Sister Flake's Mission Blog: Saving Chicks

Aloha ohana!
Happy October! I'm stoked for Halloween.🎃 The Pollocks brought me some fun Halloween treats and a sweet note this week, it's nice having some family closeby😊

Kerilyn!

The Pollocks dropped off a halloween goodie bag! love having family here:)

This week I definitely experienced one of the most heroic moments of my life thus far... Sister Taufa and I were leaving someone's house, and passed by a family of chickens walking around. They walked by a storm drain, and one of the little chicks FELL IN THE DRAIN (tragic, I know!!!). Sister Taufa and I both gasped as we saw it fall in. We peeked down in the drain, and it was just swimming around trying to get out. I tried to lift the grate but it wouldn't budge. We searched all around for a stick of some sort, and finally found one long enough. I used the stick to guide the chick to the edge of the drain, and gently lift it out. We then guided it to reunite with the whole chicken family. I felt like such a good human being!! No chick left behind. ...But in all seriousness, it's kind of like us humans sometimes! We are just living life, and at times we just unexpectedly fall into a "storm drain" of mistakes or trials. BUT the Savior is always there to lift us out, brush us off, and get us back on track. I'm so grateful to know that because of Christ, there are no lost causes. Normally I get to share a message that saves [human] chicks (eternally), but this week I got to save a different kind of chick in a different sort of way😊🐥

This week I got to drive down to Honolulu for Mission Leadership Council (MLC). All of the Zone Leaders in Hawaii, and many of the Sister Training Leaders, attend. They even fly in the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders from other islands. We discuss how things are going around the mission, and how we can increase effectiveness. The missionaries here are doing wonderfully, but we always have room to improve! We talked a lot about turning our attention outward, and keeping our focus on our friends we are teaching the gospel to. We also discussed ways to bring a greater urgency to our work! What we are doing can have eternal significance for people if they let it. I am grateful I had the chance to learn from so many wonderful leaders in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission! It also made me realize how lucky we are at the VC to have Elder Allen's constant ideas, advice, and counsel.

Laie Zone Leaders!

STLs😊

Sis Preslar💗

Sister Mondejar! at the tab for MLC

MLC! Here's a mosaic at the Tab in Honolulu

This week we met David from China. He was an incredibly sincere man who is seeking greater peace. He spoke of the fast-pace of life back home, and how he wishes to have more peace each day. He told us he believes religion can help him with that, but has been pretty limited in learning more thus far. I was just in awe at how quickly David could sense the truthfulness of the message we share. He seemed to just latch on to the Book of Mormon, and he was so grateful for the things we shared with him. We showed him a page in a pamphlet that will help him remember how to pray, and we invited him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. I shared my short testimony in Chinese that the Book of Mormon can bring him peace and happiness😊 I just love meeting such sincere seekers of truth and light. David is a special guy.

We "heart attacked" Lizette's door this week, but the only problem was that she saw us walking up to her house, so we couldn't surprise her with it! It all worked out though. We ended up taping the heart-shaped notes on her door anyways, and having a great visit with her. AND she gave us some delicious ceviche (she is a wonderful cook... especially of Mexican food!!), which is shrimp cooked in lime, an onion/salsa type mixture, avocado, and I'm not sure what else, all mixed together and placed on top of a tostada... it was SO good. She is such a sweet woman.

We had a lesson this week with a sweet 14-yr old adopted from China. Sister Lee and Wong helped us translate into Chinese. We really saw a change in him, as he now has a deep and sincere desire to read and pray about the Book of Mormon to know for himself if it's from God or not. We also talked a lot about how the Holy Ghost manifests Himself to us. We were able to clarify that the Spirit is a still, small voice. The Holy Ghost brings peace, not confusion or tension. In China he was told that our church was a cult. It brought some apprehension towards learning more at first, but now he's actually taking the time and effort to turn to God, the source of all truth and light, to understand what's really true. I'm so excited for him to experience the joy of seeking and finding answers for himself.

I also met some of Lorene's neighbors from Springville! They'd been sent by Lorene with specific instructions to find me and deliver hugs from Nielsons💗 How do you know you love someone???

This week I'm looking forward to General Conference!! It's going to be so good. I invite ALL of you to watch it. Beforehand, prayerfully write down questions that you have, and pray for the Holy Ghost to teach you what God needs you to learn at this time.
I'll also get to go on a few exchanges this week, so I'm super pumped about that!

Love you all! Keep smiling, and love the pace of life God's given you this week😀
Sister Flake