Nobody Kona Cross It

That's a subtle reference, I highly doubt anybody will get it, but if anyone is going to understand it it'd be Zac.

Anyway~

This week was fun. It wasn't much different from last week up until today, yesterday, and Sunday, so that's what I'm going to focus on. Sunday morning I got up early for some reason, and so I decided to make my companion some chocolate macadamia nut pancakes because I am 99.9% sure I will be getting a new companion for my final transfer. I'm also pretty sure I'll stay in Hilo, but this week is transfers so you know the drill. Wait until next week. In fact, it might be easier to just not send anything at all. Getting mail is weird in Hilo, and I'll be home soon enough anyway. The first thing I'm going to do next transfer is take everything I don't need, and just ship it home to make packing less difficult. I'm coming home with just the bare necessities because I get to fly 5 times in under a week right there at the end of my mission, and extra baggage is definitely not welcome on that journey. In case you're wondering what I'm talking about let me tell you the list of flights that all need to happen right around the same time.

#1. I'm on Big Island right now. As far as I know, Hilo airport does not run flights direct to Utah like Oahu does, and that means I fly to Oahu first. I also know I'm flying to Oahu anyway because my plane ticket for home (which they gave me the information on a while ago) says I depart from Honolulu Airport. So there's that. That flight is about 45min. I think. That's what it was on the way here anyway.

#2. Oahu to Utah. Self explanatory. Long flight and I'll be tired, but such is life. I'll be happy to see my family and friends again too. Technically I get home at 6:30am, so it will be wake up time when I land.

#3. Utah to LAX. I'm going to Japan about 4 days after I get home, just to visit for 2 weeks. I'm really excited about that, but the hour long journey from Salt Lake to LA by air is not a pleasant one. LAX is very, very busy. I know because I was there when I went to Japan the first time. I will probably be somewhat stressed until I get on the flight directly afterward, but I suppose that's normal.

#4(last in series) LAX to Tokyo. This is the longest flight of them all. It's a beast of a ride that lasts anywhere from 10 hours to 14 hours. But the destination makes the journey worth it in this case.

The point of that whole explanation is that I'd like my flights on the Hawaii side of things to be as stress free as possible, and that means packing as light as possible. I also have to make sure there's no cockroaches hitching a ride in my luggage, which is a whole nother can of worms (or should I say roaches) that can wait for another day. It's just bizarre to me that May is almost over and I'm almost 20 years old already. Things are going by way too quickly. I'm excited to come home, but I also know I'll miss Hawaii very dearly.

BUT I GOT TOTALLY OFF SUBJECT AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TALKING ABOUT PANCAKES SO BACK TO THAT---

I was making the pancakes because I thought it was a nice act of service, and for those of you who may not be aware, which is probably all of you because I never said anything about it until now, our cookware in Hilo is just absolute garbage. It's usable, and we make it work, but it's not exactly what you'd call professional quality stuff. The only cooking pan we have has holes in the insulation so if you grab it wrong you'll wind up burning yourself. This was the pan I was using. Now a little known fact about me is: I am a genius. Yes, it's true. So I did what any genius would do while cooking pancakes. I grabbed the pan handle to hold it still while I flipped the pancake over, and I grabbed the exact WRONG part of the handle, and I burned my hand, because like I said: genius. So that hurt a lot, and I burnt the pancakes too because I was dealing with the fact that flesh retains heat incredibly well, but ultimately they turned out good anyway because chocolate and macadamia nut could save anything. So it works out. Let it be known however, that I hate that stupid pan, and I hold it a grudge. Oven mitts are to be worn when using it from now on.

So then Monday happened, and it's a temple trip week so it wasn't p day on Monday. Temple trip is the kind of thing I haven't actually had in a while because Kauai had no temple. In case you didn't know though, Big Island does. It's a relatively small building and it's located in Kona town, amd you know what that means. It means considering the lilies with the Tabernacle Choir for hours on end at 5:30 in the morning so we could make it to the Kona temple by 8:00. I was a bit tired and groggy, but it was much worse for Elder Brooksby, because he forgot to go to the bathroom before we left and it hit him about 15 minutes in to the drive. Going to Kona instead of Waimea means taking saddle road, and the only thing resembling civilization out there is military training ground, so with no place to stop, and no time to stop either, Elder Brooksby earned himself the award of True Champion. He held it in for 2 solid hours, finally going to the bathroom once we got to the temple, and it was because of his iron will and fighting spirit we made it to Kona in record time that day, much to the dismay of our Tiwi.The temple trip was today (Tuesday) by the way. I made it sound like it was Monday but it wasn't. Monday was just a regular day, so happy Memorial Day I guess. Anywho, the temple grounds were absolutely beautiful. I'm very grateful I got the chance to go to both temples in Hawaii while I was on my mission, and between this one and the one in Laie on Oahu, I think I like this one the most. It's just so peaceful and quiet. I love it. The coolest thing was seeing the birds afterwards, because I actually saw a rare sight in Hawaii. That rare sight is parrots. Or parakeets, maybe. I think it was a parrot though, rather than the Rose Ringed parakeet, because of its size and head. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it had bright greet feathers with a scarlet red head. There was actually a whole flock of them, but they flew away before I could get really good shots, so even though the picture is blurry, please deal with it. We had family home evening with the Arrudas Monday night, and it went amazingly well. I really love the Arruda family, and I know I'll miss them a lot. Their son just got back from serving in Idaho, and we had a blast talking story with him for a while.

