It's Already My Birthday in Tonga, I'm 20!

Sorry I couldn’t get on yesterday! Today is my Bday here (19 hours ahead of you) and I don’t have much planned. I had bread and butter for breakfast but hopefully get cake for dinner tonight! haha I have two teachings today and another meeting in front of the stake leaders tonight so we will see how that goes. It’s different now teaching because it’s me leading and doing basically all the teaching! It’s awesome though. My language has gotten a lot better because I am forced to use it again!

Having comp troubles again. He won’t ever talk to me and he acts super depressed so I just try to be happy and stuff but it’s hard. I knew I would have to be patient with him because he is a little slow. He has something wrong with his brain. He has random seizures and stuff but they don’t know why. L  So I have just been trying to push through, and be as happy as possible! I’ve been smiling a lot more lately just to hopefully brighten people’s days!  So ya struggling AGAIN with the comp but hopefully I can find a way for him to open up to me. He talks to others just not me…don’t know why.

Anyways today is my birthday here so happy 20 for me :) haha I still feel young though.... still feel like I just got here, when in reality I only have 5 months left haha! Time is flying! Love you all! Oh I started Studying the New Testament again and it is BOMB!!!!!  So many great things that our Savior spoke about and shared with all the people! It has helped bring more light and happiness into my life! I will share some stuff in the next email!

We had a district leaders’ meeting for all of the district leaders in the mission that are on the main island with President and it was really good! He helped us all think about how we expected the work to be before we came out and asked if we are still working like we had expected. So I have been pushing a lot with being the best example for my district! And the work has been improving too so I have seen the blessings coming from my obedience to the Mission President and trying my best to follow everything! Anyways I gotta go but I love you all so much. Thanks for the birthday wishes! :)

Elder Mani

Eleven Referrals :)

This week was a little better, at least Sunday was. We got 11 referrals and hopefully get to work with them all this week! I think the members see that unlike the missionary I just traded out, I want to work and help them out as much as possible! I am trying! They keep delaying our new district leader training meeting so I am still just going off of how I feel I should be doing stuff.  Not much else happened this week! Another SLOW one but ya I am just hoping it picks up this week! 

Love you all :)

Elder Mani

I got bored last week and started taking selfies........ I always hated selfies!

This is when we went to a beach. I got bored.

Got your picture with the Ha'amonga.

Keegan's Engaged?

This week was slow.... It was hard cuz there are so many stupid fights going on with the members that they had to move 3 families from one ward to another ward to try and help the ward out. We didn’t get out much cuz we had no area book, my comp didn’t know anybody they had been working with, anything like that.... so just starting over pretty much right now in this area. The last records in this area book are from my teachers in the MTC.... haha so it’s been awhile. Our district meeting was horrible cuz we had two missionaries just waiting for their plane ticket so the distracted everyone. Our meeting only lasted 30 minutes before I just gave up. So it’s been a struggle. I am hoping we can get some Family Plans set up, at least with the different auxiliary presidents. The members are cool, just have a lot of problems! Hopefully I can get something rolling here, especially since this COULD be my last area...... Love you guys! Keegan and Kenzie, Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sucks I won’t be their....... but OOOOOOO well haha Best of luck to you two!!!  

Ofa Atu,

Elder Huntsman

P-day last week

Stocking Kaylee sent me

Elder Berger, the single male missionary who is
getting MARRIED when he gets home! haha

The beach!!! Sliced my foot open................ haha sharp rocks!

Trying to look tough........unsuccessfull!!

My bestest friend ever, OLI :) She cries when I leave her..... haha.

Transferred to Niutoua

This week was ok! Another slow one but we found out that a family we have been working with is going to get sealed in the temple on the 27th of this month! So that was the high for the week! The low....... I got transferred haha! Great right?? No, it's good, but I hope President Tupou lets me go to the temple with them. I have never participated in a sealing session in the temple so this would be awesome!

So ya I got transfered but I am still in my same district, same stake so I am really close to my last area. Transfers are supposed to be next week but President did it this week for some reason.... that’s just how this mission is. We had a FHE with a family I got close with when I was here with Elder Tu'akalau and said some goodbyes yesterday. My bishop started crying when I went over to his house and told him.

My new area is Niutoua, the farthest east you can get on this island haha!  We have this thing here called the Ha'amonga 'a Maui, a big rock formation that sits in our area.  Google it.  It’s pretty cool. My new companion is Elder Vea from Seattle. Except his family moved back here to Tonga while he was getting his papers ready so he actually came from Tonga. I am his second companion.  My Tongan is better than his so we will do good! I have been helping him with his language before cuz his last comp wouldn’t so now that we are together I feel like we can do some good work and we can help each other out. He is pretty cool. I finally got someone to run with in the mornings. I hope I can lose some weight now haha! Gotta lose the pooch! haha

This week I just hope to get close with the new area, the members, and hopefully gain their trust and be able to work together with them. I have some good plans for this district cuz this Stake is really weak, especially the priesthood leadership so I hope it all goes good! The language of course is still a struggle, but hey this isn’t meant to be easy! haha

Love you all!!! :)  Ofa Atu!

