Aloha Oe to my first transfer!

Wow, it has been 6 weeks here in Hawaii! Time flies. And this last week was one of miracles! And surprises... Which one do you want to hear first?? I will start with transfer news ;)

*Drum roll* please..... This next transfer I will be moving to Laie 8th ward! I get an area!! And along with that... I will be training a sweet Japanese sister named Sister Ohno... And that really was my initial thought -- Oh no! Haha. I really don't feel adequate to train a brand-new sister. I haven't even finished my 12 weeks of training yet! Since the transfer news Saturday night, I have been really prayerful in preparing for her to arrive. I have never felt so anxious before in my life. I don't even know how to serve in a real area, I have been online! How am I supposed to do this!? I really do know that this assignment was inspired by the Lord. And I also know that the Lord qualifies who He calls. I have continuously been reminded so far on the mission that I cannot do this on my own. It is impossible. With the Lord though, I have seen my weaknesses turn into strengths. Everything is going to be fine. This work is too important to let someone like me to mess it up! haha. So I know that I will be stretched and fortified in this position as I do all that I can to be the best disciple of Christ that I can be. I cannot wait to meet my new companion on Wednesday. I already love her :) 

Now for the miracles. Holy moly. On Thursday, I was serving in the VC when we had surprise visits from over 200 Chinese guests throughout the day! Not only that, but a chinese woman came up to our director, Elder Priday, and in rapid Chinese (there was a Sister translating), stated that she had been waiting 10 years to be baptized, and that she wanted to be baptized before she left to go back to China. WHAT!! Within the day, at least 6 others came up in groups desiring the same exact thing. So our sweet Chinese sisters volunteered to teach them all 4 lessons and we set up a time for their baptism the next day. They ended up receiving all the lessons and getting baptized the very next day in Honolulu. There were 10 Chinese baptisms. And on Thursday, we gave out over 100 Books of Mormon. It truly is a miracle. The Church has already pierced the hearts of those in China, and many are eager to receive the restored gospel. Hearts are prepared. I cannot express how truly grateful and blessed I was to be even a small part of that miracle. Basically all I did was take pictures with all of the Chinese people because I was the only blonde American there. But... I was there. And the spirit was SO strong on the Temple Grounds. 

What does this mean for you? The gospel is beginning to reach parts of the world that it has never been a part of. I argue that it is already there. We can be a part of this divine work! Everything we do and say can literally change the course of someone's day, and even life. Let's try to be lights in this dark world! Let's open our hearts and share a little extra love with those that we come in contact with every single day! I promise that as you do this, you will begin to find more reasons to smile every day :)

Keep Smiling :) 

Love Sister Willardson

Surviving the Thunder

FYI,  Pictures of Sister Willardson are on on the blog and change each week.  Follow the link. 
Aloha! I am happy to tell you that I survived my first Hawaiian thunderstorm this last week! It was pretty crazy, let me tell you. There were flash flood warnings across the area, and it was thundering throughout the night! Some of the sisters that live in lower pads were evacuated to up where we live. I really thought it was the end of the world! Thunder is terrifying, especially in the middle of the night! haha BUT we all survived, thank goodness!

Anyways, this week was so great :) Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful birthday wishes and cards and packages! I really appreciated it! Those, along with the wonderful day that I had here at the Visitors' Center, made it one of the best birthdays ever!! 

This week online, we had a baptism! It was a woman named Savannah. She came on a couple weeks ago with questions, and we get her information and tried to help her with her fears. We found out on Monday that she had been baptized last week! It was amazing! Although we didn't do much, it was so nice to be even a part of her conversion. We are talking to many really solid people, that are interested in the Gospel, and are at different stages in their conversion. My favorite is a boy named Rickie, from England. We helped him set up a meeting with the missionaries in his area, and receive a Book of Mormon. He has so many questions! I love being able to be a part of helping these people come to Christ, and find more happiness in their lives. Everyone that I meet here at the Visitors' Center, or online, is searching for something whether they know it or not. I know that wherever you are in your life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help complete the missing puzzle pieces and bring us so much direction in our lives.

I have been thinking about Family History work a lot this last week. I don't know why, but I really feel the urgency of this Work. Isn't it great to know that we can be linked to our families for Eternity? No matter what. All we have to do is find them. I want to invite everyone to do a little extra family history work on MyFamilySearch.org this week! I promise that as you prayerfully search for family members and add more to your family tree, you will be guided to do so. The veil is thin. This work is urgent. Your families are counting on you to find them and help them to receive the blessings of the gospel that they could not do on their own in this life. You can do it!!

Keep being awesome! I love you all! Mahalo nui loa for all of your prayers for the missionaries :) We need them!

Love sister Willardson

Aloha! July 14, 2014

Aloha family!!

