Week 41

Deeeeear everyone :)

9 months WHAT?! Has not even come CLOSE to sinking in! To celebrate, Sis. Judd and I went to a Pho restaurant (Vietnamese noodle soup - these restaurants are everywhere here!) and then DQ, haha. It was a fun adventure! She's just the best. I know I've said this before, but I just can't get over how well we work together and how we build off of each other. It's FANTASTIC! 

It was really good that we had each other yesterday as well, because not one investigator came to church or is progressing, and that was a blow. However, we both know that we did EVERY SINGLE THING IN OUR POWER to help them come to church, and they chose to let other things keep them from coming. I would say the hardest part of my mission (and a mission in general) is seeing others reject the truth. I don't care if they reject me, but I care if they reject happiness. It kills me! Seeing them so close, knowing what will help them - then seeing them not take that step, not do what I KNOW is best for them. I imagine Heavenly Father constantly feels like this. I'm so grateful He never gives up on us. Ever. So I won't give up on these people. Even if they keep rejecting, I will keep trying! They're worth it.  

TANYA IS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS!!! THAT was the best part of yesterday and of the weekend, by far!! Oh my goodness, her baptism was so wonderful. Sis. Judd and I had the opportunity to share the message of the Restoration for about 5 minutes while Tanya got ready, and the Spirit definitely led us! We hadn't gotten to practice it all the way through beforehand, but it made sense, thanks to the Spirit.  Wow. I am SO HAPPY she decided to act on her faith and testimony, and I know she'll be great (even though she's moving out of the ward this week, to the neighboring ward). 

I love my Savior and His gospel!

 Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

Week 40

Oh my goodness gracious, I don't even know where to start! LIFE IS SO GOOD! I LOVE being in Clark Lake (it now feels like home, and I've definitely made so many relationships with the members and the people here), I LOVE being Sis. Judd's companion, I LOVE being a sister training leader, I LOVE being a missionary, and I LOVE this gospel. 

Miracles:

I really feel a difference in the atmosphere of the ward since we've been doing short lessons with members. They know us and trust us better, they're able to see how the gospel has blessed their lives by discussing the doctrine of Christ, they're a lot more motivated to share the gospel, and each has resulted in them giving us names of less-active members to visit. By teaching the doctrine of Christ, the members are more impelled, not compelled, to share the gospel. It's coming from the inside-out, not the other way around. I'm also learning that we can do NOTHING without the members. Nothing sticks, nothing lasts, nothing keeps going without their help. Getting members to lessons and to meet people has been so key in spiritual progression - especially Amy and Ken. 

I don't exactly know what we did, if anything, for the Lord to POUR out blessings, but He is! It's truly amazing.

On exchanges (when one missionary switches another for 24 hours), Sis. Judd and Sis. Carlin (I went to Sis. Carlin's area with her companion, Sis. Keele. So great!) drove past a lady by our apartments who was pushing a stroller, had 2 kids roller-blading around her, and who looked absolutely exhausted. They felt prompted to talk to her, so they drove in a circle to come back and put up the front that they were getting something out of the trunk ;) She invited them over the next day, when I was back, and we had an AMAZING lesson with this lady, Kayla, and her 10 year old daughter Annie. Kayla initially said she just wanted to learn more, but as we taught them about the Restoration you could just see in their eyes that they believed it. Lisa said she's tried all sorts of churches and has studied with Jehovah's Witnesses, but things have never quite "sat well" with her - UNTIL NOW. Everything made sense in her mind and in her heart, and she seemed so relieved to find that what she has always believed, especially about living prophets, is true. She and Annie both committed to be baptized at the end of this month!!

Tanya is moving out of the ward :( but she's getting baptized THIS SATURDAY!! AH she's so great - she bore her testimony yesterday! She shared 2 Ne. 32:3 (I will always remember this scripture as Tanya's favorite) and said that scripture helped her feel that the Book of Mormon and this church is true. The Book of Mormon is SO POWERFUL. I'm learning to teach from it more, to help them understand that it's the keystone to everything - to let the prophets and the Spirit teach them, not me. She also said in her testimony that she's doing this for her. I love those words. Near the beginning of her testimony, she said "Hail Sister Hehl!" hahaha.

Amy and Ken came to church!!!! And they LOVED it! It was a spectacular fast and testimony meeting, and the Spirit was so strong. They had to leave afterwards because of their daughter, but they're reading and praying together daily (!) and they're excited for us to come back this week :)

Hurrah for Israel! 

Sister Hehl

If you would like to send an email to Sister Hehl, her email address is:

alyssa.hehl@myldsmail.net

Week 39 - Feb. 25, 2014

Hello Everyone,

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WEEK! Sis. Judd and I repeatedly turned to each other, jaws dropped, saying, "What is happening?!" in a good way. SO MANY MIRACLES!! I feel we're both really striving to be exactly obedient, and that's helping the work. We're best friends already, we work fantastically together, we have so much fun, we work our hardest, we're on the same page, and I love this transfer already! I love Sister Judd, I love Clark Lake, I love this work! 

We've also really been trying to implement new training we've gotten recently - especially shorter, more focused, more interactive lessons with the pamphlets. It's worked wonders! We went back to Christine after not seeing her for a while (an older, spunky lady the elders tracted into), she actually listened, and we taught the Restoration the new way. We asked her to pray to know if this is God's church at the end of the lesson - we meant out loud, but she did it silently. We just waited...for a couple minutes...then she looks at us and says, "So where's your church at?" !!!! WHAT?! She said she felt good and she wants to keep studying and praying about it. She committed to baptism on March 15 but she wasn't feeling well enough to come to church yesterday, so we'll change her date when we see her on Tuesday. But still, that experience was AMAZING! 

We received 2 referrals who are GOLDEN! Alison and Nancy. We reviewed the Restoration with Nancy and she already knows most of it - she received the first 3 lessons in another state already and WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED! She knows it's true already!! We have another lesson with her tonight and we're trying to help her feel the urgency of baptism - she wants to wait until June so she can be baptized with her family there. (some of her family is Mormon - MAN is she prepared!)

