August 26th Letter

Dearest Family and Friends,

I hope you are all doing well and that you're happy! Thank you for all your letters, e-mails, support and prayers! I love you all so much and am so grateful for all of you! You are one of my greatest blessings!

This week was an interesting week! On Monday, we visited a less active and a potential investigator. They were good visits, but we are pretty sure they were both pretty intoxicated. At least they were really nice intoxicated people! Then at 8:30 we were walking to go see someone else really fast, when I was overcome with nausea. We were about to open the door (the door of the apt complex) and I suddenly thought "I'm going to puke." We decided to skip the visit, went home, and that's exactly what I did! I haven't gotten sick like that in years, but being sick was actually a big humbling experience. I know that the Lord was trying to teach me something from the whole experience, and I feel like He is trying to teach Him to rely on Him and let go of control. 

On Tuesday, I felt better, just nauseous, achy and fatigued. We stayed in so that I wouldn't get anyone else sick, but I am going to fast forward because all of these details are even making me bored. Also, that night, we also killed a huge centipede type bug that was in our bathroom (it fell on my companion when she was going the bathroom!). It was very dramatic and took us about an hour, but we successfully got rid of it with hair spray and household cleaner. The best part of the week came on Saturday and Sunday so I'm going to get there quickly!

Also as you all know, I am staying in Crystal City for another transfer! I am so happy about this!! I love this area so much and I feel like my work isn't done here yet--It didn't feel like it was time for me to leave. I am so so happy to be here and I love it so much!

Wednesday and Thursday were interesting days. We saw little success numbers wise, but we were blessed with a lot of tender mercies. We made contact with a lot of people and scheduled appointments with a lot of them. Sometime I feel like I am becoming a very awkward person and that I'm a bad missionary - this was heightened on those days. I know that I just need to forget myself and get to work though!!

Also on Thursday, we saw a potential investigator on the street that we met a couple of weeks ago. We were so excited to see him because he seemed genuinely interested the first time. The second time we talked to him, I slowly started to wonder if he wasn't interested in the gospel, as much as he was in us. He's a young guy, probably 17 or 18 years old, so this isn't a gross nasty man who was interested in young 20 year old girls. We planned to go to dinner with him on Saturday and talk about the restoration, after committing him to read the pamphlet that night. Then he text us the next morning and said, "Hello Sister Akin. Have a nice day." I don't know how to describe how I felt after that, but I was shocked and horrified! I felt so guilty and worried that I had accidentally flirted with him, and I tried to remember everything I had said. I just felt awful! We decided to have the elders go to dinner  in our place, especially after he text us again that night! They went and found that he was more interested in us and had no interest in the gospel, and we haven't heard from him since. I just felt so bad about all of it, and so naive. Maybe it planted a small seed in him though, and he will be interested in the gospel one day!

Friday was another sick day because my companion got the stomach flu that day.

Saturday - Incredible!!! We helped a new family move into their apt, and they live just a couple of buildings from us. They both just graduated from BYU, and she actually knows the Willy's and Ross Welch from Cody! They are fantastic people and are so personable! Moving was so much fun too! It felt so good to do work like that, and I don't know if this is a good or bad thing, but I was actually sore the next day from it! 

We had a lesson with our Jewish investigator, Keren, that afternoon and it was amazing. I feel like it was a big turning point lesson for her. You can see her belief and faith in Jesus Christ growing so much. She even said that at first she was just curious about what we believe, but now she believes it could be true and is sincerely seeking to know if it is true. She said that she would get baptized if she did come to know it's true. The two big hold ups currently are praying in the name of Jesus Christ and attending church. Jews aren't allowed to attend other churches, and the Jewish judgment day is coming soon, so she doesn't want to come to church until she absolutely knows it's true. I know that God is already working miracles in her, and He can continue to do so. My companion and I have both felt so strongly like she is going to get baptized-I just hope I get to see it. If not, I know and trust in the Lord's timing. I just love her so much, and desire for this for her so much.

