In Like A Lion, Out Like A Lamb

She's two months in and I'm two months to go (ish)

So it snowed some more! I have no idea how much, but lots haha We visited an old lady in the hospital and when we talked about all the snow she said, "March always comes in like a lion and out like a lamb." This is true in more ways than one this week, but let me start from the beginning.

I'm out in Drayton Valley with Sister Taylor and we are literally having so much fun. Like, missionary work is fun man, but we're for reals just havin a pretty jammin' time out here haha Drayton Valley is a little town about an hour and a half away from Edmonton. In town the population is about 7,000 and with the outskirts there's about 4,000 more people. So Gridley-esc, but they have more than four stoplights haha The people out here are so nice. I mean, nice people are everywhere, but there seems to be an especially high population of them here. The ward was just recently bumped up from branch status last year. They're some pretty amazing people.

Linus the Louse

The more I think about it, the more Sister Taylor and I are like the same person haha I don't have anywhere near enough patience to list all the ways, but needless to say WE HOMIES. She's from Bismarck, North Dakota and this is her second transfer on the mission. We snack, we laugh, we snack some more haha It's seriously been such a solid week. We both just want to work our tails off so it's a perfect match. We've definitely seen miracles from putting in time to WORK and from doing the hard things.

On Tuesday, Sister Hollon and I got to go on Whyte Ave and street contact with the new missionaries again. It's seriously so fun. There was one girl that I talked to that said a bunch of her friends are actually on missions right now, but when I asked her if she knew anything about the church she said she didn't. When I asked her if she wanted to know she said she did. It made me think of all my friends that my whole life who knew I was Mormon, but that never really knew much more than that. I'm pretty pumped to come be a member missionary! 

I bore my testimony on Sunday about love and how it's the essence of the gospel.  When I got home I read my journal, and in last year's March fast and testimony meeting, I also bore my testimony on love. Love really has been the most important thing I've learned from being a missionary. I've seen the difference in people's lives when they let the Savior's love in and it's almost indescribable how wonderful it is to be a part of. I feel like the Grinch at the very end of the movie where they try to x-ray his heart and it breaks the scale. My heart feels like bursting it's so full of love for my Savior, for missionary work, for my family, for all the people I've had the privilege of being a part of their lives.

At transfers on Wednesday, we had one last performance of His Hands for all the missionaries and it was...tender I think is the word for it. Sister McSweeney and I had talked about how we were trying to just be numb to everything because if we let any emotion come, there were too many to be had for good and for sad. After the concert, we stood in the chapel and sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives." I could hardly make sound I was so overcome with the Spirit. I went and gave Sister McSweeney a hug after and said it's hard to feel numb when you feel so much love.

I love you all. Thank you for all the support that you always show me.

Peace and Blessings

Sister Hepworth

Linus the Louse

P.S. So this other lion. Yesterday morning, Sister Taylor said "I have a really important question" after she got out the shower. She displayed a piece of toilet paper with a little bug trapped in one of the crevices. "Does this look like lice?" And thus began the most gong show of a day. Our iPad is pretty restricted in things it's allowed to do, but I decided to try and ask Siri what lice looks like, then we screamed.

Then we texted Sister Pattison and she called us and we all screamed again. We cancelled everything, bought lice treatment stuff, vacuumed the entire house, and bagged up our bedding and clothes to wash on high heat. Major shoutout to the Hewitt family right here. We went and did a gazillion loads of laundry at their house and they made us supper and gave us two servings of ice cream and they're just wonderful. By the time we finished all our laundry, we came home to nit pick the rest of the night away. When we had talked to Sister Pattison earlier in the day, she asked if we had been anywhere  dirty in the last few days.

Launder all the things

Well, such is the life of a missionary, we are often in rather sketchy and/or dirty places haha BUT I will say that I've gained a greater testimony of fasting. I always wish I had more time with one transfer companions to really bond, so I fasted that Sister Taylor would be able to really be homies with the 6 weeks we have together. Well I tell you what, if spending hours digging through someone's hair looking for bugs isn't a way to bond I don't know what is haha Literally all night one of us would randomly giggle because it would freshly sink in that we in fact had lice.

