This is Jessica at her one month mark in the MTC.

This is Jessica enjoying our Fall Harvest Care Package at the MTC  (pumpkin cookies, bread and homemade apple butter, chips and homemade salsa, zucchini bread, etc.)

This is Jessica's email dated October 8, 2014...

Hei Familie!!!! :) :)

This week was CRAZY!!! So I'll try to type fast!

OH MY GENERAL CONFERENCE!  It is unbelievable to me how much EVERY talk applied to what we are experiencing here at the MTC.  Søster Williams and I kept looking at each other like... WHAT??? Before Conference, we wrote down personal questions and concerns that we had as well as the concerns of each of our investigators.  We tried hard to listen for answers but we didn't have to listen too hard because they we all answered perfectly! It's just another testimony to me that God really does speak to us today.  They are His words coming through His prophets!  We have been telling two of our investigators that prayers really can be answered and we saw it in action this week.

We had invited one of our investigators, Linn to watch General Conference.  She seemed interested, so as we were watching it, we kept thinking, "OH! I hope she heard that one!".  We had our lesson with her yesterday and decided to go into it with no plan and just talk about what she felt as she watched conference.  She was BEAMING! She told us that she had a question about why we call Heavenly Father  "Kjære" (Dear).  She talked about President Uchtdorf's talk and how he showed how Heavenly Father really does care for His children.  She had her prayer answered, and the best part about it was she knew it had been answered! So neat to see that.  We asked her to pray to open the lesson, and instead of her usual repetitious prayer, she really asked to feel God's love for her personally.  I just love it when we get to hear an investigator pray like that!

We got our flight plans last Friday!!!!!!!!!!! We, as a whole district will be leaving early Monday morning for Salt Lake, then we will take a flight to TEXAS, then to ENGLAND, then up to NORWAY!!! We are all so excited, and when they handed us our papers, all of us sisters just started BAWLING!  WE had a scare earlier in the week where half of the sisters going to Denmark hadn't gotten their visas, so we were pretty worried for ours.  But alas, ALL 15 of us Nord missionaries will be traveling together!  We are SO happy, and SO excited to go! (Though none of them can believe that I've never been on a plane before.... haha!)

I got the package yesterday and EVERYTHING in it was much needed and MUCH craved! :)  You can even ask Søster Williams, I have been craving Mom's pumpkin chocolate chip cookies ALL WEEK! I LOVE THEM!!!! And the salsa?? Kjempe Bra!!!! :) So Takk!!! 

OH! Another fun thing... Here at the MTC they have what they call the "Tower Challenge".  A zone tries to drain and eat a whole tower of cereal all together! (About 10 boxes).  So we, as the biggest zone currently in the MTC decided to try it! AND WE DID IT! In fact... WE drained not one, not two, but THREE towers of cereal! So crazy and we were all SO FULL!! One Elder counted and as a zone of 55 people, we ate 217 bowls of cereal! So yeah.... that happened :)

Hosting last Wednesday was SO fun! I hosted one girl, Sister Haws going to France on her mission.  I asked her if she knew the Haws in Morgan and she said yes! I guess she is Micheal Haws' cousin! So that was fun! I loved hosting.  It just made me think back to five weeks ago when I first came here.  The hardest part was saying, "Time to go" while they were saying goodbye to their families! Ugh!!  Yeah, I hated that, but I know that they are going to change people's lives and it is SO worth the sacrifice!

So we got to watch our Elders sing in the priesthood session on Saturday and weren't they spectacular???  the Elder who sang the solo is in our zone going to the Netherlands! He is from Scotland, and kinda has the best accent ever.  I guess he has done some movies with the church and has acted in a lot of movies!  He's the one playing the piano in the Come Unto Christ video as well, so that's definitely a claim to fame for our zone! haha!!

Well, my time is running a little short and this computer is kinda slow so I'll be off!

