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