Mailing Address:

Sister Macey Smith

45-345 Mealele St.

Kaneohe, HI 96744

This week has been amazing!

We took one of our investigators to the Visitors Center and the temple! He cried. It's such a great opportunity to see someone gaining and growing a testimony. The Lord reaches us on our own levels. He is planning on being baptized on October 10th! He's stopped drinking coffee. We are so proud and excited! 

We also did service around all these beautiful ginger flower, weeding and mowing. It's other worldly over here. Especially when you get out to the country. I love the red ginger flowers and the family who owns the garden made us lunch and sent us off with a bunch of flowers like last time! 

The district will loose Elder Jipus, which is a BIG loss. He is so dang funny and can eat a coconut faster than you'd believe. I'm going to miss trying to speak Tagalog with him! We will be getting a new elder in our district, so we're jazzed about that. A few changes in the zone (one of the Elders is going to Kihei!) and I guess the change is good. It's just weird to think that I won't serve with these people forever, but honestly they are like brothers! It's a really unifying experience and I think being able to relate to one another and push each other on is so helpful. At least to me!

Kaneohe is just like heaven. The sweetest and funniest family had us over for dinner last night and made Dinuguan (which is a Filipino dish. It's beef cooked in pork blood with vinegar. SO good.), Pinach Beet, and Ponset ****please check the spelling on these..... shootin in the dark**** and then jambalaya and pulled pork sandwiches for us! Can you believe that?! Just for us. So sweet. Sundays are like eating marathons.... I am trying to figure out how to pace myself. Being a missionary is this weird dance between "we are poor and have nothing but tuna fish and rice" for the first two meals of the day and then "wow. what a glorious feast." for the second half of the day... So still trying to figure that out.

We have been tracting more this week, as we are trying to focus on finding new people to teach. That's actually become one of my favorite things. Which I NEVER could have imagined. But it's kind of... fun. Yes, fun! Like "who's behind that door?!" (in a tv announcer voice) because you honestly NEVER know. Some lady in the 4th ward asked the Elders to give her cat (Scrapper) a priesthood blessing. Another lady invited us in thinking we were the Jehova's Witnesses and we got about half way through a lesson before she promptly asked us out! I am saving all the crazy stories but it's a great opportunity to be invited into these people's lives. When will I ever have that chance again? 

Most of all, I have been trying my best to become more and more lost in this work. It's not easy! But it is so worth it. I feel so good when I am doing exactly what I know I should and in the best way I know how. There is no replacement for that kind of work. The blessings that come from it can come from no other source. Every blessing is predicated on obedience. At a baptism this week, we sang "I Feel My Savior's Love" and I was so touched by the fourth verse. I am trying to offer Him my heart. My WHOLE heart and mind. And I know He will bless me. "In giving, I receive." 

I love you all SO much. I am so glad to hear from you. Keep it coming! Keep the work moving! Read the Book of Mormon every day.

Mahalo!

Sister Smith