The end and the Beginning

Well, this is the End. I'm packing up for Tahiti. This is my last day here, and then I'm off. This is the part where I start looking back on the person I used to be and the things I used to know and see how much I've changed. It's great. I've really grown a desire this past week, more than any other week here, to tell the whole world what I know. I want to tell everyone about the Restoration, about Christ and His Atonement, about the saving power that He has for everyone. I think that with that desire, it doesn't matter so much that I don't know the languages perfectly. God will help me out.

I had some really cool experiences in this past week.  I was able to give a blessing of comfort and counsel. All the departing missionaries in our district wanted them so we all got and gave them. It was really cool to see the Lord guiding them to say certain things. I'm convinced they we wouldn't have said those things without the spirit. Then Elder Edmunds and I gave soeur Rakotomalala a blessing for the sick. Again, way cool to see the Lord directing me as I spoke. Afterwards, I could see the difference in the way she walked. She wasn't as bad off as before. The church is true! E mau parau i te Ekalesia!

Also, this was my first time giving both blessings. I don't know if very many experiences here, if any, can compare to what I felt then.

I was reading in Mosiah yesterday. I've read the Book of Mormon a lot of times, but somehow I seemed to have missed this part every time. It is the story of King Noah and Abinadi. Abinadi preaches of the wickedness of the people and they hate that he's talking bad about them. They try to kill him, so he disappears. 

Two years later he comes back disguised and continues to preach. They catch him this time, and put him before the King. Now this is the part I seem to miss. I remember him Saying that they couldn't touch him until he had finished, and then he talked about the law of Moses and the Ten Commandments, but that was it. This time I carefully read all of it. It's probably one of the most powerful scriptures I've read on the Atonement. He tells all these people about how Christ would come, and Atone for us, and be crucified. My favorite verses are in chapter 14:

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,and acquainted with grief; and we 

hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

 4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows;yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This is an awesome scripture, showing a little more about how Jesus Christ felt and how we treated him in all of his struggles in the Atonement. I'm surprised not all of the priests and King Noah were converted right then. It was so powerful.

Oh! Today it snowed! Like actually snow, and not the rain/snow stuff that we've had. I guess it's our parting gift before we leave it for two years. It's funny to see all the people here who haven't seen snow before having snowball fights and just enjoying the snow. It's a complete new experience for them.

Other fun stuff this week: We had a devo from some media guy in the church (I can't remember his name) who showed us Christmas videos, ads, and memes that the church will put out soon.

I lost an OJ bet (there's a picture). I guess that wasn't really fun, but it's different.

We've had a Tahitian teach us. He makes learning way fun, and tells us about Tahiti so we know what to expect. He also taught us the Haka. I learned it before, but forgot most of it. It's also way cooler when a Tahitian teaches it to you and when you understand what you're saying. 

I can't believe I'm leaving. It's kind of like Christmas- where you have the anticipation of waiting for it to come and you're super focused on it coming, but when it actually comes it's a surprise. That's how I feel. I've waited two months wanting to get out of here and now, all of a sudden, I'm leaving. I think I'm ready, though. I'll have lots of new experiences.

Awkward picture of Elder Edmunds, our teachers, and me

All of our study materials

Elder Edmunds fell asleep. Again.

Is Elder Prete smoking at the temple? Maybe

Last Sunday with Soeur Banda

Almost our entire district

Scriptures in Malagasy. You can't read it, but look at where verse 19 starts and ends.

Need I explain this picture?

Who needs a leaf pile when you can have a leaf line?

Got Elder Prete in Infield Orientation

Our first day at the MTC! I don't know if you can see the dork dots

Yeah. You know what's up

Soeurs Jimmy and Rakotomalala

I think I'm being attacked

Ninja selfies. You can see my dork dot

We found Waldo.

I lost the OJ bet. Ugh.

This one's for France.

"It's a completely new MTC experience from the last six weeks."

Iaorana! Ua here au ia MTC! E Haapi'i mai au roa e Te nehenehe nei au pure e nehenehe au faaite i te iteraa pau. Ua horo'a Te Atua ia vau i te horo'a no mau reo.

This week has gone by pretty slowly. It was full of exploding brains trying to understand Tahitian, saying goodbye to people, and getting ready to go to Tahiti. We started learning Tahitian Wednesday, and I'm telling you, it's hard. I'm going to have to rely on God to give me the gift of tongues because I can't figure it out. It's really cool, though. We taught our first Tahitian investigator on day two of Tahitian. Elder Edmunds and I walked to the door, were about to knock, then realized we didn't know how to introduce ourselves. We just winged that one. It was a good thing the name of the Church is on the Book of Mormon. After we introduced ourselves, she started talking. We had NO IDEA what she said! We just sat there for a minute (or maybe five) and then I just said "Eaha?". She explained again and we still had no idea what she said, but when Elder Edmunds said some choppy words, she let us in. the rest of the lesson was full of silent pauses as we tried to figure out what she said. It feels like you're trying to make a machine work. If you push the right sequence of buttons, the machine moves, and you're stuck trying to find out the next sequence of buttons. We've gotten better, though, as we've been teaching more and more.

