Sept 29, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was incredibly long/short feeling and super jammed packed!! i had so many good experiences i dont even know where to start!!

Monday we taught this guy named Glenn, we met him on the street the first couple of week we got here, it was such a hard lesson because he talks incredibly much and its not necessarily about the gospel so we had to keep him SO focused it was like moving through molasses.. no joke. But he allowed us to come back on Saturday and so we did and this time was a bit different he accepted a baptismal date and basically said it would be ridiculous to not be baptized by someone holding the authority of god when the ones who previously baptized him are sitting in jail, "shows there real authority" he is super funny!! but sometimes i question if he is telling the truth, my companion thinks otherwise so until he proves us differently i will trust in her judgement! he has a few things to overcome but nothing that atonement doesn't cover!

Tuesday we helped a less active/part member family pack to move back into napanee (they were in a surrounding area) and we taught Nate and Sharon, who are doing amazing!! Sharon went to the woman's broadcast which she loved!! and they both came to church this Sunday. they are definitely on their way to making a covenant with God, i am so excited for them just want to shout it from the mountain tops   which is weird because we don't have mountains here.. hills? not much of those either...housetops?! that''ll do!

Wednesday i had exchanges, that was miraculous i don know if you remember much of Melanie and Chris who i taught in Belleville who ended up moving right before i moved, well just so happens where they moved is where i had exchanges... so i got to go and teach her with sister wanlass (my exchange comp) it was amazing to get to see her nad hear what has been keeping her from church and her desire to go back, if was incredible to sit there and to hear her speak of the strength she was gaining from god to keep her going to church even though other and situations wouldn't have her be there. there were a few more experiences on my exchange that just made it a sacred exchange. i will share one. 

As we finished having dinner with this incredible family we knew we had to start heading for napanee or we wold be late to home, but we hadn't contacted anyone on the street all day we had been in appointment after appointment, so we followed the spirit and went to search for someone to talk to, to our surprise there was a man sorting his recycling as we talked to him he could see in our faces the faith we had to talk to everyone we meet to share the gospel, about 7 times he said i want what you have, i want your fatih. we told him of course that we couldn't have it, but that we had a message that could help him develop his own faith and one day it can be just as strong if not stronger, i don't know what happened to him after i left that day but i hope good things because he was definitely prepared by God!

and this experience just left a feeling in my heart i thought my chest was going to burst becuase of how happy i was, i was so filled with the spirit from that day, it was beyond expression but saturday during the broadcast something that sister marriott said reminded me of this if you want to give a light to others you must glow yourselves.

we found some other investigators and the week finished storng that we even hit our standards given to us by our mission president, this wekk will match it!!

i love you all!!! 

p.s i would be happy to help with lambing in the spring.

he horse is from last week email, the flowers and watrer fountain are from a lucnh we packed and had in belleville becuase we couldnt go home, and other picutres

Love SISter HAdley

Sept 22, 2014

Dear Fam-Bam!!

Holy Toledo!! we had another kid! congrats to Cherise and Richard!! send pictures asap! And theres another one coming that will be so exciting! i cant believe how much time has gone by. This Wednesday marks my one year mark out on the mission! Everyone was right time does just whiz on by, and continues to go by faster and faster! i hardly know anyone that i am serving with in this mission, the ones  i knew have all left so it looks like it is time for me to make more friends!

This week was great!!

Monday we did nothing for preparation which is probably what we will be doing today..

Tuesday we had a zone conference and it was so good!! our mission president is amazing he and his wife are so inspired from God, you simply can not argue a single thing they say.

Wednesday-thursday we found a new investigator. We went to dop by some we had met before and unfortunately she wasnt home, so we turned around and there was a lady putting out her garbage and we asked her if she knew where this woman was she said no but you could try looking around the back so we walked back and nothing, so we said oh well, and went to go talk to this lady standing by her trash, and we taught her the first vision right then and there! she loved it and told us her son was very much into our religion and when we come back she will be excited to have him there too! it was great. So we left with smiles on our faces, and a better hope for the area. friday we received instruction from Elder Craig a Cardon of the seventy during a mission tour. that was amazing as well. It just felt like he was teaching us exactly what we needed to hear according to our preparation and prayers, seriously every time i wanted to raise my hadn and ask a question he went on to answer it. He was being taught as he was teaching. then coming off of that spiritual high we went to teach this new woman (sharon) and her son (nate) and they both had such amazing questions and nate sat there just so intently listening and waiting for more spiritual food, you could tell the spirit was so present. they set a date to be baptized for october 19th! we are so excited to help them reach their goal! and they came to church sunday and everyone was friendly to them and inviting. also saturday we did service in the community, handing out stickers for a scarecrow festival, for a head count. it was the smartest thing we had ever done, we proabably met close to 500 people that day, and some of them were people that had given us excuses not to talk to us or had slammed their door in our faces, it was good to get out in the towns eye!

