Hello everyone!

I cannot believe January is almost over... where did it go? We are already halfway through this transfer and each week flies by.

We started teaching 3 new investigators and all of them are solid. Grecia, Yoselin and Mckinley all referrals from members. Each one has already had a lot of interaction with the church and 2 of them in our first visits told us they wanted to be baptized! I am so thankful for the members here. Tonight we are going out with everyone for FHE to find less actives and invite them to come to our activities. We have seen a lot of success with it in other wards so we cant wait to give it a try.

Eric is still doing really good. We are waiting to hear back about his baptism/probation situation but he could not be more of an example to me! He has been paying tithing ever since we taught it to him 3 months ago and he hasn't skipped a week of church yet. He got a new job and they wanted him to work Sundays but as we were reading the scriptures with him last week he read a verse in Mosiah that said we should keep the Sabbath day holy. Right then he picked up his phone and called his manager to get Sunday off and his manager said okay. It was the sweetest tender mercy. I learn so much from him and he glows now. I wish I had more pictures to share of him but from when I first met him to now he looks like a totally different person. 

I'm sure a lot of you have heard about the change in the mission field that was announced in the missionary broadcast and I wont go into detail but I think it is so awesome! As our zone watched the broadcast together everyone gasped when they announced the change in key indicators. lol. The leaders of the church are giving us more agency and trust. As missionaries we have to be a lot more accountable for our work. I think we are going to see a lot more convert baptisms around the world. 

I love you all! 

love,

Sister Nye

Hello all you lovely people,

Another wonderful and psycho week in El Paso. haha. I honestly still can't believe I am here some days. We had a wind storm Saturday and we had to drive around like 10 trash cans that were in the middle of the street. Side note : flowy skirts are not good in wind.

We had Sahlma's baptism on the 21st and her conformation at church the next day! It was my favorite Sunday so far. Sahlma got confirmed and then welcomed into the ward and then Buddy and Killian both got sustained to get the Aaronic Priesthood. I had tears and my eyes the whole time and it was such a special moment. I love them so much and to see them standing in front of the congregation with big smiles on their faces made my whole mission worth it.

We started teaching two guys names Jeffrey and Tony this week. They refuse to call it lessons and instead call it bible study. Both of them are well versed in the bible and like to quote it all the time. I get really frustrated because Tony will say a bible verse like he is trying to prove us wrong and it always just ends with us saying "We agree...we also believe in the bible." over and over. I honestly thinks it shocks them that we believe it too and they can't wrap their heads around it. Ahhh...anyways rant over.

Our members are working super hard to get us referrals and it is paying off. If all goes well we should have 4 new solid investigators! I just wanted to add that all the people I have taught that get baptized are referrals from members. When they have that support from friends they progress a lot faster.

So many amazing things are happening here and I know I am where I need to be. El Paso is called Zion in our mission and it is so true. There are so many people being prepared here and I just get to help them find the way.

I hope everyone has an amazing week. I love you all so much and I miss you like crazy!

I love you!

Love Sister Nye

Hello all you lovely people that I miss so much!

This week was a struggle but so great in the end! I got my new companion on Tuesday and right away we went to work. Our area is huge and overwhelming but with a lot of prayer Sister Plitt and I got the hang of it together and started seeing a lot of miracles. 

The first night we went through our new ward list and organized everyone into colored areas. Only 40 of 170 members are in our area which means we can only go visit 40 people! We are working super closely to our ward missionaries to make sure all of those members get visited.

We had to do a lot of finding this week which meant A LOT of knocking. El Paso doesn't have a specific area where the college kids live but some how almost all the doors we knocked on had a YSA at home. My entire time in this area nothing like that has ever happened. I know Heavenly Father was answering our prayers.  

On Friday we met President Guffey to talk about our YSA ward. We are going to be introducing some awesome tools into this work that I am so excited about. The first one involves us getting onto the UTEP campus. Right now we aren't allowed but we will be starting a club and a class to teach family history. I don't even know how to do family history but luckily President thinks these things through so Sister Plitt and I will begin taking family history training for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully we will begin the UTEP classes next transfer.

We have Sahlma's baptism this Saturday. She is so prepared and ready. She chose Called to Serve as her closing hymn because she wants to serve a mission in a year. I look up to her so much. 

Last night we got to go to FHE at the ice skating rink. We didn't get to skate but we got to watch a lot of people fall so it was worth it. So many members brought their friends and we met a lot of great potentials. I feel so blessed to be in YSA ward. This ward is so involved in missionary work. 

