October 16, 2013

October 16

Dear Family and Friends, 

How are you all? Mom, that picture that you sent is beautiful! I can't believe how red the tree is. Aw, I miss the fall leaves. It is weird to me that you all are in the cold and it is still in the 80's here in Cali. The nights are differently cooling down though. The weather actually has been really nice. We had our first rainstorm last week. It was so cool and the rain came pouring down that's for sure. I loved every min of it though. I have been wanting rain since last year. haha :)

Today is our P-day. Guess what? We got to go to the temple this morning!! Yay, I LOVE LOVE the temple. I learn so many new things every time I go. Being in the temple today meant so much to me and to feel the love and comfort from my Father in Heaven. Whenever I am there I feel so much closer to Him and to my Savior. I love it and if you all haven't been to the temple in a while, you should go as soon as you can! I promise that you will receive that inspiration and love and comfort that you are seeking for.

Not to be a downer, but I wanted to share with you what happened this past week in our mission. If you haven't heard already, there was an Elder that got hit by a car in this mission. And he passed away. He had only been out 4 weeks. We had a memorial service for him as a mission on Sunday. It was amazing. His companion gave his eulogy and it was beautiful. He told us that the Elder that passed away, his dad passed away just a couple of years earlier and when he was set apart as a missionary his Stake President told him that that was one of the reasons that his dad has passed away, so that he would be able and that be his purpose, to teach everyone about the Plan of Salvation. 

That's exactly what he did. He gave us all a greater understanding. He made it so that us missionaries could teach it with more love and spirit.. He is from North Carolina. We taped the whole service so that His mom and his 3 sisters would be able to see it. 

I know that this plan is real. We taught an investigator this week and she found out about this and was really sad about it and just kept saying sorry to us. We told her that it was alright and the wonderful thing about God's plan  is that we are able to see our loved ones again and that yeah it is sad, but we know that they are in a better place. And that it is only because of our Savior Jesus Christ and what he did for us that made it possible for us to be with our families forever. Then we bore testimony of the plan of salvation. It is hard to describe in words, but the spirit filled that room and touched our investigator. It was amazing to see the spirit testify. The spirit touched all of us. It was so touching. 

I know that because of our Savior Jesus Christ we are able to be cleansed from our sins and return to live with our Father in Heaven and that we can be with our families forever. I know that we mean so much to Him and He wants nothing more than for us to be happy with our families. I am so grateful for my family and for all the things that I have learned from them and the love that we show to each other. I know that the home is the best place for us to learn this wonderful gospel. I know that this is true!!

I love you all and hope you have another great week!! BIG HUGS!!

Love Sister Ackley