September 10
Hey Family,
How have you all been? How is school and work for everyone? I hope you have had a great week.
Guess what?! I got transferred and I am serving the La Canada 1st and 2nd wards and also the La Crestena ward. I am "pink washing" which means that they are putting two new sisters in the area who have never been there before. They took out the Elders and have put us Sisters in. I am so excited to be organizing this new area and to get to know all of the member of the wards. My new companion is Sister Davidson!! :) I was so happy when I heard that we were going to be companions. She is the sister that I was telling you all about when I did exchanges. She actually told me that she talked with President Becerra and put in a request to be with me. :) It made me feel good that she really wanted to be companions with me. We are going to be great together and are both hard workers. She told me she has been really impressed with me and loves how dedicated I am to the work. She is amazing and I know great things are going to come to us in this new area.
We are living in a members home in La Crestena. Their names are the Fores. Sister Fores actually called the house and left a message and also called dad! :) How was talking with her dad? She is a very sweet lady and I am glad to be able to be in her home. She also has a daughter out on a mission and treats us how she is hoping the members are treating her daughter. I think I am really going to like it here. She told me that she said to dad that I will be working hard in this area and dad I really like how you said that it is good to work hard. You and mom have both taught me how to work hard and to always get the work done right. Sister Butler said one of her favorite things about me was that I worked hard and I didn't let anything get in the way. I never once stopped or got lazy when the work got hard. I always kept my head up in those hard time. I know because I am a dedicated and hard working missionary that my Heavenly Father is proud of me and that I have been blessed because of that. I love this work. Missionary Work is hard, but it is so rewarding too.
Alright so my last week in Glendora went pretty well. We have had so many great experiences. I will tell the one that has touched me and has strengthened my testimony. We contacted a referral from some members of our ward. A little background before I begin. So this family is the Gonzales family. The wife's name is Stephanie and I forgot the husbands name, but anyways they have three kids. The husband, about a year ago had a major stoke and is now paralyzed on the right side. They have been through so much trial with that, but have stayed strong. Stephanie had to go back to work and had to help support the family. When we knocked on the door on Tuesday it was just the husband home and we said who we were and that we were friends of the Davis and how they just loved them. The husband had this big smile on his face and knew who we were. We said that we would love to be able to come in and give a blessing on the home if that was okay with him. He said yes, but his wife wasn't home from work yet. We asked if we could come back again on Wednesday and he said YES. So Wednesday we came back and this time Stephanie answered the door and let us in right away. We were amazed because that usually doesn't happen. We sat down with the family and got to know them better and asked them what they needed in their lives right now. The spirit was so strong that night and it was amazing. As they were thinking about what they needed they were so touched that they both spirit that they both starting crying. We spent about ten mins thinking and writing down the blessings that they wanted. After that I was able to be the one to give the blessing. I really paid close attention to the spirit and to listen to what I needed to say to them. As I was saying the prayer, I was filled with the spirit and the words coming from my mouth were coming from the Holy Ghost. It was an amazing experience for me and I wish I could describe better the way it felt. This has strengthened my testimony so much and I know that I was blessed to have the words that I needed to say to them. They were so grateful for us coming over and leaving a blessing on their home. I have a great vision for them and know that one day they will be strong members of the church.
That was probably the highlight of the week. The rest of the week we did some tracking and knocking on doors. We actually have great contact when we go knocking. However, no one is ever interested, but they are super nice and will talk with us for a few mins. Knocking has been a huge help for me and has helped me to build my confidence and also I have learned to open my mouth and allow the spirit to guide me in the words that I am suppose to stay. We have also spent a lot of time trying to get to know the LA in the singles ward. On Saturday we spent most of the days trying to visit them and to get to know them better. We didn't catch any of them at home, but we kept going strong and never gave up. We also did some service too. We helped Alica our investigator with cleaning her animals cages. She really appreciated our help and I was glad that we were able to help her out. She hasn't been able to do it because she feel at work and hurt her tailbone. She is amazing and I have seen great progress with her. I hope she will continue to see the missionaries. We also did service for an Elderly couple in our ward. They are having a hard time keeping up with their house cleaning, so we have been helping them clean and scrub down their house. I love doing service and I know that the people that I am helping is really appreciated of our dedication and help. It makes me happy to see others happy when I help them.
I just want to end with my testimony. I know that I was placed in the Glendora area for a reason. I may not know right now why I was, but I do know that I have blessed many lives because of my hard work and testimony. I know that I am a daughter of God and that my Heavenly Father is proud of me and the great work that I am doing. I know that He is with me every step of the way and is always here to strengthen me through the hardships that I go through. I am so grateful for those hardships and trials that come my way. I love how I am able to learn from them and to grow from them. I love being able to pray to Him for anything that I need and I know through my faith that I am able to overcome anything. I love the scriptures and learn new things from them everyday. I love the temple and I am so grateful that we are able to be sealed to our families forever. I am a proud member of this church and can't imagine myself with out it. I am grateful for being a missionary and to be blessing the lives of many people. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week. Remember that you are all in my prayers and that I think of you all often. Sorry for not writing letters, but I will try to get some out this week or next week. Thanks for being patient with me. Oh another thing about the skirts and dresses they don't necessary have to be mid calf they just need to cover me knees front and back when I sit down. Chelle the dress fits and I did add some length to it, but it was long enough I just wanted a little more. Thanks for the dress. I really loved it. Thanks again everyone for all that you do. I love you all.
Sister Ackley
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