December 2, 2013

December 2

Hello my dear family and friends!

 

I am going to be short here because I have a lot to do today and I am going to see you all in a week!

 

Thanksgiving was good. We ate dinner at the Arellano's. They are such amazing people. Sis. Arellano is recovering from a stoke and is doing great. She is the brightest and cheerful person. She loves the gospel so much and is willing to do whatever to help us sisters with our missionary work. I have grown so attached to her and it will be so sad to say goodbye to her. That night after we ate, we watched some mormon messages and it was amazing to feel the spirit come into the home that night. I love this time of year. We have so much to be thankful for. I am grateful for all that I have been given and I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for the things that I have.

 

We have had a bit of a rough week, but then it got better on Sunday. We were able to do a lot of contacting on the buses and found a few people that is interested in learning more from us. We met this one kid who wants to know how he can be forgiven of all of his sins. He wants to change his ways and wants to become better. We got his number and said we would call him and set somethiong up with him for this week and we will teach him how he can be forgiven of his sins. It was an amazing experience. We also talked to another kid who we have set up a tour with. He doesn't have a religious background and is interested in know more about God. He does believe that there is a God and wants to know more about the purpose of life. Sister Denney and I are very excited for this coming week and we pray and have faith that great things are going to happen this week.

 

I know that with prayer we can be guided by the spirit to those people that He has prepared for us to find. I know that this is the true gospel and that the Book of Mormon can answer life's questions. I know that this is the only way to have true happiness and to totally cleanse from our sins. I love my Heavenly Father and I love my Savior. I am forever grateful for these past 18 months to serve the Lord! I will always cherish the many memories I have here!! I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful week. I will see you soon!!

 

Love, Sister Ackley

November 25, 2013

November 25

Hey Everyone! I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your day! I love and miss you all so much!

 

 I just really want to send you all a Thanksgiving testimony. I am so very grateful for each one of you. I feel so blessed to have so many friends and family that love and support me. There are no words to describe the way that I feel. I am so grateful for my two loving parents, who taught me all the things that I need to know and that I was able to learn from the best examples. I  am grateful for the family that Heavenly Father has blessed me with. I am also so grateful for the friends in my life and the many things that I learn from them too. I am especially grateful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ. I have always known that I have a loving Heavenly Father, but it wasn't till I came on my mission what that love really was. The challenges and trials that I have been faced with have showed me that Heavenly Father wants nothing more than for us to know how much He cases and loves us. He shows us His great love for us by sending His only begotten son, Jesus Christ to atone for all sins and to heal us in times of trial. Heavenly Father loves us so much that He provided a way for all of His children to return to live with Him again.

 

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ. Knowing what He did for me has brought me such comfort. I have been able to use the Atonement many times one my mission and it wasn't until a difficult time that I realized that Christ is there to make up the difference. On of my favorite scriptures is found in Alma 7:11-12. No matter whom we are or what we are going through our Savior knows exactly what we are going through in our lives and is there to help us. He went before us so that we wouldn't have to go through our trials and challenges alone. We must open the door and let him in to hear and comfort us.

 

I am so grateful for the spirit. I have had many spiritual experiences on my mission, but the one that I will always remember is following the prompting of the Holy Ghost. I would like to share it with you. One day my companion and I were having a rough day. Nothing seemed to have gone the way we had hoped. After hours of no one being home, we were lost and didn't know where to go. We got back into the car and just started driving. My companion and I sat in silence. We were feeling discouraged (well, at least I was). I thought to myself that I needed to pray. I  needed to ask my Heavenly Father where He wanted us to go. When I was done praying the thought to go visit our investigator Lindy came to mind. We had only meet with her a few times and she even came to church one Sunday. We had been trying to set up appointments with her, but we could never get a hold of her and she was never home. I fought with the spirit. I didn't want to waste anymore time going up to her house knowing that she wouldn't be there. The spirit got stronger and said that we needed to go see her. Finally, I followed the prompting. We got to her house. There was a car in the driveway. My companion and I looked at each other with a surprised look. We quickly discussed what we were going to teach her, said a prayer and off we went. We rang the door bell. No answer. We knocked on the door. No answer. "This couldn't be" I thought to myself. We even tried calling her. No answer. I wasn't about to give up. There was a reason why I felt prompted to be there. I had this strong feeling to knock again. This time Lindy answered. Lindy's face lit up as she saw us there. We were able to share with her the Book of Mormon. That night as we were teaching her part of the Plan of Salvation, the spirit was there. It was so strong and she could feel it too. We were an answer to her prayers and she was super excited to read the Book of Mormon. I will never forget that night and the way that I feel. The spirit is so precious. It is so important for us to always be worthy to have the spirit with us. The spirit will guide and directs us. He will also protect us and help us to feel of Heavenly Fathers love!

