Week 52!!! Kodiak!!

Friends and family!!!

Well hello out there from Kodiak island! So I'm not sure how last week was week 52 but I hit my 1 year mark on Friday September the 16th! So that's pretty cool! It definently has felt like a year out in the field! Well I am out here in Kodiak! I guess I'm just meant for the islands! Haha I flew in on Tuesday and I already love it!

Well one thing I've learned here is that we do tons and tons of service!! Haha we do about 20 hours a week of just service for people! And most of the time it's stacking wood! Haha I have some pictures but we have helped an investigator named Manuel stack wood and it has been... Fun! Haha but this up coming week we are helping some people paint their house and stacking some more wood! So it should be fun!

One super cool thing about Kodiak and the reason why I know the lord looks out for us is Kodiak doesn't get much snow at all! Everyone here says it's the best place to be for the winters! So that's pretty cool! I guess Heavenly Father knows I'm not much of a fan of the cold! People here say it's 30s 40s in the winter! Sweet I'll take it! One thing I found out when I got here is that there are Samoans here! Which is super cool and maybe it's one of the reasons I am here! But we are just searching for them too! Elder bacon is awesome! He hits his year mark sept 30th! He was called Spanish speaking and there are a lot of people that can only really speak Spanish here too! Kodiak is very diverse!

There's lots and lots of fishing here! That's what Kodiak is really known for is the fishing! There are tons of big fishing boats in the harbors! The other big job here is the coast guard station. The coast guard station here is the biggest in Alaska! It's the main one for the Bering sea and everything.

Wednesday morning we fly to anchorage for zone conference then fly back Thursday morning! It's kind of different to not be around other missionaries! The Ward is really awesome! And the chapel is even cooler! It's totally Alaskan! I'll send some pictures because it's so cool!

Our investigators are doing good! I am still meeting them! We have some only Spanish investigators so that's pretty cool! So you can say I get a little lost during the lessons. Those 2 years of Spanish didn't work! Haha it's a really diverse population here. And lots of people come here to work in the summer then go back but we are starting to get some good referrals and more work! 

Well that was my week in a nutshell! It's so awesome to be out here in Kodiak and I'm excited for this new adventure! It's crazy on Friday I'll have been out a year already! Time goes fast when your serving the lord!

Matthew 10:39

"After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel" ~Joseph Smith 

Love, Elder Fawson

Week 51!!! TRANSFERRED

Friends and family!!!!

This week was action packed!!!!

Well..... I'm being TRANSFERRED!!!! After 6 months of being in the northern lights Samoan Ward I'm leaving! I am going to KODIAK ISLAND!!! I'm so excited and pumped! It will be super awesome! I fly out tomorrow at 3:30! Just a really crazy fun fact for ya... Bears out number people so this will be fun! I will be serving with Elder Bacon who is a stud! Something funny is that I was talking to president Robinson last night and I am going to be learning some Spanish and Tagalog! Haha he said they have some investigators that only speak those languages so this is going to be awesome! Haha We will be the only missionaries to cover the whole island which is kinda crazy! It's one of those super cool areas that is the dream area so it made me feel cool to get called there! Haha! So if you have ever seen the movie "the guardian", it was based from Kodiak US Coast Gaurd station and I think the bush people do stuff there too lol! With being on the island we do a lot of skyping! Skyping in on district and zone meeting and then they fly us in for zone conference and interviews!

It's so weird to say bye to all the people here in this Ward! It was awesome to get the call to leave but I sat there for a second I feel like I'm leaving my home! I love the people of this Ward! One of the coolest things ever was the primary actually all wrote me little letters and gave them to me which was awesome! 

On p day we got to go golfing and that was so sweet! Haha we had a fun time! (Pictures below)

Wednesday we got to go to the temple! It was super awesome! It's really cool to be there because that is literally the goal of where we want everyone to be is in that sealing room! 

Friday we had zone meeting. It was such an awesome zone meeting and everyone started getting weirdly emotional in it! We have talked about pride and how there are soooo many different ways it affects each of us. So we each kind of self analyzed ourselves and stuff like that!

On Saturday we got to have our baptism for Ryan and Tifa Nonu and it was super awesome! Went really good! I got baptize and confirm Ryan! Such awesome dudes and I love them! (Pictures below)

Miracle for the week: so Krispy Kreme just opened up here and everyone is going crazy over it! It opened Monday and was packed! We went to get some on Thursday and it was over an hour wait so we were like oh well! We tried! That night we got home and our neighbor had left us some on our porch! Haha super awesome!

"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten" ~ David A Bednar

Love, Elder Fawson

Tyler said this is Brother Brown, he is from Compton and is a legit crip! He is the man!!

Week 50!!!

Friends and family!!!

This week was just peachy!!! It wasn't too crazy or anything but it was
good! Crazy how fast the transfer went! We get transfer calls this week! So
we will see what happens! It's crazy I've already been in the northern
lights Ward for 6 months!

