June 27, 2016 P-Day #9

June 27, 2016

This week went by crazy fast!!! Transfers are over and Sister Anderson and I are still together!!! Wooooo I only cried twice in fear they would take her from me haha!! I'm pretty sure she worries about the amount of crying I do! I don't know what happened to me...but I've turned into Angie! I weep at everything! Like this week, I cried while a lady told us about a cartoon she watched about a boy who had a missing leg getting a puppy with a missing leg...haha but don't worry they are good tears! With transfers came two new sisters!  We now have roommates! It's pretty fun!! Like a sleepover all the time! 

One of the highlights from this week was, while park contacting at Bowring Park we saw a lady sitting on a bench so we went over to say hi.  She was really friendly and the conversation just flowed naturally! She started to talk about how she knew her ancestors who had passed away long before she met them, are walking with her everyday and that she knows that one day she will be able to wrap her arms around them in heaven.  It was amazing! So we taught her the plan of salvation! Then, thanks to my dear Grandma Buehner who sent me a photo album this week with a picture of my Nene wearing the necklace of hers that I now wear, next to a picture of me wearing it. I was able to show her a picture of my Great Grandma Nene.  Who I know is with me every step of the way while I am out here serving.  The woman we taught was going crazy over how crazy similar she thought Nene and I looked! It was a really cool experience and her and I really connected!! 

We taught our 14 year old investigator about repentance this week and it went great!! It was amazing to see her simple, yet perfect understanding of true repentance. After we explained it she went, "Oh so to repent you tell Heavenly Father what you're sorry you did, in prayer? I already do that everyday...cause no ones perfect!" I was amazed!! She's never been taught repentance before but she was already doing because she just felt like she needed too long before we came along!! She is truly prepared! I am so excited for her to baptised and feel the blessing of that!!!

We've been working with Christine, the member I told you about and let me just tell you..I LOVE HER!!! She's hilarious and great!! She's been baptised a year, and her testimony is beyond amazing!! She's working towards the temple! So we love working with her and helping her see that the temple isn't just more rules to following, but all about blessings! 

Funny story of the week: 

So I've had a rash on my neck since about the 2nd week in the MTC.  It wasn't too bad then, but it just keeps getting worse and worse!  It got to the point this past week I knew I had to do something about it! So naturally I just asked all the moms in our branch their opinion of it! I got many different answers and one woman said it looked like chicken pox...so of course I went with that (dramatic? Me? haha always) I decided that that is TOTALLY what it was.  So I was scratching like crazy and it was itchy and I was dying! Then when we went to Christines house I felt like I should ask her about it, even though I knew I had chicken pox.  So she checked it out and then said, "Do you have a lot of dairy?" and it hit me! I am sooo dumb! I've had lactose problems in the past! Of course that's what it is!! That was 3 days ago and I've cut out dairy completely since and the rash is almost gone! The itching also stopped...about 2 minutes after Christine spoke haha funny what your mind will do when you convince yourself you have something, right?! Sister Anderson thought this was hilarious because I was being all dramatic and scratching like a crazy person for two days,convinced I had chicken pox!

Well I hope you all have a great week and enjoy life!!

Because life really is whatever you make it, so choose to make it amazing!

Sister Hird

Canada Halifax Mission

June 21, 2016 P-Day #8

June 21, 2016

We've been so so so busy….which makes time go by sooo fast!! Yesterday was my two month since I was dropped at the mtc! Crazy it's been that long!! I'm also in the 6th week of this first transfer, which means that next Monday is the start of my 2nd transfer!! CRAZY! As a sister I only have 12 transfers and one is already almost gone! So if you're missing me, don't worry I'll be back in your loving arms soon enough(;

This week we taught like crazy!! We have a new investigator! He is a less active member’s husband! It will be cool to teach them and see their life change with the gospel! We did the Resto with them this week and it went great! The wife participated a ton and her husband was glued to the pamphlet!

We were also able to teach our 14 year old investigator twice this week! We did a FHE in a member's home and it was amazing!! This member is a bodacious black woman and she is loud and wonderful!! Our investigator has a.d.d so sometimes getting her to focus on a whole lesson is a struggle. But, this member had it down!! We taught the plan of salvation and Christine, the member, had all us of screaming “I GOT A BODYYYY” over and over haha and that's pretty much how the whole lesson went! Our investigator paid attention the whole time and had the plan down by the end of the lesson! The member involvement is such a blessing!!

