Good morning!
Due to the holiday I am reporting to you now.
Transfers have come and gone and I am still in Hutch. Sister Dodd went
to the Jail and guess who came to Hutch? Sister Jones! My MTC
companion. I have now served with all the sisters in my MTC district.
It's awesome, haha. I attached a couple pictures from transfer bus in
Wichita last week. One is Sisters Jones, me, and Dodd, and the other
is Sister Dodd and I with one of our zone leaders who got transferred.
It was really warm that day.

We spent all of last week with our investigators and the members that
wanted to say "bye" to Sister Dodd. We were running around like a
crazy person but it was so good to see that the ward really loves
their missionaries. Went down to transfer bus on Thursday and came
back to unpack and go to some appointments. All weekend we have been
running around and I don't even know what we did... we did go up to a
little town for dinner and to try and contact a referral, but we
didn't have miles for this month and came home. Sunday we were invited
to sing in the ward choir and did so, but as we sat on the stand we
were able to see everyone come in. That referral that we didn't have
miles to see came to church! A less active that lives 45 minutes away
came to church and stayed for 2 hours! An investigator that has never
been to church showed up. it was just really neat. In relief society,
they talked about sacrifice, based on the talk Elder Oaks gave in the
last conference. It was so good! I thought about things such as "Why
do I do what I do? What is my intent?" I also thought that I really
feel like I get more than what I give. I thought, "why?" Sacrifice
makes things sacred, and that is how I can make my mission special.
Sister Jones and I have talked a lot recently about how we can make
our missions more meaningful by being obedient. I try to figure things
out in my mind a lot, and most of the time if not all the time, I can
never figure out what Heavenly Father is doing. I read the scripture
the other morning 1 Nephi 11:17 - Nephi answers the angel, referring
to God, "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not
know the meaning of all things"

I'm constantly being humbled and it is so great!! I'm learning what is
really important and what will help me be the most effective
missionary that I can be. We had an experience the other day... on
Sunday we received a referral for a lady that was in detox in the
psych ward of the local hospital. Fun, eh? We get up there Sunday
night and meet a woman who really wanted a blessing. We had to explain
to her that we couldn't do that but would send some brethren the next
day to give that to her. In the meantime, we just talked. She kept
saying over, and over, and over, that she's not a bad person, she had
been sober for 3 years and doesn't know why she relapsed. Her eyes
were full of sorrow and she was reaching out to anyone looking for
hope. In essence, I think I wouldn't been a bit hesitant to be on that
floor and talk to someone there, just from other experiences I've had.
But the Lord used us both in a miraculous way, and taught us something
life changing. All we felt inspired to do was tell her how much God
loves her. As we did, I could feel, in an increased measure, just how
deeply and unconditionally God loves His children. I didn't know this
woman. She had made some bad choices and that is why we was in detox.
But she was still given hope through God's love and the Savior's
mercy. That was probably one of the best experiences I've had on my
mission thus far. It also got me thinking about why a lot of people I
meet everyday are not so fortunate in this life. In my scripture study
I came across this verse:

"Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is
favored of God..."
Remember the scripture those that keep the commandments of God shall
prosper? And then a couple verses later I read this:

"And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they
hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them
because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them;
and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be
healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and
because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there
were many who perished."

God wants us home. There's only one way to get home, and God gave us
tools to get there. He is no respecter of persons. He does not love
one group of people more than the other. We are all equal in His eyes.
However, those that are righteous and keep the commandments are those
that are favored.

John 15:10 - "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love;
even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love."
When we walk towards God, we can feel His love. And that's the difference.

Obedience is the difference. If something is easy, do we just
disregard it? Because of "the simpleness of the way"?

I'm learning heaps, and the more I learn the less I know. And in a
sense that scares me, because I want to take as much as I can here as
a missionary home with me so I can continue to serve there. I don't
know the meaning of all things, but the Lord has promised His children
that if we are obedient and keep His commandments, we'll be able to
accomplish all those things that are expedient for us. I know this is
true. I am a witness to His love.

I love you all and am grateful for your support. I know God loves you
and wants to bless you. Will you place yourself in a position so that
He can?
I know that this church is true, and that the fulness of the
everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored. I know the Book
of Mormon is true and blesses lives! Continue forward my friends. Run
the race, finish strong. 1 Cor. 9:24 - "Know ye not that they which
run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye
may obtain." Shall we not go on in so great a cause?

Always,
Sister Moore

Greetings!!!!
This week has been crazy. Let's see what I remember...

