I have fallen in love with Colorado!!!!!

Making Jam is a must with cat T-shirts

We found a jump~my Dad would be so proud!

Notice the supper dupper safe bike helmet

I have fallen in love with Colorado!!!!! I really would not mind coming back and living here when I'm old and married. There are so many rolling hills and the air is so crisp!! And of course the people here are incredible. Really a neat bunch of people.

So this week we had a Jam Sesh with a cute sister in our ward!!! Every single one of our evening appointments cancelled so we called a sister in the ward and asked if we could help her in any way. So we made a bunch of raspberry jam and it made me think of the delicious raspberries at Bear Lake! It was great. Unfortunately the jam didn't turn out so great though. We must have put too much sugar in or something because it is too sugary to eat. We still had a blast making it though. And we wore cool cat shirts as aprons while we made jam.

I have some good news everyone! It is totally possible to ride a bike in a dress. I DID IT! And I had an absolute blast while riding my bike. The weather was great and the view is amazing. Me and my companion laughed as we rode up and down the hills of Colorado. I kept thinking that my dad would be so proud of me for successfully riding my bike! I took a picture for proof, don't worry. Haha! But as I was riding and thinking about making my dad proud, it hit me that I have an even stronger desire to make my Heavenly Father proud. I am here doing His work and I want nothing more than to please Him. Afterall, this is HIS mission, not mine. I go about my day working my hardest and doing all I can to please my Heavenly Father. And then at night when I pray and account to Him my works, I can feel good about what I've done. There is still so much to do and I can always work harder. But my motivation every morning is to get up, make a difference, and work my hardest to please my Heavenly Father. By doing that, I have built such a strong relationship with Him! He loves us all so much. And when we serve Him, we feel that love so strongly.

So the bikes are a success. The other day we were riding and some kids had a little plastic jump set up. My companion was talking to me and didn't see the jump until I said "Sister I dare you to go off that jump!!" Sure enough she did! It was so hilarious. Then the next day we were also on our bikes and on our way home, the jump was just calling our names. So we set it up and did some gnarly jumps. It was so much fun!!!! I think I'm gonna join BMX when I get home. LOL not. But really. Missionary work can be fun. We laughed so hard the rest of the way home. Girls on bikes in skirts going off a jump...the man who walked by with his dog sure got a kick outta that sight!

We did some tracting this week and eventhough we got turned away many times, I felt good about our efforts. And we did find one man!!! So it was all worth it. We had a nice conversation with him, gave him a Book of Mormon, and he invited us to come back!!! We have an appointment with him tomorrow, which I am very excited about. He seems like a solid guy. There is one guy we taught who was rather entertaining. My companions has taught him in the past, but this was my first lesson with him. They call him spaceship man because he believes that the Book of Mormon came from aliens. And this past lesson we taught him the plan of salvation...when we talked about the kingdoms, he told us he would love to go where its warm...meaning he want's to go to Hell. He then explained his goal of kicking the devil out of his seat and taking over down there. I thought he was kidding so of course I'm laughing. Then the member who was with us asked if he was serious. He was more serious than the pictures from the 1800s. Boy that was an exciting lesson!!! Unfortunately he is moving this week, so we won't be able to teach him much longer. I'm hoping we can give him a new goal for the celestial kingdom...we'll see. LOL. We also have a couple potential investigators. We've had many appointments set up with them, but they all cancelled this week!! Hopefully we will have better luck the next week. The hard thing about this area is that it is so small and everyone is SO busy. When we tract, 9/10 houses are not home because they are all at work. And we aren't allowed to tract when it's dark so we don't catch a ton of people at home. So we work with the members a lot to get referralls and meet with thier friends. This ward is absolutely amazing. They have a ward mission plan and each month the ward works on a goal to be member missionaries. Its so awesome!!!

We also had a stake releif society meeting this weekend. The speaker was stupendous. Her message has stuck with me throughout the week. She talked about how we cannot pray for our trials to go away. We have to pray for the strength to overcome them. And through the enabling power of the atonement, we can become strong. Just as it says in Mosiah 24, we will be strengthened to the point where we cannot even feel the burdens on our backs. When things get tough out here on the mission, I have learned to pray for strength. And it's amazing how the Lord will strengthen me. The atonement is so incredible It has enabled me and given me the strength to do things I otherwise would not be able to do on my own. This brings me a lot of comfort and encouragement to know that I can do all things with the help of the Lord. I read an awesome talk about how the Lord "will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." It is so true!!!! If we are obedient and have faith in the Lord, He will not let us down. He might stretch us and make us grow through our trials, but He will not make us run faster than we have strength. All these trials are for our own good. And if we go about them with the right attitude and perspective, you will see your capacity to do hard things through the atonement. This gospel is so wonderful! The things I am learning are helping me become a better person and helping me know how to help the people we teach.

