Iokwe from OK! Merry Christmas!

Iokwe!

Today is actually our P-Day so you get to hear from me twice this week in quick succession. Because of that, I'll keep this one short and you'll get to hear from me again with some new updates after the year has passed.

Talking with Elder Kilmer on P-Day

Biggest update: our mission is changing its boundaries! We are accumulating Tulsa and some surrounding areas as part of our mission! So Elder Menlove is actually transferring to a new area in Tulsa (English speaking). Elder Nicholas is transferring back to the East side with Elder Lazarus and Elder Tetea and I are staying the same on the West side! This whole change is crazy because it means a lot of missionaries will end up moving areas and houses, but it will allow for every ward (church boundary area) in our mission and the adjacent mission in Arkansas to have missionaries! 

The other exciting thing this week happened while Elder Tetea and I were trying some new Marshallese houses we had yet to knock on. At one, the door opened and Zniko was standing right in front of my face. You may not remember Richie and Zniko, but they are a wonderful couple that we were teaching before that kind of fell away for a bit. They wanted to get baptized, but were waiting on marriage and in the meantime got busy jobs and never really would keep appointments. But she was really excited to see us and told us they now have a car and are moving to their own house and want to come back to church actively. I was so excited and I believe this is a really good fresh start for them. Anxious to give you good updates on that in the coming weeks!

Have a great Christmas everyone. Remember the Savior. Love you all.

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking

不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! Hiking through Life

Iokwe aolep!

I get to email late today since we have actually been doing some translation service this week - a large part of yesterday and some more this afternoon - so our P-Day has been split across a couple days this week. 

This week's letter is a very honest one. Normally I like to cut out the things that bother me because I prefer to mostly solve my problems quietly on my own without having to drag others into it, but this is what is currently on my mind and I also think it is something that most people can relate to.

Life often feels like a hike to me. There are beautiful scenes, tough patches and enjoyable stretches. You move at different paces, sometimes travel with different parties. It's a great analogy. This last transfer has felt like I have reached a part of the trail that leads into a fog bank. I can kind of see enough to walk forward, but I'm unsure of the direction to take, or where exactly I am on the trail. At times the trail has been faint and it's been hard to tell if I have accidentally wandered off. 

There have been a lot of unexpected challenges this transfer. We got mumps for a week and couldn't work (we're all better now though). We've had a lot of sickness in our district and our car was in the shop for a week, which really crippled our ability to travel over our large area. These and other situations that are completely unfamiliar to me have made the past several weeks a huge guessing game and I often am unsure if I have made the right decision. Sometimes there wasn't a clear distinction between doing something good and doing what was best. 

This has been really difficult for me because I am happy to just change my behavior if I know I have been doing wrong, but I really have no clear perspective on that right now. It's also not really about doing right or wrong, but about good, better, and best, and about being diligent and doing everything you can. Also, many decisions have required more experience or better leadership skills than I possess at the moment. 

My friend, Sister Pun does a good job of talking about Jesus Christ and His Atonement for us; I figure I should take a leaf out of her book and do my fair share today:

When the Savior died for us, He didn't just do that so that we could live again after we die. He did that so that we could be forgiven of our mistakes. But that doesn't just include when we do something bad, but also when we simply fall short of being perfect, when we choose good rather than best; like how I do every day, but especially have done this transfer. The best part though, is not that we get to be forgiven and not have our mistakes stain our track record, but that the Atonement - Christ's grace available due to His death on our behalf - provides the enabling power to allow us to become better, to overcome our weaknesses and leave them behind. 

One of my favorite scriptures reads: And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. -Ether 12:27

I have definitely felt humbled by this past transfer. It has helped me recognize a lot of weaknesses of mine. However, I know that because of the Savior's sacrifice for us, it hasn't just been a trial by fire, but a refining fire to help me lose my impurities and become something more. That doesn't mean that these experiences aren't painful, but it does mean that they have purpose. I know that they have purpose because they are the Savior's way of helping us become more like Him and to follow him more closely. I know that He is the reason that we can find joy despite suffering in our lives. He is the reason life is worth it. I'm so grateful for His sacrifice for us and for me and for His constant love and patience with our weakness and my weakness. 

I know He lives. I know He loves us. I'm grateful to feel that every day out here. I promise that there is light that will prevail over whatever darkness we face in our lives, the small bad days and the catastrophic struggles. I also promise that we can overcome ourselves and become something more, no matter our weaknesses or imperfections. I know that will bring us joy.