That evening, a potential investigator helped us with some things on our car, and then we asked if he wanted to go get some dinner with us. He agreed immediately and we went to chick-fil-a! He is an incredible person and we had such a good visit with him.  He has so much faith in Jesus Christ and is a devout follower of Christ. His life story is amazing, and how he came to his faith in Jesus Christ is also incredible. He said that he has always been religious, but has gone back and forth but has strayed at times. He is in the military and told us how he developed really severe stress fractures in his legs during training. He said it was one of the hardest times in his life, and he felt so beaten down. One Sunday, he decided to go to church so he went to a chapel down the road. There were some people his age who took him under his wing, and how they were extremely religious people. They studied the Bible constantly, and strove to apply it into their daily lives. He was so impressed that they actually lived their religion and He wanted to be like them. Ever since, he has strived to be a true disciple of Christ, and he is sincerely searching for the truth.

He likened this to what a shepherd does after a sheep wanders away from the flock so many times. He will break the sheep's legs and then carry it on his shoulders, so that it learns to stay with the shepherd. He said that the Savior did that for him in every way, for He actually did break his legs but then carried him on His shoulders. I just thought that was a really amazing symbol.

Sunday - also incredible! We were starting comp study and I had the impression that we needed to go see a part member family right then. We hurried off to see them, and we had an incredible visit them. It was exaclty where we needed to be. We actually haven't met with them before, but we felt an immediate connection. I feel like I was supposed to meet them out here. He is a less active member named Ignacio, and she is a nonmember named Sandra. She is an amazing person, and talked a lot about how family is everything for her. She runs a French immersion daycare in her home (she lived in Canada for 12 years) and it is amazing! It just amazes me how you can love people so much, after just meeting them.

That evening we had dinner with a member who has a husband that is currently deployed. She was so great and she fed us homemade Thai food!

Then we got to see our investigator Jan!!! She and her husband have been sick for weeks, so we haven't been able to see her for a while. She is an incredible lady!!

I have to go, but I love you all so much! I love my mission and l love being a missionary. I hope all of you have great weeks!!

Love,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

August 19th Letter

Dearest Family and Friends,

I love you all so much and am so grateful for your e-mails and letters!! I hope you are all doing well! I pray for each of you daily by name and I know that the Lord is watching over you and taking care of you!

First order of business - As mentioned last week, here is the address of my actual apartment! You can actually send letters directly to me now! Whoever uses this address this week, first, gets a mystery prize!

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

1717 S 26th St. #3

Arlington, VA 22206

Second order of business - Transfers are this week! Isn't it crazy that I have already been out here one whole transfer, almost! I am almost positive I am not getting transferred, but we shall see! I will be able to e-mail you Friday to let you know for sure (double e-mail day this week!), but transfers aren't until Thursday, so don't let that hinder you from writing a letter!

Third announcement - I like shrimp. I never thought I would say that but it's true. I had it TWICE this week - that's more than I have ever had it in my life! I had it Tuesday with a ward member, and it was the really little kind (I will eventually learn the names of the different varieties) that you don't have to de-skin (is it called skin?). I then had dinner with a Chinese couple last night (now progressing investigators!!! They are incredible people, and will talk about more later on, so stay tuned) and we had the big shrimp that has the skin/crust, little legs and tail. Once I got past the little legs and didn't think about them, I took the crust off, took a small bite and actually liked it! It didn't taste like seafood. Do you know what that means Dad!? Red Lobster date in 2015!?

Here is the rundown of everything else this week, which is actually more important than all of that, so I should've put it first:

Monday - PDay! Great day! My companion is still sick, so she laid down/slept the whole day. I cleaned like there was no tomorrow and loved it! The highlight was the evening though! We took a little note and care package to out Jewish investigator who was sick, and she loved it. She said it was the sweetest thing that anyone had every done for her, and she kept saying that! It was so great! Then we went and visited a man who is less active in our ward. We had a really good visit with him. He is so easy to talk to, and I think he will come back to church sometime! He says that he knows it's all true - he just doesn't see a need to come to church. I love them all so much!

