"For the First Time in Forever.... Transfers Didn't Effect Me"

October 24, 2016

Hi Family and Friends!!!

Another great week has flown by here in Nebraska! I hope you all appreciated my "Frozen" referenced subject line. It was transfer week and literally for the first time since the beginning of May, transfers didn't do anything to me! Woot woot!! I am staying in the Winter Quarters Ward with Sister Orton :)

A lot of my week was dedicated to making the Trail Center Schedule for all of the Sisters, and helping the sisters get adjusted in their new areas. I love being able to help all of the sisters here as much as I do :) It is so rewarding!!

Last week, me and the Nebrasquad hit our 1 year as missionaries!!! It seriously feels like yesterday that I was laying in bed on the first night at the MTC, staring at the ceiling, thinking "what in the heck did I get myself into?" But let me tell you.. This mission that I have gotten myself into has been the best decision of my life. This past year has been so hard, but it has been so rewarding. I have never had this happiness before, and I know it is because the materialistic things do not matter anymore! All that matters is serving the Lord, and that is was true happiness is. Happiness is being able to see the gospel change another persons life. Happiness is coming to know that The Book of Mormon is true. Happiness is the knowing that we truly CAN have an eternal family. We are so blessed to have all of this knowledge!!! If you ever feel like you aren't truly happy, take a second and think about what you are doing with this beautiful knowledge of the gospel. Are you sharing it? Are you applying it? I can promise you that as you understand the importance and the seriousness of the gospel, you will feel that TRUE joy that Russell M. Nelson talked about in his recent conference talk.

Sister Orton and I were able to skype with some people from the Visitors Center department in Salt Lake last week! It was so cool! They were able to train us on some new things about Teaching Center, and then we were able to train the Sisters at the Trail Center about those things on Saturday! I love being able to learn new ways to improve. :)

Anyways, not too much to update you on this week! Since transfer week was wild, we didn't have much time to do a lot in our area! There was a ward Halloween party last week, and it was great! Sister Orton and I were able to meet more members of the ward. A less-active woman in our ward brought two of her non-member friends, and it was awesome! Sister Orton and I got to know them and we taught them the restoration. They asked a lot of great questions! By the end of our conversation, they both wanted copies of The Book of Mormon and wanted to meet with missionaries! They both aren't in our area, but it was still so amazing to teach them and to see their desire for truth. I love being a missionary!

Anyways, I hope you all have a good week! You are in my prayers. Thanks for all of the support :)

Love,
Sister Missy Hutchison

Fall is coming and going!!

Same ^

ONE YEAR

We had to get the finger one too, of course!

we get sick of taking smiling ones!

Dinner with Sister Cope

Running with the Dinosaur

This picture was an accident but it ended up pretty hipster so it's fine

Music and Authorities!

October 17, 2016

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a good week last week :) I had a good week, as well! Pretty busy, as usual, but the best, as usual :)

Sister Orton and I went on a couple of exchanges this week! I was able to be with Sister Irwin for one of them, so that was super fun! It was fun seeing how we have both grown since the MTC (which was almost a year ago, sooo weird). But, we had a lot of fun and saw a lot of success on exchanges!!

On my second exchange this week, I was with a newer sister named Sister Willmore. She is a sweet heart and has been out a little over a month. We saw a lot of success, too! We actually met this girl named Mallory. She was a referral from the Spanish Elders. When we stopped by she seemed kind of reserved, but as we testified to her of the truthfulness of this gospel, she opened up. She said when the Elders first met her, they "blessed her". A couple days later she got in a huge car accident with a semi truck. Although she is bruised from head to toe, she was able to walk away from the accident! She knew it wasn't a coincidence that she was saved after the Elders stopped by. So, she agreed to be baptized on the doorstep and we are meeting with her on Wednesday :)

Our investigator, Chris, is doing really well! We had an awesome lesson with him last week, and he came to church yesterday! He is definitely progressing :)

This week I was able to take a member of the 70 on tour of the Trail Center! His name is Elder Daniel L. Johnson! It was a super cool experience! There is such a strong spirit that general authorities hold. I felt so blessed to have that experience!

Sister Gardner asked me, Sister Orton and another companionship to do musical numbers at a Stake High Priest Activity! It was a lot of fun. I was able to sing a few songs, and then I played the piano! I was able to figure out the piano chords to a song, and so I played and then another sister played the Violin. It was neat!