Hopefully you can relate and it can bring us a little more joy as we remember the Savior this Christmas. Merry Christmas everyone!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking

不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! Crazy week!

Iokwe!

Despite the name, we didn't really get a whole lot of stuff done this week. It's actually been crazy because the van is currently in the shop, and will be until late this week, so we have to bike everywhere. Which is really tough because Elder Tetea has a tough time biking for some medical reasons. So we have been really blessed because the first day it was an issue and we stopped and prayed and asked what we should do. I was a little uncertain because I didn't want to be far away from missionary houses if we had some problems, but we both felt like we should go to our next appointment. He's been fine all week ever since. It's been a major blessing because we've been able to work because of it.

Alright, this one is going to look weird because I copied it from our letter to the mission president, but this one is awesome. A little background on this: There is a member in our branch that we are really wanting to get to trust us, but we really haven't known how to do that, because they haven't given us anything when we have asked how we can serve them. They are an integral part of this branch and we need their trust and we want to work well together with them, so this has been a matter of prayer and much discussion. Finally, we determined that the best thing to do would be to visit members of their family.

Unfortunately, in this family, the culture is to follow the eldest brother, who is a pastor at another church that is very unfriendly towards our church. Another family member is a return missionary from our church and is also a pastor at this other church (by the way, sorry that this is super vague, but I'm trying to not point fingers at anyone specific). So, essentially, we don't expect very much of a warm welcome from this family. But we really felt like we needed to try. Here's the miracle (I changed the family name):

Remember how we talked about the Alkij family and our plan to see them to serve Brother Alkij? Well, the other day, we were biking past a house that I knew was a Alkij house and that probably had the return missionary who is a pastor there. I had a feeling that we needed to be there. We stopped for a minute and some people opened the door, saw us, and ran back inside and closed the door. I figured that wasn't too good of a sign and also wanted to stop by someone else who was nearby and who loves the missionaries, whom we haven't seen in a while. Well, they weren't home. While we were knocking on their door, I saw what looked like Brother Alkij's car rounding the corner. I put two and two together and I turned to Elder Tetea and said, "Want to do something crazy?" He was up for it, so we went across the street to the Alkij house. We pretended like we didn't see Brother Aljkij parked there, but he flashed his lights at us, so we walked over. He seemed happy to see us. We told him we were going inside and then knocked on the door. Long story short, we were invited in by someone we learned indeed was the return missionary pastor. But he was very kind to us and talked to us for a bit. He told us himself that he served a mission in San Diego and then allowed us to share a message to the 30 kids running around and say a prayer with them. Apparently they are moving to another state this Friday, but we offered to help them move if they would like.

It was a huge miracle because we definitely didn't deserve that warm welcome in that house (well, we did, but they, within all reason, shouldn't have given it to us). We thought they would toss us out. But we had a good experience with them and to top it all off, Brother Alkij, the very guy we were trying to serve, was sitting right outside and saw us go in for a good 20 minutes. It was awesome and a clear sign of God's hand in this work.

Once again, somehow I am out of time, but hopefully I was able to get across how amazing that was. Seriously, biggest miracle of my mission. Love you all, sorry I'm so low on time again this week. Talk to you all next week!

Jeramman!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission
不動心 Fudōshin:  immovable mind

Iokwe from OK! Mumps!

Iokwe aolep!

Remember that one time I made promises about emailing more consistently and then didn't email for a week? Well..... Life decided to throw me a little curve ball and I caught mumps last Friday and wasn't allowed to leave the apartment. Something about spreading it around and infecting people. So, I got to drive down to Noble and pick up Elder Nicholas who was also feeling sick and we both stayed quarantined in our apartment in Enid for a week. 

It was terrible.

At least I got to stay with Elder Nicholas, who made it fun. Our faces swelled up pretty badly and it was hard to eat. But we had to wear masks when people came near us or dropped off our groceries, so we got to make Batman and Bane jokes, so that was good. 

Elder Kilmer with his mouth wide open, apparently getting or giving mumps to Elder Nicholas, standing next to him

So, no updates on the area because it's suffering immensely from lack of attention. But, I'm back in action now and restless from sitting inside for days. So, you should get a good report from this next week because we're going to go kill it. 

Sorry, I wish I had more time this week! Thanks for consistently writing even though I haven't!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Miracles for Days

Iokwe!

So, I've definitely spent the majority of my mission so far apologizing for not writing as much as I should. Well, no more! From now on you should get weekly updates from me without gaps of silence for ages. Definitely my bad and I'm making it a new goal to use the entire email time I am allotted and to plan time ahead to make sure I can send a general email and also start responding to the piles of emails you all send.

