Aloha and Mahalo
Figure we might as well throw some thanks in the title for this week. As a disclaimer, this email may be a little short, and the keyboard I am using is really poorly designed, so I might ask Tiff to spell check this email before she puts it on the blog.... (done)
So, I got transferred. I am no longer in Waimanalo. I am now in Mililani. I have not one, but two companions. Yes, we are in a threesome (which is why I don't have much time to type this out.) We are also on bike, which has been a lot of fun so far, and I am sure will be quite a bit of fun in the near future... My knee is getting a lot of exercise.
My companions are great though. They are two really good elders who know what they are doing. The only problem we have is that they just combined two wards into one as well, so we are having a bit of a transition to that right now.
On Friday we had an awesome experience. Unfortunately, President Monson couldn't make it to Hawaii because his wife had an accident, but Elder Perry came and we got to shake his hand. Then on Sunday he shared a story about a family in my old ward. It was amazing.
So, I'm afraid the last week has been a bit of a blurr, so I don't remember a whole lot. I will fill in more detail's as the time goes on, but I have someone that has the computer reserved right after me, and I'm losing patience with this stupid keyboard.... arg!! Anyway, I love you all, thank you for your care, concern, and reply emails from last week. Aloha!
Elder Kidd
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
11/16/09
Aloha and Aloha
Ok, so this is going to be a difficult and interesting email.
First of all, I need to tell a story from this last week. On Tuesday night, I went on an exchange. Well, I found out when I got picked up that we were going to pick up a couple other elders and have a night of playing some card games. I didn't think it was too bad, so I went along with it. Well, the next day a couple of us felt really bad and called our mission president. So, I will not be a district leader next transfer due to my transgression. I felt and still feel a little horrible, but it has given me the motivation to do better. I feel I have learned a lesson that I wish to share with others now. Follow the rules/commandments, but also that the atonement is real. My biggest worry is how much I have disappointed all of you.
The other news is that I am being transfered. Also, they are splitting the two wards that we covered. So, Elder Call is going to stay in Olomana, and they are bringing two new missionaries into Waimanalo. So, I don't know where I am going to be either. Things are going to be different.
But we had a pretty good week this last week. Rick is having some struggles with his mom right now. She doesn't want him to get baptized, but she is not forbidding it. We told him struggles and trials come, so he is going to pray and see what the answer is. Trayleen is doing well, we just had some trouble with the wards. She lives in one ward, but wants to go to the other. Anyway, things got worked out this last week (probably a little aggressively) and she can now go to the ward she wants to. She is happy about that, but I am sad that I won't be here for her baptism.
We are also going to be able to start working with a couple people we haven't been able to get ahold of for a while. So, things are starting to pick up down here, which seems to follow the general pattern of my mission.
On a better note, all the missionaries on Oahu this next friday (I am staying on Oahu, so that's me as well) have a special meeting. President Monson is coming to Hawaii for a regional conference, and Elder Perry as well. Well, they want to have a special meeting with the missionaries. I am super excited. It is going to be amazing. I'll let you know how it goes!
So, in the end, this has been a week of learning for me. Remember to follow the rules, even if you don't believe that it is that bad. The cool thing that happened though was on Thursday when I felt horrible thinking about what other people would think. Then the spirit gave me the impression of: "It doesn't matter what other people think, only the Lord." So, in the end, I feel bad, stupid, etc... but I know that I am on the right path, and am doing the best I can from this point out. The atonement is real, and the Lord loves us.
I love you all so much. I apologize again for disappointing you. I ask for your forgiveness. Again, I love you.
Elder Kidd
Ok, so this is going to be a difficult and interesting email.
First of all, I need to tell a story from this last week. On Tuesday night, I went on an exchange. Well, I found out when I got picked up that we were going to pick up a couple other elders and have a night of playing some card games. I didn't think it was too bad, so I went along with it. Well, the next day a couple of us felt really bad and called our mission president. So, I will not be a district leader next transfer due to my transgression. I felt and still feel a little horrible, but it has given me the motivation to do better. I feel I have learned a lesson that I wish to share with others now. Follow the rules/commandments, but also that the atonement is real. My biggest worry is how much I have disappointed all of you.
