Email 10/21/13

Dear Family,

What a week it's been. First off, sorry about not writing yesterday, we had interviews with President Calderwood so he asked us to change our preparation day to today instead of yesterday. Again, sorry about not warning you last week about it. 

This past week has been crazy from the get-go. We had lots of appointments, lots of activities and lots of exchanges. We also had our transfers deep clean and birthdays from members of the ward. A haunted house tour and a zombie apocalypse might have occurred as well :). Only in New York do these crazy things happen to me :)

We had exchanges with our Sister Training Leaders (Sisters Bradfield and Sister Hales) and the sisters who are serving in Bushwick, Brooklyn (Sister Sumsion and Sister Shumway) this week. Sister Shumway is related to the Charles Shumway who was the body gaurd for Joseph Smith. She is from Blanding Utah and I was wondering if we are related. She actually looks a lot like a mix of the Shumways and the Hunts... I know weird but thats what I got out of it. Anyway she is super awesome and is actually waiting for her visa to get here. She was called to a mission in Brazil but just needs her visa in order to go, just like my companion Sister Casperson! We are so blessed to have these amazing missionaries come to our mission before going to their assigned missions. They are such great sports about it all. 

We also had a primary trunk or treat activity at the church! Our ward has the second biggest primary in the Brooklyn stake (which we are apart of) and there were so many cute monsters and princesses running around! The primary president did an excellent job with set up, food, and activities. There are even a few photographers in our ward so they had a photo station set up so the kids could have their pictures taken! It was so fun and the ward did so great at inviting non-members and less-actives to come. A woman who hasn't been to church in years was there and came to church the next day! Oh the power of activities!

I don't really have a lot of time to write about anything else but I just want to let you all know how much I love you! I feel so belssed every day to be part of such an awesome family and community. Round Valley is still my favorite place in the world and I love it so much! However New York is coming in at a close second! The people here are not angry all the time like every one says, they are the kindest people and just need extra love from those around them. What an awesome job I have here. I get to show them that love  they are seeking. I get to help them see that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." I am so blessed!

Oh I guess I should also let you know about facebook. I am aloud to talk to anyone as long as I am fulfilling my missionary purpose which is "To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ, and His Atonement, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the End." I think that as long as all of your testimonies are strong and going good I will just keep talking to you on Monday's. If you feel like you are going astray, talk to me on Mondays and I'll see what I can do but really, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the only ones that can fix that. You are aloud to comment on my posts I just won't be responding to you... I hope that makes sense and is not offencive... if it doesn't make sense or if you have more questions let me know.

I love you all so much!

Love Sister Hamblin

Letter 10/21/13

Dear Family, What an absolutely crazy day it's been! I am so sorry I have been slacking on my letter writing lately. P-days go a lot faster than I would like them to sometimes. On Sunday we had a unique opportunity to help our bishop with a community event. It consisted of a "Haunted House Tour", a magic show, spooky photos, and a zombie invasion. Our bishop is a very prominent figure in his community and asked us to help with a "Mud Lane Society" community event. We were "mild zombies", as you saw Monday. His community is filled with actors, make-up artists and people who are in the film industry, so it was pretty cool for us to get to talk to them and have our "make-up" done by them. His community has been in movies and TV shows and he himself (our bishop) is an actor. It has been really awesome for us to be able to work with him and see the respect he has from his community. He does an excellent job of acting his part no matter where he is. Well family, I better go. Sorry again for the skimpy letters and emails. I love you all so much! Love, Sister Hamblin

Email 10/15/13

Dear Family,

First of all, sorry I didn't write yesterday! It was Mom's Birthday so they decided to make it a national holiday which meant all the libraries were closed. My bad, I didn't think that far in advance. Anyhoo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!

So on Sunday we had a really great day! Well, to some it was stressful but to me... It was the BEST day of my ENTIRE mission... There was a baptism!!! But let me tell you something, it was the most intense baptism I have ever been to! Everything that could have gone wrong did. The sister getting baptized was late to church, the brother preforming the baptism didn't bring a towel, the font wasn't filling up, there wasn't enough seating, suits didn't fit, and everyone was a little stressed out. It was funny! 

So we were all trying to get everything in order and get different suits to fit right and get enough chairs for everyone when someone looks at the water in the font and realizes that it only being filled to the second stair isn't enough to get her fully immersed. PROBLEM. So We are trying to get her in a suit the water isn't filling and the baptism is supposed to start 5 minutes ago. We realize that the chain that pulls the plug after the baptism is over is stuck between the plug and the drain causing a little water to seep through and not allowing the water to fill enough. The water is already knee deep and we don't have any way to tactfully get the chain out of the plug without pulling the plug and having all the water drain and empty again. So because I love the water I volunteered! With my zone leader's and bishop's permission I went in fully clothed and moved the chain. This was the best day of my life! How many Sister Missionaries can say they got to get in the font for a baptism without being apostate?! Not very many! I am the luckiest sister in the world! BUT WAIT, I'm not finished!

