August 12, 2013

August 12

Dear Family and Friends, 

I have had a crazy, but very fun week! I picked up my new companion last Tuesdsay. I also was able to see Elder Richards. He is doing well and is excited to finally be out on a mission. It is crazy to me to think that we both got called to the same mission. My companion is Sister Mattingley. I LOVE her! She is from Layton, Ut. We have had a great first week together. She has been an answer to my prayers. She is a hard worker and is willing to do whatever it takes to find new people for our area. She has great faith and she and I are going to see many great things because of our hard work and dedication to this work. She has a strong testimony and has so much love for all those around her already. She is always so happy and doesn't let anything get her down. I hope that I will be able to be her companion the remaining of my mission. That would be a dream come true. It helps so much when you have a companion that likes and is willing to do the same things as you do. We are so unified together and the spirit between the two of us is so strong. She is amazing and the Lord has great plans for her.

Our week was a little slow. We are trying to get organized and know the ward. Yesterday was our first Sunday in the ward and it was so nice to meet everyone and to put faces to the names that we have been hearing about. I love this new area and I know that great things are going to happen. I can't wait to see the miracles that the Lord is preparing for this ward. The ward council is so missionary minded and wants to help us missionaries a lot. This is so awesome. I am excited to work more with the members and to start teaching some families. We have a few part-member families that the previous elders were working with that we will pick up this week. The families that we have meet already are amazing and it is so exciting to see them want to come back to church and want to see the rest of their family to progress and receive the same blessings. Part-member families are my favorite. They are so special and it brings me so much joy to see them all work towards being a family forever.

On Friday Sister Mattingley and I went to an Orientation meeting for all the new missionaries. We talked about  what our purpose as missionaries is. I learned so much from President Becerra. I still am learning great things everyday and it is helping me become a better person and better missionary. The one thing that President talked to us trainers about is having faith and how faith will come...we have to believe it. Faith is so important to me. We cannot do anything without faith. We have to trust and not fear. When we fear things we cannot have the faith. Faith and fear can't be together. We have to have the faith that we don't know that we have. President also mention to us that we will have bad days, but we shouldn't get discouraged. The Lord will test us to see if we will follow the spiritual promptings that we get. Sometimes he will send us to a persons house and we think that because the spirit told us to go there that this is the person we are looking for, but then they reject and we wonder why? Did I listen to the spirit right? He does this to test our faith. To test us if we will rely on him and follow His guidance. This really hit me hard. Our faith is always growing everyday. It reminds me of a scripture in Ether 12 and I am sure I have used this before, but it is Ether 12:12 and it talks about how if we have no faith we can have no miracle and that in verse 6 it says that nothing happens until after the trial of our faith. I love learning about faith and every time I learn about faith and my faith grows with the new knowledge that the spirit taught me. 

I just want to add my testimony to the great things that I learned this past week. I know that without a shadow of a doubt that all things all possible with the faith that we can do all things with His help and His strengths. I had a amazing experience yesterday. We were eating dinner with a Less Active. She has married a non-member and mentioned to us that she wants to come to come back, but she doesn't want to do this alone. The whole time she was talking I could see how badly she wanted this and how much she wants her husband to know the same things that she knows. The whole time she was talking the spirit was so strong and I felt really impressed to share a scripture about the atonement. It is in Alma 7:11-13. This is my favorite scripture and it just shows how much our Heavenly Father loves us and that He sent His only begotten son to atone for our sins and to heal our hearts when we are aching. When I shared this scripture she was so touched. I then felt prompted to say that her Heavenly Father loves her and that He knows exactly what she is going through. As I was bearing testimony, I was also struck so strong with the spirit and I knew that Heavenly Father loves me too and knows how hard I am working and how strong I am being through the challenges of a mission. I know that this is the true gospel and I love serving the Lord.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. 

Love Sister Ackley