First off, before I start my letter, let me apologize in advance for my lack of English grammar skills that might be on display today...I woke up at 2:45 to go to Hale Akala (again) to see the sunrise, so its been a long day and I am tiiirrrreeeeddd!
Alright, well here we go.
Ofa Atu friends and fam!
This week has been an interesting week. In terms of missionary work, this week hasn't been too stellar. We only taught one lesson this week, which is not the best, and we taught a couple less active people. You could say it's been a frustrating week. That's okay. It was filled with a lot of prepping for this week. This week should go better. We have a couple lessons lined up for this week!
If any of you are kind of wondering what missionary work is like, let me paint you a picture. Elder Hunter and I visited this woman, and she was about to leave her house, so we asked if there was a better day we could come back, so she said "In two days. Around 4." So that was Sunday, and we got out of church at 4, so we had to hustle over there. We got a ride with one of our members, and he took us to the lady's house. The car wasn't in the driveway, so he asked if he should wait. "yeahhh...that would be best." Well long story short she wasnt there and when we got back in the car, the guy who gave us a ride was chuckling and was like, "Reminds me of the good 'ole days." That's what a lot of my mission is like here. It can frustrating, but it is rewarding!
We met with our mission president this week! He is a really amazing guy, and even though he just started this transfer, I know that the mission is going to florish with him leading the way with Heavenly Fathers guidance. Anyway, I expressed the struggles we are having, especially with the help from the ward, and he believes that Heavenly Father is trying to teach the ward a lesson, and I just need to be patient while they learn that lesson. Plus, Heavenly Father is trying to teach me something, so I have to pay attention to the lessons I've learned while being in this specific area. Lately its been hard to see the upside of things, especially when I hear about the missionaries that are having a lot of success. I have just decided that this area I have been given should be viewed as one big opportunity and not a large trial in my short mission life. I have deemed that a lot of the mission, and a lot of life, is dependent on the outlook you have for things. The saying "Life is what you make it" is really actually 100% true. We've all been dealt hands in life. Theres always situations we've been given in which we can't control some aspects of it, but it's all about how we react to it. Happiness is dependent on how we react to the trials, and how we rely on Heavenly Father to help us through them. The same applies to the mission. Sometimes things that happen outside of my control (missed appts, people stopping lessons, etc) but it all depends on how I view them. Well I decided I am going to view them as opportunities to better myself, and learn from them.
Besides, missionary work is so much more then getting people into the water. Part of the reason I feel I have been sent to Maui is to better the missionaries around me. For example, an Elder came with me on exchanges, and that night we talked for a long time. I helped him with some concerns, gave him some advice on how to be a better missionary, and lit some fire in his missionary burners. He just came off of having a really sucky missionary companion, so I talked to him about how we need to work hard and have no regrets when we go home. It really inspired him, and I think it helped because he and his companion worked really hard this week! Maybe I was sent here to Maui for other reasons.
Okay well I got to go, but it was fun to give you a little blurb on my life. My companion and I spent some time riding in the rain this week! So that was fun. Plus we go to a local outdoor court and challenge all these little Filipinos to basketball, so you could say Ive got it in pretty good with the Filipino ballers ages 14-17. I know, pretty cool right?
I hope all is going well to all of you all over the world! You are in my thoughts! Love you all!
Stay fresh from Hawaii,
Elder Gleave
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