Friday, November 28, 2014
Update November 24, 2014: The Big 20
Week 40
Aloha everyone!
Another week has FLOWN by!! It’s crazy! I guess it’s probably because it’s still in the high 80s! It’s crazy to think Thanksgiving is on Thursday and I turn 20 on Friday! Time is flying so fast! But I’m so ready for the holidays! Even if it won’t be a winter wonderland…
This week;
Monday- on Monday after we emailed we headed out to Makaha to hike the rock outcrop again this time we took our cameras! I will include many :)
Tuesday- we had a great district meeting then made a run to Honolulu to pick some things up from the mission office. Including a Birthday present from my parents! An Ukulele! For dinner we went to Panda Express with Bishop Kaawa. We always go there with him! I love that place! Then we had a couple good visits!
Wednesday- was a long day Elder Speakman was getting over a cold and I was in the beginning phases… lots of tissues and Dayquil! But we made it! Haha we had service at Brother Tilghman’s as well.
Thursday-we did a lot of paper work in the morning then had a service project at a member’s house. They are an older couple and can’t weed wack the hill on the back of their property so jack went with us and we did it for them! I love weed wacking! And my skin feels great! I hit a patch of aloe… I mean a big one... So I was covered in aloe but the end of it!
Friday- was a pretty good day I was hit pretty hard by the cold but I sweated most of it out at service at Brother Tilghman’s we are getting close to being done with the deck!
Getting close!
Saturday- we cleaned our pad most for the morning. It was much needed! We then made some great visits with Brother Gomes and then went to a Baptism in the Kapolei ward. It was super great! Then met Jack and Sheryl for dinner! we also found a 4 inch centipede in our pad.. actually under Elder Speakman's desk about a foot from his foot!
we like our centipedes "well-done"
Sunday- was another good day of Church, visits, a grind of dinner then Family Home evening with the Gomes then we rocked out on the Ukuleles!
Overall a great week! I love the holiday season and what it stands for. Find the Thanks in Thanksgiving and Christ in Christmas. Because isn’t that what it is really, truly about?
I challenge everyone to find someone to thank, someone to serve, and someone who needs a friend. I can promise you this will bring you more happiness than any turkey or Black Friday deal can bring you.
I hope everyone has a Fantastic Thanksgiving weekend and don’t go too crazy on Black Friday! Love and miss you all!
Elder Shoaf
Pictures November 17, 2014: Fun in Primary!
Update November 17, 2014: Go Forth with Faith!
Week 39
Aloha everyone!
I Hope everyone is have a fantastic Monday! And for all of my friends and family that are getting hit by the cold I’m jealous… haha it may be in the single digits back home but I miss it! The weather here is cooling off a tad though... it gets down to the 70s at nightJ we had a great week here not much success but all is good we are loving every minute.
The huge shock this week was on Monday we found out that Elder Petter who I served with in Honolulu was diagnosed with Leukemia and returned home to start extensive Chemotherapy. I was in disbelieve but it all set in Tuesday at Zone Conference when President Warner filled us in. we are keeping him in our prayers and as a mission fasted for him on Saturday. It just goes to show how this can change so fast.
This week!
Monday- was full of Basketball, emailing, and then a really cool hike in Makaha that we all forgot our cameras for… we will get pics next time! Haha we then had a great dinner with the Cornelison’s, sister Cornelison is a recent convert from Arkansas! Finally someone from the mid-west!
Tuesday- we spent the whole day at the Waipahu Stake center for Zone Conference and it went really well! They told us we should get Ipads by January! Which would be awesome! And we also got new phones, the whole mission switched from Sprint which sucks here to AT&T which is a little bit better so we got new phone #s and so we had to text everyone our new number... that was annoying... haha.
Wednesday- we did service from Brother Tilghman then he took us to Denny’s for lunch and we ate WAY too much! I almost exploded! Haha then we had a couple of great visits including a great visit with the Baldomeros! We made so great progress with them!
the latest from Brother Tilghman's!
Thursday- we had a district flood in the Kapolei area but didn’t have much success. Most people though we were Jehovah Witness and didn’t even give us a chance to tell them otherwise! Haha it is always assuming seeing the reaction people have when we knock on their door!
Friday- we did service for Brother Tilghman again. Then had a bunch of great lessons! Then a great dinner at the Russell’s! We had German Night! And ate schnitzel….. yes it actually exists! And was amazing! We also had a red cabbage dish and some other things! It was all so good!
Saturday- we did some service out in Waianae for one of our members mother cleaning yard and trimming bushes! Then had a whole lot of empty houses we knocked on looking for less-active members! Then had a great home cooked meal at the Robinsons, Corn Chowder and cornbread! I was in HEAVEN!!! Then the sent choke groceries home with us! It was crazy!
Ridiculous!
Sunday- we had great church meetings and got to dress up (kinda) as book of Mormon characters for primary! It was super fun! Then we had a couple of great lessons! Overall a great week!
