You Can Make a Difference!

My Noah!

Howdy my fellow beautiful people!!!! 

Week 58 was yet again another fast one. Last pday, we found out that the trio is splitting up  Sister Chisholm got called to be in Denton. We sure were bummed to hear the news but we were happy that Sister Eddington & I would be here in Mansfield for another transfer. Later that day, we hung out with some of the other Elders & Sisters in our zone & we played an awesome game of nerf gun war. Much needed fun activity for all us. It was so much fun! We had a lesson with Brandon that night, & he's moving forward so powerfully & so strongly. 

Nerf Gun fun with the other missionaries!

Tuesday, we went to Fort Worth for Sister Chisholms appointment. Field trip! We took the rest of the day so she could pack up & say her goodbyes. Sister Eddington & I took the next 2 days to clean our apartment so that we can give full attention to proselyting. It was hard work  we didn't realize how bad it was with 3 women in a tiny apartment. Funny story, we decided to put all of our trash in a big sleeping bag, since our trash bags were too small, & as we were taking it to the dumpster, Mario (our Hispanic neighbor), saw us trying to carry it & asked us if he could help. Our initial thought was how funny would it be, if someone came out & saw the 2 of us carrying this big sleeping bag full of stuff. They probably thought we killed Chisholm since there were 3 of us & now there is just 2. Gracias Mario for assisting!  

The fantastic trio has come to an end! A hui hou Sister Chisholm!

Brandonʻs last pic with the trio!

Wednesday, we said goodbye to Chisholm & got to teach young women's that night. It was so awesome. Just absolutely love them. We had a "missionary night" & we taught them the life of a missionary. We had a question & answer at the end & it was so powerful to hear their testimonies, of how they want to go on missions & why they want to go on missions. You never know how much of an impact you can make on someone. 

Some of the fabulous youth!

Earlier in the week, we got a text from our investigator Kenny. He reached out to us & told us that he wanted to meet  we were so excited. We met with him on Wednesday night. Sister Eddington & I planned on teaching him The Plan of Salvation but, we both felt like we needed to go back & review things so, we decided to change the plans & review the restoration. Well, when we started our lesson, Kenny opened up to us & told us about how his uncle passed away earlier that day. My companion & I looked at each other & we both felt impressed to go back to our initial plan. We watched a little video called, "the Plan of salvation". It was super powerful cuz after the video, Kenny looked at us & said, "you know, it's funny that you showed me this, cuz I already knew it." The Spirit was so strong in the room. Sister Eddington & I both had distinct Impressions to set a date with him. My first thought was, "no ways. He's not thinking about baptism, poor guy is grieving." Then we both heard the Spirit say, "be still!" As we did, we looked at Kenny & with a big smile on his face, he said, "I wanna get baptized!" Talk about listening to the Spirit. We were over joyed! He also told us that he now has Fridays & Sundays off, which means he can now attend church. We're so happy for him. We know that the only reason why this is happening is cuz, he's doing the little things. He's reading, he's praying & soon he'll be attending church more frequently. That was an awesome experience for sure. 

The Poly Sisters - Pasikala, Kawaʻa, Taehia and ʻAlatini

We added Sis. Mapa in this one! She is TALL!

Thursday, we started our "Preach My Gospel" lessons with the youth. It was so awesome. I love the youth & their powerful testimonies. It was amazing to see their strong desires that they have to go out into the world & fight for righteousness. Reminded me of the story of the army of Helaman. I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to assist my Father in Heaven, in helping my brothers & sisters become stronger & ready to face whatever life throws at them. It was so amazing!!! Friday, we got together as a mission & watched the world wide missionary broadcast. It was so awesome & Spirit driving for sure. We had the wonderful opportunity to hear from some of our amazing church leaders. It was a powerful discussions on how important our calling as missionaries are & how much we are loved, supported & cared for by so many. We also had slight changes in our daily schedule & key indicators, that will allow us to use our agency more often. This approach will benefit us not just now, but especially when we finish the mission & return home. We'll be developing habits on our missions, that we will take for the rest of our lives. I just love my mission & I'm definitely gonna continue to do the best that I can do. After all, all our Heavenly Father asks is for us to try  

