Happy Day!!!

So much has happened this week!!!! I got to speak at Courtney's Baptism,
which was incredible for for her, and a really significant event in my
mission too. WOOT!!! She's a wonderful woman, and I'm so glad to have
that connection with her through Margaret. haha. Small world..

Also, I got the Birthday package that mom sent me!! It was awesome!!! My
companions were mad at me... not mad... but yeah... so I get this
package from mom, and I got a package with a BAZILLION pictures from
Randi and Monie AND I got two letters that day... haha... Last week was
a good mail week. hahaha... So the chocolate chips in the package mom
sent me were all melted... so i dunno how well i can make cookies with
them, but they'll definitely get used one way or another. Thank you for
the runners too, and the pomade, and the birthday stuff and the Little
Mermaid card... basically that was awesome and i loved it. hahaha... and
also... The shirts... So I know i told you I've gained some weight...
but not THAT much weight!!!!!!! The shirts were cute, but they were
HUGE!!! I'll prolly be able to find someone to give them to or
something, but it made me laugh.

Also... I'm no longer so white... I'm slightly off white... haha... as
in... I'm beginning to get a tan. I already have a mary jane shoe tan
line on my feet. hahaha... it's really funny actually...

Speaking of sun.... IT'S SOOOOO INCREDIBLY HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like...
getting up to 95 degrees PLUS humidity, I'm beginning to feel like I'M
the one in Ecuador!!! (by the way... travel safe Randi. and send me
something cool. haha..) BUT SERIOUSLY!!!! IT'S SO REDICULOUSLY HOT!!!!!
Tracting is such a gong show because it's SOOOO humid that it makes you
sweat from every pore and you're perma-sticky. it's gross... and i have
to change at least once throughout the day... I'm gonna be doing a lot
of laundry this summer. Good thing we have a washing machine in our
apartment... ........ I miss snow.....

Also... THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING PART!!!!!!

WE COMMITTED LOUISE TO BE BAPTIZED ON JUNE 21!!!!!!!!!!!!! She's the one
who has an Athiest husband... but she's setting such a huge example to
him, and i KNOW that he's seeing her change and become this even more
incredible person because she's reading the Book of Mormon daily and
praying daily... its just incredible to see. and as if that's not cool
enough, her grandson, who's a member and serving a mission in California
gets to recieve a letter saying that his grandma is getting baptized and
that his grandpa will be following at any moment. MAN!!!!!!!!! THE
CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah!!! I wanted to congratulate Tat for her baptism too!! I'm so
happy for you!!! It's so incredible to see not only the people I'm
around gaining and strengthening their testimonies, but also to see
people back home who are doing the same. The work is progressing, and
it's miraculous.

This has really been an incredible week... i cant even express to you...
Thank you so much for all of your prayers... I feel them. This really is
Christ's church restored again to the earth in it's fullness. Joseph
Smith really was a Prophet, and through him, the church and the
priesthood was brought back. I belong to the same Church that Jesus
Christ organized during His ministry. He is my Savior, and I love him.
The least i can do is deal with this rediculous heat for a few months.
It's all worth it.

Love y'all!!!! Keep up the awesome!!! Miss you!!! and I pray for you!!! 

THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Sister Dyer

...

Hello Everyone!!!

Well... Sister Zarbock is home... and I have two new companions. Sis Jeffers and Sis Rothe. Sis Jeffers is only going to be with us for a week, then a Temple Square sister is coming and they'll be off to Hot Springs to serve there together, and I'll still be in Maumelle with Sister Rothe. This is going to be an interesting transfer. Sis Rothe and I both know that next transfer we'll both be getting a greenie to train... So We're both terrified and trying to learn as much as we can so that we can be decent trainers next transfer... AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I'll be staying in Maumelle with my greenie, and Sis Rothe will be heading back to Conway to train her greenie there. It's gonna be intense... So your prayers to help me prepare would be much appreciated...

Anywho... Sis Rothe is from Paysen, Utah, and Sis Jeffers is from Roseville, California... kinda by Sacremento. So we're having fun, and getting work done. However, it's kinda overwhelming because I really dont know near as much as Sis Zarbock did about the area... She was here for 8 months... Now every investigator we visit asks where she is and gets super upset that she's gone... So i have a lot of relationships to build.

