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

Rough Time

Sorry not much happened this week..... we again didn't work much cuz my comp was waiting for the transfer and little did he know we are staying here for another  5 weeks together! It's just been a rough time....

I Miss the Snow

This week was good! Still slow though and mom, still no package haha!

We didn’t catch our investigator til Saturday which sucked cuz it meant we couldn’t baptize him but we are shooting for this Sunday! The main reason we didn’t get to him is cuz my comp freaked one day and said he doesn’t want to work with me anymore. He just wants to wait til transfers, which is stupid so I called President which always turns these guys around before the President gets to them. But even though we are working he still doesn’t respect me when I try to lead or to help him so it’s annoying.... but I still push to get the work done and ignore the problems. That’s something I have learned here is to just ignore the problems and don’t get mad.  Just avoid the temptations and the annoyances and all is well!

We taught the man from Vanuatu again, Willy is his name. But we are still just waiting to get some materials in French! We are having FHE with him this week though! Should be good! And hopefully some others that get invited!  Still haven’t gotten any new investigators! We have a mission tour with S. Gifford Nielson!!! The old QB for BYU!!!  So I am excited for that tomorrow to see all my white friends, people I came in with, and to hear him speak!

I don’t know what else happened really.... I will try and remember my journal next time so I can think of more to write!  I am very forgetful.  Love you all! Stay chill! (especially those of you in Idaho...... lucky lucky lucky......)

Elder Mani

PS..... I miss the snow....

Ko Hoku Kainga‏

Malo etau lava e aho ni! Ko eni kou sai aupito oku sai sai pe e ngaue i he elia ko eni! Kei tuai ka oku ma kamata ke fokotuu e ngaahi polokalama ke fakavavevave'i e ngaue i heni.

There is my little Tongan for you today haha!  I haven’t done that too much! But once again it was another slow week! Only a couple lessons. Still waiting to get stuff in French for our investigator to read so he can understand better our message and the doctrines of Christ. We watched the Restoration movie in French with English subtitles and he liked that but he was focusing so hard on the language cuz it has been like 6 years since he has heard it haha.  So next time he wants to have paper so he can write down notes while we talk! This is a great investigator but the thing is the language... its hard for us to teach him cuz even though he speaks decent English it’s still not the best.

Our other investigator wasn’t home at all this week so we didn’t see him until yesterday.... don’t know about baptizing him this week! But my comp and I set a goal for 5 baptisms this month and to find one family to prepare to go to the temple! So we are striving to work towards those goals and find more people to teach! Things at times are of course still difficult with my comp but I just get through it by not getting mad and being patient haha.  When I get mad I just don’t say anything, just keep to myself cuz if I say anything they just get mad and think I am wrong haha but hey only a little longer right? Hit my 7 month mark this month! Time is FLYING! I just hope that I can do my best and do what the Lord wants of me!

Love you all!  Elder Mani

I Am a (Fisher of Men Not a) Fisherman

Thanksgiving..... man I wish was there for that!  I miss American holidays.... But o well! This week was good! We started teaching this man from Vanuatu but his main language is French so we are trying to get him stuff so he can read in French! He asked us for stuff cuz he wants to come to us with questions which is good!!! And he just recently stopped drinking and smoking so it’s good! Just hope he progresses good! And we have a baptism with another investigator lined up for the 7th of December! So we are getting him ready for that!

Man did I get sunburned today.... We went to the beach today and went fishing! We caught a blowfish, some eels, and mainly I just caught a bunch of starfish!  One even had 6 legs!   I hope I can dry some starfish out and bring them home.... I caught over twenty then went back to find more and found out they were everywhere so I just gave up!

I don’t know what else happened this week... O I forgot my comp was Tongan once and just started going off for like a minute in English haha but ya that’s all..... sorry.... still haven’t gotten the package....  maybe next week! But thanks! Love you tons!

Elder Huntsman

Surprise Picture

This week was still slow but there was good and bad to it!

We had our class to teach the doctrines of the gospel to everyone who wanted to come and there were about 80+ people there with about 8 nonmembers! So it was good! We went around to the members who were the ones that came with the nonmembers and haven’t really gotten an investigator from it but one girl said it was completely different from what she had seen the guy preach on TV so I felt like it was good and a success! The bad thing is that the two wards here argue all the time so they told us that if we do it combined again that they don’t want to do it. So we have to split it and have one for Navutoka 1st Ward and one for Navutoka 2nd Ward..... annoying!!!!  And one bishop told us the topic we picked, the scriptures of the church with most the discussion on the BOM, was a horrible choice and that we need to teach Tithing or the Godhead, which would just cause contention and was not something you would teach someone right away anyways. The Godhead isn’t even a lesson.  It’s just something that you go over quickly to help them understand.... but ya so that ward is being difficult and won’t do class this week.

But other than that it was good week! We got a new investigator yesterday but it’s another kid close to the house of the one we got our first day here.... so I don’t know what will happen when we commit him to baptism. The zone leaders forgot my adapter but we are going to get it today, and hopefully I can get on later! We are just early today because we have to go to town and get my comp some new shirts.  There is a girl from an area in Vava'u that I worked at that is in Texas working right now so I am trying to get her address so that Kayleigh can get a small Christmas package to her! Elder Naeata would love anything you can get him! Anyways, thanks for everything!

Love you all!  Elder Mani

P.S.  OK this computer just deleted all my pictures on my memory card...... annoying and aggravating....... so no pictures. I just plugged it into a slot in this laptop and it showed up as a shortcut and said it had a virus. The virus reader is in Arab or Russian or something so I just clicked something and it deleted it all!  I just gotta take a lot of pics now to remember stuff..... Oh, and the freaking card reader is lost.  The zone leaders just used my adapter and someone stole it........ I hate the freaking way people are here......

A member visiting Tonga posted this picture on Facebook!