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.

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

Baptism and some Thankfuls

Hello everyone!

First of all. I have a new companion! I am training a new missionary--Sister Kamradt. She's from Draper...and now straight from the MTC! She is full of enthusiasm and is ready to get to work! She's great.

We are having a baptism this weekend! We have been teaching a girl named Brianna. We met her at our event, 'farm city days' about a month ago when we offered her a free cookie and copy of The Book of Mormon. Miracles happened that day! We invited her to church the next day. She said she actually had a friend who came to our church, and said she'd come with her! And guess what. She really did! We were having a baptism that morning before church, and was able to be there for that as well.

The next day we went and taught her about the restoration of the Gospel. At the end of the lesson, we brought up baptism. We usually extend an invitation for our investigators to be baptized, but this lesson went a little bit different than normal ones...it went something like this:

Brianna: "So. I've been baptized before. But the girl that got baptized today did it different. And then she had that part where the men put their hands on her head and gave her a blessing. I didn't have that. Is my baptism wrong?"

Us: "Well, it's just not complete. The gift of The Holy Ghost makes baptism complete. And it's also necessary for baptism to be done by someone holding the Priesthood Authority of God."

Brianna. "oh ok. Well I guess I need to be baptized again. When can I do that?"

My companion and I were floored. We didn't even really know what to say...this isn't a common conversation after a first lesson. But we were oh so excited and happy! And now she's getting baptized...this weekend! Oh miracles...miracles...miracles everywhere!

Also. I fail. I said I was going to write things I'm grateful for in each email, and I didn't last time! Here's my list for last week and this week:

- The Book of Mormon

- Opportunities to learn and grow

- Laughter and good memories with companions

- Music

- A wonderful mission president who loves and supports his missionaries

- Trials that bring me closer to Christ

- Beautiful autumn weather with temperatures in the 60s

- The support I feel from family and friends

- Members who feed us yummy dinners

- 3 hours of studies every day

- Answers to Prayers

- The holidays that allow us to reflect on our blessings

- Having the blessing of being a part of the Hastening of the Lord's work!

Oh how grateful I am for the bounteous blessings the Lord bestows upon me!

I love you all!

Sister Hyer

50 Year Anniversary for Liberty Jail

What a week! Things are going great in Iola...I am convinced I really am meant to live in the country. I drove around in downtown Kansas City today, and didn't know what to do with myself. I've been turned into a country girl!

So, miracle. Our area is surrounded by a whole bunch of smaller towns. At the beginning of last week, we helped one of investigators paint their house (yes, we painted the WHOLE house) and while we were there, he had a few other friends over. We started talking to them, and taught them about The Book of Mormon and other principles of the gospel. We asked where they lived and asked if we could come visit them...they said we could, but that they lived kind of far away in a small town...population, like, 60. haha. We haven't really had much reason to go out to this little town of Kincaid, so we hadn't made it out there. We made the long trip out there and couldn't find the house we were looking for. While we were searching, we realized that there was a less-active part-member family that lived just down the street. We stopped by the house and met a young girl named Anna. Her mom was baptized when she was about 16, but hasn't really been active since. We taught Anna about church and the Book of Mormon, and invited her to be baptized...and she said yes! She will be getting baptized on November 3rd. And to think it all started with a paintbrush and a few gallons of paint! :)

Miracle number 2. This weekend, The Historic Liberty Jail celebrated its 50 year anniversary since the dedication. Elder M. Russell Ballard was invited to speak. Not all the missionaries got to go, but my companion had written a song about Joseph Smith's time in the jail and was asked to perform....so I got to go! It was amazing. Yesterday we met at the jail and had a special VIP meeting with Elder Ballard. Then last night there was a fireside for the local wards and stakes. All the sister missionaries sang a special musical number, so we were able to be on the stand with Elder Ballard. While he was speaking he spoke about how he believed if Joseph was here, he'd talk about how we need to spread the gospel. he asked: "Are you really converted? do you really have a testimony? Do you know Joseph Smith was a prophet? do you know we are lead by a prophet today? Do you know that the Savior lives and loves you?  Because if you do, you'd want to shout it from the rooftops and share it with the whole world"

Then he told a story about a general authority who once told him: "I'd rather offend a person by sharing the Gospel with them, than offend God by not sharing it."

That's the mindset we all need to have! I find so much joy in sharing the Gospel with others. I really do know it's true...and if I could, I'd shout it from the rooftops for the world to hear. But for now, I'll stick with proclaiming it to those I meet along this journey of my mission. :)

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!

ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING

Heeeeey! Hope life finds each of y'all happy and well!

It's been a good week here in Albany. We have been struggling lately with things...investigators, members, finding...you name it. It has been so discouraging to work so hard and not see the fruits of our labor. I have had a hard time staying positive, hopeful, and faithful. I just wanted to give up. But because I love the Lord, I haven't. I just keep going. I wake up and say: "OK, it's another day. Let's go give it all we've got." And then we do....but I have a confession: I haven't had the best attitude for the past couple of weeks. All my thoughts have been really negative and I've found myself making negative comments about our investigators, members, and the area we are serving in. I didn't realize how much it was affecting me until I really took a step back and looked at things. When I realized what my attitude was doing, it was like a slap in the face. I realized that those negative thoughts were from Satan...he knew that having a bad attitude would bring me down more than anything else. And he was right.

