Working Hard or Hardly Working?

Thanks Mom & Dad for my flower!

Wassup my beauties!!!! How y'all doin? How was Thanksgiving? I'm sure we all gained some weight this past week cuz I know I did haha. So another week just flew on by. Nothing too crazy happened this week. Thanksgiving was a good one. I will admit, I did get a little homesick cuz we totally got rejected when we tried going tracting. Seeing families together with their families made me miss my own family but hey, it turned out to be a good Thanksgiving after all. It's hard to be away from family during the holidays but it's nice to know that we have family away from family  

Thanksgiving at the Cannons!

We had a really good lesson with Lynn this week about opposition. We read 2 Nephi 2:11 with him & went further to verse 16 & helped him understand that we must have opposition in all things & how man is free to act for themselves. It was a very focused lesson & you could just see & feel the Spirit working in him. It was wonderful. He's slowly getting there so please keep praying for him. We also got to read from the Book of Mormon with Alana again. It's so cool to see someone's heart & mind literally start to change right before your eyes. She's doing so good. She loves having us read with her & helping her understand more. We enjoy seeing her grow. 

Beautiful Texas sunset

We also got to see the Blackburn family. Oh my gosh! It was so cool. Christy explained to us about how she has been to so many different churches & religions & she never got baptized. She always felt like all of them were not right for her. I then asked her how she's been feeling since we've been teaching her about our church & she said that she has been opening up. She didn't say that she felt right, but she didn't say it felt wrong. We are getting somewhere. We went on & talked about Christ's baptism & why he still needed to be baptized even though he was perfect. We ended up running out of time with them & they haven't committed to baptism yet but we are slowly getting there. She's also been trying to understand what God wants her to do. We left them with a commitment to truly & sincerely pray about baptism & what they've learned so far. Slowly helping them recognize what Heavenly Father wants for them. Kind of frustrating cuz sometimes you just wanna shake them & make them listen but we need to keep in mind, it's not on our time, but the Lord's time ️️please, please, please continue to pray for them!

Our decorations

I want to share some things that I've learned from personal study this week. Our mission president has asked us over the past 2 weeks to study about Ammon & what made him such a good missionary. Oh boy! It's been so fun learning about Ammon. I've learned so much. I've learned the importance of truly loving those you teach. Something that's not that hard for me most of the time haha. Truly listening to them & then addressing their concerns by using the spirit of discernment. It's so cool cuz I've seen this happen on my mission. Like Ammon, I have found common ground or common beliefs with an investigator & built upon it. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Ammon taught with power & authority from God. With that same power, he was able to soften King Lamoni's heart & in return, the King & his entire household was converted. Ammon was humble & he trusted God so much. He was willing to do whatever God asked him to do. He knew who he trusted & in return, Heavenly Father trusted him back. So powerful. When we put our faith & trust in the Lord, he will open doors unto us & pour his blessings upon us. Such an amazing thing to think about. 

Well we have been continuing to find, find & find. It's kind of a difficult thing to do but it's something that we need to do. Sister Willey gave a training on "Developing the Faith to find" at our district meeting. It was super awesome cuz she defined each word & broke it down to "more confidence in baptism." I know that if we as missionaries change our mind set & have faith & confidence that we will baptize, Heavenly Father will mold us into powerful instruments & tools in his glorious work. I love this perspective so much. If we think that we will baptize, then we will baptize. As long as we continue to do the best that we can do, we will experience miracles. Heavenly Father loves us so much & I am grateful that I have this sacred time to get to know him a little bit more & be on his errand. I have a testimony that prayer works. Our Savior Jesus Christ is our advocate & he pleads with the Father on our behalf. Let's continue to do the little things. Spend time with the Lord & he will spend time with you. I love & miss y'all very much!!!! Until next week family!!! Hope y'all have a spiritual week full of blessings. 

Hurrah for Israel! 

One more thing! So the Christmas initiative came out & I want all of y'all to watch it!!!! It's so sweet. This Thursday is the worldwide day of service so let's get together & do some type of service :) the name of the Christmas video is "Light the World." 25 ways over 25 days. Go watch it!!! Y'all are gonna love it so much ️ okay that's it! Love y'all 

With Love,

Sister Kawa'a 

11 Months in the Field!

Aloha y'all!!!! 

