HIS HANDS

Friends and Family, Aloha!!

What a week this has been! Just when you don't think it could get any better (or worse), it does. So, Tuesday afternoon I received these sharp shooting pains in my ribs on my left side. It was pretty scary, and we didn't know what to do. We called the mission office immediately to get a hold of a doctor, and was then told that I might have something called "The Devil's Grip," which I thought was quite ironic. This work is true, it brings SO much happiness into our lives and for the rest of eternity, and Satan tries to get in the way of that. I was told by the doctor and reassured through a Priesthood blessing that I needed to rest, and to not worry, which was really hard. I began worrying about the work, our investigators, our appointments, EVERYTHING!! I was then overcome with such peace in knowing that as I put my faith in Heavenly Father, that he would help us do this work. How true is that about the gospel? When we are weak, He is there to stretch forth His hands and rescue us from Satan's grasp. 

That being said, our biggest miracle is that two of our investigators with baptismal dates, one being the 16-year-old that I mentioned last week, both attended sacrament meeting for all three hours and loved it! The ward took them under their wings and fellowshipped them as if they had been best friends their whole lives!! It was so awesome.

Miracle #1 

One of the investigators speaks Spanish and little English! We've been trying to get him to church since I've been here, but struggles with getting enough sleep at night, so when we go to get him for church, he doesn't wake up. He goes to bed really late, and always has, so he has gotten into a really bad sleeping pattern. He said that even when he tries to go to sleep early, he can't. We invited him to pray for help, and promised him that Heavenly Father would help. We get a call earlier last week, and he tells us that he got another job in addition to the one he has. This new job is in the morning and has forced him to get on a new sleeping schedule!! CHEE-HOO!!! Not only that, but his days off with the morning job are on Saturdays and Sundays! Everything was so perfect. Well, we knock on his door Sunday morning, and he finally arrives to the door, and agrees to coming to church!!! We were so happy! When get to church we feel bad because we can't translate or anything =/ Well, sitting right beside him is a man and his wife visiting from Utah, who served his mission in a Spanish speaking place. He is able to translate for him. THEN, one of our members finds a young couple who just barely moved into the ward, and the husband served his mission in Peru. He came to our lesson with us and translated anything that our investigator didn't understand, and it was all too perfect. Heavenly Father loves His children so much, and wants us to have the truth. He will provide the way if we are willing to accept His guidance!

Miracle #2 

Our 16-year-old friend (We'll call him Nick) is so awesome!! We thought for our lesson on the gospel of Jesus Christ, we would take him to the church gym and do an activity with him. We wrote each step on a piece of paper: Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End. We gave him the basketball and told him to stand at the other side of the gym and try to shoot the ball into the basket! The basket representing our home in Heaven; the Celestial Kingdom. He immediately said that he couldn't, and that there was no way. We told him he should be able to if he just believed, right? Isn't that what the world says is all it takes? Haha, he is so great, so he chucks that ball saying, "I BELIEVE!!!!" Haha. And of course, it was an air-ball. So then we teach him that Heavenly Father has provided us steps to make it back to His presence. After each step that we give him and teach him about, he tries and shoots the ball from that step. Still missing, we give him the last step, Enduring to the End. This piece of paper still being more than half court away from the basket. He gets worried knowing that that is the last one, and will be the closest shot he will get. He shoots, shoots again, and again, still missing. He said He didn't want to give up, but didn't know how it was possible. We asked if he wanted help, and he said yes. So, we had a member with us, who has been coming to our appointments who just got home from his mission. He stepped in and said, "Try shooting it again, Nick." He shoots the ball, misses, but our member catches it and rebounds it into the basket!!! Nick has this HUGE grin on his face, and is so happy, that he finally made it!! We told him, that when we do all that we can, even when it seems like it will never be enough, Christ will step in a make up for the rest. You could just see the light in Him as he realized how important Jesus Christ is in our lives. He then said the closing prayer and mentioned that he would be back in the Lord's church on Sunday!!

