A Bit Behind but Doing Well in LEE's SUMMIT

Well, my friends and family. I get the award for worst email writer EVER! Things have been crazy here in Lee's Summit (in a good way, of course) so i've had a lot to catch up on these past few pdays. And believe it or not, I'm still behind...so this is going to be a short one too!

I just wanted to share a video with all of you. I'm sure a majority of you have already seen it...but I wanted to share it along with my testimony that I know this Gospel is true. Heavenly Father has a plan for us. Central to that plan is His Son, Jesus Christ, and His Atonement. Everything in this life truly is possible "Because of Him"

http://easter.mormon.org/?cid=HPTU04151469

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

My Ward Mission Leader and his Family in IOLA

I Call this Lady Grandma. She's the BEST.

Be the Example

Well hello my family and friends!

Time is short. But life is good. and that's all that matters, right?

I am LOVING life here in Lee's Summit. The ward is SO happy to have sisters and they are totally spoiling us. The poor elders aren't too thrilled that we're getting all the attention and that our meal calendar filled up faster than theirs did. but they'll get over it....eventually. haha.

Quick story:

My companion and I ventured to the mall last week to do a little shopping (which was weird, by the way. I haven't been to a mall in a YEAR! i've only shopped at walmart for that long. haha.) So while we were there we grabbed some lunch in the food court. We sat down to eat, and before we started we each said a personal prayer over our food. When I raised my head and opened my eyes I caught the eye of a woman sitting across the court from us. I smiled at her and she looked away. We ate our lunch and as we went to leave this woman came up to us. She was from China, so her English was really broken as she said: "when i see you pray, it make me feel so good. i just want to cry." tears filled her eyes and she said: "i just wish my kids be like you. they not make good decisions and I wish they pray like you do." She told us a little more about her family before she went on her way, and that was that. Although our encounter with this woman was short, the warmth in my heart lingered throughout the rest of the day. What a testimony builder of the example we need to be as members because there will always be people who recognize our actions. We are making a difference simply by living the teachings of the Gospel. We truly must "...stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in"

i love you all!

Sister Hyer

TRANSFERS!!! Hello From........

Hey ya'll!

Welp...as Dorothy would say, "I don't think I'm in Kansas anymore!" :)

Hello from Lee's Summit, Missouri!

I am back to civilization....a place with traffic, highways, stores (other than walmart), restaurants, and a ward that fills the entire chapel and has a full primary! It's a wonderful area.

I am currently serving with Sister 'Ita...she's great. Her and I were called to open up a new area in the mission. Since there have been so many missionaries coming out, our mission is getting full. As many of you know, they split the mission last July, cutting our geographic area and missionary count in half...we had about 300 missionaries pre-split, then we ended up with about 150ish after the split. Since then, we have had at least 25 missionaries come out each transfer, with an average of 10 going home. Over the past year, we have grown back up to close to 300 missionaries in the mission, but still only covering half of the geographic area. How incredible. This means a few things: First. the work is hastening. The Lord made the call through His prophet to hasten His work, and the members have responded...the missionary force is ever increasing and to work is moving forward. second. we have to find places to fit all these missionaries!

So we were sent to open an area where sisters haven't ever served before. There are elders here, so we're not alone...but we are the first sisters to be serving in the Lee's Summit 3rd ward! so exciting.

The day of transfers was crazy. I found my companion among the other missionaries and said, "hey. do you know where we're going or what we're supposed to do?" and she replied: "Nope. do you?" haha. So....we found the elders currently serving in our ward, went and picked up a brand new car (never even driven off the lot, had a total of 30 miles on it), keys to a new apartment, and a few copies of The Book of Mormon, and followed a member to our apartment. When we got into our apartment, we just sat down and looked at eachother, wondering what to do. haha. We made a few calls and got right to work. we're starting from ground zero, but it's so exciting.

The members are absolutley thrilled to have sisters here...we have been welcomed with so much love and support, I hardly know what to do with myself! It's cool because the ward was expecting sisters a few months ago, but they said it didn't work out....my companion and I said it didn't work out because we weren't ready to come here yet, and that we were the ones that needed to be sent here. and I truly believe that!

There was a sister who came up to us, with tears in her eyes and said: "I have been praying for you. I've prayed for 2 years for the Lord to send sisters to our ward. My husband is a non-member, and I've always felt like the sister missionaries were the ones that would be able to connect with him. I am so grateful you are here."

