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.

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