Week 42: April 17, 2017

This past week was pretty good. We had our zone conference in Antioch, my old area. It was great to see the same old streets in good old Antioch. Not much has changed there. After zone conference, we went back to the burger place that I have mentioned in previous emails. If you've been a long time reader of my emails, you may remember a giant burger that I've talked about. Our zone went and we filled up the little burger place. Since I've had this giant burger multiple times, I figured I'd try something else on the menu. My companion has passed the Antioch Initiation. He finished the burger and the fries. He is now qualified to work in Antioch if he is ever transferred there.

A lot of people that we meet with and talk to are referred to us through online sources. People will request a Bible or a Book of Mormon or missionaries in general. These referrals are then texted to us through the computerized system. Unfortunately, sometimes, these texts are sent at like 3 in the morning which has happened a few times this week. Good times.

We met a lot of really cool people this week. Many of them are very interested in hearing more about the gospel and the message we share. It's incredible to see how these people have come to have the missionaries in their lives and how the Lord has prepared them for this moment. I love this work and I see blessings and miracles every single day. I love you all and I can't wait to hear from you next week!

Week 41: April 10, 2017

This past week was a great one. We were able to set two new baptismal dates with Raphael and Pat. Raphael is the son of a member in the Spanish ward. He has mentioned that he is satisfied with his life physically and financially but feels that there is a hole in the spiritual aspect of his life. As we talked this past week, he gradually guided the conversation closer and closer to himself getting baptized. We were able to set a date with him. He is doing very well and continues to come to church and progress. Pat's parents were both members but renounced the church when she was very young and she never got baptized. She continuously expresses the desire she has for baptism but keeps evading a commitment. After talking with her, we expressed our testimonies of the Holy Ghost and the blessings that come with it. We were able to set a baptismal date as a goal for her to pray about. 

Sierra, our recent convert, has been doing very very well. She has been assigned visiting teachers and has also been assigned to be a visiting teacher! She spoke at a recent fireside that our mission had called "Why I Believe" where recent converts share their testimony. She did great. She also signed up to feed us in a few weeks and has also told us that she wants to come with us to missionary appointments to share her testimony with others. Awesome to say the least.

Today, we had a fun zone activity where we went to a trampoline fun house called "Sky High" I couldn't quite hype myself to do a backflip but I did have fun jumping into the foam pit. We also played dodgeball with a bunch of little kids who were also there. For those of you who know me, you know that I absolutely did not go easy on them. Hahaha just kidding. But it was definitely a good time. 

Also, an update on those doggie treats. There was a fenced in housing complex with a big ole dog inside. We simply gave it a treat and walked in and he followed us around and was overall a good dog. 10/10 would pet again. And from that, we were able to find a new investigator for the Spanish elders hahaha they were like, "How did you get in here??" and then they saw the ruthless guard dog smiling up at us and following us like a meek little puppy. 

Week 40: April 3, 2017

Hey Everybody!

This past week was pretty great. Elder Roberts, from Hickory Creek, Texas, has had to endure many Spongebob quotes regarding, "dumb old Texas" but he seems to be holding up well. We've had a great week and an amazing General Conference weekend (which I will get to in a  second).

Sierra is, as usual, doing very very well. We talked to her again about the Plan of Salvation and were able to go a little deeper into doctrine and details. She has a great spirit about her and is earnestly seeking for more. She has already related to us how much the Spirit has influenced her life just these past few weeks. It's really awesome to see the blessings the gospel has in someone's life and watching as they recognize it and are grateful for it. It has made me really appreciate more the gift of the Holy Ghost, something I've taken for granted.

We had this genius idea to buy doggie treats to give out to random pups on the streets so that 1. We can make friends and 2. They don't eat us. A lot of people here have dogs. Big dogs. So far, it's been a big hit and even a good teaching tool. Often times, when we talk to people who are just walking their dog, they easily use the excuse of them walking their dog to keep going and not talk. However, upon offering their dog a treat, we are able to stand and have a conversation and eventually tie it into the gospel.

The message I truly loved from this past conference was from Elder Dale G Renlund. He spoke about seeing people as Heavenly Father sees them and not looking down on people for their sins. God loves us no matter what, even though He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. No one is perfect. Just as a healer spends his time among the sick and the afflicted, the people who desperately need his help, so should we spend our time among those who need our help instead of criticizing them and looking down on them. I really loved the overall theme of "love one another" throughout all of conference, regardless of race, gender, religious background, sexual orientation, it doesn't matter. We are all brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us all equally and unconditionally.

I love you all for your emails, love, support, and prayers. 

Week 39: March 27, 2017

This past week was great! My new companion, Elder Roberts is from Hickory Creek, Texas. He has been out a year and is a great missionary. We've had a great week of finding! We were able to pick up 6 new investigators this week. Sierra got confirmed as a member and received the holy ghost. She's still doing awesome and continues to progress. We are looking forward to great things happening in this area in the coming weeks. 

Usually, as missionaries, we struggle with gates locking us out. Not this time. We were walking into a gated home (the gate was open) and this guy was on his way out. We talked to him for a bit but he said he was headed out and pointed us to the house to talk to the woman in there. We talked with her and she wasn't super interested so we started to head back out. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to us, the gentleman had locked the gate on his way out, thus leaving us stuck within the confines of the fence. Looking left, then right, then left again, we waited until no one was around and jumped the fence. We hurried and left the scene of the crime before anyone else saw. Good times.

