I'm Back

What I Learned On My Mission

So, as the end is just about here, I have had a lot of time (or maybe it just has been bombarding me) to reflect on the last two years. One person asked me some of the things that I have learned, so I decided I would take a moment and share some of the things that I have learned.

I have learned that in Hawaii, things get soggy very quickly. You shouldn't plan on having your towel ever be dry, except when it comes right out of the dryer. But also that love can and should be a leading motivator in all that we do. If we truly love everyone around us and see them as a brother or sister, then we and they will be much happier. Our service will be greater, and there will be less frustration and anger.

I have learned about missionaries that they are often immature, annoying, and arrogant. Yet, they are the only access to atoning grace that the world has. Without missionaries, no converts can be baptized. Also, beneath all the 19-21 year oldness, they are kind at heart and have a desire to serve. Of course they have flaws and struggles, but who doesn't. A mission will truly turn them into the men (or women) that they can be.

I have learned about myself more of who I am, and what I truly want in life. A lot of my desires have changed, and my attitude as well. I feel no longer that I have to prove myself to the world and to those around me, but that I can and should truly be me. I have learned that in some circumstances I have sacrificed much, and perhaps too much, to prove that I was something I wasn't. I hope I don't startle too many people when I get home, but I believe I have finally learned who I am, what I am capable of, more of what I want and need, and what makes me happy.

But above all, I have learned of our Savior and His gospel.

I have truly learned that Joseph Smith was a prophet. That the church of Christ was lost from the earth for almost 2000 years, but that the Lord called an unlearned 14 year-old boy to restore everything back. I have learned what eternity can mean to me and others. I have learned that the gospel contains all the answers that we are looking for.

The Book of Mormon is the word of God, and can answer the questions of the soul. There is no way that a man could have written that book.

I have learned that we are led and guided by a prophet today. He is able to receive revelation to lead us and guide us in our search for peace and happiness here, and in the life to come.

But most important, I have learned of Christ. Our Savior came to this earth, lived a perfect life. Not that everything went perfect for him, but that he never, ever sinned. He was spotless forever. He faced the hardest trials, persecutions, and struggles, yet he did more than any of us ever could. He willingly volunteered Himself and sacrificed Himself for all mankind, suffering for all of our sins. We cannot comprehend how this is possible, or even a fraction of what it felt like, yet we have faith and can feel the relief of forgiveness. He also felt all of our pains, so that He knows exactly what we are going through. He is always there, ready to reach out and give us the hand that we need, to lift us out of the hard times. If we will turn to Him, He will help bear our burdens. He cannot take them all away, for that would deny us the opportunity to learn and grow, but He can make them light, so that we can stand to continue forward. Without the Atonement, no one could ever return. Christ could have Himself without suffering, but instead He suffered for us. I love Him so much, and will forever be grateful for all that He did for me.

I thank all that have supported me during these two years. They have truly been the hardest two years of my life, but also the best. May we all continue to stay strong in the Lord, and receieve all of the blessings that He has in store for us.

Love

Elder John Cameron Kidd

07/26/10

Aloha Oe

This won't be my final, final email, but it will be the second to the last. This is simply an account of our last week... as far as I can remember....

So, unfortunately no miracles happened, and we will not be having a baptism Tomorrow, but things are ok. I get this strange feeling when we come back to visit that I will have to pack white clothes. Derek is doing alright, but still got a ways to go, and Kelsea couldn't get her grandparents to come to our activity. But, I know that I did the very best that I could for them, and I think I will still be able to continue to help them.

A lot of this week was directed at preparing for our activity on Saturday, which went very well. It was great to be able to set up a spiritual room, and everyone that saw it loved it. I think Elder Pontanares might have to do it again in the not-so-distant future. There was a good spiritual message at the end, but I don't want to spoil what might be a future activity for the younger generation.

Yesterday seems to be the day with the most events (that or it wasn't so long ago, so I can remember it). Church was our ward conference, which is handled a bit differently in Hawaii. Sacrament is an hour and a half long, and then everyone splits for the last class after that. Also, most of the high council and a few bishops come as well. So, we had a lot of people there. I talked to the Stake President a little before sacrament, and he asked the bishop to ask me to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. Then, after sacrament, the ward sang "Aloha Oe" to me, and I was given a lot of lei's. It was an awesome experience, and I realized that I have made an impression on this ward, and am so grateful that the Lord allowed me to serve here.

After Sacrament I had to run into relief society because I had been asked to sing "Called to Serve" to begin their lesson that they were having. I realized after I sang that I didn't ever sing for this ward, so they were all rather surprised. The President and First councilor were both in tears (and we live with the president, whose name is Gloria and is excited to meet you mom). Then we went to Priesthood and then on home.

