Laramie Letter #8

Cherry tomatoes from Elder Call & Elder Acshieris

(because they know she LOVES tomatoes)!

 

Cutting wood again with President Dory

 

Sister Gregory and Rashauna, reunited at a Leadership Training Meeting

 

 

Well, Sister M took us to Sweet Melissa's for dinner last Tuesday! I love that woman and not just because she took us there (that's a little part of it) but she is just a delight to spend time with. She makes me laugh. She makes me think deeper about the gospel. She is incredible! The whole time we were eating, Arcade Fire was playing. It was wonderful, haha. My last Mission President called situations like this tender mercies, as long as we weren't going out of our way to listen to non-spiritual music, so I enjoyed every minute of it.

We are making some amazing progress with the S family! Sister S said she knows the Book of Mormon is true and that she really wants to start reading it again. That is beyond exciting. We read a little bit with both of them last time we were there.

A, the Russian woman, is doing wonderful. It's always a miracle when you feel like you've helped someone. During one of our last visits, she told us as we were leaving, "Thank you, your visits, they help." Ah! She is so sweet. She lives really close to us so we visit/teach her all the time.

On Thursday, Sister De Voe and I really felt like we should visit one of our investigators who owns a tailoring shop downtown. We live on a hill and had just left A's house. We looked across the city where we were planning on biking to and saw a huge storm. Lightning, Thunder, Rain, the works - right where we wanted to go. (It's really cool, you can always see where it's raining here, so being on bikes we try to avoid those areas when possible). We knew we should go visit her though so we got on our bikes and started pedaling towards the nightmare of a storm. There was so much lightning and it kept getting windier the closer we got. We made it to our investigator's shop and she had us just bring our bikes inside because right when we arrived it started pouring. We were able to have a great gospel discussion with her. She said the closing prayer thanking Heavenly Father for bringing us today. Guess what? It stopped raining right when we needed to leave. Miracles!! 

 

Another investigator, named A, is doing so great. We invited her to live the Word of Wisdom during our last visit and she not only agreed but also brought up a day that she would like to be baptized!! We didn't even ask her! Sister De Voe and I have been trying to eat/exercise/sleep according to the Word of Wisdom too so we can better understand the sacrifices she is going through. It's been a powerful experience. Sacrifice brings blessings.
 

I got to go surfing!!! Haha, not really, but I did get to ride a really cool long board that is supposed to simulate surfing... I'm not sure how it works but it was really cool. I also fell so hard and got a rock lodged into my palm. Don't worry, Sister De Voe has got some pretty rad nursing skills and dug it out for me. I also managed to get the nickname Sister Tree Hugger.... Something about my love of hiking, nature, all the vegetables I eat, lack of make-up probably, you know things like that. An Elder asked how I got to be the way am and Sister Bible, my last companion and current roommate still, said, "She got it from her dad." Haha, evidence that you get to know people really well when you spend 24/7 with them. I also mentioned that I was born on Arbor Day and it was simply my fate to become this way.
 

Cool Sunday quote, "It's not your job to convert people, that is the role of the spirit. It is your responsibility to share what you believe and not be afraid of that." We talked a lot about serving others during church. Service really does fix anything and everything. Reaching outside of yourself is the most therapeutic activity I've experienced in my life.
 

P-Day was great. We all met at the Church building and played basketball and volleyball (but mostly volleyball =]) It was soooo much fun. I haven't played volleyball in a long time. I think we played for 3-ish hours and I am very sore, but couldn't be happier. I met an 18 year old version of Stan Hoer at dinner last night. It was so funny talking to him and asking him questions, knowing what his answer would be before he said it. I obviously was guessing how he would answer based on how my dad would answer, but I was right every time. Haha it was crazy and really cool and kinda weird.
 

Life is great! I love being a missionary!!
 

Sister Hoer 



Laramie Letter #7

 "After dropping off the firewood with President Dory."

 "Mom, this one's for you: The duct tape we got to fix our bikes.

'Dill with it' is our new motto, ha-ha!"

 "Picture we stopped and took while biking."

 "NERF WAR! Fun fact: the three people behind us in line

were all members of the church."

"With one of the horses at President Dory's."