Man... I'm really stressing out... in 5 weeks I'm gonna be training someone and i really dont feel i know the area well enough, and i'm still new too!!! I know that this is going to be a transfer that I'm going to grow soooo much.. I need so much strength from the Lord... But i trust that I'll be able to do it.

Sis Rothe says she's obsessed with Canada, so when we found out we were going to be companions this transfer, she flipped out. it was funny. She said she wants a Canada hoodie or something. So depending on how generous you feel mom and dad... haha... also... i thought of things you can send me for by birthday. I really really really want more EFY cds. There's a Best of EFY cd that is pretty awesome. and the singles ward soundtrack would be cool too.. basically music. And if you included some Canadian candy, I'll give it to Sis Rothe. She'd really appreciate it. haha...

Also... Summer is starting.. It's been upwards of 90 degrees this whole week.... it's rediculously hot... Thank goodness for ice and air conditioning... Apparently August is the hottest month so I'm super glad that i only have to deal with one August. WOOT!!!

We're teaching some pretty awesome people still. No really interesting stories have come from it though. We're still keeping busy, and our investigators seem to be progressing for the most part. In Cabot, we only ever had an investigator to church once in all the 12 weeks i was there, but here, we've only had maybe 2 or 3 sundays WITHOUT an investigator there. It's pretty awesome. I love Maumelle!!!

So yeah... I'm pretty sure I'm staying here for a while. Maumelle is going to be my home for at least 3 more transfers (4 or 5 more months) and I'm completely okay with that.

I love you all so much!!!! Thank you for your prayers, and your faith. Spread the word!!! The Church is true!!!

- Sister Alison Dyer

Hello again!!!

Hey Family and Friends..

So i pretty much talked to everyone on Sunday... well... family at least... This is gonna be a short one... i'm sorry...

So yesterday Sis Zarbock and I got to go to a Yoga class. the Stake President's wife is a yoga instructor and she's like 70... hahaha... but she worked us hard!!! So today i'm actually pretty sore... i thought yoga as a workout was kinda weak, but now i realize that it's actually a legit work out... i hurt...

We found this awesome new investigator too. Her name is Nyree, and she's 25. She totally understands the importance that the things we teach have, so that's a nice change. We usually talk to people and it goes in one ear and out the other, so this is quite rewarding. She's so cool. She got really excited when we explained that Joseph Smith restored the same church that Christ organized during His ministry. And yesterday we started teaching her the Plan of Salvation and she's soaking it up!!! Then she asked us what our views of marijuana were.... oh man... so we told her about the word of wisdom.. then she said that it actually helps her be more spiritual and whatnot... so then i flat out told her it was wrong.. haha... kinda funny... she wasn't offended, and in fact, i think she kinda needed to be told that bluntly in order for it to sink in... so... then we told her that dispite our views, she still needs to pray about it and see what God thinks about it. She admited that she has been praying about it, but always just wants it to be okay, so its been hard for her to separate what she wants from what God needs her to do. So we'll see how that goes. We're meeting with her tomorrow. but i love her. she's hilarious and spiritual all at the same time.

This is Sis Zarbock's last week so we're doing a lot of visiting people, and making sure i know who she knows so this is gonna be a busy week. She's been here for half of her mission so there's a lot for me to take in.

Also... the car we use... (Ford Fusion) has been in the shop for the past 3 days now... we took it in monday, went to pick it up that evening, but we were told that they found something else to be wrong with it, so they needed another part... surprise surprise... So basically... President hooked us up with a Mazda 3 to use in the mean time, and we dont want the Ford back. haha..

So that's about it... Sorry... its kinda short... but i still love you all and miss you. But remember that the Church is still true!!!!

-Sister Dyer

Happy almost Mother's Day!!!

Hey everybody!

