Rawlins Letter #9

Working out at the park

Frosting fight...

...the frosting won!

The frosting that was left went on Sister Young's birthday cake.

Meeting up with the Wilderness District on the way to Laramie

No caption needed.

Visiting with Grandma T in Laramie!

Last Monday we were playing soccer in the park on P-day and the ball managed to get by me right as a guy was walking by. He let the ball come to him, juggled it a few times and passed it to me. I said, "Whoa, you wanna play with us?" He agreed and got to meet all four of us sister missionaries. Since then, we played Tuesday and Wednesday for a little bit and got to meet all of his friends. They call me "hermana" because they can't say my name and I try to speak Spanish to them. They've asked us all sorts of questions and we've invited them all to church. Quite a few are actually interested. It's great! Soccer: best finding activity on my mission, so far.

Sister Waite and I decided that it simply doesn't matter what you teach. How you teach is the real indicator of someone's progression. If the Spirit is present, He will teach people exactly what they (and we, as a matter of fact) need to hear. We've been trying to focus on that even more.

We helped out a less-active with gardening again and guess who showed up to church this Sunday!!! Yup, she made it!!! That was really exciting. T is doing great! She came to church this week and we taught her the Plan of Salvation which was really powerful. She still has some questions about a few things but feels it's true. Questions are a good thing. If we don't ask questions, we'll never find answers. And, let me tell you, she's got some great questions. Lessons are totally led by the Spirit. T is one of the most prepared people I've ever met. It is so clear how much Heavenly Father loves that woman. She's been through a lot and deserves this Gospel and the blessings that come because of it. 

Everybody deserves the Gospel.

We had a meeting in Laramie on Friday (I got to stop by and visit with Grandma T!!!! We sang her a song just like the good 'old days). On Saturday, Sister Waite and I decided to pray together to request help in finding an SD card that she had misplaced. It had been missing for quite some time and had her pretty worried. I would be too in that situation. I had no idea where she had put it or anything. She said a prayer, during which I had the clearest impression to look in a very specific drawer. It seemed so silly, but after the prayer I told Sister Waite the thought that had come into my head and went to the drawer. I started taking a few things out pretty casually, not really expecting anything when all the sudden I froze. I was looking at her SD card. I pulled it out and we both screamed. Prayers are answered. There is just no way I would've known to look there without help. So neat :)

A member took us and T out to dinner on Saturday night and someone paid for the four of us. So cool. I LOVE WYOMING!!! I love seeing the blessings that come to people that want to do nice things for missionaries, too. It was just a great experience.

Sunday was the grand finale. Whoa. We had three investigators at church. M, one of our ward missionaries, invited her friend to come. He's now interested in learning more. We had quite a few less-actives at church. Sundays like this are not an indicator of good missionaries at all. It's simply miracles that Heavenly Father is blessing people in Rawlins with ... but it's also soooo nice to see results from our actions.

We fixed Sister Waite's bike!!! Stoked!!!

Love, Sister Rashauna Hoer

Rawlins Letter #8

Advise from Sister Hoer: always take a jumping picture

Lake Marie, Wyoming - on the way to Zone Conference in Laramie

Lake Marie

This is the last Zone Conference for the four of us

Watermelon!

This is the "small shopping cart"

Last Monday I got a letter from Sister Grammer, my last companion. I was so excited to read it but we were on our way to the store. I tried to read it at red lights but stoplights in general are few and far between and they never last long, making my attempt to read futile. We got to the store and I thought, "I don't need anything, I'll take this in to read while I follow my companion around" (shopping is not my favorite thing to do, ha-ha). It was a normal, extremely windy Wyoming day. We got out of the truck and I locked it just as a gust of wind came and snatched the two precious pages from my grasp. I watched them tumble and dance away from me at an impressive speed. I yelled, "Nooooooooooooooo!" Without communicating, Sister Waite and I broke out into a full sprint after them. I caught up with one and was able to step on it. This resulted in me almost doing the splits in the parking lot. I was laughing so hard already! Then, I looked up just in time to see Sister Waite dive into a planter. When she emerged she held up the second page of the letter. Victory!!! Wyoming wind: 0, Sister Missionaries: 1.

We've met with the most amazing families this week. A couple less-actives that we have been trying to meet with for forever it seems like. We enjoyed dinner at the Smiley's. We have a new Ward Mission Leader, Brother Bobik. He and his family are great. We just feel like we have so much support out here. So many other families have just been answers to prayers this week. The Rodriguezs, Birds, Brights, Faveros, Bates...they are all fantastic! We had a Zone Conference on Wednesday. It was my last one. We took the scenic route to Laramie through Medicine Bow National Forest. It was gorgeous!!! The focus of the meeting was on the importance of families. It was really powerful, but kind of hard to discuss. I feel like I already think about my family all of the time these days.  

