Morgan's 9th Letter in 2013 - Photos

Aloha Family,

So another good week out here in Hawaii. The weather has been awesome here. Ive seen a rainbow pretty much every day since I've been in this area. We always see them in Waimea. Its been really windy the last couple weeks. but if i leave a window open though to let the wind blow through, we get dust everywhere. We get like black little dust particles everywhere. I made the mistake of leaving the Bathroom window open for a few days, and it just got coated and covered in the little black dust. It must be from all the black lava rock surrounding us.

This morning for P-Day i got to go and play in SNOW!! :)  At 5 Am our District of 6 missionaries drove up a giant mountain called Mauna Kea, which is the tallest mountain in the world if your measuring from the bottom of the sea where the mountain starts. The Elevation is like close to 14000 feet high, and is the biggest mountain in Hawaii. We got up there and found tons and tons of snow! so i got pictures next to a snowman, and the giant telescopes up there. and we got to watch the sun rise too. The only lame part is that it was really cloudy, so we couldn't see the view of the whole Island, cuz we were so high we were above the clouds, but the clouds were all surrounding the mountain and we couldn't see the Island at all. But it was still so much fun. It was freezing cold up there, i have no idea how cold. We were going to go sledding with body boards/ boogie boards, but ended up not sledding. We were going to visit the Telescope Observatory thing up there, but they didn't open until 10 am, so maybe another time. Up there we ran into Missionaries, the other Zone, Hilo Zone, on the other side of the island decided to go up there too. So that was fun to see them.

On Tuesday we had a teaching appointment in Kohala, which is the most north tip of the Island. Kohala usually has Senior Couple Missionaries, but they had to go back to Utah for surgery, so they were gone for a few weeks. So we covered there teaching appointments while they were gone. We met and taught 2 boys who are going to be baptized this weekend. It was really fun to see that area, its all just lush green farmland, even more green that Waimea. They have a cool beach/coast in Kohala, its all cliffs.

I have just had a lot of great teaching experiences this week, teaching the Marshalese people. To be able to teach so simply and powerfully with the Spirit, that they can understand the message, and feel the Holy Ghost. We are working with a couple named Keoko and Elio, who are really great, and always want us to come over and share a message. They keep promising they will come to church, but haven't been able to make it to church yet. Were thinking of giving them a tour of the church, so they know what its about. and also have their friends invite them to come to church. So we'll see how that goes.

Good to hear about Ethan and him getting his papers turned in this week! How exciting! I cant wait til he gets his call! :) and that's good news from Dr Reichman, I guess I'll try increasing my exercising a little bit and see how that goes. I'm Glad he didn't find any pinched nerves in there or nothing.

  

It was really fun to read the stories of Nick moving to Tooele. I got an account from Mom and an account from Dad, so that was fun to read them both, and get the different point of view from both. I'm glad that traveling was all safe in the snow and slush. You'll have to send some pictures of Nicks house so i can see. Thanks for everyone writing me, i appreciate it a lot. Everyone have a great week!

Love Elder Durocher

Kohala Coast

Marshellese Children

Mauna Kea - tallest Mt. in Hawaiian Islands with SNOW! - Telescope Observatory

Kahala Coastline with daily Rainbows

Snowman on Mt. Mauna Kea

Morgans 8th letter of 2013 - His Photos

Aloha Durocher Family

So this has been a super awesome week for me! I have been in a Tripanionship since last tuesday, so almost a week now, we have been in a group of 3 Elders. My normal companion is Elder Garr. But on Tuesday last week another Elder had some mental health problems, and so he had to go to the hospital. And So his Companion Elder Dzieman (he was training) has been with us for the last week, and we have been training him. It has been so much fun! The other Elder is going back to Honolulu to be close to Doctors, and Elder Dzieman is getting a new Trainer sometime this week. Being in a Tripanionship has been the funnest thing ever though, its so different than just being in a companionship. We have had such a blast this week, and taught so many people. This week flew by like none other.

So Elder Dzieman is the missionary for Waimea 2nd Ward, and Me and Elder Garr are the missionaries for Waimea 1st ward, we have been covering 2 areas and 2 wards for the last week. We have had to cancel a few dinners so we didnt have 2 dinners a night, because that would not be fun. And on Sunday we went to both wards, so we were at the church for like 6 hours yesterday. Elder Dzieman (prounounced Jay-man) is from Virginia beach, Virginia. He is a convert of 1 year and 1 month. He was introduced to the Church by his girl friend. He broke up with her to go on a mission. His parents are totally 100% against the church. They disowned him when he got baptized. But then they opened up and let him come back. They are against him serving a mission, and want him to come home. They havent written him back, or emailed him, since he left on his mission 5 weeks ago. Elder Dzieman thinks they wont email him back or write him back, in hopes of making him homesick and make him come home off his mission. He has a hard time with that i think, but he has a very Strong Testimony of the Gospel. And is an awesome missionary. Im greatful to know him, we have had some fun times.

