It's the Little Things That Count!

What's up y'all?? Hope everyone's week was great cuz mine sure was!!! All I can say is my week consisted of miracles, miracles & more miracles!!!! In case y'all forgot, God is truly amazing! Ohh first things first,TRANSFERS!!! Guess who's getting transferred?? If you guessed Sister Slade, your wrong! Haha. I will be transferred to Watauga this week Wednesday. I'm excited but nervous! 

Love my comp!

Anyways, Monday we had our last district Pday together before transfers. The DL's (District Leaders) & the STL's (Sister Training Leaders) came up to Azle for the day & we made lunch & went to the Fort Worth Nature Center. We got to see a baby crocodile, snakes, turtles, birds, an eagle, an owl & lots of Buffalo poop but no Buffalos 👎🏽 We did see this crazy little spider that basically stared running after us. It was so ugly & kind of funny cuz the other sisters were screaming cuz they hate spiders. Buss laugh!!! It still was a fun filled day in the hot Texas heat. Talk about sweat for days 🙅🏽 We ended the night on a very spiritual note. We went over to the Zufelts home & had a lesson with a friend who's a non member & a daughter in law who also wants to learn more. It was so awesome. We were able to give them each a Book of Mormon & having members there to testify & help them through it all is so wonderful to see. Working with members is such a powerful tool.

Pday with the STLs at the Nature Center!

Tuesday we had district meeting which started late & ended early. It was still really good though. We bought them donuts that no one ate...merp! We did a role play about how to place a Book of Mormon while knocking doors. It's always awkward at first but we noticed that if us missionaries or members just start jumping right into to the doctrine, then the person receiving the message will have such a better understanding of making that spiritual connection that we want them  to have. It was pretty eye opening for me. It was great!! Later that evening we had a good lesson with Ms. Betty Riley who is slowly coming around 👌🏽 She told us that she told her kids, "If y'all don't start coming over on Saturdays instead of Sundays, don't come at all cuz I'll be at church!" She's so cute. It's so amazing to see how the Lord truly prepares those we teach to be available to continue to learn & grow & progress in the gospel. Later that night, we went over to the Walker home & started to help them pack & get ready to move ☹️ yes it's sad but change is good remember. Anyways, it still was a good day.

Donuts anyone? LOL

Wednesday we went over to Bedford with Sister Walser for Sister Slade's CAT scan. We also gave Book of Mormon to her radiologist. He was super sweet! We also had our first lesson with Don who's our new investigator. He learned about the church while he was in Utah & loves it so much. We got to set a baptism date with him for July 23rd. Then on Thursday, we had a really good weekly planning even though it can get kind of boring. We were kind of unsure of where to go for lunch & almost didnʻt go to the usual spot (Reds) cuz it looked packed but when we walked in it was perfect. Got to see some of the sweet relief society sisters who were doing their visiting teaching. Pretty smart if you ask me. Then we had a miracle, a sweet sister who we met a few weeks ago (who isn't a member), walked into Reds & recognized us. She explained to us that she's been trying to get in touch with us & that God had brought her to us cuz she's never been to Reds before. So amazing how the Lord works.

Friday we got to do some service for Brenda. She is such a sweet lady who is nondenominational but very much believes in God & the power of prayer. While we were with here, we were able to share with her how the gospel truly blesses families & the eternal joy & happiness that it brings to each of us. We gave her a Book of Mormon & invited her to read it & we also sang "I stand all amazed" for her & tears just started streaming down her face. The Spirit was so strong & she was so thankful & so happy. Before we left, we said a prayer with her & she then prayed for us. After the prayer she said, "y'all are my favorite sisters. God is preparing someone special for the both of us." We looked at each other & just laughed. She's so cute!!!!! Later that day, Sister Wolfe took us to Carolton for a meeting. On our way home, we stopped in at 'Anas Island Grill & I got to eat my poly food that I missed so much!!!! Had me some otai, laulau & sister Slade got kalua pig. I was a happy girl for sure 😊 later that night, we had another good lesson with Don at his home. He is so awesome & progressing really quickly. We mentioned to him that one of us will be transferred next week & he got really sad. It's always hard to leave when you've made such good friendships.

Much needed Poly Food! Lau lau plate with Otai!

Saturday we did service for Betty & continued to help the
Walker family pack up. It was fun! I love service. After lunch & before our next appointment, we noticed an ice cream truck that was parked at our church parking lot that looked like it broke down so what do good missionaries do? We went over to see if they needed help. Long story short, we got free ice cream & we also have them a Book of Mormon. It was great 😋

Free ice cream for giving service!

