My Home

I wrote this article for my French class a couple of weeks ago and thought that I'd share it on my almost-invisible blog. So here it is :)

My Home

            My home is not a house. My home is not like the rest of the world. It is not just a small place but it is all at once. It is a place where you bathe in cold water if there isn’t any more propane. It is a place where we watch the ocean from the living room while we sit on plastic chairs breathing the air pushed by the fan. It is a place where we do not ask a lot of questions and we don’t talk a lot. It is hard to know what to say because this place is perfect.

            The cold water shower is the coldest touch of the day. It is hot here. Every day you hear the complaints of people who tell you that it is too hot. But the heat is normal. She is like a constant friend who tells you that life continues. We feel her on our faces. We tell ourselves that we are going to be fried. It’s too bad that it’s true. But we know that everything will be okay. This heat takes you in her arms and makes you feel of her love, a love from the sun all with a feeling of peace. It is an outside peace, unlike that which we feel inside of ourselves. Fortunately, the heat is perfect.

            The ocean never looks at us. But she can but tell us that she is living and that she has something to teach us. She teaches us that there are forces around us larger than we are. We watch her. She comes; she leaves; and she moves. She is not pressed for time, nor occupied. She moves because it is necessary. But you will never move her. She is constant and happy. We smell her scent from afar and we hear her song of peace all day long. We can only feel comfortable next to her. Her gentleness is incomparable. She is perfect.

            We move slowly on our bikes here. Not always because we want to, but because we don’t have a choice. The thick air impedes us from pedaling quicker. He tells us to calm down and does not allow us to hurry ourselves. The ocean salt that dances in the air enters in our nostrils and tells us that all is well. The scent fills us with joy. There is a feeling of being overwhelmed by this scent. But being overwhelmed does not scare us. It pushes us to find the true feelings in our heart, be it happiness or sorrow. Whatever these feelings are, we are going to feel them inside. We will know who we are on the inside. He opens our minds to this aspect of our lives. The salted air is perfect.

            However, you are not perfect. Being overwhelmed by your thoughts hurts you. Now you see your pain. You see the mistakes of the past. The smell of the salt pushes you to think more and more about your problems. The ocean who ignores you reminds you that life is not always beautiful. Your house becomes more alone and sad. The peace that you felt leaves you. It becomes a feeling of anguish.

            The speed of life here hurts you. You feel as though you are not moving quicker than the ocean. The ocean blue no longer helps you. You feel angry at every one. There is a sorrow that wasn’t there before. The ocean who was telling you to come forgets you. If there were more somber feelings in the world you feel ready to take them without a thought.

            Your heart is as cold as the shower. You no longer want this cold touch. But the heat burns you inside now. It is no longer the pain on your face that hurts you, rather it is the pain from inside. You no longer want to look at the ocean. When you see people you think “I would love to be happy but it is not so easy.” You lose yourself in your thoughts. You don’t know why. You believe that what you think is normal, that life is like that and that there is nothing that you can do. The pain overwhelms you. People see you all sad and they ask you why. You say nothing. You thought it was normal. Why aren’t you as happy as everyone around you? “Why can’t I smile like before?” You don’t know why.

            However you know this: that life is lived through a veil created by our own hands. The feelings that you feel in your home are made by you. The pain comes from inside the shadow of your veil. The ocean does not change but how you see her often changes. The air does not make you think about your problems. It is only you that can decide. That comes from you. It is not the cold shower that makes your heart so cold. That comes from your choices.

            At the end of the day my home is perfect. My place is filled with beauty and happiness. Unfortunately that is not enough to make you happy if you do not choose it. Happiness is a choice. Your place in the world pushes you, of course, but the ocean always makes waves. She continues with or without you. She is perfect, even the air, even the heat. But then, us, we are who we want to be.

However, it is much better in French so voila :)

 Chez Moi

            Chez moi n’est pas une maison. Chez moi n’est pas comme tout le monde. Il n’est pas qu’un petit endroit mais à la fois il l’est. C’est un endroit où tu te baignes à l’eau froide s’il n’y a plus de gaz. C’est un endroit où on regarde la mer de la salle de séjour pendant que l’on s’assied sur les chaises en plastique en respirant l’air poussé par le ventilateur. C’est un endroit où on ne demande pas beaucoup de questions et on ne parle pas beaucoup. C’est difficile de savoir quoi dire parce que cet endroit est parfait.

            La douche de l’eau froide est la touche la plus glacée de la journée. Ici il fait chaud. Tous les jours tu entends les cris des personnes qui te disent qu’il fait trop chaud. Mais la chaleur est normale. Elle est une amie constante qui te dit que la vie continue. On la ressent sur le visage. On se dit qu’on va se cramer. C’est dommage que ce soit vrai. Mais on sait que tout sera d’accord. Cette chaleur te prend dans ses bras et te fait ressentir son amour, un amour du soleil et un sentiment de paix. C’est une paix de dehors pas comme celle qu’on ressent dedans soi-même. Heureusement la chaleur est parfaite.

            La mer ne nous regarde jamais. Mais elle ne peut que nous dire qu’elle est vivante et qu’elle a quelque chose á nous dire. Elle nous dit qu’il y des forces autours de nous plus grandes que nous. On la regarde. Elle vient ; elle sort ; et elle bouge. Elle n’est pas pressée, ni chargée. Elle bouge parce qu’il faut. Mais tu ne la bougeras pas. Elle est constante et heureuse. On sent son odeur de loin et on entend sa chanson de paix toute la journée. On ne peut que ressentir à l’aise à côté d’elle. Sa douceur est incomparable. Elle est parfaite. 

            On bouge doucement sur nos vélos ici. Ce n’est pas toujours parce que l’on veut mais parce que l’on n’a pas de choix. Les airs épais nous empêchent de pédaler plus vite. Ils nous disent de nous calmer et ils ne nous laissent pas nous dépêcher.  Le sel de la mer qui danse dans les airs entre dans nos narines et nous dit que tout est bien. L’odeur nous remplit de bonheur. Il y a le sentiment d’être envahi par cette odeur. Mais le fait d’être envahi ne nous fait pas peur. Mais il nous pousse à trouver les vrais sentiments dans notre cœur, soit le bonheur, soit la tristesse. Quoi que ces sentiments soient on va les ressentir dedans. On va savoir qui on est dedans. Elle ouvre nos esprits à cet aspect de notre vie. Les airs avec le sel sont parfaits.

