Aloha
I am constantly amazed at how slow internet can be in libraries... hopefully I will have time to download the pictures mom sent me last week and look at them this week...
But, it has definately been an interesting week. I have my new companion now. His name is (Elder) Cy Ka'ahanui. He is from just down the road in Kapolei. He should be getting his mission call in the mail this week, so hopefully we will both be able to go down for that. I never thought I would be able to say that my companion is getting his mission call... never really goes in that order, does it? : )
But, some good things, and some bad things happened this week. We spent the whole week working up towards Sunday, and were really planning on having a great attendance at sacrament meeting. In fact, we had 7 people who told us they were going to come. Well, Sunday morning we got a phone call from one: He was sick. Then we stopped by anothers house: He had just gotten back from the hospital (so he and his wife couldn't make it). Then we got another phone call: Two more were sick. And the last just didn't come even though we stopped by his house after an earlier meeting. So, Mandy came, and had her baptisimal interview, which was good. But, even with all of the bad, the Lord provided a blessing.
While we were waiting for the one investigator that didn't show, a younger guy walked into the chapel and said he was looking for another guy. Well, no one had heard of his friend, but we told him that we could help him look for his friend. Instead, he asked if he could sit in today... (really think we would say no?). So, he sat next to us during sacrament meeting. Right afterwards, we helped him look for his friend, but we couldn't find him. Well, Derrick (the guy) told us that his daughter had been blessed, that his girlfriend was a member (less active) and that she wasn't happy. So, we told him that our message brings happiness, gave him a Book of Mormon with a couple of pamphlets, and we will be going over on Tuesday. The Lord really does provide blessing when you do all you can do. You just may not always expect those specific blessings.
So, remember that the Lord loves you. Do your best, and He will always take care of you. I love you all, thanks for all you do, and remain strong.
Elder Kidd
Monday, January 25, 2010
01/19/10
Aloha
So, yeah, it is a day late thanks to the wonderful holiday, and everything being closed yesterday. Also thanks to that, all the missionaries are trying to email at once, and about the only computer that I could actually get onto is the one that only gives you 15 minutes... so this may be short, and I may not respond to things (since I haven't really gotten to read anything...)
The big news for the week (and what we spent most of our time doing) is: That my companion has returned to the state of Arizona to try and figure out all of his medical issues at this time. Hopefully he will be back out soon, but he is currently undergoing quite a few tests. That pretty much took up all of Tuesday, most of Wednesday, and a good portion of Thursday and Friday...
So I have been without a companion, and have been with my district leader and his companion. The funniest part of this is that our entire district is now a companionship. The good news is that tomorrow morning I get a mini-missionary (somebody from here to be my companion for the next 3 weeks). So, I am excited about that.
Our investigators are doing well, and we hope to be able to continue to help them this next week. The big news from last week concerning investigators is a man named Bernie. We tracted into him, he asked us to come back, and he is looking for spirituality at this time. HE doesn't like the catholics, but what he has seen of our church he likes, and he wants to read the Book of Mormon. Golden!
Well, I am almost out of time, and i need to print something. So, there will be more next week. I love you all, thank you for the continued support, and remember that the Savior loves you. His love can keep you afloat through the roughest storms.
Elder Kidd
So, yeah, it is a day late thanks to the wonderful holiday, and everything being closed yesterday. Also thanks to that, all the missionaries are trying to email at once, and about the only computer that I could actually get onto is the one that only gives you 15 minutes... so this may be short, and I may not respond to things (since I haven't really gotten to read anything...)
The big news for the week (and what we spent most of our time doing) is: That my companion has returned to the state of Arizona to try and figure out all of his medical issues at this time. Hopefully he will be back out soon, but he is currently undergoing quite a few tests. That pretty much took up all of Tuesday, most of Wednesday, and a good portion of Thursday and Friday...
So I have been without a companion, and have been with my district leader and his companion. The funniest part of this is that our entire district is now a companionship. The good news is that tomorrow morning I get a mini-missionary (somebody from here to be my companion for the next 3 weeks). So, I am excited about that.
Our investigators are doing well, and we hope to be able to continue to help them this next week. The big news from last week concerning investigators is a man named Bernie. We tracted into him, he asked us to come back, and he is looking for spirituality at this time. HE doesn't like the catholics, but what he has seen of our church he likes, and he wants to read the Book of Mormon. Golden!
Well, I am almost out of time, and i need to print something. So, there will be more next week. I love you all, thank you for the continued support, and remember that the Savior loves you. His love can keep you afloat through the roughest storms.
