January 14, 2013

January 14

Hello Everyone! 

I hope you are all doing well. I have so great news! Sister Davidson and I are STAYING TOGETHER!! This makes me so happy. I love Sister Davidson and we have become such great friends. Sister Davidson is doing better. She still has her rough days, but I am trying really hard to be patient and to help her through her struggles. I think that she is stressing because she is going home in five weeks and does not want too. She has been such a great example to me and I am so grateful that we have been able to be her companion for the past four months and I will be sad to see her go, buy our friendship will always stay.

Some exciting news. Robin our investigator is doing better. We have been really constant with her and helping her out. She has not been feeling great and we have not been able to have a lesson with her. She, however, wanted to go to the farewell that we do for all of the departing missionaries. What they do there is have the missionaries going home bare their testimony. Sister Davidson and I were really surprised that she wanted to go. I am so glad that we were able to come with her. The testimony meeting was so good and the spirit was so strong. She was touched by some of the testimonies and really enjoyed her time there. I know that she felt the spirit because she got a little teary eyed during some of the missionaries testimonies. I think this was a great experience for her. I pray for her daily and that she will be able to heal quickly so that we are able to teach her about the gospel.

We were able to meet up with Kelsey this week. We had lunch with her and she asked us a lot of questions about what we believe. She asked a lot of good questions and asked about what the difference was about Mormon weddings, funerals, and baptisms. We explained everything to her and she stated that what we do is similar to what other churches do. Which is true. We just have the proper authority to make the ordinances valid. We talked about baptism and what it symbolizes. We even explained why were are here as missionaries and said that we invite everyone to be baptized and we invited her to be baptized. She did not say no, but did say that she wanted to be in the religion for about a year before she commits to anything. We told her we understand and want to make sure she really understands what we are teaching her. She is an amazing girl and is really wanting to learn more about what we believe.

Sheri Dew came to speak to three of the stakes here and we were able to go with two investigators of ours. Leslie and Sarah. Sarah really enjoyed it, but I think a lot of what Sheri Dew talked about went over her head. Sheri Dew talked about our own identity and how the women of the church have a great responsibility and that men and women are equal and not one of us gets put down. This was really good for Leslie to hear. One of her concerns that she has is that she looks that the women of the church get looked down upon. Sheri Dew nailed her question and I hope that this was able to help Leslie understand more about our roles as women of the church. We are planning on visiting with Leslie tonight to see what her thoughts were and to answer any of her questions she might have.

We were able to meet with the Cotten's again this week. They are doing well. Brother Cotten is preparing to get the Priesthood. Last week we taught about the Priesthood and how great of a blessing it is to have. We told him that he will be able to provide blessings for his family when they need it. He is very excited to be getting the Priesthood. This is one of the first steps that they are taking and preparing to be sealed together as a family. It makes me so happy to see how excited he is to be doing this. Sister Cotten is also very happy and their family is doing so well. They have been coming to church almost every week and the feeling when they come. They say that they have better days when they come to church. I know that they Lord is watching over their family and is guiding them along this journey they are on.

We are working really hard to find new investigators. We are really focusing our dinner thoughts on how the members can invite their friends into their home and how they can share the gospel with them. Yesterday Sister Davidson and I decided we would fast to find new investigators and because we have such great faith we have already started to see miracles. After church a lady said that she knew of a part member family that she feels like we could go visit. She said that she feels like the husband is ready and may be interested in taking the missionary lessons. We also looked back and thought what a miracle it was to have Sheri Dew come and to have Leslie there. We are so excited for this transfer and can feel that great things are going to happen. 

I just want to end with my testimony that I know this is the only true church on the earth today. I am so grateful for Joesph Smith. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and know that it is the true word of God. I am so grateful for this plan of happiness, to come down to earth and gain a body and to go through all of the challenges that I have and will face in this lifetime of mind. I am grateful for Jesus Christ and his willingness to come down to earth to suffer all of my pains, sufferings, and afflictions. I know that because of Christ I am able to pour all of my burdens on Him and I can have the strength to overcome all these. I am grateful for the trials that I go through. I know that they are to help me grow to become the person that Heavenly Father has planned for me. I know that I am a daughter of Heavenly Father and that He loves me. I am grateful for my family and all of the love and support that they give me.

I love you all so much and I hope you have a wonderful week. Stay warm and stay safe. Until next time!

Love Sister Ackley

P.S. Sounds like you boys are doing well with all of your activities. Good luck with your wrestling matches. Win some for me. 

Chelle good luck with your mission preparations.

Jeremy and Justin, I love you and keep smiling

Mom and dad, Love you and thank you for all that you do and don't worry about replacing the money. I want to contribute has much as I can while I am out here. You all do so much and I am very thankful.

January 7, 2013!

January 7

Hello my favorite people, 

How is everyone doing this week? I hope that you all are having a GREAT first day back with school and everything. I hope that you are all staying warm as well. 

To start off I have two spiritual experiences that happened to me on Friday. Sister Davidson has been struggling a little these past few weeks. She also is sad and feels like she isn't doing a good job and feels to distanced from Heavenly Father. She actually has been feeling like this for a long time and I have always been there to help her out. We have come to a conclusion that a certain Elder has been making her distracted and feeling this way. It can be frustrating at times and exhausting to always be the one picking her up, but then I think of the Savior and what he would do. I love Sister Davidson and I LOVE being there for her. She has mentioned so many times how much I have helped her. Anyways back to the point. Well, on Friday she was sad and telling me what was wrong. As she was talking to me I had this strong impression that she needed to call President and ask for a blessing. I felt that she needed to hear from him all of the good things that she is doing because lately she feels like she has become distant from him and doesn't want to let him down. President had to call us back and when he did, Sister Davidson said that she was okay, but President said to come meet with him anyway and he even mentioned that he would give her a blessing. When I heard President say that I knew that it was the spirit that gave me this promoting. Another thing that helped me recognized that it was the spirit was that my heart started beating really fast and it was kind of random and I wouldn't normally say something like that. I am so happy to know that I am able to recognize the spirit and the prompting that I get. Another promoting that I got was while we were talking with President and all about this Elder that Sister Davidson like and I had this random thought that I needed to tell President about this Elder that likes me in the mission. I felt like I needed to tell him that for future transfers not to put him in the same area has me because I didn't want this Elder to be distracted by me and plus I didn't want this same drama either. When I told President he said "Wow you are so spiritual!" So transfers are next week and President was going to have this Elder be the District Leader for this area and forgot that he liked me. President was so grateful for me coming and telling him that and it made me feel so good to know that I did the right thing and followed the Holy Ghost. I know that the Holy Ghost is with us always and never leaves. We need to make sure that we are doing the right things to be able to recognized the spirit. 

