17 Dec 2019

Christmas in Brazil is HOT!

Well first off, it looks like I'll be calling the 24th sooo hopefully everyone gets in when I call.  But if needs be, I might be able to arrange a way to call everyone on the 25th, but don't count on it.  In other news, I have ripped three different pairs of pants and have had them fixed up.  But I don't think that they'll be able to live for much longer...  So if possible, please send more or some money to buy some here.  They don't really have the quality that they have in the US but you know, I'm a missionary.  But if you do buy some please buy some 34 instead of 32.  Because, apparently all this walking is making my legs, as they say in cool streets, super swole.  So yeah, the gray pants have gotten pretty tight.

Christmas Eve with members

Now about the mission!  I stayed in Nova Granada and these past couple weeks have been pretty rough.  I'm seeing all my hard work with my other companion slipping through my fingers and that made me pretty upset.  But we are getting better workwise.  Maybe we'll have a baptism this week.  Speaking of which, the investigator's name is Fernanda.  We already taught everything but she didn't want to get baptized yet so because she said that she didn't receive an answer to her prayers about baptism.  She continued along like this for a  few weeks and I was getting frustrated.  Until FINALLY, The spirit told me what she needed to hear.  Which was that she has already received so many answers to her prayers and that now was her time to act.  Later she gave the closing prayer and said that that's exactly what she needed to hear and she started changing a lot and progressing again.  So, in short, there are times when we need to depend on the Lord and times when he tells us to act.  Oh yeah, my old companion went to Macedonia in the Stake Campo LImpo.  It's on the other side of the mission.

Being district leader is also an adventure.  Especially for 4 sisters.  But it could be worse.  I get a little annoyed at the lack of organization amongst my zone and how I was I left with my district.  I asked the sisters how the old district leader did things so that I could just grab the same structure and run with it but alas there was none.  So I'm going to have to figure out some kind of schedule for them to expect calls and whatnot.  I was thinking lately, why does president trust me so much with 4 sisters that are not obedient and an Elder that needs a reboot on his entire misssion. Like what? I would be the last person I would've chosen to do this.  But you know, time to grow and learn.

So, why did I email on Wednesday?  Because we had our mission christmas party!  I played basketball and volleyball and unfortunately had to tune everything down due to the lack of experience of others.  But it was still fun.  It was also REALLY HOTTT. When I was done playing my clothes were completely drenched.  It has also been really hot here.  There is noone on the streets to talk to.  So yeah the Christmas season is also pretty slow for us.

Anyway, I hope all goes well with the family gathering.  I realized recently that I'll be spending 3 Christmases on the mission.  Not everyone can say that, nor would they really want to...

Love you guys!

Elder Keliiliki

12 Dec 2018

saudações

Well, I have some news I guess.  I am now a district leader, not only a district leader but a district leaders of 4 sisters and my companion.  So that kind of surprised me to get that call.   Also I got a new companion who has been having trouble on the mission.  As in he's, as we say on the mission, thrown.  Which means that he's already done working and watches movies and all that jazz.  But in good news, I got him to work this week AND he did his first 10 contacts in who knows how long.  He plays "Magic: The Gathering" as well so I'm thankful for the little time I had playing so that we could get along since the beginning of our companionship.  Good companionships always makes the work easier. I think that was the problem that he was having before.  We are indeed doing the light the world and we have been thankfully finding weekly service projects that we do for the members.  But besides that we just have these little pass along cards that we give to everyone we see.  Also I had a little scare this week.  I started of this week with a stomach ache that was INTENSE!!  I went half the day working but then I told my companion that I needed to see a doctor.  We called president to tell him but he didn't answer so we worked and after our appointments that ended at 7 I came home and died.  As in slept... alot.  I woke up somehow when the sisters called and I grabbed their numbers and passed them on to zone leaders and went to bed.  The next day I had a pounding headache which is more normal so I worked like normal.  Then the following day I thought I was dying for real.  I start having pains right where my heart was and my left shoulder starting hurting.  I couldn't breathe really well and so I was like, "Well, this is the most righteous I'll ever be in my life soooo if I die now that's the best chance I've got to make it into the celestial kingdom."  But thankfully I woke up the next morning and the pain was gone.  Probably just stress.

But yes, the mission is starting to become a little more interesting.  Unfortunately our momentum was stunted due to the transfer but we'll quickly regain that.  But boy, sisters talk for a long time.  The nightly checkup literally takes all night.  From the moment I get home to the moment I go to sleep I have to solve problems and then hear their stories and it's a little exhausting.  But they are really cool sisters as well so it could be worse.