Elder Mani

The Ha'amonga 'a Maui

Hunga Ha'apai volcano

Hunga Ha'apai volcano

This girls mom is the one that was murdered.
She always called my name and wanted to hang out with me haha.

Playing Ping poing here in Niutoua

Me and my old District leader

The family from our Family Home Evening last night

Family Mission Plans

This week was again pretty slow! I was sick for a couple days so we didn’t get out much! We had a zone conference with President Tupou and we were able to get a lot out of it.  The main struggle is we can’t ever get anything running combined with the wards because they don’t ever have their meetings! Out of both these wards they have only had one Ward Council meeting all 5 months I have been here. So I never know how we are supposed to implement the things that President teaches us if we are never able to meet together as leaders in the ward and us two missionaries. So President helped us out a lot with focusing on teaching families instead of the leaders. To get into the houses and not ask for help but ask to help them, create Family Mission Plans with all the families and after that, they will begin to trust us. Get the Families to make daily plans, weekly plans, monthly plans, and yearly plans. So the plans go like this.

Daily:

1. Pray Always: Always having a prayer in your heart, and being able to pray at all times and in all places, no matter the circumstance.

2. Change: Be willing to change, and do it every day. Take advice, want to repent, listen to the leaders of the Church.

3. Believe/Have Faith: Everything starts with a belief, belief that something needs to be done, needs to change, needs to be uplifted, Believe you can be better.

4. Invite: Invite others to come unto Christ by providing a good example, being a light to the world, being willing to give service, go out of your way to do what is right.

Weekly:

1. Sacrament: Partake of the sacrament each week, and stay for all 3 hours of church.

Monthly:

1. Fast: Participate in the monthly fast, 2 meals on the first Sunday of every month.

Yearly:

1. Families: Work with 1 nonmember family and work with 1 inactive/part-member family.

So we are going to help all the families we can to have this game plan in mind so that we can all be on the same page. I encourage all of you to do the same! This isn’t just something that can be used here in our area, our mission, but in the lives of all the members of the church. Make a family plan that you can use, set goals as a family and work to accomplish them at all times.

So I think I caught a little food poisoning last week, woke up and threw up, then did some other stuff we won’t discuss hahaha but ya it was like that for two days with a migraine! Sucked but I got over it and I am good now! So this week we just hope to help out our wards with their goals for the year and help them understand that baptisms aren't the only thing people need here. They need examples, they need to be taught, they need guidance! I really hope that we can help them out! We have been reading the BOM in 30 days, then 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, and now we are on the 150 day challenge. So we just finished Alma! The war stories can be applied to now. We are at a spiritual war with the world and we need to hold our Title of Liberty up, not stoop down to the world! Fight for what we know is right, and not be afraid to share our beliefs and feelings with others! Hope all of you can be that light in someone else’s life. This church is true, it blesses all of our lives, so let’s help others gain those blessings!

Ofa Lahi Atu, Elder Mani

P.S. We are going to go eat a pig now that some members have been cooking! My comp’s family brought it...... it’s not hard here for the Tongan missionaries cuz they can talk to their family, see them all the time haha!  My comp’s family is five minutes away.

Kids make little explosives with toilet bowl cleaner and tin foil inside of plastic bottles haha

A spider the size of my palm in our shower.... good thing spiders here dont bite!

I made pancakes for 6 missionaries and our neighbor the stake presidents family :) haha

I am getting fat... haha

Cut my hand open on a bamboo stick that broke doing a stick pull with a member haha

Christmas #2 in Tonga

Dang.... so you know that guy we were going to help get sealed with his family if we found his record? He killed his wife..... poured hot grease all over her and fried her head, face, throat, everything....... so that was a huge shock..... it was so crazy when I heard... he ran away but they found him Saturday in Town..... he was progressing so much too....... I don't know what happened...... but other than that nothing else happened here. It was a slow week with Christmas and everything.  Fun Skyping with the fam though! Sad to hear about Mrs. Wray.  She was my favorite teacher.

I got my Christmas package.

My comp likes his stocking, presents and candy!

Christmas Day

Love my True Crew temple socks!

Playing pool.

Baptism!

A Good Week

This week was a lot better!

Wednesday we had an interview with President and sorted everything out! So my comp and I are doing good now! Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we went around with members to a bunch of different houses and taught a lot more lessons than usual! We got 30+ referrals, 16 new investigators, and taught about 12 lessons, committing 3 people to baptism!

The interview was a lot of just realizing that we need to focus more on the good in everything and stop focusing on the bad, sticking up for each other and just loving each other no matter what the differences. My comp has changed a lot, and I have begun to not even be able to name the things I don't like in my companion anymore! So it’s good!

This week for Christmas we honestly have no plans, it’s the only day we don't have anything planned yet! Tomorrow we have a meeting and 3 teachings, Wednesday will be a busy day, Friday when I Skype is also a day with lots to do, but hey I am excited to see the progression in our area as we both push forward! Family, I am really looking forward to seeing you guys on Christmas! Love you all! Thanks for all the prayers and the love you guys send to this little Pacific Island here! haha Ofa lahi atu kiate kimoutolu taki taha! :)

Elder Mani