Back to it...

ALOOHAAA

It's very strange to be back home, because sometimes it feels as if I have never left.  I have all these new experiences and friends but they are all some where different.  It's almost like Narnia I suppose haha.  It's nice to be home and be with family and friends.  It's hard to know what to do next.  I know the Lord will guide me. I just getting a little tired of hearing the question "so what are you going to do next?"  It's not a bad question I just don't have a good answer so it frusterates me because I have always had a plan in my life and now I don't.

Since I've been back Ive been able to get a bit done like: getting my stuff organized, gardening, searching for apartments, searching for jobs -no luck on that one yet- enjoying having nothing to do :) watching a lot of movies, spending time with friends and family, and more errands.

It's really hard to put all my thoughts together.  Before my mission I was really worried about leaving because somewhere deep in my heart I knew that things would never be the same.  Not with friends, and not with life in general and that scared me.  Now that Im home Im seeing how true that was, but as hard and sad as it is to let the past life go I know that something better is in store for me.  I now get to apply all that patience I learned on my mission and just take things a day and a week at a time.

I loved my mission and all the experiences I had.  Im also looking forward to the new journey that's about to start.  It's Like the Goo Goo Dolls said "Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end."

Aloha!

Thanks for your last email I love getting updates on how everyone is doing. Things are still going haha. We had some difficulties and a cool experience this week. We were a bit annoyed because all the investigators we have have pretty big road blocks and we are dropping the one who has a baptismal date because he is not progressing. Then one of our members told us they had a couple of friends that they were going to take to the English ward on Sunday (meaning they would be taught by the other sisters). That's another hard thing when we have referrals or tract into someone we have to give them to the other sisters. So we were a bit disappointed. Then in our meeting with our ward it was announced that if things didn't improve the ward would be losing their missionaries and they would go back to sharing with the English ward. It's kind of harsh but there are a lot of challenges. We truly depend on the members because we don't tract into Tongans here. If the ward wants baptisms they have to help. In other wards we could probably find and teach on our own but it's different here. So well see what happens in a few weeks. However, Sunday after our meeting we were able to meet the couple our member had taken to church. The member convinced them to come to our ward next week so they could sit with them and take their niece to primary. They said that they would like that. They also set it up so that we could have dinner together on Wed! That was really cool. They are such a sweet couple I can't wait to teach them. This maybe the miracle baptism Ive been waiting for :).

I was reading an awesome talk today by Elder Bednar its called the strengthening power of the atonement. It was so good I encourage you to read it. It talks about how we don't understand all of what the atonement means. It's not just for the sinner but for the good who are trying to be better. It's the atonement that can help us in difficult situations. He gave a lot of examples from the scriptures about people who rather than praying for their circumstances to be changed pray for strength to overcome their circumstances. Very good talk. There is so much that we don't comprehend and it's so easy to think about how we want things to happen and get upset when they don't happen that way -does it sound like Im speaking from experience? haha- I love how in the gospel when our hearts are soft we are able to learn, and there is always something to help us and encourage us even when times are hard. I think about all the ones I love who are going through hard things back home and I think about how much God loves them and will help them through their trial, especially if they ask.

Malo e lelei

Another week. We had some good experiences and some frustrating ones. I really want one more baptism before I come home but I am being tested, so we'll see how things go. We have one scheduled for the 25th but he has word of wisdom issue and I don't know how dedicated he is to quitting but we are trying super hard to help. We have quite a few potentials but they have have huge road blocks that are not going to be solved in a few weeks so we'll just have to keep working.

Here's my funny story for the week. Yesterday (Sunday) we had just finished a teaching appointment it was about 12:50 and we were on our way to Church. We received a call and I could hear my companion say just Sister Pinder? Okay the topic is solving your problems with the Lord, sounds good. I could have died! This is only my second time having to speak in Church and I have to prepare it in 5 minutes! haha. I could tell my companion was so glad it was me and not her. So when it was my turn I stood up and said "Malo e lele, my name is sister Pinder and I'm obviously from Utah. I'm very grateful to be here, but do you know why God gives us companions? It's so that when we don't know what to say they can take over, so I'm going to turn the time over to my companion." I turned around saw the fear and a look like I might not survive later and then turned back to say "Just kidding, but I know I just gave my companion a heart attack." It was so funny and the Tongans loved it they kept saying later "oh you got her!" haha. I ended up spending most of my talk in Romans 8 which talks about how we are children of God and nothing can separate us from his love. We just need to remember the purpose for trials. It went okay, not as well as if I would have had time to prepare but it went fine. It was a good topic though one I wish I would have had more time to delve into but I challenge each of you to think about it. How can we solve our problems with the Lord and in the Lords way.

I love you all and will talk with you next week!

