Week 16- I Believe in Miracles, It's a Gospel Thing!

Aloha Ohana and hoaloha,

 

Wow, this week has just been filled with so many miracles! The work is great and I love it. I'm not sure how to say this right so you will understand; but, ever since I have been out on my mission I have been struggling to find the balance between being a missionary and still being myself. Well... I think I have finally found it and guess what? It was still me- maybe a little more focused me but still me who loves to play sports, laugh, be a klutz and (on more occasions than I would prefer) make a fool of myself. I still know that the gospel is true and my testimony in it is continually growing, I am constantly learning how the gospel has affected my life and how it will help others. I know that I have so much more to learn and that I still have time but I also realize that time is already flying by! I have been out 3 months and that is crazy! I only have 15 more and that freaks me out, I am close to only having a year left. AHHH!!!!

 

Ok, now for the good stuff! I don't even know where to start. We have been reading with Elaine almost everyday and it has been really helping her. Kealohi background: she was baptized a few months before Sister Duke and I came here, hasn't really been coming to church and dodges our appointments, and lives above Elaine.  One day she was hanging out with Elaine when we came to read the Book of Mormon, we asked her if she wanted to read with us. At first I thought she was going to say no but she said sure and read a chapter with us. When we finished we talked about what had happened and what we had liked or how the chapter could apply to us. Kealohi loved it- we started helping Elaine cook and then I look over and Kealohi is still reading. She stops and asks, "Do you guys read everyday?" I tell her, "Ya, most everyday. Do you want to read with us?" Yep she did! It is awesome how when people are just willing to try reading the Book of Mormon with an open mind it will change them and bring them closer to Jesus Christ just as the introduction promises! What a great miracle? Heck ya! 

Sister Duke and I

Wednesday, everything was going really well. People were actually home! It is usually a hit or miss, some days everyone is out and others this town is like a ghost town. We were able to pray with so many people and we were on schedule which doesn't always happen. Well, we had an appointment with Raven- so we walk over there and someone is outside, so we ask him if Raven is home. He goes to the window looks and says, "No she isn't home" then proceeds to ask, " What are you guys doing with her anyway?" We tell him that we are teaching her about Jesus Christ and the gospel that He has set up. I pipe up and ask, "Do you want to learn about Jesus?" "Oh, no. I'm sorry I'm busy" bummed expressions from Sister Duke and I "How about Friday?" brighter taken aback expressions now! His name is Lucky he lives at the same house as Raven. Well we go back Friday and he comes out and says I cant meet right now, I just got called into work but asks if we can meet later. We never say no to meeting later. Later came and he never called... Saturday we just decide to go visit. Lucky was home and came out and stopped watching the Nets and the Bulls so we could talk with him. We got to know him and what he already believes and knows, his expectations and ours, basically, Lucky is awesome. His son is a member and was baptized sometime last year. Lucky has never really believed in God but doesn't disbelieve it. He is open to learning and wants to know what his son knows. He really is open to trying out the gospel and allowing it to bless his life. We have another appointment and he is awesome! But wait it gets better... Sunday one of our members went to the gas station and saw Lucky there buying some cigarettes. When Lucky saw our member he tells the cashier, "Hey, I actually wont be buying those cigarettes." WHAT THE WHAT!!!! We haven't even taught him about the Word of Wisdom, where it says we don't smoke etc. Wow, the Lord is so good, Lucky is so good, this work is so good. There are so many miracles everywhere!!!

 

