February 27, 2013, again....she really IS at the MTC

February 27, 2013 - WHAT?

Familia!!

 

Buenos Dias!

 

First off, let me freak out for a quick sec. CORY HAD HER BABY!!! HOLLLAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! That letter that you sent totally made my day! I'm super glad all is well and that everyone is doing great! I told everyone in my district that I'm an aunt again, and they all say "congratulations"! Although I am a little upset that the kid wasn't named after me, I guess I still rejoice in the new addition to our family:) Pictures would be THE BOMB by the way....

 

Another moment of loudness from the MTC:

 

MOM AND DAD. THAT PACKAGE YOU SENT ME WAS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN ON THE PLANET ASIDE FROM THE ATONEMENT AND MY BIRTHDAY.

In all seriousness, that book with all of the pictures in it was probably the greatest gift I have ever received. I yelled "IT'S FROM MY MOM!!! In the hall and opened it with my district when we were planning (I couldn't wait...don't even care) and showed everyone the pictures. I may or may not have shed a few tears because I loved it that much. Thank you for putting the time into it, because I'm gonna treasure that for a good long time!

 

Also, the boots bring me far greater joy than they should. Amen.

 

I can't believe I'm halfway done with my time here at the MTC. I thought that hard goodbyes would be done with when I left home.....YA, NO. FALSE. We said goodbye to two districts in our zone this week and while we were all singing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" in Spanish, I didn't expect to feel as sad as I did. Awesome. I really do love it here SO MUCH. When you learn and grow with your brothers and sisters in the Gospel, it creates a unity that I haven't experienced ever in my life. On Saturday night, my district all thought of a question that we needed answered, and spent the next hour searching the scriptures for revelation. Let me tell ya, when you have a group of missionaries striving towards a common goal, the spirit that accompanies is unparralled. This week, I am grateful for my district, and the power and strengh we have when we all study together.

 

We taught one of our investigators this week, and it was the first week where I said everything in spanish, and felt like I said everything I wanted to say. SHOOT DANG. Missionary work is so cool! Even though the investigator is an actor, I still felt a huge amount of love for him, and would literally do anything in my power to make sure that he understands just how much Heavenly Father loves him. You guys, I live a good life. I get to share this message and invite others to come HOME to Christ. Not bad, yall. Not bad.

 

I'm in charge of all the music in my branch, now. My first music calling in 21 years!!

 

Two of the elders (who left yesterday, thank heavens) still yell out "Mi Amor!!! Mi Corazon!!" (My Love! My Heart!) whenever I walk by...

 

More elders notice my pink shoes than sisters.

 

There's a TON of people in the MTC. In the cafeteria, I overheard an elder (who was a little on the shorter side) yell out "THIS IS THE WORST IT'S EVER BEEN!" while trying to wade through a crowd of people.

 

My knees kinda hurt all the time. All is well!

 

I actually make my bed. WHAT.

 

M. Russell Ballard came and spoke at our Sunday Devotional yesterday! Let me tell you, it was SO COOL!!! His message was exactly what I needed to hear. He told us, "You all already know the gospel! You've been living it all your lives. Now, surrender yourselves, go with confidence, and preach the Greatest and most important message in this world". We really do carry the most important message in the world. What a mantle, but what a blessing. The spirit that he brought was incredible, and I cried the whole time. Whatevs, people. It happens.

 

I have come to love with all my heart the things I learn in personal study. This week was all about Christ. I thought I knew Him before, but as I studied His earthly ministery and the Atonement, my testimony has grown to a level I never thought possible. I thought I had a huge testimony of the Atonement. Turns out, I only knew a little bit. I still don't fully understand it, but I'm learning more every day. If I could summarize the love He and our Father In Heaven have for us, it would be in a simple statement:

 

Christ Lived So He Could Die For Us.

 

Do we realize this? Heavenly Father let his literal SON come to earth, where he would be mocked and persecuted. Where he would endure the pain and sufferings of the world, and ultimatly died with our names on His mind. I think of you Dad, and the intense and all encompassing love you have for your kids. Imagine the love that Heavenly Father has for us, that he gave His only begotten son. I bet His heart broke. He sent His son so we can come home. Christ died so that we can go hang out with each other for the rest of the eternities. I get on my knees every single night and thank Him with all that I have. That being said, I'm glad I get you guys for eternity.