Aloha

We've finally learned transfer news! and no surprise Im staying in Maui for another transfer. It's really crazy to me that I only have a few more transfers left. It will be nice to stay here for one more transfer but challenging too. We had some cool experiences last week. We've been able to set baptismal dates with three people and we have some potentials. They aren't extremely solid but it's something to works towards and is better than what we had at the beginning. It's crazy that six weeks have past already! Not to seem ungrateful but I hope the next six week pass just as quickly. I miss the visitor center even though things sound a bit crazy with the new director arriving. It's just continues to confirm to me that I was called to the right place and God knows and love me so well. Which means it's the same for all his other children. Sometimes I get so frustrated with my brothers and sisters I don't know how to help them and it hurts my heart. There are so many people who have returned from missions here and they know whats right they know the blessings that will come from living the gospel but they choose not too. I guess that just comes with living in the last days and being tempted by the adversary. I sometimes get overwhelmed, there is so much work to do in this world but unless people have that desire to change they just get annoyed with missionaries trying to help them. We become burdens because deep down they know what is right. The thing they don't get is we are never going to leave them alone because they are our brothers and sisters and we love them. We are not there because we hate them and love to annoy them no one wants that, but we care and hope that they will see that. I didn't choose to serve a mission because I wanted to bother people I chose to come because I love my savior and I know that He loves his children and he is searching for the ones that will come back. It's a long trek to find them and not easy but its worth it. This work is hard but I love my savior more so I will continue to work hard.

Thank you for the encouragement it is always appreciated, I love you all so much and will talk to you next week!

Hi

Hi again. hmm, I think this is the first week Im a little stumped as to what to write about.

I must admit my companion and I have talked a lot about whether this ward has enough work for us to do. We were a little frustrated about how much open time we have and that really makes it difficult especially when your trying to stay focused. We wrote to President and told him to recombine the wards again, he told us he wasn't about to give up. I felt like I was lacking faith, then in church on Sunday the lesson was on faith. we read from one of the manuals a story about a mission president telling one of the missionaries " give the Lord a Chance, he's put you here for a reason, he will open the way" It hit me pretty hard. That was just for me. It was God's way of saying don't give up keep going. Attitudes are so important, they are hard to control sometimes but I know that when we are in the right mind set we can see miracles. Transfers are next week and Im pretty sure Ill be staying here another six weeks but you never know. I do know that wherever Im sent Im going to have a different attitude. I know it's not going to be easy but I've made it this far I know the Lord will continue to bless us. I've been getting the reminder a lot this week to look at the good. We stopped in on one potential we like to talk with. She gave us some more good advice. She said "Be grateful for what you have, and for what you don't have." So whenever Ive complained about something Ive said something Im thankful for. there is so MUCH! So try it out this week. When you are stuck in traffic be thankful there is more than one lane and that you have a highway that for the most part gets you places quickly. When it snows and is cold be thankful we have the tools to remove it :). There is always a blessing that comes with the trial. Sometimes we just forget to look. I love you all and will let you know what's going on next week.

P.S. Thanks for the updates with the kids I love hearing about whats going on back home.

Love Sister Pinder

Malo e lelei

We made it to Maui! For the next while you can write me at 104 Wahikuli st apt M, Lahaina HI 96761. Well this is definitely going to be a different experience. The first couple of days were pretty difficult it's pretty hard to white wash( two new missionaries in a new area) but were starting to get it. Sister Sekona and I are still trying to figure things out. Who we should be meeting how we can find new investigators and how to make the most of our time. I love my comp though she's really great, and she's really just having to take over :). The thing that makes this really hard is that we are in a language ward which means 1. Everything is in Tongan haha. This is hard for me because my companion does a lot of the teaching, calling and talking in general and I just have to try to not fall asleep! Still trying to figure that part out. Church was a great experience though I love hearing them sing they all have beautiful voices and they dont use instruments or anything. 2. We can't really tract because the people we would tract into belong to the other sisters ward. We found a wonderful couple tracting the other day-keep in mind that we are both from the VC so we are learning to do all these things on our own- we were very excited that our hard work paid off. Then we found out we will only be able to teach them once, then have to pass them off to the other sister since they will be in their ward. Were really just going to have to work through the members.

Then the other day we were getting some things from our trunk to be able to pass out to people we met. Well we ended up locking our keys in the trunk! What a way to start out. We had to call various people to get help. I was having a hard day and that didn't really help. Thanks for the money dad it was put to good use haha. Lahaina is a pretty place but we are on the dry side so I was a bit surprised to see what it looks like over here. When you think of Maui you think luscious and green. Our drive to district meeting is very yellow and dead. But the ocean is very beautiful. The home that we have to live in is also one of the nicest yet. I will say though that I HATE ants! They are even worse over here than in Laie they were crawling all over my journal and when I picked it up they were all over me! Makes me paranoid I feel like they are crawling on me all the time haha. But at least they aren't roaches. ;)

There are definitely going to be challenges and Im still learning why God needs me in this particular ward, part of it is to support my companion but its hard to feel invisible. I am so grateful though for a loving Father in Heaven who hears our prayers and knows what we need and what we can handle. I love this gospel and will do anything my Father needs me to do.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Our Savior sacrificed the most for us so the least we can do is to give a little of ourselves to really make that change that brings us closer to him. Make a goal of something you will change to be more like our savior and promise it as a gift to God. I love you all and look forward to talking with you next week.