That being said, I definitely ran out of time this week because of all of the catching up. So, brief updates:

I fractured the index and middle fingers on my left hand. Probably jammed the two knuckles on both fingers too. First time I've ever fractured any bones that I know of. Kind of obnoxious. Especially when the little kids decide to pull on them because I have climbing tape wrapped around them. *rolls eyes*  The story is lame, so we'll just pretend it was a bear attack.

Elder Kilmer on the far right.  His new companion Elder Tetea is on the far left.

My new companion is Elder Tetea! He's from Christmas Island, Kiribati (remember Elder Miller, my MTC companion who was learning Kiribati? Elder Tetea knows him from Kiribati; apparently they met?). He's awesome. However, he's been serving English-speaking this entire time and knows very little Marshallese due to that.

Which leads me into the only miracle that I have time for (but trust that we have had many): I so far have done the majority of the talking when we go to see people, since Elder Tetea can't really contribute yet. Which is a bit of an issue since I can't really understand people, remember? Well, apparently I have been extremely blessed because I've managed to teach a couple lessons almost single-handedly now. One particular lesson, I didn't even get to start before this guy started asking us questions about a particular belief we have (on the Priesthood [side note: this guy really knows the Bible; I was so impressed that I was able to bring up the Levites, Moses, and Aaron and he knew what I was talking about]). He brought up a particular story from the Bible and asked a question on it in relation to what I had talked about. I was hesitant to venture a guess on the topic (I was a little unsure of the answer), especially in a language that I am not too familiar with, since it may be misunderstood, but as I thought for a second, I felt the Spirit impress upon me the answer. I felt understanding come in a way that I can't really describe, but that I recognized and felt was true. I shared my newfound answer with him and was pleased to hear Elder Sitati of the Seventy (a leader in our church) answer the very same question (same story from the Bible mentioned and everything) in the exact same way yesterday (he's been visiting our mission). What a blessing to hear that confirmed for me.

Alright, totally out of time. We're super happy out here and loving life. I love being a missionary. Talk to you all later!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit
www.mormon.org

Recent Photos from Oklahoma

Here are some recent photos of Elder Kilmer in the last few weeks we wanted to share.  It's always great to see our son.  We are very thankful for the Mansells for their photos.

With President and Sister Mansell.

Recent baptism of Rose and Little Rose.

At a recent leadership conference (in the back with his former companion Elder Larsen).

Iokwe from OK! Clean as clean can be

Iokwe!

Jolok bōd for not writing so much recently--it's been super crazy.  But not too much missionary work, mostly just work.  President Mansell decreed that last Wednesday as National Bi-Annual Mission-Wide Apartment Cleaning Day and told us we clean until we finish.  We looked at our apartment and thought "it's pretty clean, we should be fine.  This won't take too long." *insert sarcastic laughter here*  IT TOOK US A WEEK.  Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! *dies* 

That was so frustrating.  Not only did we have to take care of all of our apartment, but we had to clean the other Marshallese Elder's house which hasn't been cleaned in 15 years.  Spot cleaning, yeah.  But everything else was left to mold away.  Elder Smith got really sick several weeks ago from his own personal assault on attempting to clean the bathroom but suffered from breathing in too much bleach and mold.  Elder Menlove and I were there all of Wednesday and then took until Tuesday night to finish our own apartment.  The other Marshallese Elders started cleaning the day before we came to help them and finished a day after we did.  They both got sick too.  However, that house is now not only livable, but also enjoyable to be in.

Also despite all of the time we spent without being able to work in our areas, we had two baptisms on Sunday.  Twin sisters, Rose and Little Rose have been begging us for weeks to be baptized.  Little Rose is super sassy, so every time we saw her we got a "Why'm I no beptaij?!?"  Not only were they so excited to be baptized, but we've seen it change their family too.  Their parents have become more interested in their family.  We're focusing on them next.  Let me tell you, baptism is the best kind of clean there ever was.

Life is great!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! Marshallese fluency round 2

Iokwe!

I hit my 8th month mark this week.  Crazy!

We have been SO busy.  A little update on what's going on:  I was just getting fluent before I left in July, and now after returning and being here for 2 weeks I still can't understand most Marshallese people.  It's frustrating x 6.  However, from what I can understand, we have a 9 year old girl who is being baptized next week.  We also have 2 other really solid investigators named Rose and Oliver who are progressing towards baptism too.

