Week 49--Mama's Boy

Hola.

What is up people! First off, I wanted to say how GREAT it was to Skype yesterday. I know that about 45% of the time was used to make funny faces at each other (sorry mom), but I know that I wouldn't expect it any other way. I guess you could say it was a quick reminder about how amazing my family is, and quite possibly and even probably the best family in the world. But then again, you could say I am a little bias. Once a Gleavelet, always a Gleavelet. Also, it's easy for me to say that I have the best mama in the world. It's weird to think that only a year ago, I was up on the pulpit giving my farewell speech. I wish I could be at home to tell you how much I love you, but I guess making faces on Skype will have to suffice. But in all actuality, I love you mom so very much. Anyone who puts up with me for 19 years and keeps their sanity is up there in my book. Mama Gleave, I love you to death and back, and I am grateful for the gospel and the chance I have to see your smiling face for all time and eternity! If any of you want to understand about how important mothers are to me, or how I feel about my mom, check this out!

 ---> http://motherhood.mormon.org/?cid=HPTH050814094

Not too much happened this week. One of the missionaries was going home, so we all got together and threw him a big party. We got him so t shirts at Ross, cooked him up corn dogs and bean burritos, and threw a party the best any 20 year-old missionaries could! It was a really good time. But on Saturday we literally helped this family move their entire house. It was a good time. I've been thinking about getting a bunch of RM's together and starting a little moving business. I think we'd make a lot of money.

We are teaching this young Samoan woman named Fele, and her Auntie...named Fele. We've already taught younger Fele everything, but the story on how we met them is pretty interesting. One of the first weeks we were here, we were visiting a part-member family in a single story apartment building with small little flats. All we had was the apartment building, not the number, so we knocked on the front door, and was like, "Is this the Hamblins?" and he pointed us around back. There was two doors, so we knocked on one, no answer. Then we knocked on the other, and a 17 year-old Samoan girl answered with a BYU-Idaho shirt on, and we were like, OH! Perfect. Has to be her. We asked her if she was a member, and she was like, "A member of what?" And so we asked if she was a member of our church, and she said no and laughed and told us it was her cousin's. Anyway, we've taught younger Fele all the lessons and she's knee deep into the BOM, and we just taught the older Fele the restoration, but it's going to be a challenge because they are deeply involved in their own church. The reason why I told this though, is because we had dinner with them on Friday, and after they asked us if we would like to join in their "Devotional". We said yes, and they proceeded to sing an absolutely incredible two-part harmony of a Samoan hymn. It was amazing. Then the Auntie gave a prayer, where she literally thanked Heavenly Father for everything. And the amazing thing was she was truly truly grateful for all those things. It reminded me of Psalms 100:4 "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name." They are a wonderful couple of people, and I pray that one day they will accept the gospel in its fullest. Well, yet again, another week goes by. I will be looking foreward to the time I get to Skype again! I love you all, and am thankful for all.

Until next time,

Elder "Ohhhhhh yeah. He's a mama boy." Gleave 

Week 48--Hello, I'm David

What's up people.

First off, congrats to my best friend Spenser on getting engaged!! I'm so happy for you! But you better not get married until I come home....

Also, congrats on the rest of my family for making me jealous by going to Disney World and playing with awesome aquatic creatures. That's including Mom's phone (mom dropped phone in canal).  Don't worry Mom, my comp did the same thing today. So we are currently phoneless.

I guess the next item of business is that Elder Humpherys and I are staying together! I guess our zone leaders talked to president and made it so I will continue to be with Elder Humpherys until he goes home, which is fine by me! When he goes home, we will have been companions for 5 months. Good thing we are best friends. A missionary I live with, Elder Yamashita, is finishing his mission tomorrow. I'm super sad because he is a really funny Japanesse kid, and it's gonna be weird without him.

This week we had a baptism for our mentally handicapped friend David. It was awesome. This guy always makes us smile! He showed up to church on Sunday, and he was so excited for his baptism that he arrived at 6:45, an hour before any ward started. During our ward (because he goes to all 3 wards) he got up and bore his testimony about how he thought the church was true. One of the reasons why he wanted to get baptized was because he went to Darryl's baptism and was inspired by it, so he really wanted Darryl to baptize him, and of course Darryl agreed. About an hour before his baptism, we were making a program and David called and asked us what time the baptism was, and so we told him to meet us at the church in half an hour, and he replied, "Oh okay, good. I just ate some meat loaf, so now I gotta go rest. Bye." It was a wonderful baptism, and David was so happy. His Mom even showed up, who has never stepped into a church herself. David was so happy after he was baptized, that he hugged Darryl, looked at all of us and did an Elvis "Uh-huh" and gave us a two-armed bicep flex. Classic David. We saw him the next day riding his bike, and so he yelled at us to meet him at Foodland. When we showed up, he had a guitar on his back, even though he doesn't know how to play a guitar, and he was wearing those giant grandpa glasses that cover the side of your eyes. We asked what he was buying at Foodland, and he just casually said, "Nothing. Just wanted to look around." It's a two mile bike ride from his house.

