Hello everyone!
Not a lot seemed to happen this week. It feels like forever ago since last week when I was doing emails and at the same time it feels like just yesterday. Time is flying by. This week was still pretty eventful now that I think about it.
After doing emails last week we went and played basketball with the ward. It was so much fun! We played for a couple hours almost non-stop basketball. And I had decided not to wear good shoes so I played around bare foot. It only gave me two big blisters on my big toes, which blisters peeled off while still playing and which blisters are now just discolored spots on my toes. No biggy. Ha.
Monday night we found out we had interviews with President Bize. The interviews went well. He asked me about how I made it on my mission with everything in my life. And I didn't know what to tell him other than that I had always had that inner burning to go to church and be active and then when I got my testimony of the Church and having great support all through out high school me going on a mission was not a question or a problem. That question had really made me think how grateful I am for all of you who helped me get here and for the strength of a testimony. I know this church is true. On a sadder note, all of our lessons were cancelled on Tuesday.
On Wednesday we did our weekly planning and saw Henry again. We talked to him about baptism again and what he might have to do in order for that to happen. He still wants to get baptized and his little brother Tefau (like hey with a 't' instead of an 'h', and bro with 'f' instead of 'br') started taking the lessons as well. We also had our visit to the temple's visitor's center that can no longer be called visitor's center. Because apparently smaller temples can't have visitor's centers but they can have welcome centers, so now it's the welcome center. It's a small two room thing where we talk about the plan of salvation, the restoration and the gospel all in a 30 minute presentation.
Thursday we had an interesting time. We had lessons planned all day long but they started to be cancelled and Henry and his family called us at noon to do a fast with them right then. We went over to their house and ate french fries with scrambled eggs, I have never had that before but it was pretty good. And then we started to fast for Henry's parents so that they would accept. As we continue through the day we had one of our lessons pushed back to 6 at night. The inactive member calls us at five to ask if we could eat with them right after their lesson at 6. No! But that's the sacrifice of fasting. That lesson went really well. We talked about prayer and committed the investigator to pray to know if the Book of Mormon was true and if the church was true.
Friday was Elder Ollerton's b-day. So we did our zone meeting, finished our fast, ate with the inactive member who wanted to eat with us the night before. Did one lesson and tried to find people until the night. We ate at Henry's house again. And his cake was the best thing. They brought him out a very square cake with fruit loops on it but after examing it more closely it turned out to be ice cream that had been dumped straight out of the tub. Ha. That was another first for me.
Saturday we were busy from 8 until 7 at night. We had a lesson where we watched the Joseph Smith film and the Spirit was really strong. It was a mother and her daughter, her daughter really wants to be baptized but the parents don't yet accept. After the film we asked what they had felt and the daughter expressed that she really wanted to be baptized. But after her mom firmly explained that they would be no baptism our joy quickly left. But the mom accepted to pray again to know if these things were true. But we explained that she had to pray with a real intent. Even if that means being baptized. We'll see how that goes next week.
Then Sunday we taught the Sunday school class and the Priesthood lesson. While my companion was teaching he shared some stories about having to be a witness of God and he asked if anyone else had experiences. I shared some about when people have told me that the Book of Mormon is false. When people tell me that it is false, it makes me hurt because I know with all my heart that that book is true. And I share that with you all. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know it was translated by Joseph Smith and I know he is a true prophet.
Family and friends, I love you all. I hope you have a great week. Keep spreading the gospel and don't give up.
Love,
Elder Squires
Monday, July 21, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
One Year! And Birthdays....Oops - July 14, 2014
Hello family and friends!
Tomorrow will mark my one year anniversary for my arrival here in French Polynesia. What happened!? That went by quickly. For the moment I am still in the same apartment as I was when I started my mission but we recently found out that we need to be on the look for a new apartment because we are moving out soon. It turns out that the contract is expired or something and we need to move out. But we don't have to worry too much about it, we're just supposed to ask around the members to see if they know of any place that we can stay at a good price.
And for the birthdays, I think it was Monday night during planning that I realized that the 8th was my Mom's birthday and that the 12th was my Dad's birthday, so Mom and Dad, sorry!! Happy late birthday!
As for the week let's start with Monday. Right after having done our emails we went and played rugby touch with the zone of Faaa and my zone. It was a lot of fun. Running on the hot astro-turf field and having the sun reflecting off the ocean wasn't too enjoyable, but playing a good game of rugby was good. And then that night we didn't have a family night and so we stayed at the house and made corned beef with spaghetti noodles. Corned beef is something that we eat a lot out here, here it's called punu puaa'toro which means canned pig cow(beef). It's pretty good if you know how to cook it and what to eat it with.
