Alooooha!!(Note from Elder Travis' mom: This picture was taken on Conference morning and was sent to me in an email by Travis' landlord. Thank you Dawn! This meant so much to me to receive a picture of him on the same day it was taken)!


Well, transfers are in!! I am being transferred to the beloved island of MAUI!! It's about time I go off island!! Ok...I lied. I'm staying in Kaneohe for another six weeks. This time, Elder Infanger is transferring. I will be staying and training a new Zone Leader, Elder Gerrard whom I have never met, so that will be very interesting!! Also, if you are interested, Elder Garritson was called as a zone leader in Makakilo, which is west side O'ahu (it gets SUPER hot there). But I am excited to see how this transfer will play out and how it goes!!


As far as the work, we had an awesome week!! First off, we found three new people to teach!! One girl, her name is Leslie, she is a friend of Ric's who was baptized in January, came to cottage meeting (a meeting where recent converts speak at President Dalton's home) and she was interested. So, we started teaching her. She is a super nice girl and I think the gospel has found her at exactly the right time in her life!! The lady we found last week, Lindsay, dropped us. She called us and told us she'll let us know if she has questions, but otherwise she was too busy for a while to meet. I think she found anti-material, but ya never know. She still was nice and open about it!!


We went to the temple, and that was a fun experience!! The Laie temple is beautiful!! I loved it!! I miss going so much, I wish we could go more often!!! They did a very good job at renovating the temple!! The Celestial room was small, but very beautiful!! Laie is a beautiful place as well. Almost makes me want to go to BYU-Hawaii for a semester. But I'm an Aggie :)


Conference was excellent as well!! I really enjoyed Elder Holland and Elder Andersen's talk!! Elder Samuelson of the Seventy gave a great talk as well!! That was really good to hear his words on the Atonement. Priesthood session was amazing!! I pulled the theme of temples, marriage, and obtaining a testimony! It was hilarious to hear President Monson say "Get married now!" I'll worry about that in 8 months. Otherwise, I'm good for now!!


But I also saw that the second Preach my Gospel DVD's were released. I would encourage all of you to pick up a copy and watch the first disc. This is what missionary work is like now, and it's crazy!! We really have to be in tune with the spirit, it's incredible!!


I also found out I had Staph infection!! There was a weird bump irritating me, and I finally went to see the doctor and soon found out it was Staph. Thank goodness it wasn't the "hard to cure" kind, so some cream is curing it, but that was weird to hear.


Anyways, great week, and awesome things happening!! Thanks for all your support and hope all is well!!

Aloha Nui Loa!!

Another Amazing Week

Aloooha!!!


We had another awesome week!!! We had another baptism on Sunday!!! Jagyr ***. It was so awesome, his family was so excited to see him get baptized. Our baptism on Saturday didn't happen because she got super sick all week, so we'll re-set the date with her this week :). It was fun though!!


We were soo blessed this week to hear the words of Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy. He is an impressive speaker, and it was such a blessing to hear from him!! He spoke to all of us missionaries and was pretty bold. He told us that some of us in the room would be excommunicated, and we had to make sure it wasn't going to be yourself. That was crazy to hear, but the way of the world is crazy. I already know some RM's from the mission who
fell off the path. We got the tremendous blessing of having him speak at our Sacrament Meeting. It was a loaded meeting as we had Elder Clayton and his wife, President Dalton, Elder Scott Whiting of the area Seventy, and President Kaluhiokalani, the Stake President. They all spoke, and it was a solid 90 minutes of spiritual enlightenment. Afterwards, the ward was able to shake hands with him, and Taylor (Jagyr's sister) told him that she wasn't baptized yet. He spoke to her for a while, and we hope to set a date with her tonight!! We are excited because we feel
she is ready. After that, the ward sang Aloha Oe to Elder Clayton, and Elder Barraza. It was a very moving moment to see my companion, who was such a hard working missionary, and taught me so much, bid farewell to the ward that we have labored so hard in. We had five baptisms in six weeks, and saw a lot of miracles.


My new companion is Elder Infanger from Idaho, and he goes home in May with my trainer, Elder Major. So I might help him finish his mission as well!! We'll find out!!


I love all of you and thanks for your support!!!