The Sisters from Burleson

We went over & taught Alex that night, about eternal marriage & families. We watched a Mormon message called, "expressions of love" & we also talked about how family is so important. It was very powerful so see his sweet wife, bear testimony on how much the gospel truly does bless families & how much it's blessed her family. We got them started on doing family home evening together too. It was so awesome & I just continue to be in awe of how well he's progressing. Love them!!!! We spent Saturday with them too & helped them put up fencing for their horses. Funny story, what had happen was, I was not paying attention (as I was holding one end of the fence), & when Alex finished cutting his end, he lost grip of the fence & next thing I see is blood tripping down my face. The look on his face was priceless. He felt so bad!!!! Don't worry mum, after we cleaned it up, we looked at it & it's a tiny little cut on my forehead that looks like a pimple. It's all good 🏽

My new necklac - Texas will always have a piece of my heart!

Sunday was an awesome Sunday!! In 1st Ward, our discussion for class was on how important the little things are. Reminded me of a scripture found in Alma 37, "by small & simple thing, are great things brought to pass." This scripture is so on point. The little things that we do will bring forth huge amount of blessings. The simple example of one person will impact another persons life for eternity. We just never know. It was a super great discussions. In 2nd Ward, we had 3 wonderful young ladies give their farewell talks. The chapel was full of family, friends & loved ones who came to support these 3 amazing girls. They each bore unique testimonies on why they want to serve missions & how they each received different impressions that they should go. Watching them defend the gospel, & seeing & feeling their joy of the gospel, touched my heart so much. They will leave behind their homes, families, schooling, relationships, jobs, careers & all that they know & love, & will take a big leap of faith by going somewhere unfamiliar & maybe even far away. Yes it will be scary & yes times will be hard, but our Savior will be right by their side every step of the way. Bishop spoke for a little bit & talked about how they should never forget the love of so many who will be praying for them & cheering them on everyday. His hope is that the 3 sweet sisters will feel the love on their missions especially when times are hard. I want each of you to know that I know that the 3 girls will definitely feel the love that their ward family & eternal family has for them cuz I've felt each of your love & prayers on my mission. A mission is not easy work but it is worth it. I've never been so happy & filled with joy, but torn & broken all at the same time. It's a roller coaster for sure & I wouldn't trade it for the world. I've come to know my Savior on a more personal level. The Spirit continues to teach me as I get out of the way & let him in. Each of you can know & feel this same thing. I challenge you (like I've had before), to get to know your Savior. I've you think you know him, think again. There's always so much more to learn & love. I love each of you so much!!! Make this week better then last week was folks. Until next week.....paio mau e kuʻuʻohana!

Hurrah for Israel! 

With Love,

Sister Kawa'a 

Families Are Forever!

Aloha y'all! 

Week 57 was a little harder for us than usual. It's okay though cuz, if we never have the bad, we can never fully appreciate the good  the week started off on a good note with 2 lessons with Brandon. I love that kid!!!! We taught him about priesthood & watched a powerful Mormon message called, "sanctify yourselves." We talked about the power of the priesthood & helped him to prepare to receive his priesthood. As we were teaching him, you could just see his excitement & readiness to receive his priesthood so that he can attend the temple. It's so amazing to see him grow in the gospel & just absorb all the goodness like a sponge. Wednesday, we had yet again another powerful district meeting. We talked about how much of an affect working with ward members really has. We talked about the Spirit that the youth have & how bold they've been in bringing their friends to church. We decided as a district to make a goal to work more closely with the youth & to do everything we can to prepare them for life & maybe even a mission one day. After dinner, our appointment canceled, so we immediately put our ideas to work & went to mutual. We bonded with the young women & connected with them immediately. We also got to meet with both of our Bishops & they were very much on board with our plans to work with the youth. Everything just fell into place. It was great.

