These past two weeks have been full! Sorry I haven't been writing, but Ill cover everything right now haha!

So this past week we had 3 zone leader exchanges and zone conferences, so the week was crazy! Haha but here are some highlights...

Elder Despain and I made a hype video for the mission about raising the bar! Haha it was lit. We got tons of clips of missionaries doing different things of how they were raising the bar. Then we put a little clip of a general conference talk and put it over an instrumental! It was sweet! We showed it at all the zone conferences and everyone went crazy! Haha the mission is at a high point right now!

Cheryl who we have been teaching for a long time now, that I seriously love so much, is on date for March 7th. We are so pumped for her! This past Saturday,  Elder Nissinen and I were on exchanges, and had a heart to heart with her.  She realized that she does have the power to shake off the chains that Satan put on her, and it's been so nice to finally have her realize that! She struggles with so many things in her life and has been through a lot. It's  awesome to see the joy of the gospel enter into her life! 

During my studies of the Book of Mormon this past week, I have learned so much about the importance of obedience! It has never really dawned on me how many times it talks about obedience! Going on all these exchanges with all these different missionaries, there is one thing that I see all the time. The most obedient ones are the most happy. Yeah the other ones that aren't so obedient look "happy" and look like they're having "fun". But they all have a little bit of guilt and sorrow in their mind and body when I talk to them about it because they know they could be better! I feel like that is the same way in life. We know so many people in our lives that look "happy" but aren't keeping the commandments . A simple example, they aren't reading everyday or praying or maybe not going to church every weekend. I have come to realize that those people aren't really happy because they know they are not living up to their potential! They aren't living the way that they KNOW they should be living. So that's where we come in and we help them get back to the path that they actually want to be on. Talking to somebody about it is the first step, but helping them see the blessing of obedience is the next. And there are so many different ways to go about it, especially with loved ones, but during my studies it hit me that I need to be doing more to help bring the joy of the gospel to everyone that I know. Not letting people that I love just live in "fake" happiness. I need to share with them of what can actually bring them true happiness! It's definitely hard to do, but I invite everyone that reads this to think about someone that might be in that "fake" happiness, maybe not living to their full potential ( and maybe it's you) and to plan this week to help them get into true happiness! Like I said, there are many different ways to go about this and everyone is different, but find the needs of that person and help them! A quote that comes to mind all the time is "NO EMPTY SEATS." We should strive to have everyone we know be with us in the next life! I promise you as you do this, you will recognize things in yourself that you can do better and also help those around you! Think about it!

Another highlight starts with Jesse and ends with King! Haha Last Sunday we received a referral from the Temple Square sisters for Jesse King! He is GOLDEN! It's so crazy. He is on date for March 7th and literally just wants to learn so much so quickly! He came to a baptism this past week and to church and loved it! On his facebook he talks about his baptism all the time and honestly just has a good heart! Biggest miracle/ blessing ever!

There are probably a ton of other things that happened but I can't remember haha! But these past 2 weeks have flown by! I just can't put into words the joy that comes from living the gospel! I hope everyone is preparing for the special general conference! its going to be big and we have to be PREPARED! Read the Book of Mormon and review the 1st vision! I love you all and hope you have the best week ever!

Con amor,
Elder Ka'ili

This week was filled with miracles and exchanges!

So I'll start with the craziest miracle from this week! We have been teaching this older lady named Cheryl. She is so funny, she LOVES rock music and Nascar! We call her Grandma Cheryl! I have the funniest memories with her, but anyways, she has been struggling with smoking for her whole life and we have been working with her over these past couple weeks to help her quit. That is the only thing holding her back from being baptized! This whole week Elder Woodbrey, Despain and I have been praying so hard and sacrificing things and going the extra mile to be able to see a miracle with Cheryl because we honestly were losing hope if she would ever quit smoking... We had a lesson with her on Weds and told her if you want to be baptized on Feb 1st, you have to quit smoking by this Saturday. We promised her blessings and talked about how she could overcome it through the atonement. We knew that we had to take her cigarettes that day as well to be able to help her quit. So we went back and forth on that and then she finally looked at us and said, "Ok I'll give them to you but we have to eat some root beer floats right now..." .  Haha, she gave us her cigarettes and then she asked us as we were eating, What was that one thing that you guys did to me a long time ago with the oil and the hands?" We were like a blessing???? and she said yeah and that she wanted one! So we gave her one and Elder Woodbrey gave an amazing blessing to help her quit! We left after that... It was so crazy we went in to the car and we all looked at each other and said that was it, she's done! Let me tell you we have done this many times before, where we take her cigarettes, but this time it was just different. We prayed and thanked Heavenly Father with all of our hearts.... I haven't thanked Heavenly Father like that in a while.... but fast forward to the next morning... We had a lesson with her at a members house and we ask her if she smoked. She told us,"No it was weird.. I woke up this morning and I didn't have the desire to smoke and I still don't. I'm done!" At that moment I seriously wanted to go crazy and start running and jumping off the walls because of how happy I was! But I had to keep my cool until after the lesson. Then when we all got in to the truck we went crazy! And to this day Cheryl is still not smoking and doesn't have 1 drop of desire to pick a cigarette up again. She is now looking forward to her baptism date confidently on Feb 1st! Ah man it was the best day ever. I have so much love for Cheryl it's crazy!

Other miracles, I went on exchanges with Elder Barlow, who's currently a zone leader in Moses Lake (where the temple is getting built) and it was crazy packed with miracles! It all started that morning in planning when we set the goal to find 8 new people! To start the morning off, we dry scooped some pre workout... hahah so we were hyped to go find that day! We prayed to know where to go and who to talk too.  I can't describe in words the way the Lord was putting us in the places that we needed to be in at the right time! We found 4 new people that day and invited 2 of them to be baptized and they accepted! It was one of my favorite exchanges because we were being led by the spirit the whole day. I could literally feel my mouth being filled with the words that I needed to say during the lessons! It was amazing!

I made panikeke this week too for the boys when we went on exchanges with Elder Hagues and Elder Keller! Some of my favorite Elders in the mish! Other than that this week was packed and I honestly can't remember a ton of what happened because of how fast this week went by! But I do know that I love the way my mission is going right now ! I feel so good and it's because I can feel the changes happening to me as a missionary and as a person! I know this church is true with all of my heart! I know that the Book of Mormon is true and can bring daily comfort to you! I hope you all are preparing for General Conference this April! Its going to be the best!

I love you all! Les amo mucho!

Elder Ka'ili