Week 3 :)

Hey Everyone!

This past week was a pretty good week.  We were able to teach the Weavers a couple times, Elizabeth once, and Heidi once.   When we went over to Elizabeth's house, we were on our way home for our dinner break when I thought that we could stop over there.  She was the only one home but we were able to teach her more about the Book of Mormon and prayer.  That was such a cool experience!  When we were getting ready to pray, we asked her if she would like to say the prayer.  She hesitated a little bit so Sister Crockett asked her if she would say it after one of us said it.  She said she would.  When she started her prayer, it was so simple and sincere that it made me smile!  She did such a great job!  After we asked her how she felt and she said, "I feel as if a weight was lifted off of my shoulders, and I feel super happy!"  I was able to testify to her that she was feeling the Holy Ghost.  I could definitely feel the Spirit the whole time we were talking to her, and I most definitely feel like she felt it as well. :)

Sister Weaver is progressing well.  She has been to church both Sundays since we met her and we were able to teach her about the Restoration when we met with her on Thursday night.  We scheduled another appointment with them on Saturday evening and we were able to teach her about the Plan of Salvation as well as the Word of Wisdom.  She apparently drinks coffee but it was amazing to see her want to change.  We asked her if she would commit to living the Word of Wisdom and she said, "Yes I will.  I know what I need to do."  It will be exciting to go back this week and see how she did!  I've been praying for her!  She seems to be taking everything in really well which makes me super excited! :)

This week were were also able to go and teach Heidi on Friday evening.  She is such a sweetheart and is really interested in learning more about the gospel.  When we went over there, we were planning on teaching her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of Wisdom.  When we got there, we asked her if she had read 3 Nephi 11 and she said no.  It was a bummer to hear that but we were somewhat expecting it because she had been sick all week and was sleeping a lot.  We threw out our plans to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of Wisdom and ended up reading some of 3 Nephi 11 with her.

A couple days ago, we were tracting and ran into a couple guys that we sat and talked with for a little bit.  One of them was really closed off and didn't want to hear what we were saying (because of experiences he has had with family members) but the other guy's name is Lance.  He had lots of questions for us that we tried answering to the best of our ability and we were able to give him a copy of the Book of Mormon.  I hope something comes from that conversation because he seemed really interested.

I have been out on my mission for.... wait for it..... 1 MONTH! :)  In the mission, it's tradition to go get a treat or something on the month anniversaries of being out on your mission.  They call it "Click Days."  So Friday for my click day, we went and got Jamba Juice!  I'll send you the picture I took next week (I left my camera cord in the apartment).

Mom, to answer your questions:

1) So that lady that I told you about that I gave a Book of Mormon and placed her on date for baptism... We've tried every week (or a couple times during the week) to go teach her but she hasn't ever been home when we go over.  There's always someone else there but she hasn't been there.  I believe she does daycare stuff so she's home at crazy hours.

2) The ward is FANTASTIC!  They work really well with us and are always willing to go with us to appointments.  They always come up and talk to us and want to know which investigators are at church on Sunday.

3) That's a lot of stuff that is going on in the ward!  I can't believe how many people are moving!

4) Tell Alli and AJ (Raj) that I just want something from them!

5) Thanks for the necklace!  I've been wearing it every day since I got it in the mail!

6) I got your package on Monday, your letter on Tuesday, and the necklace in the mail on Friday! :) Thanks a bunch!

7) That's cool about the Washington License Plates :) Whenever people ask me where I am from, they almost always know someone down in Lehi! :) It's crazy how many people know where Lehi is!

8) I'm not sure where that reading list is but it's either in my desk drawer or on the bottom big shelf in my closet.

9) Last but not least.... HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY DAD! And HAPPY BELATED MOTHER'S DAY MOM! :) I realized I forgot to tell both of you that when we Skyped and even last week in the email.

That's about all the exciting stuff for the week.  We had a lot of plans fall through and not a lot of people interested in learning but we kept pushing through. :) It's been a good week none the less! :)

Love all of you guys!