Sunday was yet again another good day. Sister Parr came & she also brought her son with her. t was awesome!!! Don also came & so did Chris!!! It was such a good Sunday! After church we meet with Sister Parr & her son & gave him a Book of Mormon. He was excited & eager to learn more. After that, we met with Jayden & then we had dinner with the Gilchrist & meet with Ally who we haven't seen in FOREVER!! It was so awesome to see her & to continue to teach her & encourage her.

Care packages from home!!! Thank you to my 'ohana!

This week has taught me so much. It has taught me that there are so many things to be grateful for. It's the little things that count. I testify that as we continue to strive to live the gospel each day, Heavenly Father will pour his blessing upon us. Like I always say, change is good!! Azle, will forever have a special place in my heart. I am sad to say goodbye to friends who have turned into family, but I am eager to move on & further the work in this part of the Lord's vineyard. I was reading in the Book of Mormon in Jacob chapter 5 (thanks mom) & it talks about how the Lord is laboring with us as we labor in his vineyard. It was such an eye opener for me & I can testify that he truly does labor with us. I feel him with me every step of the way. I feel his love & encouragement daily & I know that Heavenly Father is doing that same thing with each of his children just like how any good parent would do. I am humbled by the opportunity to set a side 18 months of my life to truly serve him & become more like my savior Jesus Christ. It's not an easy thing to do but it sure is worth it when you are able to witness a baptism or an endowment. It is truly life changing & I couldn't be any happier!!! I want y'all to know that I love this gospel so much. It has blessed my life & it blesses the lives of those around me. Let us remember the little things each day & cherish every day that we have. I love you all so so so much!!!!! Keep me posted on things that are going on back home. Thanks for all the emails, letters & care packages. I am spoiled haha!!! Have a great week my sweet ʻohana. Until next week 😘

If you would like my new mailing address, just ask my mom.  She's got it!

Love always,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a

Recognizing the Lord's Hand

Aloha y'all!!!!

How's everyone doing??? I hope all of you fathers had a blessed Father's Day yesterday! Guess what? This last Thursday made 6 months in the field!!! Time is going by quick. This week went really fast. I feel like it was just pday yesterday lol. Anyways, this week was another blessed week. Last week we hung out with Ashlee for our Pday. Also had a good lesson with her!! She's doing so great!!! Tuesday we had our district  meeting. We talked about adjusting to missionary life. It was really good. We all gave trainings about different sections too. It was good! After that, we had lunch with the Sister Training Leaders & Sister Walser & then we went on exchanges. I went to Hudson Oaks with Sister Smith & Sister Booher went to Azle with Sister Slade. Sister Smith & I did some good tracting cuz we ended up having like an hour of spare time. I ain't complaining tho cuz this sun is making me more tan! yessah!! (Even though I feel like imma die! Lol.)

Visiting the Dallas Temple with Sister Slade

Wednesday, Sister Smith & I went & did service at Mana which is a store where everything is really cheap. Lots of used items. It was fun & good to see familiar faces. Then we had a lesson with Glen who's a less active in Hudson Oaks. He remembered me when I came up the last time & he thought I went home already haha he's so funny. He also gave me a referral for Azle. It was awesome!!!! After that, Sister Smith & I went back to Azle to do our exchange. Mana gave us little nerf guns so when we got to the Sisters, we shot them with the nerf guns & it was so funny! Let's just say, they didn't it expect it at all.

Dinner at the Lutz's home. She made fish, rice, adobo and mangoes for Sister Kawa'a. (Sis. Lutz is Filipino)

Thursday was my 6 month mark & Sister Slade's 3 month mark! We first did weekly planning. It was really good if you ask me! Then we had lunch at Reds. We then had a really good lesson with Ms. Betty Riley. She is slowing getting it & told us, "have patience with me, you never know what might happen in a few weeks." We know that she knows the gospel is true, we are just waiting for her to allow the Holy Spirit to testify of its truth. She's doing awesome. Pray for her! We also had another good lesson with Chris!!! He's praying for a baptism date & he really wants to make sure that this is what he wants. He's so awesome too!!! He's on fire right now & he thinks that everything just makes sense. Hopefully we can commit him to baptism when we meet again. Later that night our dinner appointment canceled so we bugged the Brazells who ended up taking us out to eat at one of my fav Mexican restaurants, El Cerritos! Super bomb!!! Then we had a good family scripture study with them. It was awesome!!

The Lutz 'Ohana!