Tuesday - First companion exchange of my mission! I went with Sister O's, old companion, Sister Woodbury. I went to her area, which is huge! It is Northern Arlington and it felt massive compared to Crystal City. I loved it so much! We taught 3 member present lessons, and truly saw miracles. At 8:50 pm, we went to the library parking lot, because she felt prompted to, and as I prayed, I felt prompted to ask to find someone, make a return apt, and give them a Book of Mormon. Guess what, that is exacltly what happened! It was amazing!

Wednesday - Return from companion exchanges! Hard for some reason, but good to be back. We stayed in all day and contacted potentials because Sister O was feeling terrible. That night we went on a member exchange, and I went out with a single women named Sister Romney. It was exaclty what I needed. We did a lot of street contacting and tracting, and she told me about experiences and things that she learned on her mission (Rome Italy mission!)

Thursday - Return and Report in Centreville! This is where all the trainers and trainees come and meet with our President, his wife, and the Ap's. We talk about thing we wish we could tell our companion, anonymously, and they share those things with the groups of trainers or trainees. It was so great, and I loved seeing all of my MTC district. They are like my mission family, and I feel at home when I see them. Also, I got to drive to this, in DC morning traffic! It was crazy but great! I actually love driving, and especially here! It is crazy, but is an adrenaline rush! That night, we went on another member exchange so Sister O could rest, and I went with Nate. We had a lesson with our Jewish investigator and it was great! We talked about Joseph Smith, and as I said the first vision, the Spirit was so strong. You could tell she felt it too! I just love her so much, and desire so much to know what she needs and what we can do to help build her belief and faith in Christ.

Friday - Another member exchange! Our ward members are fantastic! We did some street contacting and visited a woman who lives downtown. Hard day but good.

Saturday - Good day! We went to the Potomac Care Center and visited sweet Alma. I love her so much. She makes me laugh my real laugh and she is a gem. Then we went to the ward luau!, and then we visited a member of our ward, who is really sick with Lupus. I love her and feel so sad that she is always in pain.

Sunday - Church was good, but one of those days where you go to church and keep going because you love the Lord and know you should go! Of course, we would never not go, but anyhow. We did have an investigator come! He is a new Chinese investigator named Hong Bin and he has already come to church 3 times in a row. Our gospel principles instructor didn't show so we had to go to gospel doctrine with him where the topic was...plural marriage! I was so nervous for him, especially with the language barrier, but there was a man translating for him and said he didn't seemed bothered or anything by it. I'm so grateful he came to church - such a tender mercy! That night we had dinner with Nate in our ward, then I went on another member exchange where we taught the Chinese family I mentioned earlier (props on making it this far!). Their names are Jody and Chenj, and she is expecting a baby in January, which they just found out is a boy!! He made us that big shrimp I mentioned, okra, and tofu, so every dish was a new experience. I actually liked it all! We then taught them the restoration and it went really well! The member mentioned afterwards that they are really prepared people! They agreed to come to church next Sunday as well. The only downside is that they are moving to Alexandria in a week, but we will just pass them off, and they will continue to progress! We love them so much and they are so kind and generous. 

That leads me to now! I hope you are all doing so well! I appreciate your prayers and e-mails so much! All my love to you!

Love,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

P.S. I am terrible at taking pictures but here are a couple. I will do better at this picture taking thing slowly!!!

August 12 Letter

Dearest Friends and Family,

I love you all so much! I know that I say that all the time, but I genuinely feel so much love for you! You are one the greatest blessings in my life!

I am grateful and happy that you were all able to be together this past weekend. It was hard not being there, but the Lord truly strengthened me through this week, as I know He strengthened you. On Tuesday, I woke up with this amazing sense of peace and joy. I kept wondering why I felt so happy, and then I knew that Christ' Atonement was truly working in my life. It felt like He truly took my burden, and He strengthened me through it. It felt similar to when I had my struggles in high school. I knew the Atonement healed me then, and I knew it healed me this past week. He helped me to do His work fully, and I truly saw miracles happen.