I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and the love we can feel from Him in our lives every day. If we sincerely pray to Him, and have the desire to do His will, He will make himself known unto us. We will see Him stretching forth his hands for us to lead us back home. I am so grateful for this knowledge. I know God lives, and I know that it is never too late to take a hold on His hands. As we endure to the end, and continue moving forward with faith, He will always be there to show us the way. I love you all, and pray for you continually!! Have a week full of blessings and miracles.

                                                  Love you always,

                                                   Sister Moyes

PICKING MANGOS

Cousins and Friends,

Hola, Kumusta Po, and ALOHAAA!!

This letter is going to be pretty fast because of time, but I could not be happier with how this work is going!! There is nothing like it. I think if I had to put a theme to this week it would be 'picking mangos'. Sister Barnes and I were tracting and we walked by these ladies who were picking mangos with this pull stick (because they are so high) and we offered to help. Well, let me just tell you, it's harder than it looks. The fruit is ridiculously high, the pole or stick is heavy, and half the time when you put all your effort into getting the ripe mango, you only get the little baby one's that aren't even ready. But, when you finally do get the big and ripe mango it makes everything worth it!!

The past couple of days, we didn't really see much success in tracting, and almost all of our appointments fell through, someone was sick, or working, so on and so forth. It's so easy to get sad or disappointed, but Sister Barnes and I knew that we were doing everything we could and that Heavenly Father would make it all worth it in the end in letting us finally pick a ripe mango. Which he did.

After none of our investigators came to church, and every appointment fell through for the day, we had one last appointment with a 16-year-old boy who's mom was a former investigator, and the Sisters before us had tracted him out. We were there for the follow-up appointment, and we taught him about the 2,000 stripling warriors. We taught about faith and willingness these young men had to be exactly obedient! He loved the story! At the end of the lesson we invited him to put his faith in Heavenly Father by following the example of Jesus Christ and being baptized!! He accepted and we set a date for the 29th of March!! He is the sweetest boy ever, and we can just see him on a mission in a couple of years. We now have 4 investigators with date! It was the best way to end our week and our day. 

I am so grateful for the challenges that Heavenly Father gives us. I know I say that a lot, but it's so true. I am grateful for my trials that help me grow stronger and help me appreciate the good things so much more. I love mangos, I love serving Heavenly Father in the beautiful state of Hawaii, and I love this gospel!! I send all the sunshine I can, and hope everyone has the best week!!

Love you,

Sister Moyes

p.s. I'm having to learn Spanish, too!! Oi, should have paid more attention to my companions from Philippines and Guatemala!! 

IMUA MAUI

ALOHAAA friends and family!

Yeah, not really sure where to begin!!! SO much has happened and it's been less than a week!! Well, first off, I am in LOVE with MAUI!! IMUA (forward, in Hawaiian) MAUI !!My ward is amazing, my companion is amazing, our area is amazing, our investigators are amazing...everything is just perfect! I have never felt so blessed in my whole entire life. Looking at so many blessings you can't help but be so excited to go tracting and share the message of the gospel.

In the words of my Dad, here is some "House Keeping" business:

• Guess what? We see whales and dolphins on a daily basis from the ocean. Did I mention this is the most beauitful place I have ever been in in my life...?

• Our zone covers the islands of Maui, Molokai' i and Lanai, with I think about 20 Elders (four on Molokai'i) and 6 Sisters (two on Lanai). The zone is so awesome, and although there are a lot of Elders in our Zone going home within the next couple of transfers, we're excited to hit our high water mark in getting 23 baptisms.

• My companion is Sister Barnes! She is from Tennessee, has been out 6 months, was transferred from Hilo on the big Island, is a big ball of energy, and we work SO well together! She's super cute, makes me laugh every day. She always appologizes for how awkward she is, haha. But she is awesome, and her testimony just illuminates a room.
• Sister Barnes and I are WHITE WASHING!!....uhhh, what? We were both so shocked to find that out, and sometimes we still wonder why "us," but we know that the Lord put us there for a reason.....

HALEKAHALA HIKE, 10,0000 feet up!