Puttin in the treatment stuff

We basically watched all the videos on Gospel Library last night

Make it a Fire Hazard

Sister Morris is just the dang cutest.

So we had our last concert on Sunday. Lots of mixed emotions about that one, but as we were warming up 30 minutes before the concert, people were already starting to come sit in the chapel. We set up more chairs, and then went into a classroom to finish warming up. Some of the Elders came in 5 minutes before it was supposed to start and announced they opened up the second overflow and were setting up all the chairs including adding extra seats at the end of the pews in the chapel. We all started mildly freaking out that so many people were there when Sister McSweeney told them to do whatever they needed to, "make it a fire hazard!"

District picture Round 2

By the time we walked into the chapel, all the chairs were up and there were people standing in the back. The final count was over 700 people. Holy. Cats. So incredibly humbling. This has been such an incredible time of my mission. Our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ and we got to do that through music this last month. It's cool to still be living the stories I know that I'll be telling my kids someday.

All the sisters in the zone 
got to go on a tour 
of the Alberta Legislature Building today. 
I find it kind of amusing 
that we learn nothing
about Canadian politics/government 
in American schools, 
but they learn all 50 states 
in schools in Canada

On Monday we went to a member's house with a recording studio in the basement, and professionally recorded 4 songs. Oh my goodness. We were listening to one of the recordings afterwards and I just have come to love all of this and all of these people so much. I don't even want to be sad about it being over. I just want to remember how much I've loved this. We also filmed the whole program on Monday, so I'll be able to remember forever because I'll still be watching it when I'm 80.

Transfers are here and of course there are changes everywhere, but life is so good! I'm basically out of time for today, but I'll fill you all in more about life and the likes next week.

Peace and Blessings
Sister Hepworth

That smoulder tho.

P.S. While we recording the program yesterday, we'd been singing for about 6 hours already and were running out of energy. Elder Saumweber decided we'd take a minute to re-energize, so we ran to the -10 Canadian outside. Elder Saumweber dared Elder Hunsaker to run and tackle a snowman, but then noticed that there were two. It came down to both of them running at top speed to the snowmen in the field. They both took out the head...with their heads. We went back inside with a very sore-headed Elder Hunsaker haha Unfortunately we were only halfway through recording, so some songs have a sore head and some don't. Even more unfortunate we recorded them out of the program order, so a big red spot on Elder Hunsaker's forehead is going to disappear and reappear throughout the videos.

The lady in the painting apparently went by "sister" ;D

Grand staircase up to the chamber that they write Albertan laws and stuff

I Don't Know You

​FINALLY got a picture of the choir.

His Hands has been just absolutely incredible. This is our last week of performances and it'll definitely be way sad when they're over. I read a talk about the "music of the gospel" this morning, and music just has such a special place in my heart. It helps me understand my Savior and the Atonement in ways that nothing else quite can. I feel very humbled to have been able to be a part of helping other people understand that too. On Sunday we had a concert in Sherwood Park (East side of the city),

​TOFIELD

so Tofield came!! I was literally so happy I didn't know how to accurately express how happy I was. It kind of just turned into hugging people a lot haha

Last Wednesday we drove out to Drayton Valley which is about an hour and a half out of the city. We got up nice and early, so we got to see an incredible sunrise. I spent the morning with Sister Taylor and even got to have one last Sister Schatmeier smoothie.

​The sunrise on our way out to Drayton

Oh my goodness so good. That night we were back in Edmonton and had a great lesson with Uttra. She's doing so great! She went to the temple this Saturday for the first time and got to take her mom and grandma's names to be baptized.

We had family home evening with Albert and the kids on Saturday. I just love them so much. They've been pulling out old family pictures and videos and I just feel like part of the family.

​We played the picture/sentence game
at family home evening
with Albert's family.

They feel like my little brother and sisters. I've been working so hard to convince them to come visit me in Utah or California. It will be such a happy day when they do. It will also be a very happy day when I get to come back and just hang out with all these wonderful people that I love so much.

