Russell Graduates!

I feel so weird!! Russell Graduated from BYU!!! What the heck??? that
is so crazy!!! (Not to say that i never had faith in you Russ, you
know just like Dad and the Branch, i just thought you be there for
ever)  What is the rope thing he is wearing? and does that yellow
lapel mean anything.  Russ that is so great, Congratulations to my big
brother who graduated in Blue from BYU!!    Tika 'aupito toko!!
                  It is going to be weird to think that you are not
going to be there when i get back, just one of the many many changes.
crazy! Of Lahi atu,
great to see pics of Aunt Mellissa and Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary

i got your package!!!

April 22, 2012

That is so crazy to think that Russ graduated!!


This week was another great one we had another Satuday with 2!!
baptisims, one of Tangi a little 14 year old and TekiTeki who is 21,
they were both great services!! I was blessed to baptize Tekiteki,
Saturday was pretty crazy becaue we had tangi's baptisim in the
Morning, then we had a Priesthood session (part of a regional
conference for all the pacific) then we had Tekiteki's baptisim, and
then had the efiafi session of conference.  Yesterday we had one of
those broadcast conferences from salt lake, we heard from a member of
the Sunday School and Primary Presidency and Elder Baxter, and Elder
Nelson, really really a joy to hear, It was only anm hour long, short
sweet and very to the point, talked about following the prophet,
getting rid of old traditions and parts of culture that are not in
line with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how the Church is really
Strong in the Pacific where the blood of Isreal is scattered about,
really a joy to hear.

mom i got your package that you sent wayyyyy back in march,,,,
Thank you sooooo much!!!
Oh I am sending a  bunch of letters with a man from my village who is
going back to Nampa Idaho, he told me he is going to be staying in LA
for a day probably near the airport, his name is Vai Fo'ou, i willgive
him your number Dad
I talked with the Tu'iasoa's about Brother Wisenhart, he remembers him
at BYU-H, i sat next to them at the conference, he loved meeting you
all.  they are going back to america in july if iam still here i will
send something.

Love you all so much i love what i am doing now that we have had
baptisims we hav eto find some more people to teach the Restored
Gospel of Jesus Christ!!  Ofa lahi atu!!

 'Ofa atu
Eleta Maikolo

Tuiasoa's

Monday

April 16, 2012




Well dad i cant give you the whole story about what happened when i
met the Tuiasoa;s except that it was really great to hug them and know
that you had all hugged them only three days before. Thanks so much
for the package and all the stuff in it!!, my favorite by far was
seeing all the pictures of you all on Mom;s camera, thanks so much for
sending that, Russ looks like he has lost alot of weight, and Ellen is
growing up Dad and mom you look great.  it was full to see all the
pictures from last year too, Russells gleasons wedding your camping
trip and all the other fun stuff you did, i am so grateful to have you
all as my family that would have ben the hightlight of my week but we
had Two baptisims last saturday of "Ailani, a little 9 year old and
Ana, sho is married to a member, My compa and i fasted last tuesday
and She quit smoking and was able to be baptized really really
special. okay sorry this is short i promise that i will write a long
snail mail letter later today, it was a great week i am so happy to be
a missionary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    you all sound so busy
at home, okay love you !!!

 4/8/12,
 Dear Jacob;

 Today is Easter for you.  Tomorrow is Easter for us.  This afternoon, we met
 the Tuiasoa family that you know from Tonga.  They are bringing you a
 package from us and a short note.  They love you and tell us great things
 about you.  What a blessing it is to have this connection to you.  The
 Tuiasoas fly home tomorrow evening, so they will be in Tonga on Tuesday.  Go
 by and see them when you get a chance.

 We love you and rejoice with all of Christendom in the atoning sacrifice and
 the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.

 May our Father in Heaven continue to watch you and hold you in the palm of
 His hand as you serve the people of Tonga.

 Love,

 Dad


Dad
 thanks so much for sending a package with the Tuiasoa familiy that
will be great to give them a hug knowing that you all recently gave
them a hug.

We celebrated Easter by watching conference, it was awesome it always is!!
I can not believe how fast time is going bye it is literally
ridiculous!!! it is already week 4 in the transfer what the heck!!!???
i dont like that.  Hillary is done in a week thatis crazy to think
about, klike i feel all sad inside when i think that hill wont be out
here with me in the Lord's Battlefield serving in God's Army.