It seems like all the big things happen when I'm on the mission.  I wish I were there but at the same time the mission is aight.  I hope everything turns out alright for Mama as well as Joelle and that the kids grow up well and won't forget me.

I unfortunately don't know the sams club that is here.  Unlike Arkansas they are very very very rare here.  But they have one in "O centro do Osasco"  but I have next to no time to do figure things out so I'll leave that you figure that out.

Anyway, please pray extra hard for me!  I'm running 150% right now because I've only ever known how to train and I'm starting to feel the repurcussions.  So until I get accustomed to the getting my companion excited, investigators prepared to be baptized, and being a district leader of only sisters I need your guys' help!  love you guys!

Elder Keliiliki

Wihi with companion

03 Dec 2018

Como você está

So things did get better this week.  We look to have a lot of baptisms this month buuuuttt things happen so let's see what happens.  I'm glad you enjoy my insights, I will be sure to send more in the future.

As for the picture book, I don't know what to do as well.  Because the Wal marts and what not are very different here.  There is also a Sams but I don't have a membership there soooo yeah.  But it's ok if it takes a long time to get here.  I just don't want to pay an absurd amount for it.  

I'm glad to see that Hekili will finally get to see some time on the field.  It took long enough.  But I guess we'll have to wait to see him until next season. I guess I'll give my high low and whatnots for mother.

High:  Some of our investigators are progressing really well and we found 16 new people to teach last week and starting off this week strong with another 2.  This week is also super full of appointments so I'm pretty pumped.

Low: I'm starting to get really frustrated with everyone, especially my companion, saying that I'm not Hawaiian because I wasn't born there.  I've explained in every way I could imagine how it works.  But now I've turned to calling him Native American since he lives in America and the Native Americans were there first.  It may not be the best thing for the mission but I won't let it go.

Insight:  This week I learned a lot about how things happen in the time of the Lord.  Like I said last week was atrocious, but this week we had a lot of success.  I found it to be the case that we weren't ready to teach some people.  Not in the aspect of worthiness or anything like that.  But if we had gone into the lesson with the normal way we taught lessons we would've lost them.  But after we found another method, also a method I believe to be more effective, we went into their homes and taught them.  So yeah, we may want answers to our prayers but the fact may be that we just aren't quite ready yet.  Not really anything new but it's good to have a reminder every now and then.

I'm not really sure what else to say.  Umm pray for us!  Love you guys!

Elder Keliiliki

26 Nov 2018

Olá

Well I'm glad you all had a good thanksgiving and whatnot.  This week wasn't too interesting.  I found out that our investigator wasn't going to be able to go to church because she was travelling so we have to wait another week for her to be baptized but we also heard the news from our other investigator that we can go talk to her mother and pastor to try to explain ourselves and show that we aren't a cult.  We're going to bring the bishop along just to be safe, pastors can be tricky.  So maybe next week they wil be able to be baptized.

Also thank you for the package, although it was pretty expensive to get.  Everyone has told me Brazil robs the people and I experienced that first hand.  Whenever I heard that it would be 950 reais to grab I thought, "The elders in the office think they're funny."  But they were telling the truth.  I just used the money that president paid me for the keyboard I got him and a little more I pulled off my card. But it's all good, I got to take the metro and experience the city life for real.  So yeah I'm a city kid now.  I also really enjoyed the food and games that were there.  I didn't even bother trying to save the mangos because there are a million but the high chews and the pistachios are taking their sweet old time.  

High: We had conference this week and President and Sister Thomas gave talks and they were really good I just hope that the members will start helping out with the work soon.  

Low: A lot of appointments fell through again this week, so there was a lot of unnecessary walking done this week.  We also ran out of minutes on our phone so this will get complicated now.]

Insight:  I think the thing I have been trying to learn a lot is the diference between knowing and faith.  I had a discussion with my companion about this and it turned into a little fight we had.  Because I asked him how he was able to say that he knew for sure that our church was true and the Book of Mormon is true and whatnot to our investigators when he bore his testimony.  Because I made it very clear to myself that I would never say I knew something when I bore my testimony. For the following reasons, I always looked to the Brother of Jared to understand the difference between knowing and faith.  Faith is something that is very powerful but I feel like we end up sliding it under the rug.  The brother of Jared was able to do incredible things with faith alone.  He then continued to develop that faith until it came to the point where it was impossible for God to hide himself.  

