ELDER KAKA'S LAST LETTER

Lia Happy BIrthday girl!!I love you so much Lia!! I give you one beeg hug when I see you ok:)
Kia ora you falas!! like always ay its good to hear from you falas!!!

Been a mean week. The weather is getting hot. Its 50 degrees today!!!! I walked out of my apartment and couldnt belief ma eyes!! warming up hard! You guys should be good when you come mum and dad!! I dont have much to say family but that Im still seeing miracles! im happy and content with my service as a missionary. My mission really has been the "hardest but most rewarding" 2 years of my life. I testify that Christ lives and that he taught us how to live. His life was a mission uphill. I now know that there is no growth in the comfort zone and there is no comfort in the growth zone. If we are to become as the Savior is, our path must also be uphill. Yes it is is hard, tiring and at times may seem unbearable but I testify that this is the only way to peace and contentment now and in eternity.

    

I love you guys so much and I cant explain how grateful I am for each of you individually. The plan of salvation will only extend our happiness beyond our imagination. Im excited to see you all ay. Mum and Dad you falas ready for this? We are going to be eating heaps of food probli like 2 dinners every night lol and more so get your fat guts ready ok!! Alright family! 2 more days of all guts out ay!! till the end family!!

ELder Kanahele!

Catalino Ramirez Baptism - In Janesville

Kia ora you falas!! How you falas doin ay?? hoohoo str8 up ay!! good to hear from you family!! thanks for your letters.Iv loved hearing all the growth in each of you through out my time here. Lia girl so proud of you for sticking out with your wrestling. You did so good your first year. I’m happy that you still came out on top and having learned so much physically and mentally. I can remember how demanding it was in wrestling having to continue and wanting to continue even when your body is wasted and injured. It taught me a lot about "discipline" and I’m sure you as well, being strict with a diet, lifting, maintaining your weight etc. and I was able to transfer that over to my missionary work as a "disciple" of Christ having to change and give up various different things, in this case some physically but more spiritually. D&C 130:19  says:  "And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come". The lord can see the end from the beginning and knows what we need now to prepare for later. I love how you learned something from your experience Lia. my wrestling experience has blessed me even today.

     Family!! I had a good week. I will start with the highlight. I went down to one of my old areas Janesville to give Catalino Ramirez the baptismal interview for the "4th" time!! (Hes the guy we went and helped him get a suite for church about 6 months ago lol) Well he passed it, and I got to baptize him Saturday night. It was such a cool experience for me. It was a miracle to have been close enough to be able to have kept going back even after i left the area to give him the interviews and then to see him baptized 9 months later.

     This is my last week family!! Its coming closer and faster. Finishing strong here family! Im  cherishing every moment to testify, speak and act in the name of christ. It has been my most prized possesion I would say in all my time as a missionary, Testifying of the savior. I love him so much and I have stood by him my whole time here. I have at times faught against him, and Iv learned that his way in the end is the only way to have success and happiness in this life. I learned a cool quote this week that teaches us the purpose of the gospel, it says "the purpose of the gospel is to make bad men good, good men better, and to change human nature". The results of following the Savior has changed who I am. I have been blessed by his atonement. His enabling power has pushed me beyond my natural capacity, and it is that power alone that saves us beyond all that we can do in this life. I am so imperfect and my mission has helped realize how much I need my Savior.

    Family I love you guys and I thank you for your testimonies, your love and prayers for me. I have been blessed so much by you. I pray and thank my heavenly father so much for each of your individual gifts that have blessed my life. I look forward to seeing you guys again!! Have a good week you falas!! till the death!!

Elder Kanahele Kaka!!

Kia ora family!! Lia so proud of you girl. Your in a battle right not yeah? in pain and pushing your body beyond its limits. Here is where your most growth comes girl. You'll be surprised how far you can go when you have a strong mind yah? Im so proud of you Lia, wish I could have been there to yell for and at you lol. Ice your body up, massage it and take some protein if possible to heal as much of it as you can. I remember getting stingers a lot. I had to wrap my shoulders when I wrestled. I took pain killers before i wrestled so that I could alleviate as much of the pain as possible. Don't show any pain when you wrestle Lia. Trick there mind yeah. Half the battle will be in the mind cuz when your tired and have no energy, its your mind that takes the body past its limits. Good luck this next week Lia!!

