Week 5 - Missionary Days and Mondays

Thank you so much for the birthday package! Haha!

Elder Heimuli & Elder Freeman made birthday-cakes-in-a-mug. These things are awesome!

  

I was so happy to get some tunes so be sure to tell Helam I said thank you :)

Elder H got a brownie cake mug for him and his comp, some of his favorite snacks, much-needed mustaches, and good church music in his birthday package

Like you said birthdays in the mission aren’t really that special. Even though if I remember right you made it a big deal for all the others when they were serving. jk mom! In fact, I was trying to keep it low-key but eventually people found out and they all started wishing me a happy birthday. The Hydens are one of the Hawaiian families I’ve been telling you about. We went over for dinner and they surprised me with a birthday cake and a cool t-shirt so you could say I’m pretty blessed out here.

The Hydens gave Elder Heimuli a birthday gift "If u can read this you can clearly see how awesome I am"

At the temple with one of the Hawaiian families

However just because it was my birthday and a Sunday it doesn’t mean I slacked off. Freeman taught me that on the mission there are only two kinds of days:  "Missionary Days and Mondays." Haha its so true. Weeks seem to just fly by and the only breaks are Mondays or P-days!

Missionary Day or Monday?

Todd is a recent convert, coolest, most lovable person ever!

But again thank you for the wonderful birthday package. It really did lift me up :)

"Hmm. What else could I use this for besides making birthday cake?"

I wish I could be there to listen to Hema’s concert and see baby Hendrix but I know they’re doing great because Hema and Norma are awesome! Tell Hevynn that I miss her every day and I hope she’s doing well. Nobody has a sis like mine! And tell Bo I miss him too (sorta). Tell Helam and Alyssa, I love them and can’t wait to be an uncle again. And I wrote Harry back in a separate email so he knows I love him, haha. I really am grateful for the family I have and the examples you all are to me!

I’m saddened about _____’s "denunciation." I love my extended family. I know everyone has doubts. It happens to the best of us. The scriptures say even the very elect will be deceived. Heck, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have doubts. But you know what? The Lord always comes through and He will always bless us with what we need when we need it...if we are faithful -- not when we want it, not when we think we need it, or when we think it’s time. God knows us better than we can ever imagine. I remember a line from Joseph in Egypt (I loved that movie), but I remember him saying, "For you know better than I." 

Lean towards the understanding of God and not yourself or your friends or the internet etc. I mean it when I say He will bless us in His time if we are faithful. Being faithful means praying, reading scriptures, attending church and going to the temple. It’s not hard to be faithful but we must make it a priority.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the Church and for the love God has for us. I’m not perfect and I know I have many shortcomings, but I testify that as long as we put forth faith and lean unto God and not man, we will be blessed.

I love you guys so much! I hope Dad’s feeling better and I hope that you are doing well too, Mom.

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Elder Heimuli

P.S. Oh yeah, I ran into another guy who is in love with Dad and Uncle Hema. I should be used to this by now haha. He told me he has a pad that goes on the football gloves signed by Dad in his house haha! And he also played with Uncle Hema in high school, so he decided to talk my ear off about how great those two ancient relics are! Haha! Tell all the family I said hi!

Week 4 - It's His View that Matters

Hey fam,

Well that’s awesome y’all were able to go to Palo Alto and see the family there :)

I’m really sad about Dad and his old age problems haha. I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to help out but I’m doing my best over here.

Tell Hevynn and Bo that I said good luck planning. It’s about time you took a break mom haha you need to rest from all these weddings, babies, and missionaries! And thank you again for the pix of Hendrix. He is so cute. He will be almost as handsome (and humble) as me when he grows up!! Again I’m sorry to hear that Harry’s feet might hinder him in certain sports but there’s always a purpose for everything and I think putting him in water sports is great. I could see him getting scholarships for swimming!! We just need to keep the faith and I know things will be okay.

So you asked if I'm in the ghettos. No not really, but if I had to describe parts of this town it would be older, maybe a little rundown here and there, but not all trashy. And none of that matters. There are many good places and good people here. The ward I am in is great! The faith of the members is great here because unlike Utah people they don’t grow up around other members so they have to be strong all on their own. It’s amazing to me to witness their faith and determination. The members here are awesome.