For our second lesson we had another amazing member there with us and it was another awesome lesson! But in a completely different way! We did a church tour and then a lesson about baptism and the atonement at the end. We started the tour in the chapel and then ended in the room with the baptismal font. That is where we did our lesson. Let me tell you, watching the bible video of the atonement with the font right there brought such a strong spirit! It's seeing the why, what and how all in one place. Our investigator was able to stay focus no problem! I know the spirit was the one who was able to teach her and give her that focus she needed and...it paid off!!! She is officially on date for baptism!! September 5th! (which is cool because that is some of my close homies birthdays) (:

We also had exchanges this week! Which is just when we work with other sister missionaries for a day and see what they do so we can improve our skills! That was really fun! Although I missed my dear Sister Anderson that day! I seriously don't know how I'll manage when one of us is transferred!!!

As always I must have a funny story for the week, this week is no exception! I even have two! So you know me, lovin' animals and such! 1St: The part member family I mentioned above has a deaf dog, she's so cute!! And one of the things she does that is sooo weirdly adorable is suck people's thumb. She crawls up on the couch behind you sits on our shoulder and then if you put your thumb up she'll suck it. Now, she won't just suck anyones thumb so when she did it to me during our lesson I was stoked! Sister Anderson whipped out my camera as fast as she could and tried to take a picture. But of course the dog stopped when the camera was out. While I was trying to get her to do it again Sister Anderson didn't realize the video mode was on. So this 3 second gem came to be. (It won’t send through email L)

2nd: While driving on a busy road (I was driving) and talking to member on speaker phone I freaking hit a bird! Like a big huge red bird! We all know that I am all drama, so of course I start screaming my head off...with the member on the phone and to top if off Sister Anderson was hysterical and crying she is laughing so hard! Needless to say, the member, who we were calling to coordinate us picking her up decided to drive herself to the appointment. Haha woops!!

Ahhh well, I love and miss you all bunches!! I hope you have a great week and laugh lots!!

Sister Hird

Canada Halifax Mission

June 13, 2016 P-Day #7

June 13, 2016

This week has been so great and full of soo many miracles!! So I'll apologize now for jumping all over the place hahah!!

First things first, I hit my one month mark!! In exactly one week I'll hit my two months from the time I went into the MTC, which has just come so crazy fast!!! I can't believe it!!

So this week started with a little stress...It all started with Elder McNabb, an elder in my district saying to me and and Sister Anderson, "do you love God?" we responded "yes" of course and then he asked us two more times if we loved God, then followed it up with, "Well if you love God you'll sing at district conference this Sunday" ha ha rude!! There is this weird thing about being a sister missionary where everyone just assumes you can sing...but this sister just cannot! Lucky for me Sister Anderson is an amazing singer! So with lots of promise of practice and that I would be blessed to be able to sing if I tried they convinced me! So this week was lots of singing in the car and stressing haha! So by the time Sunday came along we knew it so well and it went off without a hitch! I also dragged Eleder McNabb into singing with us, haha that's what he gets (;

Then of course I got the opportunity to sing a second time this week! Remember the less active member I told you about last week? Well at our lesson with her this week we talked about the importance of church attendance.  Like I said before this week we had District conference (which is the Utah equivalent to stake conference) So we invited her to go with us to that and then the potluck and talent show after the Saturday night session. Then she said, "Talent show? I play the guitar!" So we convinced her that she should do a song! Which then of course meant we were singing with her haha! I'm really not kidding when I say everyone just assumes every Sister Missionary can sing!

So she picked the song, "I can only imagine" by Mercy Me and we did it for the talent show and it also went really well! I'd never heard the song before and it's now a new favorite!

This week we also picked up a new investigator! She is 14 and has been at church every week since I got here! Her parents just weren't okay with her meeting with the missionaries, but something changed this week and we were able to start teaching her! We are so excited that she is so desirous to learn and grown in the gospel! Now of course you know I have some funny story every week and teaching this girl is how this week’s happened.  We taught her at the mall, because she is a child we can't be alone with her and her parents don't want her to be taught in the home.  So after we finished our lesson I look up and see this guy walk by...skinny, blonde hair, hat, sunglasses, and a Justin Bieber hoodie.  So I naturally assumed it was Justin Bieber and was like "we have to follow him" So we started to follow him and our investigator decided to just run up to him and ask if he was Justin Bieber, because I was 100% convinced it was.  So she did, came running back and was like, "he said yeah" So of course we just left...wait what?! Yes you heard right.  WE JUST LEFT!! So the whole time we were driving away I was freaking out that we just saw Justin Bieber and then left! So I called our District leader Elder Brienholt and told him the story (probably sounding totally crazy) and he was laughing so hard that he gave us permission to go back to the mall and find out if it truly was Justin Bieber.  So we did...and guess what! It was just a guy that kind of looked like Justin Bieber while wearing glasses...honest mistake! Haha it was seriously the funniest thing when I realized it in fact wasn't him just like Sister Anderson had been telling me! I'm not kidding when I say we find something to laugh about every single day!

