Michelle + Hawaii: March 2016

You know how last week Sister O'Connor passed away? We really only talked with her less than a few sentences because by the eWell we were teaching another less active sister named Sister Keama every Tuesday night, and we visited her last Tuesday. But she passed away Thursday evening and we found out from her granddaughter Friday morning. Imagine us, waking up at 6:30, reading this news. I just started crying because I couldn't help it. I've never had to experience grief over the passing of someone I personally knew. She was definitely a character, she was honest, hilarious, and loving. Sister Blackner and I were both in shock, but we feel at peace knowing that she's in a better place. She was just coming to understand the Book of Mormon stories more, and getting ready to come to church this past Sunday. Her husband is even less active than her, and when we visited him on Saturday, he said he wanted us to keep visiting him and to share more with him. Nobody in her family except for her oldest daughter is active in the church, and we know that her example had such a profound influence on her family. We kept tearing up when we heard Brother Keama explain the details of that night.

We will never quite understand Heavenly Father's timing, but it's okay. Just the example she set in having the desire to strengthen her relationship with God and coming back to church has helped Brother Keama. I'm so grateful for the plan of happiness and for the opportunity we had to be Sister Keama's friends. This experience definitely helped us re-define our purpose here. I still have to write in my journal about it... #thestruggleisreal.

On another note, our investigator Bryan is currently MIA. We had a pretty brief lesson with him this week and did our very best to make sure he was awake to come to church on Sunday, but no show. I've never realized how important church attendance was until I served a mission, but this is one of those times I just want to shake all my understanding into his head. Unlike most people, who have family and friends to support them, he doesn't have any close family around, and we're not sure about friends either... we're trying to help him gain his own testimony, and answers that are deeply rooted. Brother Long, who's a neurologist, came with us to the lesson and said Bryan might have schizoaffective disorder.

Kahea, the other girl we've been teaching a bit, we haven't been able to see this week, but we had a good long talk with her dad. She's a young mother and still trying to figure out who she is and what she wants with her life, and we're helping her understand her potential and identity as a daughter of God. He told us he was really glad we're here for her because we're good influences haha. We love the people in Hawaii, even though he isn't particularly interested in learning about the gospel, he always treats us with such kindness. He invites us for dinner and says we're always welcome to hang out with their family and do paddling or something after our missions haha.

We had a super awesome Zone Meeting on Friday and it was about handling discouragement and asking inspired questions when we teach. Little did the STLs and ZLs know just how badly Sister Blackner and I needed it. You think you're a good listener, then you come on a mission, then you realize there's so much more to listening than you think haha. Thankful for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us know what to ask, and how to help others resolve their concerns. We're trying to do more tracting to find, and it's going not bad so far. :) Sunday was a day of surprise: Brother Crump came(he's only been at church like once since we've been here), Brother Fatiaki and Tasi(daughter) came for the first time we've been here, and a few other sisters that haven't been here in a while. We're trying to help our investigators progress and it's been kind of rough, but just taking one step at a time helps so much.

Easter is coming up and the church came out with a new initiative! You should check it out :)

https://www.mormon.org/easter

There are two videos and they're a little cheesy but I love it. Because Jesus Christ was resurrected, all of us can be resurrected again one day. :) It's also a great time of the year because General Conference is coming up and I can't wait to receive counsel from the prophet and other general authorities.

It was a sweet event

Sister Meyer, Relief Society President

Pictures printed! Didn't get cool pictures this week because we're always out and about...but trying to take more pictures haha.

Love,

Sister Wu

7:42:00 PM
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The journey is the reward

Okay the I got the title from the wrapper of chopsticks we got from Panda Express today and thought it was a pretty accurate description of a mission. This week my emotions were kind of up and down. We started off the transfer on Wednesday strong by leaving our car at home and just walking to our appointments. It was actually really nice because this whole week has been really windy/breezy so we weren't scorched by the sun. We continued to teach our investigator Bryan, and he even attended a baptism with us on Saturday! He just left us hanging right after though, and didn't come to church even though he said he would. We were just super sad because we don't know how to help him understand the importance of keeping commitments or coming to church (even though we've already talked about it and he's always so happy to). And for us, it's so easy for us to be hard on ourselves because it feels like there's always more we CAN do to help him. But I realized that there are so many factors or circumstances that are out of our control, and everyone will have to exercise their agency - whether we like their choices or not. We want our investigators to progress and know for themselves if the gospel is true because we know there are so many blessings that they can receive, so much more peace in their lives. But we really can't control their actions.

But that's okay. Usually on Sunday, we have at least one less active sister that sits by us because we're taking her to church, and sometimes an investigator or two, but yesterday was sad because she was feeling sick, so we sat by ourselves :( On the bright side, Bowe and Kiona (Bishop Chun's grandsons, who we're teaching) came to church with their dad. The theme of this month is on the Atonement and two returned sister missionaries spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday. Both Sister Blackner and I just teared up a lot because what they said was pretty much exactly what we needed to hear. The enabling strength of the Atonement is what we all need to press forward through our trials. When we recognize how much help we really need, and the amount of trust we have in Heavenly Father, that's when we can just let go of our fears and burdens.

Sometimes I have nooo idea what we're doing, as we meet strangers, get to know them, and share what we know to be true. There are days when we feel like we aren't seeing the fruits of our efforts, even if we're obedient. But yesterday was honestly filled with tender mercies. One returned missionary was a missionary nurse in the Philippines, and she said that being a missionary is painful. Some of those missionaries contracted diseases that caused them to stay in the hospital for weeks, and they had to endure through the pain, but they learned that because they couldn't draw from their own strength, they had to rely on the strength of the Lord. Yesterday we also got a referral from Sister Wright, and she thinks her good friend will be receptive to the message we share :) And! Later on in the afternoon, after we tried to visit a family who wasn't at home, we talked to a girl that looked around our age, not even knowing that she was actually a member who should be coming to our ward, but isn't. Tiffany is really cool, and she has medical condition that causes her to be in a lot of pain all over her body. I love what she shared with us about how she realized that when her relationship with God was strong, she was able to cope with her pain better, and I know for a surety that's because of the strength we receive from the Atonement. We also got to know her husband, who's in the marine corps :) I definitely know sometimes we have no idea what we're doing, but if we're doing good, Heavenly Father sets things in place for us to find His children that need a little spiritual boost. :)

Being a missionary is emotionally, physically, and mentally draining. I joked the other day to Sister Blackner that the way we worry about the people we serve, the way we wonder how much more we can help them (whether it's spiritually, emotionally, etc), the way we love them, must be similar somehow to how we feel one day when we're parents. I hope that's a good thing, because it means we're developing our charity and showing Heavenly Father's love for them. There are some days we think we can do it all, and just be bold, but other days when we feel completely helpless because nothing is working out the way we expect. The experiences we have I will always cherish because as we become converted to Heavenly Father, we set the foundation we need to endure through the rest of our lives. To handle tough situations, to trust in Him when there's nothing else we can do.

We're also working with a new investigator named Kahea and she's got a little 5 month old baby. She said that being a mother helped her to be more responsible in life, now knowing she has to set the example for her child. She thinks we're cool, so she always says "yeah, let's cruise" (cruise is like local saying for hang out), and she says she'll teach us paddling when we come back after our mission. Anyway, we're going to continue teaching her and we have so much fun because she's close to our age too. :)

Side thought:

Last night and this morning was really surreal for me. A less active sister that we've been visiting, in her 70s, pretty much was really sick when we first met her, and was almost gone last night when we visited, and passed away this morning. I think it's because I've never watched someone go through the process of being really sick and then just gone. We visited her daughter and brought her Panda Express for lunch and we ate together for a while. Another friend we know, her older brother was pretty much hit badly by a speeding car late at night and is so badly injured all over his body. I realize just how precious every day is, especially with our families. That the time we have to spend with the people we love is limited, and it can be gone just like that. But I'm glad Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, so we have the chance to live together with our families and loved ones again.

P.S. Sorry I write a lot, just have a lot of thoughts and feelings sometimes haha. And I wish I had the time to write it all in my journal! Working on that..

Scripture of the week: Ether 12:27

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

My arm looks huge but I promise it's not that big.. Sister Blackner eating Vietnamese food for the first time!

