Week 74: November 27, 2017

What an amazing week!

So transfer calls came around and as it turns out, I will be staying for a 5th transfer here in Danville! Wow! That is the longest I've been in an area. I am looking forward to spending the holiday season here with these people! Love this area. Elder Selli is going home this transfer, back to Virginia. He will be missed. In his stead, I am getting Elder Ward. I don't know much about him other than the fact that he is just coming out of his first 12 weeks or so. 

Our new mission policy is that from 4-6pm every Tuesday-Saturday, we will all be tracting. I must admit that at first, I wasn't all too thrilled about this. Our area has been pretty infamous when it comes to tracting. A few years ago, a stake president told missionaries not to and it became an actual rule. We would still tract but spent a lot of that time of 4-6 visiting with less actives, part member families, and investigators. However, our first night instituting this initiative, we were able to successfully make contact with a gentleman that we have been trying to make contact with for months. Additionally, we tracted into a guy who was like, "Oh hey Elders! Yeah we'd love to have you come by, my wife's best friend is a Mormon but we're about to go Black Friday shopping! Come by again!" Let me tell you, this has not happened before while I've been tracting here these past 6 months. I am loving this new initiative.

Other than that, Thanksgiving was pretty great. We played football. Ya boi intercepted the ball 3 times, had 3 receiving TDs, 1 passing TD, and hahaha jk jk. It was fun tho. We also got to play board games/card games as a zone that night. 

That's all for this week! What will Elder Ward be like? When will the Elberts be baptized?? How soon before Elder Selli gets married back home??? Find out next week on Dragonball Z hahaha 

-Elder Kaitoku

Week 73: November 20, 2017

Happy Early Thanksgiving Everybody!

Now with that being said, this week has been really great. Unfortunately, Elder Selli fell pretty deftly ill for a few days (he has a blood condition) and we weren't able to go out and do much. Luckily, the ward has been super supportive and loving, both wards. I am so thankful for all of the members who checked in on us and got us things that we needed to help him feel better and to get us food. Especially the food. I am thankful for food.
Earlier in the week, we did service at the farm that we go to weekly and whaddya know, we got to castrate those 16 piglets. Now, I don't know about those of you who have served missions, but this is precisely what I had in mind as I was filling out my mission papers. I just knew in my heart that this is exactly what missionary work is all about. If you haven't castrated a piglet on your mission, have you really truly even served a full time mission? Yeah, think about that for a bit. Anyways, that is an experience I will NOT be forgetting anytime soon. No matter how hard I try. 

...I can still hear their squeals...

Other than that, there are a lot of fun, interesting, and exciting events coming up at the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is such a great resource in missionary work and I am so glad that we have one in our mission. It's great to take members and nonmembers alike to the fun events there, especially with the Thanksgiving and Christmas season coming up.
With that being said, I am super thankful for all of you and your prayers and support. I am thankful for this opportunity to be on my mission and to serve the people here. 

Love ya and talk to ya later!
-Elder Kaitoku

Week 72: November 13, 2017

Elder Whiting, from the Quorum of the Seventy, visited our mission this past week. He gave a lot of very insightful advice and messages to the missionaries as well as at stake conference. One of the really cool analogies that he shared with us was relating the Holy Ghost to salt. If we came across an entire room full of people that had never tasted salt before in their life, it would be extremely difficult to explain to them in full detail through words alone what salt tastes like. We could get creative. We can say things like, "it tastes bitter" or "savory" but in the end, it's very difficult to really visualize what salt is and tastes like. However, if we were to have a bowl of salt, we could very easily have each person partake of the salt and know for themselves what it is. Likewise, when we have a lot of people who have never felt or recognized the spirit in their lives, it can be difficult for us to describe it accurately for them. We can quote scriptures, we can share experiences, but in the end, the best thing that we can do is to bring the spirit to them. When we, especially as missionaries, bring "salt" or the spirit with us to meetings, we are able to have people partake of the spirit and we can help them recognize that the feelings and impressions that they feel is the spirit. Be sure to bring "salt" with you everywhere you go.

