After aloha 'oe with all mah leis! 

(Aloha 'Oe=  when someone is leaving everyone sings this really lovely Hawaiian song called Aloha Oe, which means goodbye. It's kind of like singing "God be with you till we meet again," and everyone gives you leis and hugs as you sing. Pretty bittersweet time!)

My dear loves... ALOOOOOOHA! 

Well folks..... the time has come. I don't really know what to say....... other than that this week/transfer/mission... has been spectacular. I can't really sum up all the things I've learned or ways I've grown or experiences I've had in one email... and even if I could I don't have time... but I can definitely say this has been the best thing I've ever experienced. It's bittersweet leaving.......... but I'm also full of gratitude that Heavenly Father blessed me with this experience! 

Well sorry this is so short... no time.... but for more details my wonderful friend wrote an email for me! 

Salamatpo, ofa atu, osi ngaue, and hasta ver!!! 

<3, Sister Sabey

Dear Family and Friends,

This is Sister Sabey’s good friend, Sister Lenker.

Sister Sabey is very tired and she asked me to write for her as this is her LAST missionary email!!

She bore her final testimony this morning and everyone sang “Aloha’oe” and cried and cried.

Sister Sabey looked like a royal angel as she bore her sweet and powerful testimony!

She has truly become a woman of God!

It hadn’t hit her that she was really finishing her mission until YESTERDAY!

She felt so much love from her ward and companion... it was too much... she had to cry it out.

Regardless, she is so excited for the adventures ahead!  And to date plenty boys!

She will always remember the ALOHA spirit and carry it with her everywhere!

She is so excited to see all of you in a FEW DAYS!!!

Aloha nui loa,

Sis. Lenker

Picture:

My dear friend Sister V!!!! She got to come down to Laie for the day to have lunch before I leave. 

So. Much. Love. <3 

June 22, 2015, Update from paradise :)

Brothers and Sisters, ALOOOOHA! 

Well it's been another lovely week in Laie. :) There were lots of small and simple miracles, and I came to see once again how much Heavenly Father is really preparing something for those who are prepared!

So on Saturday, we had morning shift at the Visitors' Center. It was kind of slow, but there was a little trickle of people coming in. Among these people were some wonderful ladies from Delaware, Norma and Jone (those are some nice names yeah?) probably in their 60's. They had just stopped by because they got lost looking for the Polynesian Cultural Center (classic). But alas, they were happy to stop by and see the beautiful temple and Visitors Center! As we got talking with them, they mentioned that they wanted to find a church to go to on Sunday. That doesn't really happen very often because people are usually on "vacation mode" when they come and don't even really want to think about waking up for church. So we invited them to come with us! Thankfully our church is at 10am so they were pretty willing. They mentioned that they were pretty active in their own churches, but they still seemed really interested. Sunday morning 10am comes around, they're not there. We waited for a while and then went inside assuming they wouldn't come. But a couple of minutes later, a member came to us and said "Sisters! I think there's some investigators in the parking lot...??" (Haha the member was really surprised because it's a miracle if there's an investigator the whole ward doesn't already know about). So Norma and Jone came to Sacrament meeting, and they loved it! Our ward has a million little kids and I have never been more aware of how much noise they make until Sunday..let me just tell you it was crazy. Sister Penales and I were both praying so hard the whole time that they'd be more quite. Then at the end Norma was telling me how much she LOVED that there were so many children! She said that's one thing her church is missing, is families. Aparently at her church everyone is between 50 and 80 years old and not always in a family unit. So yeah, even though it wasn't perfect, Heavenly Father knew what they needed and what would help them be more open to this gospel. The seed has been planted!! (story of my mission/life!!!) We got their emails so hopefully we can continue to talk with them and invite them to meet with missionaries in the future. :) 

On Thursday, were spending some time trying to contact our online investigators. I have had this investigator named Robert on my contact list for literally my whole mission, and I had never been able to contact him. He was transferred to me by another sister who went home my first transfer. Even though I never got a hold of him, for some reason I still never dropped him. I knew the missionaries in his local area had been in contact with him, but I didn't know if he was progressing. I decided to give one last call this Thursday, and after that I would drop him if I didn't hear anything. Amazingly he finally answered! When he heard we were the sisters, he said "It's so funny that you're calling right now... I've really been thinking about all this lately. I've been going to my old church, and I have felt that something is obviously missing. There's a difference in my life when I'm not going to the LDS church and reading the Book of Mormon." He started to cry as we testified that it's not too late for him to come back, and that God was aware of Him and prompted us to call him at that specific time. He committed to go again this Sunday, and to talk to the missionaries about having the lessons again. He asked if we could give him a specific chapter to read in the Book of Mormon and if we'd follow-up with him on Monday. Haha, he knows how missionaries do business :) So that was a sweet miracle. 

The best feeling is knowing that we were the answer to someone else's prayer because we followed a prompting! I invite each of you to be the answer to someone else's prayer this week! There are so many people in need all around us, and if you pray to know what Heavenly Father would have you do, He will guide you. Ask for opportunities, look for them, and then ACT upon them. It's the best! This is really God's church and God's work! I love being a missionary, this is truly the most fulfilling work! 