So one morning, my companion and I talked about how we could be better and be more positive about the work we are doing. We decided that we would not only stop the negative, but we would replace it with positive. Every time we said something negative, we would make ourselves say something positive, that we were grateful for, or something nice about someone else. The first day that we tried this, I cannot even begin to tell you the difference we had in our work. We got home and felt more accomplished than we had in weeks...and the crazy thing was that nothing had really changed--except our attitudes. It was a lot easier to face the discouragement when we were filled with more faith and gratitude! Attitude is everything! in fact, if you add up the letters of attitude...

A=1 T=20 T=20 I=9 T=20 U=21 D=4 E=5...= 100%

Attitude is so much of how our lives turn out. It is 100% if what we make it. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we CAN control what we do with what happens to us. The only thing that is greater than Attitude is:

L=12 O=15 V=22 E=5        O=15 F=6         G=7 O= 15 D=4    = 101%

The love of God is everything! It can help us overcome anything we face. Combined with a positive attitude, it is the most powerful tool we have in overcoming the adversary!

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Sister Hyer :)

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

Happy July Everyone

My dearest friends and family! Happy July! It sounds like, for a lot of you, the summer heat is hittin hard this year! Hope everyone is surviving!

Last week was a week of miracles for us here in the M.I.M! We set 2 people with a baptismal date! It has been a very long time since there has been a baptism here in Albany, so we are really excited to be part of it! The branch is on fire :)

Last week we had a mission conference. Those usually don't happen, but since they were splitting the mission, they had everyone who was staying in this mission come together for a conference. It was amazing to have everyone there together! We had the opportunity to attend the temple as a mission...and let me just tell you...it was incredible! The spirit was so strong as we all gathered together. A lot of work was put into making it possible for each of us to go to the temple...there is over 200 of us!

The day of the mission conference was a day that will go down in history. June 26th was the day they began creating 58 new missions. Something that has never happened in the history of the church. It marked a huge step in the hastening of the Lord's work! One of those missions was the Kansas, Wichita mission. There were quite a few missionaries I knew that were put into the Kansas mission, and it was sad to not have them at the conference with us. We sang The Missouri Independence Mission song for our opening hymn. None of us had the words in front of us, so there was a line we left out and it kind of ruined the song...After the song was over, our mission president got up and said: "We are sad to be missing some of our missionaries who are now part of the Kansas, Wichita mission. I'd like to think that the line we left out in our mission song was in their honor. They will always be in our hearts and a part of the Alpha and Omega mission." It was a bittersweet experience!

I've been thinking about my sweet grandma lately. I miss her a lot. My heart aches to think that I didn't get to spend time with her during her last moments of her mortal existence. But she loved and had a passion for missionary work, so I know she'd want me right where I am. The other day we were visiting a sweet widow we'd met when I first arrived here in Albany. As we visited with her, She told us about her life and her family...and then she spent quite a while telling us tales of the love of her life--Bob. He'd passed away 12 years ago, and hearing her talk of her love for him was so tender. I asked: "Do you believe you'll get to see your husband again?" She said she wasn't sure, but that she'd like to believe she would. We taught her about the plan of salvation and bore testimony that we knew she would be able to see him again someday. I shared my experience of losing my sweet grandma. I told her about the trial I faced, but the peace I found through our Heavenly Father's plan for us. I invited her to pray with us, then encouraged her to take a moment after the prayer and just listen and focus on what she was feeling in her heart. I prayed that she would feel peace and comfort and that she would come to an understanding of the truth that she will see her sweetheart again. After the prayer was over, we sat in silence. The moments passed by and I glanced up to see her reaction. Tears were streaming down her face and I quietly asked what she was feeling in her heart. she said, with simple assurance: "I know I'll see him again." I was in tears as well, thinking, once again, of the love I have for my grandma. She will forever be in my heart. I know she is here with me!

Life as a missionary is wonderful!

I love you all!

Sister Hyer 

The New Adventure- ALBANY

Well my dear friends and family, I'm beginning a new adventure out here! Welcome to Albany, Missouri. Population: 1,700 and probably more dogs than people. It's just south of nowhereville and a little bit west of hick town. haha jk....but seriously. :) Life is so different out here! I am loving it. I went from serving in the heart of Independence to a little tiny branch in the middle of the country. I used to ride a bike in a skirt all day and now I have a full-time car. I used to sleep in the kitchen at my last apartment and now I'm living in a beautiful 3 bedroom/2 bathroom basement apartment, complete with a kitchen AND a living room. Talk about spoiled!

The people here live in very humble circumstances. They are all country folk who have grown up on farms or in the small surrounding towns. Everyone knows everyone...and most of them are related. The town (or the square) consists of about 2 blocks of stores and if you live a a mile or 2 away, it's considered living out of town. I really feel like I'm in a whole new world! And wanna know what's great? I love it! I am so excited to serve here, and can't wait to share more of my adventures with each of you!

Well, I'll share more and send some pictures next week! Love you all! Keep the faith, and keep on keepin on!

Sister Hyer

Baptism Week for Shannon

Hello all! I hope everyone is doing wonderful! I miss all of you!

