Come see her in person!!

Christine is speaking in church THIS Sunday. We just wanted to invite you all. I know she would love to see you.

The Last Email!!!

I cannot believe that I will be seeing my sister in only a couple more days. I am so excited. We got the most beautiful email from Sister Hayes yesterday. I just had to share with you some of my favorite parts.


"This week has been bitter sweet in so many ways. Alot of people here in this area know that I'm going home and so they often ask if I'm excited which brings up mixed emotions. Just yesterday we had one of the most powerful lessons that I've had my entire mission with Luis. Everyone in the room including Luis was crying. The spirit felt as strong as it does in the temple and I was filled with gratitude to my Savior for how gracious he is. At the end of our lesson Luis asked me if I was excited to go home, as the tears began to flow down my face I told him I was but that I would miss people like him that I have grown to love soo much. I have been filled with so much love that I almost can't stand it."



"I know that I needed to be here with President and Sister Walker and with specific companions. I also know that this is the same with all of the people that I have met and taught on my mission. I then received a very comforting feeling as I thought about my time here in the Arizona Tucson Mission. Yes, it's true I don't want to come home, I want to continue serving the Lord 24/7 but my time is up. It is time for me to go home and to be there for my family and many other people that I will meet and work with through school and work. Even though I will no longer physically care the name of Jesus Christ on my chest I will always carry him in my heart. "



"How grateful I am for all that I have gone through on my mission. I can honestly say now that I would do it all again. All of the heartache and the trials and the homesick feelings I would do it all again. More then anything this mission has changed me and I feel so blessed that the Lord has shown me so much mercy. I want to be all that Heavenly Father wants me to be. I want to serve him all my life and I pray that others will be able to see his light in me. "

We love you Sister Hayes and will see you soon!!!

Counting Down the Days!!

Can you believe it!! 31 more day until

Sister Hayes gets home!!

Yes I am counting down the days til my amazing little sis gets home. In fact, Megan and I made a paper chain the other day to help us keep track. Megan is getting really excited and talks about picking up Aunt Chrisy at the airport all the time. From Christine's emails it looks like she is really excited too. She has loved being a missionary and serving the people of Arizona but she is so excited to get back to her family that she loves so much. Sister Hayes will be arriving home bright and early at 10am on Nov. 23 (the day after her dad's 50th birthday and the day before Thanksgiving). Some of the things she can't wait for are seeing her family (of course), Cafe Rio salads, wearing jeans, going to a movie with her dad, holding the twins, playing with Megan, shopping, seeing her grandma Bibby (who is flying in from Alabama) and sleeping.

Well now that we got that out of the way you are probably wondering how she is doing. Sorry it has been so so so long since an update. Well it is way to hard to go back and update you on all that she has done so we will stick to what she is doing now. Sister Hayes is currently serving in the Gila Valley which is where the temple is. The mission president wanted her to learn Spanish in her last couple months on the mission so her last two transfers have been with Spanish speaking companions. It has been hard but it sounds like she is working really hard at it. "At first when I heard that we would be covering all of the Spanish Branch I thought. What? I can't do that, I really don't know Spanish! (which is the truth) But I then remembered something that was said in my patriarchal blessing, it says something along the lines of dismiss doubt from your mind. I know that I am supposed to learn this language because during some point in the future I will need it. I plan on really hitting my knees and pleading with the Lord to help me. I hope that the spirit will help me get across the message that I so badly want to share with these people.....Now about my Spanish again. It is slowly getting better, not that I can speak it at all but I can understand alot more then I ever could before :) We'll keep working on it and praying my heart out."