So. First thing's first. I get to call home on Sunday!! WOOT!!! Now. My
Ward meets at 10:00am so it seems that I go to the same church as my
family! Cool eh? We have a missionary coorolation meeting after church,
and i can definitely be home by 3:00 my time (2:00 yours) and give you a
call then. Sound good?? Awesome. So that's that. Also... I really just
want to talk to my family... I think if any of my friends were there, it
would be kinda difficult... Which really is lame, but I was thinking
about it, and i really dont think i wanna see what kind of an effect
talking to my friends on the phone would have on me... So just in case
there were any plans of people coming over to my parents home to talk to
me... I'm sorry but I'm veto-ing that decision so i can continue to
remain not trunky. :) Sorry.. but thank you... and Grandma Dyer... you
can call after 9:00pm because I'll definitely be home by then. :)

Also... Mom... You can totally make that dress for me. hahaha... I'll
wear it. But i dunno what color... Purple?? Red??... blech.. I dunno.. A
dress that's a bright color doesn't really seem that appropriate... but
whatev's... This time... and ONLY this time, I'll let you choose the
fabric... maybe you should take Ian with you to consult or something. He
know's what I'd wear. haha..That's right Ian... you have to go to the
fabric store with mom just once. and as long as mom makes the short
sleeved dress, it's all good. Thank you!!!!!!

So. This morning we went with a few Elders and a couple members to go
frisbee golfing. It was alright... but I really just wanted to play
ultimate... frisbee golf isn't nearly as exciting... However... Remember
when i said there was a guy i went to EFY with who lives in Memphis??
Well... He came to Little Rock to play frisbee with us. haha. But we had
no idea that we were gonna see eachother. He only came because his best
friend did too. haha!! Point is... I totally had an EFY reunion! This
guy, Rod, was in my group and everything in 2003!!! and now he's married
and still lives in Memphis, but decided to come visit his best friend
today who just happened to be coming with us to frisbee golf. small
world!!

So remember how i said i got a haircut last week?? Well... Two days
after that, my straightener died, and i almost cried... it was a sad
moment... so as i usually do... I go to a store and buy a new one, still
bitter that my old one died... haha. But this time I went to a salon
supply store an bought a really good straightener. haha... *thanks
dad...* dont worry though.. it wasn't THAT expensive.

And thank you for sending me those runners.. not that i got them yet..
but i'm excited. Right now I'm running in my shoes i got in Vancouver
with Monie. My hulk shoes. haha... They work fine.. but runners are
lighter and better for you know... running.. hahaha... and Dad... in the
States they call them running shoes, not sneakers... well... at least
Sis Zarbock calls them running shoes... haha.. Sidenote... when we were
walking to our tracting area yesterday, I taught her all the Provinces
and Territories. haha. I was proud.

We got 6 new investigators last week!!! It was crazy!!! I really think
its because well... A) the Lord is on our side... but also B) Sis
Zarbock has this amazing talent of being able to talk to anybody about
anything and not having it be awkward at all... It's amazing... yeesh...
Hopefully I'll pick up that skill by the time she goes home in a week
and a half... AAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!! TRANSFERS ARE A WEEK AND A HALF
AWAY!!!!!!! And this time they have to close 2 Sister areas because
there's 3 going home this one!!! and I cant even say Maumelle is safe,
because this is an area that the Elders can no problem take over...
We'll see... Maybe I'll end up in Tennessee! haha... Not likely, but you
never know.

Also.. Congratulations Clarke and Cecelia for graduating!!!! I have a
brother and a sister-in-law both with University Degrees. That's pretty
awesome.

Yeah... Thank you for everything. I really appreciate your prayers and
your support. The Church is true everyone. Go spread the word!

Love you!!
-Sister Alison Dyer

WOOT!!!

well this sure is a momentous occasion... i never thought i'd ever see the day when my mother would say woot.... but... that is pretty rediculously awesome. First my dad refers to events as gong shows, then mom says woot... what else could i ask for?! haha!!

While I'm at it... I might as well write my everyone email eh?? haha... well... First off. I was really excited to get the letter from dad telling me how the Elder Nelson Sunday went. That was really cool. It's funny that there's so much opposition though. It never really occurred to me that people would actually try to personally talk to an Apostle or give them home made self help programs and what not.. haha. That's kinda lame. But whatevs. If anyone could deal with those sort of people, it would definitly be the Apostles. Sis Zarbock was really interested in hearing about it too. haha.

