O a mai le vaiaso? Sa fiafia ma'ua le vaiaso uma. We had a pretty great week this past week! I will share with you some of the highlights!
So you may notice that I am emailing an hour earlier than usual. That is because we are having a send-off party for one of our zone leaders, as this is his last P-day, so we have received permission to do things a little bit different and start our day earlier. Cool stuff! I only have another hour from now to email, so we shall see how I am able to do with the time that is given...
The Spirit can shine through unlikely atmospheres of distraction and noise
A favorite missionary moment was a visit that we had with some potential investigators this past week. We went to their home, and met with two sisters in their home with their family present but not participating. It was pretty funny! We got there and they wanted to welcome us in, but had no idea what to expect from missionaries. The family was going crazy; people in and out of the house. Everyone was getting ready to go somewhere.
What was funny was just that it seemed that all of the Samoan community in Sydney seemed to be coming through their house at the particular time we set the appointment. But what made it my favorite was that we were able to bear testimony so boldly and briefly teach of the Restoration of the Gospel. It is amazing how the Spirit can shine through unlikely atmospheres of distraction and noise to pierce the hearts of those that are ready to receive it. We left on a high note, and are looking forward to going back and teaching more, as the sisters are very receptive.
What a wonderful gift to be able to hear living prophets!
General Conference was very much a revelatory experience for me. Did you notice how frequently messages were directed to full-time missionaries? Some of my favorite quotes/ideas:
- Sister Linda K Burton- The Priesthood at times will be the only shield protecting the family from the adversary (wow, pretty big deal! What does this mean??)
- I thought that it was appropriate to apply the things that I learned about marriage to my missionary companionship. For example, we should work together like two hands do. Opposite they may be, but together, they complete each other, and cause great things to come to pass
- I liked Elder Oaks talk because it is very relevant to the things that I am doing now. A question that came to mind based off of his teachings: What do we do with the Savior's teachings when we receive them?
- Elder Bednar Knowledge of and Faith in the Lord bring the only permanent remedy to fear-Godly fear dispels worldly fear
- Elder Wilford Anderson "I can teach you to dance, but you have to hear the music" This talk was one I felt that spoke directly to me, I could relate well, because of the things that I have done with music in the past.
- Elder Dale Renlund Something that gave me hope for the future "A saint is a sinner that keeps on trying" and ""Twas I, but 'tis not I"
- I felt that Elder Ballard was speaking directly to me too. He helped me to understand that my mission call was inspired, and I could really relate to the story he shared about the missionary about to return to his mission
- Pres Uchtdorf The root of apostasy is letting pride or desire deceive us and others. The Savior doesn't care about accomplishments, but the condition of our hearts
- Pres Monson's priesthood session talk was another that I loved. I loved that he talked about his own experiences with learning to appreciate the priesthood
- The seventies from Sunday morning were all super inspiring, I don't have time to include everything that I liked particularly, but I learned soooo much!
- Oh, and my very favorite two talks were Elder Holland and Pearson, they smashed it! It was cool to see a guy that I have had a conversation with give a conference talk.
So last weeks P-day was great! I have a few pics, with some familiar faces on them. Elder Pedersen and Elder Wu came down last week to send off Elder Samuela. Elder Wu also will finish next week (whaaat?). It is crazy how many missionaries are going home within the next 2 months!! So many! Elder Balenavekau goes home too next week. The next transfer, Elder Bartholomew goes, and the one after that Elder Tai. So, pretty much all of my comps but Elder Tuua! What the heck!!
We played touch footy on the beach most of the time last week, which was fun as!! Man, the water here is soooooo warm compared to California. Don't worry, I didn't go swimming. I just got my feet wet. I have decided that I am moving to Aussie, and am going to live by myself in a shack on the beach. The ocean will be my bath tub, and my kitchen. I will have a garden of taro, kumala, and cassava, and other than that will live off of fish. :) Just kidding, probably not that!
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| Elder Wu, Elder Larsen, and Elder Pedersen. Elder Wu was Jarrad's companion, and Elder Pedersen a previous flatmate. Looks like they are staring straight into the sunset. |
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| Missionaries at the beach in Wollongong, Australia. |
Another highlight of the week was our Samoan class. It was so fun! But also a lot more fruitful as more people actually came! We did a bit of a review of the lessons that have been learned over the past weeks, and the review consisted of a scavenger hunt and jeopardy. It was great because our Stake President, pres Jones, comes every week and is a crack up!! He is actually getting pretty good with his Samoan! But his humor will hopefully help in the future as more people start coming, they will realize that it is a safe environment where you can learn while having fun with it!
Well, my time is running out pretty quick. I love you heaps!
Alofa atu!
Elder Loseni
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