a TOTALLY different direction, More time to focus on each individual

5/2/16

Aloha ohana!!!

Thank you so much for your update as well as for all of your prayers and thoughts on my behalf! You are just the greatest!! :) I love you guys!! Anyway, that's cool to hear all of your stories too. Mom, I sure can relate to that lesson story. It's awesome to see how when we really prepare and even over plan at times, then we just get up there and the spirit takes you a TOTALLY different direction, but it always just works out so perfectly. Whereas when you just go up and tell yourself "eh, I'll just wing it and follow the spirit." It never works out and your stumbling through points and at a loss of words and, yeah, it's just kind of funny how the spirit works with our willingness to at least prepare something, even if what we prepared isn't what we end up sharing! :) Well anyway, long tangent over. I suppose you want to know what's been going on for us over here in the promised land of Kane'ohe this past week! haha!

Saying goodbye to all the youth back in the Marshallese branch was tough, but they're great people and I know they're still in good hands!! :)

a finally farewell to Elder Teerlink

So for starters we taught some really cool lessons to the very few people we have to teach. That was, I think, one of the toughest transitions coming from the Marshallese branch. Over there we just has SOO much work that we were CONSTANTLY busy and trying to cram in stuff and people even when we didn't have the time too! Whereas over here it's like we just kind of see the same people and plan for the same stuff and I think we kill the most of our time just sitting around at bus stops because even the buses over here seem to run on "Hawaiian time"... so that's always fun! haha! But it's been good to get out of a car and kind of slow things down in some ways. Gives you more time to focus on each individual person I guess! Still I know for sure that there is a LOT of potential for this area and right now the ward trust levels are just through the roof so I'm excited to try to keep the pace up and hopefully get things just flying over here so whoever comes in after I finish my mission will be able to hopefully reap some of those rewards and keep the hastening of the work over here going! :)

Speaking of lessons though and the few people we do teach. Among those few people I feel like we have two REALLY solid and cool investigators! One is a young lady who is really good friend with some of the members up in Kahalu'u ward (the ward right above us) and after church one day she just walked right up to the elders (this was the week before I got here) and basically said to them "I want to learn more." So of course we were more than happy to oblige her request! haha! We've already taught her one lesson and are going back to teach the second this week and she comes to all three hours of church every week and we're just super excited for her! She's awesome!! :) Her name is T by the way if you wanna be sure to keep her and her family in your prayers, I'm sure even with the golden investigators we can use all the help we can get! haha!

the famous "pink building" back in Waipahu

We also have another guy who I guess the elders tracted into, again right before I got here, and right when he saw them he was like "hey, that's cool you guys are doing this. My girlfriend here is actually about to leave on her mission in just a few weeks!" and so automatically we were just like "GUAHH!! THIS GUY IS GOLDEN!!" anyway! so I went with Elder Kirkham to make a follow-up visit this past week and he said his girl is officially in the MTC and they are still writing, but also that he has a ton of questions and would love to start taking lessons pretty much so we got a return appointment set up for this coming week! Again, we're just through the roof excited about this guy!!! :D Anyway, so yeah, lots of cool stuff already happening for us out here and guaranteed there's much more in store! This is only the start! :) haha!

I wake up every morning, walk outside, and see THIS!!!! :)
I LOVE KANE'OHE!! 

I love you all! And wish you the best with the coming week! Keep on keeping on and don't forget to be awesome!!! :)

Aloha nui loa!

-Elder Powell

p.s. also.... I am so grateful to all of the loyal friends that e-mail me so much. I still love you all to pieces... but in an effort to kind of help me stay focused and really centered on my purpose I've decided to kind of do an "e-mail fast" so starting next week I'm just going to be writing back to direct family members for the rest of the month of May. That being said, of course I'd be MORE than happy to RECEIVE any e-mails or letters up until that point! But I just probably won't be responding until June-ish... sorry but again I LOVE YOU all so much!! Of course still if you need anything just let me know and I will definitely make an exception and respond ASAP!!!!!! 

Mahalo nui loa! 

Pictures from a hike we did my last week in Waipahu

Some of the local graffiti

Pictures from our "p-day activity" today with one of our members!! ......it was pretty fun! :) Of course we didn't get to drive it, but Bro. G made sure to take us all on a nice little "spin around the block" haha! It was SWEET!! :)