Week 67--Finally Legal

FAMILY AND FRIENDS. 

I am currently writing this in love and appreciation for all da B-DAY shout outs I got. It was an absolutely stellar b-day. 

Here's how it started: the night before, I was really luke warm about the fact that my birthday was the next day. Partially because it is really weird having a day where it essentially like, "Oh hey let's celebrate the fact that I exist" when your whole entire life at the moment revolves around helping others. So that night we had dinner with a wonderful family, and the wife was like, "I am glad you could come, it's my husbands birthday." I was like OH GREAT. Mine's tomorrow! She had made cafe rio burritos and ice cream cake. THE BEST KIND OF CAKE. My compaion was very annoyed because the husband and I talked all night about how great people are that are born in September, especially around the 12-13 days. Plus they had left over lego's from when they went to the lego store and challenged each other to lego building contest, so they gave us them. That night, my companion and I had a lego building contest. I think I won.

The next morning I woke up and the first thing I did was open my Birthday Packages! (thanks fam). I loved the boomerang and am like half way done with the puppy puzzle. It's a big puzzle. That day three things happened that were particularly awesome. #1 We had back-to -back lessons with someone named "Cat" and "Kitty". Unrelated. Unfortunately Cat wasn't there.  I guess you could say someone let the Cat outta the bag. Ha. I'm sorry that was dumb. #2 The next awesome thing is we had a lesson on the top of seriously the most ghetto-looking building I've ever seen, and we were teaching this old Philipino man. Usually Philipinos are Catholic, and when they are, they are "born catholic, die catholic." But the first thing he asked us was about the different doctrines the Book Of Mormon presents and the Catholics teach. So we shared a little about that, then presented a powerful witness of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The man stopped, thought for a moment, and said, "Whenever someone comes by and talks to me like this (referring to religious people) I always wonder about how they tell us these things, yet there is so much pain and sorrow in the world." I could almost hug him when he said that! So we showed him 2 Nephi 2 where it talks about opposition in all things, then followed by having him read the fact that if there were no sorrow, there would be no pain, and finished with him reading about free agency. He seriously pondered the things contained in that section, and promptly declared, "Maybe this book will put to rest doubts I have had my whole life. This book contains wisdom unlike any other." It was a mighty spiritual moment. #3 We didnt have dinner that night, but when we brought a youth out to work with us, he was like, "Do you dinner tonight?" "No" "Hold on" Then he called his Mom and told him to feed us. Luckily, it was my favorite family in the ward, the Sudas! They are really, really awesome, and I couldn't have asked for a better family to eat with. They sang happy birthday to me, then covered my face with frosting. I loved it. 

The Lord really does watch out for us. I believe Heavenly Father really enjoys showering us with tender mercies. I think he loves seeing us happy! So be happy. Life's too short not to be. 

I love you all! Thank you for all your support. 

Love, 

Elder Gleave

1) Sudas are great!

2) Couldn't be happier about the sunscreen

Week 66--The Book of Mormon

Hey family!

How are things? I guess I am gonna be an adult soon. That's kind of a scary thought. I remember meeting people who were 21 and thinking, "THOSE PEOPLE ARE OLD." Now I'M OLD. Goodness. I don't act like a 21 year old that's for sure. 

One thing I've really noticed is how much we really DON'T know. I use to think that a 21 year olds were so smart and knew so much, but I look at it and realize that I still have so much to learn! Even teenagers think they know so much about life, but really they are only scratching the surface. That's why it burdens me to see so many of today's youth making decisions that will affect them the rest of their lives. I recently had the opportunity to teach a 17 year-old boy who's been arrested 4 or 5 times on various different charges, and it's hard for me to see these so called "men" making decisions that will surely affect them the rest of their lives. I looked at this boy and just wanted to shake him and yell at him saying, "Don't you know what your'e doing to yourself? You're doing to your kids? You aren't just doing things that affect you now, they may affect you for the rest of life, even for eternity!" But he would probably look at me like I just got off a one-way ticket from crazyville. One of the hard things, about being a missionary is seeing these people make poor choices in their lives when you know deep down inside how much happier they could be. Then when you feel that, you start to develop this Christ-like love for them. Then it makes it even HARDER when they still make those choices. But the beautiful thing about the Gospel, especially the Atonement of Jesus Christ, is that there is happiness ingrained in all of us. Everyone is destined to be happy, because that of why we are here. And everyone is destined to be great. One of the blessings of being a child of God is the ability to change someone's life. Jesus Christ is all about change. Changing from someone you use to be, to someone God wants you to be. And the best way I know how to do that, is by reading the Book of Mormon. 

