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Monday, June 9, 2014

Meet me in St. Louis.....Just kidding don't do it.

Hello my beloved family and Friends!
How is Utah, Washington, California, Idaho, (maybe even Tonga) or wherever you all are? How is it? I hope it is treating you well. I love you all so much, and want you to know I continually am blessed by your countless prayers and thoughts of not only me but all missionaries all over the world. We are grateful for your trust in us, and your faith that we can bring to pass miracles. I will always be grateful to those who give there full-hearted support of me and the missionary efforts of the church.
This week was so fun! For some reason I look to change as such a scary dreadful thing. When in fact it never is quite as scary as I think it will be. Well with that said transfers went great! Sister Martinez, Sims, and I all got matching skirts from Target and wore them to transfers, because I don't know if I ever told you but President used to call Sister Martinez and I the Twins, but then when Sister Sims came into the mix he started calling us the Triplets haha so he calls us up in front of all the missionaries for our last hooray at transfer meeting! Oh man what a good time. I will always remember those ladies. But the time came that we had to go our separate ways. But my new companion is Sister Errington! She is from Randolph, UT and she has been out 14 months so she is coming up to the final countdown here! She is the sweetest and is already putting up with my crazy ways. She told me today, "oh man I can't wait to see where you are going to be when you hit 14 months"......WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? haha she says I will change, but she said she meant that in the nicest way......She loves me.
Well a lot happened this week. We had to go up Tuesday night to drop Sister Sims off at the mission home because President Morgan wanted her to have that "new missionary" night where they all stay at the mission home the day before transfers. But we got to stay for dinner. I got to meet the new Sisters who were coming in. We got some good stuff coming up in the mission with those ladies! They are awesome. I seriously love President and Sister Morgan, there is just something about them that makes you feel like everything is going to be okay. And reassures you of your purpose here in the mission. And that is exactly why they are called here. They are perfect for what the mission needs! They are so fun to be around, but know how to work hard....and Sister Morgan cries a lot, so I like that about her. I have been getting better at crying though...I don't cry AS often. But don't worry I still cry....I hope it doesn't weird our investigators out. I just know its all so true so when I begin to testify its not enough just to come out my mouth it has to come out my eyes.
Well Sarah, our investigator with a baptismal date, said that she will still be baptized, but we are trying to get her to understand the importance of being baptized by that authority from God, and that receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost is essential. And we really need her to understand the message of the restoration.....and the Plan of Salvation.....haha she is great. Really she loves us and we love her so much! A member bought her the same CTR ring that Sister Martinez, Sims, and I had. The cursive typical Sister missionary one that is so hip and fresh right now you know. And so me and Sarah have matching CTR rings! She loves the message that it stands for. Choose The Right, It really is something unique and special that our church happily says. Because this gospel, if followed, makes it so easy to choose the right! When we understand who we are, our purpose here on earth, and what we can become, getting through the rough times isn't quite as hard!
Well something I have had the opportunity to study these past couple of weeks more is the Christlike attribute of Hope. It is really interesting, because I guess I never caught the full idea of what hope meant when it comes to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In True to the Faith is says:

The word hope is sometimes misunderstood. In our everyday language, the word often has a hint of uncertainty. For example, we may say that we hope for a change in the weather or a visit from a friend. In the language of the gospel, however, the word hope is sure, unwavering, and active.
I never thought to separate the word hope pertaining to the world and hope pertaining to the gospel. It never occurred to me that they could be different. But I have come to realize that we have hope which adds to our faith that we will one day be with God again, that our families will be together forever. Our hopes don't just change from day to day, they remain constant throughout each day. Our hopes in this gospel provide us with a sure way to endure our trials with faith. Our hope gives us something that brings us happiness. "The principle of hope extends into the eternities, but it also can sustain us through the everyday challenges of life." It is really kind of exciting when you think about it! Other people don't have this sure hope. They understand the idea of hope, but don't fully comprehend what knowing about this gospel and the hope we gain from it can do for them. I know I never understood what hope really can mean to us when we apply it to everything else we know about this gospel!

"Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. The scriptures often speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ."
We gain hope just like most other Christlike attributes by constant study of the scriptures, powerful meaningful prayers to our Heavenly Father, and as you strive to live the gospel, you grow in your ability to “abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13). Hope comes through true repentance as you seek to gain God's forgiveness. I love that this gospel gives us TRUE hope! As we gain this hope we can, like Captain Moroni in chapter 43 of the book of Alma, expect the blessings of the Lord, because we have given our BEST effort.
I love you all. I love this gospel more than anything. I know that it gives us the opportunity to become a better person than we were the day before! It is a gospel of change, progression, and molding. I learn something new everyday, I am constantly growing, learning, and becoming a better person because of this gospel.
I hope you all have a good week. And I want you to all do something for me, get a copy of Preach my Gospel and study in Chapter 6 a Christlike attribute you would like to more fully develop and work on it for a whole month! I promise that if you do, your relationship with the Savior will grow to become something you didn't know was even possible. You will become more substantive. It will be easier to ‘find’ yourselves because there is so much more of you to find! God will mold you into the person he wants you to be more and more each day as you strive to become more like our savior Jesus Christ.

Please do it! I love you all.

Thank you for everything you do for everyone. Keep serving God's children in all you do! Never forget who you are, and who you are destined to become. And with that knowledge get out there and let others know about the gospel!
-Sister Izzy Haderlie

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