As for the rest of the week we had quite a few lessons cancelled. But the lessons that we did have were pretty good lessons. We had our normal lessons with an ex-drug dealer named Vatea, he's an inactive member, and his girlfriend. And those lessons went well. We talked about reading the scriptures in one lesson. My companion used this example that you tell everyone to write a little note to some one that you miss or haven't seen in a long time. Then my companion took those notes and started talked about the how the scriptures are like messages that the Lord is sending to us. My companion kept talking and proceeded to rip the notes in half explaining that sometimes we misuse the scriptures, he then rips them again, we ignore the scriptures, and he continues. It was a powerful lesson about the scriptures and that we need to read them and take care of them.
Wednesday night we were able to go to the temple with the stake and invite our investigators to do a temple tour and to visit the new welcome center (that the mission nurse's husband had a big role in putting it together) and in the end they would be able to eat, which is a big Tahitian thing. We as missionaries didn't do too much, and while I was talking to a brother in the ward I pulled out some photos that Mom had sent me. As we go through the photos some of the other missionaries start looking at them as well. Well, funny story, one of the sister missionaries has a brother who wrestled for Alta. Turns out her brother is Carson Kuhn, and I'm pretty sure that I wrestled him while I was in high school. It was such a crazy connection made a long long way from Utah.
That's pretty much it family. I hope you all know that this church is true. That Jesus Christ lives and loves us. And that the Book of Mormon is true. I love you all!
Have a good week,
Elder Squires
Tomorrow will mark my one year anniversary for my arrival here in French Polynesia. What happened!? That went by quickly. For the moment I am still in the same apartment as I was when I started my mission but we recently found out that we need to be on the look for a new apartment because we are moving out soon. It turns out that the contract is expired or something and we need to move out. But we don't have to worry too much about it, we're just supposed to ask around the members to see if they know of any place that we can stay at a good price.
And for the birthdays, I think it was Monday night during planning that I realized that the 8th was my Mom's birthday and that the 12th was my Dad's birthday, so Mom and Dad, sorry!! Happy late birthday!
As for the week let's start with Monday. Right after having done our emails we went and played rugby touch with the zone of Faaa and my zone. It was a lot of fun. Running on the hot astro-turf field and having the sun reflecting off the ocean wasn't too enjoyable, but playing a good game of rugby was good. And then that night we didn't have a family night and so we stayed at the house and made corned beef with spaghetti noodles. Corned beef is something that we eat a lot out here, here it's called punu puaa'toro which means canned pig cow(beef). It's pretty good if you know how to cook it and what to eat it with.
As for the rest of the week we had quite a few lessons cancelled. But the lessons that we did have were pretty good lessons. We had our normal lessons with an ex-drug dealer named Vatea, he's an inactive member, and his girlfriend. And those lessons went well. We talked about reading the scriptures in one lesson. My companion used this example that you tell everyone to write a little note to some one that you miss or haven't seen in a long time. Then my companion took those notes and started talked about the how the scriptures are like messages that the Lord is sending to us. My companion kept talking and proceeded to rip the notes in half explaining that sometimes we misuse the scriptures, he then rips them again, we ignore the scriptures, and he continues. It was a powerful lesson about the scriptures and that we need to read them and take care of them.
Wednesday night we were able to go to the temple with the stake and invite our investigators to do a temple tour and to visit the new welcome center (that the mission nurse's husband had a big role in putting it together) and in the end they would be able to eat, which is a big Tahitian thing. We as missionaries didn't do too much, and while I was talking to a brother in the ward I pulled out some photos that Mom had sent me. As we go through the photos some of the other missionaries start looking at them as well. Well, funny story, one of the sister missionaries has a brother who wrestled for Alta. Turns out her brother is Carson Kuhn, and I'm pretty sure that I wrestled him while I was in high school. It was such a crazy connection made a long long way from Utah.
That's pretty much it family. I hope you all know that this church is true. That Jesus Christ lives and loves us. And that the Book of Mormon is true. I love you all!
