April 29, 2014 - The week where there was a ward party in Calexico and Hermana Hess got to go to it!‏

HEY FAMILY!!!!!

 

So, a miracle happened. We were on exchanges in the Valley (great joy already) when we found out that there was a ward party that night. So basically I had the best day of my mission seeing all the members from my first area. I just sat there so happy thinking "This is what it's going to be like when we have reunions in the Celestial Kingdom!". Lots of hugs and I may or may not have cried a few times when the Silva family asked me to be at the temple with them when their daughter, Daniela, goes through the temple for the first time before she enters the mission field in Barcelona! The family wasn't active a year ago and now they're temple worthy....I am dying!! SO that was the greatest tender mercy I've ever experienced, like, ever. I love how Heavenly Father just increases your capacity to love. I love the people in The Valley and Chula and Santee all equally and nothing has ever gotten diminished. BLISS:)

 

SO it was a great week! We got to go to the temple last Tuesday (BTW when we all come back as a family to visit that is the first thing we are doing. Most beautiful place I have ever been in my life.) which was definitely needed. I don't know how some of my friends did it, going a whole mission without going to the temple. We're lucky that we can go every three months because by the end of it I just need to GO. We went as a whole zone and it was so cool, sitting there and feeling the power of set-apart missionaries and it was an experience I won't be forgetting anytime soon. The coolest part was, right after we got back, we went to the Gonzales family to teach them about the Gospel, but Mayra asked us to talk to her girls about taking care of themselves. SO we whipped out the pictures of the temple we took 2 hours earlier and gave the coolest temple/our body is a temple lesson ever. The spirit was so strong and Mayra even told us of an experience that she had when she was going through a divorce and was pretty distraught. Even though she hasn't gone to church in years, she drove to the temple, because she knew she would feel better there, and sat on the grounds and felt this overwhelming sense of peace. It was cool to see how emotional she got and both of us were thinking "yes!!! she's remembering!!". By the end of the lesson, we had a date set to all go to the temple grounds together and experience it. The kids are so excited and kept saying "I want to go inside one day soo bad!! Can we get baptized??". Helllooooo melted hearts on our part. I know I've said it before but I can't get over how much we love this family. We feel like they are such a huge part of us. We invited them to come to church......and they did. THE GONZALEZ FAMILY CAME TO CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mayra hasn't been in years and the family has never been!! They came to the last hour (sacrament meeting) and the kids were all "I want to go for the whole time next week for all the classes!". I love this branch. Everyone went up to them and welcomed them and introduced themselves and we just sat there with smiles on our faces. Keep praying for the parents' hearts to be softened....they've come a long way and they've changed so much. One of the biggest miracles I have seen on my mission for sure:)

 

We met this 15 year old names Gerardo through the English elders a few weeks ago and he is one cool kid. He knows there is a God, but doesn't really know who He is or what their relationship could be like. At first he was a typical 15 year old, he didn't really say much and didn't open up at all. But as we've started out slow with Him, just explaining who God and Christ are and how important he is to Them, his heart is already beginning to change. Little by little he's opening up more. He's getting "the look" in his eyes! We went over last night and Hermana Barnes told him that we've seen change in him already and he just replied "I think you're right". I'm really excited to see what is in store for Gerardo and see the progression he will make.

 

I love seeing recent converts just become more and more converted every day. There is a couple in our branch who were baptized a month before I got here, and Jorge as well, who have been sharing the gospel with literally everyone they've come into contact with. The sign of true conversion is having a desire to share what you have, and it's so humbling when the people you helped to teach now want to go out and do it themselves. I think that's one of the greatest joys of the work-seeing other people you've shared the fruit "get it" and go out and share it with others.

 

So you know that CES fireside with Elder Ballard?? WATCH IT! It's being broadcast from San Diego! We can't go, but he is speaking to the missionaries on Monday and is coming to our mission leadership council this Friday!! We're so stoked!