We have 2 investigators Keoko and Elio who are supposed to be Baptized and Married on Saturday, but they are not ready, so we will have to push the Baptism date back until March. Keoko and Elio are both Marshalese, and have i think 5 children from different marraiges. They are really nice. All of the Marshalese are really nice to the Missionaries. There are a lot of Marshalese living in a housing complex called Noalani Apartments, and we are there every single day for a few hours talking to people and visiting them, and teaching them, and playing with the little kids. The little kids always beg us to play games with them, they crowd to us like 10 kids that just surround us. Its so fun, they are so cute. Most of them dont have any furniture, i dont think they can afford it, plus they like to sit on the ground and sleep on the ground. I'll try to include a picture of some of them.

On Sunday night we had dinner with a member named the Philips. It was really fun to talk to him. He lived in Cedar Hills for 4 or 5 years, building a lot of the new homes there. So it was fun to talk to him and figure out where he lived in Cedar Hills. There are a lot of members here in Hawaii that moved from Utah. Like im sure theres 10 families in Waimea that moved from Utah. They are all over the place. Someone i met Sunday is the Hale's who lived in Sandy, and moved 2 months ago to Hawaii. And then a Visitor attend church that lives in Hobble Creek canyon near Mapleton Utah.

Well i cant think of anything else so everyone have a great week love you all

Elder Durocher

1 more funny thing that happen that i forgot

We were walking to an investigators house, and we walk down a street and theres like 10 little kids lined up and all of them have water balloons in their hands. So we proceed forward very carefully and talk to our investigator, and when were done we walk back to the road and they have us surrounded. So we start like telling the kids to throw it at the other person, and we were trying to convince the kids to take sides, and then they just go crazy throwing balloons at us and chasing us! it was so funny!

This is Me and Elder Dzieman at the Kona Temple on The Big Island

 

This picture is Me and my companion Elder Garr. This is what a lot of my area looks like, really hilly, dry, and dead grass everywhere, and lots of rocks everywhere you look

 

This is Me and Elder Dzieman and all of the Little Marshalese Kids we are teaching

 

                            Me and Elder Garr with all the kids holding up their Jesus Card

 

Morgan's 7th Letter in 2013 - Internet Photos

Dear Family & Friends,

So Today (Tuesday) we went to the Kona Temple, for our Zone temple trip. It was a great experience, im so grateful for the opportunities i have to attend the temple on my mission, because i know a lot of missionaries cant attend the temple in their mission. I felt the spirit more strongly than i ever have doing an endowment session. I had the most wonderful experience in the Temple today. Today we are having our P-Day, and so everyone is going to get together at the Kona Stake center and just chill and hang out.

So my companion is Elder Garr and our ward is Waimea 1st Ward. We cover a few cities though. Our area covers half of Waimea, Waikoloa, and then another city i forget its name. This part of Big Island is just farmland, huge fields of everything from grass, to trees, and to lava rocks. We live in Waikoloa on a golf course, in a really nice condo. It takes about 30 minutes to travel from Waikoloa to Waimea, so we have a lot of traveling to do. Waikoloa is a straight up desert that never rains, and everything is dead. and 30 minutes away is Waimea a super green, rolling green hills, and rains all the time. Elder Garr was in the MTC with me and so we came out together. We get along super awesome and have had some great times together so far.

Today I had an awesome opportunity to participate in giving an Elder a blessing, and i felt the spirit so very strongly, i have felt the spirit so strongly today, it has been an amazing day!

Most of our Investigators are Marshalese people. So we have been working with them a bunch. Its been a different experience working with Marshalese people, but it has been so great! THey are so nice! All of the Kids Swarm us asking us to play games, and give them jesus cards, and show them tricks, and asking for candy! Its super funny i love it!

Well i love you Family, ill talk to you later!

Hawaiian Island Chain

Love Elder Durocher 

Morgan is on the Big Island in the Waimea region

Kona Hawaii Temple -

Golf course at Waikoloa Resort

Yes, this is really Hawaii, in the Waimea area!

Waimea, Hawaii...looks like lots of places stateside!

Coastal Kona, Hawaii

Morgan's 6th Letter & Photos in 2013

Traditional Tie Burning at the 6 month point!  He used Axe deodorant and Hand Sanitizer to ignite it!

