Hey y'all!

This past two weeks have been insane. God had been so merciful to me. Leaving a happy ending to this great mission. I can't believe I have eight days left of this great mission. When I first arrived in Dyker, I didn't know what to expect. Language was hard but achievable and blind training was hard but it was a great learning experience. 

 I cannot begin to tell you all the miracles and blessings we have experienced in Dyker. Members have opened their arms to us, we have brought many less actives back, we have found golden investigators, and etc. We have received meal appointments almost everyday (not going to help the weight but it's love right?) I have noticed that as we endure our trials with faith, Heavenly Father will bless us tremendously and I have such huge love for Dyker and the people. I have gotten so close to them and we became more like a family.

As I was in the temple with the departing missionaries, I sat and pondered all the ups and downs of my mission. I reflected back and noticed the change within me. I felt the peace in my heart as Heavenly Father said, "My daughter, you did well." I maybe shed a tear or two. I am going to miss this place but I know it's time to start my new journey after the mission.

After the departing temple trip, I had the opportunity to attend the sealing of a wonderful family. Many members from Dyker were there. My lovely trainer, Sister Johnson was there, she had literally been such a huge support and a great example for me and I will always be forever grateful for her. My heart was filled with joy as I hugged everyone at the temple. Watching the sealing has given me so many revelations and I am so excited to see what's God's plan is for me. 

Today was such a fantastic day and I am excited to see you when I come home.

I love ya!

Sister Moore

I loved this picture because I can see Sister Moore's little head poking out :)

Hey!

Today is my preparation day! We got to take two people to the temple this morning! I am so exhausted and tired but at the same time feeling spiritually uplifted! We woke up at 6am and left at 6:30 to go to the temple.  We have been working with Family History and it was so amazing. I love Family History, I think that's the coolest thing ever! It was such a cool experience to go to the temple! I love the temple. We were put in a group with the NYNY North mission elders and their member. The elders are so amazing and this member was in a wheel chair and both of his legs were amputated. He had some female family names to take and we had brought the male names. There were no one to perform baptisms and this one temple worker was willing to volunteer to perform the baptism. It was amazing. I was able to perform the baptisms for the female names for that man and it was incredible! Also, a lot of people went to the temple today for endowment sessions because Elder Christofferson was there! How awesome is that?!?

This week started  stressful and ended with a blessing. I was again caught up in my weaknesses. I was so frustrated and couldn't understand why I was having weaknesses again. I know I am not perfect and never will be perfect. When I was in Terryville, I overcame so many weaknesses and frustration and I thought that I was done overcoming certain things. When I came to Dyker, I have fallen short again on some specific weaknesses and I was not happy about that. Sister Beecher and I were in exchange again. For the fifth time. I just absolutely love her! I told her my circumstance since she was with me pretty much my whole mission. She told me this phrase, "God is bringing you lower so He can help you become higher and stronger." I never thought of it that way. She and I made Vision, Goals, and Plans to help me take baby steps into recognizing God's power and becoming what He wants me to be. It was such an incredible exchange and I had such a uplifting attitude ever since. If there is a certain weakness that you thought you have overcome and it came back again.... Don't get frustrated like I did earlier..... Instead, think about what God wants you to learn from this certain experience. Think about how this certain experience can make you stronger and become what He wants you to become! 

We started practicing for our performance for the Chinese Christmas Party on Monday. Elder Jheng in our district is one of the famous dancers in Taiwan. He is soooo good! The dance is so incredible. We practiced it for 2 hours each day and it's good practice. Elder Jheng loves my moves and we became good friends and he asked me to do a solo along with him in the dance. He said I must continue doing hip hop after my mission. So I will consider it. The Spanish branch has asked me to teach their primary kids dance and thankfully Elder Jheng helped me teach them and that was fun!! Elder Rees and I were their dance leaders. We performed for them last night and oh boy..... They LOVED it! We are now known :) Just now, a relief society president, Lin QiuYue had asked me to perform with her 3 daughters tonight. She saw us dancing hip hop and loved it. So wish me a luck tonight! It's gonna be sooooo much fun!!! 

I have been fasting and praying often for the Chinese branch.  I wanted to show that I love them and that I truly do care about them. I kept on going and serving and now I have seen the blessings that started to appear. We never had lunch or dinner appointments till yesterday. We got fed lunch by a member, dinner by another member, and dinner by the Spanish branch yesterday. We just got fed lunch today by a member. That to me was a blessing. We were able to personally get to know them and enjoy our time with them and they finally love us. Well.... There goes my diet. I actually lost 14 pounds but I thinks it's coming back because of all the food. Haha! Miracles are finally happening. Miracles happen when we keep the faith burning within us! 

