Darker than Black

I get to write my emails today in the span of about 30 minutes, so forgive me if this isn't exactly the longest or most informative thing you've ever read in your life. I do my best and I count that as enough. Hopefully you do to. Anyway, hopefully everything gets covered effectively here.

Christmas, is awesome. It was made significantly less awesome by the fact that they had us knock doors on CHRISTMAS DAY. Our mission president said that he considered Christmas "a regular proselyting day until 6pm" Complete with district meeting. We were allowed to call at anytime during the day, but we were instructed to do so in pross (church clothes). So I wasn't exactly singing joy to the world on Christmas day if you catch my cold. *achoo* I still got to call home though, and it was great to get to call the family again. Our Christmas movie this year was 17 miracles, and our new years eve movie was originally going to be "Freetown" which I actually wanted to watch. However, due to parents complaining about "violence" in the movie, we are going to be watching 'The Other Side of Heaven' instead. I love that movie, so I'm not too bummed about it. When it comes to missionary movies, that is to say, movies that are about missions and that kind of thing, this one is probably my favorite. For those who might be wondering, here is the full list in order.

4. The Best Two Years
3. The Saratov Approach
2. Silence
1. The Other Side of Heaven

It was good to get to watch an actual movie for a change. I haven't seen one of those since last year, and last year we had to watch Ephraim's Rescue. As for fireworks, the whole island blew up in a mad flurry of sparks and alcohol. In fact, we were specifically instructed to drive safely on the way home to avoid getting blown up by some drunken fool messing around with a Roman candle. As for the people we are working with, they've begun to slow down on their progress, which makes it hard for us, but I'm sure if we keep trying our hardest things will work out. Any extra prayers this week would be nice. It's been a particularly stressful week.

Happy 2019 everybody!

Aloha!

-Caden Out

Mom post:

Today we were able to use Google Hangouts to talk with Caden for a while. He looks great and seems happy. It was wonderful to talk to him and see his face!! Just as we were getting ready to end our call he got a surprise visit from Elder Campbell (his trainer) and his family. They are visiting Hawaii for Christmas. Elder Campbell also served in Kekaha while on his mission.

'Tis the Season

Ho-Ho-Holy crap! The time man, it's just gone by at breakneck speed this week. I don't even know what happened to tell the truth. We have a car again, for one thing. Yes, about two days after I sent last week's email we managed to land another Toyota Corolla, this one navy blue. It used to be the sister's car, but they had a situation happen and now the sisters are home, so yet again, there was an extra. No, we don't get to keep this one either, so don't get your hopes up, but we did name it. "Tempo" is the name of this mighty vessel, short for "Temporary". 

All of my Christmas presents arrived in the mail, and so did Elder Yorks. Our little tree is beginning to look really festive for the holidays, and that's not the only thing! Waimea is one of two small towns we cover in this area. The other one is Kekaha, where we live. But you wouldn't even begin to believe how decked out this place gets for Christmas. Every year a massive light parade comes through the town, all filled with local style venues and home made floats. There's food everywhere, and a lot of it is free. Needless to say, I tried everything. It was amazing. My favorite thing was the local style steak at Ishihara Market. They started slow cooking the steak via some magical process I can't remember the name of, and the end result was the most insanely good steak I've ever had in my life. Kekaha was empty all day, so we just drove up to Waimea early for the parade and camped out there. It was probably the most successful day we've had so far. There were so many people to talk to, and everyone was excited and happy to be a part of the season. Light the World passalong cards are my favorite things ever, because everyone takes one. We ended up giving out 2 copies of the Book of Mormon and somewhere between 65 and 80 light the world cards. It was crazy. It seemed like everyone on the entire island was there. Seeing all of the Christmas celebrations has really brought a home-style feel to the holidays, and for the first time on my mission it actually feels like Christmas time. Everyone has this magical joy to them, and it's something that you can really feel like you can be a part of. In a place as small as West Side Kauai, everyone knows each other, and seeing them all come together as a big ohana is something that I wish you all could see. Thus far we've been doing a lot of service for people around town who need help putting up Christmas lights and the like. It's been a lot of fun, so I think maybe next year I can help out at home with the decorations and such.

In addition to all of that, our ward is having a cool luau thing this Saturday, and we've invited as many people as we can. Ricky the Heropon (his actual last name is Fernandez) is really taking an interest in the gospel, and so is his family, which is awesome. He's coming to the party as a friend of bishops. Walt said he'd come to, which would mark the first time he's traveled to a church building in 47 years. We're also inviting Chuel, our friend from Ethiopia, and a few others as well. All in all it should be a great time, so look forward to hearing how that goes. We've been working harder than I think I've ever worked in my life. It pays off, honestly. But it's also extremely tiring. Elder York has taken up energy drinks to solve this problem, but I have ADHD to begin with, and I'm scared of what that much caffeine would do to my system. That, and I'd rather not finish out my missionary service with a crippling addiction to caffeine as well as a stronger testimony. The testimony part is enough for me. My energy has been coming from faith I think. Prayers and faith and trying not to die. I'm doing all right though. Besides, the joy of Christmas tends to fill me with happiness energy, so I can make it through the day just fine.

