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 

"Look at them eyebrows!!"

Hola Amigos!

Our zone as well as Centreville zone had a p day at President's house today! It was super fun. Had some burgers and hot dogs, played volleyball, and had a grand old time. The sisters serving in Clifton ward haven't seen Rach yet! Also Sister Hyer is scoping the church each Sunday and when they're out finding to see if they find any license plates not from VA... haha.

Such a great week! We had a few lessons with our investigator Khor. And both times she made us food. It's like an every time thing. Every time we see her she says "ohh my daughters!!" Haha, she's my Turkish mother.

Denise is doing well! She came to church yesterday and brought her four youngins. She met bishop (p.s. Glad to hear you got the pic from the Iversons! They are such a Stellar family, we love them lots.) and the Dolls. Denise is really sincere in her learning. She even shared an experience she had this week where she was talking to some of her neighbors (who we had also taught before) about the Book of Mormon and testified that the principles found in the Book of Mormon and Bible are the same. GO Denise! Way to testify! Also when we went to go check up on her one day, she opened the door and came out then all of a sudden she said, "(gasp) YOUR EYEBROWS! I see them, they look gooood! Mhmm thas right, Monday was your grooming day! Okay okay, they look gooood!" The best part is we didn't even get our eyebrows done haha. She is so great. 

Sis Gewondjan contacted this Indian lady on her 3rd floor balcony one day and she invited us up. She gave us rose water! I never have had that before! It's water and then rose flavor syrup. It was quite different. We taught the plan of salvation to her and she thought it was very nice. Cool that we got meet her and try rose water. 

Also, we contacted the lady who was like power walking down the street. I said "Hi! Can we walk with you?" She said "oh yeh!" So we started walking with her and taught her about the Restoration along the way. Her name is Cecelia. I gave her the personal nick name of "CC" hah. Well when I asked her if we could walk with her, I was expecting her to walk. Little bit then eventually stop. But NOPE! We just kept on goin! Haha We ended up walking a lot further than I originally had thought. We got some good exercise for sure! We ended up seeing CC later on in the week in a different neighborhood, she was still going hard core except running this time! 

We had the blessing of teaching sharing time in primary yesterday! We talked about missionary work and things we can do to help others not be "lost". We talked about following the prophet and reading the scriptures, praying, temple... etc and even had a little game to go with it! We shared that as we do those things, and share that with others, we can help them not be lost in the world. They will know of God's love for them and they will know the gospel. How incredibly blessed I am to know of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That we have a Father in Heaven who loves us more than we can comprehend, that Jesus Christ gave His life to atone for our sins. That God has a plan and purpose for us here on earth, and He knows our potential. I know by reading the scriptures daily and praying, we can have the Spirit to be with us to give us power to overcome the temptations Satan is throwing at us. I truly never recognized how much power we are given just by doing those simple things. I invite you all to read the scriptures and pray everyday this week, and experience that power which will come into your life. I can promise you that you will be happier. 

God loves you so much - never forget it!

Xoxo,

Sister Hymas

"It's not a new chapter, its a whole new life." - Mark

Mark's baptism was beautiful. He was so happy. When I first got there he was like, "Hey! I MISS you! Also my nickname for you is 'the princess' because you would just sit there on the steps with your posture and soft spoken voice..." hahah I love it! He felt so good and excited after his baptism. He was smiling from ear to ear. In his testimony he said something I really love. "It's not a new chapter, it's a whole new life." It was so touching to see him enter the waters of baptism. It filled my heart with so much joy. God truly loves us so much, and He has allowed me to feel just an inkling of His love for Mark. What a beautiful, beautiful evening it was. Plus I got to see the Hales! I love em! And many other Ft Belvoir members who will forever be family. Every time I see any of them, I just feel at home. Haha Bishop came up to me and said "man we can never get rid of you!" Yep that's for sure I'm just never disappearing ever! Haha. Wow, this gospel is true. 