So overall it was a great week. I don't know if I mentioned this, but the Browns moved back! They took us to dinner last week, and that made me super happy. It's been nice to have them back.

We moved in with the zone leaders, which is great. It's been fun to have them around. There is always a joke being cracked or a prank being pulled, but that's just how we guys are.

Well, gots to go. Talk to you all in a week! If not, Happy Mother's Day to all those Mamas out there! You guys rule the world.

Tootles,

Elder "Almost My Mom's Favorite Son" Gleave

Week 47--Just the little things

Hello family,

Every week seems to be an adventure here in Ewa Beach.   Only on a mission do you visit random stranger's homes and with people you've met once or twice and they become your your best friends. And it's satisfying to say the least.

This week we get a call from a "private" number, and me and my companion are like, "uhhhh..okay let's answer it." And low and behold it's our best friend David Costa. He's the one who is mental handicapped. And he was like, "Yo what's up! Hey my dear friends. It's David ftrom Ewa Beach." "DAVID WHATS UP!" "Hey here's my graandpa...Hello?" "Hey it's the missionaries." "You know David is handicaped right? He can't read." "Yeah we know. We just like hanging out with him." "Well that's fine." Then we talked to David for a bit and we ended the conversation. Then the next we get a call from the "private" number again, and we answered and it was David again, and he gave it to his grandpa again...and he was like, "Howzit. How 'bout you guys come to my house next Wednesday for lunch and we can have some Kentucky Fried. From the Colonel, not from me." So fast foreward to Wednesday when we show up at David's house, and we walk in, and there standing in front of us is Johnny Cash look-alike speaking fluent pidgeon to us. The walls are littered with Elvis pictures, Virgin Mary Statues, and small ceramic bunnies and cats. One of the odder situations I've been in, but you don't see me complaining! Anyway, David's grandpa stares into the distance and just starts going off on a story about him and when he was baptized into the Mormon Church. Apparently he was baptized, and then went to the Jehovah Witness church a few months later, and has been there ever since. So he was born a Catholic, baptized Mormon, and is a practicing Jehovah's Witness. But what was even weirder, was he started talking about how the Restoration of the gospel just "made sense" and how there was apostles, and then they died, and so there was no prophet and they fell into apostacy and how Joseph Smith had to be a prophet. And I was thinking, "That's weird. Why does he believe that?" And then he turned to David, and no joke said, "I know for a FACT that the Book of Mormon is true. And nothing can change my mind." And then all of us missionaries just looked around, and then we ate fried chicken.

This morning we went to a member's house and he had a bunch of wrestling mats laid out for us. He's a Samoan High Chief, and he's special opps in the military. So he's a pretty big deal. And yesterday, we heard him telling another member at church about how he ran to a building with a sintax grenade in his hands, threw it on the door, took one step back and blew it up. Then he busted inside, and "there was a bad guy right in front of me so i brat-brat-brat-brat (making a sweeping motion with a gun) all the while I was woozy from shell shock. Me and my budy were just laughing about that the other day." What the heck? Anyway, since my comp is a wrestler, he invited to go do some ju-jits-su with him this morning. The Samoan member is from Seattle, so I was tempted to wear my Broncos shirt, but that would either result in 1) my embarrassment or 2) I'd get shot. Just kidding he isn't that crazy, but since I was wrestling him, I decided on my Relay for Life shirt. But all in all, it was fun. He went pretty easy on me, taught me a few move, and I still have all my limbs! I would say it was rather successful.

Besides the everyday missionary work, things are going great here in Hawaii. I'm trying hard to lose weight, but the desire to eat chocolate is stronger than the desire to do sit ups. I guess a lot of people struggle with that here. I will keep you updated if anything changes. Other than that, it sounds like you guys are doing a lot of traveling without me. That's pretty sweet. But I always read where you guys go and I think, "Nahhh I'm in Hawaii. They wish they were HERE." But in all reality I really do miss you all! Congrats to Will on graduating! Provo won't be the same without him there, but I know he will do big things in NYC. I'm not worried about you at all. The church is true, the book is blue, and Moroni is always on the ball. SEE YA.

Elder "Why are my arms sore?" "Oh yeah because a giant Samoan sat on them" Gleave