Monday, December 30, 2013

A Christmas Miracle

Well, Christmas was wonderful!
I was so happy to talk to my family.
 
Now time for the New Year!
 
 
But first, a Christmas poem.
 
Once upon a cold Christmas in Michigan
Sister Bailey and Sister Heywood went a knockin'
Their nose were froze
And so were their toes
But still they kept a knockin'
 
People were busy getting ready to go
Drive to their families out in the snow
No one had to time
To hear a message sublime
But still they kept a knockin'
 
They talked to one guy
He might have been high
They didn't really know
He had to go
And still they kept a knockin'
 
The Sister's toes were frozen
So they headed back to the car to warm 'em
But they saw a door
And said "just one more"
So they went a knockin'
 
The family said come in
All the Sisters could do was grin
The lesson was very spiritual.
The Sisters saw a Christmas miracle
Because the Lord said "go a knockin'"
 
I love you all and hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
 
We've taught the family again since Christmas and are seeing them again this Sunday. :)
 
When God tells you to do something.
Do it.
And don't give up EVER!
 
This church is true.
Share it.
Everyone needs it.
EVERYONE!!!
Love,
Sister Heywood
 
Alma 19:16-17
 
Abish is the perfect member missionary!  She had been hoping and praying for a missionary experience and when she got the chance, she took it.
 
Pray for missionary experiences and pray to notice them when they come.
Also, pray for courage to act upon those opportunities to come.
I promise they will come and the Lord will bless you to know what to say and do.
 
Alma
 

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!!!

Well, I'm excited for this week. :)
 
CHRISTMAS!!!!
 
Go to mormonchannel.org and watch the Christmas videos :)

This Christmas time has been so special this year.
I love Jesus.
I get to teach people all about Jesus.
My life is 100% focused around Jesus.
It's pretty cool.
 
I can't wait to talk to my family.
It'll be awesome. :)

This week was full of miracles.
AND it was probably our toughest week.
Some crazy things have been happening here.
Like major trials ya'll don't need to know about.
It's been rough, but I know it's just the adversary trying to slow us down.
Too bad we can't be stopped!
Sorry Satan. You aren't getting these Sisters!
 
Our investigator Evelyn is progressing so well!
We teach her 2-3 times a week and almost every lesson we have a member with us.
We have daily contact with her too.
It's been so awesome to see her progression.
We've had two times that we planned to teach her the Word of Wisdom (she smokes like a chimney and we're tired of going home smelling like cigarettes) but it just hasn't worked out that way.
We kept forgetting the pamphlets for it.
We could teach with out them, but it's much better with.
So, we ended up teaching other things, but each time it's been perfect.
Those two times Evelyn didn't need the Word of Wisdom.
She needed those two lessons to prepare her for the Word of Wisdom.
When we taught the Word of Wisdom it was perfect.
She accepted it.
Right now she's only giving up coffee and tea, but she's doing a really good job.
After the New Year we are planning to help her give up tobacco.
It's going to be awesome.
I love her!
 
I am so grateful for the Savior.
I love this gospel.
 
Mas means more in Spanish, so let's have more Christ this Christmas.
And let's make Christmas an everyday thing. :)

I love you all!
Have a Merry Christmas!
 
Love,
Sister Heywood
 
Alma 17:2-3
The sons of Mosiah did three things. Studied the scriptures, fasted and prayed. We need to do this and go to church in order to have the Spirit with us.
 

Thursday, December 19, 2013

SNOW!!!

You are all asking for my address.
I thought I said this before, but I guess not.
Send mail to the mission home.
They will send it to me.
When I write back to you my actual address will be on the envelope.
Then you can use that address instead of the mission home address.
We are discouraged from putting our address out publicly.
 
Michigan Fact:
It snows here.
Have I told you that before?
 
Both Sister Bailey and I have never driven in snow until 2 days ago.
 
Don't worry Mom, we're both alive and careful.
 
