07/15/2013

            For this week’s adventures, I ate turtle, It tastes a lot like dog, which tastes a lot like liver to me, so that means it tastes good. We’ve had a lot of lessons this week and have been working a lot with a sister in our ward; she has found us 4 new investigators! The Lord will surely bless her for her efforts! She also fasts with us practically each week, She never served a mission in her youth, but I think the Lord called her at this time to "serve a mission" with us! I’ve been listening a lot to general conference talks lately, and each time is smack myself in the face and ask myself why I slept through all the other general conferences before! That stuff is pure GOLD! They don’t only bring me answers and help in my personal life, but also care for the needs of our investigators. The Lord really has called his prophets and apostles in our day to lead us and guide us to the waters of eternal life. I will definitely be downloading all the talks I can when I get home. Who needs SpongeBob when you can hear the words of God flowing into your soul by the mouth of his holy prophet?!

            Also for this week we’ve been watching a few of the traditional games here, it makes me laugh each time I see how simple and pointless some of these games are. For example, basketball with a coconut instead of a basketball, throwing a javelin trying to stab a coconut suspended on a huge pole and then the cream of the crop, opening a coconut with your teeth, no Wonder a lot of Tahitians are missing teeth haha! I love these people, honestly I feel blessed to be able to call them my second family! Also I included a picture of an example of what our lessons look like, on the beach, I honestly have the best mission! They’ve given me a name this week, Tekiva. It’s every missionaries dream to be given a Tahitian name! I’m finally a Tahitian! Anyway, not much else has gone on this week, I weighed myself and now I know I’ve gained 40 lbs.! Huge blessing of the mission! I love you all so much and hope you are staying safe! D&C 6:36-37, my scripture for this week. Ua here au ia outou!

 

Elder Fyffe

(I wonder which chapter he really meant) ...David

07/08/2013

                Well might I just start off by saying thank you for all of your prayers and Fasting! It really works when we are brought together humbly before the Lord, to accomplish the Lord’s will! I’m pretty sure that Jesus wants us to have success just as much as we do, so this week we’ll get to work, and bring back some of his lost sheep!

            Right after the fireside that we had, we talked to all of the investigators that came and about 75 percent; including two whole families accepted the lessons! One of my goals for my mission is to baptize a whole family, I think that the closest to perfect joy that I will ever feel in my life! Speaking of families, while listening to a general conference talk last night a thought popped into my head. I started thinking about the people who don’t believe in a life after this, or perhaps the people who don’t know yet that there IS a life after this life. I thought to myself, "Why would God give us families, if we were to just lose them at the end of this life? It wouldn’t make any sense! He gave us families so that they could go WITH us after this life!" The thing that matters most in this life is the thing that lasts the longest! Eternal Families! It made me so happy to testify about eternal families last night to all of the investigators. But at the same time, it brought a sharp pain to my heart knowing that one day I might not be with all of my family for eternity... That’s why we need to pray together, read the scriptures together, fast together, and be warmed to the very core by the love of our savior Jesus Christ, Together. The Family is everything to our Heavenly Father, the Family is everything to me. I’m so thankful now for the testimony that I have of eternal families, it along with the reestablishment of this gospel is something that sets us apart from all of the other religions!

            I remember the many times I went to catholic mass and never really heard a message about the family, and come to think of it, I don’t remember anyone else of a different faith telling me that they believe they are in the true Church. But even in the primary we teach to 4 and 5 year olds that they are in the true Church, and it’s always through a testimony and the promptings of the Holy Spirit! I love this Gospel, I love this Church, and I love Each and every one of you in my life, I will be doing all that I can so that one day, we can all play Uno together in the celestial Kingdom! Stay safe this week, Ua here au ia outou!

Orometua Fyffe 

As for the pictures, it’s been stormy this week, but the people here still celebrate the Heiva, they really like to have phun! Just some traditional Tahitian games like sack races and also extreme piggy back riding! Also last p-day I had phun burying about 15 of the islander kids in the sand haha! Anyways I think that’s it!