So Sunday night we got our transfer calls! Me and Elder Shepherd are both getting transferred out. I am going to Kona Zone on The Big Island, Kona is the Dry side of the Island. Not sure yet where Elder Shepherd is going, because he is staying on Island. I'm super excited to go Off Island, and be able to see and experience Big Island. But im also a little bit bummed were both leaving and White Washing out. White Washing is when 2 missionaries go into the area at the same time, it doesn't happen very often because its hard for the missionaries, because usually one of the missionaries has been there before to show the ropes to the new missionaries, and to tell them about everything that's happening. So me and Elder Shepherd White Washed into our area, Auwaiolimu, in Honolulu, and now were White Washing out. We have 2 baptisms this coming weekend that we will miss, and 1 more baptism the last weekend in February that we will be missing too. I'm bummed to miss 3 of our baptisms that we worked so hard to get. But im willing to go wherever im needed, and happy to go to The Big Island.

Im going to be sending a couple boxes home of stuff I don't have room to fit in my luggage. I have to get everything to fit in my 2 suitcases and carry on, to fly on the airplane. And i have way too much stuff, its funny how you just acquire stuff when our a missionary. Were going to spend tomorrow visiting people in the Ward and saying bye to people, and visiting our Investigators 1 last time, and tell everyone there's gonna be 2 new Elders.

Saturday morning Elder Dorff and Elder Yamashita came over at 6:30 Am and we made Breakfast. We had pancakes, french toast, eggs and bacon. It was really good. and Then after that all of us went to the Tabernacle to go to Investigator Ball. Investigator Ball is where all the missionaries invite their investigators to come play basketball every Saturday Morning. There was like 25 people there playing basketball. I just watched them all play, and then talked to our Recent Convert Steve, and talked to our Investigator Keana, who came with her boyfriend Maka. After that we went to a members house and worked on their yard. About 10 people showed up, including us 4 Elders. We weed whacked, raked, pulled weeds, cleaned up, mowed the lawn, trimmed the tree branches of the mango tree, raked up the grass and leaves, and put everything in big black garbage bags. We filled up about 15 bags full of grass weeds and leaves. It was really fun, and it went really fast with that much help. 

At Walmart today we met someone from Pleasant Grove Utah, i forgot there name though. Its really fun to see members from back home in Utah. 

This Sunday was Ward Conference. All the Stake Leaders came, and we had meetings with them. After church there was a little informal luncheon, for the Stake Leaders, Ward Leaders, and Recent Converts and Less Actives that the Bishop invited. Bishop invited 15 people but only 1 person, Steve, came. The food was good and we got to take home the left overs. 

Well that's all i can think of, Love you all. Those pictures of shooting guns at the range were really cool. Mikes AR-15 must be new cuz I didn't know he had one, and never saw it. What gun was David shooting? I swear that gun looks like Dads.

Love You all - Elder Durocher

Morgans 5th letter & photos in 2013

Dear Family & Friends,
So I'm writing back home on Tuesday again, instead of Monday. Monday I had 2 appointments in Kaneohe, I had a Dentist appointment with Dr Millar, and then 3 hours later at Kamisugi Orthodontist. The Dentist filled in my Gap in between my teeth with composite material, the same thing they did to Annie. So now the Space is gone, he did a good job, it looks nice. Then i got an impression for a retainer at the Orthodontist. I picked up the Retainer Today (Tuesday), and they charged $350. I gave them my home Debit card, and she swiped the card, and it said it was expired. I didn't realize my card expired 12/2012. She asked if i had any other way to pay for it, and i said no. So she just typed my Credit Card number into the computer, and changed the expiration date, and it was able to charge the card. So i need to get my New Debit card from UCCU. Did they send it home mom? They should have.
 
We had to move our investigators baptism to February 10th, that's when the Bishop wanted it, and its gonna work better for Luke and Keana. Last Saturday we had a member named Kyle come out with us for 4 hours. He is 18 years old, and saving up for a mission. We were able to teach a bunch of lessons with him. and We taught a Former Investigator about Baptism, and then Invited him to be baptized, and he accepted! So now we have 3 Baptisms in February. Its amazing how the Lord prepares people, and its just our job to find them, and commit them, and help them along. We had amazing spiritual experiences with Kyle. He had a great time. On our way walking home, we walked past the Koki's house and they were having a huge party. They invited us 3 to come eat dinner at the party, and since we didn't have a dinner that night, we accepted. They had some delicious food there. And I saw a lady that i recognized from Waianae, so i chatted with her for a little bit.  Her name is Pinky, and she was one of our investigators Me and Elder Pincock were teaching back in Waianae. She knows the Church is True, and she knows the Book of Mormon is True, and most of her family are members, but she doesn't want to give up Drinking and Smoking. Then a little while later i ran into a guy named Warner, who also was one of our Investigators from Waianae. We had taught him the Restoration, but then he jumped off the face of the earth. We could not find him, or get in contact with him for like 1 1/2 months. It was good to see him, and i was able to talk to him a little bit. I encouraged them both to keep meeting with the missionaries back in Waianae.

