February 10, 2014 Brr... (: An 18 degree week!‏

HOOOOWWWDDDYYYY!!! :)

Ya know, I don't actually know if I have had anyone say howdy to me here in Texas :) How are y'all doin'? This last week was such a good one! So last Monday was really busy! We headed out at 5:00 (we usually end preparation-day at 6:00) for our appointments. We had 5 pretty solid appts. in the next few hours and they were all a pretty good distance away from each other. We also had LTMP (which are lessons taught with members/friends as Pres. Durrant likes to say present) which meant we had to go and pick them up as well. We weren't sure how we were going to do it and we were literally running everywhere (in and out of the apts and such)... it was hilarious and all we could do was laugh and be grateful that we had the problem of being too busy!! We had an awesome lesson with Xiomara's daughters! Honestly, we are in love with them. They understand it so well. Stephanie is 9 and has a baptismal date for the 8th of March and Lizzy is only 6 so she will have to wait a bit :) We are so excited about them though. We taught her the 1st lesson and she understood it way better than a lot of adults usually do. It's amazing how much kids really can learn and understand :) We have also found a new lady named Irma. She seems like she really has a desire to know. It's really new for her but she has a really open heart and we are excited to see where it goes. It's sad because her family doesn't really want to learn anything about it... it makes it so much easier for the people when their family is willing to support them and learn with them. Anyhow, we'll see what happens :) We have also been teaching Ramon. He is Xiomara's boyfriend. He is really awesome and has been coming to church and we have been teaching him the lessons. The only problem is he is really stubborn with the old doctrine he has learned. I just pray that he will be willing to have an open heart and ask God. God is the only one who can answer him. If we want truth, we can't seek it from man... we must ask God. Wednesday was so AWESOME! We had a lesson with Norman at Alma's house. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. He had a lot of really good questions. He had read and is progressing right along. We found out that Alma and Norman had never had S'mores before so after the lesson we made S'mores for them really fast on Alma's fire. They were so delicious :) It made me die laughing because Norman said, "I've never tried s'mores. But I know what they are!" He then proceeds to pull out his phone and find a clip of the Sand Lot where they are making s'mores. Too funny :) They both loved them! On Thursday we had a zone meeting. I love our meetings. I always learn so much and walk away feeling like ..."Bring it on!!! With help from above we can take on the world :)" Not in any cocky way of course... hahah. Like Ammon that says he will not boast of himself but he will boast of his God :) I know that we are on God's team. I know that His team is the winning team. We just have to make the decision of what team we are on. I know which team I want to be on :) What about you?? Thursday  morning when we went out to our car to leave for the meeting there was... SNOW!!! Yes, SNOW on the ground and on the cars and it was still snowing!! I hear it's a grand privilege to see it snow here in TEXAS. When we got in the car we were both laughing and making sounds like "WWwwwhoooooooo!! It's freezing!" We looked on the dash and there it was... 18 degrees. I couldn't believe it! During the summer if I remember right we got to 112 or maybe even higher. It may have been 116. Basically... 100 degrees difference. Turns out TEXAS has bipolar weather just like Utah does :) Just more extreme. The cold here is different as well. It's colder. Hahah. Because of the humidity it goes straight through you. No worries though. I have plenty of coats, gloves, and cute fuzzy socks to keep me warm :) I think here within a month or so it should get a lot warmer. On Friday my compa and I made posters real fast. I will send pictures next week! We are making posters to put all around that say CLASES DE INGLES GRATIS! (Free english classes) It's a way for us to find new investigators and get them to the church for the class :) They look pretty good if I do say so myself. It's funny how creative you have to get sometimes as a missionary to find new people. I have learned how to be a better member missionary for when I get home now that I have been a full -time missionary. I want to help them out all the time! :) On Saturday we got the chance to see a baptism. She was a cute old lady the elders had found. They asked us to sing for them :) We all know I love singing. My compa and I sang it a Capella. It sounded really good. When we got in front of everyone I got super nervous and came in way off key! I fixed it pretty fast but oh man it was embarrassing :) We sang Nearer My God to Thee in spanish. It was good to see a baptism and feel the Spirit strong :) We are hoping to get some of our people to the water soon! There are so many blessings waiting for them. Sunday was great!!! We had 4 investigators in church. Ramon, Norman, Douglas, y Arelis. We were so excited! Norman came rushing in the second hour with his work clothes still on but the important part was that he made it! It showed me how humble his heart was. Even though it was a big struggle for him to make it from work and even though he was in his work sweats he wanted to come and with God's help he made it here. God can work miracles through us when we give Him a humble willing heart to work with. We got a referral from a member and visited them yesterday. We were so excited for the referral!!! We stopped by and it turns out she had gone to church for 4 years but never been baptized. We hope to change that and that it is her time now :) They seem like a really awesome family. Funny story of the week... Hermana Moore wanted me to check her head for lice. So I was checking her head and gasped super loud!!! There was nothing but I thought it would be funny :) She screamed and was wailing around for a few seconds :) Ah man, she puts up with so much!! Haha. This week is Valentine's day as a missionary. As a missionary valentine's is the best... not one missionary will be alone on Valentine's day :) hahah! I also complete HALF WAY!!!!!! I have NOT AN IDEA where the time has gone. Last night I had a dream I was home again and it scared me so bad. I realized how much I love my mission :) On the 12th marks 9 months 'til I'll be home and on the 14th is the half way and the 15th is my official 9 months in the mission. It's crazy loco I know :)  I want to leave you with my testimony of the Book Of Mormon. I am going to finish it all the way through in Spanish for the first time this week. In Mormon 6 he talks about the thousands and thousands of people that gave their lives defending The Book of Mormon and their beliefs. In the following chapter... Mormon invites them to believe in Christ. I invite all to believe in Christ. Cherish the Book of Mormon. Countless people have given their lives so that you can have it today. Love it. Use it. Live its' teachings. I love you all!!!!! Jesucristo vive. Vamos a vivir juntos siempre un dia. Hasta luego :)

