"3-legged-baby-train"

I cannot even tell you how hard I have laughed this week.

I LOVE THIS TRIO!! Sister Bargeron is so hilarious. She is just like Maddie Simpson. She is leading us out this area like a boss too, and she makes me laugh till I can't breathe. That's like- the BEST. We are both finish training Sister Bagley, she is adorable! So sweet and smart. She's like Rapunzel and she seems like she's been out 6 months so.... I have had such a great week. And that's not even all!! It's so good to be back in Bristow!! Sister Lodge had us over for dinner one night, and when she opened her front door, she gave out the biggest holler and gave me a huge hug!! Seeing everyone at church yesterday just made it feel more like home. I love this place.

3 Generations

We are SO BLESSED to teach some amazing people here in Bristow! This place is on fire, sooo many miracles! We are teaching this AMAZING FAMILY named the Craigs. Jamie and Matt, the parents, are the coolest ever. Matt is the first sergeant at the Arlington Cemetery (uhhh yeah- like a big deal), he's the one that's in charge of all the soldiers and making sure everything goes right in the day. Talk about stressful job! Well I would be stressed. He's like super awesome.. when I first met him yesterday at church, I went in to shake his hand and he gave me a solid handshake, and said with his deep booming voice, "Hi, I'm Matt Craig." Also he's like 6 foot somethin. Straight stud. Jamie is a stay at home mom, but also was in the army. They have four of the cutest kids ever. She loves Al Fox, the tattooed Mormon. She is so sweet! Basically the sisters met them a few months ago when a member in the ward just randomly said "yeah I guess you could check on them over there," they moved in like a year ago. Matt and Jamie and their oldest son, Indy, are all on date for August 26th. I seriously love them so much, they are so prepared. They are so willing to live the gospel and come closer to God. It's so beautiful to watch them embrace the gospel.

Yesterday these 3 young single adult boys came up to us in our car when we were about to leave for dinner. Sister Bagley had waved at them. Pretty sure they were trying to hit on us and then we were like "oh yeah we are the missionaries!" And they wanted to hear ourmessage. One of them, Hasuan was so solid! He got baptized in his church not too long ago and really wants to be a missionary. We had the chance to share with them the Book of Mormon and first vision. As I recited the first vision, they were all captivated. The Spiritfilled my heart. I know that Joseph saw God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ, and I know God called him to be the prophet of this last dispensation. When I invited them to be baptized if they came to feel it was true, Hasuan's response was so funny.. he immediately was like "Well I ain't tryin' to go to hell!" So I'd take that as a yes! Good response Hasuan, good response. Haha

The gospel is so simple and beautiful. I love being a missionary. I love serving with these two marvelous hard working sisters. I feel so blessed to be here. God is so good. I'm so grateful for the many blessings He has given to me as I've strived to live the gospel 
throughout my life. I'm reminded each day just how precious these gospel truths are, and how much people really need to hear about them. I cannot even express how REAL the command is from God to share the gospel. Do all you can to lift others, love them, and share the beautiful restored gospel with them. Some may accept, some may reject it. But when they accept it, you will feel no greater joy. You'll be filled with immense gratitude and joy. I can promise you that. I love you all so much! Let your light shine everyday. ☀️

Xoxox,

Sister Hymas :)

P.S. This transfer is temple transfer, so we might try to go to the temple next Tuesday. So I might not be emailing till Tuesday, just to let you know. Love you all so much!

"He Saved Me."

What a whirlwind of a week! My heart is so full. I'm so happy!!

We had interviews on Tuesday! That whole morning I was just in a weird funk and I didn't know what was up with me. I just felt off. And felt so many mixed emotions it was so strange. But I knew interviews would help me, and they sure did. President Huntsman is an inspired man, and what he told me in interviews was an answer to my prayers. It was areally special experience, and I'm so grateful we having a loving Heavenly Father who is so aware of our needs. We are His children and He wants to help us, and He wants to bless us. Often times He answers our prayers through people He sends us in our lives. What a beautiful thing!