Malheureusement tu n’es pas parfait. Le fait d’être envahi par tes pensées te fait mal au cœur. Maintenant tu vois ta douleur. Tu vois les erreurs du passé. L’odeur du sel te pousse à penser plus et plus à tes problèmes. La mer qui t’ignore te rappelle que la vie n’est pas toujours en rose. Ta maison devient plus sombre et triste. La paix que tu as ressentie te laisse. Elle devient un sentiment d’angoisse.

 La vitesse de la vie ici te peine. Tu ressens de ne pas pouvoir bouger plus vite que la mer. Le bleu de la mer ne t’aide plus. Tu ressens fâché à tout le monde. Il y a un malheur qui n’était pas là avant. La mer qui te disait venir t’oublie. S’il y avait des sentiments plus sombres dans le monde tu ressens prêt à les ressentir sans hésitation.

 Ton cœur est aussi froid que ta douche. Tu ne veux plus de cette touche froide. Mais la chaleur te brule de dedans maintenant. C’est n’est plus la douleur sur ton visage qui te fait mal maintenant c’est cette douleur de dedans. Tu ne veux plus regarder la mer. Quand tu vois les gens tu penses, « J’aimerais bien être content, mais ce n’est pas si facile. » Tu te perds dans tes pensées. Tu ne sais pas pourquoi. Tu crois que ce que tu penses est normal, que la vie est comme cela et il n’y a rien que tu peux faire. La douleur t’envahi. Les gens te voient tout triste et ils te demandent pourquoi. Tu ne dis rien. Tu ne sais pas. Tu as cru que c’était normal. Pourquoi tu n’es pas content comme tout le monde autour de toi. « Pourquoi je ne peux pas sourire comme avant. »  Tu ne sais pas pourquoi.

Cependant tu sais ceci : que la vie est vécue à travers un voile créé de tes propres mains. Les sentiments que tu ressens chez toi sont faits par toi. La douleur vient de dedans l’ombre de ton voile. La mer ne change pas mais comment tu la vois change souvent. Les airs ne te font pas penser à tes problèmes. Ce n’est que toi qui peux décider. Cela vient de toi-même. Ce n’est pas la douche froide qui a fait en sorte que ton cœur soit froid. Cela vient de tes choix.

A la fin chez moi est parfait. Mon endroit est remplit de beauté et de bonheur. Malheureusement cela n’est pas assez pour te faire heureux si tu ne le choisis pas. Le bonheur est un choix. Ton endroit dans le monde te pousse, bien sûr, mais la mer fait toujours des vagues. Elle continue sans et avec toi. Elle est parfaite, même les airs, même la chaleur. Mais alors, nous, nous sommes qui nous voulons. 

Call Me Old Fashioned, I Prefer It That Way

Hello, this blog post has been years in the making, ever since the use of cell phones went global. And especially the use of texting.

 I grew up in an age where we were told to never ask a girl on a date over text. The most part of girls that I knew would agree and testify that it is not "cool" or acceptable to ask a girl out over a text. I firmly agree. I hate to say that I have done it once in my years of dating. This is a rule that comes from common courtesy and chivalry. Some of us old fashion type people like the idea of opening the door for a woman or giving a woman the man's coat when the weather turns bad. It is something that should not be lost. For if it is lost then we have forgotten how our parents taught us to respect one another.

Now, this goes both ways. The woman is expected to wait as the man opens the door; she is expected to accept the coat of the man; and she is expected to not ask a man on a date over text. In brief, I believe that men and women should agree to live by these simple rules or even guidelines of common courtesy and chivalry.

I recently spoke with someone who explained that he had heard stories of people proposing over text. As if asking someone on a date through the air waves wasn't bad enough, it has escalated to the point where marriage is proposed over these same air waves. There is something wrong in our society.

So this is my idea, let me prove why this is a bad idea. Let's take the example of breaking up over text. Since I have returned from my mission I have found myself in that strange swimming pool of dating. Some people seem to tread the water quite easily and make it the marriage pool rather effortlessly. And some have a really hard time swimming in this pool. I find myself in the latter having never had a real relationship. But not looking at my inexperience to dating I have learned certain things about it.

One of them is the difficulty and complication of breaking up or as others would call it, "being friend zoned." There are many reasons to break up with someone but they all boil down to the simple idea that a future with this person will not be a good thing for both parties. This act of breaking up is very delicate. It must be handled with extreme care as to not crush and shatter the break-up-e or the one who is receiving the decided end to the relationship. And as such, it becomes impossible to treat this matter in the simple form of a text. This is like a doctor attempting surgery over Skype. "Nurse, hand me a scalpel." "Doctor, I can't. You aren't even here." Let me explain.

I asked some of my friends to send me some break-up texts and this is what I received.

Dear Brandon. I hate your stinkin guts. You make me vomit. You're like scum between my toes. No Love, court

Hey brandon I hope you are doing well. You know what I've been thinking a lot about us, & I just feel like you would want me to be honest with you. When I think about us going long term, I don't feel right about it. I mean you are wonderful and I love being around you, but I don't think we are the most compatible for each other. I don't want to lead you on with feelings that I don't have. I'm sorry, but I think we should just be friends. 

Hey, Brandon. You are such a great guy, but I don't think that this is going to work out. I hope that life works out great for you without me in it. Goodbye. 

Oh Brandon please don't ask me that again. I'm just not interested in dating anybody right now. You're a great guy and I love being friends...but I'm not ready to date. Please try to understand. I don't want to hurt you. You mean a lot to me and always will.

Hey Brandon, I just wanted to thank you for all the fun things we have done together. You're like a brother to me. But I have decided that I'm not interested in pursuing a relationship . It doesn t have anything to do with you, but please understand I really admire you. see you around!

Hey, so I know this is kinda hard, so I thought maybe it would be better to tell you after our date. But I'm feeling like I need to move forward with other people. I hope you understand. Good luck with life. I hope you the best! 

