September 21, 2015
Heeeellllllooooooo to you all!!
I hope y'all have had a fantastic week.
This week has been filled with a ton of lessons. It was
cool, because most of the nights I didn't really have time to think about
anything else until I got home for the night.
So first off: Earlier this week we got a call from our
district leaders asking us if we got a call from our mission president,
President Bize. We later find out through the grape vine that there was an earthquake
in Chile, and there was a Tsunami warning for different parts of French
Polynesia. The area that was under a big Tsunami warning was the Marquises
(which is closed to missionaries right now but reopens next week for the next
transfer), but apparently other zones within the mission got a call from
President Bize late that night to let them know about the multiple warnings and
to prepare themselves just in case something happened. We then called our zone
leaders in Raiatea who told us to pack up our car just incase anything
happened. So during our first two hours of study we each packed a small bag and
prepared all the none perishables we had in the house and put all of that in
our car. We literally drove around with our "dooms day stuff" in the
back of the car the entire day while we went to lessons. Later that day we
heard how the projected 10 meter tsunami that was supposed to hit the Marquises
was only 1 meter so that was a blessing and at the end of the day we went off
Tsunami watch. No lie, it was a small adrenaline rush during the morning hahaha
even though it wasn't super severe.
Next: so I've talked a lot about the famille Toofa in my
past emails and how they had their home knocked down by their neighbors.
well... just wait for it.....the FBI of French Polynesia was going to their
home to take pictures of the damage but when they went back they discovered
that the neighbors, who had knocked everything down, had COME BACK and BURNT
EVERYTHING that was left. So, now the famille Toofa literally has
nothing but the clothes on their backs and the scriptures we gave them. How
sad...that someone would go and burn a house that a father had built with his
own hands. Because of that the famille Toofa might have to push back their
wedding day which will push back their baptisms, because Hugan (the dad) is
trying to find a job so they can pay for their own wedding and not have the
members do their wedding for them.
After that: We have been recently doing a big suivi (follow
up) with Maheata et Antoine. they live in concubinage and have 3 super cute
kids. Antoine is an Italian who grew up in France, but then moved to Tahiti on
a wimb for work but to also to get away from his first wife. They are
absolutely golden and have super great questions. Maheata has also been offered
a job as a tour guide on a boat, but she needs to learn English so we are
helping her learn English. That is also helping me with my French, because when
I speak to her in English I make it simple so I can retranslate it back into
French.
Also: Thursday and Friday Soeur Spackman and I went on
splits with two sisters in the Fare paroisse who are preparing to go on
missions. Hina and I visited Hinerava and Soeur Spackman and Colani visited the
famille Haumani (they are an inactive family bc the dad had a big fight with a
member and doesn't want his family to go to church anymore...and it's been like
2-3 years). I took charge in the lesson with Hinerava and later in another
lesson teaching in Tahitian the famille Toofa's youngest kid Teiva...that
lesson was a little rocky but Hina helped me with my vocab haha.
Not much else to report on. Thank you for your prayers and
support. It really means a lot to me.
We had a lot of lessons this week and it's been great,
but it's been frustrating to see the obstacles we need to overcome to help
our amis progress and for them to have a real desire to accept the gospel.
And next week is transfers, and I found out that I will be
staying on Huahine for at least another six weeks to finish my training with
Soeur Spackman. Apparently we are two of the very few missionaries who aren't
getting transferred. A lot of the missionaries in my promotion, I heard, are getting
new trainers and or getting transferred to other areas.
That's about it for now. Thanks again for the prayers and
emails. They really mean a lot.
From who knows how far away exactly,
Soeur/Tuahine McKenzie Morrill
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