Melodie came to church again this week and she is so great! She was making comments in Sunday School and always asks for extra reading assignments. Anthony gave a talk this Sunday about temples and family history and he is also ridiculously incredible. He just loves the gospel so much.

​We went past my old apartment building
when we were on the wrong bus haha

Sister Victoriano and I were on exchanges yesterday and we had so much fun! We got on the wrong bus and ended up in another stake, but holy cats it was so funny. We talked to so many people, and even jumped on the LRT for a while! It was seriously such a fun day. At one point Sister Victoriano tried to say hi to a lady and her face dropped and she said "I don't know you." Literally we laughed so hard. There were so many awesome people we talked to though :D Their car is out of commission for a while, so we were walking all day. Literally every sidewalk was completely covered in ice, but I did not fall one time!

Peace and Blessings!
Sister Hepworth

Post-concert ice cream has become a tradition.

P.S. On Friday Sister Hollon and I wanted to buy everyone frosties, so we went in rounds because we didn't want them all to melt. We bought 4 the first time and delivered. We went back and asked for 6 more, and when we got up to the window, it was the same lady and she just kind of laughed at us. We laughed and Sister Hollon explained that they weren't all for us. The lady kept laughing and handed us our frosties. We wished her a good day and she yelled out to us  while she was laughing "Have good day! See you again soon!" Sassy Wendy's lady.

​District picture

Pockets

The Drayton Valley sisters
are too far away to drive in for district meeting,
so they FaceTime in.

The His Hands concerts have been flippin awesome! Every night the audience gets a little bigger. At our performance last night the missionaries there ushering people couldn't even come sit down in the chapel it was so full. It's really been cool to talk to people and hear what it's like for them to listen. It's such a spiritually packed program, we feel it every time, but it's cool to look out and watch other people feel it for the first time. We still don't have a single picture or recording. So sorry. We're for sure recording the whole thing at the end of the month though. Don't fret.

Lucille!! ❤️ 😊
With a Sister Watts photo bomb in the back
haha

At the last concert I got to meet a girl that I met with Sister Heredia 5 months ago for a couple minutes at an LRT station. She noticed that my skirt had pockets and commented on how her dress had pockets too. We talked for a several minutes about how all dresses/skirts should have pockets haha Eventually we started talking about gospel-y things when an old coworker of hers came up and kind of stole the conversation. I ended up just handing her a card with mormon.org on it. MIRACLE she actually looked at the card! She talked to missionaries on mormon.org, eventually met the missionaries in her area and poof she got baptized. Holy awesome sauce! Her name is Lucille and she is absolutely incredible. Now she goes out with the missionaries all the time and her boyfriend is talking to the missionaries and she's thinking about going on a mission. MY GOODNESS I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. She and I decided that skirt is a miracle skirt and I will either frame it and hang it on the wall or give it to my daughters when they go on a mission.

We went and studied with the Greenfield sisters on Saturday

Melodie came to church this week and she loved it! We got to the church about 15 minutes early to wait in the foyer for her. 15 minutes into sacrament meeting we still hadn't seen her, so wwent and sat in the chapel feeling pretty sad that she hadn't come. When the meeting was almost over, I casually looked over my shoulder and Melodie was sitting right there! She had gotten there like 20 minutes early and just been sitting in the chapel waiting for us! Note to self, always check the chapel first.

Jasmine and Chantel came to church this week as well! AND Anthony taught Gospel Principles for the first time! When we talked to Jasmine yesterday, she said that Anthony's lesson was her favorite part of church! Jasmine and Chantel were a little miffed that so many people were on their phones all through church. It was a good reminder to me how important it is to be focused during church. For sake of respect to the speaker, to the Spirit and really to the house of the Lord. I definitely have a renewed passion for being focused during church.

Just some post-concert ice cream.