Elder Pearson came to our mission a couple weeks ago and explained this rule to us. Everyone is on a scale of 1-7. A 1 is someone who slams the door in our face or your friends that you think will never be religious. A 7 is someone that is ready to be baptized. Rarely do people jump from 1's to 7's over night. They have to progress. 1's become 2's and 2's will become 3's. 

When missionaries come to your home and ask you for friends or acquaintances you can share the gospel with they aren't looking for 7's. We are inviting you to share the gospel in simple ways by being an example to those 1's and 2's so they can feel the light of Christ and recognize it for when they feel it again. Everyone knows this gospel...they have just forgotten it. It is our job as members of this church to remind them.

I am so thankful for this Gospel. I know Jesus Christ lives and he loves every single one us of. 

I love you all.

Love Sister Nye

Hello all my loved ones,

This week has been soooooo bitter sweet. I'll start with the Sweet!

We had two baptism this week and they were so powerful. Buddy shared his testimony at the end of his and the spirit was so strong. I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. We taught him all the lessons in 2 weeks and he just got it. Everything clicked to him and it was such a testimony to me that everyone knows these things they just need to be reminded and have a heart soft enough to listen.

At Church they got confirmed as members and received the Holy Ghost. At first Killian wasn't there so we had to proceed with the sacrament and testimony meeting. After the sacrament was passed Sis Hazen and I went outside and called Killian who had been sleeping and didn't set an alarm. He rushed over really quick and before the closing prayer was confirmed. Thank Heavens!

Our investigator Sahlma told us at church that she received her answer and she wants to be baptized on 21st! WOOHOO! Also she wants to go on a mission next year and guys I am so happy for her. She is so ready and when she told her parents they told her it was her choice and they would support her in whatever she does. Prayers have been answered!!!

So here is the bitter.... my wonderful, amazing, and beautiful companion Sister Hazen is being transferred up to Santa Fe to be a sister training leader. I have been crying all weekend ever since we got the call but I am so excited for her. She is the best missionary and she is going to bring so many souls to Christ in that hipster town. I got to be blessed to be trained by her. ahh..... It just doesn't even seem real. 

My new companion is awesome though. Her name is Sister Plitt and she is companions with my MTC companion. They have both been in my district since I got here so I have worked with her a lot. It will be super different but Sis Plitt is going to make be a better missionary and I can't wait to learn and grow even more.

I love you all! I miss you like crazy and I really miss Jimmy Fallon but the mission is so worth it and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

LOVE,

Sister Nye

Happy 2017 everybody! 

This was a super awesome week and lots of great things happened!

First off we have two baptisms this week and we are so excited! Both Killian and Buddy are so prepared and ready for this next step in their life. 

Our greatest miracle last week was a former investigator who messaged us telling us she was ready to learn more! Her name is Sahlma and she is so sweet. She stopped investigating originally because her mom told her she wasn't allowed to come to our church. The first lesson we had with her last week she told us that she didn't feel as close to God as she had when she was attending out church and she wanted to feel that again. We had another lessons with our investigator Eric right after one of Sahlma's lessons and we told her she could stay if she wanted. We were going over the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Eric so we were just going to read 2 Nephi 31. She decided to stay and I am so glad because on the last two verses it was her turn to read and as she read she started crying and said "I think I just got my testimony". Everyone was tearing up. It was so special. On Sunday night at the end of her lesson she said "Can I ask you a question? Will you pray for me to know what day I should be baptized?" uhhh heck ya we will! She want's to be baptized this month and she told us she knows this church is true. I am so happy for her and she has been such a blessing.

Yesterday our mission president had us stay inside for what he called "A day with the Lord". It started right when we woke up at 6:30. We had to open an envelope that told us what to do and it said "Open up your brand new paper back book of Mormon and start reading all the way through. If you don't finish at 10:30 when you go to bed text me what page you ended on and we will council what you should do." I sat in the same chair for 16 hours yesterday reading. The only time I got up was at 6 PM when the pizza delivery guy came. I think  I didn't finish...I only got to page 354 but I was so exhausted. I caught myself reading the same verse for like 25 minutes. 

I want everyone to send me their New years resolutions! Mine comes from Moroni 7:45, to have charity but specifically to think no evil and endure everything with a positive attitude. 

And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

I LOVE you all so much! I know 2017 is going to be a great year!  

Your favorite Sister,

Sister Nye

This is a picture of the puzzle I finished this week while on my lunch breaks each day!