Kai Kemate :)

Aloha, Famili!

Wow. This last week was pretty amazing. And just so everyone knows... I AM STILL ALIVE!

I may have gained 10 pounds in the last week... But I am still alive :) In our Tongan branch, we cover the whole west side of the island, and that means there is work work work! For some reason, however, our only progressing investigators aren't Tongan hahaha

We have a baptism on Saturday! His name is Owen and he is dating Tongan girl in our ward. He is soo solid. He's been meeting with missionaries for a while now, so he knows everything, but it wasn't until 3 weeks ago that it actually clicked for him and he wanted to be baptized. We have taught him a few times this last week, and it is so amazing to see how much faith he has in the Lord -- He won't let anything stop him from entering the waters of baptism :)

Let's see what else... We don't get to stay out very late because it is not really safe after dark... But it has been cool to see how the more we are out and about, the Lord blesses us with people to teach -- whoever they are! We even got to teach this lady named Lissa (we gave her some food too because she is homeless right now), but then she gave us this big list of stuff to get her and it kind of got awkward haha

The families here all really struggle financially, and they are just so humble. Despite the environment, it is amazing to see how the Gospel is literally a beacon of light to those who are stuck in addiction, depression and sin. God loves us so much that He provided a Savior for us to lead us back to Him. Living the Gospel is turning towards God when the world tries to convince us to turn away. No matter who we are or what we're going through, this Gospel can and will transform our lives, and give us the strength to move forward with a bright hope of a better future.

I LOVE WAIANAE!!

I love you all!

Sister Willardson

Malo e lelei!!!

Well, Ohana, this is it!! Transfers tomorrow and guess who is packing her suitcases??

I am being transferred to the west side of the island, to serve in the Waianae Tongan branch! It just recently opened up to sisters two transfers ago, and so it is a pretty fresh area, and I am SO excited to serve among the beautiful Tongan people. I will be serving again as a Sister Trainer alongside my new companion, Sister L (not sure if that is how she spells it because I have never met her...But she is Tongan so I am relieved!), and will be sharing the branch with another set of sisters, one of which is also a VC sister (Sister Y from Hong Kong). I am so excited!!

After (almost) a year in the Laie Temple Visitors' Center, this place has become home and I am so excited, nervous and anxious to start a new chapter by leaving here. I feel like I am leaving on my mission all over again. No idea what to expect... But I have grown to love this beautiful community, the people, the school, the spirit here, and the sisters. It will be hard to leave but it is time. And only three months. So no biggie :)

But I just want to take the time to express how grateful I am for this opportunity to serve the Lord here, in this place FULL of culture and love. There is no other place in the world like Laie. I have been thinking recently about our Savior and the hope He brings into our lives. One of my favorite scriptures in the NT is when Christ says, "Iam the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yetshall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."

I don't know where I would be without my Savior. We meet people every day that struggle with the effects of cancer, losing loved ones, finding a purpose in life... And the solution to all of the darkness in this world is literally the light that comes from Christ. There is hope. Death is not the end. There is light and life and love. I love this gospel.

I love you all! 

Sister Willardson

Qing :)

Aloha beautiful ohana!

This last week was spectacular!! (trying to mix it up with my word choice) hehe. 

Sister M and I have been staying very busy online! At this point, we have stopped chatting as much and just focused on working with who we do have. Our teaching pool is too big right now! Which is a blessing. Jimmy is still progressing very nicely, we are just trying to get the missionaries to meet with him. We have taught him almost all the lessons, and he is FULL of faith. He always says stuff like "I want them to come to our church and find this too!" when he's talking about his friends haha it is so cute. We also called another man named Victor yesterday that had requested to meet with missionaries, and he is in a rehab facility struggling with lots of things. He wants to find God again, and build a relationship with Christ. He agreed to be baptized. So now we are just waiting on his missionaries to contact him too! SO COOL! I could happily serve online for the rest of my mission. 

On Saturday we had the chance to attend a baptism for Qing, a young adult living here in Laie. She is from mainland china, and has been through A LOT in her life. Sister M had met her back in January when she was serving on campus. I had never met her before, but she had brought all her nonmember friends to the baptism and the spirit was stronger than I have ever felt before. Sister M and I shared the restoration during the missionary moment (my first time speaking at a baptism-- I was TERRIFIED!), and the Spirit was overwhelming. Qing is a really special person, and I know that she is going to be monumentally influential in bringing the Chinese people the Gospel. She is a spiritual giant. And everyone could feel that this was a historic moment as Qing entered the waters of baptism. She glowed. 

I love this gospel, and I love being able to see and feel God's love for everyone. I have never felt so happy or fulfilled before in my life. God's love changes the hardest of hearts. 

Give someone a hug today :)
Sister Willardson

Skype!!!

Aloha, cousins!!

This week was so amazing... (I feel like I say that every week, but it is true!) Sister Mount and I have been seeing lots of success online! The Visitors' Center has been pretty slow, but we are super busy online!! The biggest miracle that happened this last week is that Sister Mount and I called our new friend Jimmy and we set a baptismal date for him for the end of this month. We sent the missionaries to him right away, and have been calling him almost every day ever since. He is hilarious! Every time we talk he mentions the Walking Dead and cracks jokes. We are so excited for him :)

ALSO we have another amazing miracle from this week! We have officially received permission to start teaching our investigators on Skype!!! We have our first appointment set up for tomorrow with our friend Maria from Argentina!!! I cannot even explain how excited we are! We have been waiting for this day for a while, and now even more doors are opened to be able to teach around the world!

And even more exciting... I can't wait to Skype you guys on Sunday! Happy Mothers' Day, mom :):)

I love you all!!

Thank you so much for your prayers on our behalf. I can truly feel angels here with us. I love being a missionary, and I love serving the Lord :) This Gospel is true. I know it with all my heart. 

Have a beautiful day!!

Sister Willardson