Happy Halloween from my wagon to yours :)

Well Aloha my Family and Friends, How are you all doing this week? This week for Elder Siaosi and I has been crazy busy! Lots of service, lots of lessons, and lots of new people we were able to meet! It was such a fun week!

Service: This week we went with Uncle Bert to the Lo'I which is wet land taro. (Taro is the crop they use to make poi and the leaf is used to wrap loulou.) So we went and helped clean out the streams connecting the bodies, harvested taro, and then replanted. It was such a cool and fun experience! They were telling me how everything is still done old Hawaiian style at that one we worked. It was fun to learn about how it all works and flows together! Although Taro was fun to work with, it isn’t my favorite thing to eat haha! We also Helped Uncle Bert at a local farm moving some pigs from pen to pen. It was a full week of getting dirty but it was fun and meaning full service that helps out the community in Kohala. That was my favorite part is it was all local and all ran and operated by people we know!

Trunk or Treat: So Trunk or Treat is a BIG thing here and hundreds of people come! Elder Siaosi and I wanted to go around and talk with everyone so I jokingly though out the suggestion to decorate a wagon.. Needless to say we decorated a wagon I sat in it with a bucket of candy and he drug me around the entire night while I gave out candy hahah.. I definitely got a good companion! lol. It was awesome everyone loved it and enjoyed the night! All the games before and chili cook off was way fun too! It was awesome to see all the kids running around playing and getting candy! (pictures to come when we get them from the members) 

Sausage Making: We had a ward event this week making sausage and most people just dropped off the pork butt and couldn't stay. So there was only like 8 of us there working with it but we made 200 lbs of smoked sausage. It was way cool, we didn't stay the whole time because we had lessons but for the time we were there is was crazy how much meat they made! The best part was that day Uncle Bert Received a package from my parents with some elk steaks in them. So everyone there got a lil taste from Idaho! It was absolutely delicious! 

This week I was reminded of a wonderful truth. That no matter where we are at in our stage of life. No matter how religious you are or how far away you are... each one of us are followers of Christ. Each one of us made a decision and commitment to follow Christ and his plan. Each one of us chose the Plan of Happiness and to come to this earth to learn, grow, and do all we can to be led back to Christ according to our mortal choices every day. No matter how far away we think we are, our family is, or our friend has gone. Each one of us is a follower of Christ. Each one of us fought for and declared our testimonies of Christ. It is our responsibility "when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." Through the power of the Holy Ghost we unlock, reveal, and recognize the things we learned in the Pre-mortal life. When we are converted we "strengthen our brethren" through service, through love and charity, through simple and powerful testimony, we strengthen them by setting a good example to help not hinder (Alma 4:10). What can you do this week to help others remember their commitment they made long ago, even before they came to this earth?

Family and Friends, I love you and I wish you all the best. I want you all to know I know this Gospel is true. If it wasn't for my personal witness and testimony I received I would not have come on a mission. If it was not for the Holy Ghost testifying to me the truth and divinity of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I would not be here in Hawaii today. I am most grateful for my testimony, for the answer I got from my diligent prayers and scripture study. I am so blessed to be here and witness to all that Jesus is the Christ. He Loves and knows us perfectly, He loves us so much he died for us to give us an opportunity to repent and follow him. I know that opportunity is always there, but he won’t force it upon us. We must choose it again, as we did before this life. I know we all have our struggles, let us overcome them by helping others and serving them. The Book of Mormon holds the truth of all things, you can hold it in your hands, you can receive a witness for yourself even a 3rd or 5th witness from the Holy Ghost. I encourage each one of you member or nonmember, active or less active. Read the Book of Mormon. It will strengthen you when you’re down, it will boost you when you’re doing well, and it will NEVER pull you down or digress you in any way. There is no flaw or error in reading the Book of Mormon. It is another Testament of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lives. He desires you to strengthen yourself and help your brethren. I love each one of you and pray for you often.

Have an excellent week, have a Happy Halloween! I’m going to stay away from candy because Hawaii has me at a +12 on the scale already... Hahah Love you all!

Elder Porter

Honolulu, Hawaii

Uncle Bert and I and the elk stakes...  and that is 100 lbs of pork we made sausage.. that is one of two pans we did.. so we made 200lbs of smoked sausage! 

 

 This is part of the hike. We drove way back on these trails, walked across the flume crossing by the water falls, to this other trail hiked a bit. Then down this hidden stairs looking things and it opens up into this gorgeous open Lo'i farm. It was awesome. These pics show a bit of it!

 Uncle Bert has a legit bomb shelter dug out by hand from his father in law.. it is absolutely awesome! Below his house, down 3 flights of stairs and opens up into a two room shelter with a toilet and everything!!!