Hey I've had a lot of fun hanging out with you but I don't see this going anywhere romantically. I think we need to not go an any more dates. But I'd love to stay friends. 

Dearest Brandon, 

The time is come for me to go north and for you to go south. Actually the other way around, because I'm at BYU and you're at USU. I'm the kind of girl who just doesn't like long distance relationships. Also, I think French is terrible. But you're a good person. Just not good enough for me. 

No love,

Natalia

Hey Brandon, I know we had a date set up for this weekend but I just want to be clear that I don't like you in that way.....sorry.....we don't have to go out if you don't want. I just wanted to let you know.....

You are a fantastic person and I'm so glad I got to spend time with you but I think it would be best if we see other people. You have helped me see so many qualities that I want in my future spouse and I hope in return I have showed you the same. That's what so cool about dating that we get to learn from all these different people and eventually find that one person that completes us. I hope that one day you will find that person that completes you.

ok listen Brandon, That was the worst date I've ever been on. I'm just really upset you seemed like such a great guy, and then when I met you all my expectations were really let down. you were so disrespectful and so rude. I think it's best you never talk to me again and I'll do the same  thanks bye 

Brandon, 

This has been a long time in coming, but I think it's time I tell you how I truly feel. We've been through a lot together. I mean these past two weeks have been like no other. But I'm going to have to break up with you. Don't worry- it's not you. It's me. I think I've found the one, and I'm sorry it can't be you. I guess what I'm trying to say is goodbye. 

I must say that they did a great job. A lot of these could be used in various parts of the dating timeline. But, let me show you why these don't work. Let's take the second one down. It is one of the longest. If one reads it out loud it should only take about 25 seconds and that would be quick. That is enough time to cook an egg in the microwave. But is it enough time to have a decent conversation with another human being? Is it enough time to sever emotional ties that have been built with time and care? Actually yes, it is. But it depends on one's tactic and taste. If one has a taste for quick break-ups one could compare them to dynamite in building demolition. It only takes dynamite 15 seconds to destroy what had taken years to build. 

If one has a taste for much gentler break-ups we could compare them to a parachute in skydiving. I was going to add a video but they are much too long to put into a blog post. So I settled for base jumping.

These two tactics for getting something or someone to the ground are extremely different. The first is quite sudden and violent. The latter is much slower and gentler. But they both have the same effect. 

Both the building and the people make it to the ground. They make it to their final destination. Ground zero. As is the same for a break-up. To stop construction on feelings and dreams with a person and to ultimately have those things done away with. Thus bringing both parties to ground zero to start looking for a new place to build or begin hiking. The question is which do you prefer? 

I have a taste for gentle break-ups (never done it, but still). Where I can talk to the person and we can explain what we think and feel. That is why you can call me old fashioned. Because I do not believe in breaking up over a text. Because I believe in holding a door open, when appropriate, for a woman. I believe that chivalry and common courtesy should not die. I will not hold a person's taste against them. But I will state what I believe. And because it is what I believe I intend to live it. 

Thank you all for reading,

Brando

p.s. A big thanks to those who sent these break-up texts!

A Mother's Prayer

Hello everybody!

It's good to be back and bloggin' again. Today's post is a thought that has grown on me these last few days and which has ultimately culminated to this idea: A Mother's Prayer.

It begins with understanding love. Love as defined as a feeling of deep care or concern for another (disregarding any crazy Hollywood definition). Love is a feeling that fills our souls (body and spirit) with a wonderful amount of joy and otherwise good endorphins. This love is known to bring peace to the soul, healing to wounds (both seen and unseen). It is a power that can change the world and can change the heart. I personally believe that the latter has a more precious value. Because a changed heart will change the world.

How does this love occur? It occurs when someone of their own free will chooses to love you. This person makes this decision regardless of who you are. Regardless of your faults, your defaults, your habits, your ticks, etc. Because of this love they will do what they see best for you. Sometimes even disregarding their own needs to serve you. The best thing about this love is that: They Choose to Love You. That would be my post title but that is not the end of this post.

There are many levels of love. I do not plan on describing all of these levels. The one that I want to focus on is the love of a mother. A mother will do anything for their children. A mother chooses to carry us into the world. Now we live in a world that would teach us that motherhood has little or no importance. However I still believe firmly in the importance of parents. I was blessed to have a mother and father (and many others) who cared about the way I was raised. A mother who loves her children is an incredible force to the world.

How can a mother help raise her children? It's hard enough to have to raise four children, let alone four children on your own. What can you do? What would you do? Having to support the family, run the family, raise the kids, and do everything that a family has to do. All this pressure for one person suffering human syndrome would be overwhelming and could seem impossible. I know when things seem impossible that I pray. I know that asking God helps. So what does my mother do?

I don't really know. But I imagine. And this is what I imagine. A young woman recently married praying in her heart that she will be able to raise her children well and to raise them in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then as her world falls apart and she has to take responsibility for her family she prays even harder that this will work out. She puts her whole heart and soul into her trust to Someone that she has never seen. Whose voice she has only heard and Whom she knows will help her no matter what. She gives it all to Him.

So what happens next? She gets off her knees and goes to work. She deals with the difficulties of raising children. The fights, the heart breaks, the joys and everything in-between. And how does she survive? She puts all her doubts and concerns on pause because she has asked the Lord to help everything turn out all right. Acting, trusting, and loving. That is how she did it.

So she raised four children. The last one receiving the full weight of these stresses. The youngest being the one who lives through it all for the longest time. And how does the youngest feel? The youngest feels incredibly lucky. He has learned and witnessed this incredible love of a mother putting her full trust in her prayers and thus in the Lord. He has felt the power of her prayers. The prayers that protected him while she was away. The prayers that allowed him to take the stands that he would need in order to become the person that she would want him to be. These are the prayers that changed my heart. The prayers that make me love my mom so much. This is a tribute to you and to all the great mother's out there who put or will put their whole hearts into trusting the Lord and loving their children.

I know you love me Mom, no matter what. And I love you too, no matter what!

Brandon

Goodbye And Hello

Hey everyone. I don't have a lot of time. And since I'll be seeing you all soon I'm not too worried about it.