Jeg vet a Gud elsker oss.  Vår himmelske Fader elsker alle Hans barn.  Jeg vet at Jesus Kristus er min Frelser.  Jeg vet at Jesu Kristi evangelium er sant.  Jeg vet at Gud sendte oss til jorden for å bli prøve her.  Jeg vil å komme tilbake til ham, og jeg vil å bringe andre menneskene til ham også.  Jeg er so glad i dette kirken.  Jeg vet at vi kan bli lykkelig gjennom Jesu Kristi Forsoningen.  Jeg er glad i dere og Jeg skal snakke til dere snart!  Ha det bra! Vi sees!

Søster Heywood!

MTC Hump Day

On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 10:15 AM, Jessica Heywood <jessica.heywood@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hey there min vakker familie! :)

It was so great to hear from you all.  I loved seeing the pictures of the kids in the cultural event!! I bet that was so fun to watch.  Here at the MTC we got so see the first session of the dedication and it was SO great!  I actually saw President Skinner sitting in the Celestial room right with the prophet! So you can tell him I saw him there! :)

I am SOOOO happy to hear about Kasey and her decision to be baptized!!!! I am so proud of her! 

That's a bummer about Grakum going to the hospital too! I'm glad she only had to spend one night there, and tell her not to worry, we don't get coke here at the MTC either ;) haha!

Yesterday was MTC HUMP DAY!!!!!!!  So great! Three weeks down, and three to go until I can hop on the plane to NORGE!!!! I'm so excited!!! Sister Petersen got a package with some Martinellis from her mom so we could all celebrate properly :) We decided that our goal as a district once we get over there is to work hard enough to get a third stake in Norway. (That way, they can be considered for a temple) Can you just imagine how cool it would be to get to have a temple there?? or even have one announced by the time I leave?  

Classes are going great here.  To answer your question mom, gospel and language class is the same thing.  The gospel class is taught in Norsk.  We have two new investigators that we have been teaching: Pralad, and Linn.  Pralad is a refugee from Napal, and his family and he are Hindu.  So he's a fun one to teach! :)  Linn is really interested in the sciences and is studying health at a university in Oslo, so I got to relate to her in that way!  She is so great.  She wants to learn more about Joseph Smith and our church and she really likes reading from Mormons Bok.  The only thing is, she has no desire to believe in a God.... which is kinda important in this gospel... but she is a great learner and very open, so we shall see :)

OOH!! Cool thing!! Yesterday at Tuesday Devotional, we got to hear from M. Russell Ballard!  He is so awesome!! He talked a lot about how to be the most effective missionary we can possibly be! It was so great! The choir sang Joseph Smiths first prayer, and as we sang it the spirit was so thick in the air, I'm pretty sure you could touch it! haha!!

Last Wednesday after we emailed, we went to the temple.  Sister Williams and I did a session and afterwards we were sitting in the Celestial room.  I had had a really specific thing on my mind, and was praying for an answer to my question.  As a looked up after my prayer, I made eye contact with a lady from across the room who was just smiling at me... I just thought, "hmm... tat's weird," and didn't worry about it.  Later, in the changing rooms, she came up to ma and said, "You probably think I'm crazy, but I kept getting the feeling that I needed to tell you something."  Then she told me the exact answer to the question I had asked Heavenly Father.  And you know me family.... I started bawling.  I know that God really does answer prayers, and sometimes, He uses other people to do it.  I never EVER want to forget that experience, it was just so great!!

Brother Williams told me that Brede had messaged him on Facebook. That is SO cool!!!  All of our teachers here are SO amazing!! I love them all so much!  There's Brother Smith, who is just so inspired to teach us exactly what we need to hear for the day.  He tells us mission stories and gets us excited to go experience those things for ourselves.  Sister Landry is so understanding and great with making sure that we understand her before we move on.  She is so funny and didn't get off her mission too long ago.  There's Brother Bartholomew, who we like to call the battery.  He is SO full of energy and a class is never complete without him jumping around the room in excitement.  He's one of those people who makes you want to take a nap after talking to them :) haha! Then of course Brother Williams who just brings a spirit into the classroom like none other!  Man! I just love them all!!