The other news is that I am being transfered. Also, they are splitting the two wards that we covered. So, Elder Call is going to stay in Olomana, and they are bringing two new missionaries into Waimanalo. So, I don't know where I am going to be either. Things are going to be different.
But we had a pretty good week this last week. Rick is having some struggles with his mom right now. She doesn't want him to get baptized, but she is not forbidding it. We told him struggles and trials come, so he is going to pray and see what the answer is. Trayleen is doing well, we just had some trouble with the wards. She lives in one ward, but wants to go to the other. Anyway, things got worked out this last week (probably a little aggressively) and she can now go to the ward she wants to. She is happy about that, but I am sad that I won't be here for her baptism.
We are also going to be able to start working with a couple people we haven't been able to get ahold of for a while. So, things are starting to pick up down here, which seems to follow the general pattern of my mission.
On a better note, all the missionaries on Oahu this next friday (I am staying on Oahu, so that's me as well) have a special meeting. President Monson is coming to Hawaii for a regional conference, and Elder Perry as well. Well, they want to have a special meeting with the missionaries. I am super excited. It is going to be amazing. I'll let you know how it goes!
So, in the end, this has been a week of learning for me. Remember to follow the rules, even if you don't believe that it is that bad. The cool thing that happened though was on Thursday when I felt horrible thinking about what other people would think. Then the spirit gave me the impression of: "It doesn't matter what other people think, only the Lord." So, in the end, I feel bad, stupid, etc... but I know that I am on the right path, and am doing the best I can from this point out. The atonement is real, and the Lord loves us.
I love you all so much. I apologize again for disappointing you. I ask for your forgiveness. Again, I love you.
Elder Kidd
11/09/09
Aloha means love
I've decided a lot of the polynesian and micronesian culters have it right. They great people with a word that also means love (the first two that come to mind are 'Aloha' and "Yokwe' (marshalleese). Anyway, here is hopefully an email full of love...
Elder Call is still proving to be a wonderful learning experience for me. I try not to take offense or get irritated at all, but it is starting to be a little bit harder than usual. I think most everyone knows that I don't really like to have to repeat myself over, and over. Well, Elder Call is helping me learn that at times I may need to ask someone to do (or not do) something over, and over again. I pray every night that the Lord will give me more patience.... He has to be laughing at me up in heaven and simply giving me opportunities to learn it...
But, our week was awesome. I have to admit that Wednesday was my favorite day. I went on another exchange with Elder Hill, and I have realized how awesome he is. I would love to be able to be his companion one day. He loves to work, but have fun at the same time. We were able to get so much done, and I felt like I could put some of the burden on him.
Wednesday we had a marvelous experience though. We had a lesson schedualed with a guy named David. We picked up a kid from the ward named Koa to come with us (he is almost finished with his papers). Well, David wasn't home, so we figured we would walk around and talk to a few people. While we were walking, I called Trayleen to keep daily contact with her. Well, I could tell she had been crying, and she said she had just come out of praying. When I asked if she wanted us to come by, she said yes, so over we went.
We talked for a little bit, and then shared a lot about the atonement. It was so cool, and having Koa there was also a blast. Then, she told us that she had canceled her trip to Washington because she knew if she went that she would lose everything that she had gained (first shock). Then, we asked if she still wanted to wait on her baptism, and she said no because she needed the Holy Ghost (second shock). Elder Hill and I looked at each other, and simply said that she was the most golden investigator either of us had ever met. I am so excited for her. The only concern we have is that all of her friends are in one ward, and she lives in another, and the bishop will not let her get baptized in the other ward.... so please pray for us to know how to handle this.
Monday night we had a good lesson with Rick... and committed him to be baptized. He knows it is true, and wants to, just concerned about his mom. When he told her, she didn't seem happy, but I don't think she will forbid it. We need to talk to him again to see how everything is right now.
So, things are going well. The members of my district are struggling, but hopefully the training tomorrow will help with that. So, trust in the Lord, He gives what we know we need (even when we hate it). He does love us, and He hates to see us sad, but knows it is for our good (isn't that awesome but depressing at the same time). Keep smiling everyone. Satan hates a righteous smile. I love you all! Thanks for supporting me!
