February 25, 2014 - Mexican Marriage Advice

The members are hilarious. And since we are sister missionaries, they apparently think it's important to give us marriage advice (which we do NOT SEEK by the way) in every appointment. This golden council from this week was "Don't get married until you are 25 and have spent the first part of your 20's partying and going to baile's and being stupid. Because once you are married, you then have 10 kids which means you are dead to the world.". Thank you, Hermana Fernandez, for that precious piece of counsel. Heavens. 

This week was SO SICK. I know I've said this before, but I love being with a companion who isn't afraid to work her tail off. It's so much easier to just go out and do the work when you have someone who is right there with you the whole time and is happy to do it. We added five new investigators yesterday within 2 hours because of our mutual commitment to obedience. It's a good life when you and your companion are unified in purpose.

Jorge is doing so well! His baptismal date is still set for March 8th and he is so excited. He loves church (especially priesthood-he participates a ton!!) and is so solidly converted that he is starting to teach US. We are teaching his 16 year old daughter and when he comes it's like we have a member with us! He's solid. He has been having really bad headaches that came from an old accident and he told us the other day, "I know they will go away after I am baptized and have the gift of the Holy Ghost.". He continues to render us speechless. CHAMP. 

We have a really cool 16 year old in our ward named Laura Calvillo who comes out with us all the time! Last week she told us that she wants us to go visit her friend Jocelyn, but she didn't have the address. A few days later we were walking around in this trailer park and contacted a couple on the street. They said that they didn't know anyone in the complex but that their neighbor speaks Spanish, so we should go knock on that door. When we knocked on the door, this 16 year old answers and tells us her name is Jocelyn. We were floored!! Out of all the houses and apartments in Santee and El Cajon, we knock on HER door! MASSIVE miracle right there!! We started teaching her at Laura's house and she is going to mutual tonight, and coming to church on Sunday. The veil is thin in missionary work! The Lord's hand is so prevalent I can't even believe it. It's been over a year and I still get floored by the miracles we see!! That same day, we asked everyone we saw for a referral. We would immediately contact them, teach them, add them as investigators, and they would give us a referral. Repeat the process 4 times and we added 4 souls that day. I spent a long time on my knees that night saying a prayer of gratitude. 

Fun moments: We were visiting a less active who told us that she woke up one night floating a foot above her bed and talking to Jesus face to face. Also, I broke the record by eating 3 taco's de pollo in 2.5 minutes.

This week was a week where I have just loved serving in the Hispanic culture. I love the way they can't sing on key during the church hymns, I love the way they tell you like it is straight to your face and are not afraid of offending anyone, I love the way they get up and dance without shame at branch parties, I love the way their faces light up when you serve yourself seconds of the ridiculous amounts of food they make you, I love how dramatically they speak.  Needless to say, I feel extraordinarily comfortable around them haha. I love these people so dang much!!!

I hope everyone is so happy!! I love you all. Have such a great week!! 

Hermana Hess

February 18, 2014 - The Heavens are Smiling on Hermana Hes

OH HEY FAMILY!!!!

GUESS WHAT. LIFE IS GOOD IN SANTEE. Heavenly Father loves us because Hermana Hansen and I are staying together this transfer!! Both of us thought that she would leave because 1) she's been here since July and 2) This companionship is far too easy! We are way too happy haha. But we are working so hard and seeing so many miracles that we are just so grateful that Heavenly Father is letting us stay together. This transfer is gonna be SO SICK! 

This week was ridiculous. But last Friday marked the last MTE season so thankfully life is going to slow down. But I loved being able to go and get to know the other sisters and the other areas. I learned so much these past 3 weeks it's insane!! I've also gotten to know the mercy of God haha. We haven't been able to have full studies  in three weeks or been in our area, but Heavenly Father has been making up for everything that we haven't been able to do. I haven't studied Spanish or Preach My Gospel in three weeks haha but I've felt my Spanish abilities grow and grow, and while we've been teaching I've felt His words come out of my mouth more than ever before. I've learned to rely so much on His mercies this week and it's been some of the best and hardest and happiest moments of my entire mission! 

