"You can take the girl out of the Ghetto. But you can't..."

Well hey there!! 

Easter egg hunt at the church! (Inside because of the rain)

I hope you all had the best Easter imaginable! Mine was pretty good, a little different and definitely unorthodox, but hey! I wouldn't have it any other way :) I was shown the best video the church has ever put out on Tuesday night.. had I known about it last week I would have sent it then.. but seeing as I didn't have it I'll just send you all to it today. Its titled "Because of Him" and honestly its the best video!! And I'm not just saying that.. Its only like 2 minutes long, and I promise you that you will NOT regret watching it. Don't make me go all missionary on ya and ask a "will you" question.. Just watch it :) You can find it at: http://easter.mormon.org/

I've had a really great week! Thanks for your prayers! My procedure went well. My leg is swollen and sore, but the worry and stress is gone! Now I just have to not exercise or stretch and be a good girl and follow the Drs orders. :) Mom, I promise to be good. One more week until Student Teaching interviews. Exciting stuff! Please keep me in your prayers until they are over (April 29th) I would really appreciate it. 

Now as for the week, I have learned so much and experienced so much joy amidst the hard facts of missionary work. All of the things I love most about the South and my service as a missionary always come down to the people. This week I had some wonderful experiences with many of the people that I love and met some more people who also, of course, love dearly! Let me tell you about a few! :)

Sister Spencer and I :) 

The Spencers are doing great! We saw Sister Spencer one day this week and showed her how to use the "gospel library" app. She LOVED it. And its so fun to have her now show us scriptures from all over the standard works and how she's learned that they are connected. :) We went over there another time and showed her a baptismal calendar, a tool we have to help people see what they've learned, what more they need to learn, and set a goal for baptism. As we showed Sister Spencer all that they already know and live she looked up at us with the biggest smile and said "This is beautiful, I so want this, and I had no idea I was so close." We were able to help schedule some things and she wrote on her baptismal date "Our Baptism, Be Ready!" They have chosen to work toward being baptized on May 10th :) Pretty exciting!

We tracted into this sweet Muslim family. The daughter first answered the door and told us to wait there while she got her mom, her mom took awhile and when we said hi and told her where we were from she said "Oh I'm so sorry for wasting your precious time, we're Muslim" We assured them that they weren't wasting our time and had a nice conversation.. I couldn't resist asking what she was making because the curry smelled so good! Next thing I knew we were invited inside and shared a nice meal with Hibbah and her family and walked away with the recipe! :) It was neat to talk about the similarities of our religions and to just feel a great amout of joy in their home. 

We had dinner with the Williams family. Their son George is 5, and such a gentleman. Truly cutest little gentleman ever! He found out yesterday that they were feeding the Elders next week and he said "Oh Dad.. Don't you know I like the Sisters? Perhaps we can invite them again too." Oh proper little George! 

Sister Everett came to church again and is really just progressing so well! I love helping others to remember the feelings of peace and comfort that they felt at baptism. Its truly amazing and the best experience! 

We had a great evening with the Moores, a great couple in the ward. Brother Moore used to be quite hostile toward the church but for some reason has taken a liking to myself and Sister Smith. He has come to church for a month straight now and Sister Moore said he often bugs her to see when our next visit will be! :) Its so cute! I look forward to the big hug he gives us each Sunday when we see him at the church. :) As we left their house this week (the first lesson he participated in and shared his testimony of the Savior, truly beautiful!) I looked at Sister Smith and told her "Don't you ever forget this moment right now.. These are the moments I came on a mission to have. This is why I'm here and I hope its why you're here too."

Easter was really nice :) We spent the morning/lunch time with the Spencers. I was able to braid Annie's hair and she looked so cute! They had easter baskets for us. Really this family is such a blessing in my life. I love them so much! Then we had church, which was great. And afterward we went to Easter dinner.. More commonly and accuartely known as a block party, hosted by the wonderful Sister Manderson :) There were about 50 people including kids running everywhere. Brother Manderson reminds me a lot of Scott, the same hair, sense of humor, and love to cook. Bro Manderson grilled hot dogs, burgers, chicken, and salmon. The only time he left the grill was to break up a dog fight.. between two pitbulls.. haha And during that time I was put in charge of the grill.. Thanks Scott and Paul for teaching me! haha Sister Manderson's sister came up to me and said "Can you believe this craziness.. You can take the girl out of the Ghetto. But you can't take the ghetto out of the girl. I sure love my sister! And she sure knows how to throw a nice block party." HAHA It was so funny! 