 

There is no place I would rather be on the earth right now, than right here. In the business of saving souls, so that they might know of the Love our Savior and our Father in Heaven have for them. Life is good, people. We are living a miracle.

 

Every time we got to the temple, Michael hangs out with me. He say's "hi". He can't wait to see us.

 

I love you all, with all my heart!

Hermana Hess

February 20, 2013 - Oh How Lovely Are the Mornings!

Shoot dang, y'all! Its the second week here at the empty sea and my testimony continues to be strengthened with every passing moment. (by the way, this keyboard is all sorts of jacked up so this may very well be the most grammatically incorrect epistle you will ever receive from me. My bad.) I really do love it here, and it's nice being on a set schedule instead of orientations and all that jazz. My district and zone have become my family up here and it's crazy how close people can get when we are all striving towards the same goal! It's hard to see some of the leaving districts go, but singing Hasta Ver (God Be With You Till We Meet Again) after the departing elders bear their testimonies in our zone meetings on Sundays is one of the coolest things I've ever experienced. My individual district gets closer and closer every day, and I definitely feel part of a very unified group of people. We have more fun then I ever thought we would here at the MTC but the best part is when we all sit quietly and study together. I have a testimony of the strengthening power that unity brings to a group of people, even when we may be sitting in silence, doing personal study.

 

I have never been more aware of miracles, people. I'm lucky that I get to live one every single day, every single moment of my life. That's honestly the only way I can describe my life at the moment. A miracle.

 

I LOVE GETTING LETTERS. They seriously make my day!! Mom, the package you sent me was the best, and everyone was jealous. Yep, I have a cool mom. The best part was before I opened it, I said to everyone , ¨You Guys, wouldn't it be great if in this box, there laid a bag of peanut butter M&Ms? What a blessing that would be¨. I opened the box, and there they were. YA PULLED THROUGH, MOM. YA PULLED THROUGH.

 

But really, thank you all so much for the letters and emails, they really make my day and I love hearing about everything you all are going through!!! I love them!

 

Oh mom, cows are funny because they smell bad and eat a lot of grass and have like 576 stomachs but they still give us milkshakes.

 

I never realized how much my music background would help me with the language!! I have a major advantage when it comes to memorization and pronunciation. The things I do know how to say, I can say with fluidity. I can now recite the first vision in Spanish like a pro. I attribute that to singing in all sorts of different languages. Cool huh?

 

One of the Elders calls me TSwift because he says he gets lost in my blue eyes when I sing....Good thing he's leaving this week.

 

We teach the Elders in our district fake yoga moves during gym. We got them to stand on their heads and grab their ears whilst doing so the other day. Hilarious.

 

Coolest experience. Yesterday we taught in the TRC (where members come and volunteer to be taught). I was super nervous because we aren't allowed to speak in English at all. But it was the COOLEST THING EVER! I haven't ever felt the spirit that strong. It was like Heavenly Father was using me to tell this member what she needed to hear. It gave me a whole new motivation to learn this language as fast as I possibly can. The Spirit is real, people. I testify of that with all my heart. By the way, I take after you dad. I cry when I teach. Wanna know how many lessons I taught? Like 7. Fetch.

 

30 minutes is not enough time to write you all what happens in a week!! I hope you know that you all continually strengthen me with your letters. I feel your prayers said on my behalf daily and in frustrating moments, they give me a boost. But let me tell ya, This work is real. I have a testimony of the fullness of the Gospel. I have never been this happy and never have worked so hard. I hope you all know that I love you more and more each day!

 

I love you all, with all my heart,

Hermana Babygirl

13 February 2013 - I Am Fluent in Spanish!

The subject of this email is a total and indisputable lie.

 

HOLA FAMILIA!!!

 

Today marks one week since being in the MTC, and I would like to share some lovely things that I have learned since being in these hallowed halls, (even though they are on BYU campus:))

 

1. EXCLAMATION POINTS:

I always used to make fun of all the missionary letters that had an abundance of exclamation points in them, which always seem to end sentences like, "You guys, the spirit is SO strong here!!!" "The Church is so true and I am loving every minute here!!" "Y'all, we get to wake up at 6:30 tomorrow and STUDY THE SCRIPTURES!!!"

