Dec 16, 2013

Dear Family,

This week was SO BUSY! thursday we didnt have any time to schedule lunch or dinner, thankfully when we went to see the bishop he fed us, so that was nice! But this whole week we were booked with an appointment after appointment whether it was an appointment to see an investigator or a less active or a member we had no time to think, it was really nice to be that busy i loved it! Yes it is tons colder over here, we got lots of snow and there is suppose to be more coming but since im being transferred to the Kingston zone to the belleville area i don't know what it will be like over there, you can apparently see New York from that area so probably will be even snowier. AND i'll be closer to Richard and Cherise! But we will see by next week. which is when i get to talk to all of you!!! whoop whoop! i love my heavenly father so much, this week he has spoken to me softly many times, and all through serving other people. he is always there, President Monson was so right about that! i never doubted him but i can testify that i have been able to hear as i have gotten closer to him to listen. I love this work, let me tell ya!

so we had our ward Christmas party this Saturday and Shawn came, he is suppose to be getting baptized next Sunday( yeah i wont be here, it stinks) but it will probably have to be pushed to January now. but he came and he loved it! he was able to talk to one of the members the whole night and not get bored, it was pure awesomeness!!!!! we had food and music. the ESL class that i help teach sang ( as well as the missionaries) oh come all ye faithful and it was beautiful. i also sang with the Spanish group haha my companion was playing the piano for them, and during practice i would sit on a chair and just hum and then started to sing quietly to see if i could do it and then the leader for the group pulled me over to stand with the others and i sang in Spanish, it was so cool!! I love speaking Spanish, especially singing in Spanish. it felt more natural singing in Spanish than singing in English did! all in all the ward party was amazing it was a great turn out for a storm hitting us the night before. since im being transferred i dont know what preparation days will be like in belleville so heads up future letters may not be as long. I love you all very much and look forward to talking to you next wednesday!!!!

Love sister Hadley

ps here are some pictures from the party. i dont know which is which but the one guy witht he draker skin is shawn our solid investigator! and then there are the twins the are the best. then there is bishop in the hawaiian shirt gonna miss him, and Janet Taylor she goes teaching with us and there is keysha in the purple shirt she hasn't been to church since before i came and she showed up with her kids and shaquia is one of them she is in the glasses. then there are sister and elder rhees they bring our letters and packages to us when they come to church on sunday, so we were so lucky to have them, she reminds me of you mom! i love her, she is so sweet and kind. then there is sister schoemaker the short one in between sister tebbs and i she comes with us to teach shawn and she has been the best for that she is NOT afraid to speak up!

Dear Mom,

My stomach is getting better, mandi is so right when i am stressed it gets worse, but i take the pills like it says and i have been feeling better. i have had a better week! i just kept turning towards good positive thoughts and scriptures and hymns when i felt down and it helped me stay positive and on top of things! i am excited to be transferred, to experience something new, heavenly father knows what is best, and he seems to constantly push me out of my comfort zone so i knew it was coming.. i even had a dream about it haha but it should be good. i will miss my ward and sister tebbs but like dad says its part of the mission. taking the training wheels off! i loved that quote by sister Holland it was perfect and just what i needed thank you! i loved the picture too. i cant wait until Wednesday next week, im not sure yet about skyping i will find out next monday because i am going to a new area. which i did get my package, just in the knick of time too!i love you and cant wait to speak with you!!!! love Sister Hadley

Dec 9, 2013

Dear Family!

Yes it has been quite warm over here, its been great! im enjoying it while it last because it snowed this morning which means the cold isn't too far behind. at nights when we don't have a car it seems to be super cold, i always feel like i have a botaux (idk how to spell that) but thankfully the rest of my body stays warm all thanks to mom and her amazing choice of a winter coat, boots and mittens! I didn't get to hear the Christmas devotional! we didn't have an investigator that could go so we weren't allowed to go, we were sad. But i did get to see and shake Elder Hallstroms hand on Saturday! he came to Toronto for some business with the mission president and talked to about half of us missionary's for an hour because Elder Homer talked for about 45 minutes. and shaking his hand took about 30 minutes, for everyone to get a turn. He said my name and asked me where i was from, i said Washington state, and i was so excited that i just looked in his eyes and couldn't think of anything to say so i walked away without having a conversation with him ha-ha pathetic i know.. next time! unless its the prophet then i really wouldn't have anything to say because i would be unconscious laying on the floor. This week was great! we had so much progress even though we didn't have a ton of time. Mondays we never have time.. Tuesday we got to teach our now new investigator! his name is Shawn, we went in to teach him and he absorbed everything! he has a baptismal date and everything, and hes reading, we saw him again on Friday, and he was still really solid, he had questions and we answered them. and we saw him again when he came to church! I am so excited, i love teaching! except his baptismal date is set for after transfers and my trainer thinks i will be transferred, i kind of think so too. It would be sad to not see Shawn get baptized! But we will see. then Wednesday came and i had my first zone conference! that was so fun!! lots of inspiring thoughts, and all focused on the spirit of Christmas and the saviors birth. Simon Dewey's son serves in our mission and he made these really cool temple recommend card holders as a Christmas gift for each of us. ill have to send a picture next week because i forgot today but we got that and a Christmas card from the first presidency and these cookies that someone made for all the missionaries in the entire mission. its was crazy, they had to make A LOT. i loved zone conference, and while there i got my package with my medicine in it! so i have been taking it and it has been helping, my stomach has stopped hurting me quite a bit! the end of the day when we got home we went to deliver a book of Mormon to someone who had requested one and he became a new investigator, he is Muslim but he was so interested in the book of Mormon. then Thursday was a bit of an off day but we still found a new investigator and taught a less active. Friday was amazing because that's when we got to see Shawn, we also went to the less active lady who is having us wrap her Christmas gifts and we almost finished. she fed us a surprise dinner so that took some of our time, but we only had about 6 more to wrap but we were going to be home late so we had to run, hopefully this week we can go back and finish. saturday was when we saw Elder hallstrom and Elder homer. We got to see our mission president twice in one week too. And we had 6 people come to church Sunday! sister tebbs spoke so that's probably why but it was still an amazing week!! i loved it, i cant wait for what lies ahead. I got a blessing this week of comfort and counsel, and i didnt tell the elder anything about why i needed it, and i didnt need to because Heavenly Father knew exactly what i was going through. Listening to the blessing was like listening to him speak to me directly. i am so thankful for worthy priesthood holders so that receiving a blessing was even possible and i am so thankful that we have a father in heaven that cares about each and everyone one of us. I love you all and am looking for to Christmas!! Love sister Hadley