Oh, we are taking 3 people to the temple on December 29th. 3 endowments and 2 of them are getting sealed. We are so excited! Through all the craziness, the week is not over yet and we are soon to accomplish all of our Goals! God truly has been so merciful to us. The people are amazing, the language is coming quickly, the gospel is so real!! I truly love life!!!

Well, I got to go.  The Chinese party is tonight!  

I love you mom!!!  I am so lucky to have you in my life and as my mother,

Sister Moore

Bensonhurst Wall

Dear Mama,

This week was a time of testing and a time of trials! I struggled so much this week but I am grateful for hardships. We pretty much lost almost all of our investigators and the members are pretty tough. I just got discouraged and sometimes when we get discouraged, Satan can easily tempt us to make mistakes and I must tell you that I wasn't at my best this week. I got so tired that I asked the elders to give me a blessing last night to give me comfort and counsel and in part of the blessing he said, "Sister Moore, keep your eyes forward and have courage!" That just struck me hard. I couldn't sleep and decided to repent and pray last night and hopefully things will change the next 3 weeks. I love my mission so much!! The last two weeks have been the hardest time of my entire mission. I may not be successful here in Dyker Heights but I know that I have learned how to change and grow here. I am learning how to overcome my natural man and rely on the Savior through the Atonement so I may prepare myself when I am home.

Dionna just left for Singapore to go home this week! She was our golden investigator. She called us at the airport, "Sisters, I miss you. I wanted to call you and let you know!" We prepared her with the church's information :) We are so excited for her!



Here are two miracles that occurred this week:



We met with Christy again on Saturday. Since she has a PhD in Biology, she told us of her recent success. She had written an article about a certain cell and recently found out on Tuesday that it will be published in one of the most famous magazines in New York. She said she feels like she had more success because of us talking about God last week when we first met with her. She said she feels different and is starting to know who she is through prayer and has been finding a different sense of peace in her heart. We are helping her recognize that it's God that's helping her. We are so excited to see where the next few weeks will take us! She will try to come to the Christmas party this week and we are excited. We are performing for the Christmas party as well.




We got a random text from a girl name Bonnie on Tuesday. She just recently moved from Hong Kong and told us that she has been meeting with missionaries for a year. She met with missionaries in Hong Kong and in Taiwan! She knows it's true, she just doesn't understand why she has to get baptized in the church since she was baptized in a different church. We are trying to help her understand. I was very bold but loving with her and she was willing to accept the offer of being baptized in this church. She has an adorable 5 months old son who smiles all the time and she loves music. She is participating in the Christmas program with the branch next Sunday so that will be exciting! When she practiced with everyone, everyone just adored her and talked with her. They whispered to us, "She needs to get baptized so she can become our counselor." We are working on it! Don't worry. She texts us everyday to followup with us on meeting with her and have a conversation with us. We are excited for her!



I love my district...they are like family!



Service can forever change lives. Sister Johnson and I started to recognize how small and simple things brought to pass great things. We don't have to do major service just to make someone smile. We saw a Jewish couple with flowers walk past us... A few minutes later we found a rose on the ground. Sister Johnson wanted to pick it up but decided to walk past it. I told her to get it and she did. We met a Chinese lady sitting on the steps of an apartment and she didn't look happy and Sister Johnson gave the flower to her and her smile became so big! I had food in my bag that I chose not to eat and saw a homeless man and sacrificed my food for him and he smiled! The next day, Sister Johnson and I bought food for this homeless man and he was so happy and kept saying, "Thank You!" Yesterday, I saw a women at the subway and she didn't have a lot of clothes on. She was so poor and so sad. I got on the subway when I saw her and the door closed. I so badly wanted to help her, I wanted to give my jacket to her. I regretted this decision and this prompting that I didn't follow. I hope to see her again so I can offer her my jacket for the winter. It's hard to see these homeless people. I just want to help them by offering my things, my clothes, and my food! That moment of seeing that lady taught me a lot of lessons and I will try my best to not ignore the prompting of the spirit again of reaching my hands out to others!! We had many more experiences!! Serve those that are around you whether they are members or not! I promise you that your heart will be enlarged and filled with love and joy for reaching our hands out!



I love you sooooo much mama! 

Sister Moore

Sister Moore with Brandon's Mission President,
Elder Kunz

Hey!!

