TENDER WEIRDNESSES

Hello!

Last night in a lesson we were talking about the tender mercies of the Lord, the little things he does for us.  Well, the girl we were teaching doesn't like the phrase, tender mercies, so she changed it to tender weirdnesses. Haha. I love it. It's kind of catchy, so today I'm going to share with you the tender weirdnesses of life as of late.

(note from Jeanette:  I like tender mercies MUCH better, myself.  Nothing that the Lord does is "weird."  Merciful describes Him much better.  But oh well; this is Lexi's story.  Ya gotta love it.)  

This week was FILLED with tender weirdnesses.  We had a couple exchanges, so Sister Smith was in Riverton and Worland 2nd ward, and I was here in Worland with a couple new sisters.  It was fun to be with them! Tender weirdness #1- Sister Bain was with me, and she knows how to fix bikes! Good thing because I'd never seen a bike tube before, haha, but now I know how to patch one up! Tender weirdness #2- in 105 degree heat, someone let us in and we were able to talk with her for a while! Tender weirdness #3- our investigator who was missing all day the day of his baptism, showed up! Tender weirdness #4- President Mecham was doing interviews this week, so I got to talk with him for a while, and that is always great! Tender weirdness #5- I read a talk yesterday that helped answer some of my prayers recently :)

That's not all, but that is a few.  I am grateful for the tender weirdnesses of the Lord.  Nothing is coincidence, and the Lord is always looking out for us.  Sometimes, it might not seem so, but I know it's true.   Nephi says, "...the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." (1 Nephi 1:20)

I love this gospel! I know it's true.  I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us! I'm trying to recognize his love and blessings more in my life.  He is merciful, and I am grateful for all He does for me.

Love you all! Have an awesome week!

Love always,

Sister Hixson<3

 Craaaaaazzzzyyyyyyyyy!  

 Lex "before her haircut."  What?  And she didn't send pics of the haircut?  Maybe next week...I hope.  

Apparently this is a "beautiful sunset" that didn't show up on camera very well.

So we'll look at beautiful Lexi instead!

 Taken on May 1, 2013...first day in the MTC

Taken on July 16, 2014 at a Mission Leader Council in Billings.

Still "Sisters in the Lord"...(Lexi's words)

Look at how Lexi is standing.  She must be from Utah!

Grateful

Hello!

One thing that has been impressed on my mind lately is gratitude.  In my mission, we travel A LOT.  And good thing I love traveling! Every time we get in the car and are driving through the beautiful lands of Wyoming and Montana, my concerns and worries seem to fade, and I just become so grateful.  Grateful to be a missionary.  Grateful for the gospel.  Grateful for Jesus Christ who is by my side each day as I go out to share His word.  Grateful that, though days and times are hard, I can remember that God knows all things and is with me as I try.  I am grateful for personal scripture study every day! 

The other night, Sister Smith felt impressed for us to see Bianca, someone we recently started teaching. We had just headed out for the evening on our bikes, and I said a prayer in my heart expressing my desires to just be where the Lord needed us to be.  We went over to Bianca's, and her husband said come back in like 15 minutes, so we decided to knock on a couple doors in the apartment complex.  One of them was one that we had driven by about a week ago, and I had told Sister Smith that next time we were there, I wanted to knock on that door.  We were walking to the door, when we met the neighbor, Juan.  We ended up teaching him the whole first lesson right there, inviting him to be baptized, and giving him a Book of Mormon. Then his grandma came up and said she has taken all the lessons from sister missionaries before and believes that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and that the Book of Mormon is true! She said she was never baptized because she grew up Catholic and just doesn't want to break from tradition.  They both invited us back to teach them tonight, and we are so excited! The grandpa is from Mexico and said he will be there too! Sister Smith and I were SO happy that he is from Mexico! We felt a little at home, and Sister Smith even broke out her awesome Spanish-speaking skills with him! Haha. It's the little things that make you happy, like Mexicans.  Then, we headed over to another referral we had in the same apartment complex.  On the way, we met this little eleven-year old girl named Shauna with her little baby sister, Bernadette (in case you are wondering, it's not unusual for kids to talk to strangers about their lives....I would say that's a bad thing, but it sure isn't with missionaries!)  She was so cute, and we let her go, and then ended up meeting her Mom as we went to contact that referral.  Her Mom explained that she wasn't too interested but she talked with us for a while. When we handed her a plan of salvation pamphlet, Shauna comes up and asks for one too.  We were able to share our testimonies of Christ with her, and she began reading it right away! Her Mom said we could stop by if they are home and maybe share some more with Shauna.  Well, long story short, we headed from their house to Bianca's, and talked with Bianca, met her husband, and met their neighbor, John, who thought I was from Utah because of how I was standing. Confused. 

Anyways, it was an adventurous night! As we rode our bikes home, I marveled at the answer to my prayer.  We were in the right place at the right time! In this case, we were able to see that.  I feel like a lot of times, we don't even know what impact we have made.  We get told all the time by people, oh yeah! We saw you riding your bikes through town the other day!  It's amazing how watched we are as missionaries and as people.  I believe that our examples are seen much more than we realize.  I have to remind myself of this often or I forget.  It's a reminder for me to always try to be the best I can.

I wanted to say some more things, but I can't remember what they are anymore.  Honestly this week has been one of the most up-down weeks ever.  BUT, it's life, and I love it! If it weren't up and down, it would be boring.  And I am learning that I must make a more concerted effort each day to remember my Savior so that when life goes down a little, I can still be filled with hope.  Because that IS the message of the gospel!