CHELLE- Some advice that I have for you for when you go on your mission is to make sure that you LOCK YOUR HEART!! This is super important and will help you focus on the Lord's work.

We meet with Sister Erckenbrack this past week. We went over to see if we could set up an appointment to teach the Plan of Salvation. We got talking and then she started asking about temples. It was a little hard to explain some things to her because we can't really talk about what happens in the temple. She has about what happens when people die and we told her that we are able to do their work for them if they weren't able to be baptized while they were on this earth. She also asked about sealings and we told her that it is something that ties families together forever. She seemed really interested and wants her family to be sealed for forever. She is a great mom and wife and wants the best for her family. Sunday Sister Davidson and I fasted for Brother Erckenbrack's heart to be soften and that he will want to learn more and to think about his family and the great joy that they can have. This family is so great and I want to help them come closer to their Heavenly Father.

We were able to meet a new investigator this week. I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but we do service every Wednesday and a community center. One of the employee's Loly has told us that she has an LDS friend and this friend has given her a Book of Mormon. Loly said that she has lost it and we said that we had one in the car. She was so excited and we able to teach her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. We challenged her to pray about the Book of Mormon and about Joesph Smith. She said that she would. We also invited her to come to church with us. She said that she would love too, but that she couldn't because she has to work. We even offered a tour and she said that she would love that. We will be calling her today to make an appointment with her. Loly is amazing and already has so much faith. She wants to become better and come closer to her Savior Jesus Christ. 

We haven't been able to make any new contact with Lindy lately. It is like she just fell of the face of the earth. We have tried calling and stopping by. No one ever answers the door or the phone. It makes the two of us really sad. We thought things were going to well with her and then she's gone. We haven't given up hope on her, but there is only so much that we can do to reach out to her. I hope that this week we will be able to find her.

We were able to finally meet with a Less Active family. They had us over for dinner. It was really nice. They come from a broken family and are trying their hardest to become closer together. We shared the Atonement with them and they really enjoyed it and told us that they kept setting goals to be better to each other, but then it never worked. They realized that not only do they need to act on that goal, but they also need to have the Savior in their lives as well. They have been coming back to church and have family prayers. They told us that they have felt a difference already and know that it is because they let the Lord into their lives and have asked for strength. It made me happy to know that they have realized that they can't do everything on their own and that they need the Lord's help. They are a great family and mentioned that they loved having us over and have helped them a lot.

I just want to end saying that I know that we do need the Lord's help in everything that we do. We cannot do things on our own. Missionary work is hard and I have found out for myself that you can't do it all on your own. You always need to ask for help. Satan this week has been getting me really good and trying to make me feel miserable just like him. Every time I started to feel down or upset and I would always say a little prayer in my heart and I could instantly feel my Savior's love for me and the strength be able to overcome the Adversarial. God is real. He is in every detail of our lives. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost and the promtings that I have been able to have. I know that because I am trying my best and my hardest that the Lord is very pleased with me and I am seeing the blessings from Him. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. I know that I am a daughter of God and that He knows me and loves me!

I love you so much! Have a great week!

 Love Sister Ackley

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYSON!! LOVE YOU BUD :)

Rose bowl parade and me in my cute outfits!

I will send more next week too.

December 31, 2012

December 31

Hello Family,

Oh how wonderful it was so see your faces and hear your voices on Christmas! I was so happy. I am glad that we got it all working. The hour went by so fast and I didn't want it to end, but I know that I will be able to see all of your faces again really soon. You all look good and look like you are doing well. I was happy to hear how every one is doing and the many things that you are all doing these days. I love you all so very much. 

Mom, its okay, you don't have to worry about sending me a package anytime soon or to send my memory card. I still have a whole memory card to fill up and us, so no worries and I know you just spent a lot sending my Christmas packages. Thank you for that and thank you all for sending your packages to me. I was able to get them all. For the missing one, I called the office on Friday and they said that it was in the office so I should be getting it today for sure. I was so worried and I am glad that it didn't get lost. Whenever you do send a package though, maybe some new running shoes? Size 7.I know I probably ask to much, but I want you all to know that I appreciate everything you do and send.

Grandma thank you for the toffee I enjoyed it and shared it with some other missionaries and they also loved it. I also really liked the hat you showed me that you made and I can't wait to wear it next Christmas. It was really fun to see you and Bob too. 

Christmas turned out to be a great day and full of joy and happiness. I am happy to be out here. Yes, times are hard and difficult and sometimes I think that I cannot make it, but then I remember what the Savior did for me and that I can cast my burdens on him and he will give me strength to overcome my challenges. Dad, your testimony a little while ago  has helped me a lot when you said that he makes up all the difference for us when we fall short. This has helped me so much on my mission and it is so true. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and all of the many blessings that I have been blessed with. I have been given so much and I am forever grateful for everything that I have been given.

This week has been really good. It went by super fast. We had some miracles happen to us. We were talking with a member about missionary work and how we can help him and if there is anything that we could do to help him with the scouts. He had mentioned the Wyrzykowski's(less active/part member family we visited about a month ago)  have been to scouts before, but haven't been for a long time. Brother VanSlooten said that a could of weeks ago they showed up to scouts out of the blue. The Wyrzkowski's showed up just a week or two after we had stopped by to visit them. We told Brother VanSlooten that we visited with them and he said that our visit must have did something that made them decide to come to scouts. I remember that day when I felt prompted to see them and Sister Davidson wasn't sure if we should. We decided that we would just go and see if they were home and Brother Wyrzkowski was home. I am so glad that we followed that prompting and that the spirit was able to be there and touch this him. I love the spirit and I am glad for the promptings that I get.

Another miracle that happened was on Friday. We were walking down the street and Sister Davidson suggested that we go and walk through the parking lot of Trader Joe's, so we did. There were lots of shopping carts out and I had this thought that we needed to grab the carts and put them in the cart return place. As we were doing this, one of the workers came and saw and thanked us for doing this. He is a young kid about 23 years old. We talked to him for about 20 mins. He told us that we didn't believe in religion, but thinks that there might  be a God. He told us a story where he knows that someone was with him in a very scary accident that he was in that could have ended badly. He is grateful for this life and is wondering if there is a purpose for him on this earth. We bore testimony about how there is a God and that He  does have a plan for each and one of us and that He is aware of all of our needs. He seemed really interested and said that he wanted to come to church on Sunday. He lives in Sunland so we gave his information to those Elders. This was a cool experience for me. If I never had that thought to help with the carts, we would never had meet up with him and to help him. I am so glad for this amazing experience and have grown from it. I know that the spirit is always there to help us and knows exactly where we need to be and what to be doing.