But I want to let you all know that I'm done. I've done my two years. Thanks for all of your emails and support. I love you all.

I know this Church is true. I will keep serving even after this is over.

See you all soon,

Love,

Elder Squires

Hello Again - May 4, 2015

Hello friends and family. Things are really coming to an end. Next week will be my last time doing emails as a missionary. So soon we will be saying hello after I say my goodbyes here.

So, for this week in Tubuai we worked a good bit. I say that because normally we have our ward mission leader who drives us around to our lessons and helps us out. This week we were alone. It was nice. But I will not complain about having a member that drives us around.

On Monday we went to the other end of the island and spent most of the day with the sisters learning how to do a plan of salvation presentation that the mission created. It was cool. I really enjoyed teaching it. It's a big banner that has pictures and phrases on it that depict the three questions of the plan of salvation along with the first vision. Our job is to present it in a way that investigators understand and feel the Spirit. I enjoy that it is like a puzzle that we tie together as we continue. Once that was over we had our family night. The family night was organized by the elder's quorum presidency. They set up everything. All we did was show up and teach the lesson which went well. After the lesson we played games and ate. The investigators that were there enjoyed it and we received two new contacts from it. Overall a good night.

Tuesday our working alone began. We left for our first lesson with our shy investigator and....he wasn't there. No! Afterwards we headed for our Tahitian lesson with the grandmother. We talked about the Book of Mormon. We read Alma 40 together and we talked. It was going well until she brought up a remark about the Sabbath day. She is Adventist which means that she is a believer that Saturday is the real Sabbath day. She seemed to pose the question but was unwilling to receive any explanation that we had. It was too bad. But we'll see her again this week. Hopefully that will go well. After that lesson we visited a couple, Nelson and Herenui. We FINALLY were able to do their lesson. That worked out perfectly. We talked about the apostasy and Joseph Smith and committed her to pray about it. She said yes. We'll see what happens. Then we visited Augustin and read 1 Nephi 2 with  him. We want to have him and Mata and Nelson have a contest for reading. That night we went to our ward mission leader's to celebrate the birthday of his granddaughter. It was a good time.

Wednesday we did a lesson with Mata. He has been an investigator for a long time but hadn't been taking the lessons consistently until recently. He wants to be baptized but is waiting for the okay for the baptism with his wife. We need to talk to her. We committed Mata to read the Book of Mormon. He said yes. He also said that he would try to finish it before Elder Hill leaves Tubuai. We did our English class. Talked about the body parts.

Thursday we did our service project. We dug a trench for a cemented driveway. My companion's hands got bad blisters and now they are infected. Unfortunate side affect of that kind of work.

Friday we had a sporting activity. We played futbal, soccer, volley ball and we played around on a pull-up bar with some of the investigators. It was a fun activity. That night the branch did another sport activity where we played basketball and volleyball.

Saturday we did another day. Sunday was another day. It was my last Sunday in the branch of Ziona and this upcoming Sunday will be my last here on Tubuai. Normally. I found out today that I leave Tubuai Friday the 15th to go to Tahiti. I had been thinking it was the 17th. That's what I get for guessing.

That was our week. Still working and still pushing the pedals.

Love you all!

Elder Squires

(I forgot my camera cord so I can't send pictures. Sorry!)

Two Left - Mon, Apr 27, 2015

Hello family and friends,

Another week on Tubuai has passed. This one was a good one. We had five lessons in the week. One almost every day. That was really nice. We had good weather, except for Wednesday night when a lot of rain came down.

On Monday night we had a family night with the district president. We shared a Mormon Message about choosing what is right and then we talked about it. It ended up being a good night.

Tuesday we went with our branch (it's not a ward out here) mission leader. We taught a lesson with the elderly Tahitian woman. We talked to her about the apostasy and the restoration.

Wednesday we taught our shy investigator. We tried doing a shorter lesson to help him better understand. We invited them to come to church. They said that they will come fast Sunday. However this week their baby come to church! That's one out of three. We also had our English class. We had a good number of students and we talked about the vocab in the house. Then that night we were woken up by the rain. It was a serious downpour.

Thursday we were supposed to do our service project. We arrived at the member's house a little before seven. He was supposed to have left at six and we would meet him up where we work. But when we passed his house we saw that his house was still shut. We called out for him but he didn't answer. Turns out he was still asleep. When we talked to him he decided that we would not be working that day. NO! Working with him was our plan for the whole day. And then in one instant we had nothing to do. It was a bummer. But we survived.

Friday we had our district meeting. We then went home taking the long way home. We took the long way so that we could visit the member in charge of the family night for the elder's quorum. It was bad news when we talked to him and he said that he was still waiting for the calendar despite that we had told him the week before. Oh well. It's okay. We went and played basketball with one of our branches.

Saturday was interesting. We visited the couple Michel and Karina. They fixed their marriage for the 15th of May. Michel, an excommunicated member, will be baptized that weekend and then his wife the week after. We also went on an adventure. We were looking for a shortcut to one end of the island when we ended up in a field leading into a swamp. Once we arrived at the swamp my companion did his best to push through the thick brush to get through the swamp. I did not realize that it was a swamp until my companion fell over his handlebars into the swampy field. Haha. It was so funny. We went back home in shame but laughing nonetheless.

Sunday we went the church, did our meetings and had a good day. I like Sunday's. I'll see you all soon! I love you all!

Elder Squires

My companion after his swampy fall

Our English class. Talk about an attack of words!

One Month, Family Night and more Running - Mon, Apr 20, 2015

Hello family and friends.

It's been another week just like all the others. Full of adventures and new things. But this one was unlike any other for a couple reasons. Number one. This new week begins the last month of my mission. Number two. We discovered that the air is so thick here that when we pedal down the road the air we are running into feels like a strong wind even though there is no wind at all. Number three. No week is ever the same, ha.

So to start this week off we spent Monday night at our ward mission leader's house and celebrated the birthday of his granddaughter. Nothing too exciting. We ate some good food but I avoided the fafaru. Google it. It can be pretty gross.