 

 

07/01/2013

07/01/2013

            This week has been full of the spirit for me; we were able to do a conjoined fast with all of the leaders yesterday in order to get the missionary work moving. I really felt unified with everyone, and like I said last week, real success comes from working with the members! Also just after we finished our fast we had a little testimony meeting where each person got up and told of their spiritual moments they had during the fast. The wife of the bishop got up and bore testimony of how capable we all are of sharing the gospel with our friends, but the thing that holds us back, is the fear and doubt. Satan is really good at his job, he knows our weaknesses. Doubt and fear play a massive role in his plan to make everyone miserable like him. A phrase that I say often is that doubt doesn’t exist in faith. We must have faith in our divine origin as spirit children of our Heavenly Father, that our message of his gospel will touch the hearts of our friends and family. There is no way we can lose with Him on our side.

            Later that night we had a meeting with all the youth in the ward, the bishop invited us to share our testimonies at the end then he closed with his personal testimony. Something that he said really made me happy, he said to the youth, one day, I hope that you all will be like these two missionaries here with us tonight. Even if he didn’t mean us two personally, but a missionary in general, he helped me remember of how important of a work I am doing right now. Not only is a mission a huge blessing for the people you contact, but an even bigger blessing for yourself. I gained and I continue to strengthen my testimony thanks to my mission. I know what real joy is now; I see what a difference this gospel can make every day on my life as a missionary. The Holy Ghost was something I didn’t really pay attention to before my mission, but now, I know He was always there, and I yearn for His promptings every second of the day! It’s been a very good week for me spiritually; I love you all so much and hope you are all keeping safe and healthy! You are all in my prayers! 

Elder Fyffe 

The two pictures: 

The first is a really phuni story, we walked into a members house just this week and I heard a familiar song playing, then I looked at the TV and I saw MY video playing! I was freaked out a first and wondered how in the Sam hill this Tahitian family found and downloaded my video... they told me that they searched my name on Google (still a tad freaky...) and ten they found the video, they youngest son of the family is obsessed with it now the mom said haha! 

And the second picture is of an awesome plant that grows geometrically, all straight edges, I’ve never seen a plant like that, it was worthy of a picture. I love you Dad keep safe and be careful of your back!

 

 

06/24/2013

            Well, this week has really flown by, probably because we’ve been working really hard! We’ve been planning lots of firesides, weddings, splits, plans of action and been praying and fasting a lot! We fast about 6 times a month now, at least one time a month with all of the members in order to boost the missionary work. This past week we’ve been working a lot with the Church leaders, bishop and his counselors. We’ve realized that missionary work is majorly based off of member participation. It’s clear now that the key to success is to work with the members! We’ve seen the Lord’s hand in our work this week because we were able to find 5 new investigators and 12 of our investigators and less active members came to Church! That almost doubled the amount of people we normally have at Church haha! I love my mission when we have a lot of work to do; it makes me happy when we can see a change happening before our eyes. We work a lot with the inactive members of our ward now, and also with the semi member families, because the missionary work with them is just as important as with an investigator. Our objective is to invite "others" to come unto Christ, not just the investigators. Even if I don’t baptize many people in the short few months that I’m here in Hao, I will definitely be making the work a lot easier for the next missionaries who arrive!

            We didn’t have many other adventures this week, and for the pictures this week, I’m trying to figure something out, because the owner of this computer doesn’t want us uploading anything on his computer by USB or memory card, he fears that he got a virus from a USB or memory card. So give me some time and I will find another way to send pictures! I love you all and miss you a bunch, I hope that you are all safe and reading your scriptures every day! Thank you all for keeping me updated through emails, I’m happy to know how you are all doing, and emails are always something I look forward to each week because I don’t get letters. Anyway, I’m going to go wash up in the ocean now because a storm destroyed our water source for the house last week. Ua here au ia outou! Je vous aime! 

Elder Fyffe 

            By the way, I don’t know if I told you last week, but I got the package and also some letters from Diana and the Mattingly’s and stuff last week.