I personal believe that's how it is for all of us.  We have to continue to develop faith which is hoping in things that are true but not seen.  So even though they be true we still have to hope and act on that hope.  God never made it a requirement to know that the church is true and everything like that.  He made us forget everything for a reason.  He just asks us to exercise faith, then with the faith that we show and act upon miracles are done.  I don't know, this is always something that always gets onto me with testimonies.  

The prophets would always bear powerful testimonies of Christ in whom they know perfectly and personally and people want to bear a testimony with equal power.  But we can't know like they do that the church is true and that Christ lives.  They were chosen and special witnesses, we are not the same kind of witnesses as they are.  Sure we see the blessings from showing our faith and this gives a good evidence that the things that things we hope for are true.  However, this is just another step in the process of developing our faith.  Like Elder Bednar said in the talk I sent you guys last week, the evidence shown is to help us grow and gives and incentive to continue to act in faith.  If we take that as the one and only response to "know" that something is true we're just stunting our potential to be the instrument of miracles.  

I personally believe that a testimony of faith rather than knowing is more powerful.  Especially for our investigators, the majority of them say they don't want to be baptized due to a lack of certainty or knowledge. So when we bear our testimony with faith it shows that we are willing to trust in God and the little things he has revealed to us and hoping that he will continue to help us, we show them that we are on the same process.  Just a little further down the road.  Baptism just happens to be one of the most important ways we show our faith and the beginning of that road.  I like to think of it like knowing someone and knowing of someone.  We know about them but we never got to know them personally, we have a lot of information about them.  However, knowing someone is being intimately connected and having an actually bond and is just deeper.  

Although it may not be the best explanation to me it makes sense.  We know of the church being true, but I honestly believe that many people outside of the select few know that the church is true.  This concept also helps me a lot in times of doubt, because I seriously don't know if anything in the church is true.  I just need to have faith in them.  Doubt doesn't mean not having faith, it's just simply a time of confusion that we all have.  So in times of trouble and having a hard time really believing that the church is true, just focus on how to develop the faith that you have.  Not trying to know that it's true.  That's my insight for this week.  

Like I said last week, for me FAITH IS EVERYTHING!!  Faith is literally what makes us do anything.  It's how the church was restored, it's how we are able to live.  For me personally, faith is one of the greatest gifts we've been given.

Anything humorous:  Well my suit pants ripped completely down the middle. Soooo, I'll have to look into get that fixed up.

19 Nov 2018

Feliz Dia de Ação de Graças (Happy Thanksgiving)

Our investigator that was going to be baptized this week fell through because her daughter got sick so she had to take her to the hospital and missed her second week at church.  But she'll be baptized later though, her name is Fernanda.  We have another investigator who is seventeen, her name is Elisângela, and her mother won't let her get baptized yet.  Her mother has heard bad things about our church and thinks we are a cult which everyone thinks until we actually talk to them.  The problem is that she won't even let us talk to her yet.  These are our two investigators that are the closest to baptism. 

We visited an investigator yesterday who we already knew but it was our first official visit with them.  Their names are Messias and Daiane.  They are family of Fernanda and we went in there to just read the Book of Mormon with them and ended up teaching five of the discussions.  Then they gave us food and a ride home.  Luckily President just recently told us we could get home late as long as we were teaching.  I don't know if he meant 11 o clock though...  He offered to give us a pizza on our next visit as well so I guess he must like us.  Besides that the week was pretty normal.

I have no idea how the light the world is going to work this year with respect to missionaries but I'm sure they're going to fill us in.  But now high, low and whatnots.

High: already told you with the investigator.

Low: The baptism and Elisângela´s mother

Insights:  This week I studied a talk from Elder Bednar that I liked a lot.  Which was "Seek learning by faith."  It basically says that we can teach, demonstrate and lead with the spirit with great effectiveness and power but unless the students, children, or investigators are learning by faith it'll be in vain.  It also gave a pretty dang good explanation of what faith actually is.  I'll let you guys look into it.  It's application to missionary work is very useful.

I was also reading in the Book of Mormon in Mormon 9 19-21 and it talks about how God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Then it continues to explain all the miracles that He did in the past.  So being the same for all of time that means that the miracles he did before he will do today.  The only problem is that our faith is the variable.  We place limitations on God's abilities and also on ourselves.  So miracles aren't dead nor does God want them to stop.  We just need the trust and faith to let the miracles occur.

