7-16-16 Mormon ki Pustak

KUMUSTA KA PARIVAAR!

Today will be extra short because this computer is suuuper pilikia and we're meeting the zone leaders again soon for another P-day activity (we're going to the museum).

This last week was good! Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but it was a good week! Everyone we're working with is doing well, we see some real potential in a family we met yesterday in church. I forget their names, but they were new faces in the Hindi sunday school class. We thought they were visiting members, but they asked heaps of questions like "What's the priesthood? What is it for? How do we get it?" Those are basic questions that should be answered in the first or second visit, so we figured out that they were investigating the church. They found it through their mom (a recent convert and regular attendee of the class), and agreed to let us come over and teach them. They've already expressed a desire to be baptized! 

A few months ago I would have said MAN! Easy conversion, they've got it all down already! BUT over the last few months I've received several heavenly "nopes" as I've progressed with our investigators. Satan has power. 

We haven't seen Rina and Meverick at church in several weeks, we feel like Satan's starting to work with them; instilling fear and nervousness in their hearts. We were able to sit down with them after a while and they shared with us their struggles, we're doing our best to help them resolve them. 
We had a nice sit-down with Jaden and Danya this week and discussed something we felt was important. We loove Jaden and Danya and they love us. They come to church now without us reminding them the night before or morning of and they always sit with us. Elder Mo'unga baptized Danya and I baptized Jaden. We told them we won't always be there, that one of us are likely leaving in a few weeks and that come a few months, there's gonna be a new set of missionaries. Too often members are converted the the missionaries rather than the gospel, and when the missionaries leave the area, they don't go back to church. Jaden and Danya seem to have a perfect understanding that a new set if missionaries will replace us, and that this is the only true church on the Earth. I know that they're truly converted to the gospel, and it brings me SUCH a sense of joy to see how committed they are to the covenants they've made. Their parents agreed to pay them for their chores JUST so that Jaden and Danya would have something to pay for tithing. Jaden (being a young and energetic boy) often complains that Danya tries to stop her family from going out or watching movies on Sunday, and she un-involves herself from activities that differ from her standards. Jaden wakes up extra early on Sunday mornings so he has time to mentally and spiritually prepare himself for church. I love these kids man. 

The Tarbitis are doing well, we don't think we'll be able to baptize them this weekend as we've initially anticipated, but they're still waiting patiently for an answer from the spirit and accepting our visits excitedly. 

That was basically our week, I'm getting a lot better at reading/writing sanskrit! That's pretty exciting for me, no reading doesn't benefit me much because everything you'll find written in sanskrit is pure Hindi, but being able to read from my Mormon ki Pustak (even though I can only collect bits and pieces) is cool. I'll write a letter home soon in sanskrit with its English translation!

I'm overwhelmed again, the letters I received were another HUGE wave of news! SOOO MUCH HAPPENING, SOOO many exciting things to come!

CONGRATS ELDER BOND! Let me know as soon as possible where he gets called! SO excited for him and MAKANA! LET'S GOOO!

CONGRATULATIONS HAMBLYN AND MAHANA!! I'm not gonna lie, I didn't see that one coming at all aye... BUT HOW COOL IS THAT??  When I left, Mahana was a faithful young woman on a mission and Hamblyn was a faithful young man on a mission. They were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there, and I have no doubts that they were both supposed to be home at this time so they could be engaged. BEST OF LUCK TO THEM!

HOOOW COOL for Herb to have Kai to speak Fijian with and for 'Io to have Ka'imi to speak Tagalog with and for Mikel, Kala'i and Lehia to have each other to speak Podagee with!

Man, look at all these blessings. The Lord is watching over each and every one of us. I have faith that you can deal with the crushing emptiness of my absence for just TEN more months, after which the fullness of joy will be restored back into the family (naah jokes). 

I love you guys so much, thanks for the weekly blessing updates! Know Elder Mo'unga and I continue to work hard in great health and spirits!

We'll be heading out now, have another incredible and blessed week! I LOVE YOU ALL!

Khyaal rakna,

Elder Ishibashi