Got 1,000 things to say and 10 minutes to say them so here we go.
In Hawaii news we did set an 11 year old boy with a baptism date this week. His name is Makama Alcon and he is the son of a recently returning member. Sadly he spends a lot of time on Molokai for now but will be here permanently in the summer, thus the reason why the baptism is so far away. Odds are I will stay here one more transfer which means I will be here to see it but if not I know that me being there isn't the important part.
There's another man we have been working with named Sanfour and he is awesome. Such a humble dude and really likes missionaries the only holdup is he doesn't speak great English and so when we stat talking gospel he gets lost. Odds are we will turn him over to the Sisters that cover the Micronesian branch eventually, but for now he is comfortable with us so we are keeping him. Plus those sisters don't speak Chuukese either they would just have access to members that do.
I also got the sad news that one of the older members in the Kaneohe 3rd ward passed away this past week. Sister Kaneaiakala fed us every month and always had funny things to say. She was full of energy to the end. Some prayers for her husband Wayne would be appreciated, it was a relatively unexpected passing. She was the first person I gave a blessing to on the mission.
This week has been full of ups and downs. There have been some great things and some not so great things and I have been very frustrated this week by the agency of other people. I know that sounds funny but I feel like this week I was able to see more people than ever before in this area but they just aren't doing anything. There are people that need our message so bad but they just aren't returning our texts, people that served full time missions but somehow still strayed off the path and just choose not to come back, people who are active but married to non members and just aren't pushing their spouse to meet with us. Honestly this has been a great week but I find myself getting frustrated with some of these people, I kept getting down on myself because I thought it was something that I was doing wrong but then I remembered something it says in preach my gospel. Even when we are doing all we can, we will still face disappointments, though we should not be disappointed in ourselves. I know this can be hard to do, but in the end we just need to look at our efforts and if we can honestly say that we did all we needed to do then we have no need to blame ourselves on the outcome.
Anyway I'm glad that everyone is doing great and that I'm not the only on getting hit by allergies (though it isn't that bad here).
Love you all and miss you.
Ofa atu
Elder Smith
Movie attached for your amusement.
Aloha!
So this has been a very interesting week. I say that because while it feels like it has been very successful on paper we didn't really get anything good on papers (in terms of numbers that we report) so I guess that why they tell us that only we can be judges of our own success haha. Anyway this week started off pretty good with the mission taking a day to have all the missionaries go out and just find new people to teach. Sadly no such luck for me and Elder Campbell, but we did have the opportunity to talk to quite a few people. Got to plant seeds wherever we go.
In Easter news our Sunday program was pretty good. Sacrament was amazing and the lessons in gospel principles and elders quorum were really good. Since it was Easter we did have a lot more of the part member families that came to church, we tried to talk to as many as we could but those people have been trained in the art of dodging missionaries so we will see if any of that pans out. Sadly nobody signed up to feed us on Easter so that was a bit sad, but its all good because Elder Campbell and I spent the dinner break dyeing Easter eggs. What a time :P
I think that Easter is one of the most easily over looked holidays in the eyes of the world, but the Resurrection of Christ is one of the most important events in the history of this earth. Through that we can all conquer physical death and be together forever with Christ and with our families. I don't think I have ever given the holiday that kind of appreciation and I hope that I always remember that and that you do to. I just feel so blessed and its amazing.
My next transfer is the second week of May so I'll be in Hon-West for at least another few weeks (and probably more than that, I think this will be a 3 transfer area, but that's just my guess). But yeah its been another great week here in paradise but let me tell you it has been a lot hotter. It seems like every day its overcast right up until its time for us to work, then suddenly its blazing hot. Elder Campbell and I walk most of the time to try and see more people, but then that means that we get sunburns and are drenched in sweat after like an hour. So needless to say by the end of the day I'm basically a sweaty stinky mess (sorry :P). But yeah here's a funny story for you. So me and Campbell were walking in a neighborhood and a dog started viciously barking at us (typical) and then it charged us but it had a chain on so we didn't flinch. Only thing is it got to the end of its chain and pulled so hard the chain broke. There was like 3 seconds of silence where me, Campbell, and the dog all came to the realization of what just happened then it started to advance on us a bit and we both kinda freaked out (it was a very "built" dog, kinda like our dog Indy) and so we were both prepared to take this thing down with our bags, but luckily by the grace of God or sheer luck it backed off before it tried to bite. Never thought that sorta thing would actually happen to me but I guess it does happen haha.
