Email 19 - A truck goes around and picks everyone up for church!

When I read emails like this... I feel like everything is good in the world!


This week we had an awesome baptism... We had 5 people get baptised. They were all really awesome and so ready. When the Zone Leaders interviewed them they said they were really impressed with them... they all have really good testimonies... but now we just have to keep working with them. Retention is really bad here... it used to be all about pumping in the baptisms... But I think we're getting better cz we're pumping in the baptisms still and we were told to raise the bar for interviewees. So it’s all good :)

We baptised the father in that family I was talking about... Kawanro... thank you for your prayers... they helped... cz he’s awesome. We just taught him missionary work yesterday and he's gonna help us with another investigator... and he’s doing really well with not smoking... It’s awesome cz we've seen a huge change in their family... they're so happy now :) They’re like Mormons.. haha!

We had another girl get baptised, Betaua, and she’s about 20... She’s so awesome.. she was going to preach my gospel class before she was baptised! She went to school in Fiji and she’s smart and good at English. She told us she might be going to Uni in Melbourne... so that’s awesome. Then there’s Kabeea... she’s 17... she has a strong as testimony... and she’s saying she wants to be a missionary... she has really good support too. Then there’s Turia... she’s cool... she'll be good in the church. And Tioti... He’s about 11 and he surprised us on Sunday... we got to the chapel early cz there’s a truck that goes around and picks everyone up for church. So we got to the chapel at 9 and it starts at 10. We get there at 9 to make the truck go and Tioti is already there waiting for church to start! He’s only 11 and he walked a fair way ha ha he’s mad (in a good way!)... And he’s really opened up socially since we first started teaching him.

Anyways good peeps... And, after setting our goal last week, me and Grover have found a fair few men to teach now... it should be good.
I have been really getting into personal studies lately too... President gave us training on that and now I’m doing more meaningful studies... It ‘s just hard cz I want to learn the gospel but I have to learn it through the language... It’ll come though. The Lord is on my side.

Anyways I haven’t met the new President yet... but all we've heard is that his name is Tom Shaw so you know more than we do haha! He gets into Marshalls on the same day Grover leaves... So our next Zone Conference we'll meet him. Just waiting I guess... President Hopoate was the man... He’s so smart in the church... and he teaches you things with every word that comes out of his mouth! I wish he was staying... he made me a better missionary in the short time he was here. He got called as a temple president in Tonga. I’ll miss him.

That’s awesome about the Monday Pizza and Pasta nights for the investigators at the house... I dunno if I already told you this but it’s honestly the best... We're holding FHE's in a few different areas and they really help everyone come together and enjoy the church... And it’s a million times better when a member of the church teaches to when an Elder teaches... No matter what haha... So go hard Mum and Dad.

Please give my love to everyone!