Ps Happy Belated Birthday Sharia!!! and happy soon birthday to little Brooks!! 

Dec 2, 2013

ear Family,

There isn't much to report on about this week. It was a hard one. We didn't get in to see any of our investigators. They were all too busy for us. The one lady we did have a baptismal date with, we saw her this week but didn't get to teach her, she told us to call later in the day and we will meet, so we called and she wasn't ready yet, she said i am still out but i will call you when i get in, don't call back until i call you. We waited for 45 minutes then gave up waiting. she never called back that night. Sunday we got a voice mail from her because we left a sticky note on her door telling her how much we were sad that we missed her and cant wait till the next time we see her. her voice mail said something along the lines that her pastor doesn't want her meeting with us. she wants to focus on the religion that she has, but she is grateful for how sweet we were to her and how kind we were. that she loves us but for now she doesn't want us to come back. so she dropped us. its sad, but at the same time it was nice, because we kept planning and planning and planning for her, and she wouldn't meet with us, or when we saw her it would be for 5 minutes and we couldn't get enough in. so heavenly father answered our prayer, and now we can focus on those who are more prepared. this week thankfully we have more plans to meet with new investigators, and on a very positive not e we got to see two family from the ward this week who haven't not let us come to their homes. We didn't give up and we finally got in, we thought it would be a little shaky and scary teaching them because it seemed like they had a bad experience with missionaries before, but it went extremely well!! the one family wants to have us over for dinner and they committed to finding some one to invite to church before Christmas. That was the best part of the whole week, was getting in to see them. My companion and i are doing great. There are always things that can be improved in every situtaion and we are trying our hardest to do so. But i know that i wouldnt be the missionary that i am now if i didnt have her as my trainer. She is so uplifting and is always trying to help to understand how to teach better. we wrok very well together. there are also times where is we dont plan before or do a plack of planning things go array so we do better when we plan before hand. It will be hard when we split up becuase she taught me so much i feel like i wont be able to do it with someone else, but i'll wait till two weeks two think about that, when transfer calls come around. I would especially hate to split right before Christmas. I love you all so very much and am constantly grateful for each of you in my life. Something that i read in the Jesus the Christ this week in chapter five i believe maybe it was chapter 4 i don't have it with me so i don't remember but it speaks about how the birth of the Savior was not unexpected, how prophets for centuries prophesied of his coming. I thought how true is that yet people still didn't prepare for him, and then i thought how true is it that prophets have been prophesying of him coming again, since right after his death. We are to prepare now for his coming like those before us prepared for his first coming, im sure i have used it before but its my favorite scripture. Alma 34:32 now is the time for us to perform our labors! I know that our family does so much for those around us already, but i want to ask all of you including you little three munchkins (brooks emma and hadley) to find someone to serve before the years end, there is no greater feeling then the one that comes when we know we have helped someone who needs it. I will do so as well! We have one lady that needs help wrapping gifts and we have been to her house twice so far and the pile of gifts is never ending so i might just be doing that until new years ahaha who knows with her. I am constantly thinking of all of you and can not wait to speak with you all on Christmas!

Love Sister Hadley

Dear Mom,

My coat has helped tons!! i am staying so warm:) i did get and extra blanket and a straightener both work really well. The name of the woman is Ayse Hitchins (who the story is about) and Kristen Mckendry ( the only way sister Hitchins could get her story out, the one with the writing contract). I am feeling like i want to be home for Christmas, and sometimes think i am not good enough to do this. But i know those are the thoughts of the adversary and am trying to put them behind me. I am learning so much right now about eh saviors birth that i did not know before. I am loving it! I love that i get to serve people all the time! My stomach is still hurting me but im doing the best i can when i don't feel 100% myself and when i just want to stay in bed and sleep it off, i get up anyways, because i know someone needs me. Mom i love this work so much, i know i havent seen anyone be baptized yet but i have seen the spirit touch people and that has been amazing to witness. My companion and i are doing really well, we are trying to get out of this root together, its been hard but we can do it! i know we can! i havent gotten the medicine yet, i am hoping to get it on Wednesday at zone conference. The couple who normally brings our packages to us on Sundays, went home because of a death in their family so they weren't there and probably wont be coming back. I wish i could have said goodbye to them, they were the best! I love you!! I love the quote you shared, very inspirational. i cant wait for christmas!!

Love, Sister Hadley