hold up something crazy just happened....

As a missionary, we are blessed for our efforts. Some days it's much harder to see the blessings. But other days, they are as obvious as the sun in the sky! So this past week, me and my companion were definitely in the right times and the right places. We were trying to visit some less actives and none of them were home. So, we were walking down the street when this lady drives by, we'll call her T, who we visited when I first got to Colorado. Her records are in the singles ward....hold up something crazy just happened....this guy just walked up to us in the library and gave us money for lunch! Sweet! Okay back to the story. So her records are in the singles ward so we didn't go back to visit her. Until this past week. So we were walking and she drove by. We usually wave at everyone that passes so we waved and she turns around and came back to talk to us. She rolled down her window and yells "sisters! Are you looking for me!? Did you get my message on the internet last night!? Get in my car, we'll go to our house and talk!" We ended up getting in the car and realized it was T. We hadn't seen her for 2 months! So we had a very nice talk at her house. She told us she's getting too old for the singles ward but she wants to come back to church and get her records in our ward as soon as possible! She explained how she realized she needs the church back in her life and we even set a goal for her to go to the temple. The next day, she called us and said she felt so happy to see us yesterday that she wanted us to come and reteach her the missionary lessons! WHAT!? It was awesome! So we went back and taught her and she promised she would come to church the next day. Well, Sunday comes around and she showed up to church! Unfortunately this story doesn't have the best ending. I sat by her during sacrament meeting and I could tell she felt very uncomfortable. So she kinda ran away as soon as we said, "Amen".  But, we'll see her again.

Another time this week, we were in a different neighborhood doing the same thing...trying to visit less actives who were not home. But, we talked to a bunch of people outside doing their yard work. One guy we talked to was like, "Hey, you're missionaries!".  We got talking to him and apparently he is a member! He is super less active and hasn't been to church in many years...so many years that we didn't even have his records in our ward!  We got his information and gave it to our ward clerk to get his records. He was very friendly. We set a time to come back and visit with him but he wasn't home when we went by...bummer. But, we are persistent!

So this week was a good one. We did a lot of service. We were able to go back to the nonmember woman's house and do service with her! It was great. I can tell she really loves the spirit she feels when she is around the missionaries. We went and visited a lot of less actives and potential investigators. There is one family who has been at church the past 2 weeks! And, another youth in the ward has returned to activity within the past month. We are working with this youth to get ready for a mission. It's great to see the light in these people as they return to church.

Our ward has been a huge support lately. The members are so awesome. We've been going around to set up a family mission plan with all the families in the ward. I love to see them set goals and get excited about missionary work! The members  help us out a ton. They are willing to come out with us and visit quite often.

With the work we've been doing lately, I've realized that the work we are doing in this area is not so much about baptism...we are also here to help people grow deeper roots in the gospel and build their foundation on Christ so they cannot fall- as it says in Helaman 5:12. We work with a lot of the less active people to help them make goals of going to the temple, or simply finding their true testimony of Christ. This used to be very discouraging to me because this is work that we cannot put numbers to or see the immediate results. But, since I've been here a couple months now, I have seen changes in some of the people we work with and I've realized the numbers don't mean a thing. We are here to help people come closer to Christ and find the desire to do all they can to gain eternal salvation.

Being a missionary is so great. I can't wait to see what our ward will do with their family mission plans! It's exciting.

xoxoxoxox

Sister Hoer

A family in the ward found these baby bunnies

We helped these two youth get ready for Prom!

P-day at the park

zone conference at the park

Happy Easter ya'll!

Happy Easter ya'll! I absolutely love easter. This year as a missionary, I was really able to focus on Christ and share His message with everyone else! 

On Saturday, a family in the ward invited us over for their easter egg hunt. Me and my companion put on some bunny ears and brought eggs for all the little kids. The kids were going crazy! They had a little too much candy. But it was fun to be at their little family get together and be a part of their family for the day. Then we kept our bunny ears on and brought treats to some other little kids in the ward! We would give them treats and then share a message about the Resurrection and Easter. There is a video called Because of Him on lds.org.....YOU MUST WATCH IT! It is so so so good. Without a doubt, every time I watch it, I just feel an overwhelming love for the Savior and all that He did for me. Because of the Savior, I do not need to have any fears. He has overcome the world! Because of Him I can have a clean slate. Because of Him I will not have to suffer death. There are so many blessings that come because of Him! Easter is such a wonderful time of year to focus on the Savior, His Atonement, and the Resurrection.

Easter Sunday, a family in the ward had us over for dinner and made us a traditional Easter meal with foods from the bible times. Thank goodness they had hummus and pita chips because I had no idea what all the other food was. The first thing I tried scared me so I didn't try anything that looked unfamiliar. I tried these things that were like mashed cous cous with all these spices wrapped in grape leaves and soaked in vinegar. It was the strangest thing I've had to eat so far. But it was cool to see all the foods they ate and to hear the symbolism with it all.

