Fort Collins Letter #16

We make sure to have fun when it's appropriate :) this pose was not my suggestion.... I'm not really sure how I ended up there.

Not as easy to remember as the last one, but oh well. I'm really excited for the new mission to be official and to meet President Brown.(Note my new address in the address box.) I feel like this is where I was supposed to be from the beginning. It just feels right. My ankle is doing great. Bruised still... but fully functional with minimal pain. 

This week has been incredible. We've had dinner with a family that is friends with our ward mission leader. We have a couple other members in our ward that are inviting their friends to feed us. It's really neat to be able to get into people's homes in such a relaxed way and give them an opportunity to feel the spirit when if we tracted into them they probably wouldn't have let us in. We also had dinner with the L family. They always remind me of living in Tennessee with the Davidsons. I love the South and miss it quite a bit. They continue to keep an open mind to the things we share and have such good hearts. I just love them. They haven't been to church again yet, but are doing their best to read the Book of Mormon.

We have 4 new investigators this week. FOUR!!!! Heavenly Father loves us. Sister Rosier and I are frequently amazed with how much He trusts us with. S, I told you about last Monday, M came back into the picture, a husband of a member in our ward accepted the invitation to take the discussions, and H, a woman that we found and taught last night agreed to meet with us again. 

The Temple owas the highlight of my whole week. It feels so much like home, I didn't want to leave. It is so easy to let myself put importance on things that really don't matter. The Temple always reminds me of what is most important. My Heavenly and earthly family came to mind a lot. I also read the first few chapters of Ephesians while I was in the Celestial Room. Chapter one is incredible. Chapter 3 verses 16-17 are really powerful too. I took from reading those passages, that Heavenly Father works through us. The inner man as it states in chapter 3, made me think of the part of us where faith resides. Each one of us has the light of Christ within us. The more we exercise our faith and rely on that part of our being (or the more we rely on Him), the more we can accomplish, especially when it comes to serving others. I have been able to feel how much more the spirit guides my thoughts and actions when I have the benefit of others on my mind. 

We were able to volunteer to help out with a triathalon. We got cool blue shirts and were responsible for passing out water/gatorade to the runners during that section of the race. We also got to dump water on anyone that asked for it... that was my favorite part. I even ran after a guy that wanted to be splashed but was running so fast that we missed him the first time. I'm quite positive that he'll remember the effort that one missionary put into cooling him off a little bit and join the church soon. 

Our last mission Denver North Mission Conference. The girls on the left will be south in the Denver area. Sister Gregory, Haas and I on the right will be in the Fort Collins mission. It was cool to see everyone one last time before the split

Helping out with the Triathalon. Sister Gregory, me, Sister Nolin, Sister Rosier and three young women from a local ward. 

Fort Collins Letter #15

Ok.... to answer your questions really quick that I may or may not have gotten to yet.

The members we are living with are letting us borrow their bikes. I've been keeping my eye out for one (sort of... not really haha there's no time) but I'll have to get one in a few weeks I think. An Elder told me about CTRbikes.com so I'm going to ask President if I can check that out. 

C left to go on a mission trip in Eastern Europe and we're not really sure where he is at with things. 

S and her kids thought church was a little crazy. "That is nothing like I've ever seen before" were her words.... not necessarily the best comment, but we gave her a friend magazine and she was really excited. There is still hope :) There are sooooo many kids in our ward that she and her girls were a little overwhelmed. 

I love the story of the wolves. That was neat. I'll continue to try and feed the positive wolf. I got a fortune cookie recently that said, "your days will be filled with sunshine and happiness" So I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard. I also found a really cool wolf shirt at a thrift store recently and I'll think of that story every time I see it now, it will be my reminder to be positive. Maybe I'll wear it all the time. To bed, under my proselyting clothes, working out, always. Hahah gross.

We are going to the temple this Friday!!! I'm so excited. We aren't sure if we will be able to go once the mission splits, so Sister Rosier, Gregory, Nolan, and I decided to go just in case it's our last time till we go home. 

We have been working with members a lot and guess what?!!?!?! We got a new investigator last week and another one today. REFERRALS!!!! Both of them!! I feel so blessed each time we get an opportunity to teach somebody. I know this is Heavenly Father's work and it's so humbling. I want to encourage everyone to be a part of it. 75% of baptisms come from member referrals.... let it sink in for a minute..... yeah, now you have to find someone to invite over to your home to take the missionary discussions. Simple as that. :)

We were playing ultimate frisbee last P-day and an Elder threw it to me. I jumped up to catch it but apparently an Elder behind me had the same plan. He basically landed on top of me, I heard a nice crunching sound, and my ankle was huge by the time we got to dinner. It's only sprained but it made riding a bike a little difficult. Most importantly, however, I caught the frisbee! :) My ankle is pretty bruised and still a little swollen, but it doesn't hurt nearly as much now. 

Look up Catalpa trees!!!! They are so pretty! They have huge leaves and white flowers. 

