Tsunami

Zach called us at about 10:45 to tell us what was going on with the tsunami. He is currently living in Ewa Beach so we thought he might be evacuated. Here is what we told us. He has been up since 3:30. He was on a conference call with President Peterson at 4:00 to decide what needed to be done. He contacted all of his zone and they are currently at the Newtown Stake Center on higher ground. I asked him if he had gas in his car and he said, "Oh, mother don't you know me better then that!" Well I knew he would be prepared. He had 3/4 tank of gas so he is good for awhile. He also had water and 72 hour kits in the trunk of his car. So I am sure he will be fine. He sounded good. He said it is very stressful trying to make sure everyone is safe and where they need to be. He loves the rush of it all though. I am sure there will be a lot of relief efforts that will take place next week. Keep the missionaries in your prayers.

Week 71 Back to the Basics

Well as you can see from the heading from my email I have taken my zone back to the basics in the way they do missionary work. I made that our zone theme for this transfer so I am pretty excited to see what happens. I was talking to Elder Eteaki on the phone last night and we decided between our two zones we want to get half of vision 100 in the month of March. So that would be 50 baptisms between our two zones. So we will see what happens we are going to try and unite our efforts as much as possible even though we are in different zones. As for my area this was a really good week. My companion and I taught a total of 22 lessons which is really good. Our goal is to teach 20 a week. The week I got here they only taught 11 so we are seeing some big improvements.
So it was pretty funny this week in church. We were sitting there in sacrament meeting and this poly couple with their two little kids and sit next to us. Me loving little kids and loving polys started to play with the kids. Then after church I started talking to them and found out that it was Nia Fotu's sister and brother in law. We are going to their house again tomorrow so that will be fun. They are realy cool people. Hopefully I can build a good relationship and get to know him and his family better. Just a funny little story though.
Well I decided that I wanted to do something to start uniting the zone more so we did a zone car wash on Saturday morning and it was a huge success. We had like 15 referrals from it and like 5 return appointments, which is really good. The zone really came together and united themselves. I was so happy they are finally getting along and working together. It was really cool though because before I left Honolulu the assistants told me they would come and visit me on a regular basis. I got along really well with them in Honolulu and they became some of my best friends,so it was really cool to see them show up at our finding activity. I really love those guys they are like my brothers.
So I finally got to meet one of our 2 investigators we currently have in this area. I am working on trying to find more. She is this local lady that is really cool but we haven't been able to get in contact with her since I have been here. The work in this area has been quite slow lately so we are trying to get things picked up. Hopefully we see some good turn around in the next couple of weeks . I think I am going to try and do a few exchanges this up coming week with a few of the companionships so I get a better idea of what is going on in their areas. Other than that it was a pretty typical week. Talked to a few drunk guys told them we can't drink and walked away. Well just like always I love you all so much and miss you like crazy but there is no place I would rather be right now.
Ofa atu

Zig

Week 1 Remodel Update

The remodeling is coming along well. The concrete walls are gone and most of the debris has gone to the dump. They have knocked down my bedroom wall so that all that separates the bedroom from the construction is plastic sheeting. The new floor for our bedroom extension is in. The new steel beam that holds up the house is in as well. The progress is great and I can't believe how much has been done in a week. I will keep posting pictures and updates as the work progresses.

The makings of the new floor for our master bedroom. Soon to be the closet and new shower. (The top of the picture, not the wood plank. LOL)

Preview of new room in the basement.
Another view new room. Pretty dusty still.

New I-Beam

Support beams for new I-bEAM.

WOW...Week 70 Can you believe it!!!

Well here I am now in Ewa Beach and it is a lot different from the city. My area mostly consists of military people and a lot of newer neighborhoods. I serve the cities of Ewa Beach, Pearl City, Newtown, and Honouliuli. Most of the houses in my area are only about 5 years old so they are are really nice and actually it looks a lot like a mainand neighborhood. I guess one section of our area is a little bit more run down but for the most part it is all brand new. The work here has been really slow and I am going to do all I can this week to get it moving. President has raised the standards for our zone so that should be interesting to see what happens. He says that our zone is really good and that we can do better than they have done in the past. So I am trying to get my zone pumped up and to get them unified as much as I can. Pres expects a lot out of us this transfer so I am going to see what I can do to get that. We are hoping to get 22 baptisms this transfer in our zone so I am going to do everything in my power to help them get it.

So this week had some highs and lows. It was extremely hard to say good bye to Elder Eteaki. I love that guy so much but I have talked to him every day since I left. Pres told me I could talk to him whenever I wanted so that is good. I got to drive the AP's truck for the day and decided I really miss driving a truck. I fit so well in there Colorado and I liked sitting up higher. As for the new zone there are 22 of us and it is the biggest zone in the mission. I am just trying to help the missionaries to know that I love them.I do everything I can for them and just praise them like crazy. I asked my companion if they were doing some things in this zone and he was like no and it is things that should be done in every zone so I changed those right away. My new area is really really slow right now. I don't know what they did all last transfer but they have like no investigators. I will be changing that. It is hard to leave an area because you build it up and get things going great and then you have to leave. It is really frustrating. I left an area with 10 people coming to church 10 with a baptism date and 25 lessons a week to 0 with a date 0 at church and 15 lessons a week. I hopefully will change that though. I am excited to see what happens this next couple of weeks. I am just keeping the faith. You know sometimes the Lord brings us lower before he can lift us higher. Well I know this is short but my mind has gone blank. I love you all so much and hope that you have a good week.
Love you
Zig

