Week 22 - Dignity, Diligence, Charity

Hi mom :)

Wow, things are getting hectic over there! I hope everything in Denver goes well!! Tell Aunty Laukau I love her. That's crazy that that has happened, however, it's a good thing Dad and Uncle Tini were able to administer a blessing. Funny thing is we are allowed to watch Ephraim's Rescue here (what a great movie). There's a part where he gives blessings to many of the sick people in the handcart company. He tells the elders that in order to administer and bless we need to stay worthy. Staying worthy is not just talking about law of chastity stuff. It's also talking about preparing ourselves spiritually constantly so when the time arises for us to give a blessing, we will be ready and worthy. How are we worthy? Well first is in how we talk and how we carry ourselves or our DIGNITY. We are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and we must act like it. Since we are His representatives we must also be DILIGENT. Diligent in our church calling, diligent in our prayers, diligent in scripture study, diligent in family affairs, diligence diligence diligence. And last but not least we must show CHARITY to others. Be loving when ministering, care for others and truly put your heart and soul into helping and blessing others because that's what the priesthood is for. All in all it is those Christlike attributes which qualify us to have the spirit to be with us when needed. We won't always be perfect but we should always strive for it perfectly! I will be praying for Aunty and the family!

YAYAYAYAYAY!!! Helam is awesome :) haha but I'm pretty ticked off he had to start scoring touchdowns when I'm gone not there! You should send me some of his highlights ;) haha But that's cool. Congrats to him and the WSU football team! They deserve every win that they get! 

I love the pictures you sent. Hendrix and

Kiegan are getting so big. I'm so happy! Haha Hendrix has really put on the weight! He's a true Heimuli ;) I hope Norma and Hema are hanging in there! Same with Helam and Alyssa! All these old folks and their kids haha. And Hevynn and Bo well I hope that they are doing well also, can't wait to see how tiny their babies will be lol! Oh and yay Stanford!! haha things are looking pretty good for our family so far :)

Well this week was okay. We had Zone Conference and I ran into a certain elder who was there for some business with the President :) Let's just say we chilled for a good 2 hrs haha!

However, Ballif and I have been a bit ill, so it was kinda hard to go out and see people but we pushed through it and saw our families. None of them came to church because they all had family emergencies. But we learned a valuable lesson, Diligence. We thought because we were sick we could sleep in till 7... Well because we slept in we missed studies, and because studies were off we were late getting out the door. All in All we must be diligent no matter what. We learned that being diligent is not a way to inhibit us but really it's a way to bless us. Because of our laziness we weren't worthy to have those blessings we could've had, we weren't ready. But this week we are going to hit the ground running no matter how sick we are or cold it is :)

I finally got the jacket (THANK YOU) and it was perfect timing because that day it snowed haha!!

Our investigators are doing well so just please keep praying for us! We are also gonna be spending Thanksgiving at the Shoafs which is like the biggest Mormon family in Indiana haha! Grandma Shoaf has 14 kids and each of them have like 6 kids so it's about to be crazy lol!

Well here's a scripture I wanted to share. It's Alma 5:28

28 Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life.

Pride is dangerous, we all have this issue and as missionaries we see it everywhere, even amongst ourselves. The second coming is coming closer and are we ready for it? Are we stripped of this pride and willing to do the Lords will? If not, we will not be promised eternal life. And the best way to breakdown pride is being grateful. What an appropriate time for this scripture. During Thanksgiving let's thank the Lord for His sacrifice. Thank God for miracles and we are able to see His hand in our everyday lives. When we do we slowly strip away that pride and we become even more perfect disciples of Christ. 

Love you mom! Tell the family I love almost all of them (They can figure who I do and don't love ;)) jk love you all!

Ofa Lahi Atu
Elder Heimuli

Week 21 - I Am Pretty Sad...No, I'm REALLY Sad

Hello my dearest family:)

I’m still hanging here in INDIANA!! Haha! I got the thermals and the letters, thank you sooooo much! But I haven’t got the jacket yet so I’ll look out for it when it comes.

Tongan elders say goodbye to Elder Latu

 What a week for you back at home! You had a birthday! Harry went to the District speech competition! 

Harrison was a finalist in the MLK Jr Speech Competition for Davis School District

And it sounds like you had another awesome stake YW activity! Best of all, it’s great to hear that I became an uncle yet again :) haha Congratulations to Helam and Alyssa for bringing another great Heimuli into the family. I knew she would be pretty like her mom and dad haha. 

Just 3 hours old, Kiegan Hone Koula Heimuli meets Grandma Heimuli

Helam, I know you are also going to be a great dad. I mean you have our dad as an example, Hema as another one, and many other men figures in our extended family to model towards. Plus you and Hema I look up to a lot because you guys will do anything for your family. Alyssa, can’t wait to see the mother you will be. You and Norma were so sweet to me when Hevynn wasn’t (jk sis!). I can’t tell you how excited and happy I am for you both. Thanks for having the cutest babies ever. Keep being the great, funny, hardworking mothers that you are and I know that things will always work out when we put our faith in the Lord :)

Hevynn and Bo. I am pretty sad... no, I’m REALLY sad I missed the wedding. I thought about you all day. I wish I could’ve been there but like I’ve said before, I have work to do here. Hev, you look so beautiful in your dress and absolutely stunning. Definitely the prettiest girl I have ever seen. Lots of men’s hearts were broken on Saturday, but Bo you were the lucky one. 