Tuesday is our "lesson day." It's the day of the week where we have almost all of our lessons fixed. We go with our ward mission leader and do the lessons. We taught the Tahitian grandmother. We taught about Jesus Christ's earthly ministry and how he established His church on the earth while He was here. It went well. Our ward mission likes to talk to her and since they are both elderly we let them do most of the talking. We also did a lesson with Isaia and his girlfriend. Isaia is the investigator who doesn't really talk. But this lesson he was a little more open. Yay! Also, his name is pronounced ee-tie-yah. There are no s's in Tahitian. So that was a good day with two lessons.

Wednesday we did the round of the island on bikes as our morning workout. It's a 26 km ride and it took us a good hour. The wind was really strong so we weren't able to go too fast. It was still a good ride. We taught our English class which had about seven people. We did a revision on verbs and the present tense. Overall a good day.

Thursday we spent the whole day doing a service project at a member's house. In the morning we moved sand into a little outside eating area. Then in the afternoon we started filling up their driveway with rocks and sand to make their dirt driveway drive-able after the rain.

Friday we ran 5 km. Nice and easy. Monday we did 6 km with shoes and my shoes destroyed my feet. So I stopped wearing them for running. It doesn't hurt barefoot for the first several km. Once you hit 6 or more you start to feel the asphalt grinding into your feet. We headed out to do our district meeting. The training was given by the Elders of Rurutu. A small island just next to us. They talked about giving good commitments. It was a good training.

Saturday I ran 8 km. My companion ran/rode his bike. He's a good sport to run next to me. My feet hurt quite a bit afterwards. We had no lessons and tracting isn't successful here so we spent some time with members and investigators. And the rest of the time we spent reading with maybe a small nap. I'm past the half-way in the Tahitian Book of Mormon.  I plan on finishing before I go home.

Sunday was good.

And today was good. My fallen metatarsal arch has made running not possible for today. Maybe we'll do more biking for exercise. But in any case we decided to take a break this week from hard exercise to relax.

That was our week. I love you family and friends.

Faaitoito!

Elder Squires

The part about the family night escaped my mind. 

We started a program for family night's done by each auxiliary presidency. It started this Friday with a family night done by the Relief Society. It was simple and went well. We had three investigators come. Two of which we teach and the other one we already know well. Hopefully we'll get some more investigators from this program. We'll see. 

Love you all,

Bye

The Sister's attacked our door after we missed a lesson and were pretty bummed about it. There are nice Sisters. 

Motu, Service Project, and Running - April 13, 2015

This week was good. We started it off Monday with a trip to the motu. So, in French Polynesia there are islands that have a recife. Tahiti has a recife, Bora has a recife and others. The recife normally circles the entire island. The distance from the recife to the main island can vary. Here on Tubuai at closest it's around one kilometer and at farthest it's two-ish kilometers. This creates a nice shell for the island. It protects it from the ocean waves, it makes a nice lagoon of water and sometimes there are islands out on the recife. These islands make great places to visit and do a little barbeque. So Monday morning we headed out. The weather wasn't looking so hot due to rain that had been coming down for a solid week. As we were riding in the boat we could see the storm clouds coming in. Once we arrived at the motu (one of the islands on the recife) we only had a few minutes to get everything off the boat before it started raining, again.

It was still a good experience. We had a lot of fun making food, talking and walking around this little island. I'm happy we were able to go.

Speaking of rain. It rained all of the week before this week and this week the rain finally stopped on Wednesday. We were at a member's house on Tuesday night waiting out the rain when he heard a chicken crow. That one little crow told him that there would be no more rain. And what do you know? He was right. It stopped raining and hasn't rained since. There are good things to learn from others.

Like every week we did a service project. We spent the day working on the land of our ward mission leader where his son-in-law has built his house. It was just a good day of work. We would work for a few hours then take a coconut break. Work some more and then go eat. Work some more and take another break with juice. Work some more and take another coconut break. It was very Tahitian. I'm not complaining because I enjoy coconuts and being with people. So it was a win win for me.

The work this week was a little down. We had two lessons with investigators. One with our Tahitian investigator and another with an investigator named Mata. Our Tahitian isn't progressing because we haven't given commitments. The Tahitian style of teaching is slower and so as we work further into the lessons we will start committing her. Mata on the other hand is doing well. He wants to be baptized but we have to talk with his wife to convince her to not be afraid of her family. We're waiting for the next lesson with them.

Running. I've picked up running again. Friday I ran five kilometers with no shoes (I had loaned them to someone) and today I did six with shoes. I got blisters from my shoes so I might just keep running with no shoes. I enjoy running. It's a good sport for relaxing.

I love you all family. We're still out here. We're still working. We'll see what the future holds.

Elder Squires

A really pretty sunset

That's the driveway to our house after all the rain. 

What A Week

So, family and friends. What can you say about a week of rain, of cancelled lessons, of problems with investigators, of practical jokes, sad moments, early conference mornings, Easter and activities? Well. I guess you say it's normal and you share these moments.

Rain. It rained EVERY DAY. It's only a problem because our laundry dries outside on the line. Oh well.

It's a strange fact. No matter how free you would think your life is it always seems to fill up with things. We have investigators that don't have time. They were too busy for us. You wouldn't think so here on such a small island. But that's how it is.

We have an investigator that doesn't really talk. He is very shy. If you ask him a question he just says I don't know. It's rough. We are trying to find ways to help him. We'll see what we can do.

It was April Fool's this week so we called the Sisters to play a joke on them. The joke was that we called them at 3 in the morning to wish them a happy April Fool's. Ha.

Our ward mission leader's family/our adopted family/ had a tragedy when their two dogs died. It was a rough moment. It's hard to lose a friend.

For activities we went to the motu, one of the outer islands, and spent the day with the first counselor in the Mission presidency. It was a lot of fun. My companion has the photos.

Conference was great. We woke up at five in order to be there at six when it starts here. It reminded me of early mornings going to the temple. The talks were great. We were lucky enough to watch four of the five sessions in English. It's so much better in your own language.

Easter around here is pretty low key. They don't really celebrate it. Like at all. And unfortunately my companion and I forgot to do an Easter egg hunt.

