Oct 28, 2013

Dear Family,

What a week! It was still a little rough, but we focused on the simple blessings and that made it all the better. even though the week was rough we werent sad, we were surprisingly happy. First we had exchanges this wednesday, i was so scared for them! apparently the sister that i was with was sister tebbs trainer and she wasnt very nice are welcoming at the begining, but by the end she warmed up. so i wasnt sure how my day with her was gonna go. It went so wel!!!! she taught me to not be afraid of talking to anyone. I feel like i have never had so much succes than what we had in those 24 hours, even though the appointments fell through, we went to visist other people and by doing so we got a refferal, so we went to contact the refferal eneded up teaching her, and inviting her to be baptized it was amazing! The woman we taught was disabled and lived byherself on her couch cuz she didnt have a bed, it was sad, i felt so much sorrow and love for her. i seriously wanted to tell her she could have my bed, but i dont think that would go over so well with the mission president. anyway she was such a chosen daughter of god, i loved getting to meet her. then we went and tracted apartment buildings. first you should know, i dont like tracting or so i thought, becuase people never open their doors or if they do no good comes from it. but i think aprtment buildings are different, we spoke with 3 or 4 different people that made return appointments! the people were so nice, even if they didnt want us there, normally thats not the case. then we taught a lady who had been disfellowshipped. she wasnt able to take of the sacrament for six years! six years!!! thats a long time .. plus she couldnt read the scriptures or pray in public. but she still read and prayed privately, her experience has made her so much stronger, she has never wanted the gospel in her life the way she does now, her hearing is this november and it sounds like she'll be able to pass, hopefully anyways, ive been praying she will. so exchanges changed my view on how i approach people and do things. interesting that night when we switched back we went to see a man who afteer telling us was excommunicated, hes in his thirtys has a family two little boys who are about 3 and 1 his wife isnt a member but walking to their home you would not have thought so. .it looked like a picture perfect mormon family, if there is such one. .anyways he went through a lot too but they way he handled it was different, he let it tear him away from the church and now doesnt believe in god or life after death. it was the saddest thing ever. to hear him say he knows he wont live with his family after death. My companion actually started crying, and she never crys. It just goes to show that trials define us, they are there to mold us into who we are to become. Ultimately through our lowest points in life, we either cling to that which we know will bring us happiness for forever  (Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father) or we cling to the things that mask over our anger and saddness, things that bring us temporal happiness (worldy things, Satan). I saw both situation in one day, it strengthend me so much, seeing that woman go without christ and The lords spirit for six years, i know i never want that and if i do, i want to be like her, working so hard to better myself so that one it can be in mylife again, thats what i want that man and his family to do.. we're gonna have to work on it!! It was such a great week. we then had one of our new investigators commit to baptism on friday, and saturday we went to see two less active familys! they are so great. this one family the little boy wouldnt leave me alone so i talked to him while sister tebbs talked to the mother, so she could feel of the spirit without distraction. and she did, but the little boy said to me randomly i love you and i miss you, i know that little kids may say that all the time, but this little boy looked right at me and said it, i dont know if that was carson or not.. but to me it certainly felt like it, it was something i needed to hear after a week of crazy up and downs. i loved that quote you shared with us, i know its true. i love you all and i pray you are all doing well! patrick adn sharia look good in their homecoming outfits, and the gravestone was perfect!! i loved gettng to see that. really quickly, my bishop came up to me sunday, and said he watched the boise state game and loved it, he noticed spencer when Sorenson got hurt, he said it was the sweetest thing to see him take off his helmet, but then he shouted," but he is one ugly dude!" i started laughing and said why becuase of his stache? and he said yeah, and i laughed and said eh you get used to it! he just laughed! oh how i love it when people i harldy know come up to me to talk about spencer and the game. Love you all!!

Love Sister Hadley

 

 

Oct 28, 2013

Dear Mandi, and family!

The week was interesting, it was great though! meeting some crazy people. this one lady just got here and escaped from iraq about a month ago, she loes it here but wouldnt let us talk about religion. searching hard for elect adn prepared people! poor emma, oes she have a bruised eye too? looks like it in the wilks picture. sounds like everythings is going well, love you all!!!

