Highlights from this weeks email

So first off we found out Sister Hayes was not transferred. So her address is still

Sister Christine Hayes
12396 N Camino Del Plata
Tucson, AZ 85755-2063

She will be continuing to serve with Sister Bodily. The only difference is that now they will only be over one ward, the Tortolita ward. Sister Hayes also shared sweet experience with us:

"I would like to tell you about a Recent Convert from my last area. So I didn't teach this Sister but Sister Jarrett did. Well, her name is Judith Boyd and she is such a sweetie. She is the lady that would usually feed us roast for dinner and one day we ended up washing her dog. Well, she has had cancer for a little while now and I guess things got really bad. Well on Saturday I found at that she passed away which was really hard to hear but I was also happy. I know that she was in a lot of pain in her last few months. Well here is the cool part. Exactly one week before she passed away she went to the temple and received her endowments. The amazing thing is that she hasn't been baptized for a year yet. She received special permission from the First Presidency to receive her endowments and then she passed away exactly one week later. Can you believe that? That is just a miracle. I am so grateful that I was able to get to know her. She was such a sweet Sister and I am glad that she no longer has to deal with the pain that she was going through."

Isn't that neat. We also learned that Christine is actually going to be able to talk to us on Skype on Christmas day. She is going to be calling around 7 pm (so if you call or stop by the house that is why were are not answering). It will be so fun to talk to her. I am sure she will be very surprised to see how much he little niece, Megan has grown up. Also her only sister Tiffany is excepting twins and they are planning on telling her what gender they are when she calls. I am sure she will be excited to know that she will have two more nieces when she gets home.

We also learned that Sister Hayes is having no luck finding her drivers license which she misplaced about a month ago. She loves to drive and I am sure she is dying to find it. It looks like we are just going to have to get her a new one.

Well that is about it for this week. It sounds like everything is going very well. She can't believe how fast the time has flown by. She will be at her half way mark in Feb. It is so wonderful to be able to see Sister Hayes really get lost in the work. She have truly forgotten about herself and is trying to use every moment she has to serve the Lord. Keep up the wonderful work sister. We can't wait to talk to her on Saturday.

We've fallen behind again!! I am sorry!

But new posts are coming soon!! Please keep checking back!!

And dont forget to send Sister Hayes a little note for Christmas!!

{See the post below for the mission home address!! That is probably the

best place to send something to her this time of year}!!

Where is Christine again??

Sister Hayes has been in the Oro Valley area for a little over 4 weeks. Have you been wondering where that even is. Well here is a little map to help you see where Sister Hayes is right now. I think I remember her saying that Oro Valley is about 40 minutes Northwest of Tucson. In one of her emails she told us what the area is like.

"Well I must say that being in the North West is very different then my last area. Everyone is rich and they are all "comfortable" with their own religion. It is so hard to find people here, they must be really good at hiding.
I really miss my last area because it felt more like home. Everything here is really spread out and you have to travel a ways to get into shopping areas. We have a Fry's Marketplace (smith's marketplace) close by...The only fast food that is close is Mc Donald's and Subway. The other places are about 15 minutes away and we don't want to waste our miles."

It sounds like they are having a pretty hard time finding investigators. The one investigator that they did have was actually baptised last week. She was golden.

"Gloria got baptized this past Saturday. When she had her interview with the District Leader he said that she was ready to be baptized a.s.a.p. Her husband even came to the baptism and came to some of sacrament. Maybe he will be next. She is so excited to go visiting teaching and she also wants to come out on exchanges with Sister Bodily and I... The ward has done a great job with welcoming her in. She even joined the Ward choir. Wahoo!! "

Please keep Sister Hayes and her companion in your prayers. They are hoping that they will find more people to teach soon.

Here is Sister Hayes' current address just in case you want to send her a little package or letter. It is always fun to get something in the mail. Transfers are coming though so if you aren't going to send something this week you might want to wait or send it to the mission home. Transfers will be on Nov. 9th.

