Week 5 Ajax

Dearest Family and Friends,

Another week come and gone already? Time goes by so fast. Next thing I know I'll be home. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though eh? Haha :)

This week was pretty good. Disappointments of course, but still the most amazing tender mercies. I can't believe how many little miracles you can find throughout the day if you stop to think about it. My advice - SLOW DOWN. Find joy in the little things. 

3 Nephi 13:34 - "Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof."

Just worry about today, because tomorrow hasn't even happened yet. That's a lesson that I'm slowly starting to learn. Heavenly Father is really good at teaching lessons while on a mission.. He's a smarty :)

I don't think we've ever had so many appointments fall through like we had this week. It was pretty tough. I'll just start with last Monday

Monday - Everything was great because it was P-Day! Which is always great, except when it is pouring rain. We had two appointments that night and they both bombed on us. So what did we do? Tracted. In the POURING rain. How many times am I going to tract in the pouring rain? Probably a lot more, because we did it twice more this week. Hahah being a missionary is so hilarious. When we came home I noticed that they tried to drop the package off. They left that thing for my to sign on the door, and it turns out I would have to pay to receive it. It had to be a check, and of course, I don't have any checks. Well looong story short - I called UPS, payed over the phone, and got the package on Thursday. Quite the ordeal. 

Tuesday - Our shower decided to stop working. I literally took a shower in dripping freezing cold water. Great way to start the day eh? We had our first appointment with a man named Brian. He had requested something through Mormon.org, but anyways he was super mean. All he wanted to do was Bible Bash with us. He didn't even think that we were credible because we had grown up in the church. He thought that this is something that our parents forced upon us. It just wasn't a fun time, and I realized it wasn't fun because the Spirit wasn't there. Then we tracted. A lot. I was complaining (woops) about how thirsty I was. I said a little prayer that we would be able to go get a drink soon. Low and behold.. the next door we knocked on.. she let us in. God is good eh! Her name is Julie and she is in her 60's. The first thing she offered was cranberry juice and her washroom. Prayers answered! We talked for about an hour and had a really good conversation about the Restoration. Her husband came home towards the end, and we set up a time to come back and teach both of them.. I'll get to that story a little later. Every Tuesday we have dinner with the Tunney's. They're the best. We had BBQ spare ribs, and lets just say - I felt at home. Oh man, funny story. Whenever we talk to people and they aren't interested, we always ask if we can give them a card. So I said, "Well, can we at least give you a card?" This grumpy old man looks at me with the evil eye and says, "No, save a dang tree." (Except he didn't say dang) hahaha I couldn't help but laugh as we walked away. People are too funny. 

Wednesday - Wednesdays are always pretty good days because we have District Meeting. I love my District, they're like family. After District meeting we all went to a Greek place for lunch. Dal, you'll like this story. I really wanted a Gyro (Pronounced Hero) But I still said Gyro when I ordered it. I felt so dumb. It reminded me when Jess, You and I went to that place in Provo and I made you order because I was scared to say it. Haha, but the Gyro was quite amazing. We went up to Uxbridge again and met with Eric and Alecia. I don't remember if I ever explained their situation. So they're both still married to other people, working on their divorces. Alecia is a member, Eric is the one we are teaching. But, here's the catch.. They live together WITH Alecia's ex-boyfriend Ryan. So let's just say, the Law of Chastity isn't a priority in their lives. However, Eric quite smoking all on his own. You can already see his life changing. We love meeting with him and he loves meeting with us. It's amazing how much people change when they simply realize that God loves them. He honestly didn't think that God cared about him. When we left that night, Alecia sent us a text telling us how she knew that we were sent here by God to help Eric. Needless to say, my heart melted. This work is so amazing. So worth it. 

Thursday - Boring. Car fast day. Weekly planning. Enough said. BUT I GOT A PACKAGE! It seriously couldn't have come at a better time. I have some pictures that I will attach. I was crying before I had even opened the package because I was so excited. Thank you so much family! I loved reading all of those letters and those pictures were the best. Also, thank you for all the treats, mints, drinks, etc. They are definitely a great blessing:) I am so excited to try those Key Lime cookies. I also can't wait to make the Pistachio pudding!

Friday - Was probably the most exhausting day to date. We taught a Muslim named Hina again. She brought along her friend Sara. Basically, it was a 2.5 hour lesson. They kept telling us they didn't want to hear about our beliefs, but all they wanted to know were the do's and don'ts of our religion. It was interesting. They are very kind people, but are pretty stuck in their own religion. So we'll see. Here's the funny part about this day... we went to an Imperial Buffet for lunch. It was tons of different Asian dishes. So they had KIMCHI! I got some on a plate, along with like 12 Macaroons. I sat in the Restaurant and shed a few tears. How ridiculous is that? I was just thinking about you, Dad, as I stared at the Kimchi. I didn't eat it. And Mom, I was thinking about you with the Macaroons. Those I ate :) I'm sure I've mentioned Syed before.. we taught him again. He has a baptismal date for July 7th. :) We just have to be really careful with Muslims because if they ever go back to their home, they'll get killed for becoming Christians. So I don't really know the process there. It'll be interesting eh?? But we're so excited for him. He came to church yesterday and everything. He texted us after church and said thank you for us finding him. Heart melted again! We taught Jasani again tonight. He is progresing really well. He won't set a baptism date yet because he wants to be 100% sure. Also, we did stop by Angela, and we found out that she has stopped smoking! We're so proud of her. We are meeting with her again tonight. Here is the funny line of today... Me - "Hey how are you?" Man on the street - "You Mormon's can't get me, I'm Jewish!" Ahh man being a missionary rocks!