Elder Kidd
01/11/10
So, I again realized this morning that I am glad that I get to come home in the summer. I walked upstairs to get a bowl for my oatmeal (Mom never ever thought she would hear me say that), and it was cold. I'm on the warm side of the island, and it is cold... So, it was probably in the mid 60's this morning. Tough life out here, eh?
So, it has been a fun week. I have found out a few things about my companion, and mostly that he has quite a few medical issues. In fact, there is a very real chance he could be headed home soon, which would be sad. He has a cat-scan, or a ct scan (or something) tomorrow to look at his pancrease. If it turns out to be serious, or require a diet, or something like that, he very well may be headed back to Arizona... so, we'll see what happens.
We spent a lot of time this last week trying to find new investigators to teach. After having 6 baptisms in one day, the teaching pool was a little low. Well, at the end of the week, we had found 3 new people, and have quite a few more possibilities for this week. One guy, named Martin, just had a brain tumor removed. He talks to a lot of missionaries, and has a little bit of a hard time talking and remembering things right now, but he told us he would read the Book of Mormon. We'll let you know how that all turns out.
I don't remember if I told everyone last week or not, but Kia Miller's (one of our recent converts, and mother of our committed) father passed away last Sunday night. So, their week has been a bit chaotic. We decided to go see them on Wednesday or Thursday up at her father's house. Well, the only problem with that is that Elder Lauritzen wasn't exactly sure where it was. So, we went to the end of the street, and started back down looking for their house. We were going very slowly, and I'm pretty sure we scared a few people. Anyway, I started going a bit faster, and decided that we needed to look up the address of the members that lived right near by, and go from there. Well, when I pulled over so we could look in the area book, who should we see standing across the street but Noah (Kia's husband). The coolest part was as we were talking to them later, and Noah tells us about his side of the story. He was feeling stressed and wanted to talk to someone, so he had headed down the street to talk to the member (the same one we were trying to look up). Well, no one answered so he started back to the other house. Just as he got there, we pulled up. And to add, after we had been there a bit, the bishop called as well. So, Noah felt the spirit so strongly, that we had been sent there when he needed us, and the bishop knew to call as well. I love being a missionary.
We also were able to have a lessons with a group of people that live in group homes (we think they are all just a little slow) last night, and were able to commit them to come to a mini-stake conference we are having next week (Elder Cook is coming). So we are excited about that. They are starting to get really interested in temple marriage, so baptism is the first step.
Things are going well. And once again we see how the Lord blesses us as we do all that He has asked. I came to the realization this last week also of how He answers prayers. A lot of times when we ask for something such as humility, we receive it slowly. And we may not realize how our prayer has been answered unless we take a moment and look back and notice how much we have changed. I guess this way is better than the Lord sending a humble train to ram us. I prefer it that way.
As always, and always continued, thank you all for the support, love and care. I love you all, and wish you the best for this upcoming week.
Elder Kidd
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
01/04/10
Aloha!
Alright, so after a week of anticipation (or maybe not so much) you can learn where I am now. I have been moved to Waianae, which is on the West Shore of O'ahu, and is to Hawaii what West Valley is to Salt Lake. So, I feel right at home....? Actually, I do. It is great out here. There is definately a different attitude about the people here, but it is very simialar to Waimanalo's attitude. It is funny, when I was in Waimanalo, I ran into a cop who told me that he would always tell the punk white kids he picked up about the 'W's'. The 'W's' are Waipahu, Waimanalo, and Waianae. Well, now I have served in all three, so we will see how it goes.
Things are going really well in this ward so far. Well, more so before I got here. Elder Bagley (if you remember him) was here before I got here, and they had six baptisms on Christmas. We think he left for Maui, and I am with Elder Lauritzen (who I met on Big Island. He has been out about 8 months). They also had two more shortly before that. So, this ward is on fire right now. The problem we have now is finding more people to teach, but I don't think we are hurting too much. Our ward has 17 ward missionaries, and a few of our recent converts are likely to be added soon.
So, Christmas here was a day for families. Two families in a low-income housing section (Called Sunflower) got baptized. Well, them and a few others. Dee Kealoha got baptized back in November, and started working on her husband (Jesse) and her two good friends (Kia and Noah) and their kids. Also, Dee and Kia I believe are two of the most influential people in Sunflower. The funniest part is that Sunflower used to be the worst part of town, and now it is one of the best. Everyone knows us there, and loves us (except one guy who visits, but those that live there take care of us). The goal of Dee is that everyone in there will soon be members. So, we are working on the rest of Noah and Kia's daughters (one we committed this last week, and two more we should start teaching soon). So, all is going well there.