Oh.. And also. Dad... The "pretty and green" here is still beautiful. I couldn't help but notice an overwhelming sense of spite when you told me to enjoy my "pretty and green" while you go and suffer through your cold and still snowing. haha.. This week has been especially beautiful because it was NOT hot at all. It was totally Canada spring weather. It's been awesome. I also printed out a pretty green tree picture to send to y'all. haha. That's right. I said it... I'm embracing the "y'all". Still working on fixin to though...

So. Today both Sis Zarbock and I got a haircut!!! WOOT!!!!! I've kinda decided to temporarily give up with the "i want long hair" bit... It was really driving me nuts. But that seems to be the story of my life. I tell myself that i want long pretty hair, but it gets to be semi long and i hate it and all i wanna do is chop it off. haha... So it's not necessarily chopped, but its back to the length it was when i left. but this time i actually think it looks better. It's kinda punk rock but still missionary appropriate. haha!! WIN WIN WIN!!!

also.. this weekend the ward here had a youth fundraiser. It was so fun. They had a ward auction, so the things they auctioned off were cakes, desserts and services. haha. So we were just gonna go for the free spaghetti dinner, but turns out that this member of the ward who's living in Paris temporarily, but is super loaded, donated $50 to each missionary to use to bid for things that night!! It was so awesome!!!! Now. You have to understand what kind of a ward this is... Basically it's full of doctors, lawyers, and rich folk... for the most part, all of the wives are stay at home moms and spend their days baking things they see in magazines. haha. so you can only imagine the type of things we had to bid on. hahaha. By the end of the night we'd won this huge pan full of icing covered, delicious homemade (but not as good as mom's) cinnamon... *monie.... ahem... HER SKIN IS CINNAMON.. HER SKIN IS CINNAMON..* rolls. Not cinnamon BUNS... cinnamon ROLLS... haha.. so yeah. But the ward members didn't know that we had money to use at the beginning, so people were buying these cakes and getting their kids to come up to us and give the whole thing to us. hahaha.... so by the end of the day we were going home with a brownie smothered in icing and snickers bar chunks, a plate of cookies, two free carwashes and a yoga class. haha.... it was awesome. The members in this ward are amazing. have i ever mentioned how much i love Maumelle?... because i really do.

So basically that was the fun highlight. But even better than that. Robin, the one who just got baptized is totally soaking up the gospel. Its so amazing. man. She's already getting her new member lessons, she has solid home teachers, and she's just GLOWING!!! It's amazing to see how the gospel can make people physically appear different because they're so incredibly happy and at peace. Man.. Robin is so wonderful. 

Oh. and have i mentioned how much i love my new haircut. haha.. I just ran my fingers through my hair and remembered it was new. haha... random...

also... hahaha... i have a slight favor to ask... okay... so A) do you think there would be any way for you to send me my runners??... They're actual runners that i bought at home, but they're the one thing that i forgot, and i'm finding more instances where it would be better to have them... yeah... so there's no rush... but if you could get those to me at some point within the next year... preferrably before that... it would be great.. also... I'm running out of pomade, and i cant seem to find the stuff i love the most here in the States... its kinda sad... So if when you decide to send me my runners... do you think you could send my some new pomade too???... haha.. you can get it at Shoppers and it's Sheer Blonde brand... it comes in a little tin can, and it has a picture of a girl with short hair on it... it says something like it enhances blonde highlights or whatever. That's not really why i love it... it just seems to be the only thing that I've ever really loved to use in my hair. haha.. yeah... so it's pomade.. styling wax... something of the sorts... and the package is prolly only a cm thick-ish... yeah... hahaha... That's all the favors i need at this point... so thank you in advance.. 

