Final Week

Dearest Loved Ones,

I say this every time, but there are no words to express what I feel. I am overwhelmed by the miracles I've witnessed on my mission.

I'm SO GRATEFUL for my sweet companions, my dear mission president, the areas I was in, my online area, my assignment at the Visitors Center, study time, the cutest Hispanics EVER, and most importantly a clearer understanding of what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. 

In the words of the prophets:

"And  commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God" (2 Nephi 9:23)

"Preach unto them repentance, and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ; teach them to humble themselves and to be meek and lowly in heart; teach them to withstand every temptation of the devil, with their faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Teach them to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls" (Alma 37:33-34).

"And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be" (3 Nephi 5:26).

"And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

"Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day" (3 Nephi 27:19-20).

"And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life" (2 Nephi 31:19-20).

Is that not what we all want? 

I testify that this is the work of the Lord. I love Him and I know that He lives. This is Christ's church and it was restored by the prophet Joseph Smith. I am so grateful for the faith of that 14-year-old boy. President Nelson is the Lord's mouthpiece on the earth today. God lives. He is real and oh so aware of us. I know that He wants us to return to live with Him. I bear humble testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

-Hermana Hayes 

Past & Future

Dear All,

I forgot to mention about a month ago that we got new Visitors' Center directors! We will miss the Ferrin's SO much but already ADORE Elder and Sister Chappell! 

Elder and Sister Chappell are just about the HAPPIEST PEOPLE you could ever find upon the face of the earth. They are from Utah and this is their first mission together and they are absolutely thrilled about doing their very best. 

In a meeting we were in together, Elder Chappell asked the question, "Which do you spend more time thinking about: the past or the future?" As I sat and thought about it, I realized that the majority of my thoughts are often about anything but the present. Haha! After anything I do, I tend to ask myself what I could have done better, or if there was anything that I could have changed to get a different result. Then I start to set goals, make plans, and think about everything I am going to do to be better in the future, but soon after find myself overwhelmed and discouraged because I made the same mistake for the 100th time. Learning from our past is important; dwelling on the past is destructive. Looking forward to the future with faith is encouraging; worrying about the future is exhausting. Elder Chappell shared that, on average, those who focus their thoughts neither on the past nor the future are the happiest!

I read a comforting scripture in the Book of Mormon this week that has to do with this similar idea: "For behold, I say unto you there be many things to come; and behold, there is one thing which is of more importance than they all—for behold, the time is not far distant that the Redeemer liveth and cometh among his people" (Alma 7:7).

It struck me at that moment that no matter what we may be worried about, thinking of, going through, or about to go through... the most important thing is that Jesus Christ came--and He will come again. 

As we give ourselves credit for what we do well and ask God for help to overcome our weaknesses in humble prayer, He will strengthen us. 

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed" (D&C 123:17).

Cheerfully do all you can, Brothers and Sisters!!! The Lord is pleased when you just have the faith to try.  

Love you!!! 

Hermana Hayes 

Please enjoy some pictures of our ward correlation, Marvin at church, a cute hermana in our ward that reminds me of my grandma and even has her same name (Teresa!), a tour at the Visitors' Center, and hot chocolate from Marvin. 

It's Getting Close...

Dearest Friends and Family,

That's right... It's getting close...

... to GENERAL CONFERENCE!

I am so excited. In just a few weeks, we will have the opportunity to listen to our dear prophet and others about what the Lord wants us each to know RIGHT NOW. I know that they receive revelation from God and relay that information to us.

A few weeks ago, the first presidency called President Johnson and told him that Sister Ranieri (one of the Sisters from the Washington DC Visitors Center) was being called to the ROME, ITALY Visitors' Center to train the new sisters and help as they prepare for the dedication of the new temple and Rome Visitors Center. She is originally from Italy and will most likely finish her mission there. What a DIVINE assignment!

We will miss her, but it's always so exciting to see this great work spread to every part of the world.

One of the highlights from this week was definitely visiting sweet Hermano Marco. He was baptized just a few months ago at the age of 79 and he is the CUTEST man ever. He is incredibly thankful for everything he has and never fails to give the credit to God for all of his blessings.

I honestly don't have words to express anything at this point, but really the only important thing I need to say is that God lives, He loves us, and He has shown us the way through prophets in every age for us to gain eternal happiness and know what we must do to return to live with Him! Hermano Marco is just one example of millions who have been transformed from a state of sin and sadness to happiness and light. :)

I love you all so much!!!! 

This Week's Tender Mercies

Dear Brothers and Sisters 

I have had another great week. SO MANY tender mercies that the Lord somehow sees fit to grant me. :') The snow is always a tender mercy for me because it feels like Idahome. I was SO happy because we were asked to help shovel the church side walks!! I loved it.

I also met the cutest Kenyan old man who requested a visit from the missionaries online and he was SO EXCITED to go to church this week. He works the night shift of every day of the week from 7 pm to 8 am, but that wouldn't stop him from doing to church :') oh my.