well all in all as you can see it was fun!!

so the one is a giant unicorn that is 26 years old that  amember forced us to get on and take a picture iwth at the end of the festival.

the other is of the mission tour, this is only half of the missionarys in our mission they had to do two days for the tour

then there is one of all of the sister we had to sleep with 19 sister is one apratment one floor too, so some were in the kitchen on towels others in the living room and the bedrooms, i was in a crack between wo mattreses honeslty i thin i had the warmest spot becuase everyone woke up freezing

Sept 15, 2014

My Dear Family,

The work of God is powerful, if thats all i could say in one letter thats all i would say. i love feeling that intense feeling of love every time i force myself to do something im not 100% comfortable doing. Often times i have heard members say i cant do that im not a missionary ah aha.. well the only difference between a full time missionary and member is that we have the responsibility of making sure a nonmember is taught all they need to know before baptism and that they are ready to make their first covenant with God and even then we need members help. I as a missionary get nervous too! and im not going to say i don't because i do, and maybe the reason it looks easy is because i have the time to seek out the spirit every morning of every day, of every week, of every month for a year and a half that when push comes to shove i do all i can to listen to and follow his voice. And that allows me to talk to people and that allows me to teach people and that allows me to invite people to be baptized and that allows me ask strangers on the street to come to church. But its not me, its the spirit giving me that strength because i asked for it and CHOSE to act on my faith, and as members we have the exact same access to him as missionary's do if we so choose to act on that faith that each of us has. Maybe there isn't time in a day to read scriptures daily.. make time.. maybe there isn't enough time to say a prayer before running out the door.. make time.. and maybe there isn't enough time to be grateful.. make time.etc. Because each time we do we invite him into our lives more and more, and then we start to see that we can do instead of we can't do. Because its not us, its Him.  What a lesson to learn let me tell you!! and im probably not even done learning haha 

I feel like even though we may not have many investigators right now that we are doing alot of work for this area, there is never a moment where we are not doing anything... unless we are eating. Busy bees make for good honey!!

I love all of you, i will send some pictures of our adventures this week, one of our recent converts James Berry has a chinchilla (i may have spelled that wrong)

I love you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Sister Hadley!

 

 

Sept 8, 2014

Dear Family,

Well this week wasn't a complete bust, we meet a whole lot of new people! we are constantly talking to people, and even though there aren't as many people on the streets of napanee like there are in the city, if you seek out people to speak to you find them. 

 ive learned alot recently about putting in the extra effort, i feel like i have been putting in the effort, but its in that moment when we put in more that is required not only do we see the work change for the better, but we see ourselves change too. I am so ready for this area to hit its peak and it will be there soon, we are just building its foundation right now. and in doing so i have also learned that working with the branch leaders and having a good relationship with them is important one set up of trust and understanding, we are working on that, seems like it may have been a bit rough in the past but it will get there. So much good is happening and there isnt a moment to rest!!

we lost two of our investigators this week, but have lots of appointments to meet new people, so we are excited for a new week. in that process of meeting people we met a man the other day who is from another religion, hes very strong is his beliefs and i admire that of him, he honestly felt like he was doing what was right and there was no convincing him even show him the evidence, i took my thoughts from that contact to heavenly father and asked him to confirm to me that what i had said was right and correct and in doing so i came across 2 nephi chapters 29 and 30 everything that man said was the filling of those words, it was an incredible experience for heavenly father to confirm that the missionary work we are doing is his work. The church is true God DOES love his children!

I hope you all are well, Love you all tons!!

Love Sister Hadley

 

Sept 2, 2014

Dear Family,

I miss all the people i came to now in Don mills BUT I love my new area!! the branch is small, but the people have great big hearts. There are lots of people here that are ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and sister christenson (my new companion shes from farmignton utah) and i are so prepared to find them!! 

The gospel is so true, its as true for us as members of the church as it is for those who are just discovering it!!

i dont have much time today, ill try to write more next week.. we have lots of fun acitivitys happening this week and lots of lessons penciled in that we are excited to teach, some of them are from people that the missionarys previously taught but most are from us just talking to everyone, thats how the message is spread, through talking to everyone!!!

I love you all so very much!! spencer that is so stinking exciting, congrats!!! 

Love SIster Hadley