On Saturday we had a Zone Flood in my area Auwaiolimu. So all 18 missionaries from the zone came to my area and tracted for 1 hour. We got a lot of Potential Investigators from that, so we need to go visit them this week and see if we can start to teach them.

In 1 week we have transfers, which i really hope we both stay, or else one of us are going to miss the 3 Baptisms we have coming up. Me and Elder Shepherd have both been here for 3 months, so Either one of us could go.

So our Church is under constructions, they are completely re-modeling the Bathrooms. They found tons of termite damage in the walls and roof and so they ripped everything out and are replacing everything. Some sub contractor is doing the job, and is taking a long time to do it. So its been a huge inconvenience to the ward. Bishop got Porto-Pottys for the ward to use. The Kitchen is connected to the Bathroom, so that's out of commission too. So we have had to cancel some ward activities that were going to happen at the church.

Umm so i cant think of anything else from this week. Hmmm let me see.. Yeah i think that's everything. I love you all, thanks for reading.

Love Elder Morgan James Durocher

Looking out the WWII Look Out at a bunker on Mt. Coco Head

Morgan on top of a WWII bunker on Coco Head Mtn.

Elder Yamashita & Morgan

Elders Orberg, Yamashita, Durocher, Miller, Richards, Dorff, Gardner

Atop a bunker at Mt. Coco Head, Oahu, Hawaii

Morgans Fourth Letter in 2013

Dear Family & Friends,
I don't even know where to start! Today we went on a fun hike called Coco Head. The hike was straight up a mountain, hiking up the old rail road tracks like stairs. The hike was so hard and tiring. there was a lot of people hiking too. When we got to the top we saw the Winch that would tow the carts up the mountain. Everything was all rusty. There were World War II Barracks at the top of the Mountain. And It had a really good view. Ill try to send some pictures. it took like 2 hours maybe to hike up, and down. 

Sunday night we had dinner with the Keawe's. He is the Young Men's president so just told us to come to the church to eat. The Youth had a Fireside and then were having dinner after the Fireside. So we just ate dinner with all of the Youth. It was really  fun to talk to and play around with all the kids. Then that night we went up to the Koki house to have a lesson with Luke and Keana. Luke is getting adopted by the Koki's, His parents abandoned him, and hes been living on the streets, or jumping family member to family member. The Koki's are trying to get custody through the court system. Keana is the Girlfriend of Maka, the Oldest son of the Koki's. They are both new investigators of ours. Luke and Keana have come to church a few times and are liking it. They are both 17 years old. We taught them the Restoration on Sunday night. We had the whole family involved in the lesson and the spirit was there really strongly. After the Lesson, Elder Shepherd Turned to Luke and Said " Luke will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the Priesthood Authority of God?." That's the exact line the Quorum of the 12 Apostles want us to use when we invite someone to be baptized. He said Yes. Then Elder Shepherd looked at Keana and said "How Bout'ch U?." I was surprised with the Casualness of it, and him not using the line. But walking home he said he Forgot her name and just said How Bout'ch u?. After a second of silence, she said yes too. I'm really excited for them. They're Baptism is on January 31st. Please pray for them that they will be protected and strengthened as their baptism comes closer and closer. I'm excited this will be our first baptism in this Ward!! 

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday. Where 2 zones come together, and the Assistants to the President, Sister Dalton, and President Dalton, train us and teach us. That lasted for 8 hours long. Then That night we went to Outback Steak House. We went there because we broke our high water mark in the month of December. President Dalton says if anyone breaks their high water mark, he will take the whole zone out to Dinner. The High Water Mark for Honolulu Zone was 30 in one month, and we got 33 Baptisms in December, breaking it by 3! Dinner was really good, and we got a group picture there. President Dalton told us we had 1124 Baptisms as mission in 2012. The most the Island has ever had in 160 Years, since the Mission opened in 1850. The Mission had 166 Baptisms in the Month of December. It was really cool and spiritual having them all train and teach us at zone conference. 

Well i love you all, i hope all is going well. I sent a CD with the MRI in it because im not sure if the MRI place sent it to doctor Reichman yet. 

