California Dreaminnnn

Hey yall!! I finally arrived in the field today so not a whole lot to say :) I will tell ya though that I was honestly quite shocked when I didnt cry saying goodbye to my family :') Typically I'd bawl...so just gotta give myself a pat on the back for that one lol! (Not because I dont love them but because Ive been SO READY for this moment!!) The Lord has been preparing me for this mission and Ive been way too eager to get out here! Ive gone through some tough times to get here, but the scripture Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" has given me so much encouragement to be here. But even more strength has been received from the enabling power accessed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I read this poem and just wanted to include it here (let me know your thoughts because I LOVED it!!) -->

"more skillful in self knowledge, even more pure,

as tempted more; more able to endure,

as more exposed to suffering and distress; thence, also, more alive to tenderness"

With trials come more strength, endurance, and love. God does not give us trials that He knows we cannot overcome. But He does ask of us to look unto Christ for help. It can be difficult at times but just as Elder Holland has said we never stray too far or sink too deep from that infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines. I hope each and everyone of you can look to Christ and find strength through His Atonement and the enabling power accessed through it to get through your trials no matter how big or small !!

but I dont have much time anymore so I hope y'all have an amazing week,

sister fin <3

ps I'm in the Yorba Linda area... I think lol! Ive honestly had to ask them our area like 13 times now. I am in a trio with S. Hoopes and S. Ritimati (pronounced like christmas without the c lol!) S. Hoopes has been out for 9 months and S. Ritimati has been out for 21 months and is waiting for her countries borders to open!! they are theeeee sweetest girls ever. we have already gotten along SO well. anyways love yall !!

Comments

Blessings

Blessed week !! Too many funny quotes that I could include in this week's email but my favorite was probably my companion & I walking down the street and a complete stranger yelling, "yall be looking foreign walking down that street" hahah, weird way to hit on someone but very complimentary sir. We were extremely busy . . . As usual !! we never get lunch time, or dinner time. or even breakfast because we are constantly on the go. so we feel extremely blessed that our members will shop for us, feed us, and LOVE us !! never met more giving & loving people. last week I commented on a ladys Tongan dress & yesterday at church she handed me a bag and it was that dress she was wearing !! But, we have a couple of our friends on date. Athena, May 8th. Deon & Kiana for April 28. And we are working with Lawrence & Lulu right now :) They are all so SWEET ! They're all young too which makes it better because they get to begin the covenant path at a young age ...

Never Forgotten

One thing I wanted to share with you all was my experience of God testifying to me that He does know me, my worries, needs, everything. Its such a simple, short story but before I flew out here, I journaled on August 1 (I flew out August 3) about how I was only nervous that I'd be at the airport alone and no one would be there to pick me up (🤣) It might seem silly to most of you but to me it was a genuine concern because at that moment it felt like God had forgotten about me already. Everything that was going on really made me question whether He remembered me let alone knew about my existence. I obviously told no one this silly little thing that worried me. I prayed that night that at least one other missionary would be flying with me in case I was forgotten, but when I got there, not. a. single. other. missionary. was. there. So here I am thinking, I am alone. I am forgotten. God must hate me. Oh my gosh why did I come. All of these silly little thoughts🤣🤣 But this past Thursd...

Change and Hope!!

hello everyone !!! I hope you have had an amazing week. There are some big big changes coming this week, I'm sad and happy! I will be transferring to a YSA Ward with 2 new companions...that's 8 companions total for me now...in 6 months hahaha! Crazy. I was released from social media & I am SO SAD. I got a new assignment though and it should be fun. This week has been full of so many laughs and cries. We have a toilet paper problem I think. We have to go to the church OFTEN to go get some toilet paper. We got caught by our AP's (assistants to the president) and they died laughing. I will spare you the details but man, such good times! There are so many ups and downs of serving a mission. Honestly, I question why anyone, including myself, ever wanted to serve a mission hahah. But even through the difficulties, I can find those daily evidences of Heavenly Father in my life. He is in the VERY details of my life. I know that in the end it will be worth it. It doesn't ma...

Sister Leilani Kalona Finlayson