Other than that, nothing too exciting. This next week promises to be an interesting one though. I see lots of change on the horizon...

Until then, this is Elder Rogers, signing out from Hilo, Hawaii.

And So I Face The Final Curtain

Well, it's been a lot of things, this missionary journey of mine, and with only 7 more emails until things officially wrap up here, I think it's only fair to write a fair amount concerning... everything. This week has been a long one for a lot of reasons, but the biggest reason is because it all feels somewhat climactic. But look at me all reflective when there's still things left to talk about... We can resume this conversation later. For now, what exactly happened this week anyway?

Well for starters, this week was Zone Conference week. The most stressful week of the transfer. Not only that, but as you may know, the prophet was on island this week. Now if you want intimidation, I suggest being a missionary with the prophet and your mission president around at the same time. It's like having your boss's boss around at work. Absolutely terrifying, but nonetheless a spiritual experience. In case you were wondering, no, I did not get to see the prophet in person. He was in Kona, and we were in Hilo, but I'm getting ahead of myself again. Let's start from the beginning. Tuesday, May 14. This day was interview day. I felt surprisingly good that day, and my interview went well, until I learned that my mission president, President James H. Bekker, is leaving earlier than expected. He's flying out July 1st, directly into a new calling as an area 70 over the state of Utah, and the southern tip of Idaho, and a tiny part of Arizona I guess. This means that even though he's no longer my mission president, President Bekker will still be looming above me as Elder Bekker. I say that jokingly, as I'm actually kind of glad that he will still be around. He refused to say "going home" and instead used the words "transitioning" from one mission to another. I can understand why he would do that. Leaving Hawaii is a surprisingly bittersweet thing to think about. Some days I wish I could stay forever, and others I just want to chill and watch K-On, but most of the time I feel like I'd rather pretend I still have a year to go. One of the things that has made it easier for me to think about is that I'll be headed off to Japan shortly after returning home, so I have a lot to look forward to there. As for President though, I can for sure understand the sadness that comes from trading Hawaii for Utah. I'm sorry to say this guys, but all you need to do is look around at these islands to know there's absolutely no comparison. Hawaii is just a better place to live. Nobody can try to make the argument that Utah trumps paradise. It's indisputable fact. At least in the physical scenery sense. Elder Brooksby and I sometimes argue because he actually misses the landscape of Utah, and I guess I understand that. I always used to swing on my swingset around sunset, looking off at the mountains on either side of me, and watching the most incredible colors paint the sky as the world wound down another day. While Hawaii has more... appealing sunsets I guess, I do miss those days of school related anxiety attacks and constant depression caused by my grades not being high enough and the thoughts of failure parading around me at every turn. Well, not really actually, but I do miss those incredible great basin sunsets. Those really are a blessing to behold. Ultimately the consensus we came to was to each their own, but we can both understand the allure of one another's opinions, and I think that's fine. The best way to learn about the world is to find someone else's viewpoint, appreciate it, and discover that even if you don't relate to a person, understanding what makes them who they are is the key to understanding yourself, and those are the kinds of things that help a person better understand the love Heavenly Father feels. We are each our own story's main character, making our way through our own lives as best we know how. Serving in Hawaii has been a fantastic way for me to truly come to understand that. Compared to the rich cultural diversity of the islands, I just can't see myself truly being content with being back in the culture bubble of Utah. Just going back to the way things were isn't enough to satisfy me, so I've placed a fair amount of time in deciding where I want to go with my life, and what I think my own future could entail. As of now, I have a plan I'm happy with. It may or may not happen, but I'm willing to try, and that's what's important.

On the subject of Elder Brooksby though, I don't think we will finish our missions together. I'm a little sad about that, but with transfers on their way for the final time, I'm OK with another companion. I don't even care if it's a good companion or not, I'll just do my best to be a good companion to them for 6 weeks, and I think that will turn out OK. Whatever happens, I'm willing to put up with it. Perhaps I can learn something from it. Who knows. Either way, I'm glad I spent so much time with someone I care so much about. I've learned a lot from Elder Brooksby, and all I can really hope for is that I did some good for him. He'll be fine in life I'm sure, and I'll see him for "dying activities" anyway. (I'll probably explain those at some point). All in all, we've had a good run.

