Week 38 on a Mish!

Howdy y'all!!!
What's up beautiful people 😊 how y'all doin??? Hope everyone's having a great Monday so far. Thanks for all the updates & for keeping me in the loop of things. Hope all is well back home. Well, this week was like a roller coaster. Ups & downs but hey, we persevered & hung in there & came out on top 👌🏽 last week Monday was super chill. Did the normal Pday stuff. Had a super chill jam session this time though during volleyball. That was fun! Brought back memories of the jam sessions back at home. I just love music!!!! We had a late dinner with the Growald bunch. Love them!!!! Monday and Tuesday we went to the food pantry. Now that we know our friends names, it's even more fun haha. Wednesday night, we went on exchanges with Mama Villarreal 😊 We went & visited Jason whom we haven't seen in like forever. It was super sad to hear him tell us that he'll be moving soon but we had such a great visit with him. Wednesday night, we went to young women & helped out with their family history project that theyʻre doing. We painted some super cool looking trees. It was fun cuz we got to meet & talk to some of the young women who like neve ome out. It was great!

The District

Thursday we did our weekly planning & we also had district meeting that same day. Weird day but nonetheless, it was great. I gave a training on service & why it's important. It was good until I saw one of the zone leaders trying not to fall asleep. Thank goodness I had compassion on them cuz they had a busy week exchanges but still..... later that day the only appointments that actually didn't cancel on us was dinner with Bishop & his family. Thank goodness!!! So grateful for them. Friday we went back to the food pantry. Then every appointment that we had or tried to set up totally failed. I'm not gonna lie, it was disappointing, discouraging & frustrating. Made me think about the stories of the prophets in the scriptures & about how they have been let down & rejected time & time again. Made my testimony stronger to know how much love they continued to have for the Lord despite all the hardship. Their examples really help me to remember that God always has a plan for us. He's a lot smarter then we are & he knows what's best & when the timing is right. Thinking about them & reading the scriptures this week has really helped me to continue to be steadfast & work even that much more harder. 

Saturday was so different. I was really feeling discouraged & so when I said my morning prayer, I specifically asked that we would have a successful day & that those who need us will open their doors. Let me just say, the power of prayer is real. I know that as we express our concerns & truly ask the Lord for help, he will lead us to where we need to be & who need to see. We were able to visit Davonte's grandma since he wasn't home. We also got to visit a less active sister whom we've never met before that told us she'd be coming to church. We got to see sweet Sister Nunes whom we haven't seen in forever. We had dinner with our ward mission leader & his sweet family. We visited the Blackburn family & invited them to the "Freedom of Religion" event happening this weekend with Elder Oaks. We missed our sweet Twendele family but, we did get to visit with the Bridges family for a bit. One thing that I am constantly reminded of is, how much the Lord loves his children. It's the simple things. I am reminded of a quote by Elder Henry B. Eyring, "although his time is not always our time, we can be sure that the Lord keeps his promises." I testify that this is true cuz I've seen time & time again throughout my life & especially on my mission.

Little Bennie! Heʻs so cute!

Sunday was another good Sunday filled with spiritual lessons & opportunities to be edified. We got to visit the Jamison family. They're cute! We had dinner with the sweet Parson family. Love them!!!! & we were able to get in contact with our recent referral, Naz. We're a little bummed cuz he requested a French Book of Mormon so we're probably going to have to refer him to the African Elders again but hey, we all are working on the same team right? Don't get me wrong, it's easy to get discouraged & question the Lordʻs plan but, as we put our trust in him, he will bless us for our efforts & for our willingness to obey his commandments. We've been sharing the new Mormon message called "substance of faith" (go watch it if you haven't watched it yet) & it's such a good one. It shows stories of different prophets that were faced with difficult requests by our Heavenly Father yet, they did not question him. They trusted him & did all that he commanded & because they did so, they were blessed tremendously. I'm grateful for their examples. It's taught me to be grateful for the little things & to always recognize my Saviors love & the hand of the Lord in my life. Let us continue to be reminded of the good examples of those around us & let us continue to hold fast & put our faith in the Lord. Like I said, he's a lot smarter then we are & he knows so much more then we do. I love y'all tons & tons ❤️ I hope y'all have a blessed week full of miracles. I challenge y'all to take time to recognize the Lordʻs hand in your life & trust me, you'll be a lot more grateful for the days that normally don't go right. Don't forget to share your experiences with me! I wanna hear them! Y'all have no idea how much you each strengthen me. I really appreciate the emails & prayers. Until next week!!!!

Hurrah for Israel!
Love,
Sister Kamalani Kawa'a 😘