Have a good week,
Elder Squires
Subject: Double Oops! :(
As has been recently brought to my attention, Mom's birthday is the 12th, and Dad's is the 8th. Sorry!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Nothing Blew-Up This Week (That also means no fireworks) - July 7, 2014
Dear family and friends,
What can I say....? This week was interesting and it passed by really quickly. I felt like I was here just the other day doing the same thing. But that's okay, here we are again, another week down and a lot more to go. This is a random thought but also a good one. The other day I was randomly reading through the bible and I found a verse that talked about how much greater is the worth of the day of death than the day of birth (in Ecclessiastes?). And as I think about it it's true. Out here I spend I often say today is my anniversary of when I started my mission but how often do I look forward to think about the last day and how I want that to be. I plan on that day being a day of joy and after having served my best, knowing that I will be blessed and that most importantly my family will be blessed. That's what I am excited for. I've still got 10 months left so I've got time to work. And I need to use it well.
So this week we had an interesting time getting an investigator ready for his baptism that never went off. While we weren't at church Sunday, our super missionary work stake president took one of our investigators in for an interview and fixed his baptismal date for this Saturday that was two days ago. We didn't know about this date being fixed until after church when one of the members of the ward, with whom this investigator was living for the last two weeks, called us to tell us the news. So during the week we spent everyday with this investigator, his name is Henry, to get him ready for his baptism. Henry is 19, so he doesn't need his parent's okay to be baptized, he lives at home with his parents, and he doesn't really have any problems with the word of wisdom. So in order to get him ready we taught him and ran through a practice interview with him. That part was good. It was the fact that his father was not okay for the baptism. Henry told us something like his dad would be fine if he was baptized Jehovah's Witness but not Mormon. No!! Anyway, during the week there were a lot of prayers that were said to help Henry's dad. On Friday we were supposed to have the baptismal interview, but when we showed up he wasn't there. Apparently he was out talking with his mom and uncle about his baptism. So our zone leaders left because Henry wasn't there and we weren't sure when he was getting back. And we stayed for a little while to talk. As we were leaving we saw Henry and his friend coming back. He was not the least bit happy. After discussing a little bit we decided that we would come back later because we were supposed to eat with that family that night. We went back to the house for a little while and around 6 at night we headed back over. Out here the sun sets around 6:30-7 all year round and so when we got to the member's house it was getting dark. The thing is that this member didn't have electricity (I saw them hooking up a small generator on Saturday) but instead they had little battery powered lights that you can glue on walls or in closets where there aren't any lights that were glued on the walls. That was a great example of a humble family. And as we sat around talking waiting for Henry to finish his shower we laughed and sang and just had a good time even if it was in the dark. Anyway, we talked to Henry and he said that he wanted to push his baptism back a little. So as we were leaving we called our ward mission leader, who called the stake president, the stake president then called Henry, talked to him, we went to sleep, woke up, went out to our lessons, during our second lesson we get a call saying that Henry's baptism might happen that day (which was Saturday) and our ward mission leader wanted to know when we could have his interview. I called the zone leaders, got the interview set, called the mission leader to let him know, finished the lesson and headed straight out for the interview. But. When we got to the member's house Henry had just left to go hang out with his friends, we called him, he wasn't sure about his baptism for that day, but he agreed to ask his parents one last time, because he respects their opinion. He calls them, they said no, he calls us back and says no. The zone leaders again have to leave having done no interview. I called the ward mission leader, he wants me to talk to the member. The member calls Henry's parents and they again say no. So, ha, breathe, the final word was no. All that happened in less than 24 hours. Ha, it was crazy. But Henry has decided to push his baptism back and normally we will see him this week and we'll see how it goes.
Anyway, this week we had a multi-zone conference with President Bize. We learned about the five aspects of missionary work, which are finding, teaching, baptizing and confirming, integrating, and reactivating. He also wants us to be really organized, and seeing that he was a CEO for a big insurance company it makes sense that he wants us to be organized. For the fourth of July we didn't do anything special. That was actually the day we spent most of our time at Henry's house, so I guess we did get to have some fun for the fourth of July.
Dear family and friends, I know this Church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I love the prophet Joseph Smith and all that he did for us and I love the Lord.
Love you all,
Elder Squires
What can I say....? This week was interesting and it passed by really quickly. I felt like I was here just the other day doing the same thing. But that's okay, here we are again, another week down and a lot more to go. This is a random thought but also a good one. The other day I was randomly reading through the bible and I found a verse that talked about how much greater is the worth of the day of death than the day of birth (in Ecclessiastes?). And as I think about it it's true. Out here I spend I often say today is my anniversary of when I started my mission but how often do I look forward to think about the last day and how I want that to be. I plan on that day being a day of joy and after having served my best, knowing that I will be blessed and that most importantly my family will be blessed. That's what I am excited for. I've still got 10 months left so I've got time to work. And I need to use it well.
