Feb. 24, 2014 - Hello!

Hey there family!!

I can't believe it's been two weeks. I feel like I just got here...but I kinda feel like I've been here forever. It's weird. So did I ever mention to you that I love Hawaii??! Because I do. I wake up in a tropical paradise every day. And then I get to walk around tropical paradise. And talk to wonderful humans who live in a tropical paradise. Basically, I'm super blessed.

So every day we have either a morning or afternoon/night shift at the Visitor Center (VC). And the rest of the day is for studying and proselyting I really love doing both. They're very different, but they're both missionary work. Oh and on Thursdays and Saturdays we do the tram from the PCC to the VC which is so much fun. 

So to answer your questions about the VC! For the majority of the people we see, we don't really see any end result. We just plant a seed. :)  We pass out a "guest card" to everyone, which has a picture of the Christus and a place where people can fill out their information if they want to learn more. If they fill it out, we get to stay in contact them and teach them over the phone or email. Those guest cards are gold. A lot of sisters see baptisms from that. But you'd actually be surprised at how often we have good in depth conversations about the gospel while in the VC. When we do tram tours, we only have about 15 minutes with them inside the VC... but I've had a ton of great conversations from that. 

Actually, just this Saturday I had the best experience!! There was this man (Lei) who came on the tram tour with his parents. They are all from China, and only Lei knew english. So I talked to him and he would translate every once in a while. Anyway. So he's from China... which means he knows next to nothing about religion. He has only heard of God and the Bible. So we were starting fresh. I explained about God and Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation and all that good stuff. A simplified version. But he was so interested!! Which is amazing because most of the people who come from Asia, especially China, don't really like the idea of Jesus Christ. He kept asking really good questions and he was so eager to learn more. I told him about the Book of Mormon, and he wanted one!! He was super excited to get it, and his parents seemed pretty interested too. Then it was time to go and I was so sad, I just wanted to keep talking to him. And then I also realized that I couldn't send the missionaries to his house in China, which is something we would normally do for anywhere else. But rest assured!! He told me that he and his family will be here in Hawaii for a few months!! Do you know what that means? Enough time to get baptized before he goes back to China!! So yeah. I'm super excited to teach him. 

So when we're not in the VC or doing Tram tours, we get to proselyte in our area. Laie is 92% Mormon, so we mostly work with less-active members in our ward. But we do have a couple of investigators, we just don't get to see them very often. Oh and did I tell you we're on bikes? A lot of the other sisters have cars, but I really like biking. I could use to burn the extra calories from all the tongan dinners we get. :) 

It sounds like you are all doing well, I'm SO glad to hear that!!! The walking to the Gilbert temple sounds awesome. The dedication will be so cool!!! Everyone here is talking about it- haha. I'm so excited for you all to see Zach soon! I had a dream that he came home last night. But I was just at home in AZ and he came to the front door dressed like a hippie.. drug-rug jacket, hemp backpack, beanie hat and all. Hopefully his homecoming isn't exactly like that though... :)

OH! THANK YOU SO MUCH for the packages!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They made me so very happy. :) They had everything I needed, you are amazing!! WOW MOM, the valentines day cuteness was so adorable! I LOVE YOU! And my padmates love you too because you're always sending me the most lovely things. Getting emails/letters/packages from home makes my heart sing with joy. Mahalo nui loa!

Anywhooo!! Thanks for asking questions. So many things happen every week, I wouldn't know what to say in my emails without them haha. I love you all so much! I pray for you and think about you every day!

Lots and lots of love, 

Sister Sabey

Feb. 23, 2014 - Picture!

            
                  

Feb. 18, 2014 - Hi from HI!

Aloooooha!

So I got to Hawaii safe and sound! So much has happened this week! I seriously don't even know where to start. So to answer your questions.... My companion is wonderful! Her name is Sister Kim, she's from South Korea. She is seriously one of the kindest, happiest people I have ever met. She has the cutest Korean accent, and she calls me her "little American baby." :) We will get to be together for two transfers, so it's a good thing I like her so much. 

