Welcome Home Elder Hess!

 

Words cannot even express the excitement we are all feeling at this very moment.  Decorations are up and we are ready for Elder Hess to come home!

 

 

After two years....nothing is better than a hug from Mom!

 

Well Done Son!

 

1st time at the Logan Temple

 

Saying Goodbye to the Drapers

 

See you Wednesday!

Hey Everyone!! 

Well this is it! This last week has been one of the hardest! I feel like I'm leaving my home! All my family in California! It's definitely not easy, but I'm excited to be back home with my family and friends.

I have so much going through my head right now that it's completely crazy! I've learned so much on my mission and I've grown so much on my mission that it's changed my life for the better! I'm lucky to have the opportunity to go home and live those principles that I've learned out here!

Thanks again for all the love and support over the past 2 years and I'll see you on Wednesday!

Love you!!! 

Elder Hess

Scripture!

Matthew 25:21

21 His Lord said until him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord.

 

Farewell Dinner!

Best Friends Forever!  Elder Hancock/Elder Hess/Elder McGary

Elder Younger/Elder Hess

Happy Canada Day!

Home Stretch!

Hey Everyone!

So this week was really good! It went by pretty quick! I'd say one of the fastest for sure! 

It started out with my Departing interview with President on Wednesday and that was just something else! It really hit me hard that it's like really happening like I'm going home so it was just crazy! We talked a lot about the future and how to stay active and involved and he shared experiences in his own life that were just crazy mainly about how his family has gone less active and came back and stuff like that! Of course we talked a lot about dating and marriage! Won't get too much into that but he made it loud and clear as to how a relationship should be and how you should treat your girlfriend and wife like the queen of heaven she's destine to be! So it was a pretty awesome experience!

As for like all the lessons and potentials we had and the people we were supposed to teach...they all bailed on us due to like summer and stuff! It was pretty lame!! Summer is the worst!

We were able to get in with the Hardin family which was super good! They're a part member family the wife is a member the husband and kids aint! So it was good to teach them! The dad has a pretty hard heart so we teach them without him there so that was good!

This letter is very lame this week I apologize! I'm sure my last one next week will be a little better! I have no idea but I'm excited to see you all next week! I can't believe it's already here it's so crazy how fast it went by! Thanks again for everything! Love you guys!

Scripture

Moroni 9:25

My son, be faithful in Christ; and may not the things which I have written grieve thee, to weigh thee down unto death; but may Christ lift thee up, and may his sufferings and death, and the showing his body unto our fathers, and his mercy and long-suffering, and the hope of his glory and of eternal life, rest in your mind forever.

Elder Hess

Hittin it hard!

Hey everyone!

So this week was a good week for sure! it was super busy we were running around everywhere and it was just fun!

so far the highlight of the week was being able to finally teach jenny! It's been a couple weeks and she fell off the map but she's back and going strong! Her main concern is her husband not letting her go to church even though she knows it's true and wants to go she just couldn't come up with the courage... so we showed her the talk by Elder Holland entitled "Lord I believe".  It was perfect for her! There was such a good spirit in the room that just gave her hope and courage to stand up for what she believes and that's this church.  Fortunately we were able to set her baptismal date for July 26th! It's such a blessing to be able to teach someone and see the change of heart that they go through and to be able to help them out along the way! It's pretty sick! She finally came back to church that next Sunday on Father's Day!!! and it was perfect timing cause the lesson was on baptism! haha

So Tracting is a huge part of our game lately and we have been having success like crazy!! Just from Tracting alone we have found the Hawley family! Diane! (who we found this week) David! Kristi and her family! Evelyn and her husband! Kim and her family! (our bishops neighbor)!! All I know is the Avendale ward is gonna be baptizing like crazy within the next couple months and that feels soo good!!! I loved my time in this ward it's such a great ward and I'm definitely blessed to be able to keep going hard for the next two weeks!! I won't be a missionary when they get baptized but I will for sure be making some road trips!!!