We've gotten snow. I can't decide if I like it or not. It's pretty wimpy, though, I'll tell you that. It can't decide if it wants to be snow or rain. The moisture is good-I've gotten SUPER chapped, and I'm just waiting for Tahiti to solve that problem. It's so fun to see how the Vanuatuan sisters react to that. Oh yeah, we got three new sisters, and gain another today. We had to move to a bigger classroom because there are so many of us. It's really fun getting to know knew people and a new language. It's a completely new MTC experience from the last six weeks.

I guess not a lot is happening other than that besides the fact that everyone we've gotten to know is leaving. And we would've left with them. It's all good, though. People are going where the Lord wants them. And soon I'll be there, too.

Highlight of the week: A Brazilian Elder came up to me and asked if I was Brazilian! Oh yeah!! 

Low point of the week. Some of us decided to fast yesterday and we'd break it this morning with a temple breakfast. And what do you know? The one day in the seven weeks I've been here We get catered. Chick Fil-A catered for dinner. elder Edmunds had just broken his fast right before, so I was stuck sitting between my district watching them eat real food. Well, not really REAL food, but ten times more real than the food here. But hey, I got more blessings than them, so it's okay.

Alright, I guess not much more has happened here, so this will be a short letter. But the church is true, God loves us, we can find answers to all our questions through prayers.

Ua ite au e ua here Te Atua ia tatou. Te pahona ona ia to'tatou mau pure. E parau mau i te Buka a Moromona. Ua ite au e ua rave o Iesu Mesia fara'ehara. Ua tatou tamari'i no Te Atua. E haere atu vau i Tahiti ia faaite i te evanelia no Iesu Mesia no mau taata. Ua hinaaro mau taata i te evanelia e e horo'a vau ia ratou. Ua here au i te misione e i te evanelia. Ua parau mau i te ekalesia!

Elder Lewis

A Long Week

This week has been long! It started out Tuesday night with a devotional from Elder Anderson. That was way cool. We were going to do and OJ bet on if an Apostle would come, except we all knew one would come. He talked about suffering and enduring through it, the Adversary and beating him, and some other motivating stuff. I loved every minute of it.

Of course at the end I wanted to shake his hand or something, but there would be no way for that to happen with all the missionaries, so afterwards we just left a side door. Right there was a black car behind a little barricade thingy, and a body guard. Right then, Elder Anderson walked up, so Elder Robinson, Edmunds, and I went over to shake his hand along with only about twenty others before he left. Way cool.

This whole week we've been finishing up with our teachers before we start learning Tahitian, and I think that's why it seemed to drag out so long. Our teachers have been telling us lots of stories from their missions in Paris including really funny ones and really spiritual ones. We've been teaching our teachers like they were investigators. They acted like investigators from their own missions who they became close to and it was cool to see how we taught them compared to how our teachers actually taught them on their missions. 

We have also been talking about the first day at the MTC. I didn't realize how much I improved until looking back and seeing how much I thought I know and how much I didn't know. The gift of tongues is real, and We've had a lot of help from up above to learn not only how to teach the gospel with the spirit, but teach it in a different language.

Christmas lights are going up and it makes the MTC life a little more easily managed. They started putting them up right outside our classroom window. Man, we're blessed. Just kidding. The Vanuatuans got a kick out of the people climbing this big tree to put lights up.

Overall this week, I've mostly just been excited to start Tahitian. Tomorrow's the day. We're losing Soeur Banda to Saint George and gaining five new missionaries. We've met two of them, one from Utah and the other from Madagascar. It's going to be fun starting this new language with new people. It will be a completely new adventure. I just hope I'll be able to learn enough Tahitian in two weeks.

So far, I've spent six weeks in the MTC which is the longest most missionaries will stay here. I've definitely learned to rely on the Lord in these past six weeks, to pray hard and sincerely, to work diligently, and to seek out the spirit in everything I do. There's a scripture that talks about trusting in the Lord, because without Him you can't do anything, and with Him, you can do all. Out on my mission, I'm going to be using that a lot.

It's a great opportunity to be on a mission and to be able to teach people about the true church through the Holy Ghost. I know I can't do it without him, and I try to be humble so I can teach effectively. These six weeks have changed me, and I know these next two years will change me even more.

Until next time, nana!

Elder Lewis

Soeur Jimmy and her awesome hair

First meal eating healthy

Me and Elder Winwood before he left for Hong Kong

Cereal eating challenge

Elder Edmunds sleeping again

Elder Edmunds and I took a walk for a break and wandered to the senior couples floor. This is what they get! Not fair!

There's this really weird picture in the main building. Look at the window

Bathroom pics with Elders Edmunds and Robinson

Disgusting MTC food

Elder Roylance fell asleep. Bad move, my friend

Me and Elder Marae this Sunday before he left

Elder Tetaapua (from Tahiti), Elder Leroy (from Belgium), Elder McLoughlin, me, Elder Edmunds, and Elder Robinson

Sister Saroni, Sister Jimmy, and me celebrating Halloween with fake teeth. They were scared when I first smiled at them with purple vampire teeth, then they put some in, too

The story I wrote in Bislama

Me, Elder Edmunds, and brother Maher, the branch's first counselor