Our investigator, Denise, came to church yesterday!! She was so happy too! She really really enjoyed it. She took like 2 pages of notes in Sacrament meeting. She was flipping to scriptures in the Book of Mormon that were referenced in the talks given, writing down all she could. She was so incredibly happy and smiley after! She stayed the first hour then had to go because she was planning on going to her church. She mentioned she needs to continue to really pray about it all and what she's learning, and what it may all mean because... "I feel really comfortable here" she said. The Spirit was so strong during that sacrament meeting. It made me so happy to see her so happy. The gospel is TRUE!

We went to the family history center with a recent convert we are working with in the ward. Her name is Jan King, I don't know if I've talked about her before? She is so amazing. She has written several humor books for women. She is battling some tough health issues rightnow. She was baptized in January. We go over every Monday evening for a lesson. Anyway, she is going to be going to the temple soon to do baptisms! So we helped her find names to take to the temple. It was amazing because we found her mother and grandmother's name, and she will be getting baptized for them in the temple. When we were explaining to her that she could do that for them, a special spirit filled the room. Tears filled her eyes. She said softly while nodding her head "I would really, really like to do that for them." It was sobeautiful. Tears burned my eyes watching her beam with joy as she found out this good news. The gospel is SO TRUE!

In one of my morning studies this week, I was studying the restoration and read over the first vision. As I was reading it, I was thinking about all the blessings I have received in my life. Then it just dawned on me that everything good I've been blessed with in my life isbecause of the Restoration of Jesus Christ's gospel: My wonderful family and the knowledge I have of eternal families, knowing that we will be together forever as we live faithfully because mom and dad were sealed in the temple by God's priesthood authority. My baptism, when I first made covenants with my Heavenly Father. The gift of the Holy Ghost that was given to me after baptism, who has guided me throughout my whole life, warning, teaching, strengthening, and comforting me. The peace and knowledge that I'm blessed with as I study the scriptures, both the Bible and Book of Mormon. When I had the incredible blessing to go through the temple for myself and make even higher covenants with God. The blessing it is to be able to renew those covenants each week as I partake of the sacrament in remembrance of Jesus Christ.

I have received countless blessings in my life. 1. Because Heavenly Father is so incredibly good and merciful and loving, and 2. Because He is loving, He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth once more, through the prophet Joseph Smith. I'm sure in that moment right before he prayed, Joseph didn't know the countless blessings that were going to come forth unto all people for generations to come. I don't know if he had any idea of what was about to happen, but I am so grateful that he acted in faith and offered that humble prayer. I know Jesus Christ restored His church and gospel to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Just like God has down throughout time, He reached out in love to His children by calling another prophet. I'm so grateful for His love and goodness. It's all so TRUE.

I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Love,

Sister Hymas

What a beautiful baptism 😭

GUYS!

I totally forgot to tell you last week.... THEO GOT BAPTIZED!!! Theo, from the Dulles ward? Remember him? Yeah he finally got baptized 😭 wow so much gratitude in my heart. The baptism was Friday and it was absolutely amazing. It was so good to see all my favorite Dulles pals again. I miss them. President Huntsman baptized him, they are pretty good friends now. Haha Theo was so happy. And when he bore his testimony and expressed his love and gratitude for his family, there were many watery eyes. Theo also asked me to sing at his baptism. #classic I haven't sang at a baptism in awhile! And yes I was terrified, and yes I didn't do my best because I was so nervous. But hey, Theo said it was good so as long as he approved it all is well! Haha good thing Sis Moore sang with me or I would've struggled hard core. We sang I Need Thee Every Hour, acapella. She harmonized with me. It was really fun :) President came up to me after and said, "that was really good singing!" Haha thanks President. Thank you, I was too embarrassed because I didn't do super great but anyway... IT WAS SUCH A MIRACULOUS BAPTISM. And I am so grateful to go see one of my best pals get baptized. Go Theo! ☺️