So in short, I have been looking into faith A LOT this week.  To me, faith is the key to everything.

Gratitude:  I would just say we can be grateful for anything depending on how we look at things.  Will we look at things as a problem or an obstacle or will we ask ourselves, "what does God want us to learn from this?" I used to have a problem with God being all knowing or all benevolent.  I thought that the two can't coexist.  However, through the problems that I've gone through and seeing all the problems that I see investigators and members go through, I realize that things have a purpose.  Obviously we realize things a little late but we always were behind.  Anyway, that probably sounds cheesy but it's something that I've come to understand.

That's pretty much what I've got for this week.  Talk you guys next week!  Love ya!

Elder Keliiliki

06 Nov 2018

Sup fam

Okey dokey, well first off this is coming in a day late because we went to the temple today and so our P-day was switched to today. Anyway this week was an interesting one.  First we went to hike the BIGGEST MOUNTAIN IN SÃO PAULO!  Which means it was about 3/4 of the Y.  But it was super fun, it reminded me of Hawaii and we saw a monkey.  We fed him too, I know we weren't supposed to but the temptation was just too great.  I filmed the experience and will pass it on next week because I don't have the video on me.  Afterwards was a week of struggle again until saturday where we finally hit a groove.  Now we look to be baptizing a few investigators this month but I don't want to jynx us so I'll stop there.  So yeah that was our week!  Love you guys and sorry this wasn't super detailed.  I have very little time this week.

Elder Keliiliki

29 Oct 2018

Hey Fam

Well this is going to be a shorter email.  Because all but 2 appointments fell through this week and to top it off both Elder Ward and I got the flu.  So there wasn't a whole lot to talk about this week.  But I did almost get attacked by a dog.  It was night and we were walking to an appointment that didn't fall through and a dog was hiding in the shadows.  I didn't see him and he jumped straight at me and luckily only his nose hit my arm and he didn't manage to get his teeth into me.  Also luckily, he was on a chain so he couldn't go after me after I showed my masculinity and fleed with a yelp.

Anyway, yeah that's it.  Love you guys.  Hopefully there is something more interesting to tell you guys the next time around.

Elder Keliiliki

22 Oct 2018

Fun Week

So this week was an interesting one.  We first did a service project for some members and they were really awesome.  I nearly died as well, we had to transfer some stuff to another level.  Just like the attic has that lift area except it was in a hallway.  So I thought, I did this stuff all the time there won't be a problem.  Anyway, I took a wrong step and my foot broke through the floor but due to my hyperathleticism I was able to save myself.  It was only like 10 feet high anyway so I would've been fine even if I fell.  Afterwards we ate hamburgers for lunch we left to work some more.

The next day, which was a Wednesday, we went to speed teach our investigator that was going to get baptized because we still have 4 lessons to get through in 2 visits. But he threw us a curveball and wanted to be baptized on Friday! because he had to work the sunday after so he wanted to be confirmed this Sunday.  So we were running around to get the interview set up and get everything ready for the baptism and teach him the rest of the discussions.  But we made it!  He asked me to baptize him and he was baptized that friday and confirmed that sunday.

The rest of the week was pretty normal.  So yeah, fun fun. That's it.

Elder Keliiliki

Me, Jean, and Elder Ward

Me, Jean, Elder Ward and Members of the Bishopric

The "official" Baptismal pose

Me, and Elder Ward with Jean and his family and friends

15 Oct 2018

Another week...

This week was pretty hard because we had a list of less active/ inactive members to visit to see if they still existed because they're trying to split the ward and they need specific numbers of members so we went around to 200 different adresses to find them.  It was a lot of walking.  Besides that nothing much has really happened.  We're going to have a baptism this Sunday!  He already has daughters in the church so he already knew a lot and so we talked and he wanted to be baptized.  Now we have to hurry and teach him everything before Sunday.  So yeah that was my week.  

Thanks for the email!  Love ya!

08 Oct 2018

Kinda Boring week 

Alright so this week like I said was pretty boring.  We woke up, ate lunch, worked, and then slept.  I guess something that was interesting is that it got really cold here all of a sudden so I had to pull out the overcoat a few days while we are entering summer here.  We have an investigator that looks very promising but I won't say to much as to not jynx anything.  Unfortunately conference didn't quite reach my ears in such a way I could understand due to the church wifi and portuguese mix.  Well yeah, hope you all a good week and until next week.  Love you guys!

