September 23, 2013

September 23

Hello family and friends, I hope that you are doing well and staying safe. Thanks for the emails. They always make my day to hear from you all. 

I am doing well and liking my new area. I love my companion, Sister Onekawa. She is great and is a hard worker. She loves being out here on a mission and knows her purpose as a missionary as well. We are now officially on bikes and I am loving every min of it too. I had to get different bike then the one that I had before. The boy bike was just so big for a short little girl:) and so the office got me a girl bike that I am using until I go home. It is so much better and I love riding it. I am being safe too. It is a little scary to ride it on the roads, but I am getting use to it. I have survived my first week riding a bike. God definitely has been blessing us because the weather has been a lot cooler this past week and should be cool again this next week. The days are going a lot faster and we don't get as much appointments in because of the travel time, but things are still working out great for us. 

We have a baptism this Sat. Her name is Gloria. She is so awesome. She was a Referral and is wanting to change her life around. She is doing awesome and is coming a long quite well. It is so fun to be able to see this great change in her and to see her so happy. We were talking about blessings the other day and I asked her how she has seen the blessings in her life and she said that she is just HAPPY and she can't stop smiling. She also said that she never wants to go back to the person that she was before. That is what is so great about this gospel is that it can change you for the better. She knows and has experienced that. She is doing great and I cannot wait for her special day. She has been such a joy to teach and to hear her testimony of how much this gospel has changed her life. She has a two year old boy and hopes that when he turns 18 he will want to go on a mission and do the things that we do as missionaries. She is truly converted to this gospel and is going to make a great member.

She pretty much is the highlight of our week. We have been working with her a lot this week to help her stay strong til her baptism day. Satan is a real bugger and has been trying to knock her down, but we had the elders over to give her a blessing and it was amazing to me to see the sudden change in her as they gave her that priesthood blessing. She said that she felt so much better after that too. I wish you all could experience some of the same things I do. It just isn't the same in words. The spirit was so strong there and it was just so amazing to see the power of it and to change her right there and then. I love the priesthood and I know that through priesthood blessings we can be healed and we can have that comfort and peace of mind to be able to move forward with the challenges that we face. 

There is a great scripture that I read. It is D&C 122:7-9. I love these verses because it talks about the hard times of life and that they are here for our own good and the we need to learn from the things that we are going through in life. On the side I wrote. Everything happens for a reason and it it is for the best of us. In vs. 9 I really like how it says that we shouldn't fear because the Lord is always there for us and will never leave us alone. Another thought that came to my mind as I was reading this is that the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. These trials and challenges that we are faced with are here to mold us to be the person who God wants us to be. I am so grateful for the trials that I am faced with daily. I am grateful for the lessons that I am suppose to learn as well. I know that My Heavenly Father loves me and is always there for me. I know that he hears and answers every one of my prayers. I know this because of the peace and comfort that I get from the Holy Ghost. I love this gospel and I love sharing what I know is true to those who are ready to hear it. 

I love you all so much and I hope that you have a wonderful week. 

Love Sister Ackley