'Cause You'll Always Be Muh Baaybaaayyyyy

Sing it Mariah.

Not much to report this week. 

At all.

Soooooooo.

Enjoy this posterity pic!

Aaaaaaand enjoy your upcoming week!

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

Momma, Baby, and Grandbaby.

Baby Come Back to Meeee

Sing it Vanessa.

This week was the last week with my dearest, (drive me) crazy, just-kidding-I-love-you, best, cutest, loudest, boldest, raddest, trainer.

*Ugly cry*

I don't remember if I ever told you this little tidbit about Sister Alexander and me...

But.

The reason why we ended up as companions is because in the MTC I fake taught (TRC investigator) one of Sister Alexander's old companions and she called President Cleveland and told him to put us together. 

Waaaa laaaaaaa! Our companionship was born.

Pretty cool how the Lord does things.

Preeeeeetty cool.

But really though. I am so grateful for her.

I debated writing a nice, sappy, paragraph about all the attributes and talents that I love about her and then I was like, "I wouldn't even be able to write them all."

Whoops. Accidental sap right there.

Just know that I  L O V E  H E R. 

So. 

Friends, family, fans (Jk LOL), and creepy strangers that may read my blaaawg:

Do me a favor and pray for me, yeah? 

Why you may ask?

I'll tell you.

Because tomorrow I meet the sister I will be training for the next 3 months.

*stress. sobb.*

I am really excited and feel really blessed to have the opportunity aaaaand I'm pumped about the miracles that I will undoubtedly see from this new companionship...

But I'm preeeeeeeeeeeeetty nervous.

But guess what??

"Whom the Lord calls, He qualifies." - President Thomas S. Monson 

Have a WONDERFUL week everyone!

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

Ignore my mega awk arm. I have hyper-extended elbows, okay?? Don't judge.

Meet my veeeeeeerrryyy best friends here. And everywhere. I love them

I have absolutely no idea. but hey, here's my district.

Meet the Winnings. The cutest senior couple in aaaaaaalll the land.

So We Uhhhh... Broke Your Swing.

If you don't know what Tiwi is, consider yourself #blessed.

It's this little device that's in our car that tells us when we are speeding and driving aggressively and whatever. It's actually a really great tool that helps us stay obedient, but it talks to you when you're doing something wrong and it can get rather frustrating. 

Weeeeell, we were driving a member to a lesson this past week and we kept accidentally going over the speed limit and so Tiwi is all like, "Check your speed" over and over again. 

Well, finally after the like fifth "Check your speed" the member just yells from the backseat, "Oh shut up! I know we all hear the Holy Ghost differently, but what is that??!" 

Probably one of the funnier things that has happened during my mission.

TIIIIIIMMMMM WENT TO THE TEEEEMMMPPPLEEEE THIS WEEEEEKKK!!! 

SO amazing. SO SO amazing. 

Ugh. We love that man.

We started teaching this one kid (okay, he's like 27) this week. 

His name is Wale and he's from Nigeria and he is soooo solid. 

Our first lesson with him went SO well and he asked so many great questions and accepted our baptismal invite and everything was just going GOOD. 

But then.

We get this text from him later that night saying he read a bunch of anti-church literature on the internet and wasn't so sure about meeting anymore. 

Nooooooooooooo.

Well, we ended up getting to have another lesson with him and teach about the Book of Mormon and answer some of his concerns, but he still felt a little uneasy.

We were practically devastated because Wale is SO cool and he was so excited at first. It was just really sad to see all that excitement and joy just get replaced with fear and uneasiness. 

I once heard this quote that said, "If you wanted to get to know Jesus, you wouldn't interview Judas." 

Anyway, we decided to fast for him yesterday and let me tell you, fasting is POWERFUL, you guys. Every time I've ever fasted on my mission, answers have come SO clearly. 

So there we are, standing outside the chapel, greeting people, when out of the blue, Wale texts us and says: "I would very much like to come to church today." 

*Que reverent, missionary version of a freakout*

Wale's living situation isn't ideal and it's a BIG sacrifice for him to come to church and so the fact that he even wanted to, was just incredible. 

It was an AMAZING day at church with him. He kept saying how he felt so welcome and at one point he said, "I think I'm going to like it here. Actually, I know I'm going to love it here." 

He'll be attending the YSA ward so we sadly have to let those sisters take over his lessons, but we are just SO excited and happy for him! 

The gospel brings joy, people! 

Quick funny side story:

In the MIDDLE of sacrament (like the middle. like. dead silent, Spirit is strong kind of middle) Wale's phone goes off.

Not just any ringtone either, oh, no.

But this really trashy rap song.

With swear words.

In the middle of sacrament.

And he cannot for the life of him shut it off.