I feel like this email is kind of boring! Not too many things to explain this week. But I am still loving it here, and having the time of my life. :)  I love you all! My prayers are with you!

Love,
Sister Hutchison

Our "awkward family (district) photo" 

exchanges with Sister Irwin

Sister Orton let me pluck her eyebrows... hahaha

face masks are life

the "Hutchison" ward from Kansas came into the TC. I happened to have my hat! How fitting!! (Thanks for the hat, Scotty)

PS. I thought you would all enjoy this rap I wrote back in April about the Trail Center. I think you'll learn a lot of history. Sister Orton helped me with the "what" s. One day I'll be rapping on stage with Beyonce.

Trainings GALORE

October 10, 2016

Hello Family and Friends!!

It was certainly a great week :) It went by so fast! It's crazy!! I don't even know where to begin :)

I guess I will start with all of the trainings Sister Orton and I had to do this week! We had to train at 2 separate Zone Trainings on 2 completely different things! We had a couple late nights because we had to plan so much, but everything turned out great!! On Tuesday, we trained at the Omaha Zone's training! It was fun. We trained on planning effectively, setting goals, using the Trail Center as a resource, about a 40 day fast exercise the mission is doing. Then, on Thursday, we headed to Iowa to train at the Council Bluffs' Zone Training. There, we trained on Planning and the Trail Center again, but then we also trained on making your studies effective, teaching the Restoration simply, and finding families! It was a lot of fun being able to work with so many missionaries this week :)

Sister Orton and I set a goal to teach the message of the Restoration 50 times this week. We were able to accomplish it! President Gardner taught us a way to teach the Restoration in 3 sentences, and it is so effective. We were able to share it on the doorstep, in the parking lots, at the drive-thru window, and many times at the Trail Center. Last night we realized, in order to reach our goal, we needed to share the Restoration 32 more times! Sister Orton and I went a little crazy on teaching center (online chats and phone calls). Every chance we had, we got on and called as many referrals as we possibly could. Whether it was over the phone, voicemail, text, email, or on tour, we tried to share the message of the Restoraion with EVERYONE. We were lucky we had a 9 hour shift, because after we finished we had taught the Restoration 33 times, which meant we taught the restoration 51 times last week. We were so proud and felt so good!

We were able to receive a new investigator this week! His name is Chris. He has a pretty wild teaching record, because he has been taught for a while, so we thought we would give him a shot. He is super sincere and loves the gospel so much, but his girlfriend wont marry him. That is what is holding him back. We are excited because we have a lesson with him today. We are teaching him the steps to receive revelation! We really think it will help him if he knows that God is truly trying to speak to him. It will give him the push he needs.

Sister Orton and I are working hard and having a wonderful time. We are still praying to find that family in our area who is ready for us to find them. Please keep us in your prayers!

I love this work so much. I am so happy all of the time, and I know it is because I am serving the Lord. Nothing is more important in this life than serving Him who gave us all we have. I love you all! Have a fantastic week. :)

Love,
Sister Missy Hutchison

Drove the transfer van to our TC party. Lookin swaggy

Family photo. We all live in the same house, haha. Its "Papa Ort, Mama Hutch, Babies Beck and Bergman"

Sister Orton and planned to match for our Training for the Omaha Zone:) 

Me, the AP's, and Elder Hubbard awkwardly in the background at CB Zone Training. 

We had to match again at the CB zone training, of course :) 

We may or may not have had Taco Bell 3 times in 4 days...

"Serving Jesus is the Best Thing Ever!"

October 3, 2016

Hello Family and Friends!!

It was another INSANE week here in Nebraska. It went by pretty slow though, because meetings were what constantly kept us busy. But, all is well!! :) It was still SUCH A GOOD WEEK.

I will start off telling you all that you should be proud of me, because I got a flu shot! The doctor that volunteers at the health clinic where we serve insisted that Sister Orton and I should get one. So, we did! They hit a capillary or something when they gave me the shot, so my arm bled a lot and got super stiff, but that's okay! The only bad part was the next day... Sister Orton and I both had bad reactions to the shot, and were SUPER sick. We woke up the next morning and felt like we had just been hit by a bus (fever, chills, upset stomach, headaches, etc.) . THEN we had to go to a 7 hour meeting for all of the leaders in the mission (which I also had been asked prior to sing for a musical number). Even though we felt sick, the meeting was AWESOME!!! We learned so much. This week, we get to train everyone in our zone about what President Gardner and the Assistants trained us on. Heavenly Father definitely helped us feel better during that meeting. After the meeting, we had to go take a driving test! There is a big Trail Center activity in just a couple of hours, and so Sister Orton and I had to learn how to be "van certified" so we could take the 15 passenger van today, and lug a bunch of sisters in the back. For dinner that night, we went over to a member's house. We made her hug us like a mom and take our temperatures so we would feel better, and it worked a little. But, luckily, the next day we felt fine!!

