Diligent missionary work brings people to the gospel

September 24, 2018

Last week we hiked Lanikai pillbox as a district. It was a good workout...we all felt pretty out of shape... The view is beautiful. 

We were able to talk to a lot of new people this week and have some great appointments. We have 4 new people to teach and 3 new people that have baptismal dates which is really exciting! 

It was amazing to see all the people we were led to this week to share a message with. We were also able to hear about the blessings they've seen in their life. Heavenly Father really does love and care for us!

We got transfer news on Saturday. I figured I was leaving but was hoping to go to Kauai. But, I am going to Pearl City! I will be training a sister from Japan and we will be in a trio with Sister Soga. I've been on exchanges with her when I was her STL. She is also from Japan and is a great missionary. Sister Hoffman that lives in our apartment served in Pearl City and loved it. So I am excited...a little stressed to train again but it will be good. I'm also thinking I might have to bring a humidifier with me since its so dry! Haha It will be interesting to serve on the other side of the island! I'm happy there won't be as many mosquitos!

One of the people we are teaching was sad to hear that I was leaving so he finally came to church! I was so happy to see him there! I hope that his heart will soften to the gospel! 

One of the sisters that served here came back to work and is living with one of our members so we were able to eat dinner together so it was fun to catch up. Her name is Sister Sperry (I can't call her by her first name...haha) I actually came on exchanges to Olomana with her when she was my STL! Good times!

Well that's about all!

Aloha,

Sister Heath

 Chillin at the Pillbox

Our district made it to the top!

Sister Lavaka and I

Sister Hoffman and I at the beginning of the hike

Trying to do a cool pose on the pole

 Kimo came to church!

Motivate and Lift Each Other

September 17, 2018

Last week we were able to play some glow putt! It was pretty fun and the Elders in our district are goofballs. It's always weird to hear the music that they play there too.

We were able to have dinner with one of the new couples that moved in from California. They are the Adkins and they just got married like a year ago and they are in their 40s. They have a little baby that is about 2 months old. They are so cute! The wife served a mission in Spain and they both want to help us. They live next to a less-active member that served a mission too so hopefully they can get in contact.

Wednesday we went to pick up some cleaning supplies from the Elders and met their neighbor that we've heard about that knows all about the church but doesn't believe in organized religion. He said he knew Gordon B. Hinckley well. He has been all over the world. So that was interesting. 

That night we were able to talk to Nohea who used to be taught by the elders but felt really pressured to be baptized. But we were able to talk to her and she really opened up to us which was good. She knows that our church is true and wants to be baptized but doesn't feel ready so hopefully we can help her.

Thursday we were able to go on visits with Velu who just came home from his mission. He is super awesome and motivated. We visited a person that doesn't speak English very well and we haven't been able to see if he is interested. His name is Alejandro. So Velu was able to talk to him in Spanish and it was super great. He set an appointment for the next day.

Friday we were able to visit a few people with Velu. The lesson with Alejandro was good but hard because we weren't sure when we were suppose to talk and Sister Lavaka had no clue what was going on but I could follow some of what he said in Spanish. But he was able to commit Alejandro to read and come to church. 

Saturday morning we had a ward breakfast for the Waimanalo ward and it was sooo good! I had a loco moco and it was probably the best I've had (rice, hamburger patty, gravy, and an over easy egg) it was good to see everyone too and we were able to help out a little for a project they did. The project has been going on for a while, making toiletry bags for the homeless and filling them.

We tried something different and decided to borrow the sister's chalk and drew the Plan of Salvation on a busy sidewalk. Nothing came of it that we know of but it was fun. We hope some people saw it!

We were able to have a lesson with Arthur who used to meet with the missionaries and come to church. He seems to know a lot but we were able to review the Plan of Salvation with him. He said we could come back next week and hopefully his kids will be there and his brother said he will join!

That's about all! We are excited for all the appointments that we have this week! It should be a great last week of the transfer! 

Aloha!