Current Address

Sister Christine Hayes

12396 N Camino Del Plata

Tucson, AZ 85755-2063

Mission Home Address

1840 E River Rd, Ste. 102

Tucson, AZ 85718

A Couple of Pictures for the Mission.

Last week in Sister Hayes' email she attached some recent pictures. I just wanted to share them with you all. She said that she would be sending some more pics in the mail soon. I can't wait to get those and see some of her new area.

Baptisms from her first area. Don't they all look SO happy. The gospel is a wonderful blessing!

This next pictures is of Sister Hayes with some of her favorite converts Mike and Kelli. She loved these people and had a lot in common with Kelli. Mike and Kelli got married and baptised in the same day. Sister Hayes and Sister Jarrett helped out a lot with the wedding including: calligraphy for the invitations, did Kelli's nails, made the cake, took pictures... Sister Hayes will miss them SO much.

Last of all is a picture of Sister Hayes' new companion Sister Bodily (she is from Idaho). What a happy companionship!!

Another Week In The Northwest!

The letter from Sister Hayes was short this week!! She was trying to upload some pictures so she could send them home in an email! It sounds like she got them on the computer okay!! But the email part of it didn't want to work with her!!
So, here is a little exert from her letter home:

Well, Gloria is doing great. She stopped smoking on Saturday and she is
preparing for her baptism on October 30th. She is always telling us how much
she loves us and to drive safely.
Holly one of the ward members brought a friend to church and hopefully we
will start teaching her today. Oh and last night we spent a lot of time over
at a less active members house. We've really been able to get to know him
and we had some brothers from the ward come over to give him a blessing.
Hopefully as we continue to work with him he will come back to church.

There are only 3 weeks left until transfers!! And then Sister Hayes could be moving on to a new area with a new companion!!

***PLEASE remember to keep our favorite Sister Missionary in your prayers!! Also, PLEASE take just a moment to write her a little letter!! It only takes a second!! It doesn't have to be anything long or in depth!! You could say something like "Hi Sister Hayes!! How are you!! Guess what I had for lunch today?? I ate some nachos and green beans!! What did you eat today?? Seriously!! That's all you'd have to write!!
If you are her friend on Facebook you could write something on her wall, or send her a Facebook message!! Or I can get you her email address and you can send her a fast note!! Or I have her mission home address or her apartment address!! Snail mail is awesome!!
Or leave a comment on this post and I will make sure she gets it!! I know she would {REALLY} appreciate hearing from everyone!!!!

Let Me Fill You In!

Sister Hayes has been serving her mission for over 5 months now!! Isnt that crazy?!? She has been through 3 transfers and has had a few different companions!! Do you remember her??

This was Sister Hayes' first companion, Sister Jarrett!! Since I wrote last, Sister Jarrett finished her mission and has returned home. I know that our favorite sister missionary had a pretty hard when she left!! Sister Jarret helped Sister Hayes so much and they had such a close bond!! But missions are all about learning and growing and serving so Sister Hayes has been transfered to the Northwest part of her mission! Her new companion is named Sister Bodily and she is from Preston, Idaho {just in case you didnt know, that is where they filmed Napoleon Dynamite}!! In one of her letters, Sister Hayes said this about Sister Bodily:

"This is her second transfer and she is doing great. The first time I saw her picture in the mission office (before she came out) I just knew we would be companions someday. So I'm excited to get to know her more."

I thought that was cool!! Amazing missionary insight and being in tune with the spirit!! Here are some experts from the letter Sister Hayes emailed home on October 11th!

"So the NorthWest is the same as it was before. We still only have oneinvestigator but she is doing great. I don't know if I told you or not butshe is 62. That's a miracle in itself. Mostly the older people and the richpeople don't want to listen to the gospel."

**Oh, I probably should mention that the Northwest part of the Tucson area is the more wealthy area. It can be hard to share the gospel in that area because people already feel like they have it all!!

