Week 89 - Hansen Died (R.I.P.)

Hey Mom!

The new transfer has begun and it's going well. Elder Hansen died (RIP) wednesday.

Funny, he doesn't even look ill.

He was replaced by E. Kyle Smith. E. Smith is from North Carolina and has been out for a little over a year. All the Georgians love it cuz they finally have a 'southern boy' instead of all these crazy random Utahns...

Elder Smith & Elder Heimuli

We kinda just rolled into this trasfer so nothing has changed too much. We have been trying to find the past half week and it's had a little bit of success. Smith's southern hospitality (if you could call it that) has opened up a few doors.

H was the only investigator that came to church yesterday. We still haven't been able to sit down with him this week and teach. He did start his job today so that was a blessing. We met this awsome guy named B who is staying w a member for a little while. He came to church and the baptism last week and LOVED it. We sat down with him and the member he lives with, T, and had a good lesson. B is this quiet but funny guy and just loves all the things he is learning in church. Neither of them came yesterday to church but we're not worried. Things will work out the way they're supposed to.

Now, K is stuck and we've been at this point with her for about a month where she knows that she needs to get baptized but just won't do it. She says that she 'isn't ready' but won't tell us what she needs help with. A member couple invited us all over for dinner last night and we were able to talk there. We read the BoM and invited her to read it everyday! She accepted and we even have a member who will call her every night to help her read. I know that if she reads she'll receive and answer to be baptized!!!!!

I was walking through the chapel yesterday, talking to people and Sis. W grabs me and the first thing she says is, "Your Mom is so sweet." (or something to that affect) Of course, I smiled and agreed:) Sis. W's Mom came to church! I was really excited about that and I bet she was too. MIRACLES! Cuz we for sure didn't do much but that's just a testimony that the Lord hears prayers and the Lord does his work.

I am just so grateful for all of you and for the support and love I feel here. One thing I am definitely grateful for is the knowledge of eternal families--I can't say that enough. Probably the most rewarding feeling is helping someone else come to the same knowledge and you're all helping in that cause!

Love ya'll very very much
--E.Heimuli

MORE PIX!

Left to Right: Unknown, Unknown, Elder Morrill, Elder Hansen, Elder Heimuli, Elder Fruean

Elder Romero, Hansen & Heimuli

Left to Right:  Elder Shelley (Springville UT), Romero (Taylorsville UT), Smith (Somewhere in NC) & Elder Bad-Hair-Day Heimuli (Woods Cross UT)

Week 88 - Think About Jesus

Hello mom!

I am doing fantastic! Transfers is in 2 days and I'm not gonna lie but I'm excited that my comp is leaving -- but not for any bad reasons haha. I love Elder Hansen and I'm gonna miss his awsome leadership abilities, but this boy has been making me TRUNKY!!! and it's not even his fault.

He's the furthest away from trunky I've ever seen and he is going hard until the end, but I swear EVERYONE that we talk to has to ask: "Wow, you're almost finished! What are you gonna do when you get home? Do you miss your family? blah blah blah." and I just sit there and try to think about Jesus, instead of thinking about home. Hallelujah, E. Hansen's bouncin'! I hope I get someone younger than me. That'd be great.

This past wednesday we went and did a session at the temple! It was awsome. We can go to the temple every six months, and then our last transfer,  so we went for E. Hansen's last time. We went up with the other ATL ZLs, and lo and behold other missionaries were there at the same session! There were a total of 10 missionaries in that session. Max Kimball (ward mission leader for the Cedartown Branch) was there and he gave me a big hug! He's such a cool, spiritual guy. He is a sealer there. This guy has got the hook ups too! He left thursday to go to Salt Lake for Pres. Monson's b-day party.

The work has been pretty slow recently. No one is home anymore! We finally got in with H last night and we talked to him about baptism. He's still very busy but he found a job! He still wants to be baptized, we just need to find time to sit down with him and teach him. I think some prayers in helping him read the BoM will help him out a lot.

