Christmas Came Early!!!

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Mele Kalikimaka... 


...Is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day. That's the island greeting that I share with you from the land were palm trees sway!


Merry Early Christmas everyone! Christmas came early here in Bora Bora. I got some packages from family and we got news from the mission president that we can now listen to music that invites the spirit. You already know that right after that zone call Kolohe Kai, Hapa, Maoli, Fiji, and other Hawaiian and Reggae songs are now playing in the house. 


But f'real life's been good on the southern half of the equator. The winds have been blowing extra strong lately and it feels like a crazy amount of resistance when you are trying to bike. It's also pretty fun because you'll come out from a wind block like a house to an open spot and get hit by the wind and it just pushes you horizontally and you kind of need to bike at an angle cutting into the wind.


Eating:

Happy to say that after waiting a whole week and straight up dying each day I went to the doctors. Doctors are kind of a hit or miss here. Sometimes they're open, most of the times they're closed and you have to hope and pray they know what to prescribe you because if they don't they'll just tell you to drink Coca Cola and eat a bunch of chocolate. I don't know where that information comes from but it's usually the doctors that don't take insurance cards and just take cash. Luckily for me the doctor prescribed me medicine and the pharmacy was open and not on their super long lunch break. Got some killer stomach medicine, some hard core anti diarrhea and these huge antibiotics that have been helping me feel a whole lot better. They even brought back my appetite which is nice considering the fact that I lost 18lbs in the 2 months I've been on the island from biking and getting sick. On the bright side if I gain 40lbs I would really only be up 22lbs. Think smarter my friends.


We ate dinner at the house on Tuesday and right after at 8pm we got a call from our dinner appointment and she was just like "Come down to the restaurant and slap". We got there already full and thought we were just going to share a pizza and she proceeds to buy us each a pizza and kept telling us to eat and order more things. At the end she even topped everything off with cake and milkshakes. We biked back to the house soooo full and good thing it was time for bed because if not I was about to have a kanak attack. A few of the other days we had multiple lessons and they fed us so we ended up eating like 3 times from the afternoon to eating.


Singing:

There was this big event put on by the mayor of Bora Bora last night were all the different religions on the island got together to sing Christmas songs of their choice. It was so cool to hear and see everyone get together. From the Catholics, Protestants, 7th Day Adventists and more. Everyone sang so beautifully and it was nice to hear things in both Tahitian and French.

See the video of the Christmas concert on FB @RaidoBoraBora - https://fb.watch/hG-cng7M-g/ - The saints of Bora Bora start at 1:15:00 and 2:56:00 in the video (look for the group dressed in white).


Thought:

My Tutumommy told me this, "Remember He is not just the reason for the season but he is THE REASON".


Mahalo piha to Princess Pauahi for blessing countless generations of Hawaiian Children. We are truly indebted to you. May the pua a Pauahi forever memorize Ka Pule A Haku and recicite those Bible verses. Aloha nui loa and have a joyous Christmas spent with loved ones near and far.



"Vents favorables et mer suivante"


"Mata'i haumaru e moana mania"


"Fair winds and following seas"



Standing by in Bora Bora,


Elder Ellis

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