Week 69-Transfer 10

Aloooooohaaaa!

2/3/14

Aloha Familia!

Can you believe it is February already?! As Sister Kim reminds me every day..."Time flies!" I have continued to see so many miracles here! So Wednesday night was our "girls night" with Beth. Yes mom, I guess it is a little different for a missionary:) Basically it was a sneaky way to get her out of her house and teach her. It turned out to be so good! We went to this new little place called, "Rindes and Grindes" and ate Acai bowls together with Sister Feagai. She opened up a lot with us and we were able to teach her some gospel principles along with it. Sister Feagai is such a perfect fellow-shipper for her because they are such good friends already and their situations are so similar. The only difference between their situations really is that Sister Feagai has the Gospel and Beth does not right now. Beth even said that she wished that she could be as strong as Sister Feagai. It was really neat because she was telling us of the experience that she had when Brigham got his Patriarchal Blessing. She said she just kept crying and she didn't know why and there were so many things that were going through her head and she still can't explain what was going on. We got to testify to her that that was the spirit!!!! That's exactly how it works! I think she really does know and she is getting closer. She said she would be fine to meet with us like that again. I think she just doesn't want to be at her house. We are hoping to do something at least once a week. We talked to Sister Feagai about it but we will have to see. It was really neat to see Brigham get up and bear his testimony yesterday. We weren't able to hear the entire thing cause he was crying too hard, but the spirit was strong and we heard "turning 16 this month," "priesthood," "baptize," "working hard to be worthy" and "mom." I know that he has been hoping that his mom would be ready by the time he became old enough to baptize her. He is such a good kid and definitely was sent to her for many reasons. I know that she has definitely been thinking about it a lot. The next step for her though is to get her to church again! We are still praying hard for her! 

Another miracle was that we got a new investigator this week! On Saturday we were just visiting members in the ward, getting to know them and such, when we walked past the Pasi's house. We know them really well so we weren't planning on stopping, but their door was open and we could see both of them sitting inside, which was unusual because usually Brother Pasi is at work. Anyways, we decided to stop and say hi and when we got to the door Sister Pasi pointed across the room and said, "oh sisters! Come in! She's a non-member, she wants to learn more and she's coming to church tomorrow!" At first we thought she was joking because that just doesn't happen, especially in Laie. But sure enough, Brother Pasi's cousin, Louise was sitting there...and she was exactly as described:) We sat down next to her and got to talk to her a bit. She is actually from Washington and just here for a visit. She will most likely be leaving tomorrow (Tuesday) night but she is interested in learning more while she is here. We told her a little about the Book of Mormon and talked about her religious background and such. We gave her a copy of the BOM with our testimony in it the next day and she said that she would read it! She came to all 3 hours of church and wrote down questions to anything she didn't understand that she asked us later. We then were able to teach her a lesson at the Visitor Center that day and gave her all the pamphlets. It was so good how Brother and Sister Pasi shared their testimonies about the Restoration and how much it blesses their life. It was really good for Brother Pasi as well because he was baptized only 2 or so years ago after investigating for many years. Hopefully we will be able to teach her one more time tomorrow before she leaves and then send the missionaries in Washington to her after that. We also get to keep in contact with her because of the Visitor Center! So neat yeah?!

We also had a really interesting experience last night at our dinner appointment. The Miller's uncle was there who was not a member but they have been trying to convert him for years and he has been so stubborn. For our dinner message, we shared about the Book of Mormon and how it is another testament of Jesus Christ. It was really good and the spirit was strong. It was interesting though because just as we were pretty much finishing up, his sister spoke up and asked "What would be your fear that's holding you back from joining the church?" Some of the family members gave their input on what they think it would be and then he spoke up with some doctrine that was taught in his church (which taught strait from the bible) that wasn't taught in our church. That got it all started. There of course was an answer to every concern he had, but he kept repeating himself and trying to go around the questions we asked him. At one point I asked, "do you believe the Book of Mormon could be the word of God?" He went off on how the bible was sufficient and some other stuff and then looked at me like he answered my question..."So do you believe the Book of Mormon could be the word of God?" I asked again. He kept retorting back with doctrine that really didn't make sense and finally had to admit that he hadn't ever sincerely prayed about the Book of Mormon. We testified that it was the word of God and that if he would pray about it, then he would receive an answer! Thankfully the spirit was there the entire time and we know that he felt it! Hopefully someday his heart will be softened and he will embrace the gospel! It's amazing how much Satan works to confuse people! God is definitely NOT a God of confusion though, and this church is His church on earth! It's so simple and so true!!!!! 

I have had quite a few intense experiences like that so far on my mission and it amazes me how much my testimony has grown from them! I truly am so grateful for the Atonement and the knowledge that we have and that I have learned on my mission! I cannot believe you already got my itinerary! We don't get it till a week or two before we leave. Guess they want you to be prepared:) I love you so much and I continue work hard so the blessings can be sent home:) I love you all and pray for you always!

Les Quiero Mucho! 

Hermana Rowley (Shayla)

Look what I taught everybody!!!! WOW MOM!!!!!