So that text was from Sis. W, one of the members down here. Did you get the pic of Me and Hansen too? That's the whole reason she sent the text. She is wonderful -- but struggling health-wise and in and out of the hospital a lot. Her mom is struggling emotionally and spiritually. It's hard for a mom to see her child suffer so much and it's taking a toll on her mom's faith. And it's amazing to know a daughter who cares so much about her mom. It's what families are all about. Sis. W invited us to teach her mom and hopefully encourage her to go back to church. They invited us over last night to eat dinner and we had a good discussion about faith and miracles and the atonement.

In a few days we will be losing a lot of leadership, so Pres. Snow has called a LOT of young missionaries into leadership positions. One missionary has been out for 3 transfers and is being called as a ZL--has never trained, hasn't been district leader, hasn't even been senior companion, and is being switched over to english from spanish -- and that's probably freaking him out the most. But I know he'll do good. Anyways, there is a big need for good, well-founded leaders and they need to be ready for when Pres. Harding comes in. A bunch of the leaders now are leaving this week and the rest of the leaders leave with me in November and December, so we are trying to train the new ones NOW. A leader is converted to the WHY of the gospel -- the doctrines -- so E. Hansen and I have been studying tirelessly the doctrines of leadership in the church for hours every day in preparation for this training we're having with our zone tomorrow. It's interesting that a leader in the church is one who helps others BECOME disciples of Jesus Christ. We can't become a disciple without having our own personal experience with the atonement of Christ. We can't just talk to someone and then they become a disciple, but rather we inspire them to act and seek that discipleship and through their own action they become that disciple. It's hard to lead that way sometimes (especially as a parent): through example and love and persuasion, but it's the way Jesus Christ taught and the way we MUST lead. If we continue leading and teaching in this manner and do so with faith in Christ that He truly did show us the way to do all things, then we'll be successful.

The Saldanas moved into our ward and I am so happy! I get to spend time with one of the coolest families ever in the world and I can also practice my spanish! Happy day!

We are working very very hard and we'll keep at it for the rest of our lives! I am so grateful for the wonderful people who have worked hard on my behalf. There's not a day that goes by that I don't think of all of you and how you've given me the opporitunity to teach others the gospel. To invite others to know what we all know--that families are forever, and that one day we will rest from our troubles.

I love you guys!

--E. Heimuli

Week 87 - Elder Mexican

Good morning mother!

How did you hear about the ET already?! That was one of the biggest things I was gonna write about today...well, since that's done, I guess that's it for this week! Love ya:) Bye!

--E. Heimuli



















Hahahaha jk jk! Funny joke, yeah?

So yeah, Romero is gonners and that was sad! We lost our baby boy  :(

Being in a trio was really weird at first, but now this happens and just being in a normal companionship is weird! Things seem a lot quieter hahaha and I feel like we should have someone tagging along but I look back and it's just us two. When we get team ups it feels a little bit better. It's not too sad though cuz Romero is just in the other companionship in the ward so we do get to see him occasionally.

L was baptized Sunday morning at 9 am! We had one heck of a time juggling her date back and forth this week between saturday and sunday, but it turned out that sunday morning would be best so she could have the most support and as well get confirmed the same day like she wanted. Because it was before church and there were a few delays the service was VERY short but VERY sweet. There was so much support for her from the ward and from other missionaries who traveled to get there. The program was opening prayer, baptism, words from bishop, closing prayer. It was awsome. L was confirmed in sacrament meeting and that just set the tone for the rest of the day. Church on Sunday was really good.

Saturday was the baptism of K, a little 8 year old boy. His Mom is a convert and even though he's 8 she wanted the missionaries to teach K all the lessons before he was baptized because that's how she was baptized. Anyways, he asked his teacher to baptized him and asked me to confirm him. I felt pretty privileged. Actually, this is how I was asked:  K's mom, called us up and said, "When I asked K who he wants to confirm him he told me, 'The mexican elder. Elder Mexican!'" Elder Hansen thought it was pretty funny. I wasn't laughing.