That afternoon, God led us to the sweetest, faith filled lady ever. The way I contacted her must've been a little strange and different coming from her perspective haha... we were talking to someone on the sidewalk and I had seen her walk by. I felt like we should talk toher, But we were still talking with this person.. the conversation ended a few moments later and we were walking down the sidewalk when I saw her down in the parking lot. I yelled "HEY!!" She turned around, then I whipped my arm out and pointed  my finger straight at her. She pointed at herself and I and mouthed "yes you!" She walked up the hill and we started talking with her. Her name is Nabeela, the sweetest lady you'd ever meet. She is from Iraq. She has such strong faith in the Savior. She's been through some crazy stuff and has come out of it all with a stronger testimony of God and Jesus Christ. I'm pretty suresometime in our conversation she stated with tears in her eyes, "He saved me." Wow. my heart was so touched. Her testimony is beautiful. And what an incredible reminder that through Christ, we can be saved in every way possible. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

We found out about transfers this week, and y'all aren't going to believe this... President sure surprised me AGAIN, he always does!! These last 6 weeks are going to be a blast, because I'm going.... BACK TO BRISTOWWWW!!! Yeah I couldn't believe it. I LOVE THOSE PEOPLE!! This will be the second time I'm going back to an area and I'm stoked. Plus, I'm in a trio!! And finish training one of the sisters, Sister Bagley. The other sister, Sister Bargeron, came out with Sister Gewondjan, so this will be her 3rd transfer. I'm like thegrandma in the trio haha. I can't wait to see all my Bristow friends, I love them!

I have had a marvelous time in McLean 2nd. Whitewashing and training was such a good experience for me. I have learned so much! Wow so much. I will miss Sister Gewondjan and her hilarious personality. She is a hoot. She has good things coming for her. She is going to train this transfer!! WOO! GO my child! She will kill it. And I literally really will be a "grandma!" Yahoo! (My trainee is training, mission lingo). I will miss these selfless members who have served us, fed us, took care of us... this ward is one close family. They have a love for missionary work and sharing the gospel. They have a desire to help in any way they can. And I will miss all these people we have been so blessed to teach! Debbie, Fred, Denise, Khor, Nabeela... etc. I love them all.

Debbie was such an angel and took us to Holly's baptism yesterday!! And the NARMF right after. We got to spend most of the day with DEBS! I'm so going to miss her. Side note, I must come back and visit her. But do you remember Holly? I taught her in Dulles!! Yes, she got baptized yesterday!! FINALLY! She has waited this whole time to be baptized. You guys it was so beautiful. She is truly one of God's elect children. There were many watery eyes in the group when she bore her humble, sincere, simple and sweet testimony of the Savior and the restored gospel. I am so blessed to have had the chance to meet her. She knows it's all true. My heart was filled with so much gratitude yesterday, I was going to burst.

There is no greater joy I've experienced than that of helping others come unto Jesus Christ. I have felt inexpressible feelings of love and gratitude as I've strived to serve the Lord. This work is His, and I know it's true.

Xoxox,

Sister Hymas

"GG BROTHERS"

"Yoohoo!! Hi family!" Name that movie. Haha 

We went to Arlington Cemetery today! Wow was it beautiful. I was reminded of how cool this part of the country is and how blessed I am to serve here. There are so many beautiful things to see. I love D.C. and VA. Honestly I have forgotten what Utah is like! Oops. Haha.

Anyway... When we were at the cemetery It was like a flashback to last year when I went with Sister Livingston. Weird! We saw the tomb of the unknown soldier. One of the soldiers that was guarding the tomb, when he had just gotten off duty, was walking up to us and was like "oh hey sisters!" Haha Apparently he is one of the only LDS tomb soldiers. It was super cool to meet him.

We had exchanges this week, and boy! It was such a blast. I was with hermana garcia again, we got fed A LOT of food. I love being a hermana for the day for a few reasons... one being the food. It's SO GOOD. they stuff ya real good too. Hermana Garcia is the sweetest and she always helps me so much. I love the missionaries I serve with, I learn so much from them. 

We got to see Debs this week! We had lunch with her. She is doing well and her desire to meet and learn about the gospel is still strong. She is continually learning. She hasn't committed to baptism, but is still learning line upon line, precept upon precept. :) She is the best. I want you guys to meet her! I love these people. They are really what make this whole experience so phenomenal-- the people. 

