Aloha
So, I have to admit that this was probably one of the more frustrating weeks... or rather just yesterday was frustrating. But we'll start at Monday...
Monday after I wrote my email, we played some ultimate frisbee, and then I cut three elder's hair, and then my own. Well, funny story on my haircut (my mission president said I have to write this down in my journal... sorry, but you don't get a picture of it this week). So, I started out cutting my own, and it started to rain, so I had to run under the edge of the roof. So, there I was, cutting my hair, kneeling on the sidewalk looking into a mirror propped up on a chair. Everything was going well, and I was almost done with the top of my head when all of a sudden the guard popped off, and I took a big chunk out of my hair... long story short, my hair is now super short all over, and I am rubbing my head a lot in hopes of getting it to grow back faster.
That night we had a good lesson with Rick though. We will probably be transfering his teaching to the single's ward soon though, which is a bit of a bummer because he is super solid, just concerned about his mom.
Tuesday... hmmm.... ok, i forget again.
Wednesday I was on an exchange with Elder Hill, who is completely bald. He went home for a bit because he got cancer, and lost all of his hair, but then came back. He is a lot of fun, we worked hard, and things went well. It was nice to have a day that I didn't have everything on me... I have to admit I was sad at the end of the night when we had to trade back... I like elder Hill.
Thursday we had another busy busy day, and a funeral that night. We met for the first time with Trayleen, and were able to meet with a couple other families, so I think more will come of all of that. Then we went to the funeral of Brother Bukarou, who was the second councilor in the bishoprich when I got here. He had stomach cancer, and it finally got the better of him. He was a chief back in Fiji, so there were a lot of people there. His family made it a fun funeral with a lot of funny memories. It is sad to see him go, but we know he is in a better place.
I don't think much happened friday, so we will skip to saturday. Saturday morning we had a conference with Elder Kenneth Jensen in Honolulu. It was good, and it was fun to see other missionaries. Then Elder Call and I came back and did some service helping to build a house. It was really good for Elder Call because he was back in his element, and he really enjoyed it.
So, to yesterday (and I will talk a little more about Trayleen here as well). Everything at church was good, until we tried to talk to the Grandma of the two boys that were supposed to get baptized this Friday. Well, she didn't want to talk to us, and was very short with us, so the baptism is off for now. We don't know quite what the issue is, so we are going to talk to our bishop soon, since he talked to her yesterday.
Now, Trayleen. On thursday we taught trayleen, and she was super excited. she wants to be baptized, and we set a date for November 14th. On Friday we taught her again, and she is still super excited, and she said she was willing to live the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. Sunday... she wasn't so sure. She still wants to get baptized... eventually... So, we have faith that the spirit will relight that fire in her. We are a little scared that her boyfriend may be influencing her right now... mostly on the chastity issue. Fortunately for us, we have a member that knows him, and our member weighs over 300 lbs, and can benchpress over 500lbs. We will see how things go.
We can see that the Lord does provide miracles though. Trayleen is definately a miracle. Also, we are supposed to find two new investigators every week. Well, Elder Call and I were short 1 yesterday morning, so we were praying for a miracle. One of our members (who live on a tarro farm away from everything and don't have electricity except from a generator and no running water... I like them) brought a friend to church who we will be teaching on Saturday. That was awesome.
I hope everyone has a good week. Sorry for those that have been expecting mail... i think our mail system is a bit slower in Waimanalo than it was in Kailua. I hope all is going well. Thanks for the continued support, and I love you all!
Elder Kidd
Friday, October 30, 2009
10/21/09
Aloha
Ok, I have a little more time this week, so I should be able to write a bit more, as promised. First, to let everyone know, Elder Butcher is doing great. He had to go to Honolulu two more times, but I didn't take him. He currently is wearing contacts again, but he is going to go back to the doctor on Saturday for something else.... but we will all be in Honolulu on Saturday for a conference with a member of the seventy, so it is ok!
