THE WEEKEND OF MIRACLES

 Alohhhhhaaa!!! 

Howz it? So remember how last week I mentioned our new zone goal was (Double of Nothin) 28 baptisms??? So far we have 11, and then we have SEVENTEEN tomorrow!!!!! Pretty awesome! We need your prayers that all 17 will happen!! Then we have one more after that to finish the month off. We will have a total of 30 baptisms or should I say, 30 MIRACLES for this month just in our zone, and shootin for a total of 125 for the mission.  I cannot even begin to describe how happy we are as a zone. President Dalton about had a heart attack when he found out we were doubling our high water mark at Zone Conference!

So my first Zone Conference was this week, and it was more than I could have hoped for. The training we did was so helpful and so useful. I have already been able to see the blessings from applying it in the field. 

Let's see, well, the area is going good. We have loved getting to know the members in our ward, and absolutely love our Ward Mission leader and his wife ( The Pukahi's). They are really helping us find fellowshippers for the less-actives, as well as helping us find new investigators. Our BYU wards are kind of crazy, because school just started up, and one of the dorm's (Hale's) is being renovated, and so our members are spread out all over the campus dorms....but we're hoping that as soon as the new Bishop is called, we'll be able to get a better grasp on helping the students.

We had some pretty neat miracles this week, though:

Miracle #1-7: Hermana Rodriguez and I decided while we were planning for our daily goals for the following day, that we wanted to have five self-referrals in the Visitor Center during our Tram Tours that we give. So we prayed that night for five "SR's," as well as the next morning, during breakfast, lunch, etc. We headed out to the Polynesian Cultural Center to do our tours, and received 2 just on our first tour. Mind you, it's hard to just get one sometimes. The next tour we received 3 more = a total of 5. We still had 2 more tours for the day, so we were super stoked to see how this was going to end. We both said a prayer thanking Heavenly Father for these five self-referrals, but we felt that there were going to be more people prepared for us in our upcoming tours. The next tour we gave, half the group was from Quebec, Canada...where my parents served their missions, and the other group was from Mexico (Spanish speaking). Hermana Rodriguez spoke with the people from Mexico, and I got to know the big group from Canada. They thought it was the coolest thing ever that I knew where Quebec was, and that my parents were able to live there for a little bit. I had explained why my parents were there, that they, like me, were representatives of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They asked me to tell them more!! So I taught them a little bit about the Book of Mormon, then explained if they wanted to learn more, there are still missionaries in that area who would love to teach them about the gospel. The group (being a big family) handed in a card saying they were interested, and then I later come to find out that the family from Mexico also self-referred. It was such a testament to me that if we have a righteous desire, and have the willingness to take action, Heavenly Father will prepare the way for us! 

Miracle#8: SO from the Self-Referrals we receive in the Visitor's Center, we get to keep in contact with those people or families even while they are being taught by the missionaries in their area!..which makes this calling even better. So a family that self-referred to us, one of the girls is being baptized next week, and the parents are still taking the lessons and willing to continue! Also, a member had given us a referral, so we called him, asked if the missionaries could teach him, he said yes, and I have been in contact with him ever since. I called him yesterday, and he has a baptism date for August 23rd!! I asked how he was feeling, and he said, you know, it just feels right. I loved that. Sometimes (I know I do it for sure) we make things way more complicated than they really are... and for him, after praying and reading the scriptures as well as going to church, he knew that this is part of God's plan for His children. Simple, but awesome!!!

So there are definitely some perks of being on your mission in Hawaii where there are members who absolutely love the missionaries. ONE, after a dinner appointment, they give you all of the left overs, and more, haha. TWO, one of our members works at Kualoa Ranch. Which, for those who do not know what that is, that is where a lot of movies have been filmed, such as Pearl Harbor, the show Lost, Jurassic Park, 50 first dates, and a ton of other ones. So we got to go on a bus tour that drives through the filming areas and up through the mountains. You stop at these bunkers that were used in WWII, and we were able to walk through those as well. Moral of the story, it was AMAZING! 