Satuday - Lots of teaching today. We taught Charles again. He is supposed to be baptized on June 30th, but since he missed church yesterday, the soonest he can be baptized is July 7th. Remember Julie from earlier? The one that let us in and was so nice to us? Well we met with her and her husband, Gavin. He is very religious and very into theology and things like that. We brought along our ward mission leader, Brother Heman's. Thank goodness, he was a life saver! This was about a 3 hour "lesson". Except it was more like an interrogation/discussion than a lesson. We had a notepad and pen out and asked us questions the whole time. He then started bashing Joseph Smith and how he made up the Book of Mormon. He completely tried to tear us apart. When he started doing that, I sat back and started singing hymns in my head. Brother Heman's, Sister Stats, and him were having quite the discussion. I occasionally looked at Julie, and I saw that she felt so bad that her husband was being so rude to us. By the end of it, Sister Stats was in tears and I was sick to my stomach. We left on good terms though, and they gave us a bouquet of flowers. It was actually really discouraging. I felt like I was being ripped apart from the seams and thrown on the floor. I realized that I am going to have times when I feel like that. And you know what? That's okay. I need to experience the smallest ounce of my Savior went through. Yes, I felt rejected, yes I felt disappointed, but I still know what I know. No one can take away from the Testimony that I do have of this restored Gospel. 

Sunday - Church. Church rocks. Father's Day was tough. I was a little bit emotional, but that's just because I've been blessed with the most amazing Father. Love you Dad:) We had two investigators come to church - Syed and Eric. Guess who else showed up to church? President and Sister Scott! Yes I'm serious. It was quite the surprise. It was actually really comforting to see my mission Mom and Dad on Father's day :) We then got invited over last minute for Dinner with a family in the ward. We were so happy! We had fajitas. Yumm. Sister Stats then started feeling really sick so we went home, she slept and I watched The District and cleaned. It was a relaxing day, just like today will be. 

About the Baptisms coming up.. Do you guys remember Katrina? The golden investigator that we found in the area next to ours? Well her baptism is next week, and we aren't allowed to go to it because it's out of our area. It's quite the bummer, but at least she is getting baptized! As far as Xania goes, she is so busy and never makes it to church. So we continue to push her baptism date back. Just keep praying!

Tomorrow we have a Zone Conference and I also am going on my first exchange! Exciting!

I've had a lot of time these past few days to think back on my life. Reflect on all of the things that have led me to this point. All of the events that took place that were preparing me for a mission, even when I didn't know it. I'm so humbled and grateful for the knowledge that Heavenly Father has a unique, special and perfect plan for each of His children. It's definitely a beautiful and tough journey. It reminds me of something that I heard in the MTC - "Every single thing that you go through is preparing you to have joy". That brings me a lot of comfort. I think back to the first two weeks here in Canada. Man, those times were so hard. Times are still so hard. Yet now, I know my purpose. I had to get knocked down so that I could stand up even stronger. I had to be at my lowest so I couldn't know what it feels like to be at my highest. This mission that I've been on for a month and a half has taught me SO much. I don't think I understood the importance of this Gospel. This Gospel is pure. It is precious. It is perfect. It changes lives, including our own. Being a missionary is indeed the greatest calling in the world. Have a great week!

"Have Faith, Have Hope, Live like His Son, Help Others on Their Way"

All my love, 

Sister Hardcastle

Not the best quality picture ... sorry  :)

Loved the poem  :)

Week 4 Ajax

Hello Family and Friends, 

Wow. Week 4. I've been gone over a month. Time is such a strange phenomenon here on a mission. There are times when I feel like I'm never coming home. Then I look at my planner and I realize that I'm almost done with my first transfer. It's definitely going by faster and faster as I adjust more. I didn't think that being a missionary would become such a part of me so quickly. But man, it has. Sometimes I just look down at my name tag and smile. "How great is my calling". 

I don't have many complaints. But I have a few.....

1. It's still cold here. Currently.. it's pouring rain. 

2. I'm already sounding like a Canadian. I'm worried for what it's going to be like in 17 months from now. 

3. So, they call bathrooms, washrooms. It took me awhile to catch onto that. But it bother's me, because I will ask, "Could I use your bathroom?" And they look at me like I'm from another planet. Then they say, "You mean washroom?" And I nod, very embarrassed. Canadians are weird. 

Enough with complaints, here's something funny - Since Ajax has so many Jamaicans, we have renamed it "Jamajax" :) haha it cracks me up. Also, Tim Horton's is probably the great thing ever. It has 95 cent donuts! Score!

This week was a fantastic week. The Lord has given my companion and I so many tender mercies. We had 9 member present lessons this week. 9!! The standards is 4. We are being so blessed. The ward members here love us. I really do feel so warmed and welcomed. Although this is still so hard, and I have to fight every single day, I'm getting happier and happier. Whoever said, "Forget yourself and go to work" was so so right ;) 

Last Tuesday, I got a lot out of personal study. I was studying the will of God. I thought I would share some things with all of you. It really helped me remember that we need to dedicate our lives to God. 

John 5:30 - "I can of my own self do nothing..because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."

Hebrews 10:36 - "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

Moses 4:2 - "....Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever."

Those are just a few of the scriptures that stuck out to me and reminded me that we always need to do God's will. 

Onto the fun part, investigators....

I don't remember how much I've told you about certain investigators so bear with me. 

Syed - We thought that he fell off the face of the earth because we couldn't get ahold of him, and was never home when we stopped by. Well, we felt prompted to go to his house, and there he was. Turns out-we had the wrong number! Gah so frustrating. But we met with him again this week. He loves meeting with us. He says that we are the two most beautiful girls. It's kinda creepy/funny/nice. But he's a great guy. He didn't come to church yesterday though because he had to work. He also doesn't want to commit to being baptized until he knows for sure (well duh!). 