Also, we now have about 90-some odd people coming to our sacrament meetings on Sundays.  Our little branch may become a ward in a couple of months!  Each week we have about 3 set nights participating in a Family Home Evening in member homes--where at some FHEs about 20 people come.  They are awesome.  In addition to Sundayworship, Mormons gather their families at least one evening each week for what we call Family Home Evening. It is a time to strengthen family ties. We do this by learning the gospel together, by listening to each other’s feelings, thoughts and ideas, and by enjoying activities together. It is usually held on Monday evenings.  Prophets have promised great blessings to those who follow this counsel, including greater faith in the hearts of the youth, increased ability to resist temptation, and greater peace, love, and harmony in the home.  FHE has been a blessing in my own family, and I can feel the power of it in these gatherings.

We had a great first lesson with someone named Liro.  He asked US for a Book of Mormon before we even brought it up.  That was awesome.

Best story of the week:  Our house is 6 miles from Sunridge Estates which are at the very bottom of our area.  Elder Menlove and I were teaching a lesson at a member's home--also about 6 miles from Sunridge in a different direction. A member from Sunridge showed up and asked if we could give her daughter a Priesthood blessing, since she wasn't feeling well.  We planned on getting there around 8:30, so we started biking.  Just before we got up the overpass next to Sunridge, I shifted gears and heard the saddest grinding noise my bike has ever made, which was followed by an immediate halt.  Turns out my derailleur decided to be obnoxious and position itself inside the spokes of my wheel, which resulted in a bent and completely useless derailleur and no ability to bike.  I couldn't even spin the rear wheel.  It was 8:30, we were 3 miles and a busy highway away from our car, which we had the keys to and 6 miles from our house.  And we needed to give someone a blessing and be home by 9:00.  It was just like those "one time on my mission" stories you hear.  So we took some pictures, I detached my rear wheel and strapped it to my backpack, picked up my bike and jogged/walked down to Sunridge.  Turns out the person who needed the blessing wasn't home:-/  so we ditched our bikes at a member's home and got a ride to our car.  

HERE's THE GOOD PART:  While driving home, we noticed someone next to us was staring.  We rolled down the window and realized it was Patrick!!!  Patrick was one of our investigators a while ago who was just waiting on his kids to come to the U.S. so he could get baptized.  Apparently while I was gone, he moved and no one knew where to.  So all of the sudden we're at the same stop light as he is.  It seemed as if my whole biking incident had been orchestrated so that we could reconnect with Patrick at just that moment.  Miracles.

I love seeing the hand of God in the details.  It's great to be in Enid again.  Elder Menlove is a blast.  We are loving the work here.  Even though I am busier than I have ever been in my life, there is nothing I would rather be doing right now.  

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! I'M BACK!!!

Iokwe!

For the first time in 3 months, that greeting is once again appropriate because I'M BACK IN ENID!!!  Wooooo!!!  I'm so excited.  I'll be serving in my previous area, Oakdale West, and I'll be serving with Elder Menlove!!!

I'm somewhat sad to leave Norman and Elder Larsen though.  Norman is a nice area and the people we have been teaching have come to mean a great deal to me.  It's also rare that you get a companion as great as Elder Larsen.  He's honest, hard-working, selfless, intelligent, and he clearly understands his purpose as a missionary.  He has a great love for this work.  Anyone would be lucky to be his companion and I have learned a lot from him these past 3 months.

On this last week:  Our area has been crazy.  Like I mentioned last time, it has doubled in size, due to the preliminary transfers made in Norman.  Well, we didn't account for the extra miles needed to drive missionaries to and from their new areas (we only have a certain number of miles we can drive every month) and we accidentally went over our monthly mile limitations for our zone by 90 miles.  Ooops.  So our zone leaders instituted Operation Bike Week.  It was a little complex but instructions basically followed the lines of "Don't move your car no matter what ever ever ever until miles reset on 10/1."  I'm guessing Elder Larsen and I biked about 60 miles from Tuesday through Friday.  That's about the equivalent of the ride my dad and I did from San Juan Capistrano to San Diego.  Not only that, but we had to bike quickly to make it to our appointments on time.  My thighs are now bigger than my head.

Brief change in topic:  This weekend was General Conference, the time when the Prophets and Apostles speak to us.  President Nelson, one of the 12 Apostles, spoke about joy.  He said, "Joy has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."  What a powerful concept.