We started the week with interviews with President and Sister Keyes.
We were supposed to be there at noon but got into town a little early,
so we decided to go to lunch. We pop open the GPS to see what's close
to the church and see Panera Bread. That's the one!! I LOVE that
place. SO we get there and walk in the door to see 3 elders turn
around to greet us. "Oh.. hey!" They had split the zone into 2 groups
for interviews and President took the group before us to lunch and we
just happen to arrive as he was paying for all the missionaries. So...
we got a free lunch and got to eat with all the elders. That was a fun
tender mercy. Interviews were good, too. President said he wants to
get me in the Liberty Jail before I end my mission, but Sister Dodd
has to leave Hutch first. So he told us early what's happening with
transfers, minus who my new companion is. I don't know if that is what
will happen, but my second to last transfer will be in Hutch this
summer... and it's going to be 100* this week. Bring it on!

On our way home from Wichita, we get a call from the wife of a RC and
she wants us over there now. So we go and when we knock on the door,
someone peeks through the curtain, she lets us in and then says, "we
have a crisis". Turns out one of our RC is very nervous about
receiving the Priesthood and serving in the church. It was a very
intense meeting but through silent prayers and turning it over to the
Bishop, all is well. It was amazing though, because it is an hour
drive from Wichita to Hutch. During this drive, our appointment that
we were going to canceled, and 5 minutes later the wife of the RC
calls needing us. We were able to reschedule with the canceled
appointment and the Lord had us where He needed us. It's amazing how
in control He is.

So that was Tuesday. Wednesday we had a prompting to for-go our
morning plans and drive to Pretty Prairie, a 40 minute drive away and
to try this part member family. We found the non-member ehad of the
household and he become a new investigator. So, that was cool. Some
amazing lessons that day, too. There's a PMF (part member family) that
we are now working with the Mom in (the daughter was just baptized)
and our lesson was on the Sabbath Day and the Sacrament. When we read
in the Book of Mormon about the Sacrament, she volunteered the
comment, "I don't take the sacrament because I figure I'm not living
in accordance to the gospel just yet." It was amazing because that was
the Spirit working in her. We hadn't said a thing. She and her husband
(common law) are not married and are planning on doing that within the
next year. We asked if they would do it in August so we can bring our
parents to their wedding... haha.

We got to see Deonna, a newer investigator, last week. We were a
little late and when we knocked on her door she didn't answer, so we
started to walk away. She comes running out of the house and says,
"were you knocking? I couldn't hear you". When we got in the house she
told us how it was just "one of those days" and at one point tossed
her head back and exclaimed, "are they here yet??"/ She had been
looking forward to our visit all day. So awesome! Our lesson was great
because she is SO sincere. She just needs to get work off on Sundays
and she's golden!

On Saturday we tried to contact a referral in a little town called
Marquette, which is an hour's drive. As we were traveling, we followed
a trio of motorcycles and many motorcycles passed us on the way there.
They would all give some sign to each other as they passed. Finally, I
suggested to Sister Dodd, who was driving, to give that sign to the
next motorcycles that passed us. She gets ready to and as we round the
corner we are suddenly in the town.... in the middle of a huge
motorcycle rally. EVERYWHERE there are motorcycles, bikers, tattoos,
chaps, etc. We had to park on a side street and walk to our referral.
We stood out like sore thumbs. It was great.

We got a call the other night from a former investigator from last
year that Sister Dodd and I have had no contact wit whatsoever. He
said he wanted to join the church now and asked how to do it. Um...
awesome. How often does that happen??

Lately we have been stretched so thin. A lot of members expect us to
drop everything when they need us which we are always happy to help,
but investigator appointments are not always so easy to for-go. it's
been very interesting balancing the ward and our investigators. We are
starting to really get the ward involved and it's so amazing to see
connections take place. At church, a lot of investigators that said
they would come didn't, and that was sad. But after church we had
dinner with one of my favorite families out here! Please see attached
photos of what we did after the meal and thought.

Transfers are this week. Sister Dodd is going to the Jail and I am
staying here. We don't know our companions just yet. We are cleaning
house getting ready for it. We have a zone conference on 5 June too in
Wichita. I'm really excited for that. It's my spiritual Christmas!!

All is well! The mission is really hard some days. I was having a
really hard time sitting in Relief Society, tears flowing from my
eyes, and I was done with the things going on and the feelings inside
of me. Right there during the lessons, I closed my eyes and said a
silent prayer. As soon as I said Amen, peace flooded my heart and mind
and all was well again. I know God hears and answers our prayers. Even
for the tiniest things, He is always there. Make Him apart of your
life. He loves you.