We also had a great experience this week teaching a family! We knocked on their door and they let us in because they have an 8 year old little girl with LOTS of questions! So we sat down with this family to answer this little girl’s questions and they all related to the Plan of Salvation, so we taught them the whole thing! Then at the end we taught them about prayer and how they can know if it is true and about the Holy Ghost.  I asked the little girl how she felt the Holy Ghost would feel and she said, "a little voice telling me" and then her mom chimed in with , "or the fact that I've had chills this whole lesson and keep feeling like I'm just going to burst into tears" WOW! I was amazed! Most people have a very hard time recognizing the spirit and they knew right off the bat! Then we found out right as we were leaving that the moms mom had just passed away and they were really struggling with it. Amazing how that little girl lead us to the exact lesson they needed to hear!! We are so excited to continue to work with them!!

One other blessing I just have to tell you about is my companion!! Holy heck!! Sister Anderson is my favorite!! We are learning so much with each other!! We are seriously like BFF's!!! It's so fun!! We complete each other completely! I love it and her!! Companions are seriously picked for a reason!! This transfer is over next week! So pray we will stay together, I know I am!!

Which reminds me, with transfers next week my P-day will be on Wednesday (:

I love you all!!! Have the BEST week and remember to be the good you want to see in the world!

-Sister Hird

June 6, 2016 P-Day #6

June 6, 2016

Hello hello you beautiful people! Wow I miss all your faces sooo much! BUT it's okay because I am a representative of Jesus Christ every day and that makes life oh so good!! I cannot believe that I am going into week 4 here out in the mission field! This Friday will be my official one month out here in the mission field!! So on Friday I will have 1 month down and 17 to go! (my mtc time doesn't count towards my 18 months) I cannot believe it!! That means I haven't seen all of you all in almost 2 months! It's craziness!

This week has been good!! We were able to meet with 5 less actives this week! I LOVE meeting with less actives! I feel it is just as important as teaching investigators. Because these are people who took the name of Jesus Christ upon themselves and are now not living up to that covenant they made at baptism. Helping these people come back to the truth they once knew is super amazing! The lessons are also such a great learning experience for me because I really have to know my stuff, because they know their stuff! On top of that I am learning through them and the things they have been through in life.

One less active I met with named Lori, is one of those people who I learn so much from every time we meet. This week in our lesson we had made a lesson plan and then once we started to talk to her the conversation went a different way and instead of the lesson we had planned we were able to teach her about forgiveness, which is one of those things that is holding her back from church. She started telling us how we just couldn't understand having someone hurt your family so bad that forgiveness seemed impossible, so we couldn't just tell her that the atonement could help that because we haven't experienced that. Then because of the things that I have experienced recently, I was able to help her understand that I know what that feels like. And teach her that the atonement is the key to forgiving those people that you feel don't even deserve forgiveness. I was able to bare my testimony that the atonement is only way to overcome those things. The atonement is not only for the sinner, but the atonement of Jesus Christ is just as much for the people who were hurt by the sin. Jesus Christ not only suffered for our sins, but he suffered for our pains, afflictions, and hardships. He felt EVERYTHING we have felt and will feel. He did this because He loves us soooo much! Because He did this, He needs to be the one we rely on through our times of struggle. He perfectly knows what we are feeling and how we can heal from those feelings of pain. So turn to your Savior, Jesus Christ because there is NOTHING he cannot heal us from.

We were able to teach the Drdr family again this week. I love them so much!! Wow!! Every time I am with them I can picture them all in all white jumpsuits about to be baptized. I can see them going to the temple to be sealed for time and all eternity!! I know that one day they can and will get there. Even if it's not now while I am teaching them. Of course that is what I want!! But I know that this family is elite and they will one day be able to make those covenants with their Heavenly Father and be a family forever!!! But I wouldn't mind if it was sooner than later haha so if you want to include them in your prayers I would love that(: They need lots of prayers so they can understand and we can teach them as effectively as possible!

Here I am at Bowring Park, one of my most favorite places in the world!! It's beautiful and I love walking around it finding people to hear the message! People are always so happy at the park because it truly is just a place you feel good because it's so pretty and peaceful! It reminds me of walking around London, so of course I LOVE it!!

Here are some more pictures of this beautiful place I get to be in all day every day! 

Sister Hird

Canada Halifax Mission