Bora the Bike Eater!!!

Aloha kakou,

It's been a really fun fast past week. We started off the week by eating at one of the hotels here and taking a tour of the hotel property and the bungalows which were sick. They even have these coffee tables made out of glass and you can open up the top and it goes straight into the water. Bring a pole and you could be fishing while watching shows at any point in the day!

Highlights:

- Bora Bora ate another bike. We had two lessons in the morning went back to our place to eat and do studies and then headed off because we had six more lessons later on in the day. We made it up this one hill that's super steep and has a lot of loose rock and dirt and then when we attempted to turn and I shifted into a easier gear my bike lost it! The detailer was shot and it looks like someone got mad and straight up twisted it. It’s sad but also pretty funny because the bikes they give us definitely aren't the sturdiness so we end up Frankensteining bikes together. We called for a ride went back to the house and switched the bike out for an extra one we had and managed to still get to five or the six lessons we had that afternoon.

- Found myself asking "Why are we here?" during a lesson this past week. We got there and asked the ward member if he knew the family we were teaching. He said yes so we were just like okay! We invited the sisters over because the family actually lived in their sector and when they got there their eyes got huuge because they had just had a lesson that didn't go too well with them a week before. At the end of the lesson the ward member proceeds to ask the husband and wife their names again and me and my companion were just like wait what? He doesn't know them??? The husband definitely wasn't interested at the time but offered me and my companion mangoes and offered the sister Fafaru if they wanted to come back. Later that week we get a call from the member who ended up going back and the husband's heart was softened and wanted us to come back.

- Turns out my companion has never cooked before so we had a little teaching / learning experience making a super easy spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread meal. Went to the store picked up all the ingredients and made um, buggah was sooo ono. We even had some Belgium waffles with Nutella and whipped cream to top it off at the end. We were both stuffed at the end and so ready for bed.

- Went on a split with Elder Pehrson. He came into my area and we went around and ended up having a whole bunch of lessons with kids / just talking with the kids in the different neighborhoods. He really enjoyed it because they don't teach or talk to any kids in his sector which is super crazy to think about because there so many little kids and they always call out to you when you pass. Oh the best part is the mission gave him a brand new bike when got in three weeks ago and the back brake is already broken... Aiya, she go, at least there's still a front break!

- Did some contacting in this one neighborhood that's filled with more French people instead of Tahitian and didn't have too much success.

- Had the chief of Police here in Bora Bora not come to the door even though he was at home and his son was out playing.

- The owner of the Bora Bora Home Depot heard me and my companion and proceeded to move out of our sight.

- Went up to a billionaires house who lives near the very top of the mountain and ended up leaving a Book of Mormon at the bottom of his drive way with our testimonies written inside of it. It was pretty funny because we could see them/hear them and they could see us. They ended up moving inside after a bit so I held the Book of Mormon up hoping their security camera could see me and pointed and it and made a telephone with my hand and was like "call us and come to church".

To'u Mana'o no teie mahana:

In Doctrine and Covenants 123:6 it says

“A very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.” 

I was really confused when I first read this because I didn't know the word workways but this scripture is talking about how using the helm of a ship you can steer the ship and keep it upright and stable during a storm. 

Gospel principles in our lives are like a helm to a ship. Correct principles enable us to find our way and to stand firm, steadfast, and immovable. In doing so we do not lose our balance and fall into the ocean when the storms of life hit us. 

"Vents favorables et mer suivante"

"Mata'i haumaru e moana mania"

"Fair winds and following seas"

Standing by in Bora Bora,

Orometua Ellis