This letter is a little short but that's all I got today! I gotta go get swell in the gym now!! haha love you guys and thanks again!

Elder Hess

Scripture!

                 
·         Ephesians 1:3

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Playing some ball!

Hey everyone!

So this week was a really good week! We accomplished a lot and had some fun doing it!

On Thursday was out Zone Conference! It was really good. It was really kinda focused on us and how the mission needs to be taken more seriously.  I think president wanted to emphasize that our mission is a hard working mission more then just a Cali vacation.  We are all here for a reason and we need to keep our mind on that reason! So it was good I enjoyed it a lot!  

The best part of the week was on Friday where we had dinner with Carrie Hawley and her family! It was pretty awesome! They love the church and want to start being apart of it! The son just wants to be a member now! It was all around just sweet! We answered so many questions and after showed them the "because he lives" video and they love that as well so it was just good!

Sorry this is so short! That was about the best part of the week! haha I'm gonna go hit the gym and get swollen!! haha :)

Thanks for everything and I'll see ya soon enough!

Elder Hess

Scripture

“Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.”

I got to help serve lunch today at a big conference for half of the mission.  I was able to see 7 of the awesome missionaries that have served in my ward.  I love these amazing young men and their examples.  At the end of lunch all of the missionaries sang "Called to Serve" and I might have cried.  Such a neat experience......Shelly Smith

Zone Conference.....can you find me?

Hey Everyone!!!

It’s crazy how fast these weeks are going!! I’m pretty sure I’ve never been so stressed out in my whole life!! I have so much to do with so little time!!

This last week was a very good week!  It’s definitely been one of the best ones I’ve had in a while!  Elder Terry and I have ben tracting out our area like crazy and really good things are coming from it!  We were tracting down this street in our area where a couple members live and we knocked on the door of a lady by the name of Kristen.  She seems very interested!  She has seen “Meet the Mormons” and that sparked her interest so we set up a lesson for this coming Thursday!  The funny thing was we told her we wanted to bring her neighbor whose a member and she was like “well they might not like me cause I backed into their car one time”  ha ha it was pretty hilarious!  So we’re going to take the other member instead!

So we also had another pretty cool miracle which led to another investigator and it all came just cause we showed diligence!  So we taught our member just a short lesson last night cause we had to be in by nine to do numbers and we left the house at about 8:50 and our contacting goal is 70 a week and we were at 68.  So we decided to go contact a couple of people before we go home!  So the first lady we talked to her name is Evelyn.  We asked to teach her about Jesus Christ and his gospel and she said it was late but to stop by her house next week and teach me so that was pretty sick.  We ended up getting our goal!

So this transfer so far the first 2 weeks we have picked up 3 investigators with 1 more coming this week cause we’re having dinner at Carry Hawleys house…the one Tanefski and I tracted into.

So here is the crazy part of the week!  There is a stalker in our mission who is stalking a sister that taught her.  It’s so bad that she had to change her last name and move to the furthest area from him.  Well in WC yesterday the bishop was talking about it and told us to keep an eye out and all that good stuff and right when church started guess who walked in?  The stalker and he sat right next to us!!  It was nuts me and Elder Terry started call the mission presidency and the bishop got Brother Crozier on him (the spec ops marine).  It was just crazy but it was pretty comforting knowing that he was caught and that the sister will be ok but is just crazy like this guy was hacking her social media, her bank account, everything just to find her!  It’s all good!  There’s a restraining order and everything so she will be all good!

That was pretty much my week!  Love you all and see ya soon!

Elder Hess

Scripture!

Doctrine & Covenants 112:11

I know they heart, and have heard they prayers concerning they brethren.  Be not partial towards them in love above many others, but let thy love be for them as for thyself; and let thy love abound unto all men, and unto all who love my name.

Soooo Good!

Hey everyone!

So this week went by crazy fast which is unusual cause week one is always the slowest!

It started off on Monday with the assists calling us and telling us that we were going to be moving apartments and getting a full time car! So that was nice of them giving us a full time car when we live 3 miles out of our area! Ha we live with the zone leaders now and they're pretty cool so it's fun!

