LAIE, Oahu

What's up everybody? Not sure if I've written an email since being transferred from Maui. I am now back on Oahu for the first time in a year! Being off island is definitely better so I was lucky to serve off island for such a long period of time. I'm in Laie now which is where the temple is! I'm not kidding when I say all I've done since being here is eat, eat some more, and eat even more than that. It's absurd. Every night theres a feast going on somewhere and it's very likely that we're invited. Not sure why it's taken me 22 months to fully realize this, but the people of Hawaii love to eat. honestly love may be an understatement. eating is like breathing for them.

this past week we unfortunately were put in quarantine and that kinda sucked. however, that enabled me to grow out my mustache which was fun. It's been a while. we kinda just did whatever we wanted tho which was fun. We played basketball and pickleball almost everyday and even whipped out the classic card game Cover Your Assets. If you're not aware, Hawaii goes hard for New Years Eve. I have a 10 minute video of massive fireworks going off on our street literally non stop. if you're curious, honestly just YouTube it. it literally looks and sounds like a war zone. The people here take pride in it though haha.

I also got to go back to my old stomping grounds. Wahiawa! I made a few stops to see some members there and that was super fun. One of them even took us out for lunch! My first Raising Canes in a year! It was amazing! Got to go back to Royal Palm Street and of course I made sure to take a picture on it!

I love this quote Elder Holland shares in his talk back in October. It reads, In his characteristically memorable prose, C. S. Lewis imagines the Lord saying to us something like this: “I don’t want your time or your money or your work as much as I just want You. That tree you are pruning, I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want the whole thing down. And that tooth, I don’t want to drill it, or crown it, or fill it. I want to have it out. In fact, I want you to hand over to me your whole natural self and I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my will shall become your will." love yall, see yall in 2 pics included! elder buck 🤙🏽🌴🌊

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Aloha kākou! I'm back. How is everyone doing? First and foremost gotta give a shout out to Alyssa Warnock's parents for visiting me at church yesterday! It was great to see some familar faces especially from my ward back home! Heading to Molokai this week, Wednesday. Let me tell ya, that's exactly what I need right about now. I'm excited to get some fresh Molokai Hot Bread which is sold in a super sketchy alleyway at night, but it's so delicious. Hit my 21 month mark this past Saturday so that's lit. I truly have enjoyed my mission. it's an honor and a privilege to be a full time representative of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Today our friend Ton Ton is being baptized! It's actually his birthday as well. He's turning 13. Him and his family are Filipino so they get along great with my Filipino companion Elder Del Rio who actually was my 2 week quarantine roommate last August, as I've mentioned before. President Walker has once again challenged us to get 100 baptisms this month. Our zone has a goal of 6 this month and we're already halfway there. We will get transfer news this Saturday night and it's likely I'll be getting moved because I've been here in Wailuku Maui for 5.5 months now which is actually as long as I was in Big Island. Time flies!

For the past 24 hours it's been raining cats and dogs to the point of power outages and flash flood warnings. While all of this was going on last night, me and another elder were just dancing to michael bublé christmas in our kitchen. Quite funny actually. Then afterwards we decided to go play in the rain and all the puddles. Brought back childhood memories especially in Texas with some of those rain storms.

I found this quote in my studies this week and really liked it. It's from President Eyring. It says, "The only way to return to live with Them (referring to God & Jesus Christ) and with our family is through the ordinances of the holy temple." Temples are amazing and its within the walls of the temple that we make essential promises w God that if kept, will indeed allow us to return to His presence. and that's just another reason why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so important because we are literally the Church of Jesus Christ. We have the authority to make those promises and perform those ordinances. anyways, love yall. moral of the story is Jesus makes me happy.

🤙🏽🌊🌴🐊 Elder Buckwalter

Apostle Visit: Elder Bednar in Hawaii

Aloha everyone! I'm back. We spent the last couple days on Oahu actually for meetings. One of which was with Elder Bednar, one of the 12 Apostles! It was amazing. I was expecting a sermon but he actually made it more of an interactive discussion and I thought that was really interesting. He admonished us to stop taking notes on what's being said (which I've heard him say several other times in other talks of his) and so most of my notes are just my personal thoughts and feelings. The whole mission flew in for this meeting and so we filled an entire chapel and gym. And it's crazy because I didnt know or recognize more than half of them hahaha. The majority of missionaries serve on Oahu and so you get to know each other better, but I havent served on Oahu for almost a year soooo.

