Toronto, eh?: Sooo much to say!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Let's take care of business -

Happy Birthday to Karlee Vail tomorrow! I remember attending her birthday party last year. :) I hope it's great again this year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DALPAL ON WEDNESDAY! Woot woot! I love you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRYNNY ON THURSDAY! You're the sassiest, cutest littliest sister ever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE MISSIONARY SISTER BELYEA ON FRIDAY! I hope that birthdays in the mission field rock. I miss you!

Alright, so here I am in a new area with a new companion. I'll start with my companion -

Her name is Sister Puruganan and she is from the Phillipines. She has been out for just over three months and she is 27 years old. She is a hard worker and the most humble person in the world. She was a school teacher back home, teaching English. So her English is pretty amazing, but it's fun doing language study with her. :) I love when she asks me what a word means, and I don't know the answer... OOPS. It's pretty funny.

So here I am in Hamilton Mountain West. There are two Elders on the East side of the "mountain." (It isn't a mountain, it's more like a tiny little hill). Hahaha, these Canadians are crazy. It is MUCH more populated than Woodstock, so it's a lot like Ajax. The apartment is pretty nice, but there isn't a washer and dryer. :( We did our laundry this morning and it was pretty pricey - so that's going to take some getting used to. I'm the designated driver, and oh boy it is so fun. We drive a nice 2012 Chevy Malibu and I love it. However, this last week we have had basically 0 k's for the month, so we've been doing a lot of walking. The weather is cooling down though, so walking isn't bad at all. Oh, one of the Elders here, Elder Lasley is from Idaho Falls and he played football at Skyline High School, just like you Dad!

We are working with a solid amazing investigator, Samantha. She is the girlfriend of a less active member, Cody, who is trying to come back to church. His whole family is active, and he started coming back when Samantha started asking him questions. She had only been taught once before we taught her last week. We went and planning to teach her the restoration, but we focused a lot on how much God loves her. She has had no religious background and had so many questions - which I love! We also talked a lot about baptism, and the Spirit was so strong. Cody was able to bear his testimony of the Holy Ghost, and there wasn't a dry eye in the whole room. We committed Samantha to be baptized on October 13th, and she accepted. After she said yes, she mentioned how a warm tingly feeling went through her whole body, then she started crying. You guys, it was one of the most powerful lessons I have ever been in. It is truly amazing to witness FIRST HAND the Spirit work in people. Ahhh I love it so much. We are going to see her and Cody again this evening, and I can't wait!

There are a few other investigators here, but we are really going to focus on gaining a solid promising teaching pool. Unfortunately, this ward hasn't seen a convert baptism in almost 2 years. Well, my friends, that is going to change. We were able to visit several members and gain their trust. I love the members here. Oh, and the ward is so huge. Yesterday I felt like I was sitting in the Sterling Heights Ward back in Utah, there were so many members. This ward has SO much potential, so things are going to change. :)

There are a few miracles that happened this week - I'll start with the biggest one -

I WAS ABLE TO GO TO THE TORONTO CANADA TEMPLE! We were barely in the Temple range, and it was such a tender mercy. It was so great to see President and Sister Scott, and all of my other missionary friends. It was the most calming beautiful thing to see almost 50 missionaries in the celestial room together. The Toronto Canada Temple is breathtaking, and I can't wait to go back soon. God answered my prayers, and He knew that I needed to go to the Temple. I was even able to see a couple from Ajax. I felt so refreshed and so full of peace. It was a beautiful day indeed, because that night was the Relief Society Broadcast. I always get chills when President Monson talks about his time as a Mission President in the exact mission that I am in!

The other miracle is a referral from a member that lives in a different city. We got the referral on my first full day here, Wednesday. But we didn't have time to contact it until Friday evening. The only thing we knew was that their names were Patrick and Serena, and that we should teach them the Plan of Salvation. Well we showed up on Friday night, and Patrick immediately let us in. We told him that Charity has told us to stop by, and apparently Serena and Charity are really close. Patrick and Serena just had a baby girl, Lyla back in May. They are the cutest/best couple ever (besides everyone in my family). Haha. Patrick has a strong belief in God, but doesn't like organized religion. Serena has a HUGE faith in God and so badly wants more in her life. We talked to them for about an hour and a half and taught the whole plan of salvation. The Spirit was so strong, and I can't wait to go back there. Patrick's heart was softened throughout the lesson and I could see him listening intently and feeling the Spirit. Serena bore her testimony on how much Jesus Christ has helped her in her life, and you could not deny the presence of the Holy Ghost. Serena texted Charity the next morning, and Charity forwarded it to us. Basically it said how amazing it was to visit with the missionaries and how she felt the most calm feeling that whole time. She also said that she can't wait for us to come back! Booya! We will be seeing them this week. :) Miracles miracles miracles.

Well friends, it's time to start another week of the great work of all time. The longer that I'm out here on a mission, the more I fall completely in love with it. I'm learning more about my Savior, Jesus Christ and my Heavenly Father. I'm learning more about who I am, as a daughter of God, and who all of God's children are. They are precious in His sight, and it's humbling to feel that love. I love you all so very much. I think and pray for you often. Have a great week.

I would just like to share this scripture that I found this morning -

D&C 112:14 - "Now, I say unto you, and what I say unto you, I say unto all the Twelve: Arise and gird up your loins, take up your cross, and feed my sheep."

Sister Hardcastle

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