Sunday, November 13, 2016

Malo Tau Lava! -- October 23, 2016

October 23, 2016

Hello Everyone,

This week has been really good! I hope everything at home is going well!

My Tongan has been improving! I talked in two church meetings yesterday and everyone understood me! Haha I have learned the quickest way to get people to like you is to make them smile! I make mistakes in my speech a lot, but the best thing to do is just laugh and move on. As long as you are trying, the people here really respect that and want to listen to you!

This week has been raining a lot! When it rains in Tonga, it pours! But then the rain will just stop. Haha It doesn’t rain for very long at one time. It is funny though, because the people will all just stay home and sleep if it is raining; everyone here is very relaxed! When the rain stops, the sun comes out, and it gets very hot! We are always walking under the "shadow of the trees" as my companion says. Haha  We walk all day long! Our area is probably two miles long! We can walk along the beach though! The cool ocean breeze is awesome; this place definitely is the other side of heaven!

We got to eat Pizza and Ice cream this week! It was so good! I miss eating American food--Tongan food is good, but it is just so much meat!  The members here love feeding us. On Friday, we had five meals! You can’t refuse food! Haha  I love it here a lot!

We teach a lot of people. We have three baptisms coming up this week, so I am really excited! We met a 15 year old girl last Friday and she was so prepared for the lessons, she is getting baptized this week already! It is so awesome!

A miracle I had happen this week was pretty cool. There is this one family that lives in the bush (jungle) on the very edge of our area. We decided to make the long trek to their house because missionaries have not visited them in a long time. They are members, but they live so far a way that they don’t get to talk to a lot of people. When we got there, they were so excited to see us. They live in a clearing in the jungle with a lot of grass. They live in two little bamboo and leaf huts. It is pretty humbling. They got their best mat and let us sit in the shade under a tree in the grass. It was really cool. I mainly just smiled and nodded my head in the conversation but they were so happy missionaries had come all the way to see them. We are trying to build them a real house so hopefully our plan is going to work!

Missionary work is hard, but it is rewarding. I have learned to find joy in the little things and to live in the moment. No matter what is happening, you can always find something to smile about. I think that is the best advice I can give! I love you all and can feel your love and support!

Ofa Lahi Atu!

Elder "Hami"

P.S. I ate my first dog! It doesn’t taste like anything you have eaten before. It is an acquired taste! Haha Everyone thinks I am really rich because I am from America. Haha, I got asked how big my private plane was the other day.  Everyone calls me Cholepoke!




 


No comments:

Post a Comment