YOU DO NOT KNOW THE LIMITS OF YOUR OWN STRENGTH

This is my room and my DRYER hahahahahaha 

Clarification on the Story of the Coin

Elder Hefner was given his missionary coin when he was 15 by the Orlando Temple President. He said the Spirit told him to give his coin to the little boy... Later in the day Elder King, not knowing that Elder Hefner had given his coin away felt he had to give his coin to Elder Hefner. This is what Elder King's mom said:

There is a reason Elder Hefner must carry a missionary coin in his pocket. I love that Heavenly Father knows what we need even if we do not know ourselves.

This week's e-mail and pictures

So this week was beyond amazing. I learned so many things and I am beyond grateful to my Father in Heaven for my Companion and my District. We have a Baptism on Saturday of the Dad of a part member family! His son is so intelligent ! The wife was a less active member but he is so prepared for Baptism! He gave up alcohol, smoking and coffee 18 years ago!! He is awesome and is a country famous salsa dancer who doubles as an AMAZING mechanic! 

We set a date with Tono for Baptism for March. That was a miracle. We went to his house and it was by the Spirit we were led there because we had 4 appointments fall through at the same time. We felt the need when we got there to offer a blessing and he readily accepted because he has cancer... I blessed him that through his faith in our Savior and through his works he would receive 100 percent health so he can actually travel to church. Then we invited him to be baptized and he accepted. 

We did service for a lady we had contacted. She just lost her mom to cancer. We helped her plant a garden in our white shirts and she was very grateful. She then invited us in to speak and we taught about eternal families and the plan of salvation and she took to it so fast and immediately invited us back. 

THEN COMES SOMETHING AMAZING. We have been teaching a inactive family for awhile and nothing was coming of it. Finally we taught them the restoration. We showed them the video but during the part of the First Vision the rain was so hard we couldn't even hear each other speak (Because the roofs are metal) I was praying for it to stop but then quickly realized I was praying for the wrong things. I then prayed to have the complete power of the Spirit while I spoke and testified and my Companion as well. When I bore my testimony of the Prophet Joseph I spoke his words and I felt the Power and pure Authority of my calling and began to cry. The spirit came to my heart and I was commanded to give the mother a Book of Mormon just for her. I did so and saw a miracle. We have taught them 8 or 9 times and this was the first time I have ever seen her give a genuine smile. She said thank you and They were at church on Sunday!! 

Sunday was the Ward conference and through the efforts of the ward, which we helped inspire in a meeting, we all went out and invited every less active we could find. That Sunday we maxed out the Chapel and had to go search for many more metal chairs. The ward has gone from being dead to a Ward of service. In the ward roster the ward has 800 people but only 80 normally show up. Sunday we had about 150. We WILL CHANGE THIS. 

I went on an intercambio (exchange) with Elder King and he helped me defeat my homesickness for Good with a scripture and we had an amazing time teaching. We forgot completely what we were going to teach this less active family. That´s when the Spirit entered in and commanded us to teach sobre familias eterna y obra del templo (about eternal families and Temple work). Turns out a lady there wasn't a member and she was very interested in our message. It was amazing. 

Yesterday we had an amazing opportunity. Elder Flores and I were invited to sing at a Funeral. So we did and other Missionaries showed up and sang with us. Elder King and Flores gave blessings to our investigator. Her husband died, she has also lost her son, nephew and cousin this year alone and her dad will probably soon pass away as well. We have gone everyday to sing to her. She always asks us too. Then Elder Flores was asked to preach the gospel at the Funeral and he did so with power. It was amazing. 

People love it when we sing. The Lord is opening doors. Even though we are dead exhausted we keep working. YOU DO NOT KNOW THE LIMITS OF YOUR OWN STRENGTH. The Lord uses us to preach the gospel. At the end of the night we collapse from exhaustion and don´t even dream. When we are tired we keep pushing and the Lord says ¨I am not done yet keep going and I will give you strength¨and he really does. Without his strength by mile 5 I would curl up and sleep. But with him I am able to reach mile 15 and say ¨ What next lord?¨ I am so grateful for this work.

