Week 16 - 7/13/15

Aloha All :)

So this week was absolutely amazing.

sorry I dint say much about sister mason last week...

...I figured you all know her

I guess yall don't know her?

you should.

she's awesome.

she is number 3 of 9 children, born and raised in Utah.

her family currently resides in Elkridge, Ut.

she is 5'11'' and is GORGEOUS.

she has a passion for missionary work.

and it is incredible the miracles we have had already in this transfer!!

we work hard. we love the people. we love the work.

and it's moving along :)

the members are helping us,

the people we are teaching are progressing,

the work is good,

the love is real,

the church is true.

This week I've been studying about conversion. I was reading in Mosiah of the story of King Benjamin. I find it inspiring to read the peoples' conversion story. I came up with "5 steps to a great conversion" :

1) Having the desire to learn

2) being taught by the spirit, whether it's by personal study or from other ways we build our testimony... (church, others, etc)

3) Having faith that God has delivered (the spirit), and will continue to deliver you.

4) Making covenants, or promises, with God. Once we have been taught and the spirit has born witness it's true, and we have faith to continue, we can then make promises with God to do so.

5) Through Enduring, we are promised that we can live with our Father in heaven again. Because we are CHILDREN OF GOD.

Wherever we are in our conversion, we always have room to grow our testimonies and to become more converted to the gospel. I invite us all to do so.

Mahalo nui loa fur alles <3

xoxo

sister j

Week 20 - 8/10/15

We received a short message from Brigitte this week along with one picture.  In her personal email to me, she said she and Sister Mason are staying in Honolulu West and have been called as the Sister Training leaders, which means they are overseeing 4 other companionships!  She is very excited about this opportunity, but mostly excited about remaining with her current investigators.

"Courage was baptized on Saturday!!! She is amazing. a single mother from Chuuke and her baptism was absolutely beautiful <3 it was a miracle that it all finally came together... she had four different companionships working with her, because the elders left that were teaching her, then s. mason and i stepped in, then we transferred her to the Micronesian ward because we thought she would progress more fully there... but then she decided to come back to us, but by then the elders had stepped back in ahhhhh poor girl haha but she was really flexible and held firm to her testimony of Jesus Christ and never lost sight of her goal of baptism and the temple. she is going to be a wonderful member of the church <3

xoxo and much aloha,

Sister J"

Week 19 - 8/3/15

Aloha All!

This week was difficult, but amazing. The adversary is working extra hard on everybody, including us. but, that just means incredible things are about to happen :)

I think I mentioned last week about all the awesome folks we have been meeting, we are teaching 2 single mothers, as well as a soon-to-be married couple, that have all been SO prepared for the gospel.

...exciting things coming up!!

its so cool to hear and learn of their experiences that have shaped thie rlives and led them ot the true restored church of Jesus Christ! What's cool is that all of these folks found us. We were in the right place at the right time and they all approached us... God good, folks. God is good.

one comment I heard at church yesterday was "this gospel is for everyone. because it is perfect. this church is for everyone because it is organized perfectly." so, we need to teach EVERYONE and help ANYONE. Cuz, like I said, God is good! and he wants ALL of his children to return to him. So go out and serve those around you and help anyone in your path. cuz you can and will make a difference!!

have a great week and happy august (crazy how fast time is flying...!!)

mahalo nui loa and much Aloha!

sister jay

ps. hurricane is coming, but no worries I think i'll be fine! just pray for the other islands.

Week 18 - 7/27/15

Aloha All!

This week was really amazing. We had a ton of amazing things happen:

*Patrick was baptized!! YAY! The service was beautiful and ah he is just amazing! Him and his wife are now preparing for the temple, and they are just awesome.

*We met really amazing people. Yesterday we were walking down the street when this lady stopped next to us, dropped everything in her arms, and about tackled us to the ground while yelling "Sister Missionaries!!!" wakaka it was hilarious. She just moved here from Germany where she was taking the lessons, and I guess someone told her there were no sisters in Hawaii. Her daughter was recently baptized, and they want sisters to continue teaching their family. Ah, they're amazing <3 i'm really excited to get to know them more! and this lady is only one of the MANY incredible people we were able to meet this week. God is good, people. God is good.

*We went to Pearl Harbor for service .... and I forgot to wear closed toed shoes .... so Kevin (the guy in charge) got me some work boots ... and socks ... I put the socks on ... then I went to put the shoes on ... and 3 cockroaches came crawling out onto my leg AHHHH I threw the boot one way and jumped 10 feet the other way. The elders were all laughing so hard and I am now scarred for life. wakaka I guess it's kinda funny now that I look back at it... God is still good and He's got a sense of humor.

