Heavenly Father literally has us in the Hallow of His hands!

Heavenly Father literally has us in the Hallow of His hands. Things won't go perfectly, but He's always watching out for us! This week, my companion had a pretty bad crash on her bike. Our car was getting some work done in the shop so we were on bikes for a few days. There's a giant hill to get to the main road form where we live, so we started the trek down the hill. Sis. Elama hasn't ridden a bike for a while and we should have practiced before hopping on! But we got going down the hill and she went too fast, lost control, and flew off her bike! It was so scary to look back and see my dear sweet companion lying in the middle of the road not moving! My heart dropped! She wasn't very responsive, so I got on the phone to call an ambulance. Before I knew it, I looked up and so many sweet people had pulled over and come to help us. They were all angels sent by Heavenly Father to make sure we were okay. One lady in particular was such a blessing. She was a vet and had some medical background. She asked if we had any family we could call. I explained that Sis Elama is from Samoa and we are missionaries so we don't have any family here. She got a little teary eyed and said “Well, I am your family now. I will take care of you while you're in Canon City!" That was such a comfort for me. This lady stayed with me until the ambulance came to take us to the hospital. She gave me a big hug before we left and her business card so she could be our family. I was seriously so touched at how caring these people were! Complete strangers taking the time out of their day to make sure this poor girl was going to be okay. 

We spent the day in the emergency room and thank goodness nothing too major was wrong. I had called the elders and they came to give Sis Elama a blessing. I really believe that the blessing worked miracles because she was in pretty bad shape when I first got to her. And she walked outta the ER with road rash and a dislocated thumb. That's it! She didn't have any signs of a concussion but she did bonk her head pretty hard. We had to take it easy for a few days since she wasn't feeling the greatest. But all this was such a testimony to me that Heavenly Father watches out for us. He will make sure we are okay.

I've been studying in Alma about the stripling warriors and it hit me that of all these 2000 stripling warriors, not a single one of them died. I imagine the wars in the Book of Mormon to be very gruesome, so the fact that they all survived is amazing! But, in Alma 57:25, it does mention that ALL of them were wounded. I realized that because of their strict obedience, faith, and trust in God...they were protected. They did not die. But they were wounded. Just as it can be for all of us in life. We are not promised a walk in the park. Life is going to be hard and we will be "wounded" many times with the trials we go through. But if we are obedient, faithful, and trust in God just as the stripling warriors did, we will NOT die. We will not be overcome by the devil or pushed too deep into sin. God promises to bless us when we obey, and God always keeps His promises. 

Sis. Elama was definitely wounded. But in a blessing given by the elders, we were all promised she would be okay. And this experience has brought us much closer as companions. I hate that she had to get so scraped up and that she has been in so much pain, but Heavenly Father knows what He is doing. We are protected and He has his angles round about us to keep us safe.

I hope you all can take some time to think of the ways Heavenly Father has blessed you this week! 

Love you all,

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Re pin Canon City, CO, YO!

These are my 2 mission "kids". Elder Liptrott from England and Sis Elama from Samoa

All of us on the Royal Gorge bridge with Pres. and Sis Rehm

HOME MEANS NEVAD!!!

Last P-day at the Royal Gorge Bridge~highest suspension bridge in the WORLD!... Dad would've loved it!

Look at this bridge, it is so scary high!

Us with Pres. and Sis Rehm

Sis. Firedancer told me what my spirit animal was this week!

The only wildlife we enjoyed this week was a giant tarantula. I learned some unfortunate news this week...so ya know how birds migrate when it gets cold? Well, apparently tarantulas migrate too. And, they migrate right through Canon City. We were driving down the highway to our appointment and there was a GIANT one in the middle of the road! Then when we got to our appointment, the family was like "You gotta come see this!" and sure enough, it was a giant tarantula. I took a picture, but these things have great camouflage. So look closely!

Anywho, it was a fantastic week. I am always amazed at how quickly the weeks go by! My companion is continuing to improve her English. One morning we were reading out of the missionary handbook and she said, "Champion Study" instead of "Companion Study" LOL! So now we have champion study every morning. And boy, let me tell ya! Champion study is so much fun. We learn like champs and prepare to teach like a champ. HAHA! Just kidding, but really. It's great.

