February 25th, 2013 Stephanie

Dear family

    So wow, like wow, everyone is all over the world T in Hawaii.  So cool!!!  And Maren in New York!!!!  Wow, the Lord is giving us so many opportunities to spread the gospel. It’s so cool to see.  Oh and I have news. I may be switching missions. Crazy huh?  They are going to spit my mission into two!!!  Starting July 1, we will see who the new mission president is and will, well, see if I will be in the same mission or if I will change. We will have to see. Hah.  It’s exciting to see the work progress so fast here and to see the kingdom of God grow.

    I am going to send you my letter to the President because I don’t have much time.  I am so sorry .

Dear President Glazier

         I hope you have a great birthday this week.
This week in our area it was really hard. I have never seen Satan work so hard in my life and it was an eye opening experience for me to realize that he is real and is working against us. Our investigators, wow, are having such a hard time. Freddie almost died because his sugar was so low. And the wife of a recent convert was bed ridden because she has water in her knees and can’t walk. We walked in. I have never seen someone so helpless and the first thing she said when she saw me was. Oh Hermana and began to cry ....I can’t walk. I can’t walk. It broke my heart to see her like that. A recent convert just lost his only uncle who was more like a brother than an uncle and it has been a really hard time for him and his grandma. The uncle died from an accident and it was very unexpected. ...... I have seen the powers of hell rage around us and I have also seen the arm of God work through the power of the priesthood by the two elders that came into our area. It was as if Satan knew they were coming and how hard it was going to be for him to work in our area when there is priesthood here.....But I have seen the hand of God help and uplift and give comfort to those that need it and I know for certain that he is in this work and that if we trust him that all will work out in the end.
I am not going to lie I got discouraged and disheartened this week for half the day. But I then realized that is what Satan wanted and I changed my attitude right then and there and we went to a appointment and it was incredible the thing we planed was literally an answer to the prayers of the people we were teaching. I know God lives and loves his children and it is sometimes through the fiery furnace of afflictions when we come to know our Savior and his love for us. It is in those moments when we learn to truly rely on him with all our hearts. I am grateful for those moments in my life for it is when I have felt my Saviors’ love. I know he lives and loves us so much. This I testify with all my heart.
Hermana Hale

 And this is a thank you letter that I wrote to him for his birthday but it has my testimony so I thought to send it too.

Happy Birthday! I want to personally thank you for all the work and effort and prayers on our behalf. I have a hard time with just 15 or so investigators and I could not imagine how it is for 250 missionaries.  You once said that your greatest hope and purpose here is to help us become the best people we can and to become more deeply converted to the Lord.  I was thinking of something I could say to you to thank you adequately for what you have done for me personally.  

                I have been thinking a lot about my personal conversion and want to thank you for helping me find and strengthen my testimony of this gospel. Because of what I have learned here I know that my Lord and Savior lives. He is in our lives, he loves us- I know that this gospel is true that we have a prophet of the lord here on earth. The priesthood is his power on the earth to bless his children and offer the saving ordinances of salvation. I know that my family and my future family with be one that lasts forever. I know the atonement is real and has great power to help us in every aspect of our lives. I am not just learning the principles of the gospel I am living them here on the mission and the things I have learned will last me my whole life.

                 The only way I know how to thank you is to show you that you are accomplishing your goal and objective and I am and will be ever grateful for what you have done here to help me and also my investigators. I hope you have a great birthday!!!

   Wow I feel bad that I can’t write to much this week especially when so much has happened. We now have 2 Elders in our ward and they are great and are going to help the work so much I feel like a huge weight has been taken off. The work has been cut in half and I feel like we can concentrate more on the investigators and mense activos that we have. Cause there is a lot. We have about 107 people coming to church right now and our goal as missionaries in the ward is to raise it to 170!! Pray for us to accomplish our goal. We need the Lord’s help a lot. I know we can do it and we will with his help.

Family I know that this gospel is true stay close to it no matter what you do!!!! Nothing will bring more peace and joy. BOYS GET READY NOW!!!! The world is in need of willing and ready hands to share the gospel. Be ready when the call comes because when that time comes the time for preparation is passed and the time to perform is here. Be better than me and start from the get go and help as many people as you can!!!!!

 I love you. I have to go if I want time to read your letters I hope everyone is fine and I want to hear about everyone. T how was Hawaii?  And Nate how is basketball? And Caleb and Isaac and Simeon  how is school? And Jake how are you feeling about work and well the mission!!!! Tell me all every one, please. I live to hear word from you guys.

I love you

Hermana Stephanie Hale