Bo & Hevynn Bolen 11/14/2015

In fact Bo, Hevynn is not the only one lucky to have you, our family is lucky to have you and to have such a great connection with your whole family!!! Btw tell Dave and Faith that I said hi and I miss them:) But what’s saddest is that you’re now my bro-in-law for real... so I guess I have to start liking you ;) jk jk but again I just wanna say congratulations to you two and I wish y’all the best in everything! 

Elder Heimuli sent a video message for Hevynn & Bo's wedding

I can’t wait to hear about the adventures you two will have once Bo is back on two legs haha. I loved the pic of the 4 generations, that's a great idea I will have to remember to do that 10 years from now haha.

Four generations of handsome Heimuli guys: Peni, Lakei, Hema and Hendrix

However a word of caution is also in order. Mom and Dad, Hema and Norma, Helam and Alyssa, everyone can attest to how hard marriage is. (I know, it’s funny because I’m the least qualified to talk about this). But I’ve observed both at home and out here on the mission that marriage is a lot of hard work. Seeing the marriages out here which aren’t built on the foundation of Christ, I realize they crumble and fall as fast as they were built. Church, scripture study, prayer, etc., are all optional. At least that’s what people think. However, if we are to have a Christ-centered home, these things are ESSENTIAL. Hevynn and Bo I hope you two keep living your lives according to the will of the Lord. If you do I promise you will see the blessings unfold all around you!

This week was ok. The best part was seriously seeing the pictures you sent me of the family, my niece’s birth and the wedding. It’s kind of like a rollercoaster with me and my companion but it’s ok we are still working. In fact this week we saw a miracle. So when me and Elder Cocker were on exchanges about a month ago, we tracted into T. Her husband was pretty against us coming and would just ignore us and tell her not to meet with us. However this week me and Elder Ballif decided to stop over at her house because we've been in and out of contact with her. Suddenly the husband swings open the door. I just thought "Oh no, here he goes." But he just smiled and welcomed us in! We taught him and T again and then invited them to church. Me and Elder ballif were amazed but we knew the Lord opens doors when He’s ready to. Now fast forward to Sunday. We had not heard from T. Our other family couldn’t come to church because they were sick. So me and Elder Ballif were kinda sad because no one was going to be there. Then poof! In walked N (T's husband) and the whole family!! We were ecstatic!! In fact he loved church and said he'll come back next week! So keep praying for us please!

Now that the elders all have to share 1 vehicle, they've found creative ways to fit everyone in at once:  use the trunk

Also this week we went tracting and when were about to head back home when I heard "Elders?" I turned around and there was R!!! An investigator me and Freeman lost contact with!! It was crazy! We caught up and now we are meeting with him again:) That’s 2 miracles that happened this week!

Looks like Elder Heimuli is still roaming the halls at church

Anyways that sums up my week. I hope you all have a great week and love you all!!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli

Week 20 - For Some Weird Reason

Dearest Mother:)

I am doing great! The best thing that happened huh? Well we have a family that came to church and is on baptismal date so that’s exciting. We love baptisms :) We are praying though that certain issues get resolved so keep praying because it helps so so so much! New investigators are pretty good too. We found 3 other families and currently are teaching them. 

The District is doing well! There’s a set of missionaries who have been struggling and this week they were able to reach the standard of excellance!! First time since about 4 months! Also me and Elder Ballif have been getting along really well now. I’ve been praying that we could somehow bond together and outta nowhere we have been.

Work sounds stressful. You have to balance your calling and Hevynn’s wedding and a new grand baby coming this week!!! I can’t wait to be an uncle again. Haha plus you have a very handsome missionary you write to every week so things can’t be easy for you. Know that I’m always praying for you! I didn’t know Bo was having surgery. I hope that he recovers! How are Faith and Dave? I was actually thinking about them the other day. Oh and I love the pics of Hendrix! haha I’m planning on making them one of my planner covers!

Oh so Helam is still tearing it up I see! Weber State is my number 1 team for now, so I’m always talking about WSU. In fact a ward member was asking why I talked about Weber State so much when they knew I was going to Stanford. I told them "My older brother is the Tight End there. He took the athleticism and height, but I got the good looks." For some weird reason they just laugh :(  Oh and I shot a letter to Coach Anderson.

Thank you for the Thermals mom!! And the money, dad, because I inherited a couple of bikes. But when I let one of the other companionships borrow it, it came back without a wheel or a seat. I kinda just sat there and wondered "Who the fetch would take only the seat and one tire?" I was more angry at the fact that they only took those than taking the whole bike. haha jk but yeah so now I’ll have to fix it. But tell dad thank you!! Tell him I love him so much and that people still won’t stop talking about him! Yeah it’s kinda annoying but whatcha gonna do?