This week we visited with Sis Firedancer again. She told my companion and me what our spirit animals are. She's such a cool native American lady! I absolutely love her. But, we were visiting and she was explaining the concept of spirit animals to us. I've heard from other missionaries that she is famous for telling you what your spirit animal is..and sure enough she assigned us a spirit animal. It was actually really interesting! She asked me a few questions about when I was younger and things I used to do...and she was spot on! It's like she knows me. haha! Then she continued to tell me my spirit animal and why. Get ready for it! My spirit animal is the DEER. I love it. She told me that deer are gentle and kind in all that they do. And, they are sure footed. They are one of the only animals that can run on rocks and still stay on their path. She also said that deer usually flee from danger or scary situations, but they know where to go. They know where it is safe and they go directly there. They have a destination and they will get there on the path they know. I thought this was all very interesting. I have a whole new love for deer and I appreciate their characteristics! Now I just gotta find an awesome shirt with a deer on it...My companion's spirit animal is the beaver! That was fun. She said a beaver is welcoming to all that come into her path and they will accept anyone as "family". They are loving and they feed everyone who comes to their home. With her Samoan culture, that fit her perfectly! So we are now the beaver/deer team.

I love the people I've met on my mission. I've been asked a lot recently what my favorite part about the mission has been, and it is by far the people I've met. The relationships I've formed and the things I learn from these people are priceless! Some of these people will be my lifelong friends. And, some of them I feel like I've known forever. It's fun to see who will be put in our path and how we can all change each other's lives. 

I am loving my mission and everything about it! This is the life! 

Love you all.

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Gotta Enjoy these Colorado sunflowers before the cold sets in!

Hiking on P-day

My district entered a sub sandwich eating contest... I definitely did not win!

Here is the Tarantula...migrating.  Amazing camouflage!

The weather has been gorgeous so we eat our lunch at the park.

This week I got a new scarf and it is called a live snake!

The wildlife of Colorado ceases to amaze me! I don't know if you'd really consider it wildlife though because these are people's pets...not necessarily wild animals. Last week I hugged a wolf. This week I got a new scarf and it is called a live snake! We were doing service for a less active lady and her son was telling us all about his pet snakes. Then they asked if we wanted to hold them! At first he brought down a baby snake that was not scary at all...maybe the size of a marker around. But then he kept bringing bigger and BIGGER snakes down! It was crazy. And I wanted to be a cool kid, so we all held the giant snakes and put them around our necks. It was quite the experience! These are things that I never expected to happen on my mission...but that's why I love it! I love the unexpected events. They keep life interesting and exciting! 

So, I got my new missionary this week! She is so great. Her name is Sister Elama and she is from SAMOA! She's so cool! I absolutely love Samoan people. She gave me a lavalava and she's been teaching me some things in Samoan! English is her second language, so sometimes we struggle to communicate. But, she is wonderful. I am excited to train her and get to know her better! I honestly think I'm learning more as a trainer than I have ever before. It's interesting because my weaknesses have been made very aware to me as I try and be the best example I can for Sis. Elama, but I have also felt an incredible power from above strengthening and enabling me. This past Sunday during sacrament, I really felt the enabling power of the Atonement. I've studied a lot about the atonement lately...about the redeeming power and the enabling power of the Atonement. Elder Bednar made a good point...he said that he feels people are all quite familiar with the redeeming power of the Atonement but we all have much more to learn about the enabling power of the Atonement. I am definitely not claiming to know everything about the enabling power of the Atonement because our mortal brains will never comprehend it all...but I am definitely learning a lot about it and feeling the enabling power of the Atonement working through me in my life as I grow into the missionary our Heavenly Father wants me to be. 

