Throwback to Educacion

Dear fam,

Guess what? I had a very interesting week. This week we had a lot of bumps in the road but it all turned out to be great. We talked to lots of people this week and it was really interesting to learn more about how the world is separating itself further and further from our Father in Heaven. This week we had someone tell us that science kills God and that if science exists than He can´t. Not true but whatever. I´m learning more and more that people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear. It´s okay because everyone has free agency, it just makes me sad to think about how the end is going to be like for them.

However!!! This week I got to watch someone use their free agency to make a very correct decision! Do you guys remember Olaf? If not, he was an investigator that I was teaching before I got transferred from Educacion and he was the only one that I was absolutely certain was going to get baptized and Saturday it came true!!! Olaf got baptized and entered the straight and narrow way to eternal life. WWWAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I cannot tell you how happy I am that he decided to make the choice to be baptized. He invited me and my companion to come and asked me to give a little talk about what comes next after baptism. President Mecham gave us permission to go and it was incredible. My heart is so full!!! Olaf bore his testimony and he said that he knows for a fact that he is in the true path and it was beautiful. I´m so happy!!!

Other events this week, we did face masks... super interesting. and we had an ataque de zona, in culhulacan and it was super fun. and I found some wicked awesome graffiti. which really is all over the place here but i found a good one to take a picture of.

I love my Mission!!! See you all next week!

Love,

Hermana Hyer

Halfway through cambios???? (too fast...)

Hey fam!

Glad to know everyone is doing well. Weird that it´s spring over there but i would much rather have 50 degrees right now than the 80 that it is here...

It’s hot and its only february.... I might come home a roasted chicken by the end of this because technically it´s spring here at 80 as the high literally all week... I promise to send a photo at the end of the week to see how much I´ve burned.

Anyways, let’s see, what to tell, what to tell. Well, it’s been hot. We´ve been doing a lot of contacting. We still do lots of walking. People are super surprised at how well i speak spanish. It´s super funny to me when they try and speak english to me still. I still run around like I´ve got a neon "WHITE GIRL" sign floating above my head constantly that seems to draw a lot of attention. People seem to enjoy the fact that I like putting my hair in two braids since I seem to be the only human here that does that except those who come to sell their goods from the little pueblos and whatnot. Let´s just say, i stick out like a sore thumb and I´m enjoying it.

This week we got to help in a baptism of the ward and talk with their family and everything and it was really cool. They’re the Balsaldua family and their little girl Andrea was getting baptized. We got to sing to her "Because I have Been Given Mucho" to her in Spanish and it was really cool. The reason why we sang her that song is because it describes the promises we make at baptism. Mosiah 18 tells us that we promise to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Thinking about baptismal covenants has caused me to ponder the following questions, "What am I doing to help those in need?" "How can I more fully take the name of my Savior upon me?" "What more can I do to be a blessing to others?"  I invite each of you to ponder the covenants you´ve made and how you are staying true to them. I know that as we continually search for ways to serve more and become more like Christ that we will see the hand of our Heavenly Father more in our lives. I love you all and hope you take my invitation to heart.

Lots o Love,

Hermana Hyer

Amor y Amistad

Dear Fam,

¡¡¡Feliz Dia de amor y amistad!!! Here in mexico they throw everybody into the mix and not just the couples. Pretty nice idea in my point of view, then they celebrate everyone and friendship too. Sweetness.

Super happy to hear that State went super well despite the diseases and sickness that`s been going around. Glad as well to hear from my cousin Jack and Kevin and Julie. The joy i get from reading everyones letters and seeing their attitudes and sass come out in them literally makes my day. Love you guys!!! As for Hermana Goulding, no she is not assigned to the mission office. What happened is that we had the awesome opportunity to play volleyball at the mission office last monday and she happened to be in the office when my package came. We are going to play today too and im super excited!!! So hopefully i`ll get to pick up my package this afternoon. 

SO, this week was interesting. We definitely have as long ways to go as a ward before we can be super functioning but that is just fine. Hard work is what i signed up for and hard work is what will be the most rewarding in the end. We did get to see a miracle this week. Well, two actually. This week we did a bunch of service and saw the miracle of the three inactives in the family come to church on Sunday. It was beautiful to see. I just hope they keep coming to church and read the Book of Mormon so that they can be fully active. We also had the opportunity to see a little nine year old accept baptism!!! We are reactivating a family and Nicolas the little boy has been receiving our lessons and yesterday he said he feels like he`s ready to be baptized. We asked him why and he said he`s been praying and after his prayers he feels happy and feels like it is the right thing to do! Super adorable and yet he spoke so much truth. I feel like sometimes we complicate how the Gospel is "supposed" to make us feel when in reality, the little kids describe it best of all. Also, his mom, Hermana Yescas, is an amazing mother and is on her track to being able to go to the temple again. She and I have a lot in common and I learn something new from her every time we visit. For example, last time we talked about how we need to be happy in our trials because that is how our Savior and Father in Heaven wants us to be. She shared that if we make goals to be happy and laugh every day we will find that we are enjoying life eve when it`s hard and that is completely true. I just love this new area so much!!!