I will be calling sometime this week to set up a time to call you. It will probably be Sunday around 4-5. I love you!

Sister Pinder.

Where in the world?!

Wow do I have a lot to tell you! This week has been very interesting, in fact this transfer has been interesting it's had it's challenges, in ways that it really shouldn't have been but Ive learned a lot. So because sister Sandstrom and I are the sister Trainers we got to find out the transfer news before the other sisters. That was very nice because we have worked very close with these sisters and were very curious how the Lord would pair them up to make the most success here. Let me just tell you I am so grateful God is in control because even though we know these sisters we don't know them as well as God does and he puts things together so beautifully! So I told you I wasn't sure what was going to happen right? Well from that meeting on Saturday I found out that I will be going out full Proselyting. But I had to wait for my call from President to find out the details. We learned that two new sisters will be coming and that 4 VC sisters will be going out. This means there are 28 VC sister- 8 out full pros. that's a lot! This next transfer will be so much smoother than the past ones I'm a bit sad that I wont be here. So Sunday night I received my call from President. He said "Sister Pinder the Lord has a new assignment for you." sounds good bring it on "sister Pinder you are going out full Proselyting and your going to Maui" haha AWESOME!! "There's more, you will be companions with sister Sekona" (sister Sekona is also a visitor center sister, she was in the beach pad with sister Sandstrom and I very loud, fun Tongan :)) Wow if I'm with a sister from here that means we are white washing the area. " There are two other sisters there but they just have more work than they can handle". Sounds good to me, we have no idea how full pros works but if they are so busy that means we will also have a lot of work; I'm okay with that. "There's more sister Pinder, you will be serving in a TONGAN ward." huh ? Excuse me? "Don't worry they mostly speak English" ha ha oh boy... Well I guess you could say your little girl is not going to be so little anymore! One sister said she is going to measure my cheeks so she can compare if I come back. ha ha I must admit I'm a little worried about my stomach, the way to these peoples hearts is how much you can eat and I can't eat much :(. Man these last few transfers God has really kept me on my toes I didn't expect this. I'm excited to go to Maui but I'm a bit nervous for the first few weeks. I'm sure things will work out they way they are supposed to. So I will be getting on a plane tomorrow at 8 am. This means we have to leave here by 5:30, phew.

Have a Maui Christmas! ha ha

Love Sister Pinder.

17 Miracles

Aloha family

Things are going well. Thanks for your email, it was funny and a bit sad to hear about brother Williams funeral. I hope that mom is feeling better as well.

I had been thinking for a while about how blessed our family has been since we have come on missions. I thought about how busy work had been for you dad before Tucker and I left and how that was very unusual since things should have gotten worse. And now things continue and I hope the blessings wont stop when we come home :) I'm excited to hear about what you won dad! That's not very nice to leave us hanging for a whole week. Don't forget to tell us next week. :)

This week was very nice we had zone conference on Wednesday. I LOVE Christmas zone conference it is always good and President usually shows us a really good movies. ;) Last year we watched the other side of Heaven. This year we watched 17 miracles. It was the most amazing movie ever. It had everyone just sobbing. It caused some laughing too because we all felt a bit weird tears streaming down our faces and trying to not make any noise as we cried and tried not to get snot everywhere haha. It was a really great video. And a bit surprising because I saw one of my friends from school in the opening scene. That's the second time on my mission that I have seen this particular friend in a Church related movie. Any way it's really great to think about our history and see how blessed we are to be where were at. It also makes us look to the present and recognize the blessings and miracles that God has given us now.

I'm grateful for this season and for the opportunity that we each have to ask, how does God play a role in my life? Why is this season any different than the other holidays we celebrate. I'm grateful for Christ and the time I have to share with others his importance and influence he has had in my life.

I love you all and if you get the chance to watch 17 miracles bring a box of tissues and then let me know what your favorite miracle was. :)

I'm a bit anxious for transfer news, sister Sandstrom and I will know this weekend what's going to happen. But when President was here for zone conference something kind of funny happened. My companion told President she would be very willing to go out, he laughed and said I don't think so. There were three other sisters standing there plus me. He pointed to the three and said none of you have been out have you? He said sister Pinder went out and did a great job. I said actually President I haven't gone out yet. He said oh oh that's right. I was thinking of someone else, but you only have about three more transfers right? It was a interesting conversation and I really don't know what's in store for me. Elder Eubank keeps asking me how I would feel if I don't go out or if I would be okay if I stayed out till the end of my mission. I really don't know what the Lord has planned but it should be interesting.