One of the best moments was last Friday when our Zone Leaders asked us to teach a part of zone meeting. They told us the day before and we only had 30 minutes to do a companionship study. So basically we planned on the 20 minute car ride from Ramona to Santee haha. We talked all about how to keep the "greenie feeling" with us always, and to find and recommit to our motivation. We talked a LOT about motivation, and it all coming back to our love for our Heavenly Father. It was so cool!! I definitely felt that it was 100% His lesson, and not ours. I think that the longer us missionaries get on our missions, the harder it is to remember and feel that greenie feeling. Our motivation deserves re-commitment and it was a really cool feeling to remember that as we taught! We read parts of Moses 7 (which is my absolute favorite favorite chapter ever!) and the spirit was SUPER strong. One of the top moments of the week, for sure! 

 Last Sunday was the BEST! Jorge FINALLY came to church and absolutely loved it! The elders told us that he was participating all over the place in Priesthood. Seriously, Jorge is the coolest. We were talking about the Liahona the other day and he straight up holds up the Book of Mormon and says "This is My Liahona!!". And then he goes off about that in 3 years he is going to "try for bishop". We need to teach him that priesthood offices are not obtained by popular vote. But it's really funny when he pulls out his wallet and pretends to show us his "bishop badge". Later that night we had a mission presidents fireside and me and 2 other missionaries sang an "Abide with me" acapella trio-man, it felt so good to sing again. So that was the cherry on top of the best day ever. 

The members in the branch are SO COOL!!! A member named Hermana Lopez called us yesterday and invited us over for dinner, and when we drove up, we see our investigator Diana getting out of her car!! Hermana Lopez invited our investigator, whom we haven't been able to see for two weeks, to dinner!!! IT WAS THE BEST!!!!!!! I love this branch. The lesson was so cool and Diana just felt the love of the members so strong. I will never get over how imperative the members are to the work!! 

Sorry that this is the most boring letter of life!!! Know that I am well and happy and pray for you daily. I have never loved you more!!

Hermana Hess 

The elder in the picture below is a voice major, so if anyone wants to send us some duets, feel free:)

February 11, 2014 - The day our Mission President's wife came on an exchange with us!

Hey family!

This week by far has been the craziest week of my entire life. I don't even know where to start!  We've had MTE's all this week and have been on three exchanges with the other sisters. It's been really fun, though. I've been able to go back to both of my old areas and see a lot of the people and members over there so it's been the best! I love being able to work closer with President Clayton and the assistants-I'm learning a ton from them and every time we leave a meeting I get super pumped to go out and work with the sisters.

Last week we had the most incredible lesson with Bertha! She's asked us to not invite her to baptism anymore, but after she bore her testimony last Sunday we felt like we needed to ask her again. So we did and she just was silent for a minute and then says "I know this is true. I know this is what God wants me to do." WE WERE DYING!! She told us that she wants one of her sons to baptize her. So we were pretty stoked that night:). The bad news is that she went back to Mexico yesterday....dangit. But we sent the missionaries down there her information and we know that we've done what we needed to do up here. I love her so much, and I'm so grateful I got the chance to know her!

This past week were the MTE's for my area, and we didn't want to ask the other sister trainers to leave their area again so we were just going to go without a coach this time around. We were joking a couple of days before about asking Sister Clayton to come with us and then both of us look at each other and said "Why Not?!". We didn't expect her to say yes...but she ended up being our coach last Thursday! It was the COOLEST! We set up a lot of appointments that day that were bilingual, so she could be able to really get into the work. It was fun to see our dignified and incredible mission president's wife hunker down and eat mole like a champ! But the best part of the day was our last appointment with our investigator Amber-she speaks no English but we set up that appointment way in advance and we didn't want to change it. We taught her a really cool lesson about agency and why we're here on the earth. The spirit was SO strong, but it completely shot up when we asked Sister Clayton to bear her testimony. She puts her books down, looks Amber straight in the eye, and bears the most powerful testimony I've ever heard! Hermana Hansen and I were both translating, but it wasn't even necessary. The spirit was carrying her words right straight into Amber's heart, and she was just smiling the whole time. It testified to me that it really doesn't matter what language you speak-the spirit is felt exactly the same way by everyone. So that was basically the best experience of life. We went back a few days later and she was able to recall exactly what Sister Clayton said, and accepted a baptismal date! I love missionary work....