Anyway, I hope I'm not boring you all. Just know that the work here in Hawaii, is good. It has been so easy to see that days we don't work our hardest, we don't see miracles. The days we work with 100% effort, the Lord shows his trust in us with people to teach! I know that as we put in our effort to do that which is asked of us, that Heavenly Father is ready and prepared to give us the blessings He has in store for us. I love this gospel, and I KNOW that God is my loving Father in Heaven who has a perfect plan for each one of us. All we have to do is keep His commandments. Welp, it's about that time, but I love you all, and love this work. 

Have a great week!! 

Mahalo!!

Sister Moyes

DOUBLE or NOTHING!

Aloha everyone!!!

 I'm so sorry that I haven't been able to write anyone in the past two weeks, I haven't had a P-day for the last week and half =( I promise I will dedicate today to writing letters!! So these past two weeks have been pretty much the coolest weeks of my life. For one reason, we got to go to Pearl Harbor!!! Every three months, our zone goes to Pearl Harbor to give service on the U.S. Missouri ship!!! It was AMAZING!! Because we were doing special jobs, we got to go in places that are not open to the public tours. The man who is ahead of the volunteers, Kevin, really liked Sister Sandstrom, Sister Fish, and me, so after we did a bunch of chores for him, he took us to the deepest part of the ship, down to the engines!!!! I had to pinch myself a couple of times to make sure it was really happening. He shared stories with us about men who served on the ship, and explained how so many things worked. It was so cool. As we later had time to explore the upper deck after our labors, it was really overwhelming when a huge group of soldiers came on to the ship because I guess that the Secretary of the Navy was coming, so they all came on to solute him. Bahhh, I just started bawling. Good times, good times! Haha, but it was so neat. I cannot wait to go back one day.

 

So, my new area is simply undescribable. There is SOOOOO much work to be done, but so many amazing members that are so willing to help us out. Our past couple of dinner appointments we have been asking for referrals or been asking who these members could fellowship with. They have been able to come up with a lot of names for us, so Hermana Rodriguez and I are pretty pumped. We felt inspired to go knock on the door of a couple who have been inactive for about a year now, and it was seriously a miracle. Hermana forewarned me that it might be hopeless, because every sister that has been in this area for the past year has knocked on that door, and no one has ever answered....but, lo and behold, Anna opened that door!!!! We talked to her for a while and got to know her, and then she mentioned how she has been completely cleaning out her house the past month because her family owned the house for generations with things piling up. We expressed our love for cleaning and asked if we could come by some time and help her out??! She said she would love that. So we're going back tomorrow to help her clean out all of the stuff. We asked about the nonmembers in the area as well, and she pretty much knows all of them on the block. So we'll keep praying for her, and for the work, and see what comes our way!!

 

I absolutely love my companion; sometimes we get really sad when we realize we only have 4 more weeks together, but it'll be all good. We're just enjoying the fun times while we have them. Hah, speaking of fun times, yup, I've officially had the most embarrassing moment of my life!!!! So, when we are in the Visitor's Center we wear our blue muu-muu's (dresses), right? So they zip up in the back.....yeah. Welp, I definitely walked out of the break room being only half way zipped up and gave two tours like that!! I was pre-setting the Christus to a family and then I see the Sister Trainers sitting at the front just cracking uppppp.  They told me to come quick, to turn around, and they zipped me up. Oh man, I was in shock. I could not believe that had actually happened. It made sense then as to why I had tripped on my dress during one of my tours. Aghhh!!! Haha, it's okay, if the mission's not fun, you're doing something wrong ;)

 

Some even more exciting newwssssss!!! You may recall how I mentioned our baptismal goal for July is 14. "14 Miracles!!"....well. 14 is our "high watermark." But, after many zone fasts and prayers, we decided that we should up the number. Our new goal for this month is 28, countem 28 Baptismsssss for the month of JULY!!!!"  DOUBLE OR NOTHING!!" is our new motto for the month. We have 10 Baptisms down, and 15 getting baptized on the 28th of July!! So if you could keep those investigating and those with a date in your prayers, that would be awesome!! We're so excited. No zone in this Mission has EVER reached that many baptisms in a month!! EVER!! President still thinks our goal is 14....so we can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees 28! I know that this is possible. I know that Heavenly Father is so excited to see His children enter into the waters of baptism as they are also entering the gate towards eternal happiness.

