Nov. 7
oh hey everybody,
first things first. remember last week when i was like "hey me and my companion are going on a diet!"
that was a joke.
except, it wasn't really a joke in the beginning. but in reality, the concept of a diet as a missionary in tahiti is the funniest joke everrrrr. our diet failed so hardcore that there aren't even words to describe it. so yeah, we abandoned that pretty quickly. it's just difficult to be on a diet when you're not incharge of what you eat, but you're at the mercy of members and investigators who feed you. and who take pleasure in feeding you, and are offended if you don't eat their food. eh. the point is, i'm not on a diet. but i'm trying to be more moderate in my eating habits, so hopefully i won't be a candidate for "biggest loser" by the time i get home from my mission.
in other news, guess what! we got two committments to baptism this week! the two brothers we're teaching chose their dates. we were actually pretty surprised at one of them. two weeks ago we committed them to pray for a baptismal date, and we followed up afterwards and they still weren't sure. one of the brothers is really solid, and the other one we had thought was kind of just following his older brother's footsteps. but this past week, we asked them if they had chosen their dates and the older brother was like "yeah, december 31st." and we were all really happy and then we asked the younger brother and he paused for a long time, and i was like "ah he's not responding maybe because he doesn't really want to..." but then, he was like "yeah. i chose my date. but it's kind of soon...november 26th." whoa! what?! but ever since then he has been totally on fire! asking all sorts of questions and participating really well during lessons. and he asked me and s. taie to speak at his baptism too. so we're pretty excited about them and are working hard to prepare them so they'll be ready for the baptisms. it's really cool to see the changes they're making, even as teenagers. sometimes i think we doubt that people can do it--like, oh he's 15 there's no way he's going to be interested in this. but then at the same time, if you think about it, hey, joseph smith was 14! why not? i'm learning more and more the importance of casting aside doubt and having faith that people can change. of course it puts you in a bit of a vulnerable position to have faith in people, because there's always the chance that they won't change and you'll be disappointed. but at the end of the day, if you don't believe that they can change, who will? i know that this gospel is for everyone, not just for a chosen few. it is something that can bring happiness and fulfillment to each and every person in the world, if they will chose to accept it. seeing the changes that our investigators have been able to make, and the light that is coming into their countenances is really amazing.
one of the investigator families that we're working with, the babou family (i've talked about them before--we did halloween with them, and service project planting a garden) is doing really well too. we fasted with them yesterday about baptism so they could pick their dates too. we ran into a roadblock with the dad though, jean-marc. he was really uneasy about paying tithing and didn't know if he would be able to do it because of all the financial responsibilities he has on his shoulders right now. but we had a really good lesson about the blessings of tithing and the importance of faith, and he seemed much more comfortable with the idea and committed to live the law of tithing. we're going to continue to work with them, obviously.
oh yeah, something really cute happened at our appartment this week--our water got cut! oh wait, did i say cute? because i meant to say THE MOST ANNOYING THING EVER! guess who learned how to bathe using a cooler and a water bottle? this girl. we didn't have water for about 3 days, and even now it's a little bit of a russian roulette on whether or not we'll have water when we get home at night. luckily we have a good DMP and his wife who let us shower at their house sometimes. they have a son who is 5 and who loves us too. he's seriously one of the most adorable kids i've ever met. so funny. weena (DMP's wife) was telling me the other night how he was talking to his grandma, who was sleeping:
kuhio (lil' boy): "mami (that's how they call their grandmas here)!"
mami: *sleepy grunt*
kuhio: "mami, am i handsome?"
mami: "yes, kuhio. go to sleep."
kuhio: "ok i'm going to hit on the sister missionaries."
mami: "huh?!!"
kuhio: "nigh-night mami!"
hahaha. so he loves us, no big deal.
anyway, things here are going alright. although i gotta be honest, being a foreigner isn't always the most awesome thing ever. either i'm a constant novelty, like "oh ha look at the funny american and the funny things she says, do you know lots of movie stars, do you know john who lives in america, la la la", or i'm automatically inferior because i'm not from here. i get almost constant directives on how to do simple tasks and i'm like yes thank you, i'm not an idiot. it's frustrating and has been quite the test of patience and humility for me. i'm afraid i'm not passing the test quite yet. it's pretty exhausting to always feel like i'm doing something wrong, and to not have any idea exactly what it is that i'm doing wrong, because feedback is kind of a foreign concept i guess. anyway, like i said before, i just need to be more humble and learn how to adapt a little bit better. the scriptures have been a great comfort to me this week--they are not culturally biased and speak to all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. this week i studied moroni 7 and rediscovered some really good verses about faith, and charity, and how miracles have not ceased. in preach my gospel it warns against discouragement, because discouragement weakens faith. so, even though this week was pretty discouraging, i can't let it get me down. the mission really is a refiner's fire--your weaknesses become very apparent, and satan really tries to make you forget your strengths. but as it says in moroni 7:33, through our faith we can accomplish all that the savior would have us do.
anyway, this email is getting way too long, so i'm gonna sign off. love you all and miss you! you are always in my prayers. thanks for all the support you send my way!
love,
soeur hansen
