Words from Sister Elese Hauser in Illinois

Hello!
I am about to burst with news! This week was so very full and
eventful! Like, WOW! Probably the craziest week of my mission by far.
Well transfer calls came on Saturday. We got the text saying we would
be getting a call so we both thought Sister Clayton would be the one
leaving and we were so sad! Well then the phone starts ringing. And
it's from President Fenn, that means someone is going to be called to
leadership. So I answer the phone and he tells us that Sister Clayton
will be staying in Pekin and getting a new companion. And I will be
transferred to Elgin, and be a Sister Trainer Leader. I don't think my
jaw has ever hit the floor so hard. I wasn't sure if I should scream,
do a dance, poop my pants, or cry. So I pretty much just sat there and
stared at the wall. There are no words to describe my emotions. For
those of you that don't know what a Sister Trainer Leader is or does,
let me fill you in. So a Sister Trainer Leader is the equivalence of a
Zone Leader. We only have 2 companionships, so four in our mission.
They do many things like give trainings at zone conference, go on
exchanges with 12 or so companionships in a transfer, work in the
mission council, and pretty much help coordinate or supervise the
work. So..... I'm pretty much scared out of my skirt!! My new
companion will be Sister Bird and she is so wonderful. She came out
with me and I just know we'll get along so great! The positive about
this is that i will get to do exchanges in some of my old areas! I
will get to go to Belvidere and come back to Pekin. Oswego is
unfortunately not in the area I'll cover, but I'm excited to see my
old areas for a day even if it's just for 24 hours! So yesterday in
church they had me give my departing testimony in sacrament meeting,
which was weird because I only gave my opening testimony 4 weeks ago!
It's very different only being in an area for 6 weeks instead of my
normal 6 months! I will really miss Stinkin' Pekin with old men riding
their bicycles through McDonalds but I hear Elgin has some characters
too! I am going to miss Sister Clayton so much! We have become such
good friends and had so many experiences in the past 6 weeks. It's so
weird only having a 6 week companion... It seems so short! So many,
many adventures lie ahead of me. I have been brought to my knees in
deep humility that The Lord would choose me, I have no idea why He
did, but I am so grateful that He qualifies who He calls. I know that
I will be stretched and pushed in so many ways and will continue to
become the person Heavenly Father wants me to become. So transfer
meeting is tomorrow in Naperville and we have to get up at like 4:00
am because it's so far away! So prayers would be nice:)
Well, even before Saturday night we had a crazy week! We went over to
Catherine's on Wednesday and she was on date to be baptized for this
past Saturday. So we asked her how she was feeling about her baptism,
kinda expecting her to want to put it off because she's still living
with her boyfriend. Well she shocked us by saying that she was excited
and ready! We were like, what about the whole marriage thing?! She
said that John was ready to be married and they'd talked about it a
little bit and he was softening. So she was sure he'd be on board. So
we had 2 days to plan a wedding and 3 days to plan a baptism! Now can
I freak out?! So luckily Sister Clayton wants to be a wedding planner
so she was thinking of all the details planning it out. My two cents
were "If we can just get some bails of hay to sit on then we don't
have to be worried about chairs!" But for some reason they didn't like
that idea, I have no idea why:) So we started planning on Wednesday
everything from Christmas lights to marriage licenses and the cake. I
now fully understand why some people take a year to plan their
wedding, 2 days is just crazy! But Catherine wanted something simple
anyways so that was easy. Well we were praying like crazy that John
would be 100% on board. Unfortunately, on Thursday he told Catherine
that marriage was a joke and he never wanted to get married. He
refused to talk with her any more about it and said some other choice
words. We went over right after he had left and I've never seen
someone to broken. Here is this 20 year old with a 4 month old baby
girl and the man whom she's lived with doesn't want to get married.
And when she threatened to move out, he didn't even stop her. It
became very clear to her that she would have to choose, join the
church and leave her boyfriend for good, or stay with him and never be
baptized. Without even thinking twice she knew what was most
important. Catherine was not baptized this Saturday, but she is
currently living in the spare bedroom of their house and is looking
for a job to support herself and her baby girl. She will move out as
soon as she can stand on her own two feet. And she WILL be baptized.
Ladies and gentleman, this is why we obey the law of chastity. In this
world today sexual relations are very relaxed. But I have witnessed
first hand what happens when you disregard the laws of God. He has
told us to refrain from sexual relations unless married for a reason,
it's because He simply loves us. Breaking the law of chastity will
ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS lead to heart ache, broken homes, broken hearts,
and loneliness. Alright, I'll step off my soap box now and stop
preaching.
So other random news, I went and got a hair cut today. I chopped off 6
inches of hair!!! It's the shortest it's ever been but I love it so
much! It was getting very long and hard to do in the short time we
have to get ready. Plus it's summer and it's humid and I was ready for
something really different. So that's that.
I feel like my mission is not at all what I expected, but it's exactly
what I need. When I accepted my mission call I truly had no idea what
was ahead of me. And there have been many times on my mission when I
have thought "This is not what I signed up for! I did not agree to be
a wedding planner, a family psychologist, a marriage counselor, and
many other things!" But I know the Savior said the same thing. He wept
in the garden of Gethsemane, wondering if there was some other way. He
cried "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39). The
Savior had no idea what He had signed up for either. I think many of
us think that same things several times in life whether it be a new
parent, marriage, or job. Heavenly Father definitely pushes us. And i
also know that the gospel of Jesus Christ holds all the answers for
us. To every question, problem, or concern you've ever had, the answer
is in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I want you all to know that I love this gospel. I know that The Lord
is in the details of our lives. I know that I needed to serve in Pekin
for 6 weeks because I learned valuable lessons here that I wouldn't
have otherwise learned. I know that we can all put our trust in The
Lord a little bit more. Do you truly believe that God lives and that
He loves us? If you don't, then find out for yourself. The Atonement
is real. Joseph Smith is a prophet. I love you all and I will forever
be grateful for your support to me over the past 13 months and for the
next 4 months. I pray for you all and I hope you have a great week!"