Wow! February 13, 2012

Boy it's been a while since I have written and a lot has happened
since then! First and foremost, I am in Maui now baby! I love this
place, its sweet. I am in the Waiehu ward and the Kamehameha Singles
Branch. My companion is Elder Porter, I am super stoked to be back
with him! He is the man and we have been having great success over
here. This ward has a lot of Hawaiians, so everyone is really local,
way laid back and chill. It's a nice change from being in town for the
last 8 months, so I'm loving life.

We started off with the first Saturday (the 29th) I was here we had a
baptism! His name was Chris and he just got here from Guam. He came to
live with his uncle and family who are all active members in the
church. Chris is Chuukese and so he hasn't been able to get into
school yet, so every morning he wakes up for seminary at 6 and then
that's all he is able to do. He is super cool. The first lesson that I
had with him was the plan of salvation and it was cool to see the
change in him as we taught him the purpose of life. He opened up
really quick, and at the end of the lesson he said I know this is
true. Chris comes to church everyweek, has gotten the Priesthood and
has an active part in the ward!

This past week has really been a week of miracles. So we have been
teaching this family, Tess and Boobie. Boobie is a member, he got
baptized in Utah and his wife Tess is not a member. All they need to
do is get married and then she can get baptized. Well on Wednesday
morning we got a call from Tess telling us that Bishop is going to
marry them that night! So that night we were able to sit in Bishop's
office as they got married, it was pretty cool! After that, they said
"3 PM this Saturday?" So yesterday they got baptized. We gave Boobie
the priesthood on Friday night, that way on Saturday morning he was
able to baptize his wonderful wife. It was so cool. They are the best.
They said that now they decided to do this, they are going 100
percent! On Friday night at our lesson, they were already looking at
2013 dates of when they would be able to get sealed. It was something
else, super powerful!

We had another miracle last night. One of our members set up a lesson
for us for a family that have been coming to church for a while. The
husband is a member, and the wife is the one investigating the church.
She has been taught one lesson, so we were giving her the second
lesson. Her husband, and the 2 other fellowshippers at the lesson were
all converts. What we taught yesterday was the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We started off with a mormon message by Elder Holland, and that played
right into faith, repentance and baptism. That brought the Spirit so
strongly and really made the lesson I think. Those mormon messages are
the BOMB! So anywho, the lesson was probably one of the most spiritual
lessons I have ever been a part of. She bore one of the most powerful
testimonies on prayer that I have ever heard from a nonmember. There
wasn't a dry eye in the room. As we got to baptism, we asked one of
the fellowshippers how being baptized has helped him in his life. He
gave a great answer, but the best thing he said was the last
statement. He said "I have done a lot of things in my life, but the
best thing I have ever done was getting baptized." I honestly haven't
felt the Spirit that strong in a very long time. It was amazing. Right
after that we invited her to be baptized and she said I will
absolutely be baptized! So needless to say she will be getting
baptized on the 4th. The husband was so happy, and you can tell he has
been waiting for this. I have learned so much on my mission. I have
learned how important it is to be bold and just invite people. Who
cares. Most the time, they are just waiting for you to ask them! She
has been taught for a while, and I know tonight's lesson played a big
role in her decision, but I can't believe she wasn't invited before.
That is what the mission is all about. That was so cool! I have never
felt so good after a lesson as I did after that one. She is so solid!

That is kind of the exciting things that have happened the past 3
weeks since I haven't written. Last week we went to Lanai and did a
baptismal interview. That was way sweet, we took the early ferry ride
over and saw a ton of whales! Man whales are definitely my favorite
animals. We saw probably 20 or so, and at one point we were like 20
feet away from one so we had to turn of the ferry and stuff. That was
neat. Lanai was cool, but it rained like mad! We were all soaking wet!
It was a lot of fun.

A couple weeks ago we were on Big Island doing all the interviews and
that was super fun! We basically saw every part of the island, man
that place is so different! You can go from hot desert to cold climate
super fast! We went to the Southmost point of the United States, that
was cool! I wanted to jump off the cliff but President wouldn't let
me. In the future! We also saw the volcano, that's pretty cool to say
I've seen an active volcano. It was a lot of fun. It was awesome being
able to serve around President and Sister Dalton. I just want you all
to know how much I love them and how much of an impact they have made
in my life. They will forever be my second parents. They shaped me to
become a much better person, and taught me so much not only about the
Gospel but life in general. It was hard to say bye to them, even though I
wasn't even leaving the mission. That right there is a testimony to me
of how true this work is. You have a couple like that, who leave their
kids and grandkids, and serve 100 percent each and everyday for 3
years. It's unreal, they are the best people ever, I love them so
much!

Well that's about all I got, hope all is well. I love you all, thanks
for everything! Oh just a congrats to Ethan, just found out that you
get home tomorrow. Well done my friend, thanks for serving the Lord
for 2 years. Cant wait to get back home and ball it up again.
Love you
man!
Elder G.