 

Also, it’s crazy that Scott only has a few more weeks left on his mission, it seriously does go by too fast, I remember the day he left on his mission, I was his companion for a while! It just makes me appreciate every second of my mission more and more, because my mission is almost halfway through. There are a lot of things I’m excited for after my mission, but nothing compares to the excitement of finding another baptism here on my mission! Don’t worry, I’m staying focused!

 

I love you all and miss the times that we spent together before the mission; the buffets, the drives through the canyon, game night, movie night... stuff like that. Hopefully you guys spoil me with your presence when I get home; we will have 2 years to make up for haha! Anyway, I thank the Lord for blessing me with such an amazing mission, I couldn’t Imagine being sent anywhere else, there really is Someone in heaven that knows my heart and knows the places where I will make a difference :)

 

Stay safe this next week, happy anniversary and Father’s day! Tell mom that I don’t drink dirty water, just coconut water. Talk to you guys next week, send Teesha my love with a big hug! 

Elder Fyffe

 

06/16/2013

                It’s good to know that everyone is doing okay. Something that I have learned is that we see a ton of "failure" out here, a lot of people who fall back into transgression, but something that we see just as often, is the Lord’s hand lifting them out of the Darkness. Jesus is the light of the world; darkness can’t exist in his love.

            This week I’ve been continuing the training with my new companion or my "son" as they call it here on the mission. He’s really awesome; he’s got a great spirit and a love for the work and the scriptures. He and have a lot of work to do here in Hao, and I know with all the prayers and fasting and blessings, we definitely have the Lord on our side. Right now I’ve been just trying to adjust to my new calling and my new responsibilities. The Lord has really been blessing me lately, with all of the stress that I have right now, I find solace in the scriptures and in my prayers and I keep receiving the same answer from him every time. He tells me that I am exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I should be doing.

            I had a great experience this past week during a lesson. My companion and I decided to teach about happiness to a semi-member family here. Throughout the lesson, the spirit was really strong, and when it came time to bear testimony, I told them that the first thing that pops into my mind when I hear the word happiness is my family. I shared with them a few experiences that I have had so far, telling them all about how my mission has completely changed my Outlook on family. I know now that true happiness exists only in eternal families. I’m so grateful for my family and the chance that we had to be sealed in the temple. One of my favorite quotes is, "A missionary leaves his family for two years, in order for others to live with theirs for eternity." It’s so true, only through a knowledge and testimony of the Plan of Salvation, can we one day live in true happiness after this life.

            I’m so honored to be able to teach this gospel, to bring salvation to those lost sheep out here in the middle of the South pacific. Thank you all for being such a huge part of my life and testimony! Families are Eternal, because the goal of God, our loving Heavenly Father, is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his children! He loves each and every one of his children, his joy is great when he sees his children who are loyal staying on the right path, but his joy is even greater when one of his lost children find their way back on the path of righteousness. We must do everything we can to bring our brothers and sisters back onto this path of righteousness; I know that through the Love of Christ, anything is possible. I love you all, stay safe this week!

Faaitoito, bonne courage! 

Elder Fyffe 

As for the Photos, I decided to do a little graffiti in ten minutes in the house, I hope I won’t get in trouble, At least it’s of Jesus!

Then there’s me and my new "son" Elder Tumarae

Then the last day here with Elder Raiau

Then how I get the mail each month. Who needs a mailbox when you have a massive boat?!

I love you so much!

 

 

06/10/2013

This week has been less hectic than the last, yet more stressful at the same time, I don’t know how that works so I will just leave that thought out in the open. Not really much has been going on, we’ve been having our lessons every day, and the times when we don’t have lessons, we ride around town on our bikes visiting the families and making sure they are trying their best to help us with the missionary work. Wait a second; we fixed another baptism, that’s something good! Oh and also, our little ward here wants to start up a choir, and they want me to be in it because the relief society always hears me singing while I’m doing my laundry and they told the bishop that I have a good voice... I have no thoughts about this subject right now, not quite with the idea, but not really against it either. Pretty sure they want to sing a hymn in English, so I will have to teach them how to pronounce everything at least.

