Despues de Navidad!

Dear fam,

It was real great to see all of your faces and hear you laugh and Dominic the Donkey and everything. It was awesome and exactly what I needed. Guess what? I finally got my package and I LOVE it! I love everything. The tights will never get to leave the apartment but that´s okay cuz I´ll use them in there all the time. I come home and put them on because they are super comfortable. I wore my polyester dress yesterday and I don´t know what the makers were thinking when they put that belt on there cuz it´s the size of a 12 year old´s waist and doesn’t fit mine but I replaced it with my white belt so it´s all good. I´m wearing the red skirt right now and i love it. So enough with my presents, cuz they were awesome, let´s talk about the rest.

So I had a bunch of awesome cool food and whatnot and it was great! I had pig leg stuffed with carrots and almonds and raisins and it was great. Fruit sauce and apple salad and sprouts covered in mole and a shrimp cake and it was great! We had an awesome lunch with Hermana Susuki and she was really impressed that dad wrote her in Spanish. Navidad here is super fun! I´m kind of in love with Mexico. We got to go to the center of Coyoacan and it was beautiful. Pinatas hung everywhere in a giant park with people selling authentic mexican stuff not made in china, it was great! My house when I get home and have my own house will be chock full of mexican stuff because I am just loving it so much here! I hope my future will accept the fact that I´m gonna be half mexian from now on cuz thats whats coming!

The work is really slow around this time of year but it´s worth the time that we wait and spend running around to help people come unto Christ. I am having lots and lots of fun and I can´t wait to let you know everything about it! I´ll try and set up the pics right now. Just know that I am alive, happy, healthy and enjoying every minute. Love you guys!!!

¡¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!

Dear Fam and rest of the world,
¡¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!
Have a happy American Christmas and I´ll have a great mexican one. I hope you enjoy the snow for those of you who get some and a happy green one for those who don´t. Have some hot coco and a bunch of candy canes and whatnot. I´ll explode pinatas for you guys and burn in the sun. It´s gonna be great! Lots of Good wishes and Happy Holidays from me to you!

So with that part overwith, I´ll tell ya´ll about my very interesting week. So this week I did quite a bit of running..... First off we went to our Navideña dinner with the ward that started late so we ended up booking it through the metro to catch the camion ontime and get home by 9. Next we had our awesome Christmas party where we got to play sports which includes running and had a white elephant, I got the luck of recieving a lobstar covered tie and it was great. Later this week we had two run ins with processions of walking around with the saints and Maria chanting and whatnot. Twice this week we visited some members and as we walked out the door we looked behind us and there was a bunch of people with their saints and their priests shouting and chanting. So we booked it from their cuz who knows if they´d be all that happy with two white missionaries with Books of Mormon in hand interupting their march. Then there was today running around to find Christmas presents for the little paper tree we´ve got in the house. All in all, it was a blast.

It´s a little late to be learning this but I just want you all to know that the scriptures are really an amazing gift that the Lord has given us. Personally, this week I gained some more love for the scriptures because they really apply to our lives. This weeks chapter that I feel in love with was 2 nephi 32. give it a read if you can!

Christmas is such a special time of year where we can express our love of the Savior by giving Him a gift this year. I would like to invite each of you this next week to find someone to serve as a gift to our Lord and Savior this year. He has done everything for us so the least we can do is serve someone else this Chrsitmas season. So take a moment and serve someone! Thanks!
I love you all and hope you have the best Holidays! The Gospel is true and the Lord loves us all!
Lots of love,
Hermana Hyer

Semana 17

Dear Fam,

You guys are literally the luckiest to be having snow right now. I wish I could stand in a snowstorm and just stick my tongue out to catch some snowflakes. That would be soooooo awesome. But instead I get a hot green Christmas. At least it´s not a brown Christmas becuase those aren´t any fun at all. Go do some wicked Skiing for me and we´ll see how tan I get being in the sun all Christmas. Also send some hellos and how are yous to Jack. That´s NUTZ that he is already home. cuz it didnt feel that long ago that he left...  Looks like time flies when you are preaching the Gospel.

So recap of this week, We got a bunch done. Lots of stuff happened like teaching new people and finally finding a family that wants to listen to us. They have a bunch of questions, especially the mom of the family because she´s christian and they believe a bunch of the same things we do. Down to explaining how a baptism should be and how it should have the priesthood authority and everything. So she could be a tough one when all is said and done but we´ll see if the Book of Mormon and the Spirit can change her heart, which i have zero doubt that they can so it´ll be great. 

Something huge here in mexico is Catholicism. It´s a big deal and Saturday was the day that they celebrate the Virgin Maria Guadalupe. So what happens is all the Catholics get together and have a big parade and shoot off fireworks literally all day and sometimes they march in the streets to the Basilica to go to misa and celebrate her birthday. Mary is a huge deal here. There are lots and lots of littel altars to her all around the city. Needless to say we were homebound at 5pm Saturday. It was pretty cool.

Also the Tiahuana temple just got dedicated yesterday and that was a cool experience to see. Uctdorf came and dedicated the temple and he said something really awesome that I´d like to share. He said that having a temple reccommend is basically our test of how we know if we are walking before God with all our hearts becasue the temple questions test our moral character of how much we are following Him. It is so true. I know that if we have the temple as our goal and are always worthy of a temple reccomend we can know that our Heavenly Father is pleased with us. So I invited you all again to have a temple reccommend and use it all the time. Please? Thank you all for writing me. The Church is true and the Savior loves each of us. The Plan of Happiness is indeed to make us happy and I know that the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us is real. 

Have an excellent week!

love,

Hermana Hyer

Semana 16

Dear Fam,

So this week was interesting. I´m finding more and more that I like Mexico and that maybe I´m not going to want to go home. We found some fun things and had some great experiences and it was a fun week.

