October 25, 2016 P-Day #26

***The news is in!!! I am going to Halifax!!!! With Sister Dutson from Utah! I have heard so many good things about her so I am sooo excited!! I'll be serving around Sister Anderson again!!!***

Hello hello! Sister Hird here reporting from Newfoundland for the last time! That's right! I just found out that I will be leaving the Rock that has been my home for the past 6 months! CRAZY! I won't know where I am going until later tonight when they post the transfer letter! So I'll hop on right after and just sent a quick message to let you all know where I am headed!

I can't believe I am leaving!! I hit my 6 months this past week and all that time has been spent here in St. John's! I am excited to see more of the mission but sad to have to say so many goodbyes at the same time! I know that I am going where Heavenly Father needs me, so all is well (:

This week has been crazy! We had a lot of branch activities this week! We had a sports night with the young men and young women Wednesday, and then we had the branch babysitting night Friday, then a chili cook-off and Trunk-r-Treat Saturday! Which I got to dress up for!!  Ahhh yes!! It was awesome!! I was Cruella Deville! Which was my cheapest costume to date! Angela our investigator gave us a ton of coats last week and one of them was just perfect for Cruella! The rest was stuff I had! So all I had to buy was the hair spray(: Gooood times!! My cute Sister Lofgran was my dalmation! Sooo Fun!

This week you are going to get so many pictures!

Last P-day after e-mailing we went up to Bay Roberts and spent the day with the Elders there and the Senior Couple, The Domans! Who are like my favorite people ever!!

We met with a lot of Less actives this week, which I always love!

Have a good week! I love love love you!

Pretty please pray that I can get my bags to the necessary weights before I fly out tomorrow(; Hahahah I wish I was kidding... (:

Love you!!

-Sista Hird

A sweet woman in their ward took them to Costco!!  

Sister Lofgren (Dalmatian) and Sister Hird (Cruella)

Sister Hird and Sister Lofgren

This seem creepy for a missionary :) 

Sister Cruella

Signal Hill 

Signal Hill

Signal Hill 

Sister Hird and Sister Bair

Hiking at Bay Roberts

Sister Hird and Sister Lofgren

October 17, 2016 P-Day #25

Another week has come and gone already??? Man that happens fast!! I hit my 6 month mark this week and I can't believe it!! 1/3 of my mission right there!

This week was great!! First off, Canadian Thanksgving was great!! Sooo yummy! I've never been so full!!

Remember the investigator Angela I told you about last week? And her niece Meg that I asked you to pray for?? WELLLLL our prayers were answered!! She was at our lesson this week and we were able to pick her up as an investigator!!  The lesson went sooo wonderful!! We, with the help of Angela haha taught the whole restoration to Meg! We went over the intro to the Book of Mormon with her too! It was SO GOOD! HOLY!! Meg was holding the BOM and looked at us and said, "I just feel like I need this so bad.  I am searching for something.  I just need something that I can just hold on to" As she clutched the Book of Mormon to her chest! On the inside I was crying happy tears and shouting "YES YES YES", but don't worry on the outside I played it cool(;

We were able to meet with Aelia twice this week! She's great! She just loves the Wickham family so so so much!! It's great!! So we do our lessons with them! I love the way Nathan and Natasha both contribute so much to the lessons! It brings such a power and also shows how much they have grown and continue to grow in the gospel!

Life is oh so good out here on "The Rock" that is Newfoundland! Transfers are next week, which is just maddness to me! I can't believe it! Right now I feeling like I am going to stay here...but who knows?? That would be a really long in one area...but I'd be 100% happy with it! I just love it here!

When I e-mail next Tuesday I'll know if I'm staying or not, so stay tuned folks(;

Well, have a wonderful week!! I love love love you all and hope you are happy happy happy!! Remeber, "Happiness is a state of mind.  It's just according to the way you look at things." -Walt Disney

Be happy always, because it’s a choice my friends(:

-Sister Hird

October 10, 2016 P-Day #24

Every week is a good week...and this week was no exception!!

We were able to teach our two elderly women investigators and they are just great!! It is hard for people who have grown up in a religion to change and accept something different, but they are both trying so hard to understand and know for themselves what God wants them to do! 

