RETURNING WITH HONOR

Family, Friends, Cousins, 
Children of our wonderful God, ALOHAA!

Wasn't General Conference AMAZING!?! Is now the time to do missionary work or WHAT!? Ahh, I LOVED it! Every session I go into Conference with a question or two to be answered through the words of the Prophets, this time I had questions concerning my next step in life....hah, but every SINGLE talk I kept thinking, "Ooh, that would be perfect for Jo ei!" or, "I really hope Kalani was listening to this talk," or even, "Wow, that would be a perfect lesson for Kehaulani!" Maybe it's a sign that I should never go home and I should be a missionary in Hawaii FOREVER! Ah, oh how I wish, but I do know that missionary work will forever be embedded in my heart. How blessed we are to share the gospel, ".  . . for such a time as this" (Esther 4:14). Well, of course it wouldn't be a Sister Moyes Letter if I did not share our miracles!!

Miracle #1 

Pics with Jo Ei from conference

Jo Ei came to three sessions of General Conference!!! Jo Ei is seriously the most amazing person I have taught on my mission. She is truly the elect, and Heavenly Father has been preparing her in every single way! We have had many lessons with her since last week, and in every single one the spirit gets stronger and stronger. When she prayed with us a couple of lessons ago, she paused for a long time as tears began falling down her face, and continued to pray in gratitude for all that she has been able to learn. I have NEVER felt the spirit as strong as I have when teaching her. At our final appointment last night, I asked if she would share her testimony with me, and I cannot begin to tell you how much faith and love she has for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Sister Eaton and I LOVE her SOOOO much! I know that if it were not for her amazing fellowshippers and for her taking action by keeping commitments such as actually reading The Book of Mormon, praying, and going to church, she would not have the solid testimony that she does!

Conference Breakfast with the Zone

Miracle#2 
There were so many miracles this week, but honestly the miracles all were made possible through the Holy Ghost. What a blessing it is to have the gift of the Holy Ghost; especially as a missionary! There were so many times that people came into the Visitor Center this week that would not have had the gospel if it were not for the promptings of The Holy Ghost. There was one instance when I saw a woman filling out a guest card (the one that the guests mark if missionaries can come teach them) and then she began to walk out the doors back towards her tram bus to the PCC. I had the strongest feeling to offer to take the card now, instead of her giving it to the Sisters on her tram. She said "SURE! I'm actually not sure what to fill out, though." I then felt prompted to ask if there was anything she saw today at the VC she was interested in learning more about, and her tour guides (the Sisters) could stay in contact and teach her more. She then replied, "Oh, wow, yes, I definitely want to learn more about the temple!" She happily left her info to learn more.

Kalani and Ryan

Another instance happened when I was walking around the VC as tram tour guests searched around looking for something of their interest. I saw a man heading towards The Book of Mormon display. I went up to him and immediately asked him where he was visiting from! He told me, Iran! Wow, how cool was that!!! I then asked if he spoke another language when he responded with, "Yes, Persian!" I asked if he would like a copy of The Book of Mormon in Persian and his face just lit up . . .I ran to go get one before he could say no. As I handed this blessed book to him in his native tongue, he stood straighter, his eyes full of joy as he looked at me with a big bright smile and said quietly, "Thank you SO much for this!" The spirit was so strong, and I know that it touched his heart as I testified of this marvelous book. All of these miracles would not be possible without the guidance of the Holy Ghost. 

Zone picture

My awesome companion

I cannot believe this is my last post or letter home as a missionary in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. But I want to conclude with this:

Alma 26:37 "Now my brethren (and sisters), we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen" (Italicized added by me). 

My Aloha Oe' at the Visitors Center

I want to declare to the world, I KNOW that this is God's church on the earth today!! It has been restored upon the face of the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith! It is only through this restored gospel that we can enjoy the blessings of the Priesthood including temple ordinances. I know that it is only through the temple and sealing ordinance that we can be with our loved ones forever! "This is my joy, and my great thanksgiving;" I know that this is the way to eternal happiness! I know that Jesus Christ lives, and loves us. He lived and set the perfect example for each and every one of us! I know that as we follow His example by being baptized by someone who holds the

Priesthood authority of God, we can truly be clean of all our sins, and be pure in the eyes of God! I know that there is no other way by which we can be saved, and there is no other way to find happiness in this life and the next! I love you all so much! I love the Lord, and I know that as we give Him EVERYTHING we have, then He will never lead us astray. Test it out, see if when you put God first he does not bless you! I can declare and testify as a representative of Jesus Christ that He will, because He loves EACH and EVERY one of you!No matter who you are, what you have done, where you have been, you are HIS. I know that I am not perfect, but the gospel or the Atonement allow us to change and to look forward with faith and hope knowing that we are divine children of God! He loves you!! I testify that all of these things are true. Love you all so much, and leave this my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Returning with Honor,

Sister Annie Moyes

ALOHA 'OE

My last Accountability with the Sisters

Malepe and Teleni's family (kids, Ziggy, Aufi, Moana) from Laie 9th Samoan Ward

Dinner with the Loza's! From my Laie 3rd Ward

Family, Friends, Aloha!!

