Friends old and new


 Iaorana to'u mau hoa maita'i roa!


I apologize for an incredibly boring subject headline. 

Fish are friends, not food
We met our new friend Bruce! On Monday, we had a lesson set up with him, but we had never met him. We didn't have a member coming and needed another adult to follow mission rules. 
Some frantic phone calls later, we convinced 2 elders to drop their plans and come to the lesson. 
The lesson was SO good! We gave him a tour of the church building and taught the restoration as the elders wandered around behind us. 
We also taught Bruce on Friday. He has a very powerful story and testimony of repentance. I love him so much and am so excited to help him come closer to Christ! 

Rob and Rich are still on board!
There was some drama with Rob and Rich last week, but EVERYTHING HAS BEEN RESOLVED! *phew*
The normally quiet Rich was very talkative during our lesson. President Packer once said that a "testimony is to be found in the bearing of it." As Rich talked and talked, things were clicking in his head. He had lots of breakthrough moments during our lesson and it was incredible! 

Le Temple de Redlands
We went to the temple! The temple is truly a building a peace and beauty. I love that you can exit the craziness of normal everyday life and enter into a building filled with the Spirit.

We took enough pictures to supply my Facebook stories for the next few months so that was an added bonus. 


E haere au i Tahiti!
J'irai à Tahiti!
For those of you who don't speak the celestial languages of Tahitian and French, I am going to Tahiti! 
I found out Tuesday and leave next month. Have I been freaking out? Kinda, but this news prompted me to study the first mission to Tahiti, wayyyyy back in 1844. 
Here is a brief and probably highly inaccurate rundown: 
A group of missionaries were called to go to Hawaii. Traveling from the east coast down around Africa, the elders hit land, got sick of being on a boat, and started doing missionary work in French Polynesia. 
A while later, the missionaries in Tahiti wrote to Addison Pratt, serving on the island of Tubuai, telling him that they were packing up their bags and going home. They saw little success, the saints were being persecuted and they missed their families. 
Elder Pratt decided to stay, despite the homesickness and the worry and fear.
He wrote: 
“I have friends here that nothing but the bonds of the everlasting gospel could have created."

I love that. When I look back on my time in California, I immediately think of the friendships I have made. Because of my belief in Jesus Christ and the ways I have decided to act upon that faith, I have been able to meet so many incredible and beautiful people. My time in Cali hasn't been as hard as that of Pratt's, but like him I have decided to look past the frustration of my mission and cherish these relationships. 
What friendships have you gained because of the gospel?

Je vous aime beaucoup! 
Enjoy the snow! 







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