January 30

1638: Lunch with Debbie and her friend/parents.
1653: See the bruise on my forehead? Funny story of how that
happened... ask me later! :)

Hello family and friends!
I speak to you today... exhausted. Haha. What else is new?
Things are going really well in Hutch. Sister Jones and I made a
baptismal goal of 4 for the transfer. We've seen one. I've been trying
to achieve that goal and the Lord is fulfilling His promises. We have
2 that committed to baptism this week! On the 11th, so I'll get to see
these two dear sisters baptized before I leave Hutch. Debbie and
Maxine. I'm amazed at the mercy that the Lord offers to us as we
follow His commandments. I was reading Alma 37 and 38 this morning and
Alma preaches again and again to his sons to keep the commandments of
God and they will prosper, and if they will not they will be cut off
from His presence. We see that again and again in the Book of Mormon,
and I know that to be true in my own experience. The Lord lives!! What
else matters? He has eternal glory and everlasting joy that He wants
to give us. All we have to do is keep His commandments. Why is that so
difficult?

So, the inevitable truth is that I am going home soon. I have been
asked about it from members and investigators for several weeks now.
it has been announced over the pulpit already... haha. We live with
the Knapps and Brother Knapp is in the Bishopric. He came to me last
night as we were coming in and told me he's trying to be home for when
my parents come out. He is supposed to be at a youth temple trip. That
just melted my heart. The love I feel from the ward is unreal. I don't
feel like I deserve it. I am here to serve them. I am here to serve
God. I am doing my duty and laboring with love. It's heart wrenching
to think of having to leave all these people I've grown to love so
dearly. I don't want to leave my companion. She and I have SO much fun
together it should probably be outlawed. But, Sister Jones and I were
talking about it the other day. I feel at peace about coming home. I
feel like the timing is right and that I have done what I can and more
importantly, have become who I was supposed to. I don't want to be
like some missionaries that fall back into old bad habits when I'm a
civilian again. Our mission is supposed to change us for the better. I
plan on taking the heart that has been refined with me home. I didn't
come out and serve for 18 months just to go back to who I was.

Oh man, I don't even know what to write about. We have interviews with
President Keyes tomorrow as well as exchanges. Our investigator,
Debbie, makes the most AMAZING homemade pies and offered to teach us
how to make the dough. SCORE! So we are going to do that this week as
we teach her one of her lessons. haha. I'm going to come home and
amaze you with my pie making abilities. I probably won't be able to
reach Henry's ability though. :)

Life is so great. I'm so happy. I'm sad about leaving. Excited about
the baptisms coming up. Grateful to see family and friends soon. It's
been a wonderful journey and I can't wait to see what happens in the
next 2.5 weeks! Miracles are just around the corner. I can feel it.

I know Jesus is the Christ, the chosen Messiah. he is our Savior. He
has given us a way to rid ourselves of the natural man and be healed.
That is where I gain my peace. That is where we all can gain peace. I
love my Lord and Savior. I love my Heavenly Father. I feel that my
capacity to love has grown and I am so grateful for that. I know that
the restored gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God and that we have a prophet on the earth today; Thomas S. Monson.
This gospel has saved my life is countless ways.... and I will serve
for the remainder of my days.

Shall we not go on in so great a cause?

Always,
Sister Moore

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK MOMMY!!!! And happy anniversary Will & Kimberly! :)

ugh. Time is measured only unto man, but it sure does go by quickly.
it's the end of July... where is my mission going?!
We had been seeing a lot of baptisms here almost every week, but Satan
is out to get us. A lot of our investigators have had issues. Serious
issues. I'm trying to work as diligently as I can and I am SO tired.
All I want to do when I get home is sleep. There's a bed ready for me,
right?

