~Temple Walk~

To start off, I would love to tell you all about the temple walk that we did this last Saturday! It was so amazing. There was a young woman in one of our wards that was doing her personal project and she wanted to do a temple walk for her project! It was the best idea ever and we were privileged enough to be invited and get to go. I would love to share the theme of it with you.. It was Hebrew 12:1-2  
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."     What a great theme that was. So, what is a temple walk? Dont worry, I will explain it to you! We walked to the temple! :) We walked about 8 miles to the temple. But it wasnt just walking... We were walking and pondering. Well, at least a few of us were. Haha. We are talking about 12-17 year olds here so I am not sure how much pondering the youth did. But, we were given a task before we started the walk. What we had to do was we had to find a rock and                                                                   we had to give meaning to the rock.

Just like the scripture said,  let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. So, the rock was representing what was a burden to us, what sins we needed to get rid of, what was keeping us from getting closer to Christ. So, we walked with our rocks for 8 miles. Now, this may seem weird, but I thought about my rock a lot. I thought about the meaning of it and how much closer I will be to my Savior when I get to the end. Well, just before we reached the temple, we stopped at the river and one of the young woman who prepared all of this shared a message. It was so good. So talked about the path that we had walked. And the path that we walked, at times, took us very far from the temple and I personally was wondering, "why dont we go this way? It will be so much faster." Well, she talked about that. And she talked about how Heavenly Father has a path for each one of us. And we need to trust in that path. At times, we may feel that it is taking us further away from our Savior (Such as trials) but, in the end, it brought us closer to Him. There was so much symbolism in the whole walk. After the spiritual thought, we were able to throw our rocks into the river. So, to be honest, it was kind of hard letting go of my rock. I am not sure why. But when I let go of it, it really did feel that there was a burden that was lifted off of my shoulders. Now, I am sure that many of your are wondering what my rock represented, because I would be really curious as well. I will tell you. My rock represented worry. Worry about what is going to happen when I get home. Worry about where I am going to school, what job I am going to get, and of course, who will I marry. But, since that day, I have not been worrying. I have been trusting in the path that Heavenly Father has set for me. It was such a great experience and I am so grateful that we were able to be part of this wonderful temple walk. :) 
So, now that I have talked about the temple walk, I will now answer the questions that mom has given me. :) 
Q. What happened this last week that had the most influence on you?
A. I would have to say the temple walk. I had so much time to think and ponder and pray as well. And I feel that because of this experience, I have been changed. :) 
Q. Life is hard... What have you learned on your mission that will help you when it gets tough?
A. I am sure that many of you could answer this question for me... Lol but, I have had many trials on my mission. Some tougher than others. But none the less, I have had trials. But, I think that the most important thing that I have learned on my mission that will help me is knowing that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. I have never used the Atonement so much in my life. There is a quote that I love and live by and I always remember it.. "When life gets to tough to stand, KNEEL" I love that and I have truly lived by that. When times get tough, I fall to my knees and pray to my Father in Heaven for the strength that I need to move forward. So, I believe that the Atonement is what will help me in my future as I wish that it will be the same for everyone. Christ paid the price for all of us. Not just for our sins, but for those hard times. And if we dont use that gift then what is that saying of how we view Him? Use the gift that was so freely given to us. 
Q. What is the most fun PDay you have had while on your mission?
A. I would have to say that the most fun PDay that i have had on my mission is when we went to Jackson Hole in my last area. It was so much fun and we were able to do so many things! :) I loved it so much. But, We also went to Yellowstone with Mama Henderson and also Jackson Hole and I am not going to lie.. that trumped the zone activity! Haha I think that it was because it was with some of the most important people in my life! :) 
Want to know something so amazing that happened this week? Well, if you dont, sorry, im telling you anyways... So, we go to see our recent convert, Kendra, the one that was just baptized last Saturday and well, when we got to the assisted living place, Kendras roommate was out in the main living area and she came up to us and asked us if we had any pamphlets that she could have and we said sure! Gave her a couple and we asked her if she had a Book of Mormon and she said no, so we left that with her. She was so excited about it. Well, we go to her and Kendras room and we start teaching Kendra a lesson. She did not talk a whole lot... We think that she was mad at us... Anyways, we were sharing some scriptures out of Mosiah about conference and Daloris was over here, with her new Book of Mormon following along and marking the scriptures that we were sharing. She then asked Kendra if she was going to get out of her Book Of Mormon to mark the scriptures and she said no, so Daloris said that she would mark them for the both of them. When we were done with the lesson, we went out into the mail area and Daloris followed us out and she said that she would love to learn more and that she wanted us to come back to teach her! So, we set up a day to go back and see her! And, we also