one more experience.. So. Yesterday we were tracting and we talked to this man who was pretty mean... He was trying to get us to give him logical explanations for everything and was being lame and trying to catch us in our words. So Sis Zarbock is trying to come up with things and she was really doing a good job, but the guy just wouldn't give up... blech. So we were talking about prayer and Moroni's promise, and he's trying to make us sound like idiots, but i was so done with that. So i totally maybe slightly raised my voice... a lot... and more firmly than i ever have before in my whole life, bore my testimony with power. It was an incredible moment. The spirit was filling my mouth with words, and everything came out perfectly. I think that's what it's like to experience the gift of tongues... but the point is that after i bore my testimony, he calmed down, smiled at us, said thank you and that he might check out mormon.org and that was that. He was done fighting. It was incredible. It's so true what PMG says. "nobody can deny a heartfelt testimony." its so true. And I wish i could express how amazing it was to see this guy change from wanting to make us look like fools to actually respecting us. Seriously... The Church is true.

That's all for today everyone. I love you so much. Remember to thank Heavenly Father for all your blessings and try everyday to recognize the Lord's hand in your life. Its an amazing testimony strengthener. Continue to be awesome y'all. :P hahaha....

Sister Dyer

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Dyer <fivedyers@shaw.ca>
To: Alison Dyer <alison.j.dyer@myLDSmail.net>
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:07:13 -0600
Subject: WOOT!!!

Hi there honey,
Just to let you know that we got you letter and pictures. WE LOVE  
PICTURES!!! You are looking especially beautiful ... and happy. And I  
would have run as far away as I could if someone dumped a tableful of  
bugs in front of me to eat.
Love you lots! Looking forward to hearing from you live in a couple
of weeks!
Mom

Hello!!

HELLO!!!!

Okay... So mom sent me the picture of our back yard covered in a foot of
snow as of yesterday... HAHAHAHA!!!!! Oh man... It's totally starting to
get disgustingly hot here.... So not fun... Also... Dad... The Bishop's
wife drove us around Little Rock this morning so we could go shopping
for summer clothes... So there's gonna be a credit card bill coming at
the end of the month for that.. hahaha... It was fun. I had my first
experience ever at Target!! WOOT!!! Oh man... I just bought a bunch of
t-shirts... blech... humidity+heat=HORRIBLE!!!!!!! but it IS really
pretty and green here... as long as im inside an air conditioned car
looking outside at all the prettiness its fine!!! I actually would
prefer the foot of snow though... whatevs...

Also... Sis Zarbock and i were talking and we concluded that if we were
to meet in real life... like... not as missionaries... we'd prolly only
be friends if we were in a class together. hahaha... you know?? like
there's only people you talk to because their SPECIFICALLY class
friends, but outside of school, you totally forget about them?? haha...
yeah that's us. We thought it was funny...

Also... We had a baptism on Saturday!!!! It was for Robin. I think i
told you about her last week. But it was so funny. The day before, we
went with her to the church to get interviewed. Then after the
interview, she took us to this hair store. She's black, so apparently
their hair care is TOTALLY opposite of what we have to deal with. We
wash our hair to get oil out, but they have to put oil in.. that kinda
thing. Anyways... We went to this hair supply store specifically for
black people. its actually exactly the same kind of store Randi goes to
to get her hair for braids. But yeah. Robin, we found out wears wigs so
she doesn't have to deal with her hair at all! haha!! It's so genious!!
She was trying on wigs, and Sis Zarbock and I asked if we could try them
on too, so we did... HAHAHAHAHA!!!! I found out i DO NOT look good with
long black hair. hahahahaha... oh man... so fun... wigs... who knew..

Anyways.. her baptism was really funny. She got all dressed up, she wore
her wig and everything. So we went with her while she was heading to the
font, and we asked her if she wanted to take her wig off, but she said
she'd just keep it on. So when she went under the water, her wig totally
came off!!! So we were watching from the door in the bathroom, and we
were like... uhhhhhh... what do we do?! So before Robin figured out what
happened, Sis Zarbock started reaching for the wig floating in the
water... hahaha.... gong show... it was so funny. Robin was so
embarassed, but she laughed pretty hard.. hahaha...

Yeah...  how was Sunday with Elder Nelson by the way?!

OH!! Another funny story!!!

