Christmas, Rain, and the Book of Mormon

Hello family and friends,

It's time for the Christmas report! My Christmas may not have been the "white Christmas" that I have learned to love but it was still good. Instead of snow and being with the family we had Skype and rain. The morning we woke up at 5:30 to open the presents that our district president's wife had bought for us. After that we quickly went back to bed. Then for our Christmas breakfast we had Tahitian hot chocolate and coconut bread. It was alright. Not the best Christmas breakfast but who can complain?

Once breakfast was finished we biked our way over to the district president's house. Where all four of us missionaries here on Tubuai did our skype along with our district president and his wife. They have a son on his mission. He is our zone leader. Ha. Small world. I was the last one to do skype and once it was finished we headed out under this heavy rain. It's only about ten minutes or so on bike to the church but we got soaked! The members were so funny. "Elders, where are your jackets? It's raining!"

The baptism for the sister missionaries went really well. After the baptism it was the same, home under the rain. Home meaning at the president's house. We went back and celebrated with the family of the woman who had just been baptized. It was great. We ended up having a pretty good Christmas.

However, our gifts from our parents didn't arrive on the boat until the following day. So Friday we opened our gifts from our parents. It was so great! Thank you Dad and Mom for sending gifts. They were all much appreciated. I love you guys!!

I finished reading the Book of Mormon in French the other day. It only took me a year and a few months. I started in Moroni 10 and read backwards. Reading chapter 10 and then going to 9 then 8 then 7 etc. I finally finished. And then I restarted it in Tahitian. It's going much better than previous attempts. I'm not marking every word anymore because I don't know it. Yay! I love that book. I know that it is the word of God. And anyone can know that that is true.

Thank you all family and friends,

Have a great week,

Love,
Elder Squires

Christmas Eve with President Tumarae

We went hiking to the highest point on this island this morning, it's called Taitaa. (tay-tah-ah)

Merry Christmas!! - Monday, December 22, 2014

It's a few days in advance so I'll let you all know how Christmas was after it happens :)

I love this time of year. I hope you all do too. It's a time of family, of being together, caring for others, listening to uplifting music, and most importantly, thinking about Christ. I love the Christmas spirit and I have grown to appreciate this time of year more and more as I've gotten older.

So, what could I leave you all as a Merry Christmas message? I wish I knew too. But as you have it  I don't know. But one thing that I do know is that Christ is real. No matter how disappointing it is to learn that Santa isn't real, it's wonderful to know that Christ lives. That we have this time of year just to think of Him and what He has given us.

I am very grateful to Him. Without I wouldn't be here right now. None of us would be. He is our Savior. And I'm grateful for it.

I love you all,

Have a wonderful Christmas

Elder Squires

It may not be white, but Christmas is still Christmas

It wasn't easy, but we made a Christmas tree. After a long hike in the mountains and attaching the good looking branches together with an old inner tube, and then decorating it with what ever we could find in the house, and using a stump of wood for it's base, we succeeded. We have a Christmas tree in Tubuai. 

The monument to Addison Pratt and his companions who landed at this spot on the Island of Tubuai in 1844.

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Small Island Problems - Tuesday, December 16, 2014

hello everyone!

you are probably wondering why i am writing today. well, welcome to a small island. i know that i served on Bora but Bora has four times as many people and probably half the land mass. welcome to the small island life. there is lots of land but not a lot of people. before we didn't get reception for our phone in our own house. sometimes we have a lesson during the day, those are the good days, but it is often that people aren't there. sometimes the internet for the whole island cuts. sometimes you just go crazy. so....yeah. the internet cut and we couldn't do emails yesterday. elder millerberg said that it happens fairly often. yay! (not really)

that was our week. trying to teach people but not being able to. teaching people who didn't seem to understand much. and riding our bikes.

i think all of our planned lessons were cancelled except two. we contacted an inactive who tried to bash us using the index in The Book of Mormon as if it agreed with him. my companion bought a new ballistic mountain bike yesterday. its okay. but some members told him that he should try to take it back. it was a rough beginning but it'll work out for his bike.

that's about it and i need to go. love you family and friends! faaitoito

Elder Squires

So, Here I Am

I'm here in Tubuai. I arrived safely Monday afternoon around 4. My flight had me, a sister missionary and the first conselor to the misison president who is also the district president out here (because we are too small for the moment to become a stake). I sat next to him and we talked most of the way here. Upon arrival we saw the elder, whom I was replacing, and the sister who was also leaving. They had flower necklaces to the tips of their heads.

I met my companion, Elder Millerberg. He is from Kaysville, Utah. And the sister missionary who came with me on the plane is also from Utah. That makes three Utahan missionaries on an island with only four missionaries. Even if I come from Idaho, I still say Utah, it's my home.

So, things here in Tubuai. Fun facts. Tubuai is a small island of about 2,000 people. A fourth the amount as Bora Bora. To go all the way around the island it is 26ish km or 16ish miles. It is the island where Addison Pratt landed when Joseph Smith sent him off to serve a mission. He arrived here in 1844. They are very proud of that and have little memorials to show it. I have some photos.

The way of life out here is very interesting. If you asked me what they did all day I wouldn't be able to tell you. I honestly don't know. They just disappear and at the end of the day they come home. They probably work in their farms or take care of their families. This is one of the most southern islands in the mission that actually has missionaries on it. It is 400 miles from Tahiti and it does get cold. I had to change my blanket because it's been so cold in the mornings.