Elder Keliiliki

01 Oct 2018

Another week has passed

This week has been interesting.  Training an american has proven to be a challenge because I want to speak portuguese but explaining things in english just makes things so much easier!  So I may or may not [be] impeding on his progress with portuguese.  It doesn't help that he never talks to me in portuguese either but whatever.  The area being huge has proven to be a challenge, we walk about an hour to get to lunch then another hour to get to an appointment and then we another hour to a different appointment and then we have to do language study and training.  So needless to say our time for actual work is short.

The ward is super cool, they help a lot and all that jazz.  We had three members bring someone to church so I'm in this area now.  Our investigators seem to only be able to meet once a week which means the progress is slow but I'm fine with that as long as it is steady.

For now, I think that's all.  I probably forgot so sorry about that.  Maybe next week will be better.  See ya Fam!

Elder Keliiliki

This is my district, the rare district where we have more sisters than elders

Here is yet another picture of the city(I'm sorry, it's like all we've got)

And here we have a Viela (Alley)

24 Sept 2018

First Week Back

So, I got some interesting news when I came back to the mission.  President Thomas told me that he had a challenge for me, which is very vague so I said "cool what is it?"  He told me that I was going to train again, open an area, and be district leader.  It kinda blew my mind but I said I would anyway, but before any of you are like, "What?"  or whatever.  Thankfully, I got let off the hook a little.  Later he told me that he would make someone else district leader since I had missed the training that they give the beginning of the transfer.  So now I am just training and opening an area.  

Just to explain a little bit, there was a missionary that got sent home a couple days after I got here so the new guy doesn't know the area.  The area is called Nova Granada and it's kinda big.  We have 13 bairros in our area(ask Ikaika what a bairro is) so yeahhhh.  Oh, the Elder I'm training is Elder Ward and he's from Texas and he doesn't speak hardly any portuguese yet so I'm kinda struggling trying to understand everything that's being said by everyone.  So yeah, I've got to teach him the ways of the missionary as well as portuguese and my mind is getting friedddd.  Anyway, I think that's about it.  Hope everything well back in the states.  BYEE

This was my bed for the first little bit until the other Elder went home bc they didn't have 3 mattresses. Unfortunately 3 blankets does not a good  bed make

View from the apartment

Me, Elder Santiago and Elder Ward

Two glimpses of my area

15 Jan 2018

...here the missionaries call trainers "pais" which of course is dad and the new missionaries their "filhos." So I'm a DAD! Aren't you proud?

 So the best thing that happened this week... I think was maybe a talk I had with my filho. It was real spiritual and we talked about a lot. The worst thing was yet another Saturday with ever appointment falling through and then Sunday noone coming to church with us. Something new is that I have to lead this new missionary on mission life and our area when I hardly know it myself all the while speaking portuguese that is still tripping me up.

Something accomplished is 1 more week the books. The training is HARD! I pretty much have to run the show for now while he gets used to being a missionary. You think that I'm all good and confident but nooooo. I'm always terrified whenever I think too much about what I have to do to help him. But I'm giving it my 100 percent and I come home everyday exhuasted and now I feel like I'm dead. But somehow it'll all work out. Just gotta keep on going until it suddenly ends.

 Oh funny story real quick, so he was in the MTC when kimball was and Kimball told him to look for and Elder Kililiki. So what a coincidence! Man it's weird to think that I was the first one out... but I'm glad I was! I think that's all for this week.

With a friendly cat

A Favella

08 Jan 2018

The best part of my week was when we got a bunch of investigators in one day. It was a really good day. The worst thing that happened was that on saturday our schedule was FULL! Literally every hour we had an appointment and every single one of them fell through. Then the Sunday noone came to church with us. So that was frustrating. Something I'm working is doing street contacts, I'm still insecure with the language and it's just something scary for me still. But it's getting better. As for what I accomplished, one more transfer. My patience has grown a bit I thing but not too much. I still get really frustrated with everything but I think that's normal. I'll give you one more thing that I'm really nervous about, I'm going to be a trainer. Just barely got done being trained and now I have to train... I'm kinda freaking out but oh well. Nephi 3:7 will need to come through these next two transfers.

18 Dec 2017

So, this week was somewhat like last week so not too amazing but it was a little better. We didn't really get to teach much because the appointments kept falling through but the lessons we did have were good. So yeah, that was my week.