I've seen miracles from talking with EVERYONE we see. Sister Judd is really good at that. Even if it's just giving them a mormon.org card - we're still inviting them to come unto Christ. So much of missionary work is simply INVITING, whether or not they accept. 

Another instance of a miracle from talking with everyone: we went to check that Nancy was coming to church, but she wasn't home. As we were walking back to our car, Sister Judd spotted a family walking out to their car and went to go talk to them. Turns out the mother is a less-active member that recently moved in who wants to come back to church with her family. We have an appointment for Wednesday. WHAT? The Lord just keeps teaching me, over and over and over, that I can NEVER judge. I can NEVER tell who's ready and who isn't. My job is to invite EVERYONE. 

We had a wonderful lesson with Jessica and Martha T (member), mostly about the Restoration and living prophets. We invited Jessica to say the closing prayer and ask God if this is true, and if Thomas S. Monson is His living prophet today. She's prayed out loud before, but this time was different - there was a point where it got intense and real. Even though it was in Marshallese, I could tell she was really asking, and really feeling the Spirit. She started crying! The Spirit was so strong. She wants so badly to have an eternal family, to live God's commandments and be clean in His eyes, and to be baptized. After that lesson, I have no doubt that she will be baptized. And that is the best feeling :)

Sarah came to church for the first time in about a YEAR! Even before Sacrament meeting started, she had tears in her eyes. She was in a lot of pain (fibromyalgia) but she wanted to come, and she said it felt so good. :D

We've also been trying to work out how to really facilitate member and missionary work - how to work better together to hasten the Lord's work. Any ideas??

I know this is God's church. He lets me know through the scriptures, through prayer, through how it blesses the lives of others, and mostly importantly through the Spirit EVERY DAY. He has given us His power so we can be clean and be guided back to live with Him. He loves us and understands us more than we can comprehend. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

Sister Hehl with Sister Kartchner- they changed this tire together in December all by themselves!

Sister Hehl with her last companion, Sister Swapp. 

August Pictures

September 10, 2013

Hehlo there!

So overall, we have 3 investigators: Jalice, Stephanie, and Jennifer. We found Jennifer this week, thanks to a referral from some other elders in the zone! My mind is still blown by how prepared she is (and she doesn't even know it). We taught her part of the Restoration, and she's so smart and was asking all these penetrating questions that frankly, we didn't know the answer to, haha. For example, "How did Noah know he was a prophet? Did he hear the Lord's voice, or did he just know?" and, "How did Moses know to part the Red Sea? Did he think of it beforehand, or was it just an overpowering thought from God?" This girl thinks deeply. I like it :) And near the end, she asked a question about the Plan of Salvation. We gave her a quick overview (we ran out of time) and she said she had thought about there being 3 options before (the 3 kingdoms). WHAT. We have a church tour with her tomorrow and I'm just real excited about her :D

We're teaching Jalice and Stephanie 2-3 times a week, and they're both just soaking it in and learning and growing spiritually! They're both getting baptized on the 28th of this month. It's actually hard to get them to talk cause they don't have questions, haha. Come on, we can't be THAT good of teachers! But I'm learning how to ask inspired questions in inspired ways. It's amazing what happens when you ask the right question - and then wait. 

One thing I loved from district meeting last Wednesday: Our purpose is to invite, so Satan's best tool is to shut our mouths with fear. I refuse to let him shut my mouth! The Lord has definitely strengthened me to be able to do things I wouldn't be able to do on my own. He's just amazing!!

We had Stake Conference this weekend, although we were only able to go to the Sunday session. Stephanie was able to come! It was a broadcast for all of Washington and Alaska, and 4 people spoke: Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy, Sister Carol F. McConkie of the YW Presidency, Elder Robert D. Hales, and Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve. I loved it all! It's hard to narrow down my favorite parts (as usual), but one thing that really stuck out to me: Elder Perry told a story about a 14 year old boy training a horse and them working together to plow and do the needed things around the farm. Then he related that to our bodies and our spirits - our spirit is the boy, our body the horse. We have to train our body what we allow and don't allow, what's okay and what is not okay, and we have to show it who's boss. When our spirit is in charge and our body and our spirit work together, we can accomplish great things. (more than the boy or the horse could on their own)

I still feel like I'm reading the Book of Mormon for the first time, considering all the things I have never noticed/realized before! Man, I've been a blockhead cause I've missed so much! Haha. But the Spirit is helping me learn so much more, understand so much more. One thing I've loved the last couple days especially: Mosiah 12-17, Abinadi's story. I never really understood what exactly he was teaching - I just knew that he had taught something then was killed. But what he teaches is AMAZING! And how he deals with the priests - he answers with scripture and testimony. I want to teach like THAT GUY. He's so great.

I'm starting to get tastes of what winter will be like here! What everyone says about the "misty" rain is true - that's exactly what it feels like! It barely feels like raindrops - just wetness. But it's only happened a couple times so far. Good thing I LOVE THE RAIN! :)

Jo and Kat finally got in contact with us yesterday! First time in 2 weeks! They called cause Jo needed a ride to the hospital. He pulled a muscle in his back and was in excruciating pain. They got a ride and we went to see them after Stake Conference. We basically had what missionaries call a do-or-die lesson - where we let them know that we still love them, but we can't continue visiting them if they're not willing to change. We're on the Lord's time, and we're here for only a short period of time, and we're here to teach people who are ready to learn about the Gospel and ready to change. It was really hard and we only talked to Kat about it, but we thinks she understands and they don't hate us! It's just sad because we love them SO MUCH and we care about them and their eternal happiness SO MUCH! But we've done all we can, we've taught them and helped them all that we can, and we've planted the seed. Now it's up to them. And I know the Lord won't forget them or leave them.

