I’m getting transferred tomorrow.

3 March 2014 Uturoa, Raiatea

Hello!

I'm getting transferred tomorrow. I will miss Raiatea, but it gets a little tiring when you teach the same people for half a year with no progression. I’ve left the ward better than when I came, with the spirits help, and I’m going to be on Tahiti. Just outside out of the city – Paea. I guess you can call it the county and the city is Tiapa. My companion is Elder Lovelock an Australian. 

I literally know nothing about the zone, other than it's mostly sisters. There are the zone leaders, the district leaders then it's all companionships of sisters, about 6, I think? So it's a little different than your average mission zone.

Raiatea was awesome, but I'm looking forward to the change. I know I will miss here when I'm there. That's for sure. I think the missionary I'm switching with is currently serving in his home stake. That's the problem. But this transfer is enormous as well. Transfers here are weird. It's not like a normal mission.

Ariipaea et moi

This is my favorite investigator, he's a little bit handicapped and I'm gonna miss him a ton! He's got this weird condition with his skin as well where he can't really sweat. I think I'm the first missionary that's actually taught him and taken him seriously. He has all the 10 commandments memorized and he has memorized "I will go and do the things the Lord commands!" It's great!

Souer Guillan and Elder Purdy

We went on a hike to the 3 waterfalls of Raiatea, there are a lot more but theses are the 3 waterfalls everyone visits. It was a hike really similar to when we go to Letchworth or Stoney Brook.

Bamboo thicket

The jungle is pretty thick. We need bamboo like this in our yard.

 This is a Mapae tree or in Tahitian - tumu mapae

Big waterfall. In Tahitian - he'e pape (slip water)

This is 2. I didn't get to see 3. We didn't have enough time,
but apparently, it is bigger than this one.

In my new assignment I'll be in a house with the zone leaders. It's the 4 of us. Everyone says that's a blast. It's interesting; the general consensus here is the outer islands are awesome, but Tahiti is a little more fun because the work is faster and you get to see all the other elders and live in a house with other people. 

I'm not in the CITY city, just outside in what we would call Tahitian suburbs? We are on bikes . The zone leaders are in a car. 

I can speak in Tahitian now, kind of. It’s good enough that I can basically make it through a lesson, or first contact without getting too lost. I can have conversations with the mamis and papis and teach now. So the Tahitian is good enough that I’ll be able to progress at Tahiti. If you don’t speak any at all, it’s difficult to learn there. But if you already speak a decent amount you can find people that speak and get better. That’s what I plan to do. I kind of feel like a rebel missionary right now, because I’m not exactly on board with the new vision. 

The new missionaries arrive the end of March. I have a feeling I'm going to be there for 3 weeks and then train there.

Cargo ship that sails between Tahiti and Raiatea.
My luggage and bike will go to Tahiti on this.

I'll finally get my package from home when I get to Tahiti, I think.

Elder Demuyck is staying and he doesn't know everything he needs to. He has only been here two weeks and one of those we spent on Tahiti. I wrote everything down on a paper for him: all our investigators, all our contacts, all the numbers and all the families that work with us. The last few days I have been giving him a tour of our sector. 

I'm pretty sure they  have AC in Tahiti. All the houses in Tahiti have AC pretty much. My face is red because we spent a lot of time on our bikes this week and ONE day I forgot to put on sunscreen. GAH! Oh well, the second coming will happen before I can suffer from skin cancer at a good old age. 

It's a bummer I only served with Elder Demuynck a couple weeks. We have almost exactly the same mind set and vision. And almost all the same interests. He will actually come out with me and look at the stars. Last night it was incredible, you could see the arm of the Milky Way galaxy! The camera can't quite capture it though. It's sad. Things like that you can only see to experience it.

Ok, well I have to go! 

Love you all! I'll email you again from Tahiti xD