Week 27 - First Christmas in Indiana

Dearest Mother :)

I had a great Christmas after we skyped! We got to spend time with families in our ward and we got some much needed rest which we never get haha! But the best part of Christmas and the best thing that happened to me this past week was definitely being able to talk to you guys and skype!! 

Skyping Elder Heimuli on Christmas Day - he looks skinny

Getting the package with all the gifts and letters was a close second. (Elder huntington says ... hello)  

Nevermind Elder Huntington...focus on the guy in the background who just opened up his Christmas package and couldn't read all the Heimuli family Christmas letters fast enough. He looks happy!

Sorry I left my camera in another elder's car :( so these are the best I got but when I get it back I will make sure to email you all the pics on my camera! I'm sorry!! 

And I’m sorry if I was weird.... haha

He looks the same ha!

I didn’t know how to skype everyone so if it didn’t seem very personal, my apologies!! Good thing Hema was there to help. Next time around Mother’s day we'll have some more one on one time haha! I loved seeing the whole family there at home. I loved talking to Hevynn, I miss my sister, even though it was a little weird to see Bo there in our living room on Christmas morning but I’ll get used to it haha. It was great to talk to my brothers and sisterinlaws. I had to keep reminding myself that I’m a missionary and I couldn’t just jump on a plane to be there. I REALLY LOVED seeing Hendrix and Keagan for the first time....they are the cutest babies ever, like their handsome uncle in Indiana. I wish I could have talked a little longer. I’ll admit I teared up when Hema sang. And it was kinda hard for a bit afterwards. I’m missing out on so much but seeing all you guys made it all fine for me :\

So Elder Quick told me about Mo’s mom passing on Christmas morning. My prayers and love go out to Mo and his family. But you’re right, what makes the gospel beautiful is knowledge. Knowledge in knowing where we are going, what’s going to happen, and ways we can apply Christ’s Atonement in our life. Christmas is about Christ’s birth, but the reason why His birth is so significant is that only He could become a mediator and bridge. Mediator because He is the Only One who could satisfy the laws of justice and mercy, and Bridge because He is the Only One who could bridge the gaps in our lives. In Alma 7 it talks about how Christ will succor His people. He knows what our pains are and what were are going through. But I can’t just tell people about it. They must apply it themselves by offering up prayers and earnestly seeking to do whatever the Lord asks. If we do this we WILL find comfort. So mom give my love to Mo, and tell him I will always be praying for him and his family. I love the Manu family.

My companion and I are doing better. He's starting to pick things up pretty fast so I hope that he is able to start doing stuff on his own. It’s kind of like trying to teach a baby the alphabet. And I’m talking about myself. I need to be more simple in my training methods and stop trying to throw everything at once on him. The work is slowly coming together. Sadly, Sunday night 2 investigators pretty much dropped us.... so I was pretty bummed out. And it’s been raining a lot, so biking is interesting haha!! I need to be more grateful about the challenges I face. I know better. What you told that Helam said about the loads we carry is interesting and true. Earlier this week I was listening to David A Bednar’s talk about Burdens. In his talk he speaks about how his friend got a truck and decided to grab some wood up in the mountain. It was snowing hard and unfortunately he got stuck. He tried and tried but he couldn’t get unstuck. Instead of just sitting there doing nothing he decided to go ahead and load up the truck with wood. After loading it with all the wood that would fit, he decided to start the truck one more time and try it again. Because of the added weight he was able to get unstuck and move. The weight that we carry isn’t always a burden. In fact, like you mentioned before, these trials will help us in the end. They will give us the momentum we need to go forward.

Anyways, thank you again for everything mom. Please thank dad for me, too. I’m so glad he drew my name :) Thank you for the packages but most of all thank you for the great family that you and dad raised. So many amazing examples that I fortunately got to see and use many of the things I learned from them right now in my life! Love you ALL.

Ofa Lahi Atu,

Sincerely, Elder Heimuli

Week 26 - Downtown

Hola Everyone:)

I have been transferred to downtown Indianapolis :) There’s a lot of ghetto and lots of city life around. Being in Columbus for 6 months combined with my distaste for large cities made this transfer really difficult haha! 

I’m currently training Elder Ellsworth who’s a pretty cool guy, quiet but chill (like me lol). 

Tracting with my boy Ellsworth. It was so cold out there we had to duck into a grocery store to get warm.

Then I’m DL over a whole new district so that’s crazy, plus the missionaries here before us didn’t leave an area book....they told me they lost it!! So we are area bookless, DT'd, no current progressing investigators, training, and in a city that I’m not accustomed to....haha so I’ve been pretty stressed out lately. But I know things will be ok. They may not come in the way or in the time time I want it to but I know the Lord will help and guide me somehow.

