Hello Everyone,
I have exciting news! I was called as the new District Leader this past week! So far it has been really good! My district has a few little things we need to work on but nothing that we can’t fix! The best way to lead is by example as I have already learned, and I am happy to report that I am a good example to everyone and I am friends with all the Elders. Wish me luck!
What a great week it has been! Time is a funny thing here. Sometimes it feels as if here is not enough time in the day to finish anything then the next second, it will feel as if time has sopped completely! Earlier this week I was having a rough day studying and learning and time seemed to be going by so slow. I said a prayer to help me not pay as much attention to the clock and I had the prompting to write this poem. The words just came to my head without any error.
The Race of Time
- If time could use bait,
it would look like a race.
The longer you wait,
the more it will sit in its place.
When looking and watching,
the small arms tic away.
You will always be left longing,
wishing for time to slip away.
So how can it be?
Is there too much time ahead?
It feels like I will never see,
until I am dead.
Is there a way to win,
this continous race of time?
The best way to win,
I will tell in a rhyme.
Never stop learning, listening, and acting,
What if it was your last day?
In the future you will be pondering,
how can it already be someday!
This race of time,
will only be in defeat.
If you never cross that line,
and stay in repeat!
This really helped me a lot; it was exactly what I needed to hear to become more focused and I never knew I could write poems! Haha
I got to hear from three Apostles in the past two weeks! All of their messages were so inspiring! We heard from M. Russell Ballard, Quinton L. Cook, and D. Todd Christofferson. My favorite was from Elder Cook! His message was about the four loves of a mission. He said to love your companion, the people, the Mission President, and of course the Lord! I came up with this phrase to remember it:
* Learn from your companion
* Open minded to the people
* Value your Mission President
* Eternally love the Lord!
Another cool part of his message was when he was testifying of the Savior. At the very end he paused and said this, "I know his voice and I know his face. He stands at the head of this church." The spirit was so strong, it was one of those times I will never forget!
Last Saturday, My companion and I got to teach two Tongan members! It was so cool. My Tongan has been coming really well. I can teach lessons now, not in perfect Tongan, but I can teach without looking at notecards or notes! I have felt so grateful for how well I am learning Tongan! Anyway, in our first lesson, we were teaching a woman going to school who grew up in California speaking Tongan. Our lesson was about the Savior (Fakamo'ui). At the end of our lesson, I was prompted to ask her if it was okay if we sing a Tongan hymn about the Savior. She said yes, so I got out my hymn book and we sung Tongan Hymn 92. Halfway through the song she started to cry. The spirit entered the room like a flood and it was so peaceful. She bore her testimony after and told us how close she could feel to our Savior through our song, It was an incredible feeling!
As some of you know the food here can get old after a while, and there is a lot of food! So me and my companion started and made a goal to run a mile every day and do another form of running with it like stair running, sprints, or elipticals or something! So far it has gone really well, I already have lost 5 pounds in a week so I am glad I am developing the habit here of working out hard before I get to Tonga where they will be feeding us all day! Haha
We got to go to the temple again today as a district and it was really fun! Temple days are fun because we all get to wear our skirts! It makes me even more excited to go to Tonga! I only have 18 days left here which makes me super excited!
I hope everyone at home is having a good time and things are going well! If I could give any advice on something you could do to feel closer to the Savior, I would extend a challenge Elder Bednar gave in an old talk to missionaries. He said, "The character of the Savior is what made the Atonement possible." If you look at any story of the Savior, it is always true that he always cared about other people. He was constantly serving other people. Even in the midst of his greatest suffering and temptation, he still turned outward and showed love to other people. Search the scriptures for some of the stories of the Savior and I promise you will be surprised on how unselfish he truly is!
I know this gospel is true and I love that I am called to this work! I have never learned so many things about the truths of the gospel as I have by studying the scriptures for hours every day! I know my Savior lives. The Tongan word for Savior is really inspiring, it is Fakamo'i. Faka is like a conetcting word where it means to make, and mo'ui means life or to be living. So Fakamo'ui literally means to make living or make alive = The Savior. I know that He stands at the head of this church and it is his work that I am serving in. I have felt him in every step of the way and I know that this message is so important, that I am not afraid to travel 6,000 miles away to preach it in a language I had never known four weeks ago! I love you all very much and I pray for your health and well being every day! I he huafa 'o Sisu Kalaisi, Emeni!
Ofa Atu,
Eleta Bingham
Elder Wakefield & Eleta Bingham
Provo Temple
The District in their Tupenus
Eleta Rosales & Eleta Bingham
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