January 5, 2015

BULAVUNAKA FAMILY!

I'm pretty sure that mean "hi, how are you?" in Fijian. How is it going in AZ? I heard ya'll got some snow! How was your new years? Ours was awesome! On new years eve we had a mission leadership council meeting and it was great. Elder Daley and I instructed on "how to begin teaching" in PMG. I talked about the importance of first impressions and to illlustrate my point I used the example from Dwight in the office where he said that when he first met Pam she said something that slightly offended him, now ever since then she has been great to work with and very kind, but he hates her. Its amazing the gospel principles you can find in that show!

Anyways when the new year came and the clock struck midnight we definitely knew about. Guns were going off like crazy in our apartment complex. Our neighbors on both sides and everyone around was just shooting up in the air. Gotta love the ghetto!

So for the last couple of weeks Elder Daley and I have been in our area for only 2 days, so our teaching pool was looking more like a puddle. So since we had this week to be in our area we hit the skreets and promised the Lord we would talk to everyone we saw. We were so blessed this week to find people that are really humble and seem ready to progress in the gospel. I am excited to really start teaching them. We have an investigator named Ocie who has been coming to church the last 4 weeks and has a date for the 24th of this months. Also Mark Green our recent convert went out teaching with us this last week. And one of the most rewarding experiences of a mission is watching your recent converts teach the Gospel. We taught a girl and he was pretty much throwing down with her the whole time about how she needs to get baptized by proper authority and how much the book of Mormon will bless her. It was awesome! At the end of the lesson to he taught her how to pray and invited her to pray! Its just crazy because a couple of months ago he was being taught those things. It was a great thing to witness!

Family I am grateful for all that yall do for me! Things are going great out here!

December 22, 2014

Hey Family!

How is  going "holiday hoobie whatee" going? 

My yuletide has been both merry and bright this last week. The week has gone by really fast! It has been filled with meetings, exchanges, emergency transfers, and all sorts of holiday cheer! So ya mom you heard right about the sisters time out meeting. Sister Wakolo organized that meeting for all the sisters to come and pretty much have a spa day. The first hour or so though was for gospel instruction and he asked Elder Daley and I to come speak about virtue to them. It was really awkward being the only elders there so luckily we got to leave early at both of those meetings.

We also had our christmas zone conferences on both sides of the mish! Elder Daley and I instructed on talking to everyone and teaching restored truths on the first contact. In part of it I taught my salsa acronym and I also managed to work in my favorite John wayne quote "courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyways," speaking about how we shouldn't let fear keep us from talking to the people that are put in our paths. The second half of the zone conference was a talent showand it was pretty crazy! Lets just say at one point in the show I was on the mission presidents shoulder impersonating a partridge in a pear tree. ...but enough said about that,

Christmas is going to be awesome! We got breakfast lunch and dinner lined up with members so we are getting taken care of! Thanks family for the package you sent me!!! It was just what I needed! Also thanks to the Stinson family and all the cards that were sent! I am excited to skype with yall on thursday! 

 

Lots of freinds going home

Hey family!!

I'm writing a little bit early today because I have to go to memphis in an hour to pick up the departing missionaries from over there and bring them back to the mission home in Little rock. We have a huge group leaving this week! Its weird because we are sending home 2 of the companions I have served with- Elder Tate, and Elder Armstrong! There is also a lot of my other good mission buddies in this group so its going to be crazy! We had a pretty awesome week this last week!

It started off on Tuesday when that morning we had a feeling we should go check up on things at the mission office, which was weird because nothing puts a burr under my saddle like going to office but for some reason we felt like we should so we went up there. When we got there everything was running fine and there was nothing for us to do so we decided we were going to leave when a lady walked in the building to get a tithing slip and she asked if we could give her a blessing. That blessing was an amazing experience and one that I needed.

The next day we drove to memphis and went to a zone meeting there and we went on exchanges. I stayed in memphis with Elder Hanover from Logan Utah. He is a good missionary. We had a goal of setting a baptismal date on that exchange and nothing was happening for us that whole day. Everything fell through and it was kinda frustrating. The next morning though we had a couple of hours of proselyting time before we exchanged back so petitioned a miracle from heaven and went out to contact a refferal. The guy we were supposed to contact was not there but his roommate let us in and we taught the restoration to him! The spirit was really strong in that lesson and he excepted a baptismal date for January 3rd! That might not sounds crazy to you but miracles like that are what

make every stress and struggle of a mission worth it! 

This week we got the Christmas zone conferences which should be pretty awesome! Things are going so great here. Mom I will forever be in debt for your great example to me! I am so grateful for all that you did for me before my mission to help me prepare to serve! I love ya!  

 



The Power of Prayer

I cant believe Kylie is 20!! That is crazy! That poem was so awesome. I printed it out and read it to the office couples.

I already told you most of what happened this last week through my last email. Not much has changed since then but we have been seeing some miracles here in the ghetto paradise of southwest little rock!