The house remodel begins

We are making a bathroom downstairs for the boys and redoing the bathroom upstairs in our bedroom. So the original back wall of the house had to come down. The floor for the upstairs is going to be extended 4 feet to match the wall of the garage. So our basement and bedroom will be a little bigger and we will have a small family room downstairs to relax in. If you need any dust come on over we will have plenty for the next couple of weeks. Today they are jack hammering the original basement wall and removing all the rubble. The dogs are not liking it at all. I think they will go visit their cousin Puzzle for the day. I will keep updating with pictures as we progress the next couple of weeks.

Week 69 He gets transferred to Waipahu

Well aloha family,

Well you will all be shocked at this news as much as I was. I am off to Waipahu Zone and I will serve in a towm called Ewa Beach. I was completely blown away and really quite sad. I have really enjoyed being with Elder Eteaki. I am excited to go but also nervous. I was just confused at first because I had just got here and I had only been with Elder Eteaki one transfer. But it is the Lord's will not mine. Wherever the Lord needs me to go I will go.

Other than that we had a baptism this week. It was for a guy named Joe Jackson. He has been investigating the church for like 2 years and he finally is living the word of wisdom so he could get baptized. He is a really cool guy not completely there but he had a desire to be baptised. He had done lots of drugs in his life so that makes his mind a little slow. He has been trying so hard for so long and now he is finally able to. I was grateful to be apart of it. As for our other investigastors we have 9 with a date but none of them will be getting baptised until after I leave but you know you don't always get to reap what you harvest.I am excited for this new area though and see what I can do to help them. I hope I can do what the pres wants me to do. Elder Eteaki said he wishes he could just end his mission because he can't get another comp like me but I say he is full of crap. I love that kid to death though and know that I have made a life long friend in him. I know that we will stay in contact forever. He has a girlfriend he wants to marry but he told me that now he has to wait for me to get home before he can get married. Man I love that kid he is the best. He has such a strong testimony and has a rough background I will tell you about someday. It is a miracle he is even on a mission but he is. I know that he and I are more than just companions we are a life long support system for each other and that is what it is all about. I think that is why we were put together. We needed to meet so that we could support each other through the hard times throughout life not just on the mission. The mission pres gave me permission to call him whenever I want and however often I want.

By the way sibling thanks for the package I loved it. Thanks Mom and Dad for the book. It is really cool and I really like it. I am so grateful to have such a great family.So many missionaries don't have the support that they need but I think I have enough to support a whole zone of missionaries. Well I think that is about it for this week. I love you all so much. Have a good week and I will email you from Ewa Beach next week and tell you about my new zone.

Ofa atu

My Amaryllis Bloomed This Year !!!

Well I had success this year with my amaryllis. It was simply beautiful and I loved it while it lasted. I hope some of you had success this year as well.

Week 68 Zone Conference brings an unusual teaching moment

We had zone conference this week so that was good. We watched all the PMG DVDs. Those are always good to watch and I learn so much from them. This zone conference was really long but it was really good. I learned so much. I had a scary moment though. I was sitting there and we were getting ready to do a role play. The Zone leaders usaully go around and listen to other companionships do the role plays, but this time Pres. came and sat next to me and said, "OK, teach me." It was a little nerve racking, but I did it. He told me he was extremely impressed. He said he didn't know anything I could improve on which I find hard to believe. I was talking to the assistants and I guess I was the only one that had to role play with him this transfer. Oh by the way transfers will be this coming week so by next week I will know what will be happeniong and stuff. I hope I stay with eteaki. I love that kid so much. He is the man.
Other than that it was a pretty typical week. I know that my email didn't go through last week. It must be lost in cyberspace somewhere. Anyway we had a baptism last week it was really good. He was a guy from Iran. His name is Ashkan and he is 32 years old. We are having another baptism this friday for a black guy named Joe Jackson. He has been clean from drugs and is ready to be baptised. I will let you know how it goes. Other than that my comps and I are doing well. I am excited to see what happens this up coming week. Thanks for all of your support.

Zig

He sent us some pictures that I will post here. You will see that he has gotten bigger. Not only has he put on a few pounds he has grown taller. He tells us he is about 6'8" tall now. He has to duck through most doorways and duck under ceiling fans. He gets asked everyday how tall he is.

He sent us a package by slowboat about 6 weeks ago and it may be lost at sea. He tells us it has some great recipes in it. So hopefully we get it soon. McKay is excited for it to come. He gets the worn out backpack that Zach is sending home.

He is teaching a family of 5 that have set a date for baptism for Feb 27th. He is very excited about them and their enthusiasm in learning the gospel. The work is really moving forward in Honolulu.

He told us that a lot of the missionaries that were there for his first year are all going home. He is now one of the old missionaries there. He told us it is really weird to be meeting all the new missionaries. He loves it though and still has a great missionary spirit.