Monday, February 8, 2016

Another week in Taravao



November 30, 2015
Ia ora na tatou!!
So before I forget! I hope everyone had a fantabulous Thanksgiving and are enjoying the fall weather and the occasional SNOW! Oh how much I miss the snow!
Funny language slip up: So we had the bapteme for Heituarii this past Saturday! It was so great! The water was brown (because it was pouring down rain and they don't have clean water so everyone needs to filter their own water)! He cried when he bore his testimony! BUT the night before his bapteme Soeur Shariatmadari and I were sharing one last message until his big day and I was telling a little bit about Lehi's vision in the Livre de Mormon (1 Nephi 8); I was meaning to tell him that we need to hold onto the barre de fer (iron rod, which represents the word of God) with two hands instead of one, but apparently I said barre de feu (rod of fire).....oops hahaha.

We had a split with the STLs (sister training leaders) de Papara. I went to Papara for a day and Soeur Arbuckle came to Taravao 1 to spend a day with my companion. I was with Soeur Wilson. I was pretty overwhelmed...not gonna lie. I had just gotten to a new sector and was working on learning who our amis and membres are and figuring out where everyone lives (because in Polynesia they don't have actual street address just landmarks and some have only house numbers), so I tried my best to help Soeur Wilson in her sector. But all in all it was a good day!
We met a new ami in our sector. His name is Jean-Paul and he can't hear very well so when we taught him le Retablissement we practically had to yell, and when we told him Joseph Smith's first vision we were literally yelling so that he could understand us; which in all reality is probably not the best thing to do if we want the spirit to be there during the lecon but Jean-Paul was an acception. He's so nice, and he is an ancian ami de Paea (another zone in the mission). He was following the lecons with the elders and they almost set a date de bapteme for him MAIS one day in church one of his friends in Paea stood up in front of everyone and embarassed him and told him to go back to his home town to follow the lecons. Eh Eh...I felt so bad for Jean-Paul, but he was so happy to get the lecons again. We engaged him to be baptized on the 26 Decembre and told him to pray about it. He told us he wants to get baptized BUT......(just wait)....he wants to get his driving permit first; apparently some times when he goes out driving the gendarme pull him over and he gives them the insurance for his car, and when they ask to see his permit he says he forgot it at home and gives the name of his cousin who does have a permit so the genderme can verify it on their computer. He said "I don't want to have to keep lying after I get baptized. I want to get my permit before I get baptized so I can work at keeping a clean slate." So along with the lecons we are gonna try and help him study for the driving permit test.
Now: On to Frere Jean: Frere Jean is from the West Indies, but grew up in France. His accent is so different from those here in Polynesia, so I'm still trying to get used to how he talks and what he says. He has a lot of hard questions and asks a lot about chronology! We read 3 Nephi 11 with him which is when Christ appeared to the people in Ancien Amerique. We read it once and then a second time so that he could focus on the spirit! It was so crazy, but the second time he starts talking (after we engaged him to be baptized the 26 Decembre) about how he prayed today would be different and he would feel something different! And then all of a sudden he just breaks down crying. Sobbing. Blubbering like a baby. And crying out to Heavenly Father to help him see the truth and feel his love and to heal his hardened heart! NO LIE...most interesting lecon ever, but all we did was follow the Spirit. And the testimonies we bore and the way we taught that lecon was apperently what he needed. After he runs into his room, closes the door and continues to cry out to God and crying. We close with a prayer with his wife who was just sitting their, and leave.
Sorry if this email sounds super jumbled, but I didn't have much time today. We are going en ville (into Papeete) so we had to do our mail early today!
I hope y'all have a great week!
Ua here au ia outou!
-Soeur/Tuahine Morrill :)

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