Okay and then guess what!!! Remember, last transfer, when Me and Sis Millward street contacted a Ukrainian man who was working on a car? And then a guy named Mark came out and started talking with us? He loves Lindsey Stirling, he had us and Caleigh Hales over for hot dogs and burgers....? Yeah. Mark is GETTING BAPTIZED this Tuesday! MIRACLES UPON MIRACLES!! My heart burst with joy, Heavenly Father is so good. All the time. I got to see both Mark and Theo yesterday evening at the NARMF, which we went to with Debs! Sis Millward told me all about Mark's progression in the gospel. It's truly so beautiful and so amazing to see these people accept and live the gospel. I have felt no greater joy than that! The prophets express it best in the scriptures. They are so true talking about that. Mark came up to me and said "your coming on Tuesday right?!" Haha YOU BET I AM! I wouldn't miss that for the world. Plus, he asked me to say the opening prayer so I can't miss it :) Then I went up to Theo and said "YOUR A MORMON NOW?! How does it feel?!" Haha he was like: "I know it's so strange dude!" Or something like that. Haha Oh Man. I love all these people!

The rest of the week was a blur! We had a meeting for the trainees and trainers called Return and Report. That was really fun to see President and Sister Huntsman. I love them. Sis Gewondjan is awesome. I love serving with her. She has the BEST LAUGH EVER. We made it past transfers!! The new transfer starts tomorrow, and we will be staying together in McLean 2. We are happy to be here. I'm ready to take on these next 6 weeks and work and serve the best I can. Time is going by so quick it's kinda crazy. We experienced another huge miracle this week. We were walking to go drop off a Book of Mormon to this guy we met the day before. I felt prompted to knock on this certain door so we did. A woman yelled through the door, "who is it?!" Us: "the sister missionaries!" She opened up, we did our little introduction of who we are. Then I asked her, "what role has God played in your life?" She expressed something along the lines of "oh He is everything, everything..!... God is so good. You guys came at the perfect time.." Then she started to cry. She covered her eyes and I gave her a hug. I told her we felt prompted to knock on this door. She was so surprised that we came to her. She invited us in. She told us about what she was going through and how she was about to watch a movie about the Grace of God, and then we knocked on the door. (Like wow, God totally leads us day by day. He uses us as instruments in His hands to do His work if we follow the promptings of the Spirit. It's so incredible!) and we shared the message of the restoration. She has such strong faith in Christ. Her name is Denise and she is such a miracle.

We met a man from India this week who we talked to about the temples. He asked if he could go inside and we explained how it works... right before we left he said, "yes I would like to visit here one day and maybe Jesus will give me permission to go inside!" Hahaha or something like that. He was a cool dude. I said "yeah, get baptized then ya can!" I love people. Everyone is so different, it's awesome. Honestly I could go on and on about the experiences I have daily, but never would I ever have enough time to share all of them. It is the most incredible blessing to be the Lord's missionary. My heart is filled with joy doing His work. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know the blessings of the restored gospel made possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ are for all who would accept it. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have been shown time and time again of the love and mercy they have for us. They truly desire us to be so happy. As I look for the miracles and blessings in each day, I can see God's hand in my life. I know this gospel is true. I wish every one would accept it.

Xoxoxo,

Sister Hymas

3 Nephi 5:13

Today has been a roller coaster.

My ipad made me change my password, and in the mission we are all supposed to have the same passcode to get into our ipads. You have to change the passcode multiple times before you can use the same password again. Well, that's what I was doing and then we had to plan and study, so after we were done with that I went back to go change my passcode again and guess what.

I forgot the code. 

UGH.

I COULDN'T REMEMBER IT FOR THE LIFE OF ME. That's my own fault.

The ipad would only let you guess the password 9 times. After that, it would shut down and restart to factory settings. Which means, it would erase EVERYTHING off your ipad. I tried every code I could remember and none of them worked. SO... when my ipad restarted, everything was erased. To say I was frustrated would be an understatement.  so there will be no pics this week because I lost the pictures from this week and everything else on my ipad. haha I'm not bitter anymore. HA Im so grateful for my ipad and that most of my pics are on my USB! WHEW thank goodness.

But anyway...

I also got my hair cut again! haha I wanted it shorter. and now its definitely short! Mom, I literally look like you. The kind Vietnamese man named Michael cut my hair basically just like yours! After he was finished he said in his accent, "Nice and short!" as he flipped my hair. haha he was super nice! So I will send a picture next week. or maybe today. we will see. 