 

I know that my time is coming to an end, but I will never stop being a missionary. I love this gospel so much and I want to be able to continue to share the blessings with the people that I love so dearly. Even though I am getting "transferred" to a new area, I know that there are people that I can still touch. My faith has grown so much and I trust in God with all my heart. I am forever grateful for the opportunity of serving the Lord and I will never forget the many things that I have learned.

 

I love all of you! Again I am so grateful for you and all that you do for me! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving week. Big Hugs

 

Love, Sister Ackley

November 18, 2013

November 18

Hello my family and friends! I hope that you are all doing well this day and that you are happy and enjoying life! Thanks for all your emails. I say this all the time, but it really is great to hear from everyone.

 

This week has been a good week. We are still talking to lots of people. Sister Denney finally got her bike, so we have been riding the bikes. I love riding the bikes. You get to places quicker, but you don't contact has much as you would on a bus. So what we have decided to do is ride our bikes during the day and ride the buses at night. That way we still can  contact people. We do contact on our bikes too, but you drive right through people just like you would in a car. Sometimes riding bikes is good because people will look at us sisters with a weird look and we will stop at share with them who we are and why we are out on bikes. It is pretty fun!

 

Tracy is a new investigator who we picked up last week. She walked into church last Sunday. She was curious to know what was going on and who we were. She stayed for RS and for Sacrament meeting. She loved it and said that she would come back again. We also had a RS activity last Thursday and she brought her 12 year old daughter. They both had a really good time. Tracy came again this past Sunday. She, however, could only stay for RS. We are going to have dinner with her and her daughter tonight with our ward mission leader and his family. Sister Long and Tracy have connected really well. It will be a fun night. Tracy has a lot of questions and we hope to be able to answer her questions. She loves the ward and is always saying how warm and welcoming everyone is. We pray and hope that everything will go well tonight and that Tracy and Coco (they are Chinese, but speak really good English) will want to take the missionary lessons.

 

We also gave a tour this past week with two Chinese high school kids. They are seniors and have been helping out the Chinese missionaries with their English class. They are doing this because they like it and plus it will look good on their applications for College. The tour went super well and the spirit was there. One of the boys, Victor asked a lot of good questions and you could tell that he was feeling the spirit. When we were in the Chapel it was so peaceful and quiet. Victor said that he could feel something and that he felt so much peace. He felt like he needed to whisper. It was really cool to see that and to hear that from him. We explained that what he was feeling was the Holy Ghost and than explained the role of the spirit. I haven't given a tour in a very long time, but this one was probably one of the best ones and it is all because the spirit was there and leading the way.

 

These few simple things have taught me a lot this past week. I have learned that it is important to always prepare yourself to have the spirit with you. If you take the time to study and prepare for the needs of others. If you do this then you don't need to worry. The spirit will fill your mind with the things that you need to share. This is what happened with me. I know that with out the spirit there is no way I could do this great and marvelous work. I know that God has created a plan for all of his children and I am here to prepare myself so that I can find those people that only I can touch. I am grateful for all of the spiritual experiences that I have been given and I am so grateful for what I will learn as I finish my mission strong. I love this gospel so much and I am so happy to he the Lord's missionary.