This was a pretty good week. On Tuesday we were able to teach a lady named Kui. Apparently a few years (10-20) ago she and her family came to church, but she never got baptized. She knows a few members
in the ward that she doesn't live in, and has read the Book of Mormon. She doesn't remember anything though, so we started over. Unfortunately, we aren't sure if she is really interested or just too nice to tell us no. We weren't able to set up another appointment with her, and her phone is off right now. We will keep trying though!
Hmm... wednesday... what happened wednesday... I don't remember. Oh, it rained really hard on Wednesday night. We nearly had a lake in the courtyard of our church. It is weird to see running water when you feel "inside." We weren't really inside, but it felt that way.
Thursday turned into an absolutely crazy day. We ended up teaching six lessons that day, and then spent the rest of our time preparing for the fireside that we had yesterday. It was a super busy day.
Friday was almost entirely taken up by moving. Yes, we have finally moved into a place where our neighbors don't smoke weed every night. It is a little small, but still really nice. We live with a member, who has said he will buy almost anything for us (though we can't bring ourselves to take him up on that offer), we have a washer and dryer, and lots of nice stuff. Also, we live right by a park, so I can start running again in the morning, and we should be able to move a weight set down here as well. To cap it all off, the house in on the beach lots, so we have a good view of the beach, and the sunrises are amazing. Oh, we have two pet chihuahuas as well. They are a little annoying sometimes, but mostly good.
Saturday I went on an exchange in another ward. While we were there, we went by a tongan member who is a professional woodcarver. He mostly carves tiki's and fish hooks. He gave me a free tiki while I was there. He just made me pick out the one that I wanted. Well, apparently I picked out the tiki god of love. That really seems to be the trend of my mission: "Love the people, and things will go well."
Sunday we had a fun day, but the night was the best. We put on a musical fireside, which went really well. We found out that one of the members in our ward had been working with her friend, and her friend now wants to take the lessons. She came to the fireside, really enjoyed it, and we have an appointment with her on Thursday.
It is amazing to see the members get excited for the work. Once we can really see the blessings the gospel brings into our lives, then we can't help but share it. I love the line in the Joseph Smith movie at temple square. The scottish guy starts playing the bagpipes, and you see Hyrum look very startled around. Then you hear Joseph: "A man filled with the Love of God will not be content to bless his family alone. He will be anxious to bless the whole world." Truely, if we have this love, we cannot keep it in. We want to share it, and the Lord will bless us.
i love you all! As always, thanks for the continued support. Stay strong, stay faithful. The Lord will provide!
Elder Kidd
Ok, I have a little more time this week, so I should be able to write a bit more, as promised. First, to let everyone know, Elder Butcher is doing great. He had to go to Honolulu two more times, but I didn't take him. He currently is wearing contacts again, but he is going to go back to the doctor on Saturday for something else.... but we will all be in Honolulu on Saturday for a conference with a member of the seventy, so it is ok!
This was a pretty good week. On Tuesday we were able to teach a lady named Kui. Apparently a few years (10-20) ago she and her family came to church, but she never got baptized. She knows a few members
in the ward that she doesn't live in, and has read the Book of Mormon. She doesn't remember anything though, so we started over. Unfortunately, we aren't sure if she is really interested or just too nice to tell us no. We weren't able to set up another appointment with her, and her phone is off right now. We will keep trying though!
Hmm... wednesday... what happened wednesday... I don't remember. Oh, it rained really hard on Wednesday night. We nearly had a lake in the courtyard of our church. It is weird to see running water when you feel "inside." We weren't really inside, but it felt that way.
Thursday turned into an absolutely crazy day. We ended up teaching six lessons that day, and then spent the rest of our time preparing for the fireside that we had yesterday. It was a super busy day.
Friday was almost entirely taken up by moving. Yes, we have finally moved into a place where our neighbors don't smoke weed every night. It is a little small, but still really nice. We live with a member, who has said he will buy almost anything for us (though we can't bring ourselves to take him up on that offer), we have a washer and dryer, and lots of nice stuff. Also, we live right by a park, so I can start running again in the morning, and we should be able to move a weight set down here as well. To cap it all off, the house in on the beach lots, so we have a good view of the beach, and the sunrises are amazing. Oh, we have two pet chihuahuas as well. They are a little annoying sometimes, but mostly good.