That doesn’t mean we don’t see the Antis everywhere. Lots were at the open house and I really do think God is always teaching us important life lessons because one came up to Freeman and me trying to get us to read anti literature and I patiently avoided punching him in the face...you would have been proud of me mom...

As for the work, it’s going good! We picked up 3 new investigators and have been teaching 2 others. It may not seem like alot but every soul is great in the sight of God and it’s HIS view that matters. I’m not gonna lie, at times it’s discouraging the blindness people have, but I know that someday they will see what the gospel of Jesus Christ has to offer…everything!

Thank you for all the packages mom they are really uplifting! 

This week Freeman and I have just been working hard. A storm hit our area and a huge tornado went through the area next to us so we spent a lot of time helping people clean up! Our investigators are still doing well. Thanks for all the prayers! 

Ofa Lahi Atu!!

Your favorite Elder Heimuli

P.S Simi Fehoko made the right choice ;)

Week 3 - An Awesome Name

First things first, I’m a little disappointed in what they named the baby....JK its an awesome name, Hendrix is alot better than Houston, haha!! I’m so happy for Hema and Norma and when I got the pics I just started showing them to everyone haha! I hope the baby and Norma recover. I love them and I am always praying for you guys out here. There is no doubt either that Hema would make a great dad. He’s always been an outstanding older brother so it just makes sense.

Elder Heimuli became a first-time uncle on July 8th

And I’m so happy for Brad!! Glad you were able to go hear him speak. All I’ve talked about since I’ve been here is how lucky we are to have my boi Brad coming out here. haha I think everyone’s tired of me bragging about him. Tell him also that Christian Cox's aunt and uncle are out here too so he'll have tons of friends around! Tell him Ofa Atu from me because I don’t have his email.

Tell Reed congrats from me! Its crazy to see everyone growing up but I know him and his wife are lucky people to have each other. Speaking of people getting married how are Hev and Bo holding up? I hope things are going well for them! And tell Helam and Alyssa I love them and I know their baby is also going to be beautiful (as long as it doesn’t resemble Helam at all).

So you got a new calling, huh? That’s awesome! What a blessing to have such a wonderful woman like you mom. BTW, thank you for how you raised me. I’ve seen so many kids here who didn’t have the blessing I did to grow up in such a loving home with such great parents. I know you'll do great and as long as you adhere to the spirit nothing can go wrong.

As I said before people in general don’t like to listen, but once in awhile we come across the ones the Lord has prepared. Elder Freeman and I tracted ALOT this week and last week and we found 3 new investigators. The first one was just chilling outside. We thought well let’s just say hi to him. So we said hi and started to talk about storms. He mentioned his daughter and we immediately started a conversation about his family. He told us he was a drug addict and did many bad things and had been in jail. But he told us that when he had a daughter, she made him want to change. He told us he didn’t want to raise a kid in that kind of environment. So we began teaching him about the plan of salvation. The second one is a teenager who just opened up while we tracted and was pretty interested. The third investigator was because of Elder Freeman. We were tracting around apartment complexes (again no one wanted to listen) and we were pretty tired. Around the last few doors we saw a woman just sitting on the doorstep. Freeman told me we should talk to her. Honestly, I went along with it because he’s my trainer and because I was just too tired to say otherwise! But as soon as we talked to her we found out that she lost her husband a year ago and has 3 kids and no job. However, she is so kind. She doesn’t judge people because she believes everyone has their own trials. She does believe in Christ but she doesn’t attend a church. I’m so grateful for my companion who works hard and listens to the Spirit. Mom, will you please have the family pray for our investigators that they may be able to understand what the gospel has to offer them and their loved ones.

This week we got to tour the Indiana Temple!!!! It is gorgeous, and people have waited for so long for one to be built here. 

The 3 cool missionaries...and that greenie on the right. 

