the sisters on Maui

the sisters on Maui

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

WEEK 22- Cleaning at the temple and a wonderful baptisim



 We get onto the email on Mondays in the Family History center. It gets pretty crazy in there!!



We got to clean the temple this week! We drove down to Kona and spent the morning there. We checked all of the shirts, pants, dresses, etc. for loose buttons or rips and then did some mending. We wiped down some walls and then our last job was to clean the chandelier in the Celestial room. It was HUGE and it took 4 or 5 of us about an hour to clean it - crystal by crystal…. and we wiped every single one. They lowered the chandelier down to our height so it wasn't too hard though. It just took a while. And the strands of crystals were so loosely hung on that sometimes as we would clean them they would fall off but We just hung them back up after. When we finished, we were waiting in another room and sister p went to fix her hair (it was in a loose bun) she took her bun out and a small strand of crystal fell to the floor! Luckily she found it while we were still there! Then while everyone else ate, sister p and I got to just sit quietly in the celestial room. It was so beautiful! Then the temple matron came in and turned on all of the lights!!!!! It was amazing!
        Then the temple president took us all into the maintenance room, then up a spiral metal staircase, then up another ladder, then into the attic, down a couple hallways where you have to duck under, and step over pipes and ventilation, then up a few more ladders and then into the top of the temple! It’s all hollow and echo-ey. You can look up and see the very top of the steeple! It was cool!
The next day was the mission tour, where elder Schweitzer of the 70 came to see our mission. Our zone did the musical number: a compilation of Onward Christian Soldiers and Put your Shoulder to the Wheel. Sis p was the pianist and I was the conductor! it was really fun!
       Also, this week, RB was baptized! He is so sweet! When sis p and her old companion met him a few weeks ago, he told them he was an atheist. His mom told the sisters that she wanted him to believe in God. So they started meeting with him, then I came in and met with him also , and he has come to know for himself that he has a loving Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. We had interviews with president earlier in the day before the baptism, so president, his wife and the assistants all stayed for the baptism! It was neat to have them there! Rb was pretty nervous before but afterwards he said that he felt so calm. 


Yesterday, President and his wife came to speak at a fireside in our chapel. Before the fireside, one of our members had president, his wife and us over for dinner. We met president at the church and then he and his wife drove us to the dinner! it was fun to get to spend some time with them!
TO answer the questions:
Right now I am studying in the book of Mormon in 1st Nephi and in the Old Testament in Genesis. I just started the book of Mormon over again and I started reading genesis recently. I am also studying Preach my Gospel and Our search for Happiness. I’m learning a lot about Charity, and about doing the things that Heavenly Father has asked us to do. Obedience can sometimes seem like a sacrifice, but we know that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven" so we end up being so blessed for our obedience that it isn’t really a sacrifice after all.
The most fun thing I have done to let people know that I am out here and love the gospel is.......... I don't know...... probably the craziest thing for me is just tracting. We knock on random people's doors and ask to pray with them. It is kinda crazy because you never know who'll be behind the door! one of the most fun things that we do is talk to people on our p-day. When we are at the park and all playing ultimate Frisbee or something fun, sometimes we will be able to talk to other people at the park. They often ask what group we are and we get to share a little about who we are and what we do.

I love you all,
Sister Rachel Hodgson