First piece of news: Effective today, you can now send mail directly to my apartment! The address is:

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

1717 S 26th St. #3

Arlington, Virginia 22206 

Second piece of news: The stake here is doing and stake musical and guess what they chose for it (Hint: Mom did it in Omaha)...Saturdays' Warrior. I was so happy and excited when I found that out and I couldn't wait to tell you all!

Third tidbit: I don't know if you read these Nate, but thank you so much for the birthday cupcakes in the MTC! I think about that every week, but I keep forgetting to say thank you! This was a huge blessing and tender mercy!!!

Now here is a rundown of the past two weeks!

Last week - We had our first interviews with President! I seriously love our mission president so much! We talked about 1 Nephi 22:26, which talks about giving the adversary no power over us through our righteousness. I desire this so much! He also talked about how Moroni fortified the weak parts of the land, and how this similar to how we need to fortify the weak parts in ourselves, so that when the enemy comes back, he is astonished by how strong these things are. My daily goal is to astonish the adversary!

Speaking of weaknesses, your weaknesses are at the forefront on your mission! I have realized so many things about myself that I need to change! I am also grateful that I didn't get married before my mission, for my husband would have been miserable living with me! I have realized that I need to be less controlling and a lot more patient, along with a myriad of other things. I am just so grateful for this experience for a multitude of reasons, one reason being that it's preparing me for my future marriage.

We also had zone meeting last Saturday and received our announcement that our mission was starting a 40 day fast the next day. We fasted on Sunday to know what things we need to change, stop, or start doing, and then we made a list of all those things. Each day we pray for strength in the morning to do these things, and at night we report to the Lord how we did and what we will do better tomorrow. It has been a really powerful experience already. There is a real power in our mission since we started it. There is this synergy that I can't describe. We are working on all becoming truly consecrated, so that we can truly be a force to be reckoned with. At the end of the 40 day fast,  the WHOLE MISSION is going to....a Nationals Baseball Game!!!! Weird right? That's not even a joke. I'm excited for it, and it will be really powerful to have all of these consecrated missionaries there. I guess the team that we'll be cheering for that night is really lucky :)

Last week we also helped a Chinese family in our ward clean their apartment and move out. She is a recent convert and her name is Sister Kuang. She is absolutely amazing!! She, her husband and her little boy have to move back to China! We walked into their apartment on Wednesday night and they were leaving the next morning at 6 a.m. We walked in and they had done absolutely nothing to get ready to go. I got really anxious for them, but they both seemed really relaxed. He was just sitting at the table and she was cooking dinner. The husband had me call Verizon for him, and then we started cleaning up and moving things. We did this until dinner, and then we had an authentic Chinese feast! We had rice with squid and liver, liver and vegetables, these white dumpling things that oozed dirt, salmon, eggs with liver, frozen pizza and fruit :) It was so much fun to have a cultural experience, but unfortunately I didn't think my stomach was strong enough to handle some of it so I stuck with the frozen pizza and fruit. We then stayed til8:50 and cleaned their kitchen. It was actually really fun and my companion had a lot of fun doing it. I pray that everything worked out for them and they're safely back in China!

Last Sunday was also incredible! We had dinner with a woman in our ward, and she had two members over who were not members. One of them seemed really interested, and there was just something about him. After dinner, she had a friend over who was less active and his girlfriend who used to be married to a member. We talked and got to know all of them and had a really good lesson with them, about temples and eternal families. It was a really powerful evening and a true miracle. The woman was from Thailand, which made me really excited and I told her all about you and what you were doing in Thailand Ashley. Her name is Nattacha!

