Jersey City Here I Come...

 What is going on everybody?? I found out I will be leaving this area and be heading into the heart of New Jersey. I will be going to Jersey City which is right on the other side of the hudson from NYC. Fun Fact for those of you that didn't know, the Statue of Liberty is actually in Jersey and is in my area so that's pretty sweet. I'm psyched to go there because apparently Jersey City is considered the most Hood area in the mission so stayed tuned for all these pick up bball games haha just kidding. But this past week was honestly a great one to end the transfer off with. So let's get right into it;

Our friend Sam is progressing super well! He loves the Book of Mormon and loves learning about the gospel. He is keeping his commitments which is awesome and he told us that he would love to get baptized. That was exciting news to hear so we are excited to keep working with him. 

I said goodbye to our Jamaican friend Shakara. She definitely didn't want me to leave this area but she found me on facebook so she said she will keep texting me. She is still loving the gospel and still has a strong desire to get baptized. It might just be a little longer till she gets baptized because we found out that her boyfriend has to get legally divorced from his previous spouse so he and Shakara can get married. Might be a little but of a process but hey it will all work out.

We got to do some awesome service for this lady who was previously taught by missionaries and she is the funniest lady ever. She is about 4ft 8in and in her late 60's but has so much energy. She ordered 3 tons of rocks to be spread around her yard and she was planning on doing it all by herself by scooping some rocks in this little bucket and doing it little by little but we told her we are going to help because it would take her months. She was super grateful for that and now she loves us again wahoo!

I also just realized that I have 12 weeks left on the mission, absolutely mind blowing to me. The mission has gone by to fast that is for sure, but I have learned a whole lot from it. Here's one scripture that I have come to love and that has helped me throughout my mission. I might have shared it before but it is this, 

Psalm 27:1

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"

That's a pretty awesome scripture!!  Put the Lord first everyone and many blessings will pour into your lives.

Well, have a great week and remember to keep smiling!

Tangiringkami ni kabane 

Tia Boo Moa

Elda Jeppson

Elder Glauser

Elder Brown and I 

Reunited with Elder Groll and Elder Young 

Our friend Shakara 

Elder Young and Jorgensen

Elder Marx and Elder Brough 

Back In The Islands...Sort Of

 What's going on everybody! 

Pro Tip: When walking in the project's make sure to dress like a missionary because everyone respects you haha.

Here's the update of "quarantine" status:

We are no longer consider quarantined anymore which is super nice. Things are pretty opened up for us right now. We are allowed to do everything in person right now except eat with people still (soon to change). We are allowed to knock on people's doors but only if the persons door we are knocking has been taught previously by missionaries. But hey we get outside a whole lot which I'm happy about. 

We finally got some in person exchanges going on again and wow they are nice. On Saturday my Tongan brotha Elder Olevao came up from Jersey to do a little exchange with us and it was super nice having a Poly comp again, it made it feel like I was back in the island's. Even though it was only a day, we sure made the most of it and went to work. 

We are teaching a lot of super sweet people right now and they all are progressing pretty well. We are finally starting to see the results of the work we have out in because the area is starting to pick up pace which is super nice because when I got here the area was pretty slow. But that's not anything a little work can't change.

There is a talk given by Elder Uchtdorf from October 2012 called, "Of Regrets and Resolutions." I encourage you all to go and read it but I just wanted to share a part of it with y'all,

"One day we will take that unavoidable step and cross from this mortal sphere into the next estate. One day we will look back at our lives and wonder if we could have been better, made better decisions, or used our time more wisely.

We definitely have all already looked back from where we are right now and have thought of things we could have done better, or things we did great. He invites us to take for advantage of every single day so we will not miss an opportunity that will never come back. But go and read it because he tells it much better than me!

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng

I hope you all have a great week and remember to keep on Smiling!