We also went and did some knocking this past week. We both felt like we needed to do that. We knocked it to a family. The dad knows LDS people and said that he grown up with a friend who was LDS. He was very nice and talked with us a little bit. We got to know how religion plays in his life. He is Christain and is very comfortable where he is at right now. We bore testimony of what we believe and asked if he would be interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and his teachings, but he said "not right now, but thank you anyways."  It was great to hear that he had friends who have shared the gospel to him in the past. 

I have noticed that every person that we feel prompted to talk to has known members in their lifetime and know about the church. A lot of them really like our standards and the way we live, but are just comfortable of where they are at right now. We do invite people to know more and tell them that we only add more to what they believe, but they still do have their choice to listen or not. Sometimes it makes me sad, but I can't get down in those moments. I need to keep going strong and find someone else that the Lord is preparing for me to teach and who is ready. 

We also were able to give a tour to a kid that came to church on Sunday. He is a college student and they have been asked to do something that would make them feel uncomfortable and to write about it. He thought that he would try another religion because that can be uncomfortable. He chose our choose not only for the assignment, but because he is semi interested himself to know more. The tour went really well and we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. We were able to explain about the Book of Mormon as well. He is a neat kid and I hope that he will pursue his interest in the LDS church.

These are some of the highlights of my week. I know that I am here for a reason and that I have been placed in La Canada. I have seen so many great things happen here and so many more great things are going to be happening. I am so grateful for this gospel and I know that it is true. I know that this is the only way to have happiness in our lives. I know that without a shadow of a doubt that my Heavenly Fathers hears and answers my prayers. He knows how to help me in the hard times and is always there to comfort me when I feel lonely. I know that I have a purpose on this earth. I am so grateful to have been able to make the dicsion to come to earth, to gain a body and to be placed in the family that I have been blessed with. It is with the great parents that I have and their teaching to be where I am in life right now. I could not be happier. I love what I am doing right now in my life. 

I love you all so much and I hope that you all have a wonderful week. 

Love Sister Ackley

December 24, 2012

December 24

Hello Family,

I cannot believe Christmas is here. Christmas came way to fast this year. It doesn't even seem like it with out the snow here. It has been very cold and rainy though. The lowest that I have seen it get is in the low 40's which isn't that bad, but there is sure a lot of moisture in the air here in California. I like it though and it is durable. 

It was so weird to have Sister Davidson call you, but I was glad she did. Yes I will be skyping around 5:00 pm your time. I am super excited to see all your faces and to chat with you all. It will be so much fun. Oh before I forget. I sent a birthday card for Justin in the mail, so hopefully it will get to him before his birthday. Tomorrow we have many places to eat at. Our wards are so good to us. We will be eating four meals tomorrow. Brunch, lunch, supper and dinner! WOW! We are spoiled here. One of the wards even gave us a Christmas package with a bunch of snacks and a bunch of random things such as: tooth brush and tooth paste, floss, lotion, sanitize, notebooks and etc... I have gotten some packages from you. I got 2/3 packages mom that you sent, Karen and grandpa I got yours and I am sure the other ones are coming tonight. Our Zone Leaders said that they have a bunch more packages to give us tonight. I just want to thank you all for sending packages and supporting me while I have been out on my mission. You all are the  best. I love you. 

Alright some exciting things have happened this week.  Yesterday the Erckenbrack's came to church. It was the Christmas program and it was so good and they came on a perfect day. This is their third time coming to church. I think Julie was touched because she was crying through the program. It was really cool because Bryan has been reading the Book of Mormon and asked us questions about it yesterday. It meant a lot to us that he said he was reading and that he is understanding the Book of Mormon. He said that he is enjoying what he is reading and feels good about it too. This family is so great. The ward members have been super great at fellow shipping them and they feel so much love from every one. We have not been able to teach them this week because of the craziness of Christmas, but they do want to meet with us next week for sure. 

We tried to meet with Kelsey this past week, but she just got a new job and has been overwhelmed with stuff. We were kind of bummed, but we have been keeping in contact with her and she still wants to meet with us after the Holiday's. 

We had a baptism on Saturday. Daniel was able to be baptized. This baptism was probably the best one that I have been too. I don't think anything could have gone wrong. Well...this was funny and kind of embarrassing. We had filled the font up all the way and by the time that Daniel was baptized the water had drained and only came up to his knees. The water was draining! We felt so bad, but we all laughed after we had found out what had happened.   Daniel was so excited and had lots of support from family and friends. He is the only member in his family who converted to the church. The spirit there was so strong and it touched many people there. The talks were really good and I even learned some new things as well about the Holy Ghost. After Daniel was baptized he got up and bore his testimony to all of us and it was amazing. He has a strong testimony and knows so much about this gospel already. He is going to make a great missionary when we can go, which he wants to serve a mission. 

We went caroling with the district again on Saturday night. That was fun. Our district leader Elder Brower dressed up as Santa Claus. We caroled to some people with his and the kids were so funny. On of the kids just stared at Santa and his mouth literally dropped to the floor. He was the cutest thing. We  touched a lot of people with the songs that we shared with them. I really enjoyed caroling and it has been fun and we have grown a lot together as a district. 

One of the people that we caroled was with our investigator Robin. She was so touched and started to cry. She really enjoyed us coming by and it meant a lot to her. We also we able to teach her this week about faith and how are faith is like a seed and in order for it to go we need to feed it spiritually. We felt impressed to know more about her belief on religion and more of her background so that we could help her more. We just have been getting a little frustrated because we don't know where to go from here with her and what she needs. We found out that she pretty much believes with everything opposite of what we believe. We also talked about the history of the church and the Book of Mormon and we were able to teach her a little about Joesph Smith. It was an intense conversation, but Sister Davidson and I never got upset or frustrated with her. I knew that the spirit was with us and helping us with what we needed to say to her.

We also met with the Cotten's, our less active family that we are working with. We taught them the importance of family prayer in the home. We shared with them the scripture in 3 Nephi 18:19-21. They really enjoyed that scripture and really want to be better. We have been calling/texting them every night as a reminder to read and prayer as a family. They have been doing really well and have been growing together. This family is so great and there is a special spirit in their home and they always look forward to us coming over and saying with them a lesson on how they can be better with the gospel and as a family.