My last though for today is also from a talk we listened to this morning. I forgot who it was...but the speaker said we need to "bloom where we are planted". I love that phrase. Life may take us to unexpected destinations, but if we can learn how to bloom where we are planted, we will be happy. And as we grow and establish deep roots in a firm foundation, everything will be okay. I realize that I am going to be moving around a lot on the mission with transfers. But if I keep that in mind, I will better be able to adjust to the changes. And of course a firm foundation is necessary in order to bloom. A firm belief in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel that has been restored for these latter days.

Colorado is great. And I am so excited to see what this next week has in store for us!!!!!

Much love,

Sister Hoer

I'm In Colorado!

I'M IN COLORADO! and what a week it has been!!! About a week ago I was thinking I would be serving my mission in the Denver Colorado Airport. We flew out of SLC early in the morning to Denver. Then we had a connecting flight from Denver to the Springs. It was bad weather or something because our flight was delayed and then an hour later it was cancelled!!! So we called the mission president and tried to figure things out. Something was going down because the shuttles and buses were also not running. Therefore we were stuck. And half our luggage was already in Colorado Springs and the other half was mixed in a jumble of about 1000 other bags. A very nice lady helped us out and told us where we could find some of our luggage. That took about 2 hours itself. Long story short we sat in the airport for about 6 hours. The president sent the APs (assistant to the President) up to get us but it's about an hour and a half drive to get to Denver. When the APs came through the doors to save us, it was literally as if the Sons of Mosiah just walked in. I have never been so happy to see the missionaries before! They were all strong and confident and ready to save us lost and worried newbies. So they loaded all our luggage into a trailer and the rest of us missionaries into a van and drove us to the mission home in Colorado Springs. So at about 5pm we finally made it. Our mission president is the sweetest man ever! He and his wife are absolutely fantastic. I am so happy to have them as my mission president. But apparently his service ends this July! So I've only got a short time with him.
We spend the first couple days in the mission home. Our first day there we went tracking in the ghetto of Colorado Springs. That was actually really fun! The people are quite humble and ready to hear about God. We shared little messages and invited them to church. We also gave them some Books of Mormon and hopefully they will read!

My first dinner in Colorado was with a cute young family that just moved from Utah. The whole dinner was GREEN for me being a GREENIE!!! it was so cute. Green mashed potatoes, green salad, green jello, even green cookies! It made my day after having such a whirlwind of days.

Then on Wednesday we had transfers!! I was assigned to my new companion/trainer and my new area. My companion is adorable. She is totally my type of girl. We get along really well and have a lot of fun doing missionary work! So on our way back from the transfer meeting, we stopped at Wendy's for lunch. While we were there, this guy started talking to us about where we worked and what we were all about. He was an awesome guy. I could tell he's had quite the life and he is really looking to turn his life around. Everything we said, he agreed and told us it was true! We talked about the Book of Mormon and he said he would read it. He also wanted all of us (we were with a few other sisters) to go around and share our favorite scriptures. It was cool to see him soak in the messages we shared and I could see that he was really pondering what we told him. After we shared our scriptures he said he really liked what we said and he knew it was true. At that moment, my companion gave me the look and whispered..."baptism".  SO I explained a little about the missionaries and learning about our church and the Savior and then I invited him to be baptized!!! That was so awesome! He didn't exactly say yes, but he didn't say no either.  He said he really wants LDS friends and that he would love to meet with the missionaries before he committed to baptism.  AWESOME! That was probably the best thing that could have happened in my first 2 hours of being send off into the field. Unfortunately he is not in our area so we aren't teaching him, but we gave him the name and number of the missionaries where he lives. The church is so true!!!  And people really are prepared to hear our message. This man was definitely prepared.

We are far up north in our mission in a very wealthy area. It reminds me a lot of Henderson, so I feel at home. The houses are absolutely gorgeous!!!  I really like looking at the homes. And the ward is superb. The members come out with us a lot and come to many of our lessons. The relief society president is our main supporter. She comes out a LOT.  And I absolutely love it because she reminds me of Sister DeBry in many ways.  So it's like I'm doing missionary work with my 2nd mom! But really, she's awesome.  I really admire the members and how much they come out with us! It really makes a difference and gives the people we teach the opportunity to build relationships with people in the ward. We also live with a member who takes wonderful care of us. She is an elderly woman who I now look at as my own grandma.  She's great.  And I came just in time for the great weather! Apparently last week it was in the negatives...but since I've been here we've had sunny 50's! I love it.

