Thanks for that inspiring letter. I do know that the Lord has a plan for me here.
This week was a bit slower than last week. Some of our investigators went on vacation. Some we just couldn't seem to catch home. Nonetheless, we were still able to have good missionary opportunities.
Looking for Samoan families
One highlight of the week was when we met a part-member family through tracting. One of the suburbs that we work in (honestly, where most of the work happens) is called Claymore. I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but it is the suburb with the highest concentration of LDS people in Australia. There are 3-4 wards that cover this area. Macarthur ward, Campbelltown 2nd (Tongan), Campbelltown 3rd (Samoan, our ward), and possibly another English ward, I can't remember. There are heeeeeeaaaaaaaps of Islander families there, which is part of the reason that there are so many members. Anyways, Elder Tuua and I have found it to be productive to go tracting to look for Samoan families, because 1) the area has more Samoan people than any other nationality, and 2) Samoan people are generally pretty receptive to us missionaries (I have strange feelings that I did mention this before....).
Anyways, we were on a particular street and we were looking for the houses that had the indicators of a Samoan family, e.g., usually thongs sitting outside the door (flip-flops for you Americans), sometimes they have the island plant "Lauti" which is used in the islands for massaging, particularly for those with headaches from what I understand. One house had a Samoan lava lava hanging from the window. Bingo! There is our door! We knocked and a woman came to the door, and said "Hi Elders....." She told us that she was a member a long time ago in our ward, but married a pastor from another church. So, she isn't coming back anytime soon. But then she pointed across the complex and said "Do they still go to church?" We replied that we didn't know, but we will go find out. So off we went!
Inactive, but still a member
We got to the door, and knocked, and not long later, the door was opened by a tall man with Samoan tattoos on his arms. Quite the intimidating character. We introduced ourselves as missionaries, told them that we are in the area looking to share a message about the eternal nature of families, and he welcomed us in. We sat down, after which we were introduced to this man and his wife. Their names are Junior and Colony (like 13 American colonies). Junior is Samoan, and Colony is Maori. They have 3 young children. After a bit of small talk, they asked what it was that we wanted to share. So we testified that God is Our Father in Heaven who loves us, that he provided a plan for all of our families to be together forever. We asked if that was something that they had ever heard of before, and then Colony told us "Well, yes, I am a member. Inactive, but still a member." Junior is not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was raised in the Assembly of God church. But man, he is ready to receive the gospel! And in fact, the whole family is ready to receive the full blessings that come from the temple.
They were very open in sharing their religious background and level of belief in God. For both of them, God is super important. They shared that just over a year ago, missionaries had visited their home, and really encouraged the family to pray. We asked about the blessings that they thought could come from praying as a family (because they seem to pray individually). And man, do they know the blessings! They both shared experiences where God has answered prayers, and how in their lives when they have had family prayers there was a greater sense of unity, much more patience and love. Not only that, but they continued without prompting from us missionaries to share the blessings of keeping the Sabbath day holy. Wow! We were blown away! I wish I could share every little detail of our experience in this letter, but that would take to long. In fact, I wish I just had like a camera that followed me around all day, every day so that you guys could have the same experiences! They committed to pray as a family, and they invited us over this coming Wednesday for dinner and to follow-up on their family prayer (all again without prompting from the missionaries). How cool is that! Junior is super-receptive to the church. Man, why did the missionaries stop visiting??
The hits, when they come, are very exciting
We also met another family prepared for the gospel in a different suburb with a high concentration of Samoan families. The doors that we knock are basically a hit or miss. For example, one door that looked like it could potentially house a Samoan family turned out to be home to an uninterested, yet nice, Indian family. The hits, when they come, are very exciting! As we approached one door, I had a prayer in my heart. "Heavenly Father, I pray that thou wilt send thy Spirit to prepare the hearts of those that live here to receive our message. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." Shortly after knocking, a woman came to the door. She recognized us as missionaries, and told us that she is a member of the AOG church. She also told us of her husband, who had passed away 6 months previous, and how the family was going through a difficult time (with tears in her eyes). Gosh, the Plan of Salvation is for everyone! That is for sure! The principles of God's plan can apply to every individual in whatever stage of life they find themselves in. And this proved to be the case with her. Our response to her was something along the lines of "We are so sorry to hear of your loss. Oftentimes, in life, it is difficult to have hope when so many tragedies and troubles occur. That is because many people have a limited view of what God's plan is for us. But with a wider perspective, there is no need for the heartache! We know that there is more than just this life. You can be with your husband again, and it is through Jesus Christ, and His message that we bear that that can come about. What would that mean to you if that was true?"
"It would mean the world to me (still with tears in her eyes). And that is not the first that I have heard it. I have a friend from your church who told me the same thing...." She explained how her friend had given her more hope and comfort. We proceeded to set an appointment for this coming Thursday. How exciting! Heavenly Father heard and answered my prayer. An interesting thought that came to mind: I believe that Heavenly Father would have allowed us to have that experience regardless of whether or not I said a prayer. But the Lord also puts it in our heart what we should pray for (See 3 Nephi 19:24). He knew that it would increase my faith in the power of prayer. What a neat experience for a 19 year-old boy!
Surprised to see the Palagi using the Samoan language
Other highlights of the week: We began our Samoan class this week (where we teach those that do not speak the language to speak Samoan). That was fun. It ended up being all members (and Brother Ch*) that showed up, almost all of which were already fluent in Samoan. But still a better turn-out than expected! We had fun playing games and learning the alphabet, colors, and numbers in Samoan.
We also had a good experience yesterday at Church when we performed a musical item as missionaries and our WML's (ward mission leader) family. It was a great opportunity to build relationships with the ward members that I don't often get to speak with because of the language, because we sang "Did you think to pray?" in Samoan. Lots of people were once again surprised to see the Palagi up there using the Samoan language. Hehehe. Sneaky of us..... Sneaky way for me to practice Samoan to the delight of the members.
Probably the last thing was our p-day last week. We went to a massive mall and played laser tag. That was sooooo fun! I think I told you about laser tag in Canberra? Well it was even better this time, because it was only the Elders! Today is our zone p-day. We are going to a banana plantation (I will provide pics). It should be pretty fun!!!!
This week is going to be awesome, because Elder Bednar is coming to our mission on Saturday!!!!!!!! Wooooohooooooo! I am so pumped!!!!!!!!!
We also have lots of appointments set, which should be good. We met with El*zabeth, but no real progression there. We are thinking of passing her on to the Macarthur ward sisters. For various reasons, the main one being that they will have better opportunity to work with the ward to help El*zabeth progress. The Ch* family are in Samoa for the week. Hopefully we will get to see them towards the weekend.
Thanks for your prayers and love! I am being strengthened every day!
Alofa atu!!
Elder Loseni
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