     Mum thanks for your little Hawaiian spill. I felt so proud to be apart of this culture just hearing your experience and passion for the Hawaiian people. Its a lovely culture and Iv grown to appreciate it so much having been out here amongst so different of a culture. The Aloha spirit is so apparent there like its night and day. So proud of you mum, you have been so successful but also enduring and positive. I admire that about you mum. Im bad when it comes to being positive while enduring. Its my patience ay lol.

     Well family another week come and gone and time is moving faster than ever its all a new experience trying to finish everything off, mixed emotions. I’m ready to move on when my time and efforts are done here, to move on to the next phase of life. I do however need to finish my time, all of it to the last day and second serving with all of my heart might mind and strength just like the scriptures teach. We teach the doctrine of Christ daily as our centre piece of our missionary work, principles that were brought back in full by the restoration of the one original gospel as it really was and also the priesthood. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and "enduring to the end". It is like an upward spiral that never ends, a continuous process that we repeat over and over that binds us to God only on conditions of our enduring. I think how different the atonement would be had Jesus given up or stopped before the end. An incomplete mission. It would have changed everything. I am in my last days here on the mission and really trying to live this principle and make everything count. I have enjoyed the journey but want to finish at the top of the mountain where I can see the view, and feel good about the hard steps it was to get up, not at the bottom. Of course there will be more mountains to climb. I am feeling the pressure ay lol its scary. As I once believed and still do now "just gotta harden up" lol a good philosophy I say.

   Sorry to explain da life. My week was mean though! its supposed to be -16 on Wednesday without the windchill’s haha I thought it was supposed to be warming up too. Oh well. I went and took my drivers test again today in another city and just barely failed lol I Was closer though this time. Its hard driving on the roads here ay and with all the ice and frosty windows its hard to see sometimes. All goods though Ill just get it when I come home. Also my debit card was cancelled for some reason. I called American savings bank and they said they were going to send another one in the mail to our Hawaii home address so you guys keep an eye out for that please. Mum and Dad excited to see you guys!! dont crash on the roads ay! If its possible could you guys bring some sort of cheap gifts for my people here, chocolate or something, whatever you think, thank you! I love all you guys, you too grams!! keep pushing yourselves to be better! see you guys in a bit!! Doitzen it up the guts again this week here we go!!!

Elder Kanahele!!

Meagans Wedding - So pretty!

Kia ora you falas!! so crack up reading your letters today. Lia girl. second??? dang thats so cool Lia!!! so proud of you girl. Your body must be all hard right now yeah? you get pains ah?? ah come on girl you was raised wit 3 boys, you get em ah, keep going hard Lia, dont back down girl. Ash bro hahah crack up dog bout your prom crap. I remember doing crap like that and getting caught bro. alguds bro do what you gotta do bro, your the man dog no one can touch you. Hows your senior year bro?? you enjoying it bro? hows rugby? hows your body looking bro, send me a pick bro. My body’s looking pretty descent. Hope your ready to try and take me on bro, im coming full force dog. Con bro how you doing brada?? still surfing so'o ah? lol crack up bro. Lion king??? what did you have to do bro? hows your body going bro? Mum you must be happy as to be finishing with school. Good luck with all your assignments. You’ve come so far mum and still remember when we lived down by Sam store when you were in school and waitress down and hukilau cafe  slogging your guts. You’ve been in it head strong the whole time and its paid off yeah? grown so much. Your a awesome example to us all mum. And still able to look beautiful, be a mum, wife and still able to go down and surf at the beach. You get em ah mum. Dad bro I Got a nice grey jacket, a black one and also a heavy duty one. Dont spend too much money yeah you guys. That guy Brian is all shirt ow. The weather should be all gee. As long as you have some layers when you come, and you can use one of my jackets. its not like were gonna be out tracting all day. well be in doors ay. you trying to be handsome ay dad?? haha crack up bro, always gotta look prime ay bro. If that’s the case don’t let me stop you bro, do your thing ay. I can get you a good jacket mum that you can use as well from one of the members. just let me know ay, easy!!