Sister Orton and I had a cool miracle on Teaching Center this week (our online chatting). Sister Orton and I were determined to send a solid referral, so we were hoping and praying to find one. This man named Telvin ordered a Bible, so we called him to confirm his order! We asked him why he ordered the Bible, and he said he didn't know why, he just felt like he needed to. We asked him if we could share a message with him that help him know why he felt prompted to order the Bible. He agreed, we prayed, and then we taught the Restoration. The whole time he was in awe, and he felt like he could relate to Joseph Smith. Afterwards, we asked him how he felt. He said "I have never felt this way before. I can't begin to explain how I am feeling. This is such a good feeling." We were then able to testify to him about the influence of the Holy Ghost, and that he could feel that way all of the time. We committed him to baptism, which was exciting, and then sent his information off to the local missionaries in his area. We are hoping and praying they will contact him soon. :) I love being able to use Teaching Center!

Here is my missionary spiel about conference (hence my subject line from the quote in Elder Yamashita's talk) ... General Conference was AMAZING. I learned so much. I loved Russel M. Nelson's talk about JOY. What he said is so true when he said "We claim that joy by looking unto Jesus". I love that, because it is so true. If you aren't truly happy, you aren't applying the Atonement well enough in your life. If you aren't truly happy, you aren't constantly striving to live like the Savior. I also loved Elder Ballard's talk. It really stuck out to me when he kept saying "to whom should you go?" It really made me realize how blessed I was to have the gospel. That is why I am here on a mission! Lots of people don't know "to whom [they should] go". This gospel is THE MOST important thing in this world . Because of this Gospel, this world was created! We should never let ourselves be discouraged when we are worthily living the Gospel, because Elder Ballard is right, "even though the storm might beat the old ship, remember the Savior is on board".

Sorry for the long email! I hope you all know how much I love you!! You are constantly in my prayers. Thanks for the love and support I receive from all of you. Have a wonderful/blessed week!

Love,
Sister Hutchison

"24 Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.
 25 And ye see that I have commanded that none of you should go away, but rather have commanded that ye should come unto me, that ye might feel and see; even so shall ye do unto the world; and whosoever breaketh this commandment suffereth himself to be led into temptation." 3 Nephi 18:24-25

flu shots...... Yeah. 

MLC (missionary leadership council) The Elders always sneak in the pic :) It's okay, we love them anyways! 

MLC

MLC

Saturday morning training

Birthdays/11 Months/Crystal

September 26, 2016

Hello Fam and Friends!!!

Wow. It was a full week here in Nebraska!! Words cannot even explain how much I love this mission, the missionaries I serve with, and the Lord's work.

I will start with talking about my Birthday!! It was such a fun day :) I feel so spoiled by everyone both at home and here on the mission. Everyone went out of their way to make me feel so loved. I received lots of cute gifts from the sisters I serve with, cards from the senior couples, a birthday rap from the Assistants, and love from members! Thank you to everyone at home who sent me such wonderful gifts and cards. On my birthday I was on shift at the Trail Center that morning/afternoon. The senior couple on shift bought everyone pizza, and so we had a little party. :) Courtney even came to visit me at the Trail Center too!! Then, I went to do some service at the health clinic where we volunteer! Usually, after the clinic, we go and have a nice dinner! But... The clinic went way long, so we didn't get out of there till about 8:15! Wanna know what we did? We went and got double cheeseburgers from Mcdonalds. Best Bday dinner ever!! It was honestly such a great day. I am tempted to stay in Nebraska until after my next Birthday! It's home to me :) It is super crazy to think I am 20! So old!!

We had a cool service opportunity last week! We were able to help clean all of the crystal inside the temple. They had special cleaner and wipes we had to use. It was neat having to clean the crystal one by one on all of the chandeliers.