Friday we went with Sister Brazell to Bedford so Sister Slade could get her meds for her CAT scan. Apparently it will make her stomach glow. Pretty cool!! When we got back to Azle, we visited a sweet older lady who just moved in to Azle Ward. She's so cute & her name is Sister Nickles. Love her!!! We also had correlation with Brother Galloway & Sister Walser. Then Sister Slade & I did a finding activity at the park. We took chalk & drew out the plan of salvation & people walked by. It was fun but it was VERY hot!!! This heat is crazy & summer has barely started. So not looking forward to it haha.

Sister Lona from Hawai'i!!!

Saturday, after studies, we headed over to Dallas to the temple to take Sister Sanborn to get her endowments. It was such a beautiful day!!! I love the temple so much. I wanna challenge y'all to take every opportunity that you have to attend the temple as often as you can. I know for me being an island away from the temple is hard but it is so worth it. We stopped in at the LDS book store & I met a Sister Missionary from Hawai'i. It was so awesome!!!!

Sister Sanborn (right of Sis. Kawa'a) received her endowments.

Sister Kawa'a is STILL a Tita!!!

Sister Sanborn hugs her sister, Sister Brazell!

Sunday was a good day. We got some sad news cuz our Ward Mission Leader, Brother Galloway, got released. We are sad but we are excited to work with Brother Farnsworth who has been called as the new Ward Mission Leader. Change is good!! One of our less actives who we are working with came to church. Sweet Sister Parr!!! We were so happy. All the lessons were on point too cuz they all talked about bring our lost brothers & sister back to Christ. Sister Parr loved every minute of it. We also had 3 different people, come up to us after sacrament & tell us that they want to learn more & get baptized. Miracle! God is so awesome!!!

Found the BEST sign out tracting!

This week has been a blessed week for sure. I am constantly recognizing the Lords hand in my life as I truly put him first. He has blessed me so much & I am eternally grateful. I want y'all to know how grateful I am to have the atonement in my life & to be able to use it. I love my Savior so much & each day I just want to become more like him. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be set apart from the world to do the will of the Father. It's not an easy thing but it's so worth it. I know that being exactly obedient brings blessings. Something that I need to work on daily but it's okay. The Savior who was perfect, yet he still chose to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He's such a perfect & loving example for all of us. Continue to put him first in your life & you'll see the blessings come & you'll be able to recognize the Lords hand like I have been able too. Transfers are coming up at the end of the month so I'll keep y'all posted if they transfer me. I love & miss y'all so much. Keep me updated on things....y'all can email me back yah know?! Haha. I know y'all are busy but anyways, I hope y'all have a blessed week!!! Until next week fam!

Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a

Not My Will, But Thine Be Done

Texas weather! Got caught in a down pour!

Hey my beautiful fam!!!

How's everyone doing? Hope y'all took my Book of Mormon challenge last week. If you did, let me know how it went!  Well, my week went by quick. Last week Monday for Pday, Sister Slade went & got an endoscopy done. She was pretty funny after cuz she was so drugged out lol. We then went to empty nesters that night & hung out with the "seasoned" Azle Ward members. It was awesome!!! We ended up going to
Hurst for a meeting that ended up being cancelled cuz I got the times wrong. Good one! Later that night, the STL's (Sister Trainer Leaders) came up & Sister Booher stayed with Sister Slade (so she could rest), while Sister Smith came out with me to teach people. We had lots of fun! Wednesday was Zone Council. We now have 10 companionships in our zone & 2 companionships are trios so about 22 elders & sisters. It's pretty big if you ask me lol.

Left to right, the polys!!! Elder Rarotonga, Sister Suaʻava, Elder
Tupe, Me, & Sister Mose

Thursday we had service done for us. Sweet Sister Walker took us to Walmart to make sure we had stuff for the week. We also visited a less active sister later that day name Sister Kordes. She had lots of questions about the after life & stuff & it was so cool because we had been studying exactly that & we were able to answer the questions that she had. She was grateful & thanked us for helping her out. It was awesome to see how the Spirit works & how the Lord prepared us. Friday we went & started painting the Millers fence. It was fun & super hot!!! Then we went to Carrolton which is totally out of our area (out in Dallas) for a meeting. It was fun! That's where I met family!! Elder & Sister Meyers from Molokaʻi. Such a small world! Later that night, we had a lesson with the Hurst family. They're doing so awesome!!!!! Saturday we went back to the Millers house to finish up the fence. Started super early to try & beat the heat. This Texas heat is something else. We ended up having a little water fight with their nerf guns & that was fun! Later that night, we had a lesson with our new investigator Chris! He's so awesome & so ready for the gospel. Earlier in the week, we had asked him to read & study Alma chapter 32 about faith. That night when we asked him how it went, he told us that it was exactly what we needed to read. He had told us that he wished he knew about the "Mormon religion" a long time ago. We had him pray & pick a date for his baptism. Please pray for him!!