So I did my first confirmation ever and it was cool! Nothing too hard.

H is progressing and we're still not sure if he'll be ready by the 18th. We'll definately try to get him ready so we'll see. He's been looking for work tirelessly since moving here so we don't get in to see him all that often. Bro. Lisonbee, our super legit ward mission leader, came out with us last night and we taught H. Our next appointment isn't until Thursday so we're trying to figure out a way to help him gain a testimony of the BoM by then.

With all of the new changes happening in the mission there are a lot of things going on between the wards and the missionaries. In some cases, there is quite a bit of friction and we're trying to work things out like that. There have been a few emergency transfers in the zone as well and we're just trying to figure out what the problems were and how to prevent them. We have so many awsome missionaries in our zone so that shouldn't be hard.

This past Tuesday I went on exchanges to Dunwoody w/ my grandbaby Elder Barrett. It was SO GOOD to get back into spanish! The day kinda fell through so we visited a lot of people that I knew from when I was in Chamblee and we got fed at every house we went to hahaha. Good to be back.

One thing I noticed is that they all said that I am different, spiritually. That's good. I have grown a lot since I've been away from Chamblee. The challenges and things I've gone through have made me better. It was lots of hard work to get to this point, and I really didn't even notice all the changes I've made until Zoraida said that. It's good to know that I'm moving forward in SOME aspect :)

So, other than that, I don't get to speak spanish. But that's all gonna change next week! One of the families is moving into english this coming Sunday. One of my favorite families EVER--the Saldanas!!!! They told me Tuesday when we ate dinner there. I was so excited. I'm gonna speak spanish the whole time with them. That made me super happy!

I did get the package! Thanks a lot! I'm sharing the goods so no worries, everyone here is getting some Hawaiian love! Once again, the letters were the best part! I love hearing from everyone--sorry I don't reply back to everyone personally.

All in all, it was a good week.

I love everyone in my family! You guys are all the greatest and I am so grateful for the sacrifices that you make on my behalf that I can't see--I know that there are a lot of them. Sacrifice brings blessings!

Love ya'll!

--E. Heimuli

Week 86 - The Spirit is the ONLY Way

Hey Mom!!!

I am coming off of a very crazy week and I'm just grateful that everything turned out well.

So, L's baptism WAS set for this Saturday but, like it always does, things hit her HARD. Things were looking good until we called her friday to make sure all the arrangements for her baptismal interview (later that day) were set. She sounded very apprehensive on the phone and she just kept saying, "I just need to talk to you guys, I just need to talk to you guys..." when we asked her about the baptism. Not a good sign.

To make a long story short: we met with her at a members house later that day for the interview but she had a LOT of concerns to address before the interview even started. L has been facing a TON of opposition from everyone about her joining the church--friends, family, even strangers. She was given a bunch of anti-mormon lit. and she was confused. (One thing you gotta know about L is that she STUDIES and it's a really good quality...unless, like in this case, people give her crap to study.) Luckily one of the members there is a pro at fighting anti and he helped a lot. L LOVES the church and the members in it. She loves how all the members are so loving and kind and have a special spirit about them -- but the anti made her doubt the feelings and convinced her that she needed hard evidence to know that it's true.

We talked for almost 3 hours (missing some of our appointments in the process...but it had to be done) and one of the biggest things we felt we needed to share is "L, remember how you felt when you went to the temple." It was cool to see how the Spirit is the ONLY way we can know truth. She thought back on her trip to the temple and things ran a little smoother. She had the interview but it turned out that she needed another interview with Pres. Snow--so we scheduled that for Sunday and we postponed her baptism. She was sad that she had to wait but knew that's how it had to be done.