Tuesday was the big Transfer day! I kind of knew who I was getting as my companion before the meeting so it was nice to know ahead of time so I didn't have to worry about who I was getting haha. His name is Elder Terry! He is from British Columbia just outside of Vancouver in a town called Langley! He's pretty chill! He loves hockey and will argue about it for hours it's pretty hilarious.

The rest of the week we stopped by members Re-introducing Elder Terry cause he previously served in this ward! So they were pretty excited to see him again! We were able to stop by the Terry family a part member less active who is conveniently related to Elder Terry so we picked them up as investigators so that was pretty good!

The lady Elder Tanefski and I tracted into about 2 weeks ago came to the Coventant Hills Auction on Saturday so that was pretty sweet.  Tanefski talked to her and she said she wants to have all 5 of us come over for dinner and she is gonna have Questions ready for us when we get there so we're stoked for that! When we tracted into her she said she doesn't wanna talk religion with us and now she does so that's a huge miracle!

And as for Jenny...well she's being Jenny! I don't really know what to say about her she's kinda dropping off the map again and it's no thanks to her husband so it's just a challenging situation all around but she will do it eventually!

Other than that things are going good! Starting to speed up which is the worst but hey! all great things come to an end sooner or later but like my mother says every week... love it and embrace every minute of it!!

Love you guys!

Elder Hess!!

Scripture

“But the Lord knoweth all things from the beginning; wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men; for behold, he hath all power unto the fulfilling of all his words. And thus it is. Amen.”
—1 Nephi 9:6

Saying "Goodbye" to Elder Bufton at the airport on May 27, 2015

This is it!

Hey Everyone!

This week was a pretty good week! It was the last week of the transfer so of course everyone is wondering if they were staying or going! It was really nice to know that I wasn't going to go anywhere! So I'll be finishing up in Avendale but get a new companion tonight!

So this week was crazy when it came to stuff we had going on!

On Tuesday we go to district meeting and our investigator sends us a text and she's like so I've been praying for the 30th for my baptism and the number 26 keeps popping up so I think that's the day!! So that was pretty cool! She's now praying about which month! So hopefully it's next month!

Thursday was the crazy day cause it was Elder Bufton's departing dinner so it was kind of weird just sitting with him and like talking about the mission and how fast it goes by! He's helped me a ton! Gave me some good advise for my last transfer that I'm now in! So it was a good night! Jenny also went and did temple tours that night with my comp and another elder so that was a good experience for them!

So Saturday was kinda a depressing day! I went with Elder Bufton back to MV1 and said our goodbyes before we both go home and it was just like emotional! Like I grew to love that ward a lot it was my family ward and to say goodbye was pretty hard! But its comforting to know I'm only 12 hours away from here! haha

So yesterday was Memorial Day and we have a member who's name is John Crozier who is a special ops like recon marine! Does crazy stuff that he's not allowed to tell anyone not even his wife! So this guy is crazy! So we find out he's doing a Marine workout called the thrasher which included like 205 deadlift as many times as we can.. tire flips.. 132 lbs. kettle bell walks of 100 yards and about 18 different work outs all in a circuit! So we decided to ask if we can come and he says yes but make sure to drink a "can of man" haha it was crazy! I thought we were only going around once and he said at the end of the first round that we're going again! So it was just nuts it was so intense!! After the work out we decided to go to gold's gym and work our some more! I was actually pretty impressed with myself being able to bench 200 after the work out with Brother Crozier! but today I'm regretting it now and probably will for about a week! haha but it was fun!

Sorry this letter is all over the place and don't make sense haha!

Love you all!

Elder Hess (6 weeks!!)

Scripture!

1 Corinthians 10:13

 13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Farewell Elder Bufton

Dinner at President Orgill's home.  Farewell dinner for Elders McCullough, Morgan, Robles, Bufton, Toombs, Redhouse, Jensen, and Schwallier.