 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week!

 

Love Sister Ackley

November 12, 2013

November 12

Hey there everyone! Don't worry I haven't forgotten about you. Yesterday all the libraries were closed, so we couldn't email. Yesterday was a really good day. We decided to go to China Town with a lot of the other missionaries and that was a lot of fun. I have never been to China Town my whole mission and thought that it would be fun to go once before I have to leave. It was so crowed and there was a lot of stuff. It was a little too much for me. I have found out that I really can't be in big crowds with lots of noise now. It gives me a little anxiety. I am sure that will go away over time. I had lots of fun seeing the other Sisters there and some of the Elders from my past district. I am surely going to miss everyone that I have met. The closer I am getting to coming home, the sadder it is. I have loved every min of this mission and wouldn't change it for anything. I hope that you boys (Jeremy and Tyson) will want to come and serve a mission. It really is the best thing you can ever do. You will never be happier than serving a mission. Seeing peoples lives change is so great and to know that you have been a part of that too.

 

I was asked to speak in sacrament on Sunday and they wanted me to talk about the highlights and the challenges of my mission and how the gospel has blessed my life as a missionary. At first I struggled to find the words to share with them. I have had a lot of highlights and a lot of challenges. I would like to share some of my thoughts with you as well. One of the greatest highlights that I have had on the mission is teaching families. Heavenly Father loves all of us so much that we has blessed us with families and wants us all to return to live with him again as families. Being able to see families from the beginning to the end is quite an amazing sight. The amount of love that I feel for each on of them and those I come in contact with, there are no words that can even begin to describe that feeling. I can honestly say that I have been able to see more clearer how our Heavenly Father sees them and how I continue to see them. There is no greater sight then that. I have had an experience where I was teaching a family, and some of you may recall me sharing this with you, but I was teaching a family for a long time and I got really close to them. I had a perfect vision for them. I wanted to see them get sealed in the temple for time and all eternity. However, my vision was not God's vision for them at that time. The family told me how grateful they were for us and all that we had done for them and with out us they would of never went back to church. They as still going to the Presbyterian church and has far as I know they are happy. I know that my time with them was not wasted and that they have been changed just a little bit with the spirit that we brought into there home. This was one of my greatest and challenging times. It was hard for me at first, but I know that the Lord will bless them and that they will one day come to know this true gospel.

 

Another experience that I have had was in my last area. We taught Gloria. She found the missionaries and wanted to change her life around and wanted to be better for her son. She came a long way and the spirit testified to her about the truthfulness of our message. In one of the lessons we had with her I stopped and asked her what was one of the blessings she has seen in her life? She said with a big smile one her face that she has never been happier and never wants to go back to her old self. She felt her Heavenly Fathers love for her. They were so many challenges to get her baptized. Somebody did not want to see her baptize, but all went well and she was able to be baptized. The reason why I share this experience it was also a highlight and a challenge. Satan is trying his hardest to stop people from doing great things. It is super important to not let him discourage us and to keep going. We need to remember to pray. Pray to overcome his temptation.  When times get tough  our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will also be there to help us and comfort us. I am grateful for the wonderful experiences that I have had.

 

I know that my prayers are answered and that my Father in Heaven is aware of me and aware of all of His children here on the earth. He wants us all to be happy and to have the great blessings from him. Heavenly has shown his love by sending Christ down to atone for our sins and to be there for us when we fall short. I am grateful to have this gospel in my life and I am grateful to be here on a mission to share with people this great message about Jesus Christ and to help them have a remission of their sins and to receive the holy ghost. I am grateful for the spirit and know that with out the spirit this work would be impossible. I know that as we continue to b e the best person we can, the Lord will truly be there for us and give us the comfort and strength that we need.

 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I love you all so much and wish nothing, but the best for you. Big Hugs!!

 

Love, Sister Ackley

November 4, 2013

November 4

Hello everyone!