<3<3<3 Aloha Nui Loa!!!

<3, Sister Sabey

Pictures

1- Hike this morning! It got kind of intense... haha 

2- Family Photo!!!! (Sister Castaneda came for her temple trip. I <3 them:)

June 15 - Of Such is the Kingdom of Heaven...

Aloha my loves!!!

I hope everyone is doing well and had a great week! 

So the VC is doing Story Time again! We haven't done it since last fall, but since it's summer there are a lot of people who would love to come. If you don't remember it's just a 30 minute story/lesson thing where kids 2-5 come and sing primary songs, listen to stories, etc. Last week the theme was "Faith in God." The part we were in charge of was telling the story of David and Goliath. So to make it more interesting Sister Jensen (senior sister at the VC) made it into a little play! Sister Penales is 4'9", so naturally she played David, and there's an Elder in our zone that's 6'6", so he played Goliath. :) The kids loved it! (except one little boy who started crying when Goliath came out.. haha too realistic!). It was nice because we did it in front of the Christus statue. The Spirit was so strong, and just having the image of the children surrounding the statue made me think of how much Christ loves children. It makes sense because they are so pure and humble and sensitive to the Spirit :) It also made me realize how simple and beautiful the principles are. They are simple enough for small children to understand and apply. We can find joy in the most simple gospel truths, like faith and repentance! 

Anywho, that's all the time I have today, until next time! I love you!!!!!

Pictures:

2- It always seems like the temple is spotlighted 

3- David and Goliath :)

3-  <3 my favorites Hyuki and Aiden <3

June 8, 2015 - Happenings in Laie...

Aloha everyone!!

First of all can I just say I LOVE YOU ALL a loooooooot! :) 

That's mostly all I wanted to say. 

But in other news.... here's what's happening in Laie. 

I am always amazed that Heavenly Father cares enough about us to take care of the little things we need... I definitely can feel the tender mercies he sends daily! So every day we have visitors center shift for 5.5 hours as per usual, and every transfer we are on a different rotation schedule. We will either have morning shift from 9am to 2:30 or 2:30 to 8pm. This transfer, we just happened to have a lot of evening shifts, which means on those days all our visits in the area have to happen in the morning. That can be pretty tricky here, because everyone works during the day. So sometimes in the morning time I feel like we're just knocking on empty doors and looking for productive things to do. But, this week has been great, we have come across a lot of opportunities to serve in our area during those slower morning times! Our zone established "Footie-Friday" which means we don't use our cars on Friday. As we were walking down the street a couple of Fridays ago we came across an awesome member (Sister Soren) painting her house. Her husband passed away several years ago, her son is on a mission and her daughters were in school. So we offered to help her out! We were able to schedule a morning to help her paint. It was super fun painting with her, and we also found out that she is good friends with one of my investigators from 5th ward! She offered to have a dinner/FHE with us that she could invite the investigator to. That is a miracle in itself because she was usually really hard to meet with and find fellowship for! Even though I'm not in her area anymore, it's cool because I know she doesn't know the new missionaries in that area, but she definitely knows me so there will be a connection at least! I'm just so grateful Heavenly Father is aware of the details, and cares enough to send us small tender mercies. 

Anyway.. sorry this is kind of random and scattered! But I guess that's nothing different from what it usually is haha :) Aloha Nui Loa! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

<3, Sister Sabey

pictures:

1- HIGH SCORE on the temple geography quiz game! 

2-Hike this morning in Kaaawa! 

 3-Having a tramtastic day with Lance the tram driver :)

June 1, 2015 - The Grand Architect

"We each try to do our part, but He is the grand architect." 

I love this quote from Elder Andersen in the last General Conference! I read his talk this week called "Thy Kingdom Come" and really felt the truth in those words as I reflected on the events of our week!  Sister Penales and I have both been sick this week.. It's kind of just a cold/flu type thing. So we were at the Visitors' Center on the morning shift, both struggling with our voices being audible. We could still talk, it was just a little more croaky and raspy than normal. The senior couple on shift saw us and was like "you two can just go home and get some rest!" But we didn't want to, so we just decided to stay. And good thing we did!! There was a point where the VC was super busy, and all the other sisters were busy giving tours. At that time this couple walked in, so we went to talk with them. The lady (Chelsea) was a less-active member, and her husband (Patrick) was a non-member. They are stationed here in the military, but they had never seen the temple before. So, we start giving them a tour. Amazingly, our voices were not too bad. (Tender mercy...Thank you Heavenly Father!!!) We found out that Chelsea really wants to come back to church since she just had a baby a couple of months ago. After talking about the temple and eternal families, we took them through "God's Plan." I have seen that movie like 500 times, but the Spirit was so strong as we watched it with them! By the end of it, everyone was in tears. Chelsea and Patrick were so touched. Afterwards, they talked about one day being sealed and having an eternal family. They had a new goal in mind, more than just coming back to church. They had an eternal goal, to make it to the temple! 