     Anyways you falas I had a mean week. Had the best Sunday this week. We had heaps of investigators come to church and heaps of less-actives, one who hadent come for the past 20 plus years. It was such a good feeling to have so many lost sheep at church. This is the best ward that Iv ever been in. There were members at the doors greeting, hugging and making these people feel at home. Our bishop stood up towards the end of the meeting and bore his testimony specifically to these people welcoming them and promising them blessings God would give the m for being their. I know he followed the spirit  because I know these people he was talking towards and I know their struggles and a lot about their hardships and he said things that highlighted something in everyone of their lives, it was so cool. One of these less-actives we have been teaching since we came into this area. We cut his long hair, got him cleaned up and shaven, got him a white shirt and tie, some perfumes and just made him look good. He finally turned up yesterday  for the first time in 6 years and we couldn’t even recognize him. I felt the spirit just looking at him and how much more presentable and happy he looked. I realized how much worth he had and how all he needed was a little love and it made a huge difference. The scripture  In Matthew 25:40 says "...Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, ye have done it unto me."

 Im so grateful that God see's the person that I can be. Jesus Christ treated all his followers this way. Not as they were but he treated them and saw more their potential and who they could become. Because of his perfect love and leadership they were able to live up to that person that he saw in them. Kind of like Mahana in Johny Lingo ay. She really was a beautiful women from the start but she wasnt treated that way. She was convinced she was ugly and lived up to that standard alone. It really bottled the people when Johnny Lingo a very wealthy man was willing to pay 8 cows in exchange for Mahana. He treated her like she was the most prized possession. It was then that she realized her worth and potential. The end of the movie shows her transformation. I saw this in Anthony, yesterday and it was one of the happiest times of my mission.

I love you family, still enduring. Its time to finish everything off strong. Thank you!

elder kanahele kaka

Kia ora family!! fa good to hear from you falas ay!

 

Flash-Back - Da man!

Lia you crack up! you havent had a wrestling match in a while ya?? lol you gonna wrestle at states? send me some pics of you in your gears!

Ash bro thats awesome bout your eagle bro, mean accomplishment bro, thats carck up bout uncle harold bro. Hes two mills wit that stuff ah. sole so you gonna be doing 5 proms than or what? you like me come wit you sole when I get back? lol crack up g!

So awesome to hear about Nainoa and Liliu!! mean you guys. So proud of yu guys and the missionary work you are doing! keep it up.

well family another week come and gone man! just crazy how fast the weeks go ay. Had a crazy week out finding again. Its a constant thing ay. We find so many people every week but we lose them almost as fast as we find them lol. Its a continuous cycle. We been working hard to get our african family moving foward. They were sick this week so we didnt get to teach them. Other than that we just been doing a lot of finding. Its freezing today! We are so lucky to have a car in this area. We drive past other missionaries in our zone all the time and give them rides. Its just crazy with the wind. It gets you to the bones ay. Family my time is getting close ay, excited to reunite again. Help me finish strong. Im trying to work harder than I ever have and love more than Iv ever loved. Its a constant battle. I am so imperfect and have a lot of weaknesses and my mission has taught me a lot about how much labor their is to perform in our probation here on earth. We are never just alguds ay. We will be learning progressing and growing till the day we die. I love you guys and am so grateful to you for sticking with me from start to end. Im on my second wind you falas!! no more talking ay just gotta get it done!! Miracles this week family!! cheehooooo!!