Back to Operation Bike Week:  Some missionaries were complaining that they had to bike so much--especially since it really wasn't their fault.  No one had anticipated the early transfers and couldn't have prepared for it.  Other missionaries acceped the change in stride and chose a happy attitude anyway.  Both groups survived the week (mostly).  They both endured the same circumstances (aside from small differences in area), and spent the same amount of their time.  The difference was how much they enjoyed it.  Those whose focus was on their own personal comfort probably thought it to be a terrible week.  Those whose focus was working hard, serving others, sharing the things that make them happy, and following the Savior probably didn't find it pleasurable to bike so much, but likely found that joy was still present in their lives throughout the week, despite the circumstances.

We will all face less-than ideal circumstances in our lives. Hot days. Cold days. Lost jobs. Unanswered questions. Financial struggles.  Physical injury. Long days at work. Unfair situations. Loads of school work. The time we spend in these circumstances is often largely out of our control; it is also precious time we are spending during the one life on Earth that we get; it's also inevitable.  What is left up to us is where we place our focus, and therefore, how much joy we invite into our lives and allow ourselves to experience despite all of that.  

Let us shift the focus of our lives--make it happen today. Why wait until next week to allow more joy into our lives?  I promise that as we focus less on ourselves, our desires, our personal comfort, and focus more on those around us, on spreading light, building strong relationships, learning, growing, on things of worth, we will love life.  We will not always be blissfully happy, but our lives will be filled with long-lasting joy.  I also promise that if we make the Savior the center of our focus, we will find everlasting peace, fulfillment, and happiness.

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking


不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Going back to Enid!

Elder Josh Kilmer is being transferred back to Enid this week, were he served three months ago.  This means that he gets to work with the Marshal Islanders again.  He is going to be companions with Elder Menlove, who he has already met.  He has also been made the district leader there.

This is what he sent us this week--a letter with this at the top and his address at the bottom.  Do you think he's excited to go back?

Iokwe from OK! YOLO revisited

Iokwe!

Wow, usually I am excited to write back, but I am especially excited this week.  

First off:  The weather is finally cool! It feels like Fall and it feels soooo good!  I finally don't have a permanently soaked back!  Also, the mosquito population is dying out. However, despite that, I somehow still have bug bites!  Two or three weeks ago, I got a bug bite on my face, which was fine and dandy until a mosquito decided to bite me right on top of it.  That thoughtful service was the beginning of several weeks of consistent bug bites on the right side of my face.  Just as I think it's going to heal completely, I get 3 more.  I'm so passively mad.  Okay, rant over.

In other, far more important news!  Transfers are next week, but we've already had some preliminary changes.  A little background info: If you take a look at Norman, it's split up into a couple of different missionary areas.  The northernmost part was one, ours was the central area, and the Sister missionaries were the southern area.  Well, that changed today.  The Sisters will now be in the northern area and we have merged the central and southern areas into one, which, for the time being, will be the domain of Elder Larsen and myself.  Exciting!!!

So, this next week will be crazy.  We get to pick up a lot of the people the Sisters were meeting with and figure out exactly who they are, where they are at in the missionary lesson process, what their needs are, etc.  And we'll have to learn the new area and take on the entire ward (our congregation) ourselves.  Challenge accepted.

We did have a crazy cool miracle (a couple, actually) this week, but I have a feeling it will pan out into something big next week, so I'll save it.  Tune in next time :) 

This week, Elder Larsen and I felt like we have been going through the motions for a while now.  For those of you unfamiliar with that phrase, it means to do the actions you are supposed to, but to do it automatically and without thought, care, purpose, energy, or drive.  You're just kind of on auto pilot and stagnant.  For a missionary, that is a no-no.  I've only got two years to carry this mantle.  Before coming out, I had already decided that these two years were no longer mine--this is now the Lord's time; they are not my two years to use as I would like.

A Marshallese word I learned (relearned -- sorry Brother Sherman *insert sheepish smile*) is Kattoto, which means "time-consuming" or "uses a lot of time."  While we were in the MTC, Brother Sherman warned us a few days before we left to be mindful of this word and to not waste time.  Recently, some of the things we've done in our area probably wouldn't fall into thetime-wasting category, but definitely into the needlessly Kattoto category.  

My invitation this week is for you all to consider your lives and ask yourself if there are any areas in which you are just going through the motions.  Work?  School?  Family?  If so, do as we did and set goals and make plans to be where you are and truly involved in what you are doing.  Just like how I only have two years as a missionary, you only have one life to spend.  This is kind of the flipside of "YOLO." The world tried to make that a party thing, a "You Only Live Once...might as well do stupid stuff and waste our life on pleasure because we might die any day" thing.  But really, the truth is that we do only have a short time, and it would be a shame to spend that time on auto pilot, especially during things that matter. Don't quit work or school to go live it up while you still can. Instead, really be there when you are there.  Make it count. Find joy amidst the routine.  I have.