"The members here are nice and pretty welcoming, I still don't think theycompare to the Kenyon ward but I'm getting to know them. Just like my lastarea we have two wards but this time the wards meet in seperate buildings.We get to church at 7:30 in the morning for PEC and then that ward starts at9 and goes till 12 and then we travel to the other building and go to churchfrom 1 to 4."

**Busy, busy, busy missionaries!! I think this next story is pretty cool!!!

"Yesterday the needed a teacher for the 14 year old class so thebishop asked us to teach. Oh that was an experience. We decided to teachthem about the restoration. There were 3 girls on the front row who wouldnot stop talking so I looked at the girl in the middle and said would yousay a prayer. She said the prayer and then went right back to talking. Wetried to do our best to teach them and then we just said oh well. That's when the real "Christine" came out. I looked at them and said, "do you evencare about the gospel because it sure doesn't seem like it?" they all staredat me, then I told them I wasn't afraid of them staring, finally we got themto open up a tiny bit. We talked to them about missionary work and onceclass was over one of the girls came up to us and asked us what she could doto share the gospel with her friend. It felt good to know that at least oneperson got something out of our lesson."

**I am proud of Sister Hayes for standing up and letting the class know who important the gospel is!! Sister Hayes also said the weather is starting to cool down!! To the point where she needs some sweaters!! Crazy to think about...... since only a few months ago the tempurature was over 100 degrees on a daily basis!! Sister Hayes and Sister Bodily could also use your prayers that they will be directed to those in their area that are ready to hear the gospel!! They could also use some prayers that peoples hearts will be softened and their minds will be opened!!

And one more thing, Sister Hayes {LOVES} to get mail!! Emails...... snail mail......postcards....... you name it!! Now that she has been transfered, she has a new address!!! {PLEASE} let me know if you need it, or if you need her email address!!! I know if would really make her day to hear from you!!!

Happy Sister Hayes

It's been awhile! I am SORRY!!! I really feel so bad that I have not been a good blogger and that I ha vent kept you posted on all things Sister Hayes!

I have all of her emails saved.......... my plan (when I wasn't so far behind) was to do a catch up post and tell you about all the things Sister Hayes has been up to!! But now I am REALLY far behind!! AHHHHH! Sorry again!

So I figure I will start over fresh!! Starting with the great email she sent yesterday!! I do have some really great pictures to share though so you will still get some exerts from past emails!!

Oh, and come back later for Fun Foto Fridays!! They are back too!!!

So, Sister Hayes just celebrated her 3 month anniversary!! YAY!! She has made it so far!! I cant even tell you how proud I am of her!! She is a big time trooper!!

Let's start with the weather! First of all...... it's HOT!!! I cant imagine being in the kind of heat all day!!! Sister Hayes and her companion had cupcakes in the back of their car one day..... they weren't in there long but they still melted! Crazy huh!! It's also monsoon season down there, which means every so often they get heavy heavy rain fall!! A few of Sister Hayes' emails have talked about the really loud and powerful thunder they have experienced!! She loves it and is always writing about wanting more rain!! This is an exert from this weeks letter:

We haven't really had rain lately. Just sunny as usual. There are always lightning and thunderstorms off in the distance but we never see rain. Oh and supposedly we haven't had a really bad monsoon yet. That's what some of the members have told us. So I'm waiting to see this big Monsoon everyone talks about.

Guess what Sister Hayes bought this week??? Sweet huh?!?! I'm not gonna lie............. I still love listening to the Saturday's Warrior soundtrack!! Good music...... good memories!!!!

Last P-day Sister Jarrett and I went to the Latter Day Cottage and got an amazing CD, are you ready for this? We got... SATURDAY'S WARRIOR the soundtrack. We laughed and sang along in the car and it reminded me of Tiffany and I and how we would run over to the Palmers (i think it was the palmers) house, and she would say that we were faster then a speeding bullet.

And guess what else Sister Hayes did this week.............