Wow. What a week. But the biggest part is Easter. The day to remember Jesus Christ and what He did for us. I love what Elder Holland said and what the other speakers said about the Atonement. It was such a nice reminder of what it is all about and how important it is in our lives. The Atonement is our saving hands in this life. The thing that saves us and keeps us in His love. I am so grateful for Him and what He did. I know He lives. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Love you all!

Elder Squires

Well, It's Official - Mar 30, 2015

Hello Family and Friends,

This week we got the transfer calls. I was really hoping to not get a call because that would mean that I would stay here on Tubuai until the end of my mission. I really like it out here and I wouldn't like to go to a new area for only six weeks and then go home. So we waited. Saturday night we heard that the calls for transfers had begun. Here in the mission we get a phone call from the assistants and they tell us where we are going to be transferred and who our next companion will be. It's nothing fancy. So, we waited. It got later and later and we went to bed. I checked the phone one last time before we went to bed, no call. So, we waited. We woke up Sunday morning, no call. That could mean two things, one - no transfer or two - they didn't call us yet. So I texted the assistants to know if I was being transferred or not. And....

I'm staying!!!!!!!!!!! I will finish here on Tubuai. Yay!! And for those who don't know, I go home the 20th of May. I leave Tahiti the 19th and get to SLC at 3 in the afternoon. It's official. The end is here.

There is something called a teaching pool. The old mission nurse's husband talked to me about that. It contains the investigators that you teach. At least from what I understand. Here on Tubuai our teaching pool wasn't very big when I got here. But recently it has solidified even if it is small. It's nice to have a constancy with the people we teach and the weeks that go by. It's been nice.

We have a couple, Michel and Karina. Michel is an excommunicated member and Karina is an investigator. She has wanted to be baptized for a while but she wants her husband to baptize her. So we have been working on that. Turns out that the husband's reintegration as a member will be really quick. Allowing the couple to marry in May and the week after the husband can baptize his wife. That was the great news that we got this week. I'm excited for May!

I love you all, I know this Church is the true Church of Christ. I am glad to be out here serving my mission.

Thanks for everything! Happy Easter!

Love,

Elder Squires

Hello, Hello - March 23, 2015

This week was a good one. Monday we started it off playing basketball. And doing a family night where we talked about forgiveness and watched mormon messages. Not to mention that we helped kill a pig. That was a crazy experience.

Tuesday we had our ward mission leader come with us and we did a lesson in Tahitan where we talked about eternal life and another lesson with a young couple where we talked about the Book of Mormon. Then we encouraged another couple to advance the date for the soon-to-be wife's baptism. She wants to be baptized by her excommunicated soon-to-be husband once he is a member again. We explained that it could take years and years but she was pretty stubborn about it. Hopefully she'll change her mind.

Wednesday we did a Tahitian language study with our district president. Since he used to teach teachers how to teach Tahitian, he is a good resource in Tahitian.We did our English class again. There were more people and we taught them a song. Good stuff.

Thursday we spent the day shoveling and wheelbarrowing gravel from one side of a yard to the other. Funny how manual labor seems to be putting things from one spot to another.

Friday we had our district meeting. It's always a challenge for the elders of Rurutu to hear us as we do skype for some reason. So in order for them to hear us we have to speak really loudly or close to the computer. You would have to be there to be able to enjoy the humor of the situation and our ways of working with it.

Saturday we did a young men's activity for wrestling. The young men wanted to learn and so we taught them. It was fun. They had a lot of fun and we did too.

Sunday was pretty normal. Church, meeting, then we headed out the airport to wait for a giant banner that the missionaries use to teach the plan of salvation and the restoration all in one. That was a fun thing to get. We spent an hour with the sisters learning how to explain things and teach with it. I'll have to send a picture.

And today we hiked to the top of Tubuai. Again. It's still pretty, that hasn't changed.

I'm doing well, thanks for everything,

Love you all,
Elder Squires

Surprise Transfer, Government Visit, and English

Drumm roll please...............

The surprise transfer has arrived. Elder Hervaud has been sent to Tahiti. And I received a new companion, Elder Hill, from Cedar City. Elder Hervaud had to go back because of an ingrown toenail that needs to be operated on and it can only happen in Tahiti. It's too bad. He is a great missionary. The only missionary that I trained didn't even finish his training. It will be finished by my MTC companion. Ha, I laughed when I heard that. He left Sunday and Elder Hill showed up at the same time. And here I continue to serve. Woot woot!

So in world news, the French ministry sent their over-seas leader to visit us here in the lovely island group of the Australes. She was very polite and her talk was very good. It's too bad her visit was only for a couple of hours. They could have seen so much more but apparently she was busy. When she gave her talk she invited everyone on the island to come to listen and afterwards eat. There were a lot of people. But the last time the government came they cooked 4 cows and everyone on the island came. This time it was a little snack and the turn-out was considerably less. Ha, funny Tahitians.

We started an English class this week. We will teach it at the town hall. Hopefully things will go well with it. We'll see.

And for a confirmation. I will be flying out either the 18 or 19th of May. I got that confirmation this week. But they don't know where to send me. Idaho or Utah? Oh well.

Love you all,

Elder Squires

Elder Hill

Yay, my camera is alive!

Rain, Doctor....Let's change...10 Weeks Left!

Hello!

This week's subject line started looking like every week.....something about rain and going to the doctor. So let's change it. This morning I realized I only have 10 weeks left. I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat. Time to work it hard. But for this it really did rain and we did see the doctor, twice.It rained from Tuesday until Saturday. It wasn't all the time, luckily. It would be nice in the morning and then in the afternoon it would rain really hard and then continue softly into the night. But we need the moisture.

My companion and I visited the doctor this week twice. The first time was for my stomach. Last week after my food poisoning my stomach hadn't settled by Wednesday. We went to the doctor and he gave his advice. No milk and no fruits. Oh well. The second time was for my companion for a check-up on his toe. He has had a problem with his toe for two years now. The doctor took one look at him and gave us the diagnosis that he has to go to Tahiti to have his toe operated. It's a really bad ingrown toenail. We have heard he might have to be in Tahiti on Friday. We are waiting to see what will happen. Especially with me, because we don't know what to do with me. I can't go with him because it's too expensive. Oh well. Well see.