 

 

 

 

 This is a Lo'i farm (wet land Taro). Taro is what poi is made of. We got to work on the farm for a day and harvest and replant it. We learned a lot about it all. This one still uses old Hawaiian traditional farming so it is natural fed by a stream and nothing is modernized about it. It is so cool and hidden in the mountain. I though we were hiking to a marijuana plantation or something it was so hidden lol. 

 

 

 

First trip to the Doc in Hawaii. I had a small run in with fire ants. Doing better now. 

 

"What just happened, that wasn't her!"

Aloha nui loa everyone! 

This week we had Pday on a Tuesday because this was our temple week! It was so awesome to go to the Kona temple this morning! It is so beautiful and the spirit was so strong! Such a cool experience because there was a couple workers from our ward we were able to see!

Mom this is for you, all those times you would tell me to clean my room and pick up my stuff. All those times you asked (semi-forced) me to do the dishes and laundry. All those times Kassie and I would clean all the baseboards and chair rails. All those times asking if I really have to mop or vacuum again. The times you would make us wash the walls. The times we had to clean upstairs and take out the trash. All those things you taught me how to do... ya Elder Siaosi and I won the cleanest pad award for our Zone. So yes mom you were right, I was going to need to know how to do it all someday and it did pay off. 

Food:

 -I had sour poi for the first time last Monday for dinner... first bite was okay, second bite was not the best... and it went downhill from there... Let’s just say... I am not a fan of poi.

-I also had the opportunity to eat these dried fruit thingies and I love dried fruit so I was excited and then I ate it... it was like they soaked it in salt... it was awful!!! They kept giving me more and more... needless to say I just "saved them for later".  As soon as I got out of sight of their house they made their way into the bushes.

-I found this new fruit I have never seen nor heard of before. It’s called star fruit (when you cut it looks like a star).  It was weird. It didn’t really have a flavor but strangely addicting kinda. like we ate a lot. Haha.

So yeah. Great time trying new things this week!

So we were going to visit one of our investigators, Caleb. The visit was good but then he set us up for failure. We met this girl at CSC (where all the old people watch free tv). Her name is Lolita and she said she lives by Caleb's house. So we asked him where Lolita stays and he said 2 doors down with the big banyan tree. So we walked over there and knocked. This is just as the sun was going down but still bright enough to see everything. So we knock and this older lady comes out (looks like Lolita kinda but definitely wasn't her) and we asked if her name was Lolita, she responded "yes that’s me." Not knowing how to respond because that’s not her I said "Were the missionaries that met you at CSC." she said "yes I remember" now we were really confused. She said she was busy and to come back another time so we left... and we were sooo lost. She said her name was Lolita and she remembers meeting us at CSC.. but that was not who we met.. so we went back to Caleb and told him what happened. He was rolling and laughing so hard. He said I forgot to tell you, there are 2 Lolita’s at the CSC. One lives right next door! So we went there and that was the right Lolita! We were glad that we didn’t just remember a wrong face or something! We were so confused! But thanks to Caleb we got led astray then brought back. Haha! Needless to say there are 2 Lolita's who look similar and live right next to one another!

One of the miracles this week: I ate more potatoes than rice!

I learned this week that a baby’s first birthday here is a huge thing! There was this party for this 1 year old girl named Faith. This party was massive!!! Anyways I was confused because it’s not like she’s going to remember it anyways… so wouldn’t a normal party due? I found out in Hawaiian history it was a miracle for a baby to make it their first year alive so that’s why they are celebrated so much. It was cool, it was our investigators baby the party was for so we went for a few mins and mingled with all the family and had some awesome discussions! It was super cool. That day of the party we had 3 dinners.. I thought I was going to die....

This week didn’t have a lot happen but these were some things that came to mind! Although there were no major stories or events happen, it is always good out here. Even when times are hard, trials come, and you get down. There is still nothing better than serving our Heavenly Father. Seeing the Atonement take affect even though sometimes it may feel slow, it truly happens. One of our less actives we have been working with has been inactive for a while now however he has been to church the last 6 weeks or so and he got a calling this last Sunday. It is wonderful to see him active again. So that was the best part of the week!

Elder Siaosi and I had the opportunity to give talks this last week. My Title was "Come Rejoice" and his was "Count Your Blessings." It was good to study Come Rejoice as I prepared to speak. I was asked to direct it to Missionary work as it was a farewell for Justine a girl in our ward going to Temple Square. I know that as we come to Christ and follow his example in all things we can rejoice. I know that the joy we receive from the gospel is way beyond anything else we can find "joy" in. There is a difference between temporal happiness and eternal Joy. What can you do in your life to feel of that eternal joy? What brings you temporal happiness but is holding you back from joy? I love you all; I know this church is true. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ Loves us and knows us perfectly. 

