Letter 9/23/13

Dear Family,
Well Hello!  As you know I am now serving on Staten Island.  The coolest experience for me so far has been looking from Staten Island and seeing Manhatten, The Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn and New Jersey!  It is a pretty awesome view I have to say.

My new companions, Sister Casperson and Sister Howard, are amazing and I am so happy to be serving with them.  Sister Casperson is here in New York waiting for her Visa so that she can go to Brazil.  Sister Howard is from the same MTC district as my former companion Sister McKee, and I have been on one exchange with her, so I know her pretty well already.  We are getting along great!

The ward here is so awesome.  So many of them know and love Elder Austin Gregory, and he really has set a high standard for missionaries in this area!  We are so blessed.
I'm sorry this letter is so short, but we are running out of time today!
Sorry!
I love you,
Sister Hamblin

Email 9/30/13

Dear Family,

Wheew what a week. We have been so busy but I'm not really sure what with :) Our days were full and yet our numbers were low. Missionary work has a lot of ups and downs. This week just happened to be filled with both. 

Wednesday we went to Brooklyn to look up members of the Midwood ward who are less active. This ward has over 700 less actives on their ward list. So, the zone leaders there called in 73 missionaries from 3 different zones and ward members from any ward to help them find those who are lost. In cars, on buses and subways but mostly on foot we ran around with ten names for each companionship trying to find those who are struggling and who needed to be found. Many were not home. Some were very angry, some cried because they thought they had been forgotten. Neighbors and friends were honestly a little weirded out that we were there but, some were interested in a church that would send missionaries and members out to find and help those whom we hadn't seen in a while. Many miracles occurred and the good news is.... we get to go back and do it again! Because not everyone was contacted we need to go back and find them. We have to find those that are lost. It goes along with what was said in the Relief Society General Broadcast on Saturday. If we are keeping our covenants we are looking out for those that are lost. 

I have gained the biggest testimony of visiting and home teaching on my mission. If I had known/understood how important it is... I would have never neglected it. This work (visiting and home teaching) is the single most important thing I think members can do to fulfill their missionary work. Just think if all of those 700 people had one visiting or home teacher who came every month to see how they were doing physically, mentally, and spiritually, someone who would honestly be their friend. I really don't think there would have been 700 names. The work of salvation can not go on if we are not ready to take care of those members who are already in our wards and branches. I am so grateful mom and dad for your amazing example to me of always doing your visiting and home teaching. I realize now just how important it is. As always you are amazing!

Well family, I guess i will leave you. Thank you for your love and prayers?

Love,

The oldest Sister Hamblin

Email 9/23/13

Dear Family,

HELLO from STATEN ISLAND!!!! I can't believe what a crazy week it has been. From beginning to end we have been running from appointment to appointment and from Staten Island to Bay Shore and New Jersey. It has just been the craziest week! Here's the brake down:

Tuesday- Rego Park in Queens (Mission office) TRANSFER MEETING!!!! I love transfer meeting. President Calderwood is an excellent speaker and really knows how to get 285 missionaries excited and ready for missionary work. I just love listening to him and Sister Calderwood speak and encourage us to be obedient so that we can receive the blessings of the Lord. 

Wednesday- Zone Meeting in Brooklyn. When I got to Staten Island I was a little overwhelmed because of how different from Bay Shore it is. Then we went to Brooklyn for our Zone getting-to-know-you activity and I was blown away! There are so many buildings and people there who don't speak English, I looked like a deer in the headlights. After our zone meeting we did a Chinese street sweep inviting people to free English class. Let's just say that I will be able to tell Sister Blake Hamblin where she can go for free English class in her mission language when she gets home :)

Thursday- LONGEST planning session ever! Each week we have a few hours set aside to plan for the rest of the week. This week's planning session lasted entirely too long. However I am better antiquated with Staten Island and my new companions (Sister Casperson and Sister Howard, yes I'm in a TRIO) really helped me to get to know our investigators and members of the ward.

Friday- Singing at the docks. Between Staten Island and Manhattan there are ferries that take people to and from work every 30-45 minutes. The missionaries in my district and the missionaries in the Spanish district have a routine to go and give away free lemonade and fearless people and on Fridays we sing hymns! It is so fun. People from all over the world stop and talk to us and thank us for our singing and it is really exciting to see so many people stop and talk or just listen to what we have to say. 

Saturday- NEW JERSEY!!! The Staten Island 1st ward has an apple picking activity every year in New Jersey. This year the missionaries were invited to go and after getting permission from our mission president we headed off to the unknown beyond our mission boundaries. It was AWESOME! I took some awesome pictures... however my email time is not going to be the same as it has been in the past so please don't expect anything too grand in weeks following. 

We also had the opportunity to go to Bay Shore for the Musical Celebration of Families that I helped plan. President really is so nice to let me go back for such a special occasion. It was really awesome and there were a lot of non-members there. Members brought thier family members who were not members and they really enjoyed themselves. It was such an amazing experience. We did however have some technical difficulties but we got over it and the program turned out nicely anyway. It was just a really great experience.

Sunday- CHURCH! I had the opportunity to speak on my very first Sunday in the Staten Island first ward. The ward members were really nice to me and I feel very welcomed in this ward. Bishop Glick even invited us over for dinner. It was an amazing experience! 

I am so excited to be serving here in Staten Island in a trio! New experiences are scary but help us grow so much. Hence the Plan of Salvation. How could we ever become like God if we could not have awesome experiences like He had. WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and for your letters! You're the best!

Love,
Sister Hamblin :)

P.S.

