November 13, 2017
Choose to be Glad

This last week I was reading a talk given in this last General Womens Conference by Elder Uchtdorf. (Click here to read the talk) And the Spirit taught me a very important lesson. "CHOOSE TO BE GLAD". I am a generally happy person, but in those moments when SO many "things" go wrong, how do I choose to feel?  If you are human, most of the time you get frustrated, sad, or mad. Right? But why not choose to be Glad? Yes, bad things happen, but I think the world today has it backwards.  Just because bad things happen in our lives we don't have to be mad or sad. It is a choice.  Being happy is a choice. SO choose who you want to be today. Mad, Sad or Glad?!

ITS GETTING COLD!!!

Light the World is making us wicked busy!! WE are now partnering with Walmart, Local hospitals, Retirement centers and homeless shelters. We have a lot of events to plan for and I have no clue where to start!!! But all will go well. I truly am going to lose myself this Christmas in the work because there simply isn't enough time to get all of it done.

Light the World

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I will ask, "What are you thankful for?"

I am grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for my Savior and Redeemer.  I am grateful for the opportunity to serve and spread the gospel of good news.  I am grateful for my family and friends.  I love you all!! 

Sister Scherzinger

November 6, 2017
No Power November

With the craziness of the storm, we spent the majority of the week helping people dig out.  We spent Monday - Wednesday with Sisters an hour away who had power.  While the power was out it shocked me at how many people were assuming it was the end of the world because they couldn’t charge their phones, or that their laptop died and couldn’t plug it in.  In Bangor, the power was out from Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon. It was interesting to see how not having power brought out the worst in some people.  Who would you be? The people fighting at the gas station because you need the gas to fill up your generator, the person about to maul the lady for the 10 packages of AA batteries, or the person who just uses the time to spend with family because they are prepared? Although the first two were quite amusing to see, I hope and pray that you end up being the last. If not, start on the path to do so. As Elder Bednar has said over and over again, “WE ARE TO ACT. NOT BE ACTED UPON.”

This week we spent our time serving or working on partnerships with hospitals,  homeless shelters, and Walmart.  We are also focused on preparing for Light the World!!  

I love you all!  Stay warm (it's getting cold here)!!

Sister Scherzinger

October 31, 2017
New England STORM

I feel like I always say “ What a week! “ but seriously I think it’s the only way that I can really honestly describe what happens in missionary work. Especially here in the New England area. 

This last week there was a wicked bad storm which has caused 500,000 people here in the New England area to lose power. No lights, No water. Trees uprooted and smashed houses, stop lights were down  IN the intersections, power lines snapped in half. It has been absolutely crazy!  It has definitely made me that much more grateful for LIGHT. 

In the Bible we read and learn in Matthew that Christ is “the light and life of the world” and as we are of the same royal descent, we are too. We are light. How can we be the light to others?  Over and over in the Book of Mormon we see prophets serving. King Benjamin worked alongside those whom he taught. He used his hands to serve and bless those around him.

I have seen this over and over again especially the last few days as we have helped those whose homes have been destroyed, and those who were fortunate enough just to have a few larger branches fall into their yard. We, ALL OF US, truly are the light in a never ending state of darkness. Don’t be afraid to bless the lives of others. Don’t ask if you can help. Just do it. 

I hope you all have a Happy Halloween and really take some time to think about how you can help those around you. I love you all! Stay safe, dry, and warm! 

Sister Scherzinger 

October 2, 2017

Our ReACTions

This past week the leaves were BEAUTIFUL here in Maine. 

As I sat enjoying the brilliant red, orange and yellow leaves, It got me thinking about how at one point in time all the leaves were green. Eventually something hard happens (like a frost) and the leaves begin to change in response to the harsh elements. The change brings joy to all those around. And in the Spring, the green leaves return.... Refreshed and renewed. Are we not much different than the leaves. We experience harsh trials, yet do we allow our response to bring JOY to all those around?  And when the trial ends, are we new again? 

As I was listening closely to the talks of General Conference, this quote just stuck out to me. Stanley G. Ellis said, "we all have challenges, the variable is our reaction to the challenges."   Now, I am not perfect.  But I do know that my purpose in life is to grow. To LEARN, and to IMPROVE. I have control and can change my reaction to be positive to all those around me. 

