Ensign State Of Mind

Aloha ko'u 'ohana a me hoaaloha! On exchanges with the Chinese Sisters. Sister Khoo (from Malaysia) talking to someone on the phone from the mission office who can't understand her accent...she looks at me laughing and is like " this happens to me all the time ". Haha same Sister Khoo same. Lemme give you a few experiences from this week Island time, it happens to me all the time (lol) . Saturday night we were rushing from a dinner appointment and were going to be about 7 minutes late to an appointment. We texted and told the lady this. She calls us up and is furious and goes at us about being late and talks about having to go do her laundry. We apologize and hang up. We then write a nice apology letter and drop it off at her apartment. That evening we get a call and she is...still upset lol. This time saying that "this is America, you didnt even let me know you were dropping a letter off, it couldve been dangerous!". Yup. Anything we do isn...

Sister Eccles and I! What a great driving instructor  Aloha family a me friends! I looked out the window (of an airplane) and what did I see?... People. Bare trees. People. Giant apartment buildings. People. Hundreds of cars. People. Houses on house on house. People. The huge buildings in Manhattan.  And what do I hear? No more white noise of tree frogs and crickets but the buzz of the city, sirens, Mister Softee and cars.  Bye bye Bermuda! Airplane shot of the big city  View from our apartment  Well. Doesn't look like we are in Bermuda anymore! Felt like a little island girl going into the big city for the first time (again)! But being back in New York is like riding a bike again for the first time in ages. At first it feels odd and strange and you may wobble a little bit...but you keep moving forward and slowly but surely it becomes second nature. And just fyi I am not quite at that second nature state again haha it has...

Sis. Darrell and I Good day family and friends! Shoutout to my mother for my subject line. I couldn't say it better than her so I shall quote the email I received earlier today:  "Nearly six months has flown by. Time in Bermuda appears to have been shorter than that. It’s time like this when you realize your mortal time is a mere blip in the Lord’s time.  It seems like you’ve had many “short stories” serving in Bermuda to contribute to your missionary novel of experiences. And your time is getting shorter as a missionary. " Kite making ft. matching dresses 'Tis true. Time has been short and really does fly by when youre having fun and loving the people and work. In my six months herr I can say that I have grown in all aspects of my life (very much including the physical aspect as these Bermudians love to eat food, love to give food, and love to celebrate with food haha). I feel my growth can be summed up in one of my favorite bible st...

Last Monday at Grotto Bay with Sister Moss! Nice and sunny Good day family and friends! It seems as though time is against me right now. The work is picking up. People are progressing. People are legit SOO close to getting baptized. The weather is getting warmer...and I have one week here. Every sunset, every member I say bye too, every time I look out to the beautiful blue waters, every time I see the same people at the bus stops and in town (everyday). Am I being dramatic? Possibly. But probably not because this place has become home to me lol.  If any of you really know me...you know I like to go go go. I like to be a busy bee. I like to have lots of things to do. But more so (since my time in Bermuda), I have realized that there is a time for this and that.  Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 "1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is p...

Sister Pennock and I at Crystal Caves last week! Aloha family a me friends! I hope you all are having as Bermudaful day as I am as I look out to the crystal blue sparkling water and feel the sweet breeze in my hair and eat my banana ice cream. Nothing beats that now does it? Haha.  On to serious note... We are constantly on the quest to "know", for things to "make sense", to see things clearly so that we don't have to strain our eyes more and more. We often may feel like the little currant bush asking the gardner "how could you do this to me? I was making such great growth". We often say once I see the blessings from God then I'll believe. But really God teaches us the opposite, once we believe in Him THEN we will see the blessings and feel the joy.  Come jump on a limb with me and lets make an analogy (or try to, bear with me). When one visits an eye doctor, the doctor uses that machine (think of the Justin Timberlake 'Exp...

Ready for takeoff..lol #Bermudalove  Aloha Family a me Friends!  *Beep Beep*. 6:15 am. Wakeup. 7:00 am. Eat breakfast. 8:30 am. Plan. 9:00am Personal Study. 10:00 am Companion Study. 11:00am-9:00pm Out and about. 10:30pm In Bed. *Beep beep*. And it starts again every single day for months on end.  I could just run a race to say "I did it" or I could run a race to say "I did it!!!". The difference is not merely just in the puncuation of the exclamation point but rather in the ton. Was this merely a race to get over with and make people happy or did I challenge, push, and stretch myself to reach a goal and enjoy the joy and satisfaction from reaching a goal. Such joy that is greater that triumphs all joy.  This past week, I witnessed the miracle of daily goals (this is something I witnessed early in my mission but fell out of the practice of making them meaningful). Thus I decided to bring it back again.  We made specific goals that ranged fro...

Happy St. Patricks Day!  Good day family and friends! I feel like I am dying (lol). Physically? I've had a slight cold the pat couple of days but things are getting better. Emotionally? Its like a punch to the heart everyday that someone seems to remind me that my six months on the island are coming closer than I'd like. Spiritually? I'm on cloud nine and loving the work so all is well. Spirit is strong but the body is weak (for now) haha.  Roots a rockin' part two. Last week I talked about rooting yourself in love. This week: family and cultural roots. My favorite. Roots a rockin' part two.  From recent converts discovering family records to trainings on family history to reading a bible with an elderly woman and her exclaiming she has a closet full of bible with family records (such that the bible its self is getting old but the record parts are well kept). To the youth prepparing for the island's first ever trek and learning about all of ...