Be Brave

Area: Leon Valley/9th Ward
Companion: Sister Nicholette Scott

My dearest family and friends,

God is so good.

"...In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
2 Corinthians 13:1

"And in the mouth of three witnesses shall these things be established; and the testimony of three, and this work, in the which shall be shown forth the power of God and also his word, of which the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost bear record"
Ether 5:4

We have been teaching an incredible woman named {M}. She is not from here, but came to visit her daughter. Upon arriving, she decided that she would stay for good. On her trip here, however, she lost her beloved bible on the train. The bible she had had for years, that was all marked up and pages curled from reading it in the bathtub. {M} is in her 60s and is a strong-willed, occasionally sassy baptist. She was online a couple weeks ago and saw that she could order a free bible. Of course she did, with the new found lack of God's word in her possession. That's where we come in. We received a media referral on our phone and quickly went to deliver this bible to {M}. She was delighted to meet us, and slightly surprised at the appearance of Mormon missionaries. She walked us over to the nearby park and talked to us for a good 40 minutes on the park bench. She loves to tell her life stories. The only thing we were able to get in is a copy of a Book of Mormon and an invitation for her to read it. She replied that she had read it years ago and never found interest in it, but that she was willing to try again. We asked her to read the introduction and then set up a return appointment.

A few days later we gave her a call. She excitedly told us that she had been reading! She went on to say that she had no idea the Book of Mormon was about the native Americans, and various other details that caught her attention. She even kept reading beyond the introduction and into 1 Nephi. When we went back to teach her the restoration she was eager to learn and had her notebook out ready to take notes on everything we said.

We asked her more about her Book of Mormon reading and she told us another story. She has been through a lot in her life. Including some serious health problems that brought her close to death a couple times. She told us that any time she went through a hard time in her life she would receive some sort of message from God in the scriptures, or from any random thing and the message always came in three. Meaning when it was something important it would be repeated three times. After reading the introduction, {M} came to the Testimony of the Three Witnesses, and was struck by the meaning that has had for her in her life. She looked up as though speaking to Heaven and told God, "Okay, you got me." She believes all of it.

Because of that experience she has been soaking up everything we teach her. She came to church this past Sunday for the first time and loved it! There is a sister in the ward who is perfect fellowship for her. When we asked this dear sister to come with us on Saturday and to give {M} a ride to church she humbly responded that this request was an answer to her prayers. Earlier that day she felt sad that she didn't have anyone to serve and prayed in the parking lot for an opportunity to serve. That same day, we felt prompted to ask her to fellowship {M}. And she has so kindly taken her under her wing. I am grateful for the meek and humble example of this member, and hope that I will always respond to opportunities in such a way.

The nearer I come to the end of my mission, the more I reflect on just how much I love my mission. It is something that has forever changed me. A legacy that will live on throughout eternity. One that will be instilled into the hearts of my posterity and inspire them to also serve the Lord. There is a song by Hilary Weeks called "Brave". I have changed some of the words in it to describe exactly how I feel about my life and my mission. I am grateful for my wonderful mother for instilling this message into my heart by the way she lives.

There were moments when I felt it and I knew,
Something amazing was happening within my soul,
And nothing could hold back what was inside me.

I let it move me, and lead my heart,
I chose not to be afraid to let myself believe in who I am,
I have become brave.

I am brave!
I let it come through and define me,
I was meant to be brave.

Each day I got my shoes, grabbed my courage, opened the door
And saw myself in a way I'd never seen before, and
Heaven was there beside me.

In the moments when the walls seemed way too high,
I trusted my instincts, prayed and started to climb,
I remembered, I have always been brave.

I am brave!
I let it come through and define me,
I was meant to be brave...

When I thought I couldn't
I was strong enough though I had fallen,
I remembered the words of my mother,
And was bold enough to stand and be... Brave.

There are moments when I will feel it and know,
Something amazing is yet to happen within my soul,
And nothing can hold back what's inside me.


I love you all! And look forward to reuniting with you soon. But for now, Sister Scott and I have work to do.

Love, your sister missionary,
Sister Record