• So in our area, Lahaina, there is a large portion of it that is nick-named as "mini Manilla"...as in a mini Philippines! So yes, pretty much everyone in our area speaks Tagalog. I've started studying up, and am beginning to read the Book of Mormon in Tagalog. We'll see how it goes. When I asked our investigator ( whom speaks hardly any English) if she would teach me, she just laughed! I told her I was serious and wanted to learn. So I pulled out the MTC learning Tagalog book and she helped me pronounce words and begin my training. I'll probably only be here for two transfers, but anything is better than nothing!!

• The ward is SO missionary minded!!! Our ward mission leader, Uncle Joe, he calls us every single morning to check up on our appoinments to make sure we are able to find a member to go with us or to fellowship. If we don't, he finds someone in about 5 minutes! He pretty much rocks.

Of course I want to share our miracles, because we definitely had choke!

Miracle #1: 
Sister Barnes and I were able to find 3 new investigators!!! CHEE-HOO!! Agh, it made us so happy!! We know that it was all through Heavenly Father's help. One of our ward missionaries told us that he felt very impressed for us to tract a specific street. Sister Barnes and I went to go tract it and we were trying to find where it was...well, we looked down a street and we both looked at each other and said, yup this is it!! Turns out, it was the wrong road, but we found Nelson, a new investigator! THEN the next day, when we were tracting we remembered that we still hadn't gone down the street he intended, so we went down it and found not only a less-active member who agreed to going with us to Tagalog and Ilikano speaking appointments, but another investigator! He is 19, from the Philippines, but speaks really good English, and is living with his grandparents. We used what is called the prayer approach that President has asked us to use (and we are seeing why), and after we prayed with him, we asked how he felt. He said that it was really nice and that he wants to draw closer to God, and really wants to know how he can do that. SO we set up a day and time to begin teaching him!! It was PERFECT! I'm so grateful for Heavenly Father for blessing us with the Holy Ghost that leads us and guides us so that we can be His hands in bringing His children back to Him. There are so many out there ready to hear the gospel, we just have be worthy to have the Spirit guide us, and willing to act upon his guidance.

Miracle #2: 
A couple of days ago we went to go meet our investigators in the ward and we were so happy that one in particular was home! She was really sad when Sister Christensen and Sister Patlingrau left the area (both went back to the VC), and was really worried, and told us she almost didn't want to learn from anyone else because of how awesome they were for her. She has been through a couple of sets, but these two were so patient with her. Well, we knock on her door, she realizes that we're the new missionaries, and lets us sit down. We end up sharing Helaman 5:12 with her, and she said that she loved the scripture because that is exactly what she wants. She wants that foundation, she wants to know for herself, and wants to know that she can be steadfast and immovable when trials come her way. We talked just trying to get to know each other and getting to know her expectations in learning the gospel. It was so good, and by the end we were all laughing together! It was such a blessing. Before we left she made sure that we knew that her son's third birthday party was on Saturday and would love for us to go. We were so grateful that she has opened up to us, and we cannot wait to begin teaching her as well.

Miracle #3: 
Last, but DEFINITELY not least. WE HAVE A DEAF INVESTIGATOR!!!!!!! Ah, I could not be happier! I had needed to call Sister Christensen the day before the transfer, and when we spoke on the phone she mentioned that they had tracted a man and his family, and that he was deaf! She was so nervous because she didn't know if anyone would be able to contact him again after she left if no one in the area spoke sign language. Yesterday Sister Barnes and I had about a half an hour before our dinner appointment and so we decided to go check the family out! We get to the house, unsure which was their's (in Hawaii there are probably 5 doors to a house, each leading to a different family). But we knocked on the right one. A little boy comes to the door and we ask if we can speak with his dad. Jose came outside and we immediately began signing! He is so sweet and just so kind. His sign is different than American Sign Language because he is from the Philippines, but it didn't really become a problem! I introduced myself and Sister Barnes and asked if he belonged to a church. He said no, and I asked that if he had time I would love to teach him more about the gospel of Jesus Christ! He said sure, and led us to some chairs just right outside where we were. We (well, I, but with Sister Barnes amazing spirit there) taught him the restoration of the first vision to introduce the Book of Mormon. After teaching him that it was a testament of Jesus Christ I explained that God loves us. He wants us to be happy, but not just for this life, but for all eternity. I asked if he wanted that...he said yes. I then invited him to follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized so that he could enter into the gate of eternal happiness. He said YES!!! We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he committed to reading it. It was SO cool!!! Sister Barnes kept saying how amazing it was that even though she couldn't understand, the spirit was so strong.