On Friday we had the ward Christmas party.
Friday was also the day it snowed the hardest.
Remember, this was the first day that we both drove in the snow.
 
Our Bishop was worried about us, so the Elders followed us to our next appointment and stuck around for that then followed us home to make sure that we were safe.
Well, thank goodness they followed us.
We drove off the side of the road and got stuck.
Awesome.
Elder Windor got us out.
 
Haha, I thought it was super funny.
Sister Bailey, not so much.
Come what may and love it!
 
Well, we have a lot of investigators that have been taught for a long time.
None of them have been progressing though.
We are trying to see them all and teach a good solid Restoration lesson so that we can figure out where they are at.
Most of these people never had testimonies.
Well, all of them.
They just like the missionaries.
Which is ok, but if they aren't progressing then no bueno.
 
We're kind of weeding them out.
That's probably bad to say, but if we can't help them to progress, then we'll have to let them go. :(
 
We have had success so far!
We have only been able to meet with three of them so far and we have found their concerns and prayerfully found out how to best help them.
It's been a pretty cool process.
We know their concerns, we have invited them to make commitments, now they just have to keep them.
It's time for them to use their agency.
 
By the way, sometimes I hate agency and wish people didn't have it,
but then I have to remember that I chose this plan.
 
I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary!
I love it!
I have never been so blessed!
 
I am so grateful for this gospel.
I know that it is true.
 
I love you all!
 
Love,
Sister Heywood
 
PS
 
It is a small world!

The relief society president here knows my aunt and uncle Hal and Gaila because they used to watch her kids.
 
AND one of the Cunningham relatives is in my ward!!!
 
Alma 10:10-12
10 And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his aangel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath bdwelt at my house.
11 For behold, he hath ablessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.
12 And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was amore than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.
 
The people didn't listen to the message until one of their own (aka a member instead of a missionary) spoke to them.
You members who aren't set apart as missionaries have a special ability to touch people that we can't.
Find them.
Bring them to the fold.
Ask the missionaries to help.

We are here to help you with your missionary work, not the other way around.
 

Monday, December 9, 2013

Tearin' It Up in Walled Lake

So, last week was my parent's anniversary!
Happy Anniversary!
I LOVE YOU MOMMY AND DADDY!!!!
I'm so glad you're still in love!
 
Well, I love my new area!
Walled Lake is awesome!
 
Want to know something cool?
Walled Lake is where I spent my first night in the mission field.
Sister Bailey was with me then and we were companions in the MTC!
Now we're back where we started together and it's been awesome so far!
We've been able to teach some people that the missionarie have been trying to teach for 2 years and that haven't been able to be taught.
 
A less active family came to church and stayed for all three hours.
They NEVER stay all three hours.
 
The Lord is just putting things in our path.
We're working hard and being obedient and things are just happening.
It's awesome!

The ward here is great.
I love it!
 
Bishop is awesome and is super pumped about missionary work.
The whole ward is.
 
So, funny story about Bishop.
He kept saying my name wrong.
He kept calling me Sister Heyword.
He even called me Sister Heymeyer once. Haha.
In sacrament meeting he announced my name and said Heyword.
He realized he got it wrong and I corrected him.
Then he said Heyword again and the whole congregation laughed.
 
When I bore my testimony I quickly explained how to say Heywood.
Hey, like hey how ya' doin'.
And wood, like the stuff you burn.
Well, the ward got a kick out of that and they like me already.
So, that's good haha!
 
I am so grateful to be a missionary!
 
I know that this church is true.
I know it with all my heart.
If you're not sure, pray about it.
Study it out.
Ask God.
He WILL answer you.
Promise.
 
I love you all!
 
Love,
Sister Heywood
 
Alma 8:30-32
30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
31 And they had apower given unto them, insomuch that they could not be confined in dungeons; neither was it possible that any man could slay them; nevertheless they did not exercise their bpower until they were bound in bands and cast into prison. Now, this was done that the Lord might show forth his power in them.
32 And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them.
 