Exciting things have happened this week. We have a baptism coming up on Saturday! I'm not sure if I've told you anything about Shannon....We found her about a month ago. We went to contact a referral from a ward member, and she answered the door. She had just moved in with them. She invited us in and was golden from the beginning! We were there for about twenty minutes and taught her about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. She loved it! So at the end of that lesson, we invited her to be baptized....and she said YES! It's amazing how the Lord leads us to those that are ready to hear the gospel. So we've been teaching her ever since. She's amazing. We will go to teach a lesson and she accepts it so well that she basically teaches US the lesson. :) We took her to a baptism last week so she could see what it was like. After it was over she says: "That was absolutely beautiful. I can't believe I've been missing this in my life. I was only seeing part of the picture before...and now I have it all." She is wonderful! We just love her!

Everything else is going great! There are tough days...but that's life! I'm learning so much...about myself...about the gospel...about others. I can't believe how quickly I come to love the people out here. I feel this instant sense of genuine love for them the moment we start teaching them the gospel. I love it! What a great experience and a marvelous work I get to be a part of! :)

Keep the letters and emails coming! I can feel your love, support, and prayers, and I appreciate it more than I can express! I couldn't ask for better family and friends. Hope you can all feel MY love, support, and prayers for each and everyone of YOU! LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Hyer

Spring Is HERE

Hey fam and dear friends! :) Hope April is off to a great start for you all! Things are great here in the Missouri Independence Mission...or as we call it, the M.I.M :)

We saw lots of miracles last week as we searched for those ready to hear the gospel. There was a day we had a little more time than usual, so we went to contact a former investigator that the previous missionaries had taught. We had been trying to fit them into our schedule since I got here, but they live kind of far away, so we haven't had a chance. We pull up to their house, and there is a sign on the door that says: "Day sleeper. Do not disturb!" We were super bummed...but had to keep goin! So we knocked the next house. This young kid named Travis answers the door and comes out to the porch to talk to us. He started telling us that he had lived a few miles away from the San Diego temple and had a few LDS friends, so he knew a little bit about our beliefs. He said he was really familiar with the Bible and believed in God, but didn't attend a church or anything. I pulled out a copy of The Book of Mormon and we started talking about it. He opened it up to Alma and goes, "Wait...Alma... kind of like Job or something? Like a prophet?" When I see people piece things together like this, I just want to jump for joy! :) We told him how The Book of Mormon is a record of the people in the Americas and his eyes lit up..."No way!! That is the coolest thing I've ever heard!" We then taught him a little part of every lesson we teach our investigators, trying to answer all his questions. He asked us how we came to know it was all true. Then he said: "Wow. I'm just amazed. First of all, that you would show up today. I'm never home on Saturdays...and I've been going through some really tough things lately...This is crazy. For some weird reason, I'm having deja vu. Like I've heard this all before." At that point, my companion and I just looked at each other and smiled. :) We ended up talking for more than a half hour on his porch. He loves philosophy and is way open minded about learning more. He asked to wait to meet for a few weeks so he could finish The Book of Mormon before we see him again. We convinced him to meet this week instead, so I'm really anxious to meet with him!

Last week was zone conference, so we got to go be with our mission president and hear him speak. He talked a lot about how important being in tune with the spirit is to missionary work. He said something I'll never forget: "You will be held completely accountable for those you might have touched if you had been more in tune with the spirit." Pretty bold right? Sometimes boldness is what it takes for us to realize the importance of something! He also talked about how it is important to be prepared for our lessons and said: "Don't use being unprepared as an excuse to teach by the spirit." I thought that was so true! I'll admit that there have been times when I've said: "I'm not too prepared...guess I'll just have to rely on the spirit!" We have been promised that if we are prepared, we will be directed by the spirit.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter full of fun, family, friends, and focus on our Savior Jesus Christ. Enjoy Conference this weekend! Most of you know that it is my FAVORITE time of year. So listen close, and write and share your favorite thoughts with me! Love you all SO much!

Lots of love,

Sister Hyer

More Love and Updates from Sister Hyer

Another week, another email! All is well here in Independence! We had another snow storm yesterday. (What is going on with the weather here?!) Church got cancelled so we had to stay inside all day...Things are busy and sometimes stressful, but the work is progressing and we are seeing so much success in our area. Our investigators are committed and gaining stronger testimonies every time we meet with them. It's amazing how we are lead to those who are ready!

Sad news...my companion got transferred unexpectedly. Transfers are usually 6 weeks and we are only 2 weeks into this transfer. We assumed we had 4 more weeks together, but because of all the new missionaries coming into the mission soon, they had to do some arranging mid-transfer. It only affected about 10 missionaries, and my companion was one of them. :( I was sad to see her go. It's hard to adjust when you just start to get used to things! My new companion is from Logan--her name is Sister Call. She is very nice...I'm anxious to get to know her more. Change is a good thing, and a huge part of missions...so I better get used to it, right? :)

We are seeing so much progress with our investigators. Curtis is loving learning. He came to the Visitors' center last week to watch the presentation 'God's Plan for His Family.' He loved it and said that everything is falling into place for him and he's gaining more understanding. It feels so good when you can help people see and feel the truth (with the help of the spirit of course) We try to have lots of member fellowship and that has helped him so much. One of our members challenged him to read 10 pages a day in the Book of Mormon. He was hesitant at first, but has been reading a ton! I know this is a huge part of his progression...the Book of Mormon is the way to everlasting conversion. I didn't really understand that before I came out here...but I've seen miracles happen when people study, ponder, and pray about the Book of Mormon. Miracles can happen in our own lives too through faithful study and application to our lives!

