WITH POWER AND AUTHORITY

Family and Friends, ALOHHHh- HA !!! :)

I wish I could convey my excitement and love that I am overwhelmed with at this time! There is SO much to tell, and SO many amazing events and miracles that occurred this past week. My life has been forever changed.
For now I will have to list many of the miracles we witnessed, and after my mission I will come back and fill in the blanks for anyone who would love to listen! For now, I will try to do my best to tell of the miracles with the amount of time we are given to e-mail!!!

MIRACLES

Stake Conference with Elder Soares

2 lessons in TC with Lationa and Robert

Kalani's Lesson with Brigham and Ezra

VC meeting Joey

Pan's Baptism

Miracle #1  

So if you look back on the letter I sent on August 27th (or around then, depending on when my perfect mother posted it for me) you will see that I spoke of an amazing Filipino woman who came into the Visitor Center. I mentioned how every single time she has an appointment with the Elders I "happen" to be on shift. I know now without a doubt that this was no coincidence. Well, this woman's name is Pan! I have come to love her SO much these past couple of months as I have been able to teach her and help her as well to prepare for baptism. Well, it happened! This Saturday she was baptized! She came into the Visitor Center and personally invited me and told me that it would not be complete if I was not there. I felt so honored. Well, Sister Eaton and I arrive at her baptism, and she was in the hallway so nervous and full of doubts; wondering if this was really what she was supposed to do. I gave her the biggest hug of my life, as she cried into my shoulder. I told her that she was making the best decision she will ever make in her life thus far. She just looked at us and expressed her gratitude for us being there as we walked her into the room for the baptismal program. The program began, and after the first talk we headed towards the baptismal font. Sister Eaton and I took Pan into the locker room, said a prayer with her, and she walked down the steps into the water. She was then baptized by immersion by someone (Elder Temahuki) holding the priesthood authority.  I cannot explain how strong the spirit was. You could truly feel the love of God for her; His beautiful daughter. It was incredible to see all those doubts, all those worries, all of Satan, completely washed away as she came up out of the water. She stepped up from the stairs with a HUGE smile on her face and said, " I DID IT! I feel so much peace and calm." Ah, I love her.

With Elder and Sister Soares of the Seventy

Stake Conference

Miracle #2 

Elder Holland came to our mission!! For those who do not know who this is: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, is of the quorum of the 12 Apostles. Oh what a blessing and miracle this was for me. I cannot express to you the feelings of joy and of the spirit that were felt at this meeting; especially during the brief moment we had to shake his hand. What an amazing thing to hear Sister Holland (his wife) speak at the pulpit saying, "Elder Holland and I have been with a lot of missionaries in our service together. Never in my life have I seen a larger, brighter, happier group of missionaries." She then broke into tears expressing the righteousness she felt from us. I have never felt so grateful in my life to be a missionary at this time. Following Sister Holland, Elder Holland spoke. Every word he spoke was with such love, such power and authority! It was this same power and authority that he spoke to us about. That we as missionaries must go and teach with power and authority as true representatives of Jesus Christ. He said that we will never do anything better in our lives than what we are doing right now, and that is saving souls. I know this to be true. I know that as we lead and guide God's children towards the waters of baptism, we truly are saving souls. God wants ALL of His children to be with Him, and it is through us that we are able to lead and guide others onto that path. I know he is a true Prophet of God, as an apostle of Jesus Christ,  I know that the words he speaks are coming from God. I know that with all of my heart, and I know that only joy will come from accepting and learning about this gospel.

