05/27/2013

 

            Well, not much has really happened this week, the Baptism we were supposed to have Saturday fell through because she said it wasn’t the right moment, so we will just have to continue to pray for her! Our plans for the next coming week is to fix two more baptisms, so hopefully that works out too, we fast every Saturday so that our area will have more success, so we definitely have the Lord on our side. Other than all the lessons that we had this week, we had a few rain storms which are CRAZY here, but our house is nice and sturdy since it’s the size of a Lego. I’ve noticed that whenever I sleep, I forget where I am, I always Wake up and realize that I’m still on my mission and it makes me happy because I love my mission! It’s going to be weird the first morning I Wake up back home in America, my breakfast will be cereal instead of a coconut, and I will be working in normal clothes instead of my Church clothes every day, it’s actually a thought I don’t like thinking about right now haha.

            As for the adventures this week I only have 2 pictures, the first is a doodle I did at Church with all the little kids around me, I’m kind of like the nursery for all the kids during sacrament, they all come sit by me and we fill up a whole bench, but they’re all quiet so it’s all good! The other photo is my friend Syna perfectly executing how to biff it on a tiny bike jump. I laughed pretty hard; anyway, this week’s email is short, not much happened so I shall leave you with a big ol faaitoito and Ua here au ia outou!

 

Elder Fyffe

 

05/20/2013

05/20/2013

           

            Well this week has been crazy!, had about 22 lecons which is the most this island has had in years, so that really has been an answer to our prayers! Also we had a wedding here for some of our investigators, little did I know that planning weddings was a part of my mission call haha, But that went well, the next step for them is baptism! Which we will pray will happen this next Saturday; they asked that I be the one to baptize them, so that will be awesome because here it’s in the ocean! Other than that, we fixed 2 more investigator baptism dates, both for the end of this month! The work has really been picking up lately. And the cherry on top is that I’ve become accustomed to drinking rain water! No more diarrhea! Wooh!

            The sun shines and the Gospel is always true. I recently realized how incredible this gospel is, and how thankful I am for Joseph Smith and all he did! I believe that in section 122 of D&C It talks about how great the work that he did for this Church really is. Thanks to him, there are about 30 Tahitians all the way in the South Pacific on the tiny island of Hao who get to take the saving ordinance of the sacrament each Sunday! It’s crazy to think how huge the Lord’s work is, and how fast it’s picking up!

            I love my mission and the opportunity I have to be a part of this amazing work! As for the adventures this week, there’s the marriage, a drawing, and our investigator Ernest on his trike! I love you all so much! Stay safe!

 

Elder Fyffe

 

05/13/2013 Skype for Mother's Day!

05/13/2013

 

            Ya, the email is going to be pretty short today because of the Fact that I saw you all yesterday, but I shall share my merci's with you all. I thank you all for being such a huge inspiration for my mission; I can say that I have talked about each and every one of you at least once in my lessons, my family is my biggest support and biggest blessing, and what better way to testify of the love of our heavenly father, than through the love I have for my family! Thanks for staying alive these past 6 months; you all look healthy and safe to me! Thanks for not laughing too hard when you saw how chubbs my face is getting, but it’s not all fat! I work out every night and morning!

            And thank you to my family who sang to me at the end of Skype, It made my day, and it made all the kids around me laugh when they saw me get teary eyed, The sister who let me use the ipad for Skype told me before I started to not cry, the first thing she said to me after I finished was, "I told you not to cry!" It was phuni. They wanted me to tell you all that they love you and will take good care of me, she also wants to add you all on Facebook, so if you get an invite from a Tahitian, accept, she is really nice!

            Anyway, this week was pretty slow, there’s a soccer competition here which is huge, so EVERYONE on the island is always at the games, makes the missionary work a little hard right now, so pray for me and my companion! I love you all, stay safe, and faaitoito!

 

Elder Fyffe

05/06/2013

05/06/2013

 
            Well, this week has been really good! For such a little island, we have a decent amount of lessons; this week we had 20 which is double the usual! The Lord has really been blessing us! This week Elder Raiau and I got to be a part of another miracle! He told me on Monday that there is an investigator that he and his old companion have been trying to get ahold of for the past three months. So the other day he said, "Okay, lets swing by her house one last time" So, we rode our bikes to her house and sat in the front for about 10 minutes screaming Ia ora na! and Bonjour! Without any success. Elder Raiau then looked at me and said, okay, I’ve lost hope, let’s move on... I can understand why he felt that way, I mean, three months is a long time to go without success! But I i told him, let’s try one last thing before we give up, lets pray. He looked at me as though I was joking, But when I started to pray I think he realized I wasn’t haha! Anyway, I kid you not, less than 20 seconds after we said amen, she walked out of her house! Elder Raiau was dumbfounded and I just sat there and laughed. For the past three months they have been missing one simple thing, a prayer! I think we all at one point or another forget the power of prayer. At least I have. But here on my mission, I’ve come to rely on prayer, and it really has blessed me and my companions immensely! He told me later that that was the first real miracle that he has seen with his own eyes on his mission like that! after almost 18 months!

            I’m so glad that I was able to be an instrument in the Lord’s hands, not only to find a new investigator, but to also strengthen the testimony of my companion! I Love my mission so much! I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy; I love you all so much!  