*We had Zone Conference. It was great :)

*We went on a hike to a waterfall. Got really muddy. And wet. And I got eaten alive. (pics to come). it was nasty. BUT SO WORTH IT :)

there are so many tender mercies around us, and so many incredible people the Lord puts in our path. It's up to us if we will follow the spirit so we can help those people ... and allow them to help us <3 the gospel is incredible. it is life changing. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! Hope all of you are doing well, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and testimonies. Church is true. The Savior lives. God loves you -

Much Aloha,

Sister Jay

Week 17 - 7/20/15

Aloha All :)

this week was amazing. highlight was going to the temple with a big group in the ward. one of the most incredible women, a convert of just over a year, was taking her endowments out. it was so cool to know that that is what our goal as missionaries is... to get our investigators, less actives, members, and others to the temple one day :)

what a wonderful opportunity!! the temple is so sacred. so special. I want to challenge all of you to be worthy of a temple recommend. to make it to the temple regularly. and to cherish your experiences in the temple.

this gospel is perfect. and although we are imperfect, God loves us perfectly. so let us strive to do better, to use the atonement, and to love God always.

have a great week everyone!

mahalo nui loa fur alles & mucho aloha <3

xoxo,

sister j

ps. we have some  baptisms coming up! YAY! :)

Week 15 - 7/1/15

Aloha All,

Holy fetch. It's july already. Happy fourth last week, I hope everyone was safe and had a wonderful time! We, the Hon-West Zone, threw our own party up in the church's parkinglot that overlooks the valley, the sunset, the ocean, and the FIREWORKS!! We had a barbecue and were able to play some card games, play some soccer (yay), and just chill out :) it was a blast.

so! transfers!! that was fun... so long story short, my companion was unable to make it this transfer, so I got put into a trio with two sisters... for about an hour... and then got a call from President Warner saying he found me a companion! .. I was all, "off the street?" and he said "nooo it's your sister, sister Mason!"

yay I was so pumped. mason and I have the same trainer, smith. So, we are already hard at work and seeing so many incredible miracles!

The day after transfer day was funeral dinner for all the dying missionaries (the missionaries finishing their missions)... 25 missionaries went home, and we helped President's wife prepare their funeral dinner, clean, etc etc. super fun. it was so sad to see so many elders and sisters finish their missions. I can't even imagine how fast time went for them, I can't believe I've already been out three months. it's crazy talk.

anyhoo.... yesterday we were able to attend another ward's sacrament with a family we've been working with, and one of the speakers bearing their testimony said "through the trials, God carries us." I really loved that because its so true. She also said, "He loves us through the hard times." and I love that, as well. I know God knows each and every one of us. We are His children, and I know that we need to stand as brothers and sisters in this difficult world. We need to be the examples of truth and righteousness, and we need to help one another as God helps us. Let's push the rock together.

I'm super excited about this transfer.. S. Mason and I have some great goals we have set with our ward mission leader and bishop. The ward is really beginning to get involved, and it is just looking great. I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK. Being a missionary is the greatest thing ever.

xoxo and much aloha,

Sister J

ps. happy belated to Milo, Clinton, Auntie Emily, and Karl.. sorry I missed you guys the last couple weeks :/

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK TO: my sisters, Micadyn and McKelle, and Auntie Heidi <3

Sister Judkins and the other missionaries do service every Saturday and are making a life size Candy Land game for the preschoolers.  She is very excited!

Week 14 - 6/29/15

Aloha all :)

So this week has been pretty awesome. First things first though...

we got transfer news..

SISTER SMITH IS LEAVING ME :'(

in missionary talk, my mother is leaving me behind.

She got transferred to Waipahu (ohau), into a samoan ward!!

fun.

I'm going to miss my mother so dang much :/ but she's going to be amazing over there.

I am staying here in aliamanu :) I will be "training" a "new" sister!

Her name, i'm not sure..

but, she is Tongan!

She served here in Hawaii for about a year, but then got really really sick and had to return home! She has been home for TWO years and she is now coming back out to serve in Hawaii to finish up her last six months.

Wow, right?

She sounds amazing, and i'm really excited to serve with her!

This week we had stake conference, and I learned a lot. We had an inactive family show up and WE ABOUT DIED. ah, life is good.

We also had quite a few of our investigators show up as well :)

life is good.

The work is progressing and it is so fun to see people progress so much and their testimonies strengthen. Really though, the biggest change I've seen is in myself.

One thing our stake is REALLY pressing of importance is the temple. Get to the temple! And keep going!!

There was a sister who spoke that gave us a brief background of how hard she has worked to support her children as a single parent, and how much she presses her children work as well. "But," she said, "I don't want my children to remember how hard I work. I want them to remember that I pray, and that I pray for them." I thought that was pretty cool :)

Temple is IMPORTANT, church is true, prayer is key, love is impactful, work is necessary, God loves you, and our Savior is always there <3

Thanks for everything. Love you all.

xoxo aloha,

Sister J