One of our investigators was a missionary this week and it was probably the coolest thing I´ve ever seen. His name is Luis and he loves the Book of Mormon so much that he reads whatever we give him to read immediately and went so far as to give his small testimony to the random lady who walked by and now we have a new investigator because he shared his love of the Book of Mormon with someone. It´s so great to see this book changing lives. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a missionary and see changes in people´s lives. I just hope this mission will change my life for the better. With all the new experiences I am having I know that I will change if I allow the Lord to change me.

Love you all so much and Hope you have a great week!
Hermana Hyer

Semana 15

Hey fam!!!

So, im hoping you still have some of that crazy fabric.... cuz I´d love some of those tights if its possible. So, I also loved the book that you sent me. That picture book honestly made my week. Thanksgiving was definitely not thanksgiving this year but I think I´ll be okay as long as I can keep finding cool stuff to think about other than the holidays.

So, actually, I made a mistake this last week. Hermana Goulding is from California, not arizona. Don´t ask me why I thought that she was from Arizona because I can´t remember enough to tell you. And so you know what this all means? I am the one who knows the most spanish right now and it’s kind of a really scary thing because I don´t know a whole lot!!! So, it´s a little bit of a challenge but we are working through it. So guess what my biggest temptation now is? To speak english in the house all of the time because she will actually understand me. The struggle is real. Because if I talk to her in English she will never understand spanish or learn it like she needs too. But I´ve got it covered I think........ We´ll be alright.

This week was also interesting in the fact that we have miracles that are happening with our less actives. One pair of less actives that I never ever thought would come back came to church yesterday and it was amazing. I love this work! No matter how hard it can sometimes be the Lord always puts in something I can see as a miracle and a blessing every day. I love being on a mission!!! Thank you for all of your prayers, because I can feel them. You all are just such a great support that I can never thank you enough.
Lots and Lots of Holiday love and Cheers!!!
Hermana Hyer

Semana 14

So guess what, Remember how I told you all that Hermana Chavez was my companion? Psych!!! She´s not my companion anymore as of an hour ago. I am now the new companion of Hermana Goulding from Arizona. Why? Because I am literally the only English speaking sister that is considered capable enough to take on a new challenge, i.e. teaching Spanish to my new companion. What happened was that Hermana Goulding was assigned to Hermana Sanchez who speaks no english, so their communication has been really really terrible, to the point that neither of them could handle it anymore and we had special transfers today. It´s all just so exciting. A new challenge at every front but the President thinks I can handle it so everything will be just fine.

This week was crazy too because we had a zone conference and intercambios with the sister training leaders and it was really great. I learned a whole bunch about how the mission field should be like and now am working to help my ward reach that level of effectiveness. I gotta say that all of this responsibility worried me at first but now everything is just fine. All I need to do is work my hardest and do my best and then the Lord will help me with the rest. My refuge from the scriptures this week was Doctrine and Covenants 127:4. It´s applied more to temples but I switched it around a bit to fit my new and exciting situation. I suggest that if any of you are struggling, to read it, cuz it´s awesome.

So, this week is Thanksgiving for you all and guess what? That holiday doesn´t exist here in Mexico. I hope you all have fun with all the cool traditions that we have as a family and I hope you will eat a whole lot of Dad´s chunky mashed potatoes for me (cuz i really miss them.) Please take lots of pictures for me so I can see the whole family having lots of fun. And eat honey baked ham, cuz it´s the best. And eat pie, cuz a real pie doesn´t exist here either.

Just remember that I love all of you and feel your prayers. Thanks for all the love and support!

Love,

Hermana Hyer

D&C 127:4

 And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven.

Semana 13

Dear fam,

This week has literally been a rollercoaster. We have not had a normal day the entire week and I´m kinda feeling like it´s opposition from my favorite adversary, Satan. He´s trying really really hard to pull me down right now but there is no way on earth I´m going to let him do it. Sorry Satan, but my missionary work will continue no matter what you throw at me.

Anyways, Guess what? I´m training a brand spankin new missionary. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screaming aside, It´s pretty awesome to say the least. Her name is Hermana Chavez and she is from El Salvador. Which is straight up awesome. She is totally prepared to be a missionary and although working out is not her strong point because she didn’t do much exercise at home, I´m helping her become stronger physically while she is helping me be better spiritually. She´s literally a blessing to have as a companion. We get along super well and she is really patient with my not perfect Spanish. She´s a little bit shorter than me which was quite a surprise to say the least cuz I am definitely not tall at all. We´re pretty much the best companions ever if I do say so myself.

In other news, Hermana Escoto and Hermana Sanchez both were transferred. So that means that Hermana Villafranca is still here in Educacion and is training a new missionary too. Her name is Hermana Ruiz and is from Chihuahua Mexico. She’s paler than I am and speaks English but her native language is Spanish. We all work really well together.

Sorry to cut it short but that´s literally all the time I´ve got for today. Because as a trainer I have to report how my trainee is doing to the President in full detail. It´s kinda eats up my hour but all is well. Just remember that I love all of you and am praying for you! Keep having fun at home and I promise to have a blast here preaching the Gospel. Love you guys!

Hermana Hyer

Semana 12

So my fate has been decided. I´m still gonna be here in Educacion but Hermana Escoto is being transferred. I´m writing early because we have to be at the church at 3  o'clock sharp for transfers. Unfortunately, that is literally all I know. I have no idea if I´ll be training or if I´ll get a normal companion, or if I will be the Senor or the Junior companion and whatnot. They just don´t tell you until you get there. SO, next week we will have more information on who I´m with and what on earth I´ll be doing. A mission is a crazy ride, but I´m loving it.