After studying for a while, we had to run my signing journal to a member family because I had forgotten to give it to them at church. We were on our way to dinner, so we had to make it fast. We pulled up and I saw one of the daughters outside opening the gate. I was a little surprised because they always keep the gate closed, but I didn't think too much of it. I motioned to her to come to the car to grab the journal, but she told me that her sister had just fallen and dislocated her knee. So, we immediately pulled in, and ran inside to give her a blessing. Turns out she had just dislocated her kneecap (sound familiar anybody?). So, we gave her a blessing, and tried to help get her ready for the ambulance, and provide some comfort for the family. After everything got settled and she was on her way to the local clinic, I took a moment to thank the Lord for allowing me to be a servant in His hand, and realized that everything happens for a reason.

So, then we went to dinner and lesson, and headed home. That night, our landlord and lady gave me a towel set: navy blue with my name and "Go Aggies" embroidered on it. So, I am excited to be able to use that.

Last night I was allowed to make some phone calls to people I knew in previous areas, and was able to talk to Jack from Kauai. He is doing well, still isn't baptized, but his life is going much better. He and I had a good talk, and it was nice to be able to talk to him again. His son is on O'ahu, so I am trying to get in touch with him to see if he can come to the airport on thursday night.

Today is all about packing though, and getting ready. We have a good day planned tomorrow, and things I think will go well. It has been a blast, and I will see you all soon. I love you all!

Elder Kidd

07/19/10

Aloha

The beginning of the end... I know this is going to be one of the hardest weeks, but I am excited for it. I'm going to make it my best.

Things this last week were interesting, but good. I feel more and more that I am becoming separated from the ward as Elder Pontanares takes over, and everyone continues to remind me of how little time I have left. In the words of our second councilor: "I'm so short I can play handball on the curb." So, they seem to be excited for me, but driving me nuts at the same time.

We were able to meet our new mission president on Thursday. IT was a good meeting. He and his wife are two amazing people, and I know things will go well for them during their service. His question to me was what could he do to help us have a baptism before I go home, and all I could think of was pray for a miracle. If a miracle happens, Kelsea's grandpa will come to an activity this Saturday, see we are ok people, and let her get baptized. Derek doesn't look like it will happen before I go home.

Elder Pontanares continues to do very well with the Filipinos in our area. He was able to commit one for baptism on August 7th. She loves the gospel and accepts everything we teach. We also were able to begin teaching another that will probably get baptized.

I really am afraid that most everything is disappearing in a blur. We had a good lesson with Don and Shirley, and Don came to church and liked it. But the funny story....

We ran into a less active member named Auntie Lelani while tracting one day, and she wanted us to come back to visit, so we came the next day. Well, when we showed up, she was outside at a table. I thought she could see us, but I guess not, so we started shouting to her... for about five minutes. She never heard us. Finally, someone in the house saw us and told her we were there, so she came out and let us in. She insisted on making us lunch, so she made us some bologna and cheese sandwiches. While she did that, I tried to ask her how her day was... about five times getting louder each time. I think Elder Pontanares was about to crack at this point, but he help it together. At one point, her dog (a very old and probably blind Rottweiler) began fighting with a rock on the ground, barking at it and throwing it around. Eventually I wanted to share a message, so I pulled out a Book of Mormon. She wanted to run into the house to get hers. Well, she never found it. So, we offered her one. She kept trying to turn us down, saying we wouldn't have one. We finally got her to hear that we had about 50 in our car, so she agreed. Then she talked about how nice it was that we had a car, and how they used to walk with the missionaries. Then I tried to hand the book to her to her, and she protested again, saying that we wouldn't have one. So, we repeated again that we had 50 in our car, and she was amazed. "You have a car? Wow!" So, we left smiling, and hoping that Auntie Lelani continues to be happy. Then Elder Pontanares laughed when we were far enough away.

So, all that was fun. I hope all is going well for everyone. I love you all. Next week may be a unique email. I hope you like it.

Elder Kidd

07/12/10

Aloha

It is my continued prayer and hope for these last two weeks that the Lord will see fit to allow me to witness a miracle, which seems more and more will be Derek getting baptized before I leave. Right now he is trying to take steps in that direction (such as selling his $4,000 gold necklace), but every time someone brings up the idea to Ericah, she quickly responds that there is no way it will happen before I go home. Yet, we trust in miracles.

Other than that, the week has been good, but interesting. In response to Elder Pontanares' lack of communication, and his telling others that he was excited for me to leave, I decided to put him in charge of pretty much everything. So, he seems happier now, and I think at the same time he is realizing that things aren't going to be quite as easy as he thought, so things between us have eased up a little bit.

Life with our investigators continues on some good paths. Most of the great that happened this week happened on Friday while I was on an exchange in another ward, so I didn't see it. I did spend a good day with a greenie that is definitely struggling with being fully committed, so I shared some words of wisdom with him that hopefully will help him to get on, and stay on the path. I think in the end it will help. Elder Pontanares did well as well, finding two new Filipino investigators, one of which decided to come to church.

