BAPTISM

Hi my favorite family!!

Well, I am super homesick today. I don't know what has gotten into me, but every time I read an email from someone in the family, I almost start crying.

This morning I was going through the pictures that mom has sent me, and I was just so so grateful for our family. I miss you all so much. It is hitting me how much I miss you. Alia sent me an email last week saying that she had a dream I died. I almost started crying. Can you guys imagine if I DIED? oh that would be so sad for you! Haha. just kidding. But really, I would prefer to be with you all for eternity. Ok? I don't want to be without ANY of you (including ace and liam and lil' baby giant embryo in alia's tummy). 

Let me just give an overview of some of the highlights of this week and then maybe I will go into detail:

(Not in order of importance)

- We caught a cat :) His name is Cooper and he is ours.... kind of. 

- Cassidy Cooley got baptized and it was glorious :) I love that girl, so much. 

- Dougie Kaapana (hawaiian and i love him and his family) committed to baptism on June 30th!!!! and He came to church with his family :) :) 

- A little girl bore her testimony to me in the middle of the street. It was so cute . 

- A little boy of a less active family began his prayer with "oh god, the eternal father"

This week we have been consistent and diligent in working and trying PMF, formers, potentials, working with the ward, etc. WE didn't see much success come from it, and I must admit my faith was wavering a little bit. The Lord humbled me, AGAIN, and helped us to see a wonderful miracle with Dougie. He said that he wanted to be baptized and he came to church with his family on Sunday. My heart was brim with joy!! He said that he wanted his girlfriend's dad to baptize him. He is inactive so the dad said that he will have to start coming back to church and get in shape. The Lord is providing miracles. It hit me so hard this week that the Lord can do this work without us, but without the Lord we CANNOT do this work. 

I feel like I am never humbled sufficiently. I will spend the rest of my days learning to be humble and have charity, but I'm grateful for it because it means that I get to access the atonement everyday. 

This week Sister Kim and I are going to fast on Tuesday and then we will tract as much as we need to until we find those who are prepared by the Lord. Please pray for Maple Valley and that we will have the unity and faith to produce the miracles that we know the Lord has in store. 

Cassidy's baptism was blissful. It was so smooth and the ward supported her so much. Her family hates Mormons, but she has been coming to church faithfully for the past year and finally turned 18. She is amazing. Her heart is so pure. It is humbling to meet her because at first glance, she's pretty ordinary.  But when you talk to her- she shocks you with her beautiful kind heart! You can't judge a book by the cover :) I gave the talk on baptism and then we had everyone write her notes and we took a ton of pictures. We are going to put it in a book and give it to her as a present! 

I love mom and dad. Just saying. 

Cooper is a cat. and we caught him. actually he followed us tracting and tried to go into people's houses so when we went back to the car he jumped in and just sat on our laps! WE named him by the way. We went back the next day and he was just sitting on someone's porch so we pulled over and called him and he ran and jumped in the car! I love him, so i set him free. In one of the pictures, i was pretending to kiss him then he leaned up to my mouth and kissed me! It surprised me and it was gross.

So Sister Kim and I met this kid on the street... and he was...let's just say "a little different".  I don't think she has met someone like that before because as soon as he started talking she started laughing! Then she didn't know what to say and so she said " oh sorry, something spicey in my nose" Oh boy. I lost it. I couldn't contain myself. I laughed so hard. That was NOT one of our finer moments!

One of the less-active men in our ward served a mission in New Zeland and taught me Maori :) 

Kia Kaha Kito Rungo Pai ( Be strong in the gospel)

And now for a shout out to the Philippinos...

hdfkasdofiudfgheuyeue ( it's how you say I love you in Cebuano... sumner said to just bang on the keyboard), 

Sister Mara.

Families Are Forever

Oh HELLO!

First off, I loved getting on the computer today and seeing emails from my family. It does something to my heart. oh my goodness. Even though i haven't read all of them yet (just sumner and cami's and a little of mom's) I felt like I was going to cry. I remember back in Federal Way I used the scripture Alma 26:11 to describe my feelings around samoan families " But behold, my joy is full , yea my heart is brim with joy and i will rejoice in my god". Guys, that's how i felt when I read those emails and saw letters from my family today! Whoever knew that I could feel that way about a white family! hahah. Just kidding. Basically, you guys are the best and I love you forever and ever. I am always here for you and plead with Heavenly Father every night to watch over each of you. Be good, ok? Ok.

This week was fantastic. We had the lowest number of lessons taught, in the history of this mission, but it was amazing. Haha ok, not really, but we didn't have many lessons. We worked so, dang hard. And God made up the difference. We tracted a lot, met with part member families a lot and saw a lot of miracles!! Oh my goodness. We went and visited this inactive family (hawaiians! cheee!) and they have two nonmembers living there. We have always wanted to teach them but it has been chaotic and never really happened. Well for mother's day alll of them came to church! So we went and visited this week and all of the little kids were gone so it was quiet. Then the nonmembers told us that they wanted to learn more and we had the most spiritual lesson! The inactive members bore the most sincere and heartfelt testimonies.  I think that was the best moment on my mission. We are going back this Thursday to meet with all of them again. That was divinely orchestrated. I could have never planned anything better! oh my word, it was phenomenal.