This weekly is going to be a miracle one. We have witnessed so many miracles which is unbelievable before my own eyes! After a discouraging and frustrating week last week, I knew we must go on with faith and with hope that God had something great before us. I felt it in my heart that it's gonna be amazing and it was.

Last week I felt prompted to give one of our investigators, Lisa a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read. We gave her Alma 32 about faith and that we will discuss it with her the next time we meet. On Tuesday, we met with her again. She told us she only read to verse three because she had a question and was confused. The power of the spirit was so incredible that I was able to explain the meaning in Chinese. Her question led to another question and to another question..... She trusted us so much that she asked us deep thoughtful questions. All the sudden Lisa asked us when she can get baptize! Sister Johnson and I thought we were both deaf.... We asked her to repeat her question. She said the same question and she will be getting baptized in the end of the month. We are super excited. It was crazy to think that 8 weeks ago she felt forced and stressed with being baptized and now she is super happy and excited. It's amazing to see the changes we saw in her. The gospel can change lives. After the lesson I got a sweet email from one of my investigators from Terryville telling me that she will be getting baptized on January 10. Then we went home and checked the mailbox and received another amazing letter from another investigator in Terryville and she will be getting baptized at the end of the month! Miracles are happening!!! I love them all!

The next day, we had a mega zone conference which mean 3 different zones combined and so that meant we had a specialized training with President Reynolds, his wife, and his two assistants. It was such an amazing meeting. They talked a lot about the atonement and how it can personally change our lives. I truly testify what they taught us is true. It's never too late to change no matter how many times we fail at a certain thing or how many mistakes we have made, the Lord is right by our side and He wants to lift us up. Oh, they asked me and few other missionaries to give our departing missionary testimony. That one was hard.

That night, I went on an exchange with Sister Beecher out to Bensonhurst. This was my 4th exchange with her and can I tell you how much I love her. Every time I am on exchanges with her, I always receive revelations and inspirations from her through the spirit. She is such an amazing person. I always have concerns and questions and Sister Beecher always answers my concerns and questions even without telling her about it. We had miracles that occurred on our exchange. As soon as we left the house to do some work, I felt prompted to wave hi to a lady. She stopped and we both talked. We explained that we were missionaries and she asked if it was the church nearby and we said yes. She was so happy. She went to that church last week when it was over and explained that she is interested and really wants to come to church. We exchanged phone numbers and off we went. I talked to 3 Chinese people and that was fun. Since Sister Beecher was new to Bensonhurst, she had to try and lead us to places. She went the wrong direction and I saw a lady sitting against the wall and she looked like she was struggling. I kept walking ahead but something tells me to go back and after the third time feeling that strong impression that I must go back, I turned around with Sister Beecher and walked back. I knelt down and asked, "Hey, how are you?" She struggled to talk and then the more we talked with her, the more she opened up with us. She was struggling and asked why we were there. She told us that she had met with missionaries before, then she told us that she saw her husband kill himself and then her son kill himself. She became a drug addict, drunker, and was put in jail. She asked us why we are not running away from her. I saw in her eyes that she was feeling she had no hope. Sister Beecher and I shared a message of love and hope. We managed to make her smile. We were sitting with her for a good hour. She kept saying that nothing will help her and we just testified often and she looked at us and said, "How can I keep in touch with you?" We exchanged numbers and gave her a big hug! She is such a sweetheart. I am grateful that God prompted me to go back to her. It was such a great feeling to know we have something that can truly heal someone! We helped her up and it was such a great reward to see someone who thinks her life is over to knowing that she has a great hope in her eyes. She started to open her eyes to see there is something great waiting for her. Guys, we have something that can automatically change someone's life!! Share it!! Love it!! Live it!! If Sister Beecher and I didn't talk to her, imagine where she would be right now? We gave her hope and love that she needed. It was amazing!

We met with two new investigators on Saturday and those two are super amazing!! Those two were actually referrals given to us. Christy and Diane.  Christy had such a hard life and her friend was a member of the church in the New York North Mission area. When her friend knew Christy was struggling, she told her that we would be able to help her. We got the referral from the New York North Mission. We called Christy and set up an appointment and met with her. She is a beautiful young intelligent lady with a hard past. She told us what she was struggling with. She said she didn't know who God was but she knew there is a higher power. Through her struggles she had questions and she told us that she know there is someone who is always there for her but doesn't know who it is. We were excited as we taught the first lesson and Christy started to cry. We taught her how to pray and she had the biggest smile on her face. She wants us to come back on Saturday and teach her more so we are so excited.

