A Visit to the Hospital

Ia Ora Na to'u utuafare!

It was super weird for me to just go talk to random people at first, but I did it anyway haha.  Now, it's my favorite thing to do!  I love just talking to people!  I'm still not good at it, but I love it!  It's really what we do all day every day!  Even during lessons, it's just talking with people and trying to help them!  But, my favorite thing to do as a missionary so far is to just go talk to random people in the street about the gospel!  Right now, we have a lot of lessons, so we don't do that as much and I miss it!  You teach the simple truths of the gospel in like 2 minutes that can change their lives for eternity...kind of a big deal!  But, yeah, it's really weird when people don't want it.  We have the best gift to give to them and we know how much it can change their lives.  But, a lot of times they don't understand it and reject it.  I can't imagine buying someone a porsche and them not accepting it.  Yet, the gospel is worth how much more than a car?  

This week, there was a sister that asked me to go to a different city to give her grandpa a blessing.  We called the missionaries and bishops there, but nobody could.  So, we called our zone leaders and I ended up going with another member and I gave the Papi a blessing at the hospital there.  Then, on our way out, the last door that we past was opened slightly and I heard a soft, "Elder?"  I went back and opened the door and he explained that he was a member and wanted a blessing as well.  He had been there for months and had just started praying for the missionaries to come and give him a blessing.  He is in his low thirties and had elephantitis.  We gave him a blessing and the Spirit was super strong!  I felt God's love for them both so strong!  I know that God answered that man's prayer because He loves him! We are all literally children of God and He loves us so much!  He loves when we talk to Him and He loves to help us be happy!  We will always have trials so that we can progress and become more like Him, but He will guide us and help us and we can feel His amazing love!  I love our Heavenly Father so much!  I know He loves us all tellement!  I love you!  And, thanks so much for all you do!

Thanks for the example you are to me!  I know that the service you did and do every day will help someone receive the gospel and eternal life, whether they come now or later!  I love you all so much!  Thanks for all you do!  

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

Quick Changes of the Heart

Ia ora na!  

Jeff getting some coconuts

It's still crazy to think that there is snow there!  You did a good job stalking!  Here, it's hot and rainy haha.  Last week, I guess there was a cyclone in Tonga and Somoa or something, but we were fine here.  We got a crazy rainstorm, but that ended up giving us the chance to talk to a bunch of people about the gospel, so it turned out perfect!  But yeah, it's funny because Americans think Tahiti is paradise, but Tahitians think that America is.  Today, we went on top of the presque isle with one of our neighbors, Jeff.  He is a 66 year-old adventist that gives us fruit all the time and speaks perfect English, French, and Tahitian.  It was way fun!  There is fruit all over and we found the sweetest coconuts ever!  That was our cool p-day this week!

Last week, we started teaching a 15 year-old named Veihiatua.  She just got baptized; we are just doing the lessons after baptism.  And, this week, we started teaching her little brother and cousin, Temarori and Manahere; they are 10 and 9 years-old.  They're super cool haha!  They get super excited when they see us, they surf and play soccer, and they are the best with their commitments!  They are always way excited to pray, and when we asked them to read a chapter in the Book of Mormon, we came back two days later and the one had read 9 chapters and the other read 2 or 3!  Sometimes it's hard to get people here to read a chapter in a week!  We were so excited!  We went to have another lesson with them at the end of this week and to talk with their parents about baptism because they both want to get baptized.  Their moms started talking to us by saying they didn't approve at all with their baptisms, and when we left, they both said that they will read the Book of Mormon and pray to see if it's true.  If they get a reponse that its true, they will get baptzed as well!  It's so crazy how fast people's hearts can change with the Spirit!  One of the questions they asked us is if we have always been members of this church or if we have studied other religions as well.  We both have been born in the church, but the coolest thing is that it doesn't matter.  We could have studied religion for 30 years and still have no idea which church is true.  But, with one simple prayer, we can KNOW that this church is true, it's the church of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 16:15-17 (I think), it talks about how Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ by the Spirit and not by temporal things.  And, it's the same with us today.  I know that this church is true, not because I have studied for years, but because I read the Book of Mormon, I prayed, and our loving Heavenly Father answered my prayer.  I know that the Book of Mormon is true!  And I'm so grateful for that simple, yet powerful, knowledge!  Thanks so much for all you do!  I love you so much!