Onto this week: Our President received revelation that we needed to completely change the way we did street contacting and that we needed to skip almost all introductions and testify immediately. Now when we street contact or tract we pretty much say, "Hi, how are you, we testify..." We have seen true miracles since we started this! We taught 8 lessons this week on the street alone, all with Baptismal invites, a Book of Mormon given and we have a return appointment or at least a phone number for all of them. There has been true power in this! It has truly been amazing! We even had one man named Jacob in our parking lot approach us, and we had a 45 minute lesson! At first I was really nervous to give a baptismal invite on the street, but I found that there is true power in it. I was able to give the baptismal invite with two people we taught on the street this week, Mike and Millie. I am working on looking people in the eye and being more bold, so I tried to do this as I extended the invite. As soon as I started saying it, I could feel the Spirit so strongly, and when I finished they both just looked at us, not knowing what to say. I cannot even describe it fully, but you knew that they felt the Spirit so strongly. I receive so much joy from this and I am so grateful for all the people I have been able to meet and talk to. I genuinely love them all so much, even those I just meet. 

We are still teaching our Jewish investigator named Keren, and that has been really interesting. I am so fascinated by Israel now, and all the prophecies about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, Christ' life, etc. I have started reading Jesus the Christ and it is absolutely amazing. I pray constantly to know what she needs and how to help strengthen her faith and even belief in Jesus Christ.  She has asked frequently why Christ didn't establish peace among the Jews the first time He came, and she doesn't understand why it has to be the second time. I have truly never studied so much about this in my life, and I am passionate about learning all that I can about it. I have also grown so much closer to my Savior Jesus Christ through this experience, and am growing in my understanding of His Character. 

So my companion has been sick for the past two weeks. We went to urgent care last Saturday and she started taking some antibiotics for what she had. Her symptoms got worse this week though, so she is going to the doctor again tomorrow. Last night she got really light headed and dizzy and almost passed out. She has received two priesthood blessings from the elders, which have both been really powerful. While I don't like her being sick at all, the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to serve her. I cannot wait to be a mom when I get to take care of all my little children and even serve my husband. I just find so much joy from it.

What motivated me greatly this week, was that I wouldn't want to live a life without knowing I have a Father in Heaven and that Jesus Christ is truly my Savior. I want to share this everyone, and for them to fill His love and to feel whole. I know that my Heavenly Father lives, and I cannot deny that.

Time is slipping away quickly and I have to go e-mail President. There is so much I could always tell you but just know that I am happy-happier than I have ever been! I love you all so much and pray for you always!

Love,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

August 5 Letter

**The day before Chelsea wrote this e-mail, our aunt died.  It was a hard time for all the family but especially for Chelsea who was so far from family.**

 Dear Family and Friends,

 I just wanted to tell you all that I love you so much. I love you more than I can ever describe in words. I am so grateful for all of you, and my heart aches for you. Last night I bore my testimony during a lesson, that it is my deepest desire to be with my family forever. I yearn for this more than I yearn for anything else. I love my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ with all my heart because they made it possible for us to have this hope. I am holding onto this hope right now, and trusting my Heavenly Father is taking care of all of you. As Elder Wirthlin said, I know that Sunday will come.

I love you all so much. I know that Heavenly Father loves you all so much.

Love with everything I have,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

My Joy is Full

Dearest Family and Friends,

As I read all of your e-mails this morning, I couldn't help but to cry. As I started writing you, I again started to cry. This is actually the first time I have cried on my mission, but they're not tears of sadness because this week was incredible. I just feel so close to all of you right now and I feel so much love for you, in a way that I can't fully express. I love you all, and I am so happy. I don't think I have ever been this happy in my whole life. I feel joy. I feel as if my joy is full. I know that this is not the end, and there is still so much work to do. I just know that He is with me and that I'm not alone. I know that you are not alone, for we are no different. We are all His children, in a very tender and real way. Oh how I love Him. I desire so much to give Him my all, and to return to Him again and live with Him forever. I know that this is a reality and not just a nice thought. I was reading Lesson 1: The Restoration in Preach My Gospel today, and I tried to read it as if I had never known any of those things before. It was so powerful to read that God is Our Loving Heavenly Father. How amazing is that!? How incredible and how comforting that knowledge is.

