14 April 2014 Tiapa
Paea
I don't know why but