Thanksgiving

Hola!

This past week was pretty good. Im really enjoying going on exchanges and meeting all the different sisters I never thought I would get to learn so much about so many different cultures!

The Hyatts I met last time were the seniors I think brother Hyatts parents. They were so cute. And no I didn't get to see the Ballards they left 5 minutes before I came on shift. They left me some notes though so that was nice.

Thank you so much for the package! That was great. It's nice to have those granola bars and cookies they are easy to take on the road. Sister Rodriguez really loved the baby bottle pops I came into the room the other day and her mouth was completely blue, she said "do you think your parents will send you more of these thingies?" It was so funny! I also was able to share a bag of the caramels with the Elders during one of our meetings, they were gone with in 10 minutes :). Thanks for the money too, it was very helpful.

This Thanksgiving was so awesome! One of the other sisters invited us to come to their dinner. The Rams were so amazing they cooked Turkey, potatoes, bread, stuffing, of course rice and we even had purple sweet potatoes, and all kinds of pies. As great as the food was that wasn't the best part. The Rams had invited some non members to come! So one day while sister Ram was ordering food at a restaurant she heard this man contemplating with his two daughters what they should try. She went to them and told them all the good things they should get. They then asked her about other things they should see and do. She gave them a list and told them to call her if they ever need help. Well on Thanksgiving day they called and asked her where they could eat- since almost everything was closed around here. She then invited them to come to her home for Thanksgiving! They were so nice, and from Georgia. I bet it was a bit weird for them because there were six missionaries there eating. But I had the opportunity to talk with them almost the whole night. Apparently they travel quite a bit and love meeting and talking with new people. The two girls were very nice and they definitely had southern accents :) We ate and then we did Turkey bowling very fun. I was then able to give the man a Book of mormon and other materials. It was such a great opportunity. Im so grateful that that memeber had such a full heart and talked with these strangers even something simple as suggesting something good to eat. It was a cool experience. I was so excited to talk with a non member who wasn't from Laie haha.

I'm greatful for our many blessings and for a father who helps us to be stronger and will support us as he's helping us to become stronger. :)

Love you all thanks for your prayers.

Aloha

Aloha,

Well how is everything going back at home? I can't believe that it's thanksgiving time already! And Christmas is right around the corner. I'm looking forward to talking with you I can tell it's going to go by really quick. Things here look really nice, I love it when all the Christmas trees are set up, it's so fun to hear and see the guests reaction when they see all the trees. Even though I didn't get to set any up I still had the chance to rearrange somethings. It's not that they looked bad I just wanted to help and some of the trees were not very balanced so Elder Eubank asked me to help.- my companion didn't really understand why I had to rearrange a lot of the things that had already been done, but if she only knew who my mom was. hahah, just kidding. How is/was your Thanksgiving? That's something Im really starting to miss, MTC Thanksgiving doesn't really do it and Im not quite sure what's in store on Thursday here in Hawaii. Give everyone a love for me.

Oh so visitors for this week :) I met the Stones from Woodland Hills, Sister Stone knows you dad from the Woodland Hills counsel thing- I can't remember the name- Then I also met the Hyatt seniors! They were so cute and so sweet. They told me that Karen is engaged! That's neat I didn't know that. Anyone else in the ward getting married? Elder Pinder I also met a girl quite a while ago name Ali or Allison... sorry I forgot her last name she said she knew you from track. I also ran into your friend from California Brother Drake Aumua? He was wondering how you were doing and if you're training now. I told him I wasn't really sure what you were up to. :p

That's really sad about Brother Williams! Im really going to miss seeing him at church. I hope that their family is doing okay.

For Christmas I don't really need to much maybe a couple of tops that I can button up or don't need an undershirt, and a cardigan.

I never did hear back how Kate and Beth are doing? Did their surgeries help?

Well sorry its short I love you all and I know that God is watching over his sheep and calling to them, but only some will listen. I love you and hope that you will take time this Thursday to think about what our savior has done for each of us, and what he is still doing.

Have a great Thanksgiving. Talk to you next week.

Ups And Downs

Hola

Ups and down, right now it's a down but working to make it an up. There are always hard times to compliment the good time and to help us grow. It's been a challenging week but I can definitely feel Gods love and support. Mom you asked about us speaking in sacrament hahah that was like six weeks ago! We talked about missionary work. I talked about the statistics of member's help in missionary work and Hermana Rodriguez talked about the blessings that come from missionary work. It went well. That will be neat that you(the Bishopric and wives) will all talk on Christmas! That would be fun to see, can't remember the last time mom had to speak in church. :)

Thanksgiving here is pretty much like at home. Any excuse to have family over and eat lots of food that's good enough for Hawaii. We'll probably be going to our different ward activities throughout the day, one is doing breakfast and the other one is doing dinner. I still am not sure about the evening it's pretty tricky in students wards. It should be fun for my companion though, they really don't celebrate Thanksgiving. We had stuffing the other day (pretty sure it was stovetop :) ) and it was to nice to have. She hadn't ever had it before and didn't really like it. :)

Decorating for Christmas here was yesterday, and me and sister Sandstrom had to miss it, We had a leadership meeting in Honolulu and it went from 8-6. I was really sad, I really wanted to help set up since I took it all down last year. But you know sometimes we have to give up things we want to do for things that we need to do right?

