May 6, 2013

May 6

Dear Family, 

How are you all doing? Are you enjoying yourselves? I hope you are and I hope that you are having a great day and that this email brings you much joy. 

4:00 your time is perfect. We were actually thinking about doing it at that time. That is inspiration right there. Haha. I am so excited to skype and to see your faces and too see how you are all doing. You will have to say hi to chelle for me. I got an email from her today and she is doing well and is having fun she says. I will probably call again so that we can set things up. Are you all excited?!!-I know you all are.

Oh boy! This week has been a crazy busy week. We are covering three areas with the three of us. I have been having fun being busy. The days go by so fast when we have lots of things to do. I have been working with the Korean Branch and getting lots of help from the branch presidency which has been really nice. We have been teaching  Brian. He is a new investigator that we picked up this past week. He called us and wanted to meet with us. We are teaching him English and the gospel. He knows pretty good English, but wants to learn more and more. He is open to hearing the gospel has well. We were able to teach him the Restoration and the spirit was there. The branch President was there and was able to translate what were saying in Korean so that he would be able to understand more clearly. Even though I didn't know what they were saying I could feel the spirit so strongly there. We invited him to come to church, but he said not yet. He isn't ready yet. I hope that this week we will be able to teach him the doctrine of why coming to church is important and that the holy ghost will testify to him. 

We were able to meet with Francis again this week. She is another investigator that we have been working with. We taught her about revelation and how the Holy Ghost works. We were also able to teach her a little about how there is a God and He loves us and wants us to be with our families forever. Her biggest question is what is her purpose in life. She wants to be able to see her husband again. When we were talking about revelation, the spirit was there and we shared with her a talk that said that sometimes when we dream the Lord will send familiar people to us and tell us what we need because we are comfortable with them and already trust them. We told her that Heavenly Father is right by her side and will never leave her alone if she just opens that door to him. It really breaks my heart to see her so sad and lost. I hope that I will be able to help her find that peace and comfort that she is searching for and that I can help her recognized the spirit. I know that if she will open the door to the Lord that she will be comforted and will know the truth of all things and know what her purpose of life is.

Brother Runner is still doing great. He came to church again yesterday. We were able to meet with him again as well. On Thursday when we were studying and I felt so impressed to study the worth of souls and the Atonement. I felt like he needed to hear that Heavenly Father loves him and is aware of the things that are going on in his life right now. We shared with him D&C 18, then tied it into the Atonement. We explained that the Atonement has two parts. We are able to be forgiven of our sins and most people forget the second part, but Jesus Christ didn't just sacrifice for our sins, but to heal us from our struggles, pains, and times of trouble so that we can be happy. We we go through tough times we are able to cast our burdens onto the Savior and he will take them away and  give us the comfort and strength that we need. When we fall short, he is always there to lift us up and to make up the difference for us all. The spirit was there with us and Brother Runner was able to feel that and to recognized that. One step at a time, but he is doing well and progressing day by day.

The Nauman's are doing well. We went over there on Saturday. Sister Nauman wasn't feeling very well so she didn't come out for the lesson, but Brother Nauman still wanted to hear the message that we had prepared so we were able to teach him about the Restoration as well. I was so amazed. During the lesson the spirit was so strong. There were some more quiet moments where the spirit was there and testifying to all of us that what we were saying was true. When we said the first vision is where the spirit was the strongest. I have never before had so much power from the spirit when saying the vision. It was amazing and I know that Brother Nauman felt it. He stopped us after that and said that he knows what the restoration is all about. Sister Chambers then asked him if he wanted to be with his family forever. He stated that it is too late. He is old and that he has done too many bad things and doesn't think that he can be forgiven of the past. This broke my heart to hear and We told him that it is never too late. Heavenly Father loves him so much and wants him to be happy and to come back to him. We bore testimony of the Savior and told him that what the Savior did for us is so that we can change and repent. It is never too late for anything. He is holding back from something and I honestly think that he is afraid. I want so badly to help him understand the Atonement and the remission of our sins. I pray for him and I ask for his heart to be open and that one day he will open that door again to feel the love of his Heavenly Father and Savior. 

We were finally able meet with Samantha and her friend Victoria. They are 19 year old girls and are going to college right now. Samantha last year went to seminary and really enjoyed it. She is open to learning more about Jesus Christ. We taught her the Restoration and she seemed to be interested. We showed them how the apostasy was with the apostasy cups that we made and I really think that that visual really helped them to understand it. They really enjoyed that. At the end we felt impressed to invite them to be baptized. They both said that they have already been baptized and they think that they don't need to be baptized again. We all believe in Jesus Christ and that should be enough. I then knew that the next time that we meet with them we will need to teach them about the Priesthood and the Authority so that they can understand that it is the priesthood that makes us different from any other church. I really hope that these girls will continue to learn and to feel the holy ghost testify to them.

Although this week has been really busy and stressful, I have been able to really see myself grow in faith. There is a quote that I came across in my studies and it says, "No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted." I really liked this and it really struck me. I know that the trials that we are faced with are for a reason. We may not know why and we may never know, but if we trust in the Lord  we will be able to get through whatever life tosses our way. Just like the Savior said, when we fall short he is there to make up the difference. Faith is so important to have. I have seen my faith shaken this week and I have been able to see it grow. The Atonement is a wonderful thing and I am grateful that I have a Heavenly Father that loves me so much that He sent His only begotten son for to suffer my trials and pain, so that I can have the peace and comfort that I need to get through the tough times. I am so grateful that families can be forever. I am grateful for prayer and the love that I feel and the peace that I feel every time that I pray. I know God lives and I know that He is always by our side and that He knows us individually. I love this gospel so much.

I love you all so very much and I hope that this week goes well with you all. Good luck with school and work, and anything else that you are doing this week. I can't wait to talk to you all on Sunday at FOUR. :) BIG HUGS!!

Love Sister Ackley