We have a couple others we are working with, but definatley we will be doing everything we can to find new investigators here in the near future. I believe Dee has added me on Facebook already, so she will probably post things on there every once in a while.
I am still a normal missionary right now, which may be nice while I get used to things here. I am starting to realize that this may be my last area on my mission, which would be awesome. I hope either here, or back on Kauai. Either one.
It was sad to say goodbye to those in Mililani, but I am sure they will do well. The Taufa'asaus are doing well, Dillon got baptized, and I'll let you know when Janet gets baptized for sure.
We live in the basement of the Stake Patriarch, so we have access to a lot of information. We also have a treadmill, so I should be able to run every morning, and if I am here for a while, I should be able to get into decent shape, so I am excited about that.
So our New Year's Eve was crazy. I don't think I can truly explain. Everyone needs to get onto YouTube and look up Hawaii new years fireworks. I'm pretty sure from where we were, we saw several MILLIONS of dollars in fireworks. And we only saw a small part of the island. It is like a warzone. But, we had fun on New Years day playing games, and such. One cool detail is that Elder Trujillo, who I have served around 3 times before, is in the zone as well, so he and I will get to spend a bit of time together. He goes home in March, so I should see him until he 'dies'.
So, all is going well here. Miracles have happened, and miracles continue to happen. Never give up hope on anyone, anyplace, or anything, for you never know when someone will be able to say that right thing. With Sunflower, Dee had been taking the lessons for about a year, then Elder Bagley mentioned Eternal marriage. Well, 9 or so baptisms later, the entire town views Sunflower as a different place. What difference can we make in the lives of many by being in tune with spirit, and never giving up hope?
I love you all. As always, thanks for the continued support, and always remember to smile!
Elder Kidd
Alright, so after a week of anticipation (or maybe not so much) you can learn where I am now. I have been moved to Waianae, which is on the West Shore of O'ahu, and is to Hawaii what West Valley is to Salt Lake. So, I feel right at home....? Actually, I do. It is great out here. There is definately a different attitude about the people here, but it is very simialar to Waimanalo's attitude. It is funny, when I was in Waimanalo, I ran into a cop who told me that he would always tell the punk white kids he picked up about the 'W's'. The 'W's' are Waipahu, Waimanalo, and Waianae. Well, now I have served in all three, so we will see how it goes.
Things are going really well in this ward so far. Well, more so before I got here. Elder Bagley (if you remember him) was here before I got here, and they had six baptisms on Christmas. We think he left for Maui, and I am with Elder Lauritzen (who I met on Big Island. He has been out about 8 months). They also had two more shortly before that. So, this ward is on fire right now. The problem we have now is finding more people to teach, but I don't think we are hurting too much. Our ward has 17 ward missionaries, and a few of our recent converts are likely to be added soon.
So, Christmas here was a day for families. Two families in a low-income housing section (Called Sunflower) got baptized. Well, them and a few others. Dee Kealoha got baptized back in November, and started working on her husband (Jesse) and her two good friends (Kia and Noah) and their kids. Also, Dee and Kia I believe are two of the most influential people in Sunflower. The funniest part is that Sunflower used to be the worst part of town, and now it is one of the best. Everyone knows us there, and loves us (except one guy who visits, but those that live there take care of us). The goal of Dee is that everyone in there will soon be members. So, we are working on the rest of Noah and Kia's daughters (one we committed this last week, and two more we should start teaching soon). So, all is going well there.
We have a couple others we are working with, but definatley we will be doing everything we can to find new investigators here in the near future. I believe Dee has added me on Facebook already, so she will probably post things on there every once in a while.
I am still a normal missionary right now, which may be nice while I get used to things here. I am starting to realize that this may be my last area on my mission, which would be awesome. I hope either here, or back on Kauai. Either one.
It was sad to say goodbye to those in Mililani, but I am sure they will do well. The Taufa'asaus are doing well, Dillon got baptized, and I'll let you know when Janet gets baptized for sure.
We live in the basement of the Stake Patriarch, so we have access to a lot of information. We also have a treadmill, so I should be able to run every morning, and if I am here for a while, I should be able to get into decent shape, so I am excited about that.