The District

Thursday, I had a doctor's appointment. Nothing too crazy so don't worry  this is were it starts getting hard. We had weekly Planning but then literally every appointment that we had that day all canceled. Friday, the same thing happened & Saturday it happened again. It was really discouraging, not gonna lie, but we persevered & tried to keep the bigger picture in mind. Going back to Friday, we spend the entire day in Denton, (which is totally out of our area), due to a doctors appointment that Sister Eddington had. It was an adventure for sure. Just to give y'all an idea, it takes us about 2 hours to get there cuz our GPS sucks & we got lost. We finally got there 20 minutes late & my sweet companion realized that she forgot her wallet, but the doctors were nice even to have us come back later that after non at 2pm so, we jumped back in the car, drove another 2 hours, grabbed her wallet, grabbed something to eat, jumped back in the car & drove another 2 hours. Felt like we were on a road trip that I've never been on haha. Yeah talk about 3 hangry (hungry & angry) young women. Lots of estrogen. It was still fun though haha. 

The Sweet Family with our newest convert, Brandon!

On Saturday, we got to attend a baptism that was happening in another ward cuz Sister Chisholm was asked to play the piano. I love baptisms & the Spirit that just fills the room. It's such an amazing thing to witness. Later that afternoon, we got to do some service with our Zone Leaders for Alex. It was so fun. We helped him start putting up fencing for his horses. Then we had dinner with the Francoms & Sister Chisholm & I walked over & met with the Waldmann family. Oh my goodness. I love this family so much. Long story short, the father of the home is not a member but he fully supports his active wife & has a calling in cub scouts. Pretty cool. We talked a lot about faith & having the courage to defend our faith at all times. Then Sister Chisholm sang a song that she wrote about the Savior & it was so touching. We could literally feel & see the fathers heart start to change right in front of us. We definitely connected with him & it was cool to see the Savior work through us to touch lives. At that very moment I was reminded to be grateful for the little things. No, we didn't commited him to baptism, but we sure left a big positive impression on that family. Things don't always go the way we want them to go, but they go the way the Lord needs them go. We need to remember that he's in charge, not us. Sweet testimony builder for me. 

The three amigas!

Sunday was a rough Sunday. I woke up not feeling so well for some reason. I wasn't sick, I just felt like something wasn't right. The phone call that I received later that day, reassured the feelings that I was having. I got a heartbreaking phone call that Uncle Lance had gone home to our Heavenly Father. I like to call him, my first investigator. I remember a year ago, mom was telling me that he would read my blogs & then mom told me that he started letting the missionaries in his home. Slowly but surely, the spirit soften this big mans heart & he changed for the better. I don't think any of us were ready for what was about to happen next. Before we knew it, he was becoming an example to so many. When I received an email of Him, Aunty Dave & Kapoli at their baptism, it was almost unreal. It has & will be such a powerful testimony to me that ANYONE can change. Anyone can choose today, to become what Heavenly Father wants us to become. We have our agency. We just need to use it for the good. On a side note, I wanna thank EVERYONE who rapped their arms around me, who comforted me & gave me support. THANK YOU for being my family away from family. Being a way from my family at a time like this is difficult but, I have an amazing support system here in Texas & more importantly, I've been even that much more closer to my Savior, Jesus Christ. 

The Tanner family sharing their Hawaiʻi pride!

I wanna leave y'all with something that touched my heart. So in all my areas, I always seem to have a little shadow that I fall in love with & adore. This new little shadows name is little Noah. He's about 4 years old. When I got the sad news I couldn't help but cry. As I was walking down the hallway at church, little Noah came out of the chapel & said, "there you are, I was looking for you." Then he looked at me as I ran in a side room. He then went to my 2 sweet companions & said, "your sisters hurt. She's crying. She's in that room over there." After we talked for a bit in the room, I opened the door & he was waiting for us. I then got down to his level & looked at him & he said, "What's wrong? Why are you sad?" Then I said, "my uncle died." He immediately put his arms around me & then he said, "my daddy died. It's okay though, he's better now." That experience touched my heart SO much. This little boy is the perfect example of being Christlike. He bore my burdens, comforted me when I needed comfort, he mourned with me when I needed to mourn. His little example left a big impression on my broken heart. He reminded me of the love that my Savior has for me. An experience that I will never forget. I wanna challenge each of y'all to be like this little boy. Pray for an opportunity to find someone to lift & then go & lift. When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God. 

