Moooovin' On.

Yes, that's right! I think it's about time I end this mission blog.. I've been home for about 3 months now and I'm moving back over to my other blog. Find me at:

MEG-A-BIT

http://www.meg-a-bit.blogspot.com

I'll keep writing! Promise! Just check back there:)

My mission has been the greatest thing for me! It has completely changed my outlook on life, my personality, my goals, and my testimony for the better. Thank you so much for all your support and for following along:) I love you!!

Weekly update.

Holy Moly this week has been FANTASTIC and CRAZY BUSY!!!!!!

Spent most of it in California! So close to a couple of you!!! I soooo wish I could have seen you... But alas, missions have a purpose behind that;)

We spent 15 hours straight at disneyland!!!! I'm pretty sure my friends' feet were covered in blisters... One thing I learned from my mission, always bring the right shoes.

Disneyland was incredible. The whole trip was!!!!!!!!! I haven't laughed that hard in a while. :):):):) made a complete fool of myself, but didn't have a care in the world!! Coming home however was a different story.. All these obligations and responsibility. But they just help us grow. It just feels great to get away from them for a short while.

Came back and went straight into General conference!!! Friday night we had a NOM mission reunion and holy cows it was fun:):) got to see so many of my NOM-ies again and all of their boyfriends&girlfriends. Weird. But exciting nonetheless! I brought my single self along with my dearest Ashley Curfew and guess who showed up to meet me?!??!!?

Jake Taylor from my Kearney YSA, and Ian Winkelmann!!! My concert from Kearney YSA!!!! So I got to talk to both of them for quite a long while. It was the BEST thing ever!!! And then Ian spent the weekend with me attending 3/5 sessions of general conference LIVE. It was the best thing to take one of my converts to general conference. He never ceases to amaze me with just how much knowledge he has of the gospel already. Serious, this guy is on fire!!
My YSA here got to go and sing on temple square during the priesthood session, and that was a neat experience, and then Ian got to spend Easter with my family yesterday (happy Easter by the way!!) we also attended the afternoon session of Sunday. And as soon as president Monson walked in the room, everyone stood and I just stared crying. I received another witness right hhere and then, that he IS our living prophet and so much of what that man has told the world, has completely changed my life!!!! The blessings of my mission have never, and will NEVER cease!!!

Another one of the best things ever!!! So on Saturday, I attended the Saturday morning session with Ian, and guess who sat right behind us?? THE FERUSONS!!!!! The members I lived with in Lincoln and the ones who have become like literal parents to me!!!!! I saw them!! And my family took them to dinner that night. So my Ferguson parents finally got to meet my actual parents and I just sat there in amazement at all the joy my mission has not only brought to my life, but to the lives around me. I love my Father and God SO MUCH that I could never express it right!!!!!

Along with alllllll these blessings though, I'd be lying if I said that there weren't trials right along side them. All these amazing things keep happening, but inside, trust me, I'm still having struggles. There are lots of things that I'm continually trying to receive answers to and diligently do the Lord's will that are hard! So don't think that anyone's life is handy dandy. You never know what people are facing behind the scenes! No one is exempt from trial. I just know that with time- in the Lord's timing, these trials will subside and I know that all these joyous things that keep happening are proof to me that the Lord is aware of me and literally is strengthening me more than I realize.

We all have the battle inside us between good&evil. Between happy&sad. Between confidence&timidness, but I know, and I have felt, that as I've just kept enduring, that I have GROWN so much even from the time that I only got home from my mission. I have learned so much and I'm so excited that the rest of my life will be like this growth as well if I just keep doing the little things the best I can. It's a slow change, but that only means it's becoming permanent.

I'm so grateful for general conference!!!! And for all the guidance I've personally been given through it. It's A LOT to take in, but just keep studying these words every day until the next conference, and make these words a part of you and the more we do that, the more the spirit will bring to your remembrance the things that he instructed you personally on, as you very first received it.

Keep going! All of the efforts we out in here, are an investment into our eternal happiness with our FAMILY around us. Remember that family is the center of it all. I don't know what I would do without mine, and I work every day to prepare myself to be a better wife&another for my own future family. Whenever that day comes.

Congratulations to my dearest best friend Kaitlin Cook who got engaged yesterday... Holy moly. It's so exciting:):):):) I still cannot believe it's happening! Life whips you in the face when your bestest friends start getting married. I'm so happy for here&kyle:):)

Keep on keepin on!!!! I love you all!!!!! Time goes by SO FAST!!!!!!!! So keep pushing and don't give up:):):)

Fun in the sun:)

Hello everyone!