This week was interesting in the fact that I´m getting more and more comfortable with speaking in Spanish. Sometimes I even start thinking in Spanish which is a really good sign because if I can skip the whole translating process from what im hearing in Spanish to English and what I want to say from English to Spanish, life is gonna be a whole lot easier. So to help that I have put my faith in President Gordon B. Hinckley´s promise and am reading the entire Book of Mormon in Spanish, from cover to cover. He promised that if I do so I will be fluent in Spanish and thats the goal so let the marathon commence.

As a missionary I have a ton of responsibilities and part of my everyday work is to help all of the menos activos gain testimonies and return to the fold. In this aspect the fact that each of us has agency sometimes is really frustrating for me. I just want them all to feel the same way I feel about the Gospel and make ém go to church but that is not the way that it works at all. All I can do is try and bring the Holy Ghost into a lesson to touch their hearts and help them change but if they choose to accept it or not is not my choice at all. But I have also learned that as long as I do my part, the Lord will help with the rest. His timing is better than mine and so I just need to be patient.

I love you guys so much! Keep on working hard at home and I´ll keep on working hard here in Mexico! Have a great week!

Hermana Hyer

Semana 11

     Life´s pretty great out here in the mission field. I´m loving it. Hermana Escoto and I have gotten to the point that we basically know what each other is thinking. Which is awesome and sad because next week is Transfers again and we´re 99% positive that she is gonna go somewhere else because she´s been in the area for 7 1/2 months, which is over a third of her mission... So she´s a gonner. Which is really sad cuz I love her to pieces but I guess I´ll deal with it. Also, Transfers are extra scary this time because I might be called to train a new missionary because we have a bunch of new sisters coming. Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!! But I know that if I´m called to train, I´ll end up being alright cuz the Lord will be helping me all the way through.

     Question Answering Time!

Missionary work is finally picking up over here in Educacion. I still get to teach English a little bit to the Hermanas and the Kids but we don´t have class every day. Only three times a week because it was starting to get in the way of our proselyting time and we can´t really cut back on that. We have some great investigators right now. Three of which surprised us by coming to church yesterday of their own accord. It was a well needed miracle and one that proves that the Lord is listening to our prayers!!! We are also seeing miracles in our less actives and they are the ones who are most excited to come and teach lesson with us. It´s awesome.

     Yes I finally ended up getting all of my warm clothes and they all fit great. I am so warm and snug that I will be just fine from here on out. Thank you very much! And yes I am receiving your pouch mail quotes too. They really help lift me up and make my week all the better. Mail comes in spurts so I never know if I´ll get anything or when it will come. It´s all depends on the Mexico Mail System and how on top of things my Zone leaders are. But if there´s one thing I´ve learned is that you guys have got my back so when it comes it comes and I will be happy in the mean time.

     I do quite a bit of service in the ward but not because we are forced to. Serving the members is the easiest way to get them to trust us with references of their friends and get them to come with us to lessons with investigators. We also spend time teaching others to home teach because it doesn´t exist here. So we serve where we can and when we can literally all the time.

     Events of the week basically boil down to Halloween. We, the Hermanas, decided to put on a Halloween activity and for once it turned out to be a huge success. The last activity that we put on maybe 15 people showed up out of our entire ward. Needless to say we were pretty sad but we didn´t give up hope. This time we had basically a party with food and games to unite our ward. It was supposed to start at 5 but here people tend to be an hour or more late so we ended up starting around 6:15. What´s worse and then turned out for the best was that we invited President Mecham and his wife and they actually came. That first hour was pretty nerve racking when nobody showed up and it was just us, the mission president, 2 investigators and 1 less active. Fortunately a whole bunch of people showed up and we had a blast. It was literally so much fun and everyone thanked us afterwards and helped us clean up. It was so awesome.

     So here for Día de Muertos everything basically boils down to be similar to our Halloween. The kids dress up and paint their faces and everything and run around in the evening asking for candy at every store and house that they can find. Except their costumes are a whole lot more ghoulish than what we usually have at home. They have lots and lots of really terrible masks that the kids like to wear. They also set up altars with food of the deceased´s favorites and flowers and sugar skulls. It´s pretty cool. The pics hopefully will help explain a little bit more.

     So there you have it. I finally am beginning to feel like a real missionary and although my Spanish still needs some work I can communicate better every day. Life as a missionary is pretty great! Thanks for all the support and love. I love you guys and pray for you every day!!!

Love,

Hermana Hyer

Semana 10

Dear Fam,

     So guess what? I still love you guys. Even though you are really far away. And I´m sorry I´m not so great at responding to questions so that´s what I´m going to do right now, first thing. So Hurricane Patricia I had not even heard about until this week from the members. Just goes to show how little of the world I actually get to see/ know about/ hear the news that´s important to my life in Mexico. We haven´t been hit by Her at all. No crazy rain or winds or storms or anything. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.   Let´s just say I´m super duper blessed cuz apparently she´s wreaking havoc all across the coast of Mexico and in the US too. 

     Cultural note and warning for all who do not enjoy creepy things that appear to come from the devil. If you are one of those people who doesn´t like gorey zombie and flesh rotting stuff at every corner you walk/ house that you visit, do not visit Mexico during October or the Day of the Dead. Just don´t do it. It´s our Halloween but way more intense. Here in Mexico people like to dress up like creatures from the underworld with face paint that honestly makes them look like the mutilated creatures they want to be. It´s literally a horror show at every store / street corner we pass that sells the masks and costumes. The members of the Church don´t really celebrate Day of the Dead because it´s a tradition that includes making elaborate altars for the people that they loved that have died. Extravagant flower settings with all types of food and drinks and cigars and whatever the person the altar is dedicated to enjoyed while they were alive. We haven´t been notified if we´ll be stuck more hours indoors the 1st and 2nd of November or not. Next week I´ll send some pics of what I end up observing this week. But the upside of Day of the Dead is Pan de Muertos cuz it´s delicious.

