June 2012

Transfer info, I am staying in the Tongan ward and I am getting one of my old companions again.  Elder Tonga!  We were only together for one transfer then he went to Barrow and now he is coming down from Barrow and I get to serve with him again.  I am excited to serve with him again.  Well I am feeling much better today.  The doctors didn't know what I had.  I had a cough, sore throat, head ache, my eyes were red and infected and were pussing and fatigued all the time.  And when you get up and start doing something you feel way worse.  But I am almost 100% better.  And our one investigator still just needs to get married then she can get baptized quick.  So thats what we are waiting on for right now, so hopefully soon.

So this week I saw my first black bear!  It was in the middle of town, it was pretty big too.  We were driving so we didn't get to watch it for long.  And yesterday we went to a dinner at a camp ground and we roasted 2 pigs!  Like on a stick and everything!  it was a lot of fun. The pig was really really good.  the skin tastes like bacon. It takes a good 5 hours to cook it all the way through, but we had to go before it was all the way done, so we just cut some of it off and ate it on out way out.

I am continually studying the gospel and I just keep getting amazed at how perfect it is and how much sense it makes.  I love studying it.  I am about to finish the Book of Mormon again and I am getting pretty close with finishing the the New Testament as well, then I will re-start the B of M and start the Old Testament.  I really need to read Isaiah after what they what Elder Scott said in conference and I found in the Book of Mormon, in Mormon where he says search the prophesies of Isaiah.

We had a good week this week.  The first week of the transfer the week is always slow.  But the Tongan ward loves Elder Tonga so the ward is opening up to him a lot.  There wasn't too much that happened this past week but this week there is a seventy coming for zone conference.  Elder Koliker, he spoke at conference.  We are having zone conference on wednesday this week, so I am excited for that. 

One of our people that was about to be on date to be baptized pretty much did a 180 this week which is frustrating haha, but we have some of his fellowshippers helping him, and we are still going to be working with him.  But we are doing well with the ward, Elder Tonga and I are working well together.  The work in the ward is different from other wards I have been in.  There isn't anything too new or exciting that happened.  Oh there is going to be a missionary fireside next month that we are going to try and brodcast on the internet so our families can watch, its going to be a musical fireside, so once I find out more I will let you know.  I love you all and miss you.

This week was a good week, we taught a lot of lessons.  We got a new investigator.  This week we get to go do service for the scouts this week.  They are having a scout encampment all this week and we are driving up to Palmer twice to go up.  We are going to go inspire them to want to serve missions.  it is all of the scouts in Alaska.  And a General Authority is coming as well.  They will be set up in companionships and districts and zones, just like a mission.  We are going to trian the scouts on Christ like attributes out of Preach my Gospel.  It will be really cool to be able to help these young men get excited about missions.

We have a few investigators that want to be baptized, one is getting married soon, and like 3 are just waiting to get their answer from Heavenly Father.  So we are excited for them and are trying to help them as much as we can.  Elder Tonga has a great Uncle up here who isn't a member and we had a lesson with him this week, it was very powerful and the family of the him was also listening and most were crying after the lesson, it was all in Tongan and we brought a member who could speak Tongan, I didn't understand too much but I spoke and they translated for me.

May 2012

For Mother's Day this year the family got to skype, which was pretty cool to get to see everyone.
Happy Mothers Day.  I don't think I said that over Skype yesterday.  And for dinner yesterday we ate horse.  Yeah actual horse.  Tongans eat it.. It was actually really good.  I liked it.  I really enjoyed talking to all of you yesterday.

My week so far has been interesting.  I have been sick for most of it.  I went to the doctor and they gave me some antibiotices.  So we didn't get a whole lot of work done this week.  And it was stake conference this past weekend.  We had 2 members of the sevendy come up for it.  Elder Dunken and Elder Call.  So we had lots of meetings with them on saturday and sunday.  We have and investigator who is close to baptism, she just needs to get married to her less active boyfriend.  They are working on it and want to get married, they are just working out all of the details.  So we will probably have a baptism here in a few weeks.  Something I wish I had learned better back home dad was how important members were in missionary work.  We the members should be providing the missionaries with people to see.  Missionaries are called to preach the gospel, not find people to teach.  So maybe you could use part of that some how.

I am still sick and will probably go back to the doctor again today.  I have been sick all last week and haven't been able to work like at all which is frustrating.  Oh so last week I forgot to tell you that I had my first earthquake (at least that I felt).  It was a 4.7 i think.  It was pretty crazy haha.  But Nothing really eventful happened.  We also had Elder Dunken and Elder Call from the Sevendy come up for our Stake conference.  It was pretty cool.  I think one of the favorite scriptures I read this week is one in Romans, where is says something like shake off the darkness and put on the armor of light.  I need to keep my armor of light of and keep the darkness off.