Life is Hard, Not the Gospel!

Aloha family & friends!!!!
Hope everyone had a good week! This week was a little tough for us. Kind of struggling to find new people teach since all those who we were teaching are now baptized. We've worked a lot with our less actives & our members & we also did lots of service. Monday was Zone Pday at Mama Bells!! Talk about waffles for days! Tuesday we did service for the Haughwouts. They're moving soon & so we started to help them pack. We started Ashlee's new member lessons too! Wednesday, we did service for the Millers. Then we went on exchanges with Sister Walser & visited Brother Coker who came to church last week for the first time in years due to health problems. Love that man for his faith & desire to do good. We also visited some other less active members too. Then we went to mutual & gave a Book of Mormon to a member who's neighbor is interested. Hopefully it will turn into a new investigator.

Me and my comp!

Thursday, we had our Weekly Planning. We tried to do more contacting. Super cool experience though. So my comp & I have been having a little bit of health issues (nothing to worry about though). Sister Slade was in lots of pain that night & we had originally planned to go & visit the Walker family. I had suggested to her that she should get a Priesthood blessing from Brother Walker & she felt like she was okay. She told me that she had thought about Brother Miller & then convinced herself that she was fine. So I said a prayer in my heart & within minutes our phone rang & it was Sister Miller. She said that Brother Miller had a feeling to call us to check up on us & the both of us looked at each other & we were so shocked. Sis. Slade eventually agreed to getting a blessing & when we got there & before we even shared what happen, Brother Walker came walking in to assist Brother Miller in the blessing. Heavenly Father is sure looking out for us. The 2 men who we were thinking about were there ready to help us. Reminds me of a scripture found in Matthew 6 verse 8 that says, "for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Such a powerful experience for sure.

Friday, we did service for Sister Tucker & she later introduced us to her neighbor who is in need of some service. She's a sweet lady that is going through a lot so maybe she'll want to learn more. Perfect teaching opportunity if you ask me. After service, we had a lesson with Betty & Ashlee joined us. It was a good lesson. She's still stuck in her ways. Praying that she'll be able to understand & feel Heavenly Fathers love for her. We also visited Sister Parr who's such a sweet lady! She's also less active due to poor health but we really want to try & get her to church so she can go to the temple. It would be awesome!!! Saturday was the best!!!! We went to the temple for our mission temple day. We took Ashlee & Ally & Sister Sanborn with us. The Gilchrist also joined us & our Bishop/President surprised us. I love the fact that Ashlee is already supported & loved by SO many members. It really helps when you have recent converts & members working together. Fellowship is such an important thing & so powerful for our investigators & new members.

At the temple with the wonderful saints of Azle!

Temple day with Ally and Ashley!

Sister Sanborn

Sunday was also a good day! We had lunch with Da Queen Deb & Brother Honey Bun & their family. Love them!!! Then we went on exchanges with Sister Yanda & her daughter Stella. Visited an older lady who has a very strong Christian belief. She's so sweet though & it was awesome to meet her & hear her testimony of her faith in Jesus Christ & Heavenly Father. This mission is life changing. Here's a quote that I've been using a lot, "Life is hard, not the gospel." The gospel of Jesus Christ is simple. His love is never ending. He loves us & will help us choose the harder right then the easier wrong. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith! My faith is strengthened every day as I do the simple & little things & I know that yours can be strengthened as well. Let us continue to follow his commandments & be obedient to his council. I love y'all SO much & miss y'all everyday!!!! Until next week my ʻohana!!!! Ke Akua pū!
Love always,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a

My Azle ʻOhana

My favorite place in the whole world! The House of the Lord! Dallas Temple

Brother Haughwought and dinner???

Crazy Busy, But Good as Always!

Aloha y'all!!!

Hi my sweet family! How is everyone doing??? I hope everyone is doing well! Today is my 5 month mark!! Whoop whoop! Gosh, it really doesn't feel like I've been here for 5 months. Time really does go by fast. Crazy!! Anyways, this week was crazy busy but good as always. Last week Monday, we hung out with the STLs (Sister Training Leaders). Love them!!! We had dinner with the Lutz family. Every time we have dinner with them, Sister Lutz always makes sure that there's rice & mangos! Love her!!!!

Mangoes and rice!

After dinner, we had a good lesson with our investigator Ashlee. Getting her ready for her baptism. Tuesday, we had Zone Council. It was really good. Always love being with the other missionaries. We also had Ashlee's baptism interview which went awesome!!! So stoked for her. Then we did exchanges & Sister Booher came to Azle with me & Sister Slade went to Hudson Oaks with Sister Ramirez. Sister Booher & I totally dodged the big storm that was supposed to come & went tracting. Funny cuz one person that we talked to was like, "umm can y'all do me a favor? Get inside!" It was so funny.