Sorry I'm late sending this.. I'm on vacation right now in CALIFORNIA and things have been kinda crazy! I hope all of your weeks were well! I promise I'll get around to writing individual letters to y'all soon! I know this mass email thing is kinda lame.

Anyway, having a great time in Cali! We're staying in Carlsbad. My dear friend Trisha Arnita is with me as well as my dear mission friend Megan McCauley. So some of y'all might know either of them. They say hello anyway :)

It's been a great week! Life is going so well:) living up every moment and being myself. It's so great:) post mission life really is so fun, once you kinda get the hang of it. Although I Still think of my mission ever day.

We drove for a couple days, which was tiring, but good! We stopped in Vegas and got to the top of the stratosphere and rode the spinny ride that goes over the edge of the stratosphere:)
We made it to Cali and had the BEST sabbath day yesterday. Spent the morning at the beach and then found the local YSA ward. It was the coolest ward! Met an NFL player and a bunch of marines. And 2 nonmembers were there and the bishop totally committed them to baptism and reading the Book of Mormon. And like 4 of the ward members are leaving in missions in a week. Seriously, it was so great:) then we stayed for the block and went to the linger longer.
We were going to go walk around the peer yesterday evening, but when we got there, music was blasting and everyone was partying, and none of us had any desire to be a part of it on the sabbath. I'm so grateful for the change my mission has brought in me. So we went back to the hotel and just chilled and talked all night. It was so fun:)

Today is Old Town! :):):) then tomorrow is Disneyland:):) whoo!!

But it's been great to be around these two return missionaries for this week, I'm so grateful for our standards and the spirit that we can recognize.

I also love the new Easter video.

Usually it takes losing something to understand how important it was to us.
For me, my testimony of Jesus Christ came, when I decided to not be as faithful as I was taught to be growing up. When I decided to ignore the things I had been taught, and intentionally "lose Him" that is when I felt the most lost&confused in life. It was after that, that I realized that I needed the gospel of Jesus Christ to guide me and that it made me happier. That all happened after I graduated High School. Once I realized how much the complete gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints truly meant to me, and when I realized what it did for my life, I decided to serve my full-time mission to Nebraska&Iowa to help others realize what He can do for them.
On my mission, I experienced so many miracles and felt more love than I ever had before for everyone I met. It changed my life and I KNOW our Savior is there for us in EVERY aspect of our lives. I have experienced that and I have seen the support&love&strength He gives out to so many people that I have met. HE LIVES and will never leave us. It's OUR choice to put distance between us&Him. And #BecauseHeLives we can come to know the mysteries of God, and see the eternal perspective which will help us accomplish the greatest happiness of this life&the next.
Happy Easter:) may we all come to strengthen our understanding of his resurrection and what that means to us. :)

Thank you for your example. I seriously love&pray for all of you!!!!!!!

ACT don't wait to be acted upon.

Hello!!:)

Happy P-day!! I hope you made pancakes, are wearing purple, or polka dots, and have played some patty-cake today! ;) or studied some parables.. That's probably a better idea!

I for one am going to PLAY today after work. Justin Fergdog from Nebraska is getting into town today and we're going to go PARTY. Show him some sights of Utah. I'll be sure to tell him you say hi, Muasau, Weber, and Goldsberry:) the best part is, next week I get to see his parents and a TON of other people that will be here for General Conference!! Stoked for the next two weeks:):)

This week has been insane!! I've seen so many mission friends:)

The Schwindimann's from Elkhorn were in SLC, so I went down to go see them last week, then I ran into Miranda Sommers at Institute.
The Terry's from Kearney were in Logan this weekend, so I got to go with Dylan Johnson (Elder Johnson) to see them perform at an improv show. SO FUN.
I spent the weekend in Logan wth Ashley Curfew and got to go to the Coleman's homecoming and see the Ellsworth's and the Cleverly's ❤️❤️
SO MUCH FUN!!

Heavenly Father answers prayers. While I was in Logan this weekend, I was pondering and praying about how I can magnify my new calling in Relief Society more and asking for confirmation that I'm doing what I can.