Saturday I went on an exchange in another ward. While we were there, we went by a tongan member who is a professional woodcarver. He mostly carves tiki's and fish hooks. He gave me a free tiki while I was there. He just made me pick out the one that I wanted. Well, apparently I picked out the tiki god of love. That really seems to be the trend of my mission: "Love the people, and things will go well."
Sunday we had a fun day, but the night was the best. We put on a musical fireside, which went really well. We found out that one of the members in our ward had been working with her friend, and her friend now wants to take the lessons. She came to the fireside, really enjoyed it, and we have an appointment with her on Thursday.
It is amazing to see the members get excited for the work. Once we can really see the blessings the gospel brings into our lives, then we can't help but share it. I love the line in the Joseph Smith movie at temple square. The scottish guy starts playing the bagpipes, and you see Hyrum look very startled around. Then you hear Joseph: "A man filled with the Love of God will not be content to bless his family alone. He will be anxious to bless the whole world." Truely, if we have this love, we cannot keep it in. We want to share it, and the Lord will bless us.
i love you all! As always, thanks for the continued support. Stay strong, stay faithful. The Lord will provide!
Elder Kidd
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
10/12/09
AlohaSo, this is going to be really rushed this week due to recent events. Mostly today was absolutely crazy. But, a quick recap of the week.
Umm... mostly all I remember at this point is that Justys got baptized yesterday (hurray!!). i will send pictures in another email, so hopefully you can get those as well!
Umm, we taught quite a few people this last week, and all that good stuff. Wow, I really can't focus right now due to lack of time, so i apologize.
So, saturday after a meeting, we found out that one of the other district leaders (elder butcher) had to go to honolulu to get an eye exam due and has a problem with his eye. So, saturday, elder butchers greenie, and elder call (pretty much a greenie) got stuck tracting for about 3 hours while elder butcher and I went to honolulu. Well, we found out some stuff, and he was blind for a couple of days. then last night we found out he had to go back to get some glasses so that he could see and actually do some work. so, he got another eye exam, then found out he didn't have money. We waited for a sr. couple to pay for it, and his prescription is bad (he is legally handicaped without glasses or contacts. he needs glasses because he can't wear his contacts right now and didn't have glasses.) after that, we got permission to go to a 'red zone' (meaning we can't go there) so that he could get his glasses. We picked out some frames for him, then waited for an hour in a red zone (ala moana shopping center) for them to be made. it was a lot of fun, but took a lot of time, so I am out of time. I will tell you more next week!
I love you all. Keep up the good work and thanks for the continued support.
Elder Kidd
10/05/09
Aloha!
So, the big news about transfers is: nothing. I am staying in my area with Elder Call for another six weeks. It is going to be interesting. We were able to have a couple good conversations yesterday, so I think we will be able to have a fantastic transfer. The only thing that is changing is that one of the Elders in my district went District Leader, so they are rearranging the districts... and we have no idea how. One other positive is that one elder that seems to hate me with a passion to rival all passions is leaving as well.
But, we were able to have a great week. A couple things fell through, but that is to be expected. The big news of this week is that we committed Isaiah and Josh who are the grandkids of a member in our ward. We had been struggling to help Aunty Momi understand that the Holy Ghost will help us later on and we don't need a perfect understanding first. They will be getting baptized on the 30th of this month.
Also, this next Sunday I will be baptizing Justyce Cummings right after church. He was taught all of the lessons by Elder Simnitt and another elder a while ago, but never came to church. Well, shortly after he turned 9, he showed up at church, and his family wants him baptized, so we are very excited.