I know this is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I love my Savior.
I know the Book of Mormon is true and are really "the words of life".
Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
Always,
Sister Moore

May 14

Pictures: 1046 - Sunset north of Hutch.
0996 - KC MO Temple
1006 - Making marshmallow temples with the Ramey family.
1145 - After watching a sister bond someone out of jail, this is us in
front of the building.
1141 - A FHE group of single sisters in the ward. The one in the
center sitting down is 94 years old and actually isn't a member.
1142 - Missionaries stuck in a cell phone...

Greetings one and all.

Talking to Mom and Dad yesterday was beautiful. I find it difficult to
recall other stories that I want to report on since I told them
several stories. We've been really busy this week. I've been working
on diligence in my own life and I feel that the Lord is blessing me to
be able to develop that Christ like attribute. Here are a couple funny
stories...

Earlier in the week we were trying to contact a less active member and
they weren't home. We saw a lady down the street and decided to go
talk to her. She talks with us and won't accept a Book of Mormon but
does tell us we can come back. We'd just have to catch her; she
wouldn't commit to a time. So, we try back the next couple days and
she's not home. Sad. We try again Saturday afternoon and she's home!
She answers the door and she says, "Ok, I guess I have 5 or 10 minutes
today". We turn the corner and see her husband. We go to shake his
hand and we see he has a toilet seat on his lap. We don't ask, but
start to share the first discussion about Joseph Smith and the Book of
Mormon. They said they want to read it. Woohoo! We end up staying and
fellow shipping them. We were there for a good 45 minutes and the
toilet seat never left his lap. Finally, we inquire of it and he says
they just moved in and are changing them. Pretty funny. maybe you had
to be there...

We were doing service for a lady we met on the street who due to a
heart attack lost 3 of her limbs. She only had her left arm. When we
finished with her we get back to the car and see we missed a call from
a part member family. The dad grew up in the church but never had a
testimony. In fact, he mocked it. His wife and 2 daughters are very
nice to us but not interested in the church. We decide to call them
back before our next appointment and come to find out he's not sure
why we had a missed call from them. He asks us to hold on for a second
and in the background of the phone, he yells to his wife, "Did you
call the Mormons????" it was pretty funny. Maybe you had to be there.
We have a good relationship with them as least.

On Mother's Day before we called home, we were out delivering a bunch
of cards to sisters in the ward who have been so kind to us and to a
couple of our investigators to wish them a happy mother's day. There's
one sister in the ward that several years ago was in an automobile
accident involving a drunk driver, and both her husband and 2 children
passed away. She was the only survivor. Due to that she hates Mother's
Day and doesn't want to see anyone. We thought we'd just put a card in
her back door so she'd see it on her way out eventually. We pull up,
and start to make our way back to the porch. As we round the corner of
the house, we see her in her car with the backing lights on. I have
never felt more ninja like as we dart back to the car and drive around
the block. We were afraid she might have sen us but she hasn't said
anything yet! We came back and left the car after she had left. It was
pretty funny.

We have had a lot of funny experiences. We see miracles everyday and
laugh at the quirks of life as well.

On a more spiritual note, we've had miracle after miracle happen.
There's a young man in town from college who joined the church in
September. His mom just had knee replacement surgery and is home for a
month to care for her. His sister has not made the best choices in
life and is a slave to addictions. After a fight one night he shared a
Mormon Message with her and she asked for something to read. He gave
her a Book of Mormon and she's been reading it ever since. Her
demeanor changed instantly. She wants to meet with us. She even came
to church yesterday. That was a miracle.

Ok, to close up my email for the week, I want to share a story that
was shared in Sacrament Meeting.
There was this man whose mother lived 200 miles away. He was on his
way to a flower shop to order flowers to have delivered to her.
Outside the shop he saw a little girl crying on the step. He asked,
"What's wrong?" She replied, "I only have 65 cents and a rose costs
$2. ALl I want is to buy my mom a rose for Mother's Day". The man
tells her, "Well, I'll buy you one." He goes in and orders flowers for
his own mother and buys the little girl a rose. He offers to give her
a ride to her mom. She ends up leading him by pointing this way and
that, until finally they arrive at a cemetery. He watched the little
girl get out of the car and lay that single rose on her mother's
grave.

The story continues as the man went back to the shop, canceled his
order, bought a bouquet, and drove the 200 miles to see his mother.

I'm incredibly grateful for my own mother and for all those woman who
do so much for their own families and the people around them. I know
that I am who I am today because of my mom. She is my light and
strength when everyone else seems to dwindle away.