Her current companion is Hermana Harris from South Carolina. They are serving in the Young Single Adults(YSA) Branch and the Spanish Branch. The work is pretty slow but they are trying hard to find people to teach. Please keep them and those they met in your prayers. "Oh, I've also decided that when I go home, I'm staying in a family ward for a while. I hate singles ward, it is so awkward.UGH! People are very immature and worldly, but at the same time we are all learning. So, just to let you know don't sign me up for Singles Ward anytime soon"

Sister (Hermana) Hayes had an amazing experience this week that I though I would share with you. "Also this week I met a wonderful member of the Spanish Branch. Her name is Sister Barney and let me tell you this world is a small world. So, I was on splits in the Spanish branch with Sis. Barney while Sister Harris was in the YSA Branch. Once sacrament was over in the Spanish branch, Sister Barney took me to go pick up a young lady to bring to the YSA branch. She started asking me the usual missionary questions,
"So Sister where are you from?"
West Jordan, Utah
"Oh, really I have a daughter down there and another relative in South Jordan"
Who's your daughter?
"Her name is Kristen Miles"
Seriously? Oh, my goodness, does she have twins?
"Yes, Grant and Jenny and Anna..."
She's in my homeward, I helped her bathe and dress the twins when they were young, oh my goodness.

During the whole conversation, I was just beaming with excitement. It's like the spirit filled my whole body and I was filled with joy. I was so thankful for this experience because the past few days have been a little rough in this new area with my new companion. Again this was a testimony to me that God is aware of each one of us. This small tender mercy from the Lord brought me so much joy, my whole day was turned around and I had a better attitude." What a simple blessing.

Everything else is going great with Sister Hayes. Like I said before they are just struggling to find people to teach and with their current few investigators. Please remember Sister Hayes in your prayers and if you have time send her a little note. After all, time is running out.

A picture she sent us...

The field is white already to harvest!!!
(cotton fields where she is currently serving)

Another Milestone

Sister Hayes has been serving her mission for 14 months can! Can you believe it?!

I love being a missionary!
It is a bitter sweet feeling today to hit my 14 month mark. I am excited and grateful that I have made it this far but I am also sad because I only have a little 4 months to be a servant of the Lord 24/7.

What an amazing milestone she has hit!! And if that wasn't great enough, she also had an awesome week! Want to know why?

This week was so wonderful we found 7 new investigators this week! Can you believe that. It's just amazing.

What a wonderful blessing for Sister Hayes and her companion! The stories she has to tell are great so I'll let her tell them to you in her own words!!

On Tuesday we received a call from a member in another ward telling us that her in-laws were interested in taking the lessons but that they were requesting to be taught by sister missionaries. So, even though they are not in our ward we are teaching them. What a Powerful lesson we had with them. We started out the lesson by getting to know them and they all had a church background and Tim especially. He knows the Bible very well. So, I was a little bit nervous but as the lesson went on we realized that Tim was agreeing with everything we said, he kept saying, yep that goes along with the Bible I agree. The time came for Sister Mostert to say the First Vision, and they all felt the spirit. Tim and his wife Melina, shook there heads in agreeance and Melina even had tears in her eyes. Melina's mom Linda had her mouth open as if she was in shock. As we asked them how they felt they said that they knew it was true and they were just full of peace and joy.

But just wait, this story gets even better!!

We then set a baptism date with each of them and they will be getting baptized on July 30th. Then the next day when we went back to see them we set a baptism date with 2/3 of their children. They have 3 kids, Tyler (14) Brittany(11) and Trevor (9). We are hoping to talk with Tyler soon and see if he wants to be baptized as well. Just like the subject line says, everytime we go see them I am SOOO Happy!  We come home at night from our appointment with them and I can't sleep because I am so happy  and bubbling over with Joy!!!!! I LOVE IT, I AM SOOOO HAPPY!

Another wonderful story from our favorite missionary!! I am so happy for this family and so proud of Sister Hayes for sharing the gospel with them!!
But there is one little snag in this story. One of the family members, Linda, is currently in the hospital with pneumonia and a lung infection! Say a little prayer for Linda, that she will start to feel better soon!
And here is another story about one of her new investigators!