So this week we had an interesting time getting an investigator ready for his baptism that never went off. While we weren't at church Sunday, our super missionary work stake president took one of our investigators in for an interview and fixed his baptismal date for this Saturday that was two days ago. We didn't know about this date being fixed until after church when one of the members of the ward, with whom this investigator was living for the last two weeks, called us to tell us the news. So during the week we spent everyday with this investigator, his name is Henry, to get him ready for his baptism. Henry is 19, so he doesn't need his parent's okay to be baptized, he lives at home with his parents, and he doesn't really have any problems with the word of wisdom. So in order to get him ready we taught him and ran through a practice interview with him. That part was good. It was the fact that his father was not okay for the baptism. Henry told us something like his dad would be fine if he was baptized Jehovah's Witness but not Mormon. No!! Anyway, during the week there were a lot of prayers that were said to help Henry's dad. On Friday we were supposed to have the baptismal interview, but when we showed up he wasn't there. Apparently he was out talking with his mom and uncle about his baptism. So our zone leaders left because Henry wasn't there and we weren't sure when he was getting back. And we stayed for a little while to talk. As we were leaving we saw Henry and his friend coming back. He was not the least bit happy. After discussing a little bit we decided that we would come back later because we were supposed to eat with that family that night. We went back to the house for a little while and around 6 at night we headed back over. Out here the sun sets around 6:30-7 all year round and so when we got to the member's house it was getting dark. The thing is that this member didn't have electricity (I saw them hooking up a small generator on Saturday) but instead they had little battery powered lights that you can glue on walls or in closets where there aren't any lights that were glued on the walls. That was a great example of a humble family. And as we sat around talking waiting for Henry to finish his shower we laughed and sang and just had a good time even if it was in the dark. Anyway, we talked to Henry and he said that he wanted to push his baptism back a little. So as we were leaving we called our ward mission leader, who called the stake president, the stake president then called Henry, talked to him, we went to sleep, woke up, went out to our lessons, during our second lesson we get a call saying that Henry's baptism might happen that day (which was Saturday) and our ward mission leader wanted to know when we could have his interview. I called the zone leaders, got the interview set, called the mission leader to let him know, finished the lesson and headed straight out for the interview. But. When we got to the member's house Henry had just left to go hang out with his friends, we called him, he wasn't sure about his baptism for that day, but he agreed to ask his parents one last time, because he respects their opinion. He calls them, they said no, he calls us back and says no. The zone leaders again have to leave having done no interview. I called the ward mission leader, he wants me to talk to the member. The member calls Henry's parents and they again say no. So, ha, breathe, the final word was no. All that happened in less than 24 hours. Ha, it was crazy. But Henry has decided to push his baptism back and normally we will see him this week and we'll see how it goes.
Anyway, this week we had a multi-zone conference with President Bize. We learned about the five aspects of missionary work, which are finding, teaching, baptizing and confirming, integrating, and reactivating. He also wants us to be really organized, and seeing that he was a CEO for a big insurance company it makes sense that he wants us to be organized. For the fourth of July we didn't do anything special. That was actually the day we spent most of our time at Henry's house, so I guess we did get to have some fun for the fourth of July.
Dear family and friends, I know this Church is true. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I love the prophet Joseph Smith and all that he did for us and I love the Lord.
Love you all,
Elder Squires
 |
| President and Sister Bize, I was going to do a thumb's up but decided it wasn't the best time, hence me awkwardly holding my tie. |
 |
| This week I got my new helmet which means I can get rid of the sister missionary's helmet that I had to wear the last little while. |
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Rain, Singing, and the New Mission President - June 30, 2014
Hello family and friends! How are you all doing? I hope all is going well.
Things are going well out here in the Pacific. Monday we had nothing too big happen but it was still a good p-day. Tuesday things were okay. We had some of our lessons get cancelled and because of that we did a lot of going up and down the hillls of this area. But a couple of the blessings of the day are that at one of our last lessons we got a new investigator whose name is Henry. He is 19 and is currently staying with his friends here in the ward. And after that lesson we had a lesson with an RLDS member who says that once he gets his answer that this is the way to go he and his whole family will get baptized! Yay! I really hope that works out, but he is going to have to give up some of his beliefs and learn some new things to really be converted to this church.
