Family!
Yesterday was day one of Tahitian! I am so excited to learn it and also quite overwhelmed. When our teacher walked in and started speaking Tahitian yesterday, my heart started beating a little fast. Day One. Again. And for a few hours I felt a bit stressed, but here’s the good news: A) It is SO beautiful. It is unlike any language you’ve heard of. Tahitian describes things in a totally different way. We learned how to pray yesterday, and a prayer in Tahitian is the way a prayer should sound. I’m so excited to learn this beautiful language. B) I’ve been praying for some faith with this whole two-language thing, and this is what I’ve learned, “The Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save He shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which He hath commanded them.” And I’ve been asked to learn two languages. So I’ll just do it. And it’ll work out fine. I would like to give you all your Tahitian names! I’ll write out your names how a Tahitian would say them if she just read them out loud: Luke = Rootay, Amelia = Ahmayreeah, Jill = Reer (hmm, that one doesn’t translate too great), and Roger = Rotayr, maybe just Rotay. L’s = rs, B = p, and whole bunch of stuff turns into t’s . . . it is crazy! And wonderful. Keep praying for me.
I love my companions to death. We have truly become good friends, and I am so thankful I got both of them. I had a funny moment with Soeur Green the other day – she was humming a Faith Hill song, so I chimed in singing. Turns out I’ve been singing that song wrong my whole life. Cuz I was definitely not even close to the right words. When I realized how dumb I looked, I felt so embarrassed, and I grabbed her in a hug and buried my face in shame, then we realized how funny the whole situation was, and we just stood in the hall and laughed and laughed. Did I tell you that Soeur Green is six feet tall? Some people call her Sister Barbie. She is beautiful, and tall, and thin, but one of those cool people who’s beautiful and extremely smart and kind, too. And I love Soeur Barker so much. One night this week I said something snappy to her, and when I got in bed, I just couldn’t sleep. So I croaked out, “Soeur? I’m sorry I was mean.” And we all laughed, but truly it felt good to say sorry, and I’m so lucky to have a companionship where we learn together and forgive each other when we mess up.
The French elders (“The Frenchies”) are a hoot. It’s been fun having real-deal French-speakers with us. Can you imagine what our little classroom sounds like? Some people learning French, some learning English, all learning Tahitian – it’s insane in an inspiring kind of way. They are nice boys, and quite funny. Today I got to endure twenty minutes of teasing in French because my breakfast concoction of cottage cheese, yogurt, and pineapple apparently “looked like baby throw-up.” But ya know what? That stuff’s good for ya. And I like it.
I love being called, “Soeur.” We don’t even pronounce it right, we just say, “Sir.” And it’s become quite endearing. “Excuse me, sir!” Ha ha! I like being Soeur Mann.
We did get to watch the Brigham City Temple dedication, the third session. I loved hearing from Pres. Packer. What a genuinely good, sweet man.
We counted the steps up to our classroom: 96. Three words: Calves. Of. Steel.
Here is the main thing I want to tell you, and I am not even sure how to say it. I want you to know that I am so happy. The more I study the gospel, the more I realize that truly, men are that they might have joy. I’ve had many beautiful moments where things about the gospel have clicked for me, and it is like a light goes on. Here’s what I’ve been thinking about: All you really are is a chooser. The only thing that makes you real and gives meaning to you is your ability to choose. And the only reason we’re here is so we can become. We’re supposed to become something great. Here we are on this earth, by our own choice, and we get to make something great of ourselves if we choose to. The thing that’s really beautiful is that you get to do this with Jesus Christ, the Creator of this world. God’s sole purpose is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. Think about that. Here we are with this big task in front of us, but we have God, the Ruler of the earth, on our side and His only interest is our success. If you come to Christ, you honestly can become the person you want to become. He will clean you from your flaws, He will heal you from your sorrows, He will inspire you, encourage you, and control the elements around you in a way that will best develop you. I’ve been thinking so much about the phrase, “All things testify of Christ”, and I really believe it. The autumn weather is one example – it is getting cold, and we know that everything is going to die. But we know that in the spring, all the dead things will miraculously come to life and live again, just like the Savior. The more you look around, the more you see Him, and my testimony is that a testimony of Christ is a testimony of “you can do it”! We have a Savior! He really did conquer sin, He really does live. And if you start aligning your path with His, He will do every possible thing to help you. The only thing you need to do is choose.
I love this gospel with all my heart. I’m so grateful to know what I know. I’m thankful for the chance to express my gratitude to Heavenly Father by sharing it with the people in Tahiti. Life is so good. All my love, Soeur Mann
P.S. Thank you, thank you for writing me! It might take me awhile to respond because my time is limited, but to anyone who has written me – thank you. I love you!