I love Sister Williams! She is such a great teacher and SO in tune with the spirit!  I learn so much from her everyday.  It's not to hard having a companion all the time, except for when I'm grumpy because I usually like to be alone for that, and I can't :) haha!! but luckily, I'm not really ever grumpy!  Being a missionary just has its perks like that I guess ;)

Well family, my time is almost up, I love you all SOOOOO much!  Jeg vet at Jesu Kristi Kirke av Siste Dagers Hellige er sann.  Jeg vet at Jesus Kristus og himmelske Fader elsker oss.  Vi er hans barn.  Jeg vet dette!

Ha det bra!!

Soster Heywood!

OH! and pppppp.sssssss. The MTC Choir does get to sing.... in the Priesthood session.... So..... Just the Elders! Lame huh? Oh well! That's still so cool!! So tell Hayden and dad that they can see the elders from my district! :) haha!

1st MTC Email

Hello!!!!!

So my P day here at the MTC is Wednesday, and I'll usually do my emailing in the morning.  Mom, I am unit #83, but I did get your DearElder letter!  Those are SO GREAT!!! Tell everyone to write me them! ;)  Sister Williams is great!  we balance each other out perfectly!  

Our investigator is technically a fake one, but we treat him completely as if he were real.  His name is Lars, and he is so fantastic.  He came here from Norway to study Engelsk at BYU.  His fiance is LDS so he wanted to find out more about our church, and what his fiance believes in.  Right now, his biggest struggle is just trying to figure out what the gospel could do for him.  He doesn't see any reason to change the life he has now, but he does want to learn. We are really trying right now to help him feel the Holy Ghost in our lessons.  So keep Lars in your prayers!! :)

You'll have to tell me about Stake Conference.  I bet President Tibbitts and President Glover kept ya laughing right?  Those two are fantastic, and I just love President Skinner too.  I want to see pictures of Heather and Tamy in their dresses!!!! I bet they'll just look AMAZING!!! I''m so glad to hear that Tamy is more interested!! Continue to tell her about our church!  Missionary work is CONTAGIOUS!! 

The language is coming along really well for me.  I may not have finished my Norwegian CD course, but I have been able to do really well with pronunciation because I have heard it spoken so much, so thats GREAT!!! OOH! Side note, Make sure Eline has my email, so I can email her as well :) 

Our district is HUGE!!! We have the biggest district they have ever had in the MTC.  They usually cut of around twelve, then if there is more, they split them into two districts.  But in our case, we only have one Norske teacher, so we can't exactly split... Our district has 15 Elders and Sisters! (4 Elders, 11 Sisters).  We are all learning the language at different speeds and some of the members of the district are really getting discouraged. (Including Sister Williams, so keep her in your prayers please. Our teacher, Brother Smith saw that she was struggling, and took her out of class for a bit, and then didn't come back for about 45 minutes. Long story short, we got excused from the rest of our class for the day, so I could help her as much as I could. so keep her in your prayers) Takk! we actually have an Elder in our district (the DL) who lived in Sweden for 7 years of his life, and since those two languages are close, he really helps us with the Norwegian! Like A LOT!!!

I love you all SOOO much! The church is true, and God is SO REAL!!!

Love,

Soster Heywood!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAYLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you had a fantastic day and got pampered by Steve and the Kids! I'm waiting for those coloring pictures from Rachel ;) Haha!

Soster Heywood the morning she left for the MTC!

2nd MTC Email

Hallo!!

Oh my goodness, this week has been INSANE!!! I have so much to tell you and just not enough time! My hands just aren't fast enough!!! Things are going GREAT here in the MTC.  We got to hear from Richard G. Scott yesterday for our Tuesday Devotional.  He is so spectacular!!!  I'm in the MTC Choir, and we got to sing Be Still My Soul for him! (You can tell Mr. Mills how much I LOVE being in an actual choir again)  Our director is SO FUNNY!  Everytime we go to choir, he has an awesome messageto go along with whatever song we are singing.  this time, he gave us some statistics of how big the universe really is, blowing our minds of course.  Then he told us that all that is controlled by God, and our souls have no reason to not be still.  We can do ANYTHING when our will matches that of the Father's.  We are unstoppable!