 

First off I would like to wish Steven a happy birthday!! I can't believe you are 16 years old today! You are growing up to be such a stud! I hope that today is the best and that you have a wonderful birthday. Remember I love you and will be thinking about you on this special day.

 

It is a cold day here in Cali. It looks like it might rain today, which I am so happy about. I love when it rains here. The weather is cooling down, but the days are still pretty warm.

 

To be completely honest here, this week has been extremely long. I feel like the first week of a new transfer is always long especially when you don't know the area or don't know the people. We have been riding the bus a lot in this area. We don't ever really use our bikes. We do a lot of walking though that's for sure. I am getting use to the bus and have been having fun contacting people on the bus. I was talking to this one lady and she said that she has been wanting more religion in her life and said that she reads the bible all the time and that it means so much to her. She gave us her number and we gave her our number as well. She was really sweet and I think that it made her day for someone to talk to her. Just yesterday we met a Jewish man on the bus and he saw that we were missionaries and said that he was a missionary for his church as well. We talked to him a little bit about his church and what he does as a missionary. He says that he has traveled the world and that he plays music for the people that come into the church to worship and to pray to God. It was cool to hear some of the things that he does as a missionary. Riding the bus is giving us more opportunities to share what we believe. There are so many curious people out there and the Lord is surely preparing people to receive this great message. We haven't found anyone in our own area from riding the bus, but it is all the same work and we are still sharing what the Lord would want these people to hear.

 

I want to share with you all something that I learned in my studies this week. I was reading in Alma chapter 26. This is where the faithful are strengthened by the Lord and are given knowledge by faith. The verses that stuck out to me were v 2. We are asked what great blessings has the Lord bestowed upon us and if we can tell. I really liked this because sometimes in life we have get caught up with the world that we forget the blessings that the Lord has given us. It got me thinking of the blessing that I  have received from being a member. I have so many things to be grateful for and I know that every one of them has come from the Lord. V 12. "I am nothing as to my strength I am weak therefore I will not boast of myself,  but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things." I love love this verse. I know that I am nothing, but because of what my Savior has done from me, I can overcome my weakness and that I can become strong. I know that if I put the Lord first and trust in him that I will be able to do all things. This week I have been able to experience this and I know that I have been made strong. I know that when I fall short that the I have someone there that will make up the difference for him. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the atonement in my life. I feel so happy and so at peace when I place my burdens and trials on the Savior. I know that this gospel is true and I know that this is what we need to have in our lives to be able to be happy and to be with our Heavenly Father again! I hope that each one of you can feel your Saviors love as well and that you will be able to place your burdens on him and that you will be able to have that peace in your hearts.

 

I love you all so much and miss you a lot. I cannot wait to see you all really soon. I hope you have a wonderful week.

 

Love, Sister Ackley

October 28, 2013

October 28

Dear family and friends, 

It is so fun to read all of your emails and to hear what is going on. Well I got transferred again! I am now in Temple City where I will finish my mission. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about being transferred. I liked where I was at and was starting to have a lot of success. I loved my companion and we got a long so well. I am going to miss her a lot and miss everyone in that ward too. I am excited though to see what new adventures await me here in Temple City. My new companion is Sister Denney and she has been out for about six months now. 

The highlight of our week was teaching the Gray family. This family is a referral from our Bishop. Bishop Wilcox has been working with this family for a very long time and has invited them to take the lessons and have asked if the missionaries could stop by and every time they have said no thank you. A couple of weeks ago we stopped by Bishops house to see how he was doing and he said "I want you to meet a family that I have been working with." We met with them on Friday and had an amazing lesson with them. I feel instantly in love with this family and want to see them get baptized and to become an eternal family. I wish I could describe the feeling that was there. As we shared the message of the Restoration and how much their Heavenly Father loves them the spirit filled the room and testified to them that what we were saying was true. Heavenly Father does love this family so much and I know that He wants them to have the blessings of this gospel in their lives. I know that Heavenly Father knows exactly what they have been going through in their lives and knows the best thing for them. As I was bearing my testimony to them That Heavenly Father loves them so much, I knew that it wasn't me speaking to them. I know that they felt the spirit and they agreed to take the lessons from us. I love them so much and I am so sad that I won't be able to continue to teach them, but I do know that it isn't about who teaches as long as the spirit is there testifying to them. Bishop was emotional after the lesson and said that he was really impressed how we presented the lesson and how much love that we shared with this dear family. I hope that this family will continue to learn from the missionaries and that they will want to be baptized.