We got a flood of potential this week! I have been praying very fervently that we will be guided to someone to teach so that my new missionary can have the experience of teaching. And let me tell you everyone. Heavenly Father answers our prayers! Sometimes I stand back in awe at how He answers every single prayer. Among all my prayers, there was one day in particular that I asked Heavenly Father to bless us with a new investigator that very day. I was putting all my faith on the line and asking for a new investigator. And lo and behold, guess what happened!? We were out visiting people that missionaries in the past have written down as potential investigators. We came across one house and we were expecting to find a man because that's what the previous missionaries had written down. But to our surprise, it was a woman who answered the door! it was freezing outside and I was grateful for the low temperature because she invited us in to get out of the cold! No weather is bad weather on a mission :) so we had the chance to get to know her and teach her a little bit about God and Jesus Christ. We asked her if we could come back another time and teach her more because we had an appointment to go to and she said she would love to learn more! So we set up an appointment and she wrote it on her calendar. We are going back to teach her this week! This was an answer to my prayers! We are so excited to start teaching her.

Things are going great here and we have a lot of potential in this area right now. Hopefully in the next week or so this potential will turn into solid work for us! Life is wonderful and the Lord loves all of us. Have a blessed day! 

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Me and Sis. Elama~I am training her!

Playing fruit baseball with a pitch fork...only in Colorado!

Here is my new scarf! This snake is HUGE!!!

Here he is....

Wolves are very majestic creatures.

Wolves are very majestic creatures. They are quiet graceful but so powerful at the same time. Guess what y'all? I pet a real live wolf this week! In fact, I gave the wolf a hug. There is a lady in our ward who is full blooded Native American. She actually came from a reservation somewhere up in Canada. She might be one of the coolest people ever! Her name is Firedancer. We were over there chatting on her back porch with her when out of no where she says...."I've got a wolf in my side yard. Wanna see it?". I was actually really nervous at first! But, then her grandson brought the wolf out to us and I fell in love. Now I want a pet wolf! It was a white wolf and it had some indian name...I can't remember right now....but it was awesome! And Sister Firedancer is awesome. She's actually knitting me a blanket right now! There is never a dull moment here in Canon City!

We met a wonderful lady this week who we will begin teaching soon! We really clicked when we met. She is an older lady and very faithful in her Baptist church. But, she loves to listen and talk about Christ. It was fun to meet her because I felt like I've known her for a long time. We shared a lot of personal stories with each other and near the end of our visit, she said..."I want you young whippersnappers to call me Granny M!" I love and adore her so much already. My companion is getting transferred so she took us to get shakes at Sonic for a goodbye (even though she'd only known us for 1 day!). She has a hang up with Joseph Smith, but as we teach by the spirit, the Holy Ghost will testify to her and she will know that it is true.

My mind is super scattered and racing a million miles a minute because transfers are just crazy! I am getting my new companion tomorrow and she is fresh from the MTC. This is going to be a fun adventure with her. Keep her in your prayers because I remember the tough transition to the mission field. She could use all the strength and support she can get! 

The church is still true and the work is still moving forward. Hope y'all had a fantastic week!

xoxo

Sister Hoer

A member of our ward has a pet Wolf!

My district went bowling.

Majestic Wolf.

A wonderful family in our ward that takes great care of the missionaries.

The highlight of this week was definitely Friday when we got to go to the temple!

Time sure does fly when you're having fun! This week was so crazy busy, but so fantastic. We had a meeting with the zone about the basics and how we can help our investigators. Our mission president focused on how we need to teach the Godhead simply. Because if these people can understand what we know about the Godhead, they will feel God's love and have a greater desire to follow His Son. I am excited to start using this method with those we are teaching!

The highlight of this week was definitely Friday when we got to go to the temple! We have been working with a recent convert who was baptized right before I got to this area. She is so awesome and so solid in her testimony. After they are baptized, we try and get them to the temple as soon as possible to do baptisms for the dead! So we got permission to accompany our recent convert to the temple on Friday. It was such a glorious day.

I haven't been to the temple for a very long time and I absolutely loved going back. There is such a special spirit in the temple and on the temple grounds. I was amazed at how strong the spirit was as we did the baptisms and confirmations. I could feel the excitement of the people in the spirit world as they watched their work being done! The work of salvation is clearly hastening here on Earth, but it's also hastening on the other side. I can't wait to get to heaven and meet some of these people. Our recent convert had a wonderful experience as well. It was neat to see how touched she was by the spirit as well. We had a long drive home after the temple and we were able to talk a lot about the experience we all just shared. It was so awesome to hear how this really strengthened her testimony. And, she is so excited to go back and do more! She is anxious to bring a male next time so she can do the work for her father. That is going to be a special experience.