I would like to extend a challenge to each of you! Our mission theme states: "In the Missouri Independence Mission, we find, teach, baptize, confirm, and retain." But our mission president recently added 'reactivate' to the list. I have learned that converting and baptizing mean nothing if we all fail to do our part to help them stay active in the Gospel. We often forget our responsibility as members of the church to reach out to those in need and to continually help them gain stronger testimonies. Ultimately it is their decision of whether they want to accept the gospel...but we must still do our part. So I would like to challenge each of you to reach out to a less active or inactive individual or family that may need a little help or encouragement. Invite them over for dinner...take them cookies...plan an FHE activity...pray for them...and become their friend. Someone told me the other day that 'we love people into the gospel.' Maybe reaching out to them won't get them back to church, but they will know they are loved. Share your experiences with me! I know it will help strengthen each of your testimonies too!

Well, The Church is true! I love you all, and pray for each of you every day!

Much love,
Sister Hyer :)

----------A FEW PICS FOR THIS WEEK---------

My tiny kitchen. Yes that is the whole thing. my bed is about 10 feet away from here. haha

This is the Community of Christ temple that is right across the street from the Visitors' center

The beautiful sunset after the snow storm!  

Our epic missionary picture! :)

The 'Polly Pocket' Apartment, Goals, and More

Hey All! Oh how I'm missing each one of you this week! Things are goin good here in Independence, but there are times I think about you all more than others. This was one of those weeks where everyone was constantly on my mind. Hope you're all not having too much fun without me. ;)

Last week brought about a lot of changes. It was the end of the transfer, so a lot of companions got  rearranged within the visitors' center, and a few left the area. We got 30 new missionaries, so almost every missionary in the mission is now training. It's crazy! A lot of missionaries don't start training til the end of their mission, but because there are so many missionaries coming out, everyone will be training at some point very soon. There's a huge chance I'll be training a new missionary after this transfer. I'll still be a new missionary myself, tryin to teach someone else how to be one! haha

I knew the happiness of being at a nice house, living with other sisters, and having too much fun wouldn't last too long...we got moved into another apartment. :( This apartment is TINY. Everyone calls it the 'Polly Pocket' apartment because it's so small. haha. Our beds are in the front living room, and the kitchen is like 3 steps away. I always joke that I could make breakfast from my bed. :) It's all good though...it's funny because being in this apartment has made me feel more like a missionary. And it's kind of fun! (ok, that's me trying to have a good attitude about it. haha)

Something I've never focused on in my life is setting goals. I mean, sure, I had my goals I would set....then forget about. But I never made setting goals a priority. This week, Sister Ho Ching and I set a goal to find 11 new investigators. We usually get like 2 a week...so this was a huge stretch for us. So we prayed and planned...worked and studied...tracted and taught...and guess what? we saw so many miracles happen. We didn't quite reach our goal, but we found 9 new investigators! We were so close! It was awesome to see how the Lord works....Little things that lead us to those people who are ready to hear the Gospel. One day, we were just about out of time before we needed to finish tracting and head to an appointment. When we were leaving, I decided I really had to go to the bathroom, so we had to head back to our apartment first. My companion was driving home, and took a way we'd never been before. When we were driving, there was a couple walking down the street...we stopped and rolled down the window...taught a few principles, and set an appointment to come back and teach them more. Two new investigators simply because I had to use the bathroom! haha :) Such a cheesy story, but it's cool when we can see tender mercies and how we're guided by the Lord's hand. I know we were blessed because we set goals and had a plan!

My friend in the green house that I wrote about before (his name is Curtis) is getting baptized in a few weeks! He is the sweetest old man and is loving the gospel. He is taking it all in! We are teaching a few other people, but he is the one that is the most committed. It is hard in Independence because of the other break-off branches of the church. Some of you may not know, but Independence is the headquarters for the RLDS church. There are about 5 other dominant break-offs as well. (Community of Christ, Church of Christ, Restoration branch, ect.) A lot of people we begin to teach already have testimonies of The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. It makes it so hard to teach them because we have so many common beliefs. You would think that would make it easier...but it doesn't. We just have to help them understand that although they have a lot of the same truths within their church, most of them have been twisted or changed...even just a little bit.

Well, life is good. Hope you all know how much I love you! You are all in my prayers and always on my mind. Keep the faith!

Much love,
Sister Hyer :)

'March Madness' of Service

Hey all!

Can you believe I'm approaching 2 months out in the mission?! Time flies when you're having fun. ;) I feel like I start off my emails the same every week, but it's true...there's always so much to say, I don't know where to start!