So, our misson president has said that each companionship needs to find two new investigators each week. That is something that Elder Call and I have really been striving to achieve and set the example for. Well, on Saturday we hadn't found anyone, and we were trying to figure out who we could find. Well, we prayed, and this homeless couple that lives on the beach popped into my mind. Well, we stopped by and saw them, and were able to teach them a little bit, and they want us to come back and teach some more. The Lord really does provide blessings as we strive to fulfill His commandments.
Conference was amazing. We are going to try to figure out a way to copy it onto a vhs so that we can show some of the talks to our investigators, especially Elder Holland's. Wasn't his powerful? Everything else as well, and President Monson's in priesthood was good too. Oh, I love conference.
As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all. Keep up the good work!
Elder Kidd
So, the big news about transfers is: nothing. I am staying in my area with Elder Call for another six weeks. It is going to be interesting. We were able to have a couple good conversations yesterday, so I think we will be able to have a fantastic transfer. The only thing that is changing is that one of the Elders in my district went District Leader, so they are rearranging the districts... and we have no idea how. One other positive is that one elder that seems to hate me with a passion to rival all passions is leaving as well.
But, we were able to have a great week. A couple things fell through, but that is to be expected. The big news of this week is that we committed Isaiah and Josh who are the grandkids of a member in our ward. We had been struggling to help Aunty Momi understand that the Holy Ghost will help us later on and we don't need a perfect understanding first. They will be getting baptized on the 30th of this month.
Also, this next Sunday I will be baptizing Justyce Cummings right after church. He was taught all of the lessons by Elder Simnitt and another elder a while ago, but never came to church. Well, shortly after he turned 9, he showed up at church, and his family wants him baptized, so we are very excited.
So, our misson president has said that each companionship needs to find two new investigators each week. That is something that Elder Call and I have really been striving to achieve and set the example for. Well, on Saturday we hadn't found anyone, and we were trying to figure out who we could find. Well, we prayed, and this homeless couple that lives on the beach popped into my mind. Well, we stopped by and saw them, and were able to teach them a little bit, and they want us to come back and teach some more. The Lord really does provide blessings as we strive to fulfill His commandments.
Conference was amazing. We are going to try to figure out a way to copy it onto a vhs so that we can show some of the talks to our investigators, especially Elder Holland's. Wasn't his powerful? Everything else as well, and President Monson's in priesthood was good too. Oh, I love conference.
As always, I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all. Keep up the good work!
Elder Kidd
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
09/28/09
Aloha!
Wow, it was a good week. Of course, some things could have gone better, but even with 4 lessons cancelling on us, the Lord blessed us.
On Tuesday we started out with Zone Conference which was fantastic. I sang the song "O Lord, my Redeemer" for the musical number, which went well. The only problem is that I have been asked to sing at a meeting for investigators this week. Oh well...
After zone conference, we went out and were able to teach a couple of lessons. One of those was to a young boy named Justyce Cummings. His grandma and mom are both active, but have been less-active for a long time. Elder Simnitt and one of his previous companions here taught Justyce all of the lessons, and a few more, but they would never come to church. Well, a few weeks ago, he showed up at church. Before we could go over though, someone in the family died, and that chaos insued. Well, we finally were able to go over this last week, review everything he learned, and he will be getting baptized on October 11! Hurray! Now we are going to try to use this as an opportunity for our other investigators.
On Wednesday, we spent the entire day running from one appointment to another. It was fun, but tiring. We had a good lesson with Jason Skaggs and his family. Jason Skaggs is a recently re-activated member who has a 12 year old (unbaptized) daughter, and a fiance (to be wife in about 11 hours), and he wants his family to be sealed in the temple. So, they are doing great. We are going with him to that investigator meeting this wednesday that I am singing at.
Thursday was a little bit disappointing, but good at the same time. 3 lessons canceled on us, but we had a really good one at the end of the night. The really cool thing was David though, who called in a little bit of frustration, but shared with me that he wants to continue the path, and that he feels like he can trust me and talk to me. That meant a lot to me. Apparently he feels he has the gift of discearnment, and after only a couple of minutes, he like me. So, I was especially grateful to the Lord that night.
