Bonjour, famille!
Well here I am, one month down in good ol' Tahiti. First of all: I. Love. You. I will never ever be done telling you people how much I love you.
Second of all, my very own Hi Dad Soup is my bishop! I can't wait for my next Bishop's interview! I am so, so happy for you, Dad. I am so happy for my Hyde Park First Ward that I love so much! I will be praying for you every single day!
Bernie, have you made your Christmas list yet? I hope that this year is the year you finally get some blue hair dye and a stinking bag to put your clothes in.
Mom, have you bought Dad some slippers from Kohls yet? I hope the house is all glowy and cozy and nice these days. And I am very happy to hear that you talk to me every day, cuz sometimes I talk to you too.
Mill, I didn't even realize that you'll be speaking Portuguese! Sigga say wha? I thought it was Spanish, but duh, Brazil is Portuguese! You're getting your CNA? What the heck is going on over there? I know why you're getting your CNA. So you can take good care of Pappa when he is old. That's very nice of you.
I really, really miss you guys. I really, really, really, reeeeeally love you guys.
Things are going well- sometimes the ups, sometimes the downs, all the time amazing blessings from Heavenly Father.
Here are some things you don't know about my mission that you should know:
This is one of those places where you kiss everyone on the cheek when you see them. Even strangers. Before church starts, we go around and say Bonjour to everyone and do the kiss on cheek thing. It is very hard not to be friends with someone after you just did that.
I realized why it feels like everyone is family. It's cuz literally everyone is family. I am SO confused all the time about who is related to who. Absolutely everyone is everyone's in-law.
This is also one of those places where you stand at the edge of the yard and yell for the person in the house, never knock on the door.
The people here have the most incredible faith you've ever seen. It really humbles me. I think often about the phrase "childlike faith." When you're little, you don't have any doubt at all that God exists and answers your prayers and performs miracles for you. That's how so many of the Tahitians are. They believe in actual miracles, and they really do see them. Its astounding and humbling and beautiful.
I had a really cool experience this week. A big chunk of the work we do is with inactive members. This area is full, full, full of inactive members. This week we had a lesson with a lady and I was in charge of delivering the message. I prayed about it in the morning and had no idea what I would share. I really had no direction, but I remembered that the Lord told us that if we seek His word first, He will give us what we need to say in the very moment we need it. So I just did my study the best I could, and left without any idea what I would share.
Later in the day, it was time for the lesson. We were hiking up the steep, rocky road to her house, and I was praying in my heart for help, because I still didn't know what I would say. Out of nowhere, literally out of nowhere, the story of Moses and the brass serpent came to my mind. So I grabbed my scriptures and searched for it while we hiked up the hill.
I shared the story for the lesson, and it was truly miraculous how the Spirit worked. She'd never heard the story before, and it was not too easy to explain in French. But when I finished explaining, and asked if she understood, she went on and on in detail, explaining exactly what it meant and how it applied to her, and how it was an answer to all the thoughts she'd been having that week. She was so touched, and the Spirit was so strong. I couldn't believe it. He really, literally gave me the exact thing to say.
This picture is of a sweet family we are teaching, also an inactive family. The mom is single and takes care of all these kids on her own. The lessons are nuts because they are in Tahitian and the kids are so rowdy, but I love these kids a lot. Yesterday in church, one of the little girls was there, and I helped her sing the hymn, and we gave her some cookies to eat. I don't think I taught her very much in the lessons, but she knows I love her, and I think that's teaching a lesson, too.
I love you all with all my heart. One little last thought, it being the Christmas season- I remember Luke Hollingsworth and I talking one time about Christ's hands when he was a baby. I keep thinking about that. There is something incredibly beautiful in that thought.
Much, much love,
I had a really cool experience this week. A big chunk of the work we do is with inactive members. This area is full, full, full of inactive members. This week we had a lesson with a lady and I was in charge of delivering the message. I prayed about it in the morning and had no idea what I would share. I really had no direction, but I remembered that the Lord told us that if we seek His word first, He will give us what we need to say in the very moment we need it. So I just did my study the best I could, and left without any idea what I would share.
Later in the day, it was time for the lesson. We were hiking up the steep, rocky road to her house, and I was praying in my heart for help, because I still didn't know what I would say. Out of nowhere, literally out of nowhere, the story of Moses and the brass serpent came to my mind. So I grabbed my scriptures and searched for it while we hiked up the hill.
I shared the story for the lesson, and it was truly miraculous how the Spirit worked. She'd never heard the story before, and it was not too easy to explain in French. But when I finished explaining, and asked if she understood, she went on and on in detail, explaining exactly what it meant and how it applied to her, and how it was an answer to all the thoughts she'd been having that week. She was so touched, and the Spirit was so strong. I couldn't believe it. He really, literally gave me the exact thing to say.
This picture is of a sweet family we are teaching, also an inactive family. The mom is single and takes care of all these kids on her own. The lessons are nuts because they are in Tahitian and the kids are so rowdy, but I love these kids a lot. Yesterday in church, one of the little girls was there, and I helped her sing the hymn, and we gave her some cookies to eat. I don't think I taught her very much in the lessons, but she knows I love her, and I think that's teaching a lesson, too.
I love you all with all my heart. One little last thought, it being the Christmas season- I remember Luke Hollingsworth and I talking one time about Christ's hands when he was a baby. I keep thinking about that. There is something incredibly beautiful in that thought.
Much, much love,
Soeur Mann