I gained a stronger testimony of revelation through scripture this week. I've been reading the Book of Mormon trying to read it again before I get home. Saturday morning I was reading and was able to have a question answered. One that I've had for a long time. I was not reading about this topic, I was just reading through 2 Nephi Chapter 2. I know that scripture study invites the Spirit and that's where real and lasting knowledge comes from. Such a cool feeling.

We got a referral for a man that lives on the fourth floor of an apartment building. That is all the information we got. We got it on Friday, and Saturday we had plans to visit one of our investigators. We pulled up to the house and I said, "This isn't where we're supposed to be." Sister Waite agreed and said "Let's go try to visit that guy." I was thinking the same thing, so we went to the apartment building to find out you need a code or someone to buzz you in the door. Not knowing which room was his, I started guessing codes. No luck. I started pushing room buttons. No luck. I don't think Sister Waite liked my idea of trying to get in so we were about to give up when we heard the door make a weird noise...someone buzzed us in!! I opened the door and we got into the sketchy elevator to go to the fourth floor. When the door opened, there was a man standing there that looked very surprised to see us. Nearby was an abnormally small shopping card. We introduced ourselves and he responded with, "You must be the Elder's replacements." I think we found our guy!!! Well, he kind of found us. He looked down the hallway and said to someone we couldn't see (the person that buzzed us in, probably) "Trust me, this has nothing to do with you." Ha-ha! We were just confused at this point. He walked past us, taking the shopping cart into the elevator and said, "Excuse me, I just need to take this downstairs. Would you like to come?" We hesitated...he continued, "Oh, that's right, you can't come in elevators," and the doors shut. Hahaha! When the doors opened again, he and two other men came out. They introduced themselves as Brothers so-and-so. Two members of the Church had decided to visit this man, their former co-worker at exactly the right time! We were all able to go in and have a lesson. This is the most intelligent and interesting man I've met. He wants to get baptized as soon as possible!!! He is moving to Chicago so it'll probably happen there, but we are still so excited! Apparently he met with the Elders quite a few times. He invited us to all go to dinner sometime this week before he leaves for Chicago. Sister Waite and I left before the other gentlemen and we were in the elevator talking about how weird and wonderful and strange and spiritual and awkward and miraculous everything was. The doors of the elevator opened and right there in the doorway was that little shopping cart. We just burst into laughter.

I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. I related rollerblading adventures in San Diego to the gospel. I think it went pretty well. People in the ward seemed to like it. We also got to teach the youth missionary prep class. That was a little crazy. I think a few of them had a good experience, which made the slightly frustrating time worth it in my opinion. Hats off to all of you who work with the youth. Respect.

Love, Sister Rashauna Hoer

PS: Did I mention that people keep giving us watermelons? Livin' the dream, as Moriah Mason would say!

Rawlins Letter #7

Homemade wheat bread - thanks for the recipe, mom!

We went over to the Smiley's for dinner and they gave us each a care package.

I made sweet potato fries with a giant sweet potato a member gave us.

(Note: this email follows news that her mission president gave her last Friday that her uncle had passed away, as well as an email we sent to her about her uncle that she received yesterday.)

I have been praying nonstop for the family and occasionally (usually right when I feel like giving up) I get the most peaceful feeling. I know it must be beyond difficult to go through what the family is going through right now, but I know Heavenly Father is watching over all of us. I am so touched by all of the tender mericies you told me about. The fact that Robert got to talk to all of us kids and Christina before his passing, you were able to spend quality time with him, and that Eric and Grandpa were able to be there. I just loved the story about Bryce giving Robert blessings. I was sobbing, but just have full faith in the Priesthood and the Atonement.  I love thinking about how peaceful and pain free Robert is. The glue that's holding me together right now for so many reasons is - the Gospel. Where would we be without it?

So, I got a blessing just the day before President called to tell me about Robert. I never ask for blessings. Never. It was really cool to have the peace that comes with a Priesthood blessing when hearing the news. President Brown and my companion, Sister Waite, have been incredible. I am very well taken care of out here and it's comforting to know that you are all taken care of by the same source. Different people, but it can be traced back to Heavenly Father. In a stake conference in Loveland someone said, "You think you are going through a change, but you're not. You were in His hands before and you are in His hands now." That phrase has come to my mind a lot whenever I start to worry about how the family is doing.