So yesterday,Feb. 17th~Pres. Day, we did a lot of service...but it was a blast! We went and baked cinnamon rolls with a less active lady in our ward. I learned a lot of good baking tips! Then while the dough was rising, we went and played tennis. She is ranked 7th in the state so it was a blast! Me and my companion made a good doubles team. We decided we are gonna play together when we get back to Provo. So we finished baking and then delivered all our treats to less actives, investigators, and members who needed a little pick me up. It was a great day and we were able to lift the spirits of others with some delicious cinnamon bread.

I'm learning so much in the mission field that the MTC never could have prepared me for. I see these people and I feel so much love for them! While we were stuck in the airport, I had a lot of time to people watch, and as I watched them I felt love for them as my own brothers and sisters. It's really neat. I feel like I'm getting a small glimpse of what Heavenly Father sees when He looks at His children. And that love I feel gives me so much motivation to share the gospel with them!!! I want them to know how much their Heavenly Father loves them. As a missionary I have felt an overwhelming love from my Heavenly Father.  It brings so much peace in times of trial or discomfort. When I first got here, my companion said we only had 1 progressing investigator. I was really hoping that we'd have a bunch of people to teach, but that's part of our job too...to find! So I've been praying really hard to find those who are prepared and at church on sunday, we got 4 referrals from the members! We are going to meet with them this week. I can't wait to see what will happen with them. The work is moving forward! I still have  lot to learn, but its amazing what I have already learned. I'm pretty sure I've studied harder these past 3 weeks than I ever did in all my years of schooling. Including my semester at BYU. So I am learning and growing and sharing what I learn.



It's awesome. But I know I wouldn't be able to do it without the help of the Lord. He supports me and gives me the knowledge I need to teach. Missions are so awesome! This is the great beginning to a wonderful adventure.

Much love,
Sister Hoer



                                     MTC Map of the World >









                                  Anna & her new companion

                                 










Making Bread--------------->
          v Playing Tennis on Pres. Day

I survived my 2nd week!

I survived my second week! And now I am outta here. Monday I will be in Colorado!!!!! It still feels so surreal. I literally just got here! Although it feels like I've been here for months. This week I feel like I have grown so much. One of our teachers told us that the MTC is like being in a taffy puller...we are just being stretched to the very most. It is so true!!! I have learned so much. But there is still so much i have yet to learn out in the field. SO much happened this week that I don't even know where to begin! When the sisters in the other district left for the field, they passed on this magic 8 ball that has been passed down from room to room in the MTC for who knows how long. So the sisters in my room have had way too much fun asking questions to the magic 8 ball. It's probably not a very good thing for us misisonaries to be doing..don't worry I only asked one question. hahah! 

We finished teaching our investigators this week! Two of our investigators committed to baptism. That was the coolest thing ever. I was really sad to stop teaching them because I wanted to continue to see them grow further! We have one other investigator and our last lesson with her is tonight. She's a little harder to get through to, but we do our best. Oh and one day, our teachers decided to give us a surprise investigator and see how well we could do on the fly focusing on the investigator's needs and preparing a lesson quickly by the spirit. So we walk to the building to meet our investigator and guess who opens the door. Nick Taufer. He started to welcome all us sisters and when he saw me, he flipped. He was like...holy cow!!! Sister Hoer!!! When our teacher realized we knew eachother he had a little private powow with nick and we ended up teaching a different person. I sure messed up that plan for him. I felt so bad! But when the sisters realized I knew our "investigator" they were mind blown. They already think I know half the MTC so when this investigator turned out to be someone I know, they went crazy. It was a little embarrassing but also hilarious. I feel like the Steve  Hoer of the MTC! LOLZ

On Sunday we got to watch the Character of Christ by David A. Bednar. That literally changed my life. I highly reccommend everyone to watch it. It made me realize that I really need to focus on others. I have been trying really hard to forget myself. Because that is how Christ was. He never gave any thought to His own needs. I was a little surprised at how hard this is! But it gets easier with time. And once I'm in the mission field with real investigators, it will be much easier to forget myself and care for them. Pretty much I'm learning how to be Christlike. The spirit here is SO strong and it's incredible how much guidance you can receive if you just LISTEN. When we pray about our investigators, we take a few silent moments after prayer to just listen. And oh boy, we receive some great inspirations. Another thing that has really stood out to me this week is that we CAN get personal revelation anytime if we are able to hear it. We do these BOM readings where we read a few verses very slowly and then we stop and think and talk about what stood out to us. The Lord is constantly speaking to us but we don't always hear it. We read the first 5 verses of 1 nephi chapter 1 and I learned SO MUCH. I didn't think that was possible. But I was really focusing on what the Lord had to tell me and sure enough, He spoke. My prayers were answered, I was comforted, and I received guidance as to what the Lord wants me to do. All in just 5 verses!! It was incredible. I have grown such a love for the Book of Mormon. And I have seen how it has changed lives. It's a powerful book!! 