Jerammaan,

Elder Josh Kilmer

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese/English speaking

不動心

Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe in OK! Miracles and lessons in gardening

Iokwe!  

This week was full of miracles!

1)  It rained pretty hard a couple days this week.  But it was always at night or when we were inside, so we got to enjoy the huge storms without being inhibited by them.

2) I didn't get sick!  Everyone else is getting sick.  I woke up at 3:00 am Sunday with a clogged nose, but managed to sleep most of it off and I felt fine by the afternoon.  Take that, germs.

3) Elder Larsen ran into a family almost 6 months ago that we recently taught.  Marilyn, the mom, was very excited to meet with us, but Martin was less-than-enthused.  He has slowly been warming up to us and let us in his home for the first time in 6 months this week.  We read Alma 32 from the Book of Mormon which talks about helping faith to grow. It's a very symbolic chapter but Martin interpreted all of it correctly and also went the extra mile by applying it to his family.  He pretty much taught the lesson for us.  *BIG SMILE*

4) We tried to stop by a planned service activity, but the person we inteded to help didn't open their door.  As we started back towards our apartment, we rode past a woman doing some yardwork.  She was very friendly and after talking for a bit, we learned that her daughter is a member and goes to church with a different congregation.  Kirsten (the woman we were talking to), works at a Methodist church, so we weren't sure how open she would be to us, but we left 30 minutes later having shared a verse from the Book of Mormon with her, left her with a copy of her own (which she wanted to pay us for--I haven't seen that one yet, that was surprising), and set up a specific return appointment.

5)  Later that same day, we rode past a street and saw a woman walking down that road.  We kept riding, but then felt like we needed to turn around and talk with her.  We learned that she lives in OKC and has a young daughter who recently told her that she wants to go to church. So she has recently been on the hunt for a church to attend. We explained a little about our purpose as missionaries, what we believe, and what church was like.  We got her information to the OKC missionaries.  I told her that I know God knows her personally and is aware that she has been searching.  I told her it was no accident that we turned around and that we fully intended to keep going to keep up with our schedule.  I know it was a miracle.  When we left, she told us she was happy that she met us.  It feels so good to be a part of God's work.  

We had Zone Conference this week.  President Mansell, our mission president talked about change.  He used the analogy of a tree nursery.  When a tree is growing, it needs to be repotted before it gets too big or the roots will curl up on themselves.  If the tree reaches that stage, the knot of roots must be hacked at to be opened up.  If left untended, the tree will smother itself and die.  Our lives are similar.  As we seek to grow, we must be repotted.  His message was simple:  we can either repot ourselves and enjoy the benefits of easy growth, or we can resist change, tangle ourselves up, endure painful hacking and de-knotting, and then get repotted anyway, or we can entirely refuse to change and smother ourselves completely.  He talked about how life is a lot easier when we choose to actively repot ourselves and allow for good changes, rather than try to hold on to our current comfort zone.  It's a little uncomfortable in a bigger pot, but it beats being hacked at.  

This past week I have been considering what things I need to do to repot myself.  I invite you to do the same.  So far it has been very rewarding.  They have been small, but I have been able to see myself make small changes that make me a better person and benefit those around me as well.  I know we will all be happier as we collectively strive to change for the better.

Sorry this was so long this week!  So much happened and it was all good.

Jerammaan,

Elder Josh Kilmer

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese/English speaking

不動心

Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! Fantastic Temple Trip

Iokwe!  

This week was a weird one.  I feel like not too much happened because I was on exchanges (when you change companions for a day) twice this week, and it was all during our important lessons.  I'm going on another one today. I'm not the biggest fan of exchanges, but they are a good way to learn from other missionaries.  Also, I'm pretty sure they exist only to keep me humble.  Seriously, every time we have exchanges things go wrong.  All of our plans fall through, people tell us not to come back, or we meet a bunch of crazy people.

Anyway, in other news this week, we had a fantastic trip to the Temple with Danny and his family (except Ravin, who is too young).  It was so wonderful to see them all dressed in white and being baptized for ancestors who have been waiting a while to receive that ordinance for themselves. 