Funny story. After transfers we started to head back to the new apartment which neither of us had seen. Plus I hadn’t bought a GPS yet so I was driving on my limited knowledge of the area. What was supposed to be a 30 mile trip ended up taking me over 98 miles!! haha We were driving for 4 hrs trying to find our way back! I felt so embarrassed by the time we finally made it home!

So the story so far is me and Ellsworth have been tracting hardcore haha!! That’s about all we've been doing.  But my district is awesome!! 

One of the elders in my new district, Elder Huntington.

We have (yet again) almost everyone in my district is a greenie (but I’m not anymore HOORAY). The area is fun! The city is pretty cool to see but I would never live here. The ward has great support! They are good at helping each other and they have effective meetings. 

Elder Cruz and me at dinner with the bishops in my new area.

So it’s cool here! I have not gotten the package yet. I’ll probably get it at our Christmas conference. I hope.

Ooooh I miss those family dinners haha. The good food, and the fun times! It sounds like Harry thinks he is becoming funnier and funnier with those nativity signs you told me about lol. I hope everyone in the family is doing good :) I pray for you guys always. It’s so crazy to think now that on Christmas Day it’s going to be just you and Dad and Harry after the married ones leave to go to their inlaws! I remember when we'd all just chill and watch Christmas movies haha!

Anyways Christmas here will be fun. We have a lot of families here willing to have us over and they are all awesome. People really try to make us feel at home and it helps ALOT.

I did want to talk about Christmas :) Because the magical day is only 4 days away we should remember why we celebrate Christmas. We grow up with people telling us what the true meaning is, but we need to read for ourselves. So read 3Nephi 1:13-15, then read Luke 2. Reading these two testaments of Christ's birth really make it more powerful and meaningful to me!

Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets. Behold, I come unto my own, to fulfil all things which I have made known unto the children of men from the foundation of the world, and to do the will, both of the Father and of the Son—of the Father because of me, and of the Son because of my flesh. And behold, the time is at hand, and this night shall the sign be given. And it came to pass that the words which came unto Nephi were fulfilled, according as they had been spoken; for behold, at the going down of the sun there was no darkness; and the people began to be astonished because there was no darkness when the night came.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Sorry this is so short. Because it’s a new area and I’m talking to you soon there’s not much to report on haha! Can’t wait to see and talk to you all on Christmas day. Oh and yeah I’ll just let Hema take care of all the small details haha! I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays :) Love you guys.

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli

Letter from President Cleveland

After serving all 5 months of his time in the mission field in just one area -- Columbus, Indiana -- and getting to know and love the people there very well, Elder Heimuli has finally been transferred.  He is training a new missionary, Elder Ellsworth.  I'm sure we will hear all about Elder Heimuli's "son" in his next letter home.

We received this short note from President Cleveland today:

Your son, Elder Houston Henare Heimuli, has been assigned to train a new missionary. The position of trainer only comes to missionaries who have demonstrated the highest level of trust, obedience and diligence.  A new missionary's trainer sets the standard and establishes the framework for the entirety of the new missionary's mission experience. We have every confidence in Elder Heimuli and know that he will be a great blessing to his new companion.

We appreciate your love of and support for Elder Heimuli.  Those acts have helped prepare him for this new assignment.

Sincerely,

Steven C. Cleveland
Mission President

Week 25 - Are You Mormons?

Dearest Mother :)

Sounds like you got the Flu huh? You better take care of yourself mom. I'm always praying for you guys but that doesn't mean you can just run yourselves ragged ;) in fact my district all got the flu except me...for now. Because I'm the DL, I had to run around helping the other companionships with their areas, while trying to maintain mine....Let's just say that I was pretty run down this week. Then we went to the 1st ward Christmas party and I had to sing with the Elder Tyler who is a PHENOMENAL singer! But we got tons of food so it was good :)

A cool miracle happened this week. We were delivering cookies and we decided to hit some Less Actives in the area with cookies (not literally). But we got lost and couldn't find one house. Me and Ballif knocked on a door thinking it was the right house, but a crabby old lady came out and yelled at us. She said, "Are you Mormons?" and sneered at us. We just smiled and replied, "Yes and we were just looking for one of our members, do you know where he might live?" 



We told her his name and she knew of him. But she didn't know specifically where he lived but she said she would be willing to give him a message. We said thanks and were about to leave when I felt like I needed to give her the cookies. I turned around gave her the cookies and said "Merry Christmas." She broke down and told us how that was the nicest thing anyone's done for her this week. She told us her life story and told us she's even met with the missionaries before and, because of how nice all the missionaries were that she's met with before, she was willing to take the lessons again. And if she found out they were true, she said she would be baptized. 

