The Savior knows us individually

Hello family!

Looks like your week was fun! So was mine! The banana plantation was pretty cool! I didn't take any pictures, but I learned how to both be the guy that gets thrown in the air to catch the footy ball in rugby and how to throw people in the air. So that was productive!:)

The day I gave away two ties

An update on Junior and Colony: We had a great appointment with them this past Wednesday. We went over, and it turned out to be Junior's birthday! They invited us over for his birthday! Wow, what a kind gesture! They made nachos and a cake, and we were able to have a great time getting to know the whole family. They are awesome! We were able to have a really awesome lesson with them, Sounds like the family got really into the family prayers. Their kids would remind the parents, and they noticed some awesome blessings as a result!! How exciting! We have another appointment with them this coming Friday, where we plan to teach a bit about how the family can be together forever through the restored priesthood and the Savior Jesus Christ.

That was the day I gave away two ties. Probably one of the more interesting days on my mission.

I met my favorite person just before we went to Junior and Colony's. His name is Sh*ne. Sh*ne is one of the locals here that has a tendency to drink--lots--at a shopping center close to our flat. He is the man! He has some very..... Interesting interpretations of what happened in the Bible that I probably will not share. And apparently he is a member of one of the well-known secret combinations (is that an oxymoron?). Think National Treasure.... Hahaha. Anyways, long story short, he is nuts. I was wearing that tie you sent me last year, the green one for like Saint Patty's day or something. A great tie! And he was Irish, so he asked for my tie. I gave it to him, which was super surprising to him. Hahahaha now we are "brothers". He was implying it in some secret combination-ly way... Super weird!

And then at Junior and Colony's I promised the fam that I would give them my tie if they could figure out an object lesson that required using my tie. And they did it! So in the space of 2 hours, I gave away 2 ties. Good stuff!

A picture from my trade-off with my DL, Elder Carter. This is what we were proselyting near!

Elder Bednar Conference: The Savior knows us individually

The conference with Elder Bednar was incredible! Man!! Some of my notes:

• When teaching, we must not use "guess what's in my head" questions, or put people on the spot to answer questions, because that removes agency. "Therefore, you cannot feel the Spirit."
• Our teaching and testifying is not nearly as important as the testimony born by the student. It is through that testimony that a student of any kind will learn new truths and have the Spirit bear witness to him/her most strongly.
• The ultimate control is to know that we are not in control.
• D&C 88:122 We are to appoint the Holy Ghost to be our teacher....
• The Savior worked by a pattern of doing things "one by one" (e.g., the Nephites touched his hands and feet one by one). The Atonement was not one event where suddenly everyone's sins were suffered for. Perhaps, the Savior saw an everlasting stream of individuals, and faces, and suffered for each one of us one by one. A fraction of time he looked at us, saw our weaknesses, bore our transgressions. That is how he knows us individually.
• What does God want for us? D&C 97:7-8.
• We are held to a different standard of Accountability when we hear the words of an Apostle (scary thought!)

It was such a cool meeting because of the format. It was open forum the entire time! So, we heard first from Sister Robbins, then Elder Lynn G. Robbins of the Presidency of the Seventy, who bore testimony of the 3 great sources of truth: The Book of Mormon and other scriptures, the Modern Prophets, and the Spirit. Super powerful. We then heard from Sister Bednar, who had a sweet spirit about her. What a wonderful woman with such a powerful testimony! And the rest of the meeting (literally 2 1/2 hours) was Elder Bednar following up on the talks that we read and answering questions. It was sooooo cool! I wish I could include even a fraction of what revelation I received!!! Wow!

One of the tender mercies of the week was how my questions were answered in that meeting. The Spirit truly does know what we need. All of the points of notes that I wrote from that conference answered a question of mine. I will have to show you my journal when I get home! Color-coded and everything:). What recent answers to prayers have you received? I would like to recommend the talks that Elder Bednar invited all of us to read (I will send them with this letter). Super inspiring. They will give you a better idea of what we learned.

We saw Bishop and Sister Tufuga from Bankstown 1st at the Bednar conference. Sooo good to see them!

Members were telling me that I need to go to find a wife in Samoa!

Friday there was a baptism in our ward that I was invited to speak in. So I gave my Lauga in Faasamoa. I am learning more and more! Thanks sooooo much for the language advice. I am applying and adapting the advice and it is paying off! It was funny because after the baptism all of the members were telling me that I need to go to find a wife in Samoa hahahaha.

Pres Pearson spoke at stake conference too! That was super inspiring! Ahhhh I wish I had more time to write!!! Oh well......  We are looking forward to this coming week. It should be awesome.

What a typical Samoan house looks like:)

Tala'i malosi, ai malosi, moe malosi

I have been changed so much on my mission. I reaaaally don't want it to end. The amount of time that I am able to feel the Spirit, receive personal revelation, study, reflect on myself, submit myself entirely to the Lord. It is unreal how fast it has gone by. I have told Elder Tuua a few times that our days just go by too fast. We get up, go out and work hard, doing everything in our power to tala'i malosi, we ai malosi, and we moe malosi (preach hard, eat hard, sleep hard), and I cannot imagine life without this. Shucks!

What is sad to me is the missionaries who don't get it. There are way too many missionaries that waste their time, and ultimately suffer spiritually because of it. So sad. I want to be a missionary forever, and help the missionaries feel the same things that I have felt, to help the members feel the same things that they used to feel as full-time missionaries, and to help the nonmembers embrace the Love of God through the Atonement....

Ahhh... Just some things that have been on my mind recently.....

Love you heaps!
Elder Loseni!

This is what Elder Tuua did this week that made me laugh. That is one of my Zone Leaders. My current ZL's are some really good friends of mine, Elder Anderson and Elder Samuela. I was Elder Anderson's DL in Dapto, and he was Mortdale ZL for a while while I was in B-town. I replaced Elder Samuela in B-town. He is the man!! From Brisbane, half Maori half Samoan. Super cool!

Cool, eh! That's actually another elder, apparently there was a little ledge that you could stand on, but I wasn't dumb enough to try it out. Don't worry!

We also saw a horse just chillin in the backyard of some guy in Claymore. Only in Claymore....