            As for the adventures this week, I included the photos from last week because they didn’t send last time, also just some adventures this week. I made that hat by the way! Okay, outta time, Love you all! Ua here au ia outou atoa; Je vous aime tous! 

Elder Fyffe

 

04/29/2013

Sorry for the delay in this post... (Author- Me David)

This week has been crazy, a lot of good lessons, a lot of good experiences, and a lot of sun. Our lessons are usually always on the beach, the people here are really faithful! We fixed a date for a marriage; I don’t remember how that word is spelt in English... The only problem was that the couple had to get some blood work done for the paperwork, so at the end of the lesson, we engaged them to do that and their response was, "okay, we will do that tomorrow" and they did!! We also had a first contact with a new investigator yesterday and when I asked him what his expectations were from out lessons; his response was, “to be baptized!" I really love it here on this island! I will definitely come back here after the mission! I’ve been reading and practicing Tahitian a lot here because most of the people don’t speak French very well; it’s as if I’ve started over with the whole language barrier thingy! But with a lot of prayer and fasting, that will come. We had an awesome adventure this morning; we went to a local historic site where there is a tomb of a king that lived here once that was supposedly 21 feet tall! Crazy shtuff... Other than that, it’s just blue skies and palm trees here! I hope that you are all staying safe! I love you all so much, the church is true!!

04/22/2013 New Area

04/22/2013 

            Welcome to my new sector here on the little Island of Hao!! Its two hours away from Tahiti by plane! I arrived here yesterday and am now with my new companion Elder Raiau, he’s a Tahitian and he’s pretty sweet! Surprisingly, the house here is much smaller than the last, yet, the upside is I’m right on the beach... literally. This morning I took a chair and set it in the ocean and did my personal study with my feet in the water, it was awesome!

            The language here is really different though, it’s a mixture of French, Tahitian and Puamatu, so I feel like I’m starting over again with the Language. haha Anyway, I should be here for the next few months on this little doughnut island. It’s actually completely different here, not really any cars, at most 10 lessons each week, and the people are really chill and love to joke around. I’m actually the third missionary to be on this island, how lucky am I! The church is tiny, just 30 members and I teach an English class each Saturday! 

            Well the photos are of my new home for the next little while, don’t get too jealous ha, I don’t have much more time, so I will end with a big ol I love you! Also, I have no idea when mother’s day is or how that is going to work, I will find out this week! Love you all, Stay safe! 

Elder Fyffe

 

04/15/2013

            Hmmm, not much has happened this week, it’s been really difficult lately to obtain the number of lessons that President expects us to have. 35 lessons each week is the goal, and Elder Joly and I have been struggling to get even 25! It’s crazy, but with a lot of prayer and fasting I know that we can do it. President doesn’t allow us to do door to door so we have to work only through the members. It’s a Revelation that he received, so I will follow it with faith! After one of our lessons with an investigator she told us a little story about how she decided who would baptize and confirm her. She told us that when the bishop had asked her who she wants to baptize her and confirm her she said, "of course my elders!" That made me smile quite largely when I heard the words "my elders" It’s been one of the phrases I’ve been wishing to hear for the past long while! She asked me to baptize her and Elder Joly to confirm her; I’m really excited for that day! The end of next month if all goes according to plan!

            Another awesome experience that I had this week was when I was doing a personal study of the Atonement one morning.  I don’t even know if anyone in the world is worthy enough to teach such a sacred topic, I feel so blessed to be able to talk and teach about it multiple times a week! Anyway, when I was studying, I had an epiphany! I have always wondered why Jesus went through all of that pain and suffering. I knew that it was a part of the plan that he accepted before he came down to earth. I knew that it was necessary in order for us to return back to Heavenly Father, but I wanted to know why he decided to suffer all of that. So I sat there thinking for a while to myself, then my mind started wandering and thinking about my family and friends and all the good times that we had. I started thinking.... I love these people! I love my mom and dad and my sister and all of my other families and friends! Then it hit me. I realized that he did it because he loves us. He really loves us more than anything! Like how I love my sister more than anything!! I knew before that he did it because he loves us, but I had no real testimony of my own behind that phrase. It’s just another amazing blessing that i have gotten out of my mission. A true love and appreciation for everyone who cares about me.

            Jesus Christ is in the very definition of the word Charity. Charity is the true love of Christ. I think that if anyone has ever felt pure love towards anyone else, that this is the closest that person will ever get to understanding the Atonement. Of course this is all just my point of view, but that really helped me understand the Atonement! I shared this experience with one of our investigators and I cried a little bit....ya....a little bit... That goes to show me that the Holy Ghost confirmed my testimony! I believe we all have a lot to work on when it comes to Charity; thank goodness I have the rest of my life to work on that! And you are all my test subjects. mwahahahah! Anyway, I love you all so much and hope that you are staying safe! Talk to you next week! 

Elder Fyffe 

For the pictures- Some flowers for mom, a few of my new doodles and then a sweet sunset shot I got of some hoodlums. Then I found my nickname in graffiti! Oh and the last picture is one that I found on Elder Joly's camera....Its Keenan! Elder Joly said that Keenan was in his zone in the MTC, so he saw him a lot! It freaked me out. Anyway, that’s it for this week, stay safe and I love you!