At the Indianapolis Indiana Temple special tour

With Elder Hansen from Taylorsville

Tongan elders:  Latu, Heimuli, Tafuna, Moli

L to R: Elder Freeman, Elder Naire, you'd better recognize the big guy in the middle, Elder Moli and yours truly

There were so many investigators and members at the temple. We went through with a couple of investigators that Freeman knew. One of the investigators is married to a Hawaiian! They are so funny and so good to us. You don’t meet many people like them. Anyways, the temple was an awesome experience and we are going to go again with other investigators and hopefully with the ones we just found!

Oh and thank you sooooooo much for the package! haha we're currently having rice, spam and corn beef for our meals now. 

Elder Moli - District Leader and Hair Dresser Extraordinaire

But I avoided the candy and junk food cuz I’m getting fed alot here. So, will you please have the family also pray that I don’t get fat? Lol

Love you Mom and tell the fam I love them too!

Love,

Elder Heimuli

P.S.  Oh, can you send me my gray suit? And I think I’m buying a bike this weekend because we found some for cheap. Thanks Mom. Love ya!

Week 2 - Cool, Hardworking, Athletic and Spiritual

Hi Mom!!! 

I hope dad feels better and tell him that I will be praying for him. I've met so many people down here who went to BYU, and they are all like "Wait, are you related to Lakei?" and I roll my eyes...because it seems no matter how far away I go, I can't get away from Dad's influence! I know Hema, Helam and Hevynn all had the same thing happen to them on their missions and they were all over the world. But that's a good thing. 

I also hope things go well with Alyssa and Norma too. Tell them I love them and tell Norma and Hema to name the baby Houston....It will definitely be handsome and athletic if they do ;) 

That's awesome about Hevynn! I'm so proud of her. Tell Jesse that I'm so happy with his decision to serve and I'll be lookin' forward to see where he's going! 

Oh and I haven't bought a bike yet because I don't need it yet.... I'll get one probably in the next 2 transfers. 

Oh and mom tell Helam to tear it up on the field. One of the things I think about when I'm about to sleep is Helam and the games I'll be missing. I'm sad about that. But tell him to keep being an animal.

Okay so things are crazy here. When we landed it was funny because there was 30 of us coming off the plane in Indiana, so just imagine a herd of buffalo coming off the plane. Then give all the buffalo name tags and that was our group! We were greeted by President and Sister Cleveland and Elder Gubler (I went to Bountiful with him and he's still one of the coolest guys ever).

We also got to see the new temple that's being built and it is awesome! Then we went to the transfer meeting and I got paired up with Elder Freeman. I'm blessed to have such a cool, hardworking, athletic and spiritual companion for my trainer. The only downside is he played for Logan [Grizzlies] so I kinda hate him and he kinda hates me, too. Haha, jk!! He's awesome and I love him. 

I found out there are a lot more Polys here than I thought! I saw Cameron [Hansen] too and he's lookin' and doin' good. In our district, our DL is Elder Moli from Oakland. He knows Tolu and Jojo and he is related to 'Ou. Elder Naire is his companion and he's from Ukraine. So the fun never ends haha. 

I am finally into the real work and it is tough. People in Indiana are very religious. There's a different church on every corner. People in general are just so proud and kinda stubborn. Here it's hard to find people to teach. They make the choice not to listen. And yet I've met so many GREAT people here that I know everything will be alright. God will always be there and I know we are on His errand, so we'll just keep working hard. 

Tell the family I love them and I am praying for them. Love you mom, and thank you for everything you do for me.

Love,

Your favorite Elder Heimuli

P.S. Yeah, so I left my cord in my apartment haha. I'll send the pics of the mish next week...sorry. I am forwarding you one of my district in the MTC. I miss my awesome district!

Elder Heimuli with his Provo MTC District

P.P.S. Thank you for sending me that obituary for Coach Evans. Please give his family my love and appreciation. I can't even tell you in words how grateful I am to Coach Evans, he was such a great man and I really do love him. Bountiful [Braves] football will never be the same.

Meet the Freemans

On Houston's Instagram last night, there was a message saying "whoever has this account now..."

It was from Houston's trainer's little brother!  What an awesome guy to reach out like that. Mom connected with Elder Freeman's mom when she posted this Elder Heimuli-and-his-trainer-Elder Freeman pic:

That sweet missionary mom and her son totally made this missionary mom's night!