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

Testimony Builders

Hello My dearest friends and family!

This past week we went to visit a member who has been suffering from different types of cancer for almost 4 years. I hadn't really had a chance to get to know her since I got here to iola, so when we got there I said: "Alright, tell me all about you." She laughed at first then began telling us about her life. She joined the church when she was in high school when a group of her friends were all getting baptized. She said she didn't really have a testimony at that point and that she mostly did it to fit in with her friends. But her faith grew over the years and her testimony was strengthened as she lived the gospel. She married a man who wasn't a member, and had 5 kids who she raised in the church, but who had since become inactive. She talked about how she'd stayed strong in the gospel even though there were times when she felt alone. We showed her the Mormon Message from the talk by Elder Holland, 'None Were With Him'. It says:

"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly The Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”

 I asked her how she's been so faithful, and how she's stayed strong even through her battle with cancer. She said something along the lines of:

"When I first found out that I had cancer, I went into my room and sobbed. As I stood there crying, I felt something touch my hand. This warm feeling radiated through my whole body. I opened my eyes to see what or who it was, and there was no one there. I knew it was the hand of the Lord, and that he was there to comfort me in my time of need. He has never left me. I know it with all my heart." As she told her story, she started crying, and could barely speak as she finished with, "I have a testimony of the plan of salvation. I know it is real. I believe Heavenly Father has helped me through this battle so that I could testify to others of the truthfulness of the Gospel."

With tears in my eyes, I could barely respond. I thought for a minute about what to say... "As missionaries, our purpose is to visit people and uplift them and help them come closer to the Savior, Jesus Christ...but today, I have been uplifted and my testimony has been strengthened. Thank you...for being such an incredible example and testifying of the truthfulness of this Gospel to me and to all those you love."

This made me realize that Heavenly Father as helped me endure my trials not only because He loves me, but so that throughout my life, I can testify of the truthfulness of the Gospel.... It is true! I've said it over and over to all of you, but I'll never back down from my testimony.

I love you all!

Love, Sister Hyer

ONE YEAR MARK!!

Oh heeeey!

Big news ya'll. This week marks another huge milestone in my mission.......

IT'S MY  ONE YEAR MARK.

What the?! Where has the time gone?! Seriously. I feel like I was just writing about my 6 month mark...and now that's all I have left. I'm convinced that time is literally going faster...and there's no sign of it stopping.

I have been reflecting the past year of my life and can't even believe how much I've learned, grown, and changed for the better. Here are a few things I've learned as I've served this year:

- Prayers are answered....every single time. They may not be answered the way we want them to be...but they're answered the way God knows they need to be. He knows us better than we know ourselves...He knows our hearts and He knows what is best for us.

- Serving others brings joy. Simple as that.

- The Book of Mormon is true...every page of it. If your testimony is diminishing, read the Book of Mormon...as you come to know that it is true, you will know that Jesus is the Christ, Joseph Smith was a prophet, Christ's church has been restored to the earth, and that this is the true Gospel. It truly is the keystone of our religion and of our testimonies.

- It's never to late to learn, grow, change or repent

-The Gospel is everything. It is what life is all about. Sometimes we get distracted with other things, and we fail to remember that the ENTIRE reason we are here is to live the Gospel so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. That doesn't mean other things are bad or wrong, we just have to not only make the gospel a priority, but THE priority.

- Life is hard. It is meant to be that way. But we're not alone.

- Miracles happen. They happen all the time...but sometimes we fail to recognize them as miracles. As you look closely at your life, you will be able to truly see how many miracles occur each and every day.

- I am blessed. Oh so blessed. More blessed than I ever realized or that I can even begin to express.

      I wish I had time to share with each of you everything else that I have learned so far through my service in the Lord's work. But , the bottom line of all of this, and the greatest thing I've learned is:

-This Gospel is true. All of it. Every. single. detail.

I love you all! Here's to the next 6 months of my journey!

Sister Hyer

...'cause missionaries need facemasks too....