With President and Sister Warner

Miracle #3

For the past transfer Sister Eaton and I have constantly been trying to contact a family that is in our ward boundaries. Well finally on Monday night, after stopping at every single person's home we could think of, we felt inspired to go stop at one more house. We decided to go see this particular family (consisting of a mother and daughter with the daughter's son). When we get there we meet the mother who is active. She explains to us that her daughter has not been involved with the church for over ten years now, and was interested in taking the lessons and willing to learn whether this church was true or not. We set up an appointment and then went back home for the night, feeling so grateful we made one more stop. Well we were able to meet with the daughter just yesterday. What an amazing lesson it was. After getting to know her background a little bit, Sister Eaton and I let the spirit guide. It was such a powerful lesson. I tried to take everything that we learned from Elder Holland and applied it. I was a lesson that I felt like definitely came from our hearts, and not robotic missionaries! The biggest miracle in this lesson was after we ended it with a prayer, she looked at me and asked, "Did you serve in another part of Hawaii during your mission?" I told her yes, and asked why? She asked if I had served in the Moanalua second ward, and I, more exictedly this time, told her yes! She expressed how she remembered meeting me there! I paused for a moment, then remembering exactly where we met in Sunday School class. It was so neat to see that God truly puts people in our paths for a reason. It was after making that connection that a great piece of the wall that she had was torn down! It was such a miracle. I know that I have served my mission where God has needed me to be.

I LOVE being a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ. I LOVE putting my name tag above my heart every single day. I LOVE this gospel, and I LOVE knowing that it has been restored upon the earth today. I know this to be true! I know that God lives and loves each of His children. I know that as we open our mouths and share this message of joy and everlasting life, you too will see people's lives change! Or for anyone who reads this who is searching to know....pray, and you will know. I can promise you that with the power and authority that has been bestowed upon me at this time of my life! I love you all so much!!! Hasten the work of Salvation!                                  Warmest Aloha,
                                                                                                                Sister Moyes

                                                                                   

A CHANGE OF HEART

My dear family and friends, Aloha!

Zone Conference

President Warner

I wish words could tell the thoughts, emotions, or feelings that I have at this time. This week I had the blessing of attending my very last zone conference. Listening to the testimonies of other missionaries as well as our wonderful President and Sister Warner, I truly feel that there is no place I would rather be than serving side by side with such amazing children of God; especially with my wonderful companion Sister Eaton, and the miracles we are seeing together.

Sister Warner

Miracle #1 

A few different things have happened in the past week concerning Kalani that have caused us to push his baptism to a later date. The miracle in this was that after one of our lessons we asked him again how he felt about his baptism. He said he didn't want to do it anymore. Our hearts were broken. We asked why, and he simply said, "Because I don't want to." We knew that only the Lord would be able to soften his heart. Our next lesson, Sister Eaton and I decided to try a new approach. We made sure that his recent convert brother was there in the lesson. It was amazing the difference that it made. He was helping him the whole way. After teaching an object lesson about the Holy Ghost and how it can protect us we read stories from the Book of Mormon that exemplified this principle. Reading from the Book of Mormon stories, you could see that this big book staring at him, no longer stood lifeless. There are two miracles in this...we spoke with the foster parents, and they said they could not believe it, but Kalani would take the book into his room and read it instead of doing other things. The second miracle is, after one more lesson with him, he told us he still wanted to be baptized, and was willing to give keeping the commandments another try. We invited him to pray when God wanted him to be baptized. He said he would! Never give up on anyone. As long as we continue to show them the love of the Savior, I know that miracles can happen.

Miracle #2 

Having so many international companions, usually during a language tour I will just follow along and smile, haha. Well Sister Eaton, going on her SECOND Russian tour for the day (which usually doesn't happen) took a Russian family on a tour. They were definitely NOT interested. They made sure we knew that they were just looking for more information. We first took them to the temple corner (showing the pictures of inside the temple), ending the tour outside looking up towards the temple. Although the husbands English was minimal, I was able to convey my love for the temple and how it has blessed my life... The spirit was so strong as we bore our testimonies of the temples and of God's love for his children. You could see their countenances change from when we first met. They expressed to us that they could feel a difference being on the temple grounds, and loved the feeling they had. 

