Aloha to all my friends and fam!
This week in the Waipiolani ward we had some great things happen both planned and unplanned. Of course we also had some bad things happen, most of which were unplanned since we try not to plan for those kind of things. First off we had a meeting early in the week with the Wong Family (a less active family trying to get back to church) and set their 9 year old daughter Mochi with a baptismal dater for the 26th of November (which is pretty cool because its exactly a year after my first baptism, Malia, in Kaneohe). They are solid and we will continue to meet with them this month. We also had a lesson planned for the Davis family to get them back to church and baptize their daughter Kiana... but when we got to the lesson Kiana was asleep the whole time so we will focus on baptizing her on a day when she hasn't been at a haunted house for hours. Despite that setback we did talk to the rest of the family and shared some scriptures that came to mind, they started tearing up and said it was exactly what they needed to hear. Bishop Goo was also with us for that lesson so of course it went well, he is just great at making everyone feel comfortable and loved.
We went to the 4-ward trunk or treat as well this week and had a good time. The Davis family and Francis came to that so that was great to see. Winning costumes were Elder and Sister Anderson's grandson who came as an AT-ST from Star Wars complete with a working Nerf Gun that he continuously shot the three of us with, and the Goo Family whose four kids came as the Ninja Turtles while Bishop was Shredder.
The best part though was that we found a younger military couple referred to us by the Visitor's Center who seems to be interested in what we have to say. The wife, Georgie, said that she would read the introduction before we met again this week and she seemed to really mean it. Despite their Catholic upbringing they have a really solid understanding on what the Book of Mormon is, not a new scripture or correcting doctrine, but a second witness used to clarify. It made me really happy to see that.
Anyway that's all for this week, remember to never take what you have for granted and to always find ways to share it with others.
Love and Aloha
Elder Smith
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Triple Threat
Aloha friends and family!
This week has been a definite change of routine for us. On Tuesday me and Elder Hayes went to transfer meeting then the airport to pick up Elder Bird coming in from Kaua'i. He is 6"6' and from Mapleton, Utah and has been out for 3 months. That basically means that I am training and greenie breaking at the same time. When president told me that he appreciated that I could "go with the flow" I didn't think that he would be flowing me up and down the river like this. But naw it's been a good time. After trying and failing and trying again to fit a third bed in our room and telling all of of our dinners for the next week that there are now three of us we went on our way.
In terms of lessons we tried to meet with Ikaika but he couldn't because he moved his tutoring to that day so he could go to church, then we rescheduled it but he couldn't go because he got invited to the stake dance. I don't think I have ever been happier because of cancellations in my life. The down side is we had to push his baptism back a bit but he is still set and ready to be dunked when the time comes. This week Bishop Goo set up appointments for us to visit the Davis family and the Wong family, both of which want to get back to church and have a kid that isn't baptized so we are looking forward to meeting them this week.
The theme of the week for me has been attitude. I realized while reading through the Book of Nephi that we give Laman and Lemuel a hard time a lot for being the "bad guys" of the Book of Mormon when in reality they did almost everything that God commanded them, the only difference is that they did it out of stubborn obligation and not out of love of God. Because of this they never had a change of heart and never profited from their sacrifice. So remember that it isn't enough to just go through the motions of being "good" we actually have to BE good.
That's it for now, hope everyone's week was great and that you are striving always to share what you know. Love you all.
That's all folks
Elder Smith
1. Me and Elder Zollinger (my trainer who just finished his mission)
2. Me and Sister Iino (my neighbor who just finished her mission)
3. Dead (huge) rat found at service
4. Comps at the linger longer
This week has been a definite change of routine for us. On Tuesday me and Elder Hayes went to transfer meeting then the airport to pick up Elder Bird coming in from Kaua'i. He is 6"6' and from Mapleton, Utah and has been out for 3 months. That basically means that I am training and greenie breaking at the same time. When president told me that he appreciated that I could "go with the flow" I didn't think that he would be flowing me up and down the river like this. But naw it's been a good time. After trying and failing and trying again to fit a third bed in our room and telling all of of our dinners for the next week that there are now three of us we went on our way.
