aloha!

Aloha family!

I am actually out of time today because we went to Kaneohe today for Pday so I don't have time to email... But I want you to know that I love you all and I am so grateful for your love and prayers!

More next week!

Love always, Sister Willardson

Hot Hot Hot!

Aloha family! 

This week was super great! We have been really praying to find ways to get the ward members more involved in missionary work. Sister Ohno and I have started a new thing to try to get the youth excited about missionary work in our ward. We made a sign-up for the young women to join us for companion studies in the day to prepare a lesson that we teach their family together at night. We are really excited about this, and hope that it will give the youth the experiences they need, as well as excite the members about missionary work as they get to act as our investigators! So... We have been pretty busy with member FHE's and our VC responsibilities. It has been so great! 

This week there were so many miracles in the VC! I have really been praying for prepared people to come in because it has been so slow, and the only people that had been coming in were members (which is still super great). On Tuesday a couple came in, Tereza and Gonzalo. Tereza is from the Czech Republic, and Gonzalo is from Chile. They met while they were studying in Italy. Soo needless to say I was pretty excited to meet them and show them around the VC. One of the first questions I asked them was about their religious background, and they both said they grew up Roman Catholic, but are not religious. I could sense both of their sweet spirits, and I knew that Heavenly Father had prepared for them to come visit that day. They asked lots of questions, and were very interested in what we believe. I showed them around the entire Visitors' Center (which actually isn't that big...) and took them through a walk through video we have about God's plan for us and why we have families. At the end, Tereza was emotional, and said that someday she wanted to raise a family like the one in the video. They are actually engaged to be married next summer, and I talked about the temple and the sealing power within. I was able to give Tereza a Czech Book of Mormon, and Gonzo a Spanish Book of Mormon. They both were so interested in the Gospel and the Temple, and what we believed as members of the church. Their hearts were softened by the presence of the spirit that day, and I am so grateful that I was able to be a part of that experience. I love serving here!

I really feel so blessed to be serving in such a beautiful place with such beautiful people. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for this opportunity, and pray that I might be able to measure up to this sacred calling that I have been entrusted with. We all have sacred callings that we are entrusted with, wherever we are in our lives. Sometimes they are obvious, and other times we don't recognize them until after. Something that I have learned so far is that even the trials we go through and burdens we bear represent the sacred trust that Heavenly Father has in us. He knows that, as we allow these trials to refine us, we can become who He sees us as. I pray every day to see that potential in others as I meet them in the VC. Sometimes I am blessed to see it, as I was able to glimpse it in the wonderful Czech/Chile couple. And it is beautiful.

Keep looking for the good in others!

Mahalo, Sister Willardson

ALOHAAAAA

How is everybody this week!?! Great!

This week just flew by!! Nothing much to report... Sister Ohno and I are just trying to stay cool in the heat of the Hawaiian summer. It has been pretty warm this week!

This week, Sister Ohno and I were able to have a wonderful family night lesson with our investigators, M and F. They are young girls in our ward that really want to be baptized but their father won't let them. They live in a broken home, without the father, and raised solely by their strong loving mother. Their mother, C, is a convert of 2 years. They have received all of the pre-baptism missionary lessons (they have even taught a few to the missionaries), and are just waiting on their father's permission since they are under 18. It is heartbreaking to see their struggles. We had a lesson about the temple, and were inspired to share with C, the mother, about the endowment. She has not yet been through the temple, but we are trying to help her get there. I know, without a doubt, that the enabling power that we receive inside the temple can help us to overcome many of the challenges we face today. With that power, families can be strengthened, broken hearts can be healed, and God's love can abide even stronger in the home. I know this is true, and I have felt this power as I have stepped into the homes of many families here in Laie. I love the families here. 

ALSO this week I found out that my dear investigator, Rickie, from England was baptized! I wish so badly that I could have flown over and attended. But the funny thing is that the night I received the email from him about his baptism, I met a wonderful couple from England here in the VC. Coincidence? Never :)

Well that is all that I have time for! I hope that you all had a fabulous week. 

