It's A Party In The WYM--March 21, 2022

Hello hello! 

I hope you all had an amazing week and are just loving life right now! I feel like life is just a rollercoaster of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. This week was a pretty good ride though haha I always felt like people were lying to me when they said that the mission just gets faster but man I feel like the weeks are just flying by! This week as usual was full of lots of teaching and finding but it was awesome! 

We just started off our week strong on Monday with a visit with our favorite family, The Cortez'  and they made bomb food, you've never experienced true love until you eat a taco from someone who grew up making them, oh baby they're good! I eat Mexican food like 10 times a week and I've never been happier or also prayed more that I can fit another taco so I don't offend someone haha 

Tuesday! This day was fantastic because I got some letters in the mail and it made my whole day! I appreciate and love your guys' notes more than you know! 

 

Wednesday we gave this sweet lady who had posted on Facebook that she has been going through a hard time and needed a haircut! She just started crying she was so grateful and it made me happy that I just get to help people all day long!

Thursday was a great day too! Our awesome mission nurse called and somehow got me in to start PT so I can kinda hobble around without crutches now! Woohooo!! We also celebrated St. Patrick's day by having a strictly green lunch and listening to some instrumental Irish jigs haha Gotta celebrate the little things! 

Friday was a busy one! We had a few lessons fall through which was kinda crap but we actually ended up having more lessons than we planned for that day which was awesome! 

Saturday we partied hard and had an absolute blast! Our friends that just randomly showed up to church 3 weeks ago got married!! So we threw a wedding together and it turned out beautiful! They had some awesome bachata music going and the branch members were loving every second of it! 

Then I found out that my friend Ezequiel that I've been teaching online since January was able to meet with the missionaries in his area!! I'm so happy and so is he! He is convinced that the other Hermana is my BFF and I sent her there but I told him it was God and he was hyped haha 

Then! We had a milagro lesson with a lady named Rosa! I am horrible at directions which ended up being a miracle because we got lost and ended up at this ladies house right as she went outside to get her dogs so she couldn't pretend she wasn't home! It was immaculate timing and with some persuasion she let us in and we had such a powerful lesson and she invited us back for Wednesday!! Who knew being bad at navigating would be a blessing? 

Sunday was just as amazing! I was sitting in the back by a single lady in the ward when another random lady just showed up So during the second speaker she pulled me into the hall since I was sitting in the back and I was able to give her a BOM and teach her about it while everyone including my comps were listening to the talk haha that was a weird one! Then we made pasta with our friend Gloria which was so fun! I'm practically a pro now! And wrapped it up with dinner from Juana and her granddaughter Harmony! 

Overall, it was an amazing week with lots of tender mercies! Not all weeks, actually most weeks, aren't like this as a missionary but man when they are I am so glad I chose to serve a mission! You learn and grow so much, especially during the hard times! And I'm grateful for it all! 

It reminds me of this quote, "Rely on the Lord, for only he can turn a mess into a message, a test into a testimony, a trial into a triumph, and what's broken into something beautiful!" Remember that God is so good and that with him you can do all things! It is all on his timing and in his plan but with time and with God all things can be made whole and your efforts will not be in vain! God be with you till we meet again! And he always is ;) 

Sorry this email was so long but I love you all and never forget God loves ya more!! 

<3 Hermana Hadlock 

Milagros!!--March 14, 2022

Woo-hoo happy Monday! 

What a fantastic week it has been and boy would I love to tell you some highlights!

☆ Turns out my knee is fine and I just broke my femur!!  Milagros people 

☆ We got to go to the temple and man I have missed it! The peace that you can feel in the temple is unlike anything else and I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to go and feel God's love so strongly! 

☆ We had kinda been having a slow week and lots of people kept canceling on us but Friday and Saturday we popped off and were able to have lessons with some really awesome people! 

☆ I tried chicken feet! That's a one time experience for sure haha 

☆ Our fav abuelita taught us how to make Sopes!! 

☆ Met the most awesome guy named Audel who was just so sweet and thrilled to see us and it just made me so happy to be a missionary

☆ Made some memories, knocked lots of doors, got rejected a million times, and the times we didn't were fantastic! 

This week as I have pondered on the blessing it is that we have a Temple here on the Earth to go and make covenants with our Heavenly Father in I read the talk

" The temple and your spiritual foundation" by President Nelson ( you should read it!) and it is fantastic! I loved the whole thing but here's a couple quotes I love.

