Letter #51 09/28/15

THIS week has been the craziest of all. I am now officially an hermana again, and I did not think it would be this big of an adjustment. Like, whoa. There have been a lot of ups and downs. I will say that I miss the freedom of speech and expression that come with the english speaking missionary territory. Working with the hispanic community again is.. different. BUT so beautiful, of course. We have been stuffed full of rice and chicken and tres leches and all the goods, so we're feeling loved. 

I've also had so many moments as of late where I'm singing a hymn, or listening to a random human on the street talk about their love for the Lord and I'm like.. wait. This isn't what real life is like. I have a badge that authorizes be to waltz into random homes and talk about the Savior's love and sing to them and hug them and stop them on the street and.. I am so grateful. There's been lots of little baby times of gratitude this week, that's for sure. I'm so grateful to be here!

Working with the Charlottesville 1st ward spanish group = wonderful! I really feel very strongly like I'm still here in this area to help strengthen the group. It's hard being a new member and this group is full of them, so we've seen lots of beautiful friends going through LOTS of hard things. But this past week was so magical- I have gained SUCH a strong testimony of, really, how little we do as missionaries. Heavenly Father sends His spirit and His angels to do the rest. Three of the less active group members have shown desires to regain lost faith and come back to Christ and it is INCREDIBLE! And we've been hitting our heads against the wall for the past months, yearning to know what to do for them. It's easy to forget, amidst all the to-do's of a mission, or even life, that our Heavenly Father and Savior are willing to do SO much for us- all they ask is that we put that trust in them. 

Specific miracle from the group this week, we had a lunch date with cute Hermana V. She's this Honduranian grandma that just went through the temple and is STELLAR. We ate Baleadas and they were wonderful. I was just rejoicing to be full of queso fresca and tortillas again. But as we shared the spiritual message, we issued a special commitment that she would pray for a specific miracle for us to see after we left. We told her that we would go out and work our hardest, and call her in a day or so and see how her specific prayer was answered. 

Meanwhile, the following day, we visit this beautiful couple named S and N. S has been struggling with the church and faith and wondering if she should continue to live the gospel. The moment we walk in, she's like, "Hermanas! I have to tell you about this dream I had!" She begins to recount the dream she had, about this scary horse creature that was trying to get inside her home and it kept galloping around and she was so scared. But at the very moment when she thought all hope was lost, this beautiful white cloud envelops her and her children and she hears a voice that says, "You need to go back to church". 

And she just knew it was directly from God. And we talked with her about just how aware of her and her struggles Heavenly Father is. 

THE NEXT DAY we call V. Before we tell her anything that happened to us, she tells us that her specific prayer was that one of the struggling members of the group would receive a sign from God that would help them to come back.. 

It's all true, my friends. Heavenly Father works according to our faith. He is SO willing to help us and our loved ones out. And He will, if we trust Him enough to do it. I am so grateful for Him! I've been striving to develop a closer relationship with Him this past week, and He always keeps His end of the bargain. I feel His love! I know you can too. :) 

My sick self helping cute Sister McNeely kick it on her 5K.

Letter #50 09/21/15

Becca ran out of time to send an email this week.  It's a good thing she sent a bunch of pictures! :)

Becca has hit the 1 year mark!!

Cute Sister missionaries!

Becca really needs (wants) glasses.  Silly girl!

Blowing out birthday candles with my BFF Lucy.

I officially have a crush on Thomas Jefferson.

These thumbs have always been my downfall! #bigneedlesandsnarkydoctors
Becca had an infected finger and had a fun trip to Instacare.

My favorite Bost family made me happy 1 year dumpling and steamed
buns.  Then we proceeded to eat them on the porch in the rain and
it was GLORIOUS! 

Dreams DO come true!!! AKA first cafe rio since my last supper at home.
Sometimes in life, Shameka drives you and your sweet companion to
Sister's meeting in Richmond and.......Turns out they just built a CAFE RIO
in Richmond.....So, naturally you HAVE to introduce your favorite
human to your favorite restaurant.

Letter #49 09/14/15

We went apple picking 

Walkin' through the valley of the shadow of death......

But, really. I think I know what the psalmist was talking about when he penned those words on some scrolls somewhere- 

He was sick on his mission. 

Long story short, I've contracted a mysterious illness. Probably a parasite or something. #spanishmissionaryprobs.

And also, it's not that serious.. probably. Haha. But it is seriously annoying because I DON'T WANNA REST. It's crazy to think back to the times where I would lay in a bed for hours on end and be completely content and feel like I had done something with my life. But Sister McNeely's being a cute mom and forcing things like rest/doctors visits upon me. No good, I tell you. 