As for this week things went slow. Getting to know people and where they live. Trying to figure out the investigators and helping my companion out. He just barely finished his training and so his French needs help, luckily I was in French for so many years before the mission. So grateful. We have two branches in our area and four on the island. Our's are called Mahu and Ziona. It's the first time I've been in a branch, so it'll be new.

These last six months of my mission are my time to shine. To do my best. And unfortunately it's also the time to get ready to come home. I'm not getting trunky but the end is coming up and I'm bracing myself for the impact.

So family and friends, keep going. Patient through the rough times and serve those around you. Let's all do our best to be our best. It's a daily thing and it's a life long thing. The Lord loves us and wants the best for us. And it's through our difficulties that He makes us who we are. I love you all! Thanks for everything.

Love, Elder Squires

My Arrival

The others who were leaving.

One of 3 Chapels Currently Used on the Island

One of the farms on Tubuai

This is a memorial for Addison Pratt and his wife and the other missionaries that came with him.

The second church built on the island of Tubuai. It was built out of melted coral that made cement. 

And finally a memorial of where Addison and the group first landed. That stone thing is the memorial and behind it is our house. I really like the colors of those curtains, ha. I only say that because my companions made fun of me for only having blue ties, which is true except for one. So yeah. That's the island. It's been interesting thus far. We'll see what this week brings. 

Tubuai, Transfers, and My Flight

So.....the transfer calls came in last week......and.....Elder Webber is going to............STAY!!!! And I'm going to Tubuai. I'm pretty excited for Elder Webber. He has worked a lot and he deserves to stay. I'm sure he'll really enjoy it.

But as for Tubuai......I'm SOOO EXCITED!! When the AP's called and told me that I was going there I screamed with excitement. You have to google it. It's a small island in the Australes. Also known as an Australian island. YAY!!! It's really south and so it should be much cooler out there. The problem is that I have to be at the airport in less than an hour....so....I need to get going! My flight will be an hour and a half to two hours long. I'll let you know next week how it went and how it is.

I love you family!!!!!!

Elder Squires

That cat belongs to me and Elder Webber but he lives at our ward mission leader's house, which is totally fine. Ha. And that's the necklaces the members gave me to say goodbye.

Photo with our Bishop's family. 

Normal Week (for once), Transfers, and 18 months down - November 24, 2014

Mon, Nov 24, 2014 4:41 pm

Hello Family and Friends,

What a great week. Things went normal. We weren't sick. We worked everyday. Yay!

But on the down side we had a lot of missionaries go home this week. Like Elders Christensen, Droppo, Vanderholm, Clark (from American Fork), and many more. It was sad. Elder Droppo and I built a pretty great friendship because he loved talking to me at night as I would take all my nightly pills and brush my teeth. They were all great missionaries and will be missed.

And since these fine missionaries just went home, along with the last sister from my MTC group, except Sr. Taylor, there will be a transfer next week. We have 25ish new missionaries coming in and so lot's of things are going to happen. And since it's been over five months for me in the area we will see what happens.

I celebrated my 18 months in the mission this week. It's crazy family, I only have 6 months left. Almost there! As for the inventory since the last six months here is what it looks like. 7ish shirts, most are still white, grateful for the reception of new shirts. My pants are still good. Also with the reception of some new pairs but the washing in 90°C water hurt those pants quite a bit. I'm still trying to iron out the wrinkles found in them. As for shoes I am down to my last pair. I am hoping for some new ones for Christmas and that should hold me until the end. As for socks I am good. My scriptures are still in tact. Some missionaries have scriptures that get destroyed. And all in all I am happy. I am thinking that this next transfer will be my last area. It's crazy but I love it.

On my mission I have learned a lot. Even if I've only had three areas each one has been such a learning ground. And basically what I have l learned is that Jesus is our Savior and that Heavenly Father loves us.

That's how I could sum up 18 months. And I'll finish by saying that I love you family and friends. You are all so great. Thanks for everything!

Love,
Elder Squires

Elder Webber fell in the mud...haha!

Our zone meeting Friday

I went back to FAAA to watch the baptism of someone who I started teaching during my training and who decided to be baptized one year later. It's been a year. And it happened!

Sick...and It Wasn't Me!!

Well, I have less than five minutes to finish...uh oh.

This week was slow but at the same time it went by really fast.

My companion started feeling sick Tuesday morning and we didn't go out all day. It was nice. I got the time to do some relaxing and studying. And I was happy that it wasn't myself that was sick.

Wednesday we had a multi-zone conference that was really good. We got to go but after that my companion and another elder's companion stayed home because they weren't feeling good so I went out on a split! Woot woot.

Then on Thursday we worked on our bikes and that was a horrible idea, considering that my companion and I were both recovering from sicknesses. I decided that I didn't want to use my bike again but I have since rechanged my mind.

Friday we went on foot on a more calm day. And Saturday was the same. Calm and on foot.

Sunday we missed a lesson because the bus that took us home tried dropping us off in the wrong spot twice and so the second time we got off. Ha.

And today we went shopping. It was fun but I have a weakness for buying things today. Good for you all but not so good for me....ha.

Well, I love you all.

I hope that the Lord blesses and cares for you all. D&C 100:1.

Love you,

Elder Squires

Some of the missionaries from my MTC group. The tall one just become Assistant to the President and the sister finishes next week - the last sister from my group to go home. 

