All in the Ohana + More !
Aloha family a me friends!
*Just barely got back up from Manhattan and got a bite to eat so lets see how much I can type this afternoon :-)
Oh how grateful I am for the knowledge of the gospel and the knowledge that I have that because of this restored gospel, that I get to be with my family and loved ones for the rest of my life. Of the many blessings that we can receive from our Father in Heaven, I believe one of the greatest blessings is that of eternal families. I find so much comfort in knowing that this is not the end. That there is life after this world. And this life includes the people that matter the most to me. My testimony of families strengthened in leaps and bounds as we found family after family after family from all over the world...Liberia, Belize, Guyana (sp?), Haiti, and good ole Mt. Vernon.
Heres a miracle story for you:
- Monday afternoon: We get a call from the Facebook Elders in Scarsdale and they basically start telling us that we need to step up our posting game on our New Rochelle facebook page because if we dont then they are going to stop put money into running the ads.
- Tuesday daytime: We dedicate a solid 3 or so hours to posting and messaging and reporting different Facebook things. Nonetheless, not the most exciting thing to do but very necessary!
-Tuesday nighttime: Walking to a lookup and we see a mom and her two kids sitting on some steps waving at us. We go over and start talking. Find out that they just moved her from Liberia a few months ago and have been looking for a church. ALSO turns out that she had messaged our page a few months back. (TENDER MERCY from the Lord because we took time to do some tedious facebook posting lol)
-Thursday daytime: We go back over and we see the mom and then she invites all her nieces and nephews and her mom to come listen to us! Nice big Liberian family! The grandma gives us her address in New Rochelle and we set something up to go over the following week.
-(Next) Tuesday daytime: Go over to where the Grandma lives and turns out her son in the Liberian Diplomat and we walk into this super nice big fancy house! And once more, her sons entire family is all ready to listen to us. What in the world!!
Fun Fact: Liberians speak super fast that half the time Sister Reed and I do not even know what they are saying. In fact one time they were saying something and Sister Reed goes "si". Ahhh wrong language Sister Reed haha.
Regardless of where we come from, we are all brothers and sisters. It does not matter what we look like or what experiences we have been through. We may speak different languages, but the language of the spirit is universal. I love my ohana. I am grateful for all that they have done for me and I know that I have loved ones on either side of the veil watching over and leading me every single day.
Well. Time is ticking for today. But here's a quote for the day about families that I love:
“The family is one of God’s greatest fortresses against the evils of our day. Help keep your family strong and close and worthy of our Father in Heaven’s blessings. As you do, you will receive faith and strength which will bless your lives forever.” —Ezra Taft Benson
Randoms:
1) Finished up exchanges last week! Went with Sister McMullin from Woodside (Queens) and later on Friday went with Sister Lykins from Brentwood (Long Island)! And now we are done!
2) Gave a talk on conversion on Sunday with Sister Reed being the other speaker and oddly enough I actually took up TOO much time. Not sure how that quite happened. But it did haha.
3) Someone told us that we needed to get a "chopped cheese" at a New York Deli. So I did. Basically a chopped up cheeseburger. Not too shabby lol. Also finally got some bagels in New York. A little late on the game I know, but better late than never!
4) Got to go to the temple today for my departing temple trip! I took two names and did sealings with the Teuschers. Definitely an unforgettable experience!
5) For some reason we gave out lots of flowers this past week. Flowers make people happy...almost as happy as food haha
6) Met some over Facebook. Had a videocall lesson. He tells us he has 6 younger siblings all over the age of 8! More Facebook Family miracles. They just dont stop!
Me ke aloha pau ole,
Sister Ellis
Believe, Love, Do
P.S. Speaking of happy families, I get to see my happy family in 7 days!