Elder Durocher

Morgan's Third letter in 2013

Dear Family & Friends,
So this past week has been a pretty good week. I'm sending my letter out on Tuesday instead of Monday because most of Monday was spent doing service and so we had no time left to email.

 So Monday all 20 missionaries in my zone met at the Tabernacle at 6:30 AM, and then left to the Waialae Country Club Golf Course to do Volunteer Work. The Golf Course is on Beach front property in Honolulu, and has a huge hotel called the Kahala Hotel for people to stay at. Its cost around $50,000 down to become a member, and then $500 a month. The Golf course hosted the Sony Open for 2013, which is a giant Professional Golf Tournament. The were about 40,000 people that came through that week to watch. Our job was to take down chairs and tables and stack them, so you can imagine how big the Job was. We worked for about 6 or 7 hours just stacking chairs and tables on pallets, and doing a few other jobs. They fed us Breakfast and Lunch. After we were done, they gave us a free Hat, and a Free polo golf shirt. They showed us the dolphins at the Hotel. The Dolphins were in a giant pond, pool thing. Their were 5 dolphins and we got to see them really close up. If you pay money, you can go swim and play with the dolphins. Then we went in the Kahala Hotel and they show us a hall that has a picture of some of the Celebrities that have stayed there. Their was so many famous people on the wall. We got home at about 3 pm, and then showered and got ready. We had dinner with the Saffery's at 5:30 pm, it was their son Shawns birthday, so we went to The Spaghetti Factory. It was super fun, their whole family was there, probably like 30 people.

So on Sunday, we had like 15 white tourist that came to church. We get tourist every once in a while, because our Church is Auwaiolimu, so its at the top of the alphabet, so  a lot come to our ward. 1 of them sat down next to me, so i started talking to him. His name is Dave Neilson, and he goes to school in Washington. He used to live in Salt Lake City, and Build houses in Cedar Hills. I found out he helped build most of the houses in our neighborhood in Cedar Hills. I was describing where i lived, and he knew exactly where it was. He Worked for Dakota Homes, which is the company that build a lot of the houses in Cedar Hills. He says he remembers building the Johnsons home. It was  really fun to talk to him. 

I got your box in the mail on Monday. The box was super beat up, but everything inside was fine, besides the cookies. They were turned into powder dust. Thanks for sending all the stuff mom. 

Last Monday for P-Day we went to the Zoo. We were there for about an hour and a half. All the Missionaries in the zone were there, and it was a really fun activity. I took a lot of pictures there, ill try to send some of them. 

I cant think of anything else. Have a good week everyone!

 Love Elder Morgan Durocher

Morgan and Elder Mafi from his Zone

Morgan on a Giraffe at the Honolulu Zoo

Morgan's Companion, Elder Shepherd

Elder Kipaimoa, Elder Durocher, Elder Gardner, Elder Orberg, Elder Ewar

Baby Blessing of Hayden Andrew Durocher

In other news of interest for the Durocher's, Nicholas & Michelle blessed their new baby, Hayden Andrew Durocher on Sunday, January 6, 2013.  He was born on September 25, 2012 in the early hours of the morning, weighing in at 6 pounds 10 ounces.  Hayden is a content happy child and Cambree loves her little brother.

Morgan's second letter in 2013

Dear Family
Im glad Mom got my box in the Mail this week. Yeah the Box was super heavy, and packed super tightly thats for sure. The Claw thing that you saw in there was from an In-Active Member back in Waianae. Its a Chicken fighting spur/claw. Its illegal to do, but a lot of people in Hawaii Fight Chickens. The Police dont really stop them either. Its super popular though. So they Tie the Spur onto the chickens foot, and then the chickens fight to the death. He gave me some of their old Spurs and thats what i sent home. I figured i didnt need to carry all that stuff around with me.

So this has been a pretty fun week. Monday was our Normal P-Day, and for New Years Eve we were allowed to stay up until 1AM. So 4 of us elders just played games late into the night. Tuesday was a Non-Proselyting day, so we had another day off. We went to a Members New Years Party and ate lots of yummy food. Then the Rest of the Day we just chilled as a zone, with all the missionaries in Honolulu. On Wednesday all the Missionaries in Honolulu went to Pearl Harbor to do Volunteer Work. We got there and went aboard the USS- Missouri. They had us move some flags around, and then sweep the deck again. Then me and 3 other people went somewhere else, and stripped paint off of some machine gun turrets. They took about 3 or 4 hours. Then we went on a mini Tour of the Battle Ship. We went inside of one of Turrets. It is a 17 Inch Barrel and like 50 feet long. It can hit targets accurately like 23 miles away. So we got to see where they loaded the Cannons and How they aimed it, and watched a short movie about it. Then we were able to go to the Top Tower where they drive the boat. It was really fun. Then we went down and look around in the Boat.