Pictures taken after district meeting

 

Elder Tanefski & Elder Hess

Hey Everyone!

To start off I want to give my Cousin Mitchell and his Wife Amanda a huge shout out!!! Congrats on the Sealing!! That's super sick!!!

This week has been a solid week! There was a lot of cool things that when down.  We also got new ideas to do the work and hopefully see more success which means.... Tracting is back!!

On Wednesday of this week we were able to meet with Jenny which went really well! We first started off by showing her the Conference talk by President Uchtdorf entitled "Receiving a testimony of light and truth" or something like that and it went better then expected! After the talk we asked her what she liked about it what stood out to her stuff like that and her response was " well I haven't been reading... and I think my prayers aren't as effective as they could be. I feel like I'm just asking for a date and one is going to just pop into my head but that's not working!" So right there I'm just thinking in my head  that was the most perfect thing she could have said! So after she got done talking I told her that we were thinking the same thing and that we to have been praying and we feel like the 30th of this month is your time to shine and she was like ya I'm going to start praying for that date and hopefully get the answer to get baptized then!! So that was super cool! We are taking her to the temple on Wednesday so she can do a tour that the sisters are in charge of!!

Then on Thursday we had our ZTM which was really good! We had a guest speaker who is the institute director! His name is Russ Griner!! He's a scriptorian... like the smartest guy I've ever met! He came and gave us a training on the survey I was talking about last week! So now Tracting is back!! We're going to be knocking a ton of doors this next transfer so I'm excited for that!! It's going to be crazy!

So on Saturday I was able to go on a split with Elder Tanefski in the Covenant Hills ward for his dinner appointment which was a wedding reception! This 4 day old RM came up to us and was like telling us all about how successful he was in Brazil and how there was visa waiters that served in the Irvine mission that came to his mission and how they were lazy and not good elders and how his mission was like the military and how in state missions are so much easier than out-of-state missions and all this and Elder Tanefski got super mad and gave the kid a handshake and probably broke the kids hand!! It was hilarious!! It was a good night though that's for sure!!

I can't thank each of you enough for everything you do for me!! I really am grateful for the roll you play in my life!! Love you guys!

Elder Hess (7 Weeks!!)

Scripture!

Doctrine and Covenants 75:19

19 And in whatsoever house ye enter, and they receive you, leave your blessing upon that house.

"Your missionary is serving in my ward and we saw him and his comp at a wedding reception last night!  Thought I'd send you a pic, they are doing great".....Teri Draper

Roller Coaster

Hey Everyone!!

So this week was pretty rough!! We had a series of unfortunate events which just did the snowball effect one after the other ha looking back it's pretty hilarious but it's whatever!

It all started with Jenny getting sick!! Which is never good for anyone!! She got hit pretty hard and it put her out for a couple days so we weren't able to meet with her! But she's feeling better now so we should be able to meet with her this week!

On Tuesday  we had district meeting which was good! Then we went out to lunch with the district! then after is when it all went down hill! So we call our car guy Elder Ferrari (no joke) and tell him we need to take in the car so he approves it so we go home to change out of our suits to take it to pep boys... so we turn the car off, go change come back to the car to head out and the car don't start!!  So we all sat in the car waiting for other Elders to come jump us... so we see the Elders coming and we all get out of the car and shut the door... the doors all lock with the keys inside!! So we called a locksmith like we were told and right when they're about to show up Sister Ferrari comes rolling in with the spare keys haha so we finally got it jumped but it was too late to take it in to pep boys so we planned on taking it in Thursday.

So Wednesday it continues! The day started out good till about 2:30 when I had to get a small procedure done on my foot! Which sucked pretty bad and it wouldn't stop bleeding so that put me out the rest of the day!! On top of that I got strep throat! So it was just bad news!! I was able to study a lot though which was good!!

Then Thursday we take the car to pep boys at 10 am and didn't leave till 3:30 pm (don't go to pep boys) haha they take care of the car and come out and tell us it needs a new battery and to take it in to Chevy cause its under warranty!

