Once again last week started off good because we ate at a family's house that has recently started coming back to church and then their nephew who has been living with them told us that he wants to get baptized!!! SO... Joe is getting baptized on October 5!!! We are so excited for him :) Their family dynamic is a bit different with 3 high school aged boys and then 4 kids (3 boys and 1 girl) all under the age of 6. Well we were teaching about the Restoration and one of the little boys was being a bit rambunctious so I just grabbed him and held him while my companion was bearing her testimony and once I grabbed him, he immediately calmed down. Yep, I miss little kids! Plus, it was nice because I have never been the magical one with kids in my family- I hand that talent off to Katie or Jamie, but I'm slowly gaining that talent too... who would have thought that it would be on my mission. Well, after having dinner with them we went over to another member's house so we could teach a guy named, Ace. It was super good, he loves church and has been going to the Samoan ward for awhile now and is alreayd thinking about baptism! Hopefully we can keep teaching him... his grandma is not super supportive of him, which makes it tough :/
Tuesday, we had zone conference which ended up taking the whole day. It was good to be able to learn from our Mission President and then the Assistant to the Presidents. They have us write talks about "Recognizing the Lord's Hand in Our Work". After writing my talk I realized that we cannot even attempt to do this work without His help. The successes of my mission are not earned but are blessings from Heavenly Father. It was a good spiritually uplifting day! It was also good to be able to see some old Elders and Sisters from the neighboring zone that we were combined with.
Later that week my companion got sick :( She is better now thankfully- I played doctor and gave her medicine, made her sleep lots, and had her drink lots of vitamin C, just like my mommy taught me ;) Thankfully, I was able to switch with the other Sister who wasn't feeling the best. We went and saw people in both of our areas and I can testify that Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. Somehow, our stomachs were enlarged and we were able to eat 3 dinners back to back to back! It was crazy! We ate with investigators, then a family that is coming back to church with a nonmember boyfriend (potential... yes!), and then a family that has just moved here. All the food was good and somehow I managed to not feel too sick. What has Hawaii done to me? haha Then after our 3 dinners we went and saw one of Sister Clayson's investigators and was able to teach them about the Atonement. It was so good- this investigator is so good- he knows he is going to get baptized- he is just waiting to get married which he knows is going to happen too. White Baptism! It was really nice to be able to get out and plus, I love Sister Clayson. We aren't companions because we would have way too much fun together, but we would work super hard too... maybe before she goes home.
Then experience of the week... ELDER HOLLAND came to our mission and spoke to all the missionaries that are on Oahu! You can feel the Spirit so much just in his presence. He talked a lot on obedience and how we can all be better. This is His work and His glory and we must do it His way. Anyone that has the desire is called to the work. We are called to preach His gospel to all the world and invite every one to learn more. Yes people still have their agency to choose to learn more but if they are never asked they can never say yes. It was such a good experience to actually be in the same room as Elder Holland but still at times I felt like I was watching a tv and that this wasn't real. I realized that I have grown a lot on my mission but I still have so much further to go. Sometimes we need that extra little kick in the butt to realize it. Not that my enthusiasm for the work ever went out but this definately revamped it.
Sunday, was good/ interesting for me. We had the twins and Kaytlyn come to church with us this week but unfortuately, they were running late so we came after the sacrament. I was surprised because I was about to cry that I had not been able to partake of the sacrament this week. Yes, I know that the sacrament is important but I was taken off guard at how close it has come to my heart and how much I need it EVERY week. Also, a misconception that I would like to clear up: just because we are missionaries does not mean that we can teach at any moment and have it be good. We found out about an hour before church that we would be teaching and their comment, "You're missionaries you can do it." Uh... yes we can teach it but I would have prefered to actually know a bit before and be more prepared. Once again, the Lord blessed us and I think we did a pretty good job at teaching.
I have learned so much. I can't go back and ever be the same. I only hope that others can see that I have changed for the better. This work is amazing; it is hard but rewarding. I am called to do His work and it is such a great opprotunity. I love the people here and the more people I meet the more people I love. It is amazing how much I can love. God is good always and sometimes we need a little push to do more. I love you all. Te amo (Spanish) Noka muna quiki (Quetchua) Alofa ia te oe (Samoan) Ofa atu (Tongan) Aloha wau ia oe (Hawaiian).
Love Always,
Sister Cassidy Lang
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