Angela, one of these investigators surprised us by having her 19 year old niece there when we showed up for our lesson #dreams 

We were originally going to teach the plan of salvation, but, Angela hadn't read from the Book of Mormon since the last time we had taught her so instead we read where she is at in the BOM.  Before we could even start to explain the Book of Mormon to Meg (her niece) Angela started to teach her the restoration using terms like "apostasy and priesthood" and she really emphasised how our church was RESTORED "not like the other churches where man just changes things" It was AMAZING!! She really knows her stuff! The lesson was so great! We are excited to go back to Angela's this week and see if Meg comes again.  We invited her but she wasn't sure if she would be able to make it! So pray for Meg pretty please!!(: 

Aelia is on date for November 5th, which will be next transfer...so maybe I'll just stay in Newfoundland again?? That would be a really long time for one area, but I just love everything about this place so much I could serve my whole mission here and be completely happy!! 

We had our exchanges this week, so we traveled up to Gander for that! I got to do a familysearch booth at a craft fair there! Soooo fun!! We use family history as a way to find people to teach (: Sister Olsen (my sister training leader who I was on the exchange with) and I had a wonderful exchange together!! LOVE HER! 

Happy thanksgiving by the way!!! Today is canadian thanksgiving! So yesterday we ate thanksgiving supper with two families in the branch and then today we are being fed at noon by Lori and then again at 5:30 by the Wickhams! 3 Thanksgivings, 2 days, I am living the dream people!! 

Its constant smiles around here, I love being a missionary (: 

-Sista Hird 

I got this wonderful shirt this week..."if you met my family, you'd understand" TRUE

Sister Park, Sister Hird, Sister Lofgran and Sister Olsen

Sister Hird and Sister Olsen

October 3, 2016 P-Day #23

Whatta week!!

This week has been wonderful!!  We were able to teach our investigator Rachel..and she had a friend there! So we got a new investigator from that as well!! So great! And we took Nathan and his family to the lesson, which was soo great! Nathan was able to simply testify of the truth of prophets and why we need them today! It was amazing!!

We are also teaching Aelia again!! My 14 year old investigator from when I first got here! She called us this week and said. "You know that baptism thing...yeah I know I need to do that" So we are teaching her once again and she came to ALL of general conference with us!!

CONFERENCE!! Wow oh wow!! We are so so lucky to live in this dispensation! We are blessed with all the guidance we could ever need in life! We have a living Prophet who spoke to us! I loved this conference! It was so cool to know that all around the world we were doing the same thing! As I sat there watching I knew my family was doing the exact same thing and hearing the exact same words! AMAZING! It's funny, conference here was at 1:30 and 5:30! So not so much morning and afternoon sessions haha!

I love being a missionary!! It brings me so much joy and happiness everyday! I love being around missionaries, members and Gods children.  I love the opportunity I have to remind people of their divine heritage every single day! We are children of the Almighty God and He loves us.  How great He is and in turn, how great YOU are!

Find a reason to laugh...hard, everyday this week (: I promise it makes life SO much better!

-Sista Hird

         xoxo

September 22, 2016 P-Day #22

The long lost has returned! Haha sorry I missed last week! Crazy times! 

This past week has been BUSY! But, so so goood! We got two new investigators this week! Met with a lot of less actives/ Recent Converts and have had just a swell time! 

We had zone training this week as well, so we traveled up to gander, then on to grandfalls for the meeting! I love trainings because being around other missionaries is always just so great! It helps so much to meet together and find ways to improve our missionary work! 

We also got to watch a re-broadcast of the women's session of General Conference.  Because we are 3 and half hours ahead of you folks in Utah, it was too late for us to watch it live! So the branch women gathered together last night and we watched it together and ate ice cream and it was wonderful! How lucky we are to live in a time where we have a prophet and general authorities to lead us to do Gods will for us! 

