This Week Was Crazy, We Had Three Baptisms

Three baptisms, Maria, Nina and Leonardo

July 18, 2016

WEEK 37

Dear Family & Friends,

Thank you for the pictures. I am so happy to see all your smiling faces!!

EVERYONE IS GETTING MARRIED! Now it’s Aji… stop getting married. I want to be there! It is crazy. I feel like I left and then BAM! Everybody grew up so much.

And JAMISON AND CAVIN! What happened? I’ve only been gone almost 9 months and your guys decided to grow up!!! But I still love you guys. Time just seems like it’s gone so fast!!

Elder Pukahi & Elder Perez

Well, more about my companion, Elder Perez. He’s a cutie. And he’s a convert. All of his family are converts. He had a hard life. I’m very humbled to have him as my companion. I’ve realized how blessed I have been in my life. Why God has been so merciful to me?  I don’t know why, BUT on the opposite side, my companion is crazy. We are almost the same person. I mean, you guys already know how crazy I am, so… just double that and you got our companionship!!  It’s so fun. I’ve learned so much from my companions. We learn more from our companions than anything else. IT’S CRAZY!!!! I’ve said crazy a lot in this paragraph but I am forgetting English and so… forgive me!

But this week WAS crazy! We did so many things I can’t even explain it. WE HAD THREE BAPTISMS! I will attach the pictures. The woman is named Maria Esmeralda and the two children are named Nina and Leonardo. THEY ARE ALL SO COOL! Nina and Leonardo are from the Fernandez family, the family who was inactive but we reactivated them and baptized the children. They are amazing!

My crazy Zone

We actually found Maria during the food before the baptism. We were eating with everyone and everything. We didn’t know that she wasn’t a member, but Bishop, Hermano Rincon and the others were having another conversation, and so I started to talk with her because well, I was bored.....lol. I had saw her before at church and started off just asking what she did for a job and what she wanted to become. She works as a nurse and told me that she likes helping people. I forget exactly what she said but it made me think of the Plan of Salvation. So I started telling her the reason I had come on the mission, what the purpose we do as missionaries and everything. And I realized halfway through the conversation that she wasn’t a member. So then I started thinking of her and what she needed. I shared my testimony and everything and when she had tears in her eyes, I then taught her baptism. I asked her if she wanted to be clean from her sins, and she said YES. I then asked her if she felt that our church is true, and she said YES. Then I asked, “WILL YOU GET BAPTIZED?” and she said YES... LOL!!! BLESSINGS FROM HEAVEN!

Maria’s mom was a convert about 4 years ago and she’s always wanted her children to be in the church since then. I then turned to Maria’s mom and told her "Hermana, your daughter wants to get baptized!” The mom started crying and everything and the Bishop and everyone that was there got happy and everything. So I then suggested that she could get baptized that same day because she had assisted the church for years. She started crying. And well, acting in her faith, she got baptized. I literally did nothing. But I can see that God is always in everyone’s life!

On the border of Brownsville, Texas to the US.

Also, we went this morning to the bridge to Brownsville, Texas. We took pictures outside the bridge, thinking that this was the closest we could get to the US, but we just found out that we can walk to the border line that says you are crossing into US. So… we are going to go take a picture of that next Monday. SO MOM, WE COULD BE SO CLOSE NEXT WEEK!! LOL.

Well, what more can I say---- I LOVE THE MISSION!!!!  Keep being happy, family. I love you guys with all my heart! I wish and pray for the best for you guys.

- Elder Pukahi, the favorite son

Hanging out on some cool stairs.

By the border.