 

The song"Abide with me Tis Eventide" has been on my mind all week. Except this week, I've been thinking of it being sung in the perspective of our Heavenly Father. A constant plea for us to stick with Him. God doesn't just sit there on His throne and wait for us to ask for Him to help. He is waiting, and pleading, for us to come back. I can imagine Him standing by our side with a full and broken heart just pleading for us to remember Him, and His love. It's been a long lesson I have learned on my mission, the difference between "preaching" and "pleading". When we have charity and love for our investigators, that is what it turns into. A plea to remember. It required humility and meekness (something I have been studying a lot of), and a full heart and it's been a cool lesson that I am constantly learning. We want our investigators to stick with us, God wants us to stick with Him, and it is a humbling thought knowing that we are being pled for.

 

I love you more now than ever!!

 

Hermana Hess

 

(pictures-Me and my compa at the temple and the Gonzalez fam!)

April 22, 2014 - Happy Week After the Ascension!

OH HEY FAMILY!!!!! 

WOOOOF. I'mma start out by saying that this isn't going to be the most eloquent or meaningful email ever because I am sick and therefore drugged up and have a limited time because we are going to the temple (!!!!) today. So my apologies. 

HOW THE HECK IS EVERYONE??? Is everyone happy? Anyone want to send me leftover Easter chocolate? I love the Spanish culture and everything but they are not big believers in Reeses eggs and I am going through withdrawals.  But it was a great Easter! Another Elder in my district and I arranged a song and did it for sacrament meeting which made both of our days. Sometimes it feels good to sing good stuff again. 

This week was crazy! (I think I start out all of my emails like that.) We went on exchanges with some sisters in City Heights and it was a blast. It's cool that even on exchanges out of your area, you meet the people that you really needed to meet. I met an investigator of theirs names Haydee and after a while we found out that her niece is one of the members I got the closest too in the Valley. And then later that day we met 2 teenagers who both just said stuff I needed to hear. Usually on exchanges don't feel like the people are "mine" or like I need to be the one serving there, but with Adi and Karen I knew that we all needed to be there for that one lesson. It was good stuff!! 

We had out last interview with President Clayton:( it's rough to realize that they are going home in a little over a month. It was a bittersweet interview but every time President Clayton opens his mouth, I swear it's prophetic. He asked where I think I will be in one year.....I'm sitting in front of him all like "The heck! I had my entire life planned out up until my mission, how in the world am I supposed to know what's going to happen in the future??" So all I said was that I wanted to continue being anxiously engaged in a cause far bigger than myself. I won't be a full time missionary at that point and I'm not entirely sure what that cause will be, but I don't want to miss out on the progression that comes with being a part of something great. 

There was a stake Easter activity this past Saturday and they asked me to bear my testimony in Spanish for the few Spanish-speakers that were there. It was cool, realizing that the spirit is the same no matter what language and can be felt by all. 

We have seen so many miracles this past week with adding investigators, all of which have come through referrals from other missionaries. Man, I am so grateful for those English missionaries who have learned just enough Spanish to contact and get information so that we can go over and teach them....they've saved our lives! We have a very different teaching pool than we did 3 weeks ago, but it just adds more excitement for the work and I know that the investigators we passed over to the other elders no longer needed us, but them. There is always work to be done and we have been busier than ever! Major miracle right there! So we are starting from scratch, literally the beginning with all these investigators and while sometimes is rough because no one is progressing (YET), it's cool to see the process from the beginning with so many new people. From the first lesson to their baptism....this is fun. 

Mayra and her family still have a HUGE hold on our hearts! We went over the other day and the first thing they did was invite us over for three different days this next week. They fed us this random El Salvadorian dessert that I don't remember the name of, and just sat down and waited for us to tell them what we had planned to teach them. SO solid!!! We talked about the reality of receiving guidance from the spirit and how all we need to do is ask. The dad, Arturo (who never really talked), opened up and said, "I have been wanting for my kids to know God, and that's all I pray for. While all these other people try to tell them, you two are the only ones who come back.". We just sat there, so grateful for the spirit that was in the room that could be felt by ALL. I feel like that night I learned what it meant to have a full heart. We left that appointment laughing and trying not to cry because we were so dang happy-not because they were jumping up and setting their own baptismal dates, but because we felt such a huge amount of love for them, from them, and we knew that they could feel it from us. So keep the Gonzalez family in your prayers!!! 

