Release the Kraken

Area: Hilo, Keaukaha Area
Companion: Elder Griffiths

Yo Mom, Dad and Landon and everyone else who reads this thing. This week was pretty good, we lost the car and now are bikes are broken. Its was pretty funny -- we had a half a tank of gas left in the car and the car doesn't ship unless its at a quarter tank of gas. So we actually had to run the gas down to a quarter. We weren't joy riding --- we just had to get the tank down our else it wouldn't ship! ok! They would have been ticked if the car didn't ship.

I was with Elder Burk for exchanges on Friday. The peddle on the bike totally broke off, then we had to call the Bishop for ride home. So now the bikes are jacked and we don't have any means of transportation. It isn't good because we don't actually live in our area, which has always been a hassle anyways.

This is our pad in all of its glory.

View from behind our pad

Elder Niemann and I went on a hike through the jungle this morning. Its was pretty cool. We hiked through the jungle for 4 miles there and 4 miles back. At the end we found the lava fields and the Pu'u O'o vent were lava comes out. 

 

Me in a lava field. You can see smoke from the lava in the background.

I had to give a talk in sacrament on the Holy Ghost. It went pretty well and I didn't even prepare that well. Elder Holland came to Hawaii and I didn't get to see him. We were thinking about going to Kona Stake conference to hear him talk but I had to give a talk in sacrament, so yea.

 

Things are ultimately very good here. Its awesome in Hawaii and here on Big Island. We usually just call Uncle Tweety for rides now, hes like the Yoda of the ward. We have this joke because Uncle Tweety likes to go out with us and when we rub one of our fore arms with one hand and then the other forearm with the other hand that means that we "release the Kraken". That means that we ask Uncle Tweety a question and he'll talk for about like a half hour and hes super good relating what hes saying to the gospel which to me is amazing for how much he talks. 

 

Thank you guys for all that you do!

 

Love Elder Shoemaker

Nature calls.....

Area: Hilo, Keaukaha Area
Companion: Elder Griffiths

Hello Madre how are you??  How's is everything?  That's awesome. Thanks for all of the support that you guys give me. Love you guys.

This week has been pretty awesome.  We went to Waimea for Zone Conference and that was sweet. I went on exchanges with Elder Niemann on Tuesday and it was pretty fun.   It's weird having my trainer as my Zone Leader.    The Zone Leaders live just down the road too....like not even a mile away.   We were teaching this lady at a halfway house and teaching the plan salvation to her and in the middle of the lesson, I had to go to the bathroom so bad!  So I was forced to stop in the middle of the lesson and ask if I could use their bathroom.   Elder Niemann thought it was pretty funny,  but ohhh man I had to go soooo bad.   I drank a little bit to much orange juice.

"T" the guy that were working with{the guy that jacked up his leg} got arrested in Kona. For driving without a license, without insurance and his windows were too tinted and his kids were not in seat belts.  So they got him out and made him walk on his broken leg without his crutches. He actually called us while he was in jail as he was getting in an argument with a girl officer and he called us so that we could teach the gospel to her and make her quite. Then we talked with "T" on Sunday and talked about how he almost died that morning because he was spitting up acid through his nose and his mouth. ........at least he said he was going to die.  A lot of stuff has happened to him lately. We just told him to keep on praying and reading the scriptures and that these bad things are happening because Satan is trying his best to get him not come to church and all that.   We're teaching a bunch of thugs right now, but "T's" a good guy, he's becoming more open with us.

Oh ya and Mom I need a side bag pretty quick here.   Thanks for the letter and stuff.

I would say that were getting to know the ward very well and I feel like they really like us a lot.  Griffiths and I taught Elders Quorum.  It was on leadership and why we are called to leadership positions and stuff like that.  I'm thankful that I get to be here in Hawaii and here in Keaukaha.   You can find both extremes on Sunday though, haha, because you go to church and get all sanctified and then we have to ride by the beach and see a bunch of girls in bikinis. I don't think I have gone a single day without seeing a girl in a bikini haha. I cant really think of much else that happened, but i love you guys I got to go!

Love Elder Shoemaker

A dog's life...according to Elder Shoemaker

Area: Hilo, Keaukaha Area
Companion: Elder Griffiths

Hey hows it going Mommy and Daddy?  Whats up?! Thanks for emailing me again this week that's nice of you!  Sorry for being kinda lame in my emailing. Sometimes I just have so much to think about and stuff I kinda don't know what to write. Things are doing good over here. Were lucky to have the car, which is nice because its been hot this last couple of fortnights. It's really nice over here in the morning and the afternoon because of the ocean breeze. I love just when those times the weather is perfect and the temperature at night is also perfect.   The ocean is good at controlling the temperature.