Then on Wednesday things were about the same. Some of our lessons were cancelled but we didn't end up going everywhere, up and down. Thursday we had a lesson with an inactive member and his little gang of friends, this inactive member being an ex-drug dealer boss of Polynesia saying gang of friends is almost true, but he doesn't do that anymore, and he really wants to come back to the church. We did our lesson on the last question of the plan of salvation. Vatea, the inactive member, is very serious about the lessons and whenever his friends are there they all come over and listen to what is going on. It's pretty nice. I really enjoy it. And the lesson went well, they asked good questions and we were able to answer them. It's a great learning opportunity. Sometimes in life we just need to ask questions, we need to ask more questions in order to know more. There was a 70 that gave a talk on that out here, Elder Pearson, and he committed us to ask more questions to Heavenly Father. That's something I need to do better on. And I will do better on it.
Friday, it rained super hard. My pants got covered in mud. And I was soaked, but this time I didn't get wet thanks to my rain jacket, not like the last time where I got more wet than my companion who wasn't wearing a nice rain jacket. In our district meeting we talked about how to get our investigators ready for baptism. We have an investigator that only needs to have the okay from her husband and she and her kids can be baptized. And we talked about talking to her about fasting, and other ways to help her out. It was a good meeting.
Saturday was a crazy day because I got to go to the temple! Yeah! For the second time since I got here. It was great. And I really enjoyed it. The Spirit was strong and I got to learn. The Lord is all about teaching us, but sometimes we are really stubborn and don't want to listen to Him as He tries to teach us.
Sunday came around and I was sick. My throat hurt, my stomach didn't feel good, my breakfast came up not long after having eaten and I ended up taking a pill that knocked me out for 3 hours. So I didn't get to go to church but I did get to go to the missionary concert. The concert was for the investigators and as a way to say goodbye to president Sinjoux who finished today. The concert went well, according to what everyone told us, and we all got to say goodbye to President Sinjoux, one by one. And the one phrase that he said to me as we said goodbye was "take care of yourself." As I think about it now I find it rather fitting for how often I have been sick and considering that I was sick that morning. Ha.
President Bize is pretty cool. We'll see how things go the next few weeks. Things will change and I'll keep you all posted if anything happens (like getting a car in the next week, ha, that would be pretty awesome, but I doubt it for the moment).
I love you family and friends, and I hope that all is going well. Keep up and keep going on.
Love,
Elder Squires
Things are going well out here in the Pacific. Monday we had nothing too big happen but it was still a good p-day. Tuesday things were okay. We had some of our lessons get cancelled and because of that we did a lot of going up and down the hillls of this area. But a couple of the blessings of the day are that at one of our last lessons we got a new investigator whose name is Henry. He is 19 and is currently staying with his friends here in the ward. And after that lesson we had a lesson with an RLDS member who says that once he gets his answer that this is the way to go he and his whole family will get baptized! Yay! I really hope that works out, but he is going to have to give up some of his beliefs and learn some new things to really be converted to this church.
Then on Wednesday things were about the same. Some of our lessons were cancelled but we didn't end up going everywhere, up and down. Thursday we had a lesson with an inactive member and his little gang of friends, this inactive member being an ex-drug dealer boss of Polynesia saying gang of friends is almost true, but he doesn't do that anymore, and he really wants to come back to the church. We did our lesson on the last question of the plan of salvation. Vatea, the inactive member, is very serious about the lessons and whenever his friends are there they all come over and listen to what is going on. It's pretty nice. I really enjoy it. And the lesson went well, they asked good questions and we were able to answer them. It's a great learning opportunity. Sometimes in life we just need to ask questions, we need to ask more questions in order to know more. There was a 70 that gave a talk on that out here, Elder Pearson, and he committed us to ask more questions to Heavenly Father. That's something I need to do better on. And I will do better on it.
Friday, it rained super hard. My pants got covered in mud. And I was soaked, but this time I didn't get wet thanks to my rain jacket, not like the last time where I got more wet than my companion who wasn't wearing a nice rain jacket. In our district meeting we talked about how to get our investigators ready for baptism. We have an investigator that only needs to have the okay from her husband and she and her kids can be baptized. And we talked about talking to her about fasting, and other ways to help her out. It was a good meeting.
Saturday was a crazy day because I got to go to the temple! Yeah! For the second time since I got here. It was great. And I really enjoyed it. The Spirit was strong and I got to learn. The Lord is all about teaching us, but sometimes we are really stubborn and don't want to listen to Him as He tries to teach us.