Little Noah with the biggest heart!

I love y'all!!! Make this week better then last week was. To my Hoewaʻa ʻohana, mai hopohopo. Nā ke Akua e pōmaikaʻi a mālama iā ʻoukou pakahi āpau. Nāna nō e lawe aku i ko mākou kaumaha. "Give it all to Jesus, only he will turn your sorrows, in to joy!" Until next week my sweet family.....we will get through this together. One step at a time 

"I'm grateful that God allows tragedies & trials to occur in our lives. Not because they are easy or desired, but because they help us love." - Chris Williams 

       

Hurrah for Israel!!! 

With Love,

Sister Kawa'a 

Code Red Alerts of All Kinds ⚠️🤧🌪☔️

Wassup my beautiful familia!!!! 

Sorry, not sorry for the super random subject. It was just SO perfect! So week 56 consisted of three code red weather alerts within 30 minutes, and yes, with this bomb trio and (more importantly) the Holy Spirit, baptisms are very likely in this neck of the woods. So first things first, THANK Y'ALL for keeping our investigators & us in y'all's prayers. We really do feel them every single day! Last week was filled with at least one powerful experience everyday (as most weeks go). Last week Monday, we had an amazing lesson with our brother Brandon. He basically was teaching us. We taught him about Law of Chastity & Word of Wisdom & it was so powerful to see him just except the invitation to live these sacred covenants. Got him all set & ready for his baptism. Tuesday, we went & saw the Sanchez family. It was so good. Their son, Jason, who is on a mission, constantly tells them in his emails to take care of the missionaries & more specifically to "FEED the missionaries." So cute him! Well, that's exactly what his family did. We had authentic Mexican food. We had sopa & tostadas with some super good Mexican sauce that I forgot the name for. They fed us wellWe had a good lesson & recap of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was so awesome to see their hearts change right in front of my eyes. Powerful moment for sure.

Our investigator, Brandon!

Wednesday, we had an awesome Zone Council. So long story short, Burleson is a very new stake so therefore, the Burleson Zone is a very new Zone so, we are the pioneers. We set a clear & strong vision for our zone. It was awesome to receive trainings on obedience & the necessary steps to get to where we want to be. We talked about the impact we'll have on thousands in the future by the example we set now in this new zone. As we were talking, one of my lovely companions, Sister Eddington, shared some really cool insight on what she learned in her studies. She said that she was reflecting on her earlier studies of 1 Nephi & discovered the following, "As the Book of Mormon begins the Lord entrusts 4 brothers to be the pioneers of a promised land. All are men worthy to be leaders, who follow their father and the prophet in his journey. As their journey continues, others join their travels, but these four brothers are truly the leaders. Two decide to go in with hard, unteachable hearts, and the other two were humble and forever turning to the Lord. The difference not only affected them, but the generations to follow." The choices we make now as pioneers in this new zone will not just affect us, but all who follow after. Such powerful insight. Gotta love my companion. So here's a thought. The choices we make today, will affect our future. What does your future look like? Something good to ponder 

The trio!

Thursday, we had our first lesson with our new investigator Sandy. She is the sister of one of our recent converts in the ward. She has been taught all the lessons & we had a powerful discussion on one of the big concerns that she has. At the beginning, we really had no idea how to address her concern, but with much prayer & faith, the Holy Ghost helped us dissolve her worries. I felt a promoting to ask her about the degrees of glory. At first, I hesitated cuz I thought that it had nothing to do with her concern, but then as we got to talking, the Spirit softened her heart & we were able to listen & follow the promoting that we received. Yet again, another powerful experience.  Friday, we had a lesson with our other investigator, Michael. Man, I love this kid. He's so eager to learn & grow in the gospel. We taught him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ & it was super awesome. I had yet again another prompting, this time the Holy Ghost was telling me to set a date with him. We initially tried to set a date with before but it just didn't feel right so I hesitated again to act on the promoting that I was receiving. With much faith, I opened my mouth & the Spirit helped me to say exactly what Michael & his family needed to hear. As my heart started to beat rapidly, I asked him if he would prepare himself for baptism on February 25th. He & his family committed to help him get ready for that date & he looked over at his step father & asked him to be the one to baptize him. The Spirit was so strong in the room!!! Lots of love for sure 