Sister Orton and I had a weird experience this week! We received a media referral, and so we called her to confirm that she wanted us to stop by! She said she couldn't wait for our message and that SHE had a message for US. That was kind of sketchy, but we just went with it.. Yeah... Turns out she thinks her "body is a machine" and the "Christ is living inside of her, controlling her body". There are some crazy people in Nebraska, but that is why I love it.

Sister Orton and I have been seeing some miracles in our area lately! We have been receiving a lot of referrals and finding some solid potential investigators! We know that Heavenly Father truly loves us, and hears our prayers. We are in the process of trying to specifically find a family who is prepared for the restored gospel. If everyone could start praying for Sister Orton and I to find one, that would be amazing. We know families are out there, we just need to find them and teach them :)

We hit our 11 months last week!! Isn't that insane?? I cannot believe that I have almost been out 1 year. I still feel like a brand new missionary at times! I remember how I looked at the "older missionaries" when I first came out. It is weird to think that I am "one of the old ones" now. My mind cannot even handle how fast this is all going!!

I love you all! Again, thank you for all you do, and for all of the support I receive!! I am so happy here. Serving the Lord is true happiness. There is no other replacement. :)

" 1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"-Psalms 27:1

Love,
Sister Hutchison

When Courtney came to visit me!! So fun! 

a member fed us "grilled cheese french toast". My arteries clogged, but it was worth it. So good. 

the Haydens <3 a cute family that made our Birthdays special! 

thanks for the Birthday swag, mom. 

LOVE these Sisters

Sister Orton wanted to take a portrait of my face. Haha.  

Next month I'll get to use my hands.. 11 Months! 

I love NEBRASKA

September 19, 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello!!I had another good week here in Nebraska :)I feel like everything has been super crazy this week,and that this week went by very quickly!

I was able to take Sister Firth on exchanges this week! It was fun being able to spend the day with her, and see how much we have both grown since we have been companions a few transfers ago. I was able to in her area,which is in Council Bluffs, Iowa.It is a lot different than Omaha, but so much fun. :)

Something else fun that happened this week was Zone Conference! Elder Falebella, of the 70, came to train us. It was soooo good! I just love Zone Conferences. You are always on such a spiritual high afterwards, and so pumped to get out and work.

Sister Orton's birthday was this week, too! We celebrated a lot, and had a big combined birthday dinner with us and Sister Cope. Orton's was the 17th, mine is the 22nd, and Sister Cope's is the 29th!  So, it all worked out.:)

Sister Orton and I found a potential family to teach yesterday! We were praying to find one,and then as we got out of the car,there was a family having a big party right outside. We felt super awkward because we didn't want to interrupt their party.. But.. We quickly realized that we prayed specifically for a family, and there they were!So, we went and talked to them. We talked to the mom, Maria, the most! They ended up turning off the booming music just as we were teaching the Restoration. After the first vision, Maria looked at us and said "That's so beautiful". She said we can come back and teach her and her family, so we are excited to start working with them.

We had Stake Conference this week! It was way good. President and Sister Gardner spoke,along with Elder Falebella and his wife. All of the talks were so inspired and spiritual. My mission has really made me appreciate Stake Conference.:)

Yesterday, Omaha had another "Missionary Musical Fireside" that I was able to participate in. During the program, many converts were asked to bear their testimonies. All of the sudden, I see Courtney, mine and Sister Brower's amazing convert, stand up and walk to the pulpet. She just grabbed me and hugged me in front of everyone and we just cried together because it has been so long since we have seen each other. She bore such a powerful testimony about how the Gospel has blessed her family. If I receive no other baptisms the rest of my mission, hers would still make my mission 100% fulfilled. I love her so much.

Again, it was such a good week!! But, honestly, when you are doing the work of the Lord, it's ALWAYS a good week. Thanks for all of your love and support! I am expecting a lot of Birthday cards this week! Just kidding... Kind of.;) I am enjoying my last few days of being a teenager! HAVE A GOOD WEEK :)

Love,
Sister Missy Hutchison

Sister Firth and I on exchanges!

When Sisters call us at at 9:30pm because they realized they left their phone at the Trail Center after shift, this is how we look when we pick it up for them. 

Sister Orton and I in front of our house. "The Craig House"

from the partay

Birthday girls haha

FINALLY saw Courtney <3

everyone looks super terrible in this pic, but all of the elders look priceless haha.