So Friday we take the car into the Chevy dealership and they say its gonna take till Monday afternoon! Which was ok! I'm fine with walking just wasn't the greatest with my foot but it was good!

So we call the Dealership this morning and they tell us the car was ready on Friday haha LAME!!:)

But none of that really mattered cause Sunday made everything so much better!! It was so good to talk to my family for a little while!! As crazy as it sounds... I actually miss them!! It was good to see Kellen being his annoying self!:), Karlee being the queen as usual! Mommas lookin good though!! and it was a little weird to see my dad in the kitchen instead of on the couch?? haha and the best part was it wasn't as trunky as I thought haha!! I love my family!! :)

Things are going way too good here in Cali!!

Love you all and thanks for everything!

Elder Hess (8 weeks!!)

Scripture!

D&C 121 7-8

 7 My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

 8 And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

Happy Mother's Day!

Last Skype....59 Days left!

A day spent at Newport Beach Temple

Back on the course!

Hey Everyone!

Just got back from the Golf course with Elder Bufton before he goes home in a couple weeks!! Along with Elder Mcgary and Hancock!! There's really nothing more relaxing then playing 18 holes in beautiful California on a p-day with your best friends!!

This week was a good week though we were able to go to the temple on Tuesday which is always a blessing!!! We were able to meet with Jenny! We committed her to pray about a date before our meeting! So she said she has been praying but with no answer so it was a little frustrating! Not just cause she knows it's true but she has been reading this book about God that has like messages of the day.   So the message of the day for the morning we were meeting with her was to delay! I was like are you kidding me!! So frustrating!! But it's all good! We're gonna go with a different route and set the date for her and tell her to pray about that date specifically!! Cause we all know that when you ask God specific questions you get specific answers... right?? hahaha

That was like the big things this week! I also got to go on exchanges with Elder Tanefski! that was really fun we went to his area! We were able to do something pretty cool! So the church is coming out with like ways to get us in the door when we are tracting so Tanefski and I were doing the trial run of a survey that they came out with... the questions are like... Is a strong close knit family important to you? Should churches make better programs for children and youth? Do you believe in God? Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Do you think the bible is the Word of God or just a history book? Would you read another set of scripts if it testified of Jesus Christ.... just questions like that! So we tracted  out like half of his area and did this survey it was lots of fun! Too bad not a whole lot of people were home! But it's all good!  Then later that night we went to a member's house who is a 3rd degree black belt or something like that and we did some tae kwon do... I learned some stuff so you don't want to mess with me now ha-ha JOKES!! It was fun he's a really cool guy he's a convert of about 5 years and just a solid member it was good to get to know him!

So it was a pretty good week!! haha hope all is well with everyone!! Happy Mother's Day this week!! Can't wait to talk to my Madre that's for sure!!

Thought!

“Faith in God includes Faith in God's timing.”
― Neal A. Maxwell

Love you all!! Elder Hess ( 9 weeks!!)

Hey Everyone!!

So this week was a pretty good week! We had some pretty cool things go down and had some fun as well ;)

On Tuesday I was able to go on exchanges with Elder Davis in the Covenant Hills ward! That was pretty fun! Not a whole lot happened but it was good.  Elder Davis is a pretty quiet kid!

So on Wednesday we were able to meet with out investigator Jenny! She is awesome -  we had a lesson at the Bullock's home and showed her the conference talk by L Whitney Clayton! She has been feeling a little lost this week and that talk went along perfectly with what she was going through!! The best part about that talk was when she saw Elder Clayton she got super excited and told us she knew him and went to school with his kids!! and that the Clayton Family is the ones who inspired her to be Mormon! So it was pretty sick! We weren't able to set a date with her cause she is trying to reconcile with her husband so she said she was gonna pray about a date and hopefully we will set one on Thursday!