I just want to end with my testimony. Being away from home this Christmas Season and serving a mission has helped me really realized what the true meaning of Christmas is. It isn't about the gifts that we get or the parities that we have. It is about Christ and his birth. I have been thinking about Christ and all that he has done for me. I am so grateful that he was born and that he did the will of the father. I am so grateful for his great example to us by serving all that he saw and loving them for the way that they were. I am grateful for all the pains and sufferings that he did for me so that I could live a good life and to be able to help those that are around me as well. I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time and to help share the Atoning sacrifice to others and to help them find joy in their lives. I could not be happier anywhere else right now. I love my Savior Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father and for all that they do and give me. 

Well this was some of the Highlights of this week. I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas. Remember I love you all and thank you all for all the support and love. I have attached some pictures. They are silly ones of sister Davidson and I and one with Daniel and us missionaries.

Love Sister Ackley

December 17th, 2012

December 17

Hello Family,

It was so good to hear from you all. I love when I get emails from you. They always make my day so much better. Thank you so much for sending me Christmas packages. It really does mean a lot to me. I love you all so much and I am so excited to be able to talk with you all as well next week. When is a good time for you? When do you have church? Hopefully I can check my Email next Monday to see what your answer is. I am thinking it will probably be in the late afternoon/evening sometime after 3. Does that work okay with you? Also we might be able to Skype so you might have to set up an account. let me know that what is as well and I will be able to do the same. 

This week has been good. We are seeing some great things happening. Last night we had dinner and a lesson with the Erkenbrack's. They insisted that we come over for dinner and that we do a lesson afterward. We were so excited. Last week when we talked with them and set up this appointment, they were wanting to talk about the Plan of Salvation, but after much prayer and studying we felt that they needed to hear the Restoration before we taught the Plan of Salvation. We kept thinking that Bryan needed to know how the church was brought back before anything else and so that he would understand more of the gospel. The spirit helped us make a great decision on that and the lesson went so well and the spirit was so strong. Bryan asked a lot of good questions and everything that he had asked lead the Restoration of the gospel. We were able to teach him and he understood why their are different church's and how Joesph Smith was called of God. He has already told us that he believes that Joesph Smith is a prophet. We invited and committed him to read the Book of Mormon and to Pray to know if these things are true and he said that he would. We bore strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and Bryan was really touched. We will be teaching them again this week. It is so amazing to see the great things that come as we teach with the spirit. I know that with out the spirit we would not be able to teach or to even help those that we are teaching progress. They need to have that spiritual witness for themselves and Bryan is getting that.

We met with Robin again this week. We were able to show her a Mormon Message on forgiveness. We picked up where we left last week talking about forgiveness and how hard some things are to forgive, but we really have a strong relationship with the Lord and to give Him all of our burdens all things are possible and it is so much easier to forgive ourselves and other people who have hurt us. This also reminded me of the tragedy that just happened this week with the shooting and how the father of the child who died was able to have a soft heart to forgive that person who shot his daughter. (I don't know if I got that right, this is just what I have heard) It probably wasn't easy for that father, but because we have the Atonement we are able to get through those hard times and to be able to have the strength to forgive. I have often thought about the time where something happened to me and I needed to forgive that person. It wasn't easy at first, but when I finally realized the role of the Atonement I was able to get down on my knees, asking for help to forgive that person who had hurt me. After, I felt love for that person and knew that I had done the right thing. We need to remember to forgive ourselves and others for the little and big things. I am so grateful for this and for the ability to have forgiveness in my life.

Kelsey, our twenty year old investigator came to church with us yesterday. She called us up the other day and asked if that was okay. We said yes and said that we would love if she came with us. We were also able to give her a tour before church started. She really enjoyed that. The ward was so warm and welcoming. She has been telling us and some of the members that she is enjoying learning about our church and is thinking about getting baptized. She is really understanding and is reading from the Book of Mormon. She was able to see an old friend at church that has been a great example to her. She wants to meet with us this week and we are planning on teaching her as well. She really enjoyed church and wants to come with us again next week. Seeing her face light up is the greatest thing for a missionary and to know that what she is feeling is the spirit testifying to her that these things are true.

We were also able to reach out to someone that we help on Wednesday's. We volunteer at a senior center and last week when we entered in, one of the workers came up to us and said that he needed a miracle and wanted to pray with us. We have been sharing little thoughts about what we believe every time that we are there and this kid as been touched by the spirit. He told us that whenever we come, we bring such joy and happiness. He had just recently lost his uncle and needed some comfort. We were able to say a prayer with him. I said it and it was an amazing blessing. I cannot remember what exactly what I said, but I do know that the spirit was helping me. It was a prayer that I never had said before. It was a neat experience for me and I knew that he was touched and that he would be comforted from the sorrow that he was feeling. It really meant a lot to him and he did say that he felt some peace after we said Amen. What an amazing experience and it made me happy to be there for him and to help him get through this tough time.

These are the highlights of my week. We have been out everyday talking to new people. We do teach a lot when we are out walking and talking. My testimony gets stronger every time that I share it with people. I am so grateful to be a missionary at this time in my life. I am forever grateful for wonderful parents who taught me the gospel when I was younger and taught me all that I needed to know. I am grateful for the Savior Jesus Christ and for the God sending His only begotten son to show us how to be kind and to be Christ like. He is the greatest example to me and I am striving everyday to be just like him. I know that through the Atonement we can have the strength to overcome the trials and hardships that we go through life. I know that all things are possible if we have faith and fully trust in the Lord with all of our heart. I am glad that we have this time on earth to test of faith and to become more Christ like. I love helping others find that joy that we have as members and helping them realized what Christ really did for us. I know that Joesph Smith was called of God and with out him none of this would be here today. I am so grateful to have the scriptures and to be able to read from the and learn from the past prophets and how they lived and overcame their trails. The scriptures are so amazing and can answer any question that we have. I love this gospel with all of my heart and I know that it is true.

Thank you all so much for you love and support. I love you and miss you lots. I hope that this Christmas season you will be able to remember the true meaning and thank Heavenly Father for the many blessing that He has given you. Remember to smile and to stay warm, safe, and HAPPY!! 

Love Sister Ackley

December 10th, 2012

December 10

Hello Family!