Cleaning the Guide Room

Miracle #3 

At the Visitor Center we try to accommodate for as many different language speakers that come to visit us. We have The Book of Mormon in 82 different languages and the Christus statue narration in about 30 different languages. Well, what a blessing it is that the spirit speaks all languages. An older mother and grown up son came to the VC from Italy...speaking little to no English. We lead them to listen to the Christus in Italian followed by showing them to a copy of The Book of Mormon in Italian. Their faces lit up as they read through the pages written in their native tongue. They were so excited to have one of their own, with the mother letting us know that she was going to read it on her flight back home to Italy. It was so amazing to feel the spirit during this 5 minute time period with these two wonderful people. I know that the spirit spoke to them, and I cannot wait to see in the final days how it has blessed their lives.

P-day Hike

I know I always say this, but I am so truly grateful for this gospel. It is truly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am humbled daily as I see the many ways that I can improve, but am ever grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who has allowed me to change; to repent, learn and grow. I know when I was a little girl (in age) I saw missionaries in this perfect light. I am learning that it wasn't that they were perfect, but that as a missionary, my testimony of the atonement has never been more real...and the best part is, I get to share my testimony of it every single day. Don't be afraid to share yours! 

Love,

Sister Moyes

A REASON TO CELEBRATE

Family, Friends, and all of God's Children,

ALooooHA!

My heart is so full today of gratitude, humility, and love. So much has happened this week, and I feel so blessed.

Housekeeping:

* All the VC sisters were able to be in the 50th year Anniversary parade for the Polynesian Cultural Center, as we rode on the tram bus! It was SO fun!

* Had the blessing of meeting the woman that my mother trained on HER mission!

* My last zone conference in this week =/

* Our Mission President just announced that Elder Holland will be coming and speaking to our mission next week!!

* Because Elder Nelson was here for the dedication of one of the buildings at BYU-H and the CES Fireside, Sister Nelson also gave a special fireside to all the woman of the Relief Society covering 5 different stakes, which we were able to attend. And it was EXACTLY what I needed to hear.

This week has truly been a week of celebrations.

Not only to celebrate the 50th anniversary, but a celebration of life, a celebration for the Lord's hand in this beautiful place of Laie, and a celebration of the miracles that have been shown to us this week.

Miracle #1: 

Kalani is getting baptized!!! This past Wednesday we had a lesson of the Restoration with him, and extended the invitation to be baptized on September 21st. He said he would, and we set up another appointment for Friday. It turned out to be such a great lesson! Heavenly Father truly prepared him to receive it...So, like I mentioned, the appointment was for Friday, but when we got there we were told that he was feeling really sick and throwing up =/ We called the next day to see how he was doing, and got the okay to come and teach him. Well, turns out, the reason he got so sick was because he had eaten a ton of pizza and candy the whole day....hah, the miracle is, our lesson was on the Word of Wisdom.

Everything made sense to him as he was able to relate this wonderful law to his experience the day before. After our lesson, we felt like we should just talk with him, and really get to know him. We asked him how he really felt about being baptized. We wanted to make sure it was for him. I asked him if he was excited for his baptism, and he looks at me and says, "No." I looked at him back and simply asked, "Why is that?" Hah, and then he gives me a half smile and confesses that he was excited! I asked the same question, and his response was that he knew that he would be able to be clean, reborn, and be able to start his life over. I testified that I KNEW that through Jesus Christ he truly would be clean, and that he will feel the love of God with him as he received the Holy Ghost. He said he really liked that. He is so amazing!

