Week 105: June 25, 2018

I want to express my gratitude for each of you for following along throughout this amazing journey. I truly have felt your love and support during my mission.

I got to see my friend, Cody Wong, this Sunday. He's been working here for the summer and he attended our ward on Sunday! Really cool to have been able to catch up with him!

This past week, I have truly been blessed to witness so many miracles that the Lord had in store for us. Firstly, our investigator, Philip, came to church again. We had two baptisms this past week in our district. What a blessing to witness these children of God make this covenant with Him. Philip was able to attend one of the services and truly felt the spirit. He says that getting baptized is something he wants to do! Secondly, we got a call from a young man named Jimmy. He had been coming to church for a while but had declined taking the discussions. We decided to really get to know him and become his friend. Over the course of 6 months of being here and many years of being fellow shipped, this week marked a significant change. He decided to pray on his own about the church and what God wanted him to do. He called us out of the blue and said, "Elders, I want to take the discussions and get baptized!" After we picked our jaws off of the floor, we expressed our excitement for him and told him we would do whatever we could to help him along that journey. Thirdly, we were able to meet with Teresa, another friend who has been coming to church but declined the lessons. She asked if she could have us over for dinner and a lesson! We were able and happy to do so. I am truly grateful for all of these miracles! Even though we hadn't seen such intense miracles all day everyday, we worked hard and recognized the little miracles and blessings each day and God handled the rest.

I truly love these people. I will miss them all. The Bay Area has truly captured my heart and I hope to have left a lasting impact here with those that I've had the opportunity to meet. I love the Lord. I have come to know Him much better and apply the gospel more and more in my life. I'm grateful for the time I've had to lose myself and serve others. I look forward to seeing you all soon!

-Elder Kaitoku 

Week 95: April 30, 2018

So, if you've been following the Chronicles of Elder Kaitoku for a while now, you'll remember that I went through a little phase where apparently, I couldn't ride a bike. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "Well, the bar couldn't get any lower...could it?" WELL. This week, we learned the answer to that. Apparently, I can't even run properly. While going on a morning run with my companion, I ran full speed into a log that had been propped over the guardrail and was covered with leaves so I couldn't see it. It stopped my forward progression quite effectively, bringing me to a full stop. Not only that, but it knocked me off my feet. Now you might be thinking: "Well, at least it was early in the morning and no one else was there to see it, right?" Well, if that was your thinking, you would be wrong. There was a LONG line of cars that were there to witness this event. My USELESS COMPANION just laughed at me. Maybe I'll try crawling from now on. 

Other than that, this has been a great week. We found a new investigator named Ruth. She had previously met with missionaries back in Oregon and when she moved here, they referred her to us. She is pretty open to meeting with us and learning more about the gospel. She also lives in the same place as a member of the ward named Chris! He has been a great friend to her and now answers her questions about the gospel and helps her to know more about its importance and how it has changed his life. 

We got to sing again at the Visitor's Center which was a great experience. 

It's been a great week and I hope you all had a great week as well! 

Until next week,

-Elder Kaitoku

Week 94: April 23, 2018

Hey Everybody!

Sorry I wasn't able to email last week. Just a quick review: I got a new companion...again. His name is Elder Kwan and he is from Philadelphia! We've been doing so well together! 

We were able to set two baptismal dates since we last spoke. The first is with Patricia. She has considered herself a member of the church for most of her life. She just hasn't been baptized yet. We can help with that :) She is progressing really well. Even though, due to health reasons, she isn't able to get to church a lot, she watches BYU devotionals and other similar programs at home. She watches reruns of General Conference and is awesome! She will be baptized on June 23rd. The second baptismal date is with Taiman'e Pisimata. She is a 9 year old girl in a Part-Member-Family. They were able to come to church a week ago and that was awesome! She and her younger sister Talia really enjoy primary. 

Other than that, it's been a really awesome week! We got a new car! Like, brand spankin' new. 2018 Corolla. We are the envy of the district hahaha. 

Also, we had a mini missionary named Jarom this past week. He did great! We had a good time together. Hopefully we haven't scared him off from serving a mission.

Oh yeah I also got mauled by a vicious dog! 

That's kind of all for this week. Until next week!