Jasani - I think I've mentioned him. He's the great family man, who has lost a child. We taught him the Plan of Salvation this past week. Holy cow, it was so powerful. I could barely hold back the tears. When I invited him to be baptized he said yes, but he's thinking really hard about what date to pick. AND to top it all off he came to church yesterday. Sister Stats was giving a talk to I sat by him. He LOVED it. Funny story though. Get ready because you're all going to laugh your heads off. When the second speaker got up, she started with "Good morning Brothers and Sisters" and Jasani said, "Good Morning" back. Hahahah I'm laughing so hard just typing it. It was too funny. He was so embarrassed. He didn't say it loud, but loud enough for the people around us to hear. Poor guy, he was laughing about it afterwards though. Anyways, we have really good feelings about him. We really want to teach his wife too. They're a beautiful family. 

Angela - She hasn't quite smoking yet, because she hasn't finished her current pack that she's on. She says once she's done, she going to quit.We showed her the restoration video just this past Saturday. She cried the whole time and told us how good she felt. Then she starting dancing and singing. It was so funny. She is almost there and I just love her. She told me that she's going to be really sad when I leave. Ahhh man being a missionary rocks. 

Katrina - remember her? The golden one from Pickering? Well turns out we couldn't teach her, so the YSA elders are teaching her. She is still set for baptism on June 23rd! Ahh man I can't wait. Fun story about her-our whole district was a part of finding her. The Whitby Elders decided to do the Blitz on that date that we found her. The Pickering Elders chose which streets to do. Sister Stats and I knocked on her door. The Oshawa Elders are now teaching her. So our whole district was involved. Such a miracle. 

Riley - She's new. She is Sister Pay's granddaughter. Sister Pay is a single lady who looks just like Janine Patch. It's freaky how much they look and act alike! I just adore her. Anyways, her 12 year old granddaughter has been coming to church with her for awhile now, and just loves it. We were able to go meet with her and Sister Pay yesterday. We taught her the restoration in a very simple way, which I loved. She has already been reading in the Book of Mormon and knows that it's true. We were reading the second to last paragraph in the introduction to the Book of Mormon and she read about halfway and started crying. She couldn't finish, so she handed the book to Sister Pay, who was also crying. The Spirit was so strong. I asked her how she felt and the only word she could get out of her mouth was "Good". My heart melted. This is the joy that has been spoken of. Things like this make all the hard times worth it. She wants to be baptized so badly, but she needs to get permission from her parents. She is really scared to talk to her parents about it, she's only 12! But I know that through prayer, her parent's hearts can be softened, and she will be baptized. She reminds me a lot of Ashlyn. 

We are teaching other people, but nothing too crazy has happened with them yet. All I know is I love finding people on the street and simply starting a conversation about God. It is interesting how many people open up to us and tell her their live story. 

We had zone training this past week, it was quite fun. Also, I tried Poutine. I had the whole restaurant watching as I tried it... and I LOVED it! I'll attach a picture. 

We went to a city called Uxbridge this past week, look it up, it's beautiful. We went to visit some less actives. One in particular, the Brazier's. They live in the most beautiful area in the woods. The whole drive reminded me of the cabin. When we got there, she started a fire for us and we sat by the fire and drank orange juice. It was the most adorable thing! I felt so at home. I'll attach a picture of that too. 

Well everyone, the church is true. The church is SO true. I see little miracles every single day. This is the hardest yet best thing I could be doing. I love waking up each morning, not even tired, ready to take on the day. I love getting into bed each night, so exhausted, knowing that I gave the Lord everything that I had that day. I've been truly so blessed with health and comfort here. 

I challenge all of you to read the Book of Mormon daily. This book has saved my life in the past several weeks. I love diving into it and learning something new every single day. God is good. God is so so good. I love you all and miss you every single day. Thank you for the prayers on my behalf. They are felt. Make it a good week!

Happy Father's Day on Sunday to all my Father figures out there. Especially to you Daddio! You're the greatest and I love you so much!

Happy Blessing Day to my sweet Eli on Sunday as well. Your aunt Rinney wishes she could be there, but she's there in spirit! 

Happy Birthday to Riley Woolstenhulme tomorrow! 

All my love, 

Sister Hardcastle

To all my returned missionaries who are reading this - shoot me an email with a few words of advice! I love getting advice and I would really appreciate it. 

Also, on June 30th I'm speaking in Sacrament about "Standing as a Witness of Christ" so ideas/talks/quotes/etc would be much appreciated. 

French Fries + Gravy + Cheese = Crazy Canadians

Most relaxing thing ever.

Week 3 Ajax

Hello my beautiful friends and family,

I'm almost at my one month mark.. whoa. I can't exactly say that it's gone by fast... but I have learned so much. I hardly recognize myself to be honest. This really is all about love :)

I'm glad that everything went well with Ciera getting to the MTC. I was constantly thinking about her Tuesday and Wednesday. I am glad that she is there and loving it so much. I love you Ciera!! 

Next, Happy 1 month to my sweet Eli. Happy 5 months to my favorite twin boys. Time goes by so fast! Before we all know it, I'll be home and it'll be like I never even left:) Katie and Jaclyn.. don't let your kids forget about their Aunt Rinney!

Last Tuesday I was really sick in bed all morning. It must be a Canadian thing, but heartburn is pretty much my third companion (Next to the Lord and Sister Stats, of course). We had to call the mission nurse and everything. By some miracle, I took a nap, woke up and was feeling so much better. Which was really great because we had about 6 appointments that day that we couldn't miss. 

Which leads me to my next point.. We teach SO MUCH. This area is incredible. It's just blooming with opportunities and I feel so blessed to be apart of this:) I'm going to tell you about a few of the people we are teaching in just a second. Sorry, this email is so scattered.. just like my brain. I didn't think I could hold in so much information, haha. 

Sister Scott called me on Wednesday. She was so sweet. She wanted to make sure I was doing okay. She knew that I was struggling a bit with being away from family. She said something that was so profound, I just have to share it. "You've had amazing blessings from your family. Now, go give others those blessings. Then, watch your family receive even more". That really hit me pretty hard. If I can help ONE person receive half of the blessings that I've received in my life, then I'm going to be one happy person. Also, if being away from you all means you are being more blessed, then by all means will I serve. 

I'll tell you about the whole teaching thing now. I thought that teaching would be really scary. Turns out... I love it. It's really made me reconsider what I want to do with my life. I honestly have thought about being a teacher:) Can you imagine.. Ms. Hardcastle the teacher :) 

Xania- I am sure that I have mentioned her in last weeks emails. She is GOLDEN. We found her while teaching a bunch of drunk teenagers on the street. She reads the bible every single morning and has really been trying to dedicate her life to God. I have already learned so much from her. In the past week, we've taught her three times. Every single time I come to love her more and more. We watched The Restoration video with her, and I watched her as she sat there in astonishment. After the movie was over, she could barely talk. She went on to say that she felt just like Joseph Smith. She has been searching for something that is right for her, and then we came into the picture. She calls us her "Utah Sisters". She just adores us and we just adore her. Her baptism is set for June 23rd. I have a feeling that June 23rd is going to be one of the best days of my life. 

Katrina- So they do these things in the mission field called a Blitz. It's where a bunch of missionaries from your district go to another area and try to help them find people. Hopefully that wasn't too confusing. Anywho, this past week we went to the area called Pickering. It is right next to Ajax, and it is part of our ward. The Elders in Pickering needed some help finding new people to teach. Sister Stats and I were knocking on doors and no one wanted anything to do with us. (Just a side note-we have yet to be let inside from knocking doors). We were about to go back to the car, but we tried one more door. And we found Katrina. She wanted to know more, so we sat on her porch and started teaching her the restoration. Next thing we know, she stands up and asks us if we will go on a walk with her. She completely opened up and told us about a really troubled past that she has been having. She is 18 and just finished her first year at college. We were walking and as she was talking to us I was just bawling. I realized that I don't have many problems compared to some people. We talked to her about the Atonement and Temple Marriage. When we showed her a picture of the temple, she lit up. She is incredible. One problem though, she isn't in our area. Long story short, we didn't get permission to teach her. However, she still came to church and so we got to see her:) She is going to get taught by the Elders, but we will still see her every single Sunday. She is set for baptism on June 23rd. Now do you see why June 23rd is going to be the best day ever? SO MANY MIRACLES!

Jasani (Hasani)- He was an investigator that the missionaries before us found. He is an amazing family man. He is from Jamaica and has a beautiful wife and three kids. He really opened up to us and told us about a child that they had pass away four years ago. He said that it really hit their marriage and they were just barely starting to recover. He wanted to find some peace in his life. We taught him about The Book of Mormon and how he will see his son, Malachi, again. When he told us about his son that passed away, I immediately got tears in my eyes again. So many people need to hear the message that I have. We are all so blessed to have the knowledge of eternal families. He said that he would be baptised if he came to find out that this was true. We are hopefully going to teach his wife too. I have a really great feeling about all of them. We are going to continue teaching him, so I'll let you all know. Pray for him though eh? And his whole family. 

Angela- She has been being taught by missionaries for years. Apparently she's been really cold to most of the Elders. However, she just loves Sister Stat's and I. What can I say, Sister missionaries have this touch :) Anywho, we are teaching her again tonight. She is going to stop smoking today! She has the most amazing faith in Jesus Christ. She has been a real example to me. Her son is still in Jamaica, and she hasn't seen him in 8 years... I think I can go 18 months without seeing you all, if she can go 8 years. 

Those are the four main ones that are worth talking about. However, a very interesting teaching appointment  happened this week, but we ended up dropping her. Her name is Ruth, and she apparently loves meeting with missionaries. Apparently, she felt like setting us up. She had a missionary from her church come to the appointment. All it was was pure bible bashing. The Spirit was not there, it didn't last long. They were saying that Satan isn't real. They think that we are just all born evil. We are only considered children of God if we are good. It was just really awkward. They were trying to convert us.. which was Satan! Satan is so real. 

Yesterday was fast Sunday, and I learned that there are interesting people in every ward. No one sang their testimony, but there were a few bangs on the pulpit.. It was interesting:) but I do love fasting. It takes on a whole new meaning here on the mission. Something that I'm learning is that everything that I do is for other people, not myself. Selfishly, it's something that I need to get more used to. I love it though. We had dinner at the Heman's last night (The amazing black family). She made some Jamaican food and when I told them that I have black sisters, they all freaked out and I'm pretty much their favorite person now. 

Random- I saw a dog just like Maizie and I started crying. These emotions are getting the worst of me! Haha! 

Last night we were dropping by member's houses and we went to a single sister's house. Her name is Sister Pay, and she told us that she calls sister missionaries "Missionettes". So that's what we go by now. We're the Missionettes:)

I have a few goals that I would like to share- you guys can do it with me if you want:)

1. Read the BOM once each transfer. That book is my lifeline. 

2. Study 1 Christlike Attribute per transfer. I'm working on faith right now. Then hope, then charity, and so on:) Do it with me!

3. Journal every single day! I feel like I'm writing my own adventure book, and I love it. 

Those are the three main goals that I have right now. I have probably mentioned this before, but the mission is trying to get 60 baptisms in June. We have been praying for this so hard, so please pray for it too! It's going to happen, and I can't wait to be apart of it!

Here are some of the things that I've learned on my mission so far

-This isn't about me, and it never was

-God is teaching my patience-success doesn't come overnight

-I'm in Ajax for a reason

-I'm supposed to be here... 

-This is the Lord's work-which means His timing

-This is the most important work that I could be doing right now

-God knows us. He hears our prayers

-This Gospel brings so much peace

-The Atonement is for everyone and has the most amazing enabling power

-God needs more missionaries, so many people need help

Although this is the hardest thing in the world, I can happily say that I would rather be on my mission than be home:) sorry family. This is the best thing that I could be doing right now. It is really going to be worth all of the rejection and sorrow. I can already tell. Meeting people like Katrina makes me realize why I'm doing this. 

2 Nephi 1:15 - "The Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of His love."

I'm going to do what missionaries do best, and leave you all with a commitment- find someone who needs this gospel and SHARE it with them. I regret being so timid before I was out on my mission to share it with people. It shouldn't be something that is scary.. It's all about salvation! 

It's an honor to represent Jesus Christ full time. I love you all so much. Thank you for the many prayers. I can feel them stronger than you all will ever know. Make it a great week. 

Sister Hardcastle

Sister Stats and me emailing  :)

This picture is for you Dad  :)

Week 2 Ajax

Hello Family, 

Well I've been in Canada for a week. What an experience it has already been. Where to start....

Happy Birthday to Nicholas today! I don't know if he'll ever read this, but happy birthday! Also, Happy Birthday to Sam on June 1st!

It's exciting that school gets out this week! I hope everyone kicks off the summer the right way! But be safe.

It has been quite cold here. It is really windy, so there is that wind chill. Even when the sun is shining, I have a coat on. I hope it warms up soon though! Also, our apartment is FREEZING! We always walk around in slippers with blankets wrapped around us. During personal and companionship study we basically sit there as a little freeze ball. It's actually pretty terrible. The worst is that the people upstairs control the thermostat, so we just have to deal with it. 

Did I mention I have a memory foam mattress? Yeah, it's probably the greatest thing about the apartment so far. I sleep like a baby each night, so there's a plus!

Tracting isn't the greatest thing in the entire world. But man, it's so necessary when you are whitewashing an area. Unfortunately, everyone in Canada seems to be perfectly fine with their church. Little do they know... hehe.

I've met all different kinds of people. Lots and lots of Muslims. Hardest of all, lots of African Americans. Makes me think of Ashy and Brynn. In fact, the ward mission leader is from Africa, and his little girl looks just like Brynn! I have also met a lot of Atheists. I didn't think there were that many in the world.. yup I was wrong. A lot of people's responses have been "How can you know God is there when terrible things happen every single day?". All I can think is, "How can you NOT know God is there?" Without God, we wouldn't even BE here. I wish more people knew that... time to go tell em eh?? 

We're teaching an amazing women named Angela. She has the strongest faith in Jesus Christ. She left her son in Jamaica to come here and take care of her brother in law, who is in a wheelchair. She wants to stop smoking so bad, so we gave her the "Stop Smoking Workshop" that the church uses. She is going to stop smoking next week, then next step - BAPTISM! Wahooo!

As we were tracting, we found a man named Syed. He is a devote Muslim, but he was really interested about us having a modern day prophet. He came to church yesterday!!!! He is such a nice man. He makes me feel like I'm making a difference in being here because he always says things like "We need more people like you in this world." It's comforting to know that the Spirit is touching people here in Ajax. He is coming to church again next week, and we are teaching him again this week. 

Something that I LOVE about being a missionary is teaching. Sometimes I say things that I wasn't even thinking, but it still came out and sounded perfect. I guess it is possible to have the gift of tongues even when you're speaking Canadian ;)

Here is the best story for the whole week. Some of you will laugh, and some of you will feel like I did - so uncomfortable. Well, we were visiting former investigators, and one of them was in the ghetto of Ajax. When we drove into the little subdivision, there was a group of teenagers hanging out there. Naturally, we went up and started talking to them. They were all so drunk and high. One of the guys, Dom, is only 17 and he kept telling us how "baked" he was. I felt so uncomfortable! Then, to make matters worse. Dom took his shirt off and started doing the running man for us. He then told us that he has a lot of beer for their party tonight and he wanted us to come really bad. He said that we were really cute girls and asked for our number too. Gah! I wanted to leave so bad. Long story short.. we ended up teaching them the restoration, gave several of them a Book of Mormon, and got 3 baptismal dates! Funny how God works, eh? We were with them for probably almost 2 hours. One of the girls, Xania pulled me aside and said that she is trying to change her ways. She has been reading the Bible everyday for the past couple of months. How cool is that! She couldn't come to church yesterday though because she had to go to her grandmas. We'll see how this goes! We have other investigators but nothing much has happened yet. 

The first Sunday in the field was really great. It was actually a missionary farewell, so of course I cried like a baby. The girl is headed to the Utah Provo mission, and she is really cool. Her dad also spoke. He talked about he hopes that the people of Provo embrace his daughter. He then when onto say that he encourages everyone to embrace Sister Stats and I, because he knows that is what our families would want. It was beautiful. 

Just a side note, we have dinner appointments almost every single night!

The ward has about 400 people, but only like 150 come. It's going to take some getting used to being in a small ward. Everyone knows everyone...