Did I mention I love getting mail? Family letter, a sister missionary card from Angie, and an amazing card from Leshelle all made their way to my apartment mailbox. It was amazing. I feel so fortunate everyday. Thank you. 

We were able to finally have a lesson with an investigator that the previous missionaries had taught a few times. That was exciting. We have a return appointment for later this week.

During our weekly meeting on Thursday, Sister Smith gave a talk on faith in Jesus Christ. I am continually taken back by the power of simple things. We read a paragraph from Preach My Gospel (first paragraph under the Faith in Jesus Christ section in Chapter 6) and then she said, "this is what we are here to share, that we have a Savior and He loves us." Simple as that. Something about that statement touched me in a very profound way. I think all of us need to be reminded of the basics sometimes. 

We had a meeting on Friday in Fort Collins for all the trainers and new missionaries. It was so fun to see everyone and we all went to lunch at Cafe Rio afterward!! I then convinced the group from Laramie to go to Spooners (frozen yogurt place where they have an almond milk option!!!!! So good). I walked in and discreetly told the cashier to tell all the missionaries that someone had already paid for their dessert. I told her I would just pay at the end. She was perfect. It was so fun to see everyone's faces as they looked around confused but so happy. Sister Cardon even asked a woman near by if she had paid for them. It was so fun haha. I miss doing things like that. We had a blast talking, laughing, and eating our dessert outside before driving back up to Laramie. 

While fulfilling some of my leadership responsibilities, I was out on the lawn one night talking on the phone with another sister (our apartment has terrible cell reception). A man going to check for mail was singing an obviously made up song. I heard him behind me, "gonna check the maaaiiilllll. Gonna get some ssstttuuuuffffff." He really caught my attention however when he went on to sing, "and there's a girl on the laaawwwwwnnnn." Yes! I made it in a random man's song on Friday night. Laughing, I turned around to see if I recognized him. I didn't. We exchanged hello's and he went his way. 

Saturday, we got to help out President Dory again!! This time we got to work the wood splitter and do some firewood drop-offs. It was super fun. We even got to ride in the back of the truck once we emptied it. I love Wyoming :) After doing that we went up to the mountains to get more logs. When we got back from that, we all tried our hand at splitting wood with an ax. That is tough. President Dory made it look so easy.... it's not. Sister De Voe was tearing it up though!! I was so impressed haha I cheered her on as I took swing after swing with minimal results. I eventually split a few though. By the time I started to get the hang of it, I was so exhausted that not much was happening still. Haha it was an adventure as usual. Sister De Voe made me laugh when I found out what was fueling her energy. She had been one of the first to start manually splitting wood and was the last one to stop. She told me that she was taking out all her frustration towards her bike on the wood. Hey, whatever works. 

Sunday was a day of miracles. Testimony meeting is always so powerful. A less-active family that we've visited a few times came to church, A was at church, B was able to get a day off work and attend, and the lessons were all about faith in Christ. I love the basics. In the last hour we focused on President Uchtdorf's talk, "The Hope of God's Light." It is so beautiful. I read it again today actually. After church, we weren't able to contact anyone... everyone was sleeping, out of town for Labor Day weekend, or just not home. That wasn't a miracle. It was frustrating, but we kept going. We were eventually able to contact a referral that a member gave us. We knocked on the door and were invited in immediately!! We were able to teach her about the restoration. She is from Russia, so there was a little bit of a language barrier. However, we just taught as simply as possible and used her ipad for any phrases that we couldn't figure out from each other. It was really neat. New investigator!! Singing at grandma's is always one of the highlights of my week. I sat right next to Grandma's chair and loved feeling the spirit radiate from her and her home and the hymns. Such a wonderful time.

