Henry's just beginning to learn

hey hows it going?! so for the `1st time here i got the 2 dear elders last night then the package this morning! add to that that, eso que....makes more sense in spanish, i got to go and do inshatories....not even close to how they are spelled but that is the best that i can do. oh before i forget Aunt Mary -- so tell taylor that its ok i hated doing homework too, it and fun should not be mentioned in the same sentence. speaking of BYU i would love to write the essay BUT that time thing... i have 1/2 that is "free" time...as in the only time i have to write you guys or straigten up or unpack more or do something that isnt teaching or learning spanish. maybe i should have spent more time with DAD....might have been able to pick up on that whole time-space thing. elder fode... would love to say wow i am suprised but i'm not. as a matter of fact there is an elder rigtht by me who is on facebook even thought about 15 of us told him we arent supposed to be. oh well what can you do other than pray for them, right?! am i allowed to be that nice... errr i mean giving? nice to know that neither Dad nor i have lost our touch, making people cry with the flick of a wrist... or a few words which ever we want. coodos to joe and stephen i would join in but... well yeah. its cool there are so many expreences that i would love to write about! and i have been finding some amazing stuff in the scriptures too. so i have been getting in arugments with a few , and by this i mean like 5 sec total, about that we CAN be perfect in this life and live that way untill we die. always that DL keeps saying "hey ...we need to be on task" and blah-blah-blah yes i know that this might be disrespectful to think this but i honestly believe that this knowledge is something that everyone should at least be aware of. in my personal study i found a list of scriptures to prove this point. now i havent had the chance to show them this yet, that will be on sunday--we decided that the district meeting is our testomony/deep doctrine(non nolan of course)/ "group edification" (my name for it) time. oh! we heard a talk, on dvd, from elder bednar-- in it he was takling about the holy ghost and telling the missionaries(dont look for it you wont find it it is intra-MTC only waaay sweet huh!?) anyway he was talking about how to know if it is your thought or seomthing that the holy SPRT is giving you, his response was this: "STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT! just be a good boy" he went on to explain that as we go and become more Christ like our thought should be beomce more like his and he wont need to smack us with the HG everytime.... and yes he did term it "smack you with the holy ghost" thought you guys would like that. so yeah the other thing that i have been argueing about is that the FULLNESS of the Gospel is in the Book of Mormon. or in other words everything that we have in the church is in there. one of the elders brought up the temple and the ceromony--at the time i didnt know where, but i have found a few now and one chapter that goes through some of it pretty well-- made me go " huh....how did i never see that before?!" but in short its way humid (like it) lots fun, learning LOADS about the Gospel and how to teach it, and of course spanish.it so amazing to see that everyone here has been given soo many tough experiances, and to think that (pmg lesson 2) Christ created the earth knowing that not only we were going to have to go through all these trials and pains and yet he still made them, taylored them to our needs because he loves us so much! so much and so little time-- LOVE ALL OF YOU!! and miss you wheni have time to think about that =) dont think you get the choice to forget youself..its like the humble thing--"God will have a humble people....either you can choose to be humble or you can be compeled to be humble-- either way its you choice" fun times =) again love yas lots.

-Elder Kekoolani

Henry on plane

so yes after 3 weeks in provo they
decided that my spanish was so bad
thery couldnt do anything about it
so they sent me to the DR to just
start learning the hard way. nah,
yeah i am in DR CCM (MTC más o menos)
it is contained entirely on the 4th
floor of a hotel right next to the
Temple (which services the whole
caraibian) so we dont get to walk
around a whole lot =( but its really
nice at the same time!i told you
that is on the 4th floor of a
hotel--IE our rooms are hotel rooms
with our own showers and toliets...
VERY nice and VERY important...bit
of irony 1st the 'tree of life'
showers in provo are really more
like the telestial kingdom showers...
despite their name. its really nice
here the 1st thing i noticed was
the humidty-- yes its just a bit
more humid, really its like when
its the middle of the summer and
really hot and it rains and how
it feels as the clouds are
immedantly gone... but all the time.
ok so before i forget i got a
laugh out of this: when i got on
the last flight (i slept on the 1st 2)
i sat next to this guy who was from
the DR and had been serving in the US
Army. (oh and when the flight people
were handing out this stuff for
customs and what not they gave me
the 'Dominican national" form, got
a kick outta that) and i got to
share just a little about the
gospel with him. i gave him a
passalong card because i didnt
have a book of mormon with me...
or at least one that i could give
him. was cool. so yeah i am with
Daniel in his line of thought,
there was a point when i went
and decied that baptizims dont
matter, and really they dont--
allowing others to come and know
or rather gain a knowledge of the
Atonement and the Savior in the
way that we have THAT is what
matters. what they do with it and
how they act upon it is their
choice, we are only asked to help
them get that choice.
ok mail addresses:

Pouch(small, light mail):
Elder (me)
Dominican Republic MTC
P.O. Box 30153
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150

Packages/heavy mail:
elder (me)
Ave. Bolivan #825
Esq. Genesis Los Robles
Santo Domingo R.D. (Republica Dominica)

ok so yeah there ya go. oh before
i forget...wait too late... uh...
well Dear elder still works here,
or at least i know that some of
the guys have been getting them.
i havent sent the letter with the
SD card so dont worry about the
fact you havent gotten it yet.
ok so at first i was really
bummed about being here, dont know
entirly why. but i am better not
again not sure entirly why but i
dont know some of the things that
helped. part of the reason that
i felt like crap was because when
we got here we all relized that
we were in for it now, only one or
maybe two of the teachers here
can speak decent english, a few
more speak broken english and
fewer understand but dont speak...
then there are three or four that
dont speak or understand it...
yeah they are a lot of fun. but
anyways the reason that i felt like
crap is that i had stopped
focusing on the teaching and
focused solely on the language,
forgetting that it is nothing
more than a tool that we use to
teach. but then i figured out
what the problem was and
everything got better, and of
course there were other things
that helped too but that was
one of the biggest. its cool back
in provo i had this teacher named
Hno Douglas and he was way cool
, he did what most teachers forget
-- they are teaching eternal beings,
not lessons... ot at least that is
what they should be doing. (a lot of
missionaries forget that too) btu i
am SOO glad that i had hius class
because i LEARNED so much. obviously
that and other stuff but that was the
most important thus far. i had the
oppertunity to teach some elders in
my new district, and i did what they
hadnt done or been apart of yet-- i
taught THEM. it was amazing to see
the amoutn that the spirit touched
them! i was glad that i decied to
teach in english to them and not in
spanish to them as investagtors.
it has been cool to see that the
gift of tonges working, i have
been helped to the point that i can
pick a set of las escripturas and
read and understand, for the most
part, what they mean. ok i will
try escribir the essays and send
them but i have to find a way to
print them first... and find the
time--but i figure the Lord will
provide the time when he is ready
and i am ready. right now they would
be crap... cant think too well in
either language.
ok g2g LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOO MUCH!!!
hasta la bye-bye (that was for you Rene)

les amo, Elder Kekoolani

Estoy aqui!

estoy aquí
 en la reupblica
 de dominicana!
so yeah i made it
here safe and sound and we are
getting like 2 mins to write you
and tell you this. will write
again on thrus i think its thrus.
---way glad tener humidity!...
por ahora.... asi--hasta luego!
 tengo much amor por todos ustedes! 

