This Crazy Week!

My new companion Elder Salazar

September 12, 2016

WEEK 45

So the title of this email is:   THIS CRAZY WEEK!

Dear Family & Friends,

It was...CRAZY! Let me explain. So on Tuesday, I went to go drop off Elder Cox in Reynosa, expecting to just pick up my new companion and that’s it, right? But NOPE!  The assistants surprise me and tell me that I will be opening a new area, too!  So yeah, I got transferred as well.

Getting new companions with mission president

Let me explain about my new companion... ELDER SALAZAR! He’s new to the mission, so he is 18 and from Durango, Mexico. HE IS SWEET! We are going to finish his training so fast! HE’S SO PREPARED! Every missionary that I have trained have been so prepared—it’s crazy! Good old Elder Salazar will be totally trained in no time! I am so excited.

But here’s the REAL crazy part. On Tuesday, they told me in the morning about me being transferred. So in the afternoon, when we got back at like 5:00 pm, we went to the appointments that we had set up. I gave all the references that I had gotten from people to the sisters in my district. Then me and my companion left that night!

Then Thursday, we went back to Reynosa to see our mission president, along with… ELDER PAUL B. PIEPER, our Area Seventy. We had a training with him, where he told us what we needed to do better and helped us by showing how we can do it. But what’s even crazier is that only 15 missionaries in the whole mission had the opportunity to talk with President Pieper one on one in an interview. President Regelado called me and told me that I was going to be one of the 15 people, as well as my good old friend Elder Cox. (He’s killing it as a trainer by the way with his newbie companion.) I am so grateful to have had the privilege to talk with a man called from God. I have learned so much this week!

Group photo at the mission office

This week because of my interviews that I needed to do as district leader, as well as the other meetings that happened this week, we didn’t have a lot of time to work in our area yet, which I feel bad for Elder Salazar. He hasn’t gotten the regular mission experience but he will learn and will be better than me.

But a miracle happened this week. I was praying for the knowledge on how I can have the success the mission needs in this area, and I felt impressed that I needed to change the mentality of the members and get them on our side. So the time that I had, I worked on gaining the confidence of all the leaders of the branch.  OH!  I’m still in Rio Bravo, just in another branch named Monte Real. When I was getting ready to come over here, people told me that the Branch President is crap and that members don’t want to work. But with the time that I’ve had with these people, I realized that it isn’t the members’ fault—it is the missionaries’ fault. They hadn’t gained their trust. And this week I haven’t gained the trust of the members 100% yet but the members brought people to church for us and are entrusting us to teach them and help them to baptize. So #miracle.

Oh, another thing… On Sunday, Elder Pieper assisted with our Rio Bravos conference that we had, so... that was crazy too!  SO YEAH! MY WEEK!

I LOVE YOU GUYS! The church is true and all we have to do is create the miracles!

- ELDER PUKAHI

Another pic of me and my companion

Formally becoming companions

Going to the mission home

Picking up my companion

Here is a link from the mission Facebook page that shows Elder Pukahi playing the ukulele with other Elders.  Enjoy!  https://www.facebook.com/misionmexicoreynosa/videos/672464252917966/

My Mission