Elkton, Kentucky 🫡

 What's up everybody!!!!

How's everyone doing?!

Everything's been good out here in the field. It's finally 2024! I feel old now because the missionaries coming in were born in 2005 haha. It's crazy that I've been out 9 months! Almost at a year!

Sorry, it's been so long since I've written an email. My mom tells me to write one every week but I just keep forgetting but I told her I should be a little less selfish with my time and update everyone on how I've been doing as often as I can.

As You can tell by the title of this email. I'm now in Elkton, Kentucky. I've been here for only a few days. But I really like it. it's deep in the country. So it's a very, very small town and everything is walking distance. The church is literally 2 minutes away and I don't mean a 2 minute drive. It's a 2 minute walk.  The Southern hospitality is real down here in the country. Because we'll knock on someone's door that doesn't know us at all. And they'll still let us in the house which is a plus haha. It is a little bit hard because everyone down here has talked to Missionaries before, but I guess we're gonna start having to get creative with how we start talking to people. I guess it might be a little different seeing a brown guy this deep in the country so maybe that'll help ha ha.

I know in past emails I've talked about how I've slowly gotten better at talking to people but since it's been awhile I'll have you guys know I've gotten much much better. I've gotten more bold than I have ever been. Sometimes the easiest and the best way in general to help people understand is to tell them things exactly how it is. This is who we are and what we are here for. It is also a lot easier to be bold with people when you have love for them. One guy we were teaching named John, had a problem with alcohol and didn't want to be addicted anymore. After we finished having a lesson I said "do you have any alcohol with you here?" And he was like "yea just those 3 cans and the rest of that bottle right here"

Me: Alright then we're gonna have to get rid of it

John: *looks down*

Me: I'm gonna take this and dump it down the sink. Is that okay?

John: I guess so

He hands me all the bottles

John: Can I just keep one can?

Me: You can keep one but the rest is going down the sink right now

John: *in a sad voice* okay

So me and my companion poured all of the beer that he had down his sink and threw away the cans. He had some problems with family so we weren't able to get much contact with him after but he was always very grateful for us. Throughout my mission I got a little tired of people being really slow and not being urgent about how important the things were that we were sharing that would help them. And the reason why they didn't understand was probably because I was beating around the bush too much so I decided that I was going to start telling people exactly what it was that we were here for. We're not here just to share the good word or hang out or just get you in a church building. We're here to help you be baptized and receive the blessings that Heavenly Father has ready for you that can change your life. Being bold used to be scary. Now being bold is just a part of how I am as a missionary.

So I've improved a lil bit since you last heard from me haha.

One thing I've noticed since being on my mission but always knew is that we should never settle for anything. Not for a lifestyle, not for a spouse, not for a career, not for anything. We shouldn't settle for anything less than the best. The best as in happiness. It's really sad to see out here that people think that the way they live is "good enough". I talked about this with my parents a few weeks ago and I've come to learn that Heavenly Father loves us so much that he wants us to grow and he wants us to find happiness. When you settle for something you aren't happy. You are just okay. Heavenly Father didn't give you this beautiful gift of life to experience all that there is in the world just to settle. It's disrespectful to him to see you settle. I think of it in the way similar to my parents. My parents didn't sacrifice all they have for me to go to school and on a mission for me to have food and clothes so that I can just go and live "good enough". They did it so that I can go and be great. Go and make a difference. Be happy. It would hurt me to have kids in the future just to see them and go settle for less than the best of whatever it may be because I know they deserve the best and Heavenly Father thinks the same way. We only have one life and it is never too late to achieve happiness. It’s never too late to come to Heavenly Father and ask him for a change. Never too late to come back to him and become better. That's my invitation to you all. Never settle. Because settling isn't happiness. Don't think about what you could've been. Think about what you will be. Most people do not understand that God put us on the Earth to find joy. Of course there are trials and challenges but they are for the greater good to prepare us to find that joy. We can't know a good day until we know what a bad day feels like.

I love you all and I will write again soon

Hurrah 4 Israel🤟

- Elder Vimahi💜