The Hawaiian in Cauayan: 6-4-17 True wisdom means putting the Lord before ourselves.

Magandang hapon po family!

Alright almost my whole computer time doing things in preparation for our homecoming, so this email is going to be fairly short. Thank you for the email though and the awesome updates! What a cool activity! I've read so much about the pioneers since I've been out here; I don't think any of us could comprehend the things they went through. It's so humbling and amazing that they did the things they did out of pure love for the Lord and hope for the following generations. I wish I could've attended the activity myself, but I'm super happy to see that Kaukahi them got to attend. The boys are so tall! I had to laugh at what Kaukahi did hahaha, such a Kaukahi thing to do. I super enjoyed reading about Kala'i's experience, asking for help from grandpa. It's actually a really cool thing that you understand the closeness we have to those on the other side of the veil. That's something I didn't understand too well until just before serving my mission. Keep it up and always keep yourself worthy to exercise your Priesthood power at any time!

Alright I can't go too deep into the many things that happened this past week, but it was another super great one. I just love working with Elder Marquez and it continues to amaze me how great a missionary he already is. He's so diligent and never let's hardships bring him down. We're continuing to find and teach great people who seem so ready. Sis. Jackie is still progressing so well! She got to 1 Nephi 15 within a week! She's highlighting verses that stand out to her and even posting verses on Facebook! Her parents are still against her becoming a member, but she feels that this is the right thing to do so she's pushing through with it. She went to church again on Sunday and she'll be adjusting her work schedule just so we can teach her more often.

Before I go I just want to share a quick verse I thought was cool during Personal Study. This week I decided to read Job's story in the Bible. It's actually a pretty interesting story: Satan is given permission to test this good man who serves others and has so many worldly blessings. I'm only on like chapter 33 so I don't know the whole story yet, but the cool thing is that no matter how hard these trials are for Job - and he makes it obvious that they are extremely difficult to handle - he never forgets the Lord's power. He says that these trials are almost too much to bear, but he never blames it on the Lord. Anyway, I thought Job 28:28 was really cool: And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

True wisdom means putting the Lord before ourselves. One of my favorite verses in the Book of Mormon is Jacob 4:10, which testifies of the same thing. And if we truly understand the reason God gives commandments, we will follow them, keeping ourselves as far away from evil as possible. This is a great formula to follow. Thanks again for the emails and have a great week!

Love you guys!

Elder Ishibashi

p.s. Kita-kita po tayo sa isang buwan mula ngayon!