Les quiero bastante y estoy tan agradacida que soy misionera y que tengo ustedes en mi vida. ANIMO!!! 

Also thank you to everyone of you. I feel your prayers. I feel your support. I couldn't do it without you. Thanks for all you do for me.

People you can pray for : Norman -that he will be able to come on Sundays. 

Adrianna: she will come to church. 

Ramon:that he will pray about the Book of Mormon.

Maira:she will get an answer to her prayers that this Gospel is true. 

Xiomara y her girls: that they will stay strong in the church and keep progressing!

-Hermana Hadlock (or Hot Dog as la familia Chequer say :) ) 

February 3, 2014 I'm getting more than I am giving (:‏

Buenos tardes familia y amigos!!!

 

How are you doing?? I hope you are doing so good :) So here within the next 2 weeks I am going to hit my half way mark. It is scaring me to death!! I honestly don't know where time is going. Also, the time seems to go faster and faster. I will already have served in this area as long as I served in Carrollton, my first area. So crazy right?? The last 2 mondays we have woken up a bit early so that we can play sports with a few people in our zone. It was a blast. I caught myself thinking for a few minutes... I wonder if I would have grown up playing sports (instead of starting in high school) where would I be?? Would I be exactly where I am? Would I be playing for some college? Then I started thinking to myself... it doesn't really matter. If God had wanted me to take that path, that's where I'd be. But I know I am exactly where I am supposed to be and I couldn't be happier :) I don't know if I already shared this or not... we had a meeting with President Durrant. He walked in and started clapping. We weren't sure what was going on so we started clapping with him. We started cheering for President Durrant :) A few seconds later he said, "I love applause. " I used to play in front of thousands of people. (When he played for the Phoenix Suns). He said, "I would make a shot and everyone would cheer for me. " Then he said, "Then I would dribble back down the court and bounce it off my foot and the ball would roll out of bounds. Everyone would BOOO!!" Then he explained that one second they love you... the next they don't. He said it is a glory that doesn't last. Then he brought it to missionary work. He said this is real life. "We are changing eternity here." We're knocking on peoples' doors with the way to salvation and eternal life. That has impacted me SO much :) Tuesday we went knocking a lot. We are in need of new investigators. We found a girl named Adrianna. She is a single mom with 2 boys. She is a total sweetheart :) She loved what we taught and we have visited her a couple more times this week. She didn't make it to church this last week but we are hoping for the next week. That day... I hit behind the bathroom door and waited for my compa to come out. When she did I yelled and jumped at her!! She got so scared she screamed and fell to the floor!!!! :) It was THE funniest thing!!! Both of us were DYING laughing :) Ah man, the things my compas put up with :) Later that night we had an incredible opportunity to go to the bishop's house and have a noche de hogar (family home evening) with his family and Xiomara and her family. It was SO good! Xiomara was baptized when she was about 9 years old in Mexico. She has been in active for a long time but you can see how much she feels at home in the Gospel and I think is really happy that she is coming back :) We played a game called "Cat & Mouse" with 2 ties. I am so teaching it to y'all when I get home :) It was a blast! Any how, my compa was trying to get me out...so she chased after me to get the tie on me... when she did she tripped over my bag and went flying into the wall!!! She hit head first :) No worries... she was totally fine. But it was the second time that day she had biffed it. We were all laughing so stinkin' hard! I love my compa :) That same morning we had a lesson with Rosalva, a referral from a member. She was not having anything of the Book of Mormon. It was somewhat of a rough lesson but all we could do was bear our testimonies of what we know to be true. Here in Texas we run into a lot of people that know the Bible really well and refuse to accept anything else. Anyhow... we work with what we have and there are a lot of people out there who are willing to we just gotta find 'em :) Wednesday was a good day. We had a lesson with Maira and with one of our young women. Turns out they know each other from school and they are friends so that was awesome!! We also met this family who are in such humble circumstances. When I entered their home