As for the work things are going well. This week we taught an elderly lady and she accepted to see us again this week. Yay. We'll see how it goes. The lessons are in Tahitian.

We taught one of our investigators about baptism. She said that she wasn't sure about being baptized. She told about how her family would be very unhappy if she was baptized. My companion asked her, "What about Heavenly Father, did you think about what he would think if you were baptized?3 She said she would think about that. We see her this Friday. We'll see how that goes.

I love you all! I'm almost there! I'll see you all somewhat soon. 10 weeks passes by quickly. I know this Church is true. And I love this work.

Thanks for everything

Elder Squires

Our baptism

Baptisms, and Sickness - Mon, Mar 2, 2015

This week was another good one. We had another high in the lessons and a lot of fun to accompany them. We have our branch mission leader from Mahu who works with us almost every day. He is great.

So, on Monday of last week we hiked and hiked. Like always. This time we hiked to the top of Tubuai because the new sister missionary that arrived here hadn't done it yet. So we did it. No problem right? Leaving at 6:00 from our house to get home at 4 pm. It was long! But it was good. That night we did a split, me with the new district president and my companion with the branch mission leader. The lesson on my end didn't happen. But the meal on my side did. When my companion got back we laughed and we all ate together.

The week continued well. We did our service project on Thursday. I cut myself with a piece of wood but other than that nothing bad happened.

On Friday we went to the doctor to look at my companion's foot. He has had a problem with his foot for a long time now. We went to see what we could do. They gave him the same treatment as always. But they said that next week we have to come back. We'll see.

Saturday was the baptism. It was nice to see the two boys be baptized. The mother was so happy that she cried. I wasn't able to take any pictures until after the baptism. But since there might be a virus on my camera I won't be able to send the photos until I feel sure that the virus is gone.

Then, Saturday it began. I ate too much food (steak, pasta, crepes) and the steak wasn't well cooked either. That night I went to bed feeling okay but the morning when I woke up and ran to the bathroom I knew it was food poisoning. It was a rough day. We didn't go to church. I ate a tiny thing of rice for dinner. And I haven't regained my appetite. Oh well.

Things continue. Thank you all for everything. I know this church is true. I love you all.

Elder Squires

A February Miracle

Well, let me tell you all a wonderful story. A story about two young boys. One named Ietera (Yee-ett-tera roll the r) and one named Mauri. 14 years old and 11 years old. These boys have both taken the lessons with the missionaries. They have both wanted to be baptized. But they have been waiting for the okay from the parents. We knew this and have been waiting to see what will happen. We have become friends with their mom since their dad lives at Tahiti. But the okay didn't seem to be coming any faster. So, as we were sitting in the church during a remotivation their member integrator showed us a note saying that the two of them will be baptized the 28th. Shock.

We fixed a lesson with the two of them Saturday morning. We confirmed that it was good for the baptism. They said yes. YAY!!!! One little problem, Mauri has a cast on his arm that is supposed to come off this Friday. If it doesn't come off this Friday he can't be baptized. But we are praying for it. We'll see what happens this Satuday. But really. Two baptisms. What a crazy thing this will be. We're excited. As many like to say, "Thank the Lord."

This Church is true.

Elder Squires

St. Missionaries and Members Working - February 16, 2015

This week was a good one. We hit a high in lessons since I have been here. We had members working with us. And we have people that are starting to be interested. Yay!!

As we all know this Saturday was Valentine's day. Well, my companion and I decided that it would St. Missionaries day. Ha.

....I don't really have a lot to say. I love you all, I know this church is true. And God is out there. He is the creator of science, the creator of all.

Elder Squires

Activities, Service, and Rain - February 9, 2015

Hello!

This week it rained a good amount. On Wednesday we had just finished a lesson where we engaged a young boy to be baptized this Saturday (still waiting parental accord) and started off to our next lesson when we saw the rain clouds approaching. Right after we finished our next lesson the rain came down. And it came down hard. We hid at the church and asked a member to take us to our next lesson. The member was nice but the rain didn't calm for a while. Then on Friday morning my companion and I woke up at 2 am because of the sound of rain. It was so strong that we had both been woken up. But luckily the rest of the week was better with only little sprinkles here and there.

So, for the activities. In the past week we have hiked to the top of Tubuai not once but twice, and today we played a good few hours of intense basketball. The hikes were supposed to be occasions for us to do something exciting with our investigators. Only two investigators came but those activities were still good. We are planning to do that hike once a week as an activity. Yay!

Service. It's great to give, but sometimes it's tiring. This week, among other things, we helped a member fill in a trench 30 ft long and about 4 feet deep. No biggy. Then we moved dirt from one side of a cement wall to the other. Ha. But it was fun and we got to help this member.

Not a whole lot more. We had a great lesson on Monday with some investigators. We talked about the restoration. They listened well and it was just a good lesson. I am happy to be able to be able to teach, even the small number that we do. I know this church is true. And I love it.

Love you all,

Elder Squires

Right before the mountain top

Three people for one job...

We got attacked by wasps...I got stung four times. This was right after some wasps hit us. 

I know today is Tuesday... February 3, 2015

I like to imagine how people will react when they read my letters. And as I will send this letter out I can only imagine how you all will react knowing that missionaries are supposed to email ONLY on Monday's. But one of the things about being in a small island is that sometimes the power for the whole island goes out. And when it goes out on a p-day, we can't send emails. So, yeah. That's why I'm writing today.

This week was good. The main events started on Friday with the arrival of the mission president, President Bize. That morning we were at our district president's house and decided to go with him to receive President Bize at the airport. We waited a good thirty or forty minutes before his plane showed up. Once he arrived we gave him some flower necklaces and made him wait. Normally that's not a good idea to make an important person wait around doing nothing but since the back tire of my bike was on the plane, we had to wait for it to be given out . Luckily he was patient.

Friday night we had a dinner with him and the leaders in the district. The food was wonderful. I was very happy to eat sashimi and egg rolls. At the end of the dinner people said things about President Tumarae, our district president who was being released. One sister spoke in Tahitian. Since President Bize is French and had no Tahitian experience before, you never hear him say much if anything in Tahitian. But when that sister spoke in Tahitian he asked her if she wanted him to translate and he gave out the word for word translation for what she said. Everyone busted up laughing with surprise. That night ended well.