The Byrds from Coal Mountain!! Did I mention I saw them last week? :) So wonderful!!! 

Lastly I want to share part of my interview with President Wolfert with you. First lets have a throwback monday. Right before I left to enter the MTC, just as right before I left for college, my mom looked me in the eyes and told me "You tell him that you are there to serve and that he will never have a problem from you, and make sure you mean it." In my first interview I did just that. I told President Wolfert I would always serve in anyway that he needed me to, and that he would never have to worry about my commitment level or obedience. It has been my goal to be the type of person that if the Lord needed something done that He could count on me. As I look at these past 15 months, I can see how President definitely has asked me to serve in a lot of various ways, and I'm so thankful for each learning experience!

So, back to my interview. It was so nice! I just felt so uplifted the entire time we talked. President then told me of a "pickle" (if you will) that he is in with these upcoming transfers that he is starting to work on. As I listened I wondered "why is he telling me this?" He then said "Sister Hamilton the more I pray about this I keep receiving one answer from the Lord.. He keeps telling me to "Ask Sister Hamilton" so Sister Hamilton, I'm here to ask you.." I of course told him again what I said in our very first interview.. I will always serve in anyway he needs. And as I walked out of his office I thought of a story shared by Elder Kopishke. It went something like this "One week before transfers i got a call from the MTC telling me an elder was sick and could not leave.. I just couldn't let myself go back to the drawing board and redo transfer assignments for 140 missionaries. I prayed and the answer came.. "Ask Elder.." He was going home the next week.. I called him and asked him his plans.. within the hour he had talked to his mother and agreed to stay not knowing if it would be 6 weeks or 6 days. He was a missionary the Lord could count on." 

I'm not certain if I will be asked when transfers come around to do what President and I talked about. But I had an overwhelming peace come to my heart that I have become the type of missionary that when the Lord or President Wolfert need something done, they know they can count on me. Truly a humbing experience. I know the most joy we experience in this life comes as we are willing to serve, giving everything no matter how hard it is. 

To the adventures in the future! :) I love you all!

Love,

Sister Julie Hamilton

Pictures!

Sister George and I!

The temple :)

Hendersons at the temple

The Spencer's dog that drives me NUTS! Its always climbing all over me because I have to keep it away from Sister Smith.. who's allergic.. I love dogs.. this one.. not so much.. haha

Us and Tracy's girls.They LOVE sister missionaries, and I think they are just so cute!

"No darlin' he wore blue."

Friends and Family from the North and West and all around! 

I'm so excited to share your favorite part of the week with you, you know the time that you sit down to read a letter from me. :) Its been a pretty fun week for me kind of crazy as well, but no complaints. Its hard for me to  know what all to share with you and to know what to talk about.. so maybe I'll start by some things on my mind that you can help me with. 

Often I have asked you to pray for those whom I love here whether it be a companion, someone I'm teaching, families/individuals in the ward, etc. Today I am going to be slightly selfish I suppose and ask you all to keep me in your prayers more specifically for the next couple of weeks. I have interviews via "google hangout" on April 29th for student teaching. I know they are going to ask me questions about philosophy of education and all sorts of things that quite frankly haven't been on my mind for about 15 months. Try as I may I cannot exactly remember terms and definitions which are likely to be discussed. I knew them well at one point and I have no doubt that they will come back to me when I need it, but it doesn't mean I don't need extra help. These interviews will determine where I move when I get home so its kind of important :) Also, I'm having a small procedure done this coming week, don't you worry! I'm not worried about the outcome of it, it'll just take a few stitches and all will be well. The only problem is its my leg.. which I use quite frequently as we walk miles each day :) So if you could just keep me in your prayers that everything will be fine but more importantly that I'll be smart enough to know when I should take a break and when I can keep working.. Thanks! That would be great :) 

Now let me tell you about the title of this email. These southerners crack me up! I love them so much. I met Lois tracting who just became my best friend. This cute grandma lived in California for many years but made her way back to the south. I decided to talk to her about genealogy, and no it wasn't just because she's a cute old lady. She apparently really likes genealogy so she was excited to tell me something she recently learned. She said "I found out I have a relative who fought at Kennesaw Mountain." (For those of you who don't know, major Civil War Battles were fought there) I naturally got excited and said "Really!? That is so cool!" To which Lois responded, "No darlin' he wore blue." HAHA Over 150 years later and she can't seem to be proud of her "Yankee" ancestors who fought in the war.. haha gets me every time!!