I am so glad to hear from you. Oh man, no fun being sick. I hope that I don't get sick either. There has been a cold with a really yucky cough that has been going around here and I don't want to catch it. There is no time to be sick here in the mission field.

I cannot believe that Christmas is just around the corner. It is so weird and doesn't feel like Christmas to me. I miss the snow. :) Winter here is really warm. All I really need to wear is a sweater during the day and then at night a little bit heavier one which I have. It does really get that cold here. When it rains it does get cold, but it isn't that bad. 

For Christmas we will be with lots of families in the ward. We are loved by so many and they all want us to come over. I cannot wait to be able to talk with you all. Guess what? We will be able to Skype or I can face-time on the I Pad's or dad's Iphone. How cool is that? I am very excited to hear your voices and hopefully see you all. I love and miss you all so much. 

Some other news that we got as a mission this past week is that everyone leaving to go home after Feb (me) with be returning a week earlier than what we are already scheduled to go home. Due to more missionaries coming in the area we will be doing transfers every 3-5 weeks instead of 6 week transfers. Crazy! That was so shocking to us all and I could not believe it.

Alright so this week us good. We are finding new people each week which is good. We have a lot of families and individuals that are in our teaching pool. This week we were able to visit with Lindy. We gave her a Plan of Salvation pamphlet and talked a lot about where her son is and that she will be able to see him again. She really showed a lot of interest. We also asked her how she liked church and she said that she loved it and the feeling that she felt was great. She felt so peaceful and calm at church and thought that everyone was so nice and warm welcoming. She even said that she is going to come again next week. We are so excited and plan on teaching her more about the Plan of Salvation this week.

We were able to catch Robin at home this week. We were able to help her out with service and to talk with her a little bit about how Sister Davidson and I found that this gospel and the Book of Mormon was true. It was so neat. I  bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and how I feel every time I read it and how Heavenly Father hears and answers all of our prayers and is always there for us and is watching over us. It was really neat. The spirit was so strong there. Oh, and guess what? She had a miracle happen to her after we left too. So she lives in the guest house of one of the members and before seeing Robin we stopped by to say a quick hello and they told us that her cat was missing and she was very sad and was worried that something would happen with the cat. Now, we knew how special this cat meant to Robin she when we saw her, she didn't say anything to us and we didn't say anything to her about the cat either. Well when we were done at her house she insisted that we say a closing prayer. Sister Davidson said the prayer and just prayed for whatever Robin is going through that she may be able to be comforted. Well after walking us out to our car, Robin said that her cat was sitting at the door. She called us right after and told us that she had a miracle happen to her and that this was a blessing from having us over. We were so excited to hear this. ROBIN HAD A MIRACLE!! This was big news for us because she doesn't believe in God, but after this I can sense that this could change some things. We were even excited that she recognized it has a blessing. I am so grateful for Heavenly Father and for the testimony that I was able to share with her before we left. I know that all of what was said was preparing her for this great miracle and I hope that she will have gained some faith or if she does already that it was strengthen. We plan on teaching her again this Tuesday and Thursday. 

Our family the Erkenbrack's are doing well. We went over last night to say hi and let them know that we missed them at church. We were able to talk with Sister Erkenbrack about the blessings in our lives and how blessed we are to have this gospel in our lives and that God has a plan for each of us. She is so amazing and I am so proud of her for wanting to come back to church and make this great change so that her family can to be happy. They also invited us to have dinner with them next Sunday! :) We will also be teaching her husband about the Plan of Salvation too. Her husband is the one who is investigating in the church and is very excited to meet with us as well. They are coming a long way. Their kids are super excited about church and love coming to primary. They do have a hard time coming on some Sunday's because one of their kids plays basketball. When the new year changes they will be able to come more often. We are so excited to see them progress and to help them draw closer to the Lord.

We met one of our Less Actives in the ward. It is a part member family. Brother Wyrzykowski is a member and he is a convert to the church himself. He loves the gospel and wants to come to church more often, but he is so dedicated to his family and says that family comes first and goes and supports his wife with her religion. He wanted us to share a message with him before we left and we talked about faith and the trials of our faith. He has a strong testimony of faith and says that he wants to us to come by and teach a family night with him and his family. We are excited to do this and hope that the spirit will touch his family.

Our district went Caroling to some of our investigators and they really enjoyed it. It was a really cool experience for me as well and the spirit was there with us when we sang. I know that the spirit testifies through music and is able to touch people. It was a lot of fun and we will be doing it again this week.

Well these were some of the highlights of the week. I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my experiences. I just want to end with my testimony that I really do know that Heavenly Father loves me and knows exactly what I need and knows how to help me when I am feeling down and discouraged. I know that He answers our prayers and gives us strength to move fast the hard times. I know that Jesus Christ is the son of God and still lives today. I am so grateful for his atoning sacrifice. It means so much to me to know that he suffered for me and for all of my sins. I know that it is because of him that we can be forgiven of our sins and that we can be made clean again. I know that families are on of the greatest blessings and that we can live with our families forever. I know that this is the only and true gospel of Jesus Christ and I know that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God!

I love you all so much. I hope you all feel better and have a wonderful week! Lots of Hugs and Kisses

Love Sister Ackley 

December 3rd, 2012

December 3

Hello family, 

It was so good to hear from you! It sounds like there is a lot of things happening back at home with mission calls, weddings, and people having babies. I am so happy for all of the great things that are happening. Sounds like everyone is having fun as well. I sure do miss you all, but I am happy!

To answer your question about the gum. We can chew gum in our homes, but we cannot chew gum when we are out teaching people. I have gum that I chew when I exercise in the mornings and sometimes when we are home. 

Transfers were Saturday and GUESS WHAT?! Sister Davidson and I are staying together for another six weeks in La Canada! We get to spend Christmas together. I am so excited for that. We are moving again to another house so next week when I know that address I will let you all know. It has been a crazy couple of weeks with the housing. I think we will be sticking with this new house when we move next week. I am actually really glad. This home will be much better and much cleaner than the one that we are living in now.