President gave me a blessing this week ( we had interviews and I just wanted one so that I could do the best at my position) he said “ I promise that you will be magnified and have a greater ability to do this work.” God does not promise anything that he won’t fulfill! I have never received so many promptings in my life! It was amazing to have the spirit working through us. Words of Mormon 1:7, “ And now I do not know all things; but the Lord knoweth all things, which are to come wherefore he worketh in me to do according to his will”

We were walking to an appointment and I felt like we needed to go up this street. I didn't really want to walk because it was kind of far, but the thought kept coming to my mind, so we did. We came by this garage sale and started talking to the lady and she wasn't interested BUT THEN, an inactive and his girlfriend (who we have taught before and who we have been trying to get a hold of) walked up and started talking with us! It was a miracle! Trust those promptings!

Have you guys read “the powers of heaven” by Elder Bednar from this past conference?? Oh my goodness. I studied it this week. I have SUCH A DEEP APPRECIATION for the priesthood. President Larkin was talking about the priesthood for awhile and then he turned to the sisters and said, I don’t want you to think I’m leaving you out. “When a husband and wife are bound together they become JOINT heirs to the priesthood” How profound. I love that we can be equal partners with our spouses and that worthy priesthood holders can use their authority to lead and guide the family, with the support of their wives. Oh, I love the priesthood.

Ok, funny story time. So I have always loved Asians and think it is so funny when my companion mixes her language with mine. She asked me the other day if I had ever seen the movie “museum comes alive”, and I was like- uh what movie is that? She was talking about night at the museum, but Korean translation is “museum comes alive” hahha. Then we were sitting next to Jillian Cox in church and I was talking about how tan she was and sister kim leaned over to her and said “ Oh wow! Good job!”and Jillian was really confused and asked why and she said “your skin so good!”haha. I had to hold my breath so I wouldn't laugh.

Oh, this week, I broke sculpture on someone’s porch. I was walking away and my skirt caught on it and pulled it off the porch and it busted. SO OOOO AWKWARD. At least you know my skirts are long enough right? J

Ps, the pics- one is in front of the mission home, another is …. OH MY GOODNESS! I forgot to tell you I put snail slime on my face!!! Wow. We put Korean masks on our faces and guess what they were made of, yep: snail poo. That’s what the picture is. It didn’t really fit on my face and sister kim said, “wow you have so small face”. I told her I was aware of that.

My collage of the entire family is next to my desk :) makes me so happy.

Another is of us completely matching one day. She came out of the room wearing the same thing I was. hahaha. so funny.

Ok. I love you for reals. Have a good week!

 Love, Sister Me.

Dream Dreams!

(Email Sent May 8, 2012)
Hi FAMILY! Sarang He! That means “I love you” in Korean. Sister Kim IS SO FUNNY. I laugh so much at her and sometimes with her. She has got such a spunky lil’ personality and she is witty! I love her. She is a work horse. I prayed to have someone that I could just waste and wear out my life with… we are doing that! Every single night has been a blur. I feel like I hit the pillow and wake up 5 minutes later. Serious. I sleep SO DEEP. And my dreams have been CRAZY. It’s fantastic.

We had a tremendous week. I’m training, but not really, because she was on Temple Square. Our mission is WAY different than theirs so she does need some training but she is very focused on the work. We haven’t had a pday for two weeks because of transfers, but first night together we dropped her stuff off at the apartment and then went tracting. We full out run to each house every single night. The spirit is so strong when we teach together. What a blessing it has been.

Elder Golden of the Seventy came to our mission yesterday. It was so spiritual and intense. He met each one of us and shook our hands and talked for a few seconds about ourselves. I am so blessed to have such remarkable experiences here on my mission. He stood in front of us and he said “ as a servant of the Lord, I can tell by just looking into your eyes, the level of your spirituality and morality” Holy smokes.

We had a leadership meeting later and he spoke to the trainers first and he said, “As general authorities, you are the most trusted missionaries in the mission. Every missionary is equal, but the Lord trusts you with our new missionaries.”Whew! If that didn’t make me feel overwhelmed. But I feel the Lord’s strength so much (and the adversary’s attempt to bring me down just as equally).

Ok this week was FULL of miracles. We found 4 new investigators. We prayed and had an inspirational thought before tracting each night and set goals. Every night we accomplished each of our goals!!! We put 4 people on-date for baptism and found a man who had been in jail and was a member before. He never felt right going back to church, but we got him in touch with the bishop and one of his roomies is a new investigator!! Holy moly.