I know that the Lord loves us and knows us. I know that when we open our hearts to His will we can see miracles. He always takes us down the path that leads to growth and increased capacities to love. I want to end with a quote from Brad Wilcox's talk titled "His grace is sufficient" (because it is):"Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power." 

I love you all! 

Love Sister Willardson

Mahalo nui Loa!

Aloha, family and friends!

This week was great. I met some really great visitors in the VC this week. Do you want to know something that I've learned finally? Okay, great!

So far on my mission, I have had times where I have struggled with guests in the Visitors' Center. You can just tell that they don't care about what I am saying, or don't believe it. Some guests have raised their voices with me, others have turned and literally ran away from me (those are my favorite). This week I realized that not everyone is prepared to receive the fullness of the Gospel. Not everyone is going to recognize how important this message is. Not everyone is going to realize that they have something missing that only Christ can bring. I am not here to convince anyone that this is the true church. I am not here to convince anyone that the Book of Mormon is true, the truest book on earth! I am not here to convince anyone that temples are truly the Lord's house. I don't have to! If they are prepared, they will recognize the special spirit here on temple grounds. They will recognize that they are missing something in their lives, and the happiness and peace they are feeling is just a teaser to what they could have in their lives every day! 

The second I realized that I am not here to convince, I crossed paths with many wonderful, prepared people. I had a man from the Philippines ask if he could buy the Tagolog Book of Mormon from me! (I of course gave him a free copy). I met so many wonderful, humble families this last week that were searching for more. I am so blessed to be here. 

I strive every day to be prepared, to be worthy enough to be a carrier of the light of Christ. Many people recognize the sweet, peaceful influence of the spirit when they come onto temple grounds. I am so grateful to be entrusted with this calling to testify of Him, our Savior and Redeemer every day. 

Live your life in a way that you can be an example of the believers. We have all been entrusted with the light that many are searching for. Let it shine!

Aloha nui loa,

Sister Willardson

Missionary Lyfe

Aloha Friends and Family!

Hope you had a great week! Mine was great too :) We had transfers and I can't remember if I told you but I am staying where I am with sweet sister Ohno. We are working hard, trying to stay busy in an area with 99.9% members. This last week we taught a lesson to our Jehovah's witness friend Esther and it ended up being approximately 3 hours long. She just didn't want us to leave! Well the real story is this...

We had just finished teaching a Family Home Evening Lesson to a family in our ward when we were on our way to another home to try to contact a family that has been pretty MIA. On our way there, I just stopped in my tracks and had the impression that we needed to go see our friend Esther. We usually try not to visit her because she always tries to teach us hahaha. BUT I knew that we needed to go see her. So we went. When we walked up to her door, it was open, and her and her son were sitting on the couch crying together. She saw us and invited us to come in, and told us that her nephew had just passed away. She asked us where he was. We talked to her about God's plan for us and specifically where we go after we die. We shared with her Alma 40:11-12 which reads,

 11 Now, concerning the state of the soul between death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of all men, assoon as they are departed from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whetherthey be good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.

 12 And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous arereceived into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state ofpeace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and sorrow.

We spoke together for a long time. I know that Heavenly Father knew that Esther needed us to come that night to provide with her some answers and the comfort and peace that she was searching for. I can often feel a strength or power that is not my own guiding me to say or do certain things. I know that Heavenly Father loves us so much that he puts angels into our lives that provide us with a touch of heaven. I hope that we were able to do that for Esther that night.

God is merciful and loving. I know that this life is meant to help us grow, and thus we sometimes experience times of sorrow and pain. We all face individual challenges that can be too heavy to bare on our own. I also know that we can use these challenges to become sensitive to others and their needs. Some of the things that I have struggled with on the mission so far have helped me to be sensitive to specific people and their needs. I know that above all, the Lord knows our needs and challenges. He suffered for us so that we don't have to suffer. He can help us lift those burdens that are too heavy to lift on our own. All we have to do is ask :)

Look to others and their needs this week! And always, always keep smiling!

Love Sister Willardson