I got all the sisters to buy nerf guns on Monday!! We ambushed the Elders and had a full on war. The sisters were attacking from outside and the Elders got their guns and were shooting from inside their house. I was rolling in the grass trying to collect ammo, the Elders were shooting from the windows. Pillows were used as shields. It was crazy. We went to the park later and I got to talk to some people who had a slack line up. It was fun hanging out in such a relaxed environment. They started asking questions as I tried it out. (They had a super thin one that was only an inch thick... challenging but cool once you got the hang of it). It was neat to be able to tell them about what I was doing in Wyoming. I felt completely like myself trying to balance on a slack line while talking about the gospel - what a fun combination. After that we all threw a football around before going to our dinner appointment at the Livingston's. They are incredible. We were able to have a lesson with the navy guy named M who requested that we meet. He drove from Cheyenne again to talk about the gospel. Our lesson was centered around faith. I know that it's hard when we don't know everything, but the more I learn about this gospel the more the pieces fit together. The more everything (not just gospel subjects, but everything in life) makes sense. We need to act on the faith we do have to gain a testimony of prayer, work, going to school, scripture study, getting up in the morning... anything. Everything requires us to act on faith. Acting is how we turn faith into knowledge. I loved being able to bear testimony of that. 

Sister Smith and I are on exchanges for the day and for dinner, Sister McCraken is taking us to Sweet Melissa's!!! I can't wait. We were talking about how we wanted to go just a few days ago. 

The is a photo of J.  He is the son of a less active familiy that came to church this past Sunday, and they had him all dressed up, complete with a missionary name tag!  Isn't he adorable?!

Love,

Sister Hoer

Laramie Letter #6

Rashauna & her fellow missionary hiking buddies.

 

The first three to the top!

 

 Rashauna.

One of the hiking destinations.

 

Rained on, while riding a bike, again!

 

Rashauna with other Sacramento area missionaries

who are serving in the Fort Collins Mission.

 

 

So last Tuesday, Sister De Voe and I got together to study and to create a vision for what we'd like to accomplish during the next 6 weeks. We made a vision board (a big square piece of scrapbooking paper with a tic tac toe board drawn on it) We put post it notes with our goals on each square. We only have 7 currently, but we're working up to having the board full with 9 goals that we are fully committed to. Well that night our Bishop called and said, "Hey I'm sitting in my office right now with a woman named A and she'd like to be baptized." WHAT!! It is truly amazing to see how Heavenly Father works with desire. Set goals and watch miracles happen, because they will. That's what I learned on Tuesday.

We have also been having some really good meetings with S. She's so sweet and has been through so much. Her heart is really open right now due to some recent trials. It's been a testimony building experience for me. I've really been able to see how hard times draw us closer to our Father in Heaven if we allow them to. We have seen her three times just this week and have centered our discussions on Christ and how we can receive strength to accomplish anything through Him. He is always there for us, always there to give us hope.

Wednesday night Sister De Voe hit a huge rock as we were riding our bikes home. The tire was completely flattened.... good thing we were pretty close and could walk the rest of the way. 

We went to a recent converts house for a scheduled appointment and we were excited to see that they had a friend there, T. He has been to church a few times before and talked with missionaries. We made sure that he felt welcome to participate in the lesson and he did so. I loved his answers. He really thought about the questions we asked him. He agreed to be there when we meet again next week :)

A woman in one of the student wards was baptized on Friday night. It was beautiful. There were so many people there for her which was incredible because she doesn't have a whole lot of family support. I love being able to see and feel the power of the Priesthood. I was reading 3 Nephi 12 this week and in verse one it talks about the purpose of the Priesthood - to serve others, to minister. Christ then goes on to explain that after the people are baptized, He will give them the gift of the Holy Ghost. Imagine Jesus Christ putting His hands on your head to perform that ordinance. Well, each time a worthy Priesthood holder performs an ordinance it is always in the name of Jesus Christ. The words they say are His words. In that reguard, He is placing his hands on your head to bless you. That is the power of the Priesthood. It is as if Christ Himself is there to bless you. 

We were able to see the Temple ground breaking ceremony on Saturday morning, broadcasted to our building here in Laramie. It was phenomenal. The speakers focused on the importance of the Temple, the simplicity of the Temple, the uniting of generations in the Temple. It truly is a place where God resides. It is a place to learn and receive revelation, direction, and peace. I'm glad we got that spiritual boost in the morning because on our way to Salvation Army to volunteer, Sister De Voe's pedal fell off... We tried to fix it but it was completely stripped where it should screw back in. So, I rode the one-pedaled bike all the way there. I was exhausted by the time we finally reached downtown, but we made it!! Eternal perspective is so nice to have in moments like that haha. We threw our bikes in the zone leaders truck and caught a ride home with some of the sisters. We walked for the rest of the day and were able to visit a few members and one less-active member, V, we had a really good visit with. 

