Just Keep Flappin'!

Aloha Ohana!
This week flew by super duper fast! ...Not as fast as the hurricane winds headed our way this week though haha. There's a category 2 hurricane headed towards Hawaii, due to hit about Wednesday next week. Pray for the safety of all of the people in Hawaii🌴 Don't worry about me, we'll be alright. The Lord protects His missionaries!

-Like I've said, there is WAY too much food here in Laie alone to try everything. There are so many things I haven't tried yet, and I've been here 10 MONTHS haha! Today we went to buy eggs at the cackle fresh egg outlet because it's wayyyyy cheaper there, and next door there were several customers who couldn't say enough about how yummy the food tent was. They told me I HAD to try it... so I didn't resist haha! They recommended the katsu opah. Opah fish is apparently a "moonfish" (...I have no idea that means, but I DO know that it tastes DELISH😂).  Katsu is a sweeter tasting sauce used primarily on meat. It's especially popular in Japan. The katsu opah was worth the 7 bucks for sure! Fried yumminess😜 It's served on top of rice... of course😁 Everything in Hawaii is served with rice lol. We ate our food at Hukilau beach (on the grass, not the sand😉). It was refreshing to have a little ocean-side picnic. The water is such a pretty shade. Hawaii is so beautiful! This week it kind of hit me that I live right by the ocean haha. It's literally within a mile of my house. Sister Morse and I went for a short walk up the hill behind the temple, and there's a beautiful view overlooking Laie. I was staring at the ocean and it sort of clicked how close we live to the beach. It sounds silly, but every other time I've stayed this close to the ocean, I've gone to the beach. So since I haven't gone swimming or really even gone to the beach (aside from grass picnics), it makes it seem like I'm not living right next to the ocean. Silly realization, but it made me laugh😊 It's fun when things like that finally click in your brain.

Sisters Morse, Lee, Soga(sporting the egg tray haha), and me

YUMMMMMM:):):) Rice on bottom. Fried (I think??) Opah with mayo and katsu sauce.

Happy pday!

-This week I've been mastering Aloha 'Oe on the ukulele. It's coming along great! It's been fun to teach myself how to do a sort of pick/strum combination so that you can hear the melody of a song while strumming the chord progression. I've been happy to discover that my decompression time at night is adequate for me to enjoy therapeutic activities like writing music and playing music😌

-One of the things Sister Morse and I have been focusing on this week is to "keep flappin'!" Everyone has experienced this--you get up and "flying" as you try something new or are working to improve an attribute or skill. Everything seems to be going well, but then something comes along that distracts you, something goes wrong, or your confidence wavers, and you seem to crash and burn. Sister Morse and I have been working on bouncing back quickly after rejection or discouragement. During one of our comp studies, I told her she's just gotta keep flappin'!!! She got a kick out of that haha... but it's true, we all need to keep flapping our wings. Steadily fly forward, one flap at a time, eyes focused on the Savior. Don't let fear of failure, feeling overwhelmed, or comparison to others  shake your confidence. Confidence really is KEY. Place your confidence in the Savior, rather than in yourself, and you'll keep flappin' until the very end!😀 Enjoy my visual aid haha🐦 Remember, there is seldom growth in the comfort zone, and everyone's comfort zone is different.

-Preach My Gospel has been updated! The updated version is on gospel library now. I like it! It's more focused on the people learning about the gospel being people, rather than "investigators." It also makes things more centered on the simple and core doctrines of Christ of faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. For anyone out there interested in understanding the training we receive as missionaries, and what our intent truly is behind teaching people about the restored gospel, watch the District videos! These are training videos they have all missionaries watch to help us become better teachers and guides for the people we interact with as they come to know truths for themselves. It's not about the "numbers" or simply converting people... it's about sincerely loving and serving others, and sharing with them what we know will help them best in their individual challenges! It's all about people. Enjoy: https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/the-district?lang=eng Technology is so cool. We're actually allowed to teach friends or family from back home via skype or Facebook video chat if someone wants to learn more from me specifically!

-In relation to "it's not about the numbers or converting people," there were a few experiences I had this week that reminded me of that. On Sunday I talked with Gabriel from Texas on the phone. I had texted him a few days prior about a request he made for a copy of the Book of Mormon online. He told me to call the next day. When I called a few days later, we had a wonderful conversation. Initially he was a little bit short with me, but he really opened up once I explained the purpose of my call. I'm just here to help him draw closer to Christ! Apparently he'd met with local missionaries six months ago, but had some concerns he felt stuck on. He grew up Catholic and has just been trying to find answers and clarity inside. I told him questions are good if you approach them in faith, and I also have lots of questions! He seemed relieved and said he thought he was the only one with so many questions. What was significant about our phone call was that this was one of the first times I felt such a genuine desire to help this man in any way I could. Naturally the best possible way I could help came from inspiration from the Holy Ghost to share specific principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ! Gabriel was really seeking to know how to hear the voice of the Holy Ghost. I bore testimony, and felt the Holy Ghost make my words powerful and sincere, that the Book of Mormon has taught me how to hear voice of the Holy Ghost with more clarity. I could tell he sensed my sincerity and believed me. The miracle of it was actually that he was meaning to block the phone number, but for some reason hadn't gotten to it yet and happened to pick up my call anyway haha. By the end of the call he said this was a miracle in his day, and something he really needed. He said he felt something, and feels like he's on the verge of finding answers now. He was sincerely so grateful. Neat!

On Wednesday I talked to a couple from Australia. He was not particularly religious. I felt the peace of the Spirit as we testified of principles of the restoration--simple gospel truths. I was blessed with eyes to see and a mind to understand that what I was sharing wasn't to get them to simply "join the church," it was about their true eternal happiness (which is such a bigger and more important cause than having people think you're trying to convert them). It was neat. I realized approaching it this way automatically makes you more love-driven.

-Sis Morse and I have been the guinea pigs of using laptops at our pad for online work, instead of going to the visitors center to the computer lab there. It's been really convenient to have laptops and wifi in our living room! Sometimes it's weird not being at the VC until 5 pm (you get a little stir crazy in the pad all day), but it's been nice overall. This is what they'll likely be doing more of as the number of sisters here at the VC increases!

-Wowza this has been a long email! BUT I just wanted to add one more thing haha. This week I really came to know that the Book of Mormon was written precisely for OUR day. These records from ancient prophets in the Americas laid hidden for centuries until God knew the time was right for them to be brought forth by His power. I'm so grateful for Joseph Smith and all others who sacrificed so much to allow me to have the Book of Mormon to guide, strengthen, and lift me. Reading the Book of Mormon with the influence of the Holy Ghost has made the Savior more real to me. It's the bomb.com!

Well, I'm just loving life! Keep smiling!:)
This week choose to love the pace of life God has given you!

Love,
Sister Flake

This is Reei, a return missionary. She said we made her day😊 She got home in November last year, and had so much good to say about her mission👍