Following interviews was the day when Kona has their interviews. It's a pretty scary day in the pad I'm in, because we typically spend it cleaning. President rather enjoys randomly checking elders' pads, and somewhere deep inside each of the four of us is this random fear that we'll get a nasty surprise pad check, so just to be safe we clean like mad. One of the things we did was explain the vile illness that's been going around. We convinced President to get us new carpeting. That I think is a victory for everyone involved.

There's no Zone Conference next transfer, probably so that the new mission president can get adjusted to flying between the islands for interviews and stuff like that. Be that as it may, I've officially had my last zone conference, and that means they had me give my final testimony. It's called the "dying testimony" unofficially by the missionaries. Missionaries refer to going home as "dying" for some unknown reason. Mission terminology I guess. Anyway. I cried during my final testimony, and then they sang "Aloha Oe" (the farewell song) and I cried. I'm not even ashamed to admit it either. It's gonna be hard to leave this place. The work is improving, the members are feeding us, and we are finding people to teach. It's just... weird to be here at the end, all this time I've spent thinking it would last forever. It's kind of tough to be so close to the end. Sometimes you just don't want it to be over. I love my mission and these people.

I'm going to miss this place.

Until next week:
-Elder Rogers signing out

Detective Pikachu is on the Case

Well well well...

It's another surprise email from Elder Rogers, he's not reliable when it comes to emailing anymore is he?

Well.... touché. But I'm here now so let's get on with it.

Of the many things going on in the outside world that I know nothing about, the worldwide release of Detective Pikachu is not one of them. Not going to lie, I'm a wee bit salty that I haven't seen it yet, but of course there's much more to life than Detective Pikachu, so for now we shall move on to what exactly has been up for the past little while in the pad and out of the pad as well! I'm finally feeling okay enough to get some work done! Hallelujah!

So, on Saturday we were able to go street contacting in search of new people to teach. Normally, walking in Hilo is a terrible idea, mostly because there's nowhere to park and we live outside of our area, but also partially because sometimes there's a sidewalk and sometimes there just isn't for some reason. We tried to figure out what on earth to do about that for quite a while, but as it turns out, the best solution to this issue is the public park. Where you can park for free between the hours of 5 and 7, which as you know is missionary finding time. The new finding plan is therefore as follows: park at the park, get out of the car, talk to people at the park, and then walk in the residential area surrounding the park knocking doors and talking to people. The end result of this strategy yielded one new person found this week, which was a HUGE breath of fresh air for me and Elder Brooksby both. It really helped to re-invigorate us after the plague of ailments swept us for a grand total of way too long. Now, with time running out and good fortune shining down on us through the clouds, I feel like it's time to put the petal to the metal so to speak. For the past couple weeks I've only been able to work for a minimal amount of time, thanks to the aforementioned plague of ailments. I'm slightly grateful for that honestly because the more time I spend laying in bed, the harder I wanted to work when I could. Now that I'm starting to recover (*rapidly knocks on wood*) I'm going to light the fire in this area as best I can. Elder Brooksby and I are committed to making this time a time to remember fondly. If we give it all we've got now, and finish with no regrets, we'll always look back on our missions fondly. Knowing we did all we could and worked as hard as we could all the way to the end is the best way to finish out the most important task I've ever had the honor of being called to perform, that of course being the opportunity to bring souls unto Christ and assist my Savior in his holy work.

Back on topic, the new person we found is named Mike. Mike is a botanist who is extremely interested in Hawaiian foliage, something I was able to use as a starting point in the conversation that ultimately ended in Mike wanting to know more. This Wednesday evening, we will be returning to Mike's house to teach him the restoration. Fingers crossed it goes well. In other news, Brother Kerr attended church on Sunday which was awesome! I count this as a grand achievement on behalf of the Lord's team, because he will most definitely make an excellent addition to member missionary work as time goes on. I'm really happy that the spirit was able to work with him enough to help him make the decision to come to church this week. The others we invited to church had Mother's Day events going on, and opted to spend time with their parents instead of coming to church which is probably why our sacrament number was lower this week than usual. Honestly, I understand that, but I also wish they would have just brought their parents to church with them... Oh well. Hopefully we can hit our goal of 4 at sacrament this week.

So this next part is something most of you would consider nightmare fuel so I'm going to include an official Elder Rogers Gross Warning™ for those of you who take issue with bugs.