We went and played beach soccer last week

Another Trip to the Doctor with a Wedding and Two Baptisms - November 10, 2014

Wow. This week has been an interesting one. Last week when I wrote I was feeling pretty sick. And that feeling of sickness didn't really fade off until a few days ago. But I am doing much better now! We went to the doctor's office on Friday because I had been struggling to get full breathes in since Tuesday. So we went and this doctor was not the same as last week but this one was a really quick visit and he prescribed me an inhaler and some anti-biotics. As if the medicine in my cabinet wasn't already too much now I have even more...bleh. But it's okay. It's supposed to make me better, and it has helped.

Thursday we had a wedding and the baptism of Jean-Yves. He and his wife were married at town hall at 3 p.m. and then at 4 p.m. we had their baptism. The service went really well. My companion and I got to give the talks about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. I enjoyed giving my talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost and being able to promise Jean-Yves that He would be right there next to him as long as he stayed worthy.

Also Thursday we took our bikes to be able to get places faster. We biked all the way up Nina Peata, one the biggest hills in our area, without stopping to walk.

Friday was the baptism for Chantal Keck. The service went really well. I was the one that baptized her. Her friends were so happy to see that she was getting baptized. We even had the missionaries from Moorea, the neighboring island, who had done the lessons with her come down to be a part of her baptism. It's was really great.

Then on Saturday we biked all the way up to the highest part of our area, the Catholic monastery. Who knows why they put in on top of the mountain but we biked all the way up there. It made Nina Peata seem so small.

Overall it was a good week despite the sicknesses and what not. It still went well. We even put up a Christmas tree. Woot woot! My last Christmas here in Tahiti. It's nice but sad at the same time. Oh well.

Love you all,

Elder Squires

Chantal, Elder Webber, and Me

The Newlyweds and the New Member

It may not be the biggest Christmas tree in forest, but we found the best one to celebrate the Christmas season!

Working, Best Friends, and Sick....again - November 3, 2014

Well, I actually shouldn't take a lot of time today (I'll explain in a sec) but here's the update for this week.

The work here is going. We have jumped up our number of lessons enough to have landed in what our mission president calls the "top 5". Every week he sends out, among other things, a list of the companionship's that taught the most lessons for the week. My companion and I made it twice in a row and we were feeling really good about it. Until...

As for the best friends, my good friend doctor in town told me something interesting this week when I went to see him. He had put me on this new medication and this week was my check up visit to see how it was going. It is funny because the doctor was so happy to hear that things were going better. So happy in fact that he said that this medication that I am taking is my best friend. I laughed, not too reassured and said, "Yeah, it's like a friend." He quickly corrected me and said that these pills are my best friends because a best friend is someone who wants good for you and all that good stuff. I had a hard time keeping a straight face. Haha. So yeah, I have pills for best friends.

The work this week was going really well. We have two baptisms this week and our number of lessons is pretty good. So things were going like normal this week until Thursday. Yikes. I got sick. Here we have a new sickness going around called Chikungunya. And there is a virus that resembles it but isn't as bad. I'm thinking I'm more on the virus side. But I've been out and have been sentenced to bed rest. And that's why I can't stay too long here.

I love you family and friends!

Elder Squires

This Week

From: Brandon Squires <brandon.squires@myldsmail.net>
Sent: Mon, Oct 27, 2014 6:45 pm

This week has been....crazy. It started off Tuesday with a multi-zone conference with Elder Nielson. He is in the area presidency for the pacific area. The conference was with our zone and two other zones, Paea and Papeari. We talked about every thing in that conference. From why we are here as missionaries to committing more people to be baptized to bearing our testimonies in one minute to prove that a sincere and powerful testimony can be bared in a short time. It was such a great learning experience. I loved it!!

Tuesday night we had four lessons. With two at the same time.  So my companion went with a member to a lesson with some new investigators that are doing really well. I went with Fr. Teinauri to teach Jacques and his brother and his dad, who wanted a Tahitian to come to be able to speak to him. The lesson went all right. It only ended up being Jacques and his girlfriend. But it was our first lesson with her and I was really happy about that.

Thursday we called the member with whom we were supposed to eat and they said, "We'll call you back..." They never called back. We actually found out that they don't have time to feed us during the week so we didn't have food for the day. As we were walking around in Quartier Taua, which is a really steep neighborhood, my companion and I were kicking rocks at each other trying to get the rock to go in between our legs. It's a little game that we play. A member randomly calls us after we walk past her house. She says, "Mai!" Which means come in Tahitian. So we went up to her house and she invited us to eat lunch with her. After that we kept working and later ran into our Bishop who invited us to come eat with him. Such a big blessing!

I love the mission. I love you family and friends. I love sharing the gospel. And I am happy to be here. Thanks for every one of you!

Love,

Elder Squires

Zone conference. Elder Nielson is in the middle.

Sweet cloud

I found a Tahitian foam pit...it's not real but it looks like it could be.

Baptism, Four months, and Walking - October 20, 2014

We had a baptism this week! It was really great. Kealanie has been baptized and has shown the good example for her mom and for her entire family. At her baptism we had a lot of non-members come. One is a referral that we had already received earlier in the week, whose name is Jacques. Or Jack, in English. We taught him Tuesday and the lesson went so well. He asked so many questions. So after Kealanie was baptized our Bishop asked what people had felt. Jacques said that he had felt something very strong. It's true. There is always a special feeling at baptisms. And this was no exception. After the baptism we talked with some of Kealanie's family and engaged some for the lessons. We fixed one lesson. We'll see how that goes.