Sorry this email isn't as long as my one last week was. I have been spending more time emailing people individually, as I feel like that's what I needed most this week. Living here is Canada has definitely been an adjustment. I already feel like I've grown from leaning on the Lord so much. Without the Lord, I wouldn't be able to do this. It's some tough work. It's a tough world. 

The scripture that got me through this week was - D&C 121:7-9. 

"My son (daughter), peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high thou shalt triumph over all thy foes. Thy friends (family) do stand by thee, and they shall hail thee again with warm hearts and friendly hands."

Although I'm going through my own trials and adversities at this time, God is with me. I have felt the loving arms of God wrapped around me this week more than I ever have in my entire life. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. I especially love the last verse that talks about my family standing by me. I feel so much love and support from all of you. You all shall hail me again with warm hearts and friends hands:) You aren't going anywhere. What comfort that brings me. 

I made a goal to read the BOM each transfer. I find myself reading all the time.. I can't put it down! Haha. I know that since it brings me so much peace, it can do that same for others. 

Did I mention that I gave away a Book of Mormon to a man on the street! He was so nice. He was just visiting Canada though, so we can't teach him. But at least the seed has been planted!

I love you all so much. I hope everyone has a good/safe week. Remember how much God loves us. He is watching out for all of us and blessing us. I hope you know that I pray for each of you by name every single day, multiple times. I don't have any pictures this week, but I promise I will next week! 

I'm grateful to be part of Helaman's Army. 

All my love, 

Sister Hardcastle

"Get on your knees and pray; then get on your feet and work"

Oh and family members that don't email me... EMAIL ME! Haha you know who you are. xoxo

Week 1 Ajax

My dearest family, 

Hello! I'm in Canada safe and sound. The flying wasn't the best and by the time we got here I was SO exhausted. I'm not going to miss the airport for a year and a half:) I'm going to miss the MTC though. It was one of the greatest experiences ever. I'm ready for this new one though. I saw Austin several times.. I actually cheated and gave him a few hugs. It was nice to see him, a familiar face is always great. I'm going to attach several pictures. 

The night before we left the MTC we went to bed pretty late because we were packing. We got up at 2 to be at the bus at 3. Yeah, I was tired and sick. It was miserable. Lots of people in different groups didn't show up for the bus! So they missed their flight haha. The Elders from our District were waiting for us by the bus to help us with our luggage. It was so sweet of them! Let's just say.. hauling around 3 huge suitcases isn't the easiest thing I've ever done. The ones I checked were both over 50 pounds.. but the girl was really nice and just let it slide. Thank goodness! 

We made it to the airport kind of late, which is why I couldn't call for very long. But that's probably a good thing because hearing everyone's voices makes me kinda sad! 

When we got to the gate to fly to Texas, the lady told me my carry on was too big. They said I would have to pay 150.00$ to check it! I was like NO WAY! So I worked with it for a long time to get it down. They kept calling "Final Boarding" and I was still not on the plane. Haha, but a sweet man that worked there was helping me. I had to throw some stuff away though (Just cheap things like envelopes from the Dollar Store). It finally went down enough. Let's just say, American Airlines isn't as cool as Delta!

On the plane I sat next to a nice old man. He leaned over and said, "Do you know when Sister Monson's funeral is?" I had to inform him that I didn't because I've been in the MTC. He then asked me where I was going and was so sweet to me. When we got to Texas he offered me his phone to call you guys.. but I couldn't do it on the plane because I knew I'd just cry! Haha, that's too embarrassing. I'm glad that I got to talk to some of you again in Texas though. 

The flight to Canada was great. I slept the whole time. I woke up as we were landing. (Winner winner chicken dinner)!! Customs wasn't so fun though:( When the guy asked me why I was coming to Canada I told him it was to serve a LDS mission. I handed him all the documents he would need. He looked at me like I was crazy. He then went on to scold me about how I need to say Latter-Day Saints, not LDS. Great first impression of Canada, eh? It was discouraging. But then I went to get my visa, and the lady was really really nice. Then I met my mission president and his wife. President and Sister Scott are SO amazing. I feel so blessed. We took two big vans back to the mission home with the AP's. 

Once at the mission home, we had the best dinner I'd eaten the whole time. Homemade mac and cheese, hot dogs, hamburgers, salad.. ahh it was so yum! We were all interviewed by President Scott. He is so nice! He asked about the family and why I'm on my mission. He said he got chills when I told him how I dreamed about serving in Toronto, Canada. We then had a testimony meeting. It was great. Then we went to a hotel! The next morning we went back to the mission home and had lots of orientation meetings. It was really overwhelming. We got our health cards, debit cards and tiwi cards (for the cars). By the way Dad, I'm covered on the church insurance, so I won't be using the insurance card you sent me with. 

We then went upstairs and met the trainers! They all bore their testimonies to us, and the assignments were then made. My trainer is Sister Stats. She is 22 and from Centerville Utah. She has been out for 5 months and has been training since her 5th week here. Just goes to show how amazing she is! We are whitewashing an area called Ajax. It is a beautiful city outside of Toronto. It is right off of Lake Ontario, but I haven't seen the lake yet. Haha, I've only been here for a day:)

We live in a basement apartment. I'm not going to lie and tell you it's nice.. but it's okay! It has a washer and dryer, so there's a plus! Also a tub with jets.. that I won't have enough time to use :) but that's okay. We had a dinner appointment last night with the Tunney's. They are incredible. They have the missionaries over every single Tuesday. They are both converts. We had curry.. I hated it.. but pretended to like it! THEY SAID EH AFTER EVERY SENTENCE! Haha, and my companion says it all the time. It's already rubbing off on me. Canadians are crazy. 