Week 92: April 9, 2018

Hello Everybody,

We had transfers this past week and my new companion is Elder Tackett! We served in the same district when we were in Richmond so it was great to reunite with him and finally be companions. He was called Spanish speaking and so the range of people that we are able to talk to now has greatly broadened. Like my last companion, Elder Klunker, this is the first time Elder Tackett has been in the English program. We'll see how he likes it.

We were finally able to make contact with our investigator, Patricia. She wanted to get baptized and has a very firm belief in the church. Due to health circumstances, it is difficult for her to get to church. Happily, she watches devotionals and other things at home to still be spiritually edified. 

Although I wasn't able to watch it, I definitely heard a lot about Merrie Monarch this past weekend from one of the families that we are meeting with regularly. The entire family is very involved in Polynesian dances and so the mom told us all about Merrie Monarch.

On another note, we got food poisoning this past weekend. We might have gotten some chicken that was a bit on the "medium rare" side. Personally, I like my chicken "well done". My companion and I spent all Saturday night awake and puking our guts out. Whoo. Fortunately, we are feeling a lot better today.

I hope that all of you have had a great week as well! Love you all!

-Elder Kaitoku

PS here's a few pictures from the hike last week!

Week 91: April 2, 2018

This past week was great, we were able to add two new investigators: Jesse and his wife Sloane. Jesse is a very humble and kind guy. 

Elder Klunker is getting transferred to back to the Tongan program. I am staying here with Elder Tackett. We were in the same district back in Richmond! It'll be fun.

Also, we saw two rattlesnakes today on a hike and the first one scared me half to death. We practically walked right on top of it when we heard a hiss and rattle. First snake I've seen in the wild! And it was a huge rattlesnake. Then we saw another one a few minutes later. It was wild.

I love and sustain the apostles and the prophet. I am so thankful and grateful for the opportunity that we have to hear their words and teachings. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

Sorry for the short email! Until next week!

Week 90: March 26, 2018

Hey everybody,

So for those of you who don't know yet, our mission is now officially a technological mission. We got smartphones and facebook and so you know what that means! Plenty of selfies! Just kidding. it's been great to see how the technology can help us to enhance our experience as missionaries and to help us stay connected with recent converts, investigators, and members from previous areas. 

It's been a pretty standard week for us out here in the 'creek. 

Also, on a  personal note I've lost 20 lb on the mission. So that's been pretty exciting!

I have come to really love my mission love the people and the place. I'm looking forward to another great week with my great companion. He may be going back to the Tongan program next transfer so we will find out this week!

Thank you for all of your love and support. Until next week!

 

Week 88: March 12, 2018

Hey everybody, 

This week was pretty great. We had dinner with a couple that had just moved into our ward from the Tongan ward nearby. The husband, like many other poly's is rather "large in stature" and he told us this hilarious story about the time they were visiting Hawaii during the Pro Bowl. They were waiting in the hotel lobby, trying to check in. His wife was in line for the receptionist desk and he was sitting outside with his sunglasses on and a towel over his head. Suddenly, a lady walked up to the wife and asked, pointing to the husband, "Is he ready to go?" She was confused for a second but said, "Yes". Before they knew what was happening, they were being escorted on to a bus. Suddenly, they were being given lanyards. As they looked around, they realized that the bus was full of NFL Pro Bowl players and their families. They got off at the hotel where the players were staying. They were then treated to lines and lines of all you could eat food waiting for them. They ate and ate and talked to a few players. They weren't found out until everyone was leaving. Everyone else was driving away in the latest and greatest model of sports car. They walked. The security guard saw this and realized what had happened and could not stop laughing as they walked down the road and back to their actual hotel.

We got this awesome new family that we've been able to teach. Barry and his two kids Khan and Akhane. They were found by the sisters and they referred them to us! We shared this great miracle with our bishop in that ward. He began to inquire so as to the whereabouts of this family. As we went into more and mo

re detail, he said, "Elders, I hate to put a damper on things, but I believe they live outside of our area." Turns out, they live just across the street outside of our area. It was sad but that's okay because we know that they'll be taught by good elders. Just not great elders. hahahaha just kidding. Those elders are great! 

This week, we went on a hike as a zone and that was a lot of fun. Pictures incoming. 

Anyways, hope you guys had a great week! Until next week

-Elder Kaitoku