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