That's really neat to hear about Beth and her blessing! I will be so happy if Tucker and I are back in time to see her go through the temple. How is Kate doing?

Well here's a scripture that I was studying today that really helped me Alma 34:40-41. One day we will be able to rest from all of our trials but for now we just have to face them with patience and ask for the Lords help.

Well I have to get going.

Love ya

Hola

Hola! Sorry the letter is a bit later than usual. We had a really nice P-day. We got hair cuts and did our shopping. Then one of the sisters needed to get some medicine refilled in an area out side of our zone. Because it was our pday we were all able to go and visit the mall there! It was the craziest experience! First we went to the drug store that was, I'd say half of a wal mart and we were all really overwhelmed! We didn't know where to start looking. I kept saying Wow over and over again. I didn't really need anything but it was weird being somewhere that has so much! To bad we had already gone shopping It probably would have been less expensive where we were. Then we were able to go to the mall, again very weird! You really forget about all that stuff, we each were able to buy something we needed that we can't find in Laie so that was nice.

The rain hasn't started to come down like I remember it last year, it's rained off and on but Im sure it will rain more in December and January. I can't believe it's already fall for you and cold. That is something I am so grateful for, to not have to go find people to teach in the freezing cold weather! Things are going well in our new area the members are very supportive. We are actually going to be speaking in that ward this Sunday. It will be my companion (and oddly enough) my first time speaking in sacrament meeting.

That was fun to hear about Payson temple that will be so exciting! I had no idea Kirsten was even engaged! Tell her congrats from me that's really neat. Any one else engaged or getting married that I haven't heard about?

Well sorry it's short but we didn't have a lot of time today. Just thought Id fill you in on some fun things we did. I love you all and will talk with you next week!

Who's Side

Hi everyone!

Well Im still here, things are actually going really well. Training is really interesting. Sister Rodreguez can get really board sometimes when we have planning meetings and things like that. I feel bad because I remember the first few weeks and how lost you can feel. But unfortunately it's just something that comes with time. You can't really plan for peoples needs until you know them. But she's a great teacher and Im excited to see where she'll be in a few transfers. The new program, dad is for All missionaries they gave us a pamphlet to follow for 12 weeks. It goes through what's called the 8 fundamentals which are: The Doctrine of Christ, Role of the Holy Ghost,Revelation through Prayer, Revelation through the Book of Mormon, Revelation through Church Attendance, Teaching people not lessons, Inviting committing and following up and then How to begin teaching. We focus on these things and also on learning the lessons as well. The extra hour is really helpful because in a addition to helping sister Rodreguez learn about how to teach I get to train her on how to work in the Visitor Center. I didn't ever really think about how much I have really learned about the Visitor Center and how to work here. It's not till you have someone come who isn't familiar with it that it becomes apparent. I love the visitor Center and the opportunity I have to meet people from all over the world and help them take a piece of the gospel home with them.

I can't believe it's conference time already! Tomorrow we will be watching it at the visitor Center at 6 am and then at 10 am. Sunday however, I think me and my companion will go to the rebroadcast at 10 and 2. Having conference at two different times makes things a little tricky, because when we are trying to visit people we don't want to be out visiting when they are watching and we don't want to waste time after we have watched the sessions earlier.

I can't believe it's already October. Things are starting to slow down quite a bit, but this is the time the PCC has the Haunted Lagoon. So at the PCC we have a canoe ride that takes you past all of the villages. The haunted lagoon is a canoe ride at night in the dark and have people jumping out from the bank and even in the water! This might affect or tram tours because people will want to do that and we have to move our line to a different location. It also means for the next month we will be hearing music and lots of screaming. To bad we wont get to see it.

Im glad that you will be able to go to the ground breaking ceremony for the Payson Temple. We get to go to the Temple next week with our district because of Conference. whahoo. :)

Well Im out of time this week, But here's my thought for the day. There are a lot of things in life that can pull us away from our savior. Contention, being too busy, depression, feeling of inadequacy, laziness, judging our selves and our fellow brothers and sisters. All these things are from the adversary. He is fighting very hard in these last days to get us on his side. Who's side are you on? It's very easy to say "well I obviously want to be on the winning side, God side." But just reflect for a moment, do your actions match your desires? Are you doing the things that prove you are on Gods side? "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. " 2 Nephi 2:27

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof." 3 Nephi 13:33. So please don't let the adversary win! We have all be taught the things we should do, reading, praying, church, basically following Jesus Christ example. If you truly are on his side you will do the things he has asked. Don't worry about the things of the world they will pass, hard things occur in our lives but when we rely on Christ they can be made easy and soon they won't matter anymore. If you are feeling the pull or emotions from the the adversary, read, pray and serve your fellow beings you will realize how blessed you really are.