A member trying to say "thank you" in Hawaiian for the shirts I gave them! LOL!

Saturday was definitely an amazing day. It started off with the baptism of Brandon!!! My goodness! His support system is so strong. This kid has a heart of gold. He bore his testimony about how he now has the opportunity to share the gospel with those around him. Love that kiddo & his strong testimony  

Brandonʻs baptism!

The trio, Brandon and President and Sister Whitney (Mission President).

 Next was the baptism of Alex  Boy oh boy! He too has a strong support system. He bore his testimony about how the gospel feels like home for him. He spoke about how the church truly is like the big family that he never had. It was amazing to see him share his powerful testimony with us. Love that guy!!!! Such a privilege to be apart of such sacred work. 

Alexʻs baptism!

Sunday, was a sick day for yah girl "kamalovely." I made it to both sacrament meetings, but had to go home right after. Being a sick missionary is not fun 🤧 My goodness!!! After dinner, so many code red alerts were coming in. First it was a flash flood warning, & next came a tornado warning. Then we got a text from a member that basically said, "Get in your bathroom now!!" Um yeah, Sister Kawa'a freaked out. But wait, another tender mercy happened. As I was trying to not panic, we knelt down & said a prayer, then I opened up my scriptures. I started to read in Alma 26 & just as I was reading, I came across a verse that said, "Yea, they shall not be beaten down by the storm at the last day; yea, neither shall they be harrowed up by the whirlwinds; but when the storm cometh they shall be gathered together in their place, that the storm cannot penetrate to them; yea, neither shall they be driven with fierce winds whithersoever the enemy listeth to carry them." Talk about having your prayers answered right away. I was immediately comforted & the Lord reassured me that we would be safe. This week has been yet again a week of powerful experiences & MIRACLES. Heavenly Father is so mindful of each of us. This mission is continuing to change my life for the better. Every day, every minute & every second, can & will be a changing moment. Let's make this week better then last week was folks. I love y'all so very much!!! Until next week.... 🤙🏽

Hurrah for Israel! 

With Love,

The missionary from the Islands 

Count Your Many Blessings!

Malo e lelei!! Talofa Lava!! Hola!!! Aloooohaaaaaa 

What's up my weekly subscribers. Another busy week. What's new here? Well, we have 2 baptisms this Saturday, January 14th. Did I say 2? Yes 2!!!!  Our investigator Alex Mills will be baptized along with our other investigator Brandon Nguyen. Alex is a little nervous but is more then ready for this life changing event that will take place in his life. It's fun to see his testimony grow & his nature change. With Brandon, we totally ended up moving his baptism up last week. He literally is a golden investigator. So prepared & so ready (just like Alex), to make such a big change in his life. We met with him twice this week & he is more then solid. He's progressing & he said, "if I could, I would get baptized right now." Love that kid!!! Also, he asked us, "so when I get baptized, how fast can I go to the temple?" My companions & I looked at each other & we were like, oh my gosh, this kid is already working on his next ordinance. He's so awesome & his fire & Spirit is so strong. So proud of him & the changes that he's making in his life. He is a perfect example of truly making Christ the top of his priorities. I'm so pumped & stoking hard core for the both of them. 

Snow in Texas!

My BFF Noah!

We went on exchanges this week & thanks to social media, I think y'all already know where I went & who I went with haha! I had the privilege to go on exchanges with my Matasoni!!!!  I went to Euless for a day & boy did we have fun. It was so crazy to think how fast time has gone by. Exactly a year ago, we were put as companions & she trained me & set the path for the rest of my mission. I love her so much & I'm sure gonna miss her when she returns home with honor in a few short weeks. I'm forever grateful for her loving example. Shoutout to the Matson family. Malo & Mahalo for raising such an awesome daughter!!!! 