Transfer News

Aloha from the beloved mission of Hawaii Honolulu. Must I say that it is getting cold here. It reached 65 the other night, and I really had to bundle up! I kid you not, I was freezing!! Locals say it's cold cold here too!! I guess I adjusted too much. Oh well, haha it'll be warm soon! Just cold now. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt yesterday!

But that's Hawaii weather!!

We got transfer information for those who care!! I was called last night by President Dalton, and he informed me that I would be moving back to....Kaneohe!! Yes...that's right. I'm going to my old zone. But, I am not going back to my old ward/area, I'm covering the wards that the Zone Leaders cover. Did you catch that? I hope you did. They called me as a zone leader, and so the whole perspective I have on missionary work is about to change as I have more responsibility and look to serve the Lord better than I have previously! I am excited, but nervous as well, and it'll be really interesting to see!! My companion will be Elder Barzza, who is from Utah. He has been out 23 months, so I will "kill" him in his last six weeks of his mission. (EDIT from Elder Travis' mom - "killing" him means that he'll see him through to the end of his mission and nothing more sinister than that). He trained Elder Jaramillo, so we have a small connection with each other now. I'm very excited but very nervous. The Zone Leaders usually have good companions and good areas, so I will like that part!

Other than that, Kaimuki is a good place to serve and I had fun here the past two weeks with Elder Solomon. Whoever comes into here will see great miracles the next six weeks!!

A Surprising Transfer Twist

Aloha!!

Well transfer calls came in.
Sunday night we were informed Elder Garritson was being transferred. We were both pretty sad we wouldn't be staying together in Kahala and Hawaii Kai. But for the past week, I've had a gut feeling that I was going to train or be a district leader.
Well Monday morning, President Dalton called Elder G. and they had a long talk, than he pawned the phone off to me. I knew it was coming. "Elder Smith, the Lord needs you to train a missionary, can you do it?" Of course I told him I'd try my best. "Good to hear Elder Smith, with you being a district leader for a transfer, you already have experience we are excited for you!" "Wait...what?? I'm not district leader President!" I replied. "Oh, that's right. Elder, the Lord has another calling for you, you are going to be a district leader, can you handle it?" haha, it was hilarious but it wasn't at all surprising (meaning he'd had a feeling that this would happen to him). Let me tell you what WAS surprising. Elder Garritson was informed he was going to train, be a district leader, and white wash into a new area...Hawaii Kai!!! (In a later email he explained what "white wash" was....."white wash - he will be going into a new area, and his companion will be, meaning he doesn't know anyone or anything and neither one have been in the area, so they have to start at square one. But it's not a real white wash cuz we covered Hawaii Kai last transfer"). I was sad to lose Hawaii Kai cuz things were picking up, but they deserve full time missionaries, and great missionaries such as Elder Garritson.
So we found out that he will be moving into the room RIGHT next door to us. So we have a four man pad, and will be around each other still.
So now, I'm strictly Kahala missionaries, and will train, and now provide trainings for another set of missionaries, and be more involved in leadership. I'm nervous, scared, and excited. It will be exciting to see what happens.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs

I just got Elder Travis' memory card and had fun looking at all the signs he sent pictures of. I've very intrigued by this "Kiss and Ride" sign with "Drop-off and Pick-up!" Now that's the "Aloha Spirit," lol!

In high school one of Elder Trav's friends, who was a girl, used to call him "manimal" so this decal really must have made him smile!

Dog the Bounty Hunter....
but I prefer the young man on the left!
The danger signs are all along a trail for a hike they took up Kuliouou. More pictures of this hike will be posted with his email next week.
A warning sign for a hazardous cliff.

Transfers are this week so I'm really excited to see where the Lord calls him to next. One things for sure, if there's a unique sign in that area Elder Travis will find it!

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor was the attraction and news of the week. We serviced up the USS Missouri. Do you know how HUGE that ship is?? 300 yards long and TALL!!! Man oh man. It was so HUGE. But we helped set up for the 65th anniversary celebration for the end of WW 2! I took lots and lots of pictures. We toured the ship, which was awesome. But didn't tour the Arizona. I could see it, and see the top of the ship, but that was it. I got a picture of it. Next time maybe? I was surprised to hear President Dalton set it up, and we'll go every 8 weeks. President Peterson was against us going at anytime until the end of our mission. It was awesome though and very reverencing to know I was in the place of heroes and legends.