Last night we taught Amy. A newer investigator, she informed us that she quit her job. We were so excited. She worked at a not so good place if you know what I mean. (bar/strip club) As we started teaching her, her daughter wouldn't sit still and wanted her attention. So I played Barbie's with her daughter. Yep I played Barbie's with a 4 year old so her mom could listen to Sister Jarrett teach. Her mom was so grateful and at one point Chloe (her daughter) started laughing. It made Amy so happy to hear such an innocent little laugh.

And now for some updates about her great investigators:

We have a new investigator her name is Thelma. She is originally from Texas.She is Golden. She even came to church on Sunday. I thought she might feel a little uncomfortable because she's black and our church has a lot of white people but she loved it. I know she really felt the spirit.

We took Donna one of our investigators on a church tour and when we went into the chapel Sister Jarrett and I sang a song. The spirit was so strong, her less active friend was there and it brought him to tears.What a great experience.

On Saturday we had Johnny and Julia's baptism. It was great. They are such sweet little kids. They are so shy, it reminds me of me when I was younger.Oh yeah, before the baptism we went over to Judiths house a recent convert and we washed her dog Molly. Yep we washed her dog and then went to the baptism. Hopefully we didn't smell like dog! :)

These are honestly just a few of the great people she is currently working with!! She has a really awesome couple that just got baptized and married!! Check back soon for their story and some really cool pictures!! (This is Sister Hayes, her companion Sister Jarret and their mission presidents wife)

Fun Foto Friday!!

Did you know........

* In the MTC they not only learn about gospel principals and scripture..... they also learn how to FLY!!!

SUPER SISTER HAYES!!!! I LOVE this picture!!!

* When missionaries are backing up a car, one is in the driver seat and the other stands outside to make sure there are not accidents!!





* Cupcakes will melt in your car in the Arizona heat!! Even the candles with start to bend!!





* Sister Hayes in NOT a fan of maraschino cherries...... but she ate them anyway when someone offered her a piece of cheesecake covered with them!! What a trooper!!





* While she may not like cherries, she does like Popeyes! There is not one here is Utah but she sure is close to one now!! Have one of their fantastic biscuits for me friend!!





* And while we are on the topic of food............ Sister Hayes ate lime green Jello....... with shredded celery...... Yum......... Okay not really!





* Sister Hayes LOVES letters!! A LOT!!! You should send her one!! RIGHT NOW!!! =0)

P.S. Come back Friday for something extra awesome!!!

I May Have Been A Slacker

But Sister Hayes sure wasn't!! Can you believe that she has already been out for over a month!! Man!! I feel like these last few weeks have been busy, so I really apologize for not updating you on our favorite sister missionary!! Before I start sharing some of Sister Hayes' wonderful mission field experiences I thought I'd share some of her last MTC pictures!!! I love looking at them!! She looks like she is having some great experiences!!

I know I said it before, but Sister Hayes made is safely to Arizona!! Look at this cute picture of her with her mission president!! Doest she look good in yellow?!?!

Here are some exerts from Sister Hayes' very first letter from the mission field:

"So my area is the Tucson East and my companion and I are over 2 ward, Kenyon and Palo Verde.
More about my companion. Her name is Sister Jarrett and she is AWESOME. She only has 2 more transfers left so hopefully we will be together until she leaves. Then I will get to kill her. LOL It's a thing they do her. You have a birthday every month so on the 5th of June I will be one month old, for your 9 month birthday some girls stick a balloon under their shirt and take a picture. (so goofy) Like I was saying about killing her. Since she will be going home soon I will be the one to kill her. (i wonder who came up with all of this, they must have been bored on a p-day) She is also considered my mother since she is training me and the person that trained her is considered my grandmother. None of this probably makes since but I don't understand either. LOL"

"THE APARTMENT- well the apartment is pretty small but then again it's perfect. I will have to take a picture and send it to you ASAP. All of the houses here have caged doors on the front and then a regular door so it makes it kind of hard to knock on doors, it hurts your knuckles. There is an extra mattress on each one of our beds so we call them the princess pea beds. "

"The field really is white here. A member of the 70 recently visited our mission and told us that missions in the SW united states have usually 7 baptisms per missionary a year and the rest of the U.S. usually has 2 per missionary a year. Sister Jarrett said that she had more than 7 last year. So I know I am here at the right time and our New Investigator Robert is proof of that. He recently got out of jail but you can tell the Lord has prepared him. I can't even tell you how prepared he is. Everytime we leave his house I leave with my jaw on the floor. "

Cool huh!?! I love reading her letters!! She is such a wonderful missionary already!!