Another investigator we found this week was Jim. We were tracting in an apartment complex and he didn't answer his door but when we were knocking on some others doors he opened his door and asked if we knocked on his. We told him who we were and he wanted to know the difference between that at Catholic. We weren't able to go inside since he is a single male but we made an appointment with him the next day. The next day we brought a member with us about his age (60's) and we taught him the first lesson. He had tons of wonderful questions and we set a baptism date with him. I think this is the first person that I have taught with a big Catholic background. He served in two wars and he has really struggled sometimes with the concept of God, but he has also had some really strong spiritual experiences/miracles. We invited him  to come to church the next day but he is still recovering from surgery on both of his feet so we told him he could come next week and then we went ahead and set up and appointment for the next day. Well we were planning on teaching him the Plan of Salvation and then he called and said that he had to cancel on us because his 90 year old dad is in the hospital in a coma and he wasn't sure how long it would be. Satan sure has been working hard this week, he knew what we were going to teach him and he knew it would help him. GRRR. So we are hoping to stop by today and see him and hopefully comfort him with God's wonderful plan for us. I'm so excited for all that is going on here in our area right now. We have truly been blessed and the Lord is doing miracles right before our eyes.

I'm so glad Sister Hayes had such a wonderful week!! I don't know about you, but I cant wait to hear more about these wonderful people!!! Now on to some pictures!!

The lovely Sister Hayes sporting her fantastic boot!

Sister Hayes and her companion her late for a dinner with a recent convert!! She forgave them though and left them dinner on the doorstep!

Sister Hayes, Sister Mostert, and Sister Hughes

Our zone BBQ ignore the elders heads on the back of the truck

The lovely Sister missionaries celebrating the 4th of July! They all look so cute in their patriotic colors!

Look at this crazy 4th of July storm!! The missionaries got drenched!!

Sister Hayes AKA The Snake Rangler

Sister Hayes has made it through another week in sunny, hot Tucson!! It's been 100+ degrees there for awhile now! Can you believe that!! SO hot!! It makes our 95 degrees look like nothing!!
It was a very good and spiritual week for Sister Hayes and even a little emotional! Her mission president and his wife {President and Sister Walker} have finished their three year mission are headed home. They had their final Zone Conference with them last week and it sounds like there wasn't a dry eye in the house after their testimony meeting!!

It was President and Sister Walkers last meeting with us, we ended the meeting with a wonderful testimony meeting, and during the closing prayer all you could hear were sniffles. Oh, and I was able to do a musical number, Sister Walker asked me to sing so, I found out what President Walkers favorite hymn is and sang that while Elder Bradley accompanied me. So, I sang 'Our Savior's Love' and after sitting down Sister Mostert told me that President was in tears as I sang. I just love President so much and it was my way of saying thank you to him, by singing his favorite song.

I have never met the Walker's but from everything I have heard about them they sound like amazing people!! I am so glad that they were part of Sister Hayes' mission experience!!

At the end of the meeting we all gave President and Sister Walker a HUG!!! Yep I finally got to hug President Walker! I am so grateful for them and all that they have done to help me. I will truly miss them. As I hugged Sister Walker she whispered in my ear, "Sister Hayes, you will always be our little miracle" it even makes me tearful now. I am so thankful to have been able to serve with them.

I don't know about you, but that makes me a little tearful too!! I am SO proud of Sister Hayes and all her accomplishments so far!!

Now, onto a crazy story in Sister Hayes' own words:

So on Wednesday night we had no one else to go see and it was 8 o'clock, so we decided to go and see Tracie and watch the movie Legacy with her. She was also feeling a little under the weather so we brought her some orange juice. Well, after watching the movie we are saying our goodbyes and as Sister Mostert starts to walk out the door she says, "Tracie, there's a snake in your house." Yep!!! Right as we were walking out a baby snake was slithering in through her front door. (He really was a baby snake, about the same size as the ones we used to kill in the yard but just a little bit longer) So, we all had a little freak out moment for a second and then we said, We have to get him out. Well, my adrenaline started pumping and I was brave enough to say, "give me some gloves and I'll pick him up and put him outside." By the time we found gloves he was slithering up against Tracie's wall behind her shelves which meant that we had to move everything quickly so we didn't loose him. Finally, we found him, as I started to approach him with my gloves and some plastic tuperware to put him in I got a little nervous. I thought, What are these gloves going to do for me? NOTHING, they are only covering my hands, what if he bites my arm. So, I tried my best to get him into the tuperware but he was scared and so was I. (By the way I just got my boot and was hobbling around like a dork.) So, after a few attempts of not getting him into the tuperware I told Sister Mostert to grab me a stick from outside and then we would just scoot him out. As she was grabbing a stick, I started investigator our little snake and thought to myself, wow his head is really profound, what if he's a rattlesnake, well I quickly pushed that scary thought aside and started moving him with the stick. He eventually got to the point  where he was coiled up and he looked either really scared or angry, I like to think he was scared. Well, to make a long story short we led him to the door and off he went. Also, while having this little adventure I kept thinking of the movie Toy Story, where Woody says, "There's a snake in my Boot". Thank goodness the snake didn't find my boot. Well, after telling Tracie that she would be fine and that we would pray that there would be no problems that night we headed home. We were a little late for our curfew but we eventually made it home. Once we were home we asked Sister Charlotte Walker (the member we live with) to look up some pictures of baby snakes. Well, this didn't make us feel any better. After a little research we discovered that our little snake was a baby RATTLESNAKE!!!! AHHHHH!!! Wow I had a hard time sleeping that night. Then the next day we had Zone Conference and we were telling some of the elders about our encounter, and they started telling us that Baby Rattlesnakes are more  poisonous then adult ones, well it's a good thing we didn't know that last night.

Isn't that CRAZY!! AHH! So glad that everything went okay and no one was bitten!!

And I bet you are wondering about the boot she is talking about! Sister Hayes has been having some pain in her foot. She went to the doctor and they gave her a fabulously stylish boot to wear around for the next few weeks!

Unfortunately, they didn't give me a black one so everyone usually tells me that I look like I have a storm troopers boot on from Star Wars. What do you think? 

 Look at these two wonderful hop along missionaries!! Say a little prayer for Sister Hayes' foot that it will start feeling better soon!!

Transfers & Twins

Sorry that it has been so long since I have updated you. If you didn't already know Sister Hayes became an aunt again times two. Her only sister Tiffany (me) had twin baby girls in mid April. Christine is so excited about them and can't wait to hold them. I also can't wait for Sister Hayes to meet her new nieces. Christine is so good with babies and am amazing help. She has a natural talent for caring for others. I have missed her alot but I am so grateful for her sacrifice and service. Our little family has seen the double blessings because of it.
Well Sister Hayes has been through two transfer since my last post (sorry my hands have been a little full). Sister Hamano returned back to her mission in Nauvoo and Christine was put in a threesome with Sister Burri and Sister Olson for about two weeks until transfers. They where pretty busy looking after both areas.

"So, on Saturday Aileen was baptized!!! Wahoo! She was late to her baptism because she woke up sick. When she arrived at the church I stood outside with her and rubbed her back as she threw-up. I was so worried, and told her if we needed to that we could have her baptized next week, but she said "no, I want to do it today." So we went inside and got her dressed. I was so emotional watching her get baptized, we have grown so close to each other and both of us wished that Sister Hamano could have been here. Well, after she got baptized she was feeling a lot better, it was a miracle. She called into work and to make a long story short, she got fired. It's amazing what Satan will do to discourage us, but she realized that maybe there is something better for her out there. So, on Sunday she was confirmed and she said that the spirit was so strong when they were confirming her. The best part about all of this is that her mom and sister were there and I know her mom felt the spirit, there was even a few times were her mom was wiping away tears."