So, really cool story:  One of our teachers, Bror Williams (also played Lars, our first investigator),  served his mission in Norway. Actually all four of our teachers did.  I was talking to him and asked which areas he had served in, and one of the areas was Sandvika.  I asked him if he knew Eline Solberg, and he said, "Is her dad's name Brede?" I was like YES!! Apparently, Brede helped them with some car stuff, and Bror Williams even taught them a couple times I think... It was all in Norwegian, so thats what I gathered, but YEAH!! Cool stuff! I started freaking out. connections are awesome!

Our new investigator for this week is Linn.  we've only had one lesson with her,so we don't know much, but I was able to connect with her because she is going to school studying health just like I was.  Very cool!  Her parents divorced when she was ten, and she lost her faith because she had prayed to keep her family together, and it didn't happen.  So she's had a rough time, but I know that this gospel can make her so happy! More than she realizes now :)

To answer everyone's questions: Yes, I have gotten the DearElder letters, and I LOVE them!! we get mail delivered twice a day and it's always so awesome to hear from home! I didn't get dad's as you know, but I got his email, and yes dad..... You made me BAWL! But luckily for me, my companion gives good hugs :) haha!

I loved seeing the homecoming pictures! The girls looked simply GORGEOUS!!!!! I'm so glad they had fun, and had awesome rides!  I don't know if I ever told Heather about the police escort I got for my Junior year homecoming.... haha! but yeah!  I'm glad they got to ride in style!

We are all SO EXCITED for the temple dedication on Sunday.  And the bookstore has plenty of white handkerchiefs for then.  They've got to with all us missionaries! OOH!!!! That reminds me along with the choir I mentioned earlier, WE MIGHT GET TO SING IN GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!!!!!!!! Might... just might... we'll know for sure by next Sunday! so I'll let ya know!

The language is coming great!  It's really great that I was exposed to some Norwegian before I came here so I can pick up on most of the pronunciation.  It is SUCH a fun language! I find myself even dreaming in Norwegian now... haha!!! The food is fantastic, but having to climb 5 stories to class three times a day is keeping off the weight, so that's good ;) haha!!

I heard from Miranda that Rachel got her glasses!!!!! I want to see a picture! I bet she just looks GORGEOUS!!! :) Man I miss those kids.  Give them BIG HUGS from Aunt Jess for me!

Welp!! That's about all I can think to tell ya this time, but I love you all SOOOO MUCH, and I can't wait to get to Norway! LESS THAN A MONTH LEFT!!

Jeg er glad i deg,

Soster Heywood

Jessica said this was "Bee-Day".  These three sisters all showed up  in yellow and black to class one morning.












This is Jessica's District.  They are all the missionaries going to Norway who entered the MTC  Sept. 3.  There are 11 Sisters and 4 Elders.

He's been there before!

This past week has been filled with so many emotions... First off, I have now been graduated from high school for a year, and it is now the next years turn to graduate.  For some reason this has made me suddenly reminiscent, and I find myself looking back at high school, and all of the memories I had there.  It also causes me to look at this past year, and see how much I have changed since my graduation day. I can look back on my trials and see that they were really blessings in disguise from my Heavenly Father.  He is the only one who can really see who I can become, and because I had done my best to put my life in His hands, He was able to shape and mold me into who I am today.

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward.

When life is dragging you back with difficulties,

it means you will soon be launched into something great.

So just focus, and keep aiming."

There have been times where I could only feel myself dragging back.  In fact, through most of my trials, that's all I could see.  However, looking back, I can see that I have been launched forward further than I could have ever dreamed. 

Moral of the story?? Keep your arrow aimed straight throughout whatever trial or hardship you are facing, and patiently wait for the release.  It will always be worth the pull back.

The following poem was shared with me by another future sister missionary, and it has really given me some perspective about my mission and the trials that I'm sure to face out there. Enjoy!

“The Alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet 

I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to rise?

It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my eyes.

