I L.O.V.E Indy

We got the call.

We're both being transferred out of Indy.

AND BEING REPLACED BY ELDERS. 

Ew.

Buuuuuut.

The Lord is in control of His work and I know He has amazing plans for my dear, White River. 

F A I T H, amirite??

I won't ever be able to thank my Heavenly Father enough for sending me here and the 

{ B E A U T I F U L }

six months I was able to spend laughing (constantly), singing, hair-flipping, raging, praying (hard), dancing (shhh! don't tell), fasting, dying, thriving, fearing, sweeeaaating (this humidity ohmygosh), sobbing (tears. so many tears), aaaaaand L O V I N G (bundles and bundles and bundles...) here. 

This place is NUTZ.

This place is blessed. 

This place has wonderful, mental, pretty people: 

My veerrryyy best friend forever and ever, Sister Leonard

My family away from my family, The Lewis Clan

My best homegirl, Shannon

My Mom of White River, Sister Burk<3

The two I poured my heart and soul into, my most loving cheerleaders: Donna and Terica

My best homie and her shouldn't-be-allowed-to-be-this-cute munchkins

The family that always made me laugh: The Delps 

 The sassiest, Nancy

 LOOOOOOORIIIII, my main gurl.

Grandma, Mom, Baby, Grandbaby

My People: Dawn and Tim

And of course, muh Baby. I love ya.

Peace out, White Rivaaaaaaaa

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

*snap snap snap*

Elder and Sister Winings aka my BFFs. In case you couldn't tell, they make me laugh endlessly. Buuuuut all good things must come to an end (unless it's the gospel. that's forever, people.) and they are now hooooome.

 I LOVE the members in my ward. This is Nina. I go to her when I miss human affection.

Just a warning: If you don't answer your (very reflective) door, I WILL take selfies in it.

 I always seem to find myself ON of my desk instead of AT it. Sis Pete took a shot of it one day. *snaps* well done, Sis Pete. Very candid.

 Remember how I said people give us stuff? That includes chocolate. Pounds and pounds of it. It's been a good week. 

Meet Wale! Sister Alexander and I began teaching him in May (remember the investigator whose phone went off in Sacrament Meeting? lol), but eventually we had to gift him over to the YSA missionaries since that is the ward he would attend. Well. WALE WAS BAPTIZED THIS WEEK!!! It was so wonderful. I love him dearly. He overcame A LOT of tribulation to make that covenant with God and he is a massive example to me of enduring faith.

Isn't Sis Pete the cutest?? Sorry, I don't show her face as much as I should. It's a good one.

Our current District. Plus, the Zone Leaders. Don't ask about the socks. They weren't my idea.

Was gifted some hiiiiiigh quality pants. I think they fit juuuuuuuust right. 

Sincerely, Sister Soloai

Courage to Have Faith

I feel like Satan was tempting everyone to anti us this week or maybe God was just trying to make us stronger, I don't know. Either way, it was a REALLY trying week. 

But.

I also grew a LOT.

 

Last Friday, there we were, sitting in the living room of a potential investigator and they and their friend are just going OFF about how religion isn't even a thing, we shouldn't believe in things we can't see, trying to tell US what WE believe when they didn't even know what the name of our church was until we told them, and questioning us about the most ridiculous stuff like how if we truly knew our church was correct, we should know how many books in the Book of Mormon there were without looking (15. thank you primary). 

Basically they were just shaming everything we hold dearest to us and being insane. 

Normally, in these situations I try to be very respectful and kind and whatnot.

But.

In this case, I felt something kind of snap that hot, Friday afternoon in that wacko's home. 

Now, these people were loud, and their speech was never-ending so I just start waving my hands around and going, "Hey! Hellooooooo!" and they're all like *talky talky talky louder louder louder* and I'm all like, "Actually, no. I'm going to stop you right there." 

And, surprisingly, they did. 

I was then able to bear my testimony about something really wonderful: 

F A I T H  I N  C H R I S T 

Did it matter to them?

Probs not.

Did they even hear a word I said?

Probs not.

But that measly testimony, in the middle of a contentious environment, by a little girl who still has no idea what the HECK she's doing, spoken with embarrassing, frustrated tears, meant everything to me.

People, I don't have a perfect testimony. 

I don't have proof and facts to back up every answer I feel to be right when it comes to the church.

I have things I question myself!

But let me share with you one of my all time FAVORITE scriptures: 

"And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." - 1 Nephi 11:17 

I don't know everything. 

And honestly, I don't even "know" that this church is true.

But, for the love, I have absolute, 100%, crazy, uber, F A I T H that it is! 

I have faith that Heavenly Father truly does love His children and that he doesn't want us to fail or be led astray. 

I have faith that He provided a Savior who loves and knows us in a way we will never understand. 

I have faith that He didn't send us to Earth to just potter around and kinda, sorta, maybe, be a good person and perhaps get back to Him someday. 

HECK NO.

He gave us His gospel! He laid out His plan for us! Because He WANTS us home and He WANTS us to be happy and have joy in this life and in the next and so, of course, He provided us a way to achieve that! 

I have faith that that SAME EXACT gospel Christ had on the Earth is restored. 

I have faith that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is wonderfully true. 

"And now I said concerning faith -- faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." - Alma 32:21

Just because we may not KNOW, doesn't make it any less true. 

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i