How are y'all doing? Hope everyone's getting excited for thanks giving. I know I am haha. Just thinking about all the food haha. Another busy week has gone by.  Full of finding & contacting people. Since the work is slow here right now, we've been going through the ward directory & been trying to see those who still live here & those who don't. It's been fun trying to find all these people. It's also been colder here. I'm loving it to a certain extent haha. Tuesday we had our Zone Conference with President & Sister Whitney. Oh man, it was so good. He showed us the new Christmas initiative that's coming out on November 25th. I highly recommend all of y'all to watch it. It's so beautiful & yes, it's a tear jerker so you will cry. I just love this years theme, #LightTheWorld in 25 ways over 25 days. It gives us an opportunity everyday in December to do some kind of act of service. It's all about giving back. It's gonna be so great & I can't wait to share it with people here in Texas 

Hurst Zone Conference

Photo bomber!

On Wednesday, we had an awesome referral that we went & contacted. Her name is Ms. Dorothy & she is the cutest & funniest little old Texan lady. When we knocked on her door, she knew exactly who we were & why we were there to see her. She told us that the other day, she nearly almost committed suicide cuz of how lonely she is. She explained to us that her son just had passed away in April very suddenly, & it has been very hard for her ever since. She said that the day she was thinking about committing suicide, she ran into some guys that were installing solar panels. After they were talking with her for a while, she found out that one of the men is a Mormon & he proceeded to teach her about the plan of salvation which started to give her some kind of peace & so much hope. He then told her that he would have some missionaries come by to teach her more & that's where we come in. That was such a great testimony builder for me. Little acts of kindness really can change or even save a life. None of us know what others around us are going through. Surely there is a God who loves us & wants us to be happy. He's sad when we are sad & he is happy when we are happy. If that man never went & talked with Dorothy, who knows what would've happened to her. I am grateful for people who are so bold & not afraid to share the gospel. He touched her life & I know that she's forever grateful for him opening his mouth. Please pray for her!!!! 

Texas has grown on me! Gotta represent!

The Duke girls!

Thursday, we didn't get to see Lynn or the Blackburns. Poor Logan (Christy's son), got really sick & ended up in the hospital cuz he had a really high fever & he couldn't catch his breath. Shout out to our relief society president, she's so bomb! She went ahead & made the family some dinner & they were so touched & grateful. Another random act of service that blessed & helped not just one person but an entire family. We got to go to our relief society activity later that night & be with Sisters. It was great! 

Christmas already?

We did service at the food pantry on Friday & ran into a less active lady that we haven't seen in such a long time. Gods timing is always so perfect. We didn't plan on being there till later but thought that we were late but it was perfect timing. If we had went any early or any later, we probably would've missed her. She expressed that she's been thinking about us so we're going to start working with them to get them back to church. It's gonna be awesome. Saturday, we got to meet a wonderful sweet Sister who is a non member. Long story short, she is married to a member who passed away recently & she was so surprised & happy to see us. She too expressed how she's been angry & still grieving the loss of her husband. We were able to talk about Gods wonderful plan. The Plan of Salvation. The look on her face was priceless & we just knew that she was so touched & thankful. She did say that she is a strong Methodist but hey, things could change. We still love her & continue to help her & lift her up. 

Sweet Sister Hill

Yesterday's lessons in relief society was so perfect for our week that we had. The topic was "teaching the gospel." In the lesson manual (chapter 22 teaching of the Prophets), President Howard W. Hunter said, "The purpose of teaching is that we might be an instrument in the hands of the Lord in changing the heart of an individual." Just that statement alone is so powerful & so true. We as missionaries see this miracle happen on a daily with hose that we come in contact with & teach everyday. I too have seen it in my own life, especially as I've grown up. We never really know how much of an impact we can make or how much of an influence we have on someone. President Hunter goes on to say this, "In Alma 5:14 we read, "And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren [and sisters] of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?” This is the purpose of teaching. This is the reason we labor so hard, seek the Spirit, and prepare our minds with good things as the Lord has commanded." I love that so much! It's so true. As we teach with the Spirit, truly understanding & listening to our investigators (friends, neighbors, students, kids, spouse, etc.), we are helping them change. We are helping them become more converted to the Lord. I continue to thank Heavenly Father for allowing me to grow each & every single day. It's so humbling & mind blowing sometimes. I love y'all so much & I hope y'all have a happy thanks giving  stay safe & be happy!!!! Have a wonderful week  ofa atu!!!!!! Until next week.....

