Christmas Day 2013



Christmas Eve - Branch President in Kenosha II

kia ora family! fa it was a mean Christmas getting to talk to you guys ay. Man im refreshed for this upcoming year. You guys all look good and sound good. Man were so spoiled getting to skype, huge blessing man. I don't have much to say family. Christmas season was good ay, have a lot of work to do here in Wisconsin and were here pruning the vineyard. My mission is three mean, Im living every moment and just trying to make a difference for the lord and his work. Im so grateful for you guys ay, my beautiful family, i love you all. Hope you all had a good Christmas with all the families. Gotta get mums side of the family in the gospel ay. What you falas waiting for man? get on that family. They gotta see that theres more than just here and now, theres eternity, but if they don't know that, at least we do, get them baptized. haha two mills ah. Shot family. Mum and Dad i love you. I'm really bummed about my I-pod not being able to transfer the videos. Find a way to make that happen dad. Those videos gotta last bro. Ill start making videos from my camera. But hey you falas im algud ay here. Tell everyone i love them. Tell grams i love her as well and so grateful for her. ill hear from you all next week aight!!

elder kaka

Kia ora family!! dang beautiful letters man! Its like Christmas every week getting your letters family and so I want you to know how grateful I am for you all, I love you guys so much ay, My family's mean man! hoohoo. Hey mum and dad love you guys ay.

 

Family, we had awesome week ay. Con bro i feel like up to this point in my mission bro, what has been most successful for me is just obedience and work. I like to go through the White handbook weekly with my comps to make sure we are living every rule bro and really just set the standard for our companionship and its brought so much blessings to my life. Finding investigators is another story ay. We try to work hand in hand with the members just like PMG says and really just strengthen the branch, less actives and part member families and have found a lot of teaching opportunities that way. Because our area is not dominant with Hispanics we also go through the Phonebook to find where all the Hispanics live, and at every door approach bro, we are persuasive, genuine, and bear testimony right off the bat. When people recognize that we are representatives of Jesus Christ and that our message will bless them in every aspect of their lives, they have been more open to our message of the restoration. We try to have lessons with everyone we can right at the door whether we get in or not and set up appointments daily, this has been huge for me bro. We seek people from the area book and ask for referrals from everyone possible. Bro really for me bro iv found that we constantly need to be mixing up what we do. If one thing ain't working out, do something different. If you want different results in any aspect of your life, change what you are doing, refocus your efforts, do a self evaluation then change and improve. Iv found that the lord will put you in peoples paths if your doing all you can to find them. not just using your heart but also your mind, theres a huge difference there ay. And so bro, this has been the work for me ay bro. Just balls out hard. This past week we found like 10 new investigators. We are working with 4 families right now and two of them have baptismal dates. We want more baptisms so were really trying to focus the work on families and its made a huge change in the work ay. But man we had a good week and had investigators attend both the Christmas party and church. Our branch is so awesome and so supportive of the missionaries and i feel its after we've gained their trust that the work has really moved forward. Its the best feeling watching families progress, feel the spirit and actually begin to make changes in their lives. Im a witness of the lords blessing that come from living the gospel because iv seen it many times through out my mission. It was cool cuz i received a Christmas box from my investigator Dee Hardrath and her husband Jim from my last area, I don't know if you remember them but they sent me a box and a card and it was so cool. We don't always realize how much people are affected by the gospel, by your example and by the spirit you carry when worthy of it, but they feel that. And they pointed that out to me, so cool ay. But family things are algud with me ay, I got called on the spot yesterday in church to give a talk and I straight through it down on the branch like I was the prophet haha but it was so cool to do that ay. My Spanish has improved heaps man, still going though, time and experience is all it is, but ye family. My mission has been a huge blessing and miracle to my life and im so proud to be apart of this great work, it brings such satisfaction.

Anyway though family man you guys look so good in your pics. man like grind you guys lol man every ones getting huge man, was gitz before I left, like ash and his boys and even lia man so grown up. I love you guys so much ay. Con bro, your the man uce, give aunty a kiss bro lol you look sexy as in your pics to bro, good on you uce, surfing so'o i hear oiyoiyoiy mean bro. Family fa thanks for everything I love you guys so much and look forward to hearing from you on Christmas, make sure to send me those details asap so we don't have problems on the day ok. Love you guys ash,lia, con, mum, dad you guys are my life. Have a mean week, ill hear from you then!!

elder kaka

 

hey family!! dang mean letters man!