President Bekker called and told me about Gruncle passing away. I know that it was his time and that he lived an honorable life. I'm just glad that he went peacefully.
Well time is short. Hope your Easter was amazing and that your upcoming week is great.
Love you all,
Elder Smith
Egg dyeing skills.
Aloha!
So its been another 8 days, as I'm sure you've come to expect every once in awhile my p-day got pushed back to Tuesday because we had the awesome chance to go to the Laie Temple today, as always it was a wonderful spiritual experience and I think I got the answer to some questions that have been on my mind as of late. I don't think I realized until recently how lucky we are to have a temple so available to us. Like reading the Bible in the Old Testament there was only ever one temple on the continent for the people to worship in. I'm pretty sure there was only one on the American Continent as well. There would be no hope for people living on an isolated island like this to have access to a temple, but here we are with two. Guess that just testifies to me even further that the lord is hastening the work. So just a quick reminder to not take for granted how easy it is to get to the temple :P
On the mission work side of things it has been a slower week, but we have faith that things are going to pick up here in a bit. I had the chance to go on an exchange this week with Elder Boyd so it was just like old times seeing him again. We also found out that someone we were seeing back in Kaneohe got baptized this week (Brother Naipo, not sure if I ever mentioned him) so that was great to hear. Sad I couldn't be there to see it but it isn't about me, it's about the work. It also made me realize that a mission honestly is really short and that I need to make sure I'm not wasting my time out here. As of yesterday I'm officially 1/3 of the way done! I have no idea how that happened because it really feels like I just got here.
Well I got to hurry this along, just know that I'm good, I got your package, and my shoes are still holding together.
Love you guys!
Elder Smith
Aloha!
Over on this side of the ocean things have been going pretty well. Not a lot of chance to meet with our investigators this week but we did find a couple new people that show some promise. I'll keep you posted on them. There's this guy our age who is prepping to go on a mission right now so he has been going out with us every week or so, so that has been pretty cool. His name is Levi and his last name I believe is Fu'uaga but off hand I'm blanking on it. Anyway its crazy to be on the other end of the "prepping for a mission" routine that all the 18 and 19 year olds do. Makes me realize that the missionaries I went out with probably had no clue what they were doing because half the time I'm just smiling and pretending I have any clue what I'm suppose to be doing. Granted I'm pretty sure that's 80% of missionaries and basically how people get through life in general so it's good practice :P.
So I'm honestly trying to remember what happened this week and its all kinda a blur. I think all my memory was taken up by conference so I'll mostly talk about that. But first off this was the first week of a new transfer, not a lot of change here in the Hon-west zone aside from the fact that Elder Boyd is now in the zone. It was pretty funny the first day he got here our two companionships went to lunch together and we were all talking about the Kaneohe 3rd ward (his comp Elder Kirkham also served there) and while we were doing this we saw a member from that ward walk by. He saw us all together and just laughed. I miss the people in that ward.
But in conference news it was a real struggle getting up once again because conference starts at 6 in the morning but Elder Campbell and I pushed through and made it. I don't have my notes on me but there were a lot of talks that were just fantastic. One of the things that really stuck out to me was the talk (can't remember who it was by) that said that Jesus loved the rich young ruler. I had just read that story in the Book of Mathew where it doesn't specifically say loved and I'm not gonna lie it really worried me a bit. I know that I'm out here on a mission and that the Lord is merciful, but sometimes being held to such a high standard makes you feel inadequate when you aren't exactly perfect. But when that story was shared it reminded me of something that President Bekker said (I think he might have been quoting someone else but I don't know). "We don't need to be perfect, we just need to be good at getting better." I know that I just need to give Him what I have and have faith that the rest will be taken care of. Man I just love this gospel, it really is for everyone. We aren't perfect, what we do and say isn't perfect, but what we teach is. The gospel is the only perfect thing on this earth.