The Sister Training Leaders

Wednesday, we did service for Sister Bartlett. We met with Derrick again & had an awesome lesson with him about faith in Jesus Christ & a little bit about the plan of salvation too. He's feeling Heavenly Fathers love him & it's super cool to see how willing he is & the desire that he has to change. Praying that his situation that he's in, will allow him to come to church soon. Thursday, we went to Irving for a doctors appointment thanks to Sister Miller who drove us. Then we did our weekly planning & walked to the Brazells for dinner. Funny cuz, we totally got caught from both Sister Abraham & Brother Miller who was not happy to see us walking. We are SO spoiled here. Our members are always SO willing to do anything for us. Love them!!!! After dinner, we went to Ally's house & watched the restoration of Joseph Smith with Ashlee. Such a testimony builder. We got a call that Bishop wanted to meet with us at the church to go over some of the baptism stuff & so we when we got there, Sister Slade totally got surprised by her neighbors from back home. It was super sweet & so nice of them to come & see her for a bit. It was a good way to end a long day.

Ashleeʻs baptism

Friday, we went to Hurst for a follow up meeting. It was so good!!! Always love hearing President Ames speak & receiving council from him. Got to see my MTC companion, Sister Black!!! Love her!! After the meeting, we went to In-N-Out for lunch. Then we went & saw Betty. She's doing great as always. Still praying that we can somehow teach her the importance of the word of wisdom. She's still awesome though! Not giving up! After that, we went to Weatherford for Jayden's baptism interview that went awesome!!! Then we went clear out to Springtown for dinner with the Jones. Then we went clear out the opposite direction to have a lesson with Jennie at the Reinhard home. Yeah, we were totally dead by the time we finally got home. Saturday was such an awesome day!!!! Ashlee & Jayden got baptized! It was such a spiritual baptism & there were SO many friends & family both members & non members. It was a really good morning.

Jaydenʻs baptism

After the baptism, Sister Slade & I went to get our oil changedout in Lake Worth. It was supposed to be like a 20 minute thing that turned into a 2 hour thing -_- merp!! Still was good though cuz we got to talk to a guy who totally destroyed his knees. He talked about the gospel with him cuz he asked us about our name tags. It was cool. Didn't get his name but he lives in Azle so maybe we'll end up knocking on his door one of these days. Before he left he said, "man, y'all really made my day!" That was nice. 

After changing the oil, we went to dinner with the Butlers. Then we tried to contact a family but no one answered the door but we ended up talking to their neighbors & having like 5 other lessons. Met a boy who's parents are Muslim but he was interested in our message. Ended up giving him a Book of Mormon & you could just feel tha  the Spirit was touching him. It was awesome experience. We also went on a walk with our neighbor Jasmine who's from Taiwan. We had a really good talk about religion & stuff. Sunday was a good day. We had a good time at church & then we went on exchanges with Sister Walser to try & contact a few people. Then we had dinner with the Gilchrist!!! Love them!!!! Then they took us to the mission presidents fireside which was totally awesome as always. 

One more fireside till President Ames goes home. Sad but happy at the same time. So grateful for him & his family. Sacrificing 3 years of their lives to help us find those who are searching for the truth. Thank y'all for all that you do to strengthen my testimony. Thanks for all the emails, letters & care packages. I really appreciate it a lot!!!! Love y'all SO much!!! Have a great week family ❤️ until next week!!!

Love,
Sister Kawa'a
P.S. HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY to Mikaela Elsa & Aunty Mia!!!! I love y'all so much & I wish I could've been there to celebrate with y'all. Be safe!!!!!

Doubt Your Doubts Before You Doubt Your Faith

Aloha my sweet ʻohana!!!
First things first, YESTERDAY WAS THE BEST EVER!!! Being able to FaceTime home was the highlight of my Sunday! Seeing my family & loved ones was so great & I am grateful for technology haha. 

Motherʻs Day call home.  My beautiful baby niece Ceralena Kaleialohaokeaolamauloa

This week was filled with meetings, doctor appointments, "mini mission" & a baptism! It was a good week for us. Last week Monday we got to hangout with Ally. We ordered a whole bunch of pizza & food & stuffed our face for Pday haha. Talk about fat!!! Tuesday was interview with President Ames. It was awesome. So very great fun for his support & guidance. Wednesday, we had a family history training. We were taught how to use family history as a great finding tool. It was a good meet & it was also a good time to be with other elders & sisters in the mission who we don't get to see often. We also had an awesome lesson with Ella that night. She couldn't stop talking about how excited she was for her baptism.

Got to see Sister Matson at our training!

Cool experience, so long story short, a guy name Derrick, came up to us at the library & asked us what church we belonged to. He later told us to meet him at Taco Bell so we could "chat". He explained that he met some Elders out in temple, Texas. They gave him a Book of Mormon & shared with him our beliefs. One of the most amazing things happened. He asked us if we knew that the Book of Mormon is true & if the gospel is true. It was such a powerful experience cuz the 3 of us each bore our testimonies about how we each came to know the truth for ourselves. The spirit was so strong & there was no way that anyone in Taco Bell could deny or doubt what we were saying. I personally don't remember much of what I was saying, but I did feel the Holy Ghost there with us. It was so awesome & we even set up a return appointment to meet with him & teach him more. So wonderful!!! Sunday was very busy. Church was good as always. Very anxious to call home though lol. We said our good byes to sweet Sister Anderson. Then we made a few visits before dinner. After dinner, we called home & man, all I have to say is 1 hour is not long enough lol. I was more then happy to see everyone & to share with them my experiences while I'm out here on my mission. It truly is life changing! If you're thinking about a mission, GO!!! You won't regret it.

