn't know much about God and has never really been a religious person, but she felt a need to start turning to God. We testified to her that she does have a loving Heavenly Father who wants to help her! We told her that we are messengers sent from Him and we share a message of love and hope and healing. It really touched her heart! We are going back to see her again this week! I am so excited!
The gospel is amazing! It is beautiful! It is the answer that we seek and the happiness that we yearn for. It is a blessing. and I am so grateful that I can be sharing it with others!
I love you all family! You are amazing! Bloom where you are planted and keep sharing the light!

Love,
Sister McGuire