FA'AFETAI LAVA MO MEA ALOFA!!!!!
(Thank you so much for the gifts, idk how to say package haha.)
Seriously, ask, and ye shall receive! I had a request for pistachios, and i get two packages on tuesday with pistachios from mom, AND gramma and pap! haha pap wrote a note saying, "From one nut to another." hahaha!!! SO THANK YOU! my comp(anion) and i have been enjoying them! and thank you gramma and pap for the cinnamon rolls too! they were gone too soon! haha but really i think i'm good on food here for a while, they keep the vending machines well stocked too. :)
Thank you, mom for fulfilling all my requests in the package! I think i'm good for a while, so hopefully i wont be a burden to ya for at least another week, haha! LOGAN, those cookies were the BOMB! thank you thank you thank you! I feel at home when i have one. also my roommies were all impressed you made them! ;) keep that skill and you'll have a lady in no time... after your mission and you graduate from the academy of course! hahaha.... ;D
i also had a surprise from austin and ashley in my classroom sunday morning! that was nice! got some healthy snacks and the printed version of the pic of me and austin from a few weeks ago. so thank you to them! love them!
i hope you all are healthy, well, happy, and... smiling! we are here on earth that we might have joy, so BE HAPPY DANG IT! =D glad to hear the house stuff is going smoothly! have fun packing and such, i'll be thinking of ya while i sit on my bum and try to learn Samoan. :D
I saw Elder Loertscher twice yesterday! He looks great, like a missionary! :) tell Sis. L he had a big smile on his face!
random thought: mom, i miss your meals.... the food here is good, but you just can't do a "home-cooked" meal for thousands of missionaries at one time. darn. haha, boys... NEVER take mom's food for granted.
now for the weekly update!
-Saturday was great! we had a zone meeting in the morning, all (of our) teachers took a turn to talk about things they've noticed we, as a zone, need to improve on. what it came down to was obedience to the mission rules, even the ones that seem silly. I, personally, felt good that i was being obedient, but there are definitely things i can do better at, always room for improvement. i am thankful they did it though because it got the point across to the elders that they need to stop messin' around when the teachers aren't there and when we are (supposed) to be studying. i've seen a little improvement, but mostly soa (Sis. Pe'a) and i just study in a separate room away from the obnoxiousness the teenage boys make. :)
after lunch on Saturday we did our first TRC lesson. *(The TRC is a training that they do were they invite people from the outside of the MTC to come and pretend to be investigators so that the missionaries can practice teaching one of their lessons.) well i did that! but in samoan! sis pe'a and i taught a RM *(Return Missionary) who used to teach samoan here at the MTC named Ka'i. we taught about (Fa'atuatua) faith! and how to use his faith to help build others! it was a really good experience, and i tried memorizing my sentences, and was semi successful! but he gave us good advice at the end so that helped! We will be doing that every satuday until we leave! so many lessons to prepare....
-sundays are awesome. 7.30 church, then breakfast, then the sisters watch music and the spoken word followed by a giant RS (Relief Society) meeting where people in the church come and talk to us. this sunday sis bonnie oscarson, the YW (Young Women's) gen. president came! She talked about Jacob 5 in the BOM (Book of Mormon) with the parable of the Olive Tree. It was awesome! Us missionaries are talked about in verse 61! and the lord said, "bring in the missionaries!" haha!
sunday night's devotional was from richard i. heaton. he works for the MTC as the admin head something. basically he coordinates food, dorms, teachers/classes... everything. he spoke on the gift of the holy ghost and how we can take it for granted. think about it - if we didn't have the HG (Holy Ghost) there would be NO CONVERSION. at all! i don't have enough time to go on about it, but definitely read 2 Nephi chapters 31, 32, 33 in BOM!
Tuesday we had class with Bro Tolley and we went in depth with the plan of salvation so that we could better teach the plan of salvation simply to our investigators. When we know/understand (malamalama) topics in depth, we can teach them simply and effectively! it was an awesome lesson that lead right into our tuesday night devotional with..... ELDER DALLIN H OAKS! who also spoke on related things. Sister oaks was my favorite tho. she only spoke for 10 min or so but it was great. the main thing i got from it was what connected to what i learned in Bro Tolley's lesson earlier that day. when in the pre-earth life, i told very specific people that i'd come to them when on this earth and i'd help bring them back to christ. MOM, DAD, BOYS... THAT IS WHY I AM MEANT TO BE ON THIS MISSION! it even ties back to what Justin told me a few months ago! i may not NEED this mission, but other people need me! how humbling!??!! then in sis oaks talk she said this, "Go out there and find those people you PROMISED to teach prior to this life!" after she said that a light bulb went on in my head! man this is so motivating to me, i just hope i can find each person i promised i would find! It is my goal to do what elder oaks said to us and that is to ACHIEVE and BECOME what the lord wants us to achieve and become.
I love you all so stinkin much! most days my heart is so full of love for you and the people around me and the people of NZ that it wants to explode! keep sending dear elders and letters (by hand!) those are way better than email!! enjoy the pics! love you all infinity...
No comments:
Post a Comment