Elder Porter Ellis

  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...

  Aloha 皆さん、 It's been a crazy few weeks. But something I've been thinking about recently again is my why, my desire, and my purpose.  It's a topic that I think about a lot, and what we are going to talk about for Zone Conference, so I've been able to devote a lot of my personal study time to listening to Conference talks and devotionals.  As I've studied and thought, I kinda wondered if there was any particular reason I came back out on the mission after being sent home. As I thought about it there wasn't a particular reason as to why I went back out other than its what was the norm for members of the church. To complete your mission.  That's not a bad desire, or a terrible reason to go out and I'm not a bad person for initially letting that be my reason. However if my reason and desire clings closer to God's will, I will be happier, see more miracles and blessings and overall be a better tool in his hands.  Its been something I've been thinking...