That is one thing as I have been on my mission that I have realized I took for granted! Living in Utah and growing up in the church I never realized that to people that are not of our faith the fact that we claim to have a living modern prophet is craziness! To me growing up I just always knew there was a prophet and didn't realize where the rest of the world was at! I am so grateful that I KNOW, beyond know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and that he is called to lead us back to our heavenly home with our Heavenly Father. I CANNOT wait for General Conference this week!! WE ARE SO BLESSED!! 

I love love love you all and hope your week is as magical as you are!! 

Peace and blessin' 

-Sista Hird  

Fun fact: If you know me, you know that I have this need to constantly change my hair and on a mission that isn't always easy or practical...but if you know me, you know I find ways! 

New Bangs!

September 13, 2016 P-Day #20

Hello hello!!

This week has been wonderful!! So calm compared to last week! We have been meeting with lots of people and the work is progressing so much!

We had our district conference (equivalent of stake conf.) this week as well! So President Pratt was here! Boy I just love him!! He is so amazing and always gives such amazing guidance!! He pretty much told me I am staying here in Newfoundland another transfer!! But I won't know for sure until they post the transfer table tonight! I'll be happy either way!  I love it here so another transfer sounds wonderful to me!!

We are working with a few new investigators and one of them, Rachel, came with us to the branch pot luck we had after District meeting Saturday! So that was really fun and exciting! We had a great lesson with her this week with a member! Member are just so awesome at lessons! We asked Rachel if she would read the Book of Mormon and she said, "Yes I will try to" and the member goes,"Rachel..you'll TRY?? Thats just not good enough!! Do you have to TRY to read the bible?? Nope! Didn't think so, you just DO it! So what are you going to do with the Book of Mormom??" and shocked Rachel goes, "I WILL read the Book of Mormon"

It was awesome, funny, but awesome! It really showed her how important it is for her to really read it! Because we've told her, but coming from someone who is not a missionary makes it so different!!

Soo if the missionaries ask you to go to a lesson with them, DO IT!!! They will love you forever!!

We saw a moose this week driving to Gander for exchanges!

Yes, Canada is actually every stereotypical thing you think about it(;

love love love you all!!

Sista Hird

Ps… Sister Lofgran and I are staying!!! Woooo!!

Nathan's Baptism package from Sister Hird's Family :)

Yep...She's still McKell

Canadian Cliche...A Moose

September 5, 2016 P-Day #19

Well...NATHAN WAS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!!!! What!?!?! I can't even believe it!! I started teaching him and I was able to be here and see his and his families lives change! It was amazing!! I felt like I was in blur the whole day! I couldn't help thinking, "no way! This isn't real" all day because I was just so happy and amazed!! The baptism was great! Sweet and simple! His mom Natasha has very bad anxiety, so she wrote a note to him to be read by someone else so she didn't have to get up in front of everyone.  The note was read and it was great! Then while our Branch President was giving his closing remarks, she stood up and asked if she could say a few words!!! It was AMAZING!! She was crying and had us all in tears as well!! She bore a powerful testimony of the gospel and about how Nathan and his desire to come closer to God is what brought her and the whole family back to church! I was crying the whole time basically!

It has been truly a blessing to work with their family and see the change the gospel has made! The gospel changes lives!

Being here through all of this has really strengthened my testimony of this church and of missionary service.  I KNOW why I am here and that I made the right choice by choosing to serve my Heavenly Father and I am so glad that he gave me the opportunity to be here doing that!

This week is week 5/6 in this transfer!! I know I say it all the time but seriously time goes by so fast!! I will hit my 5 month mark this month!! I feel like I just found out that I was staying in Newfoundland and now it's time to wonder if I'll stay again already!!

I love Newfoundland sooo much! I know I have more people out in the mission I need to meet and serve...but I like the ones here haha!! The Newfies will always have my heart!! It'll be exciting to see what's happening next week with transfers! So I'll let you know Tuesday of next week whats going on(; 

I love you all soo much!! Thank you for the love and support!! I pray for you all every day!!

xoxo

Sista Hird       

Nathan, Sister Hird, Sister Lofgren & Nyaysha

Nathan, Sister Hird, Baby Favour, Natasha, Sister Lofgren & Zion

Sister Hird, Zion, Natasha, Nathan & Baby Favour