Best highlight of the week was skyping home yesterday. I love getting to see your smiling faces real time! So special.
Carolling
at the old folks home as a district last week was sure fun! The old
people LOVED it😊 Our 2 part harmony didn't sound too shabby either😎
Sister Spencer and I chatted afterwards with a darling woman named
Gwen, who agreed to let us call each of her three kids and share a
Christmas message sometime in the coming days! Old people always make me
ponder about life more. It's interesting to see what each of them has
made of the time God has given them on Earth.
My
favorite one-liner from the week was probably something Sister Spencer
said in a her prayer before we went out to contact some people in our
area. She said "...please help us to talk to people and not care about
social cues too much..." Hahaha, it cracked me up😂 As missionaries, we
definitely try to pay attention to nonverbal language others show, and
respect their beliefs and choices, but we also have a charge to not be
shy in fulfilling our call as a set apart representative of Jesus Christ
Himself. Besides, the gospel of Jesus Christ is WAY more important to
me than social cues anyways😉 We've been working on being more bold.
Sister Spencer is doing a great job as we continually place ourselves in
situations currently outside of her comfort zone. We've had some good
experiences this week as a result!
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| Inviting PCC visitors to take the tram tour |
We've been
trying to get in contact with Adonis and Anastasia, two people who had
been taught by missionaries previously, but because of High School
sports have been too busy to meet for a while. We had trouble finding
them, but decided to visit a member who lives across the street in hopes
that they could help us meet Adonis and Anastasia (whose home is
gated). After stopping at the members home, we were walking back to our
car and saw someone outside of Adonis' garage. We could have just gone
right to the car, but instead we walked over, waved, and said "Aloha!"
The person turned around and came to talk to us, and we came to find
that it was Adonis! We were able to meet him and get his phone number,
and we've been trying to set something up to meet Anastasia too. It was a
little tender mercy from being diligent and just doing the little
"extra" things that set apart 'ordinary' and 'extraordinary'
missionaries.
The Cluffs got to ride my tram
tour on Saturday! It was so fun to have them cheering me on as I gave
the tour😃 Also on that day we met a woman from Missouri. From the very
beginning of her time with us, she seemed to be very skeptical. She came
with her brother, who we talked to for a bit as she kind of listened
and observed the VC and our conversation. The brother accepted our
invitation to take a copy of the Book of Mormon, and when we offered her
a copy as well, she paused and thought for several moments before
replying that she'd take a copy to read too. That somewhat surprised us
with how skeptical she seemed to be. As unfamiliar as the Book of Mormon
was to her, she was intrigued. By the end of our conversation, she
really opened up to us. We were able to share our testimonies of the
Book of Mormon, and also shared that it helps us find clarity on topics
like life after death, the purpose of life, why evil and suffering
occur, how to find more peace, how to protect loved ones, etc. She said
that she'd actually been interested in quite a while now to know more
about life after death. She's sought information and answers, but hasn't
quite found peace on the matter yet. We promised her that she would
find peace as she studied the Book of Mormon, especially Alma 40-42. By
the end of our time with her, she shared more of her current concerns
and thoughts about life after death, and seemed really open, accepting,
and hopeful that the Book of Mormon would help her find answers. I
L.O.V.E. seeing people change right before my eyes (and in 15 minutes or
less!). I love seeing their attitude change towards the restored gospel
of Jesus Christ. That is what conversion is. Boy, is it fun to be a part of it or what!! I feel so privileged.
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| Tram Tour with the Cluffs!!! |
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| I love the Tram❤ |
On TC one day, we picked up an inbound call to
mormon.org
for a guy who was Baptist, and not interested himself, but he said his
cousin wants to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He
gave us her information. We asked who else he knew that might be
interested, and he gave us another person's information. We asked again,
and he again gave us another. By the time we got to about five people,
we wondered if it would ever end haha! He ended up giving us SEVEN
people's info. We've only had time to call three so far--2 didn't
answer, but one did, and accepted our invitation to meet with
missionaries! Cool, huh?
It was special to be able to focus on what I could give to others, instead of what others might give to me for
Christmas. My prayer was that I would be able to help another person's
Christmas to be a memorable one. Despite that focus of mine, we were
absolutely spoiled by the Hauula 3rd Ward this Christmas! We have been
loved and remembered, and it really made Christmas special. Bishop's
wife gave us Christmas pajamas (mine have flamingos with Christmas
lights strung around them). The Auna's gave us a gift, as well as the
Kesters in the ward. Christmas Eve with the Vainerere's was a treat. Our
time with them was what finally made it click for me that it was
Christmas time! We showed up at their home expecting to give a brief
Light the World message, but they had prepared a Christmas Eve feast!
There was meat GALORE, and lots of other yummy food. Then to top it off
they pulled out Mango Cheesecake and dished us each a HUGE slice. I
thought my stomach was going to burst hahaha (and we had a second dinner
with the VC after this). We shared 4 Nephi 1 about the Americas at the
time of Christ's birth, and the Spirit accompanied our message and
testimonies. They got us some gifts too. One of my favorite parts of the
evening was when they sang Silent Night in 3 languages. First was
French, then Hawaiian, then English. Being in a Spirit-filled home with
such a loving local family on Christmas Eve just warmed my heart. I have
a special place in my heart for the Vianereres now!
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| Our new Christmas PJs from bishop's wife |
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| Vianerere family! Kayla is their daughter, they have a son on a mission. The older couple are Sister V's parents, the Tahairi's |
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| from the Vianereres |
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| The V's nativity out of olive wood.😍 |
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| Christmas Eve party. (dinner #2) |
Christmas
day was a hoot too! Not only did I get to skype my family, but we made
sugar cookies to deliver to some people in our area, had my first ever
district council as a district leader (seriously, one of my favorite
feelings in the world is feeling the Spirit work through me to help
others, whether it be other missionaries, or those who don't yet
remember the gospel), and had a VC party last night. We watched Home
Alone.
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| Sugar Cookies!! Merry Chirstmas! |
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| The Wasson's. We visited them on Christmas day.🎄 |
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| Love our matching Christmas socks! Thank you fam!! |
Well, I'll talk to you next year! As I
look back on the year 2018, I'm filled with gratitude for the amazing
experiences I have had. I invite you each to write a letter to the
Savior, and include in it something that you will give to Him next year
(maybe you'll give up being hard on yourself, your pride, a bad habit,
time to study the scriptures, more meaningful prayer, etc). I'm going to
try to do it too!
Keep smiling! Love the pace of life God has given you this week.
Love, Sister Flake
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| Sister Spencer got her first TC referral sent! |
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| Here's the Ferrins! |
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| The Ferrins made us cinnamon rolls😋 Here's Sister Roney |
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