Laramie Letter #1

I feel like so much has happened this week. We've met about a million people and are having a difficult time keeping our four wards straight. We've had some opportunities to teach and have found (with member's help obviously) 4 new investigators this week. There is one particular family that moved here from Kenya about 5 months ago that I've fallen in love with. M, L, and M, Jr. took notes while we taught them the Plan of Salvation and we have an appointment this afternoon to teach them the Restoration. They are so sensitive to the spirit, it's incredible. They know we are messengers from Heavenly Father, they said so. They also said that we are the first white people to come into their home :) that made us laugh.

 

We volunteer at Salvation Army thrift store downtown almost daily. M the owner is hilarious! She is so optimistic and loves the missionaries. There are several of us that just rotate through each day. There is usually at least one companionship helping her out every hour during the day.
 

We have our district meeting on Thursday and we made goals for the next 6 weeks that we will all be together. I got up and just wrote "ELE" on the board. "Everybody Love Everybody" (Monica I thought you'd appreciate that) :) I've heard a couple people quote it since then and I smile every time. Such a simple solution to almost every problem if you ask me.
 

We've been trying to teach an older man that we only knew as Mr. C until recently. It's been hard to catch him at a good time, but finally we were able to sit down with him. He loves the Book of Mormon and takes it to all his church meetings to show people what they are missing. He wants everyone in the world to read it, especially the people in his home country. I told him that we were working on that haha. Well, we briefly taught him about where the Book of Mormon came from and I invited him to be baptized. Have we taught him about the Priesthood? No. Have we taught him about anything really?.... No, but it felt right, so I did it. Mr. C didn't hesitate. "Yes! I would love to be a Mormon," he said. However, he promised his wife who has passed on that he would be completely loyal to her and to her faith. We talked a little bit about the Plan of Salvation and got him to agree that when he was too tired to go to his church meetings and share the Book of Mormon with them that he would be baptized. He feels that if he is baptized that they would be able to throw him out of the meetings, but as a member of his congregation, they have to listen to him share the teachings in the Book of Mormon. This man is amazing. He has been in his profession for about 50 years and recently "retired" although he is still the editor for a scholarly journal and has been asked to work on publishing a new edition of one of his books. He has written over 20. He gave my companion and I each a book and a fan from his country. I had him sign mine and look forward to reading it in a year or so. If people just open up their minds, and read the Book of Mormon, I know the promise is real, that they will come to a knowledge of the truth. It is the most powerful Book on this earth. 
 

Sunday was pretty busy. We went to a meeting in the morning for Sherman Hills (our family ward) and then attended Sacrament meeting with them at 9am. We then went over to the institute to listen to Elder Rhodes of the seventy give the Sunday School lesson. That was incredible. He spoke about obedience, truth, and the spirit. Heavenly Father protects us by giving us commandments to live by. He gives us the spirit so that we can know truth for ourselves. We read Doctrine and Covenants 93:22-25 together and talked about the Savior's definition of truth. It was really powerful. After that we made our way to Relief Society where we were asked in the doorway, "Hey sisters, you wouldn't mind teaching the lesson would you?" "Sure when?" ".......right now?" So we taught the lesson on tithing. Earlier in the week, a member of the Cheyenne Stake Presidency started the meeting with his testimony and I decided to do the same thing. After brief introductions of ourselves, I bore my testimony of the Savior, of our Heavenly Father, and Their goal for each one of us as their beloved family members. I know that everything They ask us to do is truly for our benefit and every promise They make will come about through obedience. The lesson went well and we had a lot of participation.
 

So everybody goes over to Grandma's house to sing hymns on Sunday night. Grandma Thompson is the sweetest woman, but if it is your first time attending you have to sing a solo. WHAT! I've never sung in front of anyone like that. I went with my current favorite and sang "Lead Kindly Light" and don't really even remember it but I did it! A rule of Grandma's is that you have to sing the whole song no matter what. When it is time to go home for the night, we always sing "Abide with me" and say farewell. I loved feeling the spirit there. Grandma's house has a beautiful spirit.
 

My knowledge of who my Savior is continues to develop and increase. I already have felt Him comfort me so many times since moving here. I know He is there and that He truly cares about us. I know it. President Brown continues to impress me. He really has Christ-like love for all of us out here and it is inspirational to see and feel. We were able to have interviews with him earlier today and it was cool to just sit and get to know him better. He is great.
 

Oh, we live right next to a Hospital's helicopter pad so I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I was in a war zone... It was wild, ha-ha.
 

Mail from Mom, Brandilyn, and Leshelle came at very inspired times. Thank you.
 

Love and miss you more than you can imagine. You're in my prayers every night, usually by name, but sometimes I am so tired that I cluster the family together :) please understand.
 

Sister Rashauna Hoer 

Final Fort Collins Letter

 

Oh man. I love reading about the family. :) How were your independence day celebrations and BBQ? Letters from Jason and Dayna, Carsten, Cannon, Taven, Joanne Hill, and a package from home made my week :) I feel so spoiled all the time. Thank you!!!
 

WE SET D (one of our investigators) WITH A BAPTISMAL DATE!!! Sister Rosier extended the invitation and I was so proud of her. I told her that I wasn't going to invite her no matter what, so if you want her to get baptized, you'll have to do it. So it took a couple lessons but I think it was very beneficial for Sister Rosier to do that. I've noticed a difference in her since then. She has grown so much over the last six weeks. She is such an excellent missionary and becoming much more confident. 
 

I mentioned we've been teaching ward members and helping them with their own missionary efforts. Stetson Creek Ward is amazing! Several of our ward members now have fulfilled their commitments of praying/fasting about specific individuals and creating family mission plans. We've really been able to see our efforts from the last six weeks start to become visible. It has been incredible. So many people have invitations extended or ones that they plan to extend. 