Last week we had another huge snow storm! We had to stay in our houses for a day and we weren't allowed to use the cars at all. When our mission president called us to tell us we had to stay home, he told us we still needed to be doing missionary work. He said we should use our phones to teach lessons and contact investigators and less active members and that they could be a wonderful resource in our work if we used them by the spirit. He promised us that if we made calls all day and spent our time wisely, we would see miracles...and We did! All day long, we received forwarded voice mails from missionaries in our zone that had been making calls all day long and had seen miracles. We would listen to the message and it would say something like, 'Hey Inde Zone, we want to share our miracle too!" Then they would say how they called a former investigator, taught them a lesson over the phone, and set up a baptism date....or they called and taught a lesson and received referrals....or found new investigators! We had some sisters who called the wrong number, taught the person they spoke with, and set up an appointment to go teach them! Everyone experienced their own miracles. It was amazing! Our miracle was that we were calling some of the less active people listed on our ward list. We called a man, and spoke with him for a while...to find out he hadn't been to church since 1979. That's 34 years without the gospel! We invited him to church and he said he'll come, and set up a time to meet with him this week. So amazing! We probably made well over 100 calls, and saw oh so many miracles. Nothin can stop the work of the Lord...not even a huge snow storm :)

Although we worked hard all day, we made sure to have a little fun too. We spent our lunch and a few other breaks out in the snow. We have a big backyard, and had quite the adventures! We have a huge staircase that goes from our porch to the yard and we built a slide on it! We covered all the stairs with snow, and poured water down it and let it freeze into an ice slide. haha. We made a snow missionary, and a snow couch too. :) We were telling the elders about our adventures, and they were like: "Whoa! Sisters do that kind of stuff?" haha.

My companion and I have decided to make this month the 'March Madness'  of service. We will be doing little acts of service every day for one of the sisters at the Visitors' center. We have been talking a lot about service and how it can help bring us happiness. I read a talk by president Hunter called "No Less Serviceable." He talks about how no matter how small your act of service may be, and even if it goes unnoticed, it is still service and can have an impact on someone. he quotes a poem by Meade McGuire:

"Father, where shall I work today?" 

and my love flowed warm and free.

Then He pointed out a tiny spot

And said: "Tend that for me."
I answered quickly, "Oh no; Not that!
Why, no one would ever see,

No matter how well my work was done;

Not that little place for me."
And the word He spoke, it was not stern;
He answered me tenderly:
"Ah, little one, search that heart of thine.
Art thou working for them or for me?
Nazareth was a little place,

And so was Galilee."

Reading this talk reminded me of a quote I once heard at a fireside. Someone said:

"Anonymity purifies our motives."

That means that if we do things anonymously and we aren't concerned about the glory of the service, we are doing it for the right reason. It may go unnoticed by others, but it will never go unnoticed by Heavenly Father. I hope all of you can find ways to serve others, and concentrate on the reason we serve. I can't wait to share my  service experiences this month as we focus on 'March Madness'! :)

Have a wonderful week! Much love to all!

Sister Hyer

Another Week Gone By...

Oh heeey!

I can't believe it's been another week! Time really is flying! It's been a crazy week here in Independence. There's been a lot of new things happening!

As many of you know, there have been 58 new missions created to accommodate all the new missionaries. Isn't that so exciting? As a result of so many more missionaries coming to this mission specifically, they are dividing our mission! This mission, the Missouri Independence Mission, extends into a majority of Kansas. There is now a Kansas Wichita mission, so anything west of there will be its own mission, with a new mission president. We aren't sure of the exact boundaries, but all the changes will be made in July when the new mission president comes out. Depending on where I am in the transfer when things change, I could be in a new mission! My mission president said he will do the transfers like he always does--with prayer and fasting--and the Lord will send me where he needs me! I guess we'll see where I'm at when the time comes! It's amazing how this work is moving forward! Our ward is so mission/missionary focused! The church becoming more and more united as we all put forth our missionary efforts to bring others unto Christ!

We had a big snow storm last week! And by big, I mean like 10 inches. haha.  But here in Missouri, that's huge. All the milk, eggs, and bread at all the stores are gone...people pull out their 72 hour kits, lock themselves in their houses, and close all the stores and everything! Walmart said they made as much money in one day from people preparing for the storm as they did the day before Christmas! When the storm starts, we have to stay at our house, and we aren't allowed to drive the cars. We were stuck in our house for 2 days last week! We were all going crazy! The first morning it snowed, we were all up doing our exercises in the living room...we were lying on the floor when a mouse ran across the room! We decided staying home was a small blessing in disguise so we could spend the day cleaning and catching mice! haha. We are expected to have another big storm today and tomorrow, so looks like we'll be campin at home for a few more days!

But down to the real highlight of my week. On Saturday, our Investigator Milk was baptized! It was the most amazing baptism I've ever been to! This kid is famous around this part of the mission. Everyone has their investigators they are teaching and we hear names and little things about them here and there...but EVERYONE knows Milk. Our stake president AND mission president both came to the Baptism, which doesn't always happen. With the large number of missionaries and baptisms, they just don't have time to attend them all. But no one wanted to miss Milk's. The guy that baptized him flew in from Utah to do it, missionaries changed their shift at the Visitors' Center so they could be there, and people from the ward rearranged their schedules so they wouldn't miss out! He has just made so many drastic changes in his life, and his story just touches people the moment they hear it.