I literally almost busted a gut laughing (quietly, of course) so hard.

After about a good, solid 30 seconds of failed attempts to shut it off, he gets really frustrated and just riiiiiiips out the battery. 

HA HA HA HA HA HA.

Okay, last story:

So last night we were over at a member's house having dinner and at one point we were out with their kids and teaching the new member lessons because some of their grandchildren are recently converted. 

Aaaaaand we were actually in their neighbor's yard (their yards are so close together that it's practically theirs) and Sister Alexander, me, and these two other kids were sitting on this bench swing.

You know, talking about Jesus.

When all of a sudden, the bar that holds the swing up, the METAL bar that holds it up, just bends and the swing comes crashing down.

Remember when you were like 10 and you accidentally hit a baseball through your neighbor's window?
Yeah that was me.
As a 19 year old missionary.

We decided to go over and knock on the door and explain ourselves.

Oh my gosh.

I've never felt fear and anxiety like that since I hit the neighborhood girl (she had it comin') when I was 8 and had to fess up to her mom when she started crying.

The neighbors were SUPER nice though and we're going back tomorrow to bring them cookies and hey, gospel discussion anyone? 

Moral of the story: don't eat that second helping of mac and cheese during dinner.

Love you all! Thank you for all your emails! Have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE President Cleveland?

When no one answers when you tract: f a m i l y  p i c t u r e

The very swing that died.

Prayers, Spirit, & Tofu

HEAVENLY FATHER ANSWERS PRAYERS. 

Remember how I said that we were singing in zone conference?

el. oh. el.

So I find myself praying for everything these days (no matter how dumb) and last week I prayed that Sister Alexander and I would sound remotely goodish and at least that the Spirit could be felt during our little number... 

Well. Heavenly Father must have realized that that wasn't even an option so He took things into His own hands aaaaaaaaaaaand 

W A  L A A A A A: voice gone.

Two days before conference, I got really, super sick and completely lost my voice.

I've never been so grateful for diseases in my entire life.

I'm good now, Mom.

We've been teaching these two ladies, Donna and Terica, who I just adore. 

They requested a Bible from mormon.org a few weeks ago and so we went over to give it to them and they ended up being interested in the gospel too! We have been teaching them ever since. 

They have taught me SO much about the love God has for His children. And every. single. lesson is so incredible. They have suuuuch a desire to follow their Savior. 

I don't know what more to say about them then just that they're so wonderful and I love them!

We had already taught them the restoration, but on Thursday we decided to reteach it to them and ohhhmuhgosh hands down (one of) the BEST lesson we've ever had. 

The Spirit. Oh, the Spirit. 

They are now on date to be baptized July 2nd!! 

H O O R A Y ! !

So my district officially hates me.

We all (there are 8 of us) went over to a member's house for dinner and were greeted with, "WELCOME! We're having a completely vegetarian meal for Sister Soloa'i!" 

*looks around kitchen and sees packets of plain tofu everywhere*

Please no. 

As we were "eating" (I wouldn't even classify it as that), I received enough hate glares to last me my entire life.

Entire eternity, really.

At one point, the member left the table and one elder immediately had a meltdown: *puts head in hands* "Guys. I'm gonna throw up. I'm straight gonna throw up." 

Did I mention it was my (very carnivorous) companion's birthday?

Happy birthday.

But honestly, how sweet of that member to do that for me? I may never have wanted to eat again, but I was really touched that they would go to those great lengths for me! 

We seriously have some of the best members out here! 

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i 

Car selfies seem to be a thing for missionaries

With President and Sister Cleveland <3

Meet Jeremiah and Jazmine. We volunteer at an elementary school once a week and these two (along with Kailey) are my best friends.

Just a casual day of tracting.

What face are we doing? Sister A: The face we wish we could make when people ask us if we're sisters.

She died during our outside studying sesh. Soooo... naturally....

It was Sister a's birthday, but the members we were with didn't have candles, so they just brought out a scented one. Better deal if you ask me.

Beware of Geese

Yesterday, Tim received the Aaronic priesthood. 

No words. Just happy.

Soooooo happy.

This week is zone conference and guess who were asked to sing as the (very) special musical number?

If you consider the sound of crying whales the equivalent to singing... then by all means, make a trip over to Indy this upcoming Wednesday!

Good thing the power of prayer is a real thing (looking at you, Mom) because we're definitely gonna need it. 

So geese in Indiana are what deer are in Wyoming I've come to find out. 

they. are. EVERY.WHERE. 

And they're mean. And they hiss. And they chase you.

I honestly don't know what I hate more these days, dogs or geese.

Just to kinda illustrate how horrid these creatures are, we got a call from our recent convert, Lori, and the convo went a little like this:

Me: Hey Lori! How are ya?

Her: A goose tripped me.