I love you a ton!

Elder Hefner

Our dumbbells lol 

We work out with cement solidified to poles...

This is the pantry of a missionary...

  

I made Hefner Fried Burritos for a family and our Investigators!!!!  I made 27 !!!!!!

The Story of a Coin

Can you tell that I have lost weight?

OK this is what happened this week... So Thursday I had my toughest day in the mission yet. My district leader threw me and Elder Henze out in the field together alone... Two Trainees alone with the same Spanish level of basically zero... I taught more lessons that day than I thought possible. We took Edwin with us to go and teach. He is a Future missionary who leaves for his mission in Mexico in 2 weeks. By the end of the day we honestly had nothing in our tanks and went home frustrated. This is because one of our greatest investigators rejected a certain doctrine and it was tough. Edwin even asked to take a siesta in the middle of the day. By 9:30 he was ready to just about fall over. We testified that this is what missionary work is like. You give it your all and just when you think you can´t´make it over the next mountain you take everything from your reserve tank and beg the Lord for strength and somehow you do. Elder Flores meant for us to be really close with the Spirit, but he told us that whenever we have a hard day on the mission just remember that day... Elder Flores gave me counsel and a lot of great advice on how to be in the next generation of ¨ Spiritual Giants¨ . This was fantastic. I feel much more confident in my Lord that he is helping my Spanish. I am so grateful for my Companion. After this I was pondering the words of my patriarchal blessing a lot and was wondering what the answer was. I found it when I walked out of a movie today that the zone was watching because the Spirit wasn't there. Elder King came up to me and gave me a new coin. He then gave me council that pierced my heart. He didn't know that on the Intercambio (Exchange) I had given my coin away by COMMAND of the Spirit to a boy I did not even know. The Young man had dropped 5 pesos on the ground and the Spirit Came and spoke to me clear AS DAY. And I literally heard the Words ¨give him your coin¨ So after three witnesses of this I did. I was then told that because of that coin that young boy would one day join the church but he just wasn't ready yet. It has been an incredible week. I have found strength in Alma 26:22. It is exactly the type of missionary the lord wants me and Elder Henze to be. 

Alma 26: 22

• Book of Mormon

22Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works , and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring... 

My shoes after 2 weeks in the field

My shoes are after I already fixed them...TWICE in the front and the Heel I had to glue up because it was gone...

MOM & DAD THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING SHOES! I haven´t received them yet but my shoes are so horrible. I am in a lot of pain when I walk.. I am literally walking on Gravel.My feet are raw from that and walking in wet socks. 

A Message from Mother to Son and Elder Hefner's reply

Glorimar Hefner

Feb 11 (3 days ago)

to Timothy 

I am impressed to tell you not to be afraid of your Spanish! You have heard it all your life...your Spanish is in your veins. ...you are my son! Close your eyes and I promise you your Spanish will come out of your mouth flawlessly...let the Spirit speak...do not over think it... 

Timothy Hefner Feb 11 (3 days ago) to me 

Hahaha thanks mom.  Also Our next baptism is either the 14th or possibly the 28th depending on if Tono is ready.But let me tell you the Faith of that man is Incredible. I love you so much I will be sending you pictures of my new coin from Elder King. We taught Edwin and his family about the mission and we talked about the 2000 stripling warriors and I testified of the fact that they were taught by their mothers I testified of you. I love you so much!!! I think about you daily. Your love fuels my testimony like you would not believe. BTW if you want to feel like a missionary Listen to The Nashville Tribute Band.I promise as you listen to the songs you will feel me with you !

A Message to Dad

Hey dad... So you were right. My companion right now is my greatest friend. I love him from now into the Eternities. Elder Flores was actually a Zone leader for a year straight. My president said I have the Best trainer in the Mission and he was right. He tries to live every rule to the best of his abilities. It is such a blessing to have him as my trainer. I love you dad. I love you and thank you for your emails. I have a very special letter on the way. Please read it and follow what it says regarding our family. It was direct revelation from the Spirit. I love you dad with all my heart. As your heart is mending let my heart do the work for both of us. I promise you it is big enough and has enough love to support you and every person here.