I know this church is the true and LIVING church of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. It is not just for "good people" but for everyone on the planet - every single person deserves to hear about it, because they deserve to be happy and to know that they have a Father in Heaven who loves them. It is here to bring us closer to Christ through the gospel - the ordinances and covenants. That's the way to get back, and it will never change. I love my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, and I'm coming to know Him. He somehow deals with me every day, so I guess I can deal with me every day too, even in all my imperfections and shortcomings. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. What a beautiful paradox. Without Him, we are nothing, we can do nothing. But with Him - we are everything, we can do everything. I love the hope and peace I feel every day that comes DIRECTLY from this gospel and from Jesus Christ. This gospel is not only true - it is REAL. And I love it with all my heart!

Hurrah for Israel!!

Sister Hehl

September 3, 2013

SHANNON IS A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS!! wow. wowwowwowwow. It still hasn't sunk in - for me or for her, haha. I played my musical number at her baptism on Saturday and oh boy, what a miracle. No matter how much I practice a number, I always mess up when I'm nervous. I knew this was going to happen big time, during this important solo, and I wanted to just bring the Spirit, so at the beginning of my song, I just prayed for help. I let go a bit, stop worrying so much, kind of gave it over to Heavenly Father...and He led my fingers. Again! When my mind didn't know where to put my fingers, my fingers went the right places anyways! And the room got really quiet and the Spirit was strong as I was playing. I'm so happy I was able to be an instrument (instrument - piano solo- haha) in the Lord's hands to help bring the Spirit. I am just so happy for Shannon!! She's come so far even in the time I've been here, and I'm so blessed to have been able to see her spiritual progress. 

Cool random story! Last Monday was the first time that someone has stopped US to talk to us - a guy was sitting on a bench as we were leaving the library and he wanted to talk to us cause he knows a former bishop! Turned into a great discussion. If only it were always that easy, haha...just kidding, a mission is so wonderful because it's hard. But it'd be nice ;) 

I read Jacob 7 recently and I LOVE how Jacob responded to Sherem - he could've gone down to Sherem's level and argued, but instead - he bore TESTIMONY. Can't argue with that :) 

Also, Ether 12 is my life theme right now. I especially love verses 2, 4, and 27. 

2 NEW INVESTIGATORS! We went on exchanges last Thurs-Fri, so I left the area and SBarlow came here with SMorrow. Maybe I need to leave more often, cause they found both the investigators that day! They found Stephanie, who is BEYOND GOLDEN. She soaks everything up like a sponge! And she's feeling the Spirit stronger and stronger - she needs to be baptized ASAP! The only hurdle is her dad, who feels she's taking it too fast. We're all praying for his heart to be softened so he's comfortable with her being baptized. She's just amazing.

I haven't met our other investigator, Jalice, but hopefully will soon! We have a list of all the YSA's in the stake, most of them are less-active, that we work on every day. They were going to find someone, and a total miracle happened. They found Jasmine, who is less-active, and Jalice, who was never baptized, but both of them want to come to church! Jasmine had been thinking of coming back to church THAT DAY, and then the sisters knocked!! Wow. That actually happened. MIRACLES HAPPEN! 

SStempniak taught me a lot - it's okay to be chill, to sit back, to be silent and hold off on get-to-know-you questions. Also, God trusts me to be me.

Transfers are today, actually, but neither of us are getting transferred! OH such a relief. By the end of this transfer, SMorrow and I will have been companions for 4 1/2 months! That's a semester at college! We're best friends, so it's the greatest thing ever ;D

Haha some elders in our district made our day - instead of leaving our journals (we have journals that other missionaries sign) in a normal place, they led us around the whole church on a scavenger hunt for them! It totally made my week! I love that! :D

A favorite quote from Fast and Testimony meeting: "It's not about hiding your pain, but about showing your faith." LOVE that. 

Bear testimony all the day long, EVERYONE! 

Does anyone have any cool finding ideas?

Love you ALL!

August 26, 2013

SHANNON IS GETTING BAPTIZED SATURDAY (AUGUST 31)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if you got annoyed from all the exclamation points...deal with it, cause that's how excited i am! :D i still think to myself sometimes, "is this real life?" it's amazing. she's been investigating the church on and off for 8 YEARS and she finally committed to being baptized! i'm so grateful i've been able to witness such a huge miracle. we had a lesson with her on tuesday, and we both felt impressed to just keep bringing the conversation back to baptism, keep hammering at it, keep pushing. We read mosiah 18:8-11 with her and helped her understand that she doesn't need to know everything beforehand (she just needs to believe - that's what the interview questions say! "do you believe...?" plus, 8 year old children do NOT know everything when they're baptized), she's not a hypocrite if she messes up afterwards, and she'll receive additional strength and power to overcome. it had come to a point with her that she couldn't really continue to progress without being baptized. haha so sister morrow extended the official invitation to her, "Shannon, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the proper authority of God?" silence. shannon puts her head on her arms on the table and we hear, (resigned voice) "...when?" ha i bet our faces were hilarious at that point - disbelief, utter happiness. can you believe it?! and i testify that it was nothing that we really did - it really was the Spirit. we were just here at the right time, being ourselves, and the Lord worked through us to bless Shannon. she's taking this leap of faith, and i know she'll be so blessed.

so...that's the HUGE news. haha she and i are so alike - she said when she overcomes one hurdle, she wants to do 50 more, all at once! and she beats herself up for not doing all she knows she should...uh, we're twins. here's one reason i've been going through that and feeling all that - so i can help shannon!! i bore my testimony of the strengthening power of the Atonement, and that this gospel is a process.

another great smorrow moment: she had the BRILLIANT idea to buy flowers and give them to random people, along with our card, for finding! we did that 2 days in a row (ha we got a lot of daisies), in the walmart parking lot (and kinda got kicked out at the end...oh well) and at a park. it worked really well! we talked to a lot of awesome people and i liked thinking outside the box with finding. 