It's unreal to me that my mission is coming to a close. As I keep
saying I'm trying to make the most of it. I feel like there is so much
so do and so little time to do it. The heat is a major factor that we
are trying to be careful of. Sister Jones and I made a goal of 4
baptisms this transfer. We've seen one. I'm learning just how willing
Heavenly Father is to grant us such blessings and to see divine help
in our lives. I can't adequately express how in awe I am on the
matter. For example, there is a couple here that we are teaching. For
a while, the wife was going to get baptized. She has gained a
testimony and absolutely loves learning from us. Her husband is less
than excited but really enjoys us, so he's listening. She's slowly
starting to soften his hard. One Sunday they stayed for just Sacrament
and told us they had to go home to talk about church. NERVE RACKING.
We went back ASAP on Monday and that lesson was so guided by the
spirit... We ended the lesson by reading Moroni 10:4-5, Moroni's
promise to all of us in these last days to read the Book of Mormon and
then to ask if it is not true. The wife read it, and said, "Oh! So, if
you want to know how to say a prayer you can just read it right out of
the scriptures" and then recites verse 4 in a way that she is speaking
in prayer, asking for an answer. As soon as she ended, the Spirit
penetrated our hearts. It was so unexpected and the joy that filled my
heart was indescribable. I looked up at Sister Jones, and she at me,
and we whispered to each other "did you feel that?!" Never before in
my life have I received an answer so direct to a question. It was
memorable, for sure.

On Friday we had a special zone training where the zone leaders taught
us for about 3 hours of things President Keyes wants us to start
focusing on. it was so good!!! One of the zone leaders said something
about taking home keys. When you board the plane to go home, how many
keys to the Celestial Kingdom will you have in your pocket? It was
intense. I want to go invite everyone to be baptized now!!!

Sister Jones and I sang in church, a song called "I'll Find You My
Friend". There wasn't a dry eye in the audience. Every time I do
something in Sacrament the congregation cries. I hope that's a good
thing!

Let's see let's see... We really felt inspired to see a less active
girl. When we got there she was very kind and said she is not Mormon
anymore but is going to another church. We asked for referrals and she
said to try the house down the block. We did and found a family to
teach!!! it was really neat. When we follow the Spirit, we know we
can't go wrong because the Lord always fulfills His end of the deal.

More and more do I see how true this gospel is. It scares me deeply to
have to go back into the world soon. I know things will be okay, but
after hearing about so many evil things happening, and SEEING so much
as we enter into people's homes, I can't help but ask, "Why don't
people hearken to our words more?" The Iron Rod leads us to safety. it
leads us to have hope in something real and reliable. I know that
embracing and immersing ourselves in the teachings of the prophets and
the restored gospel is the only way to happiness. That is God's plan
for us to be happy. There is no other way. None. Zilch. Zero. The
gospel is true! I will shout it from the rooftops! I can't wait to be
a missionary for the rest of my life. How blessed am I for the gospel
in my life.

Brothers and sisters, I know in my heart, by the power of the Holy
Ghost, that these things are true. I'm eternally grateful for the
gospel and all that have helped me see the beauty of it. Thank you all
for your love and support and investment in me. I want you to know
that I am trying to choose the right.

Always,
Sister Moore

(The picture is of an investigator. His birthday was last Saturday and
we made him cupcakes. :) )

Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

I remembered.

Been a good week! Sister Jones has been sick and so we have been in a
lot sadly... so not a lot to report, other than we had a baptism!
Heather was baptized on the 14th... the same date I got baptized 4
years ago. It was SO special... At the baptism, there was a great turn
out. Heather had been wanting to invite her dad and a few friends not
of our faith and they all told her they were coming. Then, the day
before they all told her they weren't coming. We were so sad for her,
and worried. But she told us that she wants to be baptized. She wants
to press forward, and she did! So while her friends weren't able to
come, the ward came and supported her and it was beautiful. Sister
Jones gave a great talk that set the tone for the Spirit to dwell,
then our ward mission leader baptized Heather. I was so overcome with
the beauty and power of the Spirit. I felt the same on Sunday when she
was concerned. I cry all the time now! She's so great and is so happy.
We're so excited for her! Our RC Richard had been MIA for a could
weeks, but then he showed up Sunday in a white shirt and passed the
Sacrament for his first time! WOW! It melts my heart to see them
serving.

I gave my talk in Sacrament and it was alright. I was so nervous,
which I find odd because I knock on strangers' doors and expect them
to let us in, and do many other things. I don't really remember what I
said. I was asked to speak on my conversion, my mission, and what they
mean to me now. I remember sharing a song's lyrics from The Work: A
Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries. I might be too lazy to type it
up... we'll see if I have time. I got so many kind comments
afterwards... I was swarmed. I very much so felt the ward's love and
was so grateful for that. The Spirit helped me do that. I know that I
am strong when I have him.

