Sept. 24, 2016- Week 5 in MTC

Family, Friends, Associates,

HOW ARE YOU GUYS?!

Okay. So this week has been fun. 

So.... T minus 10 days left in the MTC. Then it's time to HEAD OUT TO THE FIELD. I recently bought some book of mormons (or is it books of mormon?) that I will be writing my testimony in and hope to be able to give them out on the plane. Our departure time is going to be 8:37 AM two Tuesdays from now on October the 4th, so that means that I'll be waking up at 3:50 AM to be able to catch the plane. And, in the words of Jeff Hakala the poet, (wonder who that awesome guy was) THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE ADVENTURE.

ALSO WE WILL BE AT THE MTC. FOR CONFERENCE. AGHHH AWESOMMMEEE!!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE PUH LEAZE LET US GET TO SING CALLED TO SERVE. AGGGHHH~!!!!! :):):))))))))))))

Side note, my comp and I got to see the real world, because he had an allergic to reaction to some bad nuts. So we went to the ER and were getting tons of weird looks from people BECAUSE WE ARE REAL MISSIONARIES. It still hasn't sunk in yet. Every time we go out in public, we got honked at, smiled at, or frowned angrily at, because we are representatives of Jesus Christ, and every time I feel afraid, I think of that quiet triumphant smile Joseph wore when he was "in perils among false brethren... or into the hands of murderers.." because he had no need to fear. (Go to the Link and Click 37 Minutes into the video, and again at 40:22 ) Even surrounded by brigands and scoundrels of all sorts, he was at peace. He knew whose side he was on, and who had already won the battle. 

"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."

-D and C 122:4 Emphasis Added

There was no need to fear. To be afraid. So it is the same with me.

One of my favorite analogies to the gospel is running... because i am a cross country runner since high school. Running to me feels just as hard as serving a mission, however I know that the Lord provides a way.

We were never meant to run this race alone, (Just ask Paul!) but we were meant to run it with God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Stay strong my friends, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

Above all, my friends, live what you believe.

"5 If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;

 6 If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;

 7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good."

May we all, stand ourselves still for 17 [we] shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves... and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.

2 chronicles 20:17

Here's some spiritual insights:

"On the third day they spotted what they knew to be a rescue vessel. It passed them by. The next morning it passed them by again. They began to despair as they realized that this was the last day the rescue vessel would be in the area.

Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my friend: “You have the priesthood. Command the rescuers to pick you up.”

He did as prompted: “In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the priesthood, turn about and pick us up.”

Within a few minutes the vessel was beside them, helping them on deck. A faithful and worthy bearer of the priesthood, in his extremity, had exercised that priesthood, blessing his life and the lives of others."

-Pres. Thomas s. Monson

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”

“Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard?” Isaiah cried.

“[God] giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. …

“… They that wait upon [Him] shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles. …

“For … the Lord … God will hold [their] right hand, saying unto [them], Fear not; I will help thee.”11

“Remember, … it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God,that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mightywinds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulfof misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is asure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”24

Like the intense fire that transforms iron into steel, as we remain faithful duringthe fiery trial of our faith, we are spiritually refined and strengthened.

~Elder Neil L. Anderson

“Though I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not aquick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and getanswers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. Icame to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. … I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.”

~Elder D. Todd Christofferson

"Elisha the prophet was surrounded by the whole Syrian army determined to kill him. He reassured his worried and only companion, who was busy counting Syrian heads, that when we are on the Lord’s side, regardless of numbers or worldly power, we are in the majority. I testify that the consoling words of Elisha to his young friend are still true today: “They that be with us are more than they that be with them” (2 Kgs. 6:16). The Lord will surround and protect [us, as well as] our young people with chariots of fire, as He did for Elisha, in the form of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, leaders, and friends who will vigorously love them and lead them."

President George Q. Cannon once taught: “No matter how serious the trial, howdeep the distress, how great the affliction, [God] will never desert us. He neverhas, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so]. … He will[always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass throughdeep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emergefrom all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them.”

~ Jeffrey R. Holland

I know the Lord Provides a way, He wants me to Obey

~Children's songbook

- Nephi3:7

-Ether 12:4, 27

-1 Samuel 17

-2 Chronicles 20:17

-Job 19:25

- Mosiah 5:15

Weekly Haiku:

Life's superb until

your comp goes to the ER

Don't eat those bad nuts

Well, I love you all. You guys are awesome. Never give up. Keep fighting. Keep trying. Stand strong and be steadfast and immovable. until the day of the Lord come. I love you guys!!!

Sincerement,

Elder Hakalakaa