Sister Heath

Learning the Rubix cube

creative finding...writing the Plan of Salvation on the sidewalk with chalk!

Ask for and follow the guidance of the spirit

September 10, 2018

Tuesday night last week we had exchanges. Our sister training leaders are from Waianae so it was a little drive and we exchanged earlier than usual because the sisters had an appointment. I stayed in Olomana/Waimanalo with Sister Hilton who came out 6 weeks after me. She is from Utah and is super musically talented and sweet. We visited a less-active family that we haven' t been able to see. It took a few minutes but we were able to talk to a young teenager named Sasha for a while and later her older sister came out and we were able to share a message about the Atonement. Sister Hilton also had a cute story that she read in the Ensign about rocks being tied to a little citrus tree. This was explained to the person that saw it who was a little confused that the rocks were put on the tree to help it be able to bear the fruit that it would have in the future. And just the same God gives us things that will bend but not break us. It went well. They seemed to open up and the rest of the family showed up and we were able to talk to 2 of the other girls who really want to come to church. So it was a really good visit.

Wednesday we had District Council which was really spiritual. We kind of had a testimony meeting of the blessings of being obedient. It was great to hear others experiences. I got a little frustrated because I couldn't think of a specific story to share like everyone else and I've been on my mission for a while. I was prompted by the spirit to go up even though I didn't know what to say. I got really emotional and talked about how I've had a hard time comparing myself to others and wanting to follow their example to be obedient. But that isn't what we are suppose to do because we each have our different talents so I am still learning how to be the best I can be. That's all I remember sharing. But everyone said they felt the spirit so that was good.

We met a lady this week that might be interested in learning. She goes to the 7th day adventist church and invited us to come to a dinner they have every friday for the people in the community. We invited her to the activity we were having on Saturday (Fish Fry) and she said she will think about it. So we went to dinner and it was a little uncomfortable but everyone was really nice so we had a good time. The lady that invited us said that her sister was really excited to come to the fish fry. It was something different so we hope something good comes out of it.

Saturday we had the Fish Fry which was really great. A lot of people came even non-members and we were able to talk to them and get their information. There was lots of fish and other food but unfortunately Sister Lavaka and I had a little bit too big of a lunch so we didn't have any more room for food.

Sunday was really spiritual. The speakers in Waimanalo ward were inspired with their message. We knew that it was for one of our members.

Olomana Ward was great too because a member just returned home from his mission in Chile. His name is Velu Recca. We have been hearing the countdown for a while. He is really motivated to continue doing missionary work. I was asked to give a 5 minute talk on the restoration and the spirit was really strong. Velu gave a great talk about many things but mostly about change and sharing the gospel. What a great start to this next week!

Aloha,

Sister Heath

Sister Hilton and I rescued a turtle that was in the road

Spiritual High!

September 4, 2018

This week was kind of sad because a lot of our appointments fell through. But we were able to meet and talk to some new people which is always good.

We also had interviews and President Bekker asked if I had any impressions about staying or leaving since at the end of this transfer I will have been here 6 months. I was like no...I just go where I'm told. I do feel like we are finally getting things going in these areas. So we will see what happens... 

Friday we had zone conference which was awesome. We did something different this time where we had a panel discussion of members from Kaneohe stake that are in leadership positions. President asked them questions about things they admire in missionaries and things they want us to be doing so that we can work better with them. We got some really good advice about calling ahead to have the members who are feeding us think and pray about someone they can invite. We also were instructed to be more excited and precise at ward council. 

This morning we were able to go to the temple and that was wonderful as always. I felt the spirit so strongly and I felt so much peace and was able to receive guidance on what should happen with the areas I am serving in. I am so grateful for temples!

After the temple we ate at Hukilau cafe. (I think they filmed part of 50 first dates there) It was pretty good! I has the Hukilau burger (patty, Teri beef, egg, grilled onions, cheese, tomato, lettuce) and fries. Then since it was so hot we went to Angel's ice cream and got shave ice. So good! 

Aloha!

Sister Heath

 The rainbow before Zone Conference in Laie