After dinner, we knocked on doors for about 2 hours. Lots of people were super nice, but weren't interested at all. My trainer would do the first couple doors, then she let me do them. Then we switched off. It wasn't scary at all! Everything just came naturally. We gave out a lot of mormon.org cards. Side note, we have already received TWO referrals from mormon.org. Technology is great! Anyways, we got one appointment after all those hours. Her name is Lindsay and she looked pretty young. She said she would have her friend or mom there. We'll see how that goes on Friday. We saw a guy mowing his lawn, so we talked to him. He tried to convince us that God isn't real because he's taken psychology classes and humans are too scientific to have been created by God. It was ridiculous. We gave him a card though. We talk to everyone. Pretty exciting, eh? We then saw another guy on the street. I approached him this time. We got his number, then my trainer repeated the number back to him to make sure it was right. As we were walking away she said, "He gave us a fake number". I asked how she knew that. She said that when we repeats it back, she'll change a number on purpose to see if they gave us the right number. Man, I'm learning so much from her already. 

I had to use the washroom really bad so we drove around trying to find the church. Oh did I mention that we drive a 2013 silver Chevy Cruze? IT'S SO NICE!! Anyways, we got lost for a long time. We finally found the church, and there were a couple of cars in there. We went up and started talking to one of them. Turns out, he's not a member, but his friend it and they play basketball every Tuesday night at the church. He's a very nice man named Anthony. He said that his wife is super religious but he would want to know more. So we are meeting with him this weekend. TENDER MERCY - Getting lost so that we could find Anthony. Love it!

By the time we were done at the church, it was time to head home. We got home safely and unpacked. I'm so glad I brought a comforter and everything. My pooh bear was great to cuddle with last night. Did I mention that my companion collects pooh bears? Meant to be, eh?

So, I'm still really sick. I was coughing all night! My poor companion! We just stayed inside to work out this morning because I can't breath outside, haha. We went shopping today.. I bought a lot of things :( (Sorry mom and dad). I bought a new jacket because it was on sale. Then a few random things. It was fun to hang out around the shops with Sister Stats. We're a LOT alike. She's a goofball. I'm a goofball. It's so great. 

Here are some of the weird/cool things about Canada so far, 

-There are squirrels everywhere. They are about the size of a cat. I'm not joking. And they are black. They're freaky. They are outside of our apartment all the time. 

-The milk comes in bags. Yes. Bags. And it's so expensive. 

-Tim Horton's is on EVERY CORNER. 

-They spell center, centre. 

-They're in the metric system. It's super weird. We'll be driving in a residential area and it'll say "Maximum 60" and I think wow that's fast. Then I have to remember it's not miles per hour. haha

-Food is so expensive.... gahh

-Canadians are super nice. Last night when we kept getting rejected, I told Sister Stats that even when they're mean they're still being nice! They were all super respectful and kind. They would say, "Have a good night eh?" haha I love it!

-It's just been raining the whole time. Last night we knocked doors in the pouring rain. No joke, there were literally puddles all over the place. 

-The city of Ajax is beautiful. Big trees and quint houses everywhere. 

I'm going to love it here. I already do. I love being a missionary. I love having the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. I love talking to people and hearing about their lives. I love that I am involved in the Lord's work. I know that I cannot do this without Him. I'm grateful for my Savior, and I know that He lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is real and that it can change people's lives. I know that our Heavenly Father is looking out for all of us. I hope you all know how much I love you! I will email again on Monday, and that will be my P-day from now on. Pray always, and carry on!

Have a great week everyone. I love you all.

Sister Hardcastle

P.S. I can only attach one picture at a time... SO yeah. Here is me being as happy as ever  :)

OH! Write me! And send me stuff  :)

30 Wright Crescent - BSMT

Ajax, ON
L1S 6S6 Canada

Good thing I bought an SD card reader. I'll attach some links of my voice on Monday. Sorry I don't have time right now. Love you!

First and Last Pday in the MTC!

Family,

Greetings from one of the happiest places on earth (besides Disneyland/world)! I have so much to tell you! I'm glad you have been getting my letters. It is tough to only write on Pdays... so I'm going to get a lot of letters written today! I can't believe that I have been here for over a week. Man, so much has happened. I can't even believe how much I have grown. I feel like the best way to get everything written is bullet points, so bear with me.