Sunday came around and I was sick. My throat hurt, my stomach didn't feel good, my breakfast came up not long after having eaten and I ended up taking a pill that knocked me out for 3 hours. So I didn't get to go to church but I did get to go to the missionary concert. The concert was for the investigators and as a way to say goodbye to president Sinjoux who finished today. The concert went well, according to what everyone told us, and we all got to say goodbye to President Sinjoux, one by one. And the one phrase that he said to me as we said goodbye was "take care of yourself." As I think about it now I find it rather fitting for how often I have been sick and considering that I was sick that morning. Ha.
President Bize is pretty cool. We'll see how things go the next few weeks. Things will change and I'll keep you all posted if anything happens (like getting a car in the next week, ha, that would be pretty awesome, but I doubt it for the moment).
I love you family and friends, and I hope that all is going well. Keep up and keep going on.
Love,
Elder Squires
 |
| Bora from the Plane |
 |
| Crackers, ha! |
 |
| One of the last sunsets at Bora |
 |
| One of my first sunsets back here on Tahiti |
 |
| At the temple, yeah! |
Transfer, Coming Back, and Going Again - June 23, 2014
Dear Family and Friends,
The time has come, I have left Bora. No, Bora was not the best area just because it was Bora. It was not even an area that I can say is the best, because every area has its bests and worsts. I had some hard times at Bora but I also had some of my best. Things have really changed since the day I left for Bora. My faith in myself and in the power of the Atonement has increased dramatically. Family and friends, it is so true. These teachings are so true. This gospel is so real. This is the church in which we need to be. The things we learn and the things we do are the best for us. This is the only true church on the earth. I love you family. In Bora I learned to love so many of my investigators and so many people. I learned to love myself as well and what I could bring to others. Anyway.
Wednesday was the day I left. I took the plane with Elder Bagley (the other missionary leaving Bora, who is now my zone leader). At the dock before we took the shuttle boat to the airport there were a lot of members out there to say goodbye. I was very happy to see that and was touched by their love. I will not forget these people. I hope they won't forget me either, but we'll see, ha.
Wednesday afternoon, I showed up here and went straight to work. And have been working ever since. This is a great ward. It's one of the best baptizing wards in the stake and I am happy to be here. I hope to be able to work hard and to do the best that the Lord needs me to do.
Now I am in the same apartment that I lived in when I started my mission. It's strange, but it feels like home. It's funny as well because my companion started his mission in this same apartment as well, and now he will be finishing his mission there. He finishes the 5 of August (like in 6 weeks). I will kill my companion. He is really cool. His name is Elder Ollerton. He is from California, and he is balding, haha. It's funny, he's a good missionary and it'll be good to serve with him.
We get our new mission president this week. He shows up Friday and our current mission president leaves Monday I think. Sunday night we have a big fireside/missionary concert/farewell for President Sinjoux and a welcome for President Bises.
Well, family, I love you! Have a great week,
Elder Squires
The time has come, I have left Bora. No, Bora was not the best area just because it was Bora. It was not even an area that I can say is the best, because every area has its bests and worsts. I had some hard times at Bora but I also had some of my best. Things have really changed since the day I left for Bora. My faith in myself and in the power of the Atonement has increased dramatically. Family and friends, it is so true. These teachings are so true. This gospel is so real. This is the church in which we need to be. The things we learn and the things we do are the best for us. This is the only true church on the earth. I love you family. In Bora I learned to love so many of my investigators and so many people. I learned to love myself as well and what I could bring to others. Anyway.
Wednesday was the day I left. I took the plane with Elder Bagley (the other missionary leaving Bora, who is now my zone leader). At the dock before we took the shuttle boat to the airport there were a lot of members out there to say goodbye. I was very happy to see that and was touched by their love. I will not forget these people. I hope they won't forget me either, but we'll see, ha.
Wednesday afternoon, I showed up here and went straight to work. And have been working ever since. This is a great ward. It's one of the best baptizing wards in the stake and I am happy to be here. I hope to be able to work hard and to do the best that the Lord needs me to do.
Now I am in the same apartment that I lived in when I started my mission. It's strange, but it feels like home. It's funny as well because my companion started his mission in this same apartment as well, and now he will be finishing his mission there. He finishes the 5 of August (like in 6 weeks). I will kill my companion. He is really cool. His name is Elder Ollerton. He is from California, and he is balding, haha. It's funny, he's a good missionary and it'll be good to serve with him.
We get our new mission president this week. He shows up Friday and our current mission president leaves Monday I think. Sunday night we have a big fireside/missionary concert/farewell for President Sinjoux and a welcome for President Bises.
