We Had Three Baptisms!!!

January 18, 2016

Week 11

Hola, mi familia & friends!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM – I forgot to say that in my last email because here in the mission you sort of forget about time and the days—only the work.

Guess what?  GOD IS REAL. I found my wallet!!

[NOTE: We didn’t post on the blog a separate email from Jeremy last week that he had lost his wallet with everything in it. He’s learned his lesson not to carry important cards with him.]

Well... I didn’t find it, and I don’t really have it yet. BUT a bishop from another stake has it. I have no idea HOW, or how it’s possible but IT IS POSSIBLE. He has it and all my cards are in it. It’s crazy! So I lost my wallet Tuesday night, and I prayed and prayed and prayed and checked every area I had been in and couldn’t find it. So I prayed all day for my wallet, but Wednesday I decided, I would stop praying for my wallet and just focus on the work. I prayed that I would find it and just trusted. I had faith that no matter what was going to happen that everything was going to work out. AND IT DID. God is there. He is always waiting for you to talk with him. He is there to comfort you when you are nervous, help you in your time of need but FIRST you have to do your part. "FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD” – It’s truth and I testify of it.

And guess what?  That’s not even the best news!  WE HAD THREE BAPTISMS!

Elder Rodriquez, Karla and Elder Pukahi

The first one is Karla. She is from my current area, and the day when I arrived, we actually taught her that night her second lesson. She’s awesome but says my Spanish is horrible…lol but it’s all good!

Maria, Elder Pukahi and Jose (Maria son)

The second one is Maria! She’s the hermaña who had the dreams. She’s from my old area but she chose me to come and baptize her so that was awesome that I was able to have the privilege. She is literally the next Relief Society President. She is almost perfect. It’s crazy!

Okay, so I didn’t baptize Karla but I confirmed her yesterday in Sacrament meeting and let me tell you...THAT WAS NERVE WRACKING! But I did it. Again, with God anything is possible. The Gift of Tongues is REAL!

The third one is Jose. He is the son of Maria.

Elder Robertshaw, Elder Pukahi, Maria, Jose and Elder Mullins

So yeah, it was an awesome week. This week I truly learned paciente and working with faith.

THANK YOU ALL FOR EVERYTHING! Sorry I put some stress on you guys this week!

Oh, wow! That story you gave about Aji on his mission is crazy. Gave me chills. That’s so awesome. I know Josh is doing some good work. I never know if I can feel him directly or not. I just know it’s the Spirit. It’s actually been a little hard because this month is a little tender for us but in my house, one of the Elders has some talks on his iPod. And we play it throughout the house in the morning. And one of the talks is from the last General Conference I think. But it’s a woman, and she is talking about her family motto. "It will all work out".  And she talks about her daughter passing over to the spirit world and everything. And their family was always telling each other that "it would all work out". And it reminded me of our motto, “It is what it is.” During this week, when times were hard, I would hear mom’s voice saying, "It is what it is" whenever something went wrong. Our appointment fell through, so I would think "it is what it is"—I can’t change it at this moment but it doesn’t mean it’s going to be that way forever.

Our lives have changed so much this last year. And most of the time, things were out of our hands and we couldn’t do anything about it. But it didn’t mean we gave up, we stopped trying. We kept on going and if things were tough, again "it is what it is" but we never stopped working. We never stopped doing the things which we needed to do.

I’ve learned a lot out here on the mission the small time that I have been out here and I have so much more to learn.

I love you guys much! CON TODO MI CORAZON!                                    

- Elder Pukahi    

Trust In The Lord!

Elder Rodriguez & Elder Pukahi

January 11, 2016

Week 10

Hola, mi familia & friends!

Thank you for the quote from Elder Dale G. Renlund. I needed it. Man, I wish I could meet him and share my testimony, too...

I’ve really grown just these last two months in learning the power of a testimony. A testimony is that strong powerful knowledge that you know in your heart. I’ve seen many people lose theirs. I lost mine for a little bit in high school because I wasn’t testifying of the knowledge I knew. If we just sit around and let our testimony die and not help it grow, we are going to stay in the same place until we decide to change. AND that place is not a happy place. The only time we are truly happy is when we are trying, really trying to become closer to Christ. He is the one that truly makes us happy. Through him, we receive true happiness. So I am happy that you had a great Family Home Evening, sharing your testimonies. I know it was powerful.