For a brief explanation on the practice of Temple baptisms, Mormon Newsroom has published this statement on our beliefs:  

Jesus Christ taught that “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).  For those who have passed on without the ordinance of baptism, proxy baptism for the deceased is a free will offering. According to Church doctrine, a departed soul in the afterlife is completely free to accept or reject such a baptism — the offering is freely given and must be freely received. The ordinance does not force deceased persons to become members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or “Mormons,” nor does the Church list deceased persons as members of the Church. In short, there is no change in the religion or heritage of the recipient or of the recipient's descendants — the notion of coerced conversion is utterly contrary to Church doctrine. 

Of course, proxy baptism for the deceased is nothing new. It was mentioned by Paul in the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 15:29) and was practiced by groups of early Christians. As part of a restoration of New Testament Christianity, Latter-day Saints continue this practice. All Church members are instructed to submit names for proxy baptism only for their own deceased relatives as an offering of familial love.

Sweet feelings of the Spirit entered the room when Elizabeth was baptized for the granddaughter of one of the members attending with us.  It was made all the more meaningful due to how recently Danny, Elizabeth, and MaKayla were baptized themselves.  

MaKayla was actually feeling sick beforehand, and I almost suggested that she wait until she was feeling better, but I'm glad she didn't because she said as soon as she changed into the white Temple clothing, she felt immediately better. They all expressed how peaceful it felt in the Temple and that it helped them after a long week.  I, too, enjoyed the calm and refuge inside the Temple, as well as the peaceful spirit it allows us to feel.

As missionaries, we work a lot with people with serious struggles--often struggles that affect their whole lives and their general demeanor but are difficult for others to see from the outside looking in.  This week we had a lot of that. My challenge this week is for you to remember that everyone goes through struggles and that if you assume someone you see is going through a trial, you're probably right.  Look for ways to lift others up, not write them off.

Have a great week!  Love you all!

Jerammaan,

Elder Josh Kilmer

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese/English speaking

不動心

Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Photo: Temple Visit

New photo of Elder Kilmer with Danny and family at the Oklahoma City Temple.

Iokwe from OK! Scriptures=the power of change

Iokwe!

It's no longer HOT!!!!  Thank goodness.  We're finally getting some cooler weather, which I'm enjoying.  It's not cold, but it is usually 75-85 degrees F, which is just fine with me.  Also this week has been better for allergies--I can finally wear contacts again!  Also, everyone else got sick and I didn't.  And I got caught up on sleep!!!  That is totally the calm before the storm, but I am enjoying it!  In other news, I can't believe it's already September.  I remember last September I was starting a new semester.  That seems like another life.

This last week has been so great.  One man we have had our sights on for 4 1/2 months finally has room in his schedule and we had a great lesson with him.  He not only wanted to be baptized, but firmly told us when we suggested a date, "I promise I will be baptized on that day!" We almost fell out of our seats.  His name is Mr. James and hopefully we'll have good updates on him soon.

The night before that, we decided to drop by another person we haven't been able to really teach yet.  That lesson was one of the best Restoration lessons I have every taken part in.  Her name is Tana, and she's unavailable for a while, but we're excited to teach her in a couple of weeks.  She said that she would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, which is exactly what we want!

Biggest miracle:  Remember when I told the story about having an eagle feather exorcism performed on me?  Well.....we went back.  But!  It was after very serious consideration.  We put him on hold and kept sending him scripture texts each day with verses from the Book of Mormon.  We told ourselves that if he reaches out to us, we'll try teaching him again, but not before 8/21.  He texted us a couple of times, so we stopped by.  We gave ourselves 10 minutes to set expectations with him and gauge his true interest.  Well, in those 10 minutes, he told us that those scripture texts helped him change and he no longer wants to use foul language and he said he would like to be baptized so he can follow the Savior.  We cautiously returned last night (can't pass that up), read from the Book of Mormon about the Savior coming to the Americas, and then marvelled when he said he will seriously read the book and pray and even fast several times if he needs to in order to get an answer.  We were further stunned when he said he would receive an answer in his heart (which is true; I was suspicious that he was expecting a lightening bolt or something), expressed that he was having a spiritual confirmation and felt uplifted even as we were talking, and then committed to be baptized.  We have no idea what the future will bring with this man named Abraham, but he is clear evidence that reading the Book of Mormon invites the Spirit into our lives, which is to invite change.  Ha!

As for my weekly challenges, I'm planning on revising that to when-I-have-a-good-one challenges, focusing on quality and not just quantity.  I've been feeling recently that as I continue to learn and grow on my mission, the things I learn will often become more deeply personal and harder to apply in a challenge.  So I will try to share one weekly, but in order to preserve their value, I might not send one each week. 