Some of the things Sister Barnes and I have been noticing about some of the sisters who are struggling is that they are content with having low expectations. They are afraid of losing their personality to the "sister missionary mold" that they think will come if they give %100 to the work. I struggled with that at the beginning of my mission as well, and I think i came to a point where a major decision had to be made. In my mind I thought that if i gave all of me, I would lose parts of me. Oh man, it's funny how the mission proves you wrong. I feel like when i made the choice to give it all to God and be obedient, it was there that I figured out a little of the potential that I had. You really do find yourself only when you give yourself up. I'm not saying I am perfect at this and there are SO MANY THINGS that I need to fix and put on the proverbial sacrificial altar, but you are the happiest when you are obedient, when you give up your pride and when you do what God needs you to do in HIS way. Also, you can be a little cray-cray, sing opera on top of your dinner table at the top of your lungs, and be obedient at the same time. I can testify of that.

 I love you all, I pray for you all, and I am grateful for you all!! Have a great week!!!

Hermana Hess 

April 15, 2014 - Happy Week of the Resurrection!

FAMILY! 

I can't believe it's another Easter week in the field! I remember a year ago we were passing out copies of "The Living Christ" like they were candy! I love being in the field at this time. It's cool to testify of the reality of the resurrection instead of focusing on the pain of the crucifixion. We have a goal to teach all the members and less actives this week about the hope and happiness we receive when we gain a testimony of the Resurrection. It shall be great! Plus, chocolate bunnies are in abundance over here so we are loving our lives right now. 

This week flew! We didn't have nearly as many meetings as the week before so it was a super good work week. Hermana Barnes and I set some solid goals and have both committed to expect miracles on a daily basis. Tuesday night we were so stoked to go out and just work our tails off and see it all pay off! We literally knocked on door after door after door and no one was answering. It was easy to get discouraged haha. But we kept thinking to ourselves "Just one more door.....just one more door" over and over again. Finally, at 8:45 an investigator answered and we had an incredible lesson with her. Working so hard and just trying one more time at one more door paid off in one simple lesson, and we went home happy. But on Wednesday we got SO dang blessed with all the miracles we saw! We taught 9 solid lessons and added 4 new people that day. We felt like the the quality of our teaching was better than it's ever been and that the people actually heard what we were telling them. We kept that mindset of "expect miracles" all day, and we saw them. We both feel that because we worked so hard without so much success on Tuesday night that we were both able to show Heavenly Father that we are willing to go and do "just one more thing" for Him, and that the next day we were blessed because of it. Wednesday was one of my favorite days of the mission, mainly because I felt like we learned how to really call down the powers of heaven to assist us in their work. It feels so good to go and work and know without a doubt that great things will happen!

We had a really cool lesson with an investigator named Priscilla. She's from the Philippines and she opened waaaay up during our lesson! She told us this story about how her late husband over there was part of basically the Filipino version of the mafia over there and when he died she had to leave her 8 month old son over there so she could escape being killed by his family (intense, much?). She was 4 months pregnant at the time and she told us about the guilt she felt because she left her son over there with her ex-mother in law. She went on to explain how she has been trying to get in contact with him ever since, and she finally found him on facebook just a few weeks ago!! They now chat back and forth and her son told her that her ex mother in law never told him anything bad about his mom, and that he was safe and happy. I will never forget the look on her face when she just stared at us with tears in her eyes and said, "God is good. So good.". She said it with such power and conviction that I couldn't believe she hadn't been a member all her life. Cool moment! 

Because we gave away all of our progressing investigators and half of our other ones because of the new companionship in the area, we've been majorly praying for some new people to teach. There's a city called Lakeside that we cover that we don't do a whole lot of work in because we've never been able to find success. But this past week the English elders over there have been working so hard and trying to contact people in Spanish that they've given us like 10 referrals for people over there! Most of which are families! They asked us about how to say different things in Spanish and have been totally killing it over there as a result! We would be totally lost without those elders and because of they're work we've added 7 new investigators in the past week over in Lakeside! They are getting a big plate of cookies sometime soon.