Saturday night one of our wards had a fish fry, and man can these guys cook fish. It was amazing. I think it is funny though, I've realized that Brandon and I may have to go out to eat a lot when I get home because I really like raw fish now. I don't know if I shared the experience, but one time on Kauai with Jack, he had us over for dinner one night after he had been fishing. Well, I watched him pull a fish out of the freezer, skin it, and start slicing pieces of meat for me to eat. Oh, it was delicious. Shashimi is how I think it is spelled.
So, all in all, it was a good week. I also really enjoyed the last verse in Ether this last week: "Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God." What amazing faith and trust did Ether have in the Lord. No matter what happens in this life, it doesn't matter as long as we are saved in the Kingdom of God. By the same token though, 2 Nephi 25 tells us that we are to have joy, so we should be able to have joy with whatever happens to us, and if we are following the commandments, we will have joy and be saved in the Kingdom of God.
Thank you all as always for your support, encouragement, and love. I love you all!
Elder Kidd
Wow, it was a good week. Of course, some things could have gone better, but even with 4 lessons cancelling on us, the Lord blessed us.
On Tuesday we started out with Zone Conference which was fantastic. I sang the song "O Lord, my Redeemer" for the musical number, which went well. The only problem is that I have been asked to sing at a meeting for investigators this week. Oh well...
After zone conference, we went out and were able to teach a couple of lessons. One of those was to a young boy named Justyce Cummings. His grandma and mom are both active, but have been less-active for a long time. Elder Simnitt and one of his previous companions here taught Justyce all of the lessons, and a few more, but they would never come to church. Well, a few weeks ago, he showed up at church. Before we could go over though, someone in the family died, and that chaos insued. Well, we finally were able to go over this last week, review everything he learned, and he will be getting baptized on October 11! Hurray! Now we are going to try to use this as an opportunity for our other investigators.
On Wednesday, we spent the entire day running from one appointment to another. It was fun, but tiring. We had a good lesson with Jason Skaggs and his family. Jason Skaggs is a recently re-activated member who has a 12 year old (unbaptized) daughter, and a fiance (to be wife in about 11 hours), and he wants his family to be sealed in the temple. So, they are doing great. We are going with him to that investigator meeting this wednesday that I am singing at.
Thursday was a little bit disappointing, but good at the same time. 3 lessons canceled on us, but we had a really good one at the end of the night. The really cool thing was David though, who called in a little bit of frustration, but shared with me that he wants to continue the path, and that he feels like he can trust me and talk to me. That meant a lot to me. Apparently he feels he has the gift of discearnment, and after only a couple of minutes, he like me. So, I was especially grateful to the Lord that night.
Saturday night one of our wards had a fish fry, and man can these guys cook fish. It was amazing. I think it is funny though, I've realized that Brandon and I may have to go out to eat a lot when I get home because I really like raw fish now. I don't know if I shared the experience, but one time on Kauai with Jack, he had us over for dinner one night after he had been fishing. Well, I watched him pull a fish out of the freezer, skin it, and start slicing pieces of meat for me to eat. Oh, it was delicious. Shashimi is how I think it is spelled.
So, all in all, it was a good week. I also really enjoyed the last verse in Ether this last week: "Now the last words which are written by Ether are these: Whether the Lord will that I be translated, or that I suffer the will of the Lord in the flesh, it mattereth not, if it so be that I am saved in the kingdom of God." What amazing faith and trust did Ether have in the Lord. No matter what happens in this life, it doesn't matter as long as we are saved in the Kingdom of God. By the same token though, 2 Nephi 25 tells us that we are to have joy, so we should be able to have joy with whatever happens to us, and if we are following the commandments, we will have joy and be saved in the Kingdom of God.
Thank you all as always for your support, encouragement, and love. I love you all!
Elder Kidd
09/21/09
Aloha from week of struggles
So, it was interesting yesterday to see how incredibly down I was at the start of church, and how chipper (annoyingly so to Elder Call) I was by the end of the night. I realized yesterday morning how absolutely dismal our week had been, but had an incredible amount of faith by the end. This is going to be an amazing week.