Love,

Sister Megan Hills

Week 3 (I guess technically Week 2 but my 3rd email)!

Hey Hey!

Holy cow!  The time is flying by!  I can't believe that I have been in Seattle for 2 weeks already!!!!  It has been so good already! :) It's been tough but it's totally been worth it!

This week has been good and bad. Monday we were able to find a couple new investigators. Their names are Heidi and David. David had a bunch of questions about the Book of Mormon. It was fun to talk to him and explain a little bit about the Book of Mormon. Heidi was very sweet and willing to listen to what we had to say. She has 4 kids and has an ex-boyfriend that she broke up with because he was doing drugs and she didn't like it. We had an appointment to go back and teach her on Friday. 

Tuesday-Friday basically all of our appointments fell through (except for Heidi's) and not very many people wanted to talk to us. It was quite rough for me because I was always so excited to get out and teach the gospel to everyone, but I worked hard at keeping a positive attitude and just letting it roll off of my shoulders. Friday night was good though because we had Heidi's appointment and we asked one of the ladies in our ward to come with us. Her name is Sister Belo. Heidi could totally relate to Sister Belo so the appointment went well! We put Heidi on date for June 15th! :) She was so willing to listen and she seemed committed to follow through with the commitments we left with her. I can't wait to go back and teach her again! 

After we finished at Heidi's house, we went and contacted a referral we got from someone in our ward. We went to go see the Weaver family. They are a part-member family, the father and his daughter are members. We went over there to get to know them better (because Sister Crockett and I didn't know much about them) and we shared Ether 12:6 with them. After we said the closing prayer and were getting ready to go, the mother (she's not a member) told us, "I had a question to ask you, but I'll just ask you when you guys come over next." We told her that we weren't in a big hurry and that she could ask us right then if she wanted to. The next thing she said shocked me! She said, "How do you feel about converting someone?" We said, "That's the reason we are here." She then said, "I want to be baptized before my son gets baptized." Her son just turned 8 last week. Let me tell you, I was SHOCKED but I was so happy! We asked her when she would like us to come over again and she just told us to come back over next week sometime. I can't wait! :)

Yesterday, Elizabeth (the 17-year-old) and the Weaver family were AT CHURCH! :D  I was so excited! :)  We talked to Elizabeth after church and she said that she really enjoyed church.  I keep praying that she will want to come back next week! :) 

Dad, I don't know what to tell you about Pete and Sherri.  I think they might need to get permission to take my companion and I out for lunch/dinner but I don't know what the best way to do that is.  They could probably call the Mission Office and just ask.  No, I haven't had to give a talk yet!  Thank goodness! :)  I hope your talk went well! :)  Can't wait to get a copy in the mail!  My address is:

They are kind of some rough apartments (at least the area kind of is) but now you have it :)

Oh!  Yesterday, guess who I saw in the church!  I saw Meghan down the hallway and she came over and gave me a hug!  It was so fun to see her! :)  She was so sweet and was excited to hear how life was going! :) 

I think that's about all I have for updates for this week! :) Feel free to email me questions that I can answer when I email you guys back!  And look up "Rhododendrons" and "Fuchsias" in Google!  Both of those flowers are EVERYWHERE up here!  They are absolutely breathtaking because they are so bright and the Rhododendrons pretty much look like a pink (or other colors) bush!  You can barely see the green leaves that are on the bush because of all of the flowers!  Thank you for your prayers and your support! :)  I am loving the work and all that is accompanied with it! :)

I love you guys!

Love,

Sister Megan Hills

Week 2 in the Field!

Hey Everyone!

Sorry this email is kinda short but there isn't too much to write about since I've only been here for about 1 week.