President Clayton told us about a media campaign going on on mormon.org entitled "Because of Him"-he showed us one of the videos and it's sooooooooooooooooo sick you HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT! 

We had a mission presidents fireside (hermana barnes and i arranged a "that easter morn" quartet. it was lovely if i do say so myself) and one of the recent converts went up to the podium to bear her testimony and said "we don't have bouncy houses or coffee or concerts or anything like that, but we will be petitioning for a food court soon so keep an eye out for that!". The investigators that were there got so excited. We needed to do some damage control after that one haha. 

Have such a solid and wonderful week! Eat a lot of ham. Know that I love y'all so dang much and you're always in my prayers!! 

Hermana Hess

April 8, 2014 - "Heavenly Father, you didn't have to do that!"

That has been the most repeated phrase of the past week, because we have been so dang blessed and we are seeing so many miracles and we are so happy that we literally have nothing to say but "Heavenly Father! We're already so happy! You didn't have to bless us with ALL OF THESE MIRACLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

 

Lets start with my new comp!!! HERMANA BARNES IS MY BEST FRIEND! Haha we served in Chula Vista together in the same district and she is one of the missionaries I have always looked up to. She came out 2 transfers after me (with Hermana Oliver!) and she is the most consecrated, happy, personality-filled missionary I have ever met. When President Clayton called her name during transfers we both just started jumping up and down and I literally couldn't stop smiling. President just looked over the pulpit and gave us a little wink. Oh man.....I am so happy. This week has been absolutely insane with different meetings that we've had to go to, so we have not had ONE companionship study since we've been together, but our unity is so solid and it's like we've been teaching together for months. We've seen a ton of miracles this week and I know that it's because there are people here that need HER and what she brings. Which is good, because at transfer meeting they announced that they are white-washing a new companionship into our branch, so instead of having 3 sets of missionaries we have 4. Which is awesome, but as a result of them opening a new area they literally took half of our area that we cover, which included all of our progressing investigators (Amber, Hector, Lupita....) that have just literally begun to progress. So....we were a little stressed out haha. We also found out that we cover 2 more companionships of sisters so we'll be going on 2 exchanges a week for the rest of the transfer.

 

But with all of the absolute craziness of this past week, I have never been happier. I love the mantle you get when you take over an area. No matter how many things get piled up on top of each other, I have never once felt overwhelmed or discouraged or anything. I feel like this companionship has a good hold on things and I literally can feel Heaven's help at every moment of the day. It's a humbling feeling, the strength that comes with the responsibility the Lord gives you. It's definitely not a confidence that was born out of me personally, but with the knowledge and constant companionship of the Spirit and the angels that have been assigned to help us and guide us. So while we feel like we've been running for the past week, we both are just so shoot dang stoked about life that we just sit and laugh and say "life is good".

 

CAN I JUST TELL YOU HOW MUCH I LOVED GENERAL CONFERENCE? In my opinion, Holland, Bednar, Uchdorf, and Packer all brought it home! The Sunday morning session was my favorite (am I allowed to have favorites?). We all watched it as a zone at the stake center and it felt good just to sit and be surrounded by the power that comes from being in a room packed with missionaries, and that comes from when the Prophet and the Twelve speak. Conference is way better than the Superbowl for SURE.

 