Like I said before, people don't know as much as we think we do. We are teaching this man who is named Kyle, and he's had a hard time accepting the Book of Mormon because growing up he had it hammered in his mind that, "the Mormons wrote their own book" and that the "Bible is the only thing that will ever be written." Now I don't believe these people were viciously trying to bring the Church down, but we had to explain to Kyle that more often than not, people struggle to believe in something that's new or foreign to them. That they automatically assume that what they have is enough, and there will never be anything more. But the amazing fact of the matter is that God DOES speak to us today, and he DOES love us the same as the time of the people in the Bible. He WILL give us all these things that are designed to help us, and the forefront of these things are the Book of Mormon and the Bible. Entailed in these sacred texts is the power to change lives. To unlock the potential we each have eternally written in our DNA. I am forever grateful for the impact these two things have have on my life, and it burdens my soul to see the increasing doubt this world has towards things pertaining to God. I reflect on the fact that I had literally no idea about any of this less than three years ago. But we can always get better. We can always start somewhere. We can always start now. God is good. 

I guess it's just been on my mind lately about how amazing God is and how many people don't even have an idea of that, but I thank Heavenly Father for the opportunity to be out here on my mission to share the incredible power that God brings. I got a lot of birthday emails this week (which I am so thankful for!!) and all of them asked how my mission was going, so if this email doesn't clear things up, I hope this does. My mission means everything to me. It's taught me to step back, to realize that I DON'T know everything, and to get ready to let God teach me. I love you all! I pray for you! 

Love,

Elder "Still a kid at heart" Gleave

Week 65--Short one today

Hey family! 

Today has got to be a shorter email. We have an appointment soon because we had to email today since the library was closed yesterday for Labor Day. 

Well, here is a story for you. This week we were teaching a man and it has been going really well. His name is Kyle. We've been teaching him for awhile, and on this particular night his grandson was at his house. While we were teaching, the grandson comes out and pulls up a chair and then sits down and tell us he is going to listen in. Well, he listened for about two minutes, which I imagine is the equivalent to a few hours in eight year-old time, and, as any kid would do, decides it is his turn to talk. He goes on telling his grandpa, Kyle, about how his teacher is teaching him to walk on water, how his week was going, and just saying all sorts of ridiculousness. Then he starts telling his grandpa about how he got stung by a bee, and he asked, "Why do bees have stingers?" And me being a missionary thought that was a great time to teach him about God, so I said, "Because God made them that way." He scrunched his face, thought for a moment, then promptly declared, "God sucks." Hahaha it was so funny. Anyway, we explained how the bee could have been nervous and thought he was trying to hurt it and he stung you, but regardless the young boy taught me a very valuable lesson. Often times we will see or experience things that may lead us to question why such things are happening, I.E. a bee stinging you. And it's easy to simply blame God for what's happened. But in all actuality, things that happen to us, happen for a reason. Whether it is a natural cause and effect situation (because God is a God of order), whether it is the result of some other person's misdeeds, or whether it is by no ones fault at all, these things are here to teach us things. "It must needs be that there is opposition in all things" This is how we learn. It might teach us to not mess with bees, or it might teach us to have compassion on those who are going through similar situations, but I am ever more convinced that trials are there to better us, no matter what the trials are. 

I love you all, and hope you had a good Labor Day! 

Much love, 

Elder Gleave

Week 64--Kings, raw fish and a miracle

HEY FAMILY

Sometime I wish I could carry around a small camera and record everything I do so that I could go back and make a highlight film of all my favorite experiences. I would say that there was a few this week. ONE in particular that comes to the forefront of my dusty ole skull up there. 