That was actually one of the 3 very long, knock-down-drag-out lessons that we had with L. She called us that following morning telling us that she received a witness. L said, "God spoke to me and said that the love felt in the church is the only evidence that I need to know that it's true."

Her final witness came on Sunday when she met with Pres. Snow. They went in and did the interview and when they came out L was just beaming. I don't know exactly what happened in there but she came out almost in tears and asked us to baptize her this next saturday. So, all 3 of us are SO relieved that things worked out.

H is set for the 18th but I think we're gonna have to push it back. The language barrier is pretty tough to deal with haha.

I've been getting random updates from members here and there throughout the week on the Olympics and it has been making me trunky! I just LOVE the olympics! Oh, and I heard about that stud with no legs (Oscar Pristoria)! Not gonna lie...I started running again in the mornings because of him. I figured, "man if I don't start using my legs again God might take 'em away and give 'em to someone who'll actually use 'em!"

You know what else makes me trunky? You telling me that I'm almost out of time! hahaha. I'm very aware of that fact, espeacially now that Pres. Snow told me yesterday that my official release date has been moved to November ____. Man, that scared me! Too quick.

Me and Gautavai talked last week about Momi. Romero freaked out when he found out we were "related" haha. Tell Aunty and Uncle that I love them both!! Gautavai was transfered out of Atlanta and into some random place I don't know...but he is surely missed around here.

Elder Heimuli & Elder Gautavai

Sorry that I've been a total fail with picture taking...I'll try harder haha. I'm not holdin out on ya I just don't have any pics to give ya.

This is what Mom gets when she bugs Elder H for pictures...his email:
"Mom! I finally found a pic Elder Hansen took when I was taking a nap and fell out of bed!"
Looks like Elder H needs a shave or a haircut or something...ewww.

I love you and the fam! Thanks for everything and thanks in advance for the package! Tell Houston to keep being a stud! Tell Hevynn to stay away from the fobs and the laie boyz! Tell Harrison to grow his hair out! And tell dad that 7 people asked me if I was related to the "football playing Heimuli" this week and of course I said, "If he's handsome then yes but if not..." haha jk jk! 

Luvs, Elder Heimuli

Week 85 - Olympics: from Beijing 2008 to...Atlanta 2012?

hey mom!

 

One thing that I'm definately sad about missing are the Olympics! I remember 4 years ago when I would get home from football and watch the olympics. I don't know if you will remember this, but I think about it often:   

We were watching the Olympics wind down in '08 and we all started talking about how awsome the next Olympics would be 4 years later. You figured out that in 2012, I would be 20 years old and you said I would miss it because I would be on my mission. You seemed so excited when you said that...but i definately wasn't.  

A couple months before that I had decided I didn't want to go on a mission much less stay in the church--so when you brought that up I just laughed to myself and thought, "Hahaha ok, well you'll be really upset when it doesn't happen." For years I never had any intention of going on a mission--let alone going to church. But, I loved you and dad, and I thought that as long as I'm living in your house, I'd better keep my head down and do the churchy stuff...that would make you happy, yeah?

 

I remember at church one day when I was about 16, a teacher in my class asked all of us where we wanted to go on our missions. I laughed at him and said that I wasn't going on a mission. He then took the remainder of class trying to convince me why I should go. Of course that just made me mad. Who was this guy trying to tell me how to live my life? He didn't know me. Needless to say I stopped going to class. 

Fast forward a couple years and I talked to this same guy at my farewell. He didn't seemed surprised at all that I was going on a mission, and he was happy cuz he knew that I had changed and realized WHY I needed to go on a mission.

 

I'm not gonna tell you when I changed, but we can all just sit back and laugh now because the olympics are on and like you said 4 years ago, I'm on my mission. And I am so glad that I am!

 

It's almost hard for me to believe that it is monday already. Time is moving by and it is made even worse cuz Elder Hansen goes home in about a month...so he talks about how fast it goes by, and it freaks me out!