    So my adventure of the week is I have learned the hard way that you never, ever, eat tortas al Pastor from the Metro. My lovely sisters will understand when I say that one bowl a day keeps the (fill in the blank) away... Yeah, that happened to me. It was pretty horrific. But I survived and learned a very valuable lesson that I will keep with me the rest of my mission. So I´m grateful for the experience.

     I also learned this week that I can be an effective missionary on my own. We had an activity that we went on splits with members form the Estrella ward and I was left on my own to lead two members out into the field looking for the less actives. To start with I was really worried that I wasn´t gonna be able to do it but as soon as we got going my hardcore Hyer part of me kicked in and I lead those sisters with the power and authority of a real missionary. It was probably the coolest thing that´s happened yet. So, I´m gonna be just fine when I finish my training.

     Love you all and I hope you have an excellent week! Go have some fun!

Hermana Hyer

Semana 9

Dear Fam Fam,

     I´m doubly jealous that you guys got some sweet mountain biking in this week. Oh how I miss riding my bike! It´s funny what you miss when you no longer have the option to do something. For right now I´m craving a nice bike ride or an hour in the pool but for now missionary work will keep me happy.
     So, I finally received one of your packages, the one with the leggings and just in time too because it’s getting really cold again. And it´s not just me that´s getting cold. We had a run in with President Mecham yesterday and he and his wife were just as bundled up as I was. Sister Mecham even commented that she never thought she would get cold in Mexico. Me neither but it is what it is. Mexico City acts a lot like home. One day it´s scorching hot and the next it’s really cold. The thing that´s missing is the mountains. Cuz I have a really hard time knowing which direction is which without my mountains as a point of reference. I´m surrounded by cement, cement, and more cement, which doesn´t help me figure out where I am in the slightest. But I´m sure I´ll get it one day.
    So this week, was the final week of our beloved Hermana Cordova. She left at 4AM this morning for her mission in Chiapas. Best of luck to her cuz it apparently is scorching hot there all of the time. Which I would not be able to handle all that well.
     So, remember how I used to tell you guys about my investigators? Well, I´m learning that a lot of people reject the Gospel. These past couple of weeks have been basically one rejection after another until finally we have found some people who are more open to the Gospel. There’s a car shop that recently we have been spending a lot of time in. We have three investigators that are part of the same family but are all grown up so we teach them all separately. Plus in our spare time waiting for them to show up I paint the door of the garage and we teach more people that Hermano Martin (the boss who doesn´t want anything to do with the gospel) invites into the garage for us to teach. He´s basically a generator for new investigators and it´s such a blessing. So just know that amoungst all of the hard work that it is to be a missionary, we´re having some fun too. And that´s the way it´s supposed to be. Developing relationships with new people every day and getting to know them is super fun and bringing the Gospel into their lives is undoubtably the best part. I love my mission!
    Thanks for all the continued love and support! You guys are the best!}
Love,
Hermana Hyer

Semana 8

Welp, it´s that time of the week again where I get to try and describe to you all of the happenings I can remember of the week, upload photos, and basically try not to explode from all the love I receive from home. I love you guys so much!!! Your encouragement is something I look forward to every week.

So, here´s the haps of the week.

First off, Monday of last week we had cake and ice cream after district meeting because it was the President´s birthday! Which was cool, i have to admit. He´s pretty awesome. The following morning I had an interview with him and it was really nice to speak some English for thirty minutes, well, more like hear it. He told me a bunch of stories about his mission and that he´s really impressed with how good my Spanish is in this small amount of time. That was really nice to hear. Looks like I´m doing pretty well!

Wednesday Hermana Escoto and I went to the temple to buy some new g´s for her cuz she´s basically worn out the ones she has. I was feeling a little weird that day and found out the next that it´s because I got sick. I got something they call "gripa" which is basically a nasty head cold and a sore throat combined. Stuffy nose and itchy throat made sleeping that night near impossible. But now I´m fine. I used some of my Alertec and whatnot but the drugs that they gave me here seemed to work better. I´m super grateful for the opportunity I had to be sick though cuz it gave Hermana Escoto an opportunity to serve me. Unfortunately for her, she caught this nasty bug and has been definitely worse off than I am. But she´s doing better as well so all is good.

Also, I hit my third month mark on Thursday and may I just say, I am super blessed to have some awesome sisters that I get to work with, laugh with, and basically have an awesome time with. They all pooled together a bit of cash and found for me a lovely little TMNT pillow and gave it to me on this occasion. Super thoughtful and kind! I love them lots.

I have also had the grand opportunity of doing some service while I´ve been out here. This week I whitewashed a garage door and changed a tire. Next week I´ll be cleaning some windows and painting part of a house. All of these activities are part of our efforts to unify our ward cuz they are not as much of a family as our ward at home. We´ll be bringing members to other member´s houses to serve in order to boost the dangerously low levels of love amongst the ward.

Speaking of service, I´d like to challenge each of you who end up reading this letter to find a way to serve somebody you know this week and then write me about it next week. I know that performing service helps each of us come closer to Christ and closer as a family of God´s children. So do it and get back to me alright? Thanks!

I love you all so much and I know that the Gospel truly blesses each of our lives in ways that we sometimes don´t see but that we definitely feel.
Until next week!

Love,
Hermana Hyer

Semana, Conference weekend (What number is this?)

So things are a little bit of a rollercoaster right now with the companionships in my area and conference and Hermana Escoto´s ankle and whatnot. Let´s just say this week was a little dramatic but it wasn´t anything we couldn´t handle.

First, background info: Up until this week there have only been four missionaries in my area, me, Hermana Escoto, Hermana Sanchez, and Hermana Villafranca, and we were/are basically the best power quartet of missionaries ever. We always have lunch together at the member´s houses have had a grand ole time with them. I have made it through my first six weeks of training and so I have to have a test. And this week was week one through our new transfers.