that's pretty much the highlight tho. Elder Bednar also said testimonies aren't 20 minute stories about your gall bladder surgery, they are brief powerful statements of things you absolutely know to be true. Following that counsel I would like to bear my testimony. I know Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. I know that His Church is back on the earth today and it's the only way to achieve exaltation in the kingdom of God. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Ahhh yes I remember on Friday we did car wash tracting. That's where you knock on doors with all the supplies to wash a car and ask people if you can wash their car right then and there. So as we're doing this, we have this one uncle call out to us a couple houses down and ask if we can wash his cars. Now I hope my aunt and uncle Tami and Chad see this because they will appreciate this, but my man opens up his garage and theres a 2003 Porsche and a Tesla. My companions and my jaws dropped. We were so scared. This guy, named Hedgie by the way (interesting name), was super particular and was watching us like a hawk. I mean rightfully so though, I'd prolly do the same. Both of those cars looked brand spanking new and this guy was just living the dream. Although we brought our own car wash soap he actually requested that we use his 50 dollar one instead. Later I joked that that was prolly the cheapest thing he owns haha. Sadly, I was too scared to ask for a picture with these beautiful vehicles. I apologize! Our breakfast when on Molokai

Everyone have a wonderful week this week. Always smile. Look for opportunities to serve others. Please go check out SimplySew808 if you looking for ties or masks. I will see y'all in 4 months. Also including pictures in this email as well! Aloha and Malama Pono

I'm Training a new missionary

Starting tomorrow I will be training a new missionary for the 4th time on my mission. Similar to last transfer with Elder Tooke and Elder Torkornoo, Elder Del Rio and I will be training this new missionary together as a trio.

So I'm staying in Wailuku, Maui until at least December 14th (which is also known as Neller's Eve, a holiday I created in 5th grade with one of my friends named Caden Trice). I've been on Maui since June 29th. I could finish my mission here or I may have one last area. Its been a great week this week. We were able to get this Filipino family we're teaching to the ward trunk or treat activity and church on Sunday so that was big!

Tonight and tomorrow night we'll be hearing from Larry Gelwix the coach of Highland Rugby from the movie "Forever Strong" so thats exciting. It should be super good. When I got to this zone there was only 1 companionship of Sisters. Now there's 3. That will be fun. I've never met a Sister missionary who isn't ridiculously outgoing, cheerful, and enthusiastic.

Last Tuesday night our stake president here took all of us missionaries out to eat to break our fast. We ran some calculations and he probably spent upwards of 600 dollars on us. He's an incredible man and he has a son attending Mountain Ridge High School in Herriman, Utah where I'm from so that's cool! And he's going to go visit my parents in Herriman when he goes to watch his son play football. THE VISIT (later that month)

I'm not sure if I've already shared this but in my studies recently I found my new favorite quote and I feel it describes me perfectly. It's by a former prophet named Joseph Fielding Smith. He says, "if we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours thru the redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of us that we would not anxiously and willingly do." That is so true! And I think about it everyday! What the Lord asks of us is so small compared to what he went thru for each of us. Another quote for ya by a bloke named Robert J Matthews, "the greatest display of wisdom that we can demonstrate on the earth is to follow the Lord and keep His commandments." Again, SO true!! I just hope we can all appreciate our Savior Jesus Christ and realize that it is in Him and thru Him that our resurrection is guaranteed and eternal life is made possible if we choose to make and keep special promises with Him and our Heavenly Father. Say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen! Can I get an amen?!

Just wanna welcome Joree back to the United States of America. And Go Cougs! I will include pictures below! Would love to hear from each of you.

Malama Pono Elder Nicolas B Buckwalter 🤙🏽🌴🌊

Moroni's Miracle Month

What's up everybody?! Apparently the fan base is dying for another weekly email so here I am, Elder Mintavious Pellegrino Johnson checking in real quick. I'm currently on the Friendly Isle, also known as Molokai, just doing some exchanges with the Elders here. Due to some new living arrangements, we're actually gonna be spending the night at the new senior couple's house who just got to Molokai very recently themselves. We went fishing this morning at an absolutely stunning beach and caught a small Christmas colored fish.

October has been proclaimed Moroni's Miracle Month in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission because in September is when Moroni (the last writer in the Book of Mormon) appeared to Joseph Smith and told him about the Book of Mormon which was buried as gold plates near his home. So our goal as a mission is to see 100 baptisms in the month of October. Not because we want more people to join our church, but because baptism is the 1st step to returning to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and living with Them in a never ending state of happiness. Currently our mission is at 28 baptisms I think, so wish us luck! Hopefully we can get 72 more!

I've been enjoying being companions with Elder Del Rio! Hes probably my best comp since last October, so I'm super blessed to have him. Hes also Filipino which is super helpful bc we have a lot of Filipino's in our area. Once people find out he's from the Philippines, a 10 minute lively conversation sparks and then we share more about our message and they usually agree to have us back over.