It all started on Wednesday. We had planned to go to an appointment, but when that fell through, we made a quick stop by visit to a family that had just moved here from the island of Pohnpei (Pon-Pay). They are only here for a short time, while their toddler son gets an operation on his foot. When we went to teach them, their landlord, a 30 year-old woman sat in on the lesson. We asked her if she knew about the Church, and she said, "Yes. I was taught by missionaries in Pohnpei, and I went to Church with them once. I loved it! I was planning on coming to your Church this Sunday," so we were pretty excited about that, because that doesn't happen everyday. And so we taught her about the plan of salvation, she told us she wanted to be baptized, and then we set up a return appointment on Saturday. So that's where it gets weird. So on Saturday we went back, fully expecting to teach this family, when there are more Pohnpei people in this house! And so we sit down to teach the family and the young lady, and a man walks in and tell us we have to be quiet because there is a "higher up" that is staying there. Well, we come to find out that the second in line to be king of Pohnpei is staying there to get treatment at the local hospital. This added a little bit more tension in the room, because the last thing we wanted to do was offend a future king. But we finished the lesson and right as we were done, a rather confident-looking man walked in and said, "Come. Have some lunch with me." Then the same guy who told us that there was a higher up staying there came in and said, "You have been royally invited to lunch. You cannot refuse." So we sat down at the table and had lunch with the future king. It was interesting to talk to him. He was a warm-spirited guy, but you could tell he had an air of pride about him. I guess that happens when you are about to inherit a rather large island. He was a pastor of his own church of about 500, so that in itself added a bit of tension, but he was very respectful of the Mormon faith and told us about how beautiful the LDS chapels in Pohnpei were. It was rather intimidating, because any wrong move by one of us could reflect the LDS church, so if we ended up offending him in anyway, that could mean the end of missionary work in Pohnpei, an island of 34,000 people. A big custom in island culture is to not refuse any food given to you. So when I saw a large bowl of freshly sliced raw fish I thanked Heavenly Father I had learned to love that stuff on my mission and it was not a problem. (if you think that's gross, I would encourage you to look up Dinuguan. I had it that night for dinner). Overall, it was a very great lunch. We ended by providing a Book of Mormon to him. The last thing he said to us was, "If I end up reading this and getting converted, the whole island would go into a riot." Whether he gets converted or not, it speaks wonders to us members that stand as a witness of Christ "at all time, in all places." 

Well, that's the story of the week. I love you all! 

ELDER GLEAVE

1) I think I left something behind

2) nightly planning session

Week 63--THEY GOT DUNKED!

Hello,

First off, I would like to give a shout out to my wonderful brother. Congrats on getting engaged! I'm sad I can't go, but I'm super happy for you! I know that the blessings of being with Tess for all time and eternity are so much greater than we can understand right now.

So while I am on the subject of life-changing events that I was unable to attend, there was one that happened this week that I am so very pleased about. As you may recall, I was working with a family of 5 while I was in Honolulu during the winter. They are the Fitzgerald family. In fact, they will probably read this at some point (well at least the Mom, she likes to blog stalk me)! Anyway, they were my absolute favorite family I've worked with on my mission. They are some of the most down to earth, kindest people I've ever had the opportunity of meeting. Well, they have been coming to church for the past 7 months as regular attendees of the ward. For all intensive purposes, they were the definition of  "Dry Mormons". They were waiting to get baptized until their youngest daughters turned 8 to make the commitment as a whole family. As a family-oriented church, I can't really blame them. Well, she turned 8 a couple of weeks ago, and guess what happened on Saturday. They got baptized! Unfortunately because of mission rules, I was unable to attend, but I am so overwhelmed with joy at the fact that this family was able to join together in the gospel of the Lord. I love them with all my heart, and I know their lives will be changed for the better from here on out. From the initial reports of the missionaries who attended, it sounds as if the baptism went well! Apparently the confirmations took about half of the sacrament meeting, but I don't think anyone really minded. The unification that the church brings into families' lives is simply splendid. 

