LOOK UP!!!

Little Slice of Mexico

Sister Walker and I went to go contact a referral and we both felt afterwards that we had visiting a little slice of mexico. I felt like I was in a whole different country and had a taste of what Brazil may be like for about 15 minutes. Not only was there a telephone near the many gates to call directly to mexico, but there was spanish music playing and half the people outside couldn't speak any English. 

Well we knock on the door and a YSA comes to the door and he doesn't speak any English as well... So I tried pulling out my Spanish that I knew and it was a miracle the words that were coming to my head & I didn't mix it up with Portuguese which I usually do. I was able to understand if the referral lived at the apartment, where she was, when she gets off work, where she works, and a couple other things.

Sister Loo... She's a Stallion.

After Sacrament meeting at church we were talking to a member I haven't met yet... well she tells us that she ran into President Pingree and she was telling him how well the missionaries were doing. She told him that Sister Walker was great and that there was a new missionary that she hadn't met yet, when president interjects, "Oh it's Sister Loo... She's a Stallion! She's a force and a real go get 'er! She gets things done." It was funny... We may have laughed a little too loud in the chapel when she was telling us that story! :)

Look Up

This week I gave a talk in church about our spiritual journey and path's of righteousness. How we can best align the path that Heavenly Father has for us and our own. I wanted to share with you parts of my talk. I addressed three questions:

How do we prepare?

• Ephesians 6:13-17
• Just like it would be difficult to play football without the right gear, the same can be applied to our spiritual journey. Without first preparing and putting on our armor for the "battle" during our journey we will not be able to protect ourselves spiritually.

How do we stand strong against temptation?

• At times the road will get dark and scary. We need the “light” of the Holy Ghost to help illuminate the path. We NEED the Holy Ghost, that is no question. If you haven’t had a spiritual experience in the last few days, I urge you to pursue one. We should be strengthening our testimony daily or as the scriptures say we need to be building our foundation. The Holy Ghost will testify of the truthfulness of the gospel.
• And a story from an email from Grandma HoChing: ...The country of Kiribas in the Pacific Ocean is not sinking, but is being covered by the rising sea. The 100,000 people of those islands have 2 choices. They can look to move and run away or they can build up their land. Moving that many people is not an option for most, so they must work to build their land higher so the water won’t cover their island. We also have choices; in most situations we cannot move or run away, so we have to build up our own “land” or the place on which we stand. When we build our little island high enough, then we won’t be covered by the waters of opposition or discouragement. It won’t be easy, but it will be well worth it.

What do we do when we come to a fork in the road? We LOOK UP & WE LOOK FORWARD!

• First, Look up! Heavenly Father has provided us with many tools to look towards in time of need.
• Prayer & Scriptures – D&C 9:7-8 As we study & prayerfully ask for guidance we need to pay attention to the ideas that come to our minds and the feelings that come to our hearts. Simply put, remember to “look up” for guidance.
• Second, Look forward! Look toward the Savior. Sometimes Satan can tempt us to leave the path or take the wrong fork in the road. But it’s okay. There is always a way back. That is through the Atonement and Repentance. Repentance = to turn

And my conclusion... Thanks to the inspiring words of my Dad.

• So when we are on our path these 3 things will help us on our journey- Spiritual Armor, a testimony built on a firm foundation, and Looking Up and Looking Forward. By doing so we will be able to walk confidently and faithfully to our destination. When we are doing the things that are right and giving our best effort, Heavenly Father will bless us with opportunities and options in abundance. So much that we have the opportunity to simply choose between choices that are ALL good. This is the blessing of obedience. We will have multiple forks that will lead us to happiness and we have the ability to exercise our agency and choose. It may not always be a decision between right and wrong. It can sometimes be between happy, happier, and happiest. Let us choose the happiest path.

I really enjoyed giving this talk and it was probably the best I have given because usually I write down every single word that I am going to say and then I get up to the stand and read it. But this time I only wrote down bullet points and followed the direction of the Spirit in what I was supposed to say.

I love this gospel! Don't forget to "Look Up & Look forward!"

Love,

Sister Loo

Valentine's Day party...thanks to a wonderful Mom!

Valentine's party...part 2

Sister Walker and the pay phone straight to Mexico

In Texas for the singles!...

SAY WHAT?...

So sister King and I were on our way to transfer meeting... I was so anxious and nervous to figure out where I was going and who my new companion would be. We were talking about how weird it would be for me to be in a family ward and the difference between a YSA ward and a family ward. Sister King was giving me advice on what to do as I haven't been in a family ward on my mission.

We get to transfer meeting and look at the sheet to see where I was going. I was looking at all the family wards and could not find my name! All of a sudden I just hear Sister King, "You're in the Sam Houston 2nd YSA ward!" 

What? Another YSA ward! I didn't know what to think. I had been preparing myself for a family ward so it took me by surprise! I went up to the Assistants and all they did was chuckle... Very Funny Elder Frandsen and Elder Wilstead... very funny. 

After the initial shock I was so excited because I love YSA wards. It's my comfort zone! I guess I'm here for the singles!

Sister Walker & the new Ward!

I love my companion. I actually went on exchanges with her for a day a couple of weeks before! Her name is Sister Walker and she has been out the same amount of time that I have been! She is from Billings, Montana and is 4'11". She is the sweetest thing and I look forward to our wonderful adventures together!

It was so hard to say goodbye to my first ward on my mission. They have become my family but I know that I am supposed to be here in the Sam Houston 2nd Ward. I have made so many wonderful friendships and I am so excited to come back and visit in the future!

I am excited for this new area- Sam Houston 2nd YSA. It covers Cypress and Katy, Texas. I probably have been in more places in texas than any other missionary here because of how big the singles wards area is! 

