My Top 5 Things: It's Missionary Fun!

DUM DUM DUMMMMMMMMM!!! This is the finale installment of my top 5 list and my final blog post as a missionary. Crazy right? 10 months and 61 posts later... Here is my final blog post from Mesa, AZ. Well... What is the grand topic and the #1 thing I have learned on my mission? Drum roll please....

MISSIONARY WORK IS NOT AS HARD AS IT SEEMS. DON'T FEAR, JUST INVITE!

Yes. I mean it. I used to think missionary work was really hard and only was real if you invited someone to meet with the missionaries! This is FALSE. Missionary work is something we all can do. 

In just a few days, I will be a member missionary instead of a full-time one. I have figured out 3 simple tips to help myself and others continue or begin to do missionary work. So buckle up and take some notes! You ready? Trust me, these are so simple I have seen children do them. You can too! Let's think of someone you have been wanting to invite to learn more. Got the person? Whomever he or she may be, a friend, family member, co-worker, the mail lady, arch nemesis, whomever. Okay, think how you can apply these tips and extend that invitation.

1) Love their guts! You need to love someone before they will understand why you are inviting them to know more. This one may not work with an arch nemesis, but you should learn to love them anyways. If you show love and sincerity, there is very little chance someone will get offended as the fear of so many is. Whomever you are inviting will see that you want to bless their life or at least try to help them. Serve 'em, love 'em, and be a friend. 

2) Pray for Chances To Invite. Prayer is key. Always be praying and asking your Heavenly Father He will guide you and help you know whom and how to invite. As you pray and seek opportunities to invite, the Holy Ghost will prompt you and you will know how to invite others to come unto Christ.

3) The Simpler The Invite The Better. First time inviter? Well, keep it simple to begin. There are so many ways to invite people. You don't have to start by inviting someone to meet with the missionaries (unless you feel promised to, of course). There are ward functions, visitor's centers, Young Men's and Young Women's activities, Special Events (Temple Open Houses, Cultural Celebrations etc.), Family Home Evening, Baptisms, Add the missionaries on  etc. Don't be afraid to invite to these things. You can invite someone easier if it is simple and specific.

Most important thing is to NEVER GIVE UP! If someone says no, continue the friendships. A no isn't the end of the world. Success comes in inviting. The more you invite the easier it is to. Don't fret over a no, the Lord is pleased with you for just inviting. 

So get out there and get inviting! You will be blessed and get to bless the lives of so many. Remember, "It's not missionary work, it's missionary fun!" (Elder Neil L. Anderson)

I want you all to know that I love being a missionary. This has been the great experience for my life. I have loved serving the people in Mesa and Globe, AZ. This place will always be a special place to me. You have helped me become the young women I am today so I thank you. This is the true gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the earth today. A 14 year old boy with a question did have a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ and it was through him the church of Jesus Christ was restored. Christ is our Savior and died for us, but because He lives we do too. I know this is true and I pray you will seek it out in your heart for yourself if you do not have a testimony of this. Experiment. Ask your Father in Heaven. Don't take my word for it. I know it will change your life for the better. 

I love you all!
For the last time as a missionary, (but not the last time ever)

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

My Top 5 Things: In All Things

Hello! Welcome back! It's been a few days... Last time, my installment to this list was about catching lemons. Don't remember or missed it? Click here! Anyways, you ready for my #2 top thing I've learned? I am!

WE CAN FIND CONNECTIONS TO THE GOSPEL IN ALL GOOD THINGS...

ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS TO PAY ATTENTION

There is an art I have learned on my mission. This is sometimes referred to as bridging. Bridging is when you connect something from everyday life into the gospel. This is how I have extended my knowledge of the gospel, is connecting it with things that make sense to me.

Over the course of my mission, I have used cars, ice cream trucks, flowers, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Finding Nemo, and many others. I have learned those fun little movie quotes I grew up saying and hearing are things that have testified to me gospel truth. Good prevails over evil, ligh over darkness, Christ over the adversary. It's a beautiful things to know that all things testify of my Savior.

I love making these connections because it proves to me that we really do learn of our Savior in all we do. I particularly remember the day I connected many details of Harry Potter to truths of the gospel and they began to make sense to me. How love conquers all, because love is what drove Christ to sacrifice himself as an offerring for our sins. I remember thinking about the Mirror of Erised, a mirror that shows the desires of our hearts, and thinking what would it show for me? Would it show me living with my family forever in the presence of God? Also the tale fo the Deathly Hallows and how pride was the downfall of two of the brothers and they both tragically met their end by wanting more power, but one asked for something more humble, not to over take the power of the world, but to help himself stay out of the path of evil. It reminds me of the gospel and how we have the gospel and the guidance of the scriptures and prophets, both modern and of old to help us through our lives. There were many more, but this will suffice for now.