Miracle #2 

This might be a story that every mother might dread when sending their missionary out in the mission field, but I would feel ungrateful if I did not share it. Sister Eaton and I were headed out for the day when Sister Eaton turns around and mentions she left her name tag upstairs. We both head back inside to grab it. As she heads down the stairs I realized that I had left something (I wish I could remember what that was). So I too head up the stairs, grab whatever it was, then head out once again to our car. SOO, preface, our driveway interrupts another street (perpendicular) that leads us to the main Highway. We are always very careful when pulling out because people drive off of the highway onto this street where we pull out of our drive way. Well, as we pull out, a car, going about 20 mph drives right past us, missing our car, my side, by maybe half a second. I know that if the Holy Ghost had not reminded Sister Eaton and I of these objects we had left behind, causing us to be a half  of a second ahead of the timing we were on, that car would have hit us. I know that God is watching out for us. I know that as we listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and follow the will of God, that all will be well.

Miracle #3 

When we do the tram tours, it gets very busy in the VC. We often times split from our companions so that we make sure that everyone is talked to, or perhaps so that we can make sure all the guests have guest cards before they get back on the bus. Well, on Saturday I was out by the tram bus handing out the guest cards. When I came back in, I saw that Sister Eaton was on a tour with a couple. Usually we won't interrupt the tour by jumping in until it's at a good point. Well, I went up to the Christus room and was in the middle of talking to one of the Sisters when the Holy Ghost abruptly stopped my words and let me know I needed to go be with my companion RIGHT NOW. I apologized, got up and went to find her. As soon as I came down the ramp I saw her headed into the God's Plan presentation. I was just in awe. We HAVE to have two Sisters to take a tour through there. I knew that these people must be pretty important, and that it was must have been very important that they watch this presentation. It turned out being an amazing tour with a woman who expressed her desire to come back to church after being away for 30 years along with her non-member boy friend who had tears in his eyes through out the tour. Both agreed to let us continue teaching them after they went back home to Washington. 

I am so grateful for this gospel, and I am so grateful for the Lord's hand in each of our lives. I know that He is watching over us, and that through ministering angels we are able to receive the help and guidance we need. I am so grateful for the Holy Ghost and all that He does. I know that as we strive to always be worthy of its companionship, we will never go astray. I love my Savior so much, and the perfect example He was for us. As I have been reading "Jesus the Christ," I could not have more reason to celebrate, but for the life that He lived so that we too can have eternal life.  

I love you all, keep up the good work!!!

Sister Moyes

MORONI 9

Family and Friends, ALOHA!!!

WOW, WHAT A WEEK!! Ah, I'm getting excited just thinking about all the miracles I'll be able to share with you today!

* The woman I spoke of a couple of weeks ago who came onto my tram bus from the PCC to the VC last December was baptized on Saturday and confirmed yesterday!!! YAYYY!!

Miracle#1 

Okay, I have to let the world know, I LOVE my companion, Sister or Cecpta Eaton. She has been such a huge blessing in this missionary work. She is so full of faith and a willingness to do whatever the Lord asks her to do. Ah, its great! LOVE her. That being said, during our district meeting, our new district leader Elder Dzaemen challenged us to to go through our area book and go contact every potential investigator by the end of the week. I know that it was SO inspired. Sister Eaton and I grabbed the area book, looked at the potentials and got going! We visited a couple of houses where families were busy or simply not interested, but still willing to "talk story" with us. So we went forward with the next name on our list. Ryan. We knock on the door, and a boy about 11 years-old answers the door, but it's not Ryan. We introduced ourselves and then I asked if he had been baptized yet, with the response of, "No." Woot Woot!!  

Sister Eaton and I asked him if he had faith in Jesus Christ and God, and he let us know that he did not. We asked him why he thought it would be important to have faith in God. He said, "To help us."  I then asked what he could use help with in his life, and he began opening up to us telling us about how he needs help wit his schooling. I explained to him how much Heavenly Father has helped me in my schooling, and how I ALWAYS needed help when I was in school. I told him that it wasn't until I asked for help from Heavenly Father that I was able to learn faster, work harder, and do MUCH better in school. We could see he really liked that as a smile appeared on his face. We asked him if he would pray for help with school, and he said he would! We then taught him to pray and asked him that if he prayed and knew that what we were teaching him was true, if he would be baptized... and he said yes!! Ah, it was awesome. We were worried because we still needed to get permission from his aunty, but she said we could teach him when we returned to visit yesterday!!