 

This saturday is L's baptism. She came to church on Sunday but had to leave early because she was sick. Pray that she'll be able to make it to this saturday with no problem. She has some word of wisdom issues but she's been going strong. When we taught her the word of wisdom she admitted that she has problems with coffee, tea and smoking--but if it's what God wants, then she'll stop. She accepted to live ALL the commandments in that same visit.

 

I just heard last night that N (in C) is getting baptized!!!! I was so happy!!! She is set for September so I am praying that all goes well until then.

 

We had a lesson H from SL. He is such a cool guy and wants to be baptized. We set a date for him for August! Pray that he understands everything cuz there is kind of a language barrier there--me with my broken english and him with his broken english hahaha. (I am getting more comfortable w english, so that's good. I'm super excited to go on exchanges w the spanish missionaries in our zone, though.)

 

I talked to Pres. Snow and he asked if we knew the specific date when I needed to be home so we can go to New Zealand. If he knows that then we can plan when I leave. Of course, I'll be coming home early...probably around the end of November, but I need to know exactly when ya'll wanted to do that. And did you guys want to come out here and pick me up? Just let me know.

 

Does anyone teach voice lessons that we know? Random, but I just wanted to find out before I forgot. I want to take voice lessons and improve my singing...so could you and Hev hit up any of your superstar connections?

 

Honestly, I haven't really taken any pictures this transfer...sorrry. I'm just too busy and forget. I'll try harder though. I haven't talked to anyone with the 'posterity' photo yet, but I'll be with Bakes this next week.

 

Tell everyone else that i love them and especially tell that to Uncle Tini and Aunty Momi: I pray for them every night. I love you Mom and I'll talk to you next week!

 

--E. Heimuli

Week 84 - Wish I Could Be There to Talk to Momi

Hey Mom!!

It's so hard to believe it's been a week already! Time is no respecter of persons (I think I'm using that phrase right...oh, English) and sooner or later we all run out of time. 

One thing I'm learning is to take advantage of everyday. Don't wait 'til tomorrow to do what you can do today. As i have lived that motto I have seen many great things happen--and honestly it makes things a lot more fun! One of my regrets in my short life is NOT taking advantage of the now. NOT focusing on the fact that I'm "in the middle" like Pres. Uchtdorf said and making the most out of where I am. I always dwelt on the past and put things off, saying, "I got PLENTY of time to do/learn that." Time is running out and I feel the pressure! I am in a position that is stretching me and forcing me to find things to improve or learn and I just wish that I had learned some of this stuff earlier hahaha. My own fault :) 

A wise man once said, "wise people learn from their mistakes, but SUPER wise people learn from other peoples mistakes." Learn from me! Don't waste time!

Hansen, Romero and I are all doing great! Things have been busy but I love it! Like I said, this transfer so far has been a lot of learning for me. I'm still struggling with the English, but I'll get the gift of tongues sooner or later, I hope. ha.

Last week we had a zone leader council with President Snow (meeting with all the zone leaders in the mission) where we talked for 6 hours about how the Lord wants us to do missionary work. Our mission is at an all time low for baptisms and thats because we aren't using the priesthood keys in the work. There were a lot of things discussed and it was a very powerful meeting. I was exhausted after that. Then, we talked for 2 hours about how we need to build more faith in our work. It's true. I am very excited because we are just following what the apostles ask us to do. No crazy schemes or programs (which I've always hated and felt were unnecessary) just following the guidance of the apostles with faith. It's been kind of a battle trying to get some of the members on board, but we'll do it. We don't wanna over step our bounds or the line of authority so we're taking it slow.

There have been a lot of awsome things going on here in Lithonia. One big thing is that we had a lesson with Leasa on sunday right after church and it went very well. She went in to it with some questions concerning the BoM and as she was talking to us and voicing her issues w it she slowly started to just resolve her own doubts. We didn't say anything haha. Leasa ended up saying, "well, you know what, I guess I don't have any concerns. I know it's true." When we asked what her next step was, she answered, "baptism and the temple." Awsome. We committed her for the 4th of August. Please pray for her. She needs to stay strong until then.