Glad to hear that the next group of Seniors are all starting to get their calls, waiting to hear who's going to get sent to the Aloha mission!
Hope life is great, don't have much time so I gotta go.
Love you all!
Elder Smith
Hey Family!
So today is yet another holiday meaning that all the libraries are clolsed and I am emailing from a members house. You might be wondering what holiday, and it is in fact Prince Kuhio Day!... Yeah I really don't know what the point of it is but I guess he was an important guy and it gives everyone a chance to be off school and work so hooray Prince Kuhio!
Anyway this has been a pretty solid week, I didn't realize how fast the time was going by so the reason I didn't mention anything about transfers last week was just because I totally forgot that we were already that far into the transfer. But yeah me and Elder Campbell are staying here in the Hon-West zone so we're excited to see what happens in the next 6 weeks. Lessons have been going pretty good, we have been able to catch more of the part members families this week so that has been a huge help, any RM will tell you that's where the most results come from. Hopefully we will start seeing some progress there. The downside to this area is definitely the fact that the people here are such hard workers, it's great for them but for us it means that they work multiple jobs and are just never home so a lot of our day is just spent trying to contact people that are never there. We keep a pretty good attitude, most days we can see at least one person but even on the days that we don't we just try our best to be our best and know that the lord will take care of the rest (that wasn't suppose to rhyme, whoops).
So in transfer news there isn't a lot of people leaving this zone but one awesome bit of news that I heard is that Elder Boyd is being moved to the ward right next to me so I'm looking forward to hearing from him and going on exchanges with him again. That also means that there are 4 elders in this zone that served in the Kaneohe 3rd ward, we have lots to talk about.
Before I need to hop off here I just need to emphasize the fact that Elder Campbell and I got a couple new investigators this week (more than usual) and while we'd love to take credit it is honestly because the members are staring to invite their friends and non-member family to dinners with us. I think sometimes people are afraid to do this because they (member and nonmember) think that missionary discussions are this big formal scripted event that have to be followed to the letter. Obviously they are meant to be a spiritual experience but its honestly our job to make these people feel comfortable with the gospel and with us. It doesn't need to be a big thing, but it can easily become something great. Just wanted you guys to know that's how the best work gets done.
I love you all and hope everyone is doing their part in this great work.
Aloha
Elder Smith
Aloha fam,
Well I've got a lot to say and no time to say it. Here it goes.
So this was a crazy week from start to finish. First off we had interviews with President Bekker, he just really lifts me up every time I talk to him and every time it just inspires me to be better. Anyway after that we had a zone conference with the missionaries from the Honolulu, Waipahu, and Makakilo zones. I got to see a lot of the missionaries from the old Kaneohe days that are serving there now so that was awesome to be able to catch up with them. The topic of the Conference was self conversion which is something I have been trying to focus on this transfer, I can't be so focused on these people that I forget to take care of myself. I feel like I have learned so much in the last seven months, if nothing else at least I know that this mission is changing me.
On Sunday we met with Sister Alcon who is a member that recently returned to activity, she has an 11 year old son who lives on Molokai but comes to vist every once in awhile and will be moving here in the summer. He has not been baptized so she asked us to talk to him about it and prep him. Luckily I've taught a whole bunch of children on my mission (more than adults sadly haha) so it was pretty easy to get him comfortable around us. I think he's going to be just fine and I always enjoy teaching his age group so this will be a fun series of lessons.