Hurrah for Israel!

P.S. 

The holiday seasons are here so feel free to send me some stuff aye  a card, a letter, a picture, food, something hahaha. Love y'all heaps! 

Have You Accessed the Atonement Lately?

Aloha my dear sweet family!!!!

How are y'all doing today??? It's another beautiful day here in Texas. Sun is out & the weather is cool  This WEEK seriously went by quick. We've been super busy with contacting & finding people to teach. This email is going to be a little different. I'm gonna go through everyday like I normally do so bare with me. This week I've been really pondering the Atonement, obedience & recognizing the hand of the Lord is all things. Let me just say one thing, obedience brings blessings & exact obedience brings miracles. My mission has been a mission of both blessings & miracles. Being on a mission is not an easy thing to do but, it is worth it. 

Pday with the Spanish speaking Elders!

Us with Sarah Blackburn

I wanna share a really cool miracle that happened this week. On Thursday, Sister Willey & I had a lesson with Lynn who is one of our "eternigators" basically a forever investigator. After the lesson, we really were pondering & praying about the decision on wether or not we should drop him. He really isn't progressing or keeping commitments. We were sad cuz in all reality, what missionary wants to drop someone who they have so much hope for? We were also worried cuz we wouldn't have anyone to teach on Thursdays anymore. As we were discussing this with one of our members, our phone rang & it was the Zone Leaders. They called to tell us that they had a solid referral for us, that just so happens to be living with a member that just moved in to our area. They also said that Thursdays are the best days for them to meet & this new investigator really wants to be baptized. Heavenly Father is so mindful of each of us. Man, it was such a testimony builder for me because, if we really put all of our effort & be obedient to all of his commandments, we will not only be blessed, but we will see miracles. I know without a doubt that the Lord of the vineyard labors with his servants. 

The Growalds! We love them!

The Chauhans 

For Zone Council this past week (when a bunch of us missionaries get together & Council about how we can be better), we focused a lot on the Atonement of Jesus Christ & on his gospel. We listened to this really cool talk from Elder Holland & something that really stood out to me was when he said this, "Sometimes we as missionaries tend to ask the question, "why do they reject us?" Or "Why does it have to be so hard?" Missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. If we are true disciples of Jesus Christ, we must be prepared to walk somewhat of the path that he walked, feel something he felt, shed one of the tears of sorrow that he shed. If we want to come to know the atonement or Jesus Christ, we must go through what he went through. We aren't the first ones to question, "why is this not easy?" We must come to love & appreciate the Atonement & it will carry us through anything. When we struggle, when we are cast out, when we are rejected, we have every reason to stand tall & be grateful for Jesus Christ & what he did for us." 

The Squad

 I just want to add my testimony to his. I have a testimony of the Atonement. As I've come to truly understand it, I've seen how it can change & bless both our lives & the lives of those around us. We had a lesson last night on "love one another" & so we sat in a circle & went around the room & said 2 nice things about the person sitting next to us. The mother of the home had to say nice things about me & it was really interesting. She said, "I love the fact that you are very relatable. You can relate to anyone & I love how you express yourself." I pondered this for a while & was kind of amazed cuz before my mission, I kind of struggled with finding a sense of belonging. My companion is constantly telling me, "they all love you!" I think most of the time, my mind gets so caught up with the numbers that I tended to forget that we really can make an impact on someone. 2 examples, a non member who never really was interested in learning more about the gospel, made us some of his famous sopapia cheesecake (I think I spelled that righ). His wife was super shocked & she said, "I don't know what you're doing, but it's working." Another example, a non member who lives with a reactivated family used to hate missionaries. It was very terrible cuz he actually got missionaries sent home a few years ago, for participating in things that they weren't supposed to. Well, he loves us now & even wants to take us out to dinner. His wife was super shocked also.

The Sistahz!

