Elder Porter Ellis

  Aloha 皆さん、 Wassuppp my fault I have been pretty bad with emails (its been almost a month). I made sure to write one this time because if I didn't I definitely would get an earful from some people. Anyways a lot of stuff has happened and somehow my 100 days left mark passed without me even realizing it. It's crazy but there's not that much longer. (Now 90 days*) My biggest enemy and a lesson I've had to learn my entire life is nostalgia, and anticipation. I swear all my life I've always thought “when I finally (blank) life is gonna be so sick” or “bro I wish I could go back to (blank), I miss those times.” In middle school I wanted to go to high school so bad, in high school I could wait to go to college. In college I just wanted to get a job or go back to high school. On my mission though, I've looked towards ending my mission, wanting to go back to college, past areas, high-school. I couldn't wait till I became DL, Trainer, ZL. Then I wanted to go back to...

  Aloha 皆さん、 Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about how important it is to just keep trying each day, even when things don’t go perfectly. Living here in Japan and serving as a missionary has taught me that real growth comes from doing the small, simple things consistently. Some days, I feel like I’m making so many mistakes—messing up my Japanese, or feeling like I’m not making a big impact. But I’ve learned that God doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He just wants us to keep going. There have been plenty of moments when I wanted instant results, but I’ve started to see that real change comes bit by bit, through patience (which is hard because I lack it), and steady effort. I’m learning that enduring and continuing to do my best, especially after I make mistakes is so vital to becoming more like Jesus Christ. Each small step, every prayer, every genuine attempt to reach out, it all matters—even if it’s not immediately obvious. These challenges have helped me so much honestly. Little...

  Aloha 皆さん、 Life update: We just had transfers and yup, im still in Kumamoto. I'm also still a ZL (for the 6th transfer). I feel like I'm an old sage. Just kinda existing, biding and waiting for my time to die.  I'm actually super glad though that I didn't transfer because the past transfer has been a blast. The college group that we have been playing sports with (soccer and volleyball) has been awesome. We've started teaching a couple of them and they really are progressing.  This transfer is a 7 week transfer which normally probably feel very long but genuinely love the area, my comp, and the friends we have so it'll probably fly by.  No real crazy stories or anything. Just know I miss you all so very much, I love you guys🫶 Scripture thought: Alma 26:30 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving s...

  Aloha 皆さん、 In order to not get obliterated off the face of the planet I've decided to write an email this week.  Honestly its been good, I love my companion and the area has been doing pretty okay. One of our friends (Sogo) is 19 years old and a college student and we've been playing Futsal (indoor soccer) with him and his friends. It's been such a blast, my favorite is always interacting with younger Japanese dudes cause they are SOOO chill and super funny. We got to talk to some of them about why we are here and what we do as missionaries and they seem kinda interested. Praying for the best.  On other fun stuff we had a ton of exchanges again which is always fun. Had like 4 these past 2 weeks + MLC. Oh also ended up stealing a bench from some other elders so finally got a bench again to hopefully get some better workouts in.  Overall Kumamoto has been a vibe and just been having a lot of fun. Time has been passing by, im closing in on 5 months left into the missi...

  Aloha 皆さん、 So this past week I biked 54 kilometers (or 33.55 miles) in one go. Now I won't say it was hardest thing I've ever done but oh my days does it give my favorite BYU devotionals more meaning like:  “Lessons On Endurance” by J. TY Hopkins https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/j-ty-hopkins/lessons-on-endurance/ If you read it the bike race he talks about is 2,700 miles😭 Or the one I wanna talk about today:  “Let Us Run with Patience the Race That Is Set Before Us” by Bradley P. Owens https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-owens/let-us-run-with-patience-the-race-that-is-set-before-us/ Where a 61 year old farmer not only runs a 544 mile ultra marathon but wins and beats the previous record time by two days. Needless to say me and my 33.55 miles bike ride are cooked (justttt kidding no comparisons) But I really like how in the talk he focused a bit on trials.  How we are a leader to react and endure through trials can greatly impact how we go through life. If we are abl...

  Aloha 皆さん、 Recently I've been thinking about winter in Japan. Back when it was winter and I was in Kure I remember that all I could think about was man. I'd much rather be sweating and in the heat than freezing my butt off knocking on these houses.  Bruh, I was so wrong dawg😭 Not that it hasn't been hot for a FAT minute in Japan but I've definitely been feeling it since I got to Kumamoto. It's been a big hit on not only me but my companions' motivations to go outside (willingly and happily). Which is why recently I've been thinking a lot more about the “why” and the desires in my heart. But recently as we were trying to talk to other missionaries about how they do it one missionary had a really good response (in my opinion).  My companion was asking this missionary about how he finds the motivation to go outside in the heat. The missionary asked him a simple question.  “長老, if this was your son asking you, what would you tell him?”  I don't think my c...