((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))Gross Part Begin

So fun fact for you guys, Roaches have a season in Hilo. Yes, a season. Japan has a rainy season, Utah has a depression season (冬) and Hilo has cockroach season. I've talked in length about cockroaches and how they are the spawn of satan, and to be fair Japan does have cockroaches too, but I only ever saw one in Japan and it was dead, so it was less of an issue for me back then I guess. Anyway, the kitchen is the place where they all convene, because conveniently for them, there happens to be a hole in the window screen so they can get in. And if you're wondering why, it's because there was an Elder Valle (pronounced "Vai-Eh") who liked to play with fire and burn things instead of actually taking care of bugs. He enjoyed burning Roaches so he decided to let them establish a nest in the pad somewhere, he also burned one off the window screen which created a hole. So now they can come in from the outside. After 7:30pm I don't set foot in the kitchen... Usually. But after we purchased some Raid, I had a night when I absolutely could not sleep. So I decided to play shooting gallery in the kitchen. I turned on the kitchen light, stood in the doorway, and waited. That night between 1:00am and 1:30am when I started to feel to tired and sick to stand up anymore, I killed somewhere around 8 cockroaches by raiding them to death. It was just like a video game honestly. Once you got a direct hit the roach would react in one of a few ways, but it wouldn't immediately die. I discovered actual death took anywhere from 3-9 direct hits with raid. This is because of the outer shell on the back of the thing which protects the roach from all manner of attacks, hence the phrase: "you can't kill a cockroach". They can even survive radiation, which I know because once I trapped one in the microwave and fried it for like 2 minutes, and it was fine. Not even hurt at all. Anyway, after the roach discovers you it attempts to escape by running away. Occasionally this is a trap to get you to follow it, allowing others to surround you. That was something I only fell for once. There's a reason I stood in the doorway and not in the kitchen center. Sometimes the roach assumes (correctly in many cases) that you are more afraid of it than it is of you. In Call of Duty: Roaches though, this trick is foolish. It just makes it an easy target. Like I said, the initial spray hurts the roach, but this triggers panic in their minds, and they begin to absolutely sprint full speed all over the place in no particular pattern. Fun fact, cockroaches also have wings, and not a one I've seen in here has been less than full size (about the size of my thumb for reference). So sometimes the enemy takes flight, in which case there are two options. Option A: shoot it down before it flight at your face, or option B: smack it out of the sky by hand. I recommend option A which is significantly less gross. The underside of the cockroach is more vulnerable to attack, so shooting it in flight, which difficult, will often finish the job, especially if you crush it by foot when it hits the ground. Always wear shoes, to prevent Roaches crawling on your bare feet, and to use them as weaponized attack shoes as needed. Continuing in the similarities between Call of Duty: Roaches and an actual video game, the challenge increases with time, because the more raid is in the kitchen, the more your enemies will attempt to leave the kitchen to escape the residue, which will kill on contact. If they step on it on their way out, they speed up like they hit a rainbow ramp in Mario Kart, and because the kitchen has only one exit, which I was occupying, they all come directly at you. With raid on the floor, they may try to fly out or crawl on the walls to escape. Wall crawlers are better whacked with a loose shoe than raided as that results in roach flight nearly 100% of the time. The temporary vulnerability caused by removing your shoe to smack the wall crawler is the most terrifying and challenging part of the game. You must multi-task to prevent others from escaping on the ground while you smack the enemy on the wall. Ultimately, it was more of a horror game than an action one, but in collateral damage, 14 were dead on the ground the next morning. That means I killed 8 in person, and the others died after running around for who knows how long because they stepped on the raid in the kitchen. No food or food prep surfaces were harmed in this process, and the kitchen was promptly cleaned. Also, I do not play Call of Duty. Like, at all. I used the name as a pun because it rolled off the tongue better than "Galaga: Roach Edition". It's a battle friends, but we are winning for now, and their number are depleting. At least we don't have mice like Kekaha.

((((；ﾟДﾟ)))))))Gross Part End

I found at Target the other week a real scale stuffed animal version of Detective Pikachu, and I couldn't resist picking it up. I took a few pictures with it, so if you ever wondered just how big Pikachu is IRL, (that's gamer terminology for 'In Real Life' by the way) now you know! I couldn't resist putting a seat belt on it for the car ride back. It was a fun P day activity for the day. I had fun with it and I think it's super cool. If any of you have the chance to see the film in theaters, please check it out. I wish I could but I'm sure it will still be around come July. Anyway, that's it for me this week!

Happy Mother's Day one day late!

Aloha!
-Elder Rogers

Pictures: Elder Davies enjoys the most picturesque ice cream I've ever seen on a pday adventure , a cockroach in the bathroom corner for size reference, Detective Pikachu in the car- all buckled up and safe, I was wearing the perfect shirt to find this tiny male Jackson's Chameleon (Rango).