One funny thing that happened to elder Tui and I this week is so we were
giving the training in district meeting then Monday night (district meeting
is Tuesday morning) we got a text from elder Carroll (our district leader)
saying hey by the way president and sister Robinson will be there tomorrow
at district meeting! Then a minute later he said and the zone leaders! Haha
so elder tui and I got a little nervous but it went good haha! We trained
on how to begin teaching in PMG! And president said it was an awesome
training so that made us feel better about it! Wednesday we had trainer
trainee meeting and it was our last one! It's crazy how this is the last
week of elder tuimoloaus training!

Our investigators are doing good! This Saturday is our baptism for Tifa and
Ryan! The big family we have been working with for a while finally moved
and they are still in our area so we are good! So now we are going to put
them on a baptismal date soon! But the kids are so cool! There's 6 that are
over the age of 9 that are ready! (Antwan, Reggie, Yoko, navy, Nate, and
honey!) so we will see what happens! we have a couple of new families that
we will be visiting this week too!

We got to do some service this week so that was fun! We got to do like
district service helping these people clean out this house that is probably
the most packed with garbage house I have ever seen! It got so cluttered
with garbage that they didn't have any space so they just moved and got a
new house! Haha so it was packed but we got to clean some of it out! And
then Wednesday we got to go on the military base and do a little service
for the fisher house! It's a hotelish thing by the hospital that is for
people to stay out that are out of state but in the hospital! So we got to
clean stuff!

But yea overall this week was good! Lots of fun!

"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work" ~Gordon B
Hinckley

Alma 37:33
Alma 41:14

Love, Elder Fawson

P.s. I tried on elder tuimoloaus suit coat.... He's a big Samoan

Week 49

Friends and family!!

 This week was awesome! And first things first, Go watch the hello by Adele song but missionary version on YouTube! A member showed it to us and it's so awesome and will make your day!

Alright so Lau and Tara... They are a less active/ part member family but they are not too interested well sometimes..... So we went over last Sunday night and she said they were busy (as usual) but said to come back Monday night! And usually when they say that they just won't be there when we go back so this time. Something popped up Monday night so we didn't get to try and go over! So we went Tuesday and they said they made us dinner and everything! So we felt super super bad but we had a really awesome visit with them and found out that elder tuimoloau and them are somehow related and by the end of the visit he was talking about how his youngest daughter is 9 and he wants her to get baptized!!! Crazy how the spirit softens hearts! And best thing of all they wanted us to come over the next day and have lunch with them! It was super awesome! It's so awesome so now we are visiting with them this week and seeing what's going to happen!!

So we had this awesome experience of messing with people on Saturday! So this family is inactive and we called them a couple weeks ago and they wanted their records removed and we went over with out bishop on Wednesday and the father said to come back on Saturday! Sooo... We went back Saturday! We pulled up and the lights were on and so we were like sweet they are home! So we get out and start walking up the driveway and they turned the lights off and didn't answer the door... So elder tuimoloau and I decided we weren't going to go down without a fight! So we got back in the truck and drove down the road and parked and sat there and waited till they turned the lights back on! They we got out and ran up to the door and made eye contact with lady! So they had to answer!!!! They said they were busy of course but we didn't go down with making it awkward for them!!! Haha don't ignore us! We will catch you sometime! Haha funny times!!!

Oh Saturday we got to go to a wedding of these two members of our Ward! That was pretty fun!

Our investigators are doing good! Ryan and Tifa are still going to be baptized sept 3rd! Which is good! They are doing awesome and the family is awesome support! The Mano family is still progressing just trying to get them to not work on Sunday's! And the big family is doing good! They are moving on Friday but luckily still in our area! 

This transfer elder tuimoloau and I made the goal to read the Book of Mormon so we are getting there! I'm in Alma and I have to read 19 pages everyday for the rest of the transfer of I'm going to finish it! But it's so awesome and it seems like everytime I read it it makes so much more sence and things just click! I know that book is true!

But overall this week was really fun and we had some really good lessons! We are onto week 11 out of 12 of elder tuimoloaus training! Crazy how fast it's gone! I have been in the northern lights Ward for more than 5 months now so I feel like I've been here my whole life! Haha but the work is going good! Thanks for everything you do for me!

D&C 42:29 If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me and keep all my commandments.

"You cant direct the wind, but you can direct the sails."~President Thomas S Monson

Love, Elder Fawson

Week 48!

Friends and family!!!

This week was really awesome! We had so many miracles!

After our baptism we were like crap now what?! We lost our real progressing investigator! But we got a call from a family in our Ward saying that their two grandkids were going to stay with them now! Ryan (age 13) and Tifa (age 15) and that they aren't members and need to be baptized! So we had 2 lessons with them this week and they are going to be baptized sept 3! Which is really cool because it will probably be my last Saturday in this Ward! But they are awesome and it's awesome to have lessons because the the family likes to interact with the lessons!

Friday we met with the Mano family! So the dad is a member and the mom isn't. And they have 3 kids and one (JJ) is about to turn 8! We had the 3rd lesson with them and invited the mom to be baptized and she accepted! She is actually going to be baptized with her son in October so that will be super cool! They are an awesome family!