The Lord protects us when we defend a righteous cause.
NO ONE will stop His work from being finished.
The Lord's church WILL cover the earth.
 
Alma 10:http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/alma/10

Monday, December 2, 2013

It's Been Real Farmington Hills

Michigan Fact:
It's cold.
Have I told you that before?
 
Shout out to Rachel Wilson for getting her call!
I'm proud of you sista!
 
Well guess what.
I'm getting transferred.
Tomorrow I tell Farmington Hills goodbye and go somewhere new.
I have to leave Sister Taylor and get a new companion.
Where?
Where the Lord needs me?
Who with?
Who the Lord chooses.

I'm sad to leave Farmington Hills.
I love this place to death, but I knew I would have to leave some time.
We've got 10 investigators and things are just getting started!
The work is picking up a lot and I'm leaving.
Though I'm sad, I'm excited for change.
It'll be good! I know it!
 
Time flies out on a mission.
I swear I just got to the MTC yesterday, but that was 6 months ago.
Nuts!
 
I have grown a lot here in Farmington Hills.
When I was in my first area I would make my companion knock on the doors and ring the doorbells.
Now I get up there and knock.
I knock loud and proud, and sometimes I do so 2 or 3 times.
 
I'm getting better at leaving lessons up to the Lord.

My studies are better.
I'm actually learning things instead of reading things.
I'm studying and pondering instead of going through the motions.
 
I keep a study journal now organized by topics.
What?
That's not me.
Well, it wasn't.
Now it is. :)

I feel more like the missionary I knew I could be.
I feel more like the missionary the Lord needs me to be.
 
Ok, so what happened this week?
Thanksgiving did. :)
We prepared a super cool Thanksgiving message with scriptures and a song.
We walked door to door with the ukulele and looking super cute.
 
Everyone let us in!
Just kidding.
I wish everyone let us in.
One person did.

Some people said yes at first and when we said "yah it'll be a song and a scripture," they said "oh actually, we're busy."
Right.
 
Monday night we went to a non-denominational Thanksgiving service for Farmington Hills.
It was awesome!
Different church leaders spoke and we sang songs and visited.
It was awesome!
Everyone thought we were nuns and asked what order we're in.
I didn't think I looked like a nun.
Oh well.
 
We also had a great Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday with a ton of families at the church.
It was awesome!
 
We found 4 investigators this week.
We're pretty stoked about them.
They're awesome!
 
Well, in the heart of Thanksgiving, watch this video. :)
 
I want to share an experience I had with thanking God.
A few days ago I woke up.
I was really troubled by something totally stupid.
I was crying when Sister Taylor couldn't see my face and holding back tears when she could.
I couldn't control my emotions.
I couldn't get these worries out of my head.
I went to the stress books we've been given and evaluated my stress.
I realized I was having a stress emergency and I wasn't responding well to it at all.
One of the suggestions to deal with such situations was to kneel down and thank God for 5 specific things.
I thought "uh that's not even related to my problem. That won't help me."
Well, I did it any way.
When I was done praying, my burden was completely gone.
I wasn't freaking out.
My worries left me.
It was a miracle.
 
In Sunday School yesterday we learned that people who thank God often and are grateful for everything are healthier physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, so BE GRATEFUL!!!
I am grateful for this gospel. I know it's true.
I'm grateful for my family and I know that we will be together for ever.
I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know that it is true.
I am grateful for Joseph Smith and I know that he is a prophet of God and that he restored Christ's church.
 
I love you all!

Love,
Sister Heywood
 
Alma 5:37-38
37 O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are apuffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone bastray, as csheep having no dshepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath ecalled after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not fhearken unto his voice! 38 Behold, I say unto you, that the good ashepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not bhearken unto the voice of the cgood shepherd, to the dname by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd.
 
God is calling for you. His hands are outstretched to you. He LOVES you.
He's calling to everyone, because He loves EVERYONE