Hawaii has snow!!

The big culture shock of this week i guess is that Mauna Kea has received snow. It happens every year, but still. It was weird to see some as we headed up to Waimea this week for zone conference. This may be my last week in Ka'u which is pretty sad to me, but its all part of the mission experience. Members were asking me when transfers and seemed to have the same idea that I would not be staying. It is going to be hard to leave Pule especially I love him to death. I guess we will see on Sunday how things shake up. I have kinda had Maui dancing in my head for the last week but who knows.

Tuesday we had zone conference as usual, and then I went and spent Tuesday night and all of Wednesday in Kea'au on exchanges. It was the 1st time I had been out of Ka'u since early July so that was interesting. We saw some good miracles though so that was nice. Copier went to Ka'u and said that Pule thought I was gone for good, but Copier explained to him in Samoan that I was coming back Thursday so that was nice. I have come to find out though that even in new area's Heavenly Father has a purpose for missionaries, even if I was only there for the day I feel like I needed to be there, even if I did have to miss out on a great dinner at Naboa's. On a plus they made me a plate for lunch Thursday.

Thursday was just a normal day of tracting and seeking referrals. Members took us to L&L last night so that was nice way to end. I love me my fried shrimp and katsu. The Kea'au elders came over that night and slept over, as we were leaving early Friday morning to head to zone conference. Elder Copier and I had a good time talking about College Football and stuff, I always enjoy talking with him, I'm going to miss him if I leave. He shared with me that Utah has offered him a scholarship if he wants to transfer when he gets back so that was exciting news I thought.

Friday was super spiritually packed. Zone Conference always is. It has a Christmas theme to it. We were all asked to prepare a 5 min talk about what role Christ plays in our lives. I'm glad I was prepared as I was one of the 2 selected by President Dalton to talk. I thought it went well. We also received the award for best area book in Hilo so that was a plus as well. We got to play some chimes before lunch which reminded me a lot of home. Lots of good memories playing chimes growing up. After lunch President Dalton gave a talk based around Pilate's words "What shall we do with Jesus who is called Christ" and applied it to missionary work and how we can be a better servant of Christ. We also got a personal study booklet deal called "Mana" or Divine Power. It is going to help us all have more effective study through all the standard works and learning scriptures to share in lessons. For a Christmas treat we got to watch "17 Miracles" it for sure helped me be grateful for what I have and even on the toughest day out here I don't think it will ever be as bad as it was for the pioneers. President Dalton also gave us our Christmas gift from him which was a stadium blanket with the mission logo on it and a Christmas card with a picture of all the missionaries in each zone. One will also be sent to you sometime so be ready for that. President Dalton and the Assistants hurried back to Oahu to catch the BYU fireside, while we drove to Kona and met some members from Kea'au for dinner at Big Island Grill. It was basically chiles, or TGIfridays just with a few Hawaiian choices as well.

Saturday we did some garden chores with the Ward in the morning. The garden is looking good. we just harvested probably 200lbs of potatoes and the corn is starting to look good so that is exciting. A few pineapples are starting to pop up but they still wont be ready for a while. After lunch we did service with Bollo and invited him to the ward Christmas party on the 17th. I really think he just needs to feel the spirit in the church and he will understand why it is important. We had L&L and this time I decided to try the Lau Lau which i thought was just so-so, good, but not as good as what I have had with members. I heard LSU took care of business with some great punt returns so that is exciting to me. Geaux Tigers!

Sunday we finally got a ward mission leader so he taught gospel principles. He is also one of the few returned missionaries in the ward so that is nice. I think it helps that he understands what missionaries do and how the ward can better help us. Testimony meeting was awesome. It may be my last one in Ka'u. I finished the Book of Mormon for the 2nd time on my mission this week. The ward had started a Book of Mormon challenge in September and challenged everyone to read it by years end. I had just about finished so I hurried and finished and then started over. I know that it is the most correct of any book on this Earth, and that we can truely come closer to our Heavenly Father by reading The Book of Mormon than any other.

It exciting to hear about Bowl games for Utah and Utah State. the future also seems to look bright for Utah if they can stay Healthy next year. Hope you do end up going and having a good time in El Paso. Thanks for shipping the "Slippahs" ha ha I think I am really starting to pick up the lingo here ha ha but I try to avoid it in emails. Let me know if there is any thing i can do to help things where ever you may be. I love you all and ALOHA!
                   Love, Elder Tripp IV (in honor of John White) :)