Then after that miracle another one happened. We knocked on another LA door we felt prompted to knock that night. The LA opened the door and said, "Are you the missionaries sent here to teach my family?" We found out her family were all non members except for her. She wanted them to learn and be baptized and they are willing to be baptized too!!!! Me and Ballif prayed so hard and thanked God for the miracle we received. These people are that much closer to God and are on the path. Unfortunately, I won't be here to watch their progression.

I received the call from President. I'm training a new Greenie. We are being double transferred into a new area, and I'm still gonna be a DL. So I've got a lot on my plate for these next 2 transfers and I've got a lot to learn. However I know it will be okay, I just gotta rely on the Lord and things will be okay. Of course I don't know where exactly, who we are paired with, or where we are going until we go to transfers! So I'll keep you updated on that. This reminded me of Freeman when he was training me. So I called him and I told him. "Hey, your gonna be a grandpa!" haha we laughed and just reminisced. Oh and 10 of the 14 missionaries in this zone are leaving!!! Crazy, right? All the Polys are leaving, I think that's an indirect sign from President saying that there are too many Polys in this area lol!

YAY all these college grads and new families :) I miss all you guys so much! Congratulations to everyone! I can't wait to talk to yall but I first need to get direction from president on how we are doing that. I'll probably have an idea of what's happening next time!

This week we had stake conference and it was good:) They talked a lot about being not just members but people who can help preach the gospel like missionaries. You don't need a name tag to spread the gospel. 

In Alma 17:32-33 it reads

32 And it came to pass that they went in search of the flocks, and they did follow Ammon, and they rushed forth with much swiftness and did head the flocks of the king,and did gather them together again to the place of water.

33 And those men again stood to scatter their flocks; but Ammon said unto his brethren: Encircle the flocks roundabout that they flee not; and I go and contend with these men who do scatter our flocks.

Ammon wasn't the only one to gather the flocks. He involved everyone. A missionary can only do so much by himself, but if we all help we are able to help those who have lost their way. Then we fellowship them, keep them close, encircle them roundabout in our love and in God's love. So then they won't be scared away or stray. Take this "A Savior is Born" video for example. It's a useful tool for us missionaries to use to show people, but if members share this video and other gospel messages to people they also know, then think how fast this work would progress? We all have a part to do.

Anyways I pray for you guys always and I will do my best out here! Love you all and I know that Kiegan's blessing will go great! Send me some pics of all the beautiful families so I can make them into planner covers haha!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli

Elder Heimuli says goodbye to friends in Columbus

Week 24 - Service = Love

Dearest Mother :)

Things here are goin alright! Still haven’t transferred yet but I transfer out (most likely) on Dec 15th. However the mission office said to just send it straight to them because packages start getting stolen around Christmas!

With Elder Hansen

Again this week was very inspiring after Elder Nash's talk. However success just didn’t seem evident. Me and Elder Ballif only found 1 new investigator who’s kinda flaky haha! Ask Hema, Helam, Hevynn and Bo...all RM's know about flaky investigators. Our baptismal dates all dropped through the floor and we can’t seem to find them. However God saw fit to bless us in other ways. Jerry C is the oldest child in his family (I teach 4 of the 6 siblings) and he's less active.

 

But he is a super nice, and even spiritual, guy. It’s just that things have been hectic in his life. Now for some reason we were prompted to see him. He's super open to us and he is loving the messages we share. I don’t think I will see him go back to church while I’m here but when he's ready I know that he will. They gave us food, hat warmer thingys, more food, we do everything! The thing that struck me this week is that I was focusing so much on finding people who never heard about the gospel that I was a bit blind to those who were wandering off the right path. My goal this week is to not only find some new people, but to help those who have fallen off that narrow path.

Anyways, other than that nothing really new has happened. Elder Gubler asked me and Elder Pau'u to do a dance number and 2 singing numbers in the mission conference...we have 2 weeks to prepare haha! Oh well, guess those things just sort of happen.

Congrats to Stanford! Brother Farmer in the ward loves to keep me updated on games haha! Elder Pau'u is a USC fan so I got to rub it in his face yesterday. He was lowkey mad haha.

With Elder Pau'u

Lance is at the top of the BYU coaching list huh? I'm not surprised! Well if he takes it then congrats and he certainly deserves it :) If not then I will still be happy because I will get to see him after the mish! Looks like things are looking good for him and it couldn’t happen to a better man!