Later we met with Diane and we had Lulu come and help us teach Dionna. Her friend also introduced Diane to the church and met with us. She was so happy to meet with us but so sad she will be heading back to Signapore on December 18. We told her that there are missionaries where she is at and promised her that we will help her. She knows the gospel is true and powerful! We taught her how to pray and she cried through the whole prayer. Lulu cried which made me what to cry. Diane gave me a long hug and you could tell that she was grateful! We will be seeing her this week. Super bummed she is heading back to Singapore but she will be more prepared when she goes back to Singapore.  

My sweet companion loves to ask questions about a lot of things. On Saturday she asked me questions about "separation." So yesterday after stake conference, the elders and us were on our way to the subway. Elder Wu passed through the gate , then Elder Jheng, then Sister Johnson, then me, then Elder Switzer. Everyone started to run to the subway since it just arrived. I turned around and saw Elder Switzer still stuck in the gate and finally he passed through and Elder Wu, Elder Jheng, and Sister Johnson got on the subway and the door shut and left me and Elder Switzer behind. Soooooo..... Elder Switzer got frustrated and I am standing there laughing off my head off and then Elder Switzer decided to laugh with me and we ended up talking about our amazing investigators. Subway came and we got on and met up with the other missionaries, they were all frustrated and I'm still laughing! One for the books though! 

On Saturday, we had stake conference and we went to a room where it was reserved for missionaries. So we sat there watching the big screen and then President Reynolds came in and wanted 20 missionaries to come and sit on the stand with Elder Rasband. 20 missionaries left and the other 20 missionaries were still in the room. Elder Rasband asked President if that was all the missionaries and President Reynolds said, "No, we still have 20 more." Elder Rasband said, "Have all of the missionaries bring their chairs and sit up on the stand with me." And that is what we did. When we got on the stand, I saw Elder Kunz who accompanied Elder Rasband on the trip. I was like what?! Brandon's mission president was there! That was so cool! The Saturday night conference was so amazing. Elder Rasband talked alot about missionary work. He talked about Pakistan and how they have churches and missionaries there! It was incredible. He was so pumped about sharing the gospel. After conference Elder Rasband wanted to shake everyone's hands and Elder Kunz was standing next to him. Is it really bad that I wanted to see Elder Kunz more than Elder Rasband because he was Brandon's mission president? They had to go so I wasn't able to shake their hands. 

Yesterday, We went to downtown Brooklyn to attend the stake conference at the Marriott Hotel. We honestly felt rich and fancy being there. It was eloquent. Since we were there early at the hotel, I saw Elder Kunz standing. I walked up to him and he saw me, and put out his hand and said, "I'm Elder Kunz." We got into a conversation about Brandon and he was so happy to talk about him. He complimented Brandon on many things. He asked me if I was just like Brandon? I laughed maybe. He asked if we could have a picture. We got a picture together on his phone and he told me he will send the picture to Brandon. He is such an amazing guy. Afterward we saw Elder Rasband standing, we went to him and introduced ourselves. We had a short conversation about the work and he is such a happy guy!! The Stake Conference was about missionary work and I love how they were trying to help us get excited about the work! I love missionary work!! Share it with someone you know and love!!! 

Last night, We met a member's mom, Zena. The elders couldn't teach her anymore because her husband stopped investigating the church. The Elders told us that she doesn't open up much and thought Sisters would do better. So they introduced us to her and then went  into another room to teach her son who was just recently baptized two weeks ago. Zena and her daughter, Lexi opened up so much with us and told us how grateful she is that we came and taught her. We are super excited to see where she heads in the future. She knows the gospel is the only way she can receive peace and happiness in her life. 

It's true that attitude is everything! I love how we can all still change and progress! I know I am not perfect and I don't have to be perfect but I know I can do better. I love how Heavenly Father has given us tools to help us progress and to change. It's our responsibility how we responds to the tools he has given us. It's our responsibility how we respond to our trials, our opportunities, how we interact with those around us, work, school, family, and especially the gospel. What's your attitude toward church, scripture reading, and prayer? If you feel forced to, stressed out, too busy, or tired to go or to do, I want to invite you to figure out a way to change your attitude about it because I know that we will feel the love Heavenly Father has for us and I know He will help us to succeed in life. Attitude changing is the first step. The gospel is the only way it can help us get back to Heavenly Father! That's the best gift ever!

Love you!

Sister Moore