June 3, 2013

June 3

Hello Family, 

 

June already? I cannot believe it. Where has the time gone? I was thinking the other day of how fast these last six months are going to go by super fast. I want these last six months to be the best months that I have had. I don't want to leave my mission with any regrets of what I could have done. I know that up to this point that I have done all that I can and that my Heavenly Father is so proud of me. I am not giving up yet and I am going to work even harder every day to find those people that the Lord has prepared for me to teach. 

Sister Lee and I have had a wonderful week. We are getting along a lot better and have been unified with one another. Because of the unity that we have been building we have been able to have the spirit with us always and to have a good attitude with another. We have seen some great miracles this week. We have had fun and have been working really to help those that we are teaching progress in the gospel and to find new people to teach. 

Our biggest highlight of the week. ALEX GAINED A TESTIMONY!!! We got this text from Alex the other day and he said that he wanted to share some thoughts with us. He first stated that he was really grateful for Sister Lee and me and the help that we have been to helping him come closer to Christ. He then stated in his own words, "I was doing a lot of reading last night on OUR church and out of nowhere I began to feel this INDESCRIBABLE feeling of love and goodness within me. I realized then that the Word of God that you have shared with me up to this point is both ACTUAL and REAL." We could not believe what we were reading. We were so excited and so happy. We had been praying for Alex to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon before he gets baptized. Alex is a special person and I know that God is with him every step of the way and will that the Holy Ghost will guide him to stay on the right path. Alex came to church yesterday and he looked so different. He looked like a new person and was so happy. He had a big smile on his face and that smile never left him. I know that Heavenly Father placed Alex into our path and that the Holy Ghost was able to testify to him through us that this is the one and only true gospel. I have been very grateful to be on this journey with Alex and to see him grow and progress for the past month. Alex is amazing and is already a member in my mind. He will be baptized June 23, 2013. That day will be so special to him and he cannot wait til he is able to have the Gift of the Holy Ghost with him forever. I hope that one day you will be able to meet him. 

Francis...She is another bright lady. We just love going over to her house and sharing the gospel with her. She is coming along, slowly, but she is starting to feel something. We were able to teach her about the Restoration of the Gospel. When we were explaining Joseph Smith, the spirit was so strong. Sister Lee said the first vision and she said it with so much power that the spirit filled the room. Francis could feel that spirit. She then told us that she does believe that he was a true prophet. We were happy to hear that. She explained that he had to be real because there is no way that anyone especially a young boy could do all that he did. We didn't have enough time to go over the Book of Mormon, but we will be doing that tonight and we want to explain that if Joseph Smith is and was a true prophet then the Book of Mormon is true also. She is willing to do anything that we ask her to do. She is a sweet lady and I know that if she prayers and knows that these things are true, that she will be so much happier in her life and that she will gain answers to her questions. I want Francis to have this gospel in her life. I know that this is what she needs and this is what will bring her true comfort.

One of the little boys that we have been teaching got baptized yesterday. It wasn't a convert baptism, but it was still a special day for him. We have been teaching his sister Adriana off and on and he has always been present for the lessons. On Thursday we taught them a lesson and Giovanni was so excited that he was going to be baptized on Sunday. He could not stop talking about it and wanted to say the opening and closing prayers of our visit. He had a smile on the whole time as well. It is so fun to see the little children so excited to be baptized. I was so happy for Giovanni and I am glad that we were able to be there for him. I love watching the children be baptized. There is such a sweet spirit there and it was so powerful. We had some non-members there and I hope that they all could feel that warm, peaceful feeling. It was such a special day! Giovanni is a special boy and I know that Heavenly Father is so proud of him for choosing to be baptized and to come closer to Him.

We also got a referral this week. His name is Chen. He is chines and knows pretty good English. He has meet with the missionaries before and is only here for a couple of weeks, but wanted to meet with us and to read the Book of Mormon and to gain Faith in God. We have been teaching in about faith using chapters of the Book of Mormon. We read with him Alma 22 and explained that the king didn't believe in a God and that Aaron told him to ask God in faith to know if He is there. We committed Chen to do that and to read Alma 32. We told him that it is all about faith. We went over some parts and he really enjoyed it. He really does have this great desire to know if there is a God or not. We told him that since he has this great desire that God WILL answer his prayers, but he needs to have faith and believe that God will. It has been exciting to meet with him and to help him grow his faith.

These are the biggest highlights of our week. I just want to end with my testimony of this gospel. I know that this is the only way to get back to our Heavenly Father. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have each week to partake of the sacrament  and to remember what Christ my Savior did for me. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know that it is the true word of God. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a true prophet of God. I know that without him we would not have the Book of Mormon or the fullness of the truth. I am grateful for my family and for being great examples to me. I am grateful for the trials and challenges that I am faced with so that I can become a stronger person and to be the person that Heavenly Father needs me to be. I know that I am a daughter of God and that He loves me and is proud of me and of who I have become. I know that it is only through Him and my Savior to overcome the obstacles of my life and to have the strength to endure to the end. I am grateful for the atonement in my life.

I love you all and I hope that you all have a wonderful week! Remember to always SMILE. Big Hugs :)

Love Sister Ackley