Hana Mikioneli! Missionary Work!

Aloha y'all!!! 🌺🌵
What's up beautiful people???? How's everyone doin? shout out to my cousin Lamakū!!!! HAPPY HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY!!!! I miss you. Hope you being good ah & loving Utah. I know you probably wen go ride dirt bike up da mountain with da boyz in da kuahiwis. Yessah!!!! I know was probably action. (Yes I can still speak pidgin. No worry I never forget 😉) I hope you had fun at your grad party too. I hope you guys shipping the left over food to Texas haha. Anyways my week went really slow. We still made it as great as we could though. Monday was our first Pday as a new zone. It was pretty chill. We did the usual, sports at the stake center. It's always fun!  Tuesday we had our first zone conference with President & Sister Whitney. It was so great. We received trainings from the zone leaders, the Spanish sister training leaders & from President Whitney. Oh & guess who won cleanest car award again?? Yup, Sister Brohamer & I did 🚙 ohh yeah!!!! Haha. Proud moment 😎

Zone Conference

Wednesday we went to the food pantry to do some service with the zone leaders. Then we went out & tried contacting. It was a little difficult due to ugly weather. We were able to visit with Brittany. We expressed to her how much we've missed her at church & she told us that her job now has her working every weekend for this next month. It was disappointing for sure. Please pray for her that she'll be able to have Sundays off somehow. We had dinner with the Chauhaun family. Sister Chauhaun is less active & is working on coming back. It was such a great opportunity for us to fellowship with her & her family, especially since her husband is a nonmember. We're going to try & see if he would be interested in learning more. They're such an awesome family.

The Chauhaun kids!

Thursday was our weekly planning day which usually takes up a whole lot of time. The weather got even more terrible too. After planning, we went & visited a sweet Sister name Sister York. It was such a great visit. She is a convert & she told us her conversion story. She's been less active for a while due to health but now as she comes back, she's working on being able to go the temple. It's so great to see that excitement in her eyes as we talked about the temple. It's all about having that desire to change & become better. More converted to the Lord & to the gospel of Jesus Christ. After dinner, we went & visited Christy Blackburn & her family. It was such a good visit. We got to talk to her husband & he shared a little bit about how he was raised growing up in a baptist home. It was interesting to hear his story & to see how his faith has blessed him in so many different ways.

Ugly weather in Watauga

Friday we went & did service again at the food pantry. Even got
to have another mini lesson with one of the volunteers there. He was amazed at the sacrifices that we make as missionaries. We talked about how if we study the "word" or the scriptures, then we will be ready to face the challenges of the world today. It was a super good topic. After lunch, we went & met with Lynn. It was good! We talked more about baptism & then we jumped to a whole different topic about our behavior & the things we do. He then asked about the second coming & we ran out of time, so we told him that we would study it & come back ready to talk about it next time.

Saturday we took some time in the morning so Sister Brohamer could prepare her talk. Then we went out & did some finding. The rain was a little crazy. After dinner, we went & had our last lesson with the Twendele family. The African Elders brought a family that was perfect for them. The Bridges. Sister Bridges is from Tahiti & can speak French so it was such a good lesson. It was sad though cuz we explained that we won't be coming over anymore & Sister Twendele got really sad & said, "you can't leave me!" It was hard to give them up but we know it's for the best. We'll still be there from time to time to encourage them & help them along their journey.

Sister Bridges from Tahiti!

Sunday was great! None of our investigators came to church but, we did give a less active lady a ride to church. That was good. & Sister Brohamer gave an awesome talk about baptism. After dinner, we met with a less active family who's super cute. We talked with them & shared one of the children's bible videos that they loved. It was awesome! We tried meeting with Christy Martinez but no one was home.

Well, this week felt longer then usual. The work here lately has been a little bit more challenging. I was reading in preach my gospel to try & find some guidance & it said, "nothing happens in missionary work until you find someone to teach." That is so very true! Lately we've hadn't found anyone who's super excited or who's even interested in learning more about the gospel. It's been challenging but we aren't giving up. Every morning as part of our companionship study, we recite some important things pertaining to our purpose as missionaries. One of them really stood out to me this week. It says, "Our missionaries are going forth...the Standard of Truth has been erected, no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth, boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country and sounded in every ear. Till the purposes of God shall be accomplished and the great Jehovah shall say the work is done." As I mention in almost all my emails, this work is such sacred work. To think that I was chosen & found worthy to carry out such a work is an honor & a privilege. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.Most of the time, I think us missionaries take for granted, the time that we have here on our missions. It's easy to get down on ourselves when that appointment gets canceled or when that golden investigator moves away, but we need to remember the bigger picture. We are planting seeds everywhere we go! We may never understand the reason why, but we can trust that the Lord knows what he's doing & he knows what his children need. I appreciate & I'm eternally grateful for those 2 sweet sister missionaries who knocked on my parents door almost 23 years ago. I know that the Lord knows & loves each of us. Let's continue to put him first in all things. I love & miss you ALL so very much. Thanks for the support & the prayers. Nā ke Akua e mālama a kiaʻi iā ʻoukou pakahi a pau. Ke Akua pū! Until next week!!! Hurrah for Israel!!!

Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a 😘