Hale sweet Hale (home sweet home)

Aloha from LA'IE!!!

How grateful I am to be BACK! Oh my goodness I have missed it so. Laie is definitely my home away from home. Leaving the people in Aiea and Pearl City was one of the hardest things I've had to do; but being back here in Laie couldn't make me happier. I have gained such a testimony of the spirit of the temple and temple grounds (having not lived around it each and every day). I felt the spirit each day out in Aiea and I experienced miracles daily. I will be forever grateful for the lessons I learned there. With that, I gained such a testimony of my call to the Laie Temple Visitors' Center. It is a place that people take with them when they go back to their home. Heavenly Father blessed me to meet and to see people I had already met from the PCC and VC while I was out there. Whether I was out tracting, teaching, or at IHOP of all places! I met people who had not forgotten the way they felt during their stay at the Visitors' Center. I could share loads and loads of stories! but I will save them for next month.

So THIS transfer is my last transfer...And it has already gone by too quickly. My new companion is Sister Su and she is from Taiwan. I love her oh so much! Her English is incredible and I can't imagine having to learn another language to teach the gospel. She is pretty amazing; I can't wait for you to meet her. There are choke people from China who come to the VC, and so I get to see Sister Su in action by teaching the gospel in Mandarin. It's awesome! We stay with each other in tours if it's not busy and so I get to just stand, listen to Sister Su and smile at all the beautiful asian faces :) I feel so pathetic and useless sometimes to be honest! I wish I could speak Mandarin so badly! Haha I try to run around and grab any pamphlets or Book of Mormons for her in Mandarin if someone is interested in one. I'm her "water boy" in a sense, and if that is how Heavenly Father needs me to be a missionary, then I am more than happy to do it :) The other day I decided that I wanted to do more than just deliver pamphlets. I asked Sister Su to teach me how to say, "I know that was she says is true." in Mandarin in order for me to double testify of all she teaches. So during her language study to learn English, I've been learning my ONE phrase and I just got it down! Boy, it was tough :) But I did it! Man, no wonder they are so smart! Just communicating and getting the intonations right makes you breathe hard ha. Props to them. Here my phrase (just to help me get it down a little more) 'Wo dzu dow ta shuwo duh, shoo doy duh'. I haven't had the chance to say it yet, but Sister Su and I are just waiting for the chance :) Oh how I love sharing the gospel so much! Good thing that doesn't have to end at the end of this transfer.

She and I are living at the little beach house :) The same one I lived in when I first came out and the same one I lived in when I was training Sister Knudsen. And now here I am again at the same pad!
This morning, we went to the temple which made my whole week. Love the temple!

What else can I update you on. Hmm...OH! We have a new VC Director! Duh Sister Annen! Ha ya, that's been new! He's great guys. He was a mission president before, and so he's good. Of course I miss my dear Mcdonoughs though. They were here for most of my mission. But the VC will be left in wonderful and inspired hands. The other two senior couples whom I've come to just love so much are leaving around the same time as me. I'm so happy we all live in UTAH! The blessings from living in Utah :)

Anyway, goodness I'm sorry let me just explode on you guys! Ha I just gave you a bus load there. I hope it all made sense. I am just so happy to be here, back at the VC, with my dear companion Sister Su, in the Laie 2nd Ward. Life is good.

I love you nui loa! I am thrilled to hear about my dear future Elder Annen and where Heavenly Father needs him! Please record the call opening ya. I am so happy. A mission has been the greatest, hardest, most rewarding blessing Heavenly Father could have ever given me.

Talk to you soon! xoxo

Much Aloha,

Sister Annen

For the Birds

Aloha and happy Monday everyone!

How's it family? It sounds like it's been quite the week for all of you my goodness. Keep doing what you do and show the world what the Annens are made of :) Know that you have a number one fan on a little island called O'ahu.

This week was wonderful. Which is normal over here. Just last Sunday, Quinton Kamaunu, who just got baptized in December, received the priesthood!! It was the greatest sight to see as he stood up in his suit and the ward sustained him. He was beaming just like he did after he was baptized and after he received the gift of the Holy Ghost. Feeling the spirit just does that to people. It truly is the greatest gift Heavenly Father can give us on this earth. I was so happy and I couldn't stop smiling all three hours or all day or all week.

I need to finish my favorite story about member missionary work! I'm so sorry it's taken me so long! Did you guess why the father looked for the birds? I will tell you. He knew that if he found the birds, he would find the fish since the birds eat the fish.

Now, why would I tell this story? Whenever my companion and I are teaching a member family after a dinner appointment, we will tell them that, we, as the full-time missionaries are the fishers in the boat. We try to find the 'fish' or those who are prepared and ready to hear the gospel. But sometimes, or a lot of the time, it is difficult to find people to teach on our own. So we look to...the birds! And who are the birds? YOU!! :) We look to you because you go to school with them, work with them, and play with them. You are their friends and family and we are here to help you guys. As my companion and I finished telling this story one time, this cute little boy said, "So we're the birds huh? So we eat the investigators?" haha oh man I was laughing so hard!

I have so many other stories and experiences to share but I'll have to save them for later.

Sorry this is kind of short! The length of my emails are definitely not a measure of how much I love you let me tell you that. If that were the case, this computer would crash because the email would be so long.

I love you!!

much aloha,

Sister Amen