Week 13

Aloha Ohana and Friends,

     I am asking around to find out how to say friends in Hawaiian.

Back at the beginning of the week on Tuesday, we went to Maui for our District Meeting because we had reached some goals last March. So we went over there and it was so much fun to actually be with the other missionaries in our Zone! President Dalton and Sister Dalton came as well. I always feel so inspired after District Meeting but it was really good to actually be there in person for this one. Well at the end before we all went out to lunch, Sister Duke and I performed a little rap about the Molonia District to add to the special day this is what it said:
Elder Dahl, Sister Duke
Elder Burns, Sister Lang
Humphreys, Leiataua
Bows and arrows and a bang

Molonia Huntahz is the name
Teaching people, saying prayers
Inviting others to come to Christ
Showing them that someone cares.

Our islands are apart
The distance maybe long
But that doesn't hold us back
From having unity forever strong
District Meetings do we watch     (we skype into our meetings)
And we sometimes get the munchies.   (we always have snacks with us)

"President's taking us skydiving?!"   (planning what to do with President)

Elder Dahl starts throwing punchies!

Our district is unique

Elder Leiataua hurts wrists with trees?    (one of the many stories)

Jesus shoes for Elder Burns  

Water tricks from Elder Humphreys  (drinks a whole bottle in one gulp)

The Sisters have hidden talents

They have prepared a special treat

No we ain't talkin bout food.

Just ask them to drop a beat!

BOOTS AND CATS. BOOTS AND CATS! etc.

But- on a more serious note

21 was our goal

We hit high water as a zone.

Miracles on every island

Knowing we didn't do this alone

Back to back do we strive

Never stopping to rest

Representatives of Jesus Christ

To Him we have promised our best

!Imua!

(Press Forward)

Everyone loved our rap and were probably jealous that their District wasn't that cool. jk. Lunch with everyone was really fun and just getting to know other missionaries was a nice reminder that there is work being done everywhere. After lunch we had an ice cream social and then got dropped off at the ferry in Lahaina (I recoginize the Banyan trees from when we used to come to Maui as a family) about 2 hours early. We had some spare time so we just went to all the little tourist shops there. Well, Sister Duke walks into a little boutique and I think ummm this is a little out of price range but I followed. We ended up talking to the girl that worked there, Kaili, and she is awesome! She has so many LDS friends and is interested in knowing more, has a really open mind to learning about other churches. Her best friend is in the Phillipines right now and is coming home soon. She said that she would love to go to lunch with the Sisters that were over that area! PERFECT! A few days later the Sister over that area had said that they went to lunch with Kaili and that it went really well. She was such a sweetheart and the Lord has prepared her so well. God is good ALWAYS!



Shaun Langsi and President Dalton in the font

 

The kids still get the front row seats here

Shaun Langsi (Big Easy) was baptized on Friday!! It was amazing. On Tuesday Sister Duke and I asked at choir practice who was going to be able to come to the baptism...cricket noise... literally no one was able to come. Friday rolls around and the family that had introduced the church to Big Easy all came (kids were taken out of school), a family visiting from Utah came, and then a lot of people who said they were not able to make it ended up coming. It was perfect! President Dalton flew over so that he was able to baptize Big Easy and it was great. The spirit was so strong and our maucho cowboy Cody Bradford gave a really good talk on the Holy Ghost that related perfectly to roping so that Big Easy could understand. Then we drove down to the beach and had the baptism. Let me tell you that baptizing in the ocean is the best! I love it! Even though it was in the middle of the day, a few people were walking by, the Spirit was still there and everything just fell into place. After the baptism we had a potluck, it wouldn't be Hawaii without one, and Mom thank you for sending the banana bread recipe because it was a hit! It was the only thing that there was nothing left of. And thank you Carly for finding that recipe in the first place ;) Big Easy is just the best, he understands everything and has such a strong desire to do what the Lord wants for him. On Sunday he received the Holy Ghost and he has just been beaming ever since his baptism. He honestly looks so bright!

De-scaling and gutting the fishies!

Also, on Friday we finally met the Alconsels, a less active and part member family! Before we didn't know where they lived all we had was their P.O box number but no idea were they actually lived. Well, we knock on the door hoping that it is the right house based on our Hawaiian directions (aka ya that tree turn right then go down for a bit and it is 2 or 3 houses after the 2 story house). Knock on the door, "Sisters, finally you found us come in!" It was the right house. Well we sat down and chatted for awhile and then ate dinner with them. Then their son came home who had been fishing all day and had a whole cooler full of fish. Well he started descaling and gutting the fish with his girlfriend. We asked if we could watch and then after a few minutes of us closely observing, Rachel, the girl friend, asked if we wanted to try... um... OF COURSE! So yep, for the first time I descaled and gutted a fish. It was slimy and weird, kinda gross when the fish has eaten a lot of sand because it all ends up inside of the fish and oozes out when you cut it open. Some of the fish have really sharp spins or needles in their fins so I ended up with a few cuts but nothing that wont heal. It was so much fun and I left smelling life fish haha. They said that next week if they caught a deer they would let us help clean it. Um.. OK Ill try. I might as well learn something new. They are a really fun family and they came to the first hour of church and hopefully will keep coming!

On Sunday after church we had potluck because our Branch Presidency was changed and the Stake Presidency from Maui had come so we fed them before they left. Then last night we had a musical fireside. To tell you the truth I was a little nervous of how it was going to turn out... if people were going to come... if there would be investigators or not... and so forth. It went really well. The Relief Society sang "I Know that My Redeemer Lives", the Priesthood sang "Brightly Beams our Father's Mercy" and "Beautiful Zion", the primary sang "The Wise Man" and "Book of Mormon Stories" and then Sister Duke and I sang "Joseph Smiths First Prayer" to the tune of "Come Thou Fount". We had a few people bear their testimonies. We didn't have a lot of investigators but we had some less-active/part-member families there who haven't been to church in months but have started coming back. It was really good to see the branch start to bond together. To eat together, laugh together, and just catch up with each others lives. Big Easy was there and is really becoming apart of the Branch family, which is just what we want!
  

A little catch up on Flora, an older lady who has been coming to church for over 20 years but has never been baptized. Well, we ate dinner with an older couple over a month ago and they had invited Flora; after dinner we had a lesson and the Spirit was really strong. We asked Flora to give the closing prayer and she said she couldn't. To make a long story short she ended up walking out with a lot to think about. After that lesson, I remember feeling so sad that I just didn't know how to help her know that she is a daughter of God and that He loves her no matter what has happened in her past. Since then, every week Sister Duke and I write her a note and tell her we love her and then leave her a few scriptures to read. This past week in the note I told her that God loved her no matter what and that Sister Duke and I loved her and then asked her to read Alma 5 and to really pray to know if now was the time that the Lord wanted her to receive the blessings of baptism. Well, she was at church on Sunday (that is normal) but then she stayed for all 3 hours (she hasn't done that in months). Then she came to the musical fireside and stayed for potluck and everything. I think her heart is slowly being softened. The Lord is definitely teaching me patience because I have no idea what is happening in Flora's mind. Sister Duke and I have decided that it would be best if we just keep loving her and let her come to us and to not ask about the notes we keep leaving. But the dumb curiosity is killing me because I want to know everything right now!

This is for all the people who I went to Jerusalem with. 
It's FYU instead of FYI- thanks Tucker for the memories.

Well I think that is it for now... I gotta run and work on my basketball skills ;) Little by little I am getting better, but sometimes I just want to kick it or chuck it like a waterpolo ball. Whoops. Aloha uwao ia oe!

Mahalo,

     Sister Cassidy Lang