"The temple lies at the center of strengthening our faith and spiritual fortitude because the Savior and His doctrine are the very heart of the temple. Everything taught in the temple, through instruction and through the Spirit, increases our understanding of Jesus Christ. His essential ordinances bind us to Him through sacred priesthood covenants. Then, as we keep our covenants, He endows us with His healing, strengthening power. And oh, how we will need His power in the days ahead." and this thought follows it along beautifully. "Please believe me when I say that when your spiritual foundation is built solidly upon Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear. As you are true to your covenants made in the temple, you will be strengthened by His power. Then, when spiritual earthquakes occur, you will be able to stand strong because your spiritual foundation is solid and immovable." 

How beautiful is that, everything that happens in the temple is strengthening our faith because it all revolves around Jesus Christ and his doctrine! And not only are we promised to be bound to him but we also are endowed with power from on high, healing strengthening power, from our Savior, Jesus Christ. And with that faith and strength we know that as he said, we have no need to fear. What a powerful promise that is and one we also often forget. I know that temples are the house of the Lord and if we make the sacrifices and choices to be worthy and make time to attend the temple that we will receive more blessings than we could ever imagine. I know that if we keep our covenants and strengthen our faith that when the time comes, and it will, that the spiritual earthquakes come that we will stand strong. I encourage you all to take advantage of the temple and make time for the Lord! 

Love you all more than you'll ever know! But God loves you more!! 

<3, Hermana Hadlock 

Crip Walk--March 7, 2022

Hey hey!! 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had an amazing week! I feel like my weeks just blend together because we do a lot of the same things everyday as a missionary but there were definitely some highlights! 

♡ I went on exchanges with my home girl Sister Hammons who is absolutely amazing and we had a blast! We had this lesson with a lady whose husband is a recent convert and we were able to talk to her and I got to share some experiences w her and talk about prayer! She was so grateful and said she felt the spirit so strong and wanted to pray about baptism!

♡ We have been trying to work a lot with inactive members in our cute little branch and 2 of the families went to church yesterday!! They are so sweet and the testimony meeting was exactly what they needed! 

♡  Went to my soul sister's bday party!! She got baptized a couple months ago and she is incredible and literally my best friend! She also destroyed her knee and so we are both on crutches struggling through life and I feel like God sent me here because he knew this would happen and that we would need each other! 

♡ finally fixed the beeping of the fire alarms and we got a new blender so I can make non chunky smoothies!! it's the little things people :) 

♡ last but not least the elders created a dance move just for me   when they yell "Hit the Hadlock" everyone does a nice crip walk shuffle (even though I walk normal!!) and then proceed to reenact me breaking my knee and finish out hitting the floor hahahaha it legitimately brings me so much joy 

I think that's about it for this week! I have really learned to focus on the positive and and find things that I am grateful for, and I truly believe when we see the good the good just gets better and easier to see. Plus when we express gratitude God just blesses us even more! So for now I am just out here limping around in Mo lake, trying my best to move God's work forward! I love you all so dang much but Jesus loves you even more!  

Hermana Hadlock

going home...?--February 28, 2022

Hey Hey! 

Just me your friendly neighborhood cripple! Let me tell you, what a week it has been!! I would first like to start off by thanking you all for the prayers, messages, emails, and good vibes you sent my way this week! It truly means the whole world to me and I have truly been able to feel your prayers and feel the strength I needed this week. It was definitely a wild one but I have learned so much! To recap from last week, transfers happened! I somehow survived the bus ride with crutches, a huge brace and plenty of ibuprofen! 

So far Moses Lake has been pretty awesome! The members here in the branch are absolutely amazing and I have met some sick people and I've only been here a week! Luckily for me I am unforgettable as I'm the poor girl that can barely walk and barely speak spanish haha truly just enough to get by. I have heard about every joke in the book and it has truly brought me great joy haha 

Anyways, I shall give you what I am sure most of you are reading this email for haha a nice what the crap is going on with your knee update! Sooo, I had a nice visit with my orthopedic surgeon this morning and I was scared outta my mind haha But! I got some pretty good news!! My knee looks a lot better than expected and has healed miraculously since my last visit! Which I know was because of all of your guys' fasting and prayers! He was so shocked at how good it looked, I got some x-rays done, did some mobility tests, then he (in my professional opinion) did everything he could to cause pain to my kneecap without me just completely giving up the ghost and passing on to the next life and declared that he doesn't think that I completely tore any ligaments!! WOOOHOO!!!! 

That ladies and gents means that I am here to stay on my mission! He said it looks like I won't need immediate surgery and with some "grueling" physical therapy I will be back and better than ever in no time! (approx 2 months) But I do have an MRI coming up to double check and confirm that diagnosis. Honestly, I am just so in awe. I was 100% convinced he was going to say I was gonna have to go home and get surgery. But! No!!! Heavenly Father truly listens and answers prayers! Which is something I have truly come to learn this week! 