Another awesome thing that happened to us this week is we were tracting and ran into this guy named sonny! He's probably early 20s and we walked into this 4 plex and he was sitting there reading the bible! We were like what the heck?! But we started talking to him and he had just got out of prison 4 days before! And wanted to change his life! We talked to him for a little bit then the next day we shared the restoration with him and his siblings! He is on house arrest for right now so we can't really get him to church but he loves having lessons with us an wants to learn more! 

This week we actually got to go on base and help this family move a dog house... And now you're probably laughing because that sounds weird but it was harder than it sounds! It took 6 of us to pick up this dog house made out of 3/4 inch plywood and it was insulated! It was crazy how heavy the thing was! And walk it to the back yard! Haha it was so funny!

Well that was kind of my week this week! Thank you for everything you guys do for me! I love you all!

"There is a serious need for the charity that gives attention to those who are unnoticed, hope to those who are discouraged, aid to those who are afflicted. True charity is love in action. The need for charity is everywhere." ~President Thomas S. Monson

D&C 6:36

Love, Elder Tyler Fawson

P.s. We got to eat some octopus yesterday!!!

Week 47!

Friends and family! 

Well this week was peachy! Lots of cool stuff!

We were visiting a less active and they didn't answer so we both walked out of the building and then we both turned around at the same time and had the prompting to knock at the door we had just passed! We did and this Samoan lady answered and was kinda trying to shew us away but then decided to let us in and we got to teach her the Book of Mormon. It was so awesome! So moral of the story... Follow promptings! 

So I have a super funny story for you guys that only in a Polynesian Wards does stuff like this happen! So On Friday we had dinner with this family that gave us so much food that I ate almost 3 times my body weight in food! (Well not really that much but it felt like it!)  And then this is the best part of the story! I felt like I was about to throw up and so I got up and just said I needed some air and literary walked outside threw up Ina bush then went back in and ate more! The family is like our favorite family in the Ward and I told them after and they loved it haha! 

This week we also had zone meeting and that was really awesome! We talked about 1 nephi 8 and about the iron rod. We talked about why and what got us out on missions and the fact that that doesn't matter anymore and that we need to think about why we are staying out on missions! It was actually really awesome! We talked also about kind of finding yourself and how you can only find yourself when you're not looking and looking outside of yourself! The more you look outside of yourself the more you'll see him! And we also had trainer trainee meeting this week! It was basically just about the Book of Mormon and how we can better explain it when we are street contacting and stuff like that! And lastly we had interviews with president this week on Friday and those were actually really awesome too!!

We had our baptism for Angelica on Saturday and it went awesomely! Elder tuimoloau and I had to plan the whole baptism because our Ward mission leader isn't here right now so we were stressed about it going smoothly but I went really good! It's seriously the best feeling to help someone come closer to Jesus Christ! So Angelica was from a part member family and wasn't baptized and so we taught her and well... Baptized her! 

Overall this week was really awesome! We had the baptism for Angelica, tons and tons of meetings, and we got to teach a lot which is always a good thing! But thank you for all you do for me! 

Weather update for everyone: it has been raining non stop for the past 3 weeks here! 

"As you become closer to Jesus Christ, don't think for a second he doesn't come to know you better" ~President Russell M Nelson 

D&C 75:22

Love, Elder Fawson

Happy August! Week 46!

Friends and family!!

This week was upper eventful and fun! We had lots of lessons and sadly We had to reschedule Angelica's baptism because they had family obligations! We had some super crazy things happen to us! On Thursday we went to see a less active and this huge black dog was out front and almost ate us! It didn't look like that mean of a dog but when we got out of the car it turned all rabies on us and I think it was scared to chase elder tuimoloau so it came after me and I swear I have never opened that car door and dived in the car so fast! Haha but it was so funny to talk about after! Second crazy thing that happened to us was while we were in mountain view visiting with a less active family and all of a sudden POP POP POP! Yea it was gunshots! We Heard gunshots during a lesson!!! It was pretty crazy! 

So this less active family we have worked with for a while now, they are young couple with a daughter and we got them going to church for a bit then they stopped and we just periodically will stop by to see how they are doing and everytime we stop by jaislene (the wife) says they we are literally an answer to their prays and everything because she said every time we stop by they are having a bad day or whatever and we cheer them up! Well Sunday after church we went to have a lesson with the big family we are teaching and it fell through and we were just going to leave and go home and change out of our suits and visit others but we decided to just go over to their house and see how they are doing and because we hadn't talked to them in a while! We literally caught them at the only time we really could have! So they have had lots and lots of things going on with their family that they live with and they all just kinda blew up on eachother so Michael and jaislene were grabbing stuff out and moving out to a new place and we caught them right when Michael was packing stuff up and jaislene was just sitting out side with her daughter! She said that when she saw us pull she knew God didn't give up and forget about her! It was a really awesome moment and she was talking about how we always show up when they are in need and so we got to share and scripture and have one of the most powerful prayers I think I've had on my mission! It was awesome! So moral of the story... Never delay on a prompting!!

This week we had lots of lessons and we are starting to have some new investigators pop up! So we are excited about that one! Thank you for everything you do for guys! You're awesome!

D&C 75:22 

Love, Elder Fawson