Four months. It has now been four months that I have been here in Outumaoro. The transfers were this week and I stayed. Do you now who else stayed? My companion! Ha. It's great. We get another six weeks together. Woot woot.

As for walking..... We still walk. We have done so many miles. Everyday we walk 2 km to get to our area. Another 4 km in the area. And another 2 km to get home. My shoes, that are already two sizes too big, that are already being held together by glue, and that I got for free, are really starting to show the effects of all the walking. Our ward is very impressed by us. We are the first elder's they have had that have gone on foot. We enjoy it. It's effective. A car would be nice but I enjoy the BM Double-Pied (sorry, French joke).

Overall it's been good. We've been doing a lot of work and learning a lot of things. Fill your lives with good things, even if it means waiting for a long time for the seeds to grow, we have to plant them, or they will never grow. I love you all family. And I hope that all is going well for you all!

Love, Elder Squires

Kealanie...she is so funny!

We love our members

The Dog King

Hello - October 13, 2014

Hello everybody,

This week was good. Monday night we did a multi-family family night at a member's house. The family night had a couple of our investigators and a lot of members. The lesson was the plan of salvation which our Bishop taught. Then for the game it was up to me. I chose a game that I really like. It's a game of rhythm and commandments. We played the game and it went really well. We then sat around and our Bishop got a guitar and a ukulele for my companion and me. I took the guitar. We tried to sing and play a hymn at the same time. It was really hard. I'm not used to sight reading with people singing with me and not to mention that it was a really fast song. So in the end having the guitar didn't do much at all. But it was the first time that I have been able to play the guitar in front of people so that was nice.

Tuesday we started out the day on our bikes. Which is extremely rare. In the last 2 and a half months we've used our bikes maybe five times. But we took them after a good spray of WD-40 to keep them alive. We had a lesson with a university student named Chantal. She is from Moorea but is here for school. We decided to try and fix her baptism. So we started by talking about Mormon 9 where it talks about miracles and how we have to act. We asked her if she believed miracles could happen. She said yes. We engaged her to be baptized and she said yes. Yay!

Wednesday I went with Elder Bagley into his area and we worked out there for the day. That was good. Thursday we had our first lessons on the south end of our area in the quartier Tubuai. Then we had a lesson at the top of our area at a rehabilitation home. We came all the way back down our area for a lesson with Vatea but he wasn't there so then we went and bought some thing to eat while walking all the way back up to the church, which is on the far north end of our area, and at the top. After the lesson with Chantal up at the church, we came back down only to go up another quartier. This was the night where a news report was on TV talking about Sister Taylor and her miracle. And since we had permission to go watch it, we did. First time watching a new's report since I started. It was really cool.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday were all good. We fixed the marriage for Jean-Yves and Lea!!!!! And we also fixed Simone's and Teriivahine's!!! woot woot! All of that thanks to working with our members and our mission leaders. Family and friends, help the missionaries! Without you it just doesn't work as well. You bring something special. When you are a friend for an investigator you will be their personal trainer on their marathon to being a member and staying active.

I love you all.

Have a great week.

Elder Squires

The transfer is this week, we're staying. But this is the last zone photo. And two of the sisters that started with me finish this week. One of them is the sister in the blue.

 

We made cheesecake...at least we tried!

And...this morning we played around. Great stuff. 

Conference, Conference and A Split - October 6, 2014

Ia Ora Na Outou, Eaha ta outou huru?

This week has been interesting.

On Monday we had our FHE cancelled so we went home and enjoyed our meal that a member dropped off. The food sounded so good. Sashami. One of my favorite dishes. The thing was that this time the sashami was store bought and tasted old and not wanting to risk getting sick again my companion and I didn't end up eating it.

Tuesday morning we had to wake up early to get to the doctor by 8 in the morning. The mission nurse, Sister Warner, picked us up and took us in town to see my best friend, the doctor. He prescribed me some new medications after the crazy allergic reaction that I was having with the last ones and so far nothing crazy has happened.

Wednesday we did a zone conference. This is the first time that I have had a zone conference where it was only my zone that was there. Normally we have done multi-zone conferences. So this was a nice change and to top it off we did it at the mission home. I'll send a picture. I really liked it because it felt....how do I say it....civil. I think that's the best word. I'll show pictures. Anyway, the zone conference went well. We talked about a lot of things. But one of my favorite was about taking our calls and taking them to heart. Also, that night we ate McDonalds that our Bishop dropped off.

Thursday went well. We did all of our lessons and we got to eat with a family of new converts that had fallen inactive and have started coming back.

Friday we did a split with our zone leaders. That makes the second time in my mission that I have done that. It was good. I went with Elder Bagley. It reminded me of Bora. Oh the good ol' days. Ah. And. My companion and Elder Lee Chip Sao fixed Simone's baptism. We think she just needed a Tahitian to teach her and it worked! But we'll see what happens.

Saturday and Sunday we watched conference. It was so wonderful. I am currently downloading them so that I can listen to them again. This was probably the first time that I haven't fallen asleep during a single session of conference. I was proud of myself.

That's pretty much all family. Love you!!

Elder Squires

This is typical tahitian house. It's very 2nd world our here. We have a mix of first and third world all over the place so being in the mission home was nice to be in a first world place again.

McFamily meal. It's big!

The mission home.

Investigators - Mon, Sep 29, 2014 8:47 pm

Hello everybody! Today I am happy to announce that I have had no crazy allergies, or bad food, which means....That I can talk about my investigators.