After the homecoming with Curfew, I decided I was gonna head home a little early. So I left Logan, and on the way home I got a text from my RS pres saying that out RS teaching wasn't at church yet and class started in about an hour. I texted the teaching and she apologized but said she couldn't be there. I looked at the clock and figured that I would show up at my YSA wears RIGHT on time for Relief Society. So I told my Pres that I could teach, and I listened to the lesson on the drive. I pulled into the parking lot with 5 minutes to spare, and I got to go in and team-teach Relief Society with my RS pres when I wasn't even planning on making it to my ward at all. It was crazy- and team teaching is SO fun!! I feel like a missionary again:)

Funny story- we went to do RS visits this past week, so we wore skirts and such, and before we went to go see our people, we decided we were going to go buy treats first. So we walk into the store and it doesn't even phase me that I'm carrying a Book of Mormon in my hands. Hahaha #RMhabits. We laughed so hard and took a pic, then asked the irk at the register if she'd ever heard of the Book of Mormon before.

Well.. We're in Utah.. So she said, somewhat annoyed "yes...." But we found it kinda funny:)

Institute is the best thing ever!! I go up to the one at weber state every Tuesday, and it's the best:):)

I attempted and enjoyed long-boarding this week. We were up at Utah state and were practicing in the church parking lots. Yes, plural. There is a block at USU that has 5, yes 5 church buildings. IN ONE BLOCK. Sometimes it still blows my mind.

Anyway, life is crazy and I'm SO grateful for the habits I've gained as a missionary. I thank God for the experience every day of my life.
I love being able to apply the things I want to incorporate into my future family, into my life NOW. Whether it's FHE with my friends, or calling a friend to share our studies, there are ways to develop those habits now.

Also I've learned the importance of doing what makes you happy!! I'm discovering more and more of who I am and what I can do, and confidence in myself is building. And THAT is when you know that the people around you love you for YOU. When you're being yourself. Don't care what others think and don't try to be something you're not just to please others. Be who you are and if it's meant to be, they'll stay. :) take care of yourself!! Treat yourself like you would a precious investigator. Be patient with yourself, and you will eventually see the change that gradually takes place.

Love you all!! The Book of Mormon is still true:):) and I love my Father and Savior and am grateful for all they do for me:)
-Megs


(5 churches)

Find Joy in the Journey

Hey all! I haven't heard from some of you in a little while, so make sure my email for you is correct, meg.checketts@gmail.com :)

Happy Monday!! I love fresh starts to the week:) I hope yours feels as good as mine!

First off, this week I'm welcoming my cousin Elder Jessie Zuniga, and my favorite senior couple, the Johnstun's to the mission field!! So exciting:):)

How grateful I am for the sabbath day, that we can be wiped clean of the week before us and completely start out new. It's the best feeling!

I had to speak TWICE yesterday, and boy was I exhausted.. Hah my main focus in one of the two talks was about finding joy in the journey. It is so important for us not to worry and stress about the things we cannot control, or the things that have already happened. We simply need to be ourself, and enjoy every moment. Trusting that there is a reason that things worked out the way they did.

I think yesterday was the first whole day that I can say I'm feeling like I know how to do this real life stuff. I feel like I'm following promptings and that I am where I need to be. I finally feel like I have the hang of things:) YAY. It o lay took 2 months.. Hah

I am so grateful for my calling- and I know the Lord calls us exactly where we need to be. I think that is what has helped me the most. I have been crazy busy doing relief society stuff and I am soooooo looking forward to the amazing things we have planned in the upcoming months! :):) so excited.

I am so excited for you and all the things you encounter everyday! Keep that smile on your face!!

This last week my family and I went to go see the new Cinderella. SO good. Add that to your post-mission list. "Have courage and be kind"

I also got to hang out with some mission buddies!! Dylan Johnson and Megan McCauley. We miss y'all so much:) that was the funnest day ever!! Haha we went out to antelope island and did absolutely nothing all day except laugh our guts out. So. Much. Fun.

Also said goodbye to some of my greatest role models yesterday. They've been in the MTC for 5 days and this morning they headed off to serve the Lord in the Rostov Russia mission as the greatest senior couple ever! The Johnstuns.

The temple is the most amazing place!! And the gospel is the most important thing:) ohhhhh how I love it!

So that's my week! I'm excited to hear about yours!!
-Megan Checketts

Goldsberry-- how many days until conference? ;) keep pushing, girl!!:):):)

Trust.