 

July 4th we got to meet President and Sister Brown!!!! They are amazing people and I feel like I love them already. Uncle Mike was mentioned during President Brown's introduction and it was fun to talk about him for a minute. I already feel like I'm friends with my new mission president. That same meeting, two people were called to bear their testimony. An Elder who is almost done with his mission and myself were the lucky ones. I can't really explain it, but I guess I feel like I can trust President Brown with anything and for some reason I feel like he feels the same way with me. (Probably due to my amazing family members that he is already familiar with - it's really neat to see how much difference a name can make and how influential it is when we represent that name in a positive way). 

Thursday night, we got a late phone call where I was randomly invited to attend the Missionary Leadership Council meeting the following day. Ok.... It was such a good meeting.  You could really feel how much the mission leaders love the people and missionaries they serve. I felt like an overwhelming theme of the meeting was: what can I change to help those that are struggling, or to help people come closer to Christ. It was all about truly loving people as Christ does and so inspirational. I felt a little out of place because I was simply a trainer and everyone else there were zone leaders or sister training leaders. 
 

Saturday night we found out that both Sister Rosier and I would be transferred. It was really hard to find out we are both leaving after finally being able to see some of the consequences of our hard work, but I told Sister Rosier the other day that I hope it's this hard for us to leave every area we serve in because that means we did our job... right? Anyway, she is going to Greeley which everyone who we've told just says something along the lines of, "Oh... it smells terrible there" Hahaha she's being a good sport about it.
 

Dad, you got your wish!! I'm heading up to Laramie, Wyoming today. I'll be serving in the University ward (and I think 3 other wards) with Sister Bible and I will be a Sister Training Leader. I'm nervous and excited all at the same time. The missionary leadership council invite makes more sense now... I feel like I'm in over my head a little bit, but I know that Heavenly Father will help me reach the sister missionaries I'll be responsible for. I know that he strengthens us so often, and especially when we are in the service of others. I'm a little bummed I only got one transfer on a bike, but with the hottest months coming up I'm trying to look on the bright side of the situation. Another good thing is that I won't be nearly as sweaty for lessons haha. Nothing says 'come to my church' like a tomato red Rashauna face. 
 

Life is so good. I love being a missionary. I love so many people in this area. I love Sister Rosier. It's hard to say goodbye, but I love my Savior and know that He is constantly supporting me in all that I do. 

 

Love,

Sister Rashauna Hoer



Fort Collins Letter #17

A member in my ward (shout out to Sister T) stumbled across my blog somehow.... She came up to me on Sunday and said, "I know your secret.... I know you bet on what dinner is going to be and that whoever is wrong has to include predetermined words during the dinner conversation." WHAT?!?! Both of us probably had a deer in the headlights look going on. She just laughed. That is who we are living with next. Our ward is incredible haha. 

 

Tuesday: Got to wear my wolf shirt and jeans during a service project. 

Wednesday: Volunteer hours and we continue to meet with members. We also had a lesson with D today. We are going pretty slowly through the lessons, but we are still moving forward. :) 

Thursday: I went on exchanges with a missionary named Sister Bible (hahaha what a conversation starter) and got to be part of a lesson with two deaf members in the Johnstown area. It was so cool to feel the spirit even when verbal communication is non-existent. I would share things occasionally and my temporary companion would translate. I was asked to say the closing prayer at the end of the lesson and she translated that too. 

Friday: We were on our bikes, you know, just biking around. Then it started getting really windy. Then it got so windy we were having a hard time riding in a straight line. Then it started raining. Then the lightning started. Then we started to get pelted in the face with hail. Then we took cover under the closest house's front porch. Then we realized no one was home. We stayed there and sung hymns until it let up enough to bike again. I love adventures as a missionary and how strong the spirit is when we sing, no matter the skill level. 

Saturday: I read Mosiah 12:6 this morning during my personal study and couldn't help but share the hail reference with Sister Rosier. We've never been able to relate so closely to a verse like that. We had a lesson with M today. Almost everything we share results in her just nodding her head and saying "uh-huh" like it is information that she already knows. Interesting... However, we taught her the plan of salvation today. She responded like she normally does until I mentioned the gospel being taught in the spirit world. She interrupted me with an astonished look on her face... She said, "wait, wait say that again." I repeated myself, mentioning God's plan to make sure everyone gets an opportunity to hear the gospel and chose whether to accept or reject it. Something clicked. She looked like she had found the answer to a life long question. She still won't agree to be baptized, but said that she's thinking about it. 

Sunday: Was kind of a miracle. Last week we made a goal to find three new investigators and hadn't found any yet. We have been doing a lot of work with members and trying to lovingly encourage them to engage in missionary work (ever since that missionary training broadcast, we've been meeting with members non-stop) and things are looking promising, but no new investigators. So Sister Rosier and I decided to fast and pray for the guidance necessary to find three people today. Nothing happened.... 7:30 pm rolls around and nothing, I was starting to get a little worried but Sister Rosier was completely calm. She simply said, "I know you'll lead us in the right direction." I can't describe how much I love that girl. She has so much faith in me and helps me see how much Heavenly Father trusts us. We know what is right and wrong and we have so much power to do good when we use the tools that He has provided us with. The gospel, prayer, fasting, the scriptures, prophets, family. Well we had two lessons one right after the other and went home with three new investigators. Miracles happen everyday. I know it wasn't our doing. I know that the Lord places us where we need to be and He has a hand in everything we do. 

Love you, Thank you for the updates and I can't wait to hear more about the crazy summer you have planned. You are always in my prayers and I feel yours everyday. 

 

Sincerely, Sister Rashauna Hoer

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.