I was talking to Elder Boyd to see how my old area is doing and he told me that one of the part member families is getting baptized in a couple weeks and I was so happy to hear that. I loved the guy so much and he quit drinking while I was there so I knew this was only a matter of time. People in the mission don't know what seeds they're planting so it's hard to see the value of the work some days, I just have to remember that stuff like this doesn't happen because of one missionary alone. I can't do it by myself. We are all in it together and we all have the same goal.
We got in contact with this awesome Korean member this week named brother Skyson who is friends with one of the University of Hawaii radio DJs. The DJ isn't a member but he has member family and he loves missionaries so he lets us take an hour of his show every month to talk about our church and share a bit about ourselves. Brother Skyson asked if we wanted to do this and we agreed. Beforehand I was crazy nervous but in the end I said a prayer and figured that I do this all the time, this was no different. So yeah we just did that this morning and I think it went well. If nothing else I think that the DJ himself is much more open to learning more. Odds are that won't happen to me again but they will be doing that with other missionaries every month.
So I really gotta sign off because of limited time but I love you guys and I love hearing from you guys. I know I don't address it often but thanks for keeping me updated on whats happening back home.
Love you!
Elder Smith
Pic from Zone Conference - Honolulu West Zone
Howdy,
So this week has been a pretty normal week. Probably the most notable thing is that I went on two different exchanges this week. Early in the week I spent a day in Nu'uanu ward with Elder Kirkham and that was pretty cool. He previously served in the Kaneohe 3rd ward so we had a lot to talk about. He wanted to hear all about it, it was one of his first areas and he really misses the people there. Later in the week I spent a day in the Moanalua ward with Elder Willden. He has been companions with both Elder Johnson and Elder Boyd so we also a lot to talk about. All in all I had a good time with both of them and definitely learned something from each.
In my ward news we were able to teach here and there this week. Pretty cool moment was when an investigator asked us a question they had about something Christ said in the bible. It also kinda confused me so I said I'd look into it and get back to her. I couldn't find anything in the scriptures concerning it so I decided to crack open Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmadge. It's quite the read and I feel like a good companion book for it is the Websters dictionary, but once you get past the vocabulary it really does clear up any and all things that come up during Christ's ministry. Truman G Madsen said that the book should be considered the 5th standard work and I don't think he is too far off. But anyway I found the scriptural passage addressed in the book (Mark 12:27 if I remember correctly) and it really cleared it up for me. Hopefully next time I see Yoellah (the investigator) I will be able to use that to clear up her concerns.
Elder Campbell and I also had the chance to go on a hike in the middle of the week with some of the scouts. It also worked for us because the scoutmaster is actually not a member (which is a genius way of getting the nonmember of a part member family to church). So we were able to get to know him better and he seems really comfortable around us now, fingers crossed this becomes something. We also just found out that the cub scout master is also not a member so we might be going for something similar. I don't think Bishop Saula put them there for nothing, but we'll pray about it and see what is best. Just want to help bring these families together.
I'm really starting to gain an appreciation for Preach My Gospel. It can sometimes be a bit of a chore reading it every day but I know that there are great things in there. I recommend checking it out before anyone goes on their mission. And I definitely wish I could have gone to some institute before my mission, everyone makes it sound like the best thing ever. Can't wait to start doing that post mission, gotta keep myself going the right way somehow haha. But honestly I've been learning a lot about the atonement myself and I don't think I ever really appreciated it, I still don't think I fully do but I'm trying to live worthy of that sacrifice. It really just blows my mind that Jesus loves us so much that he willingly did that for us despite the way he had been treated. Then as soon as he's done the very people he suffered for betray and kill him. That kind of character is just unreal, but that's what we need to focus ourselves on.
In mission news this next week should be fun, I've got interviews with president and zone conference this week. I'm particularly looking forward to zone conference because I'll get to see some of my friends in the mission that I haven't seen in awhile.
All in all its been a solid week. Crazy how fast the time is flying, the transfer is already at the back half. Hope that Campbell and I stay together (mostly because I know I'll get lost daily without him, but also because he's a pretty neat guy) but whatever happens is for the best.
Love you guys and hope your week is great. Bye!!!
Elder Smith
