IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS...

Dear Family!! Hello!! I love you all sooo much!! I just can't thank you enough for all of your amazing love and support! I just love you guys :)

Anyways, so I haven't read your emails yet, so I'm just going to jump into this last week- which was an absolutely amazing week! I loovveedd it!!! Soooo many blessings!!! :D 

So I guess I will start with Tuesday... Sister Remington and I were in the middle of our studies/training when all of the sudden we get this call from a guy named James whose girlfriend says she wants to get baptized. You can imagine our excitement and absolute joy! haha Oh, but to back up even before that... so you know that I was really sad about leaving my last area and missing all the baptisms- especially Sam's since his was the soonest. Anyways, so since our mission is relatively small and the areas are pretty close together (literally some of the areas are so small, you could just be transferred 2 streets over and be in a completely new zone!) we have a rule that if you bring an investigator with you then you can go to a baptism in a different area. So, since I arrived in this new area with absolutely no investigators, I have been praying nonstop for a miracle so that we could go to Sam's baptism.

Anyways, so fast forward back to Tuesday, we call Jenna and ask when she's available to meet and she says that night! Ahhh! Soooo happy !! So we go over to James apartment and meet Jenna and her 5 year old son Logan (Jenna is in her 30's). She is soo awesome!! I love her! So anyways I asked her that very night if she was doing anything on Saturday and she said she was available!!! Yay!!! So the week goes on and thankfully she is still golden- it is just kind of interesting to see how things tend to get in the way when people are super prepared... Teaching Jenna is such an awesome experience! and also kind of a trial... I am not a skilled teacher. Some sisters it just comes naturally to, but for me that is just not my strength. But, it is amazing to see how Heavenly Father has helped me with my weaknesses. He has helped me to understand the needs of the people we have been teaching and contacting and ya it is just amazing to see the change! It is a trial in some ways, because I have to learn patience as a trainer... I just want to do everything! I want to talk and invite her to baptism, and all of these other great things, but I have to step back and let Sister Remington experience and lead the lessons. It is a great learning experience! Training is a really cool experience! I love it and it is helping me to become a better missionary because it is helping me to really forget about myself and put others first. I love it! So, we got to go to Sam's baptism!!! It was such a tender mercy of the Lord! Just little things like that truly show me that Heavenly Father loves me and that He wants me to be happy. He knows what I need and He will always provide a way- as long as we have faith in Him and then do something about it! Ahhhh sooo many miracles :)

Valentines day! This was the best Valentines Day ever!! Sister Remington and I had baked cookies to take to all of our Bishops, ward mission leaders, investigators, recent converts, less actives, etc. It was soo great!! I just love making people happy :) We also got a few new investigators that day! Oh and thank you for the beautiful flowers!! I loved them :) Lets see, what else happened... Oh we had zone conference that day and I had been asked to give a talk on being converted to our purpose. I can't even tell you how many talks I have had to give on my mission. I am giving another one this week. But anyways I mentioned Nacho Libre in my talk and even did the whole nacho accent when I quoted him. haha thought that would make you guys proud! But, the thing I like about giving talks is that you learn more than anyone else. I really learned that being converted to our purpose is more than just knowing what we are doing, but really why. I honestly can't remember what else I said... but no doubt it was top notch. haha jk. But, that night Sister Remington and I actually got to go out on a date for valentines day dinner- she was my valentine haha One of the members in our ward owns this amazing Indian food type restaurant, so they told us to go their for dinner and we got it all for free! It was awesome and delicious. 

Anyways, oh another really cool thing about going back to my old area for the baptism and seeing the people there- including sister wong!- was that I really felt a difference in.... I don't know how to say it... mantle of responsibility? If that makes any sense, but it wasn't there any more! I still loved the people, but I knew and felt that I didn't have as much responsibility or stewardship over them. I looked at Sister Wong and her new companion Sister Harris and you could just feel that they truly were called of God to be in that area. They have the responsibility for that area. It was just a cool thing... I'm not sure if any of that made sense...

Well I just looked at the pics of Eugenie and Jerel's new condo! Super cute! I will respond to everything else in my letter this week. 