We are so blessed to have temples. My testimony of the temple sure did grow stronger this week. It is such a holy place and so many sacred things happen there. When I get home, I am going to the temple as much as I possibly can. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I wasn't allowed to go whenever I wanted! But we are blessed to have temples close by and to have access to them. So everyone! Go to the temple! There is nothing you can lose from spending a nice day at the temple.

I am loving the things I am learning here on my mission. My personal study hour has become very sacred to me. It's amazing what the spirit can teach you when you ask for his help to learn and open your mind to further understanding. Heavenly Father has so much knowledge and He is so willing to share with us! We just need to do our part and study, ponder, and pray to know.

I love you all and hope you had a fantastic week!

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Denver Temple~ With a recent convert

Doing service for Grandma "M"

pedicures last p-day

A car rammed into our car that was parked causing a 3 car pile up! Crazy!

My Zone

Doing work among the dead...wait...in a Cemetery? (and it's raining...creepy!)

The mission is such a valuable time for growth and learning. Sometimes it feels like the Lord is making me stretch and reach for the highest apple on the tree. But, once I reach it and exert all my efforts, the reward is so sweet. That crisp apple that I worked so hard for definitely pays off. When I reflect on my week, I realize the great gems of knowledge and experience that I've gained. And, sometimes I'm baffled that so much happened in just one week! There are definitely some great treasures being added to my eternal treasure chest.

This week I learned so much! I feel like I have really improved on how to have effective studies in the morning and to learn through the spirit. It's amazing what the spirit will reveal to you or what you can learn when you have help from above. One thing that has made a world of a difference is pondering. Even though we are limited to one hour for personal study, it's important that we take the time to ponder what we have read or learned! I've noticed that when I'm pondering is usually when the spirit speaks to me. I was studying one day this week with a question in mind: What can we do to rekindle the fire within these people who have fallen away from the church? I learned so much from what I studied. I read in Mosiah 4 and it was pretty much an outline for what we can do to gain a testimony. One thing that stood out to me the most was about how joyful the people were once they had repented and felt forgiveness for their sins. That was my answer. If we can get these people to repent for the things they are doing and really use the ATONEMENT, they will feel that fire within them start to burn. I don't know how anyone could NOT feel a fire burning within them after using the Atonement and feeling the sweet forgiveness provided by Jesus Christ. I think that is why the people were so joyful after they repented. They felt the burden of guilt lifted and they also had the opportunity to let the Atonement work through them. I've learned heaps more, but I'm excited to use what I've learned with the people we are working with!

There is one lady in particular that I am really excited about. We got her name and address from a member in the other ward, but he said he feels that the time is appropriate that we go visit her. She is a single mother with a one year old son who just moved to our side of town. When we visited her, she was super friendly and we chatted for quite a while. She told us that she really feels it is time that she goes back to church. Thank goodness we came when we did because she told us she was gonna try out the Christian church down the street! She was baptized when she was 13 but she said she never really understood anything. We are going to start teaching her tonight and helping her understand the basics of the gospel. As she understands the basic principles of the gospel, she will then start to change her behavior. She's already on the right track, but we are definitely here to help her along. I'm always amazed at the divine timing of the Lord. Originally when we were knocking on her door, she wasn't home. So we tried a couple times and took a moment to write a note to leave on her door. Then before we left, my companion pointed out a major wardrobe malfunction that I had going on, so we took another few moments to fix that problem. So when all was done we were getting in the car and literally backing out of her driveway when she pulled in out of no where and gave us a friendly honk on the horn. We got out and that's when we started to chat. My companion and I were talking and laughing about how if we didn't write a note or have that wardrobe malfunction, we probably would have missed her by just 1 minute. Things worked out great and the Lord is making sure we take care of His daughter.

It's seriously such an exciting time to be a missionary. Great things are happening and I am learning more than I ever thought was even possible. The church is true. There's nothing better than that sweet simple sentence right there.

xoxo

Sister Hoer

Manitou Springs hike on my P-day

I made a new friend

Doing work among the dead...wait...in a Cemetery?  (and it's raining...creepy!)

This is literally this homes door bell.