So one story! :) I haven't been out here for too long but let me tell you, I have never had so many people uninterested in the gospel or so many doors slammed in my face (not really slammed, but you get the picture).  Friday was such a cool experience though.  So President Larkin sent us a voicemail (he sent it out to the entire mission) and he told us that the Lord had prepared 3 people for us to put on date for baptism.  He called them "Miracles." Sister Crockett and I were so excited to get out there and find those 3 people!  We started out our day trying to meet up with people at their houses (whether they were referrals, less actives, appointments, ect.) and every house we went to, no one answered.  I was feeling okay about it though because that's how every day since Tuesday kinda went and I knew that it was going to be that way so it didn't really bother me.  All day, the Assistants to the President were forwarding all of the voicemails about the miracles other people were having and I was always so excited when we would get one!  The day kept going and we still weren't having any luck with finding our 3 miracles.  We decided to go over to this one lady's house (her name is Sally Anne) and see if we could teach her.  We drove all the way out there (and a member met us at her house) and she didn't answer her door.  So we decided to go sit in the car (because we were a few minutes early) and the next time we looked over at her house, ALL of the blinds were closed!  We realized that she was there but didn't want to meet with us that day and I pretty much burst into tears! I was so frustrated that we still hadn't found a single miracle that day and some companionships were getting 5 and 6 miracles.  I felt like I was failing as a missionary.  So we left her house and went and knocked on people's doors again.  We found a couple people who said they would be baptized but they wouldn't commit to a date (and the date was what we had to have to count it as a "miracle") so I just kept getting more frustrated.  I felt like "If we could just get ONE miracle, I wouldn't ask for anything else.  I just need one to lift my spirits." That evening we went out to a part-member family's house and taught them a little bit.  On the way home, and not too far away from the part-member's house, my companion pulled over and said "let's knock on these doors real quick."  There were 3 houses and it was like 8:55 and I just wanted to go home but I consented.  So we ran up the first house and knocked on the door.  A girl answered and we asked her if her parents were home.  She said that they weren't and so we were kind of discouraged again (apparently we try not to talk to them for too long if their parents aren't home).  We ended up talking to her for a while and found out her name is Elizabeth, she's 17, and that her grandma had just died.  My companion asked her if her parents would be interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and she said "no, they aren't super open to that" but then my companion asked her if she would be interested in learning about Him.  She, very enthusiastically, said, "Yes I would love that!"  We both got super excited so we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and a pamphlet about the Restoration.  I then felt like I should just ask her about baptism.  I asked, "As you come to know if the Church is true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?"  Guess what her response was!  She said YES! :) I told her that we have a baptismal service on June 8th and that that would be the day she would get baptized if she knew it was true and she said "sure!"  THERE WAS OUR 1 MIRACLE THAT I HAD BEEN PRAYING FOR! :D We were so excited!  I just know that Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us!  He knows what we need to succeed and what we need to keep going!  It really strengthened my testimony!

That's about the most exciting thing that has happened this week so far.  I'm missing my district from the MTC but I get to see all of them tomorrow so I'm super excited! My apartment is small and not in the best shape but oh well.  The area is BEAUTIFUL!  I am in Kent right now and am loving it! :D It's a lot of country roads and fields but it is such a pretty place!  I finally got to experience the Seattle rain that I hear about all the time last night!  It has been sunny everyday up until last night and now it's overcast but no rain today yet.  We have a couple investigators and a lot of potential investigators. We are just working on getting them ready for baptism.  I placed my first copy of the Book of Mormon on Tuesday about 1 hour after we started working!  That was fun to do! I am working so hard to be the best missionary I can possibly be!  It definitely isn't easy at all but it is so worth it!  I have come to find out a lot about myself in just the few weeks that I have been gone. A mission is one of the best things ever!  Plan on going on a mission if that's something you want to do, and if it's not something you have in mind right now, make it a goal to go on one!  Your testimony grows so much in just 1 week and you learn so much about the gospel in such a short amount of time.

I love you guys and am so thankful for your support!  My mom has set up a blog for me that you can follow how I am doing if you want :) It's http://www.sistermeganhills.blogspot.com/ 

Love,

Sister Megan Hills

Sister Megan Hills

Washington Seattle Mission

10675 NE 20th St

Bellevue, WA 98004

No more MTC... Hello Seattle!

I am a few days behind getting this post up on the blog... Sorry about that!
WARNING...This will be a long post.