Guess what? I still know the Gospel is true. But, as of now I know that it is even more true than I thought I did. Looking around at broken families and lives at every turn has helped me realize more and more that our Father in Heaven gave us the Gospel to protect us from the buffetings of the devil. His plan is perfect and His will is what will allow us to be the happiest we can be. I hope each of you look more fully for the will of Heavenly Father in your lives and I promise that even though it may seem hard at first, His ways will make you the happiest in the end.

Love,

Hermana Hyer

Cafetales!!! (And 7 months in)

Hey Fam!!!

How are you all doing? I can´t believe state for swim is this week! Man time flies here on the mission but you know how everyone says that it also stops? Well its true. It definitely doesn’t feel like February and I’m still in denial that we had Christmas but life goes on right?

So, here´s scoop on my new area, it´s HUGE in comparison to my last one. We walk tons here. A whole lot and it´s great that I finally feel like I’m getting some mileage on my walking shoes. Let´s talk about sore hips for a second, cuz mine are sore but I´ll be over it in a week or so. We work the north half of the area which is the one that has the least Active members and the most less actives. We have spent lots of time this week tracking down less actives or what i like to call "human hunting." This term is very accurate because we have to find people, they don’t come to find us. Most of the people we looked for either weren´t home or don´t live there or want nothing to do with us. La lucha es real. But, it´s fun running around finding people. I actually enjoy it.

Our ward is pretty small but it´s very organized and we have a mission leader who is all about working and working and doing our best to find people and help the less actives. I really like the fact that he wants to work because it shows that he understands and values our time that we spend here.

My new companion is Hermana Mondalgo and she is great! It´s super funny that we are companions because we both were trained by Hermana Escoto who is actually home in Honduras right now. She left this last Wednesday. How scary it is that I know people who are going home!!! Anyways, back to Hermana Mondalgo, she´s awesome. She is from Lima Peru and is very optimistic about everything She loves the work, has a huge love for the people and is convinced that we don´t need to be robots who don´t have any fun. All of which are things that I am more than happy to be working with! She wants me to teach her English and she´s helping me out with my Spanish and it´s so great! I´m so happy to have a native speaker again so I can improve faster.

7 months in and it feels like nothing. Time is flying as a missionary and I´m a little frightened by the quickness of my experience here. I hope that I am changing enough day by day to be a better instrument in the Lords hands. He lives and directs this work. He lives and loves each of us. As we allow ourselves to come closer to Him we will become like Him and be able to recognize Him when He comes in the last day. I know the Gospel is true and that Thomas S Monson is our prophet today on the earth. I love you all and hope you will choose to draw closer to Christ each day.

Love,

Hermana Hyer

Cambios... Locos.

So based on my title you all can tell that today is Cambios. AY NOOOO!!!!! So we found out that I´m leaving the area, not a big surprise, but also that Hermana Goulding is leaving too. Big Surprise. Really big surprise. They are pulling us both out and splitting the other sisters, putting one in our house and the other in theirs and then bringing in two new hermanas. Crazy right? I´m sure it’s for a good reason but Hermana is really sad because we were finally seeing progress. It´s alright though. I know the other sisters will take care of our investigators.

Yesterday I got to say goodbye to most of the people I was close to in the ward and I found out that my service here has actually made a difference. So many people expressed their appreciation for the time I have spent and the people I have been able to serve. Sure, I haven´t baptized anyone in this area but I have helped a family reactivate themselves and I have definitely seen the members who are active and go to church go up. The bishop wants to help us more and the members are more willing to go out with us to teach people. Little by little my ward of Educacion has been growing and I am so excited to see what it becomes after I leave!  It’s sad to go but "a donde me mandes iré, Señor" is the motto of my mission.

My new Area is called Cafetales. and I will be with Hermana Mondalgo. She is the other missionary Hermana Escoto trained and I´m super excited to be with her!!! It´s gonna be an adventure!

I want you all to know that the Lord lives and He loves each and every one of us. His plan is perfect and His love is infinite. And as we strive each week to repent of all the little things that trip us up and partake of the sacrament with real intent to change that we can learn a little more every week of Him and His love specifically for us.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Mom note:

For all you non spanish speakers out there Cambios...Locos means Big Changes...Crazy.

a donde me mandes ire, Senor means I'll go where you want me, Lord