Hermana McKay Hadley: "Going Once, Going Twice...Transferred!!!"

Hey everyone. So first off I have very little time to email today because we were able to have the wonderful opportunity to go to the LA Temple on Thursday. Because we did a temple trip we have to take that time out of our P-day so that left us with only 3 hours to try and get everything done... including packing because... I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED!!!!!

I am very sad to leave Valencia/Santa Clarita and the wonderful people that I have grown to love so much. Many have become my second family out here on the mission and I loved spending many Holidays (Halloween-Valentine’s) with them. This is also where I had my first baptism and I personally grew so much in this area. I will always appreciate my time here.

I am happy to announce that the Lord has a sense of humor because I will now be returning back to my very first area in Reseda! I am thrilled because I was only there for the first six weeks in the mission field and I feel like I have some unfinished business there. Haha I am so excited to go back and show the people I know a little bit more Spanish! ;)

I will quickly share some highlights of this week. First the most important part was going to the LA Temple. We are able to go to the temple the month of our birthday and because it was Hermana Jensen's birthday ;) we were able to go. It was crazy trying to figure out how to get down there and back but the Byers in our branch work in the temple on Thursdays so they took us down and then the Allen family finished working at the temple and took us home and then out to dinner. That family is amazing and they always seem to be helping us out! We are so grateful for those families that helped us to be able to go and feel the Spirit of the Lord in his house!

Earlier this week we had an amazing lesson with Sammie, her boyfriend finally moved out and she told us she wants to get baptized! We had such a spiritual lesson and put her on date for the 18th.... we then got a call and we were asked to do a pass off lesson to the YSA Ward (Young Single Adult) with her because she is 20 years old. It was very sad to have to say goodbye to her because she is golden. I will still be able to go to her baptism but we know YSA is the best thing for her right now. She went yesterday and she said she really enjoyed it!

After our pass off lesson with Sammie she came with us to a combined activity for the youth where they did a Western Themed Auction and dinner. It was crazy to see how intense the auction got but it was defiantly a hoot!!! I even got to wear my cowboy boots;).

Yesterday I had a little bit of a nerve-racking experience of giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting. Now most of you know I really don't have a hard time with public speaking, but ask me to give a 20-minute talk in Spanish!!!... Ya, I got a little nervous. It went really well and I felt the love and support of Heavenly Father as I was able to get my message across the way I wanted. It was a good way to say goodbye to this awesome branch that has helped me out so much!!!

So many other amazing things happened this week that really helped strengthen my testimony as I saw the hand of the Lord in this work. Hermana Jensen and I always say... "We just work here" because this is His work, in His vineyard and we just get to be a part of it. Love you all and talk to you soon!

-Hermana Hadley