The morning activities follow- study, prayer and such

When it’s time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven’t accomplished much

“We have a super day planned,” My comp. says with a grin

I lowly utter a faithless breath, “Yeah, if anyone lets us in.”

With the word of God and my faithful twin, we ride off in the street

Prepared to face another day of humidity and heat

It’s 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through

My champion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate “air Box”

We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete

The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It’s past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,

Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep

In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray

I need to talk to Father, but I’m not sure what to say

“Oh, Father” I begin, “What happened to us today?

I thought we’d teach somebody, but everyone was away

My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;

If our area was any smaller, we’d have knocked every street”

“Why on missions are the days so much alike?

The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike

Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it’s very hard to see”

“Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn’t your protection enough?

People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack

I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back”

“And what about my family: They don’t have much to say

I’m sick of not hearing from home day after day after day

Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I’m sorry but that’s on my mind”

“My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?”

The way he rides his bicycle, I don’t think he can see

Now you have it, I can’t go on, I don’t know what to do

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you”

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed

I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead

Sleep starts to overtake me, I seem to drift away

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I’m standing alone on the hill. The view is very nice

A man walks towards me and says, “My name is Jesus Christ”

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet

“Arise,” He states, “Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak”

My attention’s towards my Savior, total and complete

He says, “Your mission is similar of what happened to me

I understand how you feel, I know what you’re going through

In fact, it would be fair to say I’ve felt the same as you”

“I even know how you felt when no one listened to you

At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do

I know you don’t like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet

Just remember the donkey I rode wasn’t equipped with 21 speeds”

“I understand you don’t like sweating, in fact it’s something you hate

I remember when I sweat blood from ev’ry pore, oh the agony was great!

I see you don’t like your companion - you’d rather have someone else-

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth”

“It’s hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you

I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack

I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back”

“Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day

I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way

It’s hard not to hear from home when your family’s not there to see

I lost communication on the cross and cried, “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

“We have a lot in common, but there’s a difference between us you see

I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me”

He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love

With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head

I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed

My companion let out a groan, “6:30 already, no way!”

I sat up and said, “Come on, I’ll even carry your scriptures today!”

No matter what we go through,

when we feel we can’t take more

Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,

He’s been there before."

I love my Savior Jesus Christ and I am so excited to represent Him in EVERYTHING I do, including the small things like carrying a backpack. I am not called to simply serve in a place, but I AM called to serve in the place of my Savior.

Now it's real

 

OH MY GOODNESS.  These last few months have been completely filled with trial after trial and blessing after blessing.  I made my final decision in January to start my mission papers and find out where my Heavenly Father wants me to serve.  After four long months of filling in paperwork, going to doctors appointments, and going to school I FINALLY got my mission call!! 

Now to backtrack a few years... During my freshman year in high school, my family hosted a foreign exchange student from Norway.  She and I immediately became best friends and just like sisters.  I look up to her just as much as I do my other older sisters.  She stayed for her exchange year, then had to return (sadly) to Norway.  She since then has come back twice more to visit.  I just love this girl SO much!  The most recent time she was here, we asked her if we could invite the missionaries to come  talk to her and teach her.  She said that would be alright, but after the first lesson, she had to go back to Norway again.  I prayed for her, and hoped that someone in Norway would touch her in some way.  We have both teased back and forth about me getting called to Norway on my mission, but I knew that the odds of that were EXTREMELY slim! 

On April 23rd I received my mission call to, you guessed it, the Norway Oslo mission!!! I couldn't believe what I was reading!!! As you can imagine, those faithful water gates of mine opened up and I couldn't stop crying.  I KNOW that my Heavenly knows me and knows what I can do even more than I do.  I never imagined that the answer to my prayers would be me.  

I leave for the Provo MTC on September 3rd, meaning I get to wait another long four months!  In the meantime I guess I can read the Book of Mormon again, shop for some supplies, and maybe even learn a little Norwegian while I'm at it!

I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for giving me an opportunity to share His gospel with the people of Norway.  The gospel of Jesus Christ has brought me more joy than I could ever imagine! I love my Savior and I am so excited to represent Him and serve in His place for 18 months!