This week we started off the week teaching Teraia. We had to do her lesson at a bus stop because we didn't have anywhere "peaceful" to go. It's just the biggest bus top in our area and it's right next to the highway with the Tahitian equivalent of Walmart on the other side of the highway. But it turned out just fine. We had started talking when she told us that she wanted to do whatever it takes to get into the celestial kingdom. She said that she wants her and her family to make it up there together. The problem is that her boyfriend doesn't want anything to do with the church. He doesn't want to get married, and he really doesn't want to get married so that Teraia can get baptized. So that's her biggest problem. She had problems with the word of wisdom but she has almost completely quit. And she is a consistent reader of the Book of Mormon.

Our next one is Kealanie. She is seven years old and her baptism is fixed for the 16 of October. Her mom is not a member and her grandfather helps us out during the lessons. She is really great and her baptism is coming up soon.

We kept looking for an apartment but no news yet.

Next is Teriivahine. He is the brother of a member in our ward. He is about 19 years old, but you would never guess it. Often Tahitians look older than they really are. Every week we teach him. We usually read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and then talk about it. However, yesterday our ward mission leader talked to him about getting baptized and he seemed all right with it. Our lessons will soon be making a shift and we will focus more on re-teaching the lessons and getting him ready for baptism.

Next is Herelani. She is the girlfriend of our ward mission leader's nephew. Elder Ollerton and I started teaching her but we weren't able to do any lessons after the first because they moved out. But now she and her boyfriend come here every weekend. We have decided to teach them every weekend. We'll see how it goes.

Next is Laiana. She is the girlfriend of an ex drug lord here in Tahiti. We haven't had any lessons with them for a good month and a half but Friday we had a lesson with her. She told us that she had done her prayer. She asked if Heavenly Father was really there and she got the feeling that he was. That was so good to hear. And she told us that she wants to be baptized. The problem for her is that she has to get married. We'll see how that goes as well.

Another is Simone. I've already talked about her a little. She is doing better. Before she wasn't really receptive to our messages. But then she talked with an investigator from a neighboring ward after accidently going to the wrong church. This investigator told her that she just needs to listen to us and let us teach and that she will feel it. That was perfect. She has been so much more receptive to us.

Another is Jean-Yves. He is the last that I will talk about. He is the boyfriend of a member. He has a strong desire to be baptized. He reads the chapters that we give. He comes to church. He is just great. We are waiting for his girlfriend's birth certificate to come back so that they can be married and he can be baptized. Yay!

I know these things are true. That this church is the true church. I love the Lord. And remember that the Lord loves us too.

Elder Squires

Another cool part of our area

Allergies and Cancellations - September 22, 2014

Family and Friends! Hey! So before I deliver the bad news I want to let you all know that I am still alive and doing well.

Okay, now for the bad news. This week I found out that I have allergies. It's not your normal allergies, it's a special allergy. And to tell the truth, I'm not really sure if it is an allergy. But anyway, I'll explain what happened.

It all started Monday morning when I was noticing this itchy bumps on my elbows. I just thought that they were mosquito bites so I didn't pay attention. Well that night we had our family night with a member. I had been really hungry all day long and so I ate so much that night. The food was crab, chicken, rice, and some other things. It was one of the first times that I have eaten crab and it was definitely the first time that I had eaten that much.

Missionary moment. It was past nine when we left the members house and so we biked home as quickly as possible. Such a classic missionary thing. Anyway, we got home and I noticed that my arms had this huge bumps that were really itchy. My companion told me that they were hives. I called the mission nurse and we just thought it was because of the crab. She told me to sleep on it and that she would stop by in the morning to look at it. I put some cream on it and went to bed. That was a rough night. I remember waking up with this giant bump on my wrist and having really itchy elbows.

When I woke up in my morning my hands felt a little funny and when I looked at them they had swollen to twice their normal size. What!?! It was crazy. The mission nurse gave me some allergy pills and I took a nap to recover from the long night. So that day we went out and worked and my hands went back to normal so we thought that all was good.

The week went on and nothing too big happened but randomly I would have spots on my arms swell up and get hives. On Saturday it was the most obvious when I touched something to my lip and it started to swell up. I then put my ring on my arm and after a few minutes the outline of the ring swelled up and got really itchy. I called the mission nurse again. She told me that it might be because of this new medication that I have been taking. She advised me to stop taking it and that we would go to the doctor today to see what's up.

So long story short I have stopped taking my medication and we will visit the doctor eventually to see what's up.

Yeah. That was the excitement of my week. Along with 14 cancellations and 9 lessons with investigators, and the continued apartment searching. It was a pretty rough week. But I am still happy to be out here. We'll just have to see what the next week brings! I can't wait!

Family, and friends, I love you all. I hope you all are happy and doing well

Love,

Elder Squires

My hand vs. my companion's hand.

We went hiking....

A short cut in our area. It is so steep you have to use a rope

Soaking Wet, Apartment Hunting, and Skyping - September 15, 2014

This week was not a normal week in most senses. Lesson wise it was pretty normal. We had a fairly high number of cancellations and a decent amount that were there. It is really hard to have progressing investigators when things are like that. But this week we started the lessons with a little girl named Kealani who is turning 8 next month. She is really sweet and we enjoy teaching her. She should be getting baptized next month, yay!

