Week 88 - More Like a Twig...

Aloooooha!

Overall a pretty good week here in Wahiawa. We live on California Ave (right? California in Hawaii?) which apparently is the world record street for having the most churches on it. So it's always fun with all the dirty looks we get driving home. Also our ward is more like a branch, or maybe even a twig. I think the average sacrament meeting attendance is about 60, and dropping. We've got some of the main families in our ward moving out within the next couple of months, so our ward has the possibility of being dissolved into the other two wards in Wahiawa. Because of this, our bishop has asked us to focus all our efforts on less-actives. It's weird resolving concerns for less-actives because it's different almost every time. Lots of people were offended by the previous bishop in the ward, others have problems living the "Mormon lifestyle", others just like cruising on sundays and "don't have the time to go to church", and some don't even realize they're less-active. They'll talk about rescuing less-actives and not even realize that they hardly if ever come to church! The joys of missionary work.

A large chunk of our ward is military families, so the ward is constantly changing. We have a third of Scofield military base in our ward boundaries. It's hard because there's lots of less-actives that are in the military, but my companion isn't a US citizen so unless we get a pretty chill guy at the gate we have to have a sponsor for him to come in.

We also do lots of service every Saturday. Last week we chopped all the trees in this lady's yard down with machetes. That was fun. We'd see who could get through a tree in the least amount of swings, then played real life fruit ninja with the fruit that was on the trees. Also we have a weekly recurring service project with this lady named Momi. She has this house that's unlike anything I've ever seen. She was in the hospital for a while, and while she was in there her brother lived at her house. He's a major hoarder. So he bought tons of worthless stuff and put it in plastic bins all over the yard. Also the entire yard got overgrown with trees, bushes, and all kind of junk so we're helping her clear as much as she can out. It's good fun and a lot of work.

Love you guys and have a great week!

-Elder Merrill

Week 87 - Look Up!

Friends and family Alooooha!

So this past week I arrived on Oahu. It's definitely a big change. Our area went from taking an hour and a half to drive across, to 15 minutes. Our ward had about 50 people at church yesterday. Our bishop asked us to focus our work with the less-actives to try and strengthen the ward. We don't have too many investigators right now, so we're working to try and find more people to teach. I definitely miss my old area, but am looking forward to good things in this area as well.

This past week when I was back in Kona we set a baptismal date with Kaneke! Sucks that I won't be there to see him be baptized, but I'm still excited for that day regardless. We taught him about the plan of salvation and the importance of following the example of Jesus Christ then committed him to a date. He told us he was already planning on being baptized and was wondering when we were gonna ask him. He's one of those people that's just prepared by the Lord.

A second experience I wanted to share also comes from back in Kona. We had the opportunity to clean the temple last monday. They shut it down for a couple of weeks and asked for missionary volunteers. My companion and I spent the majority of our time up in the attic of the temple painting. The first counselor in the temple presidency took us up in the inside of the roof to where the angel Moroni was. He told us we were part of a handful of people to ever see that part of the temple, so we felt really privileged! Also while we were cleaning there was this older brother cleaning the vents on the ceiling of the celestial room. He had this little lift that he would use to get up there and at one time was wheeling it across the room to clean the vents on the other side. It had a big metal beam that the basket rode on sticking up about 10 feet. While he was wheeling it he was so preoccupied with the wheels and guiding them in the right place that he completely forgot about the metal beam. He caught the chandelier and pulled the cart about 10 feet before someone noticed and frantically whispered "Brother Mahi, look up!". He recognized what was happening and got the beam out of the way but the chandelier was swinging back and forth like that viking ship ride at Lagoon. He was standing right under it with eyes as big as oranges not knowing what to do. Probably not the best place to be standing. Fortunately everything turned out alright and neither Brother Mahi or the chandelier were injured.

This experience really made me reflect. How often do we forget to look up? I feel like a lot of times in my life I get so caught up with the wheels, or smaller less important things in life that I forget to look up. When we become too busy with the small or unimportant details in life we can forget to look up to our Heavenly Father, to turn to Him and acknowledge the role He plays in our lives.