I got the package! No worries. Thanks so much! There's not too much I remember about my week...sorry. I keep a good journal, though, so we can talk details when I come home. Our zone has 9 companionships: 3 Spanish, 5 English (one are sisters), and one Vietnamese. 19 people total. Not that big. Camree is just in the zone next door, so I see him quite a bit. We work closely w them because we're in the same stake. I'm sorry I don't have my posterity picture cuz I was too lazy to use my camera, but I can get it from Bakes or Thomas.

I wish I could be there to talk to Aunty Momi in person but I guess that's not what the Lord needs me to be doing right now. Sounds like she has a lot of support and love right there at home and I am so glad. I love her and Uncle Tini so much and I am just so grateful for their sacrifice and love in putting money toward my mission--they have given me a chance to have wonderful experiences out here and I guess the only real way to ever pay her and uncle back is to do my best to give someone else the blessings of the gospel. So rest assured, I'm working hard!

I really do feel your love for me as you all pray and think about me. Thank you so much and hope my small prayers for you all can be felt as well. Love ya'll!

==Elder Heimuli==

Week 83 - Weird How Quiet I've Become in English

Hey Mom!

I have LOTS to tell you and little time to do so. Let's see.

First of all, over the past 2 weeks, the mission has become TOTALLY different. We were told before the Satterfields left that the mission wasn't gonna change much between Satterfield and Harding, but that was false haha. We are completely different...but the same...haha.

I left C-town, and even though it was very redneck and difficult to work in, I was VERY sad to leave. The people I met there were so awsome and I honestly thought I was gonna be there for one more transfer but, like I said, things change--and in my case, completely! I said goodbye to wonderful families like the Woodruffs, the Monroes and the Lopezes.


I'm not a very emotional person and saying "goodbye" really doesn't affect me much, but this time it was pretty difficult. I didn't cry or anything but I was definately bummed out. I also left the most wonderful district as well!


Getting to know them and serve them was such a blessing. It's amazing how much love you get for the people you try to serve. Sister Trammell gave me a hug at transfers, which surprised me, and she said, "I'm old, I can do that." Hahaha

Transfers was on Wednesday and since then we have been BUSY. I haven't gone to bed earlier than 11:30 once this week. So much to do.

My new companions are Elder Hansen (the other ZL from St. George, UT. His aunt and uncle live in Bountiful. Brandi Johnson I think is his aunts name...IDK) and then Elder Romero (greenie from Murray, UT).


So this is a first for me in a trio. Hard to get used to cuz I feel like we intimidate people when we knock at their door, but it's been really fun. These two guys are awsome! Elder Gautavai is being trained by ZLs as well in the neighboring zone. It's was so cool seeing him and talking to him!

Well, we opened up a new zone (the Atlanta East Zone) and things have been kinda hectic. No one knows exactly where the new boundaries are and our DLs were having trouble for a bit, but we're all good now. Elder Bakes (one of of my sons) is one of my DLs and is training!!!! I am so proud of him. Got me a grandbaby :) We took a "posterity" picture at transfers (where it was me and the 4 people i trained and the ones that they trained) and there were quite a few people in it. None of that stuff matters, but I thought it was fun.

This area is amazing. I still feel weird cuz I'm an english missionary now but I'm getting adjusted. It's weird how quiet I've become in english hahaha. We have some AWSOME investigators here and the ward is fantastic. I feel so pampered here cuz things are seeming to flow a lot easier. Blessings for all the hard times ha! Please pray for Leasa and Kimberly and Brandon please!

Well, that's all the time I have to write. Sorry. Love you guys lots and hope to get more time next week!

  

--E. Heimuli