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