2018!!

Dear all, 

It is just crazy to think that it’s already 2018. Last year at this time I had an entire year of 2017 ahead of me. It has been a blessing to look back at all of the miracles and experiences that happened over the past year. 

      This week with Christmas and New Years, has been really busy. Most of our time has been spent at the visitors center this week. Every night there are thousands of people who come to see the lights and over a thousand people that get tickets to come see the performances every single night down in the big theater. Most nights there are a lot of people who don’t get to see the shows because we run out of seats! Luckily we have other theaters upstairs for the people who don’t get seats and it’s broadcast up to the big screens there. Last night the performance was the Chinese dancers and both performances were full. Most nights in the visitors center the lines get so long for the tickets, the performance, going inside the crèche display, that it’s just a maze weaving all over the place! Between the two performances last night we met 3 young guys who were in their 20’s. I was on an exchange with another sister and we taught them about the temple and the Book of Mormon. They said that they all attend a church but would be interested in checking ours out. They are all YSA and live in our ward, so they will hopefully be coming to church next week! 

      On Christmas Day after Skyping home we headed to the visitors center. We were sitting in the car when we hear a message pop up on our phone. It was from Jean and he said, “I’ve decided that I want to be baptized. Can I be baptized next week?”. Sister Bingham and I were just so excited. We called him and talked to him about his decision and he told us he realized how much he needs this, how he’s always come back to the church after 5 years of first meeting the missionaries. It was one of the best Christmas presents ever. He will be getting baptized this week on Saturday!

      Yesterday at the visitors center I saw an older man who had a purple hat on that also had a “W”. I immediately thought, “oh they’re UW fans” but it didn’t quite look like that and then realized I was on the other side of the country so it probably wasn’t. I went up to them anyways and asked where they were from. They said Washington, and so I asked what part. They said the dry desert side and I said, “the tri cities?” And they said that they were from Kennewick. They thought that was the craziest thing that I was from Pasco and they told me that they knew the Barbers and Mathews! We took a picture together and they said that they would show them the next time they were at the temple. 

       I learned this week that was so simple but really made me want to be even better. At about 6:30 an older man was waiting in the line with his ticket that he had printed out online in hand. He was in his late 70’s and struggled to even stand up straight, but could still walk around on his own. He had come to the visitors center dressed in his best, to come and see the lights and waited patiently to go down to the performance. I was going around the line to make sure everybody had a ticket and saw him standing there by himself surrounded by everyone who was with their families for the holidays. I ended up talking to him for a while. I learned that he was there by himself and wasn’t a member of the church but wanted to come this year. We had a great conversation and by the end of it he had a big smile on his face. He went down to see the concert and I didn’t see him after that. About an hour later I was standing at one of the exit doors of a room where many different nativities are displayed from around the world. A few minutes prior to that I had been approached by someone who didn’t have very nice things to say and I had to just keep smiling and be nice. It had really upset me and hurt my feelings but I was just trying to not let it bother me. As I was standing there at the exit door of the display room I saw that older man making his way through the room and admiring the crèches. He came to the end and I waved to him. He walked up to me with a big smile and shook my hand. He told me that he had lost his wife that year and didn’t ever get out of the house much. He said, “Now, you keep that smile on your face. I know you don’t get paid to be here and it’s probably hard not having your family around you. But I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your service. You really lifted my spirits when I was nervous to be here by myself tonight. Don’t underestimate the worth that you have, because you are a special young lady”. He walked away and went out the door and I felt an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude for that sweet man. I realized how much just a smile and letting someone know that they are appreciated, (like this man did to me) can do for someone. You never know what people are going through and what a simple act of kindness can do. That is something that I want to do; to look for small ways every day to just lift someone. That’s probably one of my favorite things about being on a mission is that you can just forget about yourself and help other people. Giving is so much more rewarding than receiving. And it can fill you on the inside more than anything else that the world has to offer. 

    I hope you all had a great Holiday week. Thank you for all of the emails, letters and cards. Love you! 

Love, Sister Haertling