So, here's a cool little "small world" story. Our ward mission leader
and his family had us over for dinner last night... the Williams
family. They have a son on a mission in Longbeach, CA. They were
telling us that he had a companion from KC, MO. They then showed us
pictures. I recognized their son's companion! It was Sam Bischoff, who
is from the Odessa ward. I fell in love with his parents and his
brother's family out there. They were so tickled that I made that
connection. Just little tender mercies from the Lord. I love it. And
here's a funny story: We live in the basement and study in a couple of
recliners because we don't have a desk. Sister Jones couldn't breathe
sleeping in her bed. One morning I woke up and my companion was MIA.
It was the scariest thing! She moved out to the recliner... haha.
Well, one night right before bed I suggest that we put the recliner in
our room... it was pretty funny watching us carry that recliner into
our bedroom. It barely fit through the door. It's so much more funny
if you could see what we did! So now she sleeps at the foot of my bed
in a recliner.

OH! Another miracle from Sunday. We had been seeing this LA woman,
probably in her 50's. She joined the church over 23 years ago and
hadn't really been back since. We had invited her to church on several
occasions and she said she'd see us there, but every Sunday some
excuse would show up on our phone. Well, her visiting teachers visited
her this past week. We were having dinner with the RS president when
she got a call. "Will you pick up Diann for church?" The LA woman,
Diann, came to church for the first time in over 23 years, and wept as
she partook of the Sacrament. She referred her son and his fiance to
us and is doing great. It's a miracle. The power and importance of
visiting teaching. We as missionaries can only do so much. We need the
members to get involved to see progress and retention.

So, it's been good. We are headed down to Wichita today for zone
p-day. It's hot. Another heat wave came in. I love this work. I love
having a purpose and seeing the power of God each and every day.

I was going to type up the song, but I kept my journal at the house.
Maybe next week.

Well, I love you all. I know through my own experience that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. That He has taught a gospel, and the fulness
of it is back through a modern day prophet. I know the Book of Mormon
is true. I know the Atonement is real and has the power to transform
us. Life is beautiful. Let us go forward with faith and discover what
we have waiting for us.

Always,
Sister Moore

I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK.

I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK.

It's been a crazy week! I thought I was being transferred since my
mission president told me I was... haha. But I stayed and will finish
my mission is Hutch. It's kind of disgusting to think that I'm on my
last transfer. But one cool thing is I'm still with Sister Jones. I
started my mission with her and now I will end my mission with her.
How many missionaries can say that?! And I'm really grateful to stay
in the area because we are working with 5 different groups of
investigators that all have a desire to be baptized. We are just
working on the repentance progress. 3 of the 5 have to get married...
but one set is getting baptized this Saturday, the 14th, which is
cool! Anyone remember why? I was baptized on the 14th 4 years ago!
She's so ready, too.

The 4th of July was fun. I was sick but the ward did a breakfast from
7 to 9am for the community, so we attended that for a little bit and
went over to watch the parade. We had a couple of investigators and
members in it so we went to support them. We got a referral for an 88
year old woman who wants to be baptized. Her daughter and her family
joined years ago, but she never did. Her daughter came to her after a
lesson in relief society the other day and said, "if you are given a
fair chance to accept the gospel here, and you don't, you can only
make it to the Terrestrial Kingdom". She decided that she has better
get baptized. How cool!!! She was in the hospital for the 4th, but we
visited her, sang a hymn for her, and should be seeing her this week.
We got invited to 3 different dinners... all of them were hamburgers
and hotdogs. As we would drive to appointments we would see fireworks
and I was just loving it. We studied about how America was preserved
for the Restoration of the Gospel and how this land and Constitution
were divinely created. it's amazing, because the Book of Mormon
prophesies of that. So, the 4th was good. The next couple days were
hot and we had several appointments. At one appointment I found myself
getting ill... and I tried to motion to my companion that we needed to
leave. She wraps up the lesson and we quickly say bye, and as I walk
out of the house, I threw up in their front yard. Gross, I know. I
don't think I've ever done that. They were so kind, calling that night
and the day after to see if I was okay. I had caught a virus and
unfortunately gave it to my companion, but that was kind of the
excitement for Friday! Thursday was also transfers. We didn't get
transferred but had a zone meeting so went to Wichita anyway. I
attached a picture of all the sisters at the Wichita transfer bus.