I thank you guys so much. For everything!! My heart is so full of gratitude every time I start thinking of you. I am thankful to my Heavenly Father and Yes, I am thankful for you, too, Jamison!

Okay, so… I got transferred to Cumbres, which is the border area to my first area. My companion (Elder Rodriguez) is awesome. He’s so funny, and he helps me A LOT!  He’s from Honduras, and he speaks very, very little English. So let’s just say this week has been just… GREAT!  Okay…my Spanish has been alright. I mean, I can understand like 75% of what people are saying so WOOOOH! But everyday it’s getting better and better, so I have that to be grateful for.

So my companion came only three weeks before I came to this area, so our amount of investigators is very little. But this week we worked really hard, so we’re getting there. We have a baptism hopefully this week, Karla, but if not this week the next week after that.

It’s been crazy because when I was in my trio, I didn’t have to talk as much and that was awesome because I couldn’t really speak Spanish, so it worked out. But NOW I have to speak more and my great companion makes me speak more, which I am thankful for, it’s just hard. The hard part is I know how to teach but I can’t understand everything, and everybody can’t understand me. But what I learned this week, is to TRUST IN THE LORD. If you start doubting in God and trusting in yourself, you won’t succeed. Because it is through the Spirit that changes a person’s heart. God is the one that is speaking—not me. I have to remember that. So we can trust in the Lord more, but we have to act. If we are scared and don’t act upon our faith, WE CAN’T ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING! And we aren’t the people the Lord needs.

This work is true. I promise you that. It’s the best thing, hearing and seeing your investigators change and want to come closer to our Father in Heaven and to our Savior. It changes you. I know this gospel is true. And everybody should know that.

Thank you for everything you do for me! I love you with all my heart!

Nos vemos!

- Elder Pukahi

Elder Pukahi siting on Christmas Video on Mission Facebook
Click Here to Review

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Elder Mullins, me Elder Pukahi and Elder Phelps.  
In the back row, this is the first family (THE BEST FAMILY)
that I ate with when I came to Reynosa and this area.

January 4, 2016

Week 9

Dear Family & Friends,

So remember when I was talking with you at Christmas that I said that it was majorly HOT but now Reynosa is FREEZIN!!!!!  It’s been colder than I’ve ever felt in Utah AND there’s no snow! But I love it.

And yes, my stomach survived on New Year’s Day—lol! We ate at 4 houses that day, so I ate a lot of food!

Yoanna and Coleson’s baby—keep me posted. Glad you and Jessica were able to go to their baby shower. I need a picture when the baby comes. She is going to be GORGEOUS! I still can’t believe it but I’m so excited for them.

Tell everybody who sent me cards this Christmas…THANK YOU! It really meant a lot!

So… GUESS WHAT? I’m getting TRANSFERRED!  Yeah, crazy. I am getting transferred to Cumbres, which is literally four streets out of my area but it’s a whole other ward. I’m also getting a companion…Elder Rodriguez. I have no idea who he is yet but Elder Mullins does. Elder Phelps is actually getting transferred, too. He is going to Matamoros to become a Zone Leader in Buena Vista. Elder Mullins is staying as a District Leader in this area, so that’s really good! I’M SO SAD because I love them so much. But I know it’s for a reason. God has a plan.

It’s crazy. I’ve had only three weeks out in the mission, and I’m already getting transferred. I can’t even believe it, but GOD HAS A PLAN. I testify that this is true.

I’m EXTRA SAD because we have four FOR SURE baptisms these upcoming weeks. And we found them together and everything. I was so excited to baptize them but God has a plan. GOD DEFINITELY HAS A PLAN.

This is Mari and her son, Jose
(the investigators I was talking about)

I’m going to tell you a story of one of our investigators. About the time when I just entered the MTC, this hermaña, our investigator, had a dream. She had a dream of three angels dressed in white that come to her door and help her change her life. This was a complete month before I even came to this area. God truly prepares people for you and he has a plan. Her baptismal date is the 16th of January. Her son is now really interested and wants to be baptized as well. And he wants ME to baptize him! AND because of this, I can come back for their baptisms! I am soooo happy!

Well, I got to PLAY SOCCER this week!!! That was fun and my team won... lol. CAMPEONES!

I just love you all so much! I know with all my heart this gospel is True. Jesus Christ is our brother, our Savior, our redeemer, and He LIVES.

Thank you for everything. Everything that is in my life!

I also got the package which was THE BEST THING IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD! Thank You!!

Love you!!

- Elder Pukahi