3 talks that really helped me and uplifted me this week: Elder Holland's "Lord, I Believe," Elder Andersen's "Repent...That I May Heal You," and Elder Scott's "The Path to Peace and Joy." i'd love to hear what you all think and get from those talks :) also, i'd love to be sent everyone's testimonies, so i can put them into copies of the Book of Mormon that we give out! feel free to just email them to me if that's easiest :)

this gospel is amazing. Jesus Christ WANTS to forgive us, and He makes all the difference. He is the only way to true happiness and peace. I love Him dearly.

And I love all of you!!

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

August 19, 2013

we had a lesson with jo and kat this week and i couldn't stop smiling when kat said, "i really feel something when i read." and jo said, "i don't have doubts anymore," and "can we just read nephi? i feel pulled towards nephi." :D unfortunately they've taken a step back since then, and they've been out of town and out of contact. but i'm NOT giving up on them! but i really just have to give it over to the Lord - there's only so much i can do, and they have their agency. luckily i'm not their only option for salvation - no WAY the Lord would let that happen, ha. 

it's crazy how many people tell us their life story, even though we just met them. sometimes it's through a screen door - but they just tell us everything! can be good and bad...but i love how quickly i get to know people when we communicate spirit to spirit (to Spirit). 

we took a soon-to-be-missionary, morgan phipps, out with us this week and she has her call to Ecuador. i realized: i will learn more here in Washington than anywhere else in the WORLD! :D

SHOCKING statistics about the church: we have a 6% retention rate. SIX PERCENT. and we have 14 million members, but only 4 million are active. i cannot believe it! so heartbreaking! but if every active member of the church brings 4 people back - we will be fully active and will grow. man i'm so motivated to do so much after my mission! i refuse to let "life" get in the way - this is life! this is the only stuff that actually matters!

we had 2 lessons (in a row :)) with our new investigator, pedro, this week! he's awesome. he's a hispanic little person, his friend is in our branch, and he's willing to read what we ask and keep finding out! he's so ready :) 

we also had 2 lessons with our other (eternal) investigator, shannon! we found out where her testimony is weak or non-existent, and we're going to start from there. she's a dental assistant and witty and great. she knows with her head what she needs to do and what she wants (the "mormon lifestyle"), but we're working with helping her feel the Spirit more so she can be motivated to actually do what she knows she needs to do. she committed to live the law of chastity and word of wisdom and read and pray for a whole week! that's a great step :) so many people, member and nonmember, just don't have a testimony of joseph smith, the restoration, and the Book of Mormon! it's scary when members are like that...but we all have a path to true conversion, and baptism is at different places on everyone's path. it's frustrating when people don't realize that evidence of joseph smith and the restoration are right there in front of them! all they have to do to KNOW is put in some time and effort and read. i still have to strengthen my testimony by reading and praying daily, and boy has it gotten stronger. this whole gospel hinges on the Book of Mormon - once you know it's true, you know joseph smith translated it by the power of God. once you know he did that, you know he was called as a prophet of the restoration. once you know that, you know there had to be a restoration because there was "a falling away first." and once you know that, you know that the Priesthood authority of God is only in this church! it just works together like one huge puzzle! AH i love this gospel!!! :D

sister morrow and i are finally getting into our groove! we don't get annoyed at each other anymore (or at least we haven't for the past 2 days), we teach and work so well together - this is how it's supposed to work :) funny how transfers are 2 weeks away now! haha but the Lord's will will be done.

also, my stitches are doing great. really really well, actually! they haven't bothered or hindered me at all - what a blessing. i get them out tomorrow and then we can run again :)

 some great quotes and insights:

"God works with us at the frontiers of our capacity."

john 4:40 - Jesus stayed because they asked Him.

definition of a mission: it's wonderful BECAUSE it's hard.

there's a difference between doing missionary things and doing missionary work.

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

August 12, 2013

Man, a mission is just one giant ADVENTURE! I got my first stitches this past Saturday, and it wasn't too bad, actually. Things were getting tense in a lesson with Jo, Kat, and their brother Akim, so we went outside in the woods in their backyard to get some fresh air. Walking up the hill to their house at the end, I felt a little burning on my right foot. I looked down, saw a pretty sizeable chunk of a glass bottle there and a cut on my ankle, but i thought it was no big deal, so i just kept walking. then it started to bleed more and everyone started fawning over me (which i dislike greatly! but i put up with it, haha) and we went to the urgent care. they stitched it up right there, and i'm getting a checkup today and the stitches out next tuesday. adventure! such a blessing i can still walk and do everything fine - it was close to my tendon, but didn't touch it! I'm in good hands :)

Jo and Kat aren't progressing as quickly as we thought they would, but we are so close to them! We actually went back after I got stitches cause they were going through a really rough time - the landlord threw Jo's brother out. And to add to it all, she's now throwing Jo and Kat out! I can't believe how obviously and how HARD Satan is pushing on them. He is real and he is trying his hardest to get them away from baptism! But the Lord is stronger, and He will help them through. I knew I would be invested in these people, but I didn't know what it's really like. I love them SO MUCH. I'm willing to do ANYTHING for them!! I never knew I would be this invested, and I love it. I love them!

We finally taught Shannon a lesson this week! We can't see her very often at all, but she's reading the Book of Mormon and she's starting to understand it and apply it to her. That's the answer right there! We also got a new investigator yesterday at church! A member, Bryan, brought his roommate Pedro, and we set up a meeting Wednesday. Ha I wish it were always that easy! But I'm excited for this week. It should be interesting cause we can't go running and we're being fed by members every night! I'm gonna get fat! 

Tuesday we also had an AMAZING lesson with a less-active, Orrin. We really listened to what he was saying and where he was coming from, and Sister Morrow and I were both inspired to share 2 Ne. 2:17 with him. We did, and the Spirit touched him so strongly that this rock of a man cried a little! He realized he's been serving God and Jesus Christ every time he's helped someone, and he realized They have been helping him all this time. He was impacted, and his life changed. And I got to witness it. I will go through hell every day for these experiences, because they are worth it. The experiences are worth it, the people are worth it, and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are worth it. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

August 5th, 2013

Hello Everyone!!!!

i am full to bursting! CAPS CAN'T EVEN EXPRESS HOW HAPPY I AM!!!

