You Are Loved!

Sunday September 25, 2022.

Aloha Everyone!

Last night when I went to bed, I had determined that I wouldn’t send an email this week. I had nothing to write about. This week felt like “Groundhog Day” every day. Just the same thing every day with slight variations. I tried to think of some things I could possibly write about. These ideas came to mind:

*Getting my hair trimmed after going nine months without a haircut.

*Attending the senior missionary devotional Tuesday night. President and Sister Bassett’s talk were wonderful. They asked us to come prepared having read President Nelson’s talk on the Power of Spiritual Momentum. They shared examples of ending conflict in their lives that had made a great difference to them. The ukulele class accompanied the group for the closing song singing, “The Cause of Christ”. It was humorous that many people came to me afterwards and told me that they wanted to begin attending the ukulele class.

*Attending the temple Wednesday night.

*Holding our first district meeting—roasting marshmallows over a fire on the beach, fixing s’mores and telling stories.

In my estimation, none of these activities were worthy of more than a mention. But then we attended stake conference last night and today. Just FYI, in case you forgot--we attend a married student ward. The theme for the two-session event was: “Undeviating Discipleship”. The Saturday evening session was good. They had a panel to answer questions these young marrieds wanted to ask. But the session this morning was AMAZING. Then I knew that I had something to write about today. I am certain that just reading my notes of the meeting will not inspire you the way we were inspired today but I hope you can feel something of what we felt during the conference.

Eight students of the stake gave talks this morning and most of them had amazing life stores. They were from various countries and spoke of faith and conviction and demonstrated undeviating discipleship. I will mention one story here:

A girl from New Zealand, though her family originates from Tonga, shared that when her father joined the church in Tonga he was cast out of his family so he traveled to New Zealand, where he met his wife and raised their family. His daughter, now attending BYUH (the one speaking), was called on a mission to Tonga. While tracking one day saw an older women weaving hats to sell at the market and felt she needed to speak to her. She introduced herself as sister Amelia which got the older women’s attention. The older woman took this missionary into her home and showed her a bible and on the inside cover was a testimony and picture of this missionary’s father. This women was her aunt. Her grandfather and grandmother and 21 other relatives are now members of the church.

President Mo’o (counsellor in the stake presidency):

He told how a new stake presidency was recently called and sustained in a city in Mongolia. All three members of this stake presidency and their wives are graduates of BYUH. This is one example of how the students here at BYU gain skills that help them become leaders in their area when they return home. This newly called stake president was asked how he managed his time at BYU with a wife, two children, work and school. He said that he decided to work at the temple once a week and he was helped to prioritize his time. Attending the temple made all the difference for him at that time and now.

President Tueller’s (stake president):

It is the mission of BYUH to prepare students to become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. That is the goal of the university. Their schooling and careers are secondary. President Tueller suggested five ways to become an undeviating disciple of Jesus Christ.

*Sing the songs in sacrament meeting with gusto! The handbook says: “Sacred music increases faith in Jesus Christ. It invites the Spirit and teaches doctrine. It also creates a feeling of reverence, unifies members, and provides a way to worship Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.” It doesn’t take any more time to sing with gusto than to sing “normally” or to not sing at all. It will change how you feel.

*Arrive on time or even early for sacrament meeting. It is a memorial service for someone who gave His life for you. Honor Him by arriving on time to worship.

*Testify more often. Verbalize your expressions of faith and truth often. More testimonies are gained on your feet than on your knees.

*Immerse yourself daily in the Book of Mormon. It will truly make a difference in your life.

*Attend all meetings and be anxiously engaged. Stop saying, “What will the church do for me?” Instead, ask yourself what you can offer.

We left the meeting feeling very spiritually uplifted and motivated. It was much needed after a week of “blah-ness”. Is that a word?

Scott and I went to our normal place on campus to study Come Follow Me after stake conference and then decided to drive over to the temple and walk around the grounds. It was very hot and sunny, and we weren’t quite sure that we wanted to stay. But we walked on behind the temple to the banyan tree (our favorite spot in Laie). We couldn’t rest there because it was occupied by a young woman crying a lot. We walked past her, and the thought came to me to turn around and give her a hug. The next thought—“I can’t do that. I will intrude on her privacy.” We walked farther away, and I wrestled with what I should do. I paused to try and feel if those thoughts were from the spirit. We eventually walked back that way and I knew what to do. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her and told her that I just wanted to give her a hug. We hugged for a long time, and she hugged me back just as tightly. I asked if she was alright, and she answered yes. I told her that she needed to know that she was loved. She thanked me and I left. I will most likely never know if that hug helped or made a difference at all. But I hope it did. I know that she was hurting at that moment and needed to feel loved. I pray that we each will find someone to lift with words, actions, or even a smile. There are plenty of people out there who are hurting.

Please know that YOU are loved!

Much love,

Sister Bleak, Mom, Grandma

How I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life this week:

*I felt God’s love as I was practicing the piano in the stake center.

*I felt the spirit during the devotional.

*Emily told me in the temple that I was sent here on my mission for her.

*I needed to borrow a price gun from another store. I went to Goos to ask but they were using theirs. Right then Lani (manager of Hapa Home) walked into Goos and I asked her if they had one and they did.

*I felt the spirit during stake conference and renewed conviction to become a dedicated disciple of Jesus Christ.

*I felt inspired to give the girl who was crying at the banyan tree a hug.