Another major highlight of my week.. more like of my mission! Was being able to go to the Atlanta Temple. It was a huge blessing to be able to go! I'll of course attach some pictures :) I got to see three of my past companions Sister Beasley, Sister Blackett, and Sister Alder along with many Elders and Sisters I've served around these past.. many months. I must say, there was something extra special about being in the Celestial room in all white with only missionaries and President and Sister Wolfert. It was just so refreshing to be in the Lords house and not have to worry about time! Time is something we have to stress about as a missionary.. Always making sure we are using our time wisely.. but in the Temple.. I didn't look at my watch once. I just sat. I sat in peace.. It was beautiful!  :) Of course once we got out and took pictures and I actually looked at my watch once again a pressure to be somewhere came and off we went. But man, those 3 hours in the temple were GLORIOUS! 

The Spencers are still doing great :) We continue to teach them and help them prepare for baptism. There are some concerns we are working through, which is normal, but both tell us often how they want to be baptized. Sister Spencer told us of an experience she had this week where she met someone and the woman asked her why she was so happy. She told her it was because she had Christ in her life.. She was then asked what church she goes to. Sister Spencer said "And I just told her 'I go to the Mormon Church! You should come too, its wonderful!'" Oh Sister Spencer, I sure love you! 

Here's one last funny story for the day. So on Saturday we were able to teach Brother Wood again. He's recovered very well and even read the Book of Mormon while he was at the hospital. Goodness I love that man :) So we were teaching him how to use Mormon.org (mind you he's in his late 70's). And I said "So now you'll just click on I'm a Mormon.." to which he cut me off by saying "Oh I can't say that! That would be a lie! I'm not a Mormon just yet.." HAHA We had a good laugh and I then explained how it would take him to the "I'm a Mormon" videos and that it wasn't a link only for members of the church. Seriously how funny/adorable is that? 

Church was really great yesterday, we had one of the most powerful testimony meetings I've ever been to. Each testimony was absolutely empowering and made me want to be better and want to continue to help those here in Georgia. Brother Dixon shared his testimony, it was AMAZING. Usually he is at the Air-force base on fast Sunday but because of Conference it was moved. He said he felt it was moved so he could share his testimony with all of us. :) 

To close I wanted to share some of the things people said..

• "I am a proud Mormon, willing to stand for what I know. Yes, I will stand."-A convert of 30 years
• "With Christ I can do anything, right now its been 13 days since I smoked my last cigarette. Without Christ I'd still be smoking."-A returning member
• "I'm not perfect in the Gospel.. But all we have to do is try, and when we try its always enough."-A girl in her 20s
• "Prayer is an opportunity, not an obligation."-Teenager

Well.. thats all folks! I hope you all have a great week! Thank you so much for all that you do for me! I love you!!

Love,

Sister Hamilton

"Is there life after death? Trespass here and find out."-- Uh... neat?

Hey Everyone!

Its been a minute since I talked to you last and yet there is so much to share! (That's a southern phrase by the way..) I feel extremely blessed right now! For the first time as a missionary everyone we are teaching is a family.. We aren't just teaching individuals.. We are teaching the whole family, and that is such a tender mercy. I have literally been praying to find/teach families since I got my mission call, and so I cherish every moment we have to sit down with an entire family and teach them the good news, or Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We went on exchange this week with the Sister Training Leaders in Woodstock, that makes exchange #48 I believe. I was once again reunited with Sister Breinholt and we had a lot of fun! Truly we were robbed of fun when we were only companions for 5 days. I went back to the Woodstock Ward and loved every second of it. We had dinner with Judy and the other Sisters for Sister Porters birthday. It was awesome! It was fun being in my old apartment for a day and getting to see some of the members/recent converts there that we worked with.

We are continuing to teach the Spencer family they are so sweet and I just love them! We went to Annie's birthday party this week and I thought it was so cute that Sister Spencer was talking to some of the parents about their daughters having a sleepover. The parents said 'It would have to be a Friday, we have church Sunday morning." to which Sister Spencer responded "Oh thats just perfect, because we have church Sunday afternoons." You better believe I had a stupid grin on my face :) haha They are doing well and are praying about being baptized at the end of this month so if you could keep them in your prayers that would be great!

The Dixons are fantastic, as usual :) Honestly.. I just don't know what to say about them because they are doing so well and I just love them so much. So I'll leave it at that :)

We are still teaching the Clarks but we are having to take things a little slower because Wendy hasn't been doing well. She went into surgery about an hour ago, so we are just praying for success and that it will help her to regain some strength. The family as a whole is doing well though and I'm thankful to learn from their great faith!

President Hinckley always said there was a better way to missionary work, and that better way was through the members of the church. Well.. its true. Just accept it. :) And let me share an experience which will help you to see why, as if the Dixons weren't enough proof. :) It all starts with the Futral family. I sure love them! Sister Futral is such an inspiration.

Two months or so ago President Nichols asked all the memebers in the Stake to pray that all missionarys would be able to teach 20 lessons a week. Well, a few weeks ago we saw Sis. Futral and she told us "As I started praying for you to teach your 20 lessons, I felt a sense of urgency to do my part in helping you to get those 20 lessons." We then promised to pray for her each day by name to have the courage to invite her friends to do something. Since then they have had a family in their home for us to teach and have given out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon and are trying to set up days we can do a Family Home Evening with their friends. Its a miracle!

Now let me tell you about that sweet family. Susan and her husband are both deaf while their two sons are hearing. Her husband is actually a member of the church but because the closest deaf group is so far away he stopped going many years ago. As we taught them in the Futrals home the Spirit sure was strong. It was really special to have Brother and Sister Futral bearing their testimony of principles and helping Susan and her boys to recognize that spirit. Susan would say things like, "I feel what you are saying.." or "I feel comfort, is that the same as the Spirit?" We would then give them a chance to answer and teach. The interpreters were also a great help as both served sign language missions :) Truly this really is the better way for missionary work to be done because its true and it works! The Futrals then were able to have them over to watch conference and are the ones who are setting up our next appointment to come and teach. I am so thankful for this great miracle and blessing! Once again I am reminded that the Spirit needs no particular language nor does it need to be heard. Rather it is felt and as we allow it to touch our hearts it can change us for the better.

That's pretty much my week. In closing I figured I'd share with you a bit about my experience with General Conference :) I must say as Elder Holland started speaking I thought to myself "Did he read my journal!?" That story he shared of those sister missionaries sounded a little too familiar although that wasn't me.. haha I was amazed at how virtually every talk given addressed the need to stand for your beliefs and to be kind to those who respond negatively to your beliefs. And honestly, that just made me thankful to be a missionary and to be standing for my beliefs each day. I especially appreciated President Eyrings remarks on the inheiratance of hope and President Monsons on loving those around us. Its true, the world needs more love!

Well, I better get going. I hope you all have a wonderful week! Enjoy spring :) I am living it up! I love that its that time of year when everyone is having a bonfire at night so we just go up and sit around a camp fire and talk with them. I love how green it is here. I love that the flowers are blooming. I even love the pixie dust like pollen that is currently coating everything :)

I'm thankful the Spirit knows no limits and that as we love others we better feel the love our wonderful Father and Savior have for us.

Love you all!
-Sister Hamilton

"He Healed Me"

Hey Everyone! 

I've had a pretty good week, and hope you have too! Let me try to update you on the whirlwind of a week I've had. Let me just start by saying it really is amazing how much I absolutely love the people here. I know what you're thinking "there she goes again.." but its true. I love the people here so much, its hard to explain. Their hugs and smiles mean the world to me. 