So, Tuesday strikes and I find out that I´m going to have a test on how to be a missionary and basically panic. I have never been so nervous for an exam in my entire life, including finals for college, and I´ve come to understand that this test really is the only one that matters because it tests how good of a missionary I am and how much I know about the Gospel and the skills I may or may not possess in sharing the word in a simple manner with others. So naturally, I was very very very nervous for this test. As you can tell from this email, I am alive, I made it through the test and they didn´t send me home. As it turns out it wasn´t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Obviously, I still have a lot to learn but as of right now all is well with me in the missionary world.

Friday comes and Hermana Sanchez and Hermana Villafranca recieve their third missionary to complete the trio. Her name is Hermana Cordova from Ecuador and she is not part of our mission but her residency permit has not arrived so she can´t leave DF and so she is stuck here with us. She´s great and I love her but the other Hermanas are having a harder time accepting her. Which is sad but I don´t know if she acts the same in the house so my opinion is pretty much void on the subject but whatever. We are now five sisters in a small area.

Hermanas Escoto (Honduras), Sanchez (Mexico), Villafranca (Honduras), Cordova (Ecuador) & Hyer

Saturday begins conference and guess what? I listened to all of conference in Spanish that day. Yup. All of the Gringo Elders got to listen to conference in English and I was in Spanish because I am the only English speaking sister missionary in my stake and I cannot sit in the room full of Elders without another sister with me. But I´m not bitter about it at all because I actually understood 90% of what was said and so I´m pretty proud of myself. After the first session the Elders informed me that there was indeed another female member present in the English session but it didn´t matter because I enjoyed my time in Spanish. We watched the second session at Mama Susuki´s house and I enjoyed a second testimony to the fact that I am getting so much better at Spanish!

Sunday I got to watch all of Conference in English and was particularly struck by the talk about ponderizing. First let me say that all of us English speaking missionaries got a kick of trying to figure out how on earth they were going to translate that talk into Spanish but they did just fine from what my companion tells me. On the spiritual side of this talk it was basically an answer to a prayer and question I have had for a long time. My goal is to follow the advice and "meditezar" a passage of scripture every week. My goal this week is John 14:12-14. I´ll let you know what I´ve come up with next week! And I promise to go over more of my conference thoughts as the weeks progress. I´ll get a copy of the Liahona next month with everything in English and we´ll see how I did at understanding everything.

My nickname is brujita which means little witch in spanish.

I love you guys so much and can´t wait to hear from you again next week! The Gospel is true and I know that it changes lives. I hope you will share how it´s changed yours with me sometime soon!
Love,
Hermana Hyer

After cleaning the church the bishop took us out for monster sandwiches.

Semana 6 en el campo

My fate has been decided and I get to stay here in Educacion with my missionary mom Hermana Escoto. What a relief! Because of some of the things that have unfolded this week I am so glad and now understand why certain things happened before I arrived here in Mexico and why I needed to have Hermana Escoto as my trainer.

Reason numero uno has to do with a lovely situation that happened to me at college. Remember how I twisted my ankle? Well as I remember it, it happened for literally no reason. I was just running. Nobody touched me, pushed me, was anywhere near me or anything. It just happened. Well, I am here to tell you that I have discovered the reason I needed to twist my ankle. It´s because my lovely trainer Hermana Escoto twisted hers this past Thursday and I know how to take care of it. That is the reason I needed to have that happen to me: so I could help somebody else. I´m finding that that is the reason that many trials happen in my life, it´s so I can be prepared to help others through theirs.

So Thursday she twisted her ankle, Friday we went to the doctor and found out that she had indeed twisted her ankle. We also had an activity as a ward where we watched Meet the Mormons and it was great because two of our investigators came and the inactive that we have been teaching came too. It was great!

So Hermana Escoto can´t walk a whole lot so we´ve been taking it a little bit easier these past5 couple of days and it´s working out well. My only fear is that one of these days her foot will say "no more" while we are in the middle of our area with no one to help us out. But I know that the Lord takes care of us and so that´s not going to happen. I´m pretty sure I´ll forget how to walk fast by the end of this though... Just kidding. We´ll be just fine.

So I did get to watch Women´s conference and it was really interesting to see in Spanish. The hymns are all in english. They don´t change the lyrics to spanish for us and to hear everything in spanish is a bit weird. I miss hearing Uchdorf´s voice for real but it´s cool to see how much I understand in Spanish. I´m doing pretty great at translating all of my notes and such into spanish too. It´s an adventure!

A mission is an adventure, that´s for sure but I know that I´m here to help everyone come unto Christ. The Gospel is true and the love of our Heavenly Father is real!

I love you guys!

Hermana Hyer

Semana 5... Transfers so soon?!?

So this week was crazy schedule wise. We had pretty much everything turned upside-down. We didn´t have a district meeting on Monday like we usually do because we had a Zone conference on Thursday which threw our weekly planning off until Friday and I had Intercambios on wednesday and switched with one of the Sister Training Leaders and proselyted in a different area for a day. Needless to reemphasize but I´m going to anyway, this week was crazy.

And, next week is Transfers.... dun dun duuuunnnnn!!!!! Next Sunday I find out if I stay or go or if I change companions or not.... Oh my word, I´m a little worried for transfers because I´m worried that we will change areas and the work has finally picked up here and I really don´t want to leave. But, if I have to, I´ll accept it. The Lord knows better than I where I need to be.

Also as kind of a side note, I´m teaching English. Yup, I´m teaching my companion, the other 2 Hermanas and Hermano and Hermana Serrano English. It´s kinda challenging but it´s also super fun!!! It´s helping me understand Spanish a bit more too because I have to know the rules of Spanish to explain the rules of English in a way that they can understand. English is really weird... We do lots of things that don´t make any sense. But whatever, the important bit is that I am teaching! Yay!!!

