October 21, 2013

October 21

Hello there my dear family and friends, 

Things are going great here in Cali. The weather is great and still warm. I am grateful for all of your emails and for the love that comes with them. I love hearing what is going on in good old Utah.

I am doing well and I am happy! Sister Onekawa and I are doing super well and we are starting to see our area pick up. A cool thing that happened to us last week was that we felt prompted to stop by our Bishop's house to see if there was anything that we could do for him. He said thanks for asking, but was doing well. He then started giving us names of people that we could by and see. As he was talking with us he stopped and said that he wanted to introduced us to his neighbor that he had been working with. It was about 8:30pm by this time. We went down with Bishop and we got to see the family. Bishop asked if it would be alright if we could come back and meet with them. Jeremy is his name said yes we would love that. After we left Bishop told us that that was the first time he had ever said yes to his invites. What a miracle that was. We have an appointment with them this Friday and hope to start teaching their family. That was an answer to my prayers. I have been praying that we would find someone new to teach and have been praying for a family as well. I hope all goes well with this family and that they are open to listening to us teach about the restored gospel and how it can bless their families. 

We had this past weekend and it was great! I loved it and I was super glad that we were able to attend the Adult session on Saturday night.This is the first time that missionaries were able to attend it. I was so happy to hear that and I am glad that we went because it was super good. I just wanted to share with you some insights that I got out of it. I really liked how they talked about the Atonement. And that we are all special to God and that we should never forget that. Also that no matter what we have done in our lives, God never leaves us and never looks down upon us. He still loves us the same. This meant a lot to me and I thought a lot about the many people out there in the world who think that because they have done something bad that God doesn't love them anymore. I want to so badly share with everyone what I have learned and that God loves each one of us, no matter what we have done. God looks at the good and not the bad and wants all of us to feel loved. I love the Atonement and I know that people need this in their life and if they have the atonement they can feel that every lasting love and know that they can have a remission of their sins. I loves this gospel and I know that it is true.

God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten son to atone for us and to help us when we need to feel that love and comfort that we are seeking for. I love the question "What does the Atonement mean to you?" To me the atonement means that I am never alone and that someone knows what I am going through and that I can get through anything because of my Savior Jesus Christ. I am forever grateful to know that my older brother went before me because He love me and loved our Heavenly Father. I can't explain so much in words, but I can feel my Savior's love everyday and I know that I am never forgotten or alone. I love this gospel so much and I love being able to share it to the world. Nothing makes me more happier than doing this work and marvelous work of our Heavenly Father!

I love you all. Have a wonderful week!!

Love Sister Ackley

pictures: Sisters, Staker, Onekaw, me, and Lallis. Elders Smith and Johnson. We are all serve in the same ward! We are all a bunch of fun!