BEST MISSION EVER

Aloha everyone!

So, I know how every missionary comes home claiming to have gone to the best mission in the world...but I don't know. I seriously cannot even express how blessed I am to be serving here. Well, this week has been pretty exciting. Everyone is starting to get nervous, because next week is the last week before transfers, and so we never know what is going to happen with that. Then, last night President Dalton (mission president) and his wife, took the whole entire zone and the assistants, to the prime dining and the night show at the Polynesian Cultural Center as a gift for doubling our high water mark for baptisms. Lots of food + most amazing cultural entertainment of your life= amazing. 

Also, Hermana Rodriguez and I had some awesome tours this week and have a pretty cool story for our area!

So, this was probably my favorite experience of the week. This little girl, who lives down the street, is in the Samoan Ward, comes into the visitor's center asking if she can watch this video presentation we have that is called God's Plan...it's my favorite. Anyway, we take her in, she's probably about 11 years old, and after the presentation, you end up in this large room, where we get to talk to the guests about their thoughts and feelings about the presentation. So we talked to her and after talking about the video, asked her what brought her to the VC today? She said that she was at the park with her "friends," and that they all thought it would be funny to sneak off and leave her. So she looks up from reading her book, and they're all gone. So the sweet little girl told us that she knew that she could come to the temple grounds into the VC and feel okay, because she knew that God loved her. Bah, at this point I'm just crying! We told her that she was exactly right, that God loves her SO much, and that he will NEVER ever leave her. I felt impressed to ask if she wanted us to say a prayer with her, and she said she would love that. So the three of us knelt down in prayer, as she asked if I would offer it. You could truly feel God's love for her while we were praying, it was indescribable. 

An experience that happened while we were doing the tram tours... I had talked to this guy before he got on the bus with his son, a college student. Then while at the Visitor's Center another Sister was talking to him, so I went over to join the conversation. He asked some really awesome questions, and I told him that he should definitely have the missionaries over and teach him! We handed him a referral card, and said that he might fill out on the bus...I was pretty bummed, because usually that means they don't want to. The other sister left, and the tram had come, so the three of us walked outside to get on the tram bus to head back to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Well, we got talking more and more about why I was on a mission, and he asked if it was hard being a missionary. I told him that it can be, but that I had my testimony, and that when it comes down to it, that is all that matters. He totally agreed, and said how awesome that was, and told me to never let go of that, because no one can ever take it away from me. He was so stinkin nice. Then he kind of looked at me (at this point the bus is full, and we're driving back), and said, you know, I bet they feel so lucky to have a missionary as energetic and happy as you are. I thanked him, but told him that that happiness comes through the gospel, and told him he really needed to fill out that card so the missionaries could come teach him how he can have that happiness, too. I reassured him that I would be in contact with him and his son the whole time, if they felt uncomfortable at first, and told them that I would be there to answer any questions along the way. He said he would really like that, took out the card and filled it out. I felt so happy for him and his son and can't wait to see what happens!!

Alright, then a couple of days ago we were at Subway, and I sat down with my food waiting for the other Sisters that came, and this lady asked me if I was going to eat my whole entire foot-long! Haha, I told her that the whole thing would definitely be gone before I left. She laughed and thought that was awesome! So then I kept talking to her, then she saw my name tag and asked if I was a nun. Hah, typical question around here. I told her I was not, explained I was missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 18 months! She thought that was so cool. After getting her name, she continued to talk to me, and tell me that life was really hard right now, but loved our faith in God. We told her that He can help get through any hardship she is experiencing right now, then asked if I could get her name and number (she doesn't have permanent address) so that we could teach her more! She loved that, and said absolutely!!

I wish I had time to tell more of the miracles that happened this week. Seriously, it was ridiculous how many  we were able to see. I know that none of it would be possible without Heavenly Father. I love knowing I can pray to Him, and I love that we have the Book of Mormon that shares words of guidance and hope, as well as the promises of eternal happiness as we endure to the end. I love the Book of Mormon so much, and love how the spirit is able to work through that book to touch the hearts of those we teach. I love that I get to preach this gospel every day, and love seeing the gospel change lives!! This next week is my last week in my area and then I will be made an "online sister" for two transfers. There, Sister Millett and I will be teaching people through Mormon.org chat, for majority of the day, the exception being our VC shifts. So, I'm kind of nervous/excited for that, but it'll be good!! Well, family and friends I love you all so much, and would love to keep hearing from you =) Don't forget you can e-mail me whenever you want at: anne.moyes@myldsmail.net , haha. 
Have an awesome week!!! 
Mahalo!!