I went on exchanges with Elder Yamashita this week, he's from Japan and the son one of the seventy. I was in Pahoa with him and that place is so spread out. Pahoa is a hard area to work, because its actually a really dangerous place. It's like the wild west.  We had an air soft gun to protect ourselves haha. I was tracting with Elder Yamashita and we went up to a house and when your tracting one of the first things you look for is like the signs of a dog....like a dog house, or a chain, or a rope, and for some reason dogs like to hide underneath old run down cars.  But anyways, we walk up... I see the dog house, the dog charges me. But I'm lucky because this dog was on a chain and wasn't able to reach me. Then two other dogs come out of the wood-works one was chained so we thought the other one was as well, but it wasn't!  It started chasing us and it was right behind me, then I turned around to actually combat the dog because I wasn't standing for the dogs tyrannical advances anymore.   I was gonna kick it, but I think I actually scared the dog with my jacked body.

so that was one dog story......

I got chased by another dog as well but we got away.  Then I got spooked by another dog who charged me and I actually screamed like a little girl,  but we did talk with a girl named Bobby-Joe who said she would be fine with missionary's coming over.

The roads here are pretty crazy.  I was able to catch air on one of the roads in Pahoa.  Elder Griffiths and I talked to a crazy Hawaiian lady the other day and she was trying to Bible bash and stuff, but I don't really like to do that.  I knew that she wasn't going to listen if I tried to argue so I just stayed quite most of the time.  Let her vent kinda.

We taught "T" on Friday.  His leg is still jacked up, but we were able to teach a good lesson. We brought Uncle Tweety along.  He's just the best old man that you will ever meet.   He's like 86, he's had a stroke and some stuff like that.... has bad hearing and sight, but still drives to Kona every week to go to the temple.  He's come up to me multiple of times and this is what he says,  "can I be your friend?" .....uhh sure.  "You know why I wanna be your friend? Because I love you!"   He has said this to several people and I just think he is super funny, but once you get him talking he aint never gonna stop.  He is retired so he always wants to go out with the missionary's.  I'm pretty sure if we just asked him to move into our pad and just go out with us every day with us... he would.

I think Mattie is going to Japan.  {Cousin receiving her mission call soon!}

I'm getting pretty fat.

I like having the car, Elder Griffiths and I always break into rapping while we are driving.

So ya....this week was pretty good. 

{I (Elder Shoemaker's Mom) asked him something that he loves about his mission and something that he can improve upon....and these were his answers}  Something I love about Hawaii is just that Aloha Spirit.. haha... but I have never actually had a door slam in my face while tracting ever, so that's nice. Something I need to improve on is sometimes my desire. 

We have Zone conference this Friday in Waimea.  That place is beautiful!   Elder Holland I guess is going to visit our mission, but because I'm not on a Oahu I don't actually get to see him, so that kinda sucks.  

So whats Treavor been up to lately? 

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the package, it ended my mail drought. 

we went to Mauna Akea again this morning for P-day it was pretty dang cold. It was fun though. I love you guys! Have a good week! Good Luck with your Marathons and junk. 

See you guys whenevers!

Love Elder Shoemaker

Teaching at the Beach

Area: Hilo, Keaukaha Area
Companion: Elder Griffiths

Hey hows it going?! Things have been going pretty good here, we have the blessing of having the car yet another week. It should be leaving soon but hopefully not too soon. We have been trying to work as close as we possibly can with the ward lately. Because we haven't really been having a whole lot of success, so we have been really trying to use the ward because were kinda running out of ideas. We're working closely with Uncle J.J., Uncle Tweetie and Bishop Auna.

We taught a girl named "J" at the the beach the other day. I like teaching at the beach it has a nice ambiance. We committed her to baptism but the thing is we are not really sure if she needs to be baptized? ..... because shes not entirely there if you know what I mean. So we asked the bishop to go talk to her.

There's been a lot of thugs riding their motorcycles around lately. I think their all just tourists here for the Labor Day week end.

We also committed "T" to be baptized, but because of his broken foot and leg he cant actually go in the water for 6 months. So that's a little bit of a bummer, but there is a time and a season for everything.
We talked with some crazy preacher guy, for like an hour, so that was pretty fun.

Transfers happened this last Wednesday, so a bunch of people left and a bunch new people came in. It's pretty cool!!

It sucks that the Corolla is no more, but it was probably her time.

Elder Griffiths, Elder Seitz and I went to a girls 16th birthday party on transfer night. She invited us and we didn't know it was going to be a big deal, but it was a pretty big birthday party. It was pretty fun.

I'm really at a loss of thoughts to say right now, but I sure love you guys. cya later! Elder Shoemaker

True Luvvvv of a missionary companion!