So in my district there are about 6 missionaries. It’s a small district because we have a small zone. However it’s all good. It makes it a little easier on me haha! I’m still getting the hang of it and I should be polished and fine by the end of this transfer. Crazy thing is, I will have spent 6 months of my mission here in Columbus... haha I’ll probably be transferred out after this transfer. But the DL's here are me and Elder Pau'u. He’s from Santa Ana or OC area in California. He’s really cool and we always have jam sessions or we always be eating rice (which I should probably stop eating haha). But the work is still progressing and I am still working hard!

Oh and I sent the Card with all my pics and the videos sooo I have no pics to send currently... Sorry!

But before I go I’ll just share a scripture which is D&C 122:4

And although their influence shall cast thee into trouble, and into bars and walls, thou shalt be had in honor; and but for a small moment and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever.

Our afflictions and pains are just a small moment. Our trials and tribulations are for a split second. Then when we face those adversities head on, we gain strength from God. Our words, backed by the spirit, will literally shake people and nothing will stand against the power of God. So when people challenge your testimony or trials feel like they are too much to bear remember that it’s really only temporary. And we will come out even stronger in the end.

Love you mom and I hope things go great with the wedding and everyone at home!!

Oh and btw....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are what 21 now?;) haha mom just wanna say thank you for everything. You are the greatest and the #1 woman in my life! I hope that today is a wonderful Birthday and I’m sorry I didn’t record a happy bday message for ya :(  I made sure to get Hevynn’s done because she’d kill me if I didn’t. You? You love me no matter what. Harry better have made you breakfast or somethin’..... Anyways Happy Birthday and I love you!

Ofa Lahi Atu
Elder Heimuli

Week 19 - So This Week Was Rough

Hey family!!

Haha I saw the awesome costumes and just busted up!! Lil Nachooooo!! Hema and Norma and Hendrix are such a creative family!! I love it!!  

Oh and you and Harry look good lol. I can’t believe you were Pikachu!

I’m not surprised that Dad is now that grandpa who’s always giving $ to his grandkids.  Bahaha aww little Hendrix is just like Hevynn always getting money from Dad ;) haha And when Helam and Alyssa’s baby girl comes long, it will be the same with her. Yup, her, Hendrix and Hevynn, haha. Well tell Dad I love him! Oh haha so a guy in the other ward at the party said he knew Steve Kaufusi. I told him that Steve and my dad roomed together in college. Then he called Steve... and I talked with Steve. It just reminded me how much I miss Dad!

Speaking of Dad and football kinda sorta, Uncle Hema is Jonah’s coach huh? I wish I could be there to watch him play! I bet he is just tearing it up. I hope he appreciates having a dad who knows what he’s talking about. I know I do.

Weber lost to Eastern Washington by just one point? Darn... But Weber is doing a lot better so I’m happy that they are keeping up and having some success! That’s such a cool story about Alyssa meeting a family Helam knew on his mission. It goes to show the influence a missionary can have on families.

We went to our ward family Halloween parties and my costume was awesome (not).

So this week was rough. We had to drop all the baptismal dates. We had 5 now its 0. I want to make sure that they are progressing and coming to church. But they weren’t coming to church. so I had to tell them that if they aren’t willing to come to church, I can’t baptize them. Unlike other churches, baptism isn’t just for joining the congregation. It’s a sacred promise or covenant that should not be mocked. So until they are 100% willing to change and come to church then I can’t baptize them. It’s been pretty frustrating. Me and Ballif are still trying to figure out how to work together. But patience is what I need to exercise and I guarantee he’s doing the same. So this week the work was slow but it’s still going.

Transfers are tomorrow and I get to go for a District Leader Training. Elder Pau'u and I are the new DLs here in Columbus so we'll see how that goes. It’s crazy because now I actually have to think on my own and think for the district .... I don’t know sometimes.

Wow things are about to get hectic for you mom!! I’m happy to hear about Bruce. You’re right, he will be a great missionary. I know it. Hevynn’s getting married and you will finally have 3 kids who have been sealed in the temple! I hope everything goes well! And I will send out the little video for Hev:) It will be a good one I promise!!

Here’s my ponderizing scripture for the week. Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

It’s pretty cut and dry. We are not perfect, and we sure as heck don’t know everything. (Although as teens we thought we knew everything.) However God provides us with a way to gain knowledge, by studying scriptures, praying and following His commandments. I call it the Big 3 and I know that when we do these we gain knowledge in ways we didn’t think possible.

I know this week will be a very crazy week and you might not be able to enjoy your bday like you used too, but you’ll enjoy in a better and more fullfilling way!!! I wish I was home for all of the excitement with the new baby coming, your birthday, and the wedding, but I have responsibilities and people to help. I love you!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli