Showing posts with label Kekauoha. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kekauoha. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

"Are You Obedient?"


Written by Elder Samuel David Wilson
Elder Kekauoha and Elder Wilson (right)
As I think of some miracle/baptism stories from my mission, one stands out in my mind.   It was on my second transfer in the mission.  I was serving in the Kariya area and Elder Kekauoha was my companion.
 
It was September 9th, 2010, and Elder Kekauoha and I just got done visiting some potential investigators when we got a call from President Baird.  He did the usual, “Are you being obedient?  Is the Church true?”  We answered yes.  He then told us he had a referral for us from the Philippines and that we should contact this person ASAP.  He also instructed us to call a member who knew the area where this referral lived and ask them about that area. He told us to have that member give us a ride there.  He also asked us to give him a call back and report to him either that very day or the next.  We agreed. 

The information we got on this referral was that of a man named Nori who lives in Hekinan (one of the cities in our area.)  The information we got also included that his wife was a member and that he was very interested to learn about the Church.  We were confused because the referral came from the Philippines, but his name was Japanese.  Also according to what we heard, it sounded like his wife lived in the Philippines. 

We already had plans for that day, so we couldn’t contact him that day, but we did call a member and ask them if they could take us the next day.  We told them the address, so they could figure out how to get there.  The next day we went with the member, but apparently the address was too new and hadn’t been updated in the maps or the GPS.  The member dropped us off in the general location and we set out looking.
 
We started asking people where we needed to go to get near the address, and they directed us.  After about twenty minutes of looking, we found a place we thought might be the apartment, but because of the side of the neighborhood we were on, we were cut off from a clear path to the apartment.  We didn’t know how we could get around, so we decided to clear some trenches and squeeze past some narrow parts of an entrance, and finally made it to the apartment.  Luckily, it was the right one. 

We said a prayer, and then went.  First we contacted the neighbor, then went for Higo’s door.  We rang the intercom box, but no response.  We rang it again, but again no response.  We didn’t know what we should do, but as we were talking about it, a voice came on the intercom.  It was him.  We told him who we were and that his friend Daniel from the Philippines said to visit him.  He told us to hang on, and came to the door.
 
We didn’t know if he was Filipino or Japanese, so we asked.  He is Japanese, and his wife is Filipina.  We again told him about Daniel from the Philippines, but he didn’t know what we were talking about.  He called his wife and we talked to her.
 
Contrary to what we thought, she actually does live in Japan.  She said she was a member, but that she didn’t know the name of the Church in Japan, so she never could find it.  But she said that she wanted to come to church and she also wanted us to teach her husband and to baptize him.

 That’s exactly what happened.  From that day on, he became an investigator.  They started coming to church and he was baptized the next transfer. 

I know because we treated the referral that President Baird entrusted to us with care, and followed his directions, we were able to see that miracle.   A family was able to get on the path to eternity.  My testimony of obedience and treating the Lord’s prepared people with care was strengthened greatly.  I know God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ live.  This is their work and there is no greater work than missionary work.  The Church is true.  This is one of my treasured experiences, and I share it and testify of the greatness of the Lord.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Monday, December 19, 2011

December 2011 Finishers

Tonight, we said good-bye to six great missionaries. Sister Tsukino, Elder Kekauoha, Elder Sorensen, Elder Jackson, Elder Carr, and Elder Santin. We love them so very much and miss them a lot! They have been a great blessing to this mission!


Sister Nozomi Tsukino's mother is a convert to the Church and served a mission.  She is strong in her faith and a wonderful example.  She loves to sing and has performed at missionary firesides.  She also love to cook.  She would love to learn English, Korean and sign language better, and even learn more languages.  She is positive and optimistic.  Most of her baby blessing was about her serving a mission, and she has a strong testimony.

Elder George Kekauoha had this said of him:  "He is a very relaxed Hawaian who knows when to work hard and when to have fun."

Elder Luke Sorenson is from Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan, but he is also a US citizen.  He has a huge extended family cheering him on. He likes biology and learning other languages.  He likes to keep things clean and to cook.  Returned missionairies have inspired him to serve because they were polite, kindhearted, responsible and had direction in their lives. 

Elder Marcus Jackson, says one missionary who served with him, is very funny, smart, and speaks English and Japanese fluently.  Before his mission, Elder Jackson loved to go to the temple.

Elder Michael Carr is from Heber, Utah and he loves music and art.  He plays several instruments.  He also enjoys computers and new technology. He wants to learn as much as he can and then find a job that will help him continue to expand his knowledge.  He is a good listener, is obedient and respectful.

Home for Elder Adriano Santin is Sao Paulo, Brazil.  His mother is from Japan. His talent is math and numbers, and he's very good at memorizing.  He enjoys reading, good movies, and spending time with his family.  He doesn't take things personally or get mad at people.  

From left:  Sister Tsukino, Sister Baird, President Baird and in
front of him, Elder Kekauoha, then from back clockwise,
Elder Carr, Elder Santin, Elder Jackson, and Elder Sorenson.

One last picture before departure of the December Finishers!

Many members from Fukutoku Ward gathered together at the Komaki Airport to surprise Sister Tsukino and say good-bye one last time. It was very touching to see the support of these strong Japanese members!


The Elders wave good-bye as they go together to board the Shinkansen.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

More Labels

Some transfers, especially the one after the Tsunami in 2011, were so large, all of the names wouldn't fit in the label area.  This post is simply to add those names so that you can find yourself.

So if your name is below, simply go to the blog called "April 2011 New Missionaries," and there will be your wonderful picture, and maybe even something about you (that hopefully, is true).  Once again, we welcome any additions or changes you might want to make.  Send an email to japannagoya.mission@ldschurch.org, and we will make changes and corrections.

Scaduto
Kinnison
Mechaileh
Gordon
Jackson
Roberts
Holden
Miura
J. Eguchi
Christensen
Cragun,
Kekauoha
McGahan
Prince
Shaver
Shimamoto