Elder Kidd
I've decided a lot of the polynesian and micronesian culters have it right. They great people with a word that also means love (the first two that come to mind are 'Aloha' and "Yokwe' (marshalleese). Anyway, here is hopefully an email full of love...
Elder Call is still proving to be a wonderful learning experience for me. I try not to take offense or get irritated at all, but it is starting to be a little bit harder than usual. I think most everyone knows that I don't really like to have to repeat myself over, and over. Well, Elder Call is helping me learn that at times I may need to ask someone to do (or not do) something over, and over again. I pray every night that the Lord will give me more patience.... He has to be laughing at me up in heaven and simply giving me opportunities to learn it...
But, our week was awesome. I have to admit that Wednesday was my favorite day. I went on another exchange with Elder Hill, and I have realized how awesome he is. I would love to be able to be his companion one day. He loves to work, but have fun at the same time. We were able to get so much done, and I felt like I could put some of the burden on him.
Wednesday we had a marvelous experience though. We had a lesson schedualed with a guy named David. We picked up a kid from the ward named Koa to come with us (he is almost finished with his papers). Well, David wasn't home, so we figured we would walk around and talk to a few people. While we were walking, I called Trayleen to keep daily contact with her. Well, I could tell she had been crying, and she said she had just come out of praying. When I asked if she wanted us to come by, she said yes, so over we went.
We talked for a little bit, and then shared a lot about the atonement. It was so cool, and having Koa there was also a blast. Then, she told us that she had canceled her trip to Washington because she knew if she went that she would lose everything that she had gained (first shock). Then, we asked if she still wanted to wait on her baptism, and she said no because she needed the Holy Ghost (second shock). Elder Hill and I looked at each other, and simply said that she was the most golden investigator either of us had ever met. I am so excited for her. The only concern we have is that all of her friends are in one ward, and she lives in another, and the bishop will not let her get baptized in the other ward.... so please pray for us to know how to handle this.
Monday night we had a good lesson with Rick... and committed him to be baptized. He knows it is true, and wants to, just concerned about his mom. When he told her, she didn't seem happy, but I don't think she will forbid it. We need to talk to him again to see how everything is right now.
So, things are going well. The members of my district are struggling, but hopefully the training tomorrow will help with that. So, trust in the Lord, He gives what we know we need (even when we hate it). He does love us, and He hates to see us sad, but knows it is for our good (isn't that awesome but depressing at the same time). Keep smiling everyone. Satan hates a righteous smile. I love you all! Thanks for supporting me!
Elder Kidd
11/02/09
Aloha
I've decided that mom has this great way of saying exactly what needs to be said to make you feel guilty as heck and encourage you to do what needs to be done... Long enough sentance? Basically, I have been struggling like crazy recently with Elder Call. I am trying my best to help him, be nice, encourage him, etc. but it has been a very draining experience. Then mom tells me of a poem written by a kid in the school about beauty, and not having any friends, and of course I start to analyze and realize that I need to be Elder Call's friend... Now how to do it is the hard part...
But anway, now that I feel guilty (thanks lots mom! ; ) the rest of the week. Well, we had another week of struggles, but not without rewards. Mostly we know that this will be a great week, and Trayleen continues to work towards baptism. She met with our bishop yesterday, came out and told us she had been crying a lot, to which we shared that the church could supply the world with water for about a year just through our tears... (should we market that?) But she is doing great. We are meeting again with her tonight, and hoping to help strengthen her resolve to quit whatever actions are keeping her from baptism. We reset her date to the 5th of December.
We are going to meet with Rick tonight (he had to cancel last week). There are full-time missionaries over the singles ward, and the call seems to be that our assistants think that if they can go there, they should because it will be "better for them." Well, one of Rick's fellowshippers thinks that that idea is one of the dumbest he has ever heard. He is worried about the family and doesn't think that Rick will want them to teach him, so he may keep coming to the family ward. We will see how it plays out.