Then Saturday was the fun part of the week!! We went to a member in the wards birthday party cause she love us only bad part was it was raining all day! So that was fun! Then we had to help out setting up for our ward auction/ carnival!! That was pretty fun! We had like the ward band perform some songs like Taylor Swift and Magic and Journey haha it was crazy!! The auction was good as well!! Very successful... the bishop dropped $1500 on a trip to Hawaii for his son's last vacation before his mission to Argentina in August!

So this week was a good week! Sorry again for another short email haha I'm not very good at writing! But what can ya do? It happens!

Scripture!

D&C 4:2

 2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.

Love you all!!

Elder Hess (10 weeks!!)

3 Peat

Hey everyone!!

So I'm back in Mission Viejo for a 3rd time!! Which will accumulate to a year of my mission!! I think it's safe so say Mission Viejo is my home away from home!! I'm serving in the Avendale ward in Ladera Ranch!! It's a pretty wealthy area in Mission Viejo!! I'm serving with Elder Swejkoski... he also came out with me! So all but 4 of my comps on the mission was in the MTC with me! ha-ha guess that they can't trust me with anyone else ha-ha!!

This week was pretty good!! I got back to Mission Viejo on Tuesday with Swej and have been trying to meet as much of the ward as possible all week!

So we have one investigator named Jenny! She is the daughter of Susan Ramano! A member in the Northwood ward where I served previously! So it's cool to be able to teach a previous members daughter! She is 35 with a little girl!! She's going through some things before she wants to get baptized but she should be getting baptized in about a month or so if not sooner! So we're super excited for that!

Saturday me and my boy Hancock went and took the ACT at Tesoro High School! haha it was pretty hilarious! There were so many members that we knew and the non members would come up to us and ask if we were students dressing up as missionaries.  It was pretty great! Probably got a 36 but it's whatever haha JOKES!!

Sorry for the short letter not really much to talk about this week! Hope all is good with everyone!!

Scripture!

MOSIAH 5:2

 2 And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.

Love you all!

Elder Hess

Elder Hess is back serving in Mission Viejo.  New companion...Elder Swejkoski.

Saying goodbye to Sister Veneble.

12 Weeks....New Area!

Hey Everyone! 

So this week was a pretty good week! It went by pretty quick and there's not a whole lot to really talk about so this letter will probably be pretty short!

So this week was transfer call week and me thinking I'm staying was trying to clean up the area book as much as possible so the new guy can come in and pick up the area quick! Come to find out that I'm getting transferred as well which is a surprise to me cause I thought I'd be staying here the rest of my mission but I'm headed out! 

It's been an adventure serving in this ward for sure! There's been a ton of ups and downs and because of that I was able to grow a ton so it's defiantly been a blessing! I'm really gonna miss Sister Venable the less active we have been teaching! Luckily we're gonna be seeing her tonight for dinner so that's gonna be awesome! There's a lot of cool members that I'm gonna miss! The Mendenhall's are definately my favorite ones of them all! We were able to go to their house for dinner! We played "Are you smarter then a fifth grader." How am I supposed to get a good ACT score when I aint even smarter then a fifth grader? haha it's whatever haha but it was fun!

On Saturday it was my boy Hancock's birthday! We got him some shoes that he's been wanting for a while! It was cool to see his face when he opened them haha! We took him to Cafe Rio as well! So it was a good day!

Then on Sunday we gotta go to Nick's baptism! That was pretty cool! There were so many people there!! He was the kid I got the chance to interview!! He is so solid it was a great baptism!

Other then that! That's about it! Pretty lame email!! Sorry about that!! 

Scripture! 

1 John 4:18

18 there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
·        

Elder Hess 

Hey everyone!

So this week was crazy fast!! I guess that's what happens when half your week you're on exchanges!! 