Saturday morning we had a training with President Bize. The first two hours were more of a training for the ward mission leaders and the branch presidents. The last little bit was more for us, the missionaries. He talked about how to increase our spiritual power.
That night we had a lovely fireside.

Sunday concluded it all with the calling of the new district presidency. The new district president has a son serving in Franklin ID. Elder Turina. The new distrtict president is a great person and I am excited to work with him.

Monday we went on a nice hike. It started with a phone call at 5:30 am. And ended with getting home at 5 pm. We hiked to the peak of Tubuai. I'll send photos. We taught a family night and the theme was the restoration. I loved that lesson. It is a joy to teach. I love it.

Thank you all for everything. I love you all,

Elder Squires

During the hike to the peak

That was our training, we didn't get photos with President Bize

I am eating my breakfast of Sunshine

Almost Cyclone, Digging Holes, and First's - January 26, 2014

This week was an interesting one. By reading the subject line you can see that. 

Friday night we heard about a potential cyclone. In the beginning stages they called it a depression that was to hit a small island called Rapa, which is one of the furthest island in my little island group. They told us that Sunday night we should stay in our families and pray for ours and other's safety. No one seemed terribly worried out me but my companion and I flipped on the inside when we heard that. Saturday passed just fine, other than the killer heat. Sunday passed fine, but the same killer heat and today is the same. The cyclone didn't up hitting us and no one has really talked about it out here. They still seem shaken up from the cyclone that happened five years ago. Understandably. And in the end we didn't have any problems other than this killer heat. 

So, because the work out here is moving at the speed of a rocket...ha. We decided to take a day to give service. We chose two families, one active and one inactive and we decided to help them with the construction of their houses. The inactive family had us put tile joints in their shower and the active member (who showed up two hours later than expected) had us cover a hole. It was funny with the active member because he very quickly stated while we were shoveling that I am not one made for manual labor but more intellectual. He then asked my major and we were able to laugh about that. It reminded me of the t-shirt I made when I was younger, "I'm a thinker, not a swimmer." It holds true. 

The first's are many. It was the first time that I got to work putting in the tile joints. My companion had his first lessons in his first area. Today we did a surprise service project and I laid cement and built a cinder block wall for the first time. My companion decorated his first planner. 

All in all a good week. With some new references we'll see what the weeks ahead have in store. Also, mission president is coming down this weekend! Yay! I am excited and nervous. 

Well, love you all,

Elder Squires

We had to hammer out the bottoms of the cinder blocks. The Sister's were there as well.

Yeah, we wore reflective vests to our service project.

Beautiful sunset.

New Companion, and Sick - January 19, 2015

Well everybody, it's been quite the week. We did a little bit of everything. But in all this week we biked, we said goodbye's and we said hello's.

Elder Millerberg left. That was too bad. I'm not a big fan of the six week transfers but they happen any way. We said goodbye Sunday afternoon. At the same time I said hello to my new companion. Elder Hervaud. He is 25 years old. He is from Outumaoro (familiar, right?). He is a brand new missionary. He has only been out two weeks on his mission. He is sweet.

I got sick again Thursday. Not that I was especially sick that day, but that we went to the doctor to figure out why I was having a hard time breathing. The mission nurse thinks I have an allergy that is causing the phlegm. That phlegm falls into my lungs and creates problems. The doctor hooked me up to some machines for my pulse and blood pressure. He did an ultra-sound of my lungs and throat and found that my lungs work very well. He prescribed me some anti-allergy medications and some thing to clear out my nose.

As for the work we were able to two lessons with our new investigators. One, who is 11, named Mauri wants to be baptized. Another named Atina, listened to what we shared and was very nice about it. She even accepted to have us come back. And we'll see where it goes. But, we had to put one on pause because her husband doesn't want us coming over any more. It's too bad. She was really nice and really interested.

Voila. Not a whole lot. That's been our week out here.

I know this church is true and that Christ lives.

Love you all,

Elder Squires

Elder Hervaud getting off the plane.

Elder Millerberg with a brother in the branch.

Tubuai, the part under the orange line is our area. 

Transfers! Tahitian Cooking and French Polynesian President - January 12, 2015

Here we go again!! Another Transfer!

This time it's not me getting transferred. It's Elder Millerberg. He is finally leaving his first area and heading out for the big world of Tahiti. All in all, I'm not really a fan of six week companionships. It's not the same. Considering I just finished four months with Elder Webber, six weeks goes by like nothing.

The news is that now I will be serving with someone else. His name is Elder Hervaud (pronounced heir-vo) He is from Tahiti. I helped him with his papers. He got his call while I was serving in his ward. He will show up here the 18th. He started his mission this year. I am training him.

This week we worked with a member from Mahu. This member knows everyone. We were very blessed to be able to work with him this week. We found two new investigators and had someone to drive us around. So nice. We even had help from members in the other branch. It was a good week.

And since we spent so much time with this member, we found out that his family was making the food for a big feast for the president of French Polynesia. We decided to help him  out.

Saturday morning we woke up and headed out to his house. The first thing we did was drive up to his farm and cut down some banana trees, picked some pineapple and some tapioca(?). It started to rain pretty hard when we got back so we took a little break. After a minute we decided to do the next thing. To kill the pig. It's very traditional. So, I witnessed my first pig being killed. I left them degut the pig while I took the skins off coconuts. My hands still hurt from that. Overall it was fun. We had a good time doing authentic Tahitian cooking. The pig eventually got put into a hole in the ground with hot rocks. And apparently the president liked it.

And today we had a lunch with the president. He invited the entire island. They ran out of food. Ha. They killed four cows and made a bunch of other foods and it ran out. Oh well. It was still cool to see him.

This is my last week with Elder Millerberg. My new companion arrives Sunday and we'll head off. It'll be great. I love you all! Have a great week.

Elder Squires

That's the president, in the salmon colored blanket thing with a staff and wearing a white hat.

He stole my camera last night....those are the bananas we had ripening in our house. It took two weeks to get some ripe ones. And now they are almost all yellow.

That's the member and my companion heating up the rocks.