The lesson in Relief Society was about "cultivating an attitude of happiness and a spirit of optimism." That's literally one of my favorite things to talk about. Sister Van Vleet used to write on any whiteboard she ever saw "choose to be happy." TRUTH. Our outlook on anything is our choice. I remember finding a picture once upon a time that was a fake cartoon newspaper with the main article heading saying something along the lines of "A kitten was born today!" as well as a bunch of side articles like "thousands of planes landed safely." Just be happy man. It's way better.

Peace and Blessings
Sister Hepworth

P.S. Before every concert we always do your usual musical warm-up kind of things, but to really build our energy, it's become tradition to also play a game of ninja before we head to the chapel. If you don't know how to play ninja ask the closest 14 year old. On Sunday, we all our took our ninja poses and Elder Chadwick ended up half-way across the room trying to kind of hide in the corner. We all laughed and then I kind of forgot he was over there. I successfully avoided a ninja attack by Elder Nethercott and was revelling in my success and trying to decide whether or not it was my turn next when Elder Chadwick leapt across the room for a sneak attack. Well I lost that hand and the next immediately after because I was too distracted from the sneak attack. Sister Waite and I were watching everyone try and smack each other's hands when President Pattison walked in. Everyone playing kind of extra froze for a second and Elder Chadwick was still on the ground from his sneak attack. President's first words were "I always thought you guys were in here practicing before! Now I know what's goin on!" Hahahaha We were all dying. Sister Waite and I explained how ninja works while everyone else resumed play.

Totally Different

Uttra 😄

Most exciting of the exciting today: Uttra was baptized on Saturday! It was so great! So so great! Her son was so dang cute. When she was down in the water, his face was right up on that glass and after she came back up he started clapping and yelled out "Yay!" She's seriously just wonderful. In Gospel Principles on Sunday another member was commenting on how cool of a decision it is to be baptized and how now life will be "totally different" for her but in the best way to which she responded "true."

The picture from last week with Elder and Sister Echo Hawk

The firesides have been great! We've had three so far and another one tonight! We've totally failed on recording anything or even taking a picture haha We'll be better. It's building more and more momentum though! With every performance, the audience has grown! It'll be crazy to see how many people come by the end. There's been a lot of good feedback so far.

The Skirts were reunited for a day! Sister Schatmeier and I got to run around Belmead for the day on Wednesday. We saw our investigator in Coronation Park named Melodie and she's incredible! It legitimately seems like she's a member playing a joke on us she's so "golden." Every question she asks and every answer to the questions we ask her are perfect.

Exchanges with Hermana Morgado!
Sister Schatmeier and I forgot to take a picture.
We were very disappointed with ourselves.

I also got to spend half a day with Hermann Morgado yesterday! She's one of the new Spanish sisters and we had a ton of fun! I got to practice my Spanish and she got to practice her English haha it was a perfect combo. We stopped a guy on the street at one point who talked about how we all have no purpose and we're all just random and have nothing special and unique about ourselves. He was very interesting to talk to. He was super nice but we were both obviously very set in our ways. When we were talking about our purpose in life I said mine is to have joy and for a second, I could see his heart soften. There was almost a literal physical relaxation in his posture.

It's never too cold for ice cream.
It's like -30 outside right now.

When we boil down the things we want or our goals and the likes, we ultimately just want to be happy. We want to have joy. Even someone who thinks that we just "poof" after we die has that same need for joy. This is where joy is. Christ. The gospel. Families being eternal. JOY.

Peace and Blessings
Sister Hepworth

We had a treat feast for Family Home Evening
with Albert and the kids.

P.S. For every concert, we turn down the lights so that we have the stage presence kind of thing goin. At our second performance, they had forgotten to figure out which switches would produce the right "ambiance." We were grouped around the microphone waiting to start singing and over to the left three people were huddled around the 20 light switches flipping them all on and off for a solid two minutes. The audience was trying to be really polite and pretend like they didn't notice it happening, but two minutes later all I could think was, "I want to be laughing, I'm sure they want to be laughing." We were standing there music up and ready, the whole audience watching intently. So I just smiled. Then I giggled. And the lights kept flipping.

FHE is the best.