As for the work out here, we have a new ward mission leader (newish) who's been really doing well to get the ward involved. We are constantly visiting those that require aid, assistance, and friendship. The Elberts (elbErts, not elbIrts as I've learned this week...hey she never corrected me in any of those texts, how was I supposed to know??) were in Miami this past week so we weren't able to meet with them.

Upcoming events, we've got a musical number this Thursday at zone conference. We are singing "Nearer My God to Thee" the Vocal Point rendition. Next Sunday, Elder Selli and I are doing a musical number "Refiner's Fire" because we done been bamboozled. A few weeks back, we were having dinner with a member of the ward and she innocently asked if we were musically inclined. We both humbly said that we did like to sing to which she exclaimed, "HA! I'm the ward musical coordinator!! MWAHAHAHAHAHA" or something like that. She said she would have to get us to sing in sacrament meeting someday. We thought she had forgotten about it until a few weeks later, she said she signed us up for the 19th.  

We done been punked.

Well, that's all from me today, I am glad I got to email a bit longer this week. Until next week!
-Elder Kaitoku

PS this week, we get to help castrate piglets. Yay. 

Week 71: November 6, 2017

Hey guys this is gonna be a quick email but here goes:

1. We had a great Halloween, we got to stay in and clean the apartment. Yay. We also dressed up but I don't have my camera right now so I'll send those pictures next week.

2. We had another temple day which was great as always.

3. The missionaries in the district/zone have really been shopping all P day these past few weeks hence the limited computer time so I apologize. There is a Nike outlet out here and there were some pretty impressive sales here lately. Plus, there's a member that works there that hooks it up for us.

4. We are working on a musical number as a zone and it is finna be LIT. I will have to send a recording next week!

5. Love you all! Sorry for the short email! B

Byeeeeeeeeeeeee

-Elder Kaitoku

Week 69: October 23, 2017

This past week was pretty great. We had a good meeting with the Elbirt's. We were also able to do service for a non-member lady at her farm. Well, we do it every week but this week, I remembered to bring my camera for once soooooooooo you guys get to see some pictures! She recently purchased a bus with the dream to renovate it into an RV. We have been the labor to help out with that and I got to fulfill a lifelong dream of standing on top of the bus. 

We had a great primary program this week and last week in both wards. The kids are great. As you can imagine, there was a lot of kids really getting into it and of course, dabbing somewhere in the song. There was never a dull moment with these guys.
We had transfers recently and our district is now: Elder Selli, myself, Elder Wilkinson, Elder Suriyachan, Elder Bishop, and Elder Maynes. We all have really great chemistry together and have many opportunities to serve together and get to know one another. I am really looking forward to this transfer!​

Week 68: October 16, 2017

This week was pretty great. We had a big public event for family history that we were able to volunteer at. It was great to see so many people so interested in their roots and we were able to show them a few tips and tricks to get started. We also got to talk to people who, if we were out in public, would definitely not have stopped and talked so that was great. 

Transfer calls came in and sadly, we are losing Elder Scott. He finally got his VISA and will be finishing out the rest of his mission in Samoa. I will be staying with my companion, Elder Selli for another transfer. We are looking forward to working hard with these members and investigators.
Today we had a zone talent show. The zone leaders asked me to MC and also to fireknife. I found me a stick and went to work. GG. Anyways, we have two sisters from Samoa and one of them was actually there when I was there and she saw the Living Legends show! Small world.

I really don't know what else to talk about here. Uhhh I'm good, the work's going well, my companion is great, and the mission is going too fast. I love you all and I'll talk to ya later!

-Elder Kaitoku

Week 66: October 2, 2017

Not much to write about this week. I will spare you the copy and paste of my favorite conference talks and quotes as I'm sure you've all watched it or read up on it, etc. 

It was a pretty average week out here in good ole Danville as far as average weeks go. No car break-ins, no burglaries, no assault, etc.
Okay fine, I'll share my favorite point made at conference. Know that God loves each and every one of you regardless. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can all come closer to Him. That's one of my favorite points made but very summarized.
Thank you all so much for your love and support and concern about our car. I stayed safe this time hahaha nothing broken, nothing lost. Love you all!

-Elder Kaitoku