 

Well, I have to get going, but I just want to testify that I know that this gospel is true. I know that this Church, is truly the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter-days. I have witnessed and been a witness of how our lives can change by doing what is right, and keeping the commandments of God. He loves us, and wants us to be happy. I know that no matter what trials we face, or pains we feel, in the end, when all is said and done, we will be blessed for our efforts and our works of faith....and the greatest thing is, we don't have to do it alone. We have a Redeemer, a Savior, our Brother, who suffered all things so that will never have to endure by ourselves. I love you all, and love the examples I have in my life. Keep sharing your testimony and light, and I know that others will be grateful!!! 

Mahalo!!! <3

TRANSFER WEEK!!!

Aloha family and friends!!

Today's e-mail is going to be super short, I'm sorry! This week has been kind of slow at the Visitor's Center and in my area, being 4th of July week. Nonetheless, I was still able to see some miracles. Yet again another girl from Indiana came in this week! Her parents totally brushed me off, but she and I really connected. She is from Evansville, Indiana, and currently stationed here at Pearl Harbor for the navy. She explained that her parents had never pushed her towards any religion, but loved how peaceful and inviting this one was (this was as we were looking at the pictures at the temple corner exhibit). We talked some more, and I invited her to fill out a referral card so that the missionaries can teach her more about how this gospel can bless her life, and she said she would really like that. I was so excited and happy for her!

So, 4th of July was AMAZING! As a Zone we all got together and with the help of the Senior Couples, we had an amazing barbecue. Oh, did I mention it was POURING raining? Haha, you'll see the transition in the pictures, because my hair is down, then i grab my hoody, then we get drenched, eventually causing me to just put up my hair. Good times, good times! But we had plenty of fun playing in the rain, sitting around listening to people play the Ukulele, learning some fun hulas and taking a thousand pictures! I think it was something we all needed.

Transfer Week!!! Can you believe I'm already starting my second transfer Ahhhhh! This is going by way too fast! It was kind of crazy because Hermana Rodriguez and I got switched out of our area. We're kind of bummed about that, because we absolutely LOVEEEE the amazing people we're teaching. We had to tell the sad news to our YSA ward last night at FHE. We had been asked to teach the lesson, so after we did that we said our goodbyes. Luckily, everyone still lives down the street, so we'll still get to see a lot of the people. I'm pretty excited for my new area, though. Everyone says it's super hard because there are a lot of non-members, and they will NOT let you in. I'm excited to see what miracles could come our way. We are in a biking area, as well, which I'm way pumped for. This past area we had a car. It's going to be AWESOME! Oh, and P.s. my next letter won't be until next Friday. My new P-day is on Fridays!!!

It's definitely been a really hard couple of days for all of us here at the Visitor's Center because everyone absolutely loves the dying Sisters: Sister Lee and Sister Moon. It seriously is not going to be the same without them =/ But I guess that's the mission life, right? Alright, everyone, I've got to get going, but I know this gospel is true. I know that the guidance and clarity I have in my life has come through understanding our loving Heavenly Father's plan of happiness for us. I invite you all to read Doctrine and Covenants Section 100 verses 5-8, and then go out and share you testimony with those you come in contact with. We have this great blessing and knowledge of eternal happiness, go out and let the world know of this glad message! I love you all, and love getting letters from so many. Have an amazing week!!

 Mahalo!!

Count Your Many Blessings

Good morning and Aloha family and friends!! This week has yet again been truly amazing. The baptism couldn't have been more perfect, and we had some really amazing experiences with our visitors in the VC this week.

First though, there is something that has been kind of on my mind that I just want to get out there: for those who read this, I hope you don't define the truthfulness of the gospel through my shortcomings or the mistakes I have made or might make in the wording of my 
e-mails...yeah, haha. 

