Malo e Lelei!! Can't believe I will see you all THIS year!!!! I really can't believe it's already 2017. I HAVE THE BEST COMPANION!!! She is amazing. I am training her, Sister Kafoa is her name. She is from Sydney Australia, and she is Tongan. She came pre-trained I swear. She has such a desire to share the gospel, her family was converts except her because she was 7, so she got to be baptized at 8, but she only grew up having a mom, and so she is very hard working. Both of her older siblings also served missions, and taught her that obedience is the KEY! She is lovely!!
Lights ended this week, and the total amount of people that came on temple grounds was around 40,000. We were lucky enough to get about 8,000 of them on tours, and we got 600+ referrals from the whole 21 days. IT WAS AMAZING! Sister Kafoa had to jump right into giving tours her first day here, she was SO natural!! We had a Tongan Man on tour, who was a non-member. Sister Kafoa after began to teach him in Tongan and it was the most beautiful thing!! I loved seeing her use her language, and I also felt the spirit so strong even though I had no idea what was being said. After she bore testimony I bore mine in English, and after she told me that we basically bore the exact same testimony even though we didn't understand each other. It was such a testimony builder that the Spirit is the true teacher!!!!
Everyone has been asking for my goals, so here is me publically announcing them, so that I have to do them!!! (haven't had time to think about these yet, so making them up on the spot, likely to change)
Physical: I will exercise every day, and I will follow the word of wisdom with exactness!!!
Spiritual: I will study for others, I want to read the old and new testament, I will give at least one service to someone every single day.
Mentally: I will trust my Savior, I with every bad thought, or negative thought try to replace it with three positive things, and I will memorize hymns to help me do this.
Socially: I will try to find common ground with everyone, I will NOT judge people based off of their looks, and I will try my best to talk with everyone that I meet.
I really am so grateful for all 2016 brought me, I had so many changes, left my family to come to a new country, found myself, and found multiple friends. I am FOREVER grateful for 2016, and the choices I was able to make, but I believe nothing will be better than 2017!!! I was able to start off the new year with a companion that I love, family that I love and a country that I love. I am so grateful, nothing better than feeling like you are living with your best friend, yet being able to help others find happiness too. I really am so grateful for the experiences I have had.
I know that I can say this now that it is over, but we truly have to experience darkness to know LIGHT. I can say how grateful I am for my HARD companion because I love her. I don't know how, but I truly did love her. I am so grateful that I had that darkness because it helped me understand that when we righteously hang on through hard times the Lord will allow us to experience light. I am so grateful that there is a Rainbow after every SINGLE storm.
I invite each of you to read 1 Cor. 13 and substitute the word Charity for the word CHRIST. It will bring a whole new meaning into your life, and you will see that without Christ we really are noting. He can truly make of us a better us than we can EVER make of ourselves. I LOVE YOU EACH SO MUCH. You individually all saved my life in 2016, It was amazing talking to you all, and I love you each sooo much. NEVER QUIT!!!!
"Unless we lose ourselves in the Service of others, there is very little purpose to our lives."
-Thomas S. Monson
Forgot to tell you, she was in President Cummings Son's Seminary Class, so when he asked me to train her he said "Sister DeLoach, I know this Sister and I need her to be trained really well, are you willing to do that?" SCARY!!! YES President I will try my very best!!!!
AROHANUI,
Sister Maddie DeLoach
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