I am so grateful to be here. There are so many times we ask Heavenly Father why, or don't understand, or can't see the purpose in our trials or changes, but I can testify that He loves us. He sees who we can become and the trials and circumstances that will help guide our way if we let them. I know that as I have trust Him and put all of my faith in Him, I have seen miracles, I have seen him lead me in every aspect of my life and especially this work! It doesn't matter where we are in this world, or how much money we have, or what positions we have. What matters is that we are willing to be an instrument for God. I know that as we are, he will bless us with more than we have room to receive (Malachi 3:8-10). I love you all, and hope that you know that, and pray that you will always see the hand of God in your life. He loves each and every one of us!! Have another miraculous week, and I'll be back next week =)

Mahal Kita (I love you...tagalog)

 Kasama (Sister) Moyes

ALOHA MAUI !!!

Aloha cousins!!

I'm so excited to share with you that we just got transfer news, and
I am being transferred to the Island of Maui!! CHEE-HOooo!!
This is so crazy. Six VC sisters are going to full-field and we are getting five brand new Sisters, with the sad day of seeing my mom and trainer (Hermana Rodriguez) going back home to Guatemala. I feel like she just trained me and her time is already up! So crazy. I don't even know how to react to all of this. I know that I am called to go where the Lord needs me, and I am so excited to teach the people in Maui! With that being said, we still had some sweet miracles this week.

Miracle #1: Our baptism from a couple of weeks ago, he was able to pass the sacrament to Sister Tsai and me in church on Sunday! It was the coolest thing ever, and there is no greater joy than seeing someone progress in this gospel. It is true, and it brings true happiness that lasts forever!! 

Miracle#2: The good part about being in the Visitor Center is planting seeds. The better part about being in the Visitor Center is seeing those people leave their information on our guest card interested in learning more. AND the BEST part about being in the Visitor Center is getting to contact those guests, sharing your testimony with them, and they express to you that they would love to have the missionaries teach them about how they can show their faith in Jesus Christ by joining HIS true church on this earth!! That happened this week with a woman from Oregon, and it all started simply from coming on our tram tour from the PCC into the VC! I am so grateful to be serving in a Visitor Center where I am able to not only plant seeds, but see others truly draw closer to Christ. There is nothing like it!!

Miracle #3: So last week I wrote about a miracle of a couple who came in! I talked mostly with the woman and she said she wanted to be baptized. Well, when giving her a guest card, she didn't give us any information, but she agreed to have missionaries come visit her. That's always hard to get the card back and they don't give any contact information. Well, we had a miracle. The VC directors take the Sisters who were able to get the most self-referrals from the week out to go get ice cream, haha. So they took us. We were walking into the ice cream shop when a woman and man start waving at us! I take a double take, and it is the same couple!!! We were able to set an appointment at the VC for 12 on Friday. The sad part is, they didn't show up...BUT, that's okay, because it was a testimony builder to remind me that if we are doing everything we can, Heavenly Father will guide us and help us find those who are lost. We continue to pray for them that they will come back to the Visitor Center to be taught =)

Major Flooding this Week

I am so grateful for this wonderful week. I have never felt other's prayers more than I have this week. Sister Tsai and I had such a blast our last week together, and were able to have such a strong unity. I know that Heavenly Father sees who we can become, and if we are willing to trust Him, the trials we have are to build us and help us grow. Then, when we have overcome them, we can look back with no regrets! Don't ever forget that you can simply get down on your knees and pray. Heavenly Father will lift you up and make you stronger. I know this to be true. I am so excited for the miracles I will be able to see in the "full-field," and look forward to see what the Lord needs me for. I love you, and miss you all, but know that all is well! 

Until next week in Maui, ALOHHHHHA!

Sister Moyes