Love you all! Seriously, I do.  Don't forget it, and most importantly don't forget our Savior, Jesus Christ loves you too!

Love always,

Sister Hixson <3  

from July 14

Hello :)

I hope you all are doing well. I love you all and thank you for your prayers and love.  They help a lot!

I wasn't sure what to write this week.  It's hard to remember for one, and there's too much to write anyways ;) 

I'd love to just share my testimony today.  It's been a tough few weeks, and the Lord has been teaching me a lot.  I know that God is real.  I know that He is with us even when we don't feel it.  He does love us and know us. I've tried to understand His ways, and every time I do, I realize how much I don't know and must leave it in His hands.  I know that He answers prayers and brings us comfort and peace.  This week, I realized that all my prayers were asking, asking, and I didn't really feel grateful for much.  I decided to change that and say only grateful prayers for a while.  It's only been two days, but I already am feeling better.  My struggles don't necessarily leave, but I feel a little stronger.  I know that Christ lives.  He can ease our burdens.  I know that as we humble ourselves, He can make more of us.  I know that the gospel is true, and I am so grateful to have it in my life.

I love you all! Have an awesome week.

Philippians 4:13

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Love always,

Sister Hixson :)

"I gave up my lunch money so pray for me."

This week has been awesome.  Honestly, as I write that, i can't remember what happened, but i know that i feel like it was awesome. Haha.  

We spent the first couple days in Riverton for meeting, and we came back to Worland Tuesday night. We had a lesson with the Crippens, and it was so cool to see them so interested in the Plan of Salvation. The mom is a less-active member, and she doesn't remember a lot.  Their family wants the gospel in their lives.  It's just really hard to change.  If you could all pray for their family, that would be amazing.  They are seriously amazing. I met them a few weeks ago, and every time we see them, i feel like I've known them for years.  

The Fourth of July was awesome! The Fourth of July has become my favorite holiday along with Christmas...I love the United States! And I love celebrating it! We were planning on going to Ten Sleep, the town of about 250 people 30 minutes away. They have a big parade and celebration there, and everyone in Worland goes there for it, but plans kind of changed, and Sister Smith and I felt that it would be better for us to stay in Worland and tract. We spent the morning contacting referrals and then tracted houses that we felt we should knock on. So many people were home, and we were able to teach several lessons with people we just met! Most of them weren't interested in taking the lessons or being baptized, but they really appreciated us talking with them, and we were able to bear our testimonies to them, and that is always a privilege. It is so awesome to know that everyone is my brother and sister. I love knowing that when I talk to people.  Even when they don't accept, I just am grateful to know that I am their sister and I am bringing them the truth, whether it's time for them to accept it or not.  Worland is the treasure of Wyoming....you know, since I've seen all of it, and really know ;) but really, as we ride our bikes around, we find houses and places that make us feel like we are in a movie or in another country.  On the fourth of July we went to Hawaii and England all in one day. World travelers :) 

Sunday was so good. Tom got confirmed and bore his testimony twice.  He is a miracle for this area and for all of our lives.  Bro. Wilde, his chiropractor and friend who met him and introduced him to the gospel three weeks ago exactly, bore his testimony and said how Tom is such an example because he has changed his life around so quickly and faithfully.  Then Tom got up and explained how it has not been easy.  He was reminded about fasting Saturday night, and here he was fasting (and he will be the first to tell you, he loves his meat!), but he chose to fast as soon as he was reminded about it. He said, "I may not make it today, but I gave up my lunch money, so pray for me." He is moving forward with great faith, and we all admire him for it.  I have a great love for Tom.  He is sixty eight and has the most awesome Texan accent, and he has opened his heart and mind to God. Because he has, he has been taught so much and his life has truly changed for the better.  It makes me think about how much we can really do when we listen to our Heavenly Father and obey him- how much we can become when we do that.  We can truly become who HE wants us to be, which is much better than who we think we can be. 

I had a special experience on Friday when we were out walking, contacting referrals.  We walked past this house with the garage open and five men standing around their motorcycle drinking their beer.  I had the opportunity to stop and testify to them of the gospel.  They smirked a little at first, but then they got quiet and just listened.  They kindly declined and laughed saying that they obviously weren't ready for those changes in their life right now.  They accepted a pass-along card, and we went on our way.  This experience was special because as I testified I felt again that what I was saying was true.  The gospel is true.  Some people don't have it because they don't know it exists. They don't know that yes, we do know where we go after this life! Yes, we do know that there is actually an ordinance that binds our families together forever! Yes, we do know that there is a purpose for this life! and that, yes, you can fulfill your purpose as you rely on the Lord!  Yes, He speaks to you and will answer your prayers so you know what to do!  Yes, He loves you and knows you! It seems that some people just accept that we just don't know, or, they choose a church that seems to fit with most of what they think, or where they feel most comfortable, or where they feel the most love from the people.  And those are all good things! But, we can know that we are being taught the truth by praying about it.

I am grateful for the opportunity to testify of the gospel.  There was a young boy in our ward who got up at the very end of Fast and Testimony Meeting yesterday to bear his testimony.  The first thing he said was, "Just seeing everyone get up and bear their testimonies has given me the inspiration to bear mine."  I know that our testimonies strengthen others, even when it's awkward :)

Here is a scripture I liked this morning :)

3 Nephi 9:22 

"Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will i receive, for of such is the kingdom of God."

I love you all! have an awesome week!

Sister Hixson

Taking a minute to rest 

 Happy missionaries

 Biking in a skirt...talented

Came home to discover screen from the window was off and tons of bugs had become their roommates.  Killed them with bug spray to the ceiling.  Winner!