The moment he came out of the water, he put his fist in the air, and shouted in victory! The smile on his face was incredible. He went to go change, and while we all sat there waiting, we could hear him celebrating in the bathroom. Yellin, singin, and dancin! :) His testimony went something like this: "You wanna know how I feel? I feel like a million bucks! For real bro. I neva thought I could start over an' be forgivin in ma life. Never. But I'm clean. Thank you to the sistas for findin me. I know I neva woulda been here if it weren't for ya'll. God is real, cuz. This is true.' And then he smiled and sat down. He was glowing! 

What a way to begin my mission! With the most amazing first baptism ever! I love this kid. He has taught me so much and strengthened my testimony in only a matter of weeks! He reminds me of my purpose here with a phrase I hear him say all the time: "ya jus gotta get up and make a difference every day"

So with that, that is my challenge to each of you this week. Get up in the morning and make the decision to make a difference! It doesn't have to be anything miraculous...but we can each make a difference in someones life by the small and simple things we say and do!

I love you all!! This work is true!

Love, Sister Hyer 

The Work Keeps Movin On!

Oh hey ya'll!

Yet another week has gone by! I can't believe it. Before ya know it, I am going to be coming home! ;) Ok, we won't talk about that yet, but time flies! Things are going great here in Missouri. We are workin hard and prayin harder! :) 

Our strongest progressing investigator is a kid who grew up in the ghetto of Kansas City, Missouri. His name is 'Milk.' it's a nick name of course, but we never call him anything else. Whenever he introduces himself people always say, "What? Your name is Milk?" and He says: "Yup. Like 2%" haha. This kid has seen it all. He's 18 and has seen and experienced more than anyone in the world should ever have to. He grew up roaming the streets of one of the most ghetto, run-down areas in Missouri. He was part of gangs and got into every kind of trouble you can imagine. He currently has a bullet in his ankle, from getting in a fight a few months ago and getting shot at. That wasn't the first time it had happened either. The sister's started teaching him about 4 months ago, so he was basically already through the lessons by the time I came into the area. He gets baptized on Saturday! This kid is amazing...His faith is incredible. He talks like a 'hardcore' black guy, and says I need to learn his 'slanguage'. haha. He says stuff like "Bro, I know dat God is watchin out for me. fu real." :) He is awesome! I can't wait to be a part of his baptism on Saturday!

We are teaching a brand new investigator too. His name is Curtis. Sister Ho Ching and I were out tracting one day, and it was almost time to go home. We past a few houses, and there was this bright green one...I told her we should try that house, so we went and knocked on the door. He answered, we was very grumpy, and when we asked him about his beliefs, he laughed when he said he's a Jehovah's Witness. (They don't like Mormon's very much) We testified of the Book of Mormon, and asked if we could bring him a copy. He said yes, and we went back the next day. The next week, we taught him the 1st lesson and invited him to be baptized. He has a baptism date set for March 16th! It's crazy how miracles happen and we are lead to those people who are ready to hear the Gospel! And the think it was all because of a green house!....and the spirit of course ;)  

Well, I love you all! For those of you who have written me, keep it up. For those who haven't, step it up! 

Love,
Sister Hyer

First Email From Missouri

Hello to all my loved ones!

There is oh so much to say, as always! I made it safely to Missouri, and was welcomed by my sweet mission president and his wife. They drove us to the Kansas City temple, Liberty Jail, and the Visitor's center right when we got there. There were 26 of us who came to the mission that day, and we all stayed at their home that night. Imagine 26 missionaries trying to get ready in the morning! The next transfer will have 38 missionaries--the most they've ever received! The work is beginning to explode here in Independence!

My mission president is wonderful. His name is President Keyes, and he is so inspired and loving. He spoke to us and told us about the mission. He said that he considers it the Alpha and Omega of missions...the first and the last. It began in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and will end here with the second coming. Pretty special, right? It is also the largest mission in regards to full-time missionaries serving. There are so many church sites here, that they are required to have so many more missionaries. The morning of our first day, before we were about to get on the bus, President Keyes imparted these last words: "Your whole life you have only prepared for this. Before you were here, and at the MTC, all you could do was get ready. But now you're here. I promise that if you put your whole heart into the Lord's work, you will love every minute of it. I have missionary after missionary after missionary who wants to extend their mission. And if you are faithful and obedient, you will want to too."

We each met with our mission president and he assigned us our first area and told us about our companion. He told me that my first area I would be serving in the Independence visitor's center!! You have to know that there are sisters who get called specifically to serve in the visitor's center...they have extra training at the MTC, and spend a majority of their mission at either the visitor's center or Liberty jail...so you have to know that for a full proselyting missionary like myself to be called to serve there for my first transfer, it is pretty uncommon. The president made it very clear that he knew the Lord needed me there. How special it is to be serving there! We spend 6 hours a day at the visitor's center, and 6 hours proselyting. It has been very slow, but they say it starts to pick up in the spring and summer!