Another neat thing happened in which I DID get to attend! A man by the name of Via Sikahema came to talk to all the missionaries serving on Oahu. For you ancient BYU football junkies, he's the guy who ran a punt return back for a touchdown to spark BYU's miracle come back in the "Miracle Bowl". He was also part of the national championship team, and became the first Tongan player to be drafted into the NFL, where he spent nearly a decade playing for three different teams. Now he a commentator for NBC and covers most of the Olympics, as well as serving as a Stake President in New Jersey. He was a super funny guy. I think the line of the night was, "Look at my son-in-law. He looks like he's right out of GQ. My daughter-in-law is drop dead gorgeous. I always tell my kids the same thing: 'Us Sikahemas don't marry ugly or dumb. We need to better our gene pool." It was relaying the point that on his mission he learned skills that later helped him in life, including finding a wife. It was cool to hear him say that out of all the things he's done in life, including playing in the NFL and being on a college national championship team, the thing that made the biggest difference in his life was serving a mission. He told us that everyday of his life, a memory of something or someone, or of something thought he had on his mission always comes up. He can't say that about anything else. It was a great experience.

The last cool thing that happened this week is we had a stake sports fest. Our ward isn't the most athletic of wards, so when we went, me and my companion weren't sure we would have enough people to play on the basketball team. As it turns out, we had 6 people, but one of the older guys took a tumble in the beginning of the game and had to sit out. So that just left us 5. A Mexican guy, me and my companion, a pretty tall navy dude, and a 60 year old short guy. I didn't think we had a popsicle's chance in hell that we'd win, but I guess we were out there to have fun, and coupled with an underdog mentality, we ended up winning! The bummer thing is that we had to wait like 3 hours for the next game, and half our team left, and so we were really tired for the next game and so we got destroyed. But it was all for fun, and I can't complain. I did jam my thumb pretty good and it got all swollen and bruised! It looks cool. BATTLE SCARS. 

Anywho, things are good! Life is good. Food is good. I love you all so much. 

Love,

Elder "Purple thumb" Gleave

Week 62--SALT LAKE AND HURRICANES

Aloha!!

Okay, first off, there is a few things I have to get out of the way. 

Congrats to my favorite brother on getting engaged! Tess is perfect for you, and secretly I always wished and knew you two would end up together. Nothing makes me happier than to know my family is happy. I am so happy!

Next, I have to admit I was being a little dramatic. Last week, I told you all that I was serving in the ghetto. That's only half true. I cover part of Kalihi, (the ghetto part), but I also cover part of a place called Salt Lake. Not to be confused with Salt Lake City, Utah. I know that confused me a lot when I first saw it. But It consists of mostly high rise apartments that are really hard to get into as missionaries. Plus we cover some military housing so it pretty much looks a lot like Draper, Utah over in that part. So I am half ghetto. 

I guess this week has been pretty interesting. Whenever news comes of a big storm over here, people begin to panic. And when the news that two hurricanes are coming back to back to attack the beautiful islands of Hawaii, people began to go bonkers. It was funny. The stores were absolutely OUT of water and canned goods. People were stalking their cupboards, getting ready for the worst. All the mormons were chuckling though, because we've got a the leg up on food storage. Like, "you silly people, we were preppin a long time ago!" Anyway, the storm came and went. The Big Island got slammed, but it died out after the storm went over Muana Kea. There was a joke that went around that Pele was mad that another women (Hurricane Iselle) was moving in on her territory, so she smacked her until she went away. And that's why the storm was so small. But we were instructed to stay in on Friday as a precaution, and it was suppose to hit around 11 o clock, but around noon I walked outside and told my companion, "I don't know about this whole hurricane thing...I can see blue skies." Life as a missionary is kinda funny when you can't watch the news.