Love,

Elder Hefner

 

Service at a Member's house and they have Parcheesi here!  (Elder Hefner grew up playing this game at home)

My First Baptism and a mighty a change of heart!

Baptism of Francarlos! What an amazing guy! He´s 21 and now wants to go serve a mission!

A mighty a change of heart 

Timothy Hefner	4:04 PM (5 hours ago)
to me

So this week was pretty awesome. I had my first baptism two weeks into my mission. Francarlos was so ready for baptism. After the SECOND lesson he began going and teaching with the missionaries. I know he wants to serve a mission. He is a modern day Alma the Younger. He and his friend Carlos ( who is a member) Were Tigres (Gangsters). They were as far away from our Savior as possible. Carlos is 23 and Francarlos is 21. Carlos is a single dad. It was amazing to see the transformation of the two as they entered the waters of baptism together. The spirit was beyond strong. He was so big he had to be baptized 5 TIMES lol. Then he was set apart immediately after and the blessing was almost a patriarchal blessing. He was blessed with a desire to serve a mission and marry in the temple! TALK ABOUT POWERFUL. Later on in the week we taught Tono and the Spirit that was present was beyond compare. It was as if his home became a Temple while we were teaching. We were teaching the restoration. Let me tell you a very simple truth. The words of Joseph Smith, when spoken by one who is worthy and has authority, are BEYOND powerful. The Spirit flooded the room with warmth. Tono said ¨ I know that this is true. I have no doubt¨ We invited him to pray still but after that there is no way that he can ever deny it. That is one of my MANY amazing experiences this week. I will be writing more in my letters ! I love you mom!

Elder Hefner

This is what Hermano Nunez from the CCM did for me in my scriptures

A willingness to serve

Hey pop...So this week was amazing..  I had my first baptism. We find so many people everyday and we are teaching nonstop. We are doing everything we can to be obedient and the Lord is rewarding us. I am not saying this is easy. I already have holes straight through the bottom of my shoes. There are days when I just want to roll over and give up. There are nights were My pillow is wet with tears just like Nephi. I just press on. Why? Because this is not my mission. It is the Lords. I have learned this very quickly. I love my Lord with all that I am. I knew him very well before this world was. I promised I would labor in the Lords vineyard all the days of my life. I have been promised to preach the Gospel to every Kindred, tongue and people and this is my training ground. I love you dad. I think about you and mom every day. It is the image of our family and this name on my plaque that gets me through everything. I know that through my service the blessings you will receive are monumental. I find it impossible to work for myself now. Stay strong and keep studying. Jacob 2 ...first do all you can to build up the Kingdom of God. If we do this, the Lord will pour out his blessings upon us.  Love you dad talk to you soon!

Elder Hefner

Us actually eating at McDonald's! I treated the District to McFlurry's for breakfast... hahaha... this isn´t in our area so It was a miracle.

Wearing one of the ties you sent me

Elder Flores my comp and I playing Risk

Playing Risk on PDAY! The one in the jersey is Elder Palez, he´s my zone leader lol

First time eating mangu!!!!

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR TRIAL DAD."

Helping build a dirt floor house in the mountains! For one of our investigators

A message from Father to Son

Dear Son,

I wanted to tell you about an experience that I had in the hospital.

The last Sunday I was in the hospital I asked if the priesthood could come and give me the Sacrament. Tanden and another young man with short brown hair... he is one of the newer move-ins... You used to bless the sacrament with him once in a while.... Anyway... they came into the room... they were very solemn and serious... When the said the Sacrament prayers .... I wept... almost uncontrollably ... Just to hear the words of the covenant spoken... to feel the spirit of the Lord in the room...it was overwhelming. I couldn't partake of the bread ... but I was able to drink the water... the feeling that rushed through me... was a complete affirmation from God that He was helping me to carry my burden... I knew I was yoked to my Savior... and that everything that I was experiencing was part of the eternal plan that my Father in Heaven ... needed me to experience for some future time, whether to help someone or to give me a memory of such immense  suffering that future trials would be pale in comparison.