In all this chaos of me trying to get this thing figured out I have prayed a lot and I have thought about how sometimes we pray that God will change his will to match ours instead of the other way around. So, as I have gone through out this week of so much unknown, I decided to change the way I pray. Instead of praying for a miraculous healing I tried to put my faith in him and ask that I would be able to accept whatever the outcome was. No matter if I had to go home or not I prayed that I would find peace and that I would submit my will to God's instead of begging for him to follow my plan. I truly think that is what helped me to find peace and joy this week. I have truly been able to accept what happened and be okay with it because I know that it is God's plan! He gives us the good and the bad so we can learn and grow, and truly in the end it all works out better than our plan ever could!  It is just like what  D&C 90:24 roughly says haha  that " if we search diligently, pray always, and be believing, all things shall work together for our good. "

I have truly gained a testimony of that and I know that it is true for all of you too! No matter what season of life you are in, good or bad, I can promise that God is in the details and he did it to strengthen you. He will never give you something you can't handle, even though it can seem like it sometimes! If you walk uprightly, keep your commandments and try to be like Jesus, all things will work out exactly as God planned, and will truly work together for your own good! 

I love you all with my whole soul and I will never forget how much you have all done for me! I encourage you all to continue praying always, search diligently for answers and I know they will come! Maybe (probably) not in the way you expect but I can promise that you will be able to find peace in Christ! Our Heavenly Father and Savior are always there for us offering love, strength, and peace if you will only just ask! 

<3, Hermana Hadlock 

Pics:

Sick new brace

My homies at the hospital 

Lol didn't realize my comp took this and it had me rolling, that was pain in the most true form

Plus 3 pics of my new besties that I already love so much 

Transfers or broken knee? Why not both?!--February 22, 2022

Hey yall!! Life has been crazy the past couple of weeks here in the Hood! It has been super busy and we have been hard at work! It is kinda awesome to see all your hard work pay off and see people progress and really strengthen their testimonies! Unfortunately though, I am getting transfered to a new area on Wednesday so I will have to say bye :( But! I will be going to Moses Lake, Washington! Which means I will have to pay tax again, rip. I am super excited to have a changeup and meet new people and see a new area but definitely a bittersweet moment leaving Hood River! It truly has become my second home and I have really learned to love it. The members are so sweet and we have met some awesome friends and made some awesome memories! I am so grateful to be on a mission even through the super hard moments because the blessings are always greater and I have learned/experienced so much that I know I couldn't have if I wasn't here. 

A couple big things I have learned:

1. God loves us SO much and not one person more than anyone else 

 2. Jesus Christ's atonement is for everyone. At every point, in every situation, and for every mistake. He suffered for not only our sins, but for the hard moments we go through too, so he can understand perfectly and help us in the exact way that we need. 

3. Even when it feels like God isn't there, He is!! You just need to look! 

4. Perspective is everything. I love that quote by President Nelson " Joy has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives!" I can testify that when we focus on our Savior, find tender mercies and find things to be grateful for you can find true lasting happiness. 

5. Have good friends who can take care of you when you're down! 

Number 5 was a late addition to my list as during pday and writing this, we were playing a very intense game of a mix of handball and soccer and I seem to have gotten my knee slightly destroyed. So, I spent about 4 hours in an urgent care dealing with that fiasco. So I am currently rocking a knee immobilizer and a sick set of crutches so I don't make it worse until I can make it to an orthopedic specialist! So on that note, prayers would be very much appreciated! I am so grateful to have such good friends out here to take care of me when I'm down, going through hard times, and literally crippled haha. I am so grateful for them! Having good friends has truly changed my life! Whether old friends or new, I am truly so blessed and they have made such a big impact on who I am! 

Anyways, it has been a fantastic week and I have met some awesome people here! There have been so many tender mercies and miracles that I have seen here in Hood River, even just today! I am grateful to be a representative of Jesus Christ every day even when it is hard because the Lord takes care of you when you are on his errand, which is a personal choice, everyday. He multiplies our efforts, blesses us, strengthens us, and always has his arms outstretched just waiting for us to come to him. This week I invite you all to come to Him, accept His love and healing even if you don't feel worthy, because his love is perfect. No matter what you do or don't do, His love is always yours. 

Look for the good and come unto Him! Love you all so much! - Hermana Hadlock 

 

Pics Lol how embarrassing I broke my knee Pasta making Hood river besties and good food :)