MIRACLES ABOUND!! 

My God is a God of MIRACLES.

this week has been crazy. so much has happened! biggest things: tuesday we got in contact with a referral from some other elders, jo. we also met his girlfriend kat, and we PUT THEM ON DATE FOR BAPTISM ONAUGUST 31!!  it was a great lesson! we had a church tour with them thursday and it was kinda rough cause there was a lot of competing to talk, but we ended it in the chapel and the Spirit was SO strong. we sang "I am a child of God," talked about Jesus Christ and how this is His gospel, and how through Him we can get through anything. Kat cried and jo said he almost did. it was so amazing to SEE them EXPERIENCE the gospel and the Spirit!

and the HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE:

yesterday was seriously the best day of my life. shannon (another investigator), kat, and jo all came to church! and to smorrow's and my shock and wonder, JO GOT UP AND BORE HIS TESTIMONY. HE SAID THAT HE KNOWS THIS IS THE TRUE CHURCH AND THAT HE IS COMMITTED. WE didn't even know all of that! he made people cry with his testimony! luckily he didn't swear over the pulpit, haha. but seriously, it was amazing. i'm still in shock. i mean, WHAT JUST HAPPENED? is this real life? sure doesn't feel like it! OUR INVESTIGATOR BORE HIS TESTIMONY. we taught the lesson in relief society about missionary work and in the middle of it, kat raised her hand and thanked us for being her friends, for sharing the truth with her, and for helping her feel so happy. jaw dropped, it's fine. i just can't believe it. i feel SO BLESSED to be witness and a part of this miracle. and it'll only get better!! they know it's true! we have to work on the word of wisdom and the law of chastity, but i KNOW it's possible, and the Lord will help them do anything they need to in order to get baptized, as long as they put in the effort to know that it's true for themselves and trust in Jesus Christ. it is INSANE how prepared they are - kat stopped drugs and alcohol ON HER OWN 2 weeks before we met her - one of many examples. they've been through so much but they are really looking for the truth, and THEY KNOW THEY'VE FOUND IT!

this tuesday we also did exchanges, and i got to be with sister barlow from my MTC district! oh it was great, and i've come to love her so much more now - REALLY love her. we met this AMAZING girl, elizabeth, 17 years old, and we put her ON DATE FOR AUGUST 31!! she was so prepared too! 2 of her grandparents died last summer, and since then she's had a much closer relationship with God. and it was such a miracle we found her home, not busy, right then - she lives with her mom in another city and was just visiting! i'm still sad that i'll probably never see her again, cause we made a real connection and i really love her! but i just had the thought: we'll hug in heaven. :D AH this is the best joy - gospel joy!

i think the biggest miracle of my mission overall is how many people i love. i never knew my heart could be this big. and it keeps growing! 

we also finally made contact with another referral, marsel! we had an awesome church tour with him friday, although he didn't come to our church (we really hope he went to 9 o'clock church with his aunt, who's a member, like he said he would). he got the chills when i recited joseph smith's account of the first vision. we put him on date for baptism for AUGUST 24!! 

shannon has been investigating the church for 8 years, on and off, and we still haven't had an actual lesson with her but we will tomorrow, actually. she considers herself an "honorary member" cause she's been taught so much, haha. she's really awesome though - super nice, outgoing, everything. she really loves the people and the social aspect of it, but she's working on trying to feel the Spirit more. she felt it SUPER strongly at a YSA activity about a month ago, (made her cry) and she wants to feel it again. and she's found the more sure-fire way

 to feel the Spirit! read the Book of Mormon :)

i LOVE "the psalm of nephi" : 2 Ne 4. please read it, everyone? thanks :) 

oh how i love you. every single one of you. yes, that sounds cheesy, but IT'S TRUE! there is NO LIMIT to how many people we can love! i am determined to love as many people as humanly possible in this life. 

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Hehl

Hello Everyone,

it will have been 2 months next week - CRAZY. 2 months already trumps 2 years with personal growth. i am so grateful to be serving a mission. i try to appreciate it more and more every day. i am privileged to directly be a part of this work, to get to spread the gospel to my brothers and sisters for 18 months straight! and i know i'll miss it when i'm home, so i'm trying to enjoy every moment! and don't worry, sister morrow and i laugh at least once every five minutes, it's fine :) one of my joys is really making other people laugh!

SURPRISE! sister morrow and i got transferred together out of our complete zone into the federal way stake mirror lake YSA branch! so we cover the whole stake! ha yes, it's super different (being surrounded by peers, being a YSA but not being there to be a YSA...), but boy is it great! we came and got to work right on tuesday, and the members and especially the leaders are SO supportive! we thought the anomaly of an out of zone transfer together meant the ward wasn't liking us or something...but we're finding out that the members here have been hoping and praying for sisters for a long time! we feel very appreciated and almost popular, haha...it's weird. after church yesterday, people (both brothers and sisters) were waiting to talk to us, some to sign up to come out and visit with us. and all the activities during the week (FHE mondays, ultimate frisbee tuesdays and wednesdays, stake activities thursdays, and game nights fridays-sundays) really promote members bringing their friends in a non-threatening environment, so it's perfect for missionary work! we can feel the work practically TINGLING here, ready to explode! it's so so exciting!

i'm so glad i've stayed with sister morrow - surrounded by new things, it's so nice to have something (someone) familiar. and we already have our rhythm and personalities down, so we don't have to spend time figuring those things out with a new companion. my relationship with her is so close, even just for 2 months. ha i guess that's what happens when you're with each other 24/7! but we have the same goals for missionary work, (although we have slightly different ways of going about it, which is good) we have basically the same humor and temperament - we're just best friends! i didn't think it could happen so quickly but it did! even when we have disagreements or we're mad or annoyed with each other, we eventually talk it out and we come out stronger friends. we've come to accept each other completely in all our flaws and quirks, it's great. i'm learning how real relationships with other people work - how openness is SO much better than keeping things in! it sometimes just makes us angry, but it engenders such openness and acceptance that we can really work together, unified, in this work.

some favorite quotes:
"it is the wounded Christ who is the captain of our soul - he who yet bears the scars of sacrifice, the lesions of love and humility and forgiveness. those wounds are what he invites young and old, then and now, to step forward and see and feel (see 3 ne 11:15, 3 ne 18:25." -Elder Holland

"contentment comes not from great wealth, but from few wants."