Sunday was wonderful!! A and T were both at church!!!! A young woman came up to me towards the end and gave me a hug. She backed up and I realized it was P!! It's so cool to be able to see her occasionally :) We walked a long time in the rain on Sunday to pick up a bike that Elder Winterton acquired and fixed up for us to use. He has been so helpful (he also fixed the flat tire earlier this week). We were soaked by the time we got our bikes and rode through the rain to our dinner appointment. 

Yesterday, we went to Vedauwoo again!!! The zone leader's truck is the only car with 6 seats so I got to drive it up there so we could put all 6 sisters in one car. It was a blast. We got to do a little 4 wheeling getting out to where we were going to hike. I love being outside, absolutely love it. We just explored around again. No trail, no worries :)

We washed all the cars after our little adventure and then went to Stake President Dory's for dinner. He has all the new missionaries over each transfer to meet everybody. He had some inspiring words. I personally liked, "Roll up your sleeves and go to work" as well as, "You determine your influence here." I really like him and his family. They are such wonderful people. 

Sister De Voe and I packed a lunch today so we can have a picnic in the park when we leave the library. We want to take full advantage of the nice weather while it's still here. 

Love you all, (especially Kolette)

Sister Hoer




Laramie Letter #5

 Missionaries helping Pres. Dory haul firewood.

 

 Rashauna...in work mode.

 

 Shampoo and what not for four sister missionaries in one apartment!

 

 The Fort Collins Temple site (Rashauna on the right).

 

Rashauna and her new companion, Sister De Voe.

 

 

The weeks keep going by faster and faster. This last week we met with a bunch of people. I lot of progress with less-active members. We also got to meet with A again (banana bread guy). We met him at Grandma Thompson's and our discussion was great. He is so spiritual. We met with R (I'm not sure if I've told you about him, he's from China) twice this week! He loves talking to us and learning what we share. He asks so many questions and really wants to develop a relationship with Christ. And he even gives us constructive criticism after each lesson haha he is so honest. It's great! His roommate, when we went to meet with him for the second time, told us that R had been talking about us. He mentioned the "Bible" we gave him (the Book of Mormon) and asked for a copy. Well sure! We invited him to join our lesson with R, but he was busy at the moment. He was excited to give us his information though and  hopefully we'll be meeting with him soon as well. 

We didn't have a dinner Friday night, so we decided to go out to Anong's Thai Cuisine just for fun. It's not very big but we saw three groups of LDS members (all at individual tables) and we sat down to make it four. After enjoying some amazing green curry, a waitress came over and told the people sitting next to us that someone had paid their bill. How cool! People here are so nice. They then told the waitress they wanted to pay it forward and pointed out a random table and paid for them. It was cool to see them leave and then see the waitress go over and explain to the lucky diners that their bill was taken care of. We then watched our waitress come over to tell us that someone had paid our check and that we were all taken care of!! Talk about a neat night. We really got to see so much good in such a short time. I love the people here. 

Saturday we got to go up into the Mountains and haul logs with Stake President Dory. All the missionaries help him each summer cutting and hauling firewood for families in need in the community. It was soooo much fun! I loved being outside all day! They fed us breakfast and lunch while we were up there. It was hard work, but it was awesome. 

Transfers really surprised me this time around. I feel like usually I have a pretty good idea of what's happening (with me at least). However, on Saturday night I discovered that I would be serving in just the Sherman Hill family ward and training a new missionary! No more student ward, new companion!! Didn't see that coming. Sister Smith and Sister Bible will be training as well. I'll still get to see a lot of people from the student ward's at Grandma's every Sunday night though. 

Yesterday, we drove down to Loveland to pick up our new missionaries. (I didn't tell anyone in our ward that she was new though haha I'll leave that up to her if she wants them to know) On our way down there we stopped by the lot where the Temple is going to be built and took pictures before the ground breaking this Saturday. we're all excited to take pictures there again when the temple is completed. I got to see SISTER ROSIER!!!! She was at the Loveland Stake Center. That was a really fun surprise! My new companion is Sister De Voe. She is from Townsend, Massachusetts and is awesome. Sister Bible, myself, and both of our companions are all in the same apartment. It is crowded and I'll be sleeping on the couch because we only have two beds. Oh! and I'm on a bike again!!!! An Elder bought me one from a family that was moving near by their house last night and showed up with it this morning! Kindness goes a long way. I'm thinking that it was an immediate blessing for giving up my bed haha. 