Are you trying to increase your gospel knowledge? Start trying to find ways and little connections of the things you understand to the gospel. If they are something good, they will manifest themselves to you. I know this for certain!

Well... Next one will be the last installment of this list. So for the last time this is...

TO BE CONTINUED

I love you all!
Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

My Top 5 Things: Catching Lemons

So far, I've told you the Top 5 and Top 4 things I have learned on my mission. Let's review...

Number 5! Some of the coolest people in the scriptures aren't talked about enough... So read your scriptures and discover them for yourself.

Number 4! The best thing we can do is to make sure we are listening to the spirit so that we can be instruments in the hand of our Father in Heaven.

Now onto number 3!!!!

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS, LAUGH, TAKE 'EM, AND LEARN. 
YOU CAN CATCH THEM.

So over there is life throwing lemons at you... Seems mean of Life, doesn't it? Well, I have learned so much about how these Lemons are a lot smaller than us and we are completely capable of overcoming them. Even when life is pelting them at us, yes, we may get a couple bruises. Lemons aren't going to kill us though.

What are thses "lemons" I speak of? Trials in our lives that seem to keep coming and don't stop. I look back at my mission and see times when I felt pelted and bruised by the lemons that I was being thrown. It's not fun. When I was companions with Sister Remington though... I began to see these lemons differently.


Okay, Sister Remington and I had the worst luck ever. Horrible. Seriously, between food poisoning, the flu, being put on bike in 110 degree weather, popped bike tires, broken bike seats, losing things that "got up and danced away", and many other mishaps, we had the worst luck. But among all of that... We never stopped laughing. Each new challenge was faced with vigor and knowing it was "just our luck." Those 3 months could have been miserable, easily. We could have just had the worst time. But what did Sister Remington and I do? We chose to catch the lemons, laugh, and face these all head on. We choose happiness.

Yes, being happy is a choice. Often times we think that it is something that happens when we have enough money or someone is being nice or life is going well. Truth be told, we can be happy in the midst of all our trials. It is our choice.

How do we choose happiness? We choose it by knowing that we have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who has sufferred through our trials already. We choose it by turning to Him instead of looking within ourselves to solve our problems. We choose it through knowing that "It's all going to be alright in the end. If it's not alright, it's not the end." (Jeffery R. Holland) We can "with surety hope for a better world" (Ether 12:4).

I promise that no matter how many times your tires pop or you get sick or the world just seems like it is going to explode, you can still be happy. Catch those lemons and laugh, because with your Savior, you can conquer all!

Until Next Time!

TO BE CONTINUED...

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

My Top 5 Things: Being Instruments

Last Time we talked about Scriptures heroes... You ready for number 4????? Here it comes!

THE BEST THINGS WE CAN DO IS TO MAKE SURE

 WE ARE LISTENING TO THE SPIRIT 

SO THAT WE CAN BE INSTRUMENTS IN 

THE HANDS OF OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

Okay, do you ever get the thought to call someone, text someone, or to do something kind? Do you ever feel as if you were in a certain place at a certain time to help someone? Or someone was placed in your path to answer your prayers?


I can't even tell you how many times I knew I was in an area for a reason, I have been assigned a certain companion for a reason, or have had certain leaders for a reason. All of these where both to do something Heavenly Father needed me to or I was somewhere because I needed to learn something from the area, companion, or leader. Does that make sense?

We can be led by promptings from the Spirit, the Holy Ghost, who influences us to do good and to do God's will. When we heed  His promptings we can become instruments in the hands of the Lord. Who wouldn't want to do that? Know that God is using us to help others to strengthen their faith?

I think back at my mission and the times I see when God used me, but more distinctly, when God used another to answer my prayers. This happened through a letter, a role play in a meeting, a simple phone call to see how we were doing, or even just taking an opportunity to get me to laugh. This is a blessing I will never forget.

Being an instrument in the hands of the Lord is a marvelous feeling because we get to help Him manifest His love for His children and in tur, we get to see them as He does. We get to be filled with His love.

So my challenge to you is to seek out opportunities to be Instruments in the Hands of the Lord. You will be blessed and will bless the lives of others! I know this, because I have bene on both ends. It's the greatest feeling in the world!!

And, once more, this list is...

TO BE CONTINUED!

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

My Top 5 Things: Scripture Heroes

This is post one of a series of 5 posts I wanted to do about the Top 5 things I learned on my mission as my mission is winding down. So here we go!!!

Number 5 is....

SOME OF THE COOLEST PEOPLE IN THE SCRIPTURES 

AREN'T TALKED ABOUT ENOUGH... 

SO READ YOUR SCRIPTURES AND DISCOVER THEM FOR YOURSELF!!

Okay, we all have our scripture heroes, there are classic ones such as Adam, Noah, Esther, Moses, Nephi, Captain Moroni, Helaman... These are ones we talk about a lot and learn about all the time. Well, I have learned there are many people we don't focus on very much that are there, but we barely speak of. How did I come to this conclusion?