As far as a weekly email goes:

I believe in prayer. We have had so many answered prayers this week. We were able to contact R and S (after a long dry spell) and will be having a lesson with them tonight. We'll probably be teaching the Play of Salvation, which will be hard for me right now, but really neat at the same time.

We knocked on a woman's door. Someone in our ward had recommended that we stop by. A young woman answered and seemed very hesitant but explained that she was a member of the church.  We asked if we could share a brief message and she invited us in.  After a little bit we figured out that she has been thinking of going back to church and said, "I saw you walk up and I was so excited because I knew exactly what you wanted to talk about."

T and her family came to church!! During a lesson this week we asked how she was feeling. She answered, "Good, really good. Actually, I've been feeling good every since you two showed up." Heavenly Father knows His children. There have been several times that we have said things or taught things that were exactly what she was thinking and needed to discuss. There is just no way that we would be able to know that. I know that the spirit is helping us in every way possible to help her come unto Christ. It's incredible. We invited her to be baptized on the 12th of July. The whole family gasped. Sister Waite and I paused...is this good, bad, terrible, wonderful...we had no idea what was going on. T then explained to us that 12 is a very important number in their family. Their anniversary, birthdays, all sorts of important days all fall on the 12th of various months. She had a huge smile when she said yes and said she can't stop thinking about it.

Heavenly Father continues to spoil Sister Waite and I in Rawlins. Members here are just incredible.

Love, Sister Rashauna Hoer

PS: Family, the surveys have me laughing like a weirdo! I LOVE your answers!!!

Rawlins Letter #6

Art project!

Elder Ramirez's birthday party.

The Wilderness District.

Windy Wyoming.

Last Monday our amazing Relief Society president had us come over to the art shop she works at and make cameos. Soooo neat. I just love and really miss art projects. I also forgot my planner today. I use that a lot to do my weekly recap so...I'll do my best. 

This has easily been one of our best weeks here. Things are finally moving forward at a noticeable pace. It was good, but slow trying to get things going with two new missionaries in the area. However, we have really been able to learn and see how hard work yields results. Not always when you want them (I always want them immediately) but having faith that they will come in the Lord's time. This experience has already been helpful in promising our investigators blessings that are sure to come when we keep going.

Sister Waite and I decided to try and read all of Preach My Gospel before the end of the transfer. This was last Friday and we finished yesterday. It was a really cool experience. All we were doing for studies was reading, reading, reading, but we really enjoyed it. I learned so many new things. We even read the "Learn the Mission Language" chapter and replaced "mission" with "spirit", learning the spirit language, Ha ha! We had fun and were uplifted in a lot of ways. 

We made some amazing progress with K. She is reading scriptures everyday and finally starting to see the blessings from doing so. It's difficult to act in faith for that long but she's doing it. We felt the spirit so strong in our last lesson with her. She is inspiring. We're hoping we'll be able to help her get to church this week. Cross your fingers...or pray. Yeah praying will probably be more productive :)

We have a new investigator named T. She is incredible. Our first lesson with her and her husband (a member) we just answered questions she had about the temple. She told us that she asked her husband to be sealed to her in the temple when she gets baptized!!! We love visiting her and her family. Her daughter is going to girls camp this week and they are excited about church this week. They make every hard day worth while. We are looking forward to meeting with them again this week. 

We found out on Saturday that we get to stay another six weeks here together!!! Sister Waite and I were very excited about that. The R family threw an ice cream party for us and the other sisters :) Saturday was just a great day. We got to help out with the Pen to Pen Fun Run a local 5K race/bbq party, have dinner with the S family, visit with the R family and we got to visit with some investigator families. It was just the best day ever.

Love you all, thanks for all the love and support :)

Love Sister Rashauna Hoer

Rawlins Letter #5

Sunrise Party on P-day!

Me and Sister Waite

The beautiful Wyoming landscape

Enjoying the sunrise

A quote from Relief Society I really like...

Working to fill sandbags in Saratoga

Preparing for the flood

We haven't been able to meet with R and S again yet. Simply due to scheduling conflicts. They invited us blowing though, haha! We explained to them that's not really what we do while we're on our missions. They are really cool, though, and hopefully we'll meet with them soon.

Wednesday morning we got a call requesting that we go to Saratoga as soon as possible to help with some flooding down there. We spent 7 hours straight filling sandbags and then went back the next day to help out again. Exhausting, but rewarding work. It was really neat working alongside inmates from up north, other members of the church, missionaries, Saratoga residents, and several Wyoming National Guard members. I wish bad things (like flooding) didn't happen, but I love seeing people all working together regardless of who you are, where you're from, or what you believe. We really enjoyed the opportunity to help out.