I love you all! Thanks for your letters you have no idea how much they mean to me!

Love Sister Pinder

Aloha

Howzit?

How is everyone doing? Things here a pretty much the same, we are staying really busy. We're trying really hard to find new people to teach. We may have found a couple of people who want to know more so that should be exciting. It's weird that we are already three weeks into the transfer! Only a few more weeks and we will be switched around again. Things are going well between the three of us we are always trying to keep things balanced.

We had a wonderful tram tour the other day. It was a man and his wife who were originally from Italy, they now live in Las Vegas.. They were so funny! The man- Dominic said that his daughter had only let him take pictures of the temple the last time he was here. He was so excited to go into the visitor center. After we show the 5 minute video he came out and gave me his business card and said here, this has my phone number, my address and my full name. I was confused I said so you want missionaries to come? I was a little shocked, we hadn't even asked them yet if they would like to learn more. He said yes yes. Ive never had that happen before. It was great! He told us that he worked or was some how involved with submarines. He has been around the world 3 times! When we asked how long it takes he said about 6 months depending on how fast they go. It's so fun to hear about peoples lives and meet people from all around the world.

Speaking of which I saw the Gibbs family, im sure they told you, it was great to see them. Sister Gibbs said that she has Izzy in her class and she's doing well. And there will probably be another person calling you to tell you that they saw me. haha. I know it's kind of random to get phone calls from strangers. It's weird for me when they ask for my number, haha it's nice of them though. I don't think I have ever thought about people contacting missionaries parents before.

New Changes

Aloha!

I'm glad you got my last email I was worried you wouldn't with all the pictures I attached. So I bet you are all wondering what happened this past week huh? Well first off my pdays are now on Fridays. To answer dads question our pdays have to switch because we have shifts at the cultural center and the visitor center, if all the sisters had pday on one day like most missions then there would be no missionaries at the visitor center and PCC. So we take different days. Its been really nice because Elder Eubank was able to figure out a way so that no one has to have pdays on Monday or Wednesdays when we have meetings that last a few hours. Time on pdays is precious so it's supper nice to be able to have all of our time.

Okay so what happened to Sister Pinder? Did she get sent to another island and by chance miss her first flight? Did she get called to be Sister Trainer- the sister who is in charge of Visitor Center trainings and exchanges? Or did she get called to train a new Sister in a new program that the Church is starting?

Any guesses?

I'll let you think about it for a little bit. :)

Me and my past companion sent off sister Largent and she was very ready to be home. It's nice to just be in a regular companionship again. It was supper nice to hear from Elder Pinder I'm so grateful that you are able to enjoy your mission and work hard. Did you get my letters? Ill try to write you again soon, I just seem to always run out of time.

Mom, I plan to write grandma but I'm not sure when, I feel bad because I just haven't had the chance yet to write her and thank her for the package and for the emails. Will you just say something to her for me till I can get something sent out? Also how is Carisa doing? She getting really close isn't she. :)

I loved your emails this week! I can just picture and imagine everything that happened. I feel bad that Mattie's favorite rides were closed that stinks. Did all the adults have a good time?

Alright Ill stop making you think, but maybe you got a small taste of what's it's like to have to wait for transfer news. So on Saturday night I received a call from President. I was kind of hoping to be Sister Trainer because that would mean I would get to stay in Laie for Christmas- I love Christmas here.:) But I wasn't called to do that, then I thought well it would be nice to go out now because again I would be back for Christmas- haha. Nope, President and the Lord have called me to train a new Sister! So in the mission they are starting a new program. New missionaries will be with their trainers for two transfers. While they are in the MTC they focus on 8 fundamental principles, basically how to teach. They don't really know what to teach though. So now we will have 2 hours for companionship study plus our personal study time. It's a great program because the goal is that new missionaries will be prepared enough that if they were asked to train after their second transfer they could. It's a bit challenging here though because that's three hours of studying plus our six hours on shift. It doesn't leave a ton of time to find people to teach. So we will be praying very hard that the Lord will guide someone to us, just like he has done for me in the past.

My new companion is Sister Rodreguez, she's from Guatemala! So she can teach me a little Spanish. She speaks English very well and I can tell that she is going to be a great missionary. There's a lot to learn here in the first few days but she doesn't seem to be stressed so that's good. I know the Lord is helping me because I honestly am just trying to pretend like I know how this new program works haha. I have learned a lot since I have been here but I know the new missionaries are going to be so much more prepared than Elder Pinder and I.