I am having some very tender experiences here at the MTC. I literally am not doing this alone. The Lord is helping me every step of the way. I invite you all to rely on the Lord! Turn to Him for everything. I wish I had known all these things earlier...life would have been a lot easier. But I am learning these things now for my mission and for the rest of my life. The church is true!!! Our heavenly father loves us all so much. I know that to be true. I love you all!!!

Sister Hoer

                                                             

                                                  pic 1: me and my comps at the temple 

                                                   

                                                      pic 2: ME AND SISTER SCHIESS

                                                  pic 3: my district and 2 of our teachers

Some Pictures of Pre-MTC

Final Goodbyes

Be back in a jiffy!

Ward FHE dinner for Anna

MTC-I MADE IT!

            I still can't believe I AM A MISSIONARY!!!!
 The MTC is great. The first day and a half we had so much information thrown at us. 
They shoved this information down our throats almost as fast as Luc and Jacob
 shove bagel bites down their throats. But I feel like I kinda have the hang of things now.
 P day is saturday and thank goodness for that! It's nice to have some time to breathe today. 
So  on our first night, I was feeling rather grubby so I went to take a shower. 
First off...it was like the Motab was in the shower room. A whole medley of 
hymns sung by sisters in the showers. It was cracking me up! Especially 
when two sisters next to eachother would start singing the same song and 
then start harmonizing! Like what?! I have never had such a spiritually 
uplifting shower. So everything is going great, and then one of the sisters 
in my room comes in calling for me..."Sister Hoer! Sister Hoer! Did you 
bring your room key??" Yeah. We were all locked out of our room on the 
first night. We all went to shower and get ready for bed, but none of us 
brought our keys! Go figure. But I laughed so hard. Seriously EVERYTHING 
becomes funny when you're a missionary. The silliest little things will be 
hilarious to me! The other day our teacher said we would have about 30 
minutes left as he looked at his wrist..but he wasn't wearing a watch. I 
was laughing SO hard! He had to ask me if I was okay. I was a little 
embarrassed. But it was great. The littlest things will make us all laugh so hard. 

           So I am in a trio companionship. My companions are awesome!!!
We have grown so close together and it has only been 3 days. I am
already sad to leave them! It's amazing how much you love people here.
I absolutely love my district and I feel like it is a Christlike love.
We taught our first investigators yesterday and it was crazy how much
 love I felt for them after meeting them for the first time. I really felt
 the love that Heavenly Father has for them and I wanted to do
all I could to help them recognize that love. I'll be honest, our first
lesson wasn't the best thing in the world...but it wasn't bad either!
That's why I'm here though...to get better!

         I have had a blast seeing all my friends here! My companions
call me Sister Social Butterfly because they are convinced I know
everyone in the MTC. I feel bad because they have to wait while I say
hi to my friends. I saw Sister Schiess!!! That was the happiest moment
of my day. An don't worry, I passed on all the hellos. I've seen Elder Bryan,
Elder Swainston, Elder India, Elder Willes, Elder Dethloff...half my
mission prep class and SO many kids from Helamen halls. There are
also a few missionaries from my YSA ward in Provo. Oh and
Brother Logan Bryan is one of the MTC teachers in our zone!
He actually taught us yesterday. He said he has a hard time
calling me sister Hoer. It's been so fun!

        So gym time is my favorite. Maybe not my most favorite, 
but it keeps me sane. I have so much fun playing around and taking
 a break from all the studying. Last night was the best gym time. 
They have records for the MTC gym (fastest mile, most push ups, 
longest wall sit, most free throws, etc.) So I noticed that not all the 
records were set for the sisters! I was talking with the gym manager
 guy and told him I would make my dad so proud if I set an MTC record. 
So he told me what I had to beat and I was determined! So out of all 
the categories I decided I was probably best at a wall sit. I had to beat 3:32.
 It sounded impossible but I DID IT! I now hold the record in the MTC 
for the longest wall sit. 4:10 ladies and gentlemen. I even beat the 
Elder's wall sit time! So dad, be proud. The guy timing me wouldn't 
tell me my time and I was so determined to beat it, so thanks to him
 and my muscular thighs, I am a champion. Hhaha I'm joking. But I really 
had a lot of fun and I am excited to see my name on the wall.
 I am learning SO much. I feel like I've grown and matured a couple
 years at least. The spirit here is amazing. I love walking around and
 seeing so many missionaries! I have had some very tender 
moments with my Heavenly Father and I am determined to do 
all I can to please him. After doing a wall sit for 4:10 yesterday,
 I KNOW I can do hard things! haha! But seriously, I've been 
praying harder and listening to the spirit more intently than I ever 
have before. It's amazing. I probably have a million things
 I forgot to tell you, but naturally that happens. I'll think of more 
things to tell you next week! I love you all and hope you're doing great.

 Sister Hoer