Ok so right off the bat I am currently emailing from someone's home because it is Presidents Day so the libraries are closed and the FHC at the stake center is currently under construction. So because of that I do not have access to the WiFi password and therefore cannot send pictures from my camera. Next week for sure.
But I'm sure that the burning question is how do I like my new area, honestly I love it so much. It is not at all what I am used to, figuring out the geography is pretty tough because I am not used to the big city feel of Honolulu, but I'm sure that will come in time. Right after I got here Elder Campbell took me n a tour of the area, but right as soon as we got to the top of the mountain our car started smoking and we had to get it towed to the nearest dealership (there was a leak in the coolant hose). I'm no mechanic but I was under the impression that this would only be a problem for a day or two... but apparently we won't be getting the car back for another week. Hooray for still being in a walking area! So because of this I still have only seen about half of my area (the ghetto half) that is close to where we live.
There's a lot more street contacting here than in Kaneohe and it's a lot hotter and sunnier and even though it's only about 30 minutes away it feels totally different here and they layout is nothing like Kaneohe. The area is pretty ghetto and some parts are pretty sketchy but honestly I've never felt safer. There's something about coming to a low income area that just brings more validity to being a missionary. Like when you are in a nice place like Kaneohe some people just think you are there on a vacation, but serving here in Lanakila people know that you are there because what you have to say is important. There are a lot of low income communities on this half of my area so people know that nobody comes here by choice and they are more interested in talking to us. All in all it's a little rough here but I am loving it. I love it because the people are either totally rude to us or open to us, makes it a lot easier to tell who is worth putting time into. Our area covers this low income housing community that is called "Mayor Wrights", the people there all have it pretty rough but the majority of them are very nice to us. They don't all speak very good English because most of them are straight out of Samoa or Chuuk (Micronesian island) but they all smile at us or offer us water. Let me tell you I usually felt pretty guilty accepting money from people in Kaneohe, but now these people that have next to nothing offer me money and I feel like actual crap. Thing is you can't say no because if you do it's like denying them blessings so you just have to take it. Another thing I love about this place is the kids, they all seem so happy with what little they have and they always ask for pictures of Jesus. One Chuukese kid was telling me that he went to church and I asked him what he knew abut Jesus and he said he didn't know. I explained to him that Jesus was God's son and that he came to bless us all and that me and Elder Campbell were trying to do the same thing. After that I gave the kid a picture of Jesus and he was very happy about it. warmed my heart.
Anyway the missionaries here are great too. Elder Campbell is great and we are getting along fine as companions. A couple other Elders here formerly served in the Kaneohe 3rd ward and so they were happy to hear what has been happening there. My new Zone leaders are great and there is one sister (Sister Christensen) that I served with in Kaneohe so it was good to see at least one familiar face at district meeting.
Hope that everything is going well back home, love you all and you're always in my prayers. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Smith
Elder Johnson and Elder Smith
Elders Johnson, Campbell (new companion) and Smith
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