Oh Friday we were tracting, and we were walking up this hill, then from
the other side of this hill, a big blue truck drives up and stops at the
stop sign at the top of this hill, and all we can hear is "THE WAY YOU
MAKE ME FEEL"... the truck was totally blasting Michael Jackson!!! So we
see this truck stopped at the top of this hill blasting MJ and out of
each window is an arm from each passenger snapping their fingers to the
beat of the song!!! So we're standing there laughing our heads off at
this, and then this truck drives by and its got 4 young guys in it all
wearing sunglasses acting like their on top of the world.. hahahaha...
maybe you had to be there... but it was hilarious...

Anways... That's all I've got for this week... its been pretty amazing.
Spiritually uplifting. I'm really happy. Minus the heat... but I'm
loving it here. The work is progressing and its so humbling to know how
much trust the Lord has put in me to help people change their lives...

THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all sooooo much!!!

-Sister Dyer

Hello... Sorry I'm late..

Hello Everyone.

Okay so this morning there was this adult seminary class that we took a 70 year old investigator to. haha!!! Her name is Helga and she's from Germany and she's amazing. Her son joined the Church a really long time ago and she's been pretty anti until just recently. We're pretty sure its her time!! I LOVE MAUMELLE!!!!!! THERE'S ACTUALLY PEOPLE TO TEACH!!!!!! There's also Larry and Louise. They're prolly in their late 50's and they have a kid that joined the Church a long time ago too, so now they have a granson serving a mission who is best friends with my Zone Leader. So this grandson emailed my ZL and told him to find his grandparents, and Sis Zarbock tracted into them before my ZL could find them! Talk about divine guideance eh? haha.. So they're interesting. Larry is pretty much athiest, but we're working with him on that one, and Louise is pretty open to it. She sees the good the gospel has done for her grandson who's on a mission. They came to the cottage meeting we had on Sunday, which is an hour and a half long testimony meeting at the President's house. They both loved it. Larry was impressed at the devotion everyone who bore their testimony had. He said that you could go to the Yankee stadium and still not find a single soul as devoted to that team than we are to our religion. It was a good experience. There's also a baptism this weekend on Saturday!!! Her name is Robin, and she's been being taught for quite some time. Lucky me, I get here just after she's committed to an actual date. haha! But since I've really had nothing to do with teaching her, I'm not really counting it as one of mine. She's 21, and has the most adorable 18 month old son, Jordell. haha. She's black and totally has the ghetto accent. haha!! It's awesome. I love that Maumelle has cultural diversity. I think there's more black people here than white. It's awesome.

Sis Bluemel, the Temple Square sister that was with us for a week has left too. She was wonderful, and I have a new appreciation for what those Sisters do. I'm quite impressed by them. So now it's just back to me and Sis Zarbock. But we get along great and its awesome.

Also. I'm excited for Elder Nelson coming to good ol Forest Heights ward this Sunday. Shake his hand for me eh? Also good luck to Ian in the whole choir thing. Who knew... Ian... a choir boy...

I had crawfish again... haha... On Saturday there was this community kite flying thing, so as missionaries, you go where the people go, and there ended up being this ginormous family reunion type thing based around a HUGE crawfish boil. They had 2 truck fulls of the things. haha!! So we went to go check out what was going on and we totally got invited in. haha! They fed us  A LOT too. They were total strangers totally inviting us to eat their food!!! That was my first Southern Hospitality experience. I was pleased, and the crawfish were better this time. 

Also... We went over to a millionaire members home for dinner on Sunday... They fed us well... And they lived in a huge mansion house... and we drank out of these crystal "goblets" that were $175 EACH!!!! Sis Zarbock and I were terrified of touching them, so we asked for straws and got them. haha. We drank out of these goblets with a straw. how ironically awesome...

I really dont have time for much else, but I just wanted to let you all know, that its all good here, and I'm definitely getting use out of my bike... On top of running a mile and a half each day... *no jokes... we're actually running every morning around lake valencia.. two laps.. blech!!* But yes. I'm in the process of losing what i gained in Cabot. WOOT!!!

Love you all!!! Miss you!!! The Church is TRUE!!!!!