I also laughed so much this week. Hahaha. Sister Kim’s is so funny. She always says “oh wow!” Now, I say oh wow, too. AND I made my first pot of rice in my entire life…. What is happening?! Sheesh. She is terrified of Dogs. Too bad that EVERY house in Seattle owns a dog. One night this huge german shepherd came running at us barking and she screamed and threw me in front of it. And then I saw the sign that said “beware of dog” haha. Luckily it didn’t eat me.

Oh at the training Elder Golden called an elder out for saying “so” and “um”. He said that our language is a reflection of our calling.

President Larkin said that I was a miracle worker with Sister Morgan. She is doing amazing! It makes me soooo happy.

One last thing. Elder Golden told us to Dream Dreams and see visions. I think Dad is a wonderful example of that. We must have visions and then work so hard. He told us that every time we meet someone, be someone that they cannot forget. Let's change the lives of everyone we come in contact with!

AND one last thing to add to Alia's email. These are the last days. Movies are getting worse, humor is getting more crude, language is degrading. BUT as we are obedient to all of God's commandments, we will discover the real God. Our relationship will change dramatically. I may be the only set apart servant of the Lord right now, but we are all servants. As servants, we need to think differently about life and raise the bar. We cannot live on the edge anymore. We are a family and as families we are to protect and uplift one another. Pray for each other. Pray for your children. Sorry to be preachy. Our Heavenly Father knows us perfectly. So perfectly. This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and we are apart of the only true church. President Monson is a prophet of God, and our Heavenly Father wants us to have conversations with Him everyday.
All that it comes down to is Charity and Humility. Love the people. Love each other. Love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and everything else will fall into place.

I am so grateful for this mission. I love you! Talk with you on Sunday! You are the best family ever!!! Stay strong!

Love,Sister Mara.

SECURITY! Suh-cuhr-reh-tee!!

SKYPING ON MOTHER'S DAY WAS THE BEST!! OH MY GOODNESS. Did you know i love you guys? hahahaha!  LOVE YOU! Serious. Everyone looked so good. Except I saw selah and emma for only like 30 seconds... and that just is not enough.

Ok, what I loved most. THE MOST. was that when cami or alia got on skype, you all were so excited to see them too! And you all took time to talk to them. Like you hadn't seen them for awhile either. I loved that! I thought about that after I got off skype and I just smiled. It made my heart so happy. I love that we all love each other so much. Except you love me the most, right? :) hahah jk.

cami looked so good! Her and her sweet little ace man are two peas in a pod, just quiet and serene. Why was I named serene? haha. Cami, we can switch if you want. Alia's baby bump(S) looked great! I couldn't tell you were prego from your face, and then you stood up.... haha more lil liam, hopefully he gets his growth spurt soon.

So how was everyone's mother's day? What did you all do? What did you eat for dinner? Did anyone get any gifts?? give me the 411. as if i'm right there. mmmk pumpkins? :)

OH! so after I got off skype with you guys, we went to the park to study because it was 80 degrees and sunny here! While we were there, this guy walked by so we started talking with him and he has 12 friends on missions! holy smokes! SO we taught him a lesson and gave him a book of mormon and are going to his house this week! MIRACLE!

Did i tell you i went to University of Washington campus this past week? We had exchanges, so we went to campus and just contacted all day. I met Me, with dreads. She was ME. it was crazy. She was getting volunteers to go to Africa and she had siiiick dreads. I taught her the restoration right there on campus and told her the Joseph Smith Story. Then i got her number and she will have an appt with the sisters another time. It wsa so cool. I loved being up there in the middle of the city!!

So our investigators... We met a few this week and I love them with my whole heart. I LOVE THEM. Shane, is in his late 30's, single dad and very shy. He hauls hay for a living and lives in a trailer with his son, shane. They are both so cute. They are on date for baptism. But he won't come to church. That is the hardest part! Oh boy. We stopped by his house Sunday morning to get him to come but he didn't answer.

The Barrera-Reyes family is lovely. Jesus is the dad and Olivia is the mom and their little boys are brian and jonny. They are so cute. We had a lesson about the restoration with them this week. I shared the first vision with them and they said "wow, das rilly goot" haha. They have such the light about them. We gave them a book of mormon and are going back tonight!! They are catholic, but their parents are christian and they want to know which church is true. Pray for them please. I love them so much.

Cassidy is turning 18 tomorrow and will get baptized in two weeks.

Well I know that I will get off here and think of a million things that I should have written... :( Sorry I can't think!

Ok, I love you guys. Sumner, You are going to love your mission. LErV it. Haha. It is the best. Really really. But Imiss the heck out of you guys.

Be good. Be happy. Love each other. Don’t get offended. Have Charity. Communicate. I pray for you every night. Dad. You’re legit.

Love, ME!