Life is great!! 

Love, Sister Hoer

Oh and Elder Forman came up to me and told me, "Your dad says hi!" Pretty cool!!





Laramie Letter #4

 Caught in the rain for the third time, in the same outfit all three times! 
Not wearing that outfit any more!

 

 On splits with Sister Gregory in Torrington, Wyoming.

Expression after viewing lots of bug guts!!!

 

 Volunteering at the Salvation Army -- always lots of fun.

 

 Enjoying the view.  In Rashauna's words: "Wyoming is beautiful!"

 

Hiking Vedauwoo with fellow missionaries.

 

 

I went to Torrington just for the purpose of exchanges. Sister Gregory and I work so well together. We had some really cool lessons. We have such similar goals and teaching techniques. It just works and it was so cool to feel the spirit so strongly. I'm sad I won't get to teach them again, but you never know. There are giant grasshoppers out here. We would run over them on all the dirt roads we were on (Sister Gregory's area covers 13 towns). We may have started aiming for them.... We got a total of 5 that we counted.
 

We exchanged back on Wednesday morning and I went back to Laramie. We volunteered at Salvation Army and while we were organizing donations received I found the cutest pair of shoes. M, the store manager said I could have them for free when she saw how much I liked them!!! So cool! (She has also been asking questions about our faith and it is so cool so see her curiosity increase as we continue to serve and get to know her better) I also found some Sorels that I set aside just in case I'm here in the winter. 

I may have been in charge of the phone on Tuesday and when we got home it was no where to be found. Well, no surprise there. I never knew where my phone was before a mission, why would I know where it was on a mission, right? I figured it would show up eventually. The next morning the zone leaders knocked on our door and asked if we had our phone. Why? we responded. They said some guys on campus had it haha. So they went and met them and returned it to us when we all met for our zone meeting that day. Thank you! President Brown attended that meeting. It is so powerful to sit in a room full of missionaries. We talked about several topics, but the one that stuck out most to me was faith. Faith is the power that miracles are made possible. Small ones and big ones. Inner peace is a miracle as well as healing the sick. Someone's heart being changed as well as a prayer being answered. All are miracles. All are brought about by faith.
 

President and Sister Brown bought all of us pizza for lunch. We met at Grandma Thompson's to eat and visit during our lunch hour. It was so fun. President and Sister Brown, being there for the first time, agreed to sing a solo. They got through the first verse and started struggling through the second. I joined in and almost immediately so did everyone else. President looked over and made eye contact with me to say thank you before getting a little choked up hearing all the missionaries sing the rest of "I Need Thee Every Hour" It was a really neat moment.
 

Packages from Paige and Leshelle came at a wonderful time. They always come when I most need it. I was having a rough night. A lot of appointments fell through and it was just amazing to come home to their encouraging words, entertaining stories, notes from the family reunion, and fun gifts. Taraleigh's letter came the next day to give me a morning pick me up. I can't explain how much energy I get from you guys. It's powerful.
 

We had an appointment with an investigator named A. When he opened the door, his whole apartment smelled of banana bread. I immediately thought of Leshelle. After teaching a lesson, (during which he jumped up to get the bread out of the oven) he gave all of us some. I think he made it just for us. I'm not sure though haha. It was tasty and we have a return appointment.
 

We had a really cool lesson with an investigator that the Elders were a part of too. She was able to receive a Priesthood blessing. I know I always say this, but the spirit was SO strong. Everybody felt it. During that lesson I was also able to say things that I learned as I said them. It was incredible. That is one way you know the spirit is guiding this work. Heavenly Father truly knows what His children need and the more we let go of ourselves, the more we can be an instrument for His purposes.
 