Also, I ride in something called a mototaxi sometimes and I´ve supplied a picture so that you can see what they look like. Please Mom, remember that I am safe and protected here in Mexico. Thanks!!!

I love you guys so much!! The gospel is true, I love all of you and I can´t wait to tell you all about next week!

Lots of Love,

Hermana Hyer

Semana Cuatro

So, highlights of this week, we finally have investigators, Hallelujah!!! We have two who have accepted baptismal dates and are progressing. It´s so awesome! One of them, (Enrique) reminds me of Dee every time we meet with him. He looks exactly like I think Dee will look like when he is the age of Enrique. Francisco is the other one and he is pretty great as well! I am so happy to be teaching more and more!

As for the whole temple dealio that went down this weekend, it was amazing. Like, really really awesome. We got to go and watch the Cultural celebration which was broadcasted at the Capilla (chapel) and it was really cool. It was a play about how the Gospel came to Mexico and about how it flourish and what they sacrificed to have a temple here because before the closest temple was in Arizona and they saved for years and years to go to the temple to be sealed. It was really cool to watch. We also had the opportunity to go to two of the three temple dedicatory sessions which were also broadcast to the capilla. It was so beautiful!!! Both President Eyring and Elder Holland were there directing the procession and they gave really inspiring talks. They both had translators but Elder Holland began and ended both of his talks in spanish which was really cool and I learned that some of President Eyring´s family lived here in Mexico for a long time.

Now, please pay attention to the following knowledge I gained by attending these sessions.

So, temple work is extremely important. I knew that it was very important before but now I know more about why and I will share my knowledge with you. Elder Holland gave a very interesting talk that gripped my attention like no other. He talked about the coming of Elijah and the importance thereof. When the church was being restored the Angel Moroni quoted a specific portion of scripture from the Bible about the coming of Elijah. In our canon of scripture the same words are found in all four of the standard works:

+Malachi 4:5-6

+Doctrine and Covenants Section 2

+Joseph Smith History 1:37-38

+3 Nephi 25:5-6

These words are that important that the same words are repeated in each of the four standard works. Think about that. It´s as if the Lord is telling giving us four chances to read them so we can´t miss them. Elijah was important because he held the keys to sealing all of the works of the priesthood on Earth. Without this sealing power the world would be "utterly wasted at His (Christ´s) coming". The importance of temple work is manifest in these scriptures and in something else Elder Holland said. He said that we have been saved for this time to do the work for our ancestors and provide them with all the saving ordinances that we have the privilege of receiving for ourselves. He also said that we promised in the premortal existence to save our ancestors by doing the work for them. So, the invitation for you guys this week is to go to the temple and save our ancestors, Please!!! I don´t get the opportunity to go to the temple and do work for them but you do, so please do it! If not for yourselves, do it for me and for them.

I love you all and the Gospel is true!!!

Hermana Hyer

Semana Tres en el campo

Hey fam, guess what I found on my adventures here in Mexico? No, it´s not the cartel or anything crazy like that. It´s the amazing wonders of fruit! I found Liche fruit here and it´s pretty awesome. I don´t know if I´m remembering correctly but I believe that this fruit is one of the favors that Dad got in Maui for the shave ice and it was really good. So, I found the real thing and it´s pretty yummy! Also, I found yet again our favorite oranges that are not orange. Let it be known to the world that the oranges in America are a lie and that the rest of the world has yellow or green rind oranges instead of orange! Now off of that soap box and onto another: I also found that here in Mexico, Trix cereal is shaped correctly! Halleluah since i will be eating lots and lots of cereal in the coming year and a half.

So as promised, here is a normal day, I chose September 1st as my example,

6:25am Alarm goes off and we roll out of bed for individual and companionship prayers.

6:30am begin your daily exercise.

7:00am Turn on the boiler, shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast.

8:00am Pray and begin personal study, pray again

9:00am Pray as a companionship and begin studying together. Study for 2 hours because I’m in training. Pray again.

11:00am Pray. Begin Language study which consists of me trying to teach my companion how to speak English.

12:00pm Pray and leave the house.

12:30pm Walk the area to find the house of our first lesson.

1:00pm Arrive at the house, get rejected, search for the other name on the list. Find them. Teach an awesome lesson.

2:00pm Head to lunch at a members house (hna. Llam). Pray. Eat lots of delicious Mexican food.

3:30pm Share a quick message with the members and ask for references. Pray again.

4:00pm Leave the members house and walk across the area to find our next appointment.

4:30pm Teach a lesson in the park to a member named Hno. Quesada.

5:30pm Find a Camion (the buses for everything) and head to the Church.

6:00pm Meet with the bishop.

7:15pm Get on another Camion and head to the next appointment.

7:30pm Arrive, pray, teach lesson, pray again.

8:30pm Leave the appointment and head to the apartment.

9:00pm Notify the District leader that we are in the apartment. Pray. Plan for the next day. Pray again.

10:00pm Get ready for bed and write in journal.

10:20pm pray as a companionship.

10:25pm Pray individually.

10:30pm Lights out and go to sleep.

And that’s pretty much a normal day. Lots of walking praying testifying teaching and planning. It´s tough sometimes but I love it!!!

More exciting news, the other pair of hermanas had a baptism this week and it was beautiful! Also, the rededication of the Mexico City temple is next week and we get to watch the cultural celebration as well. YAY!!! 

That´s all for this week. Thanks for the prayers, the love and the info!

The church is true and the missionaries need your help, so help them please!

Love,

Hermana Hyer

Week 2 en el Campo!!!!

Dear Fam Fam,

It sounds like things are kind of exploding into all sorts of different directions and stuff at home. I mean, Wow. Change in piano teachers, new cars, Snowbird, blisters, school, new farm art at Grandma´s house, cousins visiting form far far away, sounds to me like you guys are having more of an adventure than I am! ;) Just Kidding. We´re probably equal.