Ua here au ia outou!

Elder Jessop

All You Need Is L-O-V-E

Ia Ora Na to'u utuafare! Thanks so much for the emails!  It's so good to hear that you are all doing good and enjoying the snow!  And, yeah, President Sinjoux has already been here for his 3 years, but they extended it to July and that's when Bize will come in.  He's French, but I think he lives in the U.S. now.  With studies this year, I would think it's the same, but we teach a class for our investigators during sunday school.  For p-day, we went and sang on ville at papeete and got groceries.  After, we have a family home evening.  

I don't have time this week to write a lot, but I wanted to share a little story that happened yesterday.  Yesterday, priesthood was with the elders and the high priests, and the teacher asked the question, who is God?  And, people tried to answer for a half hour.  Then, he called on someone in the back.  I looked, and it was one of our investigators.  And, he said, "here," which is love in Tahititan.  To everyone else's anstonishment, that was the right answer haha!  Yeah Mohi!  I was so happy!  It's so simple!  A lot of times, we complicate things, but it's really simple.  In 1 John 4:8, I think, it says God is love.  It's one of my favorite scriptures!  That's really all that God asks of us.  If we have love for others and Dieu, we will automatically obey all of God's commandments.  Missionary work is a lot of work.  But, if you have love for the people, you do all your work because you love them and because you want to.  And, when you want to, it's not work at all.  And, it's the same with every thing we do.  Sorry, but I just have to end with, all you need is love.  Love is all you need!  Thanks so much for all you do!  Love you so much! Ua here au ia outou! Elder Jessop

The Blessing of being able to say I Know!

"The real success of a mission is not measured on a chart- it is etched in your heart and in the hearts of those whose lives are eternally changed because of you. Share your testimony often. I have seen nothing in a missionary that exerts more power and positive influence than the bearing of pure and simple testimony. Your testimony is the first step in the conversion of those whom you teach. Have courage to invite others to change their lives and come to Christ through obedience to the principles and ordinances of the gospel." 
                                                                                                                     -Dennis B. Neuenschwander                 
                                         

Ia Ora Na to'u utuafare!

On P-days, we go in town every p-day now to practice singing for the anniversary of the church in Tahiti.  Which is great because I'm such a great singer haha!  Not really, I'm awful!  Someone in our ward wanted us to sing for sacrament, then they heard us sing and they quickly changed their minds!  But, I actually like it even though I don't sing well because it brings the spirit super strong!  And thanks for the quote!  The first part about how a mission is measured is so true!  I saw the power of testimonies a lot this week!  In Tahiti, it's a party from Christmas through New Years, and for some people it goes until Febuary.  So, a lot of people have stopped the lessons for a couple weeks, and we have been doing a lot of just talking to people on the street.  A lot of people like to tell you about their beliefs and theories, which is super good, but they never stop haha.  But, when I share my testimony, everything stops, the Spirit comes in, and you can see it in their eyes.  You can watch the change that's happening in their hearts and on their face.

Also, before my mission, I didn't realize that other people don't really say that they know that their church is true.  Here, I've never heard it, not once.  A testimony is a truth that has been revealed by the Spirit, so it's impossible to have a testimony that any other church is true, other than Christ's church.  People say that they like their church, or their church is good, but we can say that we KNOW that our church is true!  How cool is that!  I've never been more thankful for my testimony in my life!  I see so many people every day who are lost.  They don't know who God is, where they come from, why they're here, or where they're going after death.  I'm so grateful that I can say that I KNOW this church is true.  I KNOW that God is our loving Father in Heaven.  I KNOW that He has a plan for each of us to become like Him and live with him forever.  I KNOW that Jesus Christ suffered for our sins, was killed, and was resurrected. And, thanks to Him, we will all live after death and we have the opportunity to have eternal families.  And I KNOW that we can become an eternal family thanks to Him!  

Ua here au ia otou!


Elder Jessop

Tahitian Words of the Week: (I find words all the time that are like sounds in English, but are words in Tahitian that I like.  Here are some!)

- A'o- (sounds like after you drop something and you say ahhh ohhh) means "to counsel"

- Nounou- (sounds like when a baby is about to do something bad and you say noo noo) means "to covet" or "greedy"

- Pau- (like in cartoons, pow!) mean "to be destroyed"