Me: uhhhhh I'm sorry, what now?

Her: A flock of geese swarmed and tripped me on my walk home from work today.

Me: Oh dang! That doesn't sound good. Are you okay?

Her: I'm fine! I just had to go to the hospital because my nose, head, and knees are bleeding and I broke 2 ribs.

Me: .....WHAT THE HECK LORI!! Did you make sure to kick it in the neck?!??? We're coming over right now. Do you need anything?

Her: Yeah. I'm really thirsty. Bring me some Mountain Dew. Diet.

Seriously. Beware of the geese.

As the Hoosiers say, y'all have a blessed day!

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

Occasionally, Sister Alexander and I like to take real creepy, mega awkward selfies.

Meet Kailey. She's basically my best friend out here.

Our washing machine is broken and only works if you sit on it soooooo this is where you'll typically find one of us.

This. Was. The. Best. Week. Ever.

Why?

Okay, I'll tell you. 

T I M  G O T  B A P T I Z E D ! ! 

T I M  R E C E I V E D  T H E  H O L Y  G H O S T ! !

Have I mentioned how much we adore Tim? 

Have I mentioned how much I love being a missionary? 

Have I mentioned how wonderful it is to witness miracles EVERDAY?? 

I had the opportunity to speak at his baptism and talk about how important and essential the covenants he was making with Heavenly Father were. 

I shared my faaaaavorite story in The Book of Mormon which is when the Anti-Nephi-Lehis bury their weapons of war and completely dedicate themselves to Christ and truly take upon themselves His name. 

It was INCREDIBLE to watch Tim do as the Anti-Nephi-Lehis did, in a sense, and bury his own weapons of war and have the blessing of receiving a "newness of life" (Romans 6.4).

I love what Elder Bednar said this last General Conference: "Baptism is a point of departure in our mortal spiritual journey; it is not a destination."

I think people often get confused when it comes to baptism... We don't stop there! It's just the beginning step! 

I'm just sooooooo blessed to be a participator in Tim's journey. 

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i

Can I get a "Yay"?

Who doesn't love a good comp bathroom selfie?

SHABBAT SHALOM

Better believe I went to a Jewish church this week. 

Remember our past investigators who were all blind and broke up with us?

Well, turns out we did stay friends. 

One of them, Jordan, is studying to be a Rabbi and he invited us to come to church with him and we said, "We'll come to your church if you come to ours." And we did just that!

The Jewish faith is pretty beautiful. I haven't the faintest idea what was going on the majority of the time because everything was in Hebrew, but everyone was SO friendly and everything they did teach (that I understood) was about serving others and finding joy in life. 

There truly is goodness in every church. 

I was really grateful for the experience. Not only because I got to learn more about others and the way they live, but because it really strengthened my testimony in Jesus Christ. 

He is God's Beloved Son, He is truly, perfectly and wonderfully our Savior. 

HE LIVES. 

How amazing is that?? He lives for me and for you and we can live forever, with Him, too!

Our investigator, Tim, gets baptized this week! 

WE. ADORE. TIM.

The coolest thing happened to him this week: He has been mentioning lately how he doesn't know if he's felt the Spirit before. At least, in a way that he wants to. 

Sister Alexander and I decided to fast for him yesterday that he would be able to receive that confirmation through the Holy Ghost, especially before his baptism.

The power of fasting is real, you guys, okay?

Straight real.

Well, yesterday we went and visited him and one of the first things he says to us is, "I felt the Spirit today."

*excited noises by us*

He went on to try and explain how it felt and the coolest thing was that he couldn't find the right words to say. All he kept saying was, "I just felt so awesome. It was so awesome. This peace and warmth just came over me during church today. It was awesome. So awesome." 

I love that. I love it when all we can do is just FEEL the truthfulness of the gospel. 

Personally, I find that when I know something, I can always be talked out of it or when I just go by logic, I don't have any real desire to act on that knowledge. But when I FEEL something, I can't deny those feelings. 

How many times have you ever felt soooo good that you just HAD to tell someone how happy you were? You know the feeling of just not being able to stand still? That's how I feel all the time as a missionary. THE BEST feeling ever. 

I believe that it's not until we FEEL the truthfulness of the gospel and have that desire to act on it that we truly start to become converted. 

As Tim would say, the "awesome" thing about getting to that point is all we have to do is get on our knees and ask.

My very first lesson, my very first investigator, my very first baptism, my very first Hoosier friend, Lori, got to go into the temple this week!!! 

Not only did she get to go inside, but she got to be baptized for her Mom. 

How awesome, right??! 

This work isn't just for us, it's for families! 

EEEEEEETEEERNAAAAL FAMILIES. 

People, the church is true. 

Sincerely, Sister Soloa'i