This week was great!! It started out a little rough, but it was also very strengthening for me. On Tuesday we got to go on exchanges and I got to spend the day with Sister R (from the Ukraine), an amazing missionary. We got to go out in her area, she is serving over the YSA wards here. We got to teach the Plan of Salvation to a wonderful girl. WOW. She is amazing. That was the last lesson she needed before her baptism on Saturday. I got to go to that, and it was such a special experience for me to be a part of that. Serving at the visitors' center is difficult because a lot of times we don't get to see the full conversion process of those we meet. This was the first time that I was able to be a part of someone's conversion -- seeing them before and after their decision to follow Christ and be baptized. While I had the blessing of teaching her, she really taught me. By exercising her faith and being so willing to learn, she had the courage to find out for herself that this is the true, restored gospel, and act upon her answer. No matter where we are in life, we need to continue to act upon those things we know to be right and true. We need to have courage to stand for what we believe, even if we feel alone.
 In other news, I learned how to make a haku, or head lei from real flowers! I felt so hawaiian! Here, if there is any celebration, we pretty much give the person a lei. It is such a fun tradition!

I am grateful for the chance that I have to be here, serving the Lord and being a part of this magnificent wave of missionary work! It is so important to open our mouths and share what we believe. People need it. People need that light in their lives. Life is hard. They need to know that they don't have to push through it alone. Christ suffered so that our burdens can be made lighter. I know that this is true with all of my heart, as I feel the blessings of His atonement in my life each day. 

Well that is all for now! Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Love sister willardson

Aloha :) July 7, 2014

Aloha family :)

Well, I think that I am starting to understand a little bit of what everyone means when they say a mission is the hardest things you will ever do! It has not been easy. I feel like things keep coming up that are difficult! But that is okay. Something that I have learned so far, through personal experiences is that prayer is REAL. Honestly, I have never had a righteous prayer left unanswered. Heavenly Father loves us. He HEARS our prayers, even when they are just in our hearts. He also sends us angels in our time of need, to help bear up the burdens that we are unable to lift on our own. I know that this is true. 

I hope you all had a happy fourth of July! We sure did celebrate!! Although, grandma, we did not get to watch fireworks :( They went off after 9, when we were already in our pads. It is pretty funny to sing the national anthem with all the national sisters here. They did not know the words or the tune, so it was mostly full of shouting. I am so grateful for God's hand in founding and creating this beautiful country where we are allowed to live and practice religion freely. 

I know that this restored gospel is true. I am so grateful for the chances I have every day to stand up for what I believe in. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in living prophets that are led by Him. And I believe that God's words, found in both the Bible and Book of Mormon, are for us NOW. We are so blessed to be given so many ways that our prayers can be answered. I want to invite you all to share what you believe this next week, whether it be to a friend, or through the social media. Someone out there needs to hear the words of happiness that you have to share. You have the power to bring a smile to the face of another! Keep being awesome!

Love Sister Willardson

Aloha! June 30, 2014

Aloha Family!

I can't believe that it has already been a month! Time flies on a mission!

This week just came and went, like nobody's business!
Monday we got to go to my FIRST dinner appointment! Since we are serving online, we don't have a ward or area to serve in. BUT because my companion has connections she scored us a dinner with a wonderful family. I absolutely love the people here. On Sundays we get to choose which ward to go to for church, and I convinced Sister H to take me to the Samoan ward. HOLY MOLY. I did not understand a thing!! I felt like I was back in Italy, giving all my energy to understand what in the world was being said. It was one of the coolest experiences here so far. The spirit of the people here -- it is something unlike anything I've ever felt before! These people are so special. And loving. 

ALSO on Friday, Elder P, our VC director, took the new sisters to the Polynesian Cultural Center! We got to get dinner and see the night show! We get to visit the PCC on P-days, but we can only go to the night show at the beginning and end of our mission. 

Serving online is so interesting. Every day, a wide variety of people come on to mormon.org to chat with us. Every day. we deal with some crazies. They are very disrespectful to our faith and what we believe. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me to read some of the terrible things they would say to me. A few days ago, I was pretty frustrated, so frustrated that I just started laughing at myself for how ridiculous it all was. No matter what people say to me, I know why I chose to serve a mission. It is because this gospel is TRUE. The knowledge that comes from this restored gospel, coupled with the wonderful Book of Mormon, brings me so much happiness and direction in my life. Serving here on Temple grounds continually reminds me every day how blessed we are to have this gospel. While these crazy people attempt to make me question my beliefs, we also come in contact with people that have been prepared for the truth every day. We received three new investigators in one night on Saturday! Being a part of this work has been such a roller coaster full of blessings. I am so grateful to be serving online for my first area. It has helped me to learn the doctrine, and taught me to stand up for what I hold to be special and true. 

Our Heavenly Father has limitless blessings in store for us in this life. He loves us. He wants us to live with Him again. He wants us to be happy. That is why we are asked to do hard things sometimes. Whether it be taking the first step of baptism, standing alone for what we believe, or daily repenting/changing to become better, our Heavenly Father promises that He will not leave us comfortless. He will come to us in the very hour that we need Him. Have faith. Just trust. 

I love you all!! Have a great week! 

Love Sister Willardson

PS Happy 4th of July!! AMRRRICA!