Sister Danielle Heath: The Thing That Will Be of Most Worth Unto You Will Be To Declare Repentance Unto This People~D&C 15&16

July 9, 2018

On Tuesday I was able to meet my new companion Sister Lavaka. She is from Kihei, Maui. She is Tongan and super awesome! I was a little stressed out the first day trying to do everything perfectly right but things got better.

We visited an investigator that I have gone on a walk with before with his dog and Sister Nichalson. We just talked a little bit. This time he was washing his car but was willing to talk to us. He said he had a question he's been wanting to ask. He wanted to know what Joseph Smith had to do with our church. So we taught the Restoration really quickly. He was interested but when we asked if we could come back he didn't want to commit. He feels like he isn't ready even though he likes learning about other religions...but he did ask if you can buy the Book of Mormon online. We told him he could have the one we had. We read the invitation with him to read, ponder, and pray about the book. So we hope he does that and feels the spirit.

Saturday was an eventful day. In the morning we visited Uncle Gideon who we see once a month. He is very slowly coming back to church. He never went or listened when he was young so we are trying to teach him but he has a very hard time paying attention. He is so funny to talk to because of his strong personality.

We also visited with Brother Richards who is less active and he is really funny too. We read the Book of Mormon with him and explained it as we went because he has a hard time understanding. He won't come back to church yet but we hope to help him start reading more.

Across the street is Kimo who is another investigator we have been working with...he wasn't there for our appointment on Thursday so we decided to stop by. We were able to sit down and talk for a little while but he wasn't feeling well. He had a cough and he loves to laugh so it wasn't a good combination. He was really sweet about it though. We read a scripture and invited him to keep trying to read and to pray.

Then we headed to the Waimanalo ward dinner in honor if Father's and Mother's day. I expected it to be something small, but it was a big event and a lot of people came. It was from 6-9 and we showed up at 7. Everyone was telling us to hurry and grab food before it was gone. So we were able to get some food and enjoy live music from our talented members. There was also a presentation for two of our oldest members(I think). Auntie Momi who is 92 and still plays music at Dukes in Waikiki. And Brother Kaio who is 85 and has always been hard working.

Sunday Sister Lavaka was asked to speak in Olomana at 1. But when we got to Waimanalo ward we were on the program. I completely forgot that we were asked to speak. Luckily we had some time to put our thoughts together. Sister Lavaka went first and she did so good. She was such a natural! She introduced herself and read the quote on the front of the program which was Our Missionary Commission. I just shared some thoughts from my recent studies about being encircled in the arms of safety through Christ (Alma 34-14-16) and how declaring repentance is the thing that will be of the most worth in this life (D&C 15-16).

In Olomana it was really great because Uncle Gideon came. (The day before he said his wife has been bugging him so much about church that he would come. He apparently wasn't in the mood for a lesson so he said he would come early to church and we could share something with him). So we shared briefly about prophets. I'm not sure if he learned anything because we were just in the back of the chapel. But I guess it's better than nothing. Everyone was surprised by what we've done because of his strong personality but since we are sisters he feels the need to be kind to us.

There was a couple that has started coming to church. The husband is a less active member and the wife isn't a member. So we ended up teaching the wife during 3rd hour. We were able to get to know her more. She had a rough upbringing but is such a good person. She had questions about the gold plates so we were able to teach the Restoration. We also talked about the spirit and she was glad to know what the feelings were that she has experienced. We invited her to study the restoration pamphlet and we could answer any questions next week. They live out of our area but will keep coming to church. So that was really exciting. Uncle Gideon and this couple were both brought in by one of our members who used to be bishop. The best and most effective missionary work is through the members.

Well that's about it!

Aloha,

Sister Heath