The Edlerz

My Matson! :)

Moral of the story is, we truly are called to a specific place, to a specific time, to teach specific people, for a specific reason. Of course the work will be hard & yes we will get discouraged from time to time but through the Atonement, we can have hope & joy & the wonderful knowledge that we are entitled to Heavenly help. Whatever you're going through, whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation, don't give up! Reach out & look up! Man, I could go on & on about this but I think y'all get the point. I love y'all so so much!!! I wanna challenge y'all to take some time to really ponder & study the Atonement. I know that you will grow even that much more closer to our Heavenly Father & Savior, Jesus Christ. Have a fantabulous week my loves!!!! Until next week!!

Hurrah for Israel!  

Love,

Sister Kamalani Kawa'a 

He Calls the Qualified and Qualifies the Called!

Aloha family!!!! 

Man, this week went by way too fast again. It also was a weird week.....I think the weather had a lot to do with it  we've been focusing a lot this week on finding our less Actives since we have a lot. Last week for Halloween, we had a zone pday & we had a waffle party & just chilled with everyone since transfers was that Wednesday. Good news! I'm not going anywhere haha. 

Halloween at the Stake Center!

Saying good bye to these guys!

Later that evening, since we couldn't really do anything, we hung out at the Villarreals home & it was so fun!!!!!!!! Shout out to people like them for ALWAYS taking good care of us. 

Halloween at the Villarreals!

Tuesday & Wednesday we did service at the food pantry. Spent the rest of the day contacting. Thursday we spent most of the day at Chevy to get our car fixed  We got to even share the gospel a little bit more with Nancy who's super bomb & took such good care of us. Too bad she's not in our area but hey, we're planting seeds we also got to meet with Mr. Lynn. Ohhh boy!!!! We broke down the nature of God with him & that was cool. He believes so much of what we believe but helping him recognize it is kind of difficult. Nonetheless, he's slowly progressing. We also got to see the Blackburn family. Their having a tough time cuz their daughter wants to study a different faith that they don't agree with & that basically denounces Christ so, we talked to them about agency & how we have a loving Heavenly Father who will NEVER leave us, even if we far so far off the path. We just need to pray for them & their family. 

Dinner with the Rose family!

Friday, was a super little tender mercy. I remember that morning, Sister Willey prayed that we would have success & that doors would be open unto us as we went out & tried to find some less active families that we planned on finding. Every single person that we planned on seeing was home & if they moved, we talked to the people that live their now. It was a tender mercy for me cuz it helped me recognize the Lords hand in my life. It was super cool to have our prayers answered & to be able to be a light in someone's life. 

Itʻs all about SERVICE!

Got stung by a BEE!

One thing I've learned is, people don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care. If we take the time to listen, the Lord will loose our tongues & give us the necessary skills to help strengthen our brothers & sisters. I love the Lord! Saturday, we totally woke up late.....none of our alarms went off for some odd reason but the day went good. We got to see Alana & we read the Book of Mormon with her. She's doing so well. She's still nervous to tell her family about how she has a desire to be baptized, so please continue to pray for her. After dinner, we went to Stake Conference. Ohh man it was good! Elder Curtis & Elder Villarreal (who's Brother Villarreal's brother), came & spoke to us & reorganized our stake & also made a new stake. The talks that were given were so awesome & inspired. Talked a lot about conversion & how we are here in this earth to become & help others become like our Heavenly Father & Savior, Jesus Christ. It was awesome!!!! 

Our Texas Fort Worth Mission hats!

Found an American Girl doll while giving service!

Sunday, we witnessed a spiritual stake Conference & a wonderful & inspired change. Something's that stood out to me was, change can be painful & hard sometimes but change can also be wonderful & very exciting. When change happens, we need not question, but we must exercise our faith & put our trust in our Lord. He calls the qualified & qualifies the called. We must have faith that Heavenly Father knows what he is doing. To get such strength, we must be doing the little things. Pray, scripture study & church attendance. When we do so, we are will draw closer unto Him & we will want to trust him even that much more. It takes time to be converted so we need to be patient, obedient & diligent in all that we do. Some things are easier said then done but as we take time to do it, we will see miracles & we will be blessed. I love y'all so so so much!!!! Thanks for all the love & support. I hope y'all are staying happy & heathy! Keep doing the little things. God love you ️ have a blessed week! Until next week....

Hurrah for Israel! 

Love,

Sister Kamalani Kawa'a 

Saying goodbye!