Ho'omanauanui!

Well this week was kinda rough but I’m excited for this coming week. It’ll be much better! This week we had car issues. The place didn’t finish it that day so we stayed with other missionaries by there and they didn’t finish it till the end of the next day. Then Elder Siaosi got invited to the Missionary Leadership Training which was so awesome. I loved it and learned so much but it took a day and a half, and with some other stuff we just didn’t spend much time doing missionary work this week. But it’s all good. This next week will be better! 

Friday was a good day! Elder Pugh and I were on exchanges so we were together! Your Idaho boys putting in work here in Hawaii! Anyways, we had miracle after miracle after miracle but I just want tell you about one for now. We had been all day and had so much success and 8:45pm comes and Elder Pugh and I look at each other and both felt strongly there was one more person. So we said a prayer and felt inspired to go to these apartments we had already been to twice before. So we went there and it was blacked out, no lights on nothing. So we start walking through the parking lot and we see this person come down the far staircase and we headed that way and say aloha to him and then keep going because we noticed this apartment had their lights on and door opened so we went up there and knocked. This Man comes to the door and I put forward my hand to shake his hand and say "Aloha I’m Elder Por" then he cut me off and pulled me in saying "come in come in come in" he was a member, his wife and kid was not. He had not been to church since he was 10 years old. We taught the restoration and the Wife and Son committed to baptism and the father committed to come to church with his family, have family prayers and scripture studies. Such a cool experience Elder Pugh and I had together. So glad we were lead to that house to teach that one more lesson. 

Ho'omanauanui, this week was difficult and had many things happen to stop the work for a bit here in Kohala and it was really frustrating. But I learned this word really well and continue to learn it more and more every day. Alma 29:3-4 (read this) I’m learning to appreciate and work with whatever the Lord has allotted for me. I know we have what we have for a reason and we can do great things for it! This week I was so frustrated about the lack of time and everything that was happening but then I remembered this scripture and told myself it’s all okay. I know that each and every day we have something to learn, grow, and share with others, no matter how held back you feel you can always help push forward the lords work. I am working on aligning my desires with the Lords desires and that’s my invitation to you all this week. 

What are the Lords desires for you? and be Ho'omanauanui about it. Ho'omanauanui is Hawaiian for patience. Be patience with yourself as you seek to know Gods plan for you each and every day. Love you all so much and wish you the best of luck! 

Elder Porter

Honolulu, Hawaii 

Scouts just like at home. :) So much fun.

Roaches!! GROSS! Filled 6 traps just from in the car!

 Heading to zone conference

 

Elder Pugh and I at a service where we course guides for the schools fun run. It was so hot.

Put your game face on

Make your game face be a smile. Rejoice because it is great to know of the gospel, the "good news."

Well the past two weeks have been busy and crazy on P day. So hopefully I can get some stuff typed this week and maybe even fill in more on the past couple weeks! So Kohala, my area, has 0 stop lights, wild cows, pigs, chickens, and goats. When you hear people talk about "Aloha Spirit" it’s pretty much Kohala! It is always windy here and usually 75 in the mornings and nights and 83 during the day. It has the prettiest night skies I have ever seen! So clear and stars are so bright!

Man I have never worked so hard or been so tired in my life than on my mission. From 6:30am-10:30pm its go, go, go. I have actually learned to enjoy reading! Yes mom, I can read now! The days go by soo quick! Dinners here are like a Thanksgiving dinner back home.  I’m not sure how Thanksgiving is here but it will be an adventure for sure!! I have eaten so many things so far! I should be eating dog and horse soon so we will see how that is. Haha. I have been eating fruits and vegetables here I didn't even know existed.. Some are way good and others are like eating leaves off the tree so it’s always fun it reminds me of that jelly bean game.. Like is this the good one or the gross one!

This week we made a ton of progress with our investigators as well as less actives! It is so neat watching people feel of the spirit and start to change their lives because of it! Kamaua Yamamoto is a priest in my ward that put his mission papers in a week ago! He is a stud! So he comes with us a lot and man it’s so cool hearing his testimony too! It also helps that he is related to half the island and knows the other half Haha! So yeah when you’re born in Kohala you don’t date in Kohala cuz you’re related to everyone somehow! We will ask someone about someone and they will be like "oh yeah, that’s Auntie Udelles cousins daughter in laws kid" I just smile and reply "oh okay." So if you ever need to know anything about anyone just ask and they can tell you!

I cracked my first coconut drank it and ate it all by myself this week! I also cut down this jungle with a machete for service. I even have this lady praying for me and my comp because "we are being deceived by the devil" all we did to her was said hi and asked how her day was. So out of everyone I have talked to here, there has only been one person who was less than nice! One person? I’ll take that! Kohala is awesome! 

