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| Birthday fun with my sisters!!❤ |
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| I love cheesecake😍💕 |
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| Thank you Sister Boyce and Sister Takara! You know how to make a girl feel special! |
-So this week I got to hear from both Elder Holland and Elder Bednar! It was absolutely incredible. I learned a TON. These two men truly are special, ordained Apostles of the Lord, Jesus Christ. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear from 2 Apostles in such a small setting. I learned much about receiving revelation, the nature of priesthood keys, that the First Vision was what initiated the Restoration (but the Restoration is still continuing today), the necessity to ALWAYS remain true to my faith and testimony, and the importance of humility. I will never be done learning. I will never be the "expert" in this life... and I'm learning to be okay with that😊 By nature I want to be the expert at everything! Elder Bednar pressed upon us that the more I learn, the more I should realize how little I know. The world's pattern tells us that when someone is experienced at something, they know best. We know that we should not trust in the arm of the flesh over God though. We need to follow the patterns of the Lord in order to do His work! The longer I serve, the more I will learn, and the more I will need to acknowledge my dependence on God. Man, I have SO much to ponder from their devotional!
-Sooooo we learned from some other sisters that we have a MANGO tree growing in our backyard! So cool, right?! There are a couple of mangos on it right now, so I went out and knocked one down with a basketball. I felt like a pro😎 Mangos can be pricey here so I'm super stoked we've got our own tree!!!
-Chinese massages. Asian highlight: Sister Wu did this weird Chinese Massage thing on my shoulder/neck that supposedly helps the blood flow more freely. First she rubbed vaseline on my shoulder, then used a quarter (coin) to press/scrape in strokes from my neck to my shoulder. It actually felt pretty good! It was reeeaaallllyyy weird though, because within seconds all of these dark red spots started showing up from under my skin. "Doctor" (Sister) Wu concluded that I am very tired because the spots show up so fast and are so dark. She said it means my blood flow in my shoulders isn't good, so she had to "help it flow" using the coin (or something like that... I'm not totally sure I understood 😁). Chinese medicine is fascinating but also seems pretty strange to me. All I know is that it looked like I had some funky skin disease. It took a few days for the spots to go away! I'm back to normal now though, don't worry😉
-This week we experienced a special life-event for Sister Wu....... she saw her first SHOOTING STAR!!!!! She was SO happy! As soon as she saw it, she yelled out loud with excitement and then put her hands together, shut her eyes, and made a very long wish in her head.😂 Before this week she had never seen a shooting star EVER in her entire life! She told me she thought shooting stars were just a myth because she'd never seen on in Taiwan. Apparently the air/light pollution is too bad there. It made me realize that I've really taken for granted the hundreds of shooting stars I've seen in my life. Then again, I'm kind of a star fanatic and space really captivates me, so shooting stars have always been special to me.
-It's so important to surround yourself with people who will help you be productive and live your values. The past few days I have felt a HUGE difference as Sister Wu has found her own motivation from inside to work harder to learn English and use her time wisely. It made me realize how we sometimes think that our own attitudes or behaviors only impact ourselves, but in reality, they have a very significant impact on those around us (and likewise, we may think the people around us do not influence us, but they play a big part in who we become).
-We have a senior sister missionary in our ward who told us her granddaughter wants to be taught by us online! We were able to teach her about the Restoration on Wednesday, and we'll be calling again this week to continue helping her learn more. She is so sweet! It was neat to get to teach the whole first lesson with Sister Wu. It was her first time! In the VC we teach the Restoration many times each day, but it's usually just a portion of the principles, not all of them.
-Jennifer is planning on coming back to the VC tomorrow by the way! Woohoo!
-I've seen a huge difference when I pre-set the guest card vs when I don't (this is done by giving people a guest card at the BEGINNING of the tour, and explaining that many people come to the Visitors' Center and have a desire to learn more about something that they see/hear/learn here. We explain that as they are here, if something sparks their interest we can stay in contact with them or send local missionaries when they return home). When you give people 1. time to think about if they want to learn more, and 2. a heads up that they probably WILL see something that makes them want to learn more after their short visit here, it allows the Spirit to work more effectively in touching the hearts of the people who come here and helping them know that the things we share with them are true. We applied this concept yesterday and saw some pretty immediate results. Using the guest card the way it's intended to be used (by being pre-set) is something that helps make the Lord's work at the VC WAY more effective! We met a few very special couples from Texas that will be learning more both from us and from local missionaries after returning home. The Spirit touched their hearts and helped them know that our testimonies are sincere, that the things we shared are true, and that we genuinely want the best for them, as does our Heavenly Father.
Well, for my birthday, I'd love for each of you to pray for a unique opportunity to share your testimony this week. I know the Lord will put someone in your path who needs to be strengthened by your faith! He will help you clearly recognize it too. Let me know about your experiences:)
Aloha!
Sister Flake
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| Pday volleyball game!!🏐❤ |
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| Giving our burdens to the Lord (and throwing them in the ocean)😊 |
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| Megan, from our ward, brought me cookies for my birthday!❤ |
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