The Vakalahi Family!

While I was in Euless, we met with lots of sweet families. Got to see familiar faces & meet people who've been waiting to meet me & vice versa. We met with a sweet family, the Vakalahi family, & had a super awesome lesson about the scriptures & the importance of not just reading the words, but feasting upon the words of Christ. The Vakalahi kiddos are so cute & very in tune with the Spirit. They told us that they want to go on missions one day too. They're just too cute & so willing to put the Lord first in their lives. Perfect examples for me of how we should continue to put Christ at the center of our lives.

Sister 'Ahau (Aunty Peti Hafoka's sister in Euless)

Sweet Aunty Ana aka Sister Ita'aehau

Aunty Ana's 'ono Hawaiian food - lau lau, poke, rice and mac salad!

Us with Sis. Taungatua

Some of the Euless Young Women!

Dinner with Sister Colon

We got to meet with a new investigator this week. Her name in Tanisha & she's yet again another golden one. We taught her about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ & she is so willing to learn more & make necessary changes in her life. It was awesome!!! We also met another sweet person. Her name is Shauna & she's not a member. Long story short, she is currently going through a lot & found out about the power of priesthood blessings through one of her friends who is a member. We got a hold of her & she came to fast & testimony meeting yesterday & received a very powerful blessing from our bishop & one of his counselor. Before she left she hugged me for a while & with tears said, "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING! Everything that happen & everything that was said today was exactly what I needed to hear." I then told her, "you have our number! You call us if you need anything." She hugged me again & said that she would keep in touch. We're gonna check up on her again this next week so please pray for her. 

Brynlee thinks I'm Moana! LOL!

Reunited with Sister Sa'afi!

Yesterday went by so fast & it was all so good. We had a totally of 7 investigators at sacrament meeting with the 2 wards that we cover. Our investigator Kenny came to church. Missed that guy!!! He's another solid investigator, just hard to keep in contact with. Oh & I almost forgot, we have another new investigator that we'll be meeting with on Wednesday. Her name is Sandy & she is a relative of one of our recent converts in the ward. We're so stoked & I'm beyond grateful for the blessings & miracles that we are receiving from Heavenly Father. It's overwhelming in a good way 

My Ally from Azle!

Last night was so sweet. I got to reunite with my mission family, Mama V, Pops & Brother Jacob came to our mission president fireside. The look on their face when they saw me, was so priceless  I also got to see a less active, that Sister Slade & I reactivated back in Azle & it was so sweet. Her name is Sister Parr & when she saw me she told me the best news ever. She explained to me that she started her temple prep classes & will be going through the temple for her own endowments. With tears in her eye she said, "its all because of you. If you never asked, I never would've been where I am today. Thank you!!" It totally just warmed my heart to see a daughter of God be filled with so much love right before my eyes. 

The Watauga Sisters with Mama and Pops Villarreal!

Mama V - Sis. Villarreal from Watauga! Oh how I missed her!

Rebecca Yi

I am continually reminded of my purpose here. I want each of you to know how happy this mission had made me. Before my mission, I was always afraid of the future & the unknown. One thing that we've really been focusing on this week comes from Genesis 19:17 that says, "look not behind thee." As this new year has arrived, let's take the opportunity to leave the past behind a move forward with hope & faith in God. I know that as we do this, we will learn the true meaning of love & happiness. We will have no regrets & we will be able to look up to god & say like Nephi, "I know in whom I trust." My sweet family & friends, let's continue to have faith & be believing. As I'm reminded by one of my favorite songs, "there's a whole lot of light outside of my comfort zone." Let's get out the way & let God take control. Have a fantabulous week my BEAUTIES!!!! Love y'all so so so much!!! Until next week......

Hurrah for Israel!!!! 

With Love,

Sister Kawa'a