That story my mother sent me on Captain Bennion of the USS West Virginia is the cousin of President Eyring. (Elder Travis' mom here: The story is found in "Saints At War." He's the captain in the movie "Pearl Harbor" who is depicted with Cuba Gooding as he still ran his ship as he lay dying. It's a fascinating story.) We talked to the tour manager, he is setting up the tour for the First Presidency of the church. I'm so excited to see them when they come.

Next week when I email I'll have transfer results...yup that's right, 6 weeks is over this week and we'll know who goes and who stays. I'm interested to see this one cuz, anything could happen. Hawaii Kai, which we don’t do anything in, is getting missionaries to focus on that area this transfer. I kinda half think I might go into it....that'll be interesting. But we taught a lot this week and saw a lot of great things happen, and more to come. No real solid progressing yet, but things are moving :)

Transferred From The Blue Centipede Motel!

Elder Travis was transferred this week. He'll still be on Oahu but we don't know where until next Monday when he can email again. I'm so happy that he will be leaving his apartment that has come to be known by his family as The Blue Centipede Motel bz of all the blue centipedes they found in there! Hopefully the new apartment will be blue centipede free, lol!
I've had a comment left asking for Elder Travis' new address. I can't respond to this comment directly bz this person doesn't have a blog so I'm putting the address here. Elder Travis' address remains the same throughout his entire mission, no matter where he's transferred to.

His address is:
Hawaii Honolulu Mission
1500 S Beretania Street, Suite 416
Honolulu, Hawaii 96826

For his security I'm not putting his full name on this public blog but those of you who know him know how to address the letter. He loves letters so I hope this helps the person who commented and also inspires others to write him!

Transfer to Oahu

Elder Travis was just transferred to Oahu. We didn't know where he was from the time he boarded the plane on Wednesday until Monday when we finally got a letter. Here's an update in his own words.

"Oahu actually isn't Big Island, they call Big Island Hawaii, it's the biggest one and the most east. It's the one with the two big volcanoes on it. One active. Oahu is just east of Kauai, not too far away.Well the work here in Kailua is a little slower. Less people to teach. It's a little more tough, but it's starting to go. We found a lot of potential so far, and the Tongans, we rely heavily on members for Tongans to teach.

My first night here my comp was telling me about Blue centipedes and how if you get stung by one of those you have to go to the ER cuz the venom is so strong...haha.Guess what...first night there we were having dinner...and in walked a blue centipede!! It was a monster, haha but we finally killed it. We sprayed the place down pretty good. It was his first time actually seeing one haha."

Note from Elder Travis' mom: I measured my Book of Mormon and this blue centipede must have been 6" to 7" long! ICK!

Transfers and Kauai News

Aloha from...

Kauai! Below is part of a letter we received from Elder Travis that he said to blog.

"This week was full of miracles! We had 20 lessons taught and we've committed a few to baptisms. It's been way awesome and the Lord has truly blessed us. My favorite investigator, ***, has to work with the mission president before he can be baptized because he's on probation. But he's so solid and has such great faith. The members in the ward are awesome. They are all so friendly, always feed me (did Sister Morris call you?), and are very missionary minded.

Transfers did come, I'm transferring to Big Island! No not really. I'm staying on Kauai in Kalaheo with Elder Major. My zone leader tricked me into thinking I was going to Big Island, which at first made me sad and happy, new island, new area, but I'd be leaving this area. Thankfully the lord is keeping me here for at least another six weeks.

Elder Major was just made District Leader too, so more work on his part! Good training for me.

My eyes are fine now! I use a thing called Clear Care which is a strong chemical I can't put into my eye. The case has a thing that neutralizes the chemical and cleans the contact real well and after six hours I'm ok to put my contacts in. Needless to say, the Vog from the volcano doesn't affect me anymore, or my eyes. I no longer have red eyes and burning tears, I have white eyes. I just don't know what to do with my other contact solution, haha. But, yes, that fixed it all!" End of letter from Travis.

Elder Travis has two chickens that hang around his apartment and he's named them Winston...and Churchill!