Exhausting Joy 😊

Alohaaaaa, howzit?!? Long time no see!!! Pretty solid week, we did a lot of great work and ate a lot of great food, maybe even a little too much because I'm somehow gaining weight while in a biking sector so it doesn't really make sense. 

Highlights:

- Soeur Schmitt pulled up!!! We ended up going to the beach as a district on Monday and played some volleyball and rugby and ate some sandwiches. Soeur Schmitt who just barely finished her mission also pulled up and it was lit to see her and her family. 

- Took a mini shower at the other Elders chapel using some handsoap in place of bodysoap and a garden house for a shower 🚿 😀 👌 😄 😎 👍 

- We started an exchange that same night and I got to chill with the Paopao Elders and it was sick. It was a big family reunion and everyone there was so nice. The guy paddles for Red Bull Vaa and his wife is a "Goold" from Bora Bora so I got to talk to hem about their family as well as paddling. The other siblings also love to paddle and come to Hawaii so we were blessed with even more connections that way and another guy who married into that family was from the Marquesis so we talked about Ua Huka and Nuku Hiva and all the different families that we know. Crazy how small the world is.

- The exchange with Elder Murray was nice. He's a really hard worker and we were able to get so much done. In and Out with every lesson just like the burger place. We had around 9 lessons planned for the day and roughly 5 of them went through. We were also able to go contacting and see various parts of their sector. 🌟 oh, and a little miracle was us going back to the chapel and finding my stick of old spice deodorant in the sink... guess I forgot to put it back in my bag when I changed 🤦🏽‍♂️ luckily it's back in good hands.

- Took a trip over to Tahiti for zone conference. We got picked up by Soeur Wong who works in the office and she had the radio on and there was this tahitian version of stick figure playing and it was pretty cool to hear. 

- We had a great time and then proceeded to spend three-ish hours practicing different songs for a big celebration coming up. It literally felt like I was in song contest rehearsals again. We got dropped off at the boat but still had some time so we ended up going to get some frozen yogurt before catching the sunset on the boat going back.

- We took a pretty funny district selfish with the sisters who were on the other boat.

- Played a little game of hot and cold with one of our young friends to teach him the importance of listening to the promptings of the spirit and he loved it.

- Ended up singing a solo of "Love One Another" for one of our friends after we talked about the importance of loving God and our neighbor.

- Had some amazing dinner appointments this past week and ended up taking home leftovers. Ate Lemon chicken and rice for breakfast and lunch and also had a pound of poke with a few cups of rice one morning for breakfast and there was still another pound left so I was blessed with another poke bowl for lunch.

- Our mission president talked to us about the importance of having clean homes and it made me very grateful to all my companions present and in the past who have put up with my standards of living and wanting a clean house, also to all the other people who've lived in the houses as well, your future wife's will be so happy when you want a clean home as much as they do. And a big thanks to my dad who's a great example of if you don't want it, we're getting rid of it and loved to go around with his big black contractor bags and throw things out.

- We had a few more powerful lessons to end off the week and met some people who were super interested in hearing our message.

- Was given this huuuuge wooden pice that was carved as a fruit holder, the only problem is it takes up like half my suitcase.

- Got asked if I speak my native language and then after saying "yeah, a little" I was then asked to speak Chinese and Native American Indian, pretty funny. Guess there was a little miscommunication because I thought we were talking about just Hawaiian. Guess I need to learn some Native American as well.

- Surf has been up this past week and a little spot in our neighborhood started looking like a mini makapuu and there was some guys out surfing and on bodyboards having a blast.

Lowlights:

- Transfer calls are coming up

Spiritual thought:

So the spiritual thought for today comes from a talk Elder Steven R. Bangerter gave during this past General conference in which he talked about the importance of integrity and it was something that really stood out to me and I liked, he said...

"My father had my full attention in that moment. He turned and looked at me in the eyes and said, “Son, protect the private times of your life.” There was a long pause as he let the meaning sink deep into my heart. 

He then continued, “You know, those times when you’re the only one around and no one else knows what you’re doing? Those times when you think, ‘Whatever I do now doesn’t affect anyone else, only me’?” 

Then he said, “More than any other time in your life, what you do during the private times of your life will have the greatest impact on how you confront challenges and heartache you will face; and what you do during the private times of your life will also have a greater impact on how you confront the successes and joy you will experience than any other time in your life.”

"Vents favorables et mer suivants"

"Mata'i haumaru e moana mania"

"Fair winds and following seas"

Vamos pour le Seigneur, Envoyons!!!

Elder Ellis

Link to my Google Photo's album. Go check um, go check um, go!:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qErFS2eWV3pJGVEV7