Elise's mission letters

  Wow! Actually had a little more time than I thought. Yesterday at church, someone gave an alphabet list of gospel lessons. I really liked it and wanted to share an alphabet of what I have learned on my mission! Je vous aime!!!  A ll things work out for good for those that love God.  B e brave and bold.  C ompassion and charity move us to action  D iligence is needed to show others that they are loved.  E VERYONE deserves a chance. Everyone needs to be loved, to feel kindness, and to have a chance to come to Christ.  F orgiveness is powerful and liberating. Also, fafaru is gross G ift of tongues is real. I could not have learned French nor tahitian without divine help.  H elp others! Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good- help and serve as you go about your day.  I nstant de Paix Moment Si Doux is a fire hymn and ça va me manquer  J okes! Have fun! Life is made to be fun! We are made to have joy!  K nowing that we needed help to ...

  Iaorana tatou!  This week, though difficult at times, was a week of miracles.  "For if we had not come up out of the land of Zarahemla, these our dearly beloved brethren, who have so dearly beloved us, would still have been racked with hatred against us, yea, and they would also have been strangers to God. Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work. -Alma 26:9+15 I was thinking yesterday about how we are instruments in God's hands- instruments to share His love and light. This verse really touched me. I thought about all the people I have been blessed to meet on my mission and how my life would be completely different if I hadn't served. If I hadn't "come up out of the land of Zarahemla,...

  Iaorana tatou! How is everyone doing?  The highlight for Sr Mapuna happens to be the low-light for Sr Hatch! Enjoy!  I was yet again splashed by a car, this time with a LOT more water. Then on edge and nervous, a bus honked as it drove by and I got so scared and jumped. I thought Sr Mapuna was going to have an asthma attack she was laughing so hard.  Other events:  ◇We left a lesson and had no rain jackets nor umbrellas, which is stupid of us because it's rainy season, but there we were. We quickly became SOAKED, but ne vous inquiétez pas because a random man stopped us and gave us garbage bags that he had cut arm and head holes in. Boujee trash.  ◇For whatever reason, the relationship between the missionaries and the Bishop and his wife in this ward was NOT good when I came in. They didn't want to meet with us, didn't really talk with us, etc etc. I don't really know what happened but something changed this week. The wife called us and asked us if we cou...

  English class adventures Iaorana tatou! Eaha to outou huru? Maitai? It's been a very good, if not very very tiring week.  Some events:  1. Went on an exchange in Taravao/Faaone with the lovely Sœur Thurgood! Faaone is gorgeous- just tons of waterfalls and huge green mountains. It was a lot of fun. We talked a lot about confidence and just going for it. One of the adversary's tactics is FEAR- the fear of messing up, the fear of not being perfect, the fear of judgement. While in Faaone, Sr Thurgood and I walked past a Mami who was weaving ni'au purses. With our conversation on confidence still in our heads, we went for it and did the contact in Tahitian! We were afraid of no one. Sr Thurgood prayed in tahitian at the end of the contact and her smile afterwards was HUGE. I love the joy, love, and confidence that this language brings and it was amazing to be able to share that with Sr Thurgood who is a new missionary. 2. Ate sea urchin!  3. I have officially been a mis...

  Iaorana tatou!  Some évents from this week:  1. Ua ua. (Wah ooh-uh) Translation: it rained. Like a lot. It was kind of depressing, but today is sunny, the ocean is blue again, and it was quite an adventure walking calf-deep through the street of Hitiaa which turned into one big muddy puddle. We still saw a lot of miracles with the rain, and I think the rain forced us to be grateful for the little simple blessings.  Also learned the word éclabousser.  Translation: to splash.  Example sentence: une voiture m'a éclaboussé et Sr Mapuna est mort de rire. I will let everyone with Google translate laugh alongside with Sr Mapuna, who will simply not let me forget it.  2. Turned 21! 3. On Halloween we were chilling on the beach in our backyard. What a flex of a sentence. Anyways, we were on the beach when I saw  Teeth. And lots of them.  I'm pretty sure it was a dog jaw bone but no other bones have washed up so we are safe.  4. Our friends Rola...