THEN I went on exchanges with Sister Chao in Chevy Chase again!! It felt like I had never left the area and that we had never stopped being companions. Sister Chao is the sweetest most amazing person ever. We were able to talk to everyone we saw and met a man who spoke English, Mandarin, Hebrew, Spanish, and Italian. So talented! We testified of the Book of Mormon and gave him a download that he could read it in any language he wanted. Although he wasn't interested in learning more, we testified with all our heart he was a son of God and that he would find answers to any question in the world in that sacred book. No effort is wasted! 

After exchanging back, Sister Martell and I had a lesson with Arnold. We shared the Restoration and finished with a 25-minute video in the Visitors' Center. The first thing he said when it finished was, "That was way too short." Haha!! He was so impressed by Joseph Smith's experience and without us even asking said, "I'm going to read the Book of Mormon every day. I promise that." ️️️ SO CUTE. 

Another day we were planning and for the third day in a row, we just kept feeling like we should go back to a particular road. We were able to find a few Spanish-speakers, but we weren't finding people to teach. We didn't know why, but we felt like we just had to keep going back. On the 3rd day, we knocked into a member whose records hadn't updated and so we didn't even know she lived there! THREE DAYS before we got there she had talked with the other missionaries in our ward to see who was assigned to her area so that they could visit her and her husband. I am SO GRATEFUL once again for the sweet guidance of the Spirit! At times we may not know why He is leading us in a certain direction, but we just have to trust the Lord's ways are higher than our own. 

Another tender mercy was when I had the prompting the message one of the people I worked with who was baptized in Perú. I hadn't spoken to her in about two months, but when I followed up with her she said, "Sofia! So good to hear from you. Everything is going great. I got my patriarchal blessing TODAY!" I couldn't believe it! She was so happy and can't wait to get it in physical form.

Last but not least, Nora (a recent convert from one year ago who is 79 who is the CUTEST thing) received her endowment last week :')))) We sat behind her at church and I congratulated her and gave her a big hug and she raised her trembling little arms to the sky and said, "Mi Padre Celestial está cerquita de mi!"

...That one destroyed me. ️️️ I just couldn't stop staring at her and thinking about how proud Heavenly Father must be of her. Heaven is hers as she just endures!

I love being a missionary for the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is the greatest blessing and privilege.

Love you all! 

Have the greatest week!

Hermana Hayes 

Let It Snow!

Dear All, 

We had a GREAT week! There was a miracle to every snowflake, but I'll just share one. ️

Arnold came to church this week for the first time. He said it was different from any church he had ever gone to before and that he couldn't quite describe what he felt. I know that the spirit is a feeling that is personal to everyone and that God truly knows how to touch us! 

I want to bear testimony of third member of the Godhead. The holy ghost is real! He touches our heart and helps us recieve answers to our prayers. I'm grateful for subtle promptings and warm hands that guide us every day. 

We can invite the spirit more into our lives as we study the scriptures and feast upon the words of Christ! 

"10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good."

As we listen to the spirit and invite Him more into our lived through personal scripture study, we will be guided exactly to where we need to be. In our case, it was the front door of Arnold's house. 

Love you all!! 

Hermana Hayes

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🎉2019🎉

Dear ALL!

I hope you had the happiest holidays celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. I can't believe 2018 has come to a close. 

I got thinking that anytime anyone mentions anything that happened in 2018, I'll only have memories from my mission. What a sacred, exciting, glorious year it has been. I've never felt more emotions in my entire life than in the last year. It was without a doubt the best year of my life so far. 

I'm looking forward to 2019 and how many more blessings the restored gospel of Jesus Christ will bring to my life and the lives of those around me. I am SO EXCITED to do "Come, Follow Me" because I know it is a manual inspired (and basically written) by God. I'm so grateful for modern-day revelation! 

And most of all I am eternally grateful for my older brother Jesus Christ who was with me in 2018 and in years past and who will be with me in 2019 and every year after that! 

In 3 Nephi 18:35 He says, "And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see..." 

It is a commandment to feel and to see the Atonement of Jesus Christ work in our lives! My hope and prayer is that despite all the emotions and feelings we may have, that we may make the time to feel the prints of the wounds in the Savior's hands and feet. He loves us!

That's my simple testimony, everyone!  I'm honored to be a missionary and carry His name everywhere I go. 

I also am SO SAD that I didn't even get a picture of my favorite tree ever at the Visitors' Center. It was covered in pure red lights and it was brighter than any of the rest. All of the lights on the tree made me think of Jesus Christ of course, but I liked to call the red one "The Atonement Tree." I didn't just think of Christ's life when I saw it, but I thought of what He did for me in the garden of Gethsemane. I know it's only because of Him that I can return to live with God and my familia forever! And I share it in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Hermana Hayes

1. Connie and Kevin work at the Visitors' Center and they are two of my favorite people in the world. 

2. I was SO happy to see Hermana Alvarado and her family from the Glenmont ward!

3. Blanca wanted us to have a cute door for Christmas. Hahaha.

4 and 5. Celebrating Hermana Martell's birthday with empanadas and tres leches from the yummiest panadería by where we live. 

6. Sister Rosas and Sister Blandon with cute Fibi. 

7. Francisco, one of the people Sister Martell and I taught in Glenmont came to the Visitors' Center and brought us both king-sized blankets. Haha!