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| Lunch with the single senior sisters! Sis Currit is next to me, then Sis Nield, then Sis Day (not in our ward, but lives with Sisters Currit and Nield). They are the sweetest! They are so faithful to the Savior.💕 |
Aloha Ohana!
It's been another fabulous week! It's been a pretty warm one too.
We'll start with some funny highlights: I
love living in such a cultural melting pot. On our ward facebook page,
someone (from the Philippines) asked if anyone had extra "powdered
cheese" in their house. Someone else (from from Hawaii) replied "is that
the same as shredded cheese??" In my mind I figured it was parmesan
cheese lol. It's funny to see how certain phrases or ideas translate
from other languages into English in people's minds.
Also, I
found a Disney cruise bowl!!! A member in our ward didn't want it
anymore, so I took it! It's the same bowls we bought when we were on the
Disney Cruise years ago. Those bowls are my childhood!!! It brought
back good memories😊
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| GUESS WHAT I FOUND?! Crazy huh! A member in our ward was getting rid of it so I decided to take it. Oh the Disney cruise mems... 💜 |
Another
thing that brought back good memories was our night bike ride. We
exercised at night instead of in the morning on Tuesday last week. Sis
Morse ran around BYU for 30 minutes and I biked happily behind her
(she's super speedy). It was so refreshing!! It was getting dark, the
air was breezy and fresh, not many people were out, it was nearly silent
except for the wind blowing the palm trees. I realized that the last
night-time bike ride I'd been on was in Paris with mom last year. We
rode our bikes along the river Seine and gawked at the Eiffel tower--it
was magical. It was fun to be reminded of those memories. Aside from mom
not being with me, the biggest difference was that I was gawking at the
light of the Laie Temple instead of the Eiffel tower! 😍
I'm learning that the
Lord has a tendency of preparing miracles for me to be a part of for the
END of our shifts to see if I'll endure and be diligent to the very
end😉 A woman approached the front desk with 5 minutes left of our
"shift," and a conversation began between her and Sis Morse. It turns
out that Leanne is a member of the church, but she hasn't been in years,
and married a strict Baptist who thinks we're a cult :/ (I've never
understood how people can genuinely think the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints is a cult, but I guess I don't understand a lot of
weird/twisted things about the world). Her family had left the church
when she was younger. However, when Leanne came here to the temple, she
was reminded of the things she truly knows deep down inside. She didn't
know there was a temple in Hawaii, nor that she would get to visit it
and feel the Spirit again. She expressed her special experience of being
sealed to her family at age 12. She kept saying "I know the things I
know, and nothing can change that" as she was reminded of the beautiful
truths of the restored gospel. The most tender part for me was when she
opened up to tell us her story, and her emotions were very close to the
surface. A few sentences in, she opened her arms wide and we embraced.
It was in those moments of embracing that I felt like I was literally
standing in Christ's place, doing exactly what He would do if He were
personally ministering to Leanne. I truly felt like I was standing in
His place, doing what He wants done, and saying what He wants said (see
"My Missionary Commission" by Bruce R. McConkie). It was a very powerful
and special feeling. This is probably the moment in my whole mission
that I have most strongly felt that I was standing in the place of the
Savior and loving someone for Him. I felt so much love for Leanne.
Sis Morse and I chatted with Gavin on mormon.org.
He's a super genuine guy living in Northern Ireland. He said he's Presbyterian, but just feels like he wants/needs more. By the end of our
conversation, he said he felt like a weight had been lifted. We will be
helping him get in contact with local missionaries, get to church on
Sunday, and potentially teach him some over the phone. More to come on
Gavin!
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| Here is our skype in to meet Sis Morse's recent convert in Maryland, Rose! She's so cool! and guess what? One of the sisters in the trio there is Sydney Smoot from Centerville! Small world! |
I picked up a request for a free copy
of the Book of Mormon from Mohamad in Texas yesterday. He said he's
wanting to learn more about the Mormon religion, and understand what we
advocate. He said he grew up skeptical of Islam. However, he felt
something different when he was touring around the church buildings in
Salt Lake City. He felt a "wave of spirituality as if a higher being was
influencing" him, which is something he'd never felt practicing the
religion he grew up with. It reminded Sis Morse and I how powerful the
Spirit is at temple grounds. Temples really are the house of the Lord,
and I'm so grateful to be serving at one. God sends people here to the
Laie temple who are prepared to have their heart touched and moved by
the Holy Ghost here.
This transfer we've got a
companion goal of unity. We do a "confidence routine" every morning and I
looove it! My personal goal deals primarily with prayer. I want prayer
to become more meaningful, and less of a checklist item.
I sent a referral to a Sister Flake in North Carolina a few days ago! We connect through William Jordan. So cool!
This
week as I've begun my scripture studies with a sincere prayer, given
time to listen/ponder, and approached studies with a specific question
(or 2) I have learned SO much more. It has been incredible! When I study
with a specific question in mind, the Lord helps me find and feel
answers as I study. I have found so many answers to questions, and I've
also realized a small portion of how much growth I've experienced on my
mission. Like it talks about in Alma 5:9, I've felt my soul "expand"on
my mission! Try it out this week... and if you feel you can't think of a
question, ask God to bring a question to your mind! Then, believe that
you'll actually receive/find an answer, and YOU WILL!
Your
homework this week is to go read the Ricciardi Letter (google it, it
should be the first thing to pull up). It's a letter written by a
returned missionary to the son of his friend. It is life changing!!
Sorry I don't have time to explain it much, but Sis Morse showed it to
me and IT IS AMAZING.
Something big I've been
reminded of this week is that I'm sure grateful I tend to be an
optimist! It's fine to have questions, but when you turn into a skeptic,
the Spirit leaves, and you just feel sad and grumpy haha. It's so much
better to choose to have faith and be happyyyyyy!!!!! :) :) :)
Love the pace of life God has given you! and keep smiling😊
Love, Sister Flake
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| We're a quack-i-lackin companionship! hahaha. |
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| The boy is Elder Logan Flake's trainer! All three of them served in Logan's mission and know him. They said he is the most energetic and zealous missionary... he had ENDLESS energy haha! I said I guess it's a Flake thing!😄 |
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