Henry's next MTC letter

hey guys so this is my second attempt at emailing you! the 1st one didnt go so well. so i am having a blast here! its soo awesome to see the lord's hand in motion in the lives of so many people. so i am finnaly relizing that i can really email everyone at once....though i am going to try. wasnt Gen. conf. amazing?! i loved all the talks and got a lot from them. although i dont know if that was because i was here or because i was awake...i dont think either hurt. oh and aunt mary i didnt get to go to any of the sessions none of us got to but i did get to go last year with aunt heather and uncle john. so i REALLY loved pres. eyering's talk when he was talking about being prepared to give blessigns. i think it was in the preisthood session, but i thought it was cool how that was something that i have tried to do/have/be ready for since i was ordained! i especailly loved elder packer's and elder holland's talks. both were unexpected but extremely powerful. i love you guys so much. so i cant remember who wrote it--oh yeah it was kathy, but any ways yes, have heard a VERY little about the disaters in the pacific. we dont really get to know a whole lot about the outside world. the running joke for my district is that the second coming could happen and we would hear a world about it til we got to the airport. but so i am having fun telling elders how i only have one week left. "so how many weeks you got left?....oh sorry to hear that , well you will survive it ...(maybe)" i really dont know why every hatesd the MTC i LOVE it here! the spirit is SOOOO strong and its so much fun. before i forget i think i finally know why the newbies are treated as well as they are---they know the happenings of the outside world. so i leave in 6 days-ish for the Dominican MTC. i have to report to the travel office at 3AM-- quick before i forget, i get to call you mom...and dad i think...i know that i get to make at least one call. but i have no idea when i get to make the call so mom you can skip the gym on the 15th ...i give you permission=) oh yeah so i love all of you for the letters that you have been sending, not that i dont love those of you who havent sent me one but, anyway if you have a package for me or that you were going to send me wait to send it until i make it to the DR MTC, because i dont think they will forward packages, they will forward the mail for a week or so but i think the packages go up for the grabs. so i am sure that by now Rene has begun to blame things on me... and i think thats ok because for once she might be right...yes you heard me rene, for ONCE, as in one time =), i dont know to what extent the things going good or bad is my fault but feel free to blame them on me. [{(ok mom this is for you. i dont know when or if i should email you the essays, or when i am going to find the time to write them. ok before you throw your head back and sigh....though by now you have already done so...i only got to read your letter lastnight. so take that for what its worth. but look on the bright side, you know that i am still the same little boy that you gave to the lord for two years, and yes i would venture to say the same little boy, because you have done that good a job at raising me. i know that it might makle you cry and eys i amn getting a smile from it but i an crying too, i ma learning SOO much here andi have no intention of stopping. hey for once i can honestly answer the question "dont you think that you could have used your time better and written the essyas i asked you to?" a resounding "no" and smile....or at least say that i am giving it my best try to use all my time effectively. dont wory too much it is important and i am sure that i will be given the time that i need to write them. i do however need that last prompt if i am to do so. oh my tribal num is: 21862. i dont know how legit it is because i am now 'old' and therefore might need another one. but that is what i have. oh and PS: share this with dad he deserves the credit too. for both the raisign and procrastination methods...sorry but using time to do something worht while and at the same time not doing somethign else is something you exceel at.)}] i love you guys soo much but now i have to go! we are only SUPPOSED to go and write emails and letters on Pday and for us here in the Provo MTC that is friday, dont know if it will change when we get to the DR MTC. so i am trying to be obediant and follow the rules, if you dont get a letter or arent mentioned thats why...though i might be tempted to write one while i have "extra" time. oh and Uncle Sam: thanks SOO much for the package. i might be in the lead for the most letters but i dont know --havent counted--i didnt even know we were having a contest until soemone said i might be in the lead or a close second. ok got to go but i want you, ALL of you to know how much i love you and that i do pray for you guys everyday.

THANK YOU!

Thanks to all of you for making the above possible! First, let me apologize for not saying thank you earlier or posting a picture of her with our beloved (and I mean that)swing. As you all know, life has been interesting around here, and not that that's an excuse, but that's what I'm sticking to. Really, thank you all so very very much. She loves it. She sits in the swing and naps/watches movies and sits in her bouncy and watches me clean up/make food. It's fun for her and a huge help for me. Thank you!!!!!!!!We love you all and can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving! Also, for any that would like to, I've added some new pictures of my sweet babe on our blog. johnandheather.blogspot.com

MTC Pictures

Oops, I forgot to post the MTC pictures of our little (tee hee) Henry. So here they are. We literally dropped him at the curb. Yeah for pig flu. Anyway, here you are and sorry about the technical difficulties recently with postings. I don't know what the problem was but hopefully they're all over with.

Henry's first letter from MTC

hey mi famila (mostly mom) how are things at home? things here are amazing!
my comp. is really nice and really hard working, much better than i hoped for.
my roomies estan beuno. the language is going far better than i could have or
did even dream of hoping for, and i am.... wel lets call it 'humbled' everyday
when i go to class. the food here was and is AMAZING! the 2nd day was lasanga.
the elder that i ran into and pesudo-tackeled was elder pimintel (kent or as
rene calls him kentworth) aunt mary was right- i am alot like  Dad in that
i like everyone that i meet until they give me a reason not to, which hasnt
happened yet. and hopfully wont. my comp.'s nombre es elder braithwaite so
he can understand the whole not having people saying your name wrong. tell
kathy that the bunch of letters did make my district jealious.  tell grandma
when i read her letters i thougth that she might have been standing right there
and thought i heard her voice. (made me want to laugh and cry at the same time)
i often remember what you said to me after we got done with the sesssion at
salt lake--about prayer, it helps a lot espically when i feel like the work is
a bit overwhelming. it brings GREAT comfort! tell ashley that she is correct i
am the 1st one to go out from the grandchildren and if i get what she said i
would i would be very very surprised. tell ben i might not be the richest but
it might get me close. tell thom to remember that they are old and to have
compasion for them--they will learn eventually...hopefully and tell mary thanks
for the letters and for the most part what she has said has been right or been
the case. let everyone know that i would write them but i dont have their
addresses until they mail me. ok so the stuff that you asked me that i wanted:
towels(one will do) the dom. rep. flag that is behind the seat of the white truck.
red pencils please. more letters. you to not worry. and most of alli want you to
know that i love you alot--though i cant get it to let me to put exclimation
points in but if i could they would still be going. i would havce written last
week but i ran out of time because it was only a half p-day. again i love all
of you lots and lots and lots and lots. will try to write more soon.