Miracle#2 

So we were still on our search for new investigators, but it was getting pretty dark and almost time to head back. We had two more houses left on our list, one of them having all the lights out, in Hawaii meaning no one is home, and then the next house we could see a light coming from the door inside the garage. We didn't think that was the part of the house we were looking for (it was an Ohana...meaning, a house with more than one family living in it), but we both decided, HEY, why not???  We knock on the door, and a guy about in his 30's comes out, SUPER nice, and SO Hawaiian, haha. He said that basically his whole family are members but just never had been taught about the gospel. He was born and raised in Laie, but had left for a little while, just returning a couple of weeks ago! PERFECT! We asked if he would be interested in learning about how it could bless his life and he said, "Sure! Why not??" Hah, it was perfect. Oh did I mention he has a non-member girl friend, too?? It was such a blessing, and we cannot wait to teach them this week!

Miracle#3 

Did I mention my companion is the coolest person ever? So, our dinner appointment totally forgot one night, and was actually in California. SO needless to say, we did not have a dinner that night. We, along with another companionship decided to order pizza from Dominoes, because our amazing member owns it and will give us free pizza whenever we need it. She's amazing. So Sister Eaton and I go outside of the VC through a set of doors that leads into this tunnel of pillars to make the phone call for a delivery. BUT the phone would not call!! We tried and tried and tried. It just would not call Dominoes. Finally, Sister Eaton told me to try leaving the tunnel and walk out by the grounds a little bit and try calling out there.

Where I found the woman from Russian

So I do, and when I go out I see a woman walking by. I asked her where she was from and she said, "Russia!" I excitedly said, "Wow, Russia??!" As Sister Eaton comes around the corner. It couldn't have been more perfect. They were headed away from the VC, but if our dinner did not canceled, and if the phone HAD worked, and my companion wasn't so inspired to see if it was the tunnel, we would not have met this RUSSIAN couple. We eventually took them on a tour into the VC (me just standing there smiling), but the spirit was SO strong!! They still spoke some English, so I was able to bare my testimony as well. Unfortunately they said they would like to take the guest card with them and fill it out and return it...which usually means we won't see it again, but I KNOW they felt the spirit. And I know that when the time is right, they will accept the gospel.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this gospel. It is SO true!!! I know without a doubt that the knowledge I have of Jesus Christ and His church that has been restored upon the earth today ARE true! I know that man is not perfect, but God is. I know that God is a God of miracles (Moroni 9), and as we are willing to put our trust in Him, and go to Him in faith, He will help us. He will help us to learn, to grow, to perfect. All these things for our happiness...even our eternal happiness. I invite you all to pray, pray to feel of Heavenly Father's love. Let it lift you up and inspire you to do better and be better than yesterday! Love you all so much! Thank you for your continual prayers!!!

Love Always,
Cecpta Moyes

TRUTH IN ALL THINGS

(August 27th Letter)

Family and Friends, ALohhHA!

I cannot even believe that the time has already come for yet another transfer...my last transfer =/. Words cannot begin to express my gratitude for Heavenly Father for allowing me to come and serve Him here in Hawaii. It's been the greatest blessing of my life thus far, and I know that it would not have been possible without all your prayers. So thank you.

TRANSFER NEWS

My very last companion of my mission who will be "killing" me is the amazing, BEAUTIFUL, kind, and RUSSIAN, Sister Eaton!! Ahh, I do not know why I have been so blessed, but I am so grateful. Sister Eaton and I have been praying all transfer that we would get to be together, and here we are!! So exciting!