She also had a interview with President Walker and got great advice "It was great to be able to ask him questions about the work and really have a heart to heart with him. As I met with him, he told me how much I have changed. He reminded me that when I go home it is very possible that people won't realize that I have changed and when they do they might be confused but he said, don't change, continue to be the person that you have become out her."

Transfers came and Sister Hayes remained in her area but got a new companion, Sister Hughes from Mountain Green,Ut. This transfers was full of up and downs. They had lots of success at one point they were teaching 10 people. But her and her companion had a hard time getting along (you have to have one of those eventually.) We got to talking to her on Mother's day which was wonderful. Her Grandma Hayes passed a away which was hard for Christine to deal with but luckily she got to talk to her before she passed away. Christine also celebrated her 22nd birthday. They got to go to the temple, what better present could you get. Happy Birthday to you!!! She also got a pretty good tan as they tried to get out and walk more.

And finally to where she currently is. Sister Hayes has been transferred to the Pantano ward which is just about 5-10 minutes east of her last area. Her new companion is Sister Mostert. "Well, more about my companion, she is an air force brat so she grew up all over. She even lived in Japan for a while, AWESOME! She is an absolute sweetheart, and I think we will have no problem getting along. She is majoring in theatre and she went to BYU pre-mission. So we can talk about movies and sing our little hearts out. " They have been having a good time. On P-days they go to the commissary on base to get groceries (thanks to sister Mosterts ID). She got a cool Japanese soda their last week that had a marble in it. Here is her new apartment address:

Sister Christine Hayes
8865 East Bluefield Street
Tucson, AZ 85710

Two last things before this post becomes officially way to long. We found out that She gets o choose when she comes home because her 18 month mark is November 5th she can go home on October 12th or November 23rd. "I'm still not sure what I want to do. It's only six weeks difference but you only get to serve a full time mission once. So I will be praying about what I should do."

Sister Hayes' will get a new mission president the end of this month. I am sure she is excited but that it will also be hard. She has grown so close to President & Sister Walker.

Ok well I think you are now fully updated. I will try not to get so behind again but I can't make any promises. If you get a chance send Chris a letter it would make her day.

What's Going On

Have you been wondering what on earth Sister Hayes is up to?
I know you are all dying to know, so here is the latest!!

Sister Hayes has now been serving for almost exactly  11 months! Here one year mark is coming up so fast which is crazy to think about! This is also her last full week serving with her current companion, Sister Hamano! 

Here are some exerts for this weeks email:

"Wasn't conference great? We were able to to go to the stake center and watch all four sessions of conference. We watched three of the sessions in American Sign Language so that Sister Hamano could get some practice in. It was pretty cool I picked up a lot of new signs." 

"A mission has helped me to realize that Satan really does have an attack on marriages and families in these latter days. I have seen so many families torn apart by Satan grasp on the world today, that's why I love teaching families that against all the horrible things that may go on, they can be a family forever." 

Sister Hayes's favorite talks from conference were:
*Elder Scott: "what a love and respect he had for his wife....I hope you took good notes on what he said."
*Elder Holland: "He is my favorite! I loved the part where he said 'This isn't a fast food joint, you cant have it your way.' He speaks so powerfully...he has the spirit and charity when he speaks."
*Elder Bednar: "[He] has such a wonderful of presenting his talks. I was so grateful when he told everyone that they were normal if they didn't receive amazing revelations all the time. I also loved the way that he related it to the light bulb or the sun slowly coming up in the morning."

Want to know more about LDS General Conference? Go HERE to find out more and to listen to Sister Hayes's favorite talks!!

Sister Hayes and her companion are currently working with a wonderful woman named Aileen. She was able to watch some of conference this weekend. Aileen has some things she is working on but she is hoping to be baptized on April 16th!! This will be such a wonderful blessing for all three of them!!
Another piece of exciting news that Sister Hayes shared is that a family that was recently baptized is working on going through the temple! The woman's husband is currently deployed and the woman and her children are living on a military base. The woman was so excited to show Sister Hayes the dresses her little girls will wear when they go through the temple to be sealed together! Sister Hayes wrote:
"I AM SO EXCITED! They are truly on the right path doing all they can to make it to the temple. Even though her husband is deployed it is not stopping them from preparing."