Josh and Isaiah may not be getting baptized for a while. I think Aunty Momi (the grandma) is still mad at us since she hasn't spoken to us at all. Our bishop is going to talk to her again because right now she wants to wait until next year for them to get baptized, and our bishop thinks it should be soon (we agree). I love our bishop.
Halloween is pretty lame on a mission. You can't do anything. We had a great dinner with uncle Ray though, and I patched up a huge hole in my soul... wait... sole... of my shoe... yeah, that one. Shoe goo is fantastic.
So, we are really excited about this week. I am also excited for Saturday because UH plays USU... so we will see how it goes.
A bit of a spiritual thought, and slight rant. Most missionaries either love or hate fast sunday because of the 'testimonies' that are shared. Yesterday was a prime example. We had some good, some bad, some stories, some 'What was that?'s, but in the end I think it is ok. A young couple that moved into our ward brought a friend to church, and she seemed to enjoy it all. But, the point is, a testimony is simply a declaration of belief. To say I know something is a testimony. I know the Savior lived and dies and lives again, for us. He loves us so much. He cares for us so much. He teaches us through the Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith is his prophet and revelator for these last days. And with everything we do, we say all things, and do all things in the name of Christ.
Thank you all for your continued support, love, encouragement, teaching, etc. I love you all!
Elder Kidd
I've decided that mom has this great way of saying exactly what needs to be said to make you feel guilty as heck and encourage you to do what needs to be done... Long enough sentance? Basically, I have been struggling like crazy recently with Elder Call. I am trying my best to help him, be nice, encourage him, etc. but it has been a very draining experience. Then mom tells me of a poem written by a kid in the school about beauty, and not having any friends, and of course I start to analyze and realize that I need to be Elder Call's friend... Now how to do it is the hard part...
But anway, now that I feel guilty (thanks lots mom! ; ) the rest of the week. Well, we had another week of struggles, but not without rewards. Mostly we know that this will be a great week, and Trayleen continues to work towards baptism. She met with our bishop yesterday, came out and told us she had been crying a lot, to which we shared that the church could supply the world with water for about a year just through our tears... (should we market that?) But she is doing great. We are meeting again with her tonight, and hoping to help strengthen her resolve to quit whatever actions are keeping her from baptism. We reset her date to the 5th of December.
We are going to meet with Rick tonight (he had to cancel last week). There are full-time missionaries over the singles ward, and the call seems to be that our assistants think that if they can go there, they should because it will be "better for them." Well, one of Rick's fellowshippers thinks that that idea is one of the dumbest he has ever heard. He is worried about the family and doesn't think that Rick will want them to teach him, so he may keep coming to the family ward. We will see how it plays out.
Josh and Isaiah may not be getting baptized for a while. I think Aunty Momi (the grandma) is still mad at us since she hasn't spoken to us at all. Our bishop is going to talk to her again because right now she wants to wait until next year for them to get baptized, and our bishop thinks it should be soon (we agree). I love our bishop.
Halloween is pretty lame on a mission. You can't do anything. We had a great dinner with uncle Ray though, and I patched up a huge hole in my soul... wait... sole... of my shoe... yeah, that one. Shoe goo is fantastic.
So, we are really excited about this week. I am also excited for Saturday because UH plays USU... so we will see how it goes.
A bit of a spiritual thought, and slight rant. Most missionaries either love or hate fast sunday because of the 'testimonies' that are shared. Yesterday was a prime example. We had some good, some bad, some stories, some 'What was that?'s, but in the end I think it is ok. A young couple that moved into our ward brought a friend to church, and she seemed to enjoy it all. But, the point is, a testimony is simply a declaration of belief. To say I know something is a testimony. I know the Savior lived and dies and lives again, for us. He loves us so much. He cares for us so much. He teaches us through the Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith is his prophet and revelator for these last days. And with everything we do, we say all things, and do all things in the name of Christ.
Thank you all for your continued support, love, encouragement, teaching, etc. I love you all!
Elder Kidd
Friday, October 30, 2009
Phone Call
Just to let everyone know, I just got a phone call from our bishop. The grandma is ok, the boys will be baptized, we just have to work on the schedual. Blessings!
Elder Kidd
Elder Kidd
10/26/09
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
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
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
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