O a mai le vaiaso? Sa pisi lo'u vaiaso. Timu tele!! I just asked how your week was, said my week was busy, with heaps of rain! :) Things have been going great down under! We have been seeing small and simple changes that we believe will help great things come to pass.
We had a solid 2-hour, hyper-focused meeting
For example, one of the main blessings that we have seen this week came at ward council. We met with our ward mission leader early this week in preparation for ward council, and we all agreed that now is the time for the Ward Council and the missionaries to unite fully. So we made plans and prepared to get the Ward Council more involved in the missionary work--much more involved. We compiled a list of every family, investigator, part member, less-active, and even potential investigators in our area book, and the CT3 (Campbelltown 3rd Ward) sisters' area book (because there are no more sisters in our ward), and printed it out for every member of the Ward Council. And it was incredibly effective! Instead of a couple hours of wasted time arguing about random things, we had a solid 2-hour, hyper-focused meeting, all about getting the members of the Ward Council involved with the people that we are working with. It will be slow, but we know that Heavenly Father has a plan for these people to be involved in our investigators' lives, and that the influence they have will help them progress in the gospel!
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| Happy 20th birthday Elder Larsen from the McArthur Ward Sisters! |
More about Elder Naidu (Jarrad's companion)
You asked more about Elder Naidu. Well, he is the man! He is from American Samoa (Tutuila is the Samoan word for it), his village is Mapusaga Fou. Elder Naidu's last name is pronounced "Nye-(Rhymes with the "rhy" in rhyme)-doo". So he is half Samoan, half Fijian-Indian. Dad is Fijian-Indian, mom is full Samoan. Honestly, he is one of the funnest missionaries I have been around. A crack-up! He loves American Football, Rugby Union, Volleyball, and pretty much every other sport. Honestly, he is super-fit! How does he know Samoan? Well, that's his first language! He grew up speaking it. He apparently didn't learn English till school, and according to him, he didn't speak well until he came on his mission. (His English is perfect, by the way). He has been on his mission since August 2013, so only 4 more months to go! He will most likely finish up in this ward.
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| Elders Naidu and Larsen at the computers on P-day. Look closely at Jarrad's nametag - Loseni! |
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| Larsen and Naidu in their flat. |
Sometimes members think I can understand a lot better than I do
I have definitely begun to use heaps more Samoan than before. I have seen how much the people enjoy palagi's speaking their own language, so I try as best I can to speak in Samoan as much as possible, especially with members. And it is beginning to click. I feel that it is coming faster and faster, and that I am able to understand more and more! The only problem is that sometimes members think I can understand a lot better than I do and they rattle off in Samoan, so that I have no idea what they are talking about. One luxury I am currently enjoying is understanding that people are not talking about me. In fact, I can understand the gist of most conversations. The nitty gritty details are still way over my head, but it is coming along!
Was I going to simply get in the car and drive off?
It has been fun this past week using new ideas to teach people. There are two teaching experiences that I wanted to share, both of which have a bit of application for y'all. Funnily enough, in both stories, the individual is named Mose (Moses in Samoan), but they are different individuals!
So, first teaching experience; This experience taught me both the importance of heeding the counsel of your leaders, and also of the benefits of sharing your talents. We had a zone training meeting on Friday with our new zone leaders, Elder Von Hatton and Elder Ahmed, both from Utah (great guys). The training was about finding people to teach. One of the things that we learned was to take initiative, and use your talents. Be creative! Also, we learned of the importance of going out of our way to talk to people. Open your mouth!
It is really easy in the Samoan ward to simply walk past people that don't look Samoan. It was a good reminder to me of my purpose. So, anyways, later that day, Elder Naidu and I went to K_ and J_'s home to an appointment that we set up last Sunday as Elder Tuua said goodbye to the family. We went there, and no one was answering the door, unfortunately. We decided to write a note and leave it on the door, and then we left. As we were walking to our car (kinda down a slope), across the street a man pulled up and parked his super-flash blue car. The key phrase: across the street. That is definitely out of our way. Gosh. I had a decision to make. Was I going to simply get in the car and drive off? Or would I apply the training that I just received, something that I had been learning over my entire mission?
A family of lost sheep--found!
I decided to apply the training. The man got out of the car, and I approached him and said "Hey, that's a flash car, man!" We started talking with him, and we found out that he's Samoan! That's when my wonderful companion took over. He started speaking Samoan with him, and somehow the guy told him that he needed a haircut. My comp is the mission barber (seriously, he does some good haircuts!), so he offered his services for free the next day. Wow! Look at that! Both of us applying the training!
Fast forward one day. We went to do the haircut, and what great opportunities have risen! We met his little sis, and found out that they are both [Church] members, the only members in their family. They live with their uncle who is a minister for another church. But they both have such strong faith in God! Elder Naidu will be doing haircuts this coming week again for Mose's little cousin, and they said they would love for us to teach them! Awesome! A family of lost sheep--found! With further opportunities for family members to embrace the gospel!
It turns out that I don't have time for the second teaching experience, but I will make sure to tell you next week!! I promise! you can hold me accountable!
I love you guys heaps! Hope you have a great week!
Love,
Elder Loseni
PS Check out Elder (David) Wu!
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| Picture of Elder Wu, one of Jarrad's previous companions, with his family in Hong Kong. |
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