Companions

While Sister Hayes was at the MTC she had two great companions!!!

Sister Farnes is from Pocatello Idaho and Sister Zahrt is from Spanish Fork Utah. She was So grateful for these two sisters!! She mentioned in one of her letter that she knew Heavenly Father put them together for a reason and that they were a great source of strength to her!! What great companions!!!!

There were also about 6 Elder's in Sister Hayes' mission district!! I know that there were a number of times she was very thankful for them as well!! GOOD LUCK all your wonderful missionaries!!

I dont think I mentioned that Sister Hayes got a calling which she was in the MTC!! She was in Music Coordinator so she got to pick out songs for different things!! Perfect calling for my musically gifted friend!!

Isn't this such a cute picture of her!! I love it!!!!

I Say A Little Prayer For You

I just wanted to remind everyone to keep Sister Hayes in their prayers!! Just like the first few days in the MTC, the first couple of days in the mission field can be challenging!!
Please pray for her to have courage and a feeling of peace!! Pray for her to find those that are searching for the gospel! And please pray for her to feel your love and the love of our Heavenly Father!!

Please also remember to write to her often! It's amazing how much little words of encouragement can lift a persons spirit! Even if your letter/email is short, don't think it will be looked over! I know she will love every one of them!! If you need any of her contact info, leave a comment and I will make sure you get it!!

THANK YOU for your continued prayers in her behalf!!

Lucky Arizona!

I thought that since Sister Hayes has officially made it to Arizona, I would give her blog a little face lift!! My computer has not really wanted to cooperate today so there may be some slight changes in the next few days! But onto today's post!!

Sister Hayes has made it safely to Arizona and is ready to start her missionary work!! How lucky are the people of Tucson!! I cant wait to start getting letters from the mission field and I'm anticipating all of her wonderful and inspirational stories!! They will be great!!


I recently saw a news story about the dedication of a new LDS temple! That is always exciting news but it was even better when I realized that this brand new temple is in Sister Hayes' mission boundaries!!

It looks beautiful!!! I don't know how often Sister Hayes will get to visit but I am sure excited to get a picture of her standing in front of the House of the Lord!!

Arizona is also lucky because it is supposed to be about 97 degrees tomorrow!! If you are here in Utah you know that we have had some pretty chilly days this past week!! I for one and ready for some warm weather!! Enjoy it Sister Hayes!!!

P.S. Sister Hayes has mission address and email address!! Let me know if you need them so you can write her lots and lots of letters!!! =0)

Birthday Girl

Today Sister Hayes is celebrating her 22nd birthday is Tucson Arizona!! It's her first official day in the mission field and I cant wait to hear how it went!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful friend!!

Letter #2

Sister Hayes has less than one week until she is in Arizona!! I got a letter from her today that says her flight leaves around 10:00 a.m. but she has to be at the van headed to the airport at 6:00 a.m. The crazy life of a missionary!!!

This weeks letter from Christine went to her wonderful sister Tiffany!! CUTE SISTERS!!!! They are two of my very best friends!!!

So here are some of the things Christine had to say this week:

"We had a 2nd appointment with a mock investigator named Gloria Despain. She is SOOO SWEET! At the end of our second appointment she shared with us as scripture from Joshua 1:9. Read IT!" (I'm not going to put the scripture on here!! I am going to make you go get yours out!!)