I know that woman are an important part of God's Plan for the
salvation of His children. He has blessed woman in many ways to be
able to be soft yet strong, compassionate yet driven, beautiful and
full of love. it is a tremendous blessing to know that I am a daughter
of God and have a divine purpose here in life. I can and will make a
difference, just like so many faithful women like my own mother.

I love you all.
Always,
Sister Moore

Singing for the Prophet

My sleep schedule is all amiss from the weekend that is behind me now,
but it was all worth it. I am going to write what I can in the time I
have about my experience this past weekend in Kansas City and the
like. I don't think I'll be able to accurately portray the power and
spirit that has been with me, but I will do my best.

On Saturday, the 5th, we left Hutch to arrive in Wichita at 10am for a
zone meeting with the other missionaries and to catch the bus that
would be taking us to KC. Another zone also met at that building and
we all headed to Salina to pick up 4 Elders and to Juntion City to
pick up the remainder of the missionaries out here. I got to chat with
Sisters Payne and Porter which was great. It was 90*+ over the weekend
and the bus' AC broke. With a motorcoach full of missionaries, mostly
young men, in 90 something degree weather, I quickly wilted... but my
spirit would not! The anticipation for this event has kept me going
for weeks now! We finally arrive in KC at 3:40 pm. As I get off the
bus at the side of the Marriott hotel, I held out my hand to see it
shaking. We probably should've eaten more. We walk around into the
Basse Ballroom on the 2nd floor of the marriott hotel where the entire
mission, all 200 young missionaries, would meet with President Keyes
and the like. It was unreal to think that all 200 missionaries were
there. That doesn't happen in this mission. We are exhausted but the
Assistants ask us to get into our zones and sit down to start our
meeting at 4pm. We would be entering the event at 5pm. Being in the
Wichita zone, we are dead last. but I couldn't have been happier. We
had been practicing "We'll Bring the World His Truth" for weeks now.
President Keyes gets up and could hardly speak due to his emotion of
seeing all 200 of his missionaries together. He tells us they changed
what we would be singing a little bit. Instead of all 3 verses of the
song, we'd be singing the first verse and then the chorus 2 times to
end it. Not only that, he said that the youth that would be performing
right before us will part, like the red sea, for us to walk into the
stadium. We went through how to line up and continued to practice. It
was really moving, but I really had no idea what we were in for. We
received tickets as memorials for the event. President also announced
that we would get to actually watch the celebration. Thanks to Elder
Deschler, the area seventy, he got us seats. One hundred on one side
of the stadium, and one hundred on the other side. Each group of one
hundred would follow one of the Assistants. So we begin our trek.
Since Wichita was the last zone, I was literally 2nd to last in the
army of 200 strong. On our way from the Ballroom to the Municipal
Auditorium, we only had to cross the street really, but our zone got
lost so many times. The first time was walking across the street due
to the light. Second our our way to our seats. Going through the
tunnels was an adventure and I ran more trying to keep up with the
group than all month it seems. The public was starting to come too and
it was difficult to maneuver around them. We get to our seats and
wait. The youth start flooding onto the stadium floor at 5:45pm, and
kneel. Since we were in the nosebleed section, I was trying to see
where the prophet would be sitting since we were supposed to sing TO
him once we got on the floor. Right before 6, the entire stadium
arises as President Monson enters the arena. it was incredible. I was
literally 50 yards above him. He just glowed. They start the event by
having President Monson address us. He spoke of many things, but the
one thing I do remember was how he loved seeing the youth dance
together. To see boys ask girls and to see girls get asked to dance.
How important it was to respect each other and to build friendships.
he said that we might see an event going on. He sees friendships being
made. And then it commenced! Because of where I was sitting it was
difficult to get any pictures. The lighting was bad. I'm sending home
a few of before the event started. That was special. The theme of the
event was "Of One Heart in the Heartland". There were 12 stakes
involved and each was involved in something devoted to the area. The
early saints were mentioned a lot, as well as the early settlement of
the area. The most powerful that I witnessed before going on the floor
myself was from the Joplin Stake. If any of you remember, last May I
took a group of Young Single Adults from the Joplin stake through the
Visitors' Center and instantly fell in love with them. The very next
day, the devastating tornado hit. The youth's program was completely
devoted to the errand of angels in response to the tornado last year.
it hit home so greatly with me. Each dance was introduced with a video
presentation and narration. There were sirens, 911 calls, recordings
of youth retelling their experience of not knowing where loved ones
were located. As the narration played, they came on the floor. There
were wooden frames of houses laid flat on the floor. Eventually, the
EFY song, "Broken Things" started, sung live by Kenneth Cope himself.
Another song called "Rise Up" by Spencer Lee was played during their
performance. And actually, Rise Up is on iTunes and all proceeds to
towards the Joplin Recovery. Go check it out if you can. I was so
moved by the performance I could not hold back my tears. I'm sure I
made the Elder sitting next to me feel a bit awkward. Youth in Helping
Hands shirts came out. A family, broken by the disaster, ran out on
the floor and I saw a little girl jump into the arms of her father.
The stadium went mad. It was beautiful. After this performance we made
a mad dash to the tunnel from our seats to prepare to go on with all
the youth stakes. Again, we booked it, literally sprinted down 3
stories of ramps. Because I was at the end of the group, I didn't get
to see much. But I heard everything. As the army of missionaries began
to move, the crown up roared. We began to sing. The youth parted and
knelt to make way for the Lord's servants and sang with us. As I
entered the floor, I looked up to the video screen and saw President
and Sister Keyes along with one of the Assistants singing. We had
people on either side of us cheering and rooting us on. We stopped,
turned toward the Prophet, who was standing, as well as the entire
stadium, and sang. At one point I had a camera man straight in my
face. As we finished singing... "We will be the Lord's missionaries to
bring the world his truth". We stood there. The feeling of love I felt
at that moment is really indescribable to put into words. The entire
stadium was still in an up roaring, standing, cheering, for several
minutes after we finished. As we walked out the youth stood and
clapped for US. For US! We should be cheering for THEM. President
Monson grabbed his suit coat and tugged at it, and you could see his
face full of emotion from the power of the Spirit. As we left the
stadium, I glanced up at the monitor one last time and saw a side view
of each and every missionary walk past. It was so POWERFUL. We went
back up our 3 stories of ramps and sat down to finish the event. I
can't describe the feelings and power that was there adequately.

