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

Happy Day of LOVE

 Hello once again! Is it just me, or is time flying?! I feel like I was just writing an email yesterday! So crazy.

So much to write about, so little time! Gotta try to squeeze it all in one short email. I'll do my best.

First of all, Happy late Valentine's day! We had such a fun day...we had slept over at the Stanley sisters' house, so my companion and I woke up early and surprised them with a pink pancake breakfast! Then we went to some of the members' houses and heart-attacked their door. We wrote scriptures on hearts and wrote a poem about how when we read the scriptures we can know that the Savior loves us. Service can be so much fun when you make it that way! And it always brings joy!

Then! We had a general authority come visit our mission last week. It was so amazing! Elder Martino is a member of the quorum of the Seventy and as part of his assignment, he does mission tours a few times a year and spends time with the missionaries and the mission president. He spoke about so many things...here are a few of my favorite lines he shared:

-We have so much that others don't have--SHARE IT!

-Having the spirit in our lives depends on us

-If we don't teach the Doctrines of the Gospel to the rising generation, we'll lose it

- If it is to be, it is up to me

-You'll motivate through love more than through criticism

-We have to work smarter, not just harder

-Revelation if often time sensitive. We have to be engaged in the gospel at all times and be ready to act.

-The Atonement brings comfort when there is no peace

-Repentance is more than paying the price for sin

-We do things to become, not to merit

-The gospel brings comfort to a world that doesn't understand

He then left us with an apostolic blessing and in it he blessed us to be able to go forward with the courage to act on the things we'd learned and that we would know that we are loved by our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ. It was such an uplifting conference, and I left with courage and enthusiasm to do the Lord's work!

Also. We had another baptism! Wahoo. Iola is on Fire. Our friend Tina was baptized. We found Tina through a member...this member called us one day and said: "Hey. I have a friend here. She said she liked the picture of the Kansas City temple on my wall. Wanna come over and teach her about it?" haha. So we rushed over there right that second, Then 2 months later she was baptized! Perfect example of how successful missionary work can be when members are involved. Share the gospel, My friends...even if it's just by hanging a picture of the temple or the Savior in your home!

Phew! What a week. I have more to share, but it will have to wait. Pday time flies. Just know I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hyer

Zone Conference Day

Me and Sister Zito

So. we slept over with the sisters in Stanley the night before valentine's day. My companion and I surprised them and decorated and made breakfast. Here's what it looked like! :)

Complete with Pink Pancakes.

TINA GOT BAPTIZED

Happy Missionaries on Baptism Day.

Valentine's day calls for 'heart-attacking' all our members!

we wrote a poem and then put hearts with a daily scripture on them to help them know the love of the Savior

We LOVE heart Attacks

reunited with My Albany sisters



One Soul. And some PICTURES!

Hey all ya'll!

First of all, I just want to say that being a missionary is the best. Seriously.

I'm back in iola! Transfers were last week, so I'm no longer serving in the terrific trio. It was so great to be there and serve with those sisters...but it's great to be back in iola. You don't realize how much you love an area and how much it becomes your home until you leave it for a few weeks. When I went back to church yesterday everyone kept saying how good it was to have me back, and one person even said, "welcome home!" I'd have to agree that iola has become my home away from home...at least for now. :)

I also have a new companion! Her name is Sister Fa'anunu. She's from Tonga and is just the sweetest. This is my second Polynesian companion, and I'm beginning to learn how loving, passionate, and generous the people of the Polynesian culture are. She has 9 brothers and sisters and is the 7th in her family to serve a mission! She is wonderful. She has a very tender testimony. It is going to be a great transfer serving with her!

So, I'll be honest...it's been a hard past few weeks. Satan seemed to be working his evil schemes on me (and the whole mission for that matter) and the trials of a mission had been getting to me a little more than normal. I have learned so much about prayer. I know that the Savior has never left my side...that He has carried me and lifted me through every tough day...especially the days I didn't think I'd make it through.