• Yes I did join the choir. AREN'T YOU ALL SO PROUD?! I joined it because you get way good seats at the devotional on tuesdays. Yeah.. so guess who was the speaker for that devotional?! Elder Russel M. Nelson!! I was super close to him. One of the coolest experiences of my whole life. He said some of the coolest things. His wife spoke also. A lot of it had to do with family history. His wife said, "Pray to be led to those whose ancestors are praying for you". She also said "Pray for angels to be with you.. Pray for them by name". It was just so amazing! Elder Nelson said that he wanted to shake all of our hands and hear all of our stories but that wouldn't be realistic so we got to virtually shake his hand over the pulpit.  :)
• So everyone in my district talks in their sleep. One of the Elders (Elder Mo'Unga) apparently in the middle of the night said, "Come on man, the church is true!" Hahah I love my district. So there are 6 sisters and 6 elders in my district. 4 of us sisters are headed to Toronto Canada. The other two are headed to Carlsbad California. 1 of the elders is also going to Toronto, and the other 5 to Carlsbad, Cali. I've come to the conclusion that life is full of saying goodbyes...I don't want to leave them in 3 days!
• So, since the crazy amount of sister missionaries in the MTC, they have made leadership roles for them. So my companion and I (I'll talk about my companion soon) are the Sister Training Leaders. So that's basically Zone Leaders put into girl form. It's been so fun! We just met the new missionaries last night, and they all seemed so scared.. I hope I wasn't like that.  ;)
• So yes, it's true. I did get the flu. It was the worst night here by far. I slept on the bathroom floor of the MTC and got a grand total of probably 2 hours of sleep. The next day was sunday though and I didn't want to miss our on all of those things, so my some miracle I felt good enough to do everything. A few nights ago my companion got sick too!
• Which leads me to the food here. It's like a 14 year old boys DREAM. I eat a lot of salad :) The best part is the chocolate milk. Then every wednesday and sunday there is ice cream!
• Soooo my companion. Sister Dyer. She is the BEST! She is from Idaho Falls. She knows Grandma Ida and Tanner! She is super cool and really is the perfect first companion. She is twenty and has been at BYU. She helps me manage my craziness :) I love teaching and working with her though. Having her as a companion has truly been an answer to my prayers! We laugh all the time, yet know when to get things done.
• My teachers are Brother Terry, Brother Smith and Brother Mosley. They are incredible! Which leads me to our investigators. One is Aaron (A-A-RON) hahahah. He is our teacher (Brother Terry). So yea, we teach our teacher. It's been a really great help though because he gives us a lot of feedback. Then there is a thing called TRC where it's volunteers that come in and act as investigators. So we've done that twice. I know that they are actors, but it really makes me so happy when I teach and they agree to read the Book of Mormon or accept to be Baptized. I can't wait for real life!
• Mom, could you find me the talk entitled "Character of Christ" from Elder Bednar? Thanks!
• So I saw Austin last night! I tracked him down for hours and I finally saw him! But we can't hug.  :(  He looks great and super happy.
• GUESS WHO CAME ON MOTHER'S DAY?! Janice Kapp Perry (She wrote like half of the children's hymnbook). So I feel like all the cool people are coming when I am here! She also wrote "As Sisters in Zion". It was so cool because she made a new version called "The Sisters of Zion" and the Relief Society was the first to ever sing it. It was amazing! Mother's day was the hardest day here. All I could think about was all the amazing mothers in my life. My own mom, my grandma's, Katie, Jaclyn. Gahh the tears were flowing. But I know that all of you are doing great and that's a great comfort to me.  :)
• So here are my flight plans.. get ready for me to call you super early on Monday morning. American Airlines flight 436 leaving SLC @ 6:00 a.m. We arrive in Dallas/Ft Worth @ 9:40 a.m. From thereit's American Airlines flight 684 @ 10:20 a.m. we head to Toronto Canada and get in at 2:20 p.m. I wont have time to call you in Texas.. so salt lake it is! I would plan on me calling around.... 4:30 in the morning?
• Thank you so much to everyone who sent me packages and has written me. Some people in my district have yet to recieve mail and I think that would be so hard! I have another temple walk on sunday at 3.  ;)  ;)
• So I see Hailey Gardner in the bookstore like every single day! It's so nice to see a familiar face!
• Mom.. that blanket we got at costco has SAVED my life. The blankets here are cardboard.
• So something really hit me during zone teaching one day. Our teacher said, "The only time the Savior ever stopped his feet from being on the ground was when He was nailed to the cross dying for YOU". How incredible is that. I think about how tired I sometimes am, and then I remember that. I can't ever stop working! I love this work. It's already made me happy, and I haven't even gotten to my mission yet.
• My companion and I came back from a lesson that didn't really go as planned and one of the teachers said, "Keep your head up, you're successful in God's eyes". That also really hit me because I need to realize that there is only SO much that I can do.

I can't believe it's been a week. Time is so weird here. When I'm sitting in a 3 hour class I feel like time is never going to end.. and now.. I'm scared that my mission is going to go by too fast! I love how much I have grown in just a few short days. I'm not going to lie and tell you that I haven't been sad at some points. It's tough, and it's only the MTC. I start to look at pictures and think about home and that's just not a good idea. I can feel your prayers and I hope you all know that I am praying for all of you too. Here are some pictures of my marvelous adventures so far. I love you all. Next time you hear from me I'll be in Canada!! I can't get the voice recorder thing to attach on these computers.. and I don't have time to make it work. Oh hey!! My first Pday in Canada will be next Wednesday.

I love you all so much! Get ready to answer the phone nice and early! Keep the letters coming! I love every second of being a missionary, and I've already seen the blessings! I hope you all know of my love for you. God be with you til we meet again.  :)

With love,

Sister Hardcastle

Mission say whaaaa?

Ahhh it's been months. So much has happened.

I'M GOING ON A MISSION!!!

Toronto Canada on May 8th, 2013. English Speaking :)

I am so excited.

Story time.

I was sitting at my cabin in Island Park Idaho on October 6th, 2012 when the announcement was made.  Was a always thinking about a mission?? Yeah. Did I think it was going to happen this fast? NO. It took me awhile to be 100% sure that this was what I needed to do, and not just something that sounded exciting. It's exciting of course, but a very important decision.

The night after I decided to go a dreamed about Toronto Canada. CRAZY RIGHT? I told a select few about this dream, thinking that it wasn't a big deal.

The night after my papers went in, I dreamed about Seoul Korea (my dad's mission).

So basically I was thinking either Canada or Korea. Well Canada it was, and turns out, there are SO MANY KOREANS IN CANADA! The Church is so true.

Anyways, January 9th was one of the best days of my life so far....Seriously, I wish I could relive it over and over and over again......

There is no place I would rather spend the next 18 months of my life.

Here are some pictures of that beautiful day :)

 In complete shock... Did I just read Canada??

Stay tuned for posts about my new twin nephews and going through the Salt Lake Temple!