I was trying to take a picture with one of those wild goats I was talking about for Brianna because she’s a dork and likes goats. I got so close and touched it but it was camera shy! Bummer! So I chased a cow down instead but it wouldn’t stay long enough for a picture... hopefully we have better luck this next week!!

WORST PART OF THE WEEK I HAD TO GET MY FIRST HAIR CUT..... NEEDLESS TO SAY I MISS MY AUNT CALLIE...... 

I’m so grateful to know of the "good new." This week has been a huge testimony builder to me on how as we frequently make good decisions and follow the spirit it changes your nature. God doesn't just want us to act faithful and honest. He wants us to be faithful and honest and how we do that is by changing our nature not our behavior. Ponder that this week. How do you change your Nature? And then act. Change your nature. We all have room to grow and progress so do it! Love and miss you all!!

Elder Porter

Honolulu, Hawaii 

 Chasing the goat.

My first coconut

 Copping down the jungle

 Elder Pugh's selfie

 Don't worry mom. Im not losing weight anymore.

 Yes mom I make my bed

 Best icecream ever

 NO THANKS

"HOWS IT"... 'CHERRY BRAHH"

Hey everyone! How’s everything at home!? This week was another amazing week here in Kohala! I am more impressed each and every day with the members and how the Lord truly directs the work in the mission! We have been meeting with John an investigator and he’s been like shutting everything out and it’s been hard. But, Thursday we met with him and the wall that was between him and the church totally got knocked down. He opened up so much and told us everything and with his past experiences with missionaries and why he had a wall up. He broke down as we taught and truly felt the spirit for the first time in a very long time. The lesson went amazing and we were able to actually see what he understood and what he was lacking. By the end of the Restoration lesson he was so eager to get baptized that he asked "can we just do it now?" LOL it was awesome. He’s such a good guy. It was the second coolest thing ever! The only thing better I have seen since being here was when he walked into the chapel on Sunday and went and sat in the very front row! Not just him but his inactive parents, girlfriend, nephew, niece, and brother. It was truly amazing! Best part of my mission this far! Man it was such a good day when that happened!! 

We went tracting for a while on Saturday I believe and we were getting rejected over and over and over and our last house was this 15 year old boy named Joe and he asked to hear all the lessons and know more. He asked this before we even said anything about church or anything!! He’s a stud I’m excited to work with him. We taught the restoration!! He looks forward to baptism. I don’t know much about him cuz we only met him once so there will be more about him in weeks to come I’m sure! But the Lord truly does prepare people for the gospel!

I had raw fish (poke) oh man that was gross stuff... not looking forward to eating it again... but I got it all down so that was good. Before dinners they always ask us what we want and being here for 2 weeks now I’m not even sure the options so we just say surprise us but it always makes you think... what am I actually going to have.. Tonight is with a Filipino family. So first time with that we will see how it goes! 

The houses here are really weird. They are so small, but like it’s just open garage, like no garage doors so people can just go take anything. It’s sooo different! THERE IS NO AIR CONDITIONING! There are bugs all over in the houses and no one cares!! Man I kinda miss my bug free house back home, but this is how it is for a while. Haha. Speaking of this my pad I stay at hasn’t had missionaries there in 6 weeks so when we got there it was disgusting! Bugs everywhere spiders and webs strung through the entire place. It was the grossest house I had been in but it’s getting better and getting cleaner! 

A topic of study this week has been families. Growing up I kinda thought every family was like mine. Now I’m finding out that I have the best family ever! Not to bash on anyone else but mine is the best. Since being here I have seen so many broken families, kids disrespecting parents, parents disrespecting kids. So I started to ask myself "How did I get blessed with such a great family" and let me tell you the reason is because one thing that has been hanging on the wall at home as long as I can remember. The Family Proclamation to the World. Everyone read this!! Live by these principles. They are what create a foundation for a great relationship. I know most of us think "our family is the best" but every family has work to do. As a family I would challenge you to read this, set goals, and grow your relationship with your family and in your home. Many prophets have said the home is the most sacred place outside the temple. So think about this... Are our homes sacred, can you feel God’s presence, are they over run with worldly things that distract or even hinder our families relationship? 

The hardest part of a mission I have found in these 2 weeks has been getting rejected. Now it’s not the physically getting rejected part, I can deal with that and in all reality I don't care. But it’s knowing the joys I get from the gospel, it’s knowing the blessing received, the opportunities we have to do more than we could ever imagine and them turning it away like it’s something so bad. I understand it. I do looking at where they come from and how they possibly view religion. Being on the other side it’s hard knowing what they are missing out on. However, on the other side of rejection is exception, and that's the beautiful part of a mission. It’s watching and seeing people completely change their lives. They turn back from addictions, drugs, gangs, etc. and totally take faithful steps towards Christ. It is only through our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we can even try yet be successful at changing.


Elder Porter
Honolulu, Hawaii