It is so crazy to feel how fast this time has gone by. My heart is full of joy and gratitude as well as heartache. This Sunday was my last Sacrament meeting, being that next Sunday is GENERAL CONFERENCE!!  =) It was such a blessing that in our our Laie 8th ward, Sister Rowley and I (Sister Rowley and Cavalcante being the other set of Sisters in the ward) were able to speak on missionary in Sacrament meeting. What a joy it was to bare my testimony to these wonderful people of Hawaii, and testify of the truthfulness of this gospel one last time. After the program, the congregation stood and sang to me, "Aloha 'Oe;"  a song written by the Queen of Hawaii long ago traditionally sung as a bidding farewell. 

Bishop and Sister Mamea from my Moanalua 2nd Samoan Ward

It's words singing:

Ha'aheo ka ua I na pali

Ke nihi a'ela i ka nahele

E hahai ana paha i ka liko

Pua 'ahihi lehua o uka

Aloha 'oe, aloha 'oe

E ke onaona noho i ka lipo

One fond embrace,

A ho'i a'e au

Until we meet again.

I love Hawaii and it's people so much, and know that through the gospel, we truly shall meet again. Well, what a week this has been, and I cannot wait to see the miracles that await my last week as a missionary in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission.

Miracle #1 

I mentioned in my little list of miracles that I did not have time to write about a girl named Jo Ei. Ah, well, let me tell you about Jo Ei. When Sister Tsai and I served in the YSA wards last December, Jo Ei was our only non-member in our ward boundaries. She is from Malaysia. We tried over and over again to knock on her door, but she was either not home, or told us that she was not interested, while telling her other non-member friends not to listen to our message! Now almost 10 months later, the Holy Ghost has once again spoken to and changed someone's heart. Sister Eaton and I were on shift at the VC when a YSA (young single adult) came in and told us that his friend Jo Ei was going to be coming to the VC, and she was a non-member.

We didn't think anything of it except excited to speak to a non-member, having no idea who she was. He told us that she had felt the spirit, for the first time, and that she was really moved by it. He told us that she wants to learn from missionaries, but is SO scared.

Well, long story short, we met her (outside the doors of the VC b/c she was too scared to come in) and I couldn't believe this was the same Jo Ei!! She truly was changed; her countenance completely different!  We spoke with her and said a prayer with her at this time, and invited her to meet with missionaries. Very timidly she nodded her head and said this would be okay.

We went into the VC and told the VC director of our miracle, and they told us that if she wanted to meet with Sister Eaton and me because she already knew me, then Sister Eaton and I should set an appointment with her and meet with her, then transition her to the other Sisters...as we would normally do when finding new investigators that come to the VC. We asked her how she felt, and she told us that she wanted us to teach her. We couldn't wait.

We met with her a couple of nights later, teaching her the Gospel of Jesus Christ; Lesson 3. We taught her about the steps that God has given us that lead us to eternal happiness. It was amazing to have her open up to us; explaining when she felt the spirit, and expressing to us that the Holy Ghost already told her it was true.

We asked her what she felt she needed to do next. After having taught her about baptism, her answer was of course, "To be baptized." We then asked her when she felt she could be prepared to be baptized. After a long silence of a good 2 minutes, she finally said, "I think in 3 or 4 weeks." I can't even tell you how much joy filled my heart for her! We then pulled out a calendar showing her that in 3 weeks was the 12th and 4 weeks being the 19th. As soon as I looked at the 19th, I selfishly asked Heavenly Father that this date would stand out to her! My family and I will be coming back to Hawaii and will be on O'ahu on this day. With a short amount of silence this time, she said, "The 19th stands out." A huge smile came on my face! I told her of the good news that even though I would be leaving my mission in a couple of weeks, I would be back on that day; allowing me to still attend her baptism!! She was SO excited!! So, family, get excited to see Jo Ei's baptism when we come back!! What a miracle. Every single piece of this story is a miracle. There is SO much more to it, so definitely ask me, and I'd love to tell you more! 

                                                        (sorry that was so long)

Miracle#2  

This past Friday Sister Eaton and I did not have too much proselyting time with all the appointments we had set up (mind you, every single one of them fell through, haha). With the hour that we had, we planned on seeing four families. Well, we were on our third family to visit and as we turned to drive down the street, we saw the lights on and the door open to the house of one of our investigators whom we had not contacted since our initial contact with him. We turned the car around, parked, said a prayer, and got out of the car. As we approached the house, we saw a figure (it was getting dark outside) inside the bed of a truck. The closer we get, we saw that it was him! Nate! We were so happy to see him! After speaking to him for a couple of minutes we come to find out that he works from 4:30 am to 9:30 pm every single day!! He said that he only comes home for a couple of minutes around that time to pick up some things. What a miracle it was that we drove by at the precise time he was home for those few moments. We were able to say a prayer with him and help him feel the spirit. I love how some times when we feel inspired to visit someone, it's actually the person on the way that we're supposed to see. I know that is why it's so important to look ALL around us for the miracles in store. Turned out the person we were going to visit, didn't even live there anymore. Pretty cool how Heavenly Father works. As long as we are doing our best, living righteously, He will bless us to be in the right place at the right time!

Service Project in the morning, cleaning the temple grounds!

Yup! We get to clean the pool at the Visitor Center =)

I know this has been a really long e-mail, but I am so grateful for this wonderful time of my life that I have had to serve the Lord. I know that God lives, and I know that this IS His church upon the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that Priesthood authority; the power to act in God's name is restored upon the earth again today! I know we are lead by a Prophet of God, and He leads us and guides us to know of how we can daily gain true joy and happiness in this life and especially the next! Love you all SO much. Thank you for your continual prayers!

Alofa,

Sister Moyes

Sister Eaton and me at a Samoan Ward party

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