"true conversion is more than a fleeting emotional response to a spiritual experience. it is a spiritual response even after experiences have passed and emotions have faded. it is not temporary, but permanent. it is not accidental, but intentional. it is not intermittent, but continuous. and continuous conversion is possible only as we apply the continuous Atonement of Jesus Christ." -brad wilcox

also, look up the stories of john turner (his leg was healed miraculously and he gave TONS of money to the church, helping them stay afloat!) and brother moyle (was a stonecutter called to work on the salt lake temple, walked from alpine to salt lake every week to do it) (i hope those are their names...they're on the doctrine and covenants videos used for seminary...i hope you can find them! if not, i'll try to narrow it down for you next week)

how was pioneer day for everyone back in utah? haha surprise surprise no one celebrates it here...it was weird to realize during the day that it was july 24 but nothing out of the ordinary was going on...we did have talks on pioneers this sunday (yesterday) though! that plus watching church history videos has helped me appreciate pioneers and early saints SO much more. they gave everything to give us a foundation, and now we can build a superstructure - but only because of them.

this past saturday, i had a POWERFUL self-conversion experience. in sister morrow's words, "this is the best kind of missionary work - when we become more converted." i can say confidently that i'm more converted. i know more fully how weak i am - no matter how hard i try, i WILL fail, and fail, and fail! i am imperfect. i'm prideful, i know SO little, i keep stumbling. but i FINALLY realized i need to stop trying to do this alone. i CANNOT do it! i CAN'T have faith like john turner and brother moyle overnight. i CAN'T learn the whole Bible, understand fully and recite the stories in the Book of Mormon like i want to, overnight. I CAN'T teach perfectly, be led by the Spirit 24/7. I CAN'T love perfectly. and so many more things...i realized i raised my expectations of myself way too high - higher even than what the Lord expects of me. and i've been getting so frustrated at myself and my inability to rid myself of my imperfections. i want to be rid of them now! i will forever be grateful to sister morrow - she suggested i look at how much i've already progressed by reading my journal 2 months ago. i flipped to my setting apart blessing, where i summarized, "the Lord will help me be exactly who i need to be, when i need to be...the Lord will be satisfied with me and i will be satisfied." wow. THE LORD KNEW I WOULD NEED THOSE WORDS RIGHT AT THAT TIME! i'm blown away by how He knows and loves and provides for me. now i'm starting to see how weak i am, and how much i need my Savior. i am determined to stop trying to perfect myself alone, because i can't. i will now rely more fully on Him every hour of every day, and trust that as i obey Him and follow Him, He WILL make me into the person i want to be - and more.

I love you all!!

Sister A. Hehl

TRANSFERS ARE TODAY!! and we found out last night that SISTER MORROW AND I ARE STAYING TOGETHER BUT WE'RE GETTING TRANSFERRED OUT OF THE ZONE!! we're going at 2 o'clock to our new area - we have no idea where yet! i have mixed emotions because i didn't know what to expect, so i was trying to prepare myself for everything ha. turns out that i found out what i wanted - i secretly wanted to stay in the area (things are just getting started, we made connections with so many people!), and train...PSYCH! but the Lord knows what He's doing, and i fully trust that this is His will. I know i have a lot more to learn from Sister Morrow, and we will still do great things together, wherever we go. 

MIRACLES

last monday we didn't even plan to go to a less active family's house, but we did and FINALLY got ahold of them! we also went to see another family, they weren't there, so we decided to knock on the door right across from it, and we met and had a GREAT conversation with Anthony! that basically happens every day...but seriously! the same thing happened with mckayla and family - we had an appointment set up, they weren't home so we waited, and just as we got to their door they got home and let us in, even though mckayla was right in the middle of texting us not to come - *for some reason* HER  PHONE WOULDN'T SEND THE TEXT. coincidence? i think not! we had a fantastic lesson with them, and we set up a church tour! that did fall through for last night...but it was a step, and missionaries will keep working with them. like i've said, they're looking for truth and they're ready. we had another great lesson with raymond and sally - raymond's been investigating for a while and sally is less active. i was SO amazed when ray told us he refused free meth that day - he used to be an addict but he refused all on his own! man, i can't even imagine the willpower that would require...we talked with him about the Atonement and sang "I Stand All Amazed." we were all a little teary, and sally SANG ALONG! 

 also, july 17, we found about 8 BAGS of super expensive groceries on our doorstep, with an anonymous note from someone in the ward saying they appreciate us and that they thought we'd enjoy the "goodies" and they hoped it would save us some time. i wanted to find out who it was so badly! i still want to know, so i can thank them. it was seriously so kind - i can't even express my gratitude. it almost brought me to tears.

we also did exchanges tuesday, which means 2 companions switch places for 24 hours! sister mosbrucker, the sister training leader (the female leadership in the zone) came here and i was the senior companion for 24 hours! driving = so weird. but it was good to get to know her and see her different style of missionary work. 

random thoughts and quotes:

1 ne 7:17 - pray to have the strength to change your circumstances, not for your circumstances to change. kind of like Elder Bednar's talk, "In the Strength of the Lord." i need to pray to change ME. i need to stop blaming the ward for not doing their home/visiting teaching and instead look for ways i can help them do that. 

i'm very much learning that life is a balancing act! everything comes down to balancing between 2 extremes, and we're always striving to find that middle ground. 