I love you all soooo much! I am sooo grateful to be here on a mission. For all of the experiences I have been able to have, for all of the people I have been able to meet, for the trust I have gained in the Lord. I'm just happy :) 

Till next week!

Love,
Sister Hamstead xoxoxoxoxoxox

What Actually Happened? God's Plan for the Week.

Sister from Kenya...she is going home!

What a week. It was one of those weeks where you look back and think... what happened?! haha In a good way though! I just can't believe how much can happen in just one week. I looked back over my planner last night trying to think of what I was going to write to you guys this week. It is just so interesting to look at what Sister Wong and I had planned for the week verses what actually happened- God's plan for the week haha. Sister Wong had a very big trial this week- in fact it was a tragedy. Poor thing, she might be going home this week. It was really hard and I didn't really know how to help her. We prayed and fasted together, and she's doing a little better now. I really didn't know what to do with myself. We had to go down to meet President at the mission office on Saturday and poor Sister Wong just did not feel up to doing anything after so we only made one visit that night. That was extremely hard for me staying in while Sister Wong tried to sleep. I just wanted to help her, but there wasn't really much I could do :( After church yesterday she was feeling a bit better and now today she is almost all back :) Keep her in your prayers!

My adopted grandparents..the Cody's

So anyways on Sunday night Sister Wong was really down and just decided to go to bed. She was expecting a call from the mission office, but she said she didn't want to talk anymore that night so I just put the phone on silent. Well, It's later in the night and I noticed that the mission office had called... 3 times, and President had called twice, and our District leaders had called too. So I called back our District Leaders and they told me to call President. I knew it was going to be about Sister Wong so I asked them about transfer news. They said President wanted to tell us the news himself- weird. So I called President and apologized for missing all of his calls. He then went on to ask me how Sister Wong was doing and I told him she was ok... then he dropped the bomb on me. He told me I was being transferred. Not only was I being transferred, but I would be white washing a completely new area. Not only would I be white washing a completely new area, but I would also be training. oh.my.gosh. I was so completely shocked! I cried.. I was crying not only because I was shocked and humbled and just completely grateful for the opportunity, but I was also really sad! I never thought when I got here in the Las Sendas area that I would be sad to leave it. I really had to pray to love this area and as I prayed and served the people here I just really came to love it! I was convinced that I was going to be up here for a long time. This area was my project and I really did put all my heart and soul into helping it, so it broke my heart to have to leave it! We have seen so many miracles here! As President was telling me about my new area I was just thinking about Michael, Sam, and Verona- I was going to miss all of their baptisms! Of course I trust the Lord and I know He needs me somewhere else, but it was still really hard for me. Most missionaries stay in this area for about 4 transfers and I was only here for 1! crazy. I am nervous about training. I still feel like a greeny myself! It's going to be an adventure! This last transfer I was kind of training Sister Wong and I kind of white washed... but now I will be completely 100% doing both! Please pray for me and my new trainy and my new area. I need it! 

So I was kind of overwhelmed by all of these changes and really needed some comfort and reassurance from the Lord that I can do this. I was reading in Alma 58:10-13.

 " 10 Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.  11 Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our ^adeliverance in him.  12 And we did take courage with our small force 13 And thus we did go forth with all our might

These verses really gave me comfort in knowing that I just need to have faith and trust that everything  will be OK.  Heavenly Father will help me have the courage to keep going. I can do hard things with the help of the Lord. 

Sis. Sanchez from Spain.
We were in the MTC together.

Also Ether 12:11-22. It is all done by faith. Everything is up to us. It is up to our willingness to be humble, accept the will of the Lord, lay down our weapons of rebellion and just do whatever it is that the Lord asks of us trusting that it will be for our benefit.

Well family I love you all sooo much!

I will tell you how everything goes next week!

Love, 

Sister Hamstead

ps. also I got Eugenie's announcement in the mail this week!! I cried haha I am becoming such a weepy baby! I just can't believe my sister is getting married!!

pps. I had a dream last night that Abigail got married. I was so mad! So don't go getting any ideas Abby!  You are not allowed to get married at least until I get back!

ppps. Mom! Thank you for the package!!! It made my day! It came at the perfect time and made me super happy :D thank you for taking such good care of me! I love you soooo much!