As for transfer news, I'm staying here with Elder York another transfer. I'm really happy about it, and I'm looking forward to the coming transfer. That's about it for this week. Nothing too crazy, but merry Christmas everybody!

I might skip the email next week because I get to actually call my family and I can just tell you guys what's going on that way, but if there's anything cool to talk about I'll probably end up writing an email anyway.

Happy Holidays!!!
-Elder Rogers

Pictures: Our Christmas tree with presents under it.  The light parade: the best float was the ceptic cleaning company.  The "Stool Bus" they called it.  XD

Surf's Down: The Rise and Fall of Big Z

"Z was everything. I mean, Big Z is surfing, you know?"
-Cody Maverick, Surf's Up

Well.... What to say about this week. It was hard-  really really hard. It feels like someone changed the difficulty setting on this game from 'hard' to 'master mode' this week. And you'd think that it would have been a whole lot easier to get by considering how the week started... But let's just jump on into it shall we? Alrighty then, here we go.

Last Monday I think it was, shortly after I got my emails and such out for the week, we finally graduated from bikes, to car! How did that happen? Well, pretty simple really. Elder Tyler, another missionary on Kauai, was training a new missionary and that new missionary had a nervous breakdown of some kind and long story short he's no longer on his mission. The aftermath of that involves Elder Tyler moving in with the zone leaders until he could get a new companion. Which means, they now had two cars and only needed one. We gladly accepted the unused car as our reward, a shiny gray Toyota Corolla, and we dubbed him with the honorable title of "Grape Kun" until we decided on "Big Z" a few moments later. Z helped us out on an insane level. Thanks to the car that we named after the Surf's up penguin of the same name, we became one of the most productive companionships on the entire island. We already were anyway, despite everything. But I was so grateful for the blessings of having a car. Suddenly entirely new areas that we couldn't get to before in our area boundaries were opened to us. Including a new neighborhood and an entirely new town! We got so much done it was crazy. But then, two days later, we got a call from the zone leaders. It was time for Big Z to leave us. We got a taste of hope for a moment before being kicked back into the dirt.

I miss Big Z.

Rest in peace old friend...

Also last Monday Elder York bought the strangest thing I've ever seen. It's called the "Disco Potty" and it does exactly what you'd imagine it does. I have pictures, but I just thought it was funny that this is where our food budget goes. I didn't buy anything from Ross. I hate Ross. But I will be buying some more flex glue this week for some repairs to a few things. You'll get those pictures next week. This week is transfer news and I really hope that I get to stay with Elder York. He is awesome and I've loved getting to work with him. Especially considering how well we work together. We're really good friends and that's evidenced by the sheer amount of in jokes we have. One of those involves Elder York screaming "Science!" as loud as he can every morning. It's hysterical. I'm not sure as to what's happening with him, but I'm 95% sure I am staying here. That said, it takes about 4 days to get mail here. So as of Monday, December 10, you can still mail stuff to my actual address. Everything after that, hold off on sending until next week. The mission office is crowded as heck this time of year, so if you send it there I won't get it until January. Just wait until I either confirm my current address or give a new one. Again, pretty sure I'm staying but you never know.

And of course, then we were back on bikes. By the end of our week on bikes we were both basically dead. We saw Walt again, and that went well. Chuel, our friend from Africa, actually made it to church this week which was awesome and exciting. It feels like all of this work is paying off. We did the math and determined that we have been working 80 hour weeks. If any of you are familiar with karoshi, that can apply to people who work 60 hours or more. After church on Sunday, I collapsed during personal study and slept for almost 2 hours. I felt awful for doing that, but I felt more awake after the fact. It's good that the Lord watches out for us because 62% of our time is spent biking. Do the math on that one and you'll see why we've been so tired. Anyway, it's all worth it in the end. We're now working with a guy named Alan and another dude named Gaylin. We have had a blast surviving out here alone, but we're great friends and we love working for the Lord.

That's all I can think of. I have no need for sleeping pills because trust me, falling asleep is no longer a problem. It happens all the time now. This is the real reason we scream "Science!" at each other.

Stay awake. Stay alive.

I miss Big Z... 

-Elder Rogers

Picture of Big Z

A quote from his Eulogy:

"Today, Kekaha lost one of its legends. Big Z took his final drive this morning. He was last seen driving toward Kapaa, on the wet side of Kauai. Friends of Z gathered shortly after his death, to remember, and celebrate his life."

Extra pictures:  Elder York and his Disco Potty.  

Also we made mashed potatoes and they were good.  #TasteOfTheWildInspiredDish

Mutant Mudds

So yeah, this week I played Dig Dug 2 in real life, and it was worth it no matter what my shirt looks like.....K maybe I have a few regrets, but that's not really your concern is it?

ALOHA PEEPS! and welcome back to my weekly email/blog thing! Where all the long hours of pain and suffering in the blistering heat have been skipped and I bring you just the highlights! Ready? 1,2, here we go!