Austin Gregory served here and EVERYBODY loves him members, non-members, less-actives. They all love him. All I had to say was "I'm from Eagar, AZ" and everybody was responded "Elder Gregory was from there! He was such a great missionary! We love him!" I'm so grateful that He put such an amazing name out for Eagar Arizona. It's always nice to follow an excellent missionary. So if you see him tell him thank you for me. And see if there is anyone he wants me to visit for him. These people here are so amazing and I am so excited to be working with them!

Email 9/16/13

Dear Family,

So I know that I have been saying this a lot lately but really the time is going so fast I am not keeping up very well. I was asking an Elder when our Zone Training Meeting was and he said "Get it together Sister Hamblin, that was only 5 days ago" I said "WHAT?!?!?!?" Ha ha I really don't know where time is going!

Wednesday Sister Kapisi received a call from President Calderwood calling her to train! Man I am so excited for her! We were at a bonfire lesson with an investigator who at the time was doing really well. She was progressing really well and we saw so much life in her. The bonfire was so cool! The spirit was so strong! Oh the power of the Fire of the Holy Spirit! However on Friday we had another lesson at the cemetery that went very badly and all progress has halt. I don't know what is going to happen from here on out but I do know that it is in the Lord's hands and I am so grateful for that. 

So Zone training meeting was awesome! Our Zone Leaders are very creative and help us to understand doctrine so well. They had the Elders build a human pyramid and taught us about the doctrine of love, obedience and trust. It was so cool! Below is a picture of the event. They were struggling trying to keep each other up. It was so great.

Thursday we had a lesson with another investigator who had a baptism date for this Wednesday and then Satan started working on her... like he always does and now she has postponed her baptismal date indefinitely. To bad we have the Lord on our side and he is going to help us kick Satan in the face! We have another lesson with her on Wednesday to talk about it. 

Saturday... the most dreaded day of all... Transfer calls were made... I am leaving my beloved Bay Shore :( But, there are good things ahead... I don't know what but I can feel it in my bones. Also we were able to help at the Long Island Family Festival! That was so cool! There were so many families and we invited as many as we could to come to our celebration of families this coming Saturday. We hope to see many of them there.

Saturday... the most dreaded day of all... Transfer calls were made... I am leaving my beloved Bay Shore :( But, there are good things ahead... I don't know what but I can feel it in my bones. Also we were able to help at the Long Island Family Festival! That was so cool! There were so many families and we invited as many as we could to come to our celebration of families this coming Saturday. We hope to see many of them there.

Sunday we had a less active come to church with her non member husband and daughter! They are so awesome and we have been working to get him the lessons. We'll see what happens. We also made these awesome thank you notes for the people who allowed us to help in the Long Island Family Festival. It was so fun!

There are still so many things that I haen't mentioned but it has just been so crazy! Anyway, I guess I'd better go... I still have to pack :( 

I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers, letters and dedication to the Lord!

Love,

The Oldest Sister Hamblin :)

Invitation

This is the invitation for our musical celebration! We are so excited about it!

Email 9/09/13

Dear Family,

First off I just want to say... CONGRATULATIONS KALE!!!!! California is going to be a Celestial state by the time both she and Elder Hunter Hamblin leave! I am just so happy right now! 

Second, I want to apologize for not writing at all last week. There are no good excuses and I am so sorry. I hope it doesn't happen again. 

Third, I was able to go to the TEMPLE this week!!!! It was so awesome! The Manhattan New York Temple is so beautiful! I hope you all go inside some day because it is so beautiful! The people are so nice and the spirit is so strong especially after coming off the Subway and the busy street. It is amazing the difference between the peace the spirit brings and the idea of peace that the world has. I was describing the peace that is felt in the temple to and investigator and she said "I didn't realize that peace like that existed on earth." Of course I cried and told her that she is going be able to experience that peace when she makes up her mind about the church. 

We are busy getting ready for our musical celebration of families! We have made flyers/invitations that we are sending and handing out. We have amazing talent in our ward and we are practicing every Sunday to get ready for it. There will even be a dress rehearsal on the Tuesday before the big event! We are so excited about it! I wish we could record the whole thing and send it to you. We have members making refreshments, decorating for the big day and just as excited about it as we are. They keep asking us for more invitations to give to their friends and family members and they are just really great! The only thing thing that I am worried about with all of this is that we are holding this wonderful event on the 21st (for Aunt Kristi's birthday of course) and transfers are on the 17th. Kind of a crazy time for us to be having such a big event but it will be awesome because the ward is more in charge than we are. We are so blessed to be working with such an amazing ward! We love them so much!

Last Monday we were able to go to an Indian Pow Wow on the Shinnecock Indian reservation. It was so cool! The best part was that there were Hopi Indians there from Hopi Arizona! I of course was freaking out and just so happy to see fellow Arizonans! Although we have a few couples in our ward who are from that blessed state as well. Anyway, the Pow Wow was really cool. They had art and jewelry from all over the world there. They also have big dancing competitions where Indians from all over North and South America come to join in the dance. There were people there from Peru, Mexico and Brazil! They spoke of their traditions and how each dance meant something different and the different songs each had their own meanings. It was really quite interesting. I am just learning so much about everyone here!

Well I'd better go. Sorry again that I didn't write at all last week. I still love you all so much! 

Love, 

The Oldest Sister Hamblin :)

482- Sister Howard and I outside the Temple... yes there is a hot dog stand right outside the temple... There is no room in Manhattan for beautiful gardens... just beautiful children of our Heavenly Father

467- Sister Kapisi, Fran (our friend), and I at the Pow Wow

443- FEATHERS!!! This dance was a fire dance... it was so cool! Their costumes are so amazing!

449- A princess dancing for her Uncle who has passed away

461- This was part of the dancing competition, they were supposed to interpret the beat of the drum
446- The Hopis!