Elder Dallin Cutler: Shawnee rollercoaster...

I am telling yall right now, ever since I got to Shawnee, it has been trial after trial after trial in my life. I have never learned so much about faith and trials than I have in these past 8 weeks on my mission. It has been unreal. I have also never felt closer to Jesus Christ than I have these past 8 weeks. He continues to lift and support me in every aspect of my life. The Lord has answered every single one of my heartfelt prayers and He continues to qualify me and my companions for the work He has for us to accomplish. I have felt it and I know its real. Miracles are happening everywhere. Here are a couple I have been able to witness recently.

The first one starts in August of 2013 in the Stillwater Zone. I went on exchanges one weekend in Blackwell, Oklahoma with an Elder Prewitt and Roundy. We had appointments all day and finally we decided to take a quick dinner. Well I wanted subway because I was sick of fast food so we went to Subway. As we sat down, I looked across the tables and saw a woman quietly eating her sandwich. It was one of those experiences where you couldn't stop looking and wondering what she was going through in her life. I felt compassion for some reason and I will never forget the feeling. So I started talking to her. She asked who we were and I said "we are servants of the Lord Jesus Christ". We started talking about her family as we ate and she told us that she had met with missionaries before. Long story short, we got her address and the missionaries up there started teaching her apparently. 1 month later as we were collecting numbers from the zone I saw a Myra on the baptismal dates sheet. I asked if it was the same Myra and they said it was. Well I went back up on an exchange that week and she asked us to come by. She related the experience to us of the night in Subway. She told us that when we had started talking to her she had heard a voice telling her that "these are my servants" and that she had felt very warm. I was blown away by the feelings she described as we spoke to her. It was so interesting to hear about the "behind the scenes". Well this past saturday she asked us to be there for her baptism and so I had the opportunity to drive back up to Blackwell with those Elders and watch Myra get baptized and make her first covenant. It was such a spiritual experience. It taught me that God prepares His children and He always backs up our words with His Spirit, even if we don't see it. Miracles are happening around us, even if we don't realize it at first. All we need to do is open our mouths and invite others to follow Christ.

Second...When I got to Shawnee we immediately had a mission tour with Elder Cardon of the seventy. The Zone Leaders had an MLC with him the night before the mission tour. So we ended up just staying the night in the city with some of the other Zone Leaders. Well the MLC ended a little early and so we drove back home. We got to their apartment at 8:40 pm and so we decided to go find a miracle. It was raining and 15 degrees that night outside, so in other words, it definitely wasn't ideal weather to go out and tract the rest of the night in an area you don't know. Well we said a prayer before we got out of the car asking Him to lead us to someone. We knocked 6 doors and got rejected 6 times. It was now 9:05pm. We decided to knock one more door before going back to meet the other elders. He was an atheist and was not interested. We wouldn't settle, so we looked at a house and decided that the Lord probably meant that one ;) haha. So we knocked the last one and she opened it and invited us in. We taught a short truth, got her number and set a return appointment for the other elders. That is all we heard about her until last week, about a month later. The other elders ended up going back and teaching her. She asked to be baptized and they set a date for 4 weeks later. She is now baptized and has read the Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price and the Doctrine and Covenants. When the other elders told us, I felt like crying. That womans life will be changed forever because of one decision in 30 seconds. Decisions, really do determine destiny and don't you ever forget it.

In short, miracles do happen. God is the author of this great plan and an abiding trust in Him will always result in miracles. We have to do our part and exercise faith in Him though. There is no comfort in the growth zone and no growth in the comfort zone. Faith in Jesus Christ will always push us outside our limits and take us outside of our comforts.

I love you all. I know God lives and I know there is a purpose to this life. We are here to be happy and the only way we can do that is by following our Master, Jesus Christ. He is your friend, He is on your side. Learn of Him and follow Him and I promise you will find rest unto your souls....a peace that "passeth all understanding".

Love.

Elder Dallin Cutler

p.s This is Elder Chavez. He baptized Myra. First baptism :)