Well this might be my last week in this town, my one and only area since I landed in Indiana. I know it well. I’ve tracted every street here haha so its hard to find areas that I haven’t tracted already. I love the members of this ward and the people here, and I will miss them when I'm transferred. It's funny how that happens in just 5 short months. During my studies I actually came across a scripture mastery verse which just pops out to me. It’s Mosiah 2:17 -

17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

The best way to serve God is by serving others. We can pray, we can be as obedient as we want, but if we don’t love our neighbors and others enough to serve them then we don’t love or serve God. It is through service that we show our love for Him. And it is through service that we increase our love for others. 

His 2 great commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. So this week just go out and serve, just once. Then reflect on that experience and you’ll start to realize that hey I feel the love of God. I’m gonna share it with everyone through service!! I promise you will feel those blessings and you will have a desire to serve just a little bit more!

Love you all and I hope everything goes well with the fam!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli

Week 23 - Don't Hold Anything Back

Hi Mom :)

So before you kill me for not emailing yesterday, I have a good reason. We had a mission conference with Elder Nash of the Seventy. And let me tell you that I received so much revelation and it was so uplifting!

With Elder Gubler (AP from Bountiful), Elder Quick (high school buddy) and Elder Clark (from Woods Cross) at the Mission Conference.

Thanksgiving sounds like it was still great! I hope Grandpa and Grandma Murray and Grandpa and Grandma Heimuli are doing well. It’s great to hear that everyone’s busy going to other family functions because it shows how big our family is getting and it will just continue to grow :)

Football season is winding down, which is good for Helam. Haha because he has alot on his plate now!!! And Hema, Alyssa, and Bo are all graduating! YAYAYAYAYAYAY haha im so happy for them:)

Speaking of football, this Thanksgiving was pretty awesome. Why? TURKEY BOWL :)  Haha I was so pumped when I was able to put cleats on again and I just went hard lol. Then we spent Thanksgiving at the Shoafs and it was delicious. It was pretty funny because unknowingly I downed a whole pecan pie by myself.... and half the rolls. Yeah I’m fat haha so don’t send me fatty foods ;) jk you know me, I’ll eat whatever!

Dinner at the Shoafs.

Going back to what happened on Monday, we had a mission conference with Elder Nash! It was great!! It was a spiritual experience that’s making me rethink how I serve my mission. He recounted a story about his son who left for a mission to Nicaragua. Before boarding the flight his son proceeded to say his goodbyes to all the family, starting with his Mom (of course), then making his way down amongst all the siblings. Made me tear up just thinking about my own goodbyes to my family and the many times I had been through that exact same thing before with Hema, Helam and Hevynn.

Houston saying goodbye to his sister Hevynn when she left on her mission to Japan in 2013. 

Elder Nash just watched and marveled at the sight of his son saying his goodbyes. As his son finally reached him the flight was ready to go and his son was the last one to board. So Nash hugged his son and said, "Son, don’t hold anything back." Now fast foward 2 years later and Elder Nash is now waiting for his son to come off his flight. He looks and catches the sight of his son rolling down the hall with his bags. Nash goes over and embraces his son. And at that moment his son turns and says, "Dad, I held nothing back."

As a missionary and as members are we holding back? In our callings and duties, are we shirking them? Are we letting those in need of God’s word and His gospel float right by us? We should be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to spread this glad message to all those around us. In Lehi's dream the Iron Rod extended along a river and led to the Tree of Life. Lehi beheld many people coming to the tree to partake of God’s Love. However a Mist of Darkness came and confused many people. Eventually many were lost, but some still pressed on through the dark by holding onto that Iron Rod.

The mist is the uncertainty and the confusion Satan tries to create. But if we hold fast to the word of God and adhere to the counsel contained in the scriptures we can partake of God’s Love! Sadly, many don’t know that there are ways to answer the questions of the soul, a way to escape this confusion. The word of God can change people’s eternities, and our duty as memebers and as missionaries is to help get God’s children on the right path so they can eventually feel His love just like we do.

Many other topics were discussed during this meeting, ways to help our own testimony grow, a way to help other people’s testimonies grow. It was such an amazing experience and I can’t wait to see what changes will come from this.

Aside from that last week was kind of frustrating. Our baptismal dates fell through, many investigators dropped us and half of the zone is sick. So the work has slowed down a bit, but we will keep pushing!! We just need to be positive and willling to work, like in D&C 64:34, which says:

34 Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.

Being willing and obedient will go a long way. Following the commandments and doing them willingly are sure to bring blessings.

Love you mom and tell the family I love them!!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Elder Heimuli