I was transferred to Bangor, Maine! I love it here, and I absolutely love my Companion! Her name is Sister McArthur and she reminds me of Tiffany. We are serving as STLs and all I can say is It feels like home when I'm with her. 

I love you all. 

Sister Scherzinger

Chasing Darkness From Among Us

September 24, 2017

This last week I was privileged to sit at the feet of an Apostle and
learn from him. Instead of a traditional talk, Elder Bednar  hosted a 
Question & Answer forum for 3 hours.  It was truly a once in a lifetime
experience to be taught by an Apostle of the Lord.

Manchester New Hampshire Mission with Elder Bednar Sept 2017

It was the most amazing thing I have ever been apart of. I must say that one

of the things that struck me the most was when we were talking about
chasing darkness from among us. He told us he believes that the darkness in which most of the world is held in our hand-held devices. It made me stop and think...

Here in the next few weeks the MNHM will be adding Social Media as a teaching platform, and I'll be back on Facebook,  Instagram,  and Twitter.  With a renewed vision of how social media can be used to invite others to come to Christ and spread God's message,  I am excited to shine some light in one of the darkest places in the world. I invite you to keep shining your lights and together we can chase out darkness.

John Bytheway likens the war strategies in Alma 55 to the strategies that Satan uses with the media in today's world. He says:

Alma 55: Be Cautious That No Poison Is Administered Among You

When the offers for a prisoner exchange fail, Moroni devises another way to win the release of the Nephite prisoners of war.  He delivers wine to the Lamanties in charge of guarding the prisoners, who eventually become drunk and fall asleep.  Moroni could have killed all the guards at this point, but instead, he arms the Nephite prisoners of war, and when the hungover guards awaken, they quickly surrender.

Later, the Lamanites tried the same trick on the Nephites, delivering not only wine, but wine laced with poison.  However, the Nephites "were not slow to remember the Lord their God" and they were "cautious that no poison should be administered among them." (v 31, 32)

Again, Satan wants to poison us "by degrees."  Much of the modern media is exactly that kind of poison.  But if we are not slow to remember God, we will be cautious that no poison is administered among us, whether it comes in bottles, or through the airwaves, the cable, or the modem.

It is easy to be poisoned by degrees, and my challenge to you this week is to identify how you use social media.  Is it to build others up, to brag, to complain or to testify?

Sister Gremillion is seriously so great. We have been able to just go out and work, and work hard. I am so grateful for her!

Our car is going in the shop for 4 days: I'm so sad

Yep, I'm HOLDING A SQUIRREL

Sister Magoon & Sister Gremillion

Sister Magoon & I 

Elder Glenn

Sister Training Leaders

Exchanges

I hope you all know I love you and miss you all!

Sister Scherzinger

You Can't Fix Everything

The theme for my week was " You cant fix everything." Just like I cant stop time from going so fast, I cant fix problem-ed companionships, I cant fix that its a 2 hour and 45 min drive to their apartment. I cant fix peoples struggling testimonies.  I can't fix their attitudes.  I've learned that those things are never to be " FIXED" by me,  but to be refined through our Saviors hands, and OUR attitudes.

Several times this week I found myself having this conversation in my head (pardon the repeat from a previous blog post):   “Then Sister Scherzinger, why are you here? Why are we back on this same habit, by these same questions , having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want to fix it, I can? What I need, Sister Scherzinger, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Sister Scherzinger, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”

I have my habits that are being broken. I am being refined. And I am learning to live the First great commandment. But that takes time. Psalms 159:165  "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them." So, roll with the punches. Become that person you're destined to be.  Love God.  Truly love Him, and no word out of someone else's mouth will offend you, because Salvation isn't provided by a congregation, but by our own personal relationship with the Creator.

Not sure what this is...but we were given it to eat.....I got two bites down.

Take a minute to watch this beautiful video about Coming Unto Christ.

I love you all, and hope you have a great week.  Remember that if we are feeling frustrated with someone, all we can do is let the Savior refine us.  We are not mean to "fix" other people.