The Polys serving in my area! 

The highlight of the call was seeing my sweet Hoewaʻa family there. I am so grateful for their desire to come unto Christ & change their loves for the better. I am beyond grateful for my family for ALL the support that I receive from each & everyone one of y'all. The call home definitely made me miss home but, this is only buy a short time. I want y'all to know how much I love this gospel & how much I love my Savior Jesus Christ & my Heavenly Father!! One piece of advice, doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. Heavenly Father is always in our corner. Reach out & allow him to help us. I love y'all SO much & I just want to say, hauʻoli lā makuahine & HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the mother figures in my life & to my mum, there are no words to express how thankful I am for you!! Thanks for putting up with my attitude & or EVERYTHING you do to help raise us rotten kids. You do so much for us & you even raise kids who aren't even yours. SUPER MUM!! I am forever grateful for you!!!!!!! I love you with all my heart! Have a great week family!!!! Thanks for all the letters, emails & care packages. Y'all are SO cute!! Keep pressing  forward!! Until next week fam!!

Hurrah for Israel!!
Love,
Sister Kawa'a

Two of my faves - Ryan and Jessie!

Constantly Planting Seeds

Helping the YW prepare for Girl's Camp

Hey y'all!

How's everyone doing? Miss you all!!! Shout out to Mum & her students for a beautiful hōʻike that they had last week. I'm sure y'all were amazing! This week was yet again another busy one. We were supposed to have crazy storms & a tornado but it wasn't as bad as we thought. Hail was supposed to be bad too but having our power go out was all that happened to us. Not too crazy. Lighting & thunder here though is something else!! CRAZY!!! Lets just say I was small kine freaking out but no worries, all good!!! Haha. Last week Monday we had a district Pday. Played volleyball like all day. It was so much fun. Missed playing!!!

Little Miss Constance

Tuesday, we had district meeting & Sister Slade & I gave a tag team training on consecration. It was awesome. I love district meetings! Later that night, the storm was supposed to come & our power decided to go out. The storm was kind of fun but a little crazy at the same time. It was funny cuz that thunder came out of no where & totally made the both of us jump. You'll understand when y'all see the video. We also were trying to figure out why our wifi wasn't working & we later realized that the power was out, yeah mum, nothing changed haha. Wednesday, we did service with Sister Bartlett at good news. She's awesome!!!! Later that night, our appointments canceled so, we went to the young women activity at the Zufelts home. It was fun. The girls made a fire & we helped them get ready for girls camp.

At the Zufelts getting prepared for Girl's Camp!

Thursday, we helped the Streeter family pack up & move. They're such an awesome family. They made me Hawaiian Hay Stacks (which I've never had before). P.S. Hawaiians don't eat that haha. But it was super good! I got my rice fix Lol. We had an awesome lesson with Ella & her family. Getting her ready for her baptism this Saturday! So stoked. Super cool to see how supportive her family is of her. Just awesome!!! Friday, we helped Sister Christiansen pack up her house to move. She's a less active with a strong testimony. She's an awesome lady. Saturday, we did more service, this time we helped someone move in. I love starting my day off by helping others. It makes me happy!!! We also had a lesson with Jayden. He's so funny & doing great. Getting him ready for his baptism on May 14th. Excited!! We also had movies with the missionaries. We showed the movie, "the Testaments." Didn't have as many people as we were hoping to have but, our investigators came & so did Brian. It was fun!!!!

Sister Kawa'a's Mamas away from home!  So grateful for Sister Gilchrist and Sister Zufelt!

Sunday was fast & testimony. I love fasting even though I always feel like I'm dying haha. If you fast with a purpose & with real intent, Heavenly Father will bless you. I have a strong testimony of that. After church, we had a lesson with Ally & Ashlee at the Gilchrist home. Love these 2 girls SO much. They're doing so awesome & Ashlee is so solid. After dinner, we went to the church for court of honor & Ally & Ashlee were wearing our extra name tags. Crazy girls. I LOVE AZLE!!!! The members here are amazing & this mission is forever changing me. Most of the time as missionaries, I don't think we'll ever realize the impact that we have on someone. Whether they be active members, less active members or new investigators, we are constantly planting seeds where we go. It's been a real eye opener for me to see how Heavenly Father is constantly pouring out blessings upon us as we continue to be obedient & faithful to his council. I love y'all SO much & miss y'all, everyday! Thank you for EVERYTHING!!! I can't wait to see some of y'all's beautiful faces & here y'alls voices next week when I FaceTime home!!! STOKING hard!!!!

Sister Steinfels aka "The Queen Deb"

"Hurrah for Israel!"
Love always,
Sister Kawa'a

Sister Kawa'a captioned this pic with, "Telling the horse I'm not gonna eat him!"  LOL!