Service Is My Answer: Week 20- Patience Donkey Patience

Aloha Ohana and Haoaloha,

Transfers are this week and I am staying! I am both happy and sad. Sister Duke is leaving to go to Honolulu to train for her remaining 9 weeks. I will truly miss her, we have become so close and have so many jokes that are the kind that aren't really funny unless you were there and realize how ridiculous the things a missionary laughs at. I am not training, yet, my new companion is Sister Bonrostro and she came out with me, I have met her a few times but don't know too much about her besides she can speak some sort of Filipino dialect which will be SO helpful with all of the Filipinos that live here. She is a Visitor Center sister and all the proselyting Sisters are going to be super jealous of her getting to come to Lanai. I realized the other day that after this next transfer I will have been out for 6 months, a third of my mission! That is crazy!! As of right now I would say that I'll stay here on Lanai for one more transfer and then leave. So far no one has stayed on Lanai for over 6 months so I will hit that and if I stay that will be another first for the area. I'm excited to stay because I truly love the people and for a selfish reason Pineapple Days are coming up and I want to be there for that! So that is me for now.

We did a lot of service this week. We cleaned the Avegalios house and they moved this week. I'm sad to see them go but I know they will be okay and this move will provide them with new opportunities.

Teaching Briel and Brynlie how to play softball

We have started to teach a lady named Virginia. She is the grandma to a member who has been baptized for a little over a year. He is the only member in his family and comes to church every week by himself and is so smart. He received the priesthood a few months ago and is so good. He invites his grandma every week to church and finally she came last week and she loved it. We asked if we could come over and she told us to come back later that week at 6. So we did and we taught her about the Restoration. Her grandson, Christian, (the member) was there and he was so helpful with bearing testimony of the gospel. He is already such a good missionary and he is only 12! Virginia likes the idea of baptism but is still thinking about it. She understands the role of the Priesthood and loves church.

A few months past a member told us a joke that I didn't really find funny but I did get a moral out of the story. Short version:Ch.1- There was a master and a donkey and they start out on a journey. They walk and walk and walk. Over hills and through valleys. Ch. 2- They continue to walk and walk and walk on through valleys and over hills. The donkey begins to tire and asks, "Master, I'm thirsty may I have some water?" To which the Master replies, "Patience Donkey, patience." So they carry on walking. Ch3.- The Master and the donkey keep walking over more hills and valleys into desserts and again the donkey cries out, "Master, I'm thirsty. May I have some water?" To which the Master replies, "Patience Donkey, patience." so they carry on walking. Ch. 5- The donkey has slowed his pace and is sweating, his tongue is dry and sandpapery and in a croaked voice cries, "Master, I'm thirsty. May I have some water?" To which the Master replies, "Patience Donkey, patience." So they carry on walking. Ch.6 - Donkey is barely able to keep his hooves moving but keeps on walking, every fly feels like another brick on his back. In a hoarse, faint cry, "Master, I'm thirsty. May I have some water?" To which the Master replies, "Patience Donkey, patience." So they both kept on walking. Ch. 7- The donkey has collapsed, beginning to see hallucinations from heat exhaustion. With his final breath, the donkey gasps, "Master, I am thirsty. May I have some water?" To which the Master replies, "Patience Donkey, patience." And the donkey dies.

So the joke was that we skipped Ch. 4. I didn't think it was funny because this poor donkey just died because of his dumb master. Well, ever since they told us this joke I have taken the phrase Patience donkey patience to remind me to be patient. No I have not died, but I have been taught patience.

From my first week here Sister Duke and I have been doing service with a lady named Alberta. (Yes the one we farm for every week). Well to refresh your memories. Our first week here we were talking to her and she asked about when church was and what we did. We told her and she says, "Okay, you have committed me to come to church." I remember thinking, "Wow! that is great we didn't even invite you but you are welcome to come and we are thrilled to have you." The next week we asked how she liked church and she loved it and asked what that coming week was going to be like, it was fast and testimony meeting and once again she committed herself to come to church. Since then, Alberta has rarely missed a Sunday. After a few weeks of coming we received 3 miracle phone calls. 1. Brandon Avegalio, "Hi, Sister I want to get on a pathway to baptism" Brandon was baptized on March 16. 2. Alberta, "Hi, Sisters I want to learn about the Book of Mormon" 3. Cody "Hi Sisters, I walk into work today and Shaun says that he wants to get baptized so you should call him at ..." Shaun was baptized on April 12. Since Alberta's call we have taught her twice because she is always SO busy all the time. Then this past Sunday was Testimony meeting and she got up and expressed her gratitude for all the work Sister Duke and I have helped her out with. Then she closes by saying, "I know this is the true church of God." Blew me out of the water! Then during 2nd hour of church our member comes up to us and tells us that Alberta had asked him how she could become a member of the church! We are meeting with her tomorrow and we are going to set up a time when she can be baptized. 4 months of Patience, Cassie, patience. Sister Duke and I have spent countless hours studying for her, praying for her, and giving up plenty of meals fasting for her. So, unlike the donkey, at the end of my patience when giving up sounds so good the Lord provides the miracle. The water has been given and I am revived. My heart is so full with gratitude for how much the Lord does and how little I do in this work.

Yep, it was cool and I definitely was trying to compare the
deer's anatomy to a human's. There are a lot of similarities.

Adventures of the Week: Sister Duke and I were out knocking on doors and we come to a house and hear voices so I say, "Aloha." Response, "Um you might not want to come around the corner." I use my detective skills and see drops of blood on the steps and ask, "Are you skinning a deer?" Response, "Yes." Sister Duke and I, "Can we watch?!" Taken aback response, "Sure. You are the craziest girls I have ever met." So we watched Bob and Albert skin a deer and man were they good at it. They made it look like art. Bob, Albert and Lori were so funny and I love them. Lots of foul language, marijuana joints and beer to be had but they have met missionaries before and so only offered water which I was grateful for. If the deer hadn't been shot by a super rich guy I would have asked if I could try and skin the deer and butcher it. But since it was my first time I didn't want to ruin some guys hide that he wanted to have stuffed. Next time though :)

At the Imu banana stump phase with the leaves to your right!

The second adventure is I witnessed my first imu! A less active family invited us over to see it and it was super cool. It is a huge bit and they have a fire going and then lava rocks and then they throw banana stumps over the fire, banana leaves, the meat (there was tons of meat!), tea leaves next, two layers of tarps, and dirt on the side to keep all the heat and moisture in. Then you let it basically slow cook over night. The next morning you take all of it and put everything inside and the imu is done! Next we shredded the pork and put Hawaiian salt on it. Of course we ate some and it was darn good. Then we saved most of it for a wedding this coming week. It was really cool to watch the whole imu experience. Hopefully next time I will get to see a whole pig be put inside.

Well my life continues on Lanai and I am happy about it. The work is good and hard. I love being a missionary. I'm sad to say goodbye to Sister Duke. The only constant thing in life is Change. I know that with a new companion I will grow and learn something new from her. I will be grateful that she will be able to help with the language barrier with so many of the Filipinos. I'm grateful for fresh vegetables and sunsets (Sunrises are growing on me now that I have to be up earlier than I was used to). I love the Lord and I only wish I could learn quicker but He continues to teach me little lessons. He keeps telling me, "Patience Cassie, patience." Sometimes we have to work through the hard, keep enduring, and then make it a little bit farther to the water that awaits us but we just cant see it yet. The Lord loves me and He loves you. Elohim Tov taneem. God is good Always, Aloha uwau ia oe.