I couldn't believe how humble it was. It humbled me a ton to be there. I have been in some rough places but these people were especially humble. They have been going through a hard time and it was incredible because I could feel God's love for them so strong. I just want to shout at people and say do you understand how much the Gospel can change your life?? But no matter how bad we want them to understand they have to desire for themselves. They are a really nice family and I hope they will choose to accept our message. Thursday was so crazy! We got a text early from Xiomara saying that her daughter had lice. She was in desperate need and asked if we could come over and help her. She had gotten it from someone at school. So we went over and Hermana Moore cleaned their whole apt. while I cleaned her head. I actually ended up cutting her hair too :) First time I have ever cut anyone's hair. I did quite a good job if I say so myself ;) It was a crazy experience but all ended well. None of us got it and Lizzy got rid of it. Poor thing :( She loves her new short hair though!! So that's always good :) That night we had an amazing lesson. Have I talked about Norman at all?? He is SO ready for the Gospel. He just has the hardest time because he works on Sunday. We had a lesson with him and with La Familia Casanova (who also know Hermana Schulte might I add) who is the second counselor in the bishopric. The Spirit was so strong. He talked about the light he could see in us and the difference we had in comparison with other people. He said it all started when he noticed the example of his neighbors and how they lived. ( La familia Casanova are his old neighbors.) He is SO SO SO ready! He has explained how he has already seen the blessings in his life from this message. We just need to get him work off on Sundays!!! Friday we had a lesson with Maria Sanchez. She hasn't come to church the last two weeks because of some temporary job but she says that she will be here again next week. God is trying so hard to talk with her. She tells us all these stories but she just doesn't realize they are answers from God. We are working on that :) Her progress has slowed down a bit but we are still trying to get her baptized on the 22 of this month. Saturday we had a lesson with familia Pedroza. The mom has been a member for about a year but isn't active and the daughter is 17 and going to have her baby here within the next couple weeks. She is a sweetheart. We are praying so hard that having her baby will help her turn closer to Christ and lean on Him more than ever. Can I just say... we visit so many people every day and every day I am more grateful that I have the Gospel in my life?? I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not only to have it and know it... but to follow it. It's priceless. Sunday we had a quick lesson with la familia chequer. They haven't been progressing much lately. For some reason they haven't been reading or coming to church. We are trying SO hard with them and giving them all we have got. Keep them in your prayers that they can find the desire within themselves. I would hate to lose them :( The work here is going great!! Even though I haven't had as many baptisms as I thought I would have on my mission, I am not flawless in Spanish, and I don't know the scriptures perfectly.... I am doing my very best. I am growing and changing every day. Back to the subject of my e-mail... I am getting more than I am giving. When I came on my mission I thought it would be a huge sacrifice and that I would be giving and serving so much. I have realized how much God is building me. He is giving and has given me way more than I could ever give. I am exhausted nearly every day and I wouldn't have it any other way really :) I love being a missionary in the Texas Dallas Mission. I love each and every one of you!!! Keep it up :) Give it your all. We are changing eternity here :) Eternal life is on the line. ANIMO!!! :D

 

Love you all!! Have the best week ever :) - Hermana Hadlock

 

 

OH!!!!! Before I forget... :) I have the most amazing story!!! Remember on mybirthday the crazy story about the 3 hombres?? (The three guys) The ones that brought us cake and all that jazz? If I didn't tell that story let me know... Well anyhow we took down his info and sent it to the hermanas in his area. Two saturdays ago I believe he was baptized :D CAN YOU BELEIVE IT!!!! Who ever would have known that when I decided to I wanted tacos for my birthday it would turn into a baptism :) God is incredible. LOVE Y'ALL!!!! :D

January 27, 2014 God puts us exactly where we need to be when we need to be there!!‏

Hey there y'all :)

 