I have to tell you son, I have felt pain before.... I have broken arms, collar bones, teeth, smashed my face in to concrete multiple times, sliced my throat open on the inside...knee surgeries and such and never shed a tear.....

But my acute Pancreatitis..... I cried like a baby... it literally felt like someone reached inside me and was ripping my organs apart while stabbing me with a knife..... I can't even begin to describe it and do it justice.....It was so intense that I had broken capillaries all over my chest and shoulders.

At one point I was so near to death that I began to feel myself lifting off of the hospital bed and it felt like I was moving toward the door.... At that point I heard the Spirit whisper to me to ask your mom to give me a blessing using my priesthood that I hold.... Immediately I received calmness, and peace, and some of the pain went away... Carlos later came and gave me a blessing also (your mom had been inspired to call him earlier)

I thought I knew before what real pain was.

Why am I telling you this?  Because in a moment of true clarity... I began to understand a small percentage of what Christ went through for me. Imagine... he felt every type of pain imaginable (cancer, 3rd degree burns, etc) ... every sorrow ... fear ... mental and  physical...anguish... sickness.... and He did it willingly.  Without complaint.

He bled from every pore.

It is incredible to think that He had each one of us in mind, the promise that He made to each of us... that He would not fail us... That He would be our advocate, our mediator, our messiah, and all the Glory, and praise would be given to the Father without reservation, without remorse, without envy.

I think I had to pass through this, so that I could become a better tool in the Master's hand. More empathetic, more loving, more caring, more understanding of the suffering of others. To know what it feels like to have REAL health problems. To understand PATIENCE in affliction....

While thinking about all these things I came across this scripture:

Mosiah 23:10 -

"Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth."

Then I thought of you.... and all the trials, suffering, testimony challenges that you faced and passed so that you could serve a mission.  And I realized that even to approach a resemblance of worthiness to serve the Lord, we must pass through the refiner's finer, and purge ourselves of ungodly characteristics, and replace those with Christ attributes in our lives.  Yes, that FIRE is painful, it pushes us to our limits, and it will continue to push the boundaries of those limits for our entire lives. Until at the end, we will no longer resemble our natural man we used to see in the mirror.... but we will have received Christ's image in our countenances.

My sticky note attached to that verse reads:

How is it that a person becomes a true instrument in the Lord's hands?

Only by passing through much tribulation. The Lord has a masterful way of heating, bending and pounding us into a usable and useful tool. Only by that purging through the refiner's fire do we rid ourselves of impurities, ONLY, through the heavy hand of the Master Smith are we shaped and molded into what we must become if we are to return with honor to Him.

Son, I am so proud of you, If I could I would return to serve a mission in a heart beat. I am so glad that you are experiencing losing yourself completely on the Lord's errand.

He will teach you, guide you, train you and prepare you for every event that will follow your mission, if you pay attention to what HE is trying to teach you through the Spirit.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING you will learn and sharpen on your mission is the ability to listen and follow the Spirit .... no matter what the situation is.... develop that trait, and always remember, many times the spirit inspires us to do something... and many times that inspiration comes just to see if you will listen and obey. You may not understand why you were inspired to do something ... but it always has an eternal reason behind it.

I love you son, I miss you.

May God's hand be upon your shoulder, May you walk in the Lord's

footsteps, and may you be guided to those you promised to find before you left your pre-mortal state.... they are waiting for that promise to be fulfilled.