Hello all,
Sometimes I wonder why I even write y'all.. Hah, and I'm sorry if you get annoyed with my letters. I honestly think they just help me more than they help you.
This week has been one full of revelation.
Personal revelation that I haven't wanted to accept. I've tried to push it off for so long, because I knew how HARD it would be or I didn't want to accept it. I felt my way made more sense, and just today I'm realizing that I must accept this revelation and trust the Lord and His plan.
We all have choices laid before us. Ones of bad, good, better, and best. I know y'all have heard this before and I'm sure you've experienced it, but this week, I have felt it more than ever.
In front of me I've been placed with a really good choice. Really really good in fact! In my head everything would work out perfect.
But during the time this choice has been in front of me, there has always been a tiny little annoying tug at my feet, telling me not to move forward. I would always ignore this tug. Why would Heavenly Father be tugging at me like this when it seems like such a perfect choice??
It's nagged at me enough this week. I can't ignore the tug anymore. I know I have to face the fact that this isn't the direction He wants me to go.
This is one of the hardest choices ever. And I know it's going to hurt and be bitter for a long while. But I HAVE to take this leap of faith and trust that there is something so much better ahead.
Good better best. <---- toughest thing ever.
We are given these situations in life though, because I know Heavenly Father wants us to understand just how important and special we are to him. He can give us all the good in the world, but when we come to understand that we deserve the BEST, that is when we realize how much His capacity to love us is.
His plan is so much greater than anything any of is could ever come up with!!

So I want you to evaluate the choices in your life. Do you have good, better, best choices in your life. As hard as it may be, I'm asking you to give up the good and better, and don't SETTLE for anything less than the BEST.
You are heirs. You are royalty. And you are SO MUCH STRONGER THAN YOU REALIZE!!!!!!!!!! Spiritually, physically, emotionally. You have potential beyond your wildest dreams.
Strengthen your confidence in Christ and His Atonement and you will automatically strengthen your own self-esteem and self-confidence.
I pray for you all the time. I'd give anything to continue to have the care-free life that y'all truly do have right now. Take advantage of the time that you only have to worry about others. It is seriously the greatest time of your life!! Once you get home and have to worry about yourself, all these crazy things start to come in and occupy your precious mind. Stay focused, and forget yourself!!!!!!!

Got to see Vocal Point in concert this week! Sweet. And send my dear sweet cousin off to Nashville Tennessee on his mission:) totally jealous:)

Thanks for all your letters! I love love reading about your experiences!!
Megan Elise Checketts

Your Call to Serve

Hello my dear, sweet missionaries!

I hope and pray that your week has been so great!
Mine has! It's crazy how much we change on a mission, and how "easy" it is the feel comfortable being the person we used to be. People at home expect you to be who you were, and it's tricky to be who you've formed into while trying to fit into the mold we left behind. It takes time, and patience to help those around you adjust to the new you. Advice to those going home in the near future (can't believe I've been home a whole transfer :P) don't give up in the habits you've gained as a missionary. It's easy to say you'll read your scriptures and pray and keep the morning schedule now, but believe me, it gets hard, and Satan knows your Achilles Heal. But always have the mindset of "what can I do to grow in the gospel and be more like my Savior" instead of "what do I need to do to not go less-active".

And I just want to testify to you this week about CALLINGS. Whatever calling you are in at the time, is the most important calling in the world. And y'all have a most extremely important calling at this time. You are becoming your own convert. You are growing and understanding the most personal relationship between you and your Father in Heaven every day. He's always there with you. I promise that NEVER changes.
He gives us what we NEED exactly when we need it. And every time we get nervous about something He's asked us to do, because He ALWAYS gets us out of our comfort zone, just means that we are growing.
I received a calling this week. I'm the new RS first councilor! Our whole RS in my singles ward was switched out, and I know it's going to be a lot to take on, but I can tell your right now, this is EXACTLY what I am needing right now to help with some of the things I've struggled with since I've been home.
He knows what we need when we need it.

This week has been good for me! My brother and sister-in-law from Georgia have been in town, so I've gotten to spend some much needed time with them:) family is forever. And I am SO proud of my family. They are the biggest proof to me, that as we turn to the Lord and always strive to put Him first, and fulfill all of our callings to the best of our ability, then He will take care of us and prosper us.

Again, let me know if there is anything I can do! I'm so grateful for the call to serve.

Heavenly Father is always there with His hand stretched out.

Love,
Megan Elise Checketts

(Niece time!!)