Bursts of laughter filled the room as Mahina, 6, Mehana, 4, and Makoa, 2, played ball with their father, Mark Piena.

Smiling peacefully on the side as she fed her 7-month-old son, Maika, was Moana.

The children were enjoying the company of their parents without a thought that almost five years ago, their mother had faced a scare nearly costing her life.

On May 7, 2001, Moana was diagnosed with Guillian-Barre syndrome, just five days after Mehana was born. A simple tingle on her ear spread to her fingers and toes and throughout her body. A few days passed, her symptoms got worse. Her voice was soft and shaky, her eyes started to roll back and forth, and she was too weak to use the bathroom alone.

Mark recalled the moment the seriousness of his wife's sudden disease became apparent.

"She was eating lunch and she drank some water. Moana started to cough, but it was so soft, you couldn't really tell if she was coughing," he said. "I realized the water was stuck in her throat and she was choking. The disease made her too weak to swallow and too weak to throw it up."

Moana was hospitalized in intensive care for six weeks, temporarily paralyzed from her neck down. She couldn't speak. The Pienas were faced with a tremendous burden: Moana couldn't see her children while she was in ICU; Mark had just started a new job that paid entirely on commission. They had a 2-year-old and a new baby at home, and minimal means of communication.

Like the Pienas, everyone is faced with trials. How do you bear the pain and anguish some trials have? How do you build the strength to be happy and continue with day-to-day routines while facing hard times?

Mark and Moana's answer: "We had faith."

Faith has true meaning to the Pienas.

"The word means to have hope for something better and that something good will come out of it," said Moana. "I needed to have faith that I will be able to see Mahina. I needed to have faith that I will be able to hold my new daughter. Faith helped me get through my recovery. I had to learn how to walk, talk, and eat, just like a baby.

"I asked Mark, 'Why us? Why did we have to bear this trial? Why did I have to get sick?' And he said, 'Why not us? We have faith that things will get better. We have been prepared and we have the strength to handle things like this with each other.' I took his words and realized that things will get better."

Both have faith in God. During the rough times, Mark remembers having the most powerful prayers with the Lord.

"Faith strengthened my prayers, and prayers strengthened my faith," he said. "There so many things that happened that could have broken us up, but we couldn't give up, we kept going."

Burdens in life get lighter, and Moana got better.

"We learned that you can't complain about trials," Mark said. "It happens and now we have to deal with it. You gotta have faith."

You can't predict the future, but have faith that it will be a happy one.

Faith helped the Pienas live their life with joy and happiness. Today, their children listen as their parents share their remarkable story of faith and hope. One day they will begin to understand it and grow from it.

Kristi Hoohuli, a recent college graduate, is a member of the Makakilo Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.