Love you all and take care!

-Elder Merrill

Week 86 - Getting transferred

Alooooha everyone!

It's been super crazy this week and I don't have a lot of time to email so sorry if this is short! First things first, I found out I'm getting transferred back to Oahu for the rest of my mission. I'll be in Wahiawa, which is pretty close to where I was in Waipahu. I'll miss it here in Kona, but I'm sure there's good times to come in Wahiawa as well.

Also conference was incredible. I really liked the talk from Elder Renlund of the 70 in the saturday afternoon session. He talked about how all that matters is where we're going. We can say "twas I, but tis not I". I think this message was so fitting with the Easter season, that Christ can continue to change our lives #BecauseHeLives! He doesn't care who we were, where we came from, or what we've done, all that matters to Him is where we are now and where we're going. I know that because He lives we can face any of this world's challenges with confidence, knowing that He will be there to help us every step of the way. Love you guys!

-Elder Merrill

Week 85 - Killin' it in Hawaii...Literally

Yo,

We had a super crazy, busy, tiring week. I fell asleep in my shirt and tie on the couch like 3 times this week before I could even get ready for bed. On Friday we did leg day with Kaneke in the morning, then helped some guy that's moving to Utah load everything in a giant container. When we got to his house we could barely walk, then found out we had to haul everything up his giant uphill driveway to where the container was parked out on the street because they couldn't back it in down the driveway. So we spent almost all day running stuff uphill and loading it. Needless to say I've had a really hard time walking these past few days. Seeing my companion and I go down stairs was hilarious.

We also flew to Oahu this week. On the flight there the guy sitting next to me wasn't interested at all. I'm pretty sure he was Jehovah's Witness, but whatever the case he wouldn't talk to me at all. So I decided for sure I was going to talk to whoever sat next to me on the flight back. I ended up sitting next to this couple and before I could even get a word in I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and they were just making out. This continued most of the flight, so long story short I didn't end up having a good gospel conversation on either of the flights :(

We also went to teach Teki this past week. We worked it out for him to get the priesthood in Hilo! But the most interesting part of the night came right before dinner. I was talking to Teki's uncle, a member in our ward, when we both saw a flash of brown run across the counter. We concluded that it was a mouse and got geared up. Elder Gleave and I both had spatulas and Teki had a fly swatter. Brother Aholelei is apparently really afraid of mice, so he was behind the counter. We last saw the mouse climb into a basket where a bunch of bags were, so we slowly pulled the bags out one by one until they were all out of the basket and still no mouse. So me, Gleave, and Teki all looked down into the basket at the same time, and this mouse comes peeling up the side of the basket, jumps right at us, sprouts wings, and flies straight for my face, at least that's what it felt like. Then all hell broke loose. All three of us freaked out and started jumping around. In half a second Teki's all the way in the living room on top of a chair, Bro Aholelei's balancing on the counter and a kitchen chair, and Gleave and I are looking for this mouse. I guess in the chaos the mouse was hit by someone or something and was twitching underneath the overhang of the cabinets on the ground. I found it and Bro Aholelei was like "Kill it! Kill it!" So with one swift flick of the spatula I sent its' butt through its' brain and our tiny friend to the mouse spirit world. 

So all in all had a pretty eventful week. Hoping for even better things to come!

Love you guys!

-Elder Merrill

Week 84 - Somehow They Called Me On a Mission

Alooooha friends and family,

Sorry I didn't get a chance to write last week, we've been pretty busy. Covering two wards has been crazy, but we're never short of work which is always a good thing. We still don't know too many people in Kealakekua ward, the new ward we're covering, so we were thinking of ways we could build ward members' trust. They had a chili cookoff which was also accompanied by a talent show, so we decided to embarrass ourselves and sign up for the talent show. So we teamed up with another set of elders in our zone which was hilarious because none of us have the talent of singing. We decided a few minutes before the performance on a song called "Somehow They Called Me On a Mission". It was terrible. We had fun with it though and I think the ward did too.