Alright so this week was a good week. We didn't to much teaching this week, but we did visit everyone that we have been seeing plus some. We have been doing a lot of finding and talking to new people. I have had a few spiritual promptings that I would like to share and how it has increased my faith this past week. We have been thinking about an investigator that we have been teaching named Leslie. We haven't been able to teach her because she hasn't been feeling well and has been busy. I felt really strongly that we needed to visit Leslie on night. I told Sister Davidson and she said that she felt the same way. We had talked about what to share with her and we both thought to share with with her "The Lord has not forgotten you." from conference. We got there and visited with her for a little bit and she told us somethings that have been going on and then I had this great impression to share another talk with her. I didn't know what we were going to share so I looked up all the topics and the talk from President Monson "Consider the Blessings" stuck out to me. As I shared it with her the spirit filled the room and she was so touched by the spirit. She teared up and I knew that she needed to hear that talk. I felt really good about listening to the spirit and that I was able to act upon the promoting to visit with her and to read to hear. She really need to hear that and needed to see us. It always makes me feel good when I can make someone else smile and uplift them.

Another similar experience that I had was with a Recent Convert. Her name is Theresa. She just moved and hasn't been feeling to well and has been super busy with work. We were out finding new investigators and then I felt like we needed to go see her. I didn't know why, but I knew it was from the spirit and I followed that promoting. When we showed up her roommate was struggling to move some of her stuff into her house and we jumped out of the car to help her. That was really cool to experience that she needed help. We also were able to help Theresa move some more of her stuff. We also shared a thought and talked about fear and what would life be like with out fear. It was a good lesson and we tied it into the gospel and how without fear we probably wouldn't grow as much. There is a quote that I like it says, "There is not comfort in a growing zone and no growing in a comfort zone." I really like this because it is true and when we over come the fear of things we also grow in our faith too. It was a good lesson for me as well. 

We had an investigator who came to church with us on Sunday to church. Her name is Lindy. She is a sweet lady. She has recently lost her son. Yesterday was a great day for her to come to church. She even got up to bear her testimony about her experience and how the "mormons" has influenced her life. The spirit was so strong there and she was able to connect with a lot of people in the ward. She has great insights and is amazing. I know that she has been touched by the spirit and I hope that we will be able to help her find happiness in her life and bring peace to her to know that she will see her son again. We plan to see her again this week and teach her the Plan of Salvation.

This is about all the highlights of my week. This week I can feel will be a great week.

I just want to close with my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father really does answer our prayers and that He knows exactly what we need. I am so grateful for prayers and for the guidness that I get from the spirit and the peace that I get. I know that Jesus Christ is the living Son of God and that because of him we are able to get through the many trials and challenges that we are faced with in our lives. I am so grateful for the scriptures and know that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God. I know that Joesph Smith was called of God and I am so grateful for his experience and that he took upon the challenge to find out what church is true. I am forever grateful for this gospel and all of the joy it has brought to me. I am so happy to be here in California as a missionary and I am so grateful for eternal families. I know that with whatever we are going through, I know that we will have the strength to overcome that and that we can be happy. 

I love you all so much and I wish the best of luck this week. 

Love Sister Ackley

November 26th, 2012

November 26

6 MONTHS down!

Hello family, 

Another week has gone by. Time seems to be going faster and faster. I cannot believe I have been out for six months already. It just seems like yesterday I was getting ready to leave. Keeping busy makes the time go by even faster. Before we all know it I will be home! Its crazy to think that. I do love it out here, but I am excited to be able to see you all very soon. Justin, don't worry the time will go quickly. I will be home before your 14th birthday. 

Thanksgiving was really good. We ate dinner with a family in one of our wards and had an investigator with us. I am so grateful for some many things in my life right now. I am so grateful for a wonderful family that loves me and supports me while I am here on a mission. I am so grateful for the kind words and advice that you all give to me to keep working hard. I am so grateful for this gospel and for Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for me. With out him I would be able to get through all of the trials that I am faced with in my life. It his through him that I am able to have joy in my life and to be able to be in such a wonderful family. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has trusted me so much to come out on a mission to find His lost sheep. This gospel brings me such great joy and happiness and that is why I am out here to be able to share that with families and those who are searching for more joy in their life. I am so grateful for the temple and for the covenants that we make with our Heavenly Father. I am grateful that in the temple we can be with our families forever. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and is proud of me for the decisions that I have made in my life. I love you all so much and grateful for all of you!

This week has been a good week. On Thanksgiving we were able to visit with the Gutierrez family and we shared a thanksgiving message. It was fun and we got to meet Erin's parents and some friends of their's. We shared with them a Mormon message on the spirit of Thanksgiving and the story of My New Life by Stephanie Neilson. She was the one who was in a plan crash and got burned and it is a miracle that she is alive today. We thought it was a good message to share because it show how much gratitude that she had and how we need to be grateful for the things that we have and to thank our Heavenly Father for them. You never know what will happen and one day all that we have could be gone. They all really liked it and appreciated that we shared this message with them. We also invited them to come to church and Hugo said that they might come. They, however, did not show up. It makes me sad when people don't come when they say they will. We are going to try and set up an appointment with them this week. They have been a little hard to get a hold of. 

Yesterday we had two families come to church. Matt and Sarah came and the Erkenbrack's. Sister Davidson was playing the piano said Matt and Sarah came to support her and guess what Sarah ended up staying for Sunday school. She really liked it a lot. I think Sarah was touched by the Spirit that was at church and by the speakers. We asked Sarah if she wanted to stay for Relief Society, but she said no and that she might next time. She really is showing a little interest in learning more about the gospel. She is still in pain from losing her daughter, but I think that the more she is learning from us the softer her heart is. She is a sweet lady and I see great things for her and her family. 

Saturday night we stopped by the Erkenbrack's to invite them to come to church . Sister Erkenbrack said that they were planning on coming already. That made me really happy to hear that they were coming. We talked a lot about what happens during the last two hours of church. She really wants to go to the whole three hours, but is a little nervous. She said that she kind of feels uncomfortable right now since she hasn't been back for such a long time. We told her to do what makes her feel comfortable. I told her that she should at least stay and see how she likes it. They, however, didn't stay for all three hours of church. Which is okay. Before she left she asked me if we would be by this week to see them. I said yes. It really meant a lot to me to hear her ask if we would be coming back. This to me means that she really wants this for her family. Brother Erkenbrack is still doing his own researching right now, but is leaning more towards the LDS church. This family is going to sealed together forever someday. 

We were able to teach a 19 year kid the other day. His name is Daniel. He had taken the missionary lessons with the Sisters before we got to the area and he moved to Indiana for school. He told us that he had been going to church out there and have met with the missionaries there too. He came back for Thanksgiving and we met with him. He wants to get baptized when he comes back in December. When we met with him we talked about baptism and talked a lot about the scripture in D&C 20:37. We also went over the baptismal questions and he was able to answer them all. He actually knew a lot. We asked him why he decided to meet with the missionaries and he said that he feels like this is what he has been looking for and that he really wants this for his future family. He is such a sweet boy and has great potential. He is ready for this commitment and will be baptized in Dec.