We made Member of the Week awards and gave them to the two families that brought people to church last week. On the back I added a disclaimer that read, "This is not a real award, but we wanted to thank you for all of your missionary efforts. Keep inviting!" Or something like that. It was basically just a glorified thank you card. The Asay's loved it though. They put it on their fridge right when we gave it to them! 

 

We got a voicemail on Sunday that we listened to after church. IT WAS M!! From Fort Collins. She was passing through on their way to Yellowstone and was able to get our number from a member she knows here. I cried when I heard her voice out of surprise and pure joy! I had written her a letter last week or so and it was so neat to hear that she had gotten it and hear her say how much she needed it.
 

We had another powerful lesson on Sunday night after singing at Grandma's. M, who lives and is meeting with missionaries in Cheyenne, felt like he needed to go to Laramie. Well we had an amazing discussion and prayed with him to know if the Book of Mormon is true. He said he'd never felt so peaceful in his life. I tell you, the spirit teaches people, not us. I love being present for it though :)

 

Now I'm on exchanges with Sister Smith and we have a busy day ahead of us. Lots of potential. I loved the instagram pictures by the way and since Sister Smith is in most of them it was cool to have her here to see them too. Thanks for the prayers and support. I don't know where I'd be without you.
 

Love, Sister Hoer



Laramie Letter #3

I only have a limited time on email this week because I'll be in Torrington, Wyoming tomorrow till Wednesday. I get to go on exchanges with Sister Gregory. I'm looking forward to that, and it's always fun to be in a new area. I always feel like I can ask anyone anything (not that I'm blunt already - it gets a little scary).

I just finished Helaman 4 this morning! So we're right next to each other. My studies in the morning keep getting better and better. I love the scriptures. I really do. I've currently been praying that I can have more questions because I absolutely love finding the answers. It takes patience a lot of the time but I get so excited to feel the spirit teach me the answers. This morning I was able to make a breakthrough with a question I've had since the MTC. Not completely answered yet but definitely closer to figuring it out.

I LOVE the wheelbarrow firepit. It makes me miss home :) How was the rest of the week with Melissa Tucker there. I can't wait to hear about all the fun adventures. Seth sent me a pretty long email that made me smile so big even before I read it. I always look like such a goof ball at the library. I just can't stop smiling. Oh and Willie is NOT a member of the church - even with his BYU hat.

Pis doing great and we have regular contact with her new missionaries. This week was a lot of things. We were waiting at the institute for a girl to show up... she never did. We had a goal to find one new investigator that day though. So with 10 minutes until we had to be home we started walking and were lead to a brick apartment building. The first door we knocked on was a pagan man who smelled like he hadn't showered in several weeks. However, the second door was M. She let us in for a short lesson because she was heading to bed pretty soon. She was a little hesitant about praying but at the end of the lesson she said she would try it. She said a beautiful prayer. So sincere and honest. Afterward she said something along the lines of, "Wow, that was easier than I thought it'd be." It was amazing to be there for someone's first prayer. The spirit was there and I know that she felt it.

Sister Haas (my MTC companion) and I were companions for a day this week! We went on exchanges and had a wonderful time working together again. We saw some really cool things but I can't load pictures on this computer for some reason, so it'll have to wait until next week.

Ok so on Wednesday we met a man named M (another new investigator) that we taught on campus when we ran into him on the sidewalk. Afterward I had to use the restroom so we stepped inside a building and found one right away. Tender mercy. I went in first and was in the stall when Sister Bible walked in. I started talking to her (yeah I'm that person that continues converstaions in the bathroom) when I didn't get a response. I said, "Sister Bible?" a girl laughed and said kindly that she was someone else. Well that's when I started laughing and then she left before I saw who it was... Yup, one awkward moment after another. That's me for ya.

The reason I tell this story is that two families brought individuals to church yesterday!! SO COOL! One of which, when Sister Bible and I introduced ourselves said, "Oh! I was the girl you were talking to in the bathroom the other day!" So random haha.

So I organized a zone hiking adventure today! We went to a place called Vedawoo just a few miles outside of town (like 15 or so). Most everyone went and we all enjoyed picking a random spot and boonie crashing until we got there. No fancy hiking trails where we were. I loved it and I think everyone had a really good time. We have plans to go again next week :)

Love, Sister Hoer

Laramie Letter #2

Here's my week.