We're also teaching this awesome guy named Kaneke. A few weeks ago a girl came up to us and said that her husband was a non-member and had been asking her questions about the church, so we set up a time with her to meet. Like an hour before the appointment she told us that he didn't want to come anymore. We said we'd still like to meet with just her so she agreed, then a few minutes later texted us back saying that they would both be there! We had a really good lesson with him and were able to start answering some of the questions that he had. I love teaching him because he didn't grow up going to church, so us teaching him is basically the first time he's heard any of this and he's super accepting of everything we teach. We went and worked out with him this morning and compared faith to a muscle, how you have to exercise it if you want it to get stronger. He's reading the Book of Mormon and progressing great!

We also met with a girl named Momi this week. Her mom's a member and all of her kids except her oldest daughter, Momi, are as well. We met her at dinner a few weeks ago and were able to sit down with her and have our first lesson yesterday. It was kind of a sketchy lesson because her mom's a little crazy and so is she. They got in this huge argument and we weren't able to get a word in, then Momi stormed out and said she needed a breather. But at the end of it she accepted the invitation to continue meeting with us, this time at her house. She said she wants to be baptized, so we have high hopes for her as well!

We taught in Elders' Quorum yesterday about a talk from this past general conference. It was from Elder Klebingat about approaching the throne of God with confidence. I'd encourage you all to read it because he gives 6 great steps about how we can improve our spiritual confidence. I liked where he asked if you were to have a personal interview with the Savior a minute from now how would it go? Would you be ashamed and linger by the door, or walk confidently in and meet His gaze? I think being spiritually confident comes from you knowing you're doing the right thing. It doesn't mean you're perfect, because everyone screws up every now and then, but it means you're trying and putting forth your best effort. It's when you give your all, and sacrifice your will for His that you can confidently walk in to that meeting.

Love you guys and have a great week!

-Elder Merrill

Week 82 - Lakwe

Iakwe friends and family!

This week was an awesome week. We saw the Welle's, our Chuukese investigators, three times to make sure everything was set for their baptism. All three of the kids (Aki, Lani, and Lea) were baptized on sunday! They brought a bunch of their extended family to attend the baptism. In sacrament meeting they announced the baptism right as the family was walking in, and it was like a line of never-ending small brown people. There was like 15 or more non-members that they brought with them to church and to the baptism. Everything for the baptism went great! For his closing remarks, our bishop had all of their family stand up, and then challenged them all to meet with the missionaries and receive the ordinance of baptism for themselves! He said "I'm going to speak out of love, but be bold. This is the true church and gospel of Jesus Christ and you all need to be baptized by the authority of the restored priesthood of God". Hopefully their mom recognized the spirit that she felt and bishop's words will motivate her to prepare for her own baptism.

We also met with this super cool part-member family. The mom and daughter come to church every week, but the dad never comes and is a non-member. We talked to him before and he told us to come by on saturday for service. We showed up for service and are helping him restore a special edition '64 mustang! He knows literally everything about cars. He's a professional mechanic and has been working with cars since he was a little kid. He also knows a lot about how to make cars fast. He used to race cars and told us he's had over 250 tickets in his lifetime. He also joked about how he's trying to convince his wife and daughter to put nitrous in the car "just in case". I guess they're against it though because the car is going to be for his daughter when she turns 16.

Another cool experience we had was at dinner one night. We were eating with one of the single mothers in our ward and her family and she told us that he oldest daughter hadn't been baptized yet and wanted to take the lessons! So we talked to her and she said she wanted to start meeting with us every week so she can get baptized! I'll let ya know how that goes.

But overall a great week where the Lord truly blessed us.

Love you!

-Elder Merrill

Week 81 - Through Much Prayer and Fasting

Aloooha y'all!

Another great week has come and gone here in Kona. Last week was our first week of covering two wards. There was some shuffling of missionaries with this past transfer, and after all was said and done we found out we were covering two wards. It's been crazy trying to get everyone sorted out and find out who everyone is, but no complaints about having more work!