BUT GET THIS. So yesterday, I visited the urgent care for the second time in two weeks. We got nowhere, but after eating dinner I was commanded to rest. I slept for a solid two hours when- I just woke up. And at the very moment that I woke up, Sister McNeely ran in and was just like, "Hermana Yost, we've gotta go teach somebody!" and I was like, "Alright, now you think we should teach instead of rest.. make up your mind!" and then we went out.. drove to an apartment complex, prayed, got out of the car and.. there's this lady walking into her house. We call out to her, she comes over, we have one of the most spiritual lessons EVER in the dark parking lot and we're both crying and.. then we went back home. What? Haha, it was so intense. Like, Heavenly Father just picked us up right out of our house at the exact moment to drop us in the parking lot when she'd be outside. And we had prayed specifically for an opportunity to get a new investigator, see his hand and feel like we had fulfilled our purpose for the day (cause I knew Sister M was feeling so cooped up and sad) and.. BAM. There you have it. :) 

Carter Mountain beauty

But what to our wondering eyes should appear?  But my baby girl Herman Kingsley,
her companion and President and sister Wilson. #shesgoinghome #thetenderestofallmercies

ALSO. Okay. Anyone who knew pre-mission Hermana Yost should hold on tight for the ride of their lives with this story.. SO. Our apartment complex here in Charlottesville doesn't have a recycling program. But, to this day, there's a recycling program embedded deep in my heart. SO I've been trying my hand at the recycling thing. There's a plant downtown, but it has the weirdest hours known to man, so literally every time we try.. preparation day, lunch hours.. it is super duper closed. Needless to say, I have accumulated quite a bit of recycling in my three transfers here. This past Tuesday we had senior missionary apartment inspections, so the goods had to go. It was us against the world as we hoped and prayed mightily that the plant would be open... but alas, it was not. My heart sunk, but my pride was like, I don't care! I'm keeping the recyclables. And my dear companion was obviously frustrated because, who likes a house full of this type of goods? 

So, I had a choice to make. We drove home in silence as my mind played through the options. It seemed as if life was moving in slow motion as we pulled into the apartment complex. This was the pivotal moment of my life/mission/everything. Had I allowed the atonement of Jesus Christ to change my character over the course of a year of missionary service? 

 I opened my mouth, and the words, "It's okay, just drive us to the dumpster" came out. 

I threw away three transfers worth of recyclable materials. Out of my hands, into the dumpster, straight to a landfill. 

But I know that it wasn't me. I now know that the pure love of Jesus Christ has the power to change even our best desires if their momentarily not in line with His will. I'm so grateful I've been able to come on a mission and slowly but surely be changed by Him! And this gift, the most beautiful precious gift of His atonement is available to ALL of us. 

Needless to say, it's been a weird week. But HEY our people are still doing well. Life is happy, in spite of it all.. and I'M GONNA BE A SPANISH MISSIONARY in just a short amount of time. Two of my favorite ladies in the ward did a spanish/english medley of Joseph Smith's First Prayer and.. I totally lost it. As did Sister McNeely. And it was such a special moment. We've had such a special time together, I'm so grateful. 

What a wonderful world

The fit for the kingdom 5K

Letter #48 9/07/15

Okay, okay. First things first.

1) If anyone noticed, my email two weeks ago was horrid. Aka dictating the thoughts and feelings of your heart through Siri is just not a good idea. #iPadfail

2) The mission has turned me into a weird human. I never thought I would become a weird human, but alas. I think, overtime, it's real easy to forget everything that you did/all the miracles that you have seen/you don't want to bore everyone with the same story over and over again although sometimes you do/emailing just gets hard. And when things get hard, you revert back to the only thing you know.. preaching. Haha, so if you feel that the emails have become awful sermon-y, take heart. I feel the same way. 

But this week, guys. This week may or may not have been the longest/craziest/most emotional week of my entire existence! I dunno. It's something about going from having 9 people on date for baptism to 0 in seven days, not to mention the fact that it's hard when dear friends go through hard times. But, of course, we saw miracles and if anything it's just been a huge wakeup call to God's love. Like, whoa. It's times like these that make me real grateful for the whole, "opposition in all things" thing. He's been good to us, really.

