Final Transfer

Aloha!!!!

Well....A big big BIG weight is off my shoulders. I now know where and who I will finish my mission with. I no longer have to worry about walking areas, new areas, or crazy people!! We had transfer news come in last night, and I'm the happiest cat around. I will be finishing my mission in the Lihue, Kaua'i area. I was born in Kalaheo Kaua'i, and will finish in Lihue Kaua'i!!! I'm so excited to die where I was born! (Mission lingo). I've spent a wonderful 9 months on this island, and will spend 6 more weeks here!!!!

Unfortunately, I wont' finish with Elder Coffin. It will be with an Elder named Elder Entz (spelling?). He is about 9 months out, and I will train him as a Zone Leader. He will be my 3rd zone leader I've trained. So, I'm excited for a new transfer!! I am sad Elder Coffin is going. I spent 18 weeks with him. He's a funny kid and cracks me up. I've enjoyed being with him a lot, ad we've really learned how to get along!! It will be sad leaving him. He's taking off to Waipahu O'ahu, which is west side.

As far as our week. I have never ever had a week as a missionary that was so stressful, so crazy, so wild, but so rewarding, and so blessed. We had the last week of October and the transfers, and 4 baptisms scheduled. To start the week off, we were scared that Sheri was going to drop! We went through A LOT to finally feel comfortable that she would actually get baptized. It's hard to explain, but we had a lot of opposition that we had no control over. But we overcame it, and Sheri and Elijah were baptized on Saturday!! Their son, Brayden, dropped out last minute because he is very shy and very quiet. He was nervous to come. So we talked to him yesterday and we're going to try to do a service for him today at 4. We'll pray that it will happen!!!

Here is the awesome miracle of the week however. I mentioned last week, Tim ***. We had a lesson with him Monday night, and it was such an awesome lesson. The spirit was so strong and we could feel it, he could too!!! We told him about how we prayed for him to get baptized that weekend, and Natalia called us 30 seconds later telling us he wanted to get baptized. We told him that we took that as a sign and Heavenly Father would like to see him get baptized on Saturday. He looked kind of puzzled and said, "I was thinking of next week Saturday, but this week will be ok too!" Tears filled his new wife's eyes as he said these words, and we testified to the importance of him taking this step, and the blessings that will be coming into his life because of it. So we had his baptism on Saturday, and it was awesome!!!! I'm so, so, SO blessed and humbled to have been a part of this, because now he is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, along with his wife Natalia and their daughter Jaeisha. Elder Coffin and I were able to play a part in their conversion, and saw this wonderful family baptized.

Aside from that, that's really all that happened!! We are finding great potential for November baptisms to finish my mission off!! I'm excited for these last 6 weeks, and will work harder than ever to see great things happen!! I want my last transfer to be like Elder Barraza's, baptism after baptism!! If it's the Lord's will and I am obedient and diligent, it'll happen!! I love this work and am so grateful to be a part of it!!!

Love you all, and hope to hear from you soon!!!

Jumping Out Of Our Seats With Excitement

Aloha!!

How are ya'll doing!!

We had such a great week. Kinda trying though. We were going to have a baptism last weekend, but we pushed it back a week to help them prepare!! It'll be a big crunch time this week because it's the last week of the month and our mission really would love to see 115 baptisms this month. (That'd be a record in the mission) but, we also have to make sure they are worthy strong converts to the church!!! We starting teaching Allisah, she is 11 years old and is so smart!!! She wants to get baptized this weekend, we just need her mothers approval. That might be tricky, but we'll see. Just pray for her :) haha. She really wants to and is super super smart!!!!

We started teaching a recent convert's new husband. At the end of July, Natalia was baptized with Jaeisha. She married Tim, and now we are teaching him. He is a super super humble guy, and is a wonderful guy!! He's been coming to church and we've really seen the spirit emulate in him. He's ready to go!! He just needs a date!! It was awesome, because we prayed this morning and asked Heavenly Father to help him be ready to be baptized this week if it's His will. Literally 30 seconds later, we received a phone call from Natalia and she said, "Tim wants to be baptized, it could happen in the next two weeks!" Elder Coffin and I jumped out of our seat and we were so excited!! We are pushing for 10 baptisms in Kauai, and we are ALMOST there, it'll take a miracle, but it can happen. Kauai hast had ten baptisms in a month for YEARS!! The mission is doing extremely well!!! We've had 66 baptisms so far, and we have 61 scheduled this weekend. We are really trying to hit 115 this month!! We're trying. But we are super super excited about Tim!! That is a super true miracle!!!

Otherwise, this is the last week of the transfer!! My last transfer starts next week. I am really praying to finish here on Kaua'i. That'd be cool to be "born" on this island and "die" here too. We'll find out on Sunday, and I'll find out who I finish my mission with!! It'd be cool to finish it with Elder Coffin, I'll just have to wait and see!!

