Thank goodness we have planners and journals, or else I literally wouldn't recall what happened in the last week haha. This past Monday was July 4th, and Americans celebrate it as Independence Day! So after our evening shift, all the VC sisters and the senior couples got together and had a BBQ/Potluck.  This was my first time celebrating 4th of July, but we didn't get to see any fireworks. :( At first, only a few sisters signed up to cook dishes, but when dinner time came, we had to get 3 tables to fit what everyone cooked! I love eating culturally diverse foods. And I cooked noodles too. I can testify how heated a kitchen gets when you have two sisters cooking different dishes and utilizing a tiny kitchen... but it all turned out yummy! 

Updates of people in our area(Laie 6th Ward):

1) Hua Yi is getting baptized this Saturday in San Diego! We can't wait to see pictures and continue to review the lessons with him after their family comes back. 

2) Royce is progressing a ton and he's scheduled for baptism next week Saturday! He's attending church regularly, and he has a super awesome childhood friend named Makena that will probably baptize him. How special is that? I loved hearing him say, "I feel like I've come a long way." The Spirit just works wonders, and helps us all to turn to God. When I think about a person's conversion, it takes more than just faith and repentance, but they have to surround themselves with good influences, like friends and family. And those factors make a world of a difference. We really can't do anything without the guidance of Heavenly Father.

3) We've tried to visit more members this week, and I just love hearing their testimonies too. Last Sunday was fast & testimony meeting, and several kids shared their testimony. I love that we can all be edified, no matter what age you are. Sister Furukawa and I went up too :)

Neat happenings at the VC:

1)Yesterday at about 5 Chinese tour buses came to visit the temple grounds, and I was ready! I thought about how scary groups of Chinese people were to me when I began my mission. But now, I know it's important to just share simple doctrine with them, testify, give them an opportunity to learn more, and love them. It also helps when they're nice to me too haha. I learn so much from Sister Lee, and how she talks to them. Our Chinese Simplified Book of Mormons have all been given away now!

2) I also met a couple visiting from Chengdu, and Brother Chen is actually a bishop over there in a church district. He knows Ni Shipeng (Elder Ni), who served in our ward back home. And it was so cool to hear his conversion to the gospel, and see pictures of faithful members there. The church is growing in China!

3) Online: Ann and David both wanted to meet with missionaries because their friends are members of our church. Just one person's example opens the door for many others to receive the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for us. I love sharing my testimony online, and helping them prepare to meet the local missionaries! 

4) Destine came to the VC from Jamaica in the end of May, and was super touched by the Spirit and peace she felt after she heard the Christus narration. The local missionaries labelled her as a potential investigator for the longest time, and recently, her status changed to "teaching." So I gave her a call and things are going so well! Usually when we make calls, we always remind people who we are, and we're calling from the VC. But she right away knew it was me, because I actually texted her the day before haha. She's thinking of preparing for baptism later this month. And I'm so grateful for the friendship we've built, and the Spirit that the local missionaries help her to feel. Teaching online is actually hectic because there are so many people to follow-up on and different time zones make calling difficult, but it's also so rewarding to help them understand more. The gospel is everything we need to have lasting happiness and can be applied in every aspect of life!

Other news:

1) I noticed that I've gotten much more tanned since I first got here. It's okay though, this is a healthy glow. Hahaha

2) The VC has a musical fireside coming up this Sunday, and all the sisters will be performing! Sister Lee and I will be playing a piano duet of "I Am A Child of God," and I'll be accompanying another piece. I love playing music.

3) The past week, several sisters have gotten sick and aren't feeling well, so we made extra precautions to keep a healthy immune system. Thankfully, Sister Furukawa and I are just doing fine. :)

Quote of the week: 

“Sacrifice is made sweet to us when we treasure the joy it brings to another heart.”

—President Henry B. Eyring

Sister Furukawa made homemade sushi, and I cooked those noodles on the right! Dragon noodles, they're called. But I don't actually know if it's Chinese food or American Chinese food haha

Just two of the tables of yummy food!

Drive back from the mall last preparation day. Hawaii is beautiffullll. 

Sophie with her friend. Sophie was visiting China (forgot where) and took all the materials and a few temple cards too. I asked her why, and she said, "because you said there aren't any temples in China, so I wanted to share these with my friends." How sweet is that!