Last Monday we were able to have a lesson with Matt and Sarah. Since it was Thanksgiving that week we shared with them a Thanksgiving message and shared to parable of the ten Leopards and when Jesus cured them, only one of them came back to say thank you. It goes to show that we have been given so much in our lives and we need to be the ones to thank our Heavenly Father for all that He has given us. Sarah and Matt were both touched with this thought and for the closing song we sang "Families can be together forever" I was watching them and I could tell that they were feeling the spirit. They are such a great family.

Being a missionary is hard, but I love being out here. I love the people that I am serving with and love those who I am teaching. Everyday I am seeing the miracles that I am blessed with because I am out here doing the Lord's work and putting my whole heart and soul into this work. I am striving to be the best missionary that I can. I can tell for myself that I am changing everyday and that I am always looking for ways that I can improve on. I hope that I can look back on my mission and know that I did everything that I could and that I never gave up. I am always working hard and I don't ever stop when I feel down. I truly feel like I am doing what Heavenly Father has planned for me to do.

I hope you all have a great week! Remember to always smile and to be HAPPY!! I love you!!

Sister Ackley

CHELSIE!!!!

So my mom told some exciting news that will be happening in JULY!!! Chelsie I am so excited for you. I am going to an "aunt" again! Keagan will be a good big brother. Aw, I am so excited and can't stop smiling. Congratulations though. I wish that I could be there for you when the baby comes. You will HAVE to send me lots of pictures and tell me all about this new little guy of yours. Anyways I just wanted to say that I love you and hope you are doing well. I miss you lots and am always praying for you!!

Have a great week!

I love how supportive Becca is! She is such a great example to me and I am soooo proud to call her my best friend and an "Aunt" to my kids! We LOVE you Becca!

November 19, 2012

November 19

Hello Family,

Sounds like everyone is having a great time back at home. Are you all excited for the break this week? . I will miss you all, but I know that I will be taken care here. We are going to a families house for Thanksgiving and they are so sweet. We even will have an Investigator there with us so that will be fun. There are so many things that I am grateful for right now and one of them is all of you. I am so blessed to have wonderful people in my life and to have such an awesome family (including you Chels, you are family) I honestly don't know where I would be with out all of you today. You all have been such great examples to me and I am so blessed to be a part of this family. I love you all so much. I am also so grateful for this wonderful gospel and the great love and happiness that it brings to my life. I am so grateful to be a missionary today and to be able to speared this wonderful message to those here in California.

Wow today has flown by so fast. Today we had to move out of the For's home and into another home. It has been a chore and we have been doing lots of cleaning and trying to get ourselves organized again. The reason why we had to move is because the For's daughter is coming home next month from her mission. The move has been great and we haven't moved to far and we are still in La Canada. 

This past week we were able to help on of our investigators Gwen with some service. Every year so does this big Christmas party and so she needed help. She is a sweet lady and it was so good to be able to make her smile when we were there helping her up. We helped her put her Christmas tree up and decorated it for her. It was fun and it made me realize that Christmas is right around the corner. Sister Davidson and I hope to be teaching Gwen soon. Her son got baptized about two years and just got back from a mission. We hope that she will see the influence that the gospel has on her son and will want to learn more.

We have been teaching a lady named Jan and is a great lady. She has been struggling a little bit lately and says that she feels so lonely and that she doesn't feel like God is listening to her prayers. We have been able to help her feel that love and have talked a lot about prayer. She is an older woman and has never been married and she is now realizing how lonely she is. She wishes that she would have gotten married. It is so sad to see her not happy. I want to be able to help you to be happy. I know that if she will listen to us and pay attention to the spirit that she will realize that she can be happy. Ac couple of days ago we had a prompting to stop by and see her. When we got to her house she was so happy to see us and said that she was having a terrible day and need someone to talk too. We were able to uplift her and to make her laugh which she really liked that. I am so grateful that we listened to the spirit. I know that we were meant to be there for her. She is a wonderful lady and we hope that one day she will find that happiness that she is seeking for. 

Robin is another Investigator that we picked up this past week and she is an amazing person. We learn so much from here when we go teach her. She loves having us over and loves listening to us. She is curious about the church and wants to know more, but isn't quite sure if she is interested in joining. She is having a hard time believing that there really is a God. We have been able to build trust with her by doing some service for her as well. Our first lesson was on the Restoration and we mainly only got through the first point about how we have a loving Heavenly Father. She seemed to have liked that a lot, but still wasn't sure if there is a God or not. We plan on teaching her again this week and showing her some scriptures that will hopefully help her a little bit. We are going to invite her to come to church with us on Sunday. Sister Davidson is playing the piano and we think this will be a great way to get people to come to church.

We also met a girl named Kelsey. She is 20 years old and is looking for a religion to join. She is very interested in knowing more about the church and has been studying up on our religion. She even told us that she has been reading from the Book of Mormon a little bit as well. We taught her the Restoration and she really enjoyed it and committed her to read the Book of Mormon and to pray to know if Joesph Smith is a true prophet. The lesson when great and she asked us a lot of the hard question too that people general have about the church. The lesson kind of got intense, but we were able to answer all of her questions and I know that the spirit was there helping us. I couldn't have answered any of them with out the spirit there. The spirit works is the most amazing ways and I am grateful to have him with me always. She was going to come to church with us on Sunday, but didn't come because she said she had lots of homework, but said that she will come this Sunday which will be great. We plan on seeing her again this week.

We met with Hugo and his family. We taught them the gospel of Jesus Christ. We used the Janga blocks and made a pathway to the celestial kingdom. It was a great lesson. We talked about each one and why it is important to have faith, repentance to be baptism, and receive the Holy Ghost to endure to the end. When we got to baptism we really stressed the importance of it and how this is the most important step to be clean so that we can live with our Heavenly Father again. We have been praying for a baptism date for that and invited them to be baptized. Hugo said yes when he felt like he was ready. We tried to set a date with them and he didn't want to set one. He explained to us that he doesn't want to make his kids do it if they didn't want too. He wants them to be able to choose for themselves. He did say that he wants himself and his whole family to keep learning from us and wants this for his whole family, but really wants to make sure that this is for him. We told him we understand and explained the reason why we invite and set a goal. We committed them to read and pray together as family. We hope to teach them again this week.

