Aloha Ohana and Haoaloha,
Well another week has come and gone in beautiful Kauai! I love it here and it is so amazing! Since, I only gave a little bit of infor from last week I will combine the last 2 weeks into one email. Hopefully you will be able to follow my crazy sparatic trains of thought! I really should start planning out what to write before hand but knowing me that will probably not happen sorry everyone!
First things first, Johnny Ralpho was baptized this Friday! It was so good but broke my heart at the same time! Johnnys cousin, Carlmai was going to baptize him and so we had everything planned the baptism ready. johnny and his family arrive and then we are waiting for a few people, a few minutes later we find out that there has been an awful accident on the only highway Kauai has... everyone is stuck in the accident and no one has been moving for the past couple of hours and they arent sure when it is going to clear up. Thankfully we had aenough people to keep going. We started the program and it was small but the Spirit was there as soon as the mom, Tinar (lady who was baptized my first day here) gave the prayer in marshalese and was crying. Then I spoke on baptism and attempted t oread a scripture in Marshallese. The haoles (white people) thought it was amazing but the Marshallese told me to keep practicing haha. I guess its the thought that counts :) Then Carlmai still wasn't here so we had another brother bpatize Johnny and it was great. About 10 minutes after the baptism Carlmai comes hurring in. We go and tell him that Johnny was already baptized and we could just see his face fall as he realized that he was too late. My heart broke. Carlmai served a mission and then faced a lot of struggles when he came home and is just recently starting t ocome back to church consistantly and he was so excited to be able to baptize his cousin, then an accident. i know there will be other opprotunities but it still hurt. As I conducted, "I Am a Child of God" and I could hear the few but loud voices sing the words, I lost it and just cried. It was such a good baptism, just so full of joy and hurt at the same time. Carlmai was able to confirm Johnny in Marshallese on Sunday and it was great.
We have started teaching a man, Gilbert, and he is amazing! We first met him and talked for a bit just in his garage and then we scheduled a return appointment. We go back for the return appointment and find out that 2 days after we first met him some drunk kid was messing around and ended up crashing into his parked car (totalling it) which then hit his stone wall and knocking that over which also damaged another car in the process. I think there were some opposing forces working against us to make him busy to not be able to meet with us. Well we set up another time to come. And he was home and we shared the Restoration. He loved it, he doesn't quit believe everything yet beut he wants to find out for himself what is ture and not so he is reading and praying about the Book of Mormon to know that it is true and that Joseph Smith was God's chosen prophet in these latter days. Through everything that is going on in hsi life he still manages to remain positive and remember that God would never give hims something that he could not handle.
We did splits and I went to Hanalei and it is so beautiful over there. The sisters there have been working a lot with the Spanish people and miracle of the split... We were having a lunc/lesson with a recent convert who speaks Spanish and broken English. We have a translator there who helped a lot in the lessons leading up to his baptism. So the Hanalei Sisters have been struggling to have this recent convert read the Book of Mormon. We talked and we got to know him and then I read a scripture in spanish, which was really fun! Then I had to explain it in Englis hbecause my Spanish is super rusty and I wasnt even very good to begin with. Well after the scripture I start to bear my testimony of the book of Mormon in English and the translator looks at me and tells me to say it in Spansish. I told them it might be wrong but ill try. So I did my best and told him that The Book of Mormon is true. For me, when I read it I feel peace and my Savior's love. The nBook of Mormon has helped me so much in my life. And that was about it. Well as I finished, he stands up and says, "Ok, now I will read it!" Sister Talanoa, my comp for the day, was in shock! They had been trying to have him do that for the past month or so. I was so glad that iwaqs able to help and be able to use my little spainish! Man it reminded me of how much I love Hispanic culture! Just another miracle that God has shown me!
A less active mom and daughter we had dinner with. They love to talk and the mom has been coming back t ochurch recently because in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is where she has felt loved. Well we went over and had dinner with them and they are amazing people hwo are trying so hard to be good and help those around them. Well at the end of dinner I ask the daughter if she would like to come to church with us again and she hesitated liek she was going to say no and then she says, "You know what?, ya I would!" As we drive away my companino, Sister Broomhead, tells me that the last time they had dinner over at their house the daughter said that she would never step foot back into the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints... she came to churhc yesterday and really enjoyed it! Sometimes all it takes is an invite with love!
Duggy: probably one of my favorite people here. His wife is a member and missionaries have been working on him for years. He absolutely loves Sister Duke (my trainter) and Sister Clayson (who I lived with on Oahu). We had dinner with them this past week and went into their house and sang kareoke, I found out later that Sister Broomhead has never been invited inside they always sit outside... Well, we talked about various gospel principles and he said that he believes everything we believe, but he avoided the question of what was holding him back from being baptized. He said that he would come to church, he didnt because of the crazy rain, lighting, and thunder we had the night before. Well we went over after church and talked with him and he is giong to start reading the Book of Mormon and actually praying about it this time around. he told us that he had read parts before but he had never prayed and I told him then he missed the whole purpose of redaing the book. He is amazing just loves missionaries and I feel like his time is soon! He likes to give me a hard time and calls me 5'10 becaues Im so tall. Ill keep you updated on him :)
Fun for the week: Ward Christmas Party! I definately looked like an elf! I had on my red and white stripped skirt, (thianks mom!) and then a green shirt, bell eawrlings and then I put those bells that normally go on doors in my hair and it was great! There was so many people and it was a lot of fun. Ilove this time of yeawr :)
Ok will that is about it for me! Updates, Ace from makakilo is getting bapitzed this Saturday! Christmas is coming and it is still 80degrees. Ilove it here! I know the churhc is true. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and will bring happiness into anyones life if they are willing to read, ponder and pray about the message it contains. I know we have prophets on the earth today! God is good Always! I love you all! Yakwe yuk! Pweko pweko yuk! Ofa atu! Aishiteru! Alofa ia te oe! Mahal kita! Te amo! Aloha wau ia oe!
Love Always,
Sister Cassidy Jean Lang
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