ALOOOOHA!

   Boy... this week was crazy. It was good though! So...to start out

1.  Pokemon Go.... Lots of our members have been talking about it and it sounds like the biggest waste of time. We were at dinner and one of our members was saying how it was super popular. When we left dinner, he texted us and told us that every person we stopped playing Pokemon Go he would give us a good referral. We accepted, of course! It should make tracting an even more interesting experience.
2. Hurricane! We kind of had a hurricane.. It just rained a lot, but it was pretty crazy. Lots of thunder and lightning. Kind of like the storm in "The Testaments" video...maybe a little less extreme. 
3. We met two women this week who committed to baptism. Their names are Tela and Melody. They are Chuukese. They are super super sweet. They said that they had come to our church before, but they hadn't been in a while, but that they wanted to come and that they wanted to get baptized.. They didn't come to church on Sunday, but we have an appointment with them this week, so I will let you know how it goes!
4. We had a lesson with one of our part member families. The grandmother, Doniba(the member), is such a sweet woman and her daughter and daughter's children are so prepared. We brought Sister Bekker with us, which was awesome! We taught about the Atonement and we used the lesson where you have someone do push-ups for every piece of candy that you pass out to the people in the room, whether they want it or not. I remember having that lesson in Sunday school and then another time for one of our Zone Meetings. It is very powerful. The spirit was so strong and when Sister Bekker bore her testimony, I felt that there was no way that they would not be at sacrament meeting on Sunday.Well, Sister Bekker came to the branch on Sunday so that she could be there when they came to church. We waited...and waited...and waited... they sang the hymn before the sacrament and we kept waiting.. I was praying as the sacrament was passed that they would come...but they still didn't... After sacrament, Sister Bekker came and gave us both hugs and President Bekker said that he looks forward to being able to meet them in the future. Then, I turned around and Doniba was standing with her daughter! We introduced them to President Bekker and Sister Bekker was so sweet to them! They didn't make it to sacrament meeting, but they are making steps towards it. I know that they will make it as they continue to try. The church is true! The gospel changes lives!
5. I have been thinking a lot about the atonement lately. There is nothing like the peace that fills your heart when you know that you are doing all that you can to apply the atonement of Jesus Christ in your life. So many people make the claim that they know Jesus, so they are saved. They don't need to learn anything more, because there are no immediate results to that attitude and lifestyle. This is one of the saddest most disappointing things I have seen on my mission. They don't understand that Christ didn't suffer for us so that we can sin. He suffered so that, through him, we can overcome sin. We have to do our part. Even if we don't always see immediate results from choosing against what we know to be right, there will always be consequences. 

• There is a family in Kahala ward who just got sealed. The husband served a mission and said that he never went to the temple after he got home. Because of this, he didn't see a need to keep his temple recommend renewed. Without an active temple recommend, it became easier for him to slip in and out of activity. Eventually, he stopped coming to church all together. He and his wife had 4 children, and they were not sealed. She took them to church all by herself for years. Finally, he realized that in order to have his family forever, he would need to get active again and go back to the temple. He shared how he knew that having an active temple recommend and consistently going to the temple with his wife is what will help them to stay on track and bring them the most joy in this life as well as the next. I know that that is true. 
• If there is anything that we need to change in our lives, to bring ourselves more in line with Christ's teachings, we need to change it now. Not later. The more we procrastinate repentance, the harder it will be to change in the future. We will be the same person in the next life that we are now. So, we need to make who we are now, someone that can stand with confidence in front of God. Alma 34:32-34

I love you all. I hope that you all have a great week and that we can all find one way to become more like our Savior. I know that I have a lot to change, but I know that through God, all things are possible. I know that through Jesus Christ, even I can become like God someday.