We made it back to the bus, they fed us, and we rode all the way back
to Junction City, Salina, and Wichita. I think I had said last week we
were going to stay in KC for the dedication. That changed. We left KC
at 8:15pm. Got to Wichita at 1am. We just all chatted on the bus. No
one could sleep although we were all going loopy due to what just
happened and our minds start to fade. It was wonderful to bond with
the missionaries on our zone. it's great to say that we really are
close and I consider them family. It was a long day. The sister
missionaries that we stayed with wanted to go to church so we woke up
at 6:30am, got ready, studied, and went to a 9am church. I bore my
testimony in that ward. It was bizarre not to be in my own ward. I
missed Hutch. A young couple from the ward took us to Salina where we
watched the 3rd and final session of the Kansas City Missouri Temple
Dedication. It was beautiful. Elder Holland, Elder Rasband, and Elder
Walker all accompanied President Monson. When it was finished, I saw a
returned missionary from the mission. He came back to see it. It was
fun to see him. There were quite a few missionaries that had served in
the MIM come back for either the dedication or the Youth Cultural
Celebration. We got a ride back to Wichita from Salina, where we met
at the brand new Stake Center for the Seminary Graduation, where our
ride back to Hutch would meet us. That didn't get finished until 8:30.
We didn't get back to Hutch until 9:30. We were so tired. We are so
tired! However, before going to bed, President Keyes sent out another
voice mail to the mission. He told us of all the comments we received
of the missionaries at the Cultural Celebration. He told us one
story... when the missionaries marched out onto the stadium arena, the
men in the van that controlled the camera feed to the satellite, for
everyone else worldwide to see were so touched, that it made their job
difficult. They were weeping because of the power and spirit they
felt. President Keyes told us that he arranged for each and every
missionary to receive a copy of the cultural event and we should be
receiving them next month. What a blessing! I'm so grateful for the
church. I'm so grateful for a charitable and devoted Mission
President.

Here is a link that the church put out for the whole deal.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-monson-dedicates-kansas-city-missouri-mormon-temple
My pictures and words are inadequate for the power that was there. It
was the best day of my life. We may have had a warm bus ride there and
back in one day and not get any sleep this weekend, but I would do it
again in a heartbeat. I know the church is true. I know President
Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God. I know that Jesus is the
Christ and that He lives.

I was contemplating what I would answer if someone asked me, "Why are
you LDS?" There are many answers and testimonies to answer that. But
after this weekend, I discovered mroe to the gospel. I discovered more
of the love our Savior and Heavenly Father have for us. I understand
more of the Atonement and the sacredness of the family. So next time
someone asks me, "Why are you LDS?" I reply for them would be,
"Because I believe in beauty. Truth has always been more interesting
to me than fiction".

We are going to be working hard. I will do my very best for the Lord
these last few months. I will stand and I will not fall for truth.
Arise and shine forth, my friends. The day has come.

I love you all.
Always,
Sister Moore