Luckiest Man on the Planet

Dear Family,

Let me start this letter with… COLLIN YOU DOG! You are almost the luckiest man on the planet! In one week you did pretty much all of the stuff I can barely afford to dream about... Magic Mountain with Jessica Barney, talking to Alex Boye, chicken and waffles, the beach, but you know what??? Notice how I said ALMOST? You still fail in comparison to me. ;) I am the luckiest man on the planet let me explain how.

Elder Tafiti

This week was transfers. Elder Manewell is gone and I am the new senior companion for the Red Hill Ward missionaries! My new companion is named Elder Tafiti he is Samoan from Utah he has been out 22 months.   I am going to do my best to keep inspiring him and keep him motivated the last few weeks of his mission.

Anywho, we were able to make sweet progress with a lot of our investigators! Daisy, we have never taught before but have tried a million and a half times to visit her, has come to church the past 3 weeks in a row and stayed for all 3 hours with her sons. One night she called and she was really struggling. :( We told her to come to the PMG class we were teaching and then we could visit with her after...) We came to the church and she was there and we talked about the atonement with her. Then the PMG teacher kinda ruined it by telling her it was just a class for members only. Long story short (cutting out some details), we took her to the baptismal font and explained how she could leave behind all her troubles and worries in the water as she comes up... and that the blessings from living the gospel don't start in the next life but in THIS ONE TOO!!! We’re looking to baptize her on the 11th of August with her 2 sons!

This week also we ran into a lady on the street, Sister Lemalu. Normally we just tell the members we meet to have a nice day and call if they need anything, but the spirit whispered that we should go share a scripture at her house... We ended up going and it turns out they have been a little inactive for the past while and there daughter, Laura, is 9 years old and hasn't been baptized! We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ that night and boy do I love teaching kids! WE came back the next day and she remembered the abc's of repentance: Admit, Be sorry, Confess, DONT DO IT AGAIN, and Enjoy your blessings! She is getting baptized on the 11th as well! I had tears rolling down my face as her Father said the closing prayer to our lesson yesterday before church. He prayed in Samoan but it was a POWERFUL prayer with lots of thanks. (He was in tears along with his wife too.) They both gave us a hug as we left (Sister Lemalu caught me off guard). I left their house so grateful for the miracles and the opportunity to help bless the Lemalu family.

My painting for the O Kinga kids

Then the O Kingas! I might have mentioned them before but the wife is a member and they have 2 sons and a daughter named Taaliyah. We played the Holy Ghost game where you line up 9 pamphlets in 3x3 so it forms a square and then you hide a coin under one of the 9. Elder Tafiti leaves the room and then when he comes back I will tell him where to find the coin! So for example if they hide it under the top left corner one I will then ask him while pointing to the top left corner of a different pamphlet "is it this one???" Elder Tafiti will then know that it is in the top left corner and then I will continue asking, “is it this one”, pointing to several others until I finally reach the top left corner one. Then he says YEAH! It blows kids minds everytime! Some adults too. :) The point was if you feel the Holy Ghost its possible to never choose wrong! We explained that if you read Book of Mormon stories and pray you can always have the Holy Ghost! AND… to put icing on the CAKE, I made a point system: 1 point per prayer. 2 points per each chapter read in the BOM stories book. And 10 points for church attendance.  I promised them once they had a combined 100 points, I would give them my Adventure Time painting that I had an investigator make for me back in Missouri! Before we left, everyone was reading from the BOM and offering to say the closing prayer!!! VICTORY!!!

I am the LUCKIEST MAN on EARTH!!! Don’t worry though, Collin, one day you will be just as lucky as me and Trevor both. :)

Other funny story… Elder Tafiti can be quite hilarious at times.  He went through the little photo album that you made for me Mom and he put a picture of Jessica Barney and you right next to each other and asked if I ever kissed Jessica. I said no we were just good friends and he then showed me the pictures and explained, “that’s good because that would have been like kissing your mom”... You both look really similar in the pictures side by side. I thought it was pretty funny

I have some cool stuff to send home, but I find very little time to get these things done. Collin, I’m still searching for a rugby jersey. I have some experts doing research. Google the Vodafone Warriors rugby team... that’s what I’m thinking and tell me what you think next week! It might take more time but I also have a letter for Mariah, a Maori Jade Stone for Aubrey (I think you might be able to attach it to an earring or a necklace or somethin...), and I have 2 lava lavas maybe 3! Oh, and a picture of me, Elder Manewell the triplets, and their brother Haylen who we recently baptized. The triplets are Pania, Marama, and Kaila. It’s an awesome picture!

Love,

Elder Ward,

p.s. Mom I traded my card reader for a camera cord but I guess a 2nd one wouldn't hurt. I should be okay without it though.