This week I think of Humility and about faith and how god gives us weaknesses to humble us so that we will turn to him with faith and seek after his guidance. The scripture that comes to mind is Ether 12:27
“27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
We have a loving heavenly father who wants the best for us and he has given us a great example to follow in his son Jesus Christ. I also thought of a great video to close.
Remember that as long as we follow Jesus Christ we will always know which way is up and will never have Vertigo!
It’s called “Spiritual Vertigo”
I love you all and hope you have a great week and don’t freeze!
With love,
Elder Shoaf
Update November 10, 2014: Tender Mercies
Week 38
Aloha Everyone!
This week has been a great one! the weather has had a break. the trade winds are bad and we are getting a lot of high 80s and 70s and less and less 90s. but the Highlight was for sure Jack got Baptized! it was really fun to see him be baptized. he was baptized on Wednesday then Confirmed in sacrament meeting on Sunday.
Alright so this week!
Monday- for P-day today we played basketball this morning with the guys then ate at Denny's then emailed then rounded out the day with a nice hike up to the pill boxes.
Tuesday- today we had a great district meeting then made a couple visits. it was kinda slow because of elections. here in Hawaii all schools and government buildings shut down so yeah.
Wednesday- today we did service at brother tilghman’s its coming along nicely and then we spent the afternoon preparing for jack’s Baptism.
Thursday- we spent the morning visiting people the did our weekly planning after lunch then had a great dinner at the fredricks.
Friday- we met this really cool family while tracting they are from Burkina Faso and have been here about 3 years. They are super cool and their first language is french! Never saw that one coming!
Saturday- was a long day of knocking on Empty houses then we saw a few less-active families with Brother Gomes then had a great dinner with Jack and Sherl.
Sunday- was also a great day at church Jack was Confirmed and we had the primary program it was super cute! we then had a couple of great lessons. overall a good week!
This week my thoughts turn to building our testimony and relying on the lord. we were listening to a few talks this week and they talked a lot about how the lord hears our prayers. i challenge everyone to rely on our Heavenly Father and go to him in prayer. he will get you through what ever challenges may come your way. He is the good shepherd and he knows his sheep.
I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! i cant believe that my birthday and Thanksgiving are around the corner!
Elder Shoaf
Update November 3, 2014: No Fall in Sight...Or Winter...
Week 37
Aloha everyone!
The weeks just seem to keep getting faster! I can’t believe it’s already November! But it’s not any November I’m use to! It has been in the 90s all week! And no sign of winter or fall…. It kind of sucks… haha I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!
This week:
Monday- today was a pretty chill p-day we played basketball and the usual p-day activities we had a great dinner with the Burmingham’s and it ended up being at Chilis because a lot of the families In the ward were meeting there afterwards for Matt Jenkins Birthday so it was a blast to see everyone and chill for a bit!
The Crew at Chili's! almost all of the men except for one are return Missionaries! and half are converts! super solid! we love these guys! (Burmingham's are lower left with their new-born daughter Mable!)
Tuesday-was a busy day we had our district meeting and made a lot of visits
Wednesday- we went to Brother Tilghman’s for service then did quite a bit of tracting we had a lot of comical vents when people would see us standing on their porch. We then had our ward Halloween party and we had the best costumes! I dressed up as Elder Speakman and he dressed up as me!..... Haha we switched tags and called it good!
Latest pics from Brother Tilghman's!
Thursday- was along day of trying to contact a bunch of less-active members on our records. We found a lot that had moved and there was a wreck in the highway so we stuck in traffic FOREVER! A truck ran into the back of a stopped bus and the drive was killed so they had to investigate so they shut the road down.
Friday- was Halloween so we made visits then had to be off the streets by 4pm so we just went to the chapel to play basketball for the rest of the day and chill with the rest of the zone.
Saturday- was full of more visits trying to find less-active members then more tracting. It was a long day…
Sunday- went really well! We had several people bring friends to church that wanted to learn more about our church so we were able to answer questions then set up appointments.
Today- we played basketball with a bunch of the guys from our ward now we are headed to go hike the pill-boxes. We are looking forward to Jack’s Baptism on Wednesday!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week and remember that there is always who is worse off than we are. What can we do to make their day?
Elder Shoaf
October 27, 2014: Letter from Member Family
Aloha to the Shoafs & Speakmans,
Your sons, Elders Shoaf & Speakman, the two missionaries assigned to our Kalaeloa Ward, did some service projects with my husband, Bro. Wise, yesterday. They cut down a couple of banana trees in our back yard. One tree had given fruit recently and the other young tree was too close to the fence. Anyway, watching them work out there and cutting down the banana trees reminded us our son, who is serving a missionary in the Philippines Laguna Mission, as he worked so hard in our yard, while he was home, planting and caring for those banana trees. He also has the chance to work with the people in doing similar service there.
Elder Shoaf is a big guy and such a good worker and just gets right into it, a power hitter-----chopped away the thick trunks and leaves of the banana tree and, Elder Speakman, was right there also, picking up/hauling off the cuttings to the van for dumping. They were a good working team and fast. My husband was there supervising and appreciated not having to lift and haul those heavy cuttings himself.
