A Bumpy Ride

5/18/15

AALLOOOOHHAAAAA OHANA!!!!!! :D :D

Hey!!! Thank you everyone so much for your birthday wishes but beyond that for just being so loving and supportive of me through everything all year round! Truly charity never faileth and your love and charity is felt and has been felt all these years. Really I feel I have almost more reason to celebrate you guys and everything you have done for me these last 20 years than I have to celebrate anything I have done because in comparison I really haven't done much for myself :P haha! So anyway, here is to the last 20 years and everyone who has loved, helped and supported me through them and made me into the person I am! I really do owe it all to you. However I also owe it to my God who has shaped me more than anyone else! That is why, while I love and miss all of you greatly, I have chosen to spend this time in service to Him and to my fellow being! And yet there is still so much more I have to do! Thankfully this last week has been still filled with many things to do and so transitioning a bit over to that now, here's kinda a run down of what all has happened in the last week. Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

A random photo of a Panda driving a Van - No wonder it's a bumpy ride.

So this week we had a few different exciting things happen that have just left me with a lot of mixed emotions. For starters we had a great lesson with one of, if not the hardest investigator I have ever taught! He is a great guy and the lessons are good but he just has a lot of doubts and questions almost everything and has been having a lot of concerns with stuff he's reading in the Book of Mormon that we try to clear up but it's hard cause it's not always the most spiritual stuff (like the logistics of the Jaredites boat, or the geographic location of all the different events and wars and such on the American Continent or the exact motives and logistics of all the war chapters) BUT he finished the entire Book of Mormon!!! He read through the whole thing in a matter of about 2 months!!! Anyway, so we have been talking a lot about faith and acting on faith and having a true and sincere desire to know and all of that stuff and he has really been struggling for a long time with all of that BUT this week we got him to finally commit to come to church!!!! (and when he makes a commitment he doesn't go back on it!) BUT.... after we got him to commit he informed us that he would be on the mainland visiting family for a little over a month so he wouldn't be at church or continuing the lessons until he got back... so anyway, long story short be sure to keep him in your prayers please.

 Anyway, we also got to have a short lesson with C.and he is still just as solid as ever! He is actually thinking about postponing basic training until after his mission so that's pretty exciting! :D Also he blessed the sacrament for the first time this week and of course he did a great job! As for other investigators, J & J are still kind of struggling/doing great. J. is just as solid as ever and seriously feel and talks like he is already a member of the church! So that's super awesome!! However, things with J. are still pretty rough and tender but we're just trying to show how much we love her no matter what... but again any prayers you could offer on her behalf I'm sure would be greatly appreciated!

J .... he'll probably be moving into New Town which is just outside of our zone so I won't get to be a part of or even witness for that matter his baptism/confirmation/activity in the church at least while I am still here in Mililani. :/ But I say "I" and not "us" because if J does decide to be baptized in the New Town Ward Elder Griffin will be following him over into that zone as the new Waipahu Zone Leader!! That's right! We found out transfer news already and unfortunately Elder Griffin will be leaving me, however, he's going to be a Zone Leader in Waipahu in the Honouliuli ward which is kind of funny too because he just came here from Waipahu Zone in the Pearl City ward so he'll be right back where he came from (cue Mike Wazowski singing "put that thing back where it came from, or so help me!") haha just kidding! Anyway, so while I am sad to lose Elder Griffin I did find out my new companion is going to be Elder Baker who I actually came out with also! haha! so this will be my third companion already from the group I came out with! Anyway, I'm really excited about him because I got to know him pretty well in the MTC (he was our MTC district leader) and I know that he is a great missionary! :) As for our ward, I am still unsure as to whether we will be getting another ward to work with, or if we will be losing our car and going back to the good old fashion foot-mobile (just in time for summer too! haha) but whatever happens I'm sure it will be for the best of the ward and the area in general! :)

Anyway, so yeah, as you can see it has been a bit of a roller-coaster of a week for us! And it's looking like things are going to just keep getting crazier! haha! But that's a good thing I guess! Well, thank you again for everything you guys do. I love you all so much and am seriously more grateful for you than I could ever express in any e-mail or skype conversation. Keep on spreading the light of Christ everywhere you go, do good and be good wherever you are and in whomever's company you find yourself and know that I am striving to do the same! You are in my prayers always! Mahalo nui loa and Aloha nui loa!!! :D

Ofa lahi atu! :)

-Elder Powell