There is about 4x less people in this ward than Sam Houston 1st Ward. Actually I would more call it a branch than a ward. About 35-45 people come to church each Sunday, which is definitely different than what I am used to. President wanted me to go here to apply some of the same things Sister King and I were doing in our YSA ward, but to be honest I'm not sure if those things will work in this ward. The ward is a LOT smaller and the people in it are a lot older and in their careers.

I am doing a lot of praying and brainstorming to receive inspiration on how I can best help this ward. I know that some of the things in the other ward will be helpful but I will need to put my "event planning" skills to good use for different activities!

FAITH

This week I learned a lot about faith and I realized that everything stems from faith! I was reading in the bible dictionary and in the scriptures and I came to the conclusion that FAITH= CONFIDENCE. Its plain and simple and I love it! If we have faith, we have confidence in ourselves and Heavenly Father's plan for us. Ultimately, we have full confidence in the truth the gospel provides. So keep up the Faith! Keep up the Confidence!

I love ya'll!

Sister Loo

...oh, and one more thing...

Beyonce

Oh and apparently Beyonce has a house in the Woodlands, TX which is part of the area that I was just in. Wish I would have known that earlier... Well maybe its a good thing I didn't because I would've been doing some major stocking to see if I could get some pics with her. hehe. Heavenly Father knew I didn't need to know that info until now. :)

In Texas for the singles... (pictures)

Sister King and I packing at like 1am...Houston Texas Baby!!!

With Kristin...my 'mother' here in the Sam Houston 1st area

Jennifer- The most festive holiday girl I know. I'm going to miss seeing all your decorations!

oh Frank...

My dear Ashley!

Limhi and Jessica

The Sam Houston 1st "crew" is splitting up!  :(

New companionships

Saying goodbye's... So hard.
 I felt like I was leaving behind family.  I will be back!

Valentine's Day in the YSA ward = the most single I have EVER felt on Valentine's Day
...SO, Sister Walker and I celebrated with Frosty's and fries!
(ignore how tired we both look...it was a long day.)

Emotions...

So lots of news to write about:

1. I am getting transferred to a new area :( I will find out tomorrow morning where I am going to go. It is going to be a sad day for sure though! I am going to miss Sister King so much! She is such a great friend and I am going to miss all of our crazy times together and all of our spiritual moments. She is such a great missionary and will continue to bless this area. I am also going to miss all the great friends that I have met here.

2. Erick stopped smoking! He texted us on Thursday night and said that he woke up and decided to stop smoking COMPLETELY! Wow!

3. Frank is getting baptized! He came to church and then last night we met with him at a members house. It was such a great lesson and my bold side came out at the end when I committed him to baptism. I said, "FRANK! Stop being a chicken and get baptized!" So he is! I guess the MTC is right when they say, Teach PEOPLE Not LESSONS.

He said that he has received an answer to his prayer that he should get baptized. He just wanted his testimony to be stronger so that when he bore his testimony it would make us cry. That was his goal, to make us cry. :) Oh gosh I am going to miss him so much! He is like a little brother to me. 

He is most likely going to get baptized in April because he wants his friend Erin to be there who is attending BYU right now, but I am so happy for him!

4. We got to attend the temple this week and WOW! is all I can say! What a great experience it was and the spirit there was so strong!

5. We went to Downtown Houston with the Elders and it was such a blast. We rode the train down, kind of similar to the MAX. When we arrived downtown we saw a homeless person getting arrested for talking smack to a cop. (That already made the Houston experience worth it). We ended up just walking around and eating some good food. We ate at an Indian/Italian Pizza Shop. It definitely had Portland's stamp of approval! So good and unique!

It was fun to be all together. 7 missionaries walking down the street. Sister King and I in the middle with Elders on both sides of us. I really felt like a disciple of Christ and made me think about what it would have been like to walk the streets with Jesus. Instead we were walking Downtown Houston, talking to people, passing out pass along cards, and contacting. 

6. Zone meeting this week was incredible.

First, I gave the opening prayer in sign language and it was so cool!

Second, We talked about Light vs. Dark and I learned so much! I want to share a thought that I received during the meeting. We were talking about how when we are in a dark room that our eyes adjust and we become comfortable. Even if the door opens and some light spills in it can be hard for us to get out of the dark. Our job, not only as missionaries but as members of the church, is to open the door so that those around us in darkness can see the light, can remember the clarity and the beauty that truth, knowledge and love can bring us. This light can only come through the gospel.

For those who may be in the light, we need to always be pushing ourselves to higher degrees of light. Don't be content with a lower light in your life. Keep pushing to a higher brightness. Don't let your eyes adjust, its good to always be squinting. :)

I love this gospel! I'm excited for the new adventure ahead!

Love,

Sister Loo

We Love BOBA!!!

I Know He's Called Me on a Mission!

This week Sister King and I are going downtown to explore Houston. I know it's not going to be as fun as downtown Portland (& the food won't be as great either), but it is going to be a lot of fun! We are going to ride the train down with the Assistants and a couple other Elders so I know that it will be interesting and entertaining...

So since we are going for preparation day we don't have much time to email so Sister King and I prepared a voice recording of our week! It was a pretty good, exhausting, spiritually growing week! 

My favorite scripture from this week is in Revelations 3: 19-21. It reminds me of the picture of Christ knocking at the door and there is no doorknob on his end. It is up to us to open the door and let him in, let him in to help heal us and bring us back to happiness. 

I hope that you continue to open the door to him and let him help you. He has blessed me already so much because of this and know that he will continue to do so.

Love you all!

Sister Kaohi Loo