We had the most amazing stake conference. Elder Stanfield and Elder Switzer of the seventy spoke as well as the former and new stake presidencies. I will send you some really cool notes via snail mail as soon as I can. 

Always remember your Savior and love Him enough to bare testimony of Him through your thoughts, words, and actions. 

I love you! Love, Sister Rashauna Hoer

(Note: Here's the Catalpa Tree thar Rashauna referred to in her letter.  It really is pretty!)

Fort Collins Letter #14

Last week flew by. Right after I emailed last Monday we went to do our shopping (in the car) and saw a girl stuck in the right turn lane of a busy road. I was driving and immediately pulled off the next chance I got and said, "I'm going to get her out of the road, who's with me?" The three other sisters in the car agreed. We hurried to her car and noticed she had been crying and was understandably a little upset. We just calmly told her to put the car in neutral and we would push it where ever she needed to go. Everything is going to be alright. Thankfully she believed us and we (skirts, missionary tags, ballet flats, and all) started pushing. We got going so fast that we were all running and couldn't help but laugh at how silly we probably looked. A man came out of no where and started to help us push. It was an incredible experience to see good people come together when a need is presented. I have really been able to see the miracles that come from what most people would classify as "bad" situations. There is good everywhere, and that is because God is everywhere. We pushed her to a nearby parking lot where she would be able to think clearly and not be worried about all the cars zooming around her. It felt so good to help somebody. It felt so good to be reminded that amazing things come out of every situation.

Sister Rosier and I get along great. We laugh all the time and are just happy. Times are hard sometimes but we know why we are here, we know that the message we share is true, and we know how much it has the potential to benefit people. That keeps us going. 

Remember J and S?? Well, we stopped by on Thursday. S answered the door and immediately said, "Come on in!" She and their kids, finally moved here and they accepted and acted on an invitation to come to church on Sunday. So cool.

We taught a young man named C Friday morning. He responded well to the message and sincerely agreed to read the Book of Mormon. He is really involved in his church currently, but asked some insightful questions and I think has an open mind. 

Sister Rosier and I make bets on what we are having for dinner occasionally. Loser has to use a word (that the other person chooses) during our dinner conversation. I had to use the word "gum-shoe" which Sister Rosier had to explain to me because I had never even heard of it before. So that was interesting. I did the best I could but probably sounded like a weirdo. What's new :) 

Sunday was great. D didn't show, but S and her kids came to church as I already mentioned. Then we had a lesson with G afterward. She didn't have a lot of time so we made it short but I think she's coming to church two weeks from now (she didn't want to commit to come on Father's Day). 

Life is good. Love you guys. Loved your letter about the temple Mom. It really changed my perspective out here. Heavenly Father puts us in families to learn and grow. It's amazing (but not surprising) to see how inspiring we all are to each other. 

Sister Hoer. 

Fort Collins Letter #13

 Rashauna with Sister Rosier

Rashauna & sister missionaries at the Fort Collins, Colorado Temple
(Elder Heywood, mentioned last week who reminds Rashauna of Seth, is on the left)

I'm so excited to meet President Brown, our new mission president who will be here in July!! We have been praying for him and his family. How exciting that he knows Uncle Mike.

I've been reading "with" you guys. I was in 2 Nephi but I just started over. I actually forgot to start on June 1st but read 12 pages yesterday to catch up. :) I'll remember from here on out. 

This week has been really good. We've been trying to balance our time with members and our own finding efforts in order to bring about the work in this area. We have quite a few potential leads and Sister Rosier is amazing!!! It took us a little bit to really get our footing and blend our styles of working. Sister Rosier and I have been talking to EVERYONE. I know it will be hard sometimes, but I couldn't be happier about not being in a car full time. (Did I tell you that last week? Yeah, we're getting bikes today!!!)

I was trying to get Sister Rosier to invite someone to be baptized while tracting one night and I realized however, that I had never even done it. So we knocked on a door and I invited. The woman, D, smiled, looked at both of us, and then realized we were serious. She told us she was already baptized. We asked what baptism meant to her. We then expounded on her good, but basic description and bore testimony about the Holy Ghost and the restored Priesthood. I invited her again. She said that she wanted to come to church first. We are expecting her on June 9th. I love D and I love being a missionary!! Inviting in a loving way leads people to have an increased intent to know for themselves and I was able to see that. 

There was another woman that we talked to for a little bit and then left her door. A few doors down Sister Rosier and I stopped and looked at each other. Sister Rosier said, "We have to go back don't we?" I immediately said yes and we returned and invited the woman, G, to hear a short message. She agreed and we have an appointment next Sunday. The spirit truly guides this work. 

Oh and Sister Rosier and I's first day of missionary work together consisted of tracting.... normal. However, a wet dog ran up to us and was dripping water all over our feet! When he slowed down enough for us to pet him we were puzzled to find out that he was completely dry and that the liquid on our feet was actually urine.... not normal. We didn't know what else to do but laugh and keep tracting so that's what we did. 

Hope all is well, I sure love you guys.

Sister Rashauna Hoer

p.s. I LOVE 2 Nephi 4.... So great.