Speaking of people... Okay funniest thing yesterday. We were driving down the road... do da-do do... when I saw this old man sitting on his porch and I felt like we should go talk to him. We park, get out, walk over start talking to him. He tells us his name is Glen and he's lived in his house for like 53 years or something? Like his whole life. He told us of his experience of dying then coming back to life. It was a pretty personal and cool experience he had. He has great faith in God. Later, his brother came out and turns out it's his TWIN. Never in my life had I seen an old set of twin brothers. They literally were hilarious together. They call em the "GG Brothers," Gary and Glen! HA! I was laughing so hard. They were just feeding off each other's humor. It was great.

Side note, I think we have left our mark in McLean 2! People are starting to remember and recognize us. Like in the grocery store for example! Haha this girl we used to teach came up to us and was like "heyy! Ya guys need to come over to dinner this week!..." la di da and then later she was talking to her coworker in the store and the guy told her we stopped by his house, which actually I don't think it was us but she was like "the whole block knows you!" Haha we will see people in the neighborhoods that we have seen several times. They
wave, we are kind back. Those who are not interested are usually pretty friendly when you don't bring up the gospel to them. Haha Anyway random, but it makes me happy that people in our area are starting to remember us! Like sister Huntsman said in last zone conference, "Own your area!"

This is the last week of the transfer! Woah. That so crazy to me. Time really just ticks on by. I've got one more transfer left. I love being a missionary. It's hard at times, but that just makes the good times even sweeter. I really just feel so happy and grateful to share the gospel with people everyday. The more time goes by the more I just feel like I'm going to be a missionary forever! Haha but sad knowing that I won't be.

The gospel is in fact true, it has been restored, and God and His Son Jesus Christ really do love us. They live today. Truth is truth. I'm so grateful to know of these truths. I'm memorizing the living Christ before my time here in VA ends, and I want to invite you all to go read it, because that document is one powerful testimony of Jesus Christ. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." Amen.

Xoxox,

Sister Hymas


P.s. I cut my hair again today! 3rd time's a charm! ;) It's short short now.

Shoulder to Shoulder with the Savior

Does is get hotter than Hades here in VA? With humidity, uh yes. Haha you know you had a great day when you come home super gross, from head to toe, looking like a wreck. YES! I love those days.

The 4th was super fun!! We had a ward breakfast and Khor came with Sis Wallace! She got to meet bishop and several other members. It was so fun :) That night, we had the chance to go to the Wiltbanks home, where they had a big party. Bishop's wife invited us and we chatted with the members and ate food. We talked with a few RMs and a future missionary who will be going to Sweden! Super fun time. We didn't see any fireworks, we were home before that. But hey, there is always next year :) plus, we heard a lot of them so I'm sure that counts somehow. 

*Miracle Alert* Last Monday, we gave Khor a church tour. Sister Wallace picked her up and we showed her relief society room, the baptismal font, different pictures of Christ... we stopped in front of the first vision picture and shared Joseph's experience. It was veryserene and quiet. We asked her is she believed that Joseph saw God the Father and His son, Jesus Christ. She said yes. We invited her to prepare for baptism on August 26th and she said yes! AW MY HEART I love her! She truly is amazing. Khor comes from a Muslim background, however she just seems to 'get it.' Totally the Spirit. And her heart is prepared. We finished in the chapel by talking about the sacrament. We sat there on the benches for a few minutes. The Spirit was so strong, and there was so much peace and warmth that filled my heart. We asked her how she had felt throughout the tour. In her spotty English, she described her feelings by using the words "protected," "peace," and "home." She said she never wanted to leave. She explained that because she was Muslim, she really has to pray about this decision. It will be hard on her family. She had so much faith and an incredible story. She is an angel. As we left the chapel, it was evident she didn't want to leave. The expression on her face was just a longing to stay there. I can testify that I know that God has prepared hearts out there to receive the gospel. We may not know who they are, what they look like, but as we follow the spirit, God will help us to find them. They are longing to find the gospel. Some are searching for it but don't know where to find it. It was prettyincredible to watch Khor make that unspoken connection that this is something she has been seeking. The gospel fills that emptiness inside us. Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, we can be made whole.

On Saturday we found the coolest lady!! Her name is Peggy. We knocked on her house because we felt like we should. She was completely not interested in the message we share because she is set in her faith and church that she has been attending for over 60 years. But something we have been trying to talk to people about it family history... so we quickly brought that up and she said "ohh I could talk your ear off about that stuff!" So we came back a little bit later and we chatted about family history. She pulled out stacks of books and binders and papers and pictures full of genealogy. We told her about family search and how she can enter in all this info she has and then it would be saved all online. She is so passionate about it all, and it made me so excited to talk about family history! We set up a time to help her next week at the family history center! I haven't been able to do any family history with an investigator before. It's always been recent converts. So this was quite the blessing! We are super excited. 