First off, Mark is preparing to get the Aaronic priesthood next week! He is fired up about the gospel and its really cool to see. Also yesterday Elder Daley and I fasted to find someone that was ready to accept the message of the restoration. Yesterday evening we were in an apartment complex talking to a couple people when a woman walked up and interrupted us and said "Hey are yall Jesus people?" and we told her we were, and then she asked us if God and Jesus were the same person. Now usually in the south when people ask you that it means they want to bash and so we had our scriptures at the hip ready for a quick draw just in case this became a doctrinal shoot out. But as it turned out she was sincerely wanting to know because 2 different preachers were telling her 2 different things. So we taught her a little bit about the Godhead and then she asked if we could come talk to her and her sister and so we did and shared the message of the restoration and were able to set baptismal dates with both of them. It was awesome to see how they just sincerely wanted to know the truth. One thing I have always taken for granted or never taken seriously before my mission is the power of prayer. God hears the prayers of his children. I know that without a doubt! Anyone can have a sense of security and peace even in the hardest times of their lives if they are constantly praying and seeking out the Lords comfort. I'm grateful that I can be hundreds of miles away from my mom and know she will alright through the power of prayer. I love you mom! Thanks for all that you do for your children!

 



92 baptisms!

Hey Fam!

Sorry I didn't write on monday, its transfer week so it gets super busy. This last week was pretty packed with meetings and and long drives and all that stuff! So I have some great news! Remember when I told you about the goal we had in November of 100 baptisms and 100 reactivations? Well we ended the month with 92 baptisms and 234 reactivations! We didn't reach our goal for baptisms but we got 92! Thats a new mission record! The most we ever got in a month before that is 73. Its pretty exciting stuff. 

Tuesday morning we dropped all 21 departing missionaries off at the airport. It was weird because it was all the sisters that came out with me. Everytime we drop off missionaries at the airport it makes me appreciate the time I have left on my mission even more. The best part about transfer week is picking up the new missionaries though! We got an awesome group that just come out! They got the greenie fire in them like no other! The mission is doing great.

We had a few thanksgiving meals with members this last week and it was awesome! The Burrups in the Little Rock ward fed us and instead of dropping the pie this time I decided to eat it. 

I have realized, especially this last week how easy it is to be ungrateful or to take things for granted. I think sometimes all we can see with our natural eyes is all the things we don't have, or haven't gotten yet, or have lost. Something that I am terrible at is recognizing Gods hand in my life and being more grateful for it. When I make the effort to look at my life through spiritual eyes its a really humbling experience because its makes me realize how many tender mercies are in my life that I would be in a lot of trouble without. The longer I have been out on my mission the more I have realized the importance of a mother. Mom I am so grateful for all that you have done for me. I know I say that all the time but I know that I will never be able to repay you for all that you have done for me. And even if I tried too you would take the money and try to buy me something with it. I am just grateful for your selflessness and your faith. I love you mom! Have a good week!



Hey Mom and Dad!

 

So It has been a week for the ages here in the ALRM. Things are going really well! This last week has been really busy because we had the specialized training meetings in each of the zones. Elder Daley and I taught about the importance of the Book of Mormon and how we can more effectively get our investigators to read it on our own. As far as I can recollect, I have never been dropped by an investigator that was reading the Book of Mormon sincerely. Like PMG says its the springboard to testimony and personal revelation. We have an investigator family right now who  has been reading everyday and you can easily see the difference it makes in their family relationships! That family came to church last Sunday and they are on date for the 6th of December.

The reason I wrote so late today is because we took all the departing missionaries to the temple a week early since it was going to be closed on transfers. All the sisters that came out with me are going home which is pretty insane. Things are going great here! I love putting on the tag everyday and dread the day when I don't get to anymore. 

I hate to hear that Mom has to go through all of that. I don't think there is a lot of people that could with that kind of attitude. I am so grateful for her example. I am grateful to be able to say like the sons of Helaman that I do not doubt my mother knows it. I am grateful for the testimony she shares by her example. I hope y'all know you are in my prayers and I am really grateful for the package you sent! Kate thanks for writing me a letter. I will write you back soon. 

Elder Udall

lots of success!

Whats up Dad,

Sounds like Ryan hasn't changed much. He still has too much pain tolerance and not enough sense! That's pretty sweet what he did in the game though. That's funny that Kate gets into volleyball like that! She is a miniature Kylie. 

Things are going so good over here. Miracles have been happening all over this mission! Its great to see. Yesterday Elder Daley and I baptized Mark Green. He is awesome! We had been working with him for a while and he has come a long way. He had his family at the baptism so now we are working on them. We have been pretty blessed to find some honest and sincere people these last couple of weeks. We taught a couple just last night who were completely ready to accept the message of the restoration. One of the most important things to do as a missionary is answer peoples "question of the soul" through the Book of Mormon to help them gain a testimony of it and in that lesson we had that opportunity a few times!

This week is going to be crazy busy because we have specialized trainings in each zone, which means a lot of driving and public speaking and neither are really my cup of tea. But I'm pretty excited for this one because we are going to be focusing on The Book of Mormon and how we can use it more effectively. It should be a whale of a time!

I am really grateful for all that yall do for me. I am especially grateful to be born of goodly parents! On a mission you get the chance to do a lot of observing so you can see what makes a successful family. The formula is proven time after time! When families are focusing their lives on the Gospel they are happy even when the rains come down and the floods come up. In fact its through the rains and the floods that spiritual strength is obtained. One of my favorite quotes is from President Monson "Our purpose is to become more spiritually refined as we make our way through sunshine and shadow." The family is the unit that makes that all possible and enjoyable. Thanks for all your support!

Mom

I bet you can pull of having no hair way better than dad can! ha ha Mom I seriously love you and am so grateful for you though.