What a week! I had one of the most incredible experiences this last week. I can't wait to tell you about it!! So on Tuesday we met this guy named Adan. He is from Honduras. We talked with him for a bit outside and shared a scripture. He said he has a hard time going to churches because one time he got kicked out of one of them or something like that. We told him how he would always be welcome in our church and we asked him when we could come back and share more with him. He said on Saturday. Even though we didn't think much of it at the time...Remember that part... it plays in later :) We have also been working with Xiomara a ton this week. She is a member that is very less active. She was baptized in Mexico and went to church for something like 5 years and hasn't been back since. She has 2 little girls and her boy friend Ramon. Maybe I already told you about her?? Anyhow... we started teaching the little girls 1 on 1 so that they could understand it better.  think it is going to help a lot!! We are also teaching her boyfriend Ramon. He has been going to another Christian church for like 15 years so he has a hard time with some of our doctrine but we are praying that the Spirit will touch his heart somehow. They came to church this last week!! I promised the little girls ice cream if they would stay in primary with me so I have to go and get that for them today :) They ended up loving it! One of them Stephanie is 9 and the other, Lizzy, is 7. So hopefully we can get the older one ready for baptism soon :) I don't remember if I said anything... but last week we got a text from Irene y Omar Rodriguez saying that they didn't want us to come back. I was super upset for a bit and wondering what we could have possibly done wrong or maybe what we didn't do that we could have done better?? Then I just had to realize that things happen in God's time... not in Hermana Hadlock's time. They will be ready one day and I have to be happy knowing that I gave it all I could :) So I have been praying so hard that we would be able to find the people who are ready and willing to accept the Gospel. Thursday night was an especially rough day when my compa and I were talking about all of it. We said a special prayer that we could have help and be guided by Heavenly Father. We started our lesson with Norman that night in the church... no joke 5 minutes later Hermano Casanova from our bishopric (Norman's old neighbor who introduced him to the church) walks in and pulls up a chair. We had such a powerful lesson!!!! The Spirit was so strong. Norman said he can tell there is something different about it. He doesn't know what it is and he can't explain it in words. He said he wants it in his own life. He said he has also seen the changes in his life since we have been working with him. AHHHH!!! We explained to him that it was the Spirit and that he COULD have it!! Hermana Moore and I just looked at each other and we both said if God doesn't answer prayers than I don't know what just happened!! :D It truly was a miracle how it all worked out. Friday something else amazing happened... we taught Maria and we had finally got her daughter to listen as well. her daughter is 18. So on Friday we knew we should bring one of the young women to help us teach so that she would know someone in church and could invite her to activities. We brought a really cute girl from our ward. Turns out that they knew each other from school!! Also we found out during the lesson she was only baptized 4 years ago herself. So it worked out perfectly!! Maria and her daughter didn't come to church this last Sunday... we're not quite sure what happened :( But keep them in your prayers that they can make it this Sunday!! They are so ready for the Gospel. So here it comes.. The biggest miracle happened this last week. We walked up to this house and we were supposed to have a lesson with the tio(Adan, the one we were going back to on Saturday). he wasn't home but before I knew what I was saying I asked the teenage girl who answered the door if we could come in and share a message with her. We had only been talking a few minutes when she talked about how about 6 months ago her sister passed away. She was struggling in school and fighting with her teachers. It was like I was looking myself in the face when I was 14 years old. Within just a few minutes both her and I had tears streaming down our face. I know God sent me there to help her. She is going through almost exactly what I went through and I know how the Gospel blessed my life, changed my heart, and made me who I am today through those trials of losing Michael. We talked for a good hour and a half with Maira. She was asking me a lot of questions and I was doing my very best to answer by the Spirit. She couldn't make it this last week but she said that she was going to come to church this next week... the crazy thing is she knows the girl in our ward, Daniela, that we brought with us to visit Maria as well!! I want this for her so bad :) I remember how lost I was and what the Gospel has done for me. I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that I was meant to meet her and that I am EXACTLY where I need to be. I know God knew I could help her right now when she needs it most. Keep her in your prayers please :) We also had a lesson with familia Chavez that day. We went back over the 1st lesson and they understand it so well!!! They have such a light in their eyes. This last Sunday we had another 4 investigators in church! Douglas y Arelis Chequer came and same with Xiomara, her girls, and Ramon. I love this Gospel :) I testify that God lives. I testify His son Jesus Christ lives. I know our prayers are answered when we ask with faith and not for our will but of His to be done. I LOVE BEING A TEXAS DALLAS MISSIONARY!!!! :D

 

Love you all :) Hermana Hadlock

 

People you can pray for :)

Maira Lopez- that she will come to church and feel the importance of this message in her life.

 

Familia Chavez- come to church and read the Book of Mormon. Feel the Spirit and receive an answer.

 

Norman- that he will find a way to come to church on Sunday.

 

p.s. these pictures are with Lizzy and a little girl from the Hernandez familia :) SO STINKIN CUTE!!! :D

Melts your heart right?? :)

January 20, 2014 Another transfer here in Grand Prairie :)‏

Bueno, bueno, bueno!!!