This weekend everyone in our already small branch was gone! Plus it was fast Sunday. It was Youth Conference and they stay till Sunday here. So that knocked out half our youth (2), 2 Young Mens leaders, 2 Young Women leaders. Then one family went to Maui to get their monthly supply of food (its cheaper there and there are more options), another couple went to Oahu for a funeral, then others were sick or just didn't come. To be honest I was worried when there were only about 15 people at church. We were all going to bear our testimonies and still have plenty of time to spare. Well, let me say, "God, provides!" That sacrament meeting with all the testimonies that were shared was one of the best that I have ever been to. Testimonies start and a moment of crickets... who is going to start... Sister Duke! After her, Alberta (our investigator that has her mind running 500 different ways so she never has time to really focus on the gospel). She gets up there and talks about how her first time in the church was at a funeral and the congregation sang Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy (hymn 335). She talked about how the line, "Let the lower lights be burning; Send a gleam across the wave. Some poor fainting, struggling seaman you may rescue, you may save." had touched her so much when the choir had sang it. She remembered that when she was growing up in Hana she remembers driving her car down to the beach to add her headlights to a growing beacon to help a poor seaman who had been caught in the storm find his way home. She then said, "I believe that this gospel is the guiding light in my life." She thanked the congregation for being so kind and welcoming to her and then sat down. Her simple testimony brought the Spirit so strongly. Tears were being wiped from many eyes, not just mine. Thank you mom for always teaching me to have a tissue handy. The meeting proceeded with many other great testimonies. I cannot explain the miracle that I witnessed in my little branch here on Lanai; but, I can say that at that moment we were in very holy ground, we were in the presence of heavenly beings and I'm pretty sure angles were there adding to the Spirit that was there. No, I didn't see them there but we could feel God's love and He had witnessed and heard those testimonies that were shared. God's presence = miracle. Alberta and her simple but truthful testimony is a miracle!

 

After sacrament Flora went out of her way to talk to me. She said thanks for all of the notes and scriptures that we have left her. I told her we love her, because we do, and that God loves her so much. She finally allowed us to get her number. Slowly, her heart is being softened. Slowly, she is realizing that she is a daughter of God, she is a heavenly Princess with Divine Parents. Flora is a miracle!

 

Shaun Langsi was able to come to church. He had told us the night before that he was going to have to work. A few minutes late and he walks in! He asked where the tithing slips were so he could pay his tithing. He told us it would hurt because he wasn't sure if he would make it through the month without that money, but he knows that the Lord will provide and he needs the Lord's blessings more than the money. Shaun is a miracle because his faith is increasing and the Lord is doing it! 

 

It rained a lot!  And thanks for the skirts Mom-
they are super cute!!!  I love them :)




The rest of Sunday rained and I had left my umbrella at a members house and when we had left the house it wasn't raining so Sister Duke didn't have hers either. We got very wet- because Hawaii rain doesn't apply in Lanai. It rained the whole rest of the day and night and a little bit today. It was hard rain then softer then back to hard downpours to little showers. Not many people were home but we were able to meet with Raven and Ryan and talk to them about faith and repentance. And of course this is leading to a miracle- Raven has a baptismal date for June 12!!!! She is so amazing and so beautiful and so willing to have the gospel be apart of her life and her baby-to-come's life. 

 

 

 

 

Our dump

Fun things of the week: Monday was the Pinewood Derby. Those kids are the best! Victor Seiuli (5 years old) prayer, "I'm grateful we could eat the Sisters".  York Peppermint Patties- thank you Jackson Hart for teaching me about how the elves whisper every time that you break a peppermint pattie! Sister Duke and I definitely laughed. I learned that geckos bark. Dogs are of the devil especially when you want to pray with someone. Sometimes it is really nice to just sit down and stick some grass in your mouth. Baseball is harder to play with golf balls and a broken bat. Lanai has the world's prettiest dump! 

 

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Dont worry Sister Duke and I celebrated by making homemade maracas with coins and water bottles. We made guacamole. And we sang, "La Cucaracha". It may or may not be recorded- I guess you will just have to remember this email and remind me to show you the video after my mission. Oh and don't forget about Boys Day! May 5 in Japanese culture is Boys Day! I have no clue what they do to celebrate, everyone I asked just said that they eat traditional Japanese food. Don't they do that everyday? Some of them did have fish flags hung up outside their houses. There is a flag for each boy in the family and the fish get bigger depending on if there is a grandpa, dad, sons, and

grandkids. Last thing that is big in Hawaii is Mayday. Its the 1st of May and the schools put on a performance of cultural dances. We just had a small one here on Lanai but I have heard that it is huge in Laie.