Well, family, I love you! Have a great week,
Elder Squires
 |
| I got a package, I got a package, I got a package. Hey, hey, hey, hey! |
 |
| Bye bye Bora... |
 |
| And finally, my last picture with Bora for awhile. |
Transfers!! Father's Day, and Baptisms - June 16, 2014
Yup, it's that time again. A time that I had thought that I had avoided. Considering that president told me that I wouldn't be leaving anytime soon I was feeling pretty good that I would stay. But of course there was always that thought in the back of my head that I would still get transferred, and what do you know? It happened. So I am being transferred to Outumaoro. I still be in the same stake and zone but I am just headed back to Tahiti, which means saying goodbye to Bora. It's been difficult to think that I am leaving. But it will be okay. I have really enjoyed it here.
But anyway, let's talk about what happened this week. So Monday we had our family night at the house of the family Atiu. And those are always fun. We have passed almost every week with them since Elder Joly got here. I usually end up being in charge of the game and there is one game that I really like to play that I learned in my last area and we play that every time now. And the family is getting really good at it and they love Monday night where we can play that game again.
Tuesday was a pretty normal day. Except that a lot of our lessons got cancelled and so we were out doing our own thing. Not really. But it's pretty rare out here that our lessons fall through so to have that was a little shock and we had to find things to do. And it worked out. We had a lesson with Puarai and his wife (their lessons are normally in Tahitian) and we talked about baptism. Puarai is a deacon in the Protestant church and we weren't sure how that would go when we talked about baptism and with the authority and what not. And we had planned to invite him to come to church, which we had yet to ask them to come. So the lesson started out and it went pretty well. We ended up having a good discussion about baptism and at the end we invited him to come to church. He gently said no but went on to explain for a long time all about the bad things that were happening with the other deacons which caused him to no longer go to his own church let alone this church. But it was still a good lesson and he appreciated the offer.
Then Wednesday we headed out to the other side of the island. We have started to teach the husband of a recent convert, Myrta, who was baptized in February. Myrta is so happy that we were able to start doing the lessons with her husband. Our lesson on Wednesday went all right, it ending up with him talking about how he stopped drinking but how he won't stop smoking. But while he was saying that I was thinking that it will come. Then we went to Mami Rosine's house and starting doing our lessons. They all went pretty well, nothing too big.
Thursday is when we got the big news. That me and Elder Bagley are leaving Bora and going back to Tahiti. That pretty much threw the whole day off. Normally we were going to go out and see people and doing our lessons but we ended up doing only one lesson and visiting some members to say goodbye. Then my companion thought about doing the baptismal interviews one day earlier than we had planned so we could see if I needed to call president and ask if I could stay a few more days so that I could baptize one of the daughters of Mami Rosine. So we did the interviews for a family friend of Mami Rosine, her name is Maiana, and the daughter of Rosine, who's name is Mahealani. I have to explain this. Their baptisms are fixed for the day after I leave. And sometimes if that's the case president will let us stay for the baptism. So I asked. President told me to ask the office if they could change my ticket and the office basically said no but they would give it a try anyway. But I had to wait until Friday to find out.
So, Friday comes around and after having thought about it most of the day and having had one of the assistants call me and tell me how much more complicated things would be I told the office not to worry about changing my flight and that Mahealani (who wanted me to baptize her would have to find someone else, which wasn't too hard, she chose my companion). That was okay. I didn't spend much time in my area Friday. I went on a split with Elder Bagley to do a baptismal interview for someone that wasn't there. No!!
Saturday morning we get a call from Brother Atiu and he tells us that we will now have two more baptisms Thursday night. What!? That was really good news and sad at the same time. Now I really wanted to stay. So Saturday we went out and did our lessons. We had our meal at noon with a member that lives at almost the end of the area. We pedaled out there, ate really well. I enjoyed my 4 well stuffed burritos. Yup. I ate burritos. In Bora. It was good. Then he dropped us of at the end of our area so that we could meet the other two Elders and continue in their area for the baptismal interview. And when we got there for the interview it was an interview for someone whose baptism was cancelled before we got there. No!! It was sad. It turns that her husband doesn't want her to get baptized and threw a fit. Then we biked our way back to one last lesson and then to the church for a fireside/farewell for a sister in the ward. They asked my companion and I to speak about our missions. And it was fun. I enjoy giving talks and joking around with people.
Sunday we did the baptismal interviews for the two youth who will be baptized on Thursday, Monoihere (we call him Dadou) and Curtis. They went well and just about everything went well Sunday. And it was Father's day. I called my mission dad and wished him a happy Father's day and that was fun. And I wish a happy father's day to my dad and to my grandpa and to all the fathers out there.