This week was a week of extremes. I feel like I hit my lowest lows in the beginning of the week, but my highest highs at the end. Each week seems to go that way though, and each week seems very very long. It feels like I haven't e-mailed all of you in a month or more.  I want to start with describing yesterday first, and then I'll go back to last Monday.

SUNDAY - We saw miracles upon miracles yesterday!! Sister Orrock and I decided to fast for one of our investigators and to find those who are prepared for the gospel. We saw the blessings from our fast immediately.  We forgot to make a meal calendar, but three different members randomly came up to us, asking if they could feed us that week. My comp said that never happens, even when they had forgotten the meal calendar in the past. That was a nice tender mercy, but it was only the beginning...fast forward to 6:00 p.m. We parked our car at the church that is kind of located downtown and decided to street contact until a Chinese fireside that night at 7:00. We first talked to a Hispanic woman who didn't speak any English, but we have a little card that we read in Spanish for situations like that. We had to use it a lot in this conversation. She did give us her phone number though, so we got a referral for the Spanish sisters. Quick sidenote, it has been so much to practice my little bit of Spanish out here. I would say that a majority of the people we run into here are Hispanic. While most of them speak quite a bit of English, there are a lot that we get to speak Spanish with.

We then ran into two more Hispanic man (separate occasions), and they both wanted to learn more. They also gave us their numbers, so that's two more referrals for the Spanish sisters. With the second one we met, I felt prompted to give Him a Spanish Book of Mormon, that I had felt prompted to put in my bag that morning.  What was also interesting about this man, was that He was almost walking right behind the first Hispanic man.  Instead of going around us, he just stood on the sidewalk and waited for us to finish talking with the first man and then he came up to us. Even though there was a slight language barrier, we could feel the Spirit so strongly as we testified to him.

After speaking to these men, we then ran into a Chinese Father and Daughter named Ping (father) and Yao (daughter). We learned that they are doing a tour of different universities in the United States for the daughter's graduate school.  They drove in from New York City that morning, and were staying in the area for 3 days, before they continue on to Chicago.  It was really easy to talk to them, and as we started testifying of the restoration, and specifically of eternal families, you could see something click as we spoke to them. My comp then felt prompted to invite them to the Chinese fireside that was happening in 10 minutes, just a block down the road. They happily obliged, so we all walked to the fireside together.  The fireside was all in Chinese, and it was over an hour and a half. I was so worried that they were getting bored, and that it was too long for them.  At the end though, Ping said that he was surprised that the hour and a half went by so quickly. He said he enjoyed every minute of it.  Yao said that she also really enjoyed it, and she said she thought that everything they said was true.  They then stayed for another 40 minutes.  I felt prompted to give them The Book of Mormon, so I gave them the Chinese copy of it, which I had been prompted to put in my bag before we left the car.  They also wanted an English one to read, and they wanted me to sign inside the front cover of it. I wrote my testimony in it and then signed it.  They then said they had an odd question to ask me, and they asked if I believed in psychics. They said that they had tried to go this psychic right before they saw us, but she was on her dinner break and wouldn't be back for an hour. They then continued to walk down the street, when they ran into us.  They still were interested to learn more, so we said that we could meet them Monday or Tuesday night and visit if they'd like. They were really happy about this and they said they'd take us out to dinner on Monday.  One other quick sidenote, they taught me some Chinese phrases, and the girl, Yao says that I have a gift for learning Chinese! This made me so excited! They said I should go to Beijing, China after my mission and teach English, while learning Chinese. Wouldn't that be incredible!" (Maybe Kelly doesn't agree (: ) How amazing is all of that though!? It was a true miracle!!! My companion and I commented later that if felt as if we knew them already, as if they seemed familiar to us. I truly believe that I was supposed to meet them on my mission, and introduce the gospel into their lives. Even just introduce God and Jesus Christ into their lives. I feel like last night was divinely orchestrated. 

Also about that night, we also had another set of investigators come to the fireside (husband and wife), who are from China. Another set of missionairies found them but gave them to us because they are moving to our area. They taught them one lesson, and the man came to church the next day! These people are prepared for the gospel. I have come to know that this is truly the Lord's work, and we are instruments in His hands.

