Elder Cool? Cool?!!?!
This past week was pretty legendary. We ended up meeting a whole bunch of cool people while we were on Ua Huka for a little bit and then we got to take a plane ride back to Nuku Hiva. The plane was sick, it was super small and everything had to get weighed from our check in bag to our carry on and even ourselves. Definitely something that doesn't always happen on plane rides. The pilot of the plane was also super cool. He circled Ua Huka twice and then circled Nuku Hiva before we landed. After we landed we got back into the groove of things on Nuku Hiva and had our work cut out for us. Luckily the members here are amazing and picked up packages for us that were on the last boat. It was like coming back to Christmas, a new washer, a water filter, a case of book of Mormons, and some five gallon jugs of water!!!! We were truly blessed.
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Highlights:
- Toured a Pakalolo farm deep in the mountains on Ua Huka
- Had an amazing lesson with one of our friends on Ua Huka
- We all ate a whole bunch of grapefruit and they had stomach problems the next day. Papi Hoka and my comp even made a pit stop into the mountains while me and another member that was with us was dying of laughter in the car.
- Put up a barbed wire fence an hour before our flight in white shirts and ties
- Put in our new washing machine but our floor isn't level so it walked itself away and we had to clean up a whole bunch of water because the hose wasn't connected to the drain. We then started stuffing Styrofoam and cardboard trying to balance the washer and absorb some of the shock. We even ended up putting some tires in front of the washer in an attempt to stop it from moving forward
- Ate with Jacob's dad (our neighbors dad) and his family for his birthday. They even made a special dish that they knew I liked because it reminds me of my mom's Japanese chicken curry (they're the best)
- Got a call saying that a company just picked up a package for us and I was like "Can we pick it up now?" To which they responded "Where are you?" We told them the name of the closest store and they were like "Don't move, we'll be there". Well..... we weren't at the store so we quickly jumped up from our chairs and zoomed in the car to the store just barely beating the other people. #PackageSecured
- Got a call from one of the counselors in our branch presidency asking if we could give talks the day before. Showed up to sacrament thinking I only had 5 maybe 7ish minutes of things to say, but talked for 16 minutes. Honestly surprised myself because I was like, there's no way this could have happened at the beginning of my mission. My comps and the people in my district could easily testify of that. The Lord works wonders for those who are faithfully serving him in his work.
- Had a little Kanikapila session with one of the members after we Ate dinner with them. At the end they sang me "Aloha 'oe" but in Tahitian and it was really touching
- After 3 months of me saying "Dakine" when I forget Elder Hagen finally asked me what it meant and had an "Ohhhhhh" moment. This entire time he thought things were called "Dakine" or someone's name was "Dakine" lol nope it's just something I say when I forget a word or the name of someone or something. Pretty funny because the Tahitians do the same thing but they say "Mea" or "thing" but they use it in the same way, and just as much as me using the word "dakine"
Lowlights:
- Realizing that my time here on Nuku Hiva is slowly coming to a close. Don't know for 100% if I'm staying or leaving but the chances are high I'm outta here this week. We'll see though when we get transfer calls tomorrow. I'm truly grateful for the experience I've had thus far on my mission. Since being in Tahiti I've taken 9 flights and 11 boat rides which still baffles me because I would have never thought of serving in the places I've served or met the people I've met thus far.
Spiritual Thought:
Dans Doctrine et Alliances 6:36 le Seigneur nous a dit, "Tournez-vous vers moi dans chacune de vos pensées; ne doutez pas, ne craignez pas." C'est carrément facile pour nous douter des choses mais il est important pour nous de douter de nos doutes avant de douter de notre foi. N'oubliez pas de tourner vers le Christ, parfois on va prendre un petit détour mais le Christ est toujours là pour nous aide afin qu'on puisse rester sur le bon chemin.
C'est petite, et désolé parce que j'ai eu les écritures juste à côté de moi mais c'était en français, donc j'ai écrit cet petit pensé spiritual en français. Faaitoito ia outou, j'espère que vous pourrez comprendre si non, allez à Google traduction.
"Vents favorables et mer suivants"
"Mata'i haumaru e moana mania"
"Fair winds and following seas"
Ua Here au ia 'oe,
Elder Ellis
Link to my Google Photo's album. Go check um, go check um, go!:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qErFS2eWV3pJGVEV7
Pictures:
1. Ua Huka over looking the airport
2. Nuku Hiva at sunset
3. Where's Waldo, Elder Hagen version
4. Dinner with Auérilien
5. Elder Hagen petting a bull
6. Saying goodbyes to friends
7. Made it back to Nuku Hiva
8. On the top of Ua Huka with Papi Hoka