 

You guys sound busy as heck with school, work and sports!! fa I remember that crap man, hope you falas aint procrastinating haha. Na crack up family, its always so good to hear from you guys ay. I look foward to reading your letters, a boost and confirmation to me how important this work is. Man the mission is the best ay family. I love my mission so much and its so crazy how much you learn, how many opportunities your given to change, grow and be like our savior Jesus Christ. Iv learned so much about the gospel, through living, seeing and sharing it. The mission really is the result of who you will be for the rest of your life and so far through my experiences here iv really come to know personally the savior. Iv seen miracles in so many different ways ay family and I feel even more passionate about the gospel now than I have ever in my life and its because of my knowledge of the savior. Iv felt the lord pick me up and strengthen me so much out here and I know that his greatest work and glory is in our success the success of us his children. Theres a book i Just finished reading and its called "The Christmas box" its a short one but gives such a powerful message. The authors intent is to help the readers understand the true meaning of christmas. The book explains the significance of the "box" though representing the first christmas. "for christmas began in a humble, hay filled "box" of splintered wood. The 3 wise men who had traveled far to see the infant king, laid treasure-filled "boxes" at the feet of the holy child. And in the end, when he had randsomed our sins with his blood, the lord of christmas was laid down in a "box" of stone. How fitting that each christmas season brightly wrapped "boxes" skirt the pine boughs of christmas trees around the world." The "box" or the chirstmas box or present represents the gif t of the savior of the world and the "love" god had to give us his greatest "gift", his son so we could recieve as "families" the greatest gift, eternal life. Thought id just share my experience from this book but family, its been a awesome week, and much more success coming slowly but surely. Con bro, my mission is a obstacle in itself bro but a lot of things that change as my knowledge of the gospel deepens. I feel like as I continue to learn and give of myself, that my ability to serve and accomplish the lords purposes increases. I know Iv been giving my all here on my mission because my whole heart and mind has changed and its just an on going process that literally is a "refiners fire". A cool quote I read today in a talk "the fourth missionary" said: "Your lifes greatest work is you. Your greatest work: your most important creation is and will ever be you. You are wholly responsible for what you do and most importantly who you become. Envision and plan for your greatest work." and truly bro, this is my goal, to give the lord my heart and my mind, and to take my own cross up and follow christ. And it says that "as our knowledge of the savior increases, our capacity to change and follow him will increase" I love my mission for this very reason ay family. The personal conversion you recieve and the product you become as you serve. I know i smallkine explain da life but truly this has been my experience. My area has strengthened a whole bunch and so has my ability to teach in spanish. Most of our work here is spanish and occassionally english. Its aweosme though and our success here in this area has increased so much more. We have a few people right now progressing towards baptism with dates and so we are still working to make everything possible. Iv learned a whole lot more also as district leader and really just the additional opportunity iv been given to serve. Things are good with me ay family, iv never been happier and im really just trying to make things happen this christmas ay, keeping in mind that first gift given to us which makes all of this possible. Thats what christmas is all about ay, our savior. Mean family, thanks for all you do for me, i love you guys so much and here from you on christmas. Family go hard this week and finish everything of strong. Itll all be worth it in the end ay, hoohoo mean man!!

elder kaka

kia ora family!!

 

fa so good to hear from you guys ay, man the weeks go by too fast! But man sounds like everyone is going two mills in their endeavors, mean family! Con bro mean testimony bro, thanks uce. My mission is mean ay family, I really am loving it, and I don't just say that but I really do love it. It hasn't been a breeze at all I can tell you that but I know that Jesus really is our savior, the literal son of God in the flesh. And its the greatest joy being able to see both small and great things that happen while serving with him in his vineyard. Its a feeling of peace that cant be described, a motivation that cant be explained. The lord really is in the details of our lives and Iv felt this for myself many times through out my mission. Last night was the Christmas fireside in Salt lake, I don't know if you guys watched it but it was so awesome. Given to us by our prophet and his two counselors on what Christmas really is. Its the celebration of the birth and life of the savior. We remember his life, his example and his teachings. It was a cool fireside though and I'm just so grateful for this Christmas that I have to serve the lord and to perform a marvelous work, an opportunity to open the doors of the celestial kingdom to the sons and daughter of god. Only we as missionaries can do this, and what a privilege that is to bring forth during the this special time when the savior was brought into the earth. Its a special time of the year, where the spirit is felt most because families are all together sharing the joys of giving and receiving gifts. But as we focus on the greatest gift that God has given us which was his beloved son, we find the greatest joy of what Christmas really symbolizes, the ability to live again with our families forever with god, made possible through our savior. We then see the significance of his birth. Its been cool transitioning into the new season and having the opportunity to share this message with families and their friends. Iv been using my guitar as well to sing carols, which has been so awesome. But sorry to explain the life but family my week really has been a good one. The work continues to move forward and we are finding so much success along the way. This past week we found so many new investigators to teach, and commit to baptism. We had two whole families attend church this week because of it and for the ward they have been seeing the success of our labors and have really gained a huge respect and trust for us and our efforts. Apparently in the past they've had a history of a lot of useless missionaries and so gaining their trust through our obedience and diligence through our works has been one of our big goals. Members really play a central role in the conversion of our investigators and so we've really changed the culture that was been left here before us. But family this is us ay, just trying to leave it all out here like you said and really just get lost in the lords work. The weather here has been really weird it actually hasn't even been cold. It was colder in the fall so i don't even see it snowing anytime soon but well see about that. Every things all sweet with me ay, Me and my comp are doing work like dogs and we've seen huge change in our mission. I'm trying to find a member home that we can go over to skype so i let you know as soon as i found out the happs. but until then could you falas send me my skype account details dad you remember them? and for my Christmas list lol oi lol can you send me some face lotion please mum, and burn me the p90x please dad haha sorry that's me. Love you falas though, thanks for your support, love and miss you falas heaps and looking forward to see and hear from you. Have a mean week family!!

 

elder kanahele