This family is incredible! They take such good care of us. They had us over for Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day...they spoiled us with gifts, yummy food, and lots of love and hugs! How blessed are we?!

one of my favorite members here in Iola!

love this family oh so much!!

dressin up for the nativity. Who knew wisemen could be so beautiful?? ;)

spoiled on my birthday....a delicious dinner AND cheesecake!

Freezing temps in Iola. Add a humid wind and you can count on being frozen for a few days.

when we had our big ice storm, we had to park the cars...which means if we want to go anywhere...we walk. this is our, 'we're freezing don't want to tract in an ice storm' face. but we love the gospel and know it's true. so we do. oh the things we sacrifice as missionaries. but we Love it!

Freezing day #2. 2 scarves. 1 pair of gloves. 3 cardigans, hoody and coat...3 pairs of leggings and a pair of pants under a skirt...2 pairs of socks...and as many hand warmers that would fit anywhere I could put them. This is what a freezing windy day in Iola looks like. 

did these cute girls' hair for their Christmas dance

freezing rain...everything gets covered in a layer of ice...makes for beautiful trees

Tis The Season of Miracles

Hey Ya'll!

yes, I did just say ya'll. The country is gettin to me! :)

Winter is here. and it's beyond freezing. It's a different kind of cold here...the Kansas winds and humidity adds extra bitterness to the already low temperatures. Hopefully I can survive a Kansas winter just like I survived a Missouri Summer!

It was a week full of Incredible miracles here in iola! Here's just a few:

Miracle number one: So, missionaries keep records of everything. We keep records of people we are teaching so that missionaries in the future will know people that have been taught in the area...and what and when they were taught. Sometimes investigators don't progress, so the missionaries stop teaching them for a while. Missionaries in the future are encouraged to go through these records and try some of these people again to see if their hearts have been softened....we call these former investigators.

One night, my companion and I had nothing to do, so we decided to pull out our stack of former investigators. We randomly chose one from the pile of papers and headed to the address listed. We knocked on the door and a lady answered. When I introduced myself, she replied, 'yeah I remember you....I am just about to leave to pick up my daughter...can you come back in about an hour?" We agreed, of course. That entire hour after we left I was trying to figure out where I knew her from..and it just wouldn't come to me! It was driving me crazy. So I said a prayer.

When we went pack to the house, she opened the door, and the moment I stepped inside her house it hit me! She had been at a member named patty's house one night at dinner! I mentioned that I remembered where I knew her from and she said: "Yeah...and actually, I just saw Patty when I picked up my daughter. I told her she was in trouble for sending you girls over to my house. haha. She said she didn't know what I was talking about." I felt this warmth overcome me and I knew at that moment we were supposed to be there. I said: "Patty didn't send us. We didn't even know you lived here. We just randomly picked a house and knocked on the door. We know that our Heavenly Father sent us here to express His love for you and to let you know that the message we have to share is true and that He wants you to accept it so you can receive the blessings He has to offer." She was amazed.

We sat down and taught her the message of the Restoration of The Gospel. We expressed Heavenly Father and the Savior's love for her over and over. We taught her how to pray and invited her to read the Book of Mormon....then we took a leap of faith and invited her to baptized. She accepted, and is now preparing to be baptized in January!

Miracles happen. Even if is by a record written about a former investigator from 5 years ago who no longer even lives at the address you tried.

Miracle number two: We went to eat dinner at a member's house and they had invited their two nieces over...Paige is 13 and Trinity is 9. After dinner, we shared a message about Christ's birth and how it's important to remember 'the reason for the season' and why we really celebrate Christmas. As we shared this message, the girls expressed that they had no idea who Christ was. My heart broke. These sweet girls had never felt of the Savior's love in their life!

We talked about how they are daughters of a Heavenly Father and that He loves them. They were full of questions and excitement as we shared this with them. We invited them to come to church with their aunt. They came to church with us yesterday and loved it. They took notes in sacrament meeting, and after it was over paige said: "you're coming over after this right?" I told her we would, and she said: "Good, I have lots of questions." We went over to their house after church and spent 2 hours answering their questions and teaching them about the Gospel. At the end of the lesson, we invited them to be baptized and they said yes with more excitement and enthusiasm than I've ever seen!