Have a wonderful week: Look upward, press onward, believe, and stay true. I love you All!

Elder Porter

Honolulu, Hawaii

 ​Uncle Danny's house.. this is how lots of living rooms are.. out sides in what we call a garage! ​

                            Happy Birthday Elder Sioasi.

 Elder Pugh made the cake and frosted it with his hands??

 

Hi Mom :)

                                             

Weight gain: 5 LBS

Well ALOHA my friends and family! How is everyone doing? Can I just say, it is good to be alive. This week was so awesome. More than just the missionary work and fact I'm "stuck" in Hawaii for 2 years. This week I tried my best to count my blessings and at the end of the day pray and thank Heavenly Father for all I could recall... and man our floor is hard but I'm glad I thought to put my slippahs down on the ground because he does so much for us each and every day. Those were the longest prayers of my life! But what an experience it was! I have a testimony that when we ask and follow the spirit in ALL things we do we can be "led by the spirit" even as Nephi. 

Coming out on a mission I wasn’t sure what to expect or how I was going to feel. I kinda imagined it as overwhelmed with the spirit every moment of every day. These past couple months I have found that is not the case. I kinda found myself questioning myself "am I doing something wrong?" and this has kinda been on mind and in my prayers. This past week those prayers were answered. The spirit is not always going to come the same way over and over and over. The spirit is presented into our lives in many many ways. I realized I have been feeling the spirit tons every day but I wasn’t recognizing it. I was questioning myself and sometime and some occasions letting those questions hinder and detract from the spirit. I have realized that Satan uses each and every one us in temptation before. I feel like the big things are easy… not swimming, staying off sand, the big stuff is easy. But the little stuff is where he starts. Questioning yourself “do I measure up?" "Am I good enough to be out here?" These questions are okay as long as you can remove them right away. I have learned that letting these things weigh you down is just a lack of faith. I am learning that "vitreous thought unceasingly" is more than just clean thoughts and not thinking of naughty stuff, but faithful thoughts in all things we do. 

Yesterday we had a wonderful sacrament meeting, many of our investigators came, many of the less active we have been working with came, many visitors came, and the speakers were terrific. One talk stood out to me and I feel impressed to echo it with my testimony. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real. We must not feel bad for Christ taking our sins and pains upon Himself. It’s already done and over. We must show our appreciation to him and use the atonement and repent of all our sins. When we fully repent we are forgiven. No more consequence for those sins, no more guilt or shame, it’s gone. This is a process a process of continual re commitment, humble prayers, and righteous living. Repentance is not a check off a list but it is who you are. Are you Repentant? It’s not a single event but who you are and what you become. YOU are the atonement. It is every decision of every day where you prove if you’re going to take a step closer to Christ or distance yourself from him. Repentance is always there for us. You are never too far down the wrong path to get back on the right one. You are never unworthy of Christs help. The only thing holding you back is you. I have seen this in my life as you doubt yourself and you doubt what you can do and overcome. It is my testimony that Christ will never denote your best; he will take your best and build you up. My brothers and sisters, we can do better. We need to do better. Not only for our salvation but for the salvation of those we surround ourselves with every day. We must be worthy, prepared, and ready to be called on at any time to help those come unto Christ. 

WE FOUND JOHN! Since conference we lost contact with John one of our Solid investigators due to some housing issues. Anyways after a week and a half without seeing him our prayers were answered. We were doing service for this lady and right as we were done we were walking out and John was walking down the street and was right in front of the ladies house! That was the best hug of my mission this far! Such a moment of smiles and rejoicing! His first words was "I have been praying I would find you guys" It was such a special moment and the following 3 days we had OUTSTANDING visits with him and he came to church yesterday and he is doing awesome! One of those blessing I was able to thank Heavenly Father for in those long prayers!

Today I was able to hike Pololu and man was it pretty! The weather here has been super windy and rainy which is OKAY. It’s not as hot! Haha Anyways, life here is good! Lots of food. Elder Siaosi is a stud and I Love him more and more each day as we serve together. Only rough thing is eating more rice than I have ever eaten in my life! Kohala fun facts: No stop lights, No fast food places not even one, 2 gas stations, tons of hippies live in the gulches, tourists come here for 2 things... King Kamehameha Statue and Pololu.

Wish you all the best of luck this week in whatever endeavors you have! I’ll talk to you all next Monday after we celebrate Elder Siaosi's 25th birthday! My companion is a quarter of a century on Sunday! haha Love and Miss you all!  

Elder Porter

Honolulu, Hawaii