I'm living on the beach! Not really.. but pretty much. There are a couple different places the Sisters serving at the  Laie Visitor Center (VC) live, and right now we're at the beach pad!! It's somewhere along the beach between the Laie Temple and the Polynesian Cultural Center (PCC). I can see the ocean from my window, it's probably less than 40 yards from our back door. Ah, it's divine. And the sisters we live with are so sweet, I love them already!

So I also found out that at VC missions, I'll be here for the whole time except for two or three transfers. But being a visitors center sister is so awesome, it's a really special place to be! The spirit is always so strong, and being on Temple grounds is awesome.  We also get to give the tram tours from the PCC to the VC! At first I was terrified of giving a tour to big groups of people. But it's actually my favorite thing to do now! Between bus rides we get to stay at the PCC and talk to people and invite them to take the tram tour. It's so fun being in that environment. People ask me all kinds of questions.. since I wear a muumuu and have a name tag on, all of the sudden I know everything haha. :) 

So here is some important information I have learned in the past week..

Hawaiian Vocabulary:

-choke: a lot

(we ate dinner with that tongan family and they fed us choke!) (<--true story)

-dakine: thing... anything, everything

(will you hand me that dakine? where is your dakine? i need a dakine.) 

-yah?  (it's hot yah? you're coming yah? you wanna leave now yah?)

-pou  (pronounced POW) (come over when church is pou!)

-and of course... Aloha, Mahalo, Shaka Brah!

Anyway! Sorry I didn't write very much. But I just want you to know that I absolutely love it here! I am so blessed. Seriously, I wake up every day in tropical paradise. And besides the exquisite spectacular beautiful place I get to live, I love being a missionary. I love talking to people and helping them come closer to Christ. This gospel is so important, and everyone needs it! I feel so blessed and humbled that the Lord is allowing me to help hasten the work!

I love you all so much!! I think about you and pray for you every day!! Thank you for your emails. Also, if you want to send me real mail, the address I gave you that's on my fb page is good for now, they just forward it to us here. If I didn't tell you anything you wanted to hear about you can ask as many questions as you want! And I can print emails from the computers here cause we do this from the VC... just so you know. :)

Lots and lots of oodles of love,

Sister Sage Sabey

Feb. 11, 2014 - Surprise Letter!

Aloha Family!

Surprise! My P-day is on Friday this week! They switched our schedule all around, since we just started Visitors Center training on Wednesday. I hope you are doing well! I love you all so much, and I pray for you every day! 

So are you going to have Sarah and Kami over for dinner tonight? :) Sounds like a party. If they do come over, would you tell them that I love and miss them?! An immense amount?! Because it's true! Their letters and kind words made me so happy. And I sent them both letters in the mail, hopefully they've gotten them by now!! 

How is everything going? That's fun that Jim is back in town! Hows the business going? How is Sam? And Levi? I actually wrote them a letter two days before I got your dearelder... Have you all gotten it yet? I sent it in one envelope, but there's a letter for each of you in there. 

So, next time I communicate with you will be on the TELEPHONE! Whaaa?! Since I get to call from the airport on Tuesday morning. I remember when Zach called, I was the only one home, so I got to take all the time talking to him haha. But just so you have a heads up, it'll probably be around 8-10ish? Sorry that's not too specific. 

So it's been a wonderful week!  We ended the training for normal English-speaking missions, so now we have new teachers, a new classroom, and new people. And we're doing lots of different things. Our purpose is the same, but we're just going about doing it in a different way. 

On Wednesday we got to go to Temple Square for the morning!! It was amazing, just being able to be at a Visitors Center, knowing that I get to be a missionary at the Laie Temple VC in just one week. I had been through before, but it felt different going through as a sister missionary. We went through the "God's Plan" tour, the temple square tour, saw the Christus, and met tons of other Sisters. Afterwards, we met with Brother Billings, who is over all the Visitors Centers and Church History sites around the world. He talked to us about how special our callings is, being at a VC. The Spirit was so strong, and I felt Him witnessing to me that I was called to my specific mission for a reason. I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father knows me perfectly...He has a plan for me... He knows my needs, my weaknesses, my strengths, and who I have the potential to become.   