Things have been better this past week...I'm back on my feet with enthusiasm and determination to make this the best transfer of my mission so far. One thing that helped me was a letter from a recent convert I taught in my last area. You might remember stories about my investigator Jane, who was baptized right before I left Albany. At the end of last week, I got the most incredible letter. In it, she told me that she had a huge surprise for me...that she has decided to become a missionary! She said that it is all because of me and the impact I had on her, and that no one could ever take my place and she thinks about me every day. She mentioned that she's hated the snow because she's had to stay inside, but that it's given her the chance to read The Book of Mormon, Preach My Gospel, and anything else she can get her hands on. She finished the letter by saying that she has never been happier.

In an instant, I forgot all about the trials I was facing. All the fears, doubts, and disappointments I had been experiencing were washed away. Although I could never take all the credit, it felt amazing knowing that With the direction of the Holy Ghost, I had been an instrument in the Hands of the Lord to fulfill my purpose as a missionary and invite others to come unto Christ. I was holding in my hands the evidence that, with the help of the Savior, I had made a difference in someone's life...I had helped them to receive the truthfulness of the Restored Gospel and the blessings that come from living the commandments. All of a sudden I realized that it is all worth it. Every tear and disappointment...every door slammed in my face...every footstep I have walked...and every desperate prayer I'd ever said....so completely worth it--if only to be a part of changing this one life. If that letter was all I walked away with at the end of my mission, I would consider my journey a tremendous success...for as D&C 18:15 says:

"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!"

And let me tell you, I was filled with more Joy than you can imagine. Who knew that a simple letter written on ordinary lined paper, folded into a small envelope, stamped and shipped from the small town of Albany, Missouri could bring me so much happiness.

This Gospel is true. I am so grateful to be a part of such an incredible work. Even though missions (and life) are hard, the Joy and happiness I've received as I've served far outweigh the trials I've faced. I love being a missionary...through the not-so-good days, I always come to realize it is worth it. I'm reminded of a quote I once saw that said: 

"Christ never said it would be easy...He only said it would be worth it."

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

our doors were frozen shut thanks to the freezing rain

our windshield...after scraping ice off my car in Kansas, I'll never complain about brushing snow off my car in Utah ever again!

I got to spend the day with an old companion, sister Doolittle! it was great to be together again

our terrific trio :)

Thumbs up for shoveling Snow!

Snow day in Kansas!!

More of our Terrific Trio!

We may have been having too much fun....oh wait! there's no such thing as too much fun...especially while serving in a trio ;)

transfer day with my sistas!

love this sister! she's done with her mission, so I'm sad she had to go home...but so happy I was blessed to be able to serve with her.

my new companion, sister Fa'anunu

A Beautiful Snowy day in Kansas

So....one of my favorite members in the ward is an incredible artist. he takes the time to draw every missionary that serves in iola! How cool is that?!

Havin some fun on Pday



Day to Day in the MIM

My dearest family and friends!

It's been a crazy week here in the M.I.M!

My companion needed to take care of some medical needs, so she went home last weekend. Seeing that I couldn't stay in the middle of nowhere by myself until transfers, my mission president put me in a trio with some sisters serving in an area an hour and a half away from iola. It's been a ton of fun serving with them! My mission president wrote me an email last week and told me to make sure that serving in this trio didn't turn into a big slumber party haha. It's been fun....but not THAT much fun ;)

Since my companion left, I will be staying in iola for another transfer. also. I will be training a new missionary again. Crazy! Either I've done something right as I've trained in the past and the Lord trusts me more than I think He should, or He's giving me a chance to try again and do it right this time. haha. Either way it's a great opportunity to learn and grow as I teach a new sister the things I've learned as I've served! It will be a great experience!

I was having a conversation with a senior couple in the mission and they were sharing an experience they had. they were talking about how sometimes when we make mistakes, Satan tries to bring us down and make us think we are worthless and that we have failed. They said something I'll never forget:

"We only fail if we fail to learn what Heavenly Father would have us learn."

We all make mistakes--we're human. We're not failures unless we fail to learn and grow from the experiences in our lives. When we fall, we just gotta pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and move on!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hyer