MONEY IN THE BANK

ALOHAAAAAA!! 

Where to begin???? So, it is now officially August, and I cannot even believe how fast the time is going by. I don't like it =(. But, having said that, our totals for the month of July (DRUM ROLL PLEASE)....28 Baptisms for the Zone, AND 128 Baptisms for the whole entire mission!!!! The Hawaii Honolulu mission has never EVER had more than 115 baptisms!!! Hah, President Dalton told us that he is really disappointed in us, and that we are terrible missionaries, and that we need to do better =/ haha. Then he told us how proud he is to be our Mission President. A lot of us went to the baptisms on Saturday, and I cannot even describe the light that I saw in each and every person as they came out of the waters of Baptism. I'm so excited for the blessings that will continue to come their way .So thank you to all of you kept these investigators in your prayers. I know that we have been able to feel their power and strength. As for August, our goal is to reach 20 Baptisms, or 20 miracles. So our new theme is Money in the Bank!...$20. We already have 6 with a baptismal date set, and cannot wait to find more! 

ALright, so this week!! A lot has happened. I got to give my first talk as a missionary! That was pretty cool. I'm pretty sure I wrote the talk about 4 times, but I think it turned out okay. Later that night Hermana and I also got to speak in a fireside for our BYUH student ward. The theme was member missionary work. It was pretty funny because I used this analogy about chocolate chip cookies. I said, alright, how many of us love chocolate chip cookies? Everyone of course raised their hands with smiles on their faces. Then I said, now, what if someone had a bunch of chocolate chip cookies, and they were the best chocolate chip cookies in the world? You would be pretty sad that the person wasn't sharing them with you, right?? They all got a laugh out of it, haha. So then I said, well, the gospel is better than a chocolate chip cookie. The gospel can bring us more than temporal happiness, but ETERNAL happiness, and I don't know about you, but I would be pretty sad if in the end if I found out my friend had this knowledge of eternal happiness the whole time and didn't share it. Yes, I know I'm the next Shakespeare... Hah, anyway, so it was kind of ridiculous when they pulled out the refreshments after the fireside and it was chocolate chip cookies, haha. Good stuff.

As for miracles, Hermana Rodriguez and I prayed to know which families we needed to visit, made lessons for them, and went forward with faith. At first we were kind of sad because our potential investigator wasn't home, but then we thought we would go visit a family in the ward that lives next to her. The parents were on their way out, but their daughter was still home. She was having a really hard time with knowing what to do with her life, and felt like everything was too much right now. So we shared my new favorite scripture with her ( I encourage you all to read it :) Doctrine and Covenants section 78: 14-15. She told us that the scripture was an answer to her prayers! It was so neat! Ahhh, Heavenly Father loves his children so much!!! 

Another miracle, we have been trying to stop by at a family's house who is in our ward, who are not sealed (married in the temple for time and eternity), so that we can help them set a date and hopefully prepare them to do so. It was 8:30pm, we had just gotten done at another member's house, and Hermana Rodriguez suggested we go see them! So we did. Oh man, I have never felt like such a celebrity. Little 8 year-old Vallerie opened the door and just started jumping up and down that, "THE MISSIONARIES ARE HERE, THE MISSIONARIES ARE HERE!!!!" So then  the second oldest who is turning 12 just comes and runs up to us giving us hugs, and then their mom came to the door welcoming us in! I have never laughed so hard in my life. These kids (4 of them...oldest being 14) are so full of love and laughter with eachother. I loved it so much....except for when they all started speaking spanish because they thought it was so funny that I could hardly understand them! Haha. Vallerie looks at me and says, "Sister Moyes, you are really white!" I pretended to cry and told her how hard I am working on my tan. Awh man, I love that family. Anyway, so they definitely invited us to come back and help them prepare! 

It's been amazing here. I just love getting to teach the gospel every day. There is seriously nothing like it. Especially getting to be with these amazing families. They are such an example to me every day when I see how the only thing that is important to them is their families. It doesn't matter what their living conditions are, or their status in the world or what clothes they wear....all that matters is that they have their family and the gospel of Jesus Christ. I strive to be more like these humble Hawaiians every day....hah, which is why I am learning to play the Ukulele (which apparently is pronounced....oo-kay-lay-lay). Yup =) Well, it's about that time. The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that as we read the Book of Mormon, we can not only gain a testimony, but have our testimonies strengthened of Jesus Christ, and God's plan of Happiness!!! I love you all so much!!....oh and sorry for the lack of pictures! 

Mahalo!

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!