Overall, things have been moving fairly quickly this last week, and it seems that it will continue to move fast until the end. I got my itinerary this last Friday for my last couple of days, and for my flight home. I will be landing around 7:30 on the morning of the 30th, so I am excited to see all of you there. I get to go to the famous Swap Meet, PCC, and then Pearl Harbor before I come home, so I will have lots of pictures, and hopefully some souveniers (just remember, missionaries are poor)

One last good experience we had last night. We went over to the Mo'e family, or rather Mo'e aiga last night for a family lesson. Their car had broken down earlier in the day on the way to taking Bro. Moe to work, so they weren't able to make it to any of church, so they definately were excited for our visit. What was awesome was how our lesson (that we planned without knowing what was going on) on faith fit in perfectly with what they needed at that time. The spirit was strong, and you could see that they were touched. Before we left, Bro. Moe told us that we have hit him harder than any other missionaries before. Thanks be to the Lord for allowing us to be His servants.

I love you all so much. As always, thank your all that you do. See you soon!

Elder Kidd

07/06/10

Aloha

Well, it seems as though the Lord has decided that I haven't learned enough on my mission so far, and is continuing to give me opportunities to learn and grow until the end. I guess nothing worthwhile ever came easy.

The struggle I am having right now is my companion. I love the kid, but apparently he has decided that he doesn't like how I do missionary work (and wants to focus more on Philipeanos), and is simply waiting until I go home. I would be ok with this, but I feel recently that the division it is creating between us is causing the work to suffer. Unfortunately every time I say anything about it, he just ignores me, or denies anything, but you can tell something is bothering him. So, we'll see how the Lord inspires me to help with this situation.

Other than that, it was a difficult,ut ok week. We had a lot of people cancel appointments with us, and other things not go so well. Derek continues to be extremely busy, but we are hoping to commit him for the 27th today so that he will get baptized before I go home. Ericah is slowely but surely getting more and more on board, especially after going to her nephew's baptism. She said she felt a desire to do better, and be better. I love those feelings.

We found out (I don't remember if I said this last week or not) that Kelsea's grandfather has told her that she isn't old enough to decide on religion, but hasn't forbidden her from having contact with the church, or her friend that is a member. So, now we pray that his heart will be softened. Sister Prather, the mother of Kelsea's member friend also pointed out that in the end Kelsea just needs the permission of her mother... so I don't know exactly what Sister Prather has planned, but it sounds as though she has some sort of idea.

We managed to get into a super-arguement this last week with a baptist outside of the house of one of our members. He came up and said he liked talking to mormons, and then began to argue with us and attack us for a while. We were with our Ward Mission leader as well, which turned out either to be a blessing or a curse, since he took over a couple of times, but may have prevented us ending the conversation earlier than we did. In the end, I learned again that I don't like people that do that, that arguing never works, and that those that argue with you don't really listen to anything you say.

So, things may not be in the most ideal setting right now, but I know there is a reason for everything that is happening. I just hope that the Lord fills me in on why soon, and gives me the strength to do what needs to be done.

I love you all. As always, thanks for all of the continued guidance and support!

Elder Kidd

06/28/10

Aloha

Another week flown by, and me still wondering what is going on in some situations. Good, bad, and interesting continues to happen.

First of all, the Hurtados did make it to the waters of baptism on Saturday, but with plenty of scares along the way. On Thursday when we went over for our lesson, Marilyn (the mom) didn't come out and Ralph (the son) told us that she had said she didn't want to be baptized anymore. Not good words to a missionaries ears. Well, somehow (probably thanks to the spirit, and Marilyn's mother-in-law) she decided that she did want to get baptized, and it all went fairly smoothly. I say fairly because the joke I had made earlier about only needing three priesthood holders and the person (people) getting baptized came true. We had a teacher, but other than that it was only the ward mission leader, and the two of us missionaries. But, it all went well, and the confirmation went well as well... that's a lot of wells.

Derek is still doing well. We were able to have a good discussion with him and Ericah last Thursday about taking a leap of faith, and sacrificing to do the Lord's will. So, at the end, Ericah said she only needs the ring now (the rest of the list seems not so important) and Derek learned that he doesn't have to have cash to buy the ring, but that he can get it on credit. So, hopefully that opens up possibilities very soon. We can definitely see the adversary working on him though. One of his friend's father died on Saturday, so they were unable to come to church yesterday.

We were able to teach a couple on Wednesday that looks very promising. Don is from California, and Shirley from the Philipeans. Well, after sharing part of the lesson, we had to leave to make it to our next appointment (they ask a lot of questions), but Shirley called us the next day to tell us that she had had a dream about us coming and teaching the lessons, and she said our message was beautiful. Miracles do happen.

Sunday, we had fun in our PEC meeting with our High Priest Group Leader again. I had to, once again, explain the WARD MISSIONARY PLAN and explain that it isn't in the hands of the missionaries, but the ward. So, hopefully he got that through his head and will start to help us now.

But, all is going well. We face trails and troubles, but if we endure well, the Lord will bless us for them. I love you all, and thank you for all the support that you give to me. Aloha

Elder Kidd