On Tuesday, May 7th, Megan left the MTC for the airport enroute for Seattle, Washington. We got to talk to her on the phone while she was at the airport. She was a little teary at first, which really caught me off guard. There isn't anything quite like answering the phone and hearing "Mom" mixed with crying on the other side of the line. She reassured me that she was fine but just glad to hear my voice. We were able to talk to her for about 20 minutes before she needed to catch her flight. She was excited  to be leaving for Seattle. There were 18 missionaries total travelling to the Seattle mission on her flight. Jeff mentioned that is quite a big group. He said when he left for his mission, it was common to have maybe 6 or 8 missionaries and sometimes even less than that departing for a mission. We are sure the large group is a combination of the increase in youth serving missions and the new Federal Way mission (which begins July 1st). The Federal Way mission takes in some of the current Seattle mission. It is located just South of what will be the new Seattle mission boundaries.

After we talked to her on the phone, we watched Flight Tracker online to see where her plane was and when it landed in Seattle. We knew the flight was roughly 1 hour and 40 minutes from Salt Lake since we had just flew to Seattle as a family the first part of April. I will admit, having her get on the airplane and flying away from Utah was a little crazy in my mind. When she was at the MTC, I knew she was only 30 minutes away and I could get her a box or a letter on the same day. Seattle is much farther, even though it is still fairly close to Utah. I'm sure having a missionary fly 1/2 way around the world is even tougher than what I experienced or will experience when I send a letter or box to her. I'm thinking that Seattle is good...

The next day Wednesday, May 8th, we got a letter in the mail from Megan and also an email. The letter talked a little more about the MTC so I decided to type it up and share it here on the blog. The email from Megan will follow the letter.

May 3, 2013

Mom,

Thank you so much for the sugar cookies and the banana bread! They were so good! I like the banana bread...it kinda tastes a lot like yours but it was yummy and of course the sugar cookies were great! I'm going to take a few with me to dinner to have with some milk! (I used a new recipe for the banana bread)

So about my teaching experiences. Sister Morrow and I are teaching a lady named Barbara. She is such a sweet lady. Her Mom died when she was a baby and then her Dad died when she was 14. Because of that, she ended up in foster care to finish growing up. Since being in foster care, she has had the religious backgrounds of Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, Methodist, Lutheran, and Baptist so she knows some basics but she doesn't have a real set idea on who God is. Our first lesson with her was so confusing. She had a bunch of questions and we just tried answering them which I think made her even more confused. So after that lesson, we decided to focus more on who God is and His love for her. It ended up going fantastic! The spirit was there 100% and you could tell that she knew it. At the end of the lesson, I asked her, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority?" and she immediately said "No"... I was devastated! I felt so sure that she was ready and that she had progressed quite well. We then asked her why she didn't want to be baptized and guess what she said! She said, "None of the other members of my family are baptized (and we couldn't tell her that they can get baptized too because they died in the Holocaust- at least not on the same day) and so I don't want to be baptized because heaven wouldn't be the same without them." I thought that was the sweetest thing ever to hear someone say that. It made me realize that she really cares about her family. It got me thinking about how heaven wouldn't be heaven if you guys weren't there. I know I sometimes annoy you or disobey and it's the same from my end, but you guys are my life and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world! I love you guys and am so thankful of your examples in my life!

