I Will Go, I Will Do‏

Malo e lelei and aloooo-ha!

This week has been really... exhausting. Tiring. Crazy. Blessed. (:

On Tuesday, we had our first after baptism lesson with Kelliann. It was sad, though, the Dad (who is against the church and is a less active member) changed work shifts again. With Kelli starting school, and the schedule change, we will not be able to see Kelli often. Her Mom is not very happy about it, because she is really set on Kelli growing her testimony. We know they are faithful, though, and that as they exersize their faith the Lord will provide. Sister Mitchell and I keep reminding them of that! Crossing our fingers!

Wednesday was a crazy emotional day. It was transfer day, and Sister Mitchell and I had to drive a car to Honolulu, meaning we were able to say goodbye to many of our friends, including Sister Harris (may she rest in peace). After our goodbyes, and meeting a few of the new missionaries in the zone, we had a lesson with Emilene. We spoke on the importance of baptism! Just a reminder on Emilene's story: She was supposedly baptized in high school in Samoa. Funny thing is, nobody has any record that it happened. She needed to be re-baptized! So we talked to her about how our Savior, Jesus Christ, the most perfect man that ever walked the Earth, set the example for us. That WE have more need than HE to be immersed in water, and to take on the covenant to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. Emilene's testimony has strengthened, and she was definitely ready for her baptism (:

On Thursday, we had a pretty normal day of tracting and making visits. It was Sister Mitchell's year mark, so shout-out to her for that milestone! :D We did service for about 4 hours at a man named Brother Greenwood's house, and boy can that man talk! He told us of his many adventures around the world with his wife, and how we as youngin's need to explore. He said "How can you change the world if you don't go out and see it?" I have a lot of traveling to do after my mission! (:

That night, we went out with our Bishop, Bishop Aken, to make visits to a family who just started investigating not too long ago. They're the Haro family, they have 2 daughters, have lived everywhere due to military assignments, and have welcomed us in since the beginning. We took Bishop to see them, and we were hesitant. We hadn't been able to make contact with them for 2-3 weeks, and weren't sure how they would react to us bring Bishop Aken with us. We went around 6:30pm, and as we rang the doorbell we were met by 2 excited Haro girls saying "I KNEW it would be you 2!". We were invited in, and they made us a big old plate of spagetti and welcomed all three of us in (: As we talked with them, Bishop clicked with each one of them immediately. They all have family in the military, know a lot of the same people, ect. It was a true miracle, and the Spirit was there from the start. About 45 minutes later, Bishop asked them if we could share a message. They quickly agreed, and Sister Mitchell and I both knew it was resto time! We went right into it, and the Spirit grew stronger. We taught of prophets, God's love for us, the Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith. We challenged them at the end of the lesson to pray for themselves, to know if these things were true. They agreed, and Cassandra looked at us and said "You know, I've been getting a lot of weird feelings lately. I've been thinking about death, and what happens after this life." Both Mitchell and I looked at each other, grinning, and told her we would come over this week and teach her the plan that God has for each of us, the plan of salvation, the ultimate plan of happiness. It was music to our ears! It was a great lesson, and it truly strengthened my testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost!

Friday we had a brief zone meeting, where we made transfer goals as a district and as a zone. We got to know each other better, and bond as a zone for the first time. We have 3 greenies in our zone, and many new faces, it was a much needed meeting. The rest of the day was pretty normal, but stressful, preparing for the baptism!

On Saturday, we were able to witness Emilene's baptism! She didn't want many people there, just a simple baptism service. There was only a handful of people there (a majority of them being missionaries) but the Spirit was strong. Small but mighty (: Emilene was radiating with the light of Christ as she entered the font, and once Brother McMoore brought her out of the water, she had the biggest grin on her face and gave him a big hug. It was so beautiful to see!

Sunday was a spiritual day, as usual. We had the unexpected but welcomed opportunity to teach gospel principles 2nd hour of church. It was on sacrifice! We talked a lot about how much we sacrifice as disciples of Christ. Whether it's 18 months to serve a mission, many hours of the week to fulfill a calling, or a few moments to help someone with their family history work, we sacrifice daily. Really, though, Christ and Heavenly Father has made the biggest sacrifice for US. Christ gave His life. Heavenly Father gave us His son. I know that because of this marvelous act of love that was performed, we are able to live with our families forever. Heavenly Father, He has everything we can give Him. But, as we sacrifice things to serve, as we turn it all over to the will of our Father, He will bless us immensely. I know this church is true, and that this is God's work upon the Earth. I am blessed to have been given this chance to sacrifice so little time to serve for such a large cause. 

I love you all so much, and thank you for everything. Have a great week! (:

~Sister Nori

Emilene and Xavier