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.