"Send her to Toronto Canada"

Dear Family and Friends, 

I love you all! This week I had many occurrences when I thought back to all of your beautiful faces. I sometimes wonder if you are all still breathing....but I take comfort that I get to see you all soon!

But until then - time to work!

Lots happened this week, and it was a good one nonetheless.

We were blessed to have Elder Craig A. Cardon from the Seventy come and do a mission tour. So most of the day on Saturday was spent in Burlington, Ontario, listening to him speak to us. The Spirit was so strong. His sweet wife spoke to us as well. We were all able to shake his hand and introduce ourselves. A lot of his talk focused on how we need to treat confirmations as important as baptisms. Baptism is incomplete without confirmation. It really got me thinking....I remember when Landon baptized me then Dad confirmed me. So special! He told us how the person who had called him for the mission tour was President Packer, so that's pretty neat. He was talking about how inspired our mission calls are, and when he said "Send her to Toronto Canada," I literally got chills. I am in the right place.

Our investigators are doing so well! We had four come to church yesterday. Greg is especially progressing and is so excited for his baptism. He was planning on getting baptized on September 28th (next week), but then he would have to wait 2 weeks to be confirmed because of General Conference, so he is aiming for October 5th now! He has truly progressed so much since the first time I met him. He's great!

Then Mehdi and Sadena came. They are both from Iran, and they are SO nice!! They have a 6 month old son, Ratin, and he was such a good boy during Sacrament (usually he is always fussy). They came to the Gospel Principles class and Ratin was just giggling....everyone was in heaven. It was the cutest thing! We're really hoping to work closely with Mehdi and Sadena and help them to progress towards baptism. 

Joseph is our other investigator that came to church. He's been multiple times because he's been investigating for 18 months. Bless his heart. He is so great. In our last lesson with him he made us a pear tart from his pear tree, and it was TO DIE FOR! Yum yum yum. 

We had dinner with the greatest couple ever. They are just like Dallin and Jessica. Brother and Sister Contreras. Brother Contreras is a RM of about two years, and him and his wife just got married in April. They are hilarious. Did I mention how much I love the members here??

So one day last week I was having a bummer day, and I was just feeling constant attacks from Satan. We dropped by a recent convert and his wife to use their washroom, and they had just bought a bunch of chocolate and they weren't sure why - hahah, let's just say they gave it to us, and it was an answer to prayers. The kind acts of others go a long way....

The Bishop asked us to attend the RS activity on Tuesday night, and it was about dehydrating food and all of that fun stuff. I learned so much, man! 

I experienced such a miracle this week!! Ahhh, it was incredible and still gives me chills. I love being in the right place at the right time. So it was Friday afternoon, and we had just finished teaching Greg. We had to teach him outside of the church because we didn't have a third female with us. So Sister Womack and I went to put the chairs back in the church and the phone started ringing. I distinctly remember hearing in my mind - "Answer that. Now." So I dropped the chairs and ran like a maniac to the end of the hallway to answer the phone. (I'm pretty sure I was out of breath by the time I got to the phone). Anyways, this lady's name is Lenny, and she was looking for a place to get a Book of Mormon! She called the right place. :) I told her that we could bring her one sometime soon, but she said she would be near the chapel soon and would just drop by to pick it up. When I got off the phone with her, I looked at Sister Womack and we just both smiled so big. So about twenty minutes later she came by and we were able to meet her. Turns out her daughter just got baptized in another ward so she wanted to learn more about what her daughter believed in. We got her address and number, and we'll see what happens! What are the chances of us being in the church at the exact time that she called? God is so good, and His plan is much bigger than we can comprehend. I am one happy camper. :)

Except that night some nasty flu hit me, and I felt so sick until about Sunday morning. Thank goodness for juice and advil! My body ached so bad and my skin was sensitive to anything....it was super weird. Glad it's over. 

Yesterday we walked all day in the rain. I don't remember it raining so much in Canada last fall, but I love it! It's beautiful. These Canadians don't care if it's raining....they are still outside walking their dogs, so we go to talk with a lot of people. We even met a guy whose aunt and uncle are members out in Alberta. Pretty sweet. 

I'm not sure if there is more I can update you on as far as the work goes. It continues to move forward, and I continue to witness miracles and tender mercies daily. I wouldn't want to be anywhere but where I am. Heavenly Father is comforting me and helping me each and every day. I'm overcome with sweet joy and peace. I love serving this mission!

I was sent to Toronto Canada for a reason. 

Love you all!

Love, 

Sister Hardcastle

"Have Faith, Have Hope, Live Like His Son, Help Others On Their Way"

Janet, Sister Womack, and I

Mission Tour with Craig A. Cardon. Try and find me!