 

Elder Kanahele Kaka

 

p.s mum and dad dont spend too much money on warm gears ok. Just use the layers you guys already have and just get one good jacket. theres some good places over here. probli better if you just wait till you get here ay?. no need boots or anything like that. it'll only be in the 30's when you come and its not that bad when you arent really outside that much, just walking from the car to a building. Dad I got a few nice jackets for you bro. Sweet if you guys have any questions bout the cold let me know. Dont want you falas to get sick ay soft falas! different ballgame over here ay!!

Kia ora you falas!!!

     Sweet letters!! everyone sounds busy as heck! So cool that you guys have been so involved in the community and doing so much service etc. How did you like wrestling this year Lia? you probably glad its pau ya? Can grind all the food you want after. Proud of you Lia for being such a good girl. Keep it up.

     Ash bro sole 5 proms uce??? oiy shole! crazy bro all the girls like grind you ah? crazy bro, good on you ash bro hows your body looking bro? still lifting and gaining weight bro? Proud of you too ash, you have grown up so much bro, you just a loveable guy bro, a tool that’s gonna come in handy for you on your mission.

     Mum I got a permit ID, that should be good yea? Its got all the same info that a regular Drivers License but it just says Permit on it. I'm gonna schedule another drivers test and see if I can do this again. Question, you guys got a GPS that we gonna use? cuz my one is broken.

     Anyways you guys I had a good week. Its gone by way too fast. Still working with my African family. They didnt make it to church yesterday. Gonna keep working with them this week to get them to church. A lot of people have a hard time coming to church in the winters because its so cold so we gotta have some powerful lessons with them so that their motivations gets them over that hump. Church is like the steroid for investigators. Every time an investigator comes to church they take huge strides in their progression towards true conversion. So many of the commandments we ask them to live are all kept there and so when they come they are blessed so much. I don't have much to say this week family just plugging along. Gonna do more to get our peeps closer to personal conversion.  I love you guys and look foward to seeing you again. Thanks for your prayers, I'm going hard for us here in Wisconsin. These people need the gospel! Have a good week you guys, see you all soon ah!!

Elder Kanahele Kaka

PS-Please tell Vick I just got his letter in the mail. the mission office forwarded it to the wrong address. i will reply to his class next week! also tell the McDonalds I said hi. they were so good to me you guys!! 

Kia ora family! I love you guys. The family sounds so busy ay!! 3 mean you guys. Iv the way the youth is taught now days sounds so much more advanced than how it was for me and conway. where we just play hangman and eat candy lol. Lia and ash you guys sound so spiritual and Im so proud of you guys ay. Mum and Dad 25 years???? oiy shole old futs lidat! Im so happy for you two ay. You have been the best parents, friends and examples all in one.

   

I had such a good week. I have been so blessed to not get sick and to be in good health when there are so many who haven't. The work is progressing so quickly here and I have had some amazing experiences coupled with miracles. I feel I have been more happy now in my mission than I ever have been. We found and taught a family of 6 this week. They are from Africa. We were out working in the middle of a snow fall and this family feeling sorry for us let us right in their home. Their religion is they believe that all religions have truth and that Gods will is to bring all these churches together. It was a miracles to teach them the Restoration and read with them scriptures. I felt an automatic love for them and could feel the spirit touching their open hearts. The lord really does prepare his children to receive his word(Alma 13:24). It seemed that this message is what this family has been looking for their whole lives and I felt so much peace knowing that I was out in the right place and time to run into this family who was ready.

     I love my mission. I am still learning so much everyday and trying to become a person and leader like Jesus. Its so motivating for me to know how perfect Jesus is and though we grow so much day by day we always have room to improve, learn and grow to become more like him. it is a process that is continuous for the rest of our lives and I love it. My time is coming close and the need I feel to leave my all to the lord increases. I cant stop. Last P-day I had the opportunity to take a nap and I couldn’t. There is no time for that. I am most happy now because I have never felt so focused in doing the lords will than I ever have. I am much happier now then before. Not that I wasn’t focused or happy before but my point being that conversion will happen and happiness will occur and increase till the day we are finally prepared to live with our father in heaven again. I love you family. Keep moving and improving, I look foward to seeing you all again.

Elder kanahele kaka