As I was teaching this lesson, I think I learned more about my Heavenly Father and Savior that I didn't realize before. I know that Christ died for us, but the love that I feel from him and from Heavenly Father has grown even more. I know that we are not alone and that no matter what we are going through in our lives they are always there for us and that we are never left alone. Heavenly Father knows us individual and wants nothing more than to help us and to have us feel loved. I love being able to help people feel of that great love that Heavenly Father has for them. I am so glad to be a missionary for the Lord and that I am able to grow from the experience that I have with others. This gospel is TRUE!!

Love Sister Ackley

Pictures: Sister Knight(who would send you pictures of me and sis onekawa), Sister George is going home! My other favorite sister missionary, Sister Onekawa and my last picture being companions. :(

October 21, 2013

October 21

Hello there my dear family and friends, 

Things are going great here in Cali. The weather is great and still warm. I am grateful for all of your emails and for the love that comes with them. I love hearing what is going on in good old Utah.

I am doing well and I am happy! Sister Onekawa and I are doing super well and we are starting to see our area pick up. A cool thing that happened to us last week was that we felt prompted to stop by our Bishop's house to see if there was anything that we could do for him. He said thanks for asking, but was doing well. He then started giving us names of people that we could by and see. As he was talking with us he stopped and said that he wanted to introduced us to his neighbor that he had been working with. It was about 8:30pm by this time. We went down with Bishop and we got to see the family. Bishop asked if it would be alright if we could come back and meet with them. Jeremy is his name said yes we would love that. After we left Bishop told us that that was the first time he had ever said yes to his invites. What a miracle that was. We have an appointment with them this Friday and hope to start teaching their family. That was an answer to my prayers. I have been praying that we would find someone new to teach and have been praying for a family as well. I hope all goes well with this family and that they are open to listening to us teach about the restored gospel and how it can bless their families. 

We had this past weekend and it was great! I loved it and I was super glad that we were able to attend the Adult session on Saturday night.This is the first time that missionaries were able to attend it. I was so happy to hear that and I am glad that we went because it was super good. I just wanted to share with you some insights that I got out of it. I really liked how they talked about the Atonement. And that we are all special to God and that we should never forget that. Also that no matter what we have done in our lives, God never leaves us and never looks down upon us. He still loves us the same. This meant a lot to me and I thought a lot about the many people out there in the world who think that because they have done something bad that God doesn't love them anymore. I want to so badly share with everyone what I have learned and that God loves each one of us, no matter what we have done. God looks at the good and not the bad and wants all of us to feel loved. I love the Atonement and I know that people need this in their life and if they have the atonement they can feel that every lasting love and know that they can have a remission of their sins. I loves this gospel and I know that it is true.

God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten son to atone for us and to help us when we need to feel that love and comfort that we are seeking for. I love the question "What does the Atonement mean to you?" To me the atonement means that I am never alone and that someone knows what I am going through and that I can get through anything because of my Savior Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to know that my older brother went before me because He love me and loved our Heavenly Father. I can't explain so much in words, but I can feel my Savior's love everyday and I know that I am never forgotten or alone. I love this gospel so much and I love being able to share it to the world. Nothing makes me more happier than doing this work and marvelous work of our Heavenly Father!

I love you all. Have a wonderful week!!

Love Sister Ackley

pictures: Sisters, Staker, Onekaw, me, and Lallis. Elders Smith and Johnson. We are all serve in the same ward! We are all a bunch of fun!