As for soaking wet...you remember how last week was rainy? Well this week was worse. And this time we were outside in the pouring rain. We had a lesson at 10 with Teraia, and that went really well. Then at 11 with Hana, a new investigator. And during the lesson with Hana the rain started to get strong. And as we walked to our next lesson it stayed strong. We got to the house and the lesson got cancelled. We next went to our lesson that was to follow and he wasn't there either. No! By this time we were soaked so we walked into the neighborhood Tubuai (pronounced Two-puu-eye) and headed to a member's house for refuge. We ended up in our ward mission leader's house and he kindly let us in and let us dry off. He also helped us look for an apartment because where we live now is 30 minutes on foot from our area. So he looked for some apartments while we dried our books and clothes off with a hair dryer. Ha. It was pretty great.

As for apartment hunting we have been doing that whenever we have some down time. We walk around looking for apartments and making calls. It makes for quite the plan b activity. Ha.

And as for skype. We have to do our meetings with my district by skype and  since the only computer that has a camera is the ward's laptop we have to use that for zone and district meetings. Knowing that last week we did a zone meeting to say goodbye to the ones who were leaving because of the transfer, using the skype was a success, even if I had to hold the laptop and the poor sisters had to stare at me for most of the meeting. But this week for our zone meeting the internet would just not work at all. We tried for almost an hour and it did nothing. So the sisters had to sit in their clerk's office and do their own meeting while we did our zone meeting. It was really unfortunate because they are on an island. They are the only two missionaries on that island. And contact from the outside world is rare, so it's nice for them to have skype with us and it's nice to have them as a part of our meetings.

So yeah. That's my week. I hope you all have a great week. I love you all. And I hope you all know that I love the Lord and I want nothing more than to serve Him.

Have a great week family and friends,

Elder Squires

A lot of bananas. It's so big that it has to lean on the house.

Our bikes in after our muddy trip in the area.

Transfers, Anniversary, and Food Poisoning - Sep 8, 2014 7:44 pm

Hello everyone!

I hope all is going well! This week was better, as for the weather. And for cancellations, we only had 13, ha. Okay, I thought it was better but it really wasn't. But! It still beats 19! So...drum roll...this week is transfers and here is the big news...I am staying! Yay! And so is my companion. We aren't changing. We have only been with each other for a month now so it wasn't too much of a surprise. They are some changes of people in the zone but me and my district are staying the same.

So, for the anniversary I have to explain how we do our first contacts with investigators. Once we have our first lesson with the potential investigators we go through our "first contact" routine. We start out by introducing ourselves and our families with photos. And this last week or so as I have been showing the photos I realized how long it had been since I had since my brother Michael. And I realized that yesterday was the three year anniversary since he went on his mission. That was a shock. I can't believe it's been three years. That seems so long. But that is a part of the sacrifices that we make as missionaries. Only 8 months to go! Then I will see you again Michael!

Ahh (letting breath out). Another day of getting sick. On Wednesday night we didn't eat because we had to cancel our meal appointment to be able to go to a meeting. The meeting wasn't all that great and when we got home we were hungry. We tried to go to the restaurant right next to our house but it was closing, so what do we do? We go to the nearest food truck. Those are big out here. We ordered my favorite, poisson cru and went home. We ate that night and went to bed. As I woke up Thursday morning I felt sick. And sure enough I had food poisoning. My companion did too but mine was worse. I called the mission nurse and she said that it all has to come out eventually so just patient it out. And so I did. I didn't eat much other than some ice cream, which wasn't that good of an idea. But Friday I felt better and was able to eat, and I was back to eating normal food and even dared eating poisson cru again. And I'm still doing well.

So that's the report for our week. It has been an interesting week. The work is going well. And we will keep working.

I love you family. I know these things are true.

Love,

Elder Squires

Going up to our Bishop's house in the back of his Land Rover

Great. A giant spider on my shirt.

A Rainy Week - Sep 1, 2014 6:41 pm

This week can be described in a very simple way. A rainy week. Last week we moved out of our apartment and moved in a little ways a way. We now live 30 minutes, on foot, from our area. We are now six elders in the house. Monday was companion was feeling sick. When we called the mission nurse she told us that we would need to stay home Tuesday to rest and recover. So we did. We had to cancel 7 lessons that were planned for Tuesday. It was rather unfortunate but it happens. We all get sick sometimes. But we didn't stay home all day. That night we went out on our bikes to get some juice for my companion to drink, it rained while we headed out there, ha.

The week continued the same. Most of the lessons we had fell through because of investigators being too busy, because of the rain, or family problems, or overall just not being at the house. That's what made it rough. We had 19 lessons cancelled overall.

But anyway. The good things. We did get to see Tamatea one night as we were headed home. He told us that his dad had just gone into a coma that day. It was sad to hear but we were able to promise him that the Lord will help him. That was a good experience. I know that the Lord will help us in our trials and our afflictions. There was a scripture that I read, I don't remember where it was, maybe in Alma?, it was about a people that had gone through many difficulties but those difficulties were swallowed up in the joy of Christ which lightened their afflictions and allowed them to be happy. I know that is so true. That the Lord allows us to have our burdens lightened so that we can be happy.

So even though it was a rough week I didn't really feel all that bad. And even right now I don't feel like it was that horrible of a week. It has been lifted off my shoulders. I know this Church is true. I know Christ lives. I love you family. Keep going and keep living.