Dad thanks so much for the Email you sent Hill last week about how you
finished your mission, i want to go out like that, get an extention
and have nobody know that you are done, that would be hard here in
Tonga because everyone asks, Te ke 'osi 'afe?  (when are you done?)  i
just say ta'u fo'ou (next year)

This week was a good one.  we committed three people to be baptized
next week, Ana, Tangi, and 'Ailani.  although tangi cant be baptize
though because he didnt come to Church this week.  Ana has a smoking
problem, but we committed her to live the Word of Wisdom last Tusday
and then when we met ith here on that Friday she told us she had gone
down to smoking just 2 a day. and that day when we met with her it was
already the afternoon and she hadn't smoked yet. She is such a
testimony builder of the power of this gospel to change a person, it
is so cool to teach Ana and help her and her less active Husband.
You all know how i have  been saying that i feel like my teaching is
horrrible, well yeaterday we taught a guy named Tekiteki, he married a
member, and i feeel like it was one of the smoothest lessons i've ever
taught, it wasn't perfect but it was good, we are teaching him again
later today.

Russell i loved how you mentioned that even if we did not baptize
people we would still have missions,  we are here to baptize, but we
are not here to force people to be baptize but rather teach and
invite.  I know there are some missionaries that serve 2 years and
dont get one baptisim and here i am wishing i could have 8 a transfer
instead of only 5,, i should see every baptism i have  as a blessing
from the Lord, everything is a blessing from the Lord, even our trials
because they help us learn and grow.

Oky i got to go still havent gotten that one package you snet a long
time ago  but i got a letter from the Ortiz Twins it was a joy to read
and see their pictures, they told me the sad news that Alex Smick, a
kid  was friends since East Middle School past away in February. They
dont know what happened just went to bed and didnt wake up. im praying
for his familiy

I love you all so dearly and i am greatful for all your examples of
Missionary service before me, you paved the road for where iam at now.
Ofa atu
Elder Maikolo

Jacob
You are learning...keep it up. Depend on the spirit to guide you.
Love your  companion and help him to learn the language.  Use your power of the priesthood.
Love love love

On Apr 1, 2012 8:35 PM, 

Mom thanks so much for that thought,  i too often compare myself to
others, i am always afraid to do something because i always think that
someone could do it better, or say it better, or do it in a cooler
cleaver smarter way. this has been one of the biggest struggles for me
durring my time out. i feel so stupid all the time and that everyone
else is wayyy smarter, then me.  but we are not running a race against
any one else but our selves. that has been a hard concept for me to
really get down.
 i watched  Priesthood session of Conference last night, it was 6pm
Sunday night here in Tonga. (it didn't really start until 6:45 because
the power went out in the whole west side of Tonga, but the Church has
a generator that we used. the old BSA motto be prepared!))  It was of
course all in tongan but i understood alot of it, the translation is
not 100% so sometimes it is hard to follow what is going on.  i think
my favorite talk was Elder Bednar's story about his dad, he really got
it on the money when he said to a childhood Elder Bednar, If your
church really has a direct priesthood line of authority from Jesus
Christ then why do some many of the men in your Church do things that
they shouldn;t be doing? that is so true!! if we have the real
Priesthood of God which is the Power of God, then why do we do bad
things? it was a great reminder to me just how much responsibility we
Priesthood holders have to live righteously be a light unto the World.
 Too often i forget this. I  really liked Dad's email to Hillary that
said basically we are not going to be perfect but we better try our
best. Ether 12:27 really is a comfort to read. when i was in my son's
situation last year i read that verse and thought about the Language
and how there was no way i was ever going to learn it, now a year
later i am not 'perfect' in the language but i am no longer weak
either, im overwhelmed sometimes that i am the only one who speaks in
our companionship, but i can do it,  He has called me to do it.

Okay some thing that i am going to ask you all, this is a great
question to Hillary seeing as she is in her last transfer, sometimes
when im teaching i feel like im just saying words, words that i have
studied and studied and said over and over again for a year, words
that are so important for the investigator to hear, but i feel like im
just going through the motions. recently i have tried to not teach the
whole entire lesson but instead just teach part and include a common
commandment like prayer. that seems to work and also i have felt that
power that can come when you have the lessons had the Church.  on
Thursday we were teaching a kid at a house and all this chaos was
going on around us so i stopped the lesson and we walked to the Church
to finish the lesson, and it was a good one. The 17 year old kid
Antelima, left the next day to his home village and we havent seen him
since, lame huh.

Okay i got like 3 or 4 letters this week from you all, i have been
really bad at writing snail mail lately i was doing so good in jan and
feb but lagged it in March i will do better in April.

Still havent got the pkg may be to day :)! haha
so crazy that Hill has only 1 transfer left !!  i had a dream about
Hillary this past week so insane you all get to see her in a month

Know that i love you all so much, God lives, Jesus is the Christ, and
this is Their Church

"Oku ou ofa lahi 'iatekimoutolu!!!.
Elder Maikolo