Sister Smith and I

Last night we had dinner at the Dokos' and their grandma from Blue Ridge was here. For those of you who don't know, Blue Ridge is very north Georgia it's the mountains and little towns up there.. And the people there have the thickest and best accents ever! :) As Nanny talked with me I just tried to memorize her face, the wrinkles, the no teeth, the light in her eyes, love in voice.. I wanted to take it all in. Sister Smith thought she was speaking a different language because her accent was so thick.. and I just thought it was music. :) I am not a perfect missionary.. But when I go home at least I will be able to know that I loved these beautiful people with all that I have. 

Let me tell you about another who has just stolen my heart. She is Sister Spencer's daughter, I'll call her Annie. Annie is 9 years old today! Woot woot! Since we started teaching them a few weeks ago Annie has started to change, just like her mom. Sister Spencer said that she now keeps her room clean, doesn't argue, and is just happier all round. Annie LOVES church and the activities on Wednesday. In fact, yesterday they were late for church because Sis
ter Spencer was sick but Annie wanted to go so bad that she got dressed with a fever and came so that Annie could come. Annie texts us everyday and now loves to say the prayer when we come over. And she gives great hugs! She and her mom are working toward being baptized and love the new family they have found within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Sis Spencer was really sick this week and so we brought over some people from the church including some of the men to give her a priesthood blessing. She prayed with all of us and the Spirit was so strong! We went by the next day to check in on her, she was completely up and about feeling good. She told us how she felt so much peace yesterday and said "Want to know a secret? The reason I'm so happy today is because, I still feel it!" I'm so thankful for the Spirit of peace and comfort that comes into our lives as we strive to follow Christ and learn of Him. 

Helen and her grandma came to church again this week :) She gave me a big hug and said "I told you we'd be here for now on." haha Love that honesty! They're doing well, church 2 weeks in a row, and came to an activity this week. We have been really blessed lately to be working with so many wonderful people, both members of the church and not. 

Sister Henderson is a woman who comes to church usually about once every 3 months. And my oh my is she awesome! That woman is full of attitude and spunk and I love it! We've been visiting her more often and doing some service for her :) As I was speaking in church yesterday I saw her come in the back (two weeks in a row mind you) but when she saw me she walked out. At first I thought.. Yikes! What'd I say! But then the next thing I knew she came in the front doors and sat down on the front row giving me the biggest grin. Best thing ever! 

Let me tell you a story about the House family. We thought we had dinner with them.. Turns out it was actually the Halls.. but the L's were connected making a U.. and HAUS is House in German.. so when Sister Smith read it to me she said "house" and so I called the House family up you know saying I saw that they signed up to have us over for dinner etc.. Whoops! Well the Elders were the ones who gave us their humber and they said "why do you need it? Bro House doesn't like Sisters.. And you know what I thought? Sweet! Another Challenge! I love making people fall in love with Sister Missionaries :) Its kind of a goal of mine. 

My Dixon girls! :) 

I need to give credit where credit is due.. So credit ultimately goes to Grandma Smith who taught mom the importance of thank you notes, who then engraved it in my brain. I'm basically obsessed with Thank-yous. We "hide" one in every house we go to for dinner so they find it after we leave. I mean, they do so much in having us over for dinner the LEAST I can do is leave a note you know? Well we did that for the House's and apparently they were really impressed. We saw Bro House at the Dixons later that week and he pulled his phone out to show the Dixons a picture of the thank you we left and said "My wife said this is why Elders can't quite keep up with the Sisters" hehe :) Sister Dixon then went on about how she always finds notes from me in her purse etc. So I guess Grandma was right.. thank you notes really make a difference! :)

The title of this email comes from a sweet woman we met tracting.. As we told her we were representatives of Jesus Christ she grabed our hands and said "He healed me" What a powerful spirit that brought! Just as He healed Janine, He can heal all of us as we turn to Him. 

I hope all of you women and girls watched the General Womens meeting. Wasn't it remarkable! Oh my goodness I LOVED it! It was amazing, I can't wait to read it and watch it again. I just felt so full of love during the whole thing. So amazing! :) 

I'm so excited to watch General Conference this weekend. Are you!? Remember, watch one more session than you did last time! And have a question in mind that you want the Lord to answer as you listen. I promise that if you pray about that question that the Lord will answer your prayer/question thruogh the Spirit and words of His chosen leaders. 