Much love,

Sister Scherzinger

Obedience Blesses Our Lives
July 28, 2017

Hobit Land

Last week, Sister Lewis and I, as well as the Zone Leaders and some District Leaders had a meeting in a Manchester, NH.   When we travel far, we stay in the  mission home. I can't even begin to tell you how much I love staying at the mission home with President and Sister Blair!! You walk into their home and you feel like you are worth more than anything in the world. I hope to acquire that skill someday.   Making others feel loved, valued and needed is a special talent.

Dinner

District PDay Fun!

Yummy Food

In our meetings we discussed how we can get members involved with missionary work. So I guess I'll pose that question to you! What gets you excited about missionary work?    For me, it comes down to the "why".  Why is the the Gospel of the Good News?  Why is our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ so exciting?  How does it change us? Change our lives?  Our reaction to pain and suffering? When we get down to the "Why", we remember that the gospel is a glorious gift, and as members, if we pray for a desire to share it,  and are willing to follow promptings, Heavenly Father will put us to work.

Now, to the highlight of the week. SHERRY WAS BAPTIZED!!!!! I can't even begin to explain the spirit that was there.  I don't think I can ever explain Sherry in words that

would do her justice. She's like a mom away from home, a friend in the gospel, a beloved sister.  She is reading the Book of Mormon, and I love how excited and inspired she is as she experiences the power in that great book. I just love her, and her testimony. This last week we asked her what she would say to someone struggling in life and her reply was, " To read
the Book of Mormon. If that doesn't change your life I don't know what will."

Back the the baptism -- let's just say that after the font had filled up for and over an hour, the water was ice cold, but we couldn't figure out how to drain the water. So, we improvised and drained it , bucket by bucket, just to find out there was no warm water in the water heater. BRRR!! Despite the freezing water, Sherry was baptized.  Most of the audience was filled with nonmembers, and Sherry bore her testimony of the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the church. I hope those in attendance were able to feel the Spirit testify of the truth!

Other than the Baptism, we started teaching two little girls this week, and I don't think I have ever heard a more sincere prayer.  As one of the little girls was saying the closing prayer she
said " God, please let me know if you are there. Even if it's later. I just need to know you are there and that you love me. "  She is 10 years old, and has more faith than most twice her age.

Because Sister Lewis and I are over two zones of Sisters, we had two Zone Conferences to attend and teach at, and two exchanges this week. We have been living out of our car. ( Not really, but close)

Exchanges with the Saco Sisters and the Cornish Sisters went really well. I love being able to go and find new ways to be a missionary.

Being obedient, even to the little things, blesses our lives.  I'm not sure if it is just because we were traveling so much this week, but I've been conscious about going the speed limit.  ( For those of you who know me, let's just say that isn't a talent that comes naturally.) But I've been doing better.

We had an opportunity to play softball at our ward BBQ, but half-way through the game, I felt as if we needed to go. I'm not sure why. I just felt a big urge to be out proselyting. So we left. We were driving down Maine Avenue, and I put the car on cruise control to make sure I wouldn't speed.  Right in front of us a woman was T-boned.  I feel like had  I been speeding, Sister Lewis and I could have been entangled in a pretty nasty wreck.  Instead AND because I was being obedient, we were able to stop the car in time.  We were able to call 911, although we were in a dead zone where we never have cell service, and we were able to grab the girl out of the car and get her to safety.

In these moments, I realized how God's plan is much bigger than mine. I had a urge to go and find people to teach, He had us be there for a single mom who was in a car accident. We were instruments in His hands as we talked and calmed her down, and in the end, we now have an invitation to her home, and an opportunity to teach her and her children. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

I am forever grateful that I don't need to understand the who, what, and why of everything, but that I can take comfort in my FAITH and move forward.

I am so grateful to be apart of the work here in New England. I love every moment of it.

Below is a video that demonstrates my "WHY".  I love this gospel , I love my Savior, and I know this gospel is true.  The Book of Mormon changes lives and is the Word of God.

Love you all!

Sister Scherzinger

If Reason Seems to Contradict Faith...PAUSE

I love Peter.  I love his example. The process that changed him from a fisherman, to a disciple, to a beloved apostle, can work in our lives, if we allow it. 

I love watching people change as they feel the spirit. I know it changes us from the inside out, and it will always do that as long as we continue to nourish the faith we have. Even if it's just
small. By small and simple thing are great things made.  