I wanted to share one last moment I had at the MTC. My companion and I had auditioned for a special musical number. They do them at all the firesides, relief society, and the departing and welcoming devotional. My companion has an incredible voice, and I had just happened to bring a copy of 'Be Still My Soul' I'd been attempting to master. After our audition, we were asked to perform in relief society. To be honest, we were a little bit bummed. We thought it would be amazing to perform for an apostle or something at one of the Tuesday night devotionals, but we accepted and still had a good attitude about it. Well, Sunday came around and we walked into relief society to find that the speaker for the day was Sister Burton, the General relief society president!! After the meeting, we went up to talk with her. We had to wait, and we were at the end of the line. I was getting impatient, but when it was finally our turn, we walked up and sister Burton looked at us and said: "Oh sweet sisters, you were wonderful! I have to tell you something. A few years ago, I had a niece about your age. She was planning on serving a mission, but was riding her bike one day and was hit by a bus and killed. 'Be Still My Soul' was one of the songs that brought me and my sister the most peace as we faced this tragedy. That hymn has a very special place in my heart!" Suddenly, we weren't so bummed anymore. We knew exactly why we were supposed to perform at that time. What an amazing experience!

Well, everything else here is great. I'm still trying to get used to life as a missionary, but it is coming along! I live in a cute little house (which is surprising--independence is one of the most ghetto areas in Missouri) There are 4 other sisters that live with us. There are 18 total sister missionaries that serve in the visitor's center, and they all live in small surrounding apartments, but we get the house. :) The high maintenance girl in me is very happy. haha. My companion's name is Sister Ho Ching, she is from America Samoa...she is wonderful, and we are getting a long great.

I will send lots of pictures next week and update you more on my adventures here in Missouri! I love you all more than I can express!

Quote of the day:

"Today is going to be great. Why? Because it's the only day you can do anything about. Yesterday's gone, and tomorrow isn't here yet. So do something with today!" -The Visitor's center director.

Much love,
Sister Hyer

She's On Her Way!

We won't get an Email this week Since Today....SHE IS ON HER WAY!

Independence Missouri Get Ready! Sister Hyer is Coming!

If you want to get a letter to her now that she's in Missouri, Here's Her Address:

Sister Jenna Hyer

Missouri Independence Mission
517 West Walnut Street
Independence, Missouri 64050

Remember that Packages have to be sent Priority Via US Post Office

(FedEx and UPS can't be forwarded so they will sit at the Mission Home waiting for Jenna)

Jenna Thanks you for your love and Support! Keep it Comin!

MTC Week Two- Joy, Tears, and Feeling the Spirit

Hello All!

Consider this my goodbye from the MTC! I will be heading out to Missouri next Wednesday morning. I can't believe it's coming so fast! There is still so much to catch you all up on. The past two weeks has been packed with information and good things happenin! I love my district more and more each day. It's amazing how fast you can get to know a group of people. They are wonderful. I have the best teachers in the world. One of them is a sister who served in Texas, and one is an elder who served in Scotland/Ireland...He is so awesome. His lessons are my favorite. I am always amazed at how much I can learn from him in 3 hours!

A few times a week, we do this thing called TRC...people come volunteer to pretend to be investigators. Some of them are members, and some of them may really be interested in the church and have been referred by a local member.. but they aren't allowed to tell us, we have to treat it like it's a real situation with someone who has never heard of the church before. Our TRC experience this week was amazing. We go to these rooms, big enough for only 3 people, and knock on the doors just like it was a real tracting situation. We knocked, and this cute little old guy opened the door. We told him we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints, and asked if we could share a message with him. He let us in, and we started to ask him some questions. He told us how 12 years ago, He and his wife had gone on a trip and while they were there, his wife got bit by a mosquito and got really sick...it started to make her more sick, and pretty soon her body just shut down. She was disabled for over 9 years, and he took care of her every day. Then he went on to tell us that she had passed away 3 years ago and was angry at God ever since. He stopped praying, and didn't think God cared about him. We started to give him our lesson, and focused on the plan of salvation and eternal families. It had been an emotional day already, and as we talked about this, I just began to cry. He was amazed. He kept saying: "Barbara was the love of my life...and you're saying I can be with her again?" The spirit was so strong. The tears wouldn't stop. He pulls a handkerchief out of his pocket and says: "I'm sorry, I don't have any tissues, but this is clean! Use it to wipe those tears away." And he just smiled at me. We finished the lesson and he said (more than once actually): "There is just something about you 2 sweet sisters. I can feel it." It was all so real. You could tell all 3 of us felt the spirit. And at that moment I realized it didn't matter if it was a real investigator, or a member simply pretending...We accomplished what we had come to do...help others feel the spirit and come unto Christ. Sometimes we all need help feeling the spirit...member or not. When we left I turned to my companion and said (tears still rolling down my cheek) "if I even have just one experience like that on my mission, it will make everything worth it." This sweet little old man had given me a glimpse of the bliss I will feel helping others come to Christ. It was amazing.

We got a new MTC president this week. Our fireside on Sunday was Him and his wife speaking. They are the sweetest people. At the end, Sister Nally and 4 of her daughters played a beautiful arrangement of 'lead kindly light.' Sister Nally had written it, and written the piano accompaniment and 4 violin parts. It was so beautiful! Yesterday, we were eating lunch, and president Nally came up to our district and asked if he could eat with us. So we got to sit at talk with him for a while. He said that by July they are going to have 8,000 Missionaries! They are trying to buy apartments and dorms from BYU and they will eventually have to have the devotionals at BYU because the gym here only holds 2000...we already have over 3,000 so we already don't fit! Such an amazing time to be serving. When elder Holland spoke last week, he said: "Nothing like this has ever happened in the history of The Church."