invited her to be baptized and she said yes! :) Oh, something you should know about Daloris is that she is only in assisted living because she only has one leg. She is in a wheelchair and needs some well... assistance. :) So, she has no mental problems.... Anyways, Sister 'Otukolo went and saw her for our appointment, we had to go on splits, so I didnt get to go, but I wish that I was able to. Anyways, I guess the lesson went really well and they were able to set a baptismal date with her for October 4th which we just changed it to the 11th yesterday since the 4th is General Conference. But, while they were in the lesson, Daloris was telling her that she has wanted to talk to us for awhile but she never had the courage to talk to us. But on Monday, when we went in, she thought that it was going to be the last time that she was going to see us (which was probably true) and that she really needed to talk to us. So, that is why she was in the main area of the assisted living was so that she could talk to us. Daloris is so solid and is such a golden investigator! Sister Otukolo set up a church tour with her. I was able to go to that I am so happy that I was able to. The spirit was so strong in that church tour. Daloris is such a sweet heart. She was so excited for us to come get her and take her to the church. When we got in the church she was just ready to start looking around. While we were walking through the church, there were some pass along cards and every new one that she saw she would ask us to give her one so that she could have the pictures of Jesus. :) And there was actually someone in one of the clerks office and we asked him to explain what the clerks office was and he did. Then he asked if she was getting baptized and she said... "YES! I am! OnOctober 4th at 6:00pm!" It was so cute! :) The best part though was when we were in the chapel. I loved the spirit that was felt in there. It was amazing. :) We were talking about the sacrament and what it is. And I shared something with her that I learned on exchanges one time from a member and I want to share that with you all in case I have not shared it with you... But, I talked about the sacrament and how when Christ shows his disciples how to bless and pass the sacrament in the Bible, he blesses and then brakes the bread. And in the Book Of Mormon, he Breaks and then blesses the sacrament, which is what we do today... Have you ever thought why? Well, I will answer it for you! When it was taught in the Bible, Christ was still whole and he was not yet broken of crucified.. While in the Book of Mormon, it was after he was crucified and resurrected. Therefore, He was broken, so, hence the reason of breaking the bread and then blessing it. I just thought that it was way cool and that I would share it with you all! Anyways, back to the spirituality in the chapel. :) We continued to talk to Daloris and the members that had come with us had said some very good touching things and I loved everything that was said. And I felt that I needed to add my testimony. And I told her.. That it was people like her that made my mission worth every moment and that people like her made up for all the bad days that we have in the mission. Some more testimonies were shared and she was crying and we asked her if she was okay and she said that she was and that she was just so happy and that she could not wait to go to church and to be baptized. She is so amazing I am so glad that I was able to meet her and share my testimony with her. She was worried about what she would wear to church and one of the members that was with us offered to take her to get an outfit for church! :) She looked so good at church and she loved every minute of church! :)  Daloris set such a great example! When she was getting ready for church, there was a guy at the assisted living that asked where she was going and she told him that she was going to church.. Well, he wanted to go too and he did! And guess what! Now we are teaching him! :) YAY! :) This is so exciting! :) 
We went to the state hospital a lot this week.. And yesterday we spent about two hours there because people just kept wanting to meet with us. Haha. We saw one of our investigators... Donovan and he is doing so good! He is making a lot of progress! :) He is wanting to be baptized but he will be getting out of the state hospital soon and he is worried that he is going to start back on cigarettes and drugs... We just keep encouraging him to stay strong and to not give in to temptation! We also saw a recent convert who just got in the hospital. She is super sweet! I am not really sure why she is in there because she seems so normal haha. But she is pretty awesome and she is super funny. She tells us all about everyone in the hospital and the nicknames that she has for all of them. Is it bad to say that it is kind of entertaining? :/  Well, when we were done with meeting with Kelly, the recent convert, she introduced us to her friend that has been going to church with her and she wants to start meeting with us and  learning more about the church! And, she said that she wants to get baptized! :) I love it! We are continually finding people to teach! :) 
Well family, I think that is about all the excitement for the week! Oh, guess what! We had 7 of our investigators go to church yesterday! :) It was amazing to see them all there! Oh, and we have 3 baptismal dates just for the 11th of October! What a great way to end my mission! :) The last weekend with 3 baptisms! And they are all pretty solid... Well, two of them really are. But still! :) I am so excited for them all. And currently, we have 8 people with baptismal dates and we hope to set four more this week! :) Things are happening in the Blackfoot East Stake! :) YES! :) I dont ever want to come home! Sorry! I am staying here forever and ever and I am going to stay a missionary forever! :) Haha :) Well family and friends, I will either see you or talk to you in about four weeks, or as dad would say it, 28 days... Hes the one counting down, not me. Haha. But I am excited to see you all! :) I love you all! :) 
Love, 
Sister Ashley Halbison