While touring the boat i saw someone that i thought looked kind of familiar. I asked one of the guys where they were from. And They Said Orem Utah. Then i asked The guy if he went to Lakeridge Junior High and He Said Yes. Then I asked if his name was Mckay Hatch. And He said yes! We used to be friends back in junior high, and i havent seen him since 9th grade when we moved. I was able to talk to him for a little while, he just got home from a mission near Turkey. He was on vacation with his family. Mckay's mom asked what My moms number was so she could call her and send her a picture of us. So after i left she called mom and had a nice little chat with each other. It was super awesome to run into him. Just the week before i was thinking about how Totally Awesome it would be to run into someone i knew back home in Utah. and It actually happened! What are the odds of that!?

Sounds like all the family is doing well, and the Baby Blessing went smooth. Good job Nick on the blessing.

On Saturday we had a zone exchange. So all the missionaries in the zone switched around with someone else. I ended up going with Elder Orberg who is in the McCully Chuukese Ward. I had some spiritual teaching experiences teaching some of the Chuukese people. Around 5 pm we got a call from a Rocky Mathias who was a member of the McCully ward. He said he needed some 20 Chairs for a Birthday party. We called up the bishop to make sure that was okay, and they we delivered the chairs to him. He Invited us to come eat with them so we did. I was talking to them for a while. I found out they lived in Utah for like 20 years, in Utah County. And They moved to Hawaii less than a year ago. Then they brought a giant plate of food. It had rice, Potato Salad, Spaghetti, Chuukese Banana with coconut milk on it, there were 3 colors of banana, redish, yellow, and a greenish one, there was mussel on the plate, Ribs, Shrimp, Pork, Teriyaki Chicken, a whole cooked fish, and then a Raw fish with the head still attached and the Eyes still in the head. It looked like it just died. I ate everything else just fine, and then i got to the Raw Fish. It was huge, like 14 inches long. But i ate it, it actually wasnt as bad as i thought. I was proud of myself. Then they Served Desert which was Pudding, and Cake. It was totally a Chuukese dinner.

Thanks for the News from home, and that analogy was cool to hear. I love you all and hope you have a great week.

Elder Durocher

From the Tower on the USS Missouri, Honolulu, HI

Elder Dorff in front of the famous 'Sailor kissing woman' statue from the photo

Morgan First Letter of 2013

The Picture is on Top of Diamond Head Hike, its a really popular tourist hike (with Elder Yamashita, son of General Authority, Elder Kazuhiko Yamashita.

Dear Family

I was so much fun talking to everybody on Christmas Day. It was great to hear everybody's voice, and to hear from everybody. It was really fun, and I'm looking forward to the next time i get to call home for mothers day. 

So I've been having some really weird dinners over here in Auwaiolimu. Haha try to pronounce that word!! :) We had a Big Slab of Salmon which was okay, beside them having put 2 inches thick of Mayonnaise over the whole fish. and Then baking it. Then tons of Raw Onions on top of the Mayo. It was not the best way I've ever had Salmon before.

For New Years Eve tonight, we will celebrate it as a Zone with all the missionaries, and we are allowed to stay out until 1, and then wake up at 8AM. Tuesday is another Non-Proselyting Day. And THen Wednesday we are Going to Pearl Harbor, on board the USS- Missouri to do service again. Im excited for the next few days, they should be really fun. 

Today i bought a Jesus Book. A Jesus Book is the New Testament Translated into Hawaiian Pigeon. Heres a funny Verse. 

John 3:16

Jesus say, "God wen get so plenny love an aloha fo da peopo inside da world, dat he wen send me, his one an ony Boy, so dat everybody dat trus me no get cut off from God, but get da kine life dat stay to da max foeva." (John Tell Bout Jesus 3:16)

Haha ive been flipping through it a little bit. its pretty funny stuff. 

The work has been going kind of slow in this new area. Hopefully it will pick up soon. We have a referrals from people that will hopefully get baptized, they have the potential. I think walking so much in this area has been helping my back feel better. Except for i get super sweaty every day. It finally cooled down here in Hawaii. I can manage the Temperature now.

I forgot to say in the last letter. But we had a Christmas Eve Dinner, and Elder Shepherd my companion was Santa Claus!!! All the Kids were Hawaiian. So a White Santa scared the crap out of most of the little kids. He made like 10 kids scream and cry, when the parents made them get close to Santa Claus for a picture. It was super super funny!!