I enjoyed general conference just a few weeks ago. I highly recommend it to everyone reading this email. A few of my favorites were President Oaks, President Nelson, Brother Wilcox, and prolly a couple others that I cannot remember at the moment. This past week we had interviews with President Walker as well as zone conference which was fun. After talking all day about how we can find more people to teach, Presidenf Walker sent us out to highly populated areas and told us to come back in like 45 minutes. In that 45 minutes, the 25 of us missionaries were able to find 14 new people to teach and had 9 people commit to baptism. This really strengthened my testimony that God is a God of miracles. Moroni's Miracle Month has been amazing.

Theres loads more I could write but I cant remember it all. Hope everyone is doing well. I will see you all in about 5 months. Do I have any idea what I wanna do with my life? No. Do I have any idea what I wanna study? No. But wish me luck haha! For now I will just focus on the work of the Lord out here bc that is what is most important. Sincerely, Minty (Elder Buckwalter)

Maui Transfer and Trends

Aloha and good morning everybody! After a fantastic yet very short 6 weeks full of fun and laughter and hard work of course, they're splitting the best trio in the Hawaiian Islands apart! With me being in this area the longest, I definitely thought I was most likely to be transferred out of the 3 of us. President Walker really threw a curveball here though. Elder Tooke is heading back to Oahu in the Honolulu West stake/zone & Elder Torkornoo (only been out 6 weeks, bless his heart) is being sent to Oahu as well out in Waianae which is essentially the Compton of Hawaii. Elder Torkornoo has been super self conscious about gaining weight out here and ironically hes being sent to a Tongan branch! Elder Tooke and I were cracking up. Dude's definitely gonna gain weight over there. When we heard the news, we were devastated.

This transfer our zone will be getting 6 new faces! One of those new faces is my new companion Elder Del Rio! Elder Del Rio and I did our 2 week quarantine together back in Honolulu about 13 months ago! He's a great guy and I'm excited to be reunited. Ooo that rhymed, look at me go.

Some other highlights this past week: -On Tuesday I found out one of my favorite members of our ward here is closely related to Aleva Hifo and Sione Takitaki who both played football at BYU. Aleva plays for the Arizona Cardinals and Sione starts for the Cleveland Browns. -Wednesday I suffered the after effects of the 2nd dose of the vaccine. I was exhausted the whole day. It was frustrating bc I wanted to go out and preach the gospel but I just didn't have the strength. -Friday night we played pickleball at the church with some of the young men and Bishop and that was SUPER fun and competitive. Its every other Friday night and I'm already counting down the days. -Saturday night we had dinner w the Nitahara's and they're one of the coolest families in our ward. They have like 6 kids. The dads name is H so that's kind of unique. Just naming your kids a letter. Maybe I'll name my son T. Haha! -Sunday we had a wonderful dinner w several families in our ward. They brought lei's for Elder Tooke and Elder Torkornoo since they're leaving. We also sung happy birthday to Elder Torkornoo bc it was his birthday yesterday! We ate a lot of food and talked story. Doesn't get much better than that, my friends.

Last night on a mission wide zoom testimony meeting I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I recently completed reading the Book of Mormon in 65 days. That was probably the 6th time ish that I've read the Book of Mormon cover to cover in the past 2 years. Each time I read it I find something meaningful and relevant to my life on each page. The Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The Book of Mormon will bring the spirit of God into your life as well as feelings of peace and comfort. I invite you to read it no matter who you are. If you need a Book of Mormon, let me know and I'll get you one somehow. Aloha Malama Pono Elder Minty Prometheus Buckwalter

Training a new missionary & playing some ball

Nick spent the month of July as a Zone Leader along with Elder Smith and they got to get to know so many missionaries each week, going on exchanges, including flying to Moloka'i to work with the missionaries on that small island. Local members of the church are often giving Nick teeny tiny pineapples and his favorite, pomelos. These are a big fruit that peels like an orange, but with a super thick, spongy skin. The fruit inside tastes like grapefruit, but it's sweeter. They are our favorite!

Elder Buckwalter's new companion, Elder Torkunoo, is from Saratoga Springs just 15 miles south of Herriman.

And there is a 3rd companion: Elder Tooke, from Portland, Oregon. He and Nick are Zone Leaders and doing all they can to motivate and encourage their districts and fellow Elders and Sisters. They have time at the ocean on their day off, hike and do their shopping; then the end the day off playing basketball. There are enough ballers that they have 5 on 5. They are going to get some matching jerseys and are excited about it! This week, they had zone conferences and their mission president, President Walker, hopped in their photo.

Here is his zone:

Photos of Nick talking to Mom - every week, Elder Bucky (Minty) is upbeat, excited, motivated and enjoying the work, the island, the people, and of course, the food! Shrimp, steak, fruit and poke (raw fish).