So on Wednesday I was in charge of taking two sisters to the airport. It was very stressful because we didn't know where we were going and traffic here is a nightmare! It's also been about 10 months since I have been able to drive over 40 haha. Well because of traffic and a weird lay out at the airport one of the sisters missed her first flight. I felt so bad! I picked up two sister who had been out full pros. and we went to the transfer meeting. It was really good. We got a chance to walk around the area and hand out Books of Mormons. It was a very different experience my second time around. :)

Oh and Sister Sandstrom was called as Sister Trainer, and we have pdays together! That makes me really happy, I'm really grateful to her.

Well Sorry I don't' have time to write about some of the neat things I'm learning we are about to go to the PCC. But just know that I love you and hope you all are having a fantastic week. Please be sure to write down a few of the blessings you have received this week.

Ill try to send pictures next week. Love ya!

To Much Fun!

Aloha family!

So we switched p-days this week so that we could go hiking. That was Sister Largent's "last P-day" request. The Hike is called Laie falls, its nothing compared to the falls on Timp but it's still a pretty hike. Ive done it once before but this time was different because it rained almost the whole time! The trail became very muddy and slippery. We looked like odd creatures by the time we were finished. It was about a four hour hike, very exhausting.

On Monday we got to go to the Sea Life Park. It was so much fun! We didn't have a ton of time there but we got to see seals being fed, sea lion show and a dolphin show. So much fun! We talked about how creative God is and how blessed we are to be here and see so many different creations. God truly is a wonderful artist. What's a beautiful creations have you recognized this week?

Glad to hear that Disneyland has been a good experience. I look forward to seeing pictures next week. What was everyone's favorite part?

We find out transfer news on Monday so Ill let you know when my new pday will be. I'm not sure what my pday will be next week, Ill let you know.

Sorry it's short it took me a while to get the pictures, but things are going well. Love ya talk to you next week.

Aloha

Aloha!

Things here are going alright, same old. It's interesting being in a Visitor Center I love the variety we get. Transfers are coming up on the 21st, crazy that it's almost already been 6 weeks. I used to wonder why they would switch us around so often, but I think I figured it out this week. We have had a few cliques and it can cause problems when sister become to attached to certain sisters. Sometimes they would rather be with their previous companion than with their new one. It's hard to see some of the sisters struggle with how to work with their companion.

One of my comps is fairly trunky, but that's really something we deal with everyday. I get asked how long Ive been out almost every tour we give so we are constantly aware of our time :). It's been really helpful to think about what I want to accomplish every day. Of course I miss people at home but I really don't miss a lot of the stuff we have to deal with in the "real world." I'm not too sad you are going on a trip I think that will be great! Of course Ill miss you but you can't stop having fun just because we are gone, life goes on and there will be other opportunities. Besides we are going on a field trip ourselves on Monday! So in the Visitor Center we have a goal of 300 referrals a month. Last month we got 320 so we had a pizza party with President :) We raised our goal to 325 (weak new goal huh) But then we blew it out of the water receiving more than 460! It was so cool! So since there's not a lot to do in Laie we get to have an out of zone field trip! We are probably going to the sea life park.

One thing that's new here is they came and redid our God's Plan exhibit. I had never seen God's plan until my mission and I really liked it. That was the exhibit that I took Grandma through and it was really special. Well they have redone it and now it is is so much more powerful! It's a recipe for instant homesickness haha. I wish you could see it so you could know what I'm talking about! We love giving the tour but we have a hard time because at the end when we bear testimony we are all crying and trying to compose our selves haha. But it really does a great job explaining who we are, where we came from, how gospel can bless our families why temples are so important and how they can bless both the living and those who have passed on. It also just makes everyone who sees it really want to reconnect with their family. Including the missionaries :) Homesickness is just a part of missionary work, it comes and goes but I can never fully explain the blessings that come from serving a mission!

Well I have to scoot, love you all and enjoy Disney Land! I'm expecting some good emails or dear elders in the next few weeks, and some pictures!

Doin Great

Things are going well here. I don't have a lot of time to write, we had Zone Conference today and to so we had half pday yesterday and half today. It was really good, we talked more about how to focus on teaching and how to improve our skills. Sister Dalton asked for advice from her boys who served missions and they told her about how their mission has impacted their lives now. One said that he sent a letter home to his dad saying the mission wasn't for him. His dad said you aren't the type to quit, stick it out. So he did and when he got home he started his own business and went from door to door trying to get his business started. He said that he was use to being rejected to when he faced rejection he just moved on. Another son talked about how his mission help in the family. To be able to communicate with his wife and be able to adapt teaching styles for their children. Another son said that on his mission he was tired of doing the same things every day and excited to get home and break things up, but he learned that that's just life. But because of the mission he knew how to better handle the future. It was really neat to hear about their experiences. I know the mission will benefit my life in the future but I suppose I hadn't thought about how many ways it will influence me.

