Elder Porter Ellis

Aloha 皆さん、 This is something I think about a lot but especially lately I've been thinking a lot about God's plan, and how everything the bad and good things that happen in our life have a reason. Everything that has happened in my life has led me to the place I am right now. For the sake of everyone's time we will specifically keep this to my mission. My experiences in highschool and eventually college led me to start a mission a year after I had started college. I wonder if I had started a mission right after high school if I would have been called to Japan? Or later reassigned in Utah as I wait for a VISA, and then sent home before going to Japan?  “What if” can be a dangerous question however as I've reflected recently I start to see the reasons things have progressed as they have become clearer. Obviously I still don't know the reason for everything but I wouldn't change my journey up to this point at all. There were hard times yeah obviously but through tho...

  Aloha 皆！ Life is good, I've pushed back 6 months to sexy another 6 months so I'm not completely cooked just yet. But honestly recently things have been good! All the things that were worrying me and stressing me out throughout the transfer have worked themselves out and the district has been doing great! Today me and my companion are making curry pan (curry bread) for the district meeting tomorrow. Which is my first time making bread from scratch, its been a little interesting so far but we will see how it goes! I'm also getting up early to make some strawberry guava & banana macadamia nut pancakes for everyone too! Honestly the Joy challenge has been super fun this past transfer, this week I have to do the mentos cola challenge so that'll be interesting.  Recently the work has been pretty hard and a little frustrating at times but Theurer 長老 has made the work super fun regardless of the success. Honestly he'll become an awesome missionary and leader soon, hah...

  Aloha 皆さん、 Umm where to start.  Recently I've been struggling with the decision of when to end my mission. I had two decisions (basically) : I could end in September of 2025 or March of 2026. When I first came back on the mission it seemed like such an easy decision with me thinking I would end in September. But recently I've been thinking a lot more about it. Haha didn't help when in my president interviews he asked me what I was thinking. Then told me I should most definitely extend😨 Haha anyways I really struggled with the question this entire week. I know the lord surrounds me with so many loving friends and family, and I wanna thank everyone who helped me this week❤️ As I prayed and pondered this week I couldn't find a clear answer but after talking with some loving friends and family and a very deep long prayer I found my answer.  I don't know what Heavenly Father has in store for me. And I certainly don't know what will happen in the future or if i can...

  Aloha 皆さん、 Yep the way it's looking, I'll be soaked in ice cold water tomorrow…. Oh well if it helps the district focus on all the awesome things that brings em joy I guess I'll sacrifice some discomfort. Anyways yeah it's been a blast recently! Every night the district has been calling and just sharing reasons why we've felt joy everyday and having a blast together, hopefully it continues throughout the transfer. One thing I've noticed myself is whenever I reflect back on the day I can ALWAYS find something that brought me joy! It also helps when you are looking for those reasons you've felt joy it becomes way easier to recognize those reasons!  I hope even though some of the missionaries may be struggling with some things I hope they can find the small reasons they felt joy in their everyday lives. I invite you all to look for them too.  Here's something I came across in my personal study. I invite you all to read/listen to it. It was really good and...

  Yoooo 皆さん、 Wazzaappp,  I hope everyone is doing good. We just had transfers and I'm in Kure still with Theurer 長老 which I'm super glad about. Me and my bean are meshing well and honestly it's just been a blast recently.  But anywaysss, recently one companionship in the district has been really struggling with motivation problems, one of them even told me they've just been homesick recently and I really wanna help them. I've been really just studying with them in mind. I feel like whenever I have a hard time I always turn to Lessons on Endurance from J. TY Hopkins. An absolutely amazing BYU Devotional.  “There will be rough terrain, blisters, and crashes, but there will also be a meadow of flowers. Will we see it? We must pay attention to and appreciate the flowers, and we must learn from the rough trail. The process, not the product, will allow us to find joy on our way to the finish” Something I've always felt and talked about in past emails is definitely min...