            I was reading the scriptures this morning when I came across a few verses that I never realized existed before, Alma chpt 17:16 and Alma 26:30, In these 2 verses the prophet Ammon is testifying of the strengths of the Lord and of course the missionary work that they are doing at the moment. The thing that I didn’t realize is that he says, with all of the work we do, and all of the trials and tribulations, "maybe" we can bring "some" souls to salvation. they use the words, "peut-être" and "quelques" which in English means "maybe" and "some" that made me think a lot about the work I do, Even with all the work we do and all of the problems that we might have, it’s not good to go into this work thinking that God will "make" every investigator believe the words that we say. The investigators always have their free agency, and with that, it’s likely that only a few of the investigators we teach will accept baptism. It all depends on if they are ready to accept this gospel or not. So just thinking out loud, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t have a ton of success, just do the best you can, in the best way you know how, and the Lord will accept your works.

            Never doubt this divine work that we are called to do, God’s plan is perfect, so, everything will work out in the end, just work your hardest at all times, loving every single investigator like the brother and sister that they really are! Well that’s my little thought for this week, of course, just my personal thoughts, you may agree with them or not, I will still love you!

            As for the pictures, the members found out that Elder Raiau and I know how to make fifiri, practically a doughnut, so we’ve been going and making fifiri for a lot of the members lately haha. And the other picture is just the Sunset that decided to bless us with its beauty last night. I’m truly blessed to be serving in a paradise like this, I thank the Lord all the time for that, and if I ever get big headed, he sends some humbling experiences my way, too sweet! I love you all so much, stay safe this week!

 

Elder Fyffe 

 

06/03/2013

            Well this week has been a little crazy here on my tiny island. To start things off, it’s turning into the winter season here, that means rain, so it’s been raining a lot. Also that means that the level of the ocean is rising too, and as you can see from the picture, it’s all the way up to our front door, literally, last night the waves were hitting our front door! Stinkin crazy, we’ve been doing a lot of service because many of the houses are flooded, so my prayers are being answered because I love doing service! Even the locals here are a bit surprised about the water level, every now and then you see people kayaking down the Streets, it makes me laugh. Don’t be worried though, the Lord will protect my companion and I no matter what! Speaking about my companion, he is being transferred and I will be staying here for another three months training a new missionary, a Tahitian, and the Phuni thing is, I will be the zone leader and will have the responsibility over 4 islands! Crazy big change for me, but president chose me to do the job, which means that the Lord chose me to do the job, so I must obey; simple as that.

            We haven’t had any baptisms or new investigators yet, so not much news on that side of things. I received the awesome news that 2 of my favorite people in the Whole world (Amanda and Austin) will be serving their missions in the next few months!! I can’t express in words how happy I am to hear that, only because I know what a huge blessing a mission really is! I never thought that a mission would have such an effect on me, I haven’t changed who I am, but I’ve definitely changed what I stand for. I now understand and follow the gospel of Jesus Christ with Faith, Instead of with a Blind heart, I know who my Savior is and I know what needs to be done In order to live with Him again. I can’t wait to see what a difference it will make in your lives! Love the Work you do, and always love the people you serve! I love you all so much and thank my heavenly father for keeping you safe each night and day.

            Pray for me as I take on these bigger responsibilities! Faaitoito! As for those pictures, I had a little time this week to make a new nametag out of a pearl shell, also a Zelda pendant of course.  I miss Teesha a lot. But complete trust in the lord will keep her safe, she is graven in the hands of the Lord, she is always in his sight, so I don’t let it overwhelm me. I think that’s a big reason why my responsibility here has grown too, the Lord knows I need other things to think and worry about!

            Anyway, I’m just amazed at His love and power each Time I baptize someone, because I know I had nothing to do with it, I was just an instrument in his hands. The mission goes by way too fast, already 7 Months out, before you know it 12 months, then I’m halfway home! I fear the thought of not being an Elder, but thankfully I will never stop doing missionary work. I love you guys so much and thank you for all your support! Stay safe and healthy, Love you tons!

 

Elder Fyffe