Week 2 -- The Romantic Surprise Date night. The beautiful wildlife

Alright so - Week 2 in the bag! 

The Romantic Surprise Date night. 

Our ami, named Chico, missed a lesson with us.  So we decided to drive-by right before our dinner appointment in the Bishop’s truck to schedule another lesson. We get there and Chico is walking out to go out with his friends. The Bishop runs out and tells him to get in the truck.  Then, we drive and pick up a member who was walking on the side of the road.  We then drive to an old man’s house (His name is Papai Eric).   He only speaks Tahitian and lives in this house with an incredible view. We all get out and walk to this man’s yard. And he is sitting the dark singing with his guitar.  Next, he turns on the lights which were strung-up between palm trees, and we can see dinner laid out.   We teach our lesson.  Then when we have to leave for our dinner appointment, an hour late, Chico stays there with the member man, Moana, the Bishop, and Papai Eric.  So, four men on a Friday night sharing a meal in romantic lighting with a killer Tahitian view.  Hahahaha sorry Chico!! 

The beautiful wildlife. So the centipedes decided to make an appearance. Attached is a picture of one that almost made it into the kitchen. Personally, I think they are cuter when they are dead.

  

The work is hard work but good work.  Our baptism that was supposed to be last week, got canceled an hour before it was supposed to happen this week-- on account of personal hesitation.  Simon is so ready for baptism though, and we have spent a ton of time with him and had a really good lesson with him.   The Bishop and our "powerhouse" Stake President, President Pedron gave him a blessing. The blessing he gave him was really amazing and it was such a privilege to be there for this Ami's first experience with priesthood blessings. 

Another Ami, Antonella, told us that we could have another lesson with her the next day, and that she would make us flower crowns for us.  She ended up missing the lesson but left the flower crowns waiting at a friend’s house for us to pick up. haha Tahitian People Priorities.  I saw the biggest man I think I have ever seen in my life, and he is 18. He and his wife just had a baby and we had an awesome lesson about eternal families and the Family a Proclamation to the World.  Lovved it!

The ward is incredible here in Faa'a!!! The Church Bus to and from church is my favorite thing.  We go out with ward members a lot during the week, and the Stake President and Bishop teach lessons with us. It is a lot of Tahitian power.  Also, it is a hard thing to watch the people give us so much food and make us eat so much and then not eating it themselves, and making their kids walk away.  The food has been awesome this week.  One night was a hearty meal of meat, potatoes, meat, and more meat, and several cow hearts(a kind of meat). Not half bad but not as good as pulled pork. Also I had some delicious Açai bowls and Spring Rolls again, wohooo! Plenty of Poisson Cru and some crepes!! Taro is really good as well. 

The other 5 Soeurs that live with me make everything better. Our Sr. from Vanuatu is our mom, and there is a sweet Tahitian in the mix who laughs at my jokes and not my French. How refreshing! They're trying to learn English and I am trying to learn French, it's top. And my QT Soeurs are all so good at singing!! Last night we pulled a mattress outside and ate popcorn and sang to Sr Durrants incredible guitar playing skills, while checking out the beautiful Tahitian night sky. 

Tahitian Tip: Just whatever you do, don’t cut your feet here.  They will never ever heal haha. Too sweaty and dirty for bandages and if it’s in the open the bugs will attack it.  Cool huh

I feel super blessed to be with my companion who works so hard and puts up with me!!!! 

Here's something that pushed me forward this week 

God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.” 

― Neal A. Maxwell

Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.”
― Neal A. Maxwell

I have been so grateful for everyone at home who is a rock for me.  I can feel a ton of perspective seeping into my life everyday, but especially humility.  I have such a strong testimony in the little consistent things that make all the difference: scripture study and prayer.  I also know that the Priesthood is so necessary.  God's Power is the Only Power 

Love you all!!

Sr Spencer

April 16, 2017

The Beginning - in Faa'a
Biggest regrets of the week are when I forget to wear bug spray! 

I am in Faa'a!

I live with air conditioning which is the biggest blessing ever. Regardless of what happens during the day, coming home to air conditioning is incredible. 

So the four main food groups of Tahitians. 1. Poisson Cru 2. Chicken...bones 3. Bread 4. And Red Juice 

The fruit here is soo soo good. We eat Lichée and Pompeuse a ton here. And have Faatamaaraas every night. 

We don't knock doors here and we don't go contacting. We just stand at the edge of their house and yell Lorana!  Not many doors here - just open walls.  

Daily Routine: 

Wake up at 6 and run into the city and around the docks in the harbor. One morning we were in some torrential downpour. We couldn't see but made it home LOL. People looked at us like we were crazy.

Then we do planning and getting ready.  And we do all of that huddled around the air conditioner.
 

Then we have the sisters drive us into our Area - because we live too far away.   Then we walk and talk and kiss every walking thing on the cheek ....and sweat!  And I gawk at the incredible view of the coast and the reef and Moreaa that we can always see from our sector.

We teach about 4 to 6 lessons every day and just talk to every punk kid and angry mom and small child and the "I am super busy" men that we see. And it's crazy that they let us set up lessons with them! Then we go eat 5 servings at a member's house.  