We have been really blessed this week and it seems like we are finding lots of people because of our faith. I know that my faith is increasing everyday and every time that I am able to share my testimony. I know this gospel so much and I know that I say it a lot, but it really is true. My prayers are always getting answered and I have strength everyday to keep myself going strong and happy. When I feel down or sad I know that I can always talk with my Father in Heaven and He will always be there for me. I love the scriptures and turn to them all the time. I have been learning so many great things from them and they have helped me so much. I know that I can always find answers to my prayers when I read the scriptures. I am so grateful for families and that we have the chance to grow and learn from each other and that we are sealed together forever. 

I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and know that I am thinking about you and so grateful for you all.

Love Sister Ackley

November 12, 2012

November 12

HELLO FAMILY, 

How are you all doing? I hope you have had a wonderful week and ready for another great one. This morning we were able to go on a hike with all of the Sister Missionaries here in the field. It was so much fun. I really like doing things with the sisters here. Everyone is so nice and friendly. I will send some pictures of the hike as well. I love Sister Becerra. She is an amazing person. 

Don't worry about the sending me clothes. I can wait patiently and you can send them with my package. I know that I ask a lot and I am so grateful for your help in buying me things and sending me things. I know that it isn't always easy and it takes time, but know how much I love and appreciate everything that you all do for me. 

The Baptism with Angela went so well. We were so blessed to have such great Elders who were able to help us fill the font for us. We had been so busy that day and didn't know how we would be able to be there to fill the font. The Lord is always one step a head of us and we were able to get everything done in time. The baptism service was so good and the spirit was so strong. Angie looked so happy and was super excited to be able to be baptized. It was such a special day for her and she lots of support from her family. More than half of the people there were Korean  It was cool. It was nice to see so many people there to show their love for Angie. I love Angie and know that she did the right thing. Sunday when she came to church, she was a whole knew person. She was glowing and looked so happy. I am so glad that I had the chance to teach her and help her progress to this point in her life.

We did lots of service this week. I love doing service. Every Wednesday we help a community center for the seniors. They are so sweet and really enjoy us coming and helping them. We were able to teach some of them about faith. It was neat to be able to teach them and to share our testimonies on faith. Every time that I teach, my testimony gets strengthened and again I know why I am out here on a mission. Helping people is the best thing that I could ever do. We also helped a former investigator clean. Her name is Robin. She has been taught by the missionaries before and she said that she would be interested in hearing the lessons again. She is a very neat lady and is so sweet. She is all about giving and is fun to talk with. She has a lot of heath issues, but is so positive about everything. I admire her for that. It makes me really appreciated what I have and that I shouldn't be complaining about my life. I have learned so much from her already and have a greater appreciation for what I have in my life.  We should never take things for granted. 

Some things that I have learned while being out here on a mission is having a vision for yourself of who you want to become. You can become whoever you want to be. You have to always strive to be the person and never let the world get in the way and make you afraid of who you want to be. I have seen this in myself. I have a vision of who I want to become, but I get scared because I am so worried about what others think and I have a fear of being who I am. Being out here on a mission has really helped me find who I really want to become and I have stopped worrying about what the world thinks of me and have become the person that Heavenly Father was planned for me to be. I recently read the story "You Are Special To Me." I love this book and it has really comforted me. I know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me for the way that I am and that I am a great missionary and shouldn't be to hard on myself or compare myself with other missionaries. I know that I have been put here for being me and that I can reach out to all of those who God has sent into my path. I am special to Him because He made me.

We had a chance to have a young women spend a day with us. Her name is Ellen and she is from Monrovia. Her stake was doing a mini mission and we were asked to help out. This is my first mini mission. This is when the youth of the church spend a day with the missionaries to see what missionary life is. It was a really neat experience to have. Ellen had a great time and we were able to talk to a lot of people that we felt like talking too. It was a great day and she really enjoyed spending the day with us. Ellen told us that she really wants to go on a mission and that we helped her out a lot that day. Hearing that made me feel so good inside. I love hearing when I have been able to help people and to make them happy. She will be a great a missionary.

We actually had a great day on Thursday. We were able to talk to a lot of people and to teach a lot of people. We went through some former investigators that we felt prompted to go and see. We met with a lady named Carol. The missionaries have taught her and helped her out when she was going through a rough time in her life and she felt to alone. We were able to talk to her about that and about faith, family and trials in our lives. She is a sweet lady, but she that she is happy where she is right now in her life and the previous missionaries were able to help her regain her faith. It made her day to see us and to know that we had been thinking of her. We also tracked into this man who we talked to about almost everything. He wasn't very open with us and doesn't believe in any religion or God and wants everything to be proven to him. He was also so sad and deep down inside I think he has been hurt. He had so much darkness around him. After talking with him I felt so sad for him. I wish that he would have been more interested in finding out how he can be happy. I think the hardest thing for me is that I can't make anyone do anything or listen to us. They have there own agency. After talking to him, I thought about my life and if I am happy. I am happy and I am happy to have this gospel in my life and to know that I have a Heavenly Father and A loving Savior who died for me so that I could be happy and enjoy my life. I am so grateful for such a wonderful family and the love and support that they show me. I am so glad that I am out here doing what makes me happy and to know that I have serving the Lord.

Another great thing that happened was that the Erkenbrack's came to church with us on Sunday. We were so happy to see them and they had a good time. Julie said that she loved being back at church and loved feeling that peace of comfort in the chapel. They didn't stay for the rest of the two hours, but said that they might next week. The ward members were so nice to them and made them feel so welcomed. I love the ward members here. They are all so friendly and make everyone feel so loved. This little family is awesome and we are hopefully going to start teaching them. I know that what the Lord has to offer them is so much greater than what they have right now. I know that they are being prepared for the great things that the Lord has planned for them.

I love being a part of this gospel and to be out here finding God's lost sheep and to being them back. Nothing makes me more happier right now then doing what I am doing. I know that with out Joesph Smith this church would not have been restored and that we wouldn't have the Book of Mormon. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and the answers that I get from reading. I am so grateful for prayer and I know that the Lord hears and answers prayers. My prayers are getting answered everyday. I know that we are all here for a reason and that Heavenly Father has a great plan for each and one of us. I love my family and my friends and so grateful for the love and support that I get. I am so grateful for wonderful parents and for their diligence in living the commandments and teaching me everything that has gotten me to this point in my life. I love being a missionary and seeing smiles to those who I touch. 

I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!! Remember to smile.

Love Sister Ackley