I found family from Moloka'i! Brother and Sister Meyer who are serving in Carrolton!

Sunday we had a good time at church. We taught the sunbeams class. Made miss my sunbeams back home!!! They're so cute & it's so awesome to see how alert & energetic they are about the gospel & about Jesus Christ. I think they definitely taught me more than I could ever teach them. Reminds me of multiple scriptures where it talks about how we need to repent & become like a little child. They are truly loving & honest. That's how we should be! It was awesome to teach them. Later that night, we went with Ashlee to President Ames last mission president fireside. The Hurst family also came too. It was so awesome. Truly a man called of God. It was so packed & there were so many people there, both members, and investigators, and less active members & missionaries. It was great & the Spirit was so strong.

President Ames last fireside. My loves, Sis. Ramirez, Sis. Matson (my trainer), me and Ashlee.

I want y'all to know how much I love being a missionary. I had a little call to repentance as I took some time to reflect on why I chose to be a missionary. It's so much more then just wearing a name tag & meeting new people. It's truly becoming who my Father in Heaven wants me to become. Our testimony can be strengthened every day as we study the scriptures & do the little things that he asks us. Someone once told me, "there's a whole lot of light outside of our comfort zone." I truly believe that! Like I always say, there is no comfort in the growth zone & no growth in the comfort zone. Of course things are going to be hard but it's all about how we react to certain things. Happiness is a choice! Let us continue to strengthen our relationship with our Savior, Jesus Christ & truly become what our Father in Heaven wants us to be come. He knows the potential that we each have as children of him. Trust in him! Forget yourself & truly put him first in EVERYTHING & I promise you that blessings will come. Not on our time, but the Lords time! As Jesus Christ once said, "not my will, but thine be done." I know these things to be true cuz I've seen it happen in my own life & in the lives of others. This mission is life changing & I'm excited to experience more ahead. Love y'all so so so much!!!! Have a great week my sweet family. Shoot me an email some time, I got
time :) haha. Until next week!!!!

Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a 

P.S.
Shout out to Elder Gong (of the seventy) for hand delivering my letter to my family. Mum & Dad, y'all don't know how hard that was too keep it a secret. Surprise!!! Haha. Love y'all!

The Weatherford Zone

Change is Good!

Aloha e kuʻu ʻohana i aloha nui ʻia!!!

How's everyone doing? I hope Memorial Day weekend was a fun one for y'all. First things first, HAUʻOLI LĀ HĀNAU to my Daddy & my baby Brudder Hiwa!!! I wish I could've been there to celebrate with y'all. Hope the both of you had a good bday 🎉 this week went by so quick. Busy, busy, busy. I can't even remember what we did....oops lol. Anyways, I'm gonna start with what happened on Saturday. With the help of our ward members, (the Lutz family), we were able to take our 81 year old investigator Betty to a baptism. It was so spiritual & she loved it a lot. She was touched by the testimonies that were borne & the talks that were given. She later leaned over to Sister Slade & told her that she wants to learn more about temples. Please pray for her that she'll have a desire to make the necessary steps in order to change & be baptized. She is so sweet & Sister Slade & I both know that she know that it's true. It's just that change can be a hard thing for someone especially if you've been doing the same things for almost 82 years. She's getting there slowly but surely. Patience.

Taking our 81 year old investigator, Betty, to a baptism.

We had our last Zone Conference with President & Sister Ames on Tuesday. They'll be leaving us the first week of July & our new mission president & his wife, President & Sister Whitney, will be coming in real soon. Change is always a hard thing sometimes but I know that the Lord has such wonderful plans for each of us. We experienced a change in our bishopric here in Azle & we also had a change in our bishopric back home. Change is good. I've learned that the Lord doesn't qualify the call, but he qualifies the called. The Lord knows each of us & knows the potential we all have. We just need to trust in his love & seek his council in all things. He truly knows what's best for us. I've had several experiences while on my mission, where I have seen this happen.

Last Zone Conference with President Ames, my mission Dad!