 

... That's how I answer the phone just about every time ;) Sorry this week I forgot my converter to send pictures so I will get pictures to you next week! So to start off I forgot a couple things last week. First off all... LA FAMILIA CHEQUER gave up coffee! It was so fun! We taught the lesson and then I asked them somewhat jokingly if I could take their coffee. They all started laughing and then they pointed to the cupboard. I was like WHA HOO! So I got up and started raiding their cupboards. I found 2 jars of coffee and 1 thing of tea. So we took them out and threw them away!! I was so proud of them. It feels so good to help someone keep the commandments because you know they are going to get so many blessings! Also a few hilarious stories... so first of all last Monday we were at the Lavandaria. Lots of things always happen to me there :) We were walking outside to put all our stuff in the car and I dropped my journal. All the papers fell out including my blessing and a whole lot of other important papers. They started flying everywhere with the wind! My compa like a champ starts running after them! One goes around the corner of the building so we both took off. When we got around the corner we realized that it was in the street!! We waited til there weren't any cars and then she ran and grabbed it in the street. We here a lady yell cuidado! Which means careful! She grabbed the paper and all ended well. We were both in such shock that we just let this cute little Hispanic lady walk off. When we got in the car we couldn't believe what we had done! So then we decided to go and find her. We started driving down the street the direction we thought she went and we eventually found her. We got all her information :) It's going to be the best conversion story ever ;) Haha! Also... last Sunday I had to go to the bathroom really bad! Let's just say it wasn't #1 :D Ha! So I told her we had to go back to the apt. really fast. I ran in and went to the bathroom. I finished and we were on our way back out. When we were just closing the door I realized that the phone was on... it said Hermana Buchannan 2:30... OH MAN!!! I had called the member in our pocket and it had been recording the ENTIRE TIME I was in the bathroom!! I was devastated needless to say. I thought about sending her a text telling her not to listen to the voicemail but I figured that would just make her curious and want to listen to it more. Ah man... so embarrassing right? My compa and I got a pretty good laugh out of it :) This last Monday we had an incredible lesson. There is a family here... La Familia Hernandez. They were less active but now they are pretty active. I think Hermana Schulte from Taylorsville even worked with them?? They said she may have been here during their sealing in the temple. Anyhow, their son was just baptized when Hermana McDonald was here so we were teaching them some of the recent convert lessons and the daughter told us she had a boyfriend that might be interested in the Gospel :) Last Monday we finally were able to have the first lesson with him. He looked like he wasn't paying attention for part of it and wasn't really talking so I was a bit sad. Then after he asked if he could walk with us outside and ask us a few questions. He told us about the entire time he wasn't talking too much because he was trying to focus so hard and learn as much as possible. He has somewhat grown up as a Jehovah's Witness but has never been baptized. He wants the truth SO BAD!! He said ever since he has met Abish and has been listening to what she has said about our church his life has gotten SO much better. He said the best times in his life have been when he is letting go of the reigns and let God take over and simply had complete faith in Him. He is SO ready and we are so very excited to teach him! I believe we have another lesson with him tonight and I couldn't be more happy! So this last Thursday and Friday we went on intercambios. Hermana Ostler came here to my area and we worked together. ALL of our appointments cancelled that day and NO ONE was home. Hahah... the back up of the back up of the back up plans had fallen through... I was started to get discouraged and just started to pray :) Then we decided to go and knock one more door before we headed back to Dallas to change back. They let us in and they were awesome :) Their names and Aydee, David, and Elizabeth Chavez. They accepted a baptismal date and seemed to really like the first lesson! We are so excited to have found this family and start teaching them :) It truly was a miracle and an answer to my prayers. Also this last week we had a lesson with Maria Sanchez. She's always offering us a cup of coffee so we decided it was time to teach her about the Word of Wisdom. We taught her and we had an incredible member there with us. When we finished she told us how she knew it wasn't good for her and she would stop right then. SAY WHAT?!? :) We were so happy for her. She is also so ready for the Gospel. P.s it helps SO MUCH to have members in the lessons. I know... life is crazy and none of us think we have time but seriously... call the missionaries and ask when you could go to a lesson with them. It helps us so much. More than I could ever explain :) Lessons with members= more baptisms. So Saturday night we got the transfer call! Drum ROLL....

 

I GOT AT LEAST ONE MORE HERE IN GRAND PRAIRIE WITH HERMANA MOORE!! Whahoo!!!