Love you,

Elder Squires

Hello This Week

Hello family and friends,

How are you all doing? This has been another week in Tahiti. We had a pretty good week. We did 17 lessons this week, we should have had more but cancellations hurt a lot. Tuesday we went out and had our first lesson. This is Teraia. We found out this week that she has talked to her boyfriend about seperating until they can get married so that she can be baptized. That was a shock but a good one. Then on Thursday she told us that she had tried to talk to her boyfriend but her boyfriend didn't want to hear anything about it. She then shocked us in saying that she was going to fast for her boyfriend after we had taught about the fast. We hadn't planned it that way but it worked out really well. Heavenly Father has a way of planning things out well. After Teraia's lesson on Tuesday we headed out to visit someone who wasn't there, as we continued to walk down the road we ran into an investigator from Bora. It was so nice to see him and his family. They had apparently been here in my area for the last month but last week was the first time I had seen them. And it turns out that they were planning to leave Thursday. So the fact that we ran into each other was another good timing moment for the Lord.

On Wednesday I had my training for the new district leaders. It went well. We talked about a lot of good things. And speaking of my district, the sisters in my district, for those who don't know, are two sisters on an island that is about 45 minutes to an hour away on plane. So we don't see each other in person, only by skype. But the news with them is that I got a call from one of the assistants on Saturday asking if I had another number to contact them. I do have the number for the office at their church, and since they live at the church I thought it could work. But after calling their cell and the office number and having no response I started to get worried. And ever since then I haven't been able to get a hold of them. No one has. I pray that things are going well with them.

The week went on and continued on. It was good overall. Since we have been on foot for the last almost three weeks we have become pro's for the shortcuts in our area. Because here in Tahiti their is the main road that circles the whole island and then the neighborhoods are usually perpendicular going up the mountains or towards the ocean from that main road. Our area is no exception. And since our area is only on the mountain side of the road we would have to hike into a neighborhood, do a lesson, hike down to the main road, go to the next neighborhood and then hike back up and so on and so forth. Luckily I had learned some shortcuts with my first companion and we have since learned and used others since being here. It makes moving from neighborhood to neighborhood that much better.

So yeah, that's what has happened out here. But I do have some last stories to share. One is with a new investigator whose name is Tamatea. We met him as he was rolling up weed to go out and sell. We had a lesson with him Thursday and it was incredible. He just asked us questions and we talked. He was so interested and so happy to hear about what he had to teach. It was a wonderful experience. Maybe I've been so focused on other things but it feels like a long time since I've seen an investigator like that. It was so great. It added more fuel to my love for this gospel. Because I know these things are true. I know that this is the true church and that only through it, and through the restored principles and priesthood power can we find happiness in this life and in the life to come.  I can't tell you how many times we have talked about eternal marriage lately and the eternal family. How big of a blessing is that. That we can be with our families forever. We can be with our spouses and kids for eternity. Family and friends I love you. I know that these things are true. I hope you all take the time to know it as well. Keep going out there.

God is with you,

Elder Squires

Our area is a jungle in the city

Another sunset behind Moorea

The Sunday School lesson I got to teach.

20 Lessons, On foot, and Elder Pearson - August 18, 2014

Hello family and friends, thanks for joining in for this week's "Weekly Update." Happily typed by Elder Squires. Things out on the small island have been good. We will start out this week with a look on the "20 Lessons."

My companion and I walked a healthy 15 miles as we walked back and forth to our lessons. With several cancellations but several lessons out of the blue, our goal for 20 lessons came out well. The news is that one of our investigators agreed that once she knew these things were true she would be baptized. Her name is Simone and we engaged her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She agreed but for the second lesson of the week she was found absent. It was rather depressing. But continuing on. We found a new investigator named Marcel who is very interested and looks like serious potential for baptism. He is a young 18 year old boy who we found on the street one day and asked if he wouldn't like the lessons. He glady accepted and our first lesson went really well. Over all it was a good week for lessons. 

As for the report about "On Foot." This week my companion's bike did arrive but the thing is that his helmet didn't arrive with it. So the first night that we took it out we were told by one of the senior couples that he needs to have the special helmets that all the missionaries have, and since he only has an old bike helmet that we had at the house we decided to go on foot. Not to mention that going on foot is a million times easier. No helmet, no getting on and off, no finding a spot to park it. And no pushing it up the mountains in our area. Ha, but we will get back on our bikes someday. 

And for Elder Pearson. He is the area seventy that presides over the south pacific. He came and we did a conference with him. This is the third time that he has come since the beginning of the year. He talked about becoming true disciples of Christ. And no longer having problems. When we have problems it's because we are stuck between two places. He encouraged us to become true disciples. To answer two questions. As a disciple I will leave behind..... And as a disciple I will be ....It was a good talk. I really enjoyed it. 

That's all for me this week. I love you all family and I hope that you are doing well. 

I know this church is true and that God loves us. 

Elder Squires

New Companion, On foot, and... - August 11, 2014

Bonjour! Ia ora na!

So what has happened this week? Last week when I sent my last email I was with a brother in our ward because my companion had left for his departing interview and testimony meeting before he went home. So I went out with this brother and we looked for people to teach. We only had two lessons fixed and two other people that we needed to see. As we looked for people to teach and things to do we ran into an investigator for whom I needed to fix the lesson for Wednesday. When we talked to her she said we could a lesson right there and then. We said yes. And we had a great first lesson. Yup, we taught Simone the moment you left Patrick, ha. As for our other two lessons they were both cancelled. We ended up at the house waiting for some other elders to come pick me up so the brother could go home. So the elders came and picked me up, we ate together and then when it was getting close to nine they dropped me off. Me, unknowing that the house was empty, let them drop me off and I ended up alone in the house. Ha! It was pretty crazy. I called the elders right back and it took them a good five to ten minutes to get back. And they happened to arrive right when they other elders who live in the house arrived. I was so embarrassed. But it all worked out. And we got to laugh about it after.