We also had a cool experience. We had just got out of an appointment and had about 30 minutes until our dinner. We were about to get into our car when this guy came and talked to us. He asked us to take a walk with him and we were both convinced he was going to bash with us. But instead he told us his life story of how he came to believe in God, which was a really cool experience. He told us a story of how he was going through a divorce, so he was on the way to the dealership to sell his car. He stopped at a gas station to fill up with gas and a homeless man walked up to him and asked for money. He gave him some change, but later realized that was the money he needed to pay for gas. He had no money left and didn't know what to do, so he prayed. Right after he said amen, a strange old man that he'd never met before walked up to him and told him he was sent from God and handed him a check with his name on it for $20. Then he went to the dealership and somehow sold his car and drove off with a nicer car having no money and terrible credit. On his way home the dealership called him and told him he'd overpayed $200 for his car and to come back and get a check for the money. He had a really strong testimony of prayer. I found it inspiring the level of faith he had. Basically just complete reliance and full trust in God.

Then we had a lesson with the Welle family. Up until now we were unsure if Leah, the 12 year old girl, was going to be baptized. She really wanted to, but was baptized in Catholic church when she was a baby so her mom didn't see why she needed to be baptized twice. We fasted for her mom's heart to be softened this past sunday and when we went to our lesson with them last night the mom had no problem with all 3 of her kids being baptized this coming week! Prayer and fasting works!

We had a great training in a meeting yesterday. We were trained on sacrifice, specifically the things we sacrifice to become better servants of the Lord. They shared a quote that talked about how the only thing you can sacrifice to God that's truly yours is your will. Everything else is just things he's given or loaned to you. The thought hit me that God really doesn't care about material possessions. He doesn't need money, land, or whatever else it might be. As is shown in the case of the widow's mite, he obviously doesn't care about the volume of material things we give, but rather the amount of sacrifice we are willing to personally commit ourselves to.

Well I sure love you guys and hope you have a fantastic week!

Love,

Elder Merrill

Week 80 - It's Laining

Hahahaloha,

This week we had the opportunity to go up and teach my recent convert from Honoka'a, Haunani. She started crying when she saw me and in my mind I was like "this is supposed to be a happy time". She's doing pretty well. She told us that she comes to church most weeks, whenever she can get a ride, and has read through the bible and Book of Mormon almost twice in the past year. She loves the gospel and told us about how she shares her beliefs to all of her friends! We committed her to prepare to go to the temple. Unfortunately she has some things to work through right now before she can get there, but she promised me that she'd do everything she can to get there!

We also had a flood (or as some of the fob asian missionaries say, floord) of one of the areas in our district. Basically everyone in our district went to this one ward area and just tracted to help find new investigators. I was with one of the missionaries in my zone who's still being trained. We found 3 people that seemed pretty interested in just an hour of knocking doors! So I guess you could say in our floord we made it lain! Awesome considering knocking doors in Hawaii usually has a pretty crappy turn out. I guess the Lord blesses us for our sacrifices. Our mission mom gave us a quote from President Hinckley that talked about what seems to be a sacrifice now, will indeed prove to be the greatest investment.

We also found these two new kids to teach. We were trying to see one of our recent converts, but they weren't home. So we talked to these kids who lived next door to them that were playing outside. One of them is 15 and the other is 10. We taught them about faith and they seemed decently interested. Their step mom is actually a less-active member that we've been trying to visit.

Also the Welle family came to church again this past week, and they brought one of their cousins who's also a non-member. They're looking solid for their baptismal date and hopefully we'll be able to teach their cousin as well.

Hope you all have a happy and blessed week! Sure love you guys!

-Elder Merrill

Week 79 - Birth for dayzzz

Aroha friends and fam!