 

I am pretty stinkin' excited!! She is awesome and I love this area. Lesson I have learned of the week.... (one of the countless.. I am constantly learning here on the mission. I am very humbled.) Let go of the reigns just like Robert said and have faith in God :) Maria told us about a really interesting dream she had. She has been praying to receive an answer... it turns out that she had a dream where she saw a bright white path. It was really long and really BRIGHT white. Along the path there were little white rocks. She said to walk on them hurt her feet a little but the path was so pretty. This symbolizes the Gospel. The path is not easy. But it is worth it. There may be little rocks along the way... but if we are obedient I can promise you a life with the Gospel is easier than a life without hands down. He never said it would be easy... only that it would be worth it :) Let go of the reigns. Give your will up to God :) Trust in Him. He will make a masterpiece for you :)

 

EVERYTHING is GREAT here in Texas! Go buy a street taco :) They are delicious and they are my favorite!!

 

P.s. 1 year ago yesterday I opened my mission call... HOW NUTS IS THAT?!? Also, this transfer I am hitting the big 9 month MARK!!! I'll be more than half way done. From Feb. 12 it's 9 months 'til I come home and on Feb. 15 I've had 9 months!! I don't know where the time is going. I am trying to enjoy every minute :)

 

I testify Jesus Christ lives. He loves YOU!! So do I :)

 

LOVE YOU!!! - Hermana Hadlock tu favorita ;)

January 13, 2014 A week of Sunshine!‏

Well hey there :)

 

It has been warming up in Texas! I still use my coat just about every day. But yesterday I think we hit the 70's!!! Mmm, mmm, mmm. Sure feels good :) How's it there in Utah? ;) Hahaha, only kidding! You can laugh at me again when it hits July and I'm sweating so much I look like a popsicle under the sun! Monday was pretty good. So Monday night we had a lesson with the Quezada familia. She is the one we met at the lavandaria and she made me papusas on my birthday! :) Anyhow, her husband is VERY very into his church. I believe they are some type of Christian church. The last time we went over it started to cross the line of talking and teaching to Bible Bashing. We never like to get into that just because the Spirit leaves. If people have real questions we love to answer them but just trying to fight using the Bible is never good. I remember being SO NERVOUS when I got my call to Texas because it's the Bible Belt. Honestly though, if you are following the Spirit and truly studying and doing what you need to be as a missionary... everything works out. Anyhow, her husband didn't really want to listen to us when we tried to share the first lesson. Instead, he wanted to teach us. I love and respect them so much but as missionaries we are not here to be taught and convinced... we are here to teach. So as nicely and politely as possible we told him that we respected his beliefs but that we didn't believe in the same things. In the end... he told us not to give up. He said he was going to start a church and wanted us to be a part of it. He needed our help. Well, as you know that is not exactly our purpose as missionaries :) It breaks my heart sometimes. I love the people so much that we teach. In the Book of Mormon it talks of those who will say something like Bible, Bible, we have enough Bible. We don't need anymore Bible. What people don't realize is that God is ALWAYS going to reveal His Gospel to try and help His children. People get too caught up in the facts and don't listen to the Spirit. Sometimes it is really hard to see. But I just pray that one day the Spirit will change their hearts. I bear my testimony as strongly as possible and let Him do the rest. Tuesday we had SUCH an incredible lesson with Maria Sanchez. The last little while her progress has been slowing down. I really believe it is because she doesn't have the support from her family. We are trying so hard with them and hopefully one day they will come around. We invited one of the Hermanas from our ward to come with us and man the lesson went GREAT! She asked, "So what exactly happens when someone gets baptized?" Aka... what will happen when I GET BAPTIZED?! :) At least that's what I heard :) She is SO ready. She just needs to take a leap of faith. My compa uses a quote all the time that I love... it goes something like this, "God can't guide our foot steps if we aren't moving our feet." Now ain't that the truth. Thursday was incredible. My compa hit her 1
YEAR MARK!!! To celebrate we went to the temple. We get to go 1 every 6 months. When we got to go as a zone it didn't count against 1 of the 3 times because it was to celebrate reaching a baptismal goal. It was time for both of us to use one of our turns so we headed out :) It was so incredible. I had a really special experience. One of the temple workers stopped me and was talking to me for a second. She said, "You are going to do incredible things." It hit me so strong the love that Heavenly Father has for each one of us. That had been an answer to my prayers that day and the fact that He sent someone to let me know of His love just showed me once again that He truly is in the detail of our lives. Friday we had a lesson with this guy we had met outside. His brother ended up coming out too. They sat on the stairs while we taught them. They were both completely covered in tattoos and a little rough on the edges. But that didn't matter a bit :) They were such nice people. It turns out one of them is on probation or something like that? But he is looking for something better in life. They were really open and willing to listen to us. It just shows... you never know who are the elect and who God is preparing. Saturday was so awesome. We had just taught the Chequer familia and we decided to go to 1 more place because we had about 10 min. 'til 9. We stopped by Xiomara. She has had a super rough life and was baptized when she was pretty young. I believe she has been in-active for pretty much her whole life. Anyhow, she had been avoiding us for quite a while now but she opened the door up and said come in! We got in there and she said she was actually planning on texting us! She had work a little bit later the next day and so she wanted to come to church!! We had just changed schedules with the new year so she ended up coming in English (she speaks both and so do her girls) but her boyfriend doesn't. He was a trooper and came to church anyways! :) La familia Chequer ended up coming as well so we had 5 investigators in church!!! I think that is the most I have ever had :) Xiomara had to go to work. So we ended up going to primary with Lizzy. It was a BLAST! I love primary! I still can't believe that yesterday marks five years that Michael has been gone. My companion and I were talking a bit about it. Before we know it... we will all see him again :) I can only imagine what he is up to! I think God knew it was a hard day so he blessed us with so many miracles. Before church started we went to a referral that we had gotten from a member. (P.S. those are the best kind. GIVE ONE!!! Your missionaries will LOVE YOU!!!) It is a family that has an autistic little girl. She is about 13. I guess the mom is really trying to find peace in it all still. We connected with them super fast and they invited us back :) I am excited to see where it heads! That night we also had another miracle. We went back to a guy's house we met a few days ago. He was washing his car and said he'd probably be home around that time. Well, he wasn't. BUT his mama was! It was hilarious because she was trying to hold back their pit bull and talk to us at the door so she kept opening and shutting it and yelling "I'm sorry!" Too funny :) Anyhow, we ended up getting in and had an incredible lesson. Turns out her husband ended up leaving her after about 25 years. She had a REALLY HARD time with it all and a bunch of other things happened. She and I were both crying. The Spirit was so strong. I am SO excited to go back and continue to share the message of peace we have with her. I love this Gospel. It is the TRUTH! Just a few thoughts and quotes that I have been thinking about for the week. "Come what may and LOVE IT." Trials will always come. We live in an un-perfect world. How are you going to react? :) Then... I had an experience come to my mind this week. Once I was talking to Debbie my YW leader. We were talking about how busy and crazy life is. She said something I will never forget. "A loaded train doesn't fall off the tracks." Think about it :) It has helped me so much.