The rest of the week was wonderful as well. We did service almost everyday this week! One day, we spent all day with a non member cleaning her house so she can put it on the market to sell. Her house was not in good shape so it's gonna take a lot of work. We are going back this week to help! But she picked us up and it was about an hour drive so we had plenty of time to talk to her! We pretty much taught her the first lesson the way there and on the way home, she asked us to share our testimonies of Christ with her. It was such a neat experience. She called the Elders that day and told them how neat it was to talk with us and share our testimonies. Service is such a great way to do missionary work. I felt so much love for this lady and I only want the best for her! Doing service for others reminds me why I'm here on a mission...I am here serving the Lord because I love Him! And as I serve Him, I have grown to know Him and love Him even more.

We weren't able to meet with our potential investigator, but we did see her outside! She had family in town again and said she will call us as soon as they are gone. But we did get a handful of referrals this week! A boy in the ward just returned home from his mission and he had like 7 nonmembers at his little open house thing. We were able to talk to all of them and explain our church and why we are here on a mission! I loved talking with them. The work is moving forward!

I hope you all had a great Easter.

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Bunny makes an appearance

Sister Hoer and Sister Merritt

So all my life I've wondered why paper snowflakes are so pretty and real snow is just a bunch of wet slush.

April 14, 2014

So sunny & warm...

Then Winter Wonderland~ not to mention 19 degrees!

So all my life I've wondered why paper snowflakes are so pretty and real snow is just a bunch of wet slush. I spent all my kindergarten years cutting them out and I just had the most incredible discovery. Real snow is actually shaped like those snow flakes! I have never seen snow that really looks like snowflakes!! I saw them on the window of our car and they are tiny little miracles. They are so pretty!!!! I told my discovery to a lady in our ward and she just laughed. Apparently you can see the crisp shape of the snowflake when it's cold enough. So yeah, we got dumped on. It snowed like crazy yesterday! And it's APRIL. I'm not too sure how I feel about this....

But the good thing is I've got some winter chub on me now to keep me warm because the members feed us like crazy! Yesterday we had 3 dinners. #spoiledstateside We were excited because it was fast sunday and who doesn't want 3 dinners on fast sunday! But I was so full. I had to tap out at our 3rd dinner appointment. The ward is too good to us.

This week was a good one. Word must have gotten around that missionaries are the free paint squad. We have been painting houses like nobody's business! I'm ready to tackle any wall. But really. we love doing service! Especially when it's crazy cold outside. We get to stay indoors and paint. And help out the members. I have really grown to love service. I truly feel so much happier when we get lots of service in for the week. It makes our week so much better!

Although we did get some great service in this week, it was rather slow. We didn't get around to seeing any of our potentials. One of them invited us to a relief society get together which was really cool! We were super stoked because she's our nonmember inviting us to relief society..LOL. But then that morning she texted us and said she couldn't go anymore. She's had a lot of family in town so it's been hard to get with her. She's still super great though. Our other guy works a lot so we haven't caught him at home this week. But I'm praying this week will move smoother! We've also been working with the members to do Family Mission Plans to help every member be a missionary. I am excited about this. We have a great ward, and I know that with our help...we can convert all of Parker! I'm kidding. But really. We're about to tackle this. The work is hastening, my friends!

It's so great to have this opportunity to spend all my time focusing on the gospel. I love to do my studies and learn so much and then use that knowledge to share with others! Today I read a great verse in Ether chapter 6 verse 8! (mom I think that's it...I might have switched it. but check it out for me.) So the brother of Jared and all the people are traveling through the sea and the Lord tells them that He will send forth all the winds. I had the thought that their journey across the sea is like our journey through life. The Lord send winds to direct them to the promised land, but he also told them he will bring them up out of the depths of the sea. Just like our time here on earth, we will be tossed around by the 'winds' and trials that come with life. But they are only directing us towards the 'promised land' or back to our Heavenly Father. And He is there every step of the way to bring us up when we are drowning. There are so many gems in the Book of Mormon! I love it!!!!! and I love life!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Sister Hoer

General Conference was the best ever!!!!!

April 7, 2014

General Conference was the best ever!!!!! I wish every weekend could be general conference. We would eat, watch conference, eat, watch conference, and eat again! Does it get any better than that!? The members were really great to make us as comfortable as possible in their homes to watch conference. There were so many great talks! As I heard many of our prophets and apostles speak, little things would stand out to me that I think we need to share with the people we are visiting. I loved it!

So I'm not even sure what happened this week....my brain seems to go blank as soon as I get here to write my emails.

But I have been studying a lot about the Atonement this week. I will never fully be able to comprehend or grasp the fullness of the Atonement, but I can definitely learn all I can. I have grown a whole new appreciation for it. The sacrifice that Christ made for me and every single one of us means so much to me. He was the only one who was able to complete such a task. And because of it, we can all return to live with him and our Heavenly Father again. I read a talk "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox that has stuck with me. He compares the Atonement to a mother paying the price for a child's piano lessons. The mother pays all the money and only asks that her child practices. This has made me more eager to use the atonement everyday in my life. Christ has done all that needed to be done...now I just have to use it. I can be clean, comforted, and strengthened through the atonement! I have definitely felt the strengthening power of the atonement as a missionary. I've mentioned that I literally could not do this alone. I am strengthened and feel so much support from the Lord as I do His work. I am so lucky to be able to share this knowledge with others and see how it can bless their lives! Being a missionary is great. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is great!

I can't wait to get copies of the conference talks and continue to learn and grow from it. I love you all!

xoxo

Sister Hoer

 Sister Merritt & Sister Hoer & Haagen Dazs