One of my favorite things about being a missionary is singing hymns all the time. Music has strong spiritual power. One of my new favorite hymns is "Master, the Tempest is Raging." Read the words... I love the line "No waters can swallow the ship where lies The Master of heaven and earth and skies." I am the ship, and if I allow the Savior to abide in me, I will never sink. 

My current theme scripture is Moroni 8:16... "perfect love casteth out all fear." It's so important to be filled with love. The pure love of Christ. This is what I strive to develop every day... "perfect love." We've been working with investigators in the TRC, and it's been such a cool experience. Even though I've never met them before, I love them so much. And I know that the Lord is blessing me with a deeper capacity to love. Sometimes I am afraid of not being a good enough teacher, or forgetting part of the lesson, or messing up. But I need to remind myself to just love. Perfect love casteth out all fear. When I pray to have a Christlike Love,  I find myself forgetting my fears. I find myself forgetting about how I feel all together... and I just focus on others. That's when the Spirit comes. 

I love this gospel, and I'm so blessed that I get to be a part of hastening the Lord's work!!! I know that His work would continue on without me, and I feel so humbled and grateful that he's allowing me to be a part of it. 

Sorry for the ginormous emails haha. I really love each of you. Have a splendid weekend! I'll talk to you on tuesday! Oh, and I'm sure not all of you will be home at the same time. I'll call the home phone, and I could always call more than one number. So dad, if you're at work I can just call you on your cell. 

Godspeed!!!

Lots and lots of love,

Sister Sage Sabey

Feb. 5, 2014 - Picture at Provo Temple!

                                             Week 2- Sister Sage Sabey with Sis Jenkins

Feb. 1, 2014 - Shalom... I mean Aloha!

Hello!!!

How are you all doing?? I absolutely love P-Day because I get to email you!!! Seriously, I look forward to it every week. (Oh wait, I've only been here a week and a half...weird). We have an hour to email, but you'd be surprised at how little time that feels like. I finally understand Zach's struggle a little better haha. I want to email individual people, but there's not time. So I'm trying to write enough to make you all happy. :) I want to tell you everything, but obviously I can't fill you in on every last detail of my life haha. So if I forget to mention something important let me know and I'll answer any questions! 

Okay so to answer your questions!!

Oh my lanta. I LOVE the pillow case!! I can't believe I didn't mention that in my last email. I think I did in the letter I hand wrote home. But I should have told you sooner! I so appreciate it!! It brightens my day. I just fall asleep hugging it every night. :) And for the apple pie!! Seriously, my district and I enjoyed every last bite of that. Mmmmmm. :)

And no I don't need a coat!! We're not outside that much. Just walking between buildings. It's not even that cold, it just psychs me out when I see snow haha. I won't be experiencing that for a while though! I have a laundry bag, and it is working great! So don't worry about sending me the Ikea one. And for a bag, that one from anthro would be perfect!!! You don't need to buy me a new one. And if you do it can just be cheap. Thank you so much for doing that for me! I got my package of the mission papers yesterday!! Sister Jenkins and I were really glad to get all of that. She didn't get anything in the mail either, so I'm sure it's not too big of a deal.  

The food! It's good. I mean, it's not Mama Sabey status. But really, nothing in this entire world is. There is SO much of it. So many options, all buffet style. So if I gain any weight on my mission, it might all be from the MTC. So yeah, I guess that means the food is good! Exercising. The schedule they give us is super weird. Sometimes we work out in the morning, or the middle of the day, or night time. It's always different. But Sister Wilde in my district likes to lift weights too! So we usually run a couple of laps, lift weights, and play volleyball.

Oh, and I see Hannah Knight peretty often, and Breanna Smith ALL the time! And another girl from High School is in my Zone! It's awesome. Go toros! Haha :)

It feels like I've been gone a month to me too!! I miss you all so much. I mean, I'm staying focused and all that good stuff. But I think about each of you and pray for you every day! I hope you are all doing well, and happy. Haha I'm glad you are honing in on your Rook skills... make me proud! ;) Oh, and you can tell you that you miss me. :) As long as you are also happy, then that's fine. 

Remember how much I love you all!! Never forget who you are! 

Love, Sister Sage Sabey