So our New Year's Eve was crazy. I don't think I can truly explain. Everyone needs to get onto YouTube and look up Hawaii new years fireworks. I'm pretty sure from where we were, we saw several MILLIONS of dollars in fireworks. And we only saw a small part of the island. It is like a warzone. But, we had fun on New Years day playing games, and such. One cool detail is that Elder Trujillo, who I have served around 3 times before, is in the zone as well, so he and I will get to spend a bit of time together. He goes home in March, so I should see him until he 'dies'.
So, all is going well here. Miracles have happened, and miracles continue to happen. Never give up hope on anyone, anyplace, or anything, for you never know when someone will be able to say that right thing. With Sunflower, Dee had been taking the lessons for about a year, then Elder Bagley mentioned Eternal marriage. Well, 9 or so baptisms later, the entire town views Sunflower as a different place. What difference can we make in the lives of many by being in tune with spirit, and never giving up hope?
I love you all. As always, thanks for the continued support, and always remember to smile!
Elder Kidd
Saturday, January 2, 2010
A Few Pictures
k... one is of me in front of a decorated house and palm trees, the other is of our tree with lots of presents from the ward.
One is of Julio's baptism (his wife, daughter, us, and kid who baptized him). Another is of a big group of missionaries at Zone Conference, and the last is of me and my companions in front of a mountain in a parking lot...
alright, last one of our hike today. Love you!
12/28/19
Mele Kalikimaka and Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
(It's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)
Alright, I'm going to try and fill in everything I lost last week with my email being deleted, and then add what I can from this last week. I will send a different email with pictures this week.
So, things have continued to go well with our investigators and others we are working with. Janet continues to progress and grow. We were able to commit her for baptism this last week, and are meeting with her tonight to make sure she knows everything she needs to do to prepare. She wants to be baptized, and is very eager to make all of the changes needed.
We have also been working with a less-active family(The Harrisons)... well, used to be less active that are having their kids baptized on Saturday. The oldest boy (Dillon) is ten, and his younger sister is 8. They are a little crazy, but we can truly see the change their parents have made.
I don't know how well I told the story of how we found the Taufa'asaus, so I am going to retell it so you can see the miracle. We had just stopped by an investigator's home, and were working our way to our next stop. We had two different roads we could have taken, but we backtracked our trail to the last road. While we were driving down, I saw a family in a garage. I didn't think much of it until I heard, "hey, elders!" So, we stopped, turned around, and started talking to them. We found out that Lance, the husband, got baptized around 10 years ago, just recently got back from Iraq or Afganistan, but had been less active longer than that. His wife and two sons were not members. We set up a time to come by and visit with him the next week. When we went over for that visit, our bishop came along as well. Well, we resolved Lance's concerns about coming to church though he didn't feel worthy, and committed him to come. He wanted to bring his whole family, but one son had a prior committment (a prior committment when you are only 9...). Anyway, Lance came and brought his younger son that Sunday, and has come ever since, but with his whole family. We have started reteaching him while teaching his family. He wants his boys to have the values that they will receive in primary. They also love primary. his wife also really enjoys everything as well. It has been so touching to me realizing how much the Lord led us to them.
John isn't progressing an incredible amount right now, but hopefully in the near future. He needs to get a new job so that he can come to church, but he currently is looking, so there is hope.
Christmas was amazing. It was so great to call home and talk to all those I was able to. Sorry to those that I was not able to talk to. It was a little worrisome to me because the night before I was feeling really homesick and almost didn't want to call for fear of being more homesick. Well, the opposite happened. When I got off the phone I felt great, and now I am motivated again. The only problem was that I wasn't able to get back to sleep, so I was pretty tired the next day. Oh, and also for those I mentioned hearing sirens to, it turns out it was a housefire, not a high speed chase.
The rest of the day was fun though. we were able to visit a few members and eat with them. The first dinner (second meal) we had was delicious. they had ham and ribs... and they were delicious. So, I didn't want to eat much at our last dinner... which was ok because I'm afraid it wasn't quite so good.
But, other big news, and this is kinda depressing news. I found out last night that I am being transfered. Yep, after only six weeks in these wards, I am moving onto a new location. It is really sad because it feels like everything was about to come to fruition here. But, like a member told me in my second area: "Some are planters, some are nourishers(sp?), and some are reapers. Some get to do all, some only get one, but each is essential." So, I guess I got to play nourisher in this area.
We had a good day today though. We woke up and actually had two lessons this morning. then we were able to go on a hike with a member of one of our wards and his very pregnant wife (she may give birth tonight). the hike was great, but unfortunately you can only get to it by way of the army base. I will try to include some other pictures.