"true conversion is more than a fleeting emotional response to a spiritual experience. it is a spiritual response even after experiences have passed and emotions have faded. it is not temporary, but permanent. it is not accidental, but intentional. it is not intermittent, but continuous. and continuous conversion is possible only through the continuous Atonement of Jesus Christ." - Brad Wilcox

little joys: eating wild blackberries, peas straight from a garden, and learning two phrases in Marshallese (quar mange ta rainin = what did you eat today? ech et am moure rainin = how are you today?) :) and crunching leaves, as always :) 

alma 32:34 - describes exactly how i'm feeling. my eyes are being opened, my mind expanded, my soul enlarged. from studying the gospel, the Atonement, and from talking to SO MANY AMAZING PEOPLE! pat, for example. she was a single mom and has lost a son, and has depression and bipolar disorder. she opened up to us and she just amazes me - she's so resilient, so strong, so anchored in the gospel (she converted at age 50, as well). i've wasted SO MUCH TIME in my life! i want to do so much more studying and living, getting to know people and interacting with them. 

haha one lunch, while sister morrow was taking a nap, i decided to make smoothies. harmless, right? apparently i just have a problem with smoothies! i made 3 different versions and tried to freeze a glass of each for smorrow. they were off balance and they fell and oozed over everything in the freezer! i just laughed cause OF COURSE this happened to me, haha. but i scrambled to clean everything up before smorrow woke up - success :) she had no idea until i told her later that day, haha! it was quite the adventure :) 

if i could tell each of you one thing, it would be to spend more time learning about and focusing on the Atonement. it is absolutely everything.

LOVE,

Sister Hehl!

*note: Here are some pictures of Alyssa from the MTC:

Sister  Morrison & Sister Hehl: MTC Companions

All the Sisters in the Zone

  

Sis. Hehl & Sis. Wolfe: Sisters from different mothers. If they're lucky enough, maybe they can be companions in Washington together!

Sis. Liedtke with Sis. Hehl- great friends from SUU days

Sharing gifts with the district

Sis. Love & Sis. Hehl doing their best "Miranda" faces

Sister Training Leaders & Zone Leaders

July 15, 2013

TRANSFERS are next monday! AHHHH! it's been hinted at that i might become a TRAINER already! oh boy, when i heard that, a battle instantly ensued between fear and faith. i'm SO inadequate but i know the Lord will help me do His will. so i'm willing to accept it, whatever His will is! we'll see next week! crazy crazy...it's only a 5 week transfer because they want to stagger the transfer dates for the federal way, seattle, and tacoma missions. makes sense.

crazy story of the week: tuesday, we were leaving emily's house (a really great inactive), but we pulled over because some light was on on the dashboard - a door was open. so we were pulling over, and THUD, we jolted to a stop (the brake-check kind of stop). we looked at each other in alarm, then got out of the car as fast as we could to see what happened. my companion ran into a ROCK! it was a decorative, rather substantial-sized one but neither of us saw it! MIRACULOUSLY, the car was okay! ...until 5 hours later, when we went to that same street but a different house to hopefully talk to a potential investigator (Elijah, russian, AWESOME). we also had sister thomas, from the ward, coming out with us. as we were driving there, a different light came on the dashboard - some squiggly lines and an exclamation point. we had NO idea what that meant...until we got out of the car and heard really loud hissing from the front right tire (the one we ran into a rock with). we started FREAKING out a little, but we found a manual and all the equipment...so we changed the tire right there! i must say, i'm rather (*very*) proud of the fact that we did it ourselves :) cherry on top: sister morrow and i were in SKIRTS. THAT'S what's up! haha it was quite the adventure! we got our tire replaced the next day, no worries.

random facts and thoughts: it's a law here that everyone has to wear helmets when they ride bikes. also, there are coffee stands EVERYWHERE. and crows/ravens - they're loud! and sometimes creepy. there once was an actual white river here! (my ward is the white river ward) -but they had to re-route it. 

this is an awesome, super motivating thing that sister morrow showed me and i've now memorized it cause it hits me so powerfully:

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, positions, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power. 

My road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, and paid up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear.

-Henry B. Eyring

(your name signed here)

some things i've learned: the best way to come to know Jesus Christ, as a real, living person - learn of Him and live like Him.

at the end of the day, i sometimes think, "what am i going to write about in my journal today?" then i had the thought, "what am i going to DO about today?"

on saturday, something amazing happened. we went to visit derek, a guy we ran into tracting a while ago. he viewed the main difference between us as the Priesthood (he felt that we all have power just by believing so we didn't need to be authorized) and we had a hard time explaining it the first time we met him. but this time, we had studied up on it and explained it better. we told him all about the restoration and near the end, i bore pure testimony to him about prophets, the Book of Mormon, and joseph smith. there was a shift, and i wasn't thinking anymore - i could feel the Lord working through me. for the first time, i was purely an instrument. it was so amazing. i can't even describe it. afterwards, i was speechless cause i was so blown away, haha. what did i just say? i SO hope he reads the Book of Mormon!!

i'm learning that i really have been sheltered. getting to know people and their lives has opened my eyes to how much i really DON'T know, and i have NO idea how to help these people or what to say! these things are so much deeper and more complicated than i know...but Heavenly Father knows. Jesus Christ knows. and with this badge on my shoulder, i represent Jesus Christ. so although alyssa hehl may not know how to proceed, sister hehl can because she is being led. i hope to keep humbly doing the Lord's will and helping these marvelous people any way i can. 

i really do love you all!!

Sister Hehl

Exhausted Peace (by Sister Hehl)

Out of breath

makes the air taste sweeter

Desert throat

makes one drop an ocean

Dark shadows

make the sun shine richer

Salty tears

make the sadness sparkle

Velvet sky

makes the stars burn brighter

Exhausted peace

makes each day more than gold

July 8, 2013 We met the new Mission President

My week's been FABULOUS, as usual :)! But a mission is just a rollercoaster, ups and downs, every single day. This may sound weird, but I feel like I'm doing so much LIVING! So much goes on each and every hour, I feel like I've been here for months. Time is still just crazy. Weeks feel like days, days feel like weeks! 

