Mālo e lelei YAWL!

I hope you all had a good week and remembered to look for the joy in life and be ambitious for Christ!! It definitely helped me this week because it was a longer harder week than most. But there were a few things that happened that made all the not so great things worth it!

Saturday night we went to go see our investigator Upuia. She wants to be baptized so bad, she comes to church every week and even asked for her 9 year old daughter to be taught and baptized. The only thing is she needs to get married first so she and her boyfriend can be living the law of chastity. That's a common problem we run into in this area, people who are living together but are not married. Upuia really wants to get married too, she is totally on board, it's just the boyfriend that everyone is trying to work on, even his parents! He is already a member but doesn't come to church.

Saturday was my first time meeting Upuia and she has the cutest little kids ever! Lani is 9 and Misi is 3. This was the highlight of my whole week, at the end of our lesson Lani asked if she could say the prayer. I didn't know this until Sister Afungia told me in the car when we were driving home, but Lani had never said a prayer on her own when the missionaries were teaching her, she would always ask for help or wouldn't do it. But when she said the prayer that night I swear the heavens opened and angels came down and stood all around us because of the power of her prayer. Her voice was SO sincere and reverent, not shy or nervous at all. You could tell she was really thinking about what she was saying and meant and believed every single word. The atmosphere in the room changed, and we could hear Upuia trying to hold back her tears. It was the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard a child say, and she prayed for us missionaries! I felt extremely blessed.

I know that God lives and He hears and answers every child's prayer. I know God loves each of His children and knows them by name and their individual needs. I know that every child is a precious gift from God and that the role of a parent to love, nurture, and teach them His ways is the most sacred responsibility anyone could be called to. I know I wouldn't be the person I am today if it wasn't for my wonderful parents who took that responsibility so seriously, especially my father. He is the biggest example to me of what it means to be a devoted and loving parent. I know he loves me with all his heart and wants the very best for me. So my invitation to you all is to strive to say a prayer with your family every day. Whether it's in the morning before school or work, at the dinner table, or before bed, say a prayer and listen for the things your family members pray for because they will reveal what's in their hearts. I promise that if you do this your family will be strengthened, because family prayers unite earthly parents and children just as much as they untie us to our Heavenly Parents, and if you cannot physically say a prayer with your family you can say a prayer for them. I know that God gave us our families to make us happy, even though we aren't perfect and it's not sunshine and rainbows everyday, families are forever and they are the most valuable thing we have.

I love you all and I hope you have a good week!! Remember to pray with your families!!

All my love,

Sister Abby Martinez

Lani, Sister Afungia, Sistr Martinez, Misi

Sister Afungia, Sister Martinez