The best kind of busy is with the work of the Lord

October 29, 2018

Last week Monday we had dinner with the Makaiwi's. After dinner Bro. Makaiwi showed us some of his art. He created a Japanese style painting from a huge fish he caught. He also showed us hats he has made from palm tree fronds. Sister Sakai wanted to know how so he taught her and brought her own palm fronds home to try. She did pretty good except the friend was a little old so it was harder to weave.

Tuesday after district council we were able to practice our musical number for Zone conference. It was really great because we were able to borrow a cello from a member so Sister Sakai could add that beautiful tone to the number.

The rest of the day we were running around like crazy trying come home and do studies but then needed to leave to visit people that we didn't plan for! Haha

Wednesday we had interviews in Honolulu. It was my last interview and it went well. No tears just talking about the next chapter of my life and advice that President had for me. My favorite was keep living the pattern I've learned on my mission of prayer, scripture study, serving, and attending the temple. 

We were able to meet Kalai finally for a lesson. We haven't been able to meet since I got here but he has been coming to church. He is the sweetest person I know and he loves the gospel. He is just taking baby steps and doesn't want do commit to baptism quite yet. The reason we are teaching him is because a young woman from our ward shared the Book of Mormon with him. He has found so much guidance from the Book of Mormon. 

Afterward we were able to have dinner with the new senior couple the Scholes. The took us to La Tour Cafe. It's a cute place with lots of good options. I had an eggplant parmesan panini and it was ro die for! It was great to talk to them. You can feel their love and spirit! They offered to help us with visits after dinner which was great because we had a lot of people we wanted to visit and a lesson we needed to go to. They went with Sister Soga to the lesson and Sister Sakai and I went ro visit a few people. We weren't very successful but were able to see people which was good. We heard the lesson went really well!

Thursday morning the sisters from Ewa Beach asked if we could go on splits with them. But we had committed to do visits with one of our ward members. We decided to drop Sister Soga off with the member so she could go on visits with our member. Then we drove to Ewa Beach and split with the Sisters. The sister I went with her name is Sister Huskey. We went do visit someone with a member that is a standing appt but she wasn't sure if the lady would be home. She was and we had a good discussion. I didn't have much to contribute and wasn't going to share anything. But I decided I should at least testify of what had been said. I testified of the Book of Mormon and the importance of praying to know it is true and recognizing the spirit. I asked if she has felt the spirit. She said it is a warm feeling. I asked her experience and she said she was reading a book one night and she had this feeling. I asked what book and the said the Book of Mormon, I know it's true! That was a special experience to be a part of. I'm glad in the guidance of the spirit!

Later we were able to visit Richard. He wrote an awesome poem about not letting things bring you down. I told him he should rap it! Haha He was able to read the Book of Mormon which we were stoked about. He also got approval to come to church. Woohoo!

Later, we had dinner with the Keanini's and we went over to Safeway to get Gelati for dessert. When we were there I saw a guy with Ben&Jerry's in his cart. He said it's on sale 3 for 5$! So we headed over there and picked out a few flavors...so cheap! And so spoiled! And lucky! 

Friday was my last Zone conference. It was really great. Our musical number went really well (Come into Christ). It was so weird standing at the front when they sang Aloha Oe and I said goodbye to everyone. I was like...is this real?

Saturday was Sister Soga's birthday. Sister Sakai and I got up super early to decorate which is pretty hard to do secretly when you sleep so close! But we pulled it off.

Sister Soga's wish was to carve a pumpkin so we were able to do that with one of our members and have lunch. It was pretty fun!

That night we had a lesson with Kaya and we brought our zone leaders because they are over YSA. The lesson went pretty well. We were able to figure some more of his concerns. We taught about the Plan of Salvation.

On Sunday we were able to have 3 people we are teaching come to church which we were really excited about.

We had another lesson with Lonnie and we had 2 of our members come. They were able to answer his questions from the information he found online. He is still not sure but it was great to have them there. We hope he will read the Book of Mormon and look at our sites to resolve his concerns.

We had a lesson with Diana who met with missionaries before. We didn't know what to expect but she is so ready to be baptized. She just needs  an extra push to live the Word of Wisdom. Her daughter Karmalina asked randomly in the lesson if she could be baptized. Her mom said she wants her to learn more before that. We are so excited for them. But they are currently going to another church for some reason even though Diana knows our church is true...she wants to work on her husband too.