In terms of lessons we tried to meet with Ikaika but he couldn't because he moved his tutoring to that day so he could go to church, then we rescheduled it but he couldn't go because he got invited to the stake dance. I don't think I have ever been happier because of cancellations in my life. The down side is we had to push his baptism back a bit but he is still set and ready to be dunked when the time comes. This week Bishop Goo set up appointments for us to visit the Davis family and the Wong family, both of which want to get back to church and have a kid that isn't baptized so we are looking forward to meeting them this week.
The theme of the week for me has been attitude. I realized while reading through the Book of Nephi that we give Laman and Lemuel a hard time a lot for being the "bad guys" of the Book of Mormon when in reality they did almost everything that God commanded them, the only difference is that they did it out of stubborn obligation and not out of love of God. Because of this they never had a change of heart and never profited from their sacrifice. So remember that it isn't enough to just go through the motions of being "good" we actually have to BE good.
That's it for now, hope everyone's week was great and that you are striving always to share what you know. Love you all.
That's all folks
Elder Smith
1. Me and Elder Zollinger (my trainer who just finished his mission)
2. Me and Sister Iino (my neighbor who just finished her mission)
3. Dead (huge) rat found at service
4. Comps at the linger longer
Monday, October 16, 2017
Bird is the Word
Alooooha!
So here we are again at transfer time, news was a little weird this time around. As expected me and Elder Hayes will be staying in the Waipiolani ward, but we will be getting a third companion named Elder Bird. I have never heard of this Elder before and as of yet I have no idea why we are being put in a trio, guess the lord has something he wants us to learn. In other news my trainer Elder Zollinger has completed his mission and is heading home and my past comp Elder Campbell is going to the west side of Kaua'i. Not much change aside from that.
This week was full of talking to people on the street and trying to find new investigators. Not a whole lot of success but we are loving the work either way. We had a solid meeting with Ikiaka this week and we went over the Restoration, I am pretty confident that he will get baptized so that is pretty cool to see. The Elzingas are another story, we went over to set Preston with a date and found out they are last minute moving to Wahiawa so we will have to hand them to those Elders. The Elzingas are also awesome and they came to church this week which was awesome to see. Keep praying for them. Aside from that not much else to report.
Love you all and keep on being awesome.
Ofa atu!
Elder Smith
Breakfast.
So here we are again at transfer time, news was a little weird this time around. As expected me and Elder Hayes will be staying in the Waipiolani ward, but we will be getting a third companion named Elder Bird. I have never heard of this Elder before and as of yet I have no idea why we are being put in a trio, guess the lord has something he wants us to learn. In other news my trainer Elder Zollinger has completed his mission and is heading home and my past comp Elder Campbell is going to the west side of Kaua'i. Not much change aside from that.
This week was full of talking to people on the street and trying to find new investigators. Not a whole lot of success but we are loving the work either way. We had a solid meeting with Ikiaka this week and we went over the Restoration, I am pretty confident that he will get baptized so that is pretty cool to see. The Elzingas are another story, we went over to set Preston with a date and found out they are last minute moving to Wahiawa so we will have to hand them to those Elders. The Elzingas are also awesome and they came to church this week which was awesome to see. Keep praying for them. Aside from that not much else to report.
Love you all and keep on being awesome.
Ofa atu!
Elder Smith
Breakfast.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Smith's out of Gas, VanShaar is Peeing in a Bottle, and the Cops Just Showed Up
I'm sure you're all wondering why my email is titled this way, let's just say that there are no dull moments here in the Hawai'i Honolulu mission.
So this week was an interesting one. We were able to meet a bit with the Elzinga family and see where they are, we are feeling good about the plan to start up lessons with just Preston so we are going to be sticking to that. Lessons with him start up this week (finger's crossed). We have talked more with Ikaika and he is pretty set on getting baptized which is really good for us to see, the only thing we need to do now is get him to realize how important church is, him coming regularly is the only real roadblock left (though he did come to scouts this week which was awesome). We also got a new investigator this week named Kenoa who is a Chuukese football player who was referred to us by his coach (a member of the stake presidency. He seemed marginally interested but his fellowshipper is solid so we will see how that goes.)