On one of the days this week, we were having kind of a rough tracting session. There wasn't a lot of success or people opening the door. It seemed like a really long street. But at the end of the street, there was a big dog behind a little fence and he was the nicest dog. He propped himself up over the fence to say hi and we played with him for a bit before it got weird.

It was a great week with lots of miracles, lots of blessings, and lots of good times. We look forward to all that the Lord has in store this upcoming week! 

Week 38: March 20, 2017

Aloha family and friends!

Elder Peterson and I are very happy and excited to announce that last night, Sierra Penn was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. Sierra has been such an amazing investigator and she has definitely been prepared for this moment. She has always come to each lesson craving to know more and to learn. She has often times studied ahead, asking questions about doctrine we hadn't planned on teaching that day just yet. Most times, we would come away learning a lot from her. It has been such an honor and a pleasure to get to know her and to feel of her spirit and love for this gospel. She was introduced to the church by a co-worker. He invited her to church and accompanied her on her first day. The next week, she had the faith and strength to come all on her own. (He lives in a different stake/ward area, he isn't inactive). She studies extensively throughout the Book of Mormon and has impressed us as well as even our mission president who had the opportunity to meet her during a lesson. We look forward to her progression in the gospel and helping her to understand even more.

We also had a mini-missionary this past weekend. His name was Joshua Reed from the Danville stake. We had a lot of pretty set plans that fell through almost immediately so we were in kind of a panic. What would have been a good 4 hour block of travel, being at the Visitor's Center with our investigator, and then travel back, instead became a day full of finding and miracles as our investigator cancelled at the last second. He was able to join us for the baptism. He is a very kind young man and will go far in life. He is planning on going to BYU Provo for a year before heading out so Tallin and anybody else planning on going there next year, if you see him, tell him I said, "Hi!"

Transfer calls are in and it seems my time with Elder Peterson is at an end. We have had an amazing time getting to know one another and working together. We have gotten along so very well as a companionship and he is a good Elder. I wish him the best of luck throughout the rest of his mission and beyond. I will miss all of our movie quotes woven into our everyday conversations. I will instead be companions with Elder Roberts, who I do not know much about yet but will look forward to meeting tomorrow.

This week will be one full of opportunity and work and blessings. We've been given a lot of great council lately from our mission leadership and I can really see the blessings coming from this council. There are a lot of blessings to be seen and a lot of work to be done. I love this work and I love you all! Hurrah for Israel!

-Elder Kaitoku​

Week 37: March 13, 2017

This week, we have a baptism on Sunday! Sierra, our investigator getting baptized, has got to be the most converted person I have ever had the opportunity of teaching. She has been so dutifully studying the scriptures and this gospel. Some days, it seems we hardly do any teaching because she's already learned a lot of it in her own personal studies. She was introduced to the church when her co-worker, a member, invited her to church one week. She loved it and has been coming ever since. Her baptism is set for Sunday at 4pm. This weekend, we are getting a mini-missionary. From the youth program in Danville, Elder Reed will be joining my companion and I for the weekend. He will get the whole experience of the mission life! From waking up early, to knocking doors, to a baptism, he will get to experience quite a lot. Needless to say, it's going to be an exciting weekend. 

In other news, I was going through the newspaper for coupons when the spirit seemed to lead me to the Safeway pages. As I began flipping through, something suddenly jumped out and caught my eye. Hawaiian Brand Portuguese Sausages. No. Way. So that's the story of how I dragged my companion all the way to Safeway last P day to get some Portuguese sausages.

Last P day, we had a zone activity. Our zone is 100% completely comprised of Elders. The Bro-Zone. The Brone. We had a fun activity where we played ultimate disc and two hand touch football through the mud. It was nice and muddy and most of all mui macho. *spanish guitar rift*

The work has been going amazingly well. My companion and I have had a fun two transfers together, learning a lot from one another and working hard. We've been getting along very well. Transfer calls are this Saturday so we will see how that goes. 

Week 36: March 6, 2017

Aloha Everybody,

This past week, the mission leadership (Assistants to the President, Zone leaders, and District leaders, and Sister Training Leaders) got to hear from Elder Carl B Cook. He was in our mission and he gave us some great words of advice about helping our investigators to be truly converted. It was a great training. Often times, we see a lot of recent converts go straight to less active because they haven't truly repented and been converted. It was a great training to help us as missionaries avoid this and ensure that those we baptize are truly ready for it.

This week, we dropped a baptismal date because he wasn't able to make it to church. He will be out of the country for a few weeks so we will have to get back in touch with him when he gets back. The other baptismal date got pushed back one day because the font was so booked. She is super awesome and is really looking forward to being baptized. She's begun planning out her baptism already. Her name is Sierra. The way she was introduced to the church was a co-worker who is a member. He invited her once and she's been coming ever since and is now getting baptized. She studies a lot. She'll bring up questions about things we haven't even begun talking about because she is doing her own research. We had 3 of our investigators come to church this past week. All has been well. 

It's been awesome to hear about many of my friends back home getting mission calls and even going out on their missions already. I love this work and I love this people. Sorry for the short(ish) email but I've gotta run! When I get a new camera, I'll start taking and sending more pictures! Until then,

-Elder Kaitoku