So, life as a full time missionary is a little bit difficult sometimes. Especially right now, because we don´t have a progressing investigator. Apparently I have been sent to the most difficult part of my mission for hermanas because people have a really hard time staying active in the Gospel or having any desire to change... However! I refuse to give up hope because I know that with the Lord I can to anything! Even change stubborn people´s hearts.

So, a couple more details about my life here in Mexico. We live in a little apartment in an area called Educacion. We have four little rooms, a kitchenette, a bathroom, a common room / office and our little bedroom. Every morning to take a hot shower I get the opportunity to light the burner and wait a little bit before turning up the gas. We have a baby portable stove that I cook my eggs and tortillas that I eat for breakfast. And every Monday after we wash our clothes we climb the staircase to the roof and hang our clothes insideout on it to dry. In order to email we go to the local internet cafe and write for an hour. If we want to buy anything we visit any of the hundreds of little tiendas lined at every street. It´s quite fun actually!

This week I got the opportunity to go to the Mexico City temple open house and it was nuts. Like absolutely crazy. You would not believe how many people were there! They had guides and separated our ward into groups probably three different times. You strolled through the temple, no stopping, and before they had people put silly little booties over your shoes. Regardless of the weirdness of the procession it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful! And!!! We managed to get the Ortegas (a family that is super inactive) to come! and they had a wonderful time!

I´ve been seeing so many miracles while I´ve been here! One of those has been my health. So I assume I ate something bad because yesterday was awful health wise. I ached and was woozy and had a hard time eating yesterday. So I got a blessing from my district leader. At first, it didn´t help much. But later I was at home and was praying fervently for health so that I could continue to work and be an instrument in the hands of the Lord and as soon as I finished praying the pain significantly diminished and I was able to sleep and I woke up today feeling much better! It was so awesome! And I know that it was a blessing from the Lord! The Gospel is true and the power is real!

Next time I´ll give you guys a rundown of what a typical day for us looks like but for now I´ve got to leave you with this! Thank you for the workouts, the updates and the prayers! I love you all so much!!!

Lots of Love!!!

Hermana Hyer  

Semana 1 en el Campo!!!

Dear Fam,

I´m in the field!!!!!!!! Oh my word, it is crazy!!! My area is called Education and it´s about 1 hour from the Federal District. I have to speak Spanish 100% of the time unless someone asks me to help them speak English or some little kids in the ward need help with their English homework from school or whatnot. Let´s just start by saying that speaking Spanish all the time is actually pretty hard because I can´t express myself the way that I would like to. I have never had my tongue bound for a lack of words but here it´s like that 50% of the time. I want to express myself but I can´t all of the time. It´s all good though. That will come with time.

My trainer´s name is Hermana Escoto and she is from Honduras. I am her first "Hija" which is what they call the noobs. So my training lasts 12 weeks. It´s a booklet and learning the white bible as well as all of the random extra spin off rules that come with living in another country. But thus far it has been pretty fun. Day 2. I showered with microwaved water in a bucket because we ran out of gas to heat the water. Pretty crazy but it was really fun.

So guess what? I have LOVED the food here!!! Every lunch a family of members feeds us and it has been beautiful. The food is so flavorful and there is salsa for literally every meal. And apparently I am the first guerra (white kid) to eat all of the food without complaining or rejecting some of it. I also am the first guerra to eat all of the salsa and actually enjoy it. Looks like I have had some wimpy people come before me if I am the first. That being said, I conquered both tomatoes and mushrooms this week. The mushrooms weren´t that bad but the tomatoes were the same as always.

So speaking of food, next comes exercise. Please email the Daily Dozen next week because I am at a loss as to what to do to work out every day!!! And I need it a ton because I eat too much. So please send me any ideas for a workout plan. Please Please Please!!!

I love you guys so much! The Gospel is true and the Lord truly knows and cares about each of us! Until next week!

Hermana Samantha Hyer

My whole zone!

Casa mates Hermana March and Hermana Kamalu

Our recent convert Fernada

Companera and me

I made it!!!

August 17

Hey Fam!!!

So this is my email telling you that I made it to my mission safe and sound! My first companion will be Hermana Escoto and I will meet her in about one hour. I'm so excited! Just know that everything is going well. I love you guys!

Love, Hermana Hyer

Email Numero Cinco!

Hey Fam fam!!!

Guess what? I got your letters this time, Mom! So that´s pretty awesome in and of itself. Also this week has been super interesting. We´ve had some major ups and downs but overall it has been awesome. It´s fun to here that you guys are still up to some fun even though I´ve been gone. It´s nice to know Julia got a new toy and Gretchie got an Instagram. How many followers do you have already? How fun to have taken Kevin and Julie and their crew out to paddleboard! I sometimes wish I could be on the water but then I remember that serving the Lord is awesome and it´s all good from there. Sounds like you guys got quite the load of peaches. Good luck eating them all! It’s also nice to know that I´m at church with you guys again! Thanks for choosing a good pic for my plaque! It´s crazy that Shawn is home already and different. I hope I come back different too, changed into a better disciple of Christ, that´s my goal. 

I loved getting letters and emails and everything! It was so nice. This week was just full of tender mercies of the Lord. For one, I got letters. For another, we´ve been waiting all six weeks here at the CCM to get baby hymn books in Spanish and they hadn´t come the whole time until yesterday. It was literally one of the best days for my whole district and they all got packages too and it was super exciting. Another is that our teachers have been so kind and sincere in how they care for us. We´ve just been so blessed!