The MTC is a roller coaster! I've never felt the spirit so strong, said so many prayers, sung so many hymns, cried so many tears, yearned for more knowledge, laughed so hard, made so many friends...The list is endless. I know the mission is going to be different, and it will have more challenges, but I for now, I will enjoy my wonderful experiences here! Love you all!

With love,
Sister Hyer

The First Email

Here is her first Email from January 15th to Family and Friends of what's goin on at the MTC.

Subject: Hello from the MTC

My dearest family and friends!

          Hello From the MTC! I feel like I've been gone forever! Here at the MTC, they say a day is like a week, and a week is like a day. The days drag on, but when ya look back at it, it's gone pretty fast. Can't believe I've been here a week! I am loving it here. So much has happened! I don't really know where to begin, so I'll just start with the basics. There are 12 of us in our district, all going to Independence (6 elders and 6 sisters). I share a room (smaller than mine at home) with 5 other girls. Imagine all the stuff I took, then multiply it by 6. Then add a few more things, an extra suitcase and a few more carry ons, and you've about got what our room looks like. I love them all though, so I'm surviving! My companion is from Idaho Falls, Sister Mckay. I adore her. We get along so well, and I feel like I've known her forever. We teach well with each other and I'm learning so much from her! We told each other we would tell our families we have these crazy, out of control, weird companions just as a joke...but then we both realized it was true about ourselves. :) I love the other people in my district too! It's crazy how you can get to know so many people so fast, and feel so much love for them. I have amazing teachers, and I can't believe how much I've learned in the past week...It's weird that most of them are either my age or younger than me, yet they still have so much to teach me. There's so much more to tell you all!

Here's a typical day at the MTC:

-Alarm goes off at 5:45 and ends 16 hours later with 'lights out' at 10:30

-30 minutes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

-Two 3 hour classes taught by our teachers, separated by meals and gym time

-at least 2-3 hours of personal/companionship study

- service projects

-meetings with our Zone president (Districts make up zones, kind of like wards make up stakes)

- companion planning for the next day

- teaching our 'investigators' (either our teachers pretending to be one, or people who have auditioned to be paid to be an investigator)

-30 minutes of gym time

At the MTC it's not uncommon to see any of the following:

-Elders who don't know how to do laundry

-Companions praying in the middle of the halls (sometimes even kneeling)

-Missionaries singing as they walk to class

- People bragging about how many letters they got

-Elders in the cafeteria with 4 glasses of chocolate milk, 2 entrees, some cereal, a donut, and a bowl of ice cream....(ok, maybe that was exaggerated, but they eat a lot!)

The other night, the fire alarm went off because a pipe had burst on the bottom floor, and caused some damage...so all the girls in our building (probably almost 300) had to walk across the street in the middle of the night and sleep in the gym for a few hours. It was so funny to see all these girls, half asleep, walking in the freezing cold, then snuggling up on the gym floor. haha.

On a more spiritual side of things (cause that's what I'm supposed to be doing, right? haha) The first day we were here, we were in the new missionary orientation with the MTC president. He was having everyone stand up who were from different countries. He said a whole bunch of them, then said: "This next one is pretty special. Can I have anyone who is from Tanzania please stand up?" everyone turned to look and see if anyone was standing. In the very back, one girl stood up. He continued: "Sweet sister, can you come up to the front please?" She started walking.."Walk a little faster sister. Run! Tanzanians are great runners!" Haha. Then she got up there, and he introduced her and said, "How many sisters from Tanzania have ever served a mission?" She held up 2 fingers. "How many of them came to the Provo MTC?" She help up one finger. "Who might that sister be?" She smiled the most tender smile and said, in very broken English, 'It's me!" My heart melted. How special she must feel to be representing her country! I was so touched. The rest of that day, people would see her in the halls and say, "Hey Tanzania!" and she would just grin from ear to ear. It was wonderful!

Elder Holland was our devotional speaker last night...they don't tell us who it is until we're sitting in the auditorium, waiting for it to start. He walked in and every stood up. It was absolutely amazing. He got up to speak and said: "I have traveled this globe. I have seen everything there is to see. But My most favorite place to be is with the Missionaries of this church. He spoke about how important missionary work is, and said: "I command you to come home with at least one convert...yourself...There is absolutely no excuse in time if that doesn't happen. If you don't bring any other members into this church, at least we can count on you to come home converted." It was so powerful. There was so much more that he said that I wish I could share, but I will have to wait til next week. After the closing of the meeting, he blew us a kiss, and waved goodbye. It was silent. and the spirit there was undeniable. I felt honored to be part of such an amazing time.

I want to leave you all with a few words of wisdom I have learned this week:

"Obedience brings blessings. Strict obedience brings miracles."

"Keep a happy countenance.  If you're not happy, no one will believe what you're teaching."

"You have something wonderful. This Gospel. Cherish that which the world desperately needs."

I love you all. Thanks for the continual love and support! Remember to write me!
jenna.hyer@myldsmail.com

or you can go to www.dearelder.com and type a letter that will get sent to me the same day!!

Much love!

Sister Jenna Hyer