Below is one of my favorite songs about Peter.  Listen to the words....

As I strive to become more Christlike, I am grateful each day for Heavenly Father's tender mercies. I've come to realize that His tender mercies depend on our faith. Faith was necessary for Lehi to witness the Tree of Life in 
1 Nephi 8:5 :

5 And it came to pass that I saw a man, and he
was dressed in a white robe; and he came and stood before me.

6 And it came to pass that he spake unto me, and bade me follow him.
7 And it came to pass that as I followed him I beheld myself that I
was in a dark and dreary waste.
8 And after I had traveled for the space of many hours in darkness, I began to pray unto the Lord that he would have mercy on me, according to the multitude of his tender mercies."

Sometimes we are called upon to walk through darkness, uncertainty and even, despair -- Remember to pray unto the Lord for His tender mercies to be showered upon you--creating faith enough to endure.

I love this short talk about Faith, Peter and Airplanes.

By Faith All Things Are Fulfilled

If reason seems to contradict faith, PAUSE...and remember that our perspective is extremely limited compared with the Lord's.  Do not discard faith anymore than you would detach a wing from an aircraft in flight.

The few days we had in our area this week we spent finding and

teaching. We saw so many miracles from doing so.  On a side note: Do you know how many times an average missionary prays a day?  Around 16 formal prayers daily and a continual prayer in our hearts.  I can't tell you how often the thought is in my head, "Let the Spirit be with me."  or "Please let them be home." I've found as I am trying to make my prayers more sincere and loving I AM MORE SINCERE AND LOVING.  Sincere prayers are helping me Become.

View behind our apartment.  Sometimes this is where we study.

Sherry (our Investigator with a baptismal date ) has her interview
this week, and is SO excited to be baptized. We were also able to find
four new investigators. Sister Lewis and I were out every waking
moment we could to make things work this week. I'm so grateful for a
companion who is so selfless.

I am always humbled to be a servant of the Lord. I am
grateful for my Savior. My gratitude grows more for Him each week.
It's amazing to me that someone as perfect as Him would die for someone as imperfect as me. A few people have asked why we don't have or wear crosses, and the answer is simple.  It's because I know He lives. I know Him LIVING, is just as important as his death, but  it's in the living that He showed his power and the purpose of his death.

I know the Gospel is true.  Jesus is the Living Christ.  Joseph Smith sought inspiration and prayed to a loving Heavenly Father, who restored the gospel through a humble 14 year old boy in New England.  How grateful I am for his courage, wisdom and faith.  Through him the Book of Mormon was translated and continues to be a second witness of Jesus Christ.

I love my Savior.  I love you all.

Sister Scherzinger

May 15, 2017
Yea, Lord, thou knowest I love thee

Time just seems to fly by as a missionary!

I'd like to start by saying HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all of those amazing woman who have played a role in my life. 

To sum up the weird experiences the past few weeks, lets just say we have been offered "weed" and tracted into a drug house --- yup!  2 separate experiences. 

Oh, and there's this.....

 
We had Zone meeting Wednesday and all of the Sisters ended up staying at our apartment. We talked a lot about leaving the 99 to find the ONE.  "If ye love me feed my sheep "  John 21.  I have pondered this the past couple of weeks and it has come to grow within me.  I loved what Elder Holland taught about truly loving the Savior in October 2012 Ensign. 

Here I ask your indulgence as I take some nonscriptural liberty in my portrayal of this exchange. In effect, Peter said to his associates: “Brethren, it has been a glorious three years. None of us could have imagined such a few short months ago the miracles we have seen and the divinity we have enjoyed. We have talked with, prayed with, and labored with the very Son of God Himself. We have walked with Him and wept with Him, and on the night of that horrible ending, no one wept more bitterly than I. But that is over. He has finished His work, and He has risen from the tomb. He has worked out His salvation and ours. So you ask, ‘What do we do now?’ I don’t know more to tell you than to return to your former life, rejoicing. I intend to ‘go a fishing.’” And at least six of the ten other remaining Apostles said in agreement, “We also go with thee.” John, who was one of them, writes, “They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately.”3