At some point this week, Elder York and I ran out of budget money. We get paid $160 a month to use for groceries, and before people were allowed to feed us so we could actually get buy on that, but now we're the extreme budget savers!!! Anyway, because this transfer started right after the month of November did, and as you may or may not know I had to ship A LOT of stuff home from Kaneohe to make sure I could travel safely to Kauai, I was already kind of running on low oil so to speak. Elder York and I tried to budget the best we could, but this week we were officially run dry. Things on Kauai cost even more than they do on Oahu, so for a fair amount of time it was Cup of Noodles for every meal. But alas dear folks do not be alarmed! I have made it to pay day and by extension to life anew! GROCERY MONEY!!! HALLELUJAH! I'm not sure who it was, but someone took the time to actually send me the Zelda cook book. "Hyrule: Taste of the Wild", arrived from Etsy first class shipping a few days ago, and I cannot WAIT to try out some recipes. It even included the heart potions, which heal you in the game. Breath of the Wild included a lot of different foods and ways to cook them, so what this book here does is tell you how to recreate the items found in the game with common ingredients! Using this as a template Elder York and I made a grocery list and budget plan, and later today we will be going to the grocery store in Lihue to purchase our "items" and cook ourselves a video game themed feast for kings! The package this book came in didn't say who it was from. I have had a few thoughts as to who it was, but I can't say for sure. So whoever you are out there, thank you so much for sending that in! I'm so glad to have friends and family who have supported me through my mission so far, and I am very grateful for your gift. I wish whoever it was that sent it a very merry Christmas this year. Thanks a bunch! That said, next week we will have tried out a few recipes so look forward to pictures of that... But anyways, the best part of all of this is simply the fact that we don't have to eat chicken cup of noodles for every meal anymore. Ah, blessed day, pay day! Blessed, blessed day!

We haven't seen Walt again yet, I guess he was up to something this week, but we should see him later tonight so I'll let you know next week how that went. We've been teaching this really nice guy from Africa recently. This week's lesson went for three hours! He kept asking questions and wanting to know more, and he told us at the end of the lesson that he loved it when we come over. He said that he knows what we are teaching him is true because of how he feels when we are there, and he wishes we could stay all the time because he likes the feeling of calm and warmth that he gets when we are nearby. These are the kind of things that make the Four Horsemen of Kauai worth dealing with you know. Speaking of, I learned what the fourth one is. Last time I said it was the great unknown. But now I know it to be gnats! These wretched bugs come out after it rains, and I got the joyous experience of having to fish one of them out of my eyeball. Yeah, that's a good picture for you. These things are everywhere, but luckily after a while they slowed down. Personally I love the rain, but what I didn't realize was how much mud there was over here. We live on the dry side of Kauai, in a tiny village called Kekaha, and it's all dirt. Of course, when it rains it pours, and let's just say that if you accidentally happen to go through a puddle while standing above your bike seat, do not sit down again afterwards. It looks.... questionable. Elder York thought it was hilarious though. At the end of the day we were both grateful that all the mud came out in the wash. We weren't really paying attention to what time it was, and we had to zip back to to our house to make it for curfew. The result of riding in the dark with no sense of what is and isn't mud is shown on our shirts. That said, it was fun to go mudding. Perhaps not so much fun for the church clothes, but fun for us anyway. #muddybuddies4life

We also finally found our Christmas tree on November 30, and put it up in time for December 1st. We put it up next to our desks, and while I know it looks kind of cramped in the picture, there's a method to it. As I said earlier, Kekaha is on the dry hot side of Kauai Island.  We are one of the few places with AC. It's not like Utah AC though.  It's basically just really cold air blowing in a straight line across the room. The decor in our house when it comes to furniture follows the design principle of: cram as many things in front of the AC's line of cold air as you possibly can. So essentially our decorating is a line of furniture in the middle of the room and open space every where else. Speaking of AC, the one in the bedrooms had a nervous break down the other day, but I'll leave that story for later.

Happy Holidays everybody! Stay warm out there! And drive safe in the Utah snow! I don't want anybody dead before I get to see them again in July!

-until next week, Elder Rogers

Pictures: 

#1 I guess they've had problems with this in the past......?

#2 I made some rolls (via Rhodes) to bring the taste of home to Kekaha!  They rose a bit too much and too quickly in the Kekaha heat, but they tasted great just the same. (This was taken on the last day we ate rolls before we ran out and had to eat noodle cups for the rest of the week....luckily those days are past....for now.)

#3 The sunsets in Kekaha are awesome!

#4-5  When it rains in Kekaha, I get super excited about it.  Maybe it's just when it rains in general.  I like the rain. 

#5-7 Mud on the front side.  Looks OK and all.  Not too bad just a little mud splat here and there- 

......oh crap.  Elder York got destroyed as well it seems. 

#8  If there's mud on the seat when you sit down, you end up looking like this.  

#9 Mud buddies at the end of the day

#10 I set up the Christmas tree!  

#11 Our decorating all lines up with the AC unit

#12 I tried drawing something new this week.  How'd I do?

#13 The Taste of the Wild cook book