So the baptism proceeds and we start with the talks and the songs and as I am standing in the dressing room area I realize that the water still is not filling... I slosh my way out to the hallway and find my leaders and tell them what has happened. Realizing that New Yorkers like their time, they immediately go to the kitchen and grab every pitcher, pot, and deep pot thing they can find and start filing telling me to go back into the water and check things out. Gladly I do so and with the help of another fully clothed sister in the ward we figure it out and continue helping to fill the font as fast as we possibly can. We, at this point, are filling water from bathroom and kitchen sinks, showers in the janitors and boys bathroom, and at one point I think we even had someone at the water fountain trying to fill up the font. 

So we get the water filled, everyone is ready to go. Both the sister getting baptized and the brother baptizing her are in the water and we realize that we haven't had a practice run through with them. Which would have been really nice because this was the brother's first time baptizing someone and obviously this was her first time getting baptized so the prayer was said for times and she had to be immersed 3! What a hectic day!

The rest of the day and night were spent trying to clean up water that had been spilt, clean up crumbs from dessert, and trying to convince this sweet sister who had wanted everything to go perfect that it wasn't the end of the world. It honestly was one of the best days of my life. Seeing the ward come together and help her out so much was awesome! Oh how happy things can be when members and missionaries work together to solve even the silliest of problems!

I love you all! 

Sister Hamblin

Email 10/07/13

Dear Family,

What an amazing week it's been! We have been so blessed to see so many miracles happen. Conference, awesome lessons, many referrals, Heavenly Father has blessed us abundantly. Feel so blessed to be serving in such an awesome area. We have amazing leaders and amazing ward members who are really into missionary work. After conference on Saturday our bishop as well as several members in the ward and even investigators gave us names of people they would like us to go and visit. Overwhelmed with so many names we called the district leader and zone leader (both are in our district) and asked them if they had the same response... they said they did and that they, like us were not sure when they were going to be able to visit everyone with in the next week. 

Conference was amazing and I learned so much! Some things that stuck out to me were... of course missionary work, Christlike attributes, strengthening our testimonies and the importance of every day decisions. Elder Hamilton of the 70 made said " Our simple decisions can have eternal and far reaching consequences." How true it is! The simple decision to smile can effect someone for months and years to come. This is true for some girl have never seen before or sense but because I let her turn left before I went strait she gave me a huge smile and "peace fingers." That has seriously made my day time, after time. Just thinking about how there is one kind person out there is all I need to get through a day. I hope to keep my simple every day decisions ones that will allow me to make it back to live with my Father in Heaven once again. I am so excited for that day.

Next week is going to be a busy one. We have a Mega Zone Conference and a Zone Training Meeting as well as another phase of "operation shepherd." Heavenly Father is blessing us so much right now and we have so much to be grateful for. We are also getting Facebook and I pads this next week. I hope Hermana and Elder Hamblin's areas are moving into this phase of missionary work as well. Our mission is so excited for it and the Zone Leaders and Sister Trianing Leaders who have already begun this new phase are testifying of great experiences they are having. 

One of those things that we have to be grateful for is amazing weather. I am sorry to hear that it is so cold in Arizona right now but New York just had a week of summer-like weather. Fans, short sleeves, and AC are still needed in such nice weather. However we are starting to see glimpses of fall. The changing leaves are so beautiful and I am in love with fall in New York. Fall is just an all around great season anyway so it almost goes without saying that I am going to love it!

I am sorry that I have not sent pictures... I really don't know how on these computers. I have tried my cord, my sd disk in the computer and I just don't know how to do it. Although I think my companions know how. So maybe I'll ask them. I wish I could send you pictures though. There are so many beauties here on Staten Island! I love it here! How grateful I am to be serving in New York amongst such amazing people and missionaries!

Thank you all again for your prayers and letters :)

Love,

Sister Hamblin :)

This is basically what the view looks like from the Staten Island ferry to Manhattan... The Statue of Liberty is just off to the left a little and it is a beautiful view! This is pulled off the internet... just so you know... I don't know how else to get you pictures today.

Letter 9/30/13

Dear Family,
Something I have been thinking about  a lot lately is identity.  Something we see in the world today is a loss of knowledge when it comes to our true identity.  People inside and out of the Church have forgotten who they really are.  This is evident through actions, words and deeds.  From choosing to distance themselves from the church to over reacting in traffic, I see people everywhere who need reminding.

I too have been one of those people who needs reminding.  It is not a place I would wish anyone into.  These moments when I have forgotten that Heavenly Father loves and trusts me have been dark and lonely.  Thankfully I have the most wonderful friends and family in the entire world who have loved, guided and re-taught essential truths.  The basis is faith.  Elder Wirthlin said, "Faith exists when absolute confidence in that which we cannot see combines with action that is in absolute conformity to the will of our Heavenly Father." 

Without all three, first absolute confidence; second action; and third absolute conformity.  Without all we have is a counterfeit, a weak and watered down faith.  "How true it is.  In the past my faith has been "weak and watered down".  I have not had confidence, conformed my will to our Heavenly Father, or acted in the way our Father needed me to.  Thankfully the Atonement allows me to overcome that, and become a faithful person.  How blessed am I?!  How blessed are we?!

I love you all!
Sister Hamblin