But, alas, the fishing wasn’t very good. Their first night back on the lake, they caught nothing—not a single fish. With the first rays of dawn, they disappointedly turned toward the shore, where they saw in the distance a figure who called out to them, “Children, have you caught anything?” Glumly these Apostles-turned-again-fishermen gave the answer no fisherman wants to give. “We have caught nothing,” they muttered, and to add insult to injury, they were being called “children.”4

“Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find,”5 the stranger calls out—and with those simple words, recognition begins to flood over them. Just three years earlier these very men had been fishing on this very sea. On that occasion too they had “toiled all the night, and [had] taken nothing,”6 the scripture says. But a fellow Galilean on the shore had called out to them to let down their nets, and they drew “a great multitude of fishes,”7enough that their nets broke, the catch filling two boats so heavily they had begun to sink.

Now it was happening again. These “children,” as they were rightly called, eagerly lowered their net, and “they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”8 John said the obvious: “It is the Lord.”9 And over the edge of the boat, the irrepressible Peter leaped.

After a joyful reunion with the resurrected Jesus, Peter had an exchange with the Savior that I consider the crucial turning point of the apostolic ministry generally and certainly for Peter personally, moving this great rock of a man to a majestic life of devoted service and leadership. Looking at their battered little boats, their frayed nets, and a stunning pile of 153 fish, Jesus said to His senior Apostle, “Peter, do you love me more than you love all this?” Peter said, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”10

The Savior responds to that reply but continues to look into the eyes of His disciple and says again, “Peter, do you love me?” Undoubtedly confused a bit by the repetition of the question, the great fisherman answers a second time, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.”11

The Savior again gives a brief response, but with relentless scrutiny He asks for the third time, “Peter, do you love me?” By now surely Peter is feeling truly uncomfortable. Perhaps there is in his heart the memory of only a few days earlier when he had been asked another question three times and he had answered equally emphatically—but in the negative. Or perhaps he began to wonder if he misunderstood the Master Teacher’s question. Or perhaps he was searching his heart, seeking honest confirmation of the answer he had given so readily, almost automatically. Whatever his feelings, Peter said for the third time, “Lord, … thou knowest that I love thee.”12

To which Jesus responded (and here again I acknowledge my nonscriptural elaboration), perhaps saying something like: “Then Peter, why are you here? Why are we back on this same shore, by these same nets, having this same conversation? Wasn’t it obvious then and isn’t it obvious now that if I want fish, I can get fish? What I need, Peter, are disciples—and I need them forever. I need someone to feed my sheep and save my lambs. I need someone to preach my gospel and defend my faith. I need someone who loves me, truly, truly loves me, and loves what our Father in Heaven has commissioned me to do. Ours is not a feeble message. It is not a fleeting task. It is not hapless; it is not hopeless; it is not to be consigned to the ash heap of history. It is the work of Almighty God, and it is to change the world. So, Peter, for the second and presumably the last time, I am asking you to leave all this and to go teach and testify, labor and serve loyally until the day in which they will do to you exactly what they did to me.”

My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.”13 And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,”14 Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord. We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before. The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without “a single synagogue or sword”15 to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world in which we now live. 

This week I went on exchanges with Sister Johnson to an island just off of Boothbay Harbor.  It's easy to imagine Peter and his fishing boat as I stare out into the sea.

Sister Johnson is a kind, loving Sister Missionary who truly loves her Savior and companion. On exchanges, we picked up a few new investigators to teach and saw many miracles just by opening our mouths. It's amazing to see the Lord work through us as we are willing to do the small things He asks of us. We finished up our week by meeting with a family referral and extending Baptismal dates to them which they accepted. They are some of the most prepared people I've met. We then found a prospective Elder who would like us to come back, and teach his family.  

I've been reading in the war chapters of Alma this week and it never ceases to amaze me how the scriptures always apply to us. I know that the Book if Mormon is the word of God and that it applies to every single one of us today. It can lead us to do amazing and remarkable things. If your not reading it, I encourage you to do so. It will change you life for the better.  For a free Book of Mormon click here.

This is my City by the Sea -- Augusta, Maine

I am truly honored to be a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and wear Christ's name right next to mine. I am grateful to know that no matter who I'm meeting with I can see them through my Savior's eyes.  I love you all so much!

Sister Scherzinger