So, all is going well. For this next year, and especially with New Year's resolutions, may we all set a goal to follow the Savior's example in everything that we do. And as we do that, He will bless us. I'm also going to forward an email I got from Elder Navarro (Philipe) about his thoughts on Christmas, which I add my testimony to.
I love you all. Thank you as always for your support and love!
Elder Kidd
(It's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year)
Alright, I'm going to try and fill in everything I lost last week with my email being deleted, and then add what I can from this last week. I will send a different email with pictures this week.
So, things have continued to go well with our investigators and others we are working with. Janet continues to progress and grow. We were able to commit her for baptism this last week, and are meeting with her tonight to make sure she knows everything she needs to do to prepare. She wants to be baptized, and is very eager to make all of the changes needed.
We have also been working with a less-active family(The Harrisons)... well, used to be less active that are having their kids baptized on Saturday. The oldest boy (Dillon) is ten, and his younger sister is 8. They are a little crazy, but we can truly see the change their parents have made.
I don't know how well I told the story of how we found the Taufa'asaus, so I am going to retell it so you can see the miracle. We had just stopped by an investigator's home, and were working our way to our next stop. We had two different roads we could have taken, but we backtracked our trail to the last road. While we were driving down, I saw a family in a garage. I didn't think much of it until I heard, "hey, elders!" So, we stopped, turned around, and started talking to them. We found out that Lance, the husband, got baptized around 10 years ago, just recently got back from Iraq or Afganistan, but had been less active longer than that. His wife and two sons were not members. We set up a time to come by and visit with him the next week. When we went over for that visit, our bishop came along as well. Well, we resolved Lance's concerns about coming to church though he didn't feel worthy, and committed him to come. He wanted to bring his whole family, but one son had a prior committment (a prior committment when you are only 9...). Anyway, Lance came and brought his younger son that Sunday, and has come ever since, but with his whole family. We have started reteaching him while teaching his family. He wants his boys to have the values that they will receive in primary. They also love primary. his wife also really enjoys everything as well. It has been so touching to me realizing how much the Lord led us to them.
John isn't progressing an incredible amount right now, but hopefully in the near future. He needs to get a new job so that he can come to church, but he currently is looking, so there is hope.
Christmas was amazing. It was so great to call home and talk to all those I was able to. Sorry to those that I was not able to talk to. It was a little worrisome to me because the night before I was feeling really homesick and almost didn't want to call for fear of being more homesick. Well, the opposite happened. When I got off the phone I felt great, and now I am motivated again. The only problem was that I wasn't able to get back to sleep, so I was pretty tired the next day. Oh, and also for those I mentioned hearing sirens to, it turns out it was a housefire, not a high speed chase.
The rest of the day was fun though. we were able to visit a few members and eat with them. The first dinner (second meal) we had was delicious. they had ham and ribs... and they were delicious. So, I didn't want to eat much at our last dinner... which was ok because I'm afraid it wasn't quite so good.
But, other big news, and this is kinda depressing news. I found out last night that I am being transfered. Yep, after only six weeks in these wards, I am moving onto a new location. It is really sad because it feels like everything was about to come to fruition here. But, like a member told me in my second area: "Some are planters, some are nourishers(sp?), and some are reapers. Some get to do all, some only get one, but each is essential." So, I guess I got to play nourisher in this area.
We had a good day today though. We woke up and actually had two lessons this morning. then we were able to go on a hike with a member of one of our wards and his very pregnant wife (she may give birth tonight). the hike was great, but unfortunately you can only get to it by way of the army base. I will try to include some other pictures.
So, all is going well. For this next year, and especially with New Year's resolutions, may we all set a goal to follow the Savior's example in everything that we do. And as we do that, He will bless us. I'm also going to forward an email I got from Elder Navarro (Philipe) about his thoughts on Christmas, which I add my testimony to.
I love you all. Thank you as always for your support and love!
Elder Kidd
12/21/09
Mele Kalikimaka
Well... i had a long email, and I lost it, and I'm out of time. Fortunaltely a nice lady here is letting me use the computer briefly. I'm alive, I'll talk to you on Friday at 7. I love you so much.
Elder Kidd
Well... i had a long email, and I lost it, and I'm out of time. Fortunaltely a nice lady here is letting me use the computer briefly. I'm alive, I'll talk to you on Friday at 7. I love you so much.
Elder Kidd
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