.

Me on the Side, Sadie Saffrey in the Middle. The Saffreys are an awesome family from the ward, we eat at their house every single Monday. 

A gigantic Centipede!! They can get up to like a Foot Long here in Hawaii, this was just a baby one!

 

This was on our Hike to the Top of Mount Olympus i think its called. We hike for like 5 hours and finally got the the top. This picture is like 1 third of the way up the mountain. I hung my camera on a branch and did the timer, which is why the picture is tilted haha. When we finally got to the top of the mountain, there was thick fog. if the fog wasn't there we could have seen like half the Island.

Me, Elder Yamashita (The son of Elder Yamashita in of the  Quorum of 70), and Elder OrBerg

My Retainer broke again. Sister Scott wants me to ask you what you want me to do. Either i can get it glued again and hope it doesnt break again. Or i heard about a procedure where they grind a slit acrossed the back of my front two teeth, and put a wire in the slit and glue it in. Then My teeth wont hit it because the wire will be kinda inside of my teeth. Just a thought?

Any word from Doctor Reichman with my Back MRI??

I sent a package home, of mostly just junk i don't want to have to carry around with me everywhere. There is a bunch of papers i don't need. A Book of Mormon in Samoan, Tongan, and Hawaiian. And Some Samoan Language learning books. And My Quad Scripture set, because i never have used it. I already have one and dont need 2. I sent a Hawaiian Calender, a Wooden Rice Spoon, and a Frog for Mom for Christmas and just for fun. And there's the 2 watches in there, and a stocking you sent me

Morgans 20th Letter - Photos

Dear Family & Friends

So this has been a good week. We had Transfer Calls on Sunday.... And..... Me and Elder Shepherd are Both Staying in the Area. Which is Awesome because i am loving it here! and Im Loving My companion a bunch. We get along super well! better than me and my 1st companion Elder Pincock. Elder Pincock is going home tomorrow back to Highland Utah.

Last Sunday our Hot Water Stopped working. I looked around the Hot Water heater to see if i could tell whats wrong. I flipped the switches in the breaker. and Nothing. So all week we had freezing cold showers. It reminded me of when we had Freezing Cold Showers in the 1st Cedar Hills house, because the Electricity wasnt on yet. But Its warm here, unlike it was in Cedar Hills. On Friday Evening a Repair Man came and Fixed the Hot Water Heater. So Now i really appreciate having hot water.

On Thursday i got a call from Sister Scott, she works in the Mission Office. She asked where i was. and I was suprised at the random question that was, then i replied i was in Papakalea. Then she Says Well your supposed to be Getting your MRI right now. I totally messed up what day my MRI was on. So i call the Bishop and rush down the the office. and Luckily they still let me get my MRI even though i was 45 minutes late. Inside of the MRI machine, she had me cross my arms acrossed my chest. and like halfway through my Elbow started burning, like it was gonna melt, like my elbow was being microwaved. I tried to handle the pain but it was too much, so i pushed the emergency stop button, and the machine stopped. Then she pulls me out, and asks whats wrong. so i tell her, and she tells me to lay my arms next to my side this time. so i do that, and No Pain, everything was fine.

We were Walking across a park on Friday. And Some random guy gets off the Bus and Runs up to us. He was Probably 30 years old. He had Shoulder Length Ratty hair. and A Long Beard. He was Haole, which means white. He had really yellow Crooked Teeth, and His Eyes were really blood shot red. His veins in his eyes were all bulging red. He was really Drunk, and High, and everything else. He walks up to us and hands us a bag with 2 Chocolate Milks in them. I thank him. Then he says " you gotta drink them right now while they're cold," then he snatched them back, and says "your not gonna drink them right now are you?" Then he opens one and drinks it. Puts it in his backpack. and Grabs out a White Milk Carton. and says " Here's the really protein, i carry this everywhere with me." Then he was telling us about his Squating at the Gym, and that his stretch marks are embarrassing. Then Elder Shepherd gives him a pass along card, with Jesus appearing to the Nephites. He says "oh Ive read The Book of Mormon before, All the way to Isaiah." Then he Flips the card back over, and looks at the picture. And Says "Oh look its Moroni and Hes grabbing Solomon's by the hair to save Him." Then He asks us where were going and we tell him Papakalea. Then he says "dont go there, those people are fags." "Go up there to Aleva Heights, those chinese people are nice." Then He started Rapping about Chinese people, and when he ate at a chinese restaurant. I was trying not to laugh! Then He points to Aleva Heights and says "we need to go up there and resque all the Mormon Girls. Or else they are going to get kidnapped." Then He says " Look its Captain Moroni up there next to Curtis's house! We need to go up there with him." " Do you see him, hes on the mountain up there." Then we tell him we have to go now, but he wont let us leave. He just keeps talking. So we tell him we have an appointment and start walking away. We walk for a minute and i look back, and hes still staring and pointing at the mountain. It was a really funny experience!