Also we got the chance to got to the temple today which was legit as always, lots of prayers answered. I feel really lucky to be able to go as much as I do, I know not all missionaries get this opportunity so I am very grateful for it.
I love you all and hope that you all find a way to spread the word. Aloha au ia 'oe!
-Elder Smith
PS. if anyone wants to hear the story behind my title, shoot me an email as to how you shared the gospel this week. Love ya
Mililani Zone at the temple!
So this week was an interesting one. We were able to meet a bit with the Elzinga family and see where they are, we are feeling good about the plan to start up lessons with just Preston so we are going to be sticking to that. Lessons with him start up this week (finger's crossed). We have talked more with Ikaika and he is pretty set on getting baptized which is really good for us to see, the only thing we need to do now is get him to realize how important church is, him coming regularly is the only real roadblock left (though he did come to scouts this week which was awesome). We also got a new investigator this week named Kenoa who is a Chuukese football player who was referred to us by his coach (a member of the stake presidency. He seemed marginally interested but his fellowshipper is solid so we will see how that goes.)
Also we got the chance to got to the temple today which was legit as always, lots of prayers answered. I feel really lucky to be able to go as much as I do, I know not all missionaries get this opportunity so I am very grateful for it.
I love you all and hope that you all find a way to spread the word. Aloha au ia 'oe!
-Elder Smith
PS. if anyone wants to hear the story behind my title, shoot me an email as to how you shared the gospel this week. Love ya
Mililani Zone at the temple!
Monday, October 2, 2017
Amazing General Conference Weekend
Aloha!
What a week it has been. This week we had interviews, zone conference, and of course general conference. First off in interviews president gave me some direction on how I can improve as a trainer and in general and he also cleared up a lot a few doctrinal questions I had. That's one of the things I love about President Bekker, he is able to be so spiritual and profound in only teaching the pure and simple doctrine of the gospel but at the same time if you have a legitimate concern about deep doctrine of the church he knows everything about that too. I see some missionaries that spend way too much time trying to learn the deep and confusing aspects of the gospel and in doing so lose sight of the simplicity of Christ's teachings. I have had to learn in my mission to not get distracted by the crazy stuff and while I have learned A TON on my mission compared to what I knew before I have more importantly learned the importance of plain and simple teachings.
Zone conference was also awesome, the theme this time was strengthening our own faith. I was one of the missionaries assigned to randomly give a talk and it went alright all things considered. I have come to realize that faith really is the basis of all that we do. It is the first point in the gospel of Jesus Christ and without it nothing else can be fully realized. Our prayers and sacrifices don't really mean much if we don't have the faith to know that they do what God says they will. Like Elder Hales's unread talk said yesterday "faith is what prepares us to meet God". We all start somewhere and that is faith.
Speaking of yesterday, we had an amazing General conference this time around. As usual it was incredibly early (Morning session at 6am, afternoon at 10am, priesthood at 2pm) but it was one of the best one's I can remember. Of course it was sad to not see President Monson there and pretty crazy timing for Elder Hales to have passed away but I know that this work is God's work and will go on regardless of the condition of His servants. Some talks that stuck out to me were President Henry B. Eyring's priesthood address on sustaining leaders in the church (even though we all have human weaknesses), Elder Tad R. Callister's talk on the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon (there's a more detailed version of that given as a BYU devotional called The Book of Mormon: Man Made or God Given. Highly recommend) and Elder Anderson's talk on general conference as a whole and how it's counsel will lead and guide us. I feel so blessed to be lead today by real prophets who have the inspiration to know what the world does need and will need in the future. With everything going on in the world today (I saw a news broadcast this morning at the gym about the shooting in Las Vegas) it is beyond comfortable to know that we have people that make God's will and plan made known to us. I am even more grateful to know that God is infinite and has provided a perfect plan that allows us eternal happiness even if life takes an unexpected turn.