Our other investigator was Violet. She was 18. She just graduated but isn't very successful academically. She loves art, has a job, and no religious background. Her Dad left when she was 2 so now it's just her Mom and her. We got to teach her for a couple of lessons the first week we were here but then we got new teachers so we got new investigators as well. So now our investigator is Elizabeth. She's 24, has member friends, is an Atheist/skeptic, she is in college but she struggles. She sang in the church choirs, her parents are divorced, lives with her Mom and her 12 year old sister. Her 26 year old sister is a party girl, family is very important to her, she is pregnant with her boyfriend's child and she is friendly. We have had some amazing lessons with her! She has been so prepared to hear about the gospel. Today we had the opportunity to teach her about prayer and about God and who He is. Last lesson, we left her with an assignment to read Alma 32. As we were planning out what we were going to teach her, Sister Morrow leaned over to me and said "you are going to lead where the lesson is going  to go today instead of me". All of the sudden a sheer panic washed over me and I started to freak out a little bit to myself. At that moment, I felt totally and completely inadequate to teach basically by myself (with a few side comments by Sister Morrow). Immediately, I called out to the Lord and pled with Him to help me and calm my troubled heart. I honestly didn't think I could do it. As I started to study, my mind wasn't really working and I wasn't feeling anything. I kind of broke down in class silently to myself because I felt completely lost. Sister Morrow noticed and walked with me out into the hall to talk. I told her about how nervous I was and how I didn't think I could do it. She was sensitive to the spirit and knowing what I needed in my life at that point in time that all she said was "Sister Hills, personally I think you are the one who brings the amazing spirit that we always feel in our lessons. I'm mainly there just to talk and get the lesson rolling. You are the one who has the spirit with you all the time and I know you can do this, let's go pray". We went and found an empty classroom and she said such a sincere prayer that it made me feel a little bit better. I still was WAY nervous but I felt a little bit more confident. So we went into our lesson and there I was talking to get the ball rolling. Surprisingly, it went so smoothly. I was able to express my feelings and those things that I thought Elizabeth needed at that time of her life. We asked her to pray at one point in the lesson (after helping her understand more about who God is) and let me tell you...she said probably the most sincere prayer I probably have ever heard in my life! She was so honest about how she was feeling and what she really wanted to know. I was tearing up thinking about how far she had come since we first met her. It was so fantastic! I'm hoping when we teach her tomorrow we can actually invite her to be baptized! I know that if you teach by the spirit miracles will happen. I have really come to know what teaching by the spirit really is!

Can you believe that by the time you get this letter, I will have already talked to you on the phone and I will already be in Seattle! Crazy! I am so excited though! It is going to be the best. Dad, I forgot to include this in my last letter to you guys but we don't have any classes that we learn about our area unfortunately. That sounds like so much fun! I would love those classes.

I love you guys so much!
Love,
Meg :)


And finally... Her email yesterday, May 8th:

Hey Everyone!

Just letting you know I got here to Seattle safe and sound! :) I am in an area in Kent (maybe I will get to see Meghan) :) and my new companion is Sister Crockett.  She's super nice and fun to be around :)

After we got here, we drove to the mission home on Mercer Island and had some training and a lunch (it was super good!) and then President Larkin interviewed all of us to determine who our companions were going to be.  He's going to be such an excellent President.  After he did the interviews, we went over to the church and we had some more training (President Larkin wanted all of us to try and put someone on date for baptism last night) and then we got our companions.  I had butterflies in my stomach the whole time I was waiting for my name to be called. :) 

Once we got our companions, we headed back to our apartment and dropped everything off and then we were off!  Sister Crockett and I went tracting and it was kinda nerve-racking but it was fun too! :) We had a bunch of people tell us they weren't interested (little bit of a bummer but oh well) but we did talk to some people about the church and left them with pass-along cards.  We ended up running into a lady who we talked with for about 10 minutes and we gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon.  After we talked to her about the Book of Mormon, I extended the baptismal commitment to her and she said YES! :) It was so exciting and I was trying so hard not to yell and jump around because I was so excited! :) She's on date for June 16th so hopefully we can get her to that point! :)

We also went and talked to the ward mission leader and got to know him and his wife for a bit and then we got to go over to an investigators house and share a scripture with him.  He's going through some trials and so we talked about faith and having the faith to overcome the trials we face.  It was so cool! :)

It still hasn't really phased me yet that I am actually out here!  It feels like I'm just sitting at home and watching "Errand of Angels" or "The Best 2 Years", or that I'm still in the MTC!  Crazy how it doesn't seem different :) 

I love all of you guys and and so thankful for your support! :) Thank you for everything you have done for me in my life!

Love,

Sister  Megan Hills

Week 2

Hey Everyone!

