Sister Flake's Mission Blog: December 2017

Merry Christmas from Pearl Harbor!!

Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This week was FULL and FUN:)) First of all, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!!! The BEST, BIGGEST, MOST HUUUUGE highlight this week was SKYPING MY FAMILY!!! It was so refreshing to get to see their smiling faces and hear their voices. I'm so grateful that technology allows us to feel so close to people who are in another part of the world! It was a much anticipated, enjoyed, and needed hour of conversation with the BEST family in the world😊❤

I'll be honest, it's pretty strange having it be so hot on Christmas haha... but I'm not complaining! Christmas Eve and Christmas were absolutely beautiful weather-wise here:) It was so fun being able to still participate in many family traditions here, even though I'm not physically with my family back home. I enjoyed making memories with my "family" here.

Making sugar cookies!

We're taking them to give away while carolling🎄🎶

And one for Santa😉😊🎅

Christmas Eve night all the VC missionaries did a get together. We sang songs, read the story of the Nativity (acted out by the Swinton's grandkids), shared testimonies, opened our secret santa presents, and had dessert of course!

♫The 12 Days of Christmas My Mission Gave to Me🎶

Nativity

Secret Santa gift exchange

Cute little angel! Swinton's granddaughter

My secret santa!

And of course, dessert! :)

Christmas day was so fun and so busy! We woke up at 6:30 and immediately gathered with all of our padmates to open the presents we put under my Christmas tree:) Thank you for your thoughtfulness in your gifts:) We each took turns opening our gifts and listened to Christmas music while doing so, and then we made chocolate chip pancakes and eggs for breakfast all together! It was so fun:)

O Holy Night

Christmas breakfast!

Then Sis Lin and I headed off to help prep for our ward brunch, at which we had french toast, fried rice, ham, smokeys, and fruit. I can honestly say I don't think I've ever had french toast and fried rice at the same meal ever before in my life haha! Only in Hawaii😉

Reyes family at the Ward Brunch

Then we headed back to the VC for another Christmas lunch as VC sisters, provided by the Goodmans. FOOOOOD😍😍😊) We had a little bit of time for studies, but it was so hard to focus because I was skyping my family so soon!!! Skyping was the best part of Christmas!! It went by way too fast, but it really was such a tender mercy to get to speak with them for an hour❤ I am so grateful for them. The VC was open today, so Sis Lin and I had shift after that (526 people came to the VC today still!) until our VC party at 6 pm😊 We had a potluck dinner and watched the 'new' Beauty and the Beast movie all together! It was SO FUN😊😊 MAN I looove that movie. We were all wearing our matching oversized red Hawaii tshirts that the senior couples gave us for Christmas... how fun huh?!😊

The Chongs❤

Cozy in our red Hawaii shirts from the senior missionary couples

PARTYYY!🎄

It's tough being away from family during Christmas time, but it has made me reflect more on how thankful I am for my Savior. It all boils down to Him. He is the greatest gift that has ever been given. What meaningful gift can I give to Him? It's a good question to contemplate this special time of year, especially as we prepare to make some meaningful New Year's resolutions. Give it some thought. What can you give to Him? Your heart? Your fears? A bad habit? A commitment to read the Book of Mormon daily?

Another highlight this week was doing service at Pearl Harbor! It was so much fun! It was a crazy day hahaha we toootally got lost on our way home, and ended up driving around Honolulu for like an hour and a half trying to figure out how to get back to Laie, BUT it was great to familiarize myself with the island better😉 and we asked a lady for directions, and then offered her a BOM, to which she responded, "oh, but I'm a Christian"... It's so crazy to me that so many people don't realize that WE ARE CHRISTIAN TOO! Well I'm grateful to be here to clarify that for people! Anywayssss I've got a special bond with the other sisters that survived the car ride with me😂 Each transfer about 4 or 5 companionships get to join the elders to do service at Pearl Harbor at the USS Missouri Memorial. We swept and mopped pretty much the entire 2nd floor of the ship! It was suuuper cool to get to look around, learn more about the history of the ship and of our country, and have a renewed sense of gratitude for the military in their fight for my freedom. And we got Panda Express for lunch (at 3:30 pm). Score!

The whole group :)

The sister squad

Sister Boyce and I are almost as tough as the military...

...jk😉

STARS AND SCIENCE😍

look it's a big missile bomb!

Panda Express!

Well, this past week I hit my 3 month mark... CRAZY! That's 1/6 of my mission. Man, I have learned so much about the gospel, Jesus Christ, and myself. I am sooo grateful for the experiences I am having, and the blessings I am seeing come from being here as well. Missions are incredible!

I've been trying to learn how to bear my testimony in Chinese... I'm making slow progress, but I've got a few very very basic sentances down. I'll keep working!!!

A classic Hawaiian food highlight: I got to try a bit of Sis Tonami's musubi. It was actually pretty good! I'd eat it again. It's spam and egg surrounded by rice, all wrapped inside of a piece of seaweed. Definitely a must-try here!

Ooooo a spiritual highlight was something Sister Swinton said in a meeting this week at the VC. She said "miracles are not sensitive to time or place, but only to the faith in your heart." *mic drop* I LOVE that! and I've come to find on my mission that it is SO true. Do things each day to fill your heart with faith!

This week (on Christmas Day!) I spoke with a woman named Nicole during our online teaching time who I could see the Lord's hand so clearly at work in their life. A few months ago she had received a copy of the BOM from the missionaries when they knocked on her door. They left their phone number. Since that time, this woman had lost their phone number, and she thought she lost the BOM too. Then, a few days ago her little daughter came to her with the then-found BOM, and it brought to her rememberance her interaction with the missionaries in the past. She found her way to mormon.org, and I ended up speaking with her on the phone. She is seeking for a greater purpose, and to elevate her relationship with God even further. As she told me her story, there were so many little things that made it so clear to me that God is working in the details of her life. It was neat to point that out to her. There are no coincidences! God is working in the details of EACH of our lives. Things happen by divine design. I love getting to see God's hand at work, and it's so so so special to get to see those hands at work through ME! I get to be one of His special instruments at this time in my life. I love it!

Well, I hope you all have a happy New Year!!!!!! I can't believe it's already almost 2018... time just marches on! I love setting new goals for a coming year. It's really a time to reflect on ways to improve and become more like the perfect example, Jesus Christ. That's one of my favorite names of Him, "exemplar". I am so grateful to have Him, the perfect example, to strive to pattern my life after!

Well, talk to you next year!😉
Sister Flake