I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!

For Time And All Eternity - The Jays

Aloooha!!

How are you all doing? I'm swell!! I must say, I love love this beautiful island of Kaua'i. This morning we did a hike, Powerline, and we had such a beautiful view from Ana Hoala to Poi Pu. This is the most beautiful spot on earth. I'm so thankful to be here, I hope I finish my mission here!!
Anyways, onto the missionary work!! Kaua'i is doing wonderful!! We have seen so many miracles this week. It's looking like this family is going to get baptized on Saturday, and we are so excited for that to happen!!! She reads and prays everyday with her kids now!! We'll see how this new week goes huh??

We also found some good potential for a baptism next week. We've had this little girl come to church the past few months, and we finally FINALLY was able to meet with her. We asked her if she wants to get baptized and she said yes!! So we set it for the 29th. That just might happen too!! We'll see how it goes :) Fingers crossed!!!

The mission is really pushing for 115 baptisms in October. We've had 45 so far in the month, and have 99 scheduled to finish off October. The Hawaii Honolulu mission record is 108 set in May 2010. So with the fall out rate, we could see 115 reached with these others. We need 70 wonderful converts to stay strong. We are so excited, but it's definitely crunch time in the mission!!!

Otherwise, things in Lihue are going very well. We are looking at maybe 5 baptisms over the next two weeks!!! We have a transfer coming up in 2 weeks, so I hope and pray to finish my mission here!!!!!

Also, about a year ago, was the baptism of Brother and Sister Jay. They just passed through the Laie Temple on Saturday (The 15th) and were sealed for time and all eternity. This is very special and important to me, because this is the ultimate goal for all our wonderful recent converts...is entering the temple. I wish so bad I could have been there, but I was on a different island. But nevertheless, it was special to hear from, and I know that generations will be blessed because of these two wonderful people who I consider my Ohana.

Well, I love you all, hope all is well and hope to hear from some of you soon!!!

"The Story Of My Mission"

Aloha!!!

What a fantastic week we had!! We had such an amazing week, it's hard to know where to start.
I guess I'll start with the bad news first. Melissa and Coral moved to California, so we are no longer teaching them for obvious reasons! However the Lord supplied us with more people to teach!!!
The greatest news we have is about Hilton! I found him as a greenie missionary, and than yesterday, after 21 months of investigating, he was baptized. I was very honored to baptize him, and it was such a blessing to be able to do so. It was a powerful baptism and he felt the spirit strong! His wife wasn't able to attend, but his kids did!! I told Hilton he's the story of my mission, and he is!! I found him when I was 1 month out into the field, and now he's baptized!! It was a very special day! He's probably the reason I stayed on Kaua'i for one more transfer.

We have been working with a family to get them baptized, and they are still on track for the 22nd. Kinda funny because Hilton's brother, Larry, is dating her and he came to church on Sunday!!! Ya never know what'll happen!! Maybe I can baptize his brother too haha.

We also were able to invite a keiki to baptism on the 22nd as well. His parents don't' seem to really have an issue with us or the church, so that might just take place!!

Other than that, we sure are working hard here in Lihue and doing our best to build up the kingdom of God here in this beautiful stake of Zion. I love this island, and it was so so nice to be back in Kalaheo around my old ward!! I can't wait to come back to visit and see them again!!!
Love you all and hope to hear from you soon!!!


Aloha!

Aloooooha!

We have had an amazing week!! I feel the dark cloud over our area has officially lifted. We had ZLC on O'ahu yesterday, and so we flew back to Kaua'i late into the night, and arrived just in time for a lesson we had!! We sat down with a wonderful mother of 2 children (She came to Chris' baptism) and we invited them to be baptized. They accepted and I was humbled that God has led us to a family to find and baptize. She readily accepted and had no concerns. Her date is the 22nd of October, and we are very excited to see what can happen!! I'm glad we have some solid solid potential now!!

Anyways, ZLC was really nice. I said goodbye to a lot of great friends. Some have met me when I was 3 months in the field, a year, or even 14 months. But I said goodbye, and hope to see them at my farewell!! I love them and am proud of the service they have given as a missionary!!Other than that, we're teaching a family tonight and maybe we can find even more potential. I'm excited to see what else Lihue can pull out. We have the potential we just have to try and capture it!!!
I'll take this time to express my gratitude for the prophets and apostles who lead this church. I love our leaders and am so thankful for the great counsel we were given this past week. Elder Holland never ceases to amaze me. Elder Andersen gave an amazing talk!!

Also a shout out to my wonderful Kaneohe Ohana. I miss all of you, and can't wait to visit again!! I love you all!! You have some excellent missionaries in your area and they are DEDICATED!!

I also had my almost final interview with President. Kinda weird having him talk to me about school and women and so on. I guess at some point the mission really does end.
I love you all, hope to hear from you soon!!!!


Aloha!