One of the things that I have always learned the most from President Monson is to never let a prompting go without acting on it. Unfortunately you don't often know that you are acting on promptings until you find one that you didn't act on quite as fast as you should have. And unfortunately I had that experience this week.. I try to always be willing to throw out the plans when either my companion or I feel there is something else we need to do. For weeks I have had this name coming to my mind.. and always put them in the planner to go see.. but something always seemed to come up and it never happened. Well then our Bishop and Relief Society President suggested we go see that exact person (not knowing I've been thinking of them for weeks). So we went and saw this sister this past week. My heart broke as I saw the pain in her eyes and loneliness. How could I have not gone when I first felt we should? Why on earth did I make the Lord have to have two people tell me to go see her.. Shouldn't the Still Small Voice had been enough? I gave her the biggest hug and apology that I could.. 

I'm not telling you that story to make you feel sorry for me.. so you can say "ya but you did this and this right.." I tell you it so hopefully you can learn from my mistake.. Please don't ever ignore a prompting. As children of God we are here to help each other.. If you have a good thought, something nice to do for someone, just do it.. don't question the source. You'll NEVER regret following it! However, you will regret not following it when more of the bigger picture is revealed. 

There definitely are hands to lift, hearts to cheer, and hugs to give all around us. I hope that all of us will be the type of people that the Lord doesn't have to wonder if we will follow, but He can trust us to be His heart and hands here on earth. I pray each day to be better at following, at acting without being asked, to be a true disciple. 

I love you all just as much as I love the people here! I hope you have a great week! 

Sending love and smiles! 

-Sister Hamilton

There is Joy

Well Hey There!

Another week has flown by here in Georgia. Spring is almost here, things are starting to bloom and the sun is shining! Well.. usually. It's still raining some days. The pixie dust pollen hasn't quite come out to play yet, but it I remember correctly it should any day now. So that will be a treat! haha I've never been so thankful to not have allergies than living here in Georgia and watching so many people have allergies.. Looks rough. 

So.. I'm not exactly sure what all I should share with y'all. This week was so good and so rough and so strange all at the same time. You confused yet? Yup! So am I. haha 

 

I don't have a lot of time so I'm just going to write briefly about some of the things that happened this week and maybe even open up about some of the hard things about serving specifically in the south. But probably not too much, because I really do just love it here! 

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints truly is the Lords church, and it is such a blessing and a privilege to teach people about it everyday. The Lord truly blesses His missionaries and He gives us strength and wisdom far beyond our own capacities, and I definitely need that! One of the hardest things in our mission (and I do mean our mission, as in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission, our Southern States missions) is the influence of anti-Mormon theology and literature, often put out by other churches. Virtually everyone we meet has been taught something by their pastor, friend, or the internet regarding the church. Its not uncommon for people to talk to us after our first lesson with them and explain to us that they have talked to their church leader and then proceed to call us liars and such.. Its also interesting when we have people we teach bring their church leaders to our lessons and then allow that person to try to argue with us or as they call it here "bible bash" which I firmly believe is pointless so I'm sure I frustrate a lot of people because I simply wont do it.

Why did I just tell you all of that? Something I'm sure you already knew. Well because it was one of those weeks.. It reminds me of a talk titled "Teach the Atonement" to missionaries by Elder Holland. In it he says that at one time or another on their missions, missionaries will shed at least one tear of sorrow. Sorrow for the pain and anguish of those we teach, or often sorrow as we watch those who begin to learn abandon their newly found faith and leave. Truly it is the hardest thing to watch. No missionary ever wants to talk with someone who had joined the church and hear them say "I won't ever walk back into that church because.." Truly our hearts break as we see others become filled with frustration and anger where peace and love once filled. Needless to say, this week was one of those tears of sorrows week. 

With that said, I don't ever give up on anyone. Nor do I believe anyone should ever give up. We all face trials, we all have doubts, but the beautiful thing about the Gospel of Jesus Christ is it is designed to lift us, help us to learn, and bring us closer to our heavenly home which we all desire to return to. 