All in all things are going well in the Waipiolani ward. As far as the Elzinga's go we are planning to start only teaching the 9 year old son and less active father since they are the only ones actually showing the desire to act on what we tell them. Hopefully their example will allow their mother to better feel the spirit in the future but for now she is just holding back their progression. We did have another meeting with our 15 year old investigator Ikaika yesterday and we set him with a baptismal date of October 29th! He seemed game for it now we just have to hold him to his commitments to get there. Keep praying for them and for Francis, Felicia, Jenna, and the Davis Ohana. We are so close with these people we just need a little help from on high.
Love you all and remember to always heed the words of the prophets
Elder Smith
1. Extended version of the family pic. My dad Elder Zollinger with both of his sons (me and Elder Cabrito) and both of his grandsons (Elder Hayes and Elder Anderson)
2. Hon-West reunion, Elder Siaosi, Elder McOmber, Sister Kwak, Elder Campbell, and me
3. Elder Zollinger with 4 of his companions (Elder VanShaar, Elder Klaassen, me, and Elder Wood)
What a week it has been. This week we had interviews, zone conference, and of course general conference. First off in interviews president gave me some direction on how I can improve as a trainer and in general and he also cleared up a lot a few doctrinal questions I had. That's one of the things I love about President Bekker, he is able to be so spiritual and profound in only teaching the pure and simple doctrine of the gospel but at the same time if you have a legitimate concern about deep doctrine of the church he knows everything about that too. I see some missionaries that spend way too much time trying to learn the deep and confusing aspects of the gospel and in doing so lose sight of the simplicity of Christ's teachings. I have had to learn in my mission to not get distracted by the crazy stuff and while I have learned A TON on my mission compared to what I knew before I have more importantly learned the importance of plain and simple teachings.
Zone conference was also awesome, the theme this time was strengthening our own faith. I was one of the missionaries assigned to randomly give a talk and it went alright all things considered. I have come to realize that faith really is the basis of all that we do. It is the first point in the gospel of Jesus Christ and without it nothing else can be fully realized. Our prayers and sacrifices don't really mean much if we don't have the faith to know that they do what God says they will. Like Elder Hales's unread talk said yesterday "faith is what prepares us to meet God". We all start somewhere and that is faith.
Speaking of yesterday, we had an amazing General conference this time around. As usual it was incredibly early (Morning session at 6am, afternoon at 10am, priesthood at 2pm) but it was one of the best one's I can remember. Of course it was sad to not see President Monson there and pretty crazy timing for Elder Hales to have passed away but I know that this work is God's work and will go on regardless of the condition of His servants. Some talks that stuck out to me were President Henry B. Eyring's priesthood address on sustaining leaders in the church (even though we all have human weaknesses), Elder Tad R. Callister's talk on the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon (there's a more detailed version of that given as a BYU devotional called The Book of Mormon: Man Made or God Given. Highly recommend) and Elder Anderson's talk on general conference as a whole and how it's counsel will lead and guide us. I feel so blessed to be lead today by real prophets who have the inspiration to know what the world does need and will need in the future. With everything going on in the world today (I saw a news broadcast this morning at the gym about the shooting in Las Vegas) it is beyond comfortable to know that we have people that make God's will and plan made known to us. I am even more grateful to know that God is infinite and has provided a perfect plan that allows us eternal happiness even if life takes an unexpected turn.
All in all things are going well in the Waipiolani ward. As far as the Elzinga's go we are planning to start only teaching the 9 year old son and less active father since they are the only ones actually showing the desire to act on what we tell them. Hopefully their example will allow their mother to better feel the spirit in the future but for now she is just holding back their progression. We did have another meeting with our 15 year old investigator Ikaika yesterday and we set him with a baptismal date of October 29th! He seemed game for it now we just have to hold him to his commitments to get there. Keep praying for them and for Francis, Felicia, Jenna, and the Davis Ohana. We are so close with these people we just need a little help from on high.
Love you all and remember to always heed the words of the prophets
Elder Smith
1. Extended version of the family pic. My dad Elder Zollinger with both of his sons (me and Elder Cabrito) and both of his grandsons (Elder Hayes and Elder Anderson)
2. Hon-West reunion, Elder Siaosi, Elder McOmber, Sister Kwak, Elder Campbell, and me
3. Elder Zollinger with 4 of his companions (Elder VanShaar, Elder Klaassen, me, and Elder Wood)
4. Ballin'
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