MIRACLE TIME. Get this. So, do you remember the blind couple of a couple of weeks ago? The ones that Sister M and I both felt super prompted to go visit? Welp, we're back in contact with them and THEY ARE SO GREAT. I just love 'em both. On Tuesday, we watched The Restoration video with them and J was like, "As I sit here and listen and pray about it all I just know it's truth". It's been beautiful to see his lost testimony be found again. L, on the other hand, is struggling. As they left the church, she was exposed to a lot of anti-mormon material and it's really been hard for her to get past it. It's crazy to see how the adversary will just twist things, especially over time. But, another beautiful thing is that J has just grown into this BEAUTIFUL missionary human and always shares the neatest analogies with her to help build her faith again. Also, during this lesson, I just felt real prompted to ask again if she was baptized, because we've been having a hard time finding her records, although we've found J's. She was like, "Wait, ya know what.. if I recall, I don't think I was baptized.." Uhhhhhh... WHAT. Haha, so this beautiful less active family turned into a part member family and we've had some neat lessons with them. I'm really excited to continue teaching them and they've accepted us as their honorary daughters and cute Jim was like, "We don't have a lot, but if you two ever run out of toothpaste or anything, don't hesitate to give us a call. We're here for you." And I cried a little. They are literally the sweetest humans. And I just know that it is not a coincidence that Sister McNeely and I are here at this time to help them back. 

Also, S continues to be such a doll. I love her with my whole whole heart. She went through a REALLY tough experience this week where she had to choose between lots of things she holds dear in defense of her faith and in protection of her sweet little family. Obviously, I'm way too emotionally attached to the situation because, whoa. There were lots of tears on Sister McNeely and I's end as we saw the adversary with all his strength, chipping away at the foundation that she has worked so hard to build. She received a very strong answer from God as to what she should do and.. it's sometimes (a lot of the time) scary to follow the will of God when we don't know what the outcome will be. And it led to this huge climax and then.. she let go and let God. And it ALL worked out. I've never seen the Lord's hand so apparent in someone's life. She is a special lady, she is. Chalk another one up for the promise of 1 Nephi 3:7. He really will provide a way. 

He provides. I'm grateful to not be in this alone! This is his work. We, in all reality, are His work. He will make our lives, each situation, into what it needs to be as we try our very hardest to stop fighting the answers we receive and just believe that all will be made right through him.  As we trust in Him with everything, holding nothing back, all will be well. 

Cute Z choosing the right.  (PS she walks around the house belting
the words to, "I'm trying to be like Jesus" and I just cry....
#musictothismissionariesears

S-isms and Z quotes:

+ S: "Ya know those times when you go to the store and buy a bundle of hair?"

   Sister McNeely and I: "Uhhhh..."

+ Cute Z in her prayer: "Please bless that I can have a good day at church tomorrow.. wearin' jeans, walkin' cool.."

+ Us waiting to back Sister McNeely up

          Z: "C'mon sista Mcneely baby, ya gotta get in the cah!"

Letter #47 08/31/15

I got this picture from the family that was feeding Becca yesterday.  Such a fun surprise!

During our district meeting this week, we watched this video about the atonement of Jesus Christ. It is a nice mash-up of an Elder Eyring and an Elder Holland talk (The atonement and Missionary work), and it is absolutely glorious. It brought back a slew of memories from when I was just a wee little babe, sitting in my little desk in the middle of the CCM in the middle of Mexico City and.. I thought I knew what it meant. When Elder Holland says

I believe that missionaries and investigators, to come to the truth, to come to salvation, to know something of this price that has been paid, will have to pay a token of that same price.

For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul.

If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” ¹¹ then little wonder that salvation is not an easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way.

I remember thinking, feeling, in all honesty that I understood EXACTLY what He meant. That, whoa, that through my last 5 weeks spent in the MTC, loving investigators and watching them fall or struggle, and seeing the falls and struggles in myself, I had tasted a portion of the anguish, the heartache, the fear, the homesickness that I'm sure my Savior felt as He sacrificed everything to understand me. 

But watching it, having been through all of these feelings of an entire year of serving the Lord, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with all of the understanding I have recieved as my Savior has given me little bits of His experience through the challenges I have faced.

It's in the way, as Sister McNeely and I discussed yesterday, that we don't even remember the "Old S" .. that we only see her as who she has become. That now I understand, in even the smallest sense, how our Heavenly Father sees us as we truly repent. That when He said he wouldn't remember, He wasn't kidding! I know that He really does only see us not in terms of yesterday and today, but in terms of forever. 

It's in the way that, having been through the struggles and anguish of trying to overcome my weaknesses as a missionary/child of God, that I can stand in a lesson with someone that is fighting EVERYTHING He is feeling and feel nothing but the purest love for him. The love that only comes from Jesus Christ.

I know that our Heavenly Father allows us to go through trials so that, in time, we can truly understand just how much He loves and cares about us. His love is REAL. He is with us every step of the way. 

When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions. The only way to salvation is through Gethsemane and on to Calvary. The only way to eternity is through Him—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.