North Shore Living

Another good week in Hau'ula. I'm fully adjusted and feeling good in this wonderful area. It is very different covering two wards but I like it.

This week was pretty slow. Everyone we went to was either not home or needed to reschedule so that was pretty tough. We did get to teach one last lesson to a 9-year-old boy before he gets baptized this Saturday. He is a funny little guy and had great answers to all of our questions.

We did some service this week for an old Buddhist man that was pretty fun. We were supposed to fix a picnic table that he had, but when we started to remove the broken leg the whole thing started to fall apart. So we ended up building a whole new one from scratch. It looked pretty dang good.

Congrats to all the boys and the coaching staff of the 9th & 10th United Rugby team. I hope you enjoyed a successful season and had fun in your quest for that State Championship. Keep working hard! Also congrats to the Varsity boys for a season well fought. I hope many lessons were learned and that all of you guys are ready to take on the next chapters in your lives - either another season with United, college, or joining us on the harvest of souls in the mission field.

Last but not least, a HUGE congrats to the little bro, Chase who has been called to serve in the Taipei Taiwan mission, and he graduated seminary with four years. Love you Bro!

Conrats to you too dad. Tell all the boys I love them and that I can't wait to watch them all and see their improvements when I get home.

I have learned a lot on my mission. One thing that I will cherish forever is the fact that if you want something, there should be nothing in the world that should stop you from getting it. My mission has taught me that failure is normal and comes more than not, but our success is defined by what we do after we fall. It is easy to stay down and feel content with how far you have come, but the real battle comes with getting up and taking another step, knocking on another door, opening your mouth one more time, or visiting the same person over and over again until they start to realize the blessings that come from living gospel principles.

My mission has also taught me that with the Lord on my side, there is no reason to stop when I simply have to go further than those before me. I am coming to fully understand what it means to be a son of our Heavenly Father. It means that my potential to serve others and to constantly better myself is endless. I now know that just surpassing others is not the end that is meant for me. The end that is meant for me is to finish the race that I have been sent here to run. To never stop fighting until my Savior comes and says that the work is done.

The nine months I have been here have been something that I will never trade for anything and I know that there is no better place for me than right here in Hawaii. I can't even express how excited I am for Chase. I don't know if he is ready for what is ahead, because I can honestly say that I wasn't. But I think to be fully ready is impossible, you just have to want it and work hard and the Lord will provide the rest. I know that Chase can do it because he was raised by the same awesome parents I was and I know that that one fact right there is why I am out here today. It is why I am able to serve the people of Hawaii the way the Lord needs me to. I will be forever grateful for the lessons that I learned in the Matua home. Love you mom and dad!

Thank you all again for your continued support.


Alofa Tele,
Elder Kingston Matua