Transfers Strike Again!!!

September 12, 2016

Hello Family and Friends!!!

From all of your emails, It sounds like you had a fantastic week. I had a great week, as well!! It was super crazy, though. As you can see from my subject line, yes, it was transfers. Yes, I got transferred AGAIN. This is now my 4th area and 6th companion in a little over 10 months haha. President likes to throw me around a little bit, but it is fine! Actually, on Monday night, I received a phone call from President Gardner regarding transfers! He has given me a new assignment! I am now a Sister Training Leader/Trail Center Leader!!!! A Sister Training Leader in our mission is pretty much a female version of a Zone Leader. I am able to work more with President Gardner, and give special trainings to my Zone every transfer. I have a stewardship of sisters that President wants us to work with, and I also get to take sisters on companion exchanges to help them out more with their missionary work! A Trail Center Leader works very closely with the Trail Center Directors. Now, I get to make the schedules for everyone, give trainings about the Trail Center every Saturday morning, and help/serve all of the TC Sisters as best as I can. I am very excited about these new assignments. Life is even more busy now, but I know that the Lord is mindful of me, and will bless my efforts. Also... My new companion is..... SISTER ORTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited about that. We are having a blast together, and are best friends. It is nice having a brand new closet, too. Haha we share clothes like everyday.  It is the perfect combination of working hard and having fun. I am so honored for this opportunity.

My new ward is super fun. The bishop actually called me on Saturday and asked me to speak yesterday! It was a good way to introduce myself to the ward.  I am in the Winter Quarters ward now! The people are so cool and.. different! But, different is good, and a heck of a lot more entertaining. I really do love my new area/ward. Everyone is so nice and loving! Just don't look up the crime rates in Florence Nebraska/North Omaha.. Because that's my area. Haha :)

Like I said, this has been a super crazy and busy week. We haven't had a lot of time to be in our area, or to even breath. We have been working a lot with the brand new Trail Center sisters that came in this week. We had a evening where we all had dinner together, and Sister Orton and I had to show them this big slideshow of Trail Center Rules. Our days have been so booked, but, it is cool how Heavenly Father makes up the difference. We have seen lots of miracles already. We have a handful of investigators and people we are working with. One in specific is our investigator named Taylor. She is 21 and pregnant, but she LOVES the gospel. She has such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. Her only problem is her ex-boyfriend.. He broke up with her because she wants to get baptized, which definitely threw her through a loop. So, we are hoping to get her back on track and to work toward the waters of baptism again. Please pray for Taylor!

Sister Orton and I took such a cool tour this week. It was this woman who's a member of the church. Through the whole tour the spirit was so strong. We felt prompted to really focus on enduring through trials, and focusing on the simple ways to strengthen a testimony (prayer, church, scriptures). At the end of the tour, this woman started tearing up. In her words, she said "I didn't want to tell you this, but, I have been less-active for a long time. I needed some peace in my life, so I felt like I needed to come here. This is exactly what I needed". It was so cool, and the spirit was so strong. It is amazing how perfectly Heavenly Father knows each and every single one of His children. I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father trusts us enough to send us His troubled children, and try to bring them back home. Missionary work is so incredible. We receive a front row seat to how the Gospel truly changes lives.

This week will be fun! We have Zone Conference, and Elder Falabella of the 70 is going to come and train us. I am so excited. Also, afterwards, Elder Falabella is giving a special training to the leadership of the mission. President Gardner has asked me to do a musical number at that training, so I feel honored and am super excited. I am so ready to learn this week!!! I love Zone Conferences.

I ponder about how I was before my mission and think about how I have changed so far. Obviously I still am the same, but I am also so different. I have such a greater understanding of the Gospel. I have such a strong relationship with my Savior. I truly know what is important in life now. I kind of cringe thinking about how my life would be if I never decided to come on a mission. I am so grateful for this wonderful opportunity to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. This is the best thing I have ever done. I am so grateful that I have even more to learn with these next 8 months, and the progression will honestly never stop, even afterwards. For that, I am grateful.   The Lord is so mindful of every single one of us.

I love you all! I hope you have a fantastic week :)

"13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." -Mosiah 24:13-14

Love,
Sister Missy Hutchison

The new team. Me and Sis. Orton, getting down to business. 

There was a cool sunset, so of course we took artsy (awkward) pics!

Another picture of us... There will be a lot of those.