We Go Surf!

This we absolutely flew by, I know I say that about every week but it's true and so many miracles have happened. Miracles only come as a result of our faith. The stronger and more developed our faith is, the more Heavenly Father can work miracles throughout our lives. Not only can he work miracles but we can even receive answers to our prayers.

We started of the week with a 2 1/2 hour lesson in straight Tahitian it was so sick I understood so much and the member that was supposed to come with us ended up not being able to make it so the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues really came in clutch in helping us through that lesson understanding their questions and being able to explain things in a way they could understand. 

Had a few more lessons and did a lot of contacting throughout the day. After I had the feeling we needed to go to the end of our sector we got almost to the end and I felt like we needed to head right to the point. We got to the point tried to visit this one family that we were teaching and then felt prpted to visit a house close by. It was 6pm and we thought no one would want to talk because it was dinner time and they answered the door and were really eager to speak with us. He and his wife grew up catholic but are now athiest. We talked to him for awhile, found out he was from Tahiti and loved to bodyboard and surf and then we started talking about surfing, bodyboarding, catching waves and the ocean as a whole. Talked about how just like him the ocean is my life but I ended up giving up the ocean to serve the lord for two years. When he heard I gave up the ocean he was left baffled because he couldn't imagine a life without the ocean. He invited us out to the beach on their property to watch the sunset we said goodbye and he even invited me back whenever to workout on his prone and standup paddle boards. If only we could go in the ocean to workout... Ahhhhh Sandy's will always be there whenever I feel like surfing and getting a back adjustment at the same time.

We were leaving the lesson feeling really blessed to meet him and expected a nice 45 minute bike ride back to our place. We stopped at this sick beach to take in the last moments of sunlight before the darkness came and received a phone call from an inactive member inviting us to eat with him and his family. We graciously accepted his invitation and when we told him where we were he quickly said he would be there. Not only did we get a dinner that night but we didn't have to bike back to our place and we got to talk to a family which felt soooo amazing. Luiaaaaa le seigneur.

We had a whole bunch more lessons in Tahitian throughout the week. I think it was 10ish lessons in straight Tahitian. A friend wasn't at his house so we decided to once again follow the spirit and actually found out were this one guy lives. He's an inactive member that was at a lesson with one of his friends we are teaching and he said he just felt something special after we closed with a prayer. He prayed for the first time in 25 years and has received the power to persevere in this life and has quit smoking and drinking and hasn't had the desire to do anything since.

More fun:

- My legs don't get to see the sun too often and I had an amazing idea. While my companion was on the phone with his family I'd sit in a chair and try get a tan. Well... sitting outside worked! I burned after 2 hours and then it finally turned into a tan throughout the week. Still not super dark, but my legs have at least some color now... Gotta burn first to tan later!

- No fatams or family home evening, so we went to the dock and saw Papi Pierre and he told us for the next fatams he was gonna get some shark and make it into a curry for us. Really stoking for that because I've been wanting to try shark for a while being here and hearing other people talking about it.

- No more bikes have broken this past week but that's a good thing. Transfer calls are coming up this Saturday we'll see if I'm staying in Bora Bora for another 6 weeks. I hope so, but that'll make it 6 months here which is really unlikely but wherever the Lord needs me, I'll go.

- We went to Raiatea for Zone conference. It was pretty cool we ended up staying three days instead of our normal two days. A member of the Quorum of the seventy was there and talked to about working with members in our area and not always having the same members come. Although some members might always be available we might find that another family might be an even better match for a friend we are teaching.

- When my companion asked this little kid if he was tan the kid responded "No, you're a Haole" but he used the Tahitian word for Haole and I just started cracking up as my companion was standing there all confused. My comp then pointed to me and said "What about him?" to which the boy responded "No, just you!" Cheeee, j'aime bien les enfants ici.

Spiritual Thought:

Heavenly Father can send angels but most often he decides to send people to aide others. He places thoughts into our head to contact friends or family to see how they're doing, and although these things might seem insignificant to us in the hindsight they are actually a grand bénédiction to the person on the receiving end. So, you are an angel, and it turns out many of us have been touched by countless angels throughout our lives. Cool little thought to think about. Next time you have a feeling to contact someone, don't just brush it off but act upon that prompting.

"Vents favorables et mer suivante"

"Mata'i haumaru e moana mania"

"Fair winds and following seas"

Standing by in Bora Bora,

Orometua Ellis

Link to my Google Photo's album. Go check um, go check um, go!:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qErFS2eWV3pJGVEV7