Anyway! So this week was sooooooo cool for many reasons:

#1 We have had 5, count em, FIVE people from Indiana come in to the VC in the past week and half! And three of those families self-referred (gave us their info so missionaries can come teach them). Oh, and did I mention two of those families, aside from the couple last week, are from Carmel??? Yup, true story. I love it.

#2 This story was pretty much the highlight of my week. So, we had a HUGE group of men come in from a Rehab center in Honolulu. At first it was kind of intimidating. You could see in their faces that they had been through a lot in their lives, and so I felt insignificant in what I could do to help. Then I kind of pinched myself, remembering that I have the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior and He loves ALL of His children, and that through Him, we can start over and be made clean again. So this was the testimony I shared with them after playing the narration of the Christus for them. Hermana and I asked them how they felt, and I was just in awe in the humility of these men. One said that he felt very mellow, and very at peace. Another one said that He was really grateful that He could repent. I seriously just fell in love with these men. Afterwards, we lead them into one of our theatres and they watched the Joseph:Prophet of the Restoration movie. They LOVEDDDD it!! Oh man. They came out of that theatre just glowing! I went and talked to a guy who was probably in his mid 50's and asked him how he was enjoying his experience here. He just looked at me and asked, "Have you been inside the temple? It looks really nice." I told him that I had, and that it was like nothing I had ever experience in my life. I told him of the peace and clarity of my purpose I am able to feel when I'm in the temple. I then told him that if he wanted to follow me, just across the room we have a section with pictures of inside the temple if we wanted to see inside! Well, that caught the attention of two others as well, and they all excitedly asked if they could come look too! So we walked over to what is called our "temple corner," and we spent most of our time looking at the pictures of the sealing room, and the celestial room. Those were their favorites :) After we talked about how the Celestial room was a place where we can just go to pray and ponder and feel the Spirit, one of them looked at me and said, "Thank you so much. I sincerely pray that I never forget how I felt today. I have never felt so happy in my life." Bah, I just wanted to cry. Then the third man with us asked if he could have a copy of the Book of Mormon to read! Then the other two immediately asked for one as well. It was such a testament to me. I think sometimes we can forget how blessed we are to always have the spirit with us. So don't forget to share your light with others, because I know that it is through the power of the Holy Ghost that we can truly be converted.

#3 So I had a surprise visitor this week!! Guess who came in Mom and Dad!?!? The Steenbliks (I don't know if I spelled that right) !!!!! So cool, yeah?? It was pretty much amazing getting to talk with them.

#4 Cesar's Baptism. The baptism was so beautiful, and couldn't have been more perfect. Cesar in from the Philippines, and speaks very little English, so we have had the Elders Quorum President from the ward, who served in the Philippines, come to all of our lessons to help us translate. He also spoke at the Baptism in Tagalog for Cesar, and then my pad-mates, Sister Gamba, Sister Christensen, and Sister Patlingrao, being from the Philippines, sang a song in Tagalog. IT was amazingggg!! Hermana and I are so excited and ready to go find another investigator in our area!!

So this week is Fourth of July!! At the Visitor's Center we gave a fireside in celebration of it. It was pretty sweeet. Hah, and two little 12-year-old boys presented the colors. It was so cute. The VC is closing early, so we're having a big barbecue with the zone on the fourth, and then going up to Laie point to watch the fireworks going on at Turtle Bay. So, it should be really good! 

I actually just got back from what is called Sisters Conference, where all the Sister missionaries on this island come to the VC and we are privileged to have a guest speaker. Sister Clayton, whose husband is in the presidency of the seventy spoke to us. She was exactly what I needed right now. She talked a lot about how we are always representatives of the Lord...on the mission or off, and helped us see how we can simply share this gospel in the way we live our lives. I loved that. 

This week has truly been such a blessing. Eight of our ten in-actives/less actives that we've been working with came to church this Sunday. I could not have been more happy. It has been so cool to see the transformation as we meet with them and teach them to apply the basic principles of the gospel in our lives. I have to go, but I love you all, and you all are always in my prayers. 

Thank you for prayers and your love! Mahalo!