We tried to do our part, our raspy, croaky part... and God did the rest. He is the grand architect, and He opened their hearts to the Spirit. I'm so excited to find out what else God creates in their lives as they continue on their spiritual journey towards the temple! 

So let's pay attention this week, and see what Heavenly Father does to multiply our tiny little part. He has the blueprint, and He knows what needs to happen. He will allow us to help in our small way, and we will enjoy getting a glimpse of that glorious plan! 

Well, I love yous soooo much!!! :) I hope you have a happy week! 

<3, 

Sister Sabey

PS. Don't worry we're better now!! :) 

Pictures:

1- Our motto this week: spread the gospel, not the disease! 

 2- Me and Blake MacDonald :) 

3- Dinner @ PCC with Lyna Gumba, former sister from the VC who's now going to school here :) 

May 25 - Kia Kaha :)

This week's phrase comes from my lovely companion Sister Penales... it's "Kia Kaha," which means "stay strong" in Maori. #kiwi 

It's also my current life goal... considering it's my last transfer (ah! what?!). But don't worry! I will stay strong and work hard up through the last minute of my mission! 

This week has been awesome. I love love my companion Sister Penales! She is still a "greenie" but I feel like she is training me! She came out on her mission so prepared, so we are ready to give this work our all. It's nice to have all our proselyting time (1-2 hours a day!) to give to one ward. Even though I miss 5th ward, that one felt like family! But all is well because I know Heavenly Father is keeping me in this one for a reason! 

Anyway...... just a quick thought..... this week we had a lesson with one of our less active members. We have been working with him for a long time and have been struggling to know what he really needs. He is an RM but hasn't been active for a long time. In our lesson we talked about prayer. He finally opened up and said he's never really had a testimony that God answers prayers. That was a really sad thing to hear. Knife to the heart. It made me realize how many truths are contingent upon prayer..... God is our Heavenly Father, He loves us, He wants to hear from us, we can receive personal revelation from Him, prophets can receive revelation from Him....the list could go on. It also made me think about my own testimony of prayer. I didn't have an experience like Joseph Smith, but I didn't have to. I have said so many small and simple prayers, sometimes with just a squeak of faith... and they were answered. Lovingly and mercifully. Not always in the way I thought, or in the way I wanted. But they have always been answered. Sometimes I don't recognize the answer until way later. But I have absolutely no doubts that God loves us and He listens to and answers our prayers. If you don't have a strong testimony of prayer, the best way to gain one is to pray! Pray with faith that Someone is listening and that He cares. He will answer the smallest prayers. He will show you that He is listening in some way. Look for Him in your day! There is evidence of Him everywhere. 

Anyway... I love you all sooo much!!! Aloha!!!

<3<3<3<3<3,

Sister Sabey 

pictures:

1- Sister Penales and I! (before we knew we would be companions haha)

2- Family history, I am doing it! 

3- Back to "12 weeks".. which means back to role playing! This is the piece of wood our genealogy is written on the back of. Haha I have no idea where it came from! But it makes for great role plays! 

May 19, 2015 - This is my favorite thing to do... EVERY DAY :)

AlooooooooooHA! 

Well my lovely humans, it has been another spectacular week! First things first...... transfer news! Yeah! So right now I'm currently serving in Laie 2nd and 5th wards with Sister Buday.... and they're splitting the two wards and putting me in 2nd and her in 5th! We are both getting cute Filipina companions! My new companion is Sister Penales... she just came one transfer ago, so she is still in training! I get to half train her, which makes me kind of a "step-mom." She is literally the cutest. She's the shortest sister in the VC, 4-foot-something. Aaand I'm the tallest. haha. I am so excited to be companions with her! She's originally from the Philippines, but has been living in New Zealand for the past several years. It's going to be a miracle filled transfer! 

In other exciting news........ so guess what! Family, do you remember our vacation to Hawaii like five years ago? And we were driving down the highway and saw this really cool, artistic yard so we pulled over to check it out? And the guy living there (Michael) was the artist and spent a good hour or so showing us around his yard and talking? Well! Good news, he's in my area! So I actually stopped by a few months ago, and talked to his wife Lela. I didn't tell her that I knew Michael, and she definitely did not want to talk to missionaries. But we stopped by again this week, and Lela answered the door again. This time I explained how I knew Michael and how I loved all his art, and then it opened up to actually talking with us! We were able to slyly have a quality gospel conversation without her even knowing it. She isn't quite ready to be a new investigator... YET. But she is probably coming to the Visitors' Center soon, so we shall see what happens! It was just so cool how that all worked out. Heavenly Father's hand was definitely in that whole visit.

Well, missionary work is the best!!! Literally the happiest thing. Mostly because of all the opportunities to see and feel how much Heavenly Father loves each of His children. It is a lot of love. I love you all sooo much! Thank you for being wonderful examples and friends! :)

<3<3<3, 

Sister Sabey

Pictures:

1-Temple trip this morning! #laielove 

2- Took care of this lovely little creature who we found in our pad...