As hard as it is to see the things I described above, the joys always outweigh the sadness we see. At the end of the day the miracles always outweigh the challenges. Missions are hard. So hard. Harder than anything I have ever experienced because its hard emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. But never in my life have I experienced so much growth, felt so much joy, been filled with so much knowledge, met so many people, and loved as much as I do now. I only have about 4 months left.. And even knowing the hardships that come along with missionary work, I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

This week we had the blessing of teaching Sister Spencer and her daughter again a couple times :) They both came to church, and loved it! And they have accepted the invitation to be baptized. Truly Sister Spencer is a woman of faith and I love spending time with her! I learn so much each time we talk and love studying in preparation for our lessons. The Lord really loves her! 

Wendy is doing pretty well, the family is doing great as far as reading the scriptures and such are concerned :) Unfortunately her health hasn't been very good this week, but she is so strong and is always reminding us that this is just a way for her to come closer to the Savior, she is such an example to me! John came to an activity at the church for the men and he loved it! It was fun, we saw him at the church and he gave us a big hug and told us about how he had been telling all the men in the church about what angels we are and how much he loves all that we're teaching him. What a wonderful family they are! 

The Dixons are still absolutely wonderful :) Wow I love that family! I saw Emma at seminary this morning and she just made the best comments, and really taught me so much! 

We sang in church yesterday :) I loved it! It was so much fun :) But unfortunately I was dinking around on the piano trying to work on our parts and someone overheard.. so I have been roped into playing the piano for a baptism.. YIKES! Primary songs are so much harder than hymns.. and I can't even play hymns! haha So.. extra prayers would be much appreciated! I also was supposed to speak in church yesterday, but thankfully the Sister Hamilton show got broken up into two weeks. haha So I'll be speaking this week, which I'm actually super excited.. yup, I'm one of those freaks who loves public speaking. 

There was a stake activity for girls 10-11 and they asked us to come  and be with them. Can you say SO much fun!? I really loved it! We did hula-hoop. I got challenged to a cartwheel contest (in jeans) and of course lost.. haha. But It was just fun to talk to them about what its like to be a missionary and have them talk to us about their life. They are so fun! Still so young, but think they are so old :) We had two girls we/the elders are teaching there. and they loved it! They also came to church so that was exciting :) Helen, age 11, said "We will definitely be coming every week from now on" to which her grandma (a member who hasn't been in many years) smiled and said "Sister Hamilton she's telling the truth, I don't think we'll be going anywhere." 

Like I said, the joy always outweighs the setbacks. Always. Ours is a message of good news, it truly brings more light and life into our lives. It fills us with happiness indescribable. It is the way to have true peace. I know it is because I've tested it. I know there is happiness available for all, but I can promise that there is an increased measure of joy and happiness when our lives are centered on Jesus Christ and follow the principles of His gospel. 

Thank you for your love and prayers. I feel them, and I love you all so much!! 

Love,

Sister Hamilton

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Oh my! What a week/day it has been! 

Seriously, Sister Smith and I have seen some serious miracles! And I cannot wait to tell you all about them! I can already tell I'll probably be pretty long winded, so long as time will allow, so do me a favor.. Get up, stretch, go get a snack, then settle and stay awhile! And if you don't plan on reading the whole thing, please at least read the last paragraph, becuase I am going to ask you to help me with something. Deal? And the hilarious one liners.. because everyone needs a good laugh :) 

The weather has been teasing me all week.. its beautiful, like mid 70's with blue skys, then the next day POURING down rain. Sister Smith loves the rain.. Me.. not so much. I think the whole living through one of the wettest year on record in GA has had a bigger effect on me than I thought.. haha So I have to laugh when its sunny and I am in the best mood ever, and she is just sweating becuase it feels to hot to her. Poor thing will die this summer.. And then she laughs becuase as soon as I see its raining I have to give myself a peptalk, or 8, to go out and work. 

Sister Smith and I have been working so hard and are so blessed. Please don't misunderstand, I am not by anyway implying that us working hard has brought us all these miracles and lessons, on the contrary.. Each night we get home I feel completely overwhelmed at all the blessings we receive and I think, I better be even more tired tomorrow. Just hoping that perhaps I can show the Lord my gratitude through giving my all and working hard. I won't talk about our Zone Meeting with Elder Kopischke, but I will just say that it was wonderful :) 

I think the best way to organize this email is to share experiences per topic/individual so.. here I go! 

Lets start with, John and Wendy who are doing fantastic by the way! 