So, Mom, to answer your questions... I received both of your packages, dad's letter, and your letter that you sent on Tuesday!  Thank you so much for that!  It made my day to receive those from you guys!  Our District Leader (Elder Larsen) checks the mail right after lunch and before dinner every day so we get mail about 2 times a day!  It's so fun to see how much mail we have! :)  I've mainly only heard from you guys.  I received a letter from Grandma Carlton yesterday so that was fun! :) Could you possibly have Alli message Kellsie on Facebook for her address? I only have her mission email but she won't be checking that until around the end of June.

More about my district... Sister Morrow is from Farmington, Utah.  She went to Viewmont High School so she isn't too far away :)  Sister Taylor: I met her on Facebook and she is from Austin, Texas but she's been going to school at BYU; Elder Larsen is from Mesa, Arizona; Elder Dawson is from Holbrook, Arizona; Elder Turney is from Sandy, Utah; Sister Hopkins is from Provo, Utah; Sister Stauffer is from Cedar Hills, Utah; and Sister Lee is from Loveland, Colorado.  All of us are going to Seattle and we all leave on the 7th :) Same day, same flight! :) We have become such good friends in just a week which is amazing! :) We already are not happy about being separated once we get to Seattle.  All 6 of us sisters are in the same room so its super fun!  We have some fun adventures!  It was like the 2nd or 3rd day and we found an x-ray of a foot on top on our closets!  Crazy, huh?

Sunday for Relief Society, they actually had Sister Oscarson (the new General Young Women's President) speak to us for the lesson. :) She was fantastic! :) I learned so much and enjoyed listening to her :)  We don't have Relief Society this Sunday cuz we have a mission conference this Sunday so that was my one and only Relief Society experience at the MTC.

The food is okay.  It depends on the day and what's on the menu.  I can't wait to get up to Seattle to be able to cook my own food as well as have some great tasting food! :) I drink chocolate milk pretty much every single meal here so they probably are noticing disappearing milk here! :)  It is SO good! :) I sure miss you cooking though Mom... :/ but it's alright!  18 months without it will make me excited to come home. :)

I've ran into quite a bunch of friends and people from the ward.  You obviously heard that I ran into Leslie Oswald and that was a blast! :) I've ran into Courtney Huffman, Rachel Hansen, AND yesterday I ran into the Maher's during dinner!  It was so fun to see them and to talk to them! :)  I've also ran into Brady Eisert, Tiana Caldwell, Brendan Bennet, Dave Clark (Macey's), and Emily Youngberg (Macey's).  I've also recognized some people that were in my Institute classes at UVU but I didn't really know them very well.

I wish I could have been there for AJ but let him know how much I love him and how proud I am of him!  :) I hope I get a letter from Alice!  I can't wait to hear how she's doing and how her birthday was! :)

I'm missing Macey's but I am loving being here! :) I am learning so much and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! :)

It doesn't matter to me what you want to do about the cell phone.  I found out that I have about 500 minutes to use if I buy a $5 calling card in the bookstore. If you guys don't answer it takes away a chunk of my minutes but I still will have a good amount.  So whatever works for you :) How about just talk to dad and let me know what you are going to do :) I'm leaving extra minutes to come back and check your reply but I think I'm going to come back down and check on it around  530ish so if you could reply by then that would be great :) 

We have been teaching a couple investigators.  Their names are Violet, Barbara, and Elizabeth.  Our teaching appointments are going super well and we really enjoy them! :) I think I will just write you a letter that is more  about the investigators because there is a bunch to talk about and not enough time.

Life is going good in the MTC.  Still just keeping super busy but it's been pretty good anyway :) I can't wait to get to Seattle and start using the things I have been learning! :) I will talk about the things I have been learning in my letter as well :)

I love you guys and am so thankful for your support! :)  I know that this is where I'm supposed to be at this time in my life and I am so glad I am here! :) I know that there are people in Seattle who need me to share the gospel with them :)

I love you!

Love,

Sister Megan Hills

Sister Megan Hills

MTC Mailbox #124

WA-SEA 0507

2005 N. 900 E.

Provo, Utah 84604