Ok, this is the major miracle of the week. I don't know if I've ever told you about Mayra and her family but she is one of the people I knew I needed to meet when I got to Santee. Mayra is a waaaaaay less active (like, she was baptized at 8 and never went back since.) who lives with her boyfriend and their kids. SUPER cute family and we just fell in love with them when we met them. We found their name in an area book 3 months ago and when we met them, "cold" doesn't begin to describe them. They only let us teach them if we didn't use the Book of Mormon or invite them to church or anything. So we took our time and focused on establishing a relationship with them, and it has totally paid off. I think this family is one of the biggest miracles I have ever seen! They have warmed up to us so much and it's been amazing thing to see the cold look in their eyes completely dissolve. Last Saturday we went over to their house randomly while they were walking out the door, so we didn't have time to share a message. A few hours later we received a call from the other elders in our zone and they told us that a member that they work with is best friends with Mayra, and Mayra was telling her that she was praying for guidance Friday night, and we randomly show up Saturday! Her friend invited Mayra to conference and SHE ACCEPTED!!!!!!! The woman who REFUSED to let us teach her family accepted the invitation to go to conference!! So we were having a fit about that. We went over last night to follow up and see how she liked it, and she told us she couldn't go. Dang haha. But we were chatting and their cute kids had all these crazy questions about "did I choose my parents?" "How did God get to be God?".....and so we launched into the most powerful Plan of Salvation lesson we have ever taught. It was so cool to be in that family room, with the WHOLE family (even the dad who used to literally run away) feeling the Spirit. It was incredible. Their hearts have changed and even though it may take a little while, Mayra will come back to full activity and her boyfriend, Arturo, and their 4 kids will be getting baptized. Of that, I have no doubt. I'm flipping out. 

So I'm still reeling about that haha. Yesterday we had a great zone meeting about Visions-how we need to have one for our area, our zone, our companionships, and for ourselves. While we were doing accountability, our zone leader called our names and said "these sisters gave away half of their area and all of their progressing investigators. They should expect great miracles.". That hit me and I spent the whole zone meeting pondering on that. I was like "YEAH. We NEED to expect these miracles". I thought a lot about re-examining expectations and how if we work, and pray and are obedient, we have the power to call down miracles. I've known this my whole mission but I guess it just hit me a few days ago. I look at Mayra's family and the other people we are teaching and I can say with all the confidence that I have that they will get baptized. I don't know when, but they will. I have great expectations for these next few transfers and I am stoked to see all the incredible things that are going to happen. I am learning that I need more faith, that I need to wrestle more with the Lord in prayers, and I am so stoked to see what comes next. 

Life is good. This is in no way easy and I'm getting my trash kicked but it is in every way the best thing I have ever been a part of. I love you so much!!! Be happy! Have a great week and know that I pray for y'all every dang day!

Hermana Hess 

April 1, 2014 - Transfer #10

Aaaaand I'm staying in Santee!! I'm so stoked! Sister Hansen is leaving (depression) and is training a brand new missionary so I'll be training a new STL. I'm honestly so happy that I'm still here. I feel like some great things are going to happen in this area and I'm excited for the changes that are going to take place. This whole zone got completely flipped around and there is not one companionship staying the same, so we're excited for the miracles that are gonna happen! 

This week was crazy!! I went on my favorite exchange EVER this past week-in a place called City Heights. Literally in the middle of the city so basically I was in HEAVEN! It was a blissful 24 hours. The Hermana I was with, Hermana Shumway, is the definition of a consecrated missionary and I spent all day just writing down all the things I was learning. I felt like home, falling asleep to the dulcet tones of car alarms.  She told me something that I think I will never forget. She told me that one of the biggest things she's learned on her mission is that we become humble servants of the Lord when "Preaching" turns to "pleading". When we teach our investigators we need to be teaching from the bottom looking up, loving them enough to go below their level and LIFT. Go Hermana Shumway! 

We were at church on Sunday and one of our recent converts, Cesar Buenrostro, looked pretty down. His countenance was fallen so Hermana Hansen and I were worrying all day. Later that day our branch president texts us and asks us to go over and visit him and talk about forgiveness. SO we were freaking out. We went into that lesson with prayerful hearts and just pleading that we would be the instruments that the Lord needs us to be. I don't think I've ever felt the spirit that strong in a lesson. We just looked at Cesar and I've never felt the love of God more! I just pray that he knows how Loved he is and that no matter what, he can come back to the straight and narrow. By the end of the lesson Cesar looked like he had hope in his eyes again. We read DyC 122:7-9 "ALL these things shall be for thy good.....For God shall be with thee forever and ever". God doesn't leave. I've never felt it more than when I was testifying that to him. 