We had a fan freaking tastic week here in Big Island. Definitely one of the best weeks on my mission as far as work goes. We taught an all-time high of lessons since I've been in Kona and set a whole family to a baptismal date! The family we set was the Chuukese family I talked about last week, the Welle family. We taught them the restoration and then committed the kids and the mom to a baptismal date and they accepted! Then all the kids showed up to church yesterday. The mom wouldn't come though, so we'll keep working with her and hopefully the Lord will soften her heart to baptism. The grandma told us that it was a huge step that she was letting her kids be baptized. We're excited for their date of March 8th and will continue to pray for all of them.

We also had a lesson with these former investigators in our area, their names are John and Jamboree. They're about our age and have two kids, which always trips us out b/c that could be us without the gospel. They're kind of stoners, but we try to catch them in the morning when they first wake up so they're in a state of mind to hear the gospel :) John seems to be pretty into the lessons and I think the spirit works on him when he listens to what we have to share. Jamboree on the other hand likes the lessons, but is kind of opposed to being baptized or coming to church. We enjoy teaching them though, really anyone that will hear our message.

I had probably one of the best birthdays of my life. Just another day of missionary work devoted to serving others. We saw several people, including a recent convert named Kekai. He's a 12 year old kid so we stopped by to teach him a lesson and invite him to church/scouts because he hasn't been in a while. He liked the lesson, but his dad who is a non-member sat in on the lesson and kind of discouraged him from coming to church. He likes the church, but thinks it's more important to study and spend time with his dad, than for him to go to church on sundays. At the end of the day we went to one of the senior couples' house and all the missionaries in the south district had a surprise birthday party for me. Pizza, cake, presents, the whole 9 yards. I'm so blessed to be where I am and with the missionaries I'm serving around. Thank you guys for all the birthday wishes and love!

Take care and aloha!

-Elder Merrill

Week 78 - Sticks and Stones

What's up good friends and family?!

This week we had a killer week with finding new investigators, especially through member effort! We taught a great lesson with Naahun, the guy from Honduras. We brought a member with us who served his mission in Panama, so he was able to teach in Spanish which really helped Naahun's understanding. He still wants to be baptized and believes that God placed us in his path to help him get there. He works some sundays which is really the only problem we have with him.

The same member that helped us teach also gave us a referral to a family. Our member is the vice principal for the local elementary school and I guess he got a complaint that a girl was hitting kids with a stick on the bus, so he went over to talk to the mom. He said he talked to them and they said he could stop by with us. Talk about standing as a witness of Christ at all times. They're a Chuukese family. The grandma is a member and just moved from Magna, UT to here to stay with her daughter and grand children. Her daughter and her three children aren't members and our member that came with us committed them to take the missionary lessons and they showed up to church yesterday!

We also contacted this referral of a less-active member living with his girlfriend and their newborn son. They were super cool and really receptive. We taught them about eternal families and it really seemed to hit home with their new son sitting right there. They said we could come back and continue to see them on a weekly basis!

We've also been working with this guy named Gordon. His wife is a member and has been for her entire life. He comes to church almost every week with her and loves it. He prepares for the gospel doctrine lessons, had stake conference marked on his calendar for the past couple of months, told us he's trying to do a better job in finding us people to teach, is already looking forward to general conference, and even has a favorite general authority (President Uchtdorf). The only problem is he's suuuper Catholic. He loves our church, but is pretty set in his ways as a Catholic. We asked him if he's ever prayed about our church, and he said that would be hypocritical, because he already knows the Catholic church is the true church. I'm hoping his heart is softening right now because of their daughter's health situation. She has terminal cancer and has recently returned to Hawaii from the hospital. Gordon and his wife told us it's really just a matter of time until she passes and they're just waiting for the call which could come any day now. I really feel for them because you can tell how much it's paining them. They both had priesthood blessings to be able to bear up their burdens and seem to be dealing with it pretty well. 

We've got a lot of people we're working with, but not very many close to baptism, so that's our focus right now. I'm loving this ward and especially how helpful the members are with missionary work. We have some good things going and are looking forward to even better things to come!

Love,

Elder Merrill