Before we left, Trinity asked to say the prayer. Neither of them had ever prayed before, so we taught them how and I helped her say one. I started off the prayer with her repeating after me, then she added a few of her own things...one of them being 'thank you for the sister missionaries teaching us'...something I had not told her to say. She finished her simple prayer and opened her eyes with the biggest smile on her face. My heart was filled with an immense sense of warmth and love. I had just helped a sweet Child of God pray for the first time...and the smile on her face was significant evidence that she felt of His love as she prayed.

Again...miracles happen. Even if they start with a bowl of hot soup at a member's house, a message about Christ's birth and 2 sweet girls who are yearning to know their Savior and Father in Heaven.

Oh how I love being a missionary!! How rewarding it is and how blessed I feel to be able to be apart of this work!

Much love to you all during this magnificent Christmas Season!

Sister Hyer

Thanks to my cute mom, we have the cutest mini 'Jesus Tree' ever! :)

this is how you know you're in the middle of nowhere...not a single road or city around for miles! haha

December Already?? Thanksgiving REcap

Wait...what? It's December already....what the?! I can't even believe it! Time is flying here in the mish!

Thanksgiving was great! In missionary life, it's not much different than any other day...but it was still good. We spent the morning helping another church serve a Thanksgiving lunch to members of the community that had nowhere to go. It was really rewarding. We met a lot of great people, and the church we helped out was really grateful for our service. People are always so impressed with us and are amazed that we work so hard and choose and pay to be here! I love representing The Church and sharing with others what we do as missionaries!

After that, we went to a family's home for Thanksgiving dinner. It was so great to be with some of the members of the ward and feel at home. :) We ate a ton, then played some football and volleyball. It was a great day!

I've been thinking a lot about life as a missionary lately. And if you think about it, it's kinda crazy. We sort of stick out in public...and people notice us with whatever we're doing. I have to constantly remind myself what and who I represent so I can to my best to be a good example. Sometimes people look at us funny, and I catch people looking at my name tag all the time. (I've been asked if I'm a nun a few times haha) It's great because this often provides us with an opportunity to share the gospel. We are taught to talk with everyone we meet because the Lord places people in our paths who are ready and prepared to hear the Gospel.

This morning was one of those times. While we were doing our laundry at the laundromat, we were studying 'Preach My Gospel' and talking about some principles taught in the lessons. This guy was standing near us, waiting for his clothes to dry. He turns to us and says: "You girls studying for a test or something?" We smiled and told him that we were missionaries and that we were studying the gospel of Jesus Christ. This provided the perfect opportunity to ask about his faith and teach him about the restoration of the Gospel. We taught him about the Book of Mormon and offered him a copy and invited him to read the account of Christ's ministry to the people of the Americas (found in 3 Nephi 11) He said he'd definitely read it and said, as he was leaving: "Thank you. You ladies have a great day. May the Lord bless you...I'll be praying for you."

Who knows if anything will ever come of this simple encounter at the local laundromat...but we were able to plant a seed of truth and invite him to come closer to Christ through the restored Gospel. It reminded me that as members of the church, whether missionaries or otherwise, we must ".....stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in...." even if that place you're in is the laundromat. :)

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hyer

Our turkey veggie tray! :)

Happy Thanksgiving

The FEAST

Just the coolest missionaries in the M.I.M

We got Elders in our ward! We make a good team! :)

There's this weird meal out here that everyone eats called 'chicken and noodles'.it's a traditional Midwest/Kansas/Missouri dinner. we told our neighbors we'd never tried it, and they FREAKED. So we got a knock on our door thanksgiving night with a few plates of chicken and noodles for us to try. it's basically chicken, noodles and gravy, served over potatoes. Not your typical Thanksgiving dinner, but not too bad!

Veterans Day

Hello loved ones! I hope this email finds you all happy and well!

Last week was a week full of miracles! (which seems to be a reoccurring theme on the mish. just evidence that The Lord is in charge of His work, right?) We found an incredible family to teach! Their son is serving at an army base in Missouri, and met the missionaries. As he has been learning about the gospel, he wanted his family to hear about it too, so he asked if the missionaries could visit them in Kansas...so we received a referral to track them down. We taught them about the restoration of the gospel, and they accepted the invitation to be baptized in December! Hopefully there will be more miracles written in the future about this family!

It was stake conference this past weekend. The adult session Saturday night was all about missionary work. Our mission president was speaking, and asked all the missionaries currently serving in the stake to attend....he spoke about the importance of member missionary work and bore his testimony about the restoration of the Gospel. As he spoke about Joseph Smith, he said: "I would like all of my missionaries to stand and recite the experience Joseph Smith had in the Sacred Grove." As he said that, 30 missionaries stood from different places in the congregation and said:

"I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

It was so touching, and brought a very powerful spirit into the chapel. Our mission president bore powerful testimony of the Gospel and ended by saying:

"There is only one man on this earth today that has the power to make a change to hasten the Lord's work that would stir the hearts of over 30,000 young people to take action and serve the Lord as they serve missions around the world. That man is President Monson. He holds the keys. He has invited us to help in the hastening of the Lord's work."

The Lord's work really is being hastened. When Elder Ballard was here a few weeks ago he talked about how in the past, people didn't really have to worry about rushing to share the gospel...but in these latter days, we don't have time to waste! We must do our best to share the Gospel each and every day!

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

BAPTISM- Jane

My dearest family and friends! Time is short this week, but It has been a week of miracles here in Albany!

Best news/biggest miracle of all. WE HAD A BAPTISM! In mission life, that's a big deal anyway...but here in Albany it's an even bigger deal because it's been about 3 years since the branch has had a convert baptism!!! It was such a miracle. Her name is Jane, and she's great! We have been teaching her for about 3 months. Things have been really rocky through this whole process. We found her through a former investigator, and when we first met her, she was...well...kind of a mess. She had recently faced some really hard trials and had completely lost every ounce of faith she'd ever had. She had no desire to pray and didn't believe that she was loved by anyone, let alone Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We did our best to visit her often, but she wasn't putting any effort forth whatsoever. She would miss appointments, avoid our calls, and never respond to our texts. We were just about to give her a break for a while when we got a text one night. "I need to talk to you. when can you come see me?" Of course, we got there as fast as we could. She said she'd had some really spiritual experiences and that she knew everything was right and that she'd do whatever it would take to be baptized. So we told her we'd be by every day the for following two weeks, took her cigarettes so she could quit smoking, and said a grateful prayer that everything was going to work out. Perfect, right? Wrong.

Later that day she texted us and said: "Can't make it to our appointment or church. Had a change in beliefs." My heart was shattered. How could things have gone so perfectly earlier that morning, just to have everything fall apart that exact same day? then the answer came into my head: Satan. That sly monster! How dare he mess with these missionaries. So we called her and asked her if we could at least come talk things out. She hesitantly agreed. The next morning we went to see her. She expressed her concerns and we talked her through everything. My companion and I don't remember a single thing that we said...which is when you know that it was truly led by the spirit! We left her feeling peaceful, once again, about being baptized.

The few weeks following that experience were all equally as rocky as the beginning. But things took a turn for the best and all of a sudden we were planning her baptism! The day of the baptism came...we set everything up, including cleaning all the spiders and cobwebs out of the font...(yes, it has been that long since It's been used). It was such a great baptism. Right after she was baptized, we went into the dressing room with her and asked her how she felt. She said, with tears in her eyes: "...like I did the right thing..."

I love being a missionary. Things may be rocky at times, but there are always good things to come!

Love, Sister Hyer

Just Sportin our TAGS!

my sweet new shoes! Adidas liquid rides! :)

Tennis with the Elders!

We are like...Way good at this :)

excuse the awful pedicure....but this is what happens after wearing the same shoes every single day for an entire summer. :)

Just bein way happy missionaries! :)

Just US

Me and Jane

Sister Doolittle's First baptism, and Albany's first baptism in almost 3 years!

I'm someone's 'Missionary'

August 19^th

Hello once again from the M.I.M! It's been a great week...but it always is when you're a missionary! :)

     When I was in the MTC we attended a 'departing devotional' where the MTC leaders and teachers gave us their last words of advice before we headed into the field. One of the members of the MTC presidency spoke about his mission in England and talked about a family he taught who were eventually baptized. He said that years and years after his mission he received a phone call from this family. He was so grateful to hear from them, and was even more grateful that he was able to say that he was still active in the Gospel. He talked about how sad it would have made him if they would have called only to learn that after returning home from his mission he'd given in to the temptations of the world and left the church. He loved being 'their missionary'. He counseled us to always live worthy of the blessings of the Gospel because one day we'd be 'someone's missionary' too.
     We have been teaching 2 young girls, Georgia and Ciera. They are absorbing everything we are teaching them about the Gospel and are working towards baptism in September. We took Georgia to the Visitors' Center last week. It was good to be back and to feel the spirit there, and she loved it. She expressed that she felt the spirit very strong. We talked about prayer and asked what she felt as she's been praying. She said: "It just feels like He's right beside me." It's amazing to see people begin to recognize and feel Heavenly Father and the Savior's love in their life.
    When we were leaving, I introduced Georgia to a few of the people I knew at the Visitors' Center. One of them asked her: "So how do you know Sister Hyer?"  Without any hesitation she replied: "She's my missionary." She said it so matter-of-factly, like it was exactly what she was supposed to say. My heart was filled with a warmth I can't describe and a huge smile came across my face. They replied: "She sure is. Listen to everything she has to teach you. This Gospel is true. It will bring you so much happiness...just look at that smile on Sister Hyer's face...you will have that too as you continue to accept this Gospel." She just nodded, looked at me, and smiled. I was instantly reminded of the advice I received at the MTC and was filled with a an even stronger desire to always strive to be diligent in living the Gospel because I can truly say that I am someone's missionary!

Life is beautiful! Love you all!

Sister Hyer

Another Gorgeous Sunset

Sister Doolittle

Thought this was funny

Be a Missionary

Can you believe summer is almost over?! Time is flying faster than ever...I know I say that every week...but I honestly feel like it was just last week I was saying it was my 6 month mark, and now I'm up to 7! I better stop keeping track or the end is going to come too fast. I have to just enjoy every minute of every day!

Miracles are happening around every corner! The members are really enthusiastic to help with those we are teaching and are pretty good to step up and take action when we need them to. Member involvement makes missionary work possible! Our miracle today was a result of just that....

We have been teaching a young girl who is facing some really tough things in her life. She is a single mom of a little 3 year old boy and another on the way. Some unfortunate circumstances left her jobless...so without income she lost her electricity, phone, car, and was close to losing her apartment. Without the means to support him, she decided it would be better for her son to go stay someplace else until she got back on her feet. She only gets to see him once or twice a month. Without a phone and a car she was having a really hard time finding a job. She has strong faith in God, but was feeling very discouraged. We have been doing our best to encourage her as we've taught her the lessons, but she just wasn't grasping the gospel because she couldn't see past her current circumstances. We were praying that something would happen to help her move forward towards baptism.
  
We asked around for local jobs that would be good hours and pay for her situation. In a small town, things are limited...including jobs...so we weren't having much luck. We finally turned to one of the members in our branch. She informed us that there was an opening with the company she worked for, and that if our investigator could get a position that has the same hours as she does, she could ride with her every day to work until she had enough money to get a car. She went in this morning to check things out...got a position...and starts TOMORROW! This was all made possible because a member was willing to reach out and serve someone in need. We talked to this member for a while about everything. She said: "You should have seen how excited she was. She couldn't stop talking about how she would be able to get her son back. We talked about baptism on the way home from her interview. She said she felt scared and nervous...but that it feels right." I was near tears as she shared this experience with us. How incredible it is when members and missionaries work together! We must be united in our efforts, and as we do so, miracles will happen!

I encourage each of you to be doing your part as a member missionary! That doesn't mean you have to go out every single day, knocking on people's doors, giving out hundreds of copies of the Book of Mormon...missionary work can be simple. Have the missionaries over for dinner. Ask them, "what can we do to help you fulfill your missionary purpose? what can we do as a family to help those you are teaching? is there anybody we can fast and pray for?" If you're unable to do that, be a missionary by simply living the gospel valiantly every day. Others will see the light in your life and will have a desire to know what it is that makes it shine! 

This video is from the new section of the Church website, Hastening the Work of Salvation. Take just a few minutes and watch it! We are One in bringing souls unto Christ!

http://bcove.me/mogs3aac

 I love you all! 

Sister Hyer

Miracles!

Hello again from Albany! Things are moving forward in the branch here...since the broadcast and all this focus on missionary work, the members have seemed to pick up and work a little harder. It's great to see the branch grow and come closer together! The summer days are long and hot, but it hasn't been all that bad. Can't believe it's almost August!

Miracle! Yesterday during Sacrament meeting the phone rang. Everyone just looked at each other. First of all, because nobody ever calls those church phones these days. I'm convinced that they just hang there on the walls year after year and nobody touches them. And second of all...we're in the middle of nowhere. Who on earth could be calling the Albany branch? Haha. So after the meeting, a member of the branch came up to us and handed us a piece of paper and said: "This guy called and is interested in learning more about the church. He is looking for a church to attend and said he'd like to meet with someone to learn more. He found our number on the internet. Give him a call, I told him to expect to hear from you today." This is a every missionary's dream! Golden investigators that find US instead of us finding THEM! Someone who will actually listen!! So I called him and started asking him questions about his beliefs and how he heard about our church and all those fun questions. I set up a time to meet with him and taught him about The Book of Mormon and our church services. He accepted everything very well and was very interested in learning more. So I asked him if he would be baptized at the end of August if and when he came to know that the church is true...and he said yes! I haven't even met the guy and he has a baptism date! It was definitely a miracle :D

Good things are happening here! We are working hard and praying hard! And we see miracles because of it! :)

Hugs and prayers being sent to all of you. Love ya!

Sister Hyer

BOWLING!!

 

Senior Sisters From my Last Area

Another Gorgeous Sunset

 

The Car Exaggerated a bit....but it was still HOT....especially with the Humidity.

Mission Moments

July 15^th

Hey All! I never thought I'd say this, but I'm loving summer here in Missouri. The weather hasn't been too hot...the days get pretty humid...but it's worth it when the night brings some cool air and we can sit outside and watch the fireflies. It’s so magical! And the sunsets just keep getting better! I told myself I'd never live in a place like this...but I might be able to settle for life in the country someday....but don't hold me to it.....;)

I'm training a new missionary! Her name is Sister Doolittle...she's from Northern California. She has been in the field all of 5 days :) Can you imagine having me as your first companion?! haha. I'm a little crazy and out of control sometimes...but hopefully she can still learn a thing or two from me. 

We are still working with a few investigators. One of them has a son in jail. We had sent him a copy of The Book of Mormon with our testimonies written inside and had marked a few of our favorite scriptures. Last week when we were visiting her, he called and she told him we were there. She had mentioned that he'd had some questions, so he wanted to talk to us. So we taught him a lesson...over the phone! It was a cool experience...and not one you think you'd have on a mission. But he agreed to read The Book of Mormon, and we're hoping to talk to him again this week! Life is always an adventure as a missionary!

Love you all!

Sister Hyer

Miracles Happen in Missionary Work!

Hello all! Can't believe it's been another week and that I've been in Albany for almost a month. Time is FLYING!

Miracle Moment! Last week my companion and I decided to plan for somebody that we would meet...we created a person with a made-up life and planned what we would teach them. We role played what we would say and planned scriptures to help us teach them. We decided we would find a single lady who was struggling with her faith because of the trials she was facing. She would ask us that if there was a God, why he would let bad things happen to good people....after we planned and practiced for this make-believe person, we set out for some tracting. As we were walking down the street, we found a woman just sitting in her truck. When we walked up to her and asked how she was doing she burst into tears. My companion and I just looked at each other. This lady was exactly who we planned on meeting. We asked if she believed in God and she said: "Not anymore. Let me ask you a question...If He really is up there, why would he let this world be so terrible?" My jaw dropped and I had to do my best to hide my amazement. Everything she said was something we'd prepared and planned for. The Lord had prepared us for this woman! She is so ready for the gospel! Miracles are the best!

We have a few other people we are teaching, but we spend a lot of time working with less-actives in the branch--trying to get them back to church and prepare them to go to the temple as a family. There are great people here...they are just struggling with their faith because of the trials in their lives...They just need help remembering that the remedy for trials is the gospel!

I hope each of you know how much you are loved by me! I wouldn't be able to be out here without the love and support that each of you give to me!

Here's a quote for the week:

"One day at an imperfect trial, an innocent man was found guilty...so that one day at a perfect trial, a guilty man will be found innocent."

Love, Sister Hyer

A Couple Pictures for the Week:

The other day I ate a Dove chocolate and the wrapper said: "Think of something that makes you smile." I instantly thought of each one of these people...later in the week I decided to make a wall of smiles! :) If you're up here, know you're loved...if you're not, it's only because I don't have a picture of you, so you should send me one! :)

Just makin friends with an iguana!

So Blessed...

Happy May to you all! Can you believe I've been out nearly 4 months?! Time flies when you're havin fun! ;)

Last week a majority of the missionaries in the mission had an experience of a lifetime! We had Elder Quentin L. Cook, Elder Halstrom of the seventy, and Bishop Davies from the presiding bishopric come speak to us. It was so amazing! The entire chapel and overflow were filled with missionaries...and that was only half of our mission! What a sight to see! At the beginning of the meeting, our mission president stood at the pulpit and said that before we began Elder Cook wanted so shake our hands. The sisters were all sitting on the front row, so we got to be first...and then we watched as each and every missionary in that chapel stood to shake his hand. Being in his presence was a testimony builder that these men are called of God. What an incredible experience! At the end of his talk, Elder Cook said: "As an apostle of Jesus Christ, and by my Priesthood authority, I would like to leave each of you with my blessing."  And then he went on to say that as we serve the Lord, the people we love will be blessed for eternity. What a special blessing given by an apostle!

That same night we also had a baptism! Two baptisms in two weeks....this area is on fire! :) Curtis was finally baptized! We found him about 4 days after I arrived in the mission as we tracked...I had said we should knock on his door because I liked the color of his house. :) Miracles happen! I've been amazed at the changes I've seen in him in just a matter of months. He quit smoking and drinking tea, read The Book of Mormon every day, and was praying to gain stronger faith. It was a great baptism. He was so happy....a theme that seems to be reoccurring at all these baptisms ;) The Gospel of Jesus Christ and His plan for us really is the plan of happiness!

One more neat experience. One of the local break-off branches of the church is called the Restoration branch. They recently held an annual conference here in Independence. One day there were 2 men from that branch that came into the Visitors' center to learn more about our church. After taking them through the presentations, I began to ask one of them more about his life. He spoke very good English, but had a very thick accent. He is from a country in East Africa called Rwanda. He told us about the trials he's faced and what life is like in his country. He told us about his family and that his wife had passed away about a year ago. He left us with his information so we could contact him and teach him more about our beliefs. It took him about 10 minutes to leave the visitors' center because he just kept telling us 'thank you' and how wonderful we were. He said he just felt so happy and made us promise we would write him to share more. He could recognize the difference from his church and ours...he had felt something inside his heart.

I am one blessed girl to be having such amazing experiences. What incredible opportunities I am able to have! I am grateful for this time to be serving, learning, loving, growing, and gaining a stronger testimony of my Savior!

Love you all!

Sister Hyer

Curtis' baptism! Does he look a little bit like Moses?

Don't ask why he's wearing a dress..it's a long story. haha

Curtis after his baptism!

Still at the Visitor Center

Hello my dearest family and friends! What a week it has been! My P-day got changed, so it's been the longest 10 days of my life. haha. But things are going great! Lots is happening in my area and we are constantly seeing miracles.

First of all...I'm now a biker sister! :) Because of all the new missionaries, we are down to 3 cars to share between 20 sisters. Three areas were turned into 'no car' areas....so we bought bought bikes! despite the difficulty of trying to ride a bike in a skirt (and yes, it is just as hard as it sounds) It's actually kind of fun! :)

Shannon got baptized last week! It was a wonderful day. She was so happy! She was in tears of joy and just kept saying: "I'm just so happy...I'm all giddy!" The ward reached out to her and welcomed her with open arms. The fellowship of the members has been incredible from the beginning. The relief society came and made refreshments...the bishop was there...a member of the stake presidency spoke...and everyone offered hugs and words of love and encouragement. The day before her baptism, a member of the relief society brought us a few brand new dresses for us to take over to her to wear at her baptism. She is a single mom with no career and doesn't have very much. We took the dresses to her, and when she tried them on she just burst into tears. "I just feel so loved. You all are so wonderful." Through this experience, I have learned the importance of fellowship by members of the ward. We truly can love people into the gospel!

    I had an incredible experience last week. About a month and a half ago, my previous companion and I were tracting and we knocked on a door. The man that answered was a samoan man with a thick accent who mentioned that he was a member of our church, but that he didn't attend anymore. He is married and has 3 kids, but none of them are members. My companion was from  Samoa, so of course they instantly connected. They started talking about samoan food and they invited us over for an authentic Samoan dinner. We had everything set up, but my companion got transferred a few days before we were supposed to go over. My new companion and I went to dinner and just got to know the family. They started to tell us about their experiences with missionaries. The wife said: "We have missionaries come to our door all the time...but you are the first missionaries Pene has ever let into the house. He usually hides when he looks out the window and sees who it is. It's amazing how you missionaries have enough power to make grown men run and hide!" :) They were very hesitant to open up and talk, so we spent most of dinner just getting to know them. We stopped by a few weeks later and was invited over for dinner the following week.
    As we tried to plan for what we wanted to teach them, we were having a hard time coming up with what we felt was right. We wanted to make them feel loved--not like our newest missionary 'project.' I kept thinking about a Mormon Message called: "Good Things to Come" by Elder Holland. I had asked my mom to send me the DVDs of the Mormon Messages but the package was slow getting here. Every day I would check the mail, hoping that it would make it. The day we were supposed to go over for dinner there was still no package. About an hour before we were planning to go over, I got a call from some of the other sisters saying that I had a package! The DVDs had shown up just in time.
   As we sat at the dinner table, Pene started to tell us his story about his life with the Gospel. He told us everything. We were amazed...he'd never really opened up before. He was in tears and he said: "You girls are welcome anytime you need anything. You need a drink--you come here. You need dinner--you stop by. You just warm my heart." I responded with tears in my eyes, expressing my love for them and that I knew Heavenly Father loved them as well. Then I showed them the Mormon Message. It is a short clip about how the Lord will help us endure our trials and how there are always "Good things to come." Elder Holland says: "Some blessings come soon...some blessings come late...and some don't come until Heaven. But for those who embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ..they come."
   When the clip was over we looked at Pene. He was in tears again and didn't know what to say. His wife, who was also in tears, looked at him and said: "That was just what you needed to hear." It took a minute for him to respond and then he looked at us and said. "How did you know I needed that?" We told them that as missionaries we pray to know what the Lord would have others hear and feel and that we felt guided to share that message with them. They were both amazed. And so were we. We had prayed to know how to touch their hearts, and the Lord directed us. The spirit was undeniable. We left with uplifted hearts and spirits, a tupperware full of leftovers, and an invitation to come by whenever we wanted.

The Gospel is true! The Lord loves each and every one of us. He knows our hearts....He is always there.

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

My Zone at Morning Sports

We had a HUGE thunderstorm a few weeks ago. It was INCREDIBLE!

The Sunsets in Missouri are AMAZING!

It was like Christmas with new Bikes in our Apartment

All the sisters that serve in the Visitor Center

Shannon's Baptism

We took Shannon to Liberty Jail

Me and Sister Call