Speaking of investigators, please remember Sister Hayes when you are praying! Please pray for them to find those that are ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the hearts and minds of those in here area will be open!!

Transfers!!!

So a lot has happen to Sister Hayes since my last post. Sorry it has been so long since I updated all of you. First off Christine has been transferred back to the east side of Tucson. She is white washing the Palo Verde Ward (that means both of the missionaries that were there before are going to new areas so we are starting out fresh and have to rely upon the members and the area book) If that ward sound familiar to you it should it was one of her first wards that she served in with her first companion Sister Jarrett. The ward was very excited to get her back and Christine is looking forward to checking up on her old investigators and converts.

Sister Hayes’ new companion is Sister Hamano. She served in the Nauvoo Visitor Center Mission as an ASL missionary. She will be serving in Arizona for about 3 months and will then return to Nauvoo. Maybe Christine will learn some sign language along with the bit of Spanish she has learned. “It's nice to be back where I know people but it's still hard making changes. I miss Sister Bodily's bubbly personality, when I was around her I could be as dumb and goofy as I wanted. Sister Hamano is very sweet, she is from Hawaii and she is naturally soft spoken. One time she apologized for saying something too loud but really it wasn't loud at all. Maybe I can get her to come out of her shell a little bit more.”

Right now they are living with a member named Sister Solomon. “She was telling us that when she was preparing the room that the missionaries would stay in, (cleaning it top to bottom) that she felt as if it were a sacred place. She works in the temple and she compared it to preparing a room for a temple service. She told us that she knew this is where we would study and pray to our Heavenly Father and that this room would always be a special place. I just thought that was so cool.”

At the first of this month Sister Hayes passed her half way mark of 9 months. “I really am loving the work here and so thankful that I have the opportunity to serve but the longer I'm out the more I realize how MUCH I LOVE MY FAMILY!!! It will be a sad day to leave the mission but it will be such a happy day to be with my family again.”

Well there is still a lot more to update you on but I will just save it for another post or this one would be really long. Hopefully that will be up in a couple days. If you get sometime send Christine a little note she would love it!!

Pictures to sum up the last two months on the Mission.

Sister Hayes' area included where the recent Safeway shooting was. We are so thankful that she is safe. Here are a couple pictures of all the flowers at the site.

"On Thursday, we went and did some service at Sister Velluti's house. She is a widow and she has a walker to help her get around. We went over and racked her leaves and picked lemons off of her lemon tree. Well you know me, since I know how to make yummy Chick-fil-a Lemonade I went home and made some. Delicious!" Isn't it crazy that it is lemon season in the middle of January!!

Sister Hayes cutting a Recent Convert Tammy's hair. This was her first time cutting someone's hair, but Tammy didn't know that. Crazy Christine!!!

Snow in Arizona!

I just wanted to share with you all a little bit of Sister Hayes' last email.

What is that Sister Hayes is holding? No Way, It Can't Be!!!

SNOW in TUCSON, ARIZONA

"The weather has been pretty cold for Arizona. In some parts of Oro Valley and Marana they received snow but we didn't see anything falling. It was probably snowing when we were sleeping. But as you can see from the attached picture we found some snow to hold! That day I was wearing 2 coats, a scarf, gloves and we had hand warmers and toe warmers. It sounds kind of dramatic but once you get used to hot weather and then it drops below 32 degrees you get a little cold."

Sister Hayes and her companion also have been having a hard time finding investigators. Their district and zone leaders came down to help out. They "blitzed" some streets in their area and found some potential investigators. Hopefully their investigator drought will end soon. Please keep them in your prayers and also the people they are contacting.