And I'm grateful too. What a blessing it is to be here!

Love you all!

Sister Hyer

Happy St. Patrick's Day....and Good Bye Iola Kansas!

Hey there!

It's me. Sister Hyer.

So....The time has come. My stay here in iola is coming to an end. It's been an amazing 6 months (holy cow, 6 months?!) filled with many adventures and journeys that have helped me learn and grow. After a while, I was beginning to think I would end my mission here, and leaving only felt like something I'd face when I got on the plane to go home. But the Lord needs me somewhere else....where? I won't know until tomorrow...but I'll go where He needs me to go!

iola has become my home over the past 6 months. I knew I cared about this place and the people here, but saying goodbyes yesterday made me realize how much I truly love them and how wonderful my stay here really has been. I didn't think leaving the area would be this hard...but through many hugs, tears, and 'I love yous', my heart felt a little different than I thought it would.

Reflecting on my journey here in iola, Kansas, I thought I'd share a few things I've learned/experienced over the past 6 months.

while serving in iola, I have:

- met so many incredible people

- experienced Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, my birthday, and Valentine's Day all in one area
- learned to love the country

- met more dogs, horses, chickens, and cows than I thought even existed

- laughed, cried, and made memories that will last forever

- driven a total of 10,000+ miles

- seen oh so many miracles

- learned more about the Gospel than I have my entire life

- had the blessing of being a part of 3 baptisms

- come to understand the importance of member missionary work

- been shaped and refined by trials

- learned the importance of prayer

- realized that I truly "can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13)

And above all else, while serving in iola,

- My faith and testimony have been strengthened. I can truly say with more conviction than ever that I know this Gospel is true. Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for all of His children. Our savior Lives! Through the power of His infinite Atonement, we can be strengthened and be enabled to do things we would not otherwise be able to do by ourselves. The Gospel was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and we are lead by a living prophet and apostles in these latter days. The Book of Mormon is true and can help us come closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. It's all true!

Goodbyes are hard. But I'm truly grateful for the time I've been able to spend here. Iola Kansas will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Here's to the last stretch  of my journey. Onward to wherever the Lord needs me.

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

Service at it's Finest!

Hey ya'all!

Spring is doing it's best to get here in iola. We had a big ice/snow storm that cancelled church again last week. But after that, the sun tried to find it's way here and it actually warmed up a little bit. Hopefully it will stay that way!

A few weeks ago I wrote about a lady in the ward that has had cancer for the past few years...we had visited her and had an incredible experience with her. She had received the news that she was cancer free a few days before we went, and was able to share with us that she believed she was able to endure the cancer so that she could continue share her testimony about the plan of Salvation with others.

Last week she was told that the cancer had returned and that there were additional spots on her liver that could potentially be cancerous. After enduring what she thought was her last round of chemo and thinking she was cancer free, her heart was broken to know her battle wasn't over. In addition to her many health problems, she lost her 13 year old  granddaughter last week in a very tragic car accident. The trials seem to keep piling up in her life.

At the end of last week, she called us and asked if we could come help her clean her house before the funeral. While we were there, she said the only thing she really cared about being done was her kitchen floor. Having cleaned houses for so long, I got right to work, down on my hands and knees. She had left the room for a while, and she came back just as I was finishing the floor...still on  my hands and knees. When she walked in the kitchen she was so surprised....she said: "Oh my goodness, you're on your hands and knees. This floor hasn't been cleaned like that since I started Chemo last year!" As she glanced at the freshly mopped floor, she began to sob. She could barely talk as she said: "This floor has never looked so good. You will never know how much this means to me...."  Then between sobs, she said: "Thank you...so much." Then grabbed me and hugged me like I've never been hugged before. Her gratitude was sincere. I was filled with the kind of joy you can only receive by serving others. I never knew that doing something as simple as cleaning a hardwood floor would mean so much to somebody, and would be able to bring me so much joy.

Saturday was her granddaughter's funeral. We were able to attend and I was asked to say the closing prayer. As I sat there during the service, and especially as I said the prayer, I was overwhelmed with gratitude for the knowledge I have of this Gospel. How comforting it is to know that our Heavenly Father loves us enough to allow us to return to live with Him and our families for eternity. 