A response from a Son to a Father

Dad you have no idea how much that helped me. In my 2 weeks meeting with all the missionaries from the CCM and their companions I had an amazing spiritual experience. I sat down and the spirit was very heavy in the room and All of the sudden in a minute of Silence the Spirit Rushed over me. I can only describe it similar to the waves that would hit me at the beach back home, and would send me tumbling like a sack of rice. It overcame my being and EVERY DOUBT PROBLEM AND FEAR I had was gone in an instant. I felt complete and absolute peace. I have only ever felt that way in the Celestial room of the Orlando temple, and that was only one time. It was amazing to experience and It testified to me that any place we go, we can make it a holy place. ¨Stand ye in Holy Places and Be Not Moved¨ It was amazing to experience and I want you to know that your Story has touched the lives and penetrated the hearts of about 45 people. It has allowed us to teach with power and on a very personal level with these people. I NEED you to know that because of what you have gone through you have helped begin the process of saving all of these souls. You will be able to see them again at that last day and I know they will say thank you to you and not me. I have realized very quickly that this is not my mission. This is the Lord´s. I am only an instrument that can be played solely upon the merits of virtue, humility, diligence, obedience and Faith. The People are so ready for the gospel here. Thank you for your trial dad. You have helped save souls. ¨How great shall be your joy if you can bring save one soul into the kingdom of Heaven¨ I love you. I know I am the First Hefner to have the Title of Elder in a very long time. I will be the Last until my son goes on his mission. I hold our family name Sacred and I am doing everything I can to Honor This name. I bear it Humbly Right next to the name of the Savior. I promise you can count on me. I love you dad. I miss you more than you can imagine.  But I know I am here for a beautiful work.

Elder Hefner

One of this week's miracles - Oh MORMONES!

"So we were going to go teach a very excited convert named Tono. I don´t know why but he reminds me a lot of Abuelo just shorter and skinnier. It was his first time to Church on Sunday and he said he wanted to be baptized on Saturday! We told him we would come by to talk about it then set a date. When we went by three days later he was waiting for us on the front porch, like a little kid on Christmas Morning and JUMPED when he saw us and exclaimed ¨ ELDERS ! ¨ With a huge smile. We walked in and began teaching the Restoration. THEN he brought his 40 year old daughter into the lesson and we taught her as well as his grand daughter, which was a Miracle. THEN TWO MORE random people just walked in ( Tono keeps his house open to anyone who wants to come in) and they both came in 10 mins apart and the first woman said ¨ Oh MORMONES! I was baptized a Mormon 20 years ago but I haven´t been since.¨ Then another man walked in saying ¨I was baptized a mormon 7 years ago but haven¨t gone in YEARS¨ It was so amazing we are actually going to go teach them right after this. But miracles like this have been happening CADA DIA mama (every day mom). It´s insane! After I left the house the Spirit spoke to me and testified that This was a promise from my Patriarchal blessing that says ¨You will plant Deep Seeds in the Hearts of the People¨ and Tono( WHOS REAL NAME IS TONY) Will be one of them. Furthermore we were teaching in a Noche De Hogar (Family Home Evening) and We taught about temples to 2 Investigator families and I was Given the Gift of Tongues and I Spoke PERFECT Spanish as I shared my experience before the mission in the temple with our families and part of the talk I gave in Stake Conference. Mom I can´t even write 1-20 of the Miracles I have seen."

This week's Service, companions, trainers and P-Day

This week we helped build a house in the mountains for one of our investigators. You can see from the pictures how humble this house is.

Elder Henze is in my district. He is now one of my greatest friends and Brothers. I can´t even tell you how strong his testimony is. He came out one transfer before me. He is amazing  I love him to Death.

Elder Henze, Elder Flores and Elder King

 That is elder King helping cook up a master piece of eggs for lunch. He is Elder Henze´s ¨Dad¨ Elder Flores is my ¨Dad¨lol

This was us playing monopoly on P-DAY today... I won. I am Zone Champ. Everything with a Hotel is mine hahaha WE PLAYED FOR 3 HOURS!!!! lol I talked allll about our games back home lol Notice the houses are yellow and not green!!

lol ok hey I have to go mom :( I love you though!!!!! Until next week...

Elder Hefner