Sister Hadley

Oct 21, 2013

Dear Family,

This wasn't a great week, but i did learn how to approach the coming week because of it. Our appointments kept canceling and the ones that we went to and taught have either told us that they aren't ready right now, to come back at the beginning of the year, or they are leaving for a few weeks, so we have to push pause. Its quite frustrating actually. This week has left me feeling like I'm wasting time, precious time to teach those that really are prepared to hear the word of the Lord. Sunday was great because i gave the baptismal talk at a young girl's baptism. her name is aurora her mom is a member but dad isn't and a lot of her non member family members were there. i was so nervous before i got up, but the spirit directed me on what to say very well, i found that i didn't even say most of what i had prepared, when i looked away from the little girl i saw her mom crying and her father listening intently. That little girl is such an example to her family and she doesn't even know it yet, it probably the best day this whole week to witness her performing the same ordinance Christ did some time ago, and to see her walking in smiling ready to receive the holy ghost.  So this next week, well starting today. We are going to go out and find new people to talk to! open our mouths with everyone, and as easy as that is to say i know its going to be difficult, but it is going to be so worth it. i have to remember what elder bednar said, "its not about you" and he didn't really say that, he loudly proclaimed it. i have seen that as i forget about myself and just speak i am doing what i am suppose to be doing when out on the street, i just have to apply that more and not get shy or afraid. I'm excited to see how and what this week will bring! oh and we have transfers this Wednesday and I'm super nervous for that because i wont be with my companion I'll be with someone new, only for a day but still, she'll be watching me closely so she can tell me what to improve on!  Ya spence! that's great about the game, one of the members in our ward( ex bishop, bishop Wilde) said" I saw your brother play this weekend, He did played great!" i said thank you and he said, "oh, don't thank me!". i cant believe pat went to homecoming! that's so exciting for him. Good luck sharia with the play if it hasn't happened yet! sounds like you have all been very busy with the dairy, i can't even imagine the barn being so clean! with a newly painted ceiling, i hope that it the inspection goes well, i will keep the dairy in my prayers. I love you all, and hope and pray each day that you are doing well!

Love Sister Hadley

October 7, 2013

Family!

OH how i love my mission. the people that the lord has put in our paths have gone through so many trials and still are, each day they struggle with knowing whether or not there is a purpose to life. i just want to take there faces look them strait in the eyes and tell them that there is, and for them to believe me, but it takes a lot more than that. This one fellow we just met this week he was put in a orphange at the age of 5. So were his siblings but they eneded up going back to his parents, and he was abandoned. so he has been living by himself since chidhood. He tells me that his grandmother on his dads side taught him about jesus christ, to help the needy and the poor, to give part of your money back to the lords children because he has given us so much, when he tells us of the things he believes i sweel up inside with so much joy because honsetly its basically everything we believe in. we are going to teach him today. but yesterday he came to conference and after i talked to him alone because my companaion was behind me talking to another incvestigator that came. anyways he said he has tried to end his life but says that he thinks the reason he can't pass on is becuase the lord decides when we go, he also expressed that important people or thinigs are taken out of our lives to make us stronger. And i just got excited to share my story. he listened so well as i told himi about my experience with imoirtnat people being taken out of my life when i was younger, but that had to happen in order for me to meet even more important people ones that have changed my life for forever. and even in that amazing part of my life some one very dear and close was taken away from me and that reason i am still trying to figure out perphaps for a reason i will find out in the future, but i also said that i know it doesnt stop important poeple will be taken away from me in the future as well, and if they werent i would not have turned to the lord, if they wernet i would not be the person i am today, if they werent i would not be here today sharing what i know to be true. it contiued to get a lot deeper and always going back to the love our heavenly father has for us. but he just makes me want to teach even more people everyday! i cant wait to see where his life goes. oh and he has a really bad stutter but it doewsnt bother me and yesterday when we were talking he hardly stuttered at all!!! That is all because of the spirit!

canada thanksgiving is next monday so i wont be on next monday but i will be on wednesday. its starts to snow november or december so maybe by then end of this month would be good. the blankets we have are very thin and so is it gets colder in our aprtment during the winter im gonna have to sleep with tights on!! and maybe a few pair of socks.. or just by a heavier balnket, ill cross that bridge when i get there i guess. the enrtire time jeffery r holland was speaking i could not stop thinking of our family, teo things that stuck out are Hope is never lost!, and Broken minds can be healed, when he said that i thougt broken hearts can be healed too. Also i loved when the prophet spoke because he said the more the storm the more the strength, and i can definetly see strength in our family. also i loved this, "Whether its the best of times or the worst of times he is with us." that stuck out so much with me because when i was at school when little carson passed a way i drew away from christ, i wasnt happy i wasnt understanding why any of that had to happen, and i got angry. that went on for maybe a week and a half, but one day during church someone bore their testimony of prayer, so i decided i would ask why, and so i did and i started to read my scriptures again and when i did i could feel the comfort and love through them i knew what i had donw wasnt right i knw that drawing away from him wasnt the answer and the oly way to get the answer to ask him, and although i still dont fully understand i know that what Prophet monson said is true, whether its the best of times or the worst of times He is with us, we are the ones that draw away not him. i like the scripture in 2nephi chapter 7 verse 1 it goes perfectly with all of that. i love all of you very much and keep you all in my prayers! life here is great! its hard but great i dont want to be anywhere else right now. the lord trully knows each and everyone of us, i find comfort in that each day as i go and teach his children.

Love Sister Hadley