Week 27-Transfer 3

Aloha y hola:)
Como estan?! Thanks for all the pictures mom. I wish I could print some of them in color. I love Tyson's bow tie:) He looks so cool:) He is so tall, Alexa's hair is so short and Maelie and Kason are so big! I'm so sorry Tiffany! I thought I had emailed you something. I will
get you something this week:) Congrats Alexa on your medallion! That is so exciting! You must be relieved mom:) Thanks for the recipes:) Any thing will do that doesn't use very many ingredients. Especially now that transfers are coming up and I will most likely lose my

cooking companion...

So this week has been pretty exciting:) We got a lot of Spanish chats. One of them was a member who kept using slang from Puerto Rico and computer slang:) I will know how to text in Spanish when I get home now:) Another guy came on our English chat and asked if we knew Spanish. He was super confused because he said some missionaries came by and invited him to their church and gave him this card, but the card was in English!  I asked if either of them spoke Spanish and he
said one of them was communicating but the other looked "mudo":) (dumb) haha, I'm learning so much on chat;) My companion has been so good about making sure I get my language study in. I mostly just read
the Book of Mormon out loud and go over any grammar principle that I am having issues with. Reading that book out loud has helped the most I know. I tend to read more when I get frustrated but It's amazing how much I am understanding when I read. Now if only I could speak like that:) I told Sis. Mckeever that I will just start quoting scriptures to every one and then it will be like I am fluent:) Good news in that department though that I think you will all appreciate:), Sis. Mckeever told me this morning that last night she woke up at 2 in the morning because I was sleep talking super loud and intense...all in Spanish! haha! Too bad I can't do that when I'm awake! At least I'm doing something right though, right?

One cool thing this week is that we found out that 4 of the people we have been working with are finally meeting with their local missionaries! One of the ladies is from India. We haven't been able to get a hold of her for like a month after we chatted with her and sent the missionaries to her. She finally found us on chat and went off about how grateful she was to have found this in her life and how she bore her testimony in Fast and Testimony meeting and how she feels so much closer to God now! She asked us where we were on our missions right now and when we told her she said that she hopes we will betransferred to India soon where she is:) Haha, that would be and exciting transfer:)

So yesterday, right after I took the picture with Jordan actually, this couple came in to the visitor center. We showed  them the Christus presentation which at the end says "if ye love me, keep my commandments" and right after the man asked, "What are His commandments?" "Well," we said "like the Ten Commandments." "What are those? Tell them to me." So I pulled out my handy dandy pocket sized Book of Mormon and began reading each one from Mosiah 13. He stopped at each one and made sure he understood them and then we started talking to them. We found out that He was a monk for 12 years. I'm not sure what religion they would be considered now but it was rather
interesting. A few times I had to stop myself from laughing:) Anyways, the woman was from Russia and Sis. Mckeever knows a little Russian so she said something to her and they instantly became best
friends...leaving me with the monk. They ended up staying for about an hour and each of them agreed to read the Book of Mormon. I was able to share all about the plan of Salvation and the Restoration. The spirit
was super strong as I was talking and I could tell he felt it, but then he would start in on His beliefs in a very matter of fact way which were interesting to say the least:) I am glad they were able to come in though. Hopefully they will feel the spirit as they read the Book of Mormon. and do as we asked them to do, to ask God if it is from Him, because it is either all true or it is not.

We also had some miracles happen over the phone. Both of these people had called in, one asking about some Health insurance (I don't remember if I told you about Mildred) and one wanting a free bible, and both of them were from the South, and both of them had wanted the missionaries. Well, I called them both back on Saturday to check up on them. Mildred (from Mississippi) still hasn't seen the missionaries(Come on Elders!), but I was able to hear more about her. She is a

widow and said that she hasn't always had God in her life, but she lost her husband, brothers and sisters, and so much else. She said that eventually it got too hard for her to stand so she dropped to her knees to pray and has been praying ever since. She loves God and Jesus
Christ with all of her heart and I asked her what brought her to that point, and she said that it was because they were always there for her even when she didn't believe it. She said that she knew they carried her all that time and now she walks hand in hand with them. I was able
to testify that the message that we have to share will help her to strengthen that faith even more and help her develop that relationship with God. She said that that was fine and that together we could work on her new years resolution which was to "become less like Mildred,
and more like Jesus Christ." I love Mildred so much!

The other call was the young man, Jody, who wanted a free bible. He said it was alright if the missionaries brought it by and if I called back to make sure he got it, so I called back on Saturday. He did get the bible and said he was reading it now. He didn't talk much and it
was a bit awkward so I asked a ton of questions trying to find out more. He said they had also given him a copy of the Book of Mormon and stayed to talk for about a half hour:) I asked him if he had read it and he said that he thinks its the same book that he bought on eBay a
while back and that he had read the whole thing! This is a single adult we are talking about! What single adult buys an old Book of Mormon on eBay and reads it all! Well Jody does:) I asked him how he liked it and he said it was really good. I asked if he had prayed about it and what the missionaries taught and he said that he prays

all the time, but he hadn't prayed about that specifically because he already kind of knows that it's true! We then talked about baptism and I asked if that was something he wanted and he said "Yeah, that's what I've been looking for!" I asked if he had told the local missionaries

that and he said "um, no, I haven't told them that really" "Well," I said, trying to keep the happy disbelief out of my voice, "They probably would be happy to hear that." "yeah, he said, maybe I should call them. I told them I would come to church (with his mom by the way) and didn't set up another appt. but told them they could come back any time. Maybe I should call them though." Wow, I wonder if those missionaries know what a gem they got:) I asked him if I could give him a chapter in the Book of Mormon to read and he said "yeah, let me go get it" He was gone for maybe 2 sec. and then said "ok, I'm ready." I gave him 2 Nephi 31 and told him it was all about baptism and things that we needed to do to make it into heaven. He thanked me very politely and said that he would for sure read it:)

Can I just tell you how happy I am to have this calling. I get to be a missionary all around the world really. Being in Hawaii is just a bonus:) I love this work. I love the gospel. I LOVE studying the Atonement! I know that this is real and so true! I love you all so much too and pray and think about you often. These last six months have gone by fast in some ways and so slow in others. I feel like I have been doing this for so long now (probably just looking back on how much my testimony has grown) yet I still feel new like I just got here:) I continue to learn so much and live each moment to the fullest:) I love you all!

Les Quiero,
Hermana Rowley (Shayla)