Anyway, as for the rest of the week, ha. Wednesday my new companion Elder Webber showed up. Elder Webber is from Florida. He is 19, he has been out for 7 months, but in the feild it's been a little over 4 months. His first area was a small island in the Tuamotu's called Manihi. Apparently it's smaller than one square kilometer, well, where all the people live. The island itself is pretty big. So being here his hard for him because this is his first long taste of Tahiti. Here there are so many more cars, we don't know everyone, and our area is very hilly. Not only that but his bike hasn't arrived yet so we have been going around on foot since Wednesday. But it's okay! We are getting some good work outs!

One last crazy thing that happened this week. On Monday we were in our last family night with Elder Ollerton when we got a phone call. When I saw the name it was one of our assistants, Elder Taylor. He told me that there would be a baptism in our ward this Friday at six, and he told me to ask our bishop if six was good. So I called the bishop, he said four was best. Called back Elder Taylor and said four. He then gave me this investigators number and told me to contact him to fix his first lesson and then his baptismal interview. I did that and fixed his interview for Thursday. So we went on with the went and Thursday comes around and we meet Hector for the first time and he has his interview, we couldn't do a lesson because of timing. He passed the interview and the baptism happened Friday. It was a great baptism. Apparently Hector had already taken the lessons, and was almost baptized several times, but this last week it finally happened. Turns out he is from Bora and lived right next to us. What?! I just really hope things go well. We will have to see him this week and we'll see how that goes.

That's all that I have for now family and friends. I love you all and I hope all is going well. Things are going pretty well for me. Last week was a little rough but this week will hopefully be better.

Have a great week,

Elder Squires

Me all alone . . .

My new companion arriving at the airport.

Hector

Ho'i i te fare, To'u hoa api, e to'u mahana fanauraa - August 5, 2014

Hello everyone!

This has been quite the week. Number one, I'm emailing today because I couldn't do it yesterday with everything that was going on with getting my companion ready to leave. And speaking of which my companion left today. He is currently in the mission home with all the others that are going home and will be taking the plane tonight. I will miss him. It was short, but it was great. We had a lot of fun. Always laughing and joking and just working. I will miss him. But, he is going to UVU in three weeks so after the mission I will see him again. Ho'i i te fare is Tahitian for going home.

And since my companion left my new companion arrives tomorrow. As weird as that is I don't have a companion until tomorrow. It's okay though, we figured things out with people in the ward. So today I am with a brother and tomorrow we will see. My companion will be Elder Webber. He is from Utah, I think, and he has been out for a little over four months. I will actually be his second companion in the field, so we'll see how this goes. I am sure it will go fine. Also I got called to be a district leader. Funniest thing ever, my district is my area and a sister's area which is the random island of Maupiti. We will have to do district meetings by skype every week, yay! Go skype! It's a mission thing.

And as for me things are doing all right. I had my birthday and it was a pretty good experience. We celebrated it by fasting and having our meal with our member that night. Ha. It was quite the party. But I did get my package and and I did enjoy my birthday so thank you all who wished me a happy birthday and I hope you all have a great day!

I love you,

Elder Squires

Volleyball, Transfers, and Another Week - July 28, 2014

Another week has come and gone. As for now I am not entirely sure when I will be going home. Considering that I arrived in the MTC three week later than everyone else, I'm not sure if I will go home with my group which would be early May or late April, or if I'll go home the transfer after. We'll see. I shouldn't be too worried about it. And I'm not. I just don't enjoy not knowing if I have 10 or 9 months lefts. Ha, it's weird, I know.

On Monday we had a multi-zone activity in Papeete. It was pretty fun. We played basketball and volleyball for hours and hours. After that we had a family night with a member family that recently moved into the ward. We talked about enduring to the end.

Tuesday we had a lesson with a newer investigator named Teraia (ter-rye-ya). When we had met her for the first time she told us that she didn't know of any one named Teraia in her neighborhood. Then a day or two later we run into the same person and she tells us that she was actually Teraia and that she had lied to us because she was afraid of what her boyfriend would have said if she had talked to us. So explained that her boyfriend really doesn't like us but she wants the lessons anyway. We get her number and went on with our day. Again, a few days later we run at  into her 6 p.m.just after having left the house because we wanted to do something and not just sit around. When we ran into her she was happy because she had just got a new number for herself and she then gave us her new number. We also fixed her next lesson right there because she seemed really serious about doing them. And she is. We have started her lessons and she is doing really well. We challenged her to pray to know if Joseph Smith is a real prophet so we'll see how that goes this week.

This week we had the baptism of Henry. The one that was going to be baptized but decided not to because of his parents. He decided on Wednesday to be baptized even if his parents aren't okay. Yay! The baptism went really well. And as he bore his testimony he shared a verse in the Matt. 10:37 that says that if someone loves their brother or sister or mother or father more than me, they are not worthy of me. It was really powerful.

Henry's Baptism

This was our candle light dinner WITHOUT the flash . . .

... and WITH the flash!

Apparently this is the week of transfers. Better said, normally this week is the week of transfers but no one has received any news of where they are going which is rather unusual, but maybe our new mission president has a new way of doing transfers. We'll see.

My companion finishes next week. That's weird. I love you all. I know this church is true and that the Lord loves us.

Love,
Elder Squires



p.s. Henry's baptism

This was our candle light dinner with and without the flash