"My testimony has multiplied everyday from the things I"m learning. Yesterday in Brother McQuay's class he took us to a special spot. He brought us to a portrait of Jesus after he was resurrected and he was talking to the 11 Apostles. He was telling them to preach the gospel throughout the world. As sisters we discussed the experience after and we all concluded that the spirit was so strong. It felt like we were in the temple."

Sister Hayes also got complimented by her Branch Presidents wife for having one of the cleanest rooms she has seen in a long time!! Good job Sister Hayes!! As her friend, I am so proud of her for making it so far!! It sounds like she is doing great and she cant wait to get out to the mission field!! Remember to keep her in your prayers!!

Very First Letter

Hooray for Sister Hayes!!!

She made it through her first week at the MTC!! A week may not sounds like much, but it is a HUGE accomplishment!! I know I have said it before but the first week is so tough!! But I am SO proud of my friend for making it through!!

As her friend I was just like to send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone that kept her in their prayers!! I'm sure she feels every one of them!! So don't stop now!! Keep on praying for her!!! On Wednesday Sister Hayes had her very first P Day and it was her first chance to write home!! I thought I would share some exerts of her letter!!

"Relief Society was awesome, we were able to listen to Music and the Spoken Word and for Relief Society we had a special speaker it was... SHERI DEW. All the mothers that talked that day said how much they knew that our parents loved us and that this is the best gift we could give our moms."

"Well I better start talking about last nights devotional! It was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guess who spoke?
I'll give you a hint... It was an APOSTLE Well it was Elder Holland! I can't believe my first week here i get to listen to an Apostle of the Lord. Everyone was so uplifted by his talk and I probably took about 5or6 pages of notes. I will definitely have to write a letter telling you more about it. He is a very funny man and very tender at the same time. He told us things like, If you come home off your mission and become inactive and have a tattoo you better know that if I see you I'll just punch you in the nose. It was so funny! He also talked a lot about Obedience. Just like granma has been telling me for weeks. He said this isn't Burger King you can't have it your way!"

Cool huh!?! It sounds to me like she is doing awesome!! Please remember to keep her in your thoughts and prayers!! And don't forget to go visit Dear Elder and write her a letter!!!

Check back soon for some more really cool pictures!!

Snail Mail With Running Shoes

Have you written to Sister Hayes yet??

If not, I have something awesome for you to try!!! It's called Dear Elder (kind of biased, I know, haha) and it is a fantastic website!!

All you have to do is click on the words Dear Elder and you will go right to the site!! Select Provo MTC and then click Write A Missionary!! It's pretty self explanatory from there (if you are having troubles, leave a message in the comment section and I can try to help walk you through it)!!

There are a couple of really cool things about Dear Elder! First, if you write a letter to Sister Hayes before 12:00 p.m. she will get the letter that day!! Awesome huh!!! Want to know what's even better...... IT'S FREE!! No postage, no envelope, nothing! Just a free and awesome way to let someone know you are thinking of them!!

The first couple days in the MTC are going to be kind of tough!! It's hard getting used to a new routine and new people!! But Sister Hayes is awesome and has so much determination that she will make it through!!
But it never hurts to have lots and lots and LOTS of encouraging words from friends and loved ones!!

So what are you waiting for??? Click on Dear Elder NOW and get writing!!!

The Very First Day

Today is Cinco de Mayo!!! It is also Sister Hayes' first day in the MTC (Missionary Training Center) where she will attend gospel related classes and gets to eat lots of free ice cream!! Although I cant say I am speaking from experience, my guess it that today is probably one of the toughest days because everything is so new!! But Christine is awesome and she will make it through!!
Sister Hayes will be in the MTC for about 3 weeks!! And guess what..... she LoVeS letters!!! You can write to her at:

Sister Christine Ann Hayes
MTC Mailbox # 148
AZ-TUC 0525
2005 N 900 E Provo, UT 84604-1793

Also, if you are her friend on Facebook feel free to still post messages to her on her wall!! I will make sure she gets them!!!