I was thinking a lot about how the gospel, and I guess God in general typically doesn't like us to be comfortable. The more we are comfortable, the less we are growing. As a missionary, there are a lot of times in which you are severely uncomfortable. Whether it is talking to a person who doesn't want to talk to you, getting a door slammed in your face, or trying to teach someone who literally has no idea what you are talking about, I always seem to be squirming a little bit. I can see it especially at church. In this ward, we start at 8 o'clock in the morning. I don't care who you are, being at church, in all church clothes, at 8 in the morning is uncomfortable. I especially see it in the eyes of those with kids. But the more we are willing to go outside our comfort bubble, with whatever it may be, that is when the Lord can really mold you into some great. I've been uncomfortable as of late serving in the lower income areas. Whether it is urine on the walls, sitting on a dirty floor, or seeing people with literally nothing still be happy, it really gets me out of my bubble. But I love it. It makes me happy to know that I am growing.

Today we hiked to a waterfall and had to "repel" down to it. It was a good reminder that I am still in "Hawaii". I loved it! Then after we played volleyball with a group of Samoans. That always makes me smile. I was in the elevator with my companion and a teenage girl got in, and things were pretty silent. So  I decided to break the silence by asking, "Come here often?" She looked at me confused and shook her head. That was the end of that. See? Comfort bubble.

Okay I have to go. There's a group of elementry school kids mad that I am stealing their computer time and giving me the death glare. I LOVE YOU ALL SOME MUCH. Till next week.

ELDER G_L_E_A_V_E_

Week 61--From Green to Ghetto

Hey family! What's up?

So in case you're wondering, this is what my last week went like. Rumor comes in that I am going to Kauai and serving over there. Green paradise! I was super excited. Everyone kept telling me that I was going there. Then something happened with a missionary in Hon-West (Honolulu-West), the ghetto zone of the mission, where a missionary had to go home. So I was still thinking about the fact that I was going to Kauai when the info about transfers come in and I find out that I am NOT going off island. I was in a sort of freak out mode where I was sad that it wasn't happening. I was almost frustrated with the Lord that I was staying on the island. Then something pretty spiritual happened where I was taking the sacrament at church, and the song "I will go where you want me to go dear lord" plays in my head. I was like, Alright. I know I know...I'm sorry for grumbling. But now the question is still left as to where I will be serving. I thought about all the zones I have served, and where there was people possibly leaving, and I came up with two zones. Kaneoha and Hon-West. Hon-West is notorious for being the ghettoest spot in the whole mission. NO ONE looks forward to Hon-West. But in my heart I felt that I was destined to go through the ringer. 

So Wednesday rolls around, I said my good-byes, and I was ready to go to my new area. Still don't know where I am going. President gets up and starts transfer meeting, and announces the Honolulu Zone. Then he starts on the Hon-West Zone. And what do you know, here I am. 

I am now in one of the most run down areas of the islands, but I'm actually not too sad about it. Before I left, I got so many "Have fun on a two-year vacation" that I wanted to prove to myself that this was a TRUE MISSION by serving in the most humble of areas. And I guess I got my wish!

The place where we work mostly is called KPT. It is a pair of giant 17 story buildings that are all government housing. That means they are some of the cheapest. The people are great there. They are all so humble, and very teachable. I call it the "Jungle Gym" of missionary work, and it's not uncommon to see 3 or 4 sets of missionaries crawling around there. My first day we went there, and my companion knocks on the door. I was a little apprehensive, because I've heard stories about this place, and when he opens the door a mouse runs out of the apartment and tries to climb up his foot. He nonchalantly brushes it off, like nothing happened. Most people there don't have furniture so we taught the lesson sitting on the floor that the mouse just ran on. I love it here so much. 

We have a lot of fun here. My comp is a great guy. He's really quiet unless he's talking to strangers and then he's utterly fearless. It's quite awesome to tell you the truth. He's very by the book, which is good because I am very not by the book, so we complement each other. In a lot of ways we are opposites, but he has one quality that makes it so the relationship works: he has an amazing ability to love all people he's around. He's an incredibly kind and gentle person. He's from Preston, ID, but he's spent his whole mission in the lower income parts of Hawaii. 

Overall, I am pleased at where I am. Even though it's not the "paradise" that most people consider when thinking Hawaii, it's where the gospel is needed the most, and where I want to be. The funny thing is, I never feel unsafe here. The Lord protects his own.

Love you all! Stay strong in the Lord.

Elder Gleave