MONDAY - Monday's P Day was excellent, and I cleaned and organized a lot of the day. I thought I liked to clean before my mission, but for some reason, I have grown to love it on my mission! Monday night was a hard night though for some reason, and it was my low night.  

TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY - From here on out, the week was incredible! We were blessed with so many tender mercies today, and we had an incredible lesson with our investigator Reacha. We had a member present at the lesson, and they connected really well.  She has so much sass and is so much fun to teach. She is also very strong and has a lot of faith. We also saw a recent convert, Alma on this day. She is 80 and lives in the care center here. She is the sweetest lady, and I love her so much. Wednesday was also pioneer day so that was great! We walked almost everywhere we went that day in honor of it!

THURSDAY - Another top notch day! We did weekly planning today, which always takes quite a while. I still struggle with things taking a long time here, and not going as quickly as I'd like. I am learning patience though, and hopefully it's becoming a part of me! We went to dinner that night with a member, and she was great! We then visited a family who used to investigate the church, but who said they didn't want lessons anymore. They still love the missionairies though, and they feed us dinner often. They always let us share a spiritual thought at the end, and I shared the thought this time. It was one of those experiences, where you can feel the Spirit speaking through you.  I testified of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and I talked about how my MTC teacher told us how Christ should be our best friend. I don't remember all that I said, but it was so powerful. I am so grateful for experiences like that. My faith in Jesus Christ has grown so much since I have been here, and is continuing to grow.

FRIDAY and SATURDAY - There are two experiences that I want to share about these days. The first one is with our investigator Keren. I have talked a little about her before, but she is from Israel and only came here three months ago. She was devout in the Jewish religion up to 2 years ago. She still believes it, just doesn't practice everything. It has been fascinating to teach her. On Friday, she asked how Christ could be the Messiah when the prophecy said that there would be peace among the Jews, but there was so much destruction among the Jews after Christ left. We talked a little about the spiritual gathering of Israel that is occuring right now and the physical gathering that will occur at the second coming. We talked about His purpose in coming the first time and the Atonement. I even read my mission plaque scripture with her, 1 Nephi 21:12 - 16. She then asked why He didn't completely fulfill the prophecy the first time He came - why does it have to be the second time.  It has been so interesting to study the gathering of Israel, the Abrahamic covenant, the prophecies about Jesus Christ, etc. On Saturday morning, that's all I wanted to do. I realized that I didn't really understand these things at all, and I still have a very shallow understanding. It is so fascinating to read about them though, and I hunger to know more. It is also amazing to think that this gathering is happening right now. It is no coincidence that there is a huge army of missionaries right now. We are assisting in the gathering of Israel. We are representatives of Jesus Christ, fulfilling the covenant that He made. He has not forgotten them. He has not forgotten any of us. I get good shivers just thinking about this!! 

One last story! My companion and I were trying to go to a stake picnic on Saturday that was on George Washington Memorial Parkway in Alexandria.  The GPS didn't recognize the actual address, so we just decided to have it take us to the parkway, and we would find it from there. We got on the freeway and realized that it was taking us right into D.C.! We started freaking out because our mission ends right at the Potomac River on the Virginia side, and the Potomac kept getting closer and closer with no exit in sight. Finally an exit came, and it was the last one before crossing the Potomac! We felt relieved as we thought we were heading back home, but then we accidentally took a wrong turn, and ended up crossing the Potomac into D.C.!! We were both screaming and laughing uncontrollably because of the situation.  We eventually got turned around and crossed the Potomac again, into our mission. While we were probably only out of our mission for about 3 - 5 minutes, it was horrifying!! :)

I'm sorry this was crazy long today! I hope you are all doing so well! I pray for each of you morning and night by name. I love you so much!!!!!

Love,

Sister Chelsea Marie Akin

P.S. Here is picture of my companion and I! Sorry it's a selfie, but that's the best I have right now. I'm going to send another one from last night!