Today we went to the thrift shop with Elder and Sister Scholes which was fun and we also went to Nanding's Bakery afterward for Spanish rolls... sooo good!

That's about it!

Aloha,

Sister Heath

Bro. Makiwi's sweet painting

 Bro. Makiwi's weaved hat

 lesson with Kala'i and his friend Zion

Dinner with the Keanini's

so much ice cream! (Our members love us and we love them!

 our carved pumpkins (mine is the turtle)

Live Aloha

October 22, 2018

Tuesday we were able to walk around a little bit to talk to people. We met a guy named Jarvis. He had just gotten home and was really nice. He said his friend is a member and he's been to church before. He accepted a BOM, we invited him to read the introduction and he accepted a return visit so that was awesome.

Later that night we had another lesson with Jill. We talked about Christ, Heavenly Father, how the gospel can bless our lives, and a little about prophets and we tied it into the Book of Mormon. We invited her to read a scripture about prayer with her daughter before bed and for them to pray together. It went really well.

Then we hurried over to the chapel so we could exchange. Sister Soga and I stayed with Sister Niualiku. Sister Sakai went to Aliamanu/Pearl Harbor Hickam with Sister Thurgood.

Wednesday morning we were able to play ultimate frisbee which is always fun!

We also had another lesson with Richard and he was able to watch 3 conference talks. He watched the first 3 and he got a lot of church business but he liked the talk about doing hard things.

We also met with Abby. She just started high school and is super sweet and bubbly. She has seen a huge improvement in her life since she met the missionaries a few weeks ago and learned more about God. She is awesome! She had a huge band competition and said she would bring her Book of Mormon so she could read it in her down time!

That night we went to visit someone we found the week before but he was sleeping. We were able to talk to his step son Kaya though. He is 20 and super nice. He said that he recently thought about coming back to church since its been a while so that was great. We gave him a Book of Mormon and invited him to read. He said he would come to church on Sunday but he wasn't able to make it...maybe next week.

Saturday we had a fun relief society Super Saturday with crafts for Christmas. They had cute quite boards that we were able to make, they sewed goodie bags to put waffle mix in to give out, they make silicone bead binki holders, they demonstrated how to used Instant pots, and were sewing blankets for elderly I think. I love crafts so I had a great time. We had some Less-active members there which was wonderful and it was great to interact more with the members! The soup they made in the instant pot was delicious too (I had broccoli cheddar)

We had to rush over to the park where we met Cicero last week after the activity. He was very patient with us. We sang how great thou art and he taught Sister Soga the chords. We had a good discussion but he sadly only skimmed the Book of Mormon and most of his questions weren't about it. He is very passionate when he speaks about religion. After our discussion we invited him to read certain parts of the Book of Mormon and pray about it. He accepted. He also took us to lunch which was super sweet! 

We had a potluck at the McMillan's that night because a member named Shyla is leaving for her mission...she is going to the Philippines so that was great food and we were able to sit down this time. We also were able to talk to a lot of people which was great.

Sunday after church we had a great lesson with the guy we met in our building. His name is Lonnie. He is in the military. He is on his path back to worshipping recently and is so open to our message. At the end of the lesson he promised us that he would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it for sure!

Today we were able to go to Sister McMillian's house because she helped me make a dress...she is the best!

That's about it!

Aloha,

Sister Heath

 frozen yogurt!

Piano we found that someone is throwing away...had to play it

Care Package from the youth...thank you!

My new dress and Sister McMillian

cute signs we made for super saturday

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not fear not." D&C 6:36

October 15, 2018

Last week Monday we were able read the Book of Mormon with a family we are teaching. The son was baptized about a month ago and the parents plan to be baptized in December. We could feel the spirit of peace when we read and we testified this is what we are promised when we read. It was really great.

Tuesday we went to the library to meet a guy that we were going to share a message with. He said he would meet us outside. After a few minutes of waiting we started talking to this other guy and his kid who was running around and trying to find lizards to catch. He was super cute. So we ended up giving him a Book of Mormon. He didn't want to give us his information but said he would come to church so we have him that information. We came to the conclusion that the other guy ditched us...haha

Later on we ended up walking the streets to find people to talk to and they were really nice. We started talking to a guy watering his yard and plants. He didn't seem to want to talk to us. But after a while we found out he was married to a member but still believes in Scientology but maybe there is a higher power... We asked him to pray if God is there and set a time to come back and he gave us his phone number!

Wednesday we were able to to service at Pearl Harbor. We were able to dust it wasn't too exciting but our people from our district made it fun. 

We went to see Richard on Thursday and the lady who answered the door said he was sleeping but as we were walking away he came out so that was nice. I was sad that we weren't going to be able to see him. He was able to pray about baptism and wants to be baptized on Dec 1! He also said he wants to watch all of conference since he missed it which is great!

Saturday we were able to talk to one of the tenants in our building and we were surprised when he accepted our invitation to share a message! We were supposed to meet later on Saturday but he ended up being busy. We asked if 4:30 on Sunday would be good but he didn't respond. We were out visiting people with our member and he called us. He was waiting for us...I kicked myself for not being there but maybe it will be better to meet this week! We are excited that he is keeping in contact!

We went to the park later to try and find people to talk to and we met a group that had just finished playing ukulele. We aked what they were playing and they told us gospel music so we were like...can we learn. The took us to the pavilion where their pastor was and two others. He played and we sang a few songs together. Then he let Sister Sakai practice what we share since she hasn't been out that long. We ended up sharing about the gospel and Christ establishing his church, it being changed, and Joseph Smith restoring it. The Preacher had a lot to say. He told us a bunch of scriptures from the bible and said how Christ is the gospel and that we are saved through him when we accept him. We were able to give him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read it...we hope the spirit will testify to him when he reads it! We will find out on Saturday!

Sunday was good but we only had one person we are teaching come to sacrament but it was exciting that he was there...we haven't been able to meet with him yet so it was good. We taught the 16-17 year olds Sunday school which he and his friend were in so that was good.

Today we played pickle ball with our members and elders. It was my first time and it was pretty fun!

We also played a little basketball and shot some need guns later in the day. It was a good active p-day!

I'm so grateful to be a part of this wonderful missionary work! I have grown so much and have been able to help others as well. I love this gospel with all my heart! If you haven't shared something with someone this week I invite you to do so...blessings come and it feels so good to share with others. It coukd be a scripture, a Mormon message, or your simple testimony.

Aloha!

Sister Heath

Gelato!

Pearl Harbor

The best way to live your life is being led by the spirit

October 8, 2018

Last week Monday we met a family that hasn't been to church in a while. The husband was working on renovating the house because it's just the two of them and they want to rent it out. It's actually really big and nice. They want to rent it out to missionaries but it isn't quite done yet. There are 2 bedrooms with their own bathrooms. It was really good to talk to them too. We hope we can see them at church!

Tuesday after district council we moved from our 2 story townhouse to what they call the Twin Towers in Pearl City. It is a studio apartment on the 41st floor so a little different. 

We met a referral from an Elder in Honolulu West. The lady actually recognized him as an Elder and talked to him. She has met with missionaries before but got really sick and lost contact when they transferred. She is super sweet and is part Japanese and so she has fun speaking some Japanese to brush up. We shared the Book of Mormon with her and invited her to keep reading and praying. She is really awesome!

We tried harder to talk to everyone that we saw and found quite a few people that didn't turn us away so that was great! We are excited to go back and share more with them this week!

One day we were walking around visiting people and talking to everyone and we were walking up a street and I felt like we shoukd go back but I didn't understand why because we didn't get to where we were planning to go. We were able to talk to a guy but he wasn't interested and then I decided to listen to the promptings. On the way back we saw this lady and her dog outside and started talking to her. Come to find out she is looking for her home church. She said that God has spoke to her so many times. That was really special and somehow I still hesitate to listen to the first prompting I receive...I'm still learning I guess.

This weekend was General Conference which was awesome but very tiring since it is broadcast at 6am here. And Saturday night our neighbor was knocking on the door for at least an hour.. it was really weird. But I coukd hear what I thought was security so I figured they were taking care of the situation.

I forgot to have my notes with me from conference so I will have to share what I liked next week.