Housekeeping Business:

* We will be whitewashing the Laie 5th and Laie 8th ward

* So, because we are schedules require us to spend half the day in the VC and half day in our areas, there is always a period of time that no one is in the area. They have now assigned two wards  (for me, L5 and L8) to two sets of Sisters. Two companionships with opposite shifts at the VC are covering two wards, that way, there will always be a set of Sisters in the area! Some wards are busier than others, baptizing-wise, so this way, not only are there sisters always in the area but we will be busier baptizing!!

* I will be living in the same apartment, yay! No moving =)

* My P-days for the rest of my mission will be on MONDAY!

LITTLE MIRACLES:

* Gave a tour to a family from Quebec, Canada =) 

* Our L3 ward youth have consistently been bringing their non-member friend to church!!

* We met with a less-active that we have been trying to contact for the past 3 months...AND she let us in!!

Miracle #1 

Part 1: So one day during shift at the VC, a young Filipino woman came in with a guy, both about the same age. Sister Bradley and I went to greet them when they informed us that they were just waiting for their appointment with the Elders. I got a little excited, and asked her if she was going to be baptized soon!!!...I get a little enthusiastic sometimes. She gave a half smile, and then just said, "I don't know. We haven't talked about it yet." I then asked her how she was introduced to the Elders, and she said that her co-worker (the guy with her), had introduced her to the church! WAY TO GO MEMBER MISSIONARIES!! She then excitedly told us that she is starting to read The Book of Mormon to learn more, as she lifted it up to show us. I had forgotten that I said this, but I promised her that if she said a prayer every time she readsThe Book of Mormon she will know it is true. This time her face lit up. You could just see that she yearned for truth! Well, it has been no coincidence that every time she comes in for an appointment with the Elders I am on shift and I get to share my testimony with her.

Meeting Elder Moreno from Distri

Part 2: Well, just last night she came in and I immediately came up to her and gave a her a big hug! She had The Book of Mormon in her hand so I asked her where her finger was holding the place and it was in 3 Nephi! The second she said that, Sister Bradley and I both excitedly say, "AH! THAT'S THE BEST PART!" Haha, I then explained to her that when I read 3 Nephi, that's when I knew that The Book of Mormon was true. Her eyes were wide open, said, "Really?" I smiled and nodded my head. She then expressed to us that that is exactly what she had been praying to know right now...if this was true, and that every time she grabbed her Book of Mormon, she kept opening it to 3 Nephi! She then said, "Well, I better start reading this then!" We left her as she read. When the Elders came in, I informed them of what had happened. They had big smiles on their faces and went ahead in teaching her. (Sorry this is long)

Well, after her appointment with the Elders she came out into the Christus room and had a HUGE smile on her face. I asked how the lesson went, and she said that the Elders found the most amazing scripture that when she read it, she KNEW that God knew her and was answering her prayers. She said that she felt goosebumps and calm inside.  I testified to her that this was the Holy Ghost by then showing her Moroni 10:4-5. She said that the Elders set a baptismal date for the 21st of September, and was unsure, but now she cannot even wait.She looked at me and said, I know this is true! It was one of those moments you cannot forget. I told her that I, and many others will be there at her baptism to support her, and she was so happyyyy! It was amazing.

Miracle #2: 

Our amaxing Ward Missionary in our YSA Ward

Many other miracles happened this week, including the baptism we attended of a young guy who we had previously taken on a tour in the VC. We were able to commit him to sticking with his baptismal date, because he was still a little unsure, but he took that leap of faith. Rarely will we see the fruits of our labors, so it was amazing to see him enter into the waters of baptism.

I know that this gospel is true. I know that there are so many hearts being prepared for us as members to bring to the missionaries. Let us pray daily for those opportunities. Yes, that means we need to be more prepared ourselves, it means we will have to have courage to be bold, to open our mouths. But, as we live our lives having the spirit with us, the Spirit WILL work through us. "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things." He will testify what we say is true. I love you all so much, and cannot wait to share the miracles of this next transfer.

Love you,

Sister Moyes