 

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!! The mission is incredible :) I learn so much every day. Jesus Christ lives. He loves YOU! He knows you by name. Feed His sheep.

 

Love you and miss you, Hermana Hadlock

 

p.s. Ann gave me an idea to start letting people know who they could pray for in specific :)

 

Irene y Omar Rodriguez- that they will understand there is only 1 true church and let the Spirit change and guide their hearts. That they will come to church.

 

Maria Sanchez- she will have the courage and faith to go ahead as an example for her family.

 

Xiomara- will realize what the Gospel can do for her girls and lead by example. Choose the right.

 

Chequer- Come to church. Read the Book of Mormon. THAT THEY CAN GET AN ANSWER that these things are true and have a true confirmation!

 

LOVE Y'ALL!! :D

January 12, 2014 I love y'all :)‏

Howdy there!

 

I got special permission from my mission president today to send y'all a quick e-mail and tell you that I love you. I can't believe that it has been 6 years since Michael has passed away. But I know that he is with us. More than we know :) I know that because of all that happened I am who I am. I know that I am a better person and the missionary who God intended me to be because of the things that I learned. I just wanted you to know that I was thinking of you and hope you are okay. I love you :) I miss you. I will see you before you know it! The heavens are close. Don't ever forget that :) I know we will all live together again one day. I love you!!! Today we can especially remember Michael and how much we love him. Jesus Christ lives. He loves you. I love you :)

 

Love, Hermana Jenny Hadlock

January 6, 2014 Brr.... :)

Man oh man!!!!