Then we get someone with a car drive us back and we get ready for the next day.

And did I mention we speak a TON of French hahahaha wohoo!

The Dog Fight:  We teach this woman named Antonella, and we just walk over to this bus stop facing the valley jungle and teach her for a hour or 3.  Well this was my first lesson, having just left presidents house. And the lady has a stray dog she named Fiona, like from Shrek (she always tells us).  So we're sitting there and its super hard to hear because motorcycles drive by every minute, and there are lizards and centipedes crawling around the bench (BTW the lizards bark here).  Then her dog, Fiona, starts barking and darts down into the jungle. Then I just hear a ton of dogs fighting down there and dogs crying.  Finally, Fiona comes back up all limping and injured.  Haha how's that for bringing the spirit into the lesson? 

We teach multiple people at that bus stop. We are teaching 7th Day Adventists, Catholics, JDubbs, RLDS people, and Protestants.  What a riot! The Sanitos or RLDS people are tricky and so are the rest but also that could be because I am not yet fluent in French.

We had a great fast with our ami, Chico, to help him stop smoking weed. He is incredible.  He is so willing to try his best and open to learning new things.  He makes me want to be better which is the best.  He came with us to church yesterday in what I call the Swagger Wagon. It is this Truck Bus that comes around our area and picks up everyone for church. Can I just say already I feel so so humbled here.  Our ward has some incredibly devout, hard working, loving members and a lot of them live in deep poverty.  Sitting on that rickety bus with 10 families and our investigators is the best feeling in the world.  I am in love with this ward!

The members work so hard to feed us and come teach investigators.  Big shout out to member missionaries!! 

I think one of the craziest things to me is the mix of cultures here;  The three main cultures here are Chinese, Polynesian, and French. Their foods and work ethics and things they value and languages are so different!  Sometimes I just have to laugh outloud about it.

My Trainer is incredible. Not even half-bad things to say or think about her.  What a woman! Her name is Sr. Durrant,from Logan Utah.  She's been out a year, and she loves playing guitar, and teaching gospel things, and being my companion ;) 

Well, teaching real people is the best, but also I learned some great things in the MTC.  Prayers for all my friends now Teaching R and B converts all over the world.  The fundamentals are huge. And Jesus Christ is our Savior!  Once you come to learn how much he loves you, you can start to understand how much he must love others!

Tuahine Spencer

Meet me at the LAX airport on Monday!

Dear Family and Friends,

I've been thinking about the importance of spiritual salvation.  I think we place too much emphasis on the miracle of healing the body that we forget about the miracle of healing the soul.  With the Lord's help we can all be physicians to another person's broken soul.  We have the power to heal others.  And after this life when we're with God, it'll be the perfect spiritual body we long for, not the physical one.  We all will be resurrected!  That's something I've recognized lately.

It's been a humbling, exciting week.  But I can bet, next week will top that.  

No pictures, plenty of pictures next week.  I can't wait to meet President Bize! 

Family,  thank you so much for all the support here! Thanks for the Dear Elders and the love! 

You can bet I still don't know either French or Tahitian well.  But here I go! 

Something I love about the MTC, and I'll bet the mission too, is we all come from different places and we're very different people.  But... we have the same Savior we're trying to become like, and the same goal to bring others to Christ, so it's smooths out everyone's rough edges and brings us together.  Love my comps and what incredible teachers we've had here! 

Ok, see you in a bit, America! 

Love, 

Tuahine Spencer ​

 

 

So I got reassigned to Nebraska to await my visa!!!

 

 

 

Joshing, April Fools. Tahiti is a week away. 

TRC- We got ourselves a Tahitian woman and a Brother who served in Tahiti couple decades ago.  Awesome opportunity to hear some real Tahitian and to blunder our way through two lessons.  The Brother ended our lesson by letting us know that we're way ahead of him, as far as language goes since he went straight to Tahiti no training.  And helped us to remember who God is expecting us to be.  

Weekly Package- Easter came early! Thanks for the Massive chocolate bunny, Nick Cage Pics, and delicious Nothing Bundt Cakes! 

Ah, grandma thanks so much for the Congo Bars!!! We all snack on those and play bananagrams before bed with the zone.  

​As expected, the fish died.  

Travel Plans! I leave on the 10th of April!

Love this Song-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGhxlPAHOg4

Elder Seaman, the Elder from England, got to go to Salt Lake with all the international missionaries for a day.  I guess everyone in England thinks SLC is the new Zion and it's the perfect city.  So he comes back and we ask him about it, and he was devastated to find out it's kind of trashy.  He took a picture of a hobo outside Temple Square and just couldn't believe that they exist in Utah.  Haha, hard bubble to pop.  

With just the 3 of us in class everyday, we learn a ton of Tahitian.  Granted, understanding it right now is pretty impossible but speaking is coming along! Love these two sisters a lot.  

Really excited to watch conference from the missionary perspective and get some personal revelation!

Until next week!

Love,

Sr. Spencer