I decided to read the Old Testament earlier in my mission. My goal was to finish by the time I got home, but let's just say... That isn't going to happen. Why? I got stuck. No, not because I didn't know what was going on, but because I started reading about Joshua. I had always heard about the Battle of Jericho, which is an amazing story with so much symbolism in our lives today as we are having to bring down the walls of sin and temptation around us to defeat the adversary. I never knew other accomplishments he had though.

• Joshua parted the Jordan River and left 12 stones to commemorate it.
• Joshua destroyed many cities and delivered the children of Israel to the Promised land.
• Joshua had the faith to make the sun and moon stand still so that they could win their battle.
• Joshua was constantly told to fear not, to be strong and of a good courage, but he never let any amount of fear stand in his way from accomplishing what the Lord commanded him. 
• Most of all, Joshua always turned to the Lord no matter what and followed every prompting with exactness.

Joshua is my hero. I know he isn't perfect. He definitely had to learn to handle fears and trials. He had to deal with a lot, but he did what he was asked and thanked and turned to the Lord in all things. He was humble and a great example. I want to be like him and follow the example of Joshua so that I can win the battles I am sent forth to fight here in this life by turning to my Savior and my Father in Heaven in all things.

I know that the scriptures can open our eyes to all the things of the Lord and we can read and learn from the people within their pages.

Now what else do I have for your... This list is....

TO BE CONTINUED!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Keep Moving Forward

Are you feeling stuck in your life? Confined by your weaknesses? Like you will never be able to escape?

Many are in the same boat, we all feel like we are stuck at one time or another. It's easy to and it is one of the most effective tools of the adversary, making us feel like we are never going to be good enough. He wants us to feel stick, like we can't grow anymore or progress because our weaknesses are just too great. He wants us to feel like if we are one way, we can never evolve as a person and improve.


Can I just tell you how big of a lie this is?

This is something I know I have felt in my life, like I will never improve or be better because of certain weaknesses. These are our walls. These are things we have to bring down, climb over, or destroy to be able to overcome. Sometiems these walls are tall, thick, and strong, others don't take too much effort. Each wall represents a weakness or roadblock we have. The stronger the wall is, the longer you have let that weakness define who you are. You have confined yourself and don't feel as if you can ever destroy the walls around who you really are.

Well, you can. I promise this because it has happened to me.

Weaknesses are looked down upon by the world. No, they aren't fun, good, or anything of the sort, but they help us grow and become stronger. If we never had to overcome weaknesses, would we ever grow. NO! We would be stuck.

How do we do this? Well, we come unto Christ with our weakness and humbly seek His guidance and seek fro imporvement. We don't beat ourselves to a pulp, or beat others, because of weaknesses they have. We work together and "Keep Moving Forward" to improve. We celebrate success, no matter how small and look at our weaknesses as a chance to gain a new strength. We don't look back at mistakes, other than to learn from them. We stop living in the past and look ahead.

We need to define ourself by our triumphs, not trials. When we do this, we are way happier and just feel so much better about ourselves. Keep writing your story. I know that as you do this, you will find joy, happiness, and optimism even if the world is falling apart around you, because you will know the personal growth you are making.



Rely on your Savior, He is your #1 Fan. He will cheer you on as you turn your life towards Him and strive to improve and live His gospel more fully. There will be great joy when you see Him again, because you will do you did your best, and He made up the rest. I know this to be true.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Granite vs. Sandstone

There has been something on my mind lately that has been driving me crazy. What is it? It is a plague that was not very common and quite mocked before I came out, but now it is acceptable. 17 months later, and a social, worldy plague is sweeping us. What is it?

Selfies.

I see people posting selfies constantly that are obvious grabs for attention. There are 2 different kinds of attention though, and we often forget this.

Selfies are often posted in hopes that someone will compliment you for an outfit, how attractive you are, and how jealous they are that you look like that. This isn't good attention. This is building your self-esteem at such a superficial level that it will crumble inevitably one day. Building your self-esteem off your looks and not who you are is probably the worst idea ever. This is a foundation set to crumble.

So how do you build self-esteem that will withstand the world's put downs, insults, and disgusting jabs? The answer is in the Book of Mormon in Helaman 5:12:


"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."


Taking this council as well as what we are told in Romans 8:16 where it states, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:", we know that this is the solid foundation and where we need to start. We need to know we are Children of a loving Heavenly Father who let's us have trials but never leaves us alone, but wants us to grow. We build on this knowledge and out self-esteem will be built on a foundation that will take upkeep, but will not crumble.

It's like building on Granite instead of Sandstone. The sandstone will disinigrate easily and the granite will not.

I know that as we stop seeking the world's attention in such a negative way and seek the approal of God, we will be happier and more secure with who we are because we will know who we are. Stop with the Selfies for attention and look through the eyes of Him that matters most.

I love you all!
Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond