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!



A Challenge to YOU

Hey all ya'll!

First off....all of you need to go to youtube and type in 'rapstoration' and watch the music video I'm in. It's big news. for real. It's gone viral. And it was all filmed on my camera. I'm basically famous.

Second. I'm issuing each and every one of you a challenge. (if you just read that and thought to yourself, 'oh that doesn't apply to me', think again) This challenge will benefit both you and me, so I figure it shouldn't be too hard. I need all of you to find your favorite conference talk...pray about it, read it, study it, then send me a copy. Easy, right? You can either email them to me OR, even better, you can send me one in the mail! If you have time, share with me a few of your thoughts about why it is your favorite, and what you feel you learned from it. I don't usually resort to begging, but please just do this! Here's where you can send it:

517 West Walnut Street

Independence, Missouri

64050

or

(if you want to be lame, you can email me)

jenna.hyer@myldsmail.net

I wish I had a third item to talk about. but I don't. So just do those things for me and make it a great week, ok? I love you all!

Love,

Sister Hyer

You know you're a Missionary in the Middle of No where When......

Hey all my loved ones!

My companion and I were talking this week about all the funny things that show that we are a missionaries in a small area. I thought I'd share some of the things we came up with.

You know you're a missionary in the middle of nowhere when:

- You meet more dogs than people

- You could tract the whole town in a matter of days

- You knock on someone's door, then when you're out of doors to knock, you forget you already visited them, so you knock it and they answer by saying: "you stopped by a few weeks ago. We're still not interested."

- The closest missionaries are 60 miles away, and mission headquarters are 150 miles away

- You drive a total of 3 hours to play basketball with other missionaries on pday...and you don't even like basketball.

- The same awesome members feed you 2 or 3 times a week so you don't starve

- Your area spans 40 by 50 miles

- The Hispanics at the local Mexican restaurant laugh when you walk in and know your order because it's the only restaurant (besides McDonald's) in town

- There are more John Deers than Fords and Chevys

- When you do head in to town for meetings and such, you have to stock up on things you can only buy in the city before you head back to the boonies

- You have to wake up 2 hours early for meetings so you have time to drive there

- You can't leave a Mormon.org card with your cashier/waiter because they've been your cashier/waiter the past 5 times you've been there

- Walmart is literally the only place to shop.
- By the 10th of the month, you've used almost all of your allotted miles

- Investigators don't come to church because they don't have the gas money to drive there

- You've visited every member, investigator, and less-active you have on record by Tuesday

- Mission conferences start off with your mission president standing at the pulpit saying: "Are the Iola sisters here? Their drive is the longest, so if they're here, everyone else should be too"

- Your waiter, cashier, or receptionist is someone you tracted into a few weeks ago (awkward!)

I have been serving in the middle of nowhere almost all of my mission. I may joke or complain about it sometimes, but I really do love it! I've become more of a country gal than I ever thought possible. :)

Love y'all! (see, there's the country girl in me)  Have a great week, and keep smiling!

Love,

Sister Hyer

A Month Of Gratitude

Hello all! November is Here and fall is in full swing here in Iola! The trees are beautiful, and everyone is preparing themselves for the holidays. I'm sure things are going to fly by even faster than usual the next couple of months.

So this past week was kind of crazy! We had appointments, interviews, exchanges with other missionaries, and other random things, that lead us to being in the car for a total of over 20 hours by the end of the week. It made for an exhausting 7 days. at one point, we were asked to switch cars with the elders in the closest area to us. We had been driving a 2012 corolla, and traded to a 2014 chevy cruz. The long hours in the car made for tired eyes and sore necks and backs...we found ourselves complaining a little too much at our circumstances. In the midst of the hectic week, we made the mistake of doubling up on dinner appointments last night. As we drove home we complained some more and said how we never wanted to be in the car again and how we were so full we never wanted to eat again....too much steak, potatoes, warm rolls, and apple pies. Then it hit us....how ungrateful we were being!

Here we are...serving in zion...in a beautiful area...driving a car so nice that it's from the future (2014 isn't even here yet!) being fed lots of food, all the while having the blessing of sharing the Gospel with others! We might as well have said: "Ugh. we're just too blessed. we've been in our fancy car, listening to uplifting music, and enjoying the beautiful scenery for way too many hours. we're too full of delicious food. we just want to go home and get in our warm comfy beds and sleep all night so that we can wake up and continue complaining in the morning."

Our thoughts were turned to the less fortunate missionaries serving in the not-so-nice parts of the world....who walk all day...have very little to eat...and don't have many of the luxuries we seem to complain about here in the M.I.M. Needless to say, I was very humbled...I am a very spoiled missionary! I realized I need to be more grateful.

So I decided that November needs to be a month of Gratitude! With thanksgiving approaching, our minds and hearts can be turned to the things we are so blessed to have in our lives. This is nothing new for this time of year...but for me, I get to recognize new blessings I've received as I've been serving a mission! Each week in November I will make a list of a few things I'm grateful for here on the mission. So this week, I am grateful for:

-The beautiful area I get to serve in
-A wonderful companion
-Letters and packages from home

-The conference issue of the Ensign

-Supportive ward members

-Pictures that capture memories

I hope each of you will do your best to develop an attitude of gratitude this month as you focus on the blessings and tender mercies in your lives that come from a loving Heavenly Father!

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Hyer

This is up in Liberty, Missouri...this is why autumn time is my favorite!

the leaves have changed gradually over the past month or so, so there are trees like this all over town! so beautiful!

we were trying to entertain ourselves on our long car rides...so we wrote some raps. this is us tryin to be gangsta. ha

just being vampires on Halloween!

we didn't have a candle to put inside our jack-o-lantern, so we had to use our phone...which didn't light up very well haha. not a very good picture, but we thought our CTR pumpkin turned out pretty good! :)