While we were sharing a message with some of the students at BYU I shared this scripture in Helaman 10:5. I have really loved it and know that it applies to many areas. It says "And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will." Sometime we feel that the things we are asked to do are monotonous and repetitive. Especially when it comes to the gospel. Pray, read, go to church visit/home teach. But we are promised that if we do these things we will be blessed forever! That's a promise I'm willing to make. I hope that you will be able to recognize the love and blessings God has for you this week. I know that he cares and is looking out for each of us.

Aloha

Howzit?

How is everyone doing? Things here a pretty much the same, we are staying really busy. We're trying really hard to find new people to teach. We may have found a couple of people who want to know more so that should be exciting. It's weird that we are already three weeks into the transfer! Only a few more weeks and we will be switched around again. Things are going well between the three of us we are always trying to keep things balanced.

We had a wonderful tram tour the other day. It was a man and his wife who were originally from Italy, they now live in Las Vegas.. They were so funny! The man- Dominic said that his daughter had only let him take pictures of the temple the last time he was here. He was so excited to go into the visitor center. After we show the 5 minute video he came out and gave me his business card and said here, this has my phone number, my address and my full name. I was confused I said so you want missionaries to come? I was a little shocked, we hadn't even asked them yet if they would like to learn more. He said yes yes. Ive never had that happen before. It was great! He told us that he worked or was some how involved with submarines. He has been around the world 3 times! When we asked how long it takes he said about 6 months depending on how fast they go. It's so fun to hear about peoples lives and meet people from all around the world.

Speaking of which I saw the Gibbs family, im sure they told you, it was great to see them. Sister Gibbs said that she has Izzy in her class and she's doing well. And there will probably be another person calling you to tell you that they saw me. haha. I know it's kind of random to get phone calls from strangers. It's weird for me when they ask for my number, haha it's nice of them though. I don't think I have ever thought about people contacting missionaries parents before.

Ohana

Aloha Ohana!

Sounds like the wedding was nice, tell that cousin and uncle of mine if they have any extra invites I would love to have one. I would also love some pictures of the event, I'm so glad it turned out well. I feel a little gypped though I'm not getting full account of what's going on :) How was St George mom, and your ride dad? and What did you do at the pre-reception?- you can't just say you went here and there, and it was good and not tell me details about it, ha ha especially when I can't ask questions it's such a killer. And you still haven't answered my question from the last few emails, when are you going to Disneyland?

This week has been a little rough, not bad but there has definitely been some adjustments. Companionship's are great but they can be hard especially when you really have to work to build a relationship, it takes a lot of work. So it's really hard when there's three. I feel like I can't connect as well for some reason. I think the communication is the hardest part, I love my companions they are so wonderful, but sometimes they keep things from me in order to spare feelings, this causes a rift and just doesn't work. I have to figure out a way to communicate where I don't rub either the wrong way but where we are able to have fun and teach in unity. We'll keep working on it, it's just different from my last comp where everything was out in the open and I knew she really cared. I'm trying to figure out how to duplicate that again. Anyway our area is a bit smaller than most and we only have 6 non members in our ward. And I bet you can imagine they have been tracted to death. ha ha. So we are praying and working hard to find new investigators. We had a couple miracles on Sunday as a result. We sat in front of a non member at church- she was visiting a friend, she's staying in a host family for 7 months- Sister Wada could here her friend translating from English to Japanese so Sister Wada ended up sitting next to her and translating the meeting for her! She came to the VC later that night and sister Wada gave a tour. We found out that she has met with missionaries before and want to be baptized but she is worried about her family. She might bring her mom and sister so we can show them the VC. The sad things is she isn't in our area so we can't continue to teach her. But it was a neat experience. Also on that Sunday we had a student call and ask if we could come to Church and teach her friend Carlo the Restoration. Of course we hurried over (sister Wada had became sick so it was just sister Largent and I) Carlo was so great! He has such a sincere desire to learn. He is also from Honolulu and his fellow shipper isn't in our ward so we might have to pass him off too. Once again sad but we were still glad for the experience. Hopefully this week we can find someone to teach who is in our area.

Im so grateful for good friends who share what they know is true with others. Without good friends missionary work wouldn't be very effective. I know that God puts people in our way that we can bless, and that if we put God first in our lives everything else will fall into place. We might not always know who needs our help but God does. If we pray to know who God needs us to help he will let us know through the Holy Ghost. We can really bless our fellow brothers and sisters but if we are only consumed with our own lives we miss out on opportunities God has for us to be a part of his great work. So try it out this week. Pray to know who could use a hand or even just an encouraging word. Our ohana is so important to God and it's up to us to strengthen it.

I love you all and hope you have a great week.