ALOHA 'OE

My last Accountability with the Sisters

Malepe and Teleni's family (kids, Ziggy, Aufi, Moana) from Laie 9th Samoan Ward

Dinner with the Loza's! From my Laie 3rd Ward

Family, Friends, Aloha!!

It is so crazy to feel how fast this time has gone by. My heart is full of joy and gratitude as well as heartache. This Sunday was my last Sacrament meeting, being that next Sunday is GENERAL CONFERENCE!!  =) It was such a blessing that in our our Laie 8th ward, Sister Rowley and I (Sister Rowley and Cavalcante being the other set of Sisters in the ward) were able to speak on missionary in Sacrament meeting. What a joy it was to bare my testimony to these wonderful people of Hawaii, and testify of the truthfulness of this gospel one last time. After the program, the congregation stood and sang to me, "Aloha 'Oe;"  a song written by the Queen of Hawaii long ago traditionally sung as a bidding farewell. 

Bishop and Sister Mamea from my Moanalua 2nd Samoan Ward

It's words singing:

Ha'aheo ka ua I na pali

Ke nihi a'ela i ka nahele

E hahai ana paha i ka liko

Pua 'ahihi lehua o uka

Aloha 'oe, aloha 'oe

E ke onaona noho i ka lipo

One fond embrace,

A ho'i a'e au

Until we meet again.

I love Hawaii and it's people so much, and know that through the gospel, we truly shall meet again. Well, what a week this has been, and I cannot wait to see the miracles that await my last week as a missionary in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission.

Miracle #1 

I mentioned in my little list of miracles that I did not have time to write about a girl named Jo Ei. Ah, well, let me tell you about Jo Ei. When Sister Tsai and I served in the YSA wards last December, Jo Ei was our only non-member in our ward boundaries. She is from Malaysia. We tried over and over again to knock on her door, but she was either not home, or told us that she was not interested, while telling her other non-member friends not to listen to our message! Now almost 10 months later, the Holy Ghost has once again spoken to and changed someone's heart. Sister Eaton and I were on shift at the VC when a YSA (young single adult) came in and told us that his friend Jo Ei was going to be coming to the VC, and she was a non-member.

We didn't think anything of it except excited to speak to a non-member, having no idea who she was. He told us that she had felt the spirit, for the first time, and that she was really moved by it. He told us that she wants to learn from missionaries, but is SO scared.

Well, long story short, we met her (outside the doors of the VC b/c she was too scared to come in) and I couldn't believe this was the same Jo Ei!! She truly was changed; her countenance completely different!  We spoke with her and said a prayer with her at this time, and invited her to meet with missionaries. Very timidly she nodded her head and said this would be okay.

We went into the VC and told the VC director of our miracle, and they told us that if she wanted to meet with Sister Eaton and me because she already knew me, then Sister Eaton and I should set an appointment with her and meet with her, then transition her to the other Sisters...as we would normally do when finding new investigators that come to the VC. We asked her how she felt, and she told us that she wanted us to teach her. We couldn't wait.

We met with her a couple of nights later, teaching her the Gospel of Jesus Christ; Lesson 3. We taught her about the steps that God has given us that lead us to eternal happiness. It was amazing to have her open up to us; explaining when she felt the spirit, and expressing to us that the Holy Ghost already told her it was true.

We asked her what she felt she needed to do next. After having taught her about baptism, her answer was of course, "To be baptized." We then asked her when she felt she could be prepared to be baptized. After a long silence of a good 2 minutes, she finally said, "I think in 3 or 4 weeks." I can't even tell you how much joy filled my heart for her! We then pulled out a calendar showing her that in 3 weeks was the 12th and 4 weeks being the 19th. As soon as I looked at the 19th, I selfishly asked Heavenly Father that this date would stand out to her! My family and I will be coming back to Hawaii and will be on O'ahu on this day. With a short amount of silence this time, she said, "The 19th stands out." A huge smile came on my face! I told her of the good news that even though I would be leaving my mission in a couple of weeks, I would be back on that day; allowing me to still attend her baptism!! She was SO excited!! So, family, get excited to see Jo Ei's baptism when we come back!! What a miracle. Every single piece of this story is a miracle. There is SO much more to it, so definitely ask me, and I'd love to tell you more! 

                                                        (sorry that was so long)

Miracle#2  

This past Friday Sister Eaton and I did not have too much proselyting time with all the appointments we had set up (mind you, every single one of them fell through, haha). With the hour that we had, we planned on seeing four families. Well, we were on our third family to visit and as we turned to drive down the street, we saw the lights on and the door open to the house of one of our investigators whom we had not contacted since our initial contact with him. We turned the car around, parked, said a prayer, and got out of the car. As we approached the house, we saw a figure (it was getting dark outside) inside the bed of a truck. The closer we get, we saw that it was him! Nate! We were so happy to see him! After speaking to him for a couple of minutes we come to find out that he works from 4:30 am to 9:30 pm every single day!! He said that he only comes home for a couple of minutes around that time to pick up some things. What a miracle it was that we drove by at the precise time he was home for those few moments. We were able to say a prayer with him and help him feel the spirit. I love how some times when we feel inspired to visit someone, it's actually the person on the way that we're supposed to see. I know that is why it's so important to look ALL around us for the miracles in store. Turned out the person we were going to visit, didn't even live there anymore. Pretty cool how Heavenly Father works. As long as we are doing our best, living righteously, He will bless us to be in the right place at the right time!

Service Project in the morning, cleaning the temple grounds!

Yup! We get to clean the pool at the Visitor Center =)

I know this has been a really long e-mail, but I am so grateful for this wonderful time of my life that I have had to serve the Lord. I know that God lives, and I know that this IS His church upon the earth. I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that Priesthood authority; the power to act in God's name is restored upon the earth again today! I know we are lead by a Prophet of God, and He leads us and guides us to know of how we can daily gain true joy and happiness in this life and especially the next! Love you all SO much. Thank you for your continual prayers!

Alofa,

Sister Moyes

Sister Eaton and me at a Samoan Ward party