• Wendy is still calling us each day with questions from the scriptures she has read/ the pamphlets we have left. 
• Natalie, a recent convert, came with us to teach Wendy and they were instant best friends :) Natalie now calls us and asks us a question, we teach her, and then she calls Wendy to teach her. Its the coolest thing!
• Wendy informed us at one of our lessons that she and John have been talking and they want the whole family to be baptized, they still haven't attended church but they said they feel the spirit so strongly.
• "I just want to tell everyone to wake up and feel it! Its all the same truths but in more debth, I can't see why anyone wouldn't want this for their family." We all smiled and laughed and said "Wendy, believe me.. we feel the same way!" 
• Their sons are attending Youth Night and really love it too :)

Sister Spencer:  

• We are teaching a kind woman whose last name is Spencer, so we call her Sister Spencer and her 9yr old daughter. They are so sweet! 
• Sis Spencer said she wouldn't agree to coming to church until she read part of the Book of Mormon and prayed about it. As we were there a couple of days later I wanted to jump for joy when I heard her say (to her daughter) "Hey darling these girls have a really great church with lots of girls your age. I think you'd really like it do you want to go?" I probably had a stupidly large smile on my face becuase she wasn't just inviting her daughter to church, she was telling me that she had read and felt the spirit. :)
• Unfortunately she got really sick and couldn't come to church, but she said she feels peace whenever she read the Book of Mormon and she wants us to come today for a couple minutes so she can download it onto her tablet so she can show anyone she meets when she's at the drs. She's awesome :) 

Brother Wood:

• We talked to Bro. Wood throughout the week and he was doing well. I had to laugh becuase Sister Smith called him by his first name on the phone and he said "Um.. that's Brother Wood to you." Haha I love that man! 
• He was so sweet when we saw him, he tried so hard to talk with us but was having a hard time forming sentences. He told us how he loves that everything we teach talks about families, and he loves knowing he is a part of Christs family. 
• He also talked about how he was worried about life after this and said, but then boom! you showed up, and now I know I'm in a big family, and I'm not worried. :)
• Can you keep him in your prayers? Bro. Wood had a small stroke this week. So please just pray for his recovery.

We really just saw so many miracles and blessings. We had 7 members of the ward come out with us to lessons and such. That's a HUGE deal. And then in Relief Society they started a missionary minute and I was so excited to see about 5 hands jump into the air to share experiences they had that week. :) So amazing! 

I had the opportunity to spend a couple hours with one of the YW who came with me tracting and to an appointment. It was so cool that we were let into a home and were able to teach the first lesson. Katie who is just barely 16 rocked it! :) She had the biggest smile on and was so excited to be there, I'm so excited to work with more of the YW. 

The Dixons are doing amazing :) I cannot say enough good things about them. We had dinner at their house this week, breakfast for dinner :) And dare I say it.. I... uh.. I like grits! There I said it! I have officially had them enough to have aquired a taste and actually really liked them. Who am I? haha 

Alright, now for the funnies of the week :) 

• The Jerls let us come over and they told us that their house was our house and we only needed to know two rules.. 1. Do not ask, just do it. and 2. Never take the last Dr. Pepper. haha I love that family!
• Tracted into a funny guy who told me "Typical story, two women holding bibles come to tell me about Christ, although.. you are much prettier than I expected." I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or not.. Thanks for calling me pretty.. but No thanks for thinking missionaries can't be good looking.. sheesh! haha
• Another man told us at the door "Lets be honest Sisters, I like my life of sin."
• A woman told us before she shut the door "Happy fishing! If you know what I'm sayin'." haha 

Now my request for you all. With permission from Wendy I would like to ask you all to pray for her and her family, by name, each day this week. John and Wendy have two sons, Kadir and Kamran. Wendy wants so badly to make it to church but because of her lupus never knows how she is going to feel, she has great faith and believes if all of you are praying for her that God will grant her the strength to make it to Church soon. Please keep them in your prayers, I know that miracles can happen when we all join in prayer. 

Thank you for all you do! :) I love you!! And.. you know, if you wanted to write me.. I wouldn't complain :) Oh and mom! That postcard was honestly the best thing I have ever seen! :) 

Love,

Sister Hamilton

The picture is me with some of my favorite Johns Creek Sisters who provided the meal for our Zone Conference :) so fun!