Hope all is well in the land of stars and stripes! This week has been pretty good! Quite challenging, and there have been some obstacles to be overcome. But I have learned quite a bit from the challenges that have been presented me.
An inspired invitation
I will just jump in to giving a bit of an update on the stuff that you already know about. So the woman that came to church with us last week (El*zabeth), we met with her and taught simply the Doctrine of Christ, because she asked questions about the importance of baptism. We taught her that baptism by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God is essential.
"17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost. 18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive."We extended an inspired invitation. "El*zabeth, when you come to know that these things are true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority of God? We are holding a baptismal service on the 7th of March. Will you prepare yourself to be baptized on that day?" Which she accepted! So that was cool! How exciting for her to make that decision (We were obviously teaching in English, because she doesn't understand Samoan).
It is his personal goal to be baptized this year
Some of the other people that we are working with:
There is a part-member family by the last name of C_ in our ward. A bit of background, the wife is a strong member of the church, and all of the children are grown up and active in the church with their families. The father has been actively attending church for over 10 years, and has not been baptized. And this week we set out to figure out why. We visited the family during the week. We sat down with the husband and did a bit of what would be called "How to Begin Teaching" in PMG (Preach My Gospel), where missionaries figure out the religious background and whatnot of the individuals being taught.
I asked the question (in English) "So brother C_, sounds like you have been going to church for quite a while now. Why is it that you attend?" Both Elder Tuua and I were surprised to hear "Well, because I am interested in being baptized." He went on to explain that over the course of the past 5 years he has been changing his behavior to be in line with the Church's teachings. He told us that it is his personal goal to be baptized this year. He also told us offhand that he has a grandson being baptized this June. We shared Alma 7:11-16 with him, talked about the blessings extended us when we receive the sacred ordinance of baptism. We then encouraged him to make the choice to be baptized before his grandson is, so that he can be a part of his baptism.
Elder Tuua then bore testimony in Faasamoa to the things that I had said in English. He explained later that he testified that this is the only way. That the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the earth so that all of the blessings of the Atonement of Christ can be extended to those who accept it. It is so powerful when my companion teaches in Faasamoa. I don't understand everything, probably just 2% of what is said. But I hear and understand the Spirit speaking through his words. There is no denying the Power of the Holy Ghost.
Shedding tears
We had another choice experience with a less-active/part member family we are working with, the L_ Aiga (family). So, their background is that mom and dad were baptized in Samoa. Older kids were baptized in NZ when the family moved over there. Parents went less active. Family moved to Aussie. As a result, the parents (in their early 60's) have 24 grandchildren, none (I think) of whom are baptized. One of their sons (21 years old) is also not a member. The family was active in another church called Assembly of God (abbreviated AOG), so some of the family claim AOG membership. And there is just so much confusion in the family.
When we visited, we met in their back yard, in a makeshift shed for gatherings of people over one of the native Samoan mats. We didn't sit on the mats, we sat in chairs around the perimeter of the mat, so we kinda mixed palagi and Samoan (which is oftentimes what our visits are like). The beginning of our visit, the mom (dad is currently in Samoa) seemed very closed off, very AOG, so to speak. But as our visit went on, her countenance changed. She seemed to open up more and more, gradually, until she told us that over the past 10+ years, she has wanted to return to church. She told us of the blessings that her family had while attending and living the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that have left her life since they left the Church. She expressed her strong desire to return. She wants to take her grandchildren to get baptized, along with her children that have not yet made that covenant. She told us about how over the years, they have had so many missionaries that have visited, and that we were the first that she has ever told this to. Wow!
We asked what we could do to help. She asked us to continue to visit! To continue to provide the support that the family needs! Then my companion had another one of those moments that the Spirit spoke so well through him. In Samoan, he shared his own conversion experience, how he withstood persecution from his family to embrace the gospel, and the blessings from the gospel. He testified of the blessings that the family could likewise experience. And by the end both he and the mom (A*ga is her name) were shedding tears. Wow! What power! We will be meeting with them again tomorrow evening. We have some plans with the Ward to help them to get back to church. We will see what the Lord has in store for the family!
My language studies
My language studies generally consist of reading the "O Le Tusi a Mamona" in Samoan and English with my comp to help me to learn grammar, sentence structure specifically, vocabulary, and to improve my pronunciation. Then, generally speaking, I will study out of a grammar book provided by the MTC. Occasionally I study the vocab manual to learn missionary terms. But a large part of my learning comes from day to day interaction with native speakers.
People tell me that I still look too skinny
The food is incredible!! One of my favorites is something called Luau. It is basically taro leaves soaked in coconut milk (among other things). So tasty! Especially when you eat it with a bit of taro! We have sapa sui often, which the members already know to be my favorite. I enjoy the breakfast foods, particularly the Samoan pancakes "pankeki". Very nice with Koko Samoa. MMMMMMmmmmm! I don't know whether or not I am gaining weight. We don't have a scale. People tell me that I still look too skinny. Oh well!!
I struggled a bit over the last week with the language barrier
Here have been my recent struggles. I struggled a bit over the last week with the language barrier. The main two things that are a struggle are as follows:
1) Elder Tuua and I can't really teach together
2) I am finding it difficult to get to know the ward members (other than youth and ysa) because of the language barrier.
The reason we are unable to teach together that I have found is that my Samoan is too poor to do any teaching in Samoan, and Elder Tuua is too shy to speak English. So unfortunately, much of the time it is just one of us talking/teaching in the language that we are confident in. That is something that we are looking to improve and do something to change.
Not being able to get to know the ward members is a challenge for me because that is one of the most important things for missionaries to do while serving, because the ward provides the most solid investigators. Fortunately, my wonderful companion and I have talked a bit more, and we have decided on some things that I can do better to be more involved with those that speak Samoan. I just need to open my mouth. Elder Tuua speaks Tongan pretty well, and he shared with me that it was by talking, making mistakes, asking questions, and practicing that he improved. Quite a humbling experience. I do imagine that this week will be better for me. So I have made plans to talk and use as many Samoan words as possible, and to be more proactive in my learning. That is a mistake that I made, not taking and using every opportunity to speak the language.
Down in the dumps and feeling useless
I felt that I was in the furnace of affliction (especially yesterday, being around the members of our ward so much). I was pretty down. I cannot function at nearly the same level as a missionary as I did when in an English speaking program, and that was something that really made me down in the dumps and feel useless. But Heavenly Father in His infinite mercy has reached out to me in love. I was reading a talk last night in an Ensign edition, I am not sure which, and there was a story that a man that had horrible anxiety problems (see article here). So bad that they depleted every source of energy every day, so that this man was humbled to live prayer to prayer. He needed to rely wholly on the Lord. He shared scriptures from the Book of Ether that described how the people of Jared passed through trials. The furious wind that created the waves that buried them in the deep also blew them towards the promised land. Our trials are pushing us to the promised land. What promised land would I miss out on if I were not in this language program? I am eternally grateful to be here and for the challenge presented me. I am being humbled. I am being refined. And I know that the Lord has a greater plan for me, and I am where I am for a wise purpose.
I love you guys! Hope that you have a fantastic week! I know that I will here! Thanks so much for the prayers. I do need and appreciate them.
Alofa atu!
Elder Loseni
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| Some weird tree we found this week... |
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