This week flew by! We had exchanges with our hermana STLs and I was with Hermana Garcia. She is straight hilarious. We ate at this cute little Hispanic restaurant. We had Saltenas, which were SO DELISH! I love Spanish food. Haha every time I try to speak Spanish i sound like such a gringa. Oh well. Also, this sweet Spanish lady gave us Dunkin Donuts after we contacted her. Like who does that? She was so nice! I wish I could speak more Spanish. haha.

MIRACLE! SO we had dropped Fred last week because we hadn't been able to have contact with him. Saturday was car fast day, where we rely on members for rides or walk everywhere. We were walking that morning and we saw Fred's work van in one of the complexes parking lot. He had told us before the complex he lived in but we never got his address. We decided to head over there and look around. We said a prayer that Heavenly Father would guide us to one of His elect children in the area. I looked up after the prayer and felt prompted to knock on two certain doors. the first one we knocked on, we met a man named Chuhnui. He doesn't have much of a religious background and doesn't really believe in God either. AS we were talking, the Spirit was totally working on him. He stepped out and continued to talk with as we discussed how the principles found in the scriptures help us live better lives and feel peace, etc. His family members kept popping their heads out to tell him to come in for lunch, but he continued to talk with us. Long story short, he became a new investigator and we are going back this week. It was such a miracle. 

After we were done talking with Chuhnui, we went and knocked on the second door. Guess who opened the door...? FRED! he was kind of shocked to see us I think, but we had a great conversation and set up a return appointment. He is really busy with work right now, so it was hard to get in contact with him. we also got to meet this wife, who we shared a Book of Mormon with! and now we are going to teach her too. God truly does lead this work. I know it wasn't a coincidence He led us right to Fred again.

Our Turkish friend, Khor, fed us turkish/indian food one night! She texted us and said, come and make food for you! or something like that? I cant member. anyway,m we had just eaten dinner and you could say "I was gonna roll outta there!" I was super full. haha it was delicious food though! WE gave her a Turkish Book of Mormon and she was so excited like you would not believe! She was so grateful for it and that it was written in her language.

We were asked to come share our testimonies about missionary work yesterday in Deacons Quorum. I had felt prompted to share 3 Ne 5:13. I asked one of the deacons to read it. "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life."

As he read, my heart was so touched by the Spirit. My eyes burned a little bit.The Spirit really touched my heart in that moment and reminded me the sacred calling I have. I am so blessed to serve as the Lords missionary. Its such a blessing. Such a privilege. And often time i think we as missionaries take it for granted. I was reminded of the great privilege it is to be here. I am so grateful everyday to be able to share the restored gospel with people.WHAT A BLESSING. It may sound cliche, but it truly has changed my life, and I'm forever grateful for it.

Have a blessed week.

-and don't forget your pass codes to your ipads and phones. Ya don't want to experience that. Can't say I didn't warn ya. ;)

xoxox,

Sister Hymas

Hope and Humility

Alohaaa!

It is a beautiful sunny warm day here in the VA! I hope you all are enjoying your Memorial Day. We  ate a lot of brownies and watermelon today. And a lot of food in general. I am so not hungry right now haha.

We had interviews this week! I loved it as usual. President still is a rockstar. And so wise. And a crack up. I shared the scripture 2 Nephi 4:34-35 with him for the Christlike attribute "Hope" that we are all working on this transfer. We talked about how we need to always be relying and trusting in the Lord. Putting our trust in "the arm of flesh" is not okay. As I've pondered this transfer so far, I have learned the importance of putting my trust all in the Lord because He has control over all things. Whitewashing, training, having no idea what is going on... I really needed God's help. As I trusted Him and prayed and asked Him questions, He has led us and blessed us with miracles. It has truly been incredible to see. I'm just in aweeveryday at how incredibly good Heavenly Father is. We must have Hope in Him and be humble to follow His guidance.