So on Tuesday I was able to go on exchanges with one of our ZLs Elder Donohue in the Santa Margarita ward! That was a really good exchange! They have a kid who is getting ready to be baptized this Sunday which is pretty sick! I was able to give him the baptismal interview and talk to him about his conversion and what not! Pretty funny cause it started out with how a Mormon girl told him she would go on a date with him if he read the Book of Mormon! So he read it and couldn't put it down the spirit was just way too strong! Needless to say he has read it 5 times and still hasn't  gotten that date!! Poor kid!! After that we went over to Kurt Webb's house!! Which was pretty cool! We have a lot of mutual friends (mainly the Zundel's) but it was cool to talk Tremonton with him cause no one here understands heaven when they hear about it! haha 

So that night I was able to go on another exchange with a member in my district Elder Merrill! This time in my own area and that was a really good exchange as well!

He's a very closed off kid and he opened up a lot! It was cool to be able to talk to him and share with each other experiences and the struggles we're each going through and then to set goals as to how we can help each other out! It was a very fun and successful exchange even though most of the day we were running around to various places!! 

Then comes conference!! The last one on my mission!! It's crazy but it was super good!! Besides all the marriage talks there was a ton that really stood out to me!! I really enjoyed the talk by Elder Brent H Nielson who previously came to our mission! I love how he focuses on leaving the 99 and going to get that 1! It's something that I need to be better at... putting more trust in the 99 and reaching out to the 1! I also loved Elder Holland's talk! Especially the story he gave at the beginning of the two brothers being in that situation! It made me ask myself the question of "would I be there for my brother even if he tells me to leave"!  Honestly couldn't help but think of my little brother and how he is always there for me even when I get super mad at him or whatever it may be.  He's always got my back and I'm very grateful for him!!  

And one of my favorite parts about this week was the Outback dinner after priesthood session!! You can't beat eating a FREE meal with your best buds!! We're going on 2 conferences in a row of it being FREE!! haha!

I love you all and very grateful for each of you! I hope you had a great Easter with Christ in mind! 

Scipture! 

 

Moses 7:62

        

62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.

Three Amigos....Elder McGary, Elder Hess, Elder Hancock

After dinner at Outback Steakhouse

100 Days to Become!

Hey everyone!!

So this letter is gonna be a little different from the past letters! I want to talk about the personal,  spiritual experiences that I've been going through the past little while instead of the lessons or people we were able to talk to!

So as I'm drawing nearer and nearer to the end of my mission  I've been really thinking and reflecting back on my mission and how I can make the last 100 days the best I possibly can.

Lately I've been feeling a ton of inadequacy which comes with a ton of regrets and feelings of being I guess worthless.  I've felt like I haven't talked to as many people as I should or I haven't said the things that I needed to in past lessons that could have helped that individual make the decision to get baptized.  I feel like I haven't been the leader the Lord expects me to be. I've really felt like it's just too late in my mission to change, to become who my Father in Heaven wants me to become! 

So all week I've been studying and praying a ton probably more then I ever have my whole mission just trying to overcome this trial in my life and to really have a change of heart and to really become what my Father in Heaven wants me to become! Progressively throughout the week I've seen a change and I've felt a difference in my attitude, my desires, my willingness to submit. I kept praying and was receiving answers that were telling me that things were gonna be ok to just keep studying, to keep praying, to keep talking to people, keep following the spirit in lessons, to keep doing what I'm doing.  On Friday night I had an experience that was a turning point in my mission. As I was praying that night before bed and giving thanks for the love that I've felt for the extra strength that I've been givin to continue on with my mission. I then asked what I could do more.. how can I continue to change, I'm stuck... after I closed my prayer I felt an added measure of the spirit I felt so much love from him! Then the spirit told me that he is gonna show you how to truly become who he wants you to become.

That next day (Saturday) we had a mission wide DLC and I went in there thinking it was just gonna be another meeting that we were gonna discuss our districts and how we can help them out some new training ideas that we could use and just a regular meeting.  The whole meeting that we had on Saturday was on Becoming who the Lord wants you to become and it was one of the best meetings that I've had on my mission it not only was an answer to my prayer but it really showed me the direction I needed to go and that it's not to late to change and it never will be!  President talked a lot about having a personal conversion, he talked about being willing to submit to the Father's will just as his son was willing to submit, he gave us some talks by Neal A Maxwell that was really talked a lot about submitting.