I also know that the Lord is SO mindful of each of us as stated in the Book of Mormon, in Alma 26:37. This scripture has helped me know that the good Lord knows & loves us. I know this to be true because I have felt his love with me everyday, even when I feel like I'm not worthy of it. We were placed on this earth to gain experience & to learn & grow & become more like our Savior & brother Jesus Christ. I testify that they walk beside us each day & carry us through our hard trials. Allow them to help you. They're reaching out & extending their hand to you. Grab it & hold on. If any of you are struggling right now, please know that the Lord loves you. Turn to himin prayer & he will send down his angles to lift you up. In Mosiah 24:13-14 it says, "And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions." Heavenly Father is there for all of his children. Humble your hearts & let him help you. You won't regret it. The power of the Atonement is real & I am so grateful that I can repent & change for the better.

I love this lady, Sister Lutz! She cooks me rice and feeds me managoes!

I love each of y'all so very much. Continue to walk in the footsteps of the Savior & y'all will be eternally blessed. I wanna leave y'all with a challenge, if you haven't done so lately, I encourage you to get a paper back copy of the Book of Mormon (the missionaries have lots), & write your testimony in the front. Pray for an opportunity to share it with someone & then act upon the promoting that you'll receive & hand it out. It will change your life & it will change the lives of those around you. I know it's a short email this week but the work is moving a long here in awesome Azle. Transfers are coming up at the end of this month & President Ames randomly told both Sister Slade & I that one of us will be transferred this next transfer. Please pray for us!!!! Lol. I love y'all & pray for y'all each day. Have a fabulous week gang and shoot me an email sometime or write me a letter. I got plenty of time for y'all! Hurrah for Israel!

Here's a last quote, "if you make time for the Lord he will make time for you!"

Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a

P.S. If you do this challenge, please update me & let me know how it went. I would love to follow up with y'all next week!! Press forward!

The Gospel is Simple!

Aloha y'all!!!!
How are y'all???? So great to always have the opportunity to write y'all & share with y'all my experiences. This is going to be a short email this time. This week was tough. Working a lot with reactivating members & struggling to find new investigators. I wanna share something cool that happened last night. So yesterday was a really bad day.....both Sister Slade & I were not feeling good at all. Both physically & emotionally drained. I was being too hard on my self (as always). I felt impressed to have the both of us sit down after church & just talk & explain how we were feeling. I personally don't like talking about things but opening up has taught me how to allow others to help me. I was very grateful for the promoting that I received because Sister Slade opened up to me a little & explained to me some of her frustrations & worries. It was really good to hear because the both of us are really going through the same things. After talking & getting things out, we went for a walk just to clear our minds before having to teach mission prep.

Sister Kawa'a and Sister Slade - gotta love their T-Shirts!

I had a cool experience, before we talked, I got on my knees & prayed for Heavenly Father to allow me to have peace, to know that I am doing the best that I can & to find someone to give me a priesthood blessing. After praying, a family came to mind & later when we were walking, we needing seeing them & sure enough they were more then happy to set it up. After our last appointment, we went over to get the blessing & it was the most amazing experience for both me & the person that gave me the blessing. Heavenly Father sure is proud of me. My prayers were answered & he touched on every worry that I had. After the blessing, the father of the home that we were in is a convert & not as active due to work but he bore his testimony to us for the first time. He explained how he went through about 4 different sets of missionaries. He said that it took him years to finally join the church. He then said, "If it were you guys teaching me, it would've took me less then a year to join. The way you carry yourselves & being able to see who you really are has impacted me more then you'll ever know so, thank you!" Then Brother Zufelt, who gave me the blessing, had explained to me that it was the most powerful blessings that he's ever gave. He said that he could just feel Heavenly Fathers presence & he could just feel that I am filled with the Spirit of the Lord. He said that he was saying things that came directly from Heavenly Father. He later thanked me for the opportunity to have that experience.

I found pua kiele (gardenia) in Texas!!! My favorite flower!

I want you all to know that I am so grateful for Azle Ward. I am blessed to have the opportunity to serve the members here & work closely with them to bring our lost brothers & sisters back to his fold. I testify that as we work closely with them, we will be able to see miracles happen. Slowly but surely, each person will realize how important this work is. They will have the desire to share the gospel with everyone. I already see it happening & it's just so awesome. Of course it's not easy but like I said last week, LIFE IS HARD, NOT THE GOSPEL. The gospel is simple & I know that I can get very hard on myself, but as I look back, it was a better week then I thought. Of course there's always room for improvement but the Lord asks us to try. One day at a time. To all of you who read my emails, if y'all have any questions or any thoughts at all please email me. I would love to hear form y'all! Let us continue to be faithful in the gospel. I love you all so much!!! Have a great week. Until next week my sweet family!!!

Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a

P.S. Congrats to Lama, Cici & Madi for graduating!!!! So stoked for
y'all & congrats to Elsa for receiving her patriartical blessing.
Couldn't be any more proud!