It's such a good week to be a Texas Dallas missionary :) Why? It is every week. I'm convinced I am in the best mission in the whole world! So Monday night we headed over to meet the family of the family Chequer. I guess his sister lives in the same apartment complex as they do. We shared a scripture with them and a friend of the sister was there to so we ended up getting a few new investigators so it was awesome :) I said the most embarrassing thing though... so the people from Ecuador (where they are from) have the coolest accent in the world!!! So I started saying how I loved their accent and jokingly added more from the people from Mexico. Then they all start going OOOOHHH!! turns out the husband to the sister's friend was from Mexico. He wouldn't look at me for a solid 5 minutes after that. Whether it was intentional or not I am not really sure :) Ha! They all knew I was joking I think and it all ended up being funny but man oh man it was so embarrassing. I gotta be more careful of what I say. New Years Eve was just a normal day for us. I have kind of expected to see a lot of people out drinking but there really weren't a lot of people out at all. It was just a regular day. That day we went and visited our lady that sang to us! I don't remember if I talked about her but we met her outside and offered to rake her leaves. She then started telling us all about how she had become Christian and converted from being a Catholic. She ended up letting us in and she sang to us :) One of my faovritest cutest old ladies! She looks exactly like my Grandma Jean too. I'll send a picture :) Wednesday was a day of miracles. Remember Irene y Omar? We went back and they had read a chapter that we left them in the Book of Mormon about faith. Omar told us of how at one point in his life if we would have met him or seen him we would have that he was homeless. He had next to nothing. Everyone told him that he would never make it out of that life. Here he is in America. He speaks english really well and he has a house, wife, and 3 kids. He made it :) But he started to get teary-eyed and he thanked us. He said that even though he wasn't ready to change religions that since we had been coming his kids had started to say a blessing on the food. They had been praying together as a family and reading in the scriptures. They are the most HUMBLE people! He started to cry and he said he knew that everything he had he owed to God. He thanked us for reminding him of that. Then he said that he went to church that Christmas sunday. (Catholic church I believe.) He had been praying for his brother his whole life. I guess his brother doesn't really come around to any family parties and is pretty lost in life. He said that Sunday he showed up to church and that he was giving them all hugs and telling them he loved them. He said he knew it was a blessing from God and that his prayers had been answered. At this point... him, his wife, and I were all crying. I LOVE SEEING THE CHANGES that come into peoples' lives because of the Gospel. It makes me so grateful for my own family and that I was born into this Gospel. I am SO blessed to be His missionary right now. Also, la familia rodriguez (irene y omar) also fed us a huge delicious dinner with street tacos!! MY favorites :) It was truly a slice of heaven. This week another  miracle happened. We went to the familia montantes. There are two kids there named Juan and Jasmine. they aren't her kids but they are staying with her because their mom is in prison. They are her niece and nephew. That day their mom was supposed to be getting out of prison and it was going to be our last opportunity to teach them. Jasmine was baptized with Hermana McDonald before I got here. But Juan never was and doesn't really want anything to do with it. He comes to church but just sits out in the hall and things like that. Well... for the first time we got him to sit in on the lesson :) We did a lesson on faith. We compared them to the 2000 stripling warriors. Then we did the most awesome thing!!! You put a tea bag on their hand and then you light it on fire. It's like the things from tangled... it lifts off their hand before it can burn them. It's so awesome! We did it to Juan and he was super nervous but it worked! :) It wasn't til after that I told him that was my first time doing it personally. Ha! I think it will stick in his head :) Also... even though his mom got out I guess she is staying at some place where they are helping her to get a job and things like that so I am so excited to have more time to work with him! Alma has been doing so awesome. She has been going out to lessons with us and we even took her to teach her neighbor! I think I may have told y'all about that. I love watching recents converts grow in the Gospel. Maria Sanchez showed up to church this week!!! We were so excited :) The Chequers didnt come and that made us super sad. But we will see if we can get them to keep progressing. The members have started to help and that makes a huge difference. I just want to say how much I love my mission. Even though it is one of the hardest things I have ever done I realized how much God is helping me to become the person I need to be. On Sunday I had a small break down and I was talking to Hermana Moore about how I wanted to be the perfect missionary. Baptize A lot. Speak the language perfect. Have the perfect companion and have all of them love me. If I try to measure up to all of those things... I am always going to fail if that is what I see as success. I realized something very profound this last Sunday. Perfection to God is doing our best with our imperfections :) It's all a beautiful mess. This morning I was reading my journal from the first few days on the mission. I talk about how I can't understand anyone and all the craziness... I have grown and learned SO MUCH!! God is making me who I am supposed to be not only for the mission but for the rest of my life. For the mom I am supposed to be one day. Give Him what is mediocure and He will give you a masterpiece. This last week we had interviews. I am always so excited for the meetings we have because everytime when our mission president, President Durrant talks I walk away feeling like we can take on the world. He is such a good man. Anyhow... this week he said something that reminded me of you a ton. He walked in the room and asked if he could get some applause. We all started laughing and clapping. then he stood there for a sec and said, "man... I love clapping. I used to play in front of 22,000 people. I'd make a shot. Everyone would go wild. (He made cheering faces etc.) then I'd dribble down the court the other direction and hit the ball off of my shoe and it would roll out of bounds. (then he started making a face and boo-ing.) He then went on to explain how hat stuff doesn't really matter. Even though he was an NBA basketball player... he said one minute there they loved me. the next, they were boo-ing me. What we're doing here. This is real. We are changing eternity.

Truly.. what we are doing here ... we are changing eternity! See people as they can become. Not as they are :) I love you all! I hope you are doing so well :) This is all going way too fast. Enjoy the ride!

Love ya!! - Hermana Hadlock

p.s. this cow tongue :) my compa ate it. I did not. Haha... gross!! :)