That night we visited a family that came to church last week because an Elder that served here came back to visit. We met the daughter and asked to share a scripture and her friend was there too so we will be able to share more with them next week! So cool! As we were talking to them outside there was a family from the other side of the apartment complex that said hi sisters. We didn't know who it was so we went to see if we could find them. We went to the third floor and found who it was. There was a girl visiting from Utah who us a member but her auntie doesn't go to church anymore but let us in so hopefully we can go back and help them feel the spirit again.

That's about it!

Aloha,

Sister Heath

Sister Soga, me, and Sister Sakai

 our little apartment

my cute companion that bought this candy bar since its my last name so she could try it

Training, Trio, Testifying, and Tidying

October 1, 2018

I met my new companion that I'm training on Tuesday. She is from Japan but speaks really good English. She went to BYUI before her mission. She is an amazing missionary. She doesn't even need to be trained! She is very musically talented too.

We were able to visit a returning member who just started coming back to church and he is pretty excited about it. We hope he can get active and we can help his family desire to know about the gospel.

That night we had an appointment with a lady the sister met on the street. She is super nice. She lets us into her house and was talking to us while she was making dinner. She doesn't really have a religious background but is searching now. We were able to share the Book of Mormon and invited her to read and pray about it. She said she would so that was great.

We did a lot of cleaning this week, it seems that no one has cleaned or gotten rid of things in a long time. And we will be moving to another place so we have to go through everything! We also have spent a lot of time studying, we have extra studies for new missionaries and langauge study. But we were able to visit and talk to a few people.

We had a lesson with someone that is recovering from addiction. He was awesome, we were talking and then he was like, let's start with a prayer. We read about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the teaching pamphlets we have and he read most of it. We focused on Faith and Repentance. It went really well.

Later on we visited a 13 yr old girl who is preparing to be baptized this month. She has some family that we members I think. Next week we hope we can teach her Auntie and have them come to church.

Thursday we helped one of members put on an activity for an apartment with older folks. We made different kinds of Halloween bags and cards. It was fun and good to talk to others.

We had an appointment with a couple who is learning. The wife wants to be baptized on their anniversary and the husband said he wants to as well. They just need some help with the WoW. We told them about a program we can teach them and they are excited to learn! (Their son was baptized about a month ago.)

Friday morning we stopped by a member that hasn't been to church in a long time. After we were talking for a few minutes I got a little frustrated because she sounded like she was full of excuses but I prayed for help. She opened up to us and we were able to share the video Prince of Peace and I think it helped her. She is overwhelmed with a lot of things. It is amazing to see the spirit work within people.

Later on we read the Book of Mormon with the same couple we met with the day before. They were excited to start from the beginning and they really want to understand it which was great!

We visited another returning member and Sister Sakai followed the promptings of the spirit to share a video about Families being Together Forever. It really touched the members heart and she expressed the desire to be sealed in the temple. Sister Sakai also shared a scripture about angels being around her to help her because Satan wants to drag us down (D&C 84:88) The member really liked that scripture. It was a great visit.

We were able to do a missionary moment for the elders on Saturday for their baptism (a member in YSA). His mom and grandma came who aren't members and it was great to see their support. We prepared to share a video that is called Discovering Truth and it's from Elder Utchdorf. He shares a story and relates it to knowing truth through God and the gospel. We invited everyone to seek truth or help someone find truth. After the baptism was over the mom expressed thanks for all the support. The son was trying not to be emotional. You could tell he felt the spirit so strong! It was really special. 

Afterward we went to a members house for a Potluck. It was for a missionary that served here about a year and a half ago and he came with his wife. I actually met him briefly before he left. He picked our group up from the airport. His name is Brother Lybbert. He was born in Moses Lake and I made that connection when we first met. Come to find out he moved away and his parents moved back during his mission. And his wife was born and raised in Moses Lake and was baptized last year by him... so cool! I was able to talk to her for a while. She did dance at the same place I did. We will both be at BYUI winter semester so I'm sure we will meet up! 

We had a good Sunday as well. A lot if our returning members came to church but none of the people we are teaching that haven't been baptized... hopefully next week.

We went on 1 of the 1 hikes here in Pearl City this morning. It was pretty muddy but good exercise. There were 2 caves which was cool but one of them I couldn't see so I hit my head pretty good!

Well that's about it! 

Aloha,

Sister Heath

Going into the cave with Sister Sakai

At the top of the hike with Sister Soga and Sakai

At church...students from BYUH who served missions in Japan and Sister Soga's friend