But I do have one this week!  We talked a lot about tender mercies at church this week.  Such an occurance is when we receive some sort of blessing that touches us so we feel deeply understood, individually known, and infinitely loved by our Father in Heaven.  An example is when a passing stranger tells us exactly what we needed to hear, or when a financially struggling family finds food on their doorstep. We experience tender mercies every day, both big and small, but may not recognize them as such.  My challenge is to look for those personal messages from God in your every day.  He knows you personally.  He loves you.  He wants your eternal happiness.  We often just need to take the time to look and see.  A grateful person is a happy person, regardless of circumstances.

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese-English speaking

不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit

Iokwe from OK! Reflections of Good, Better and Best

Iokwe!

Each time I write that introduction, it feels stranger and stranger.  I’m starting to feel more and more like an English-speaking missionary.

This past week has been so nice.  It’s cooled down quite a bit so we didn’t get absolutely baked and sweated out each day.  On the other hand, my allergies have taken the opportunity to launch their own siege, beginning with a concerted attack on my contacts.  After spending a day rapidly blinking and shifting my eyes from side to side in an effort to retain my contacts, I resorted to wearing glasses—partially to save myself the pain, but mostly in an effort to spare those we teach from the image of a wide-eyed possessed-looking Elder Kilmer.

That’s mostly saved me, but I had to laugh today when we walked into someone’s house to help them move and I unknowingly agreed to brave the perfect storm of seasonal allergies, dust, dogs, and cats combined—all of which unified to plague my sinuses.  I’ve never sneezed so much, nor moved someone’s possessions out of their house so quickly.

A little update on those we are teaching:

We still get to see Danny and his family each week.  They are doing so well.  Danny now fellowships other members at church and goes out of his way to welcome people.  We’ve nicknamed him Danny the Legend.

We’ve also picked up Courtney again—she is someone Elder Larsen has taught in the past, but lost contact with while she was moving.  We met with her gain recently and she said that she didn’t remember much, but remembers that the church that Jesus Christ established while He was on the earth has been restored again, and that was her favorite part.  We hope and expect to have exciting news with her soon.

We’ve actually had a bunch of other miracles, but none of them have ever panned out.  We have those awesome “we-decided-to-turn-the-other-way-and-met-someone-ready-to-listen” experiences, but then they just never end up being home when we scheduled to stop by or they never answer their phone.  It’s sad, but we can’t force it on them. 

This week, I’ve been reflecting on how great it is to be a missionary.  I’m just so happy—happier than I’ve been in my life.  Despite people standing us up or rejecting us or being rude, I still experience a lasting happiness.  I just love being out here. 

The reason is that, as a missionary, we live what is important.  All extraneous things we put off for two years.  Not to say that school, work, family, etc are extraneous, but as a missionary, we apply the principle of “good, better, best.”  We seek only after the best things; forgetting ourselves and sharing with others the things that matter most to us.

At first, I often would look back at the things I enjoyed, such as rock climbing, long boarding, shows or movies I like, and longed to have those again.  Not that those things are bad, but they no longer hold a pull for me.  Those used to take up the majority of my life, but now I feel that when I return, they will hold a lesser precedence.  The reason being that while they aren’t bad things, as I mentioned, they were good things that I often let get in the way of the best things.  I often sacrificed family time or reaching out to someone in need or enjoying the satisfaction of sincere prayer because I was worried about filling my time with the good things that I enjoyed.

As such, I want to extend the challenge this week that you evaluate how you spend your time and judge the things that you spend your life on.  This challenge isn’t to command the banning of all pleasurable things or the tasks that simply must be done (like the dishes).  It’s to remind everyone of the truth that I have recognized.  We only have one life and when we get to look back on how we’ve spent it, it’s not very satisfying to see that we chose immediate and urgent good over the long-lasting joy of best.  What the best things are will vary from individual to individual, but I promise that as we focus on what is best, and ensure that we make room for those things, we will experience more joy and satisfaction in our lives. 

I think that often when we feel we aren’t finding true happiness, it’s because we fill up our lives with good, pleasurable things.  It’s kind of like when you’re hungry so you just stuff a roll in your mouth.  It satisfies for a brief moment, but something still leaves you feeling empty.  I testify that as we focus on the best things, (I’ve found for myself that service and genuine relationships with others are some of the best things in my life) and spend only as much time as necessary on what’s merely good, that emptiness will be filled.

I look forward to hearing from you all.  Have a great week!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer

Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese/English speaking

不動心

Fudoshin:  immovable spirit