Elder Morrey and Elder Meredith left the Zone this transfer

Sister Meyer above(Relief Society President) and Sister Tanuvasa for lunch

Sister Blackner getting jumped during March Madness (funny story actually) She really is a baller. I just went for back up in case she threw up (we were just eating dinner)

Kahea's family has a pet pig...her name is Spooky, she's a wild pig. So huge haha

Last night, since it was dark, one our way to the car, Sister Blackner stepped in the worst smelling poo ever. We had a lot of laughs, but I could not breathe...

I know this looks gross but it doesn't taste gross. It's called lau lau, and that stuff is ti leaves. It was interesting, but good.

Love,

Sister Wu

10:11:00 PM
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It's starting to feel like home

This week was transfers! Good news is both Sister Blackner and I are staying companions and in the Kaneohe 4th Ward! :) I'm not surprised but it's still good haha. And we had our first meeting with our new ward mission leader, Brother Long. He has a lot of great ideas for the ward to make sure they're doing member missionary work and "finding the one" through good fellowshipping. We love him and we're excited to work together.

Today also marks exactly 6 months since I've been on my mission. I can't even believe how quickly time has flown and how much I've learned. I'm trying to make every day count so I don't regret anything. Now that we've been in this ward for a month and a half, we definitely feel like we're part of this big family. Don't get me wrong, there's that feeling in every place we serve, but in Laie there was no time to get to know the members as much as here in full-field. There are the moments that I'm treasuring, like something a kid says to us sadly "are you leaving?", or learning from the strong examples of members and non-members alike. A sister that's in a leadership position in the ward shared with us how difficult it is sometimes for her to see her own kids fall away from the teachings of the gospel. She's got a husband who's so active in church, sometimes moreso than the active priesthood holders, that just isn't ready to join the church (after 20+ years of marriage), a son who's incarcerated because of addition, and a brother that pretty much caused chaos in the family and cut ties with them. She has just gone through all sorts of challenges and faced them with such strength. There were many times when she could have just stopped believing in God or walked away from the church, but she continued pressing forward. She continues to amaze us by magnifying her calling, taking care of her family, and us too. Sister Blackner said it so perfectly yesterday when we were talking with her, "If we didn't have any success while we're here, at least I know that we were meant to meet you and learn from your example."

These women are so so strong. They bear their burdens and trial with a lighter weight because of the enabling strength of the Atonement. We aren't meant to face these trials alone! We were teaching others the difference between being given something compared to receiving something. When we are given something, we don't make any effort to take it with gratitude, but when we receive, we appreciate the gift. That's how the Atonement works too, it's the most wonderful gift that our Heavenly Father has given us other than the fullness of the restored gospel. But in order to receive this gift and the enabling strength it can provide us, we have to exercise our faith by following his commandments and reaching out to Him in prayer.

Last week Friday, Sister Blackner suggested we park our car and walk up the long street to our next appointment. Somehow, we ended up talking to everyone we planned for that day and also got a red mark on our necks/shoulders from the hot sun haha. We're trying to do more walking so we can talk to more people on the streets (since we drive from one place to the next). Our investigator Bryan's mother passed away this week so we taught him the plan of salvation/happiness at Sister and Brother Kofford's home. He usually fidgets when we're there, but he didn't this time! So he's more comfortable with us, and he has such a sincere desire to come closer to God. We extended the invitation to be baptized and he readily accepted. Being a missionary is the best because we can see how much the plan of happiness meant to him; that it gives all of us a way to live with our families and with our Heavenly Father again. He had tears in his eyes and so did we haha. We also taught a less-active family's daughter the same lesson but with picture aids and little clear rocks so it'll be fun for her. It's such a blessing when kids actually listen and pay attention to us, and understand what we're teaching. Thank goodness for the Spirit's guidance haha. We jumped on their trampoline for a minute or two after.

The best things we learn on our mission is clearly what we want our future to have and what we do NOT want in our future. I think I will be forever grateful. Now that it's March, I can't wait for the next General Conference in April! And the General Women's Broadcast before that :)

Scripture of the week: Mosiah 4:27

"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength; And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."