On Sunday, sister Corey gave a talk and reported on her daughter who is out serving a mission in Brazil. She shared some really touching experiences and great reminders for missionaries that her daughter talked about in her letters. Her daughter wrote a line to her younger brother who will be leaving on his mission in September, saying "this is the time we get to walk shoulder to shoulder with the Savior." My heart was so touched by that line. As set apart missionaries of the Lord, wearing His name on our chest, we walk side by side with Him daily. We strive to follow His example, to love others the way He would, to serve them, teach them, and bring them unto Him. This work is true. Jeffrey R Holland said it best, something along the lines of this: when we get rejected, and yelled at, and cursed at, and they all tell us we are wrong, we stand side by side with the Best Life this world has ever known- Jesus Christ. I know He lives. We share His gospel, I know it's true. And I say this in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Xoxo,

Sister Hymas

Every Soul is Precious

Happy 4th y'all! Or should I say... happy 3rd because it's only July 3rd. Hah ha... jk I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July. I'm so grateful to live in this beautiful country. God bless the USA. 

We had an awesome Zone Conference this week! The Huntsman's are the best. I love them. I will forever look up to them and what they have taught me. Our mission is putting an emphasis on the four key indicators we are to focus on to help us reach our yearly goal of helping 365 souls come unto Christ and be baptized. This week we are FINDING new investigators! Our mission goal was to find 400 NI by Sunday night. We still haven't heard the results yet but let me tell you... Sister G and I witnessed MIRACLES as we set a goal to find a certain number of investigators that day, prayed for it, worked hard and did everything we could to achieve it. As we did that, God helped us achieve and sometimes even exceed our goal for that day. Wow Heavenly Father sure has taught me the importance of setting goals and working hard to achieve them. It really is important and I have a testimony that God will help us achieve our goals as we work hard and rely on Him. He loves us and wants us to be happy and successful. He helped us find 13 gators this week. #GodisGood.

One guy we found this week.... is a HOOT. His name is John. We met John walking down the street one day. He was out on his porch in his wheelchair, having a smoke and drinking soda that I'm pretty sure was mixed with something else... (if ya know what I mean) but I could be assuming that so... anyway! He sure is hilarious. We were sharing the Book of Mormon with him and having a great talk with him. He has great faith in Christ. At one point, he stopped and said pointing at me, "your smile... (he grins a toothless smile)... it's infectious! You should be on tv or something!!" Hahah. SO everyone, smile a little more because it truly is infectious! It will brighten days and even lives. Smile a little more my friends. :) Oh John - that guy. He cracks me up. I can see him getting baptized one day. I hope it's soon.

We had "car fast" day this week as well, when we don't use our cars. So we walked everywhere and It was completely hot and HUMID. We were some reaaaal sweaty Bettys that day! And hair was a mess. BUT nevertheless, we were still full of so much joy. There truly is nothing that will make you happier than sharing the beautiful gospel with our dear brothers and sisters. It's brought so much joy and satisfaction to me. It's so incredibly wonderful! 

I read these verses this week. Alma 39:16-17. "...this was the ministry unto which ye were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people, to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them, that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at the time of his coming.... Behold, I say unto you, is not a soul at this time as precious unto God as a soul will be at the time of his coming?"

The calling to be the Lord's full time missionary is so sacred and so special because the message we share is so sacred and so special. It's a message that not only changes lives but a message that, if we accept it, blesses and changes our life to come. I know with my whole heart that this gospel is true. It's the restored gospel of JESUS CHRIST and it's absolutely true. I know that every soul is precious in the eyes of God and everyone deserves to hear this message. I'm so grateful everyday that I have this blessed opportunity to share this beautiful message with the world. Well, the people of VA (but they are truly from all over the world.) 

I can't express how important it is to share what we know to be true with those around us. There are souls to save. I know our testimonies and actions can make a big impact on someone's life and even their life after this. They will be grateful to you for sharing these restored truths with them. So... GO SHARE THE GOSPEL! I promise you won't regret it. 

Xoxo,
Sister Hymas