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