On that note, I'll tell you about our week. This week was Waimanalo's 60th anniversary of the forming of the first branch. So, Sunday there was a special sacrament meeting, Monday there was a fireside, Tuesday was a fun night, Thursday was a movie night, and Saturday was the biggest Luau I have been to yet. So, it was a fun week, but missionary work seemed down.
But it wasn't that we weren't trying. I didn't count, but I would guestimate that we had about 8-10 canceled lessons through the week. Several investigators bailed, other just didn't go through. But this week has potential to be HUGE!
Tuesday night at the fun night was awesome though. We had a member bring about 30 nonmembers to the activity. They are all from Chuuke (yes, more of those people. I promise the place exists). They had a blast, and we were able to introduce them to the gospel. More activities are being planned for them, and we are excited to share more with them. Thursday night was a movie night that we couldn't participate in, but as we were getting the popcorn and hotdogs, I heard a few lines and the movie sounded intense. I think it was called "Against the Giants" or something like that. But it sounded really good and religious based, so I'm going to look it up when I get back. We were at the church waiting for a lesson (that canceled on us), so they made sure we got something to eat.
Last night was good though. We have started teaching active members of our ward so that we can get more practice, bring the spirit to them, and then get them to invite friends as well. We taught a newly wed couple in our ward that is getting sealed soon, and they really enjoyed it. We then taught one of our bishops, and he and his family loved it, and he is going to try to get a nonmember to our next lesson : )
So, in the end, the week seemed tough, but it will be good. There are adversities in life that we struggle through, but if we endure well, and ask the Lord for help, we learn so much from it that we never thought we could. Also, the Lord will help us endure the trials. These things are true.
I love you all, thanks for your continued support, and stay strong!
Elder Kidd
So, it was interesting yesterday to see how incredibly down I was at the start of church, and how chipper (annoyingly so to Elder Call) I was by the end of the night. I realized yesterday morning how absolutely dismal our week had been, but had an incredible amount of faith by the end. This is going to be an amazing week.
On that note, I'll tell you about our week. This week was Waimanalo's 60th anniversary of the forming of the first branch. So, Sunday there was a special sacrament meeting, Monday there was a fireside, Tuesday was a fun night, Thursday was a movie night, and Saturday was the biggest Luau I have been to yet. So, it was a fun week, but missionary work seemed down.
But it wasn't that we weren't trying. I didn't count, but I would guestimate that we had about 8-10 canceled lessons through the week. Several investigators bailed, other just didn't go through. But this week has potential to be HUGE!
Tuesday night at the fun night was awesome though. We had a member bring about 30 nonmembers to the activity. They are all from Chuuke (yes, more of those people. I promise the place exists). They had a blast, and we were able to introduce them to the gospel. More activities are being planned for them, and we are excited to share more with them. Thursday night was a movie night that we couldn't participate in, but as we were getting the popcorn and hotdogs, I heard a few lines and the movie sounded intense. I think it was called "Against the Giants" or something like that. But it sounded really good and religious based, so I'm going to look it up when I get back. We were at the church waiting for a lesson (that canceled on us), so they made sure we got something to eat.
Last night was good though. We have started teaching active members of our ward so that we can get more practice, bring the spirit to them, and then get them to invite friends as well. We taught a newly wed couple in our ward that is getting sealed soon, and they really enjoyed it. We then taught one of our bishops, and he and his family loved it, and he is going to try to get a nonmember to our next lesson : )
So, in the end, the week seemed tough, but it will be good. There are adversities in life that we struggle through, but if we endure well, and ask the Lord for help, we learn so much from it that we never thought we could. Also, the Lord will help us endure the trials. These things are true.
I love you all, thanks for your continued support, and stay strong!
