Knees and toes; knees and toes; NECK!
Eaha to'outou huru? (How are you all doing?)
Speaking of Tahitian, many of you have asked me the question: "Sister Hatch, are you actually speaking Tahitian, or is the only tahitian you use what you put in your weekly emails?"
And by many of you I mean just my dad.
But today I want to talk about the Tahitian lessons we taught this week!
I am now serving in the wards of Ruatama (my old ward) and Pamatai (I joined Sr Ware and Teruhia and now we cover both areas). In the Pamatai ward is Mamie Afo, who is a legendary member missionary and pretty much everyone we are teaching is one of her friends. However, she doesn't speak a lot of French, which means that most of her friends are Tahitian speakers. We taught her siblings Clementine and Joseph (or Iosepha if you're feeling extra fancy). The Gift of Tongues was 100% present in our lesson, and I was able to understand a lot of the Tahitian. I shared a scripture and bore my testimony in what was probably the most broken Tahitian ever spoken. In what was one of the most fulfilling moments of my mission-one of those moments where prayer and studies seen to finally pay off- the Tahitians thanked us profusely for sharing the gospel in their native language, a language that is dying. Way back in the MTC, I learned that you learn French to communicate but you learn Tahitian to show love for the people. In those Tahitian lessons I felt so much love and admiration for Clementine and Joseph. E mea au ia'u I te reo Tahiti 
The subject heading comes from an English lesson with our friends Rino and Mono. We taught them body parts and then sang "head shoulders knees and toes." Mono pulled a fast one on us and changed the lyrics to "head shoulders knees and toes... NECK!"
Our 9 year old friend Maveana compared a companionship of elders to a "mango and a baguette" which is pure poetry.
And now, a very long explanation of JOY.
We went to our ward party which was a sing along and a just dance party. The musical talent people here have is absolutely incredible. They just improvise and harmonize and it is SO BEAUTIFUL.
However, as the songs kept playing, I got antsy and stressed that I wasn't being as productive or diligent as I should have been. I didn't let myself enjoy the moment for its beauty.
The next day, Clementine and Joseph, who came to the ward party, invited us to a party at their church. I was at first hesitant and not sure if it was the best use of our time. I have been so stressed with being a good missionary that I haven't really let myself be happy, as was evident with the ward party.
Something changed.
I don't know if it was seeing how happy Joseph was when we came. Maybe it was seeing how excited he was to introduce us to his church friends. Maybe it was Clementine waving to us and smiling. Maybe it was the talk I had read that morning about God wanting us to be happy because it is our divine privilege. Maybe it came from my study of 3 Nephi 11, where Christ comes to the Americas and ministers and shows love to each individual before organizing the church.
I really don't know what changed my mindset, but at that party I felt, for my first time in Tahiti, pure joy. With that joy came peace and satisfaction and LOVE. I was able to appreciate the music and flowers and food and smiles at that party. I realized how much it meant to each person there that we came as many people greeted us with a cheerful "hello sister missionaries!"
Ua here au ia outou! Je vous aime!
Pictures:
Ward party, not featuring our 65 year old Relief society president who was the only one on the dance floor. An ICON.
English class!
Clementine
Joseph!
Mirror selfie, featuring our 3rd companion, who is not Sr Teruhia nor is it the Holy Ghost, but a COCKROACH. We then found the cockroach dead on the bathroom floor the next morning.
L'arc en ciel!
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