The Ward mission leader's wife, sister Corey, dropped off all these ingredients one day to make a roast! She has done it with the elders in the past. She told us how to make it and throw it all in the crock pot and set it on low for 8 hours and VOILA! A delish roast! It was so good, wow we downed it. I think I want a crock pot. It was so easy! I'm learning how to cook more things MA, aren't you proud?! ;) 

Did I tell you all about George? George is a member referral from Brother Ayers. Brother Ayers is a convert and has a really cool story and conversion. George watched Brother Ayers completely change and become so happy. George wanted to become like that so he asked to come to church with him. Brother Ayers asked him to meet with us. And now we are here! We met with George a few times this week. George is an older guy and has the most humble heart. I have never met or seen anyone so ready to change, so willing to do anything and everything it takes to experience the joy of repentance and feeling his burdens lift. He is so meek. I have learned so much from his humble example. Because he lives out of our area, we have to pass him. He is so amazing. It was a complete miracle and blessing to have the chance to teach and meet George. We will see him again someday and have a grand ol' reunion!

The area and Ward is amazing. I love it here. I love sweet sister Gewondjan! She is so funny. She has a laugh like Dad's sisters. It cracks me up. We have a good time. Being a missionary has made me so happy. Teaching and testifying of Jesus Christ these last 14 months has truly brought me so much joy; joy that I can't really describe. I think often times it's so easy to get caught up in life, worldly things, technology, and forget to pay attention to what really matters. Being a missionary has allowed me to realize what truly matters. It's so simple. Following God, and His son, Jesus Christ, and living the gospel is what will bring us lasting peace. Eternal joy. How incredibly blessed are we to have the restored gospel. What a blessing.

Have a happy, blessed week. I know the gospel is true. And God loves YOU! :)

Xoxo,Sister Hymas

McLean Day and Brick Layin

Wow what a week!!!

It flew by so quick. We had exchanges with our STLs this week! We have Hermanas as ourSister Training Leaders so you know what that means.... I WAS AN HERMANA FOR A DAY. haha jk not really because I don't know a lick of Spanish. But I try. Haha during all the Spanish contacts and lessons I just sat there in awe watching Hermana Miller teach the gospel in Spanish. It was pretty cool to experience that! The Spanish people are so full of love. Seriously. I love em! Ive decided my line of work..... BRICK MASON. haha we got to help Brother Chandler lay bricks on his wall this week! Okay I was kidding about being a brick mason because it's hard! Especially when it's hot outside! Haha and I do not have the patience to do that. But it was a great experience, now I know how to lay bricks! :)

Our whole zone had the cool opportunity to volunteer at what's called "McLean Day" which is basically a huge fair, like Herriman Days. The missionaries were scattered about helping with different things. It was a long day, we were there from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm. PHEW we were all beat! Me and Sister Gewondjan were Survey Takers, so we got to go out among the crowd and say "take a survey about McLean Day and get a free t-shirt! Wanna a free t-shirt?! Take the survey!!...." la di da etc. haha I felt like a business woman. We didn't do too shabby either. ;) we had some cool opportunities to share what we do as missionaries with people! Plus they gave us food tickets so we got to eat for free at some super good food trucks like "Crepe Love" ... yeah it was super good.

Last night we had a cool lesson with a huge family full of girls! Me and Hermana Miller met them on exchanges. They were referred by their neighbor so we tried them and they told us that they had been reading the Book of Mormon the night before and then we knocked on their door the next day. Talk about not a coincidence!! So we taught part of the restoration to 6 sisters last night, ages ranging from 5-24, and answered many of their questions. They were all so sweet and are eager for us to come back. They seem interested yet are pretty solid in their faith, so we will see what happens! It was such a blessing and miracle to meet them. 

God is so good every day, all the time. Sometimes we are just blinded to see that. I truly do know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. And if someone sincerely wants to know that, if they read it, one they will come to see that it testifies of Him all throughout the Book. And two, if they pray about it with real intent they will receive an answer by the power of the Holy Ghost of its truth. It confirms the testimony of the Bible. It is true. I know the gospel has been restored and that there are so many blessings available for those who live and accept it. I love it all so much and am so grateful everyday for it. I know Jesus Christ lives and loves us. Have a beautiful wonderful week. Make it the best week EVER!

Xoxox,

Sister Hymas