Later President and the assistants gave a training on being a leader and how we can help others become one as well! That really hit me because it showed me the importance of others and I now for the first time I feel like I'm ready to help others through whatever their going through and to help them become what their Father in Heaven wants! I now feel like I'm in the prime of my mission! I feel like now is the time for me to make an impact on as many people's lives that I possibly can! I'm very excited and grateful to serve for the next 3 months!

I know God has a perfect plan for each of us! I know he has a perfect love for each of us and that if we humble ourselves before him and ask for his help we will be able to get through  anything! I know that it is never too late to change and to become! I know this work and this church is true!.. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen!

Thank you all for the love and support you show me each week! I'm truly grateful for each of you in my life!

Elder Hess

Scripture!

Mosiah 27:25

25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;

Hey everyone!!

So this week was pretty sick! Last Monday for P-day we didn't have the car cause the other elders ditched us but it turned out pretty good cause we just chilled in the apartment all day and played games! It was really nice to just relax for the day!

That night we had zone 24's which just means we went on 24 hours exchanges with a random member of the zone! I went with Elder Lomwe! He is from the Marshall islands! It was a cool exchange and not just cause he ate chicken heart for lunch ha-ha but we had a good experience and learned a valuable lesson that night.  We had a dinner that he had no idea where it was! Elder Lomwe went to this house and stared at it  thinking it was the right one but never knocked cause he wasn't sure. So we walked away and figured we would use our phone and call them to get their exact address. Well our plans didn't work that way.. right when we got in the apartment complex our phone died!! So we have no phone and don't know where to go and our dinner was at 6:30.  So we found his car under the car port looked what building number it was under then tracked out the whole building which was about 8 doors and not one of them was our dinner. So we went to the next building and did the same thing.. still couldn't find it. So at this point it was 7:00 so we stopped and we asked each other like do we keep trying to find it and apologize or do we give up and just walk home! So we did the good missionary thing to do and prayed and as we prayed we had the impression to go back to the very first house we went to that we were staring at... and as we got there the son walked out and we found our dinner!! Pretty crazy!  We had an awesome dinner and shared a sweet message that taught me a lot and really strengthened my testimony on not only the power of prayer but to never give up! Something I really needed as I'm nearing the end of my mission !! Here's the link! https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2010-05-12-good-things-to-come?lang=eng

On Wednesday we had our zone training meeting which had the make up to be a really good one the topics were... "Balance" which every missionary needs! "getting things done" and "discipleship"... so the ZLs gave the balance training which was pretty good I feel like they could of talked more about the balance of working hard and having fun... but all around it was still really good! Then each of the DLs were assigned a topic to give a training on that revolved around "getting things done" so my topic that I was assigned to train on was "committing yourself" which was a really cool topic to study for! I tried not to like go to hard on the zone ha-ha so I found a quote that I used! ( that will be the end of the letter instead of the scripture) and talked about it for a while which really got not only them but me to think about my mission and really re-commit myself to do better and improve! Then the last training the STLs gave there training on discipleship which was really good! I also had to bare my testimony on what I had to give up to not only come on a mission but to become a disciple and that was really good!  

The main event happened last night when we had our mission wide conference for the up coming video the church put out for Easter! The training was only 15 minutes which confused a ton of us! Then he said we were having another training that would be longer so he had us stand and sing.. and as we stood and sang.. DAVID ARCHULETA walks through the door! I've never seen so many sisters have tears in their eyes! haha it ended up being a really good conference and of course he sang and everyone loved it haha but it was a good experience and a very good week all around!

Quote!

"Give me all of you" by C. S. Lewis

 
“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”

Love you all and miss you!!

Elder Hess

The missionaries surprised President Orgill by stopping by his home and singing Happy Birthday to him.

The California Irvine Mission had a beautiful fireside launching the #BecauseHeLives initiative.  Missionaries listened to a wonderful training presentation along with having guest speaker, Elder David Archuleta share his missionary experiences on the importance of listening to the still small voice and always following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.