We helped out a less active member with some gardening when we saw her outside working. She is a delightful and interesting person to visit. We shared an Ensign article with her last time we visited with her that she read! How exciting. She also really likes Alphonse Mucha and, when I said he is one of my favorite artists, she gave me a few amazing pictures of his!!! They are already up on my wall. 

People continue to spoil us here and I just love the people we visit more and more (not because of the spoiling, but because they are so down to earth). Just great people out here. We had two really cool lessons with referrals that we invited the members to invite into their home. That makes such a big difference. We have 5 new investigators for this week alone thanks to the Spirit and member support - we couldn't do it without them.

So, while reading the Book of Mormon I recently discovered a new meaning to 1 Nephi 2:4. It says that Lehi and his family "departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents". This told me that the three most important things in the world (other than the Gospel, of course) are family, food, and camping. So make sure to prioritize those things ;)

This morning Sister Waite and I got up super early. We woke up the other sisters, told them to put on warm clothes, and to get into the truck as soon as possible. We drove out to this really cool spot to watch the sunrise and we supplied breakfast. It was delightful and Wyoming is soooooo pretty.  So much open space. It's peaceful and beautiful.

Love you all!!! Hope you have a great week.

Sister Rashauna Hoer

Rawlins Letter #4

Look what we found!

Picnic with Moose and some of his grandkids.

Dandelion crown made by Sister Waite.

A cool train we found to explore.

The toilet seat trophy we made for the Outhouse Races.

Running up to Devil's Gate.

On top of Independence Rock.

Pulling all the kiddos at Martin's Cove.

Sister Waite and I with the three little boys I mentioned in my letter.

The Martin's Cove gang.

Last week was rough. I was super sick. I felt like I had been hit by a train. It seemed like nothing was really working out. We couldn't schedule any appointments (school is getting out this week so everyone is super busy with all that, or out of town for Memorial Day weekend, or just gone...) It was rough. However, we were driving and saw a house that we had tried to visit previously but didn't get to talk to anyone. We saw the lights on and I immediately pulled the truck over (I think I scared Sister Waite a little bit) and changed our plans. We were warmly received by a wonderful family. The wife hasn't been to church since she was 13 and we invited her and her daughter to take the missionary discussions. They both seemed excited about it and we'll be meeting with them again tomorrow.

Moose took all of us sisters and some of his grandkids on a picnic Thursday. Getting outside always cheers me up :) and we had dinner with the S family on Friday night. They are incredible. There is just something so special about this woman and her three boys. Her husband works out of town and isn't there very often, but it just feels like home there. I love it.

So I had a cool thought on Saturday. I feel like myself and those we visit tend to struggle with the same things over and over. It's frustrating. I think to myself all the time, "Why can't I just change. Just make a decision and do it!" Well, change is made possible through the Atonement. Repentance is how we access that power. True and lasting change can only happen when we sincerely repent and turn to Christ for strength to overcome our weaknesses. So, that's something I think I already knew, but it became much more clear. We hear that all is possible through the Atonement. The Atonement is what gives us power. These are true statements, but it's hard to see how it applies to us sometimes. The gospel of Jesus Christ is how we apply them: Faith, repentance, making and keeping covenants, feeling the Spirit and just keep moving forward. Repentance doesn't always mean we have done something terrible. It simply means change, changing to be more like Christ. 

So Sister S, her boys, Sister Welch, her granddaughters, and us four sisters all went to Martin's Cove, Devil's Gate, and Independence Rock yesterday!! It was sooooooo fun to get out in the middle of nowhere. I loved every second of it. We had the best time pulling handcarts, hiking, and running along the river (I can't tell you how close I came to jumping in). The 3 little boys (that I just adore) say, "Hey, Sister Hoer"...and then something random about every two minutes. If they don't see me for a minute, I'll hear, "Where's Sister Hoer?" Coolest family ever. They want to take us to Saratoga to go hiking next :)

The best part about yesterday, however was after we got back and were sun burnt and sore and so incredibly happy. We got to meet with R and S. They are the most prepared people I've ever met. It was the best lesson of my mission so far. Not because of anything we did, but because the Spirit completely took over. You could just feel the love that Heavenly Father has for these two individuals and how much He wants to bless them. Sister Waite and I just listened and asked questions and taught a little here and there. We've been trying really hard to teach according to people's needs. Yes, we want to share everything with them, but Heavenly Father teaches us the things we want to know step by step. After we explained what the Book of Mormon was they asked, "How do we get one of those?" We talked about the prophet today and S said, "Yeah, we need that." They even said they would read the Book of Mormon every night for half an hour without us even inviting them to. That is what happens when you teach people what they need/want to know. They naturally desire to do those things. I had the opportunity to invite them to be baptized at the end of our discussion and they both said yes!!! They both expressed how they want to make this a part of their lives and then asked when we could come back.