Tuesday: We were on bikes until Thursday!!! I loved it. Today we ended up in an area of town looking for a non-existent address. We realized why were were there when we ran into J. We taught him the first discussion on the sidewalk and he even said a closing prayer. It was incredible to see him get a little choked up and express how he has been looking for direction and how this was just what he was looking for. I know Heavenly Father puts us where we need to be and I know that there are people who are truly prepared to hear the truth. Also met a man born and raised in Laramie but a die-hard BYU football fan. He saw us and said "Hey, now don't get offended but I wanna show you something" He proceeded to lift up his shirt haha and show us a tattoo he has proving his dedication to the Cougars. Sweet. 

Wednesday: Got to practice some spanish with a woman by the name of L at the Laramie Soup Kitchen. Visited M and L today. They are amazing. Still trying to get Leah to read the Book of Mormon and I think she's finally going to do it. 

Thursday: Had a great lesson with P at Grandma's house where we taught her about the prophet and priesthood authority vs. priesthood keys. She lives in a different ward's boundaries and has friends in that ward so we invited her to start meeting with those missionaries and attend that ward on Sunday. That was really hard but I know it will be best for her in the long run. Her needs will be better met there  where people can receive revelation on her behalf. 

Friday: We got our car back today and had to give our bikes back to the members. Sad day. Today was pretty slow. Everyone we tried to visit wasn't home. We had dinner with a really cool family though, the S family and ran into an older couple sitting outside their home. We talked for a little while about our church, life, missionary service, their faith, etc. The man, who refused to give us his name but rather referred to himself as the engineer from UW, gave us some cool advice. He said "be tough, not hard" and explained that a hard knife when put under pressure will break whereas a tough knife will bend. You can bend a tough knife back and use it again. 

Saturday: We visited C today and invited him to church. He immediately said yes and I have no doubt that he'll be there. He is a man of his word. Today was Elder Greer's birthday so Sister Bible, Smith, Strasser, and I got balloons and took a late lunch so that we could fill their house with them :) Both their front and back door were unlocked so we just walked right in and started decorating. We had all but 4 of the 72 balloons blown up when the Elders biked into view. The front door was open and so they saw us immediately. I just screamed and ran out the back door. The other sisters followed suit. It was a fun adventure and I think he really appreciated it. 

Sunday: C showed up just 2 minutes before Sacrament Meeting started. Sister Bible and I both spoke today. We were asked to talk on missionary work :) Sweet! I spoke about agency and using it righteously. I shared Isaiah 53:5 and talked about Christ using His agency to complete the Atonement for each of us. Mosiah 5:2 talks about a change of heart and I bore testimony that it's faith in Christ and feeling the spirit that truly changes our heart. We need to use our agency to allow the spirit to change and mold us into the people and missionaries that Heavenly Father would like us to be. Relief Society in the YSA ward was really inspiring. Prayer is truly the key to just about everything. Heavenly Father knows us better than we do, so go to Him when you have a question. Later, a friend came up to me while we were singing hymns at Grandma's house and said, "Sometimes you just need Sister Hoer as a friend, ya know what I mean?" That made me feel pretty good. Heavenly Father answers my prayers all the time through the spirit, but also through people all around me. Family, friends, strangers, everyone. I wish I had more time to write them all down.  

Monday: Preparation Day!! We all met at the Stake center and played dodgeball and knockout. It was a blast. Later I met a woman in the other sister's ward, Sister Heath. She had heard of me and had seen my name and said that I should just start going by Sister Hoochie Mama..... I probably shouldn't, but I think this is hilarious. :) Haha for FHE we had a photo scavenger hunt and we (Sister Bible, Emily, Brenda, and I) went all around town getting funny pictures to fulfill the random requirements. We ended up getting the most points and we each got a prize. I chose last and was left with a pink lawn flamingo which I thought was pretty cool. (I put it in front of the Zone Leaders front door this morning and am excited to have them find it when they get home)

I love being a missionary!  Love, Sister Hoer

 There was a fire in the dumpster where Rashauna lives.

 Scavenger hunt prizes!

 Decorating for Elder Greer's birthday

 It was a biking day...she has spandex on under her skirt!

Willie - the BYU fan!