Then today, Elder Bagley and I did one last tour of the island. We took our bikes and rode all the way around Bora. It was a lot of fun. I started to feel tired now. But I still really enjoyed it, and we got to do our last hurrah before we leave.
And that's pretty much it for around here. I love you all family and friends. I hope you are all doing well. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Squires
But anyway, let's talk about what happened this week. So Monday we had our family night at the house of the family Atiu. And those are always fun. We have passed almost every week with them since Elder Joly got here. I usually end up being in charge of the game and there is one game that I really like to play that I learned in my last area and we play that every time now. And the family is getting really good at it and they love Monday night where we can play that game again.
Tuesday was a pretty normal day. Except that a lot of our lessons got cancelled and so we were out doing our own thing. Not really. But it's pretty rare out here that our lessons fall through so to have that was a little shock and we had to find things to do. And it worked out. We had a lesson with Puarai and his wife (their lessons are normally in Tahitian) and we talked about baptism. Puarai is a deacon in the Protestant church and we weren't sure how that would go when we talked about baptism and with the authority and what not. And we had planned to invite him to come to church, which we had yet to ask them to come. So the lesson started out and it went pretty well. We ended up having a good discussion about baptism and at the end we invited him to come to church. He gently said no but went on to explain for a long time all about the bad things that were happening with the other deacons which caused him to no longer go to his own church let alone this church. But it was still a good lesson and he appreciated the offer.
Then Wednesday we headed out to the other side of the island. We have started to teach the husband of a recent convert, Myrta, who was baptized in February. Myrta is so happy that we were able to start doing the lessons with her husband. Our lesson on Wednesday went all right, it ending up with him talking about how he stopped drinking but how he won't stop smoking. But while he was saying that I was thinking that it will come. Then we went to Mami Rosine's house and starting doing our lessons. They all went pretty well, nothing too big.
Thursday is when we got the big news. That me and Elder Bagley are leaving Bora and going back to Tahiti. That pretty much threw the whole day off. Normally we were going to go out and see people and doing our lessons but we ended up doing only one lesson and visiting some members to say goodbye. Then my companion thought about doing the baptismal interviews one day earlier than we had planned so we could see if I needed to call president and ask if I could stay a few more days so that I could baptize one of the daughters of Mami Rosine. So we did the interviews for a family friend of Mami Rosine, her name is Maiana, and the daughter of Rosine, who's name is Mahealani. I have to explain this. Their baptisms are fixed for the day after I leave. And sometimes if that's the case president will let us stay for the baptism. So I asked. President told me to ask the office if they could change my ticket and the office basically said no but they would give it a try anyway. But I had to wait until Friday to find out.
So, Friday comes around and after having thought about it most of the day and having had one of the assistants call me and tell me how much more complicated things would be I told the office not to worry about changing my flight and that Mahealani (who wanted me to baptize her would have to find someone else, which wasn't too hard, she chose my companion). That was okay. I didn't spend much time in my area Friday. I went on a split with Elder Bagley to do a baptismal interview for someone that wasn't there. No!!
Saturday morning we get a call from Brother Atiu and he tells us that we will now have two more baptisms Thursday night. What!? That was really good news and sad at the same time. Now I really wanted to stay. So Saturday we went out and did our lessons. We had our meal at noon with a member that lives at almost the end of the area. We pedaled out there, ate really well. I enjoyed my 4 well stuffed burritos. Yup. I ate burritos. In Bora. It was good. Then he dropped us of at the end of our area so that we could meet the other two Elders and continue in their area for the baptismal interview. And when we got there for the interview it was an interview for someone whose baptism was cancelled before we got there. No!! It was sad. It turns that her husband doesn't want her to get baptized and threw a fit. Then we biked our way back to one last lesson and then to the church for a fireside/farewell for a sister in the ward. They asked my companion and I to speak about our missions. And it was fun. I enjoy giving talks and joking around with people.
Sunday we did the baptismal interviews for the two youth who will be baptized on Thursday, Monoihere (we call him Dadou) and Curtis. They went well and just about everything went well Sunday. And it was Father's day. I called my mission dad and wished him a happy Father's day and that was fun. And I wish a happy father's day to my dad and to my grandpa and to all the fathers out there.
Then today, Elder Bagley and I did one last tour of the island. We took our bikes and rode all the way around Bora. It was a lot of fun. I started to feel tired now. But I still really enjoyed it, and we got to do our last hurrah before we leave.
And that's pretty much it for around here. I love you all family and friends. I hope you are all doing well. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Squires
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)