Life is simply amazing.

Love, 

Sister Rashauna Hoer

Rawlins Letter #3

Our new pet, the fish we found in the freezer!

We're proud of our muddy truck (don't worry, we washed it today).

The sprouts are doing good.

Sue and David Day stop by for a visit!

We eat the raspberries like candy!

We all wore ugly sweaters to the district meeting.

Each week in Rawlins gets better and better. Sister Waite and I are officially meant to be together as missionary companions. Everyone asked us when we first got to town, "How long have you two known each other?" We responded, "Oh, just under two days." 

Miracles this week:

Monday - Raspberries were only a dollar per carton.......we went crazy.

Tuesday - We basically do art projects for service at the Chamber of Commerce. The woman in charge is awesome. She wants to take us to Martin's Cove and she is so much fun to spend time with. Best service project ever.

Later in the day...

"Oh man, we don't have a dinner appointment tonight."

"Bummer." 

Not two minutes later Sister Ina Welch texted us: "Sisters, I just made a large pot of vegetable soup. Do you want some?"

After receiving manna (soup) from heaven...we tracted into a less-active that we had the most amazing discussion with.

Wednesday - At the Chamber of Commerce we decorated a golden toilet seat that will be the trophy for the upcoming outhouse races, hahaha. I forgot to take a picture, but maybe we'll get one tomorrow when we go back. We also decorated the front desk with a cool chalkboard thing. I'll have to take a picture of that, too...David and Sue Day stopped by on their way home from Cheyenne! It was sooooo neat to catch up with them a little bit and to just be in their presence. I sure love those two, even though David used my appropriate handshake to trick me into a hug! Hahaha. I sure appreciated it though :) AND I got a letter from Paige.

Thursday - One of the young women, G, (who has been contemplating going on a mission) came out with us for an hour in the evening. We passed out two Book of Mormons, got a new investigator, and taught two lessons. We got back into the truck. I turned to her and said, "What do you think?" She responded simply, "I'm going on a mission." Sister Waite and I screamed. It was the coolest moment. It reminded me so much of when I told Leshelle and my mom that I had decided to go on a mission. Calm and sure, but also a little scared. It was a really neat thing to be part of.

Friday - We contacted a referral Friday evening. She was furious. At God, at life, at her situation, her past. Just furious. We listened and bore testimony of Heavenly Father's love for her. She screamed at us, telling us we we believed in some crazy things (Jesus Christ dying in a battle...weird things like that???) For some reason, we were prompted to stay. So we continued to listen and then bear testimony of the truths that we know. After a very long time, she calmed down. We were able to share the Plan of Salvation with her and by the time we left she was smiling. She looked hopeful and even apologized and sincerely told us to have a good night. Change is what the gospel is all about and I absolutely love when we get opportunities to see it happen before our eyes. 

Saturday - We were contacting referrals and there were three houses that caught my attention. None of them were the houses we were told to knock on. I mentioned to Sister Waite who agreed to stop by those three houses. No answer. No answer. No answer. Well, then let's leave a mormon.org card on each door. I just felt like we were there for a reason. So we started placing cards on the doors and were going to the middle house when a man came out. "Hey, I'm Ricky. What's your names?" We explained who we were and he was so excited to meet with us. "I've been meaning to get back to church for quite some time now" was a direct quote. Then, his girlfriend came out and we invited her to meet with us, as well. "Of course!" she said. We got their numbers and we got a text from them this morning!!! We have an appointment with both of them tonight :)

Sunday - We have been inviting all the members we meet with to pray and look for the "Bridger Pass Family". We have felt very strongly there is a family ready to be baptized and start on their path to becoming an eternal family in this area. They are in almost every one of our prayers and I think we met them on Sunday. The K Family. The wife is baptized but her husband and two of their three children are not baptized. They were so kind to us and we are just really excited to see them again. They said we can stop by any time :)

Sorry, half of our miracles were about food. It's those little things all the time though that help me be sure that Heavenly Father is always looking out for us. It's an amazing feeling. He cares so much for each one of us. Keep looking for miracles!! I also just put a ton of things in the mail, so be looking for those, too!!!

Love, 

Sister Rashauna Hoer