We got to meet our new mission president, President Eaton, this past Wednesday at a zone conference! I LOVE HIM ALREADY!! AH he's a SPECTACULAR mission president, father, teacher...everything. He feels like a father to all of us, and I already know he and his wife love all of us. The gift of love is quite amazing that way. They already love us, we already love them...it's only been a week!

Some insights and things that really stuck out to me that meeting:

"The work of salvation is not just a thing going on in the universe - it's the ONLY thing going on in the universe."

Instead of just using the Book of Mormon to help others know the truth of the gospel so they can be baptized, I need to teach them how to use it DAILY to answer questions and I need to do that too! It's so pathetic that I haven't done that before now...but I've studied the Book of Mormon the last couple days with questions in mind and no matter where I'm reading, MY QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED! Yesterday I read with the question "why is baptism by the proper authority so important?" It was answered in 1 Ne 12: 10-11 - because without baptism, we can't fully repent and be clean. It's SO ESSENTIAL. Today I read with the question: "how can I keep going when I fail every day?" (fail at keeping all the commandments, etc). I don't have my scriptures, so I can't remember the exact verse, but I think it's 1 Ne 14:14 where it talks about covenants. That's the answer - we can keep going by drawing strength from our covenants. I never really have before, but now I know I can! And like Elder Holland's quote, imperfect people is all God has ever had to work with. He knows I'm not perfect, and He knows I'll fail every day - and keep failing. But He's endowed me with power from on high. He has prepared a way for me to keep going, and I can and will.

That question and scripture lead me to study the Abrahamic covenant, and OH BOY I will NEVER get married anywhere but the temple! After reading D&C 132:19 or 32:19 (it's in the footnotes of 1 Ne 14:14, i think) and about the promises from getting sealed in the temple...oh man. Mind blowing. I can't even comprehend what all those blessings mean, but I look forward to them, and I'll settle for nothing less! 

More points from zone conference:

After 5 years of being members, only 10% of converts hold a temple recommend. 10%! I'm so grateful President Eaton and the ward are focusing more on retention and reactivation, because that is EXACTLY what we need - what people need. We bring people into the church to STAY, not just be baptized. The goal is the temple and eternal life! 

First and foremost, we need to see ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ. We're not [occupations], we're not community members, we're not even family members first. We are disciples of Christ. THAT is who we are. THAT is who we need to be. I LOVE when President Eaton said "You don't work for me. You work for the Lord." Instead of thinking "I'm not baptizing" I need to despair because "the people I love aren't getting baptized."

Another great thought: THEREFORE, WHAT? What are you going to do with this knowledge, what does it really mean in your life, and what are you going to do about it? Let's just say tears were shed at this meeting, and it affected me deeply. I FELT my heart being changed! Tracting that day was rough - I bet it's because we had such a spiritual experience and Satan was hitting us all the harder. But we pushed past and found and talked to Vince! he's this awesome dad, bald, white moustache that went down to his chin :) southern drawl - told us all about the cool stuff to do in Washington, and we taught him about the restoration! I'm excited to go back and teach him soon. Also that night, we had an awesome lesson with Frank about the Restoration and committed him TO BAPTISM! We helped him get into the Book of Mormon by reading a chapter with him. Unfortunately, (we think he talked to his Lutheran pastor) he dropped us on Friday, (said he didn't want to meet with us anymore, that he was happy where he's at). I knew we did all we could - that we did nothing wrong - but I still cried. I was (and still am) just SO sad because I know what he's missing out on! Maybe someday he'll be more ready.

So...I may have exaggerated the "getting hit with a car" story...sorry to get your hopes up ;). Since the senior companion drives, I get out to help Sister Morrow every time she needs to back up (mission rule). So I was doing that one day as we were leaving for the day, but there was a car coming, so I put my hands up to tell her to stop. But she was looking in a different mirror and didn't see me! I got a little worried when she didn't slow down, and when she was too close I had to slam my hands on the back of the car so she would stop! So she didn't actually run into me/over me...but I like to pretend she did. So there's the story.

Songs that have deeply affected me/made me cry: "leave better" by Benton Paul. A lyric, 'Leave better off than you find,' is basically my new motto. "The hardest thing I ever loved to do" by Jason Deere. "I am his daughter" by...? on the EFY CD. 

We did companionship inventory last Thursday (the fourth of July) and Sister Morrow and I got really real with each other - hard but necessary. And I felt a fraction of what Ithink Jesus feels towards her - I just love her SO MUCH! I want her to see her own strengths, her own potential, her own goodness! It was (and is) so amazing to feel that.

We found the secret to missionary work! The secret: get people to talk about themselves - because people LOVE talking about themselves! We tried a different approach tracting and it worked miracles: we started out by asking what THEY believed. Through that approach, we had great conversations with Derek, Tyler, and Karina. It's always so cool to hear about others, their beliefs, and their experiences. That leads to a huge point of this week for me: I am SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for this 18 months (now less than 17...WEIRD). I have to be allowed to be a part of these people's lives! To get to be in their lives. Even just for a split second when we make eye contact and smile. I feel so privileged to be a part of their lives.  From an article about prayer I read in the June Ensign (everyone READ IT!), I came to understand that saying "in the name of Jesus Christ" with anything means to do His will. as I've tried to do that, it gets a little easier to keep going. My days feel consecrated.

I just can't even express how grateful I am to be here. I love the person the Lord is making me into. And I love seeing the light in others. This is the work of salvation, and every single person is a part of it, whether they know it or not! Do all you can to further it. I promise, if you open your mouth, THE LORD WILL FILL IT! But He can't steer a parked car - you have to act FIRST, before He can guide you. But He will guide you! He has not given us the spirit of fear, but of love, and of power. Trust Him.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

~Sister Hehl