Bro. Wise arranged to have them help less active members/non-members also. They hauled items from a less active member, Bro. Lima's house, as he is moving and getting rid of things and non-member family, Steve and Joni our neighbors, who had a garage sale yesterday, and had things to discard. Bro. Wise and the missionaries took those and the cuttings to the dump. These families were so appreciative of their help. The two boys were hungry especially after working so hard. We fed them a full meal and some to take home for later eating.
We sure appreciate your sons and their desire to work and teach. Thanks for raising such good young men. Enjoy the pics.
Mahalo, (Thank You)
The Wise Ohana (Family)
Ron & Renee Wise
Update October 27, 2014: Week of Miracles!
Week 36
Aloha Everyone!
First off I'm on Cloud nine! I LOVE the letters and message I receive from everyone! Please email me I love to hear from you all!
What a week! This week was incredible! So much going on and so many blessings and miracles!
The weather is cooling down some, the evening are amazing but the middle of the day is still SUPER hot! Not temperature but we are just so close to the sun it hurts! Haha I guess that happens when you are in the tropics! Elder Speakman and I are getting along really well, we work really well together and it shows!
Alright let’s get to it! This week;
Monday- Monday was a pretty good P-day we ended up just getting haircuts and playing basketball most the afternoon. We then had a great dinner with the Iokias who are a super awesome older Hawaiian Couple and he is what the Hawaiian People call a healer. It’s really cool to hear all the stories about how just but using his hands he heal people, one of which he wasn’t at work but at the airport and this man was having a heart attack and was able to work the blood clot out of his leg and the man was fine! He is going to work on my neck sometime when he has some time im super excited!
Tuesday- we had our first District Meeting as a new District and it went pretty well, we also had another great dinner with a younger couple who live in Ko Olina he works for the Army, classified stuff… anyway they just moved from Germany about a year ago where he was stationed for about 3 years and they are fluent in German! As well as a few other languages! They have lived all over the world while hes been with the Army.
Wednesday- was a long day because we decided to fast for our Investigators and everyone else we have been working with and it was hard to go the whole day without food or water but it is always worth it to see how our Heavenly Father blesses us. We had service in the morning at Brother Tilghmans and it went really well then spent the afternoon making visits before we broke our fast at 6 then we went to our lesson with the Baldomeros then met Jack and Sherl at the Stake Cottage meeting and Jack told us that his parole officer called him and told him that he will be released from his probation next week! He wasn't supposed to get off till June, which is really awesome because he can get baptized now! We set a date with him and he will be getting baptized on November 5th! We are so pumped for him!!!
Latest Picture from Brother Tilghman's
Thursday- was another trip to Firestone to get a flat tire fixed... Hawaii Roads are terrible… then week plan before our lesson with Jack and Sherl then Bible Study. Pretty normal day.
Friday- we went to Brother Tilghmans again then had lunch then helped a new family move into the Makakilo ward from Mililani we didn’t even get in shirt and tie till almost 5! It was awesome! Then we had a couple pretty funny experiences tracting, one of the houses we knocked on the guy came to the door then stood in the window and shook his head till we walked away! It was classic! He didn't even open the door just saw that we were missionaries and shook his head! Haha but it wasn't for nothing we found this great lady that has been through a lot in her life and we are meeting with her next weekend and im super excited!
Saturday- we had some more service for a ward member, we helped Brother Wise cut down a couple banana trees in his yard then help a few of his neighbors with various things. They the fed us dinner and it was AMAZING!! They are great cooks!
They are Believers.... are you?
Sunday- was chalk full of visits and great times! One of our members son’s Girlfriend wants to learn more about the gospel so we are going to be working with here and we also saw a few other members! A great day!
My message for this week is pretty simple; ENDURE! It is always worth it when you are striving to do the right thing! Sooner or later you will see the blessing of it and it will be more than your sacrifice. I have seen it sooo much this week! I know that through Jesus Christ we can overcome any obstacle that is placed before us. When we adhere to the gospel of Jesus Christ we will see the Joy that this life has to offer when we fall away we think it is better but NEVER is. Only when we are doing the right things will we experience true joy. I challenge everyone to hang on and endure through the trials we all face. It will be worth it. The Advisory will throw everything he has at us when we are doing what is right. That’s how we know we are going in the right direction! When we give up and go with the flow it is easier yes but will not take us anywhere but down. We MUST fight up stream! The standards of the world and what is now acceptable but the worlds standards are not where the lord’s standards are. His will never change unlike the rapids of the world’s standards. Stay close to the standards that our Heavenly Father has set and we will be able to avoid the Logs and debris flowing down the river of despair and make up-stream progress towards our Heavenly Father’s Kingdom
I hope you all have a wonderful week the gospel is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior. And our Heavenly Father knows each of us by name and the trials we all face.
Love,
Elder Shoaf
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