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