At the end of the funeral, With tears in her eyes, this sweet, incredible strong woman once again hugged me and thanked me for my service...Although I am simply doing my best to fulfill my purpose as a missionary and deserve no special appreciation or attention, it meant the world knowing I had helped someone in need. I'm not sure who was more grateful--her, for having the help she needed...or me, for having the opportunity to serve her. I am so blessed to be able to serve each and every day and am so grateful for the joy I feel as I do so!

I love you all.

Sister Hyer

exchanges with sister Albrecht. We made cupcakes for our friend!

Our cute cupcakes. baking is part of preaching the Gospel when you're a sister missionary! ;)

picture of a picture...but this is too cool not to share! Since our mission is so geographically small, we were able to get together as an entire mission back around Christmas time...that doesn't happen very often! So our mission president had a photographer come and capture the event. What a good lookin mission! ;)

I couldn't resist sending a picture of this. Evidence that I live in a small town...in the middle of nowhere...with a bunch of awesome farmers. This has been in our fridge for the past 6 months. Yes, your read it right, that does say BarBQ Coon...as in Barbeque Racoon...as in Racoon that has been bottled with BBQ sauce. haha. Oh the life of a missionary!

So Happy on a Sunny PDay!

I've had more slumber parties on my mission than I have had my entire life. haha. This is how we fit 4 sister missionaries in one tiny room. We love sleepovers with the Stanley sisters!

This is a very common view I have from the driver's seat. Love the big Kansas Skies!



Quick Note, Time is Flying

hey everyone!

So. I'm short on time this week. We are headed up to an area a few hours away to go play some sports. Who knew I'd ever look forward to playing volleyball and basketball like I do here. Haha. Weird.

I was trying to decide if I wanted to play volleyball or write a really cool email home...aaaaannnd....as much as I love all of you and want to spend my pday emailing....I think I'm gonna go get my volleyball on. ha

I thought about not writing at all...but that's just wrong. So mostly I will just keep my email short and sweet and say,

I love you all!
Hope you all have a great week!

Sister Hyer

Mission Experiences

Oh! How the weeks go by!

Cool experience this week.

We have been volunteering at the local senior citizen center. Once or twice a week, we have the opportunity to go play games with the residents... and it's wonderful and hilarious. Their favorite game is dominoes, and though most of them don't know how to play, or are not aware enough to know what they're doing, they somehow still seem to beat us every time! We've had some good laughs and some tender moments.

One time, I was sitting next to this 90-something year old lady in a wheel chair. She was trying to read my nametag, so she got up as close as she could to it and yelled, "Sister??.....Are you a nun?!" I tried not to laugh and explained the best I could that I was a missionary...NOT a nun. ha.

The majority of the residents have lost their memories and deal with all the trials that old age brings. One of them, Jan, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's a few years ago. She tries to communicate with us, and although we rarely understand her, there's always a message that she's trying to tell us, and she knows exactly what it is. She doesn't remember anything, and her sentences hardly make sense. Her husband visits her hours and hours a day. It is so sweet.

Last week, we attended an activity with these sweet residents. There was a man who came, guitar in hand, to play some gospel songs and try to liven things up a bit. I sat their watching these senior citizens...as the music started, their countenances brightened and many started dancing and clapping--moving their canes and wheelchairs to the beat. As I watched closely, I saw many of them singing along...including my friend Jan....I was amazed to see that although the years had taken their memories, one of the few memories that did remain were the lyrics and melodies of their favorite hymns and gospel songs. The music that had once touched them was instilled in their hearts, and they were able to recall the happiness and joy that singing those hymns brings...even though they may not even remember who they are. I was reminded that music makes us feel things that nothing else in the world can.

I thought this again during sacrament meeting yesterday. A family got up to sing the song, "I Know That My Savior Loves Me." The four kids (with the youngest being only 4 years old), accompanied by their mom, stood at the pulpit and sang out with all the energy they could, declaring that they truly did know their Savior loves them. Somewhere between their tender voices and sweet smiles, I was overcome with the spirit...and was once again reminded of how important music is to helping us feel the spirit and how wonderful it can be to help us feel happiness and joy.

How grateful I am to have grown up in a home where music was so abundant and that I was taught that Music is a gift from our Heavenly Father. Although I sometimes complained about all the piano students (haha) I am grateful that there was always music in my home. (Thanks, Mom! :D )

I love you all!

Sister Hyer