 

I have since repented.

 

Holy junk, people. Missionary work is real! I've been here a week and I will never be able to fully describe what incredible things go on here. It's so hard, it's so frustrating, it's so exhausting but I have never been this happy. It's an interesting set of emotions. But every morning when that lovely alarm clock goes off at 6:30 in the shoot dang morning, I get excited. I don't dread anything. What an incredible privilege to be doing this work. It's unlike anything I have ever done, and will ever do again in my life!

 

2. BEFORE I CAME HERE, I THOUGHT I KNEW HOW TO STUDY.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!! That's a funny joke. Seriously. I have never studied so hard, and so diligently in my entire life. But want to know the cool thing? I've never felt such and INCREDIBLE desire to study. The Book of Mormon has become my haven. When I'm getting frustrated because Spanish is hard, or I'm tired or I didn't do well in a lesson. I go straight to the scriptures and I immediately feel better. It has become my best friend in this last week, and I'm grateful for them.

 

3. I THOUGHT I KNEW WHAT THE SPIRIT FELT LIKE.

I've never been alone since being here. Not only do I have my companion (Hermana De Angelo...who is wonderful and I love her), but the Holy Ghost has not left my side once. NOT ONCE. He is with me always. I can feel Him always. That's why on my first night here in the empty sea, I wasn't scared, or lonely, or depressed because I had to say goodbye to you guys. I was stoked. I was happy. When that alarm goes off, I am stoked. I am happy. Cool, huh?

 

4. I THOUGHT I KNEW HOW TO LOVE.

Yet another funny joke. Since being here, my love for you guys has grown so much that I can hardly stand it. I have never loved you all more than I do right now. I love the investigator that I am teaching so much, that the only thing I want in this world is for him to feel of God's love. It's hard to explain and I'm doing a poor job of doing so, but my heart has gotten bigger since being here. I didn't think it was possible. Turns out it is. :)

 

The MTC is incredible, (you were right, dad!). It's so hard. I think the hardest part is not being able to teach the way I want to. I love teaching, I like having a big vocabulary, I like the way I get things across to other people and the most frustrating thing in the entire world is being in a teaching situation where you want SO BAD to bear your long-winded testimony, but you can't because you don't know the language. It's harder than I ever thought it would be. Not being able to bear your testimony through a song because you don't know how to sing the words. But I have learned something. Simple testimonies. Simple thoughts. Simple words. They bring the spirit the most. I can pray and bear a simple and short testimony, but that it all I need. Eventually the language will come, I know it will. Just gotta get through the basics.

 

You guys, I am living a miracle. I have seen miracles every single moment of every single day since being here. I wish I could write you more but my time is up (lame), but know that I love you more than you realize. As much as I love you, and Utah State, and my friends back there, there is no place that I would rather be.

 

Love you all with all my heart

Hermana Hess

7 February 2013

So it's literally 6:30 a.m. on my first full day here in the empty sea, and

Shoot dang, you guys.

I don't even know what to say.

P-days are on Wednesdays, so in my email I'll outline all the fun details, but I wanted to send a quick letter home to let you guys know that I'm o.k.

Actually, I'm more than o.k. The gospel is so real! I've been here less than 24 hours and I've already gotten a feel of what missionary work is like; what it's like to love someone (even an MTC actor) so much that you want so bad for them to hear the word you've prepared for them.  Heavenly Father has yet to leave my side, and the power that he gives missionaries is REAL! It's palpable. I got the chance to "talk" to one of the "investigators" and explained that we bring a message of happiness, and we are here because we love her, and want her to feel joy.  She looked at me straight in the eye, in front of 75 other missionaries and straight up asked, "Sister, are you happy?" Even though it was a mock experience, I could answer with a resounding "yes", that I have a fulness of joy. That part isn't fake.

I'll write more on Wednesday, but I just wanted to give you a quick shout out.  Don't worry about me! Dad is right.  The MTC is unbelievable. I can't wait for these next few weeks.

If someone asks me why I'm serving, I reply, "so that I can make families as happy as mine."

I love you.  With all my heart.

Hermana Hess