Well thats pretty much everything i can think of that happen this week. I love you all an hope you have an awesome week!

Love Elder Durocher

So on Saturday and Sunday nights all of the Missionaries in the Honolulu Zone were Ushers at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Christmas Concert! It was super fun. So my job was to stand at the north door and great everyone coming in, and give them a program, and direct them to a seat. It was super fun, i enjoyed it. Then after everyone was seated we got to watch the Christmas Concert. They had a whole Orchestra, Lots of Singers, and Performers, and Dancers. It was an awesome concert. The Place was packed full of people. I dont even want to try to guess how many people came. Probably near 1000+. We also handed out lots of Book of Mormons, and other Material.

Oh Tantembaum..Oh Tantembaum...

Elder Shepherd with his Christmas package

Morgan has a toy Helicopter in his hand

MTC Buddies in Hawaii

Morgan's 19th Letter - Photos

Downtown Honolulu

On the steps of somewhere?

Suicide Shake!

Dear Family

So this week we had a Zone Christmas Party. It was on Thursday. We got there in the morning, and we played songs with Chimes that all made different notes. Then everyone would hit their chime when the Christmas song said it. It sounded really cool and was super fun. Then we Watched " The Other Side of Heaven." It was really funny to watch, because i could relate to a lot of stuff the John Groberg was talking about. Then They gave all the missionaries a little duffle bag, with the mission emblem on it, and a key chain thing. Then everyone had their Interviews with President Dalton.

I have a cool story about The Other Side of Heaven. So In the Movie John Groberg goes to an outer island of Tonga and starts a school. Well i met one of the little kids that was in that school, and knew John Groberg, in real life, not the movie. She is 60 something years old, and shes from Tonga. She attended that school when she was a little girl. Some of her other Brothers and Sisters also attended that school. Her Father knew John Groberg very well. Her name is Sister Richter. She married a White guy, im not sure what her Tongan Maiden name is. But shes in my ward. and It was cool to hear that connection of history.

Sister Richter also told us that The Other Side of Heaven is actually filmed in Fiji. When they starting the production of the movie, they tried to connect all of their stuff ( Equipment, trailors, buildings, all the stuff it takes to make a movie) Into the Power Grid in a small island of Tonga, and It Blacked out the Whole Island. So the Whole island had no Electricity. So the Chief of Tonga said they had to go, and could not film the movie in Tonga anymore. So They filmed the Movie in Fiji instead.

On Friday i went to the Dentist to have them fix my Top Permanent Retainer because it broke again. He Just cut off the part that was hanging down, and put glue over the pokie part. So i guess that works. Haha i thought it was funny how he did it. But its working good now. Dr Mallard did it, and hes a dentist that does missionaries for free. Hes a cool guy.

On Saturday we went to Sister Richters house to do service. We prepared lots and lots of food for the Ward Christmas Party Saturday Night. I made the special Tongan Banana's, they were boiled, and then pealed, cut up, and then covered in Coconut Milk. We also made Mussels, Potato Salad, Sweet Potato, Turkey and Chicken, All of this in very Large Quantities. It was really fun to learn from her. She is a super nice lady. She wrote a book about her child hood growing up, and their are lots of amazing stories she told us that are in the book. Her Father saved a whole island in Tonga, because he stored up a bunch of food, and then their was a Tsunami that destroyed the whole island, so he provided food for the whole island. Her Family was one of the First Members of the Church in Tonga. You should look up the book mom?? Its Called " From Tonga to Zion."  "The Story of Fa'aki Kihelotu 'Alatini Richter or Faith and Prayer." (So i guess thats her Tongan Name). Prepared by Ella Mae Judd. Sister Richter is an amazing person.

We found 2 new investigators this week. I had a really spiritual experience when i was on an exchange with an Elder Miller. We visited one of there investigators. and The Spirit just took over me. I shared a scripture with him from Helaman 5, about building your foundation on Jesus Christ. He really loved him. Then I said some more things to him, and Then i invited him to be baptized on the 29th of this month. It was super amazing and the Spirit was working through me so Powerfully and so strong. The next day, he told me that both of his parents want to be baptized too! It was an amazing experience!

Well i love you all. Happy holidays!
Love Elder Morgan James Durocher