Howzit

Howzit errbody! made a few additions to the email list but at 150 people i assure you it is still growing. a year into this and i'm still working on my email list haha. today we will be heading up mauna kea which is the massive mountain here on the island. look up pictures. i'm excited for that because ive been on this island for 2 months and i have yet to go up there. should be super sick. 

Added by Nick's mom (google images)

yesterday we got a new bishopric!! i'm gonna miss our old bishopric for sure. they were awesome. The new bishop tho is one of my favs. His name is imua loo and he's rocky loo's relative of course. practically all of Honokaa is a Loo or somehow related to them. but i am so excited to have Imua as our new bishop. gonna be dropping off a custom made cake for him tonight. 

Saturday we went to the ER in Hilo for my companion because he had been sick for 2 weeks straight. We called the mission medical coordinator and for insurance reasons he recommended that we just go to the ER and so we did just that. they got my companion an antibiotic and that was that. 

As a district leader I was able to do some exchanges this week. elder dolphin came to honokaa with me on Thursday for an exchange and elder mickelson came to honokaa with me on Friday for an exchange. Thursday, Elder Dolphin was actually in the middle of fasting. He told me that he would not be eating today. I said well that's not exactly how things work in Honokaa. We then proceeded to be fed breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert by 4 seperate families. haha! so much for fasting!

Tuesday, President and Sister Walker came in for lunch, training, and interviews and it was amazing. In my interview w P Walk, we just talked story. it was kinda funny. normally you talk about missionary work, your struggles, your questions, etc., but this time around we just kinda vibed haha. it was so good to see them. they are amazing. 

I apologize for the awful grammar, punctuation, etc., of this email. I know that my dad and my grandma are probably cringing as they read this. sorry! 

I love this quote from Lynn G Robbins. "Trying to please others before pleasing God is inverting the first and second great commandments. First love God. Then love your neighbors. Don't love your neighbors so much that you change your behavior to please them." 

On April 3&4 there will be a great opportunity to listen to God's prophet and apostles. they will give super awesome talks that I know if you will listen to, you will receive the counsel and guidance you're needing in your life. 

god bless and aloha

elder buckwalter

{P.S. Nick's mom (me) always edits his letters: adding punctuation, capitalization, grammar, etc. I left this letter as is, so that his apology to Ted and Nani would make sense} ;)

3 weeks, 5 companions!

aloha and howzit everybody?! I tried my very best to update my email list, but of course there may be some missing and also some additions so welcome to those that I added to the list. glad to have you here. Hope you enjoy my emails. as you can tell by the subject line, it's been quite the few weeks here. 

So first my companion Elder Clark went home on the morning of Feb 24. Rather than getting my new missionary companion that I was supposed to train, I got put in a trio with the Waimea Elders (Elder Dolphin & Elder Marshall) while my new missionary quarantined for a bit on Oahu. I had a great time in this trio and between both of our areas we ended up getting 6 people committed to baptism! Elder Dolphins parents came in for his temple endowment so I got to meet them and they took us out to dinner when they got in. That same night is when my new missionary came in as well! His name is Elder Thompson and he is from Arizona and he has Celiac disease..not sure if I spelled that right, but essentially he is deathly allergic to wheat/gluten. I guess the big island was too rough on him so after like 5 days he was sent back to Oahu. Hopefully he's happier there. So they sent over Elder Garn from a nearby area called Waikoloa and we have been comps for just a few days now. Elder Garn's original assignment is Japan. All these companion changes are making it hard to accept that Elder Garn is my companion. Like I feel like he's just gonna get transferred in a week or something haha. Nonetheless, he's a great guy and I'm excited to get to work. So there you have it. 5 companions in 3 weeks. 

With the King Kamehameha statue

A'ight so first y'all gotta look up the song, "He Will Carry You" by mana'o company! It slaps and it talks about our Savior Jesus Christ. Ezra Taft Benson, a former prophet and my Mission President's grandpa, once said, "No other single influence has had so great an impact on this earth as the life of Jesus the Christ". 

I absolutely loved this quote from William R Bradford in my studies this week:

"Do you really believe that earthly fame and title, tied to earthly positions and occupations, can compare with God’s promises to the faithful? He has promised “thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers.” He has promised “exaltation and glory in all things.” He has promised “a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.” 

He has promised eternal life. (D&C 132:19).

This quote reminds me of 1 Corinthians 2:9 which says, "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 

So moral of the story is that our potential reward in the next life is far greater than anything we can possibly attain here on this earth. 

So no matter who you are I invite you to come unto Christ who is the Prince of Peace. He will help you, heal you, forgive you, comfort you, and most importantly He will always love you. 

Please email me sometime! I would love to hear from each and every one of you! 

Love you Mom! 

aloha

elder minty buckwalter