Yesterday myself and one of the English trainers went to the Valley for their MTE's-bliss! Going back to Chula Vista and Calexico has been so fun-at the same time, it's definitely not "mine" anymore. The sisters in both areas are tearing it up!! But it was fun to go back to the places I loved and still love. The best part of the Valley MTE was listening to the testimonies of the departing missionaries. One of them was talking about a pair of twins name Christian and Patrick that they just baptized last week-in my mind I kept thinking "Christian and Patrick, Christian and Patrick........OH MY GOSH WE HELPED TEACH THEM!!!!". Sister Oliver and I contacted and taught them back in September!! I remember those lessons so clearly. They were so excited to be baptized when we first talked about it. It made me so happy that they have joined the church, and their formally less-active mom is now totally active! It was a tender mercy for sure. You never know what seeds you are planting-that was a good and needed reminder. I just sat there and smiled and smiled and smiled.

Time is flying, but I am honestly so happy and there are so many things going on that I don't even look at the calendar, and I can't believe it's been a year since I entered the MTC! We haven't been in our area a whole lot, but the days that we spend here are miracle filled. I've learned a lot about prioritizing and I have loved getting down on my knees and asking my Heavenly Father what He needs us to do-and He will. Every time. I have loved this opportunity to ask Heavenly Father what these sisters need, and what our investigators need and it feels so dang good to hear His words come out of our mouths. Being an instrument is the best and happiest thing I've ever done and I cannot wait to keep doing it for the next 6 months!

I love you so much! I pray for you daily, and I feel your prayers daily. Be happy!! 

Hermanita Hess! 

Pictures-Bertha, Juan and Cesar Buenrostro (the miracle fam!) and us with Sister Clayton after our exchange.

Bebruary 4, 2014 - We Are Not Talking About Football...

WELL HEY THERE FAMILY!

 

This week was INSANE. I feel like I've never been this stretched thin in my life. This month starts MTE month-Missionary Training Experiences. Where President Clayton and the AP's visit all the zones, do a big training/zone-conference deal, and for the rest of the day the zone leaders and the sister trainers all go out with the companionships for coaching. So that was all last week, and it'll be life for the next two weeks. We were in our area for 2 days last week and it'll be the same for the first part of February. I'm tired haha. But It's a lot of fun to be constantly moving around and coaching different companionships! I'm learning a ton and I feel like I'm getting a lot of help from the other side of the veil letting me know what these sisters need. It's been crazy and stressful, but a total blast. It's flying by!

 

Even though we have barely been in our area, Heavenly Father is taking care of us, and the area as well. Hermana Hansen and I have seen MIRACLES!! By the way, I love Hermana Hansen. She's 20 years old from Elkridge UT and we came out at the same time (we sat next to each other on the plane. Small world.). She hates drama, tells it like it is, is not afraid to call people to repentance, and she is exactly obedient. At the same time I have never laughed so hard or had this much fun on my mission! I feel like this companionship is too good to be true! PRAY THAT WE STAY TOGETHER NEXT TRANSFER!! We managed to add 7 new investigators and set three of them with baptismal dates this week! People, miracles happen when you put everything aside and just work. We had mission leadership council with President Clayton yesterday, and he said "You promised the prophet that you would put everything aside for 18 months or 2 years for the Lord. If you do this, you will be happier than you've ever been.". Man, I have a testimony of that statement. It feels good to do our part, and then see Heavenly Father do His. He's doing a lot up there in the Heavens, let me tell ya.

 

DAVID YOU'RE A PRIEST! Man, I am so proud of you!!! Seriously. I wish I could've been there to see you and dad bless the sacrament. I would've cried like a baby. IT'S FINE. I am so lucky to be your big sister.

 

Best moment of the week-Bertha's (the investigator who read the whole Book of Mormon in 2 months and is now reading the principles of the gospel manual) sons just got baptized about 3 months ago. Both of them are in their 30's and seriously the gospel changed their lives! Caesar, one of the sons, got up to bear his testimony on Sunday and it was one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard. I was just so happy listening to him (seriously, it's like missionary payday!!!). Then, BERTHA STANDS UP TO BEAR HER TESTIMONY!!!!! We were dying. DYING. She just straight up proclaims that she knows the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that this is the true church. I sat there, happier than I've ever been on my mission. Oh man. She had it in her eyes, dad! She has it. She's truly converted and she hasn't even gotten baptized yet. I love Bertha, and her sons Juan and Caesar so much. That family is going to be going strong for the rest of their lives!!!

 

I'm sorry that this is a short one, but Hermana Hansen and I get to go to the TEMPLE TODAY!!! We get to go every 3 months. I am so stoked.

 

I love you all so much. You're in my prayers, the prayers of the members, and the prayers of the investigators that we teach daily,

 

Hermana Hess!