So, remember how I said we had some downs this week, well I´d like to share one of them because it actually helped me realize more about who I am. So, Saturday while me and Hermana Zierenburg were off conducting our week Hermana interviews as part of our duties as Sister Training Leaders, our Elders got into a fight. A big ole verbal brawl and we have a lot of very opinionated elders in this district and so it was pretty nasty from what I heard. So me being me, I stepped in after the interviews to deal with the aftermath. Usually that is the District Leader´s job but he was part of it so something else had to be done. I sat the primary offending Elder down and we had a nice long chat in which I learned some new things about him and was able to help him and the other elder talk about their differences and move on. So in the end everything worked out but for me the most important part of it all was that I learned something about myself. I really enjoy listening to people´s problems and doing my best to fix them. It´s a talent I have come to develop and I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for blessing me with this ability! I am so excited to use it in the field!!!

Another thing that the CCM has been really awesome for is helping me recognize how I feel the Spirit. I have never been very good at recognizing feeling the Spirit but my time here has taught me that I feel it mainly in these two ways, a burning or warm sensation in my chest and a thundering drum of my heartbeat. I know now that I have been feeling him all along and just not recognizing him when he is there. I have also learned how crucial it is to have him with me all the time and especially while I am here on my mission. The Holy Ghost is so powerful and I am so excited to develop a stronger relationship with my Father and Christ through him!

I also had some other cool insight this week. You know how the world uses the phrase to "hit rock bottom" when you go as low as you can go? Well i was thinking about it and how interesting it is for them to choose that phrase because of how true that is. We can only fall onto our Rock who is Christ our merciful Savior. We´re built on His rock and we cannot fall any further. How blessed are we to have that knowledge!

So, on another note, I got my green card and am now technically a Mexican Citizen for the next year until we have to renew it. I leave the CCM at 5AM on Monday. I get on a bus and drive out to my mission for however long it takes traffic to get there. And then I have no idea what´s next. I will finally be a real missionary and I will get to testify and teach and serve all the time. And even though I don´t feel ready, I know I can do this through Christ who strengthens me.

The CCM has been a unique experience and although every week was challenging at some point I know that I am supposed to be here. I know that this gospel is true and I know that constantly using the Atonement of our Lord to improve ourselves is the most important thing I need to use in my life to continue and improve. I know I am not perfect but Jesus Christ is and he can help me become the person I want to be. I am so excited to go out and serve all the people of México City and bring them closer to Christ!

Until next week,

Love,

Hermana Hyer

The floating missionaries of the CCM

Email Numero Cuatro!

Hey Fam Fam!!!

So, again, I love Love LOVE getting emails from you guys every week! It just makes me so happy to hear from each of you! I´m glad I was missed on the City trip because I would be so sad if i wasn´t. Cuz I miss you guys! And rock climbing is so awesome! The most extreme sport I get to do here is volleyball and although I really enjoy it I´d have to say that rock climbing takes the cake.

So the answer to Dad´s question of where my companion is from is that she is from Moorpark, California. Pretty cool right? California´s a cool place. Gretchie, i got your letter but I didn´t get Mom´s for some reason. Will you try again?

Do you know what else is a cool place? The México City Temple!!! We got to go and visit it today and it was gorgeous! Unfortunately, the temple is under renovation so we didn´t get to go in but the visitor´s center is pretty cool! They have a small statue like the one in Salt Lake and some pretty cool exhibits. They also have a tiny distribution center where I bought a Mayan Book of Mormon. I wonder if i could possibly learn to read it... That would be cool!!! They also had this other store and I bought a cool mexican blouse that I can wear all the time! I´m gonna be here a while so i may as well dress like the natives. Cuz their culture is so cool! The temple has some Aztec elements to it on the outside because México city is part of where they used to live. The Mayans lived further south in Guatemala and such.

A cute exhibit

A really cool picture in the visitor's center that I liked

So, here are some random things I did this week. I ate a bag of habiñero potato chips and afterwards I felt like I could literally breathe fire. It was soooo spicy!!! And i kind of love it. I hope i get to eat lots of spicy food in the field!

Also, we did something this week called TRC. I´m not entirely sure what it stands for but it´s pretty cool. It´s a time set off for every Saturday where we teach volunteers lessons of the gospel. Up until that point we have only been teaching our teachers who are taking on profiles of investigators they once had. So i hadn´t been all that nervous to teach my teachers but teaching real people is a whole different ball game. So we taught a member who turned out to be the ward mission leader in his ward and it was pretty cool! Two days and i get to teach somebody new again!!!

This past Sunday was fast Sunday but here they did fasting a little different. We started Saturday afternoon right after lunch and then fasted until the next day´s lunch. It was a little weird but it was a great fast! I was super blessed because I did not even get a little bit hangry the whole entire time. Usually I get hangry (hungry plus angry) within the first couple of hours or so but that was not the case and I am super blessed! Also, I got up during Sacrament Meeting and bore my testimony entirely in Spanish. It was soo great! And I was thinking of you, Gretchen, the entire time. I promise to keep bearing my testimony each Fast and Testimony meeting as well as every time i get the chance!

Missions are such spiritually uplifting times. I have such a great opportunity to feel the spirit and be constantly learning and gaining revelation. So tuesday there was a world wide MTC devotional and President Russell M. Nelson spoke to us. It was beautiful! (and totally answered my question of who was going to be the new President of the Quorum of the Twelve) He said that the revelation given to them to lower the age for missionaries was to give more of the youth a chance to go. Something he also stressed was something borne to us by Jeffery R Holland a couple of weeks back and that was to make sure we come home with one convert "and it better be you!!!" This has been my focus as of late and another devotional by David A Bednar taught me that the best way to do that is to lose myself in helping others. I love the Apostles and their words of strength to me! I am soooo blessed!

I can´t believe how fast this time in the CCM has gone by. It´s crazy to think that I´ll be in the mission field in a week and a half. Though i don´t feel ready (and i know i never will) I hope to make you all and my Father in Heaven proud.

With love and gratitude,

Hermana Hyer