Fun moment of the week. We were teaching a recent convert named Luzmar and we were talking about the Good Shepard and we are His sheep. Luzmar just pops up with "I am not a sheep! I am a child of God!!". After we explained it to her she said "oh. ok. I can be a sheep. Sheeps are good.". Love her so dang much. 

I'm so sorry that this letter is short and lame but all these sisters are freaking out about transfers and we need to go to the mission office and counsel some lost children....hooray!! 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!! You have my heart! 

Hermana Hess

March 25, 2014 - Chiasmus' and pseudepigriphas

HEY FAM!!

To start off, we had the COOLEST Zone conference the other day. President Clayton is one of the most brilliant people I know. He went over 19 evidences of the Book of Mormon and I sat there for an hour and a half getting my mind blown. If I had hours to email I would just spill out all these things I learned (like the definitions of the polysyllabic words in the subject line) but it would make no sense. I took gnarley notes so that'll just have to suffice. And after all this information overload, President just looks at us and says "And none of this matters." It was cool to feel the excitement of learning the evidences of such a beloved book, and then feeling the confirmation that literally none of those physical or intellectual evidences matter. What matters is the quiet feeling of peace that accompanies when we read. That is evidence enough. 

This week was a tough one. We got dropped by Geraldo, our solid progressing investigator yesterday. Turns out he didn't tell his wife about us coming over and when we showed up to his house on Sunday to introduce ourselves to her, things didn't go over too well. Super sketchy...so we are pretty bummed. Diana, the investigator that has been meeting with us since before I got here, got her hands on some anti stuff and now won't meet with us, and our investigators that used to be reading and praying now aren't. It all boils down to the Book of Mormon. It is SO necessary that i don't even have words to describe how much I want these people to read it. Dang....Satan knows how integral the Book of Mormon is. He knows that when people read it, and KEEP reading it, they become truly converted and so he does every single thing he can to stop people from reading. It breaks my heart. It freaks me out that as members, we are in danger of the same trap. Baptized or not, the Book of Mormon keeps the testimony burning. So read it. Read it every day. Even if you are tired, or there is no time, keep reading.

I've been on a Book of Mormon rampage, lately....Can ya tell?

But throughout all the discouragements of the week, there have been some HUGE miracles and I still can't stop smiling! We added a new investigator named Hector last week (the man we contacted and got with a date!) and we had some pretty powerful lessons with him. It'll never cease to amaze me how perfectly God knows His children-Hermana Hansen and I teach him very simply and in a different way than most of our investigators. We aren't really sure why, but it feels so cool knowing that God is putting what he needs in your mind. He read a little of the Book of Mormon and loved it and has the best questions!! I love teaching him-feels more like "reminding" than teaching. Feels good:)

We also added a new family who currently hold a great part of my heart. The parents' names are Luis and Priscilla and they have 4 beautiful kids. Luis only speaks Spanish and Priscilla only speaks English and Tagolog (it's fun teaching those lessons..s) and "prepared" doesn't even begin to describe it. Luis seemed more interested at first but we went over the other day when just Priscilla was there and she opened up a TON. She's still a little hesitant, so if you could keep her and her family in your prayers, that would be great!!

We went to the Valley on Wednesday for exchanges:) it's a cool feeling, going back to your first area. I haven't served there since October but it feels so dang familiar. The same heavy feeling that i felt when i was there for the first 8 months of my mission came right back-that area is so special to me. It's different and requires a different kind of work. It felt like going home, driving into that place! But it also felt like coming home driving back to Santee. I have this goal that I want every area to feel like home when I am serving there. The Valley, Chula Vista and Santee are all home. What a good life. 

We went to a members house and I had 8 tacos. Not even ashamed. They were small I promise. 

This week I can't stop thinking about how much I love the Book of Mormon. I'm reading it again with a couple of things in my mind as I read and so many new things are standing out to me. I've gotten some admonitions, lots of words of comfort, and an incredible amount of direction this time around. I love it!

And I love you!! I hope you are all SO happy this week and that you can feel the prayers being said for your by MANY people here!! I love it when investigators and members pray for my family...know that they love you!

Hermana Hess