Elder Kidd
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
09/14/09
Aloha with clean teethYep, after putting if off for about 8 months, I finally got my teeth cleaned this morning. I found out that the only problem I had was that I had been brushing one tooth too hard, and had uncovered the root a little bit, so it's been a little sensitive. But, everything else was good. Something funny though, two of the hygentists were talking before my cleaning, while waiting for the dentist (he was going to clean my teeth). Well, they start talking, and very quickly get onto the subject of breach babies (Chelsi, I spent a bit of time thinking of you). So, they continue on for a bit, talking about how to turn them, and mention some other things I didn't quite get, and then realized that neither of them had told the dentist I was there (the dentist is a member and does work free... except I had insurance so it was all good). Fortunately it only took a couple of minutes for them to figure it out, and I have a lot of older sisters and sisters-in-law, so I have heard that type of conversation before. But my teeth are clean!
The work went well this last week. It seemed that we were so busy every single day. All but Tuesday and Saturday we spent the entire day running from appointment to appointment. Elder Call is getting a lot of practice.
On Wednesday we had a fun lesson with Loretta. We wanted to read 2 Nephi 27 with her, which talks about the restoration and the Book of Mormon. Well, she launches into a rant about how the book of mormon is stupid, those people didn't care about the restoration, and we have the gall to claim these things. Eventually our fellowshipper got out of her that she had received her "answer" and that she isn't supposed to get baptized. So, we said give us a call when you want to meet, but made sure to leave her (again) with the thought that Satan works against the truth.
Thursday night we had a lesson with Isaiah, Josh, and their mom Kim. We played the Plan of Salvation board game with them. The lesson went well, and we tried to commit them for baptism afterwards. Well, Grandma (Aunty Momi) is convinced that they do not know enough to get baptized... so frustrating. We tried to convince her (and the kids' mom) that they don't have to be gospel scholars to get baptized, but she wasn't seeming to have it. Oh well. Soon. Very soon.
Friday night we had a great lesson with a kid named Rick. He is 18, and facing struggles in his life. He has a couple good friends who are great members in our ward. Well, his concerns right now are that he feels he can't be forgiven for things he has done, and is concerned about what his family will think. Well, Friday we decided to focus more on the forgiveness part (figured that it's pretty crucial), so we had a lesson on the Atonement. We started off by watching part of the Testiments when Christ is suffering and killed. Then we went over some stories and talks by the apostles, and bore strong testimony. We had a bunch of members with us, who also bore testimony. but the best part was at the end. It is hard to get elder Call involved unless he knows a specific part and I force him to teach. But, one of our fellowshippers asked him to bear his testimony and fulfill the law of witnesses. Well, he did, and it made all of the difference, and we all noticed it. It was amazing. I was so proud.
Well, after that, we sped over to Kaneohe to exchange with our ZLs for an exchange. So, saturday (the day we didn't have anything schedualed) I had one of the ZLs with me. Our goal for the day was to find a new investigator, and the Lord blessed us. We actually taught two lessons on the spot, and got one return appointment. And the one that we don't have another appointment wants to meet with us again (but she is single, so we may let the ZLs who are over the singles branch meet with her... the irony). So it was good.
Yesterday we commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Waimanalo Ward/Branch. We had a combined sacrament meeting with both of our wards, and it was near chaos. They took a big group picture that I am going to try to get sent home so you can see. It was fun though. Then, we went and taught another lesson, and went into Honolulu for a fireside that one of our members performed in. Unfortunately all of our investigators fell through last minute (as in, after we were in Honolulu), but it was a good fireside. The group was very impressive. Actually one of the best blended and in-sync choirs I have ever heard. Unfortunately all of their "special guests" talked for a really, really, really, really long time and things got a little long. But overall it was really good.
Oh, one other cool thing. A gentleman in our ward just got back from basic training (where he has been for about 3-4 months). He has a nine year old daughter he wants to get baptized, so the lessons begin on Wednesday.
Remember, the Lord will never give us more than we can handle, as long as we are doing what is right and trusting in Him. That being said, He does give us a lot so that we learn to handle more.
I love you all! Keep smiling, stay safe, stay strong!
Elder Kidd
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