The Andertons that we are teaching are so great! They went out of town
and we were afraid that we weren't going to be able to help them
progress since we couldn't see them for a week. We finally got a hold
of them yesterday and as we sat down to share a message, Sister
Anderton says, "I'll listen to anything you have to teach me". So
cool! We just have to commit her for baptism! her husband is less than
excited about the gospel, but learns because he likes us. We are
praying and fasting for him to open his heart to the Spirit. We just
LOVE them!

We were expecting several people at Sacrament yesterday, and as the
meeting started no one showed up. It was sad. 3 came in after the
sacrament though. But we tried to check in with the ones that
committed and didn't come. We found out one of our investigators had a
miscarriage. We are heart broken for them. We are going to see them
tonight, but if you could please keep them in your prayers.

We got a new ward mission leader, and he and his family are just
awesome. They had us and the Ramey family over for dinner last night
and wow, we had a blast! They are so funny! They have a son on a
mission in Longbeach, Cali, a daughter that just got married living in
Utah, and then 3 other teenagers. They knew the Rameys from when
Sister Ramey joined the church several years ago and both families
just ended up in Hutch. Awesome! We shared the 3rd new member lesson
with them all for the Ramey boys and they are so dang smart! They
understand the gospel! I'm so in love with those little boys, haha.
The oldest just turned 12 and has been passing the sacrament. My heart
melts every time!

So, things are good. We've got a lot of good things going here. We're
trying to heal and work hard to make it the best transfer of our
missions. And it will be!! I was asked to speak in Sacrament this
Sunday about my conversion and mission and what they mean to me. I'm a
pro at this topic! I'll let you know how it goes... hopefully well.

I pray for you all every night. I know the Lord is watching over you.
I would exhort you to be faithful and come into the gospel to see of
the goodness here. I may not be a full time mission forever, but I'll
be a missionary forever. I love my Savior. He lives. Stay true!
Always,
Sister Moore

It's been a good, HOT week! We had 2 baptisms on Saturday and they
were confirmed yesterday. if anyone remembers the Ramey family... the
family with all the boys that we taught... the oldest boy passed the
Sacrament for his first time. As he left the table to go pass, I was
so filled with the love of God, and just how much love his Father in
heaven has for him. Brother Knapp was conducting and announced over
the pulpit that this could be my last Sunday with everyone and invited
me to bear my testimony. Oh man, my heart stopped. It's not set in
stone that I am leaving as I won't know until tomorrow, and now if I
show up at church on Sunday that could possibly be embarrassing... but
I got up and took the boy that was just baptized on Saturday and his
recent convert sister up with me, and we all bore our testimonies. I
had to say I might still be here.... haha. But it was good. I could
feel the love of the ward and am grateful for the 3 transfers I'd had
to serve in hutch. Maybe a 4th one will be in the cards.

The 4th of July is coming up! The ward here does a Community Breakfast
and Flag Ceremony so we'll be going to that, and then migrate to the
parade. I'm so excited for it! We have lots of appointments to teach
this week and I'm stoked to go testify!!

This is going to be short because I'm running out of time, but I'm so
grateful for the church. Yesterday we stopped by an investigator's
home and chatted with her because it had been a while. She told us she
had a dream about good vs. evil in the world today, and we ended up
talking about the war in heaven and agency. It was pretty neat. I
walked away from that just thinking how grateful I am for the church.
The church teaches us how to be in the world but not of it and how to
potentially avoid serious mistakes and how to work through adversity.
Where else can you find strength like that? Nowhere. I know the gospel
has been restored. I know Jesus is the come Messiah and that He lives
today. I'm so grateful!

Transfers are this week so we'll see where I serve my last transfer.
I'll let you all know next week. Thank you all for your support and
love. I'm determined to serve and finish strong for the remainder of
my mission. The last 1.5 years have been the most sacred experience of
my life, and I owe a part of that to you. Thank you.

Shall we not go on in so great a cause?
Always,
Sister Moore