Tangiringkami ni kabane 

Tia boo moa

Elda Jeppson

Howdy folks

Elder Glauser and Elder Olevao

Elder Olevao, Roundy, Glauser, Kelsey and I 

How To Get Out Of A Ticket...Guaranteed

 How's it going everybody! This past week was a good one and very busy which was awesome. The work is starting to pick up pace over here which is making things a little more interesting and a little more awesome! But let's just jump right into it;

I guess we can start off with how to get out of a ticket 101. So here's how it all started. We dropped off some Elders at their apartment and maybe made it 100 yards out of their complex when I got pulled over. Not even 2 hours earlier I was telling my companions that I have never been pulled over in my life so I guess that was karma haha. Anyways, the officer came and knocked on the window asked for my license and what not and asked if I knew what I did. I told him I did not but I said that we are missionaries for our church and we are on the phone saying a prayer with a friend who is going through some hard times. He handed back my license and told us to have a good night. Moral of the story is, when you get pulled over hurry and call someone and start saying a prayer with them haha.

We recently found this super awesome family and they just absolutely love the gospel. They call us their "Church People" whenever they see us and they love hearing about our message. So we are stoked about that. 

Here's a little quote that I came across this past week from Joseph Smith giving advice to Elder George A. Smith, "He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”

Pretty cool aye?! No matter what our life challenges are we are always able to get through them as we rely on Christ!

Well that's about all, Remember to keep on smiling and make sure to keep it real!

Tangiringkami ni kabane 

Tia boo moa

Elda Jeppson

Pray fun!


Massive Bday Cookie! 

Elder Maluenda, Roundy and I 

The making of a video 

Checking Off Boxes...

 What is going on everybody🤙🏽 This past week was a busy one filled with yard work, lessons  and the coming of a new month (the best month ha) But really, this past week was nice because I guess you can say that we are officially out of quarantine! I can finally check off that box on my bucket list that says, "sit inside for 11 months" haha. It's honestly quite the accomplishment if I must say haha jokes.

There is this lady that we have been talking to on the phone for about a month now and we were finally able to meet her in person. She wanted to meet us at a diner because it was next door to her work. Now a little background, we as missionaries still can't eat with people just because of covid restrictions. We pulled up to the diner, called her to let her know we were there, and then she said "come inside we are here with your dessert." On our way to the door I started thinking of "excuses" I could say that would allow me to not eat any of the desserts. We sat down and talked with her and her husband and they are the sweetest couple. They are in the 60's about and are really interested in finding a new church. We had a nice conversation with them about what we as missionaries do, and what our beliefs are. Then the moment came we were hoping wouldn't come. They asked us to go look at the dessert counter and grab one. Long story short, I told them I was gluten free (got me out of it no problemo haha) unfortunately Elder Glauser couldn't get out of it so he had to eat a dessert Haha.

Two of our friends came to church and it was awesome! One of them wants to get baptized here in the next couple weeks which is exciting and our other friend is close to baptism. The work in our area is picking up pace. We have a solid teaching pool filled with some awesome people. 

Another highlight was getting to do some good ol' yard work on a Saturday morning. I never thought I would say this but it was nice being able to mow a lawn and wack some weeds haha. -Pro tip: never buy a plug in lawn mower or weed wacker.- We got in contact with this lady because she saw one of our service ads that we out out on facebook. She has some health problems that constricts her from doing lots of things like yard work. Before we got started on the yard it looked like it hadn't been touched in a years. Everything was over grown and there was stuff everywhere. But no need to worry because we got that yard lookin nice and perdy. It always brings joy into my life being able to help people out like that and seeing the joy that comes into their lives from it. 

Here's a little Scripture:

Isaiah 40:31

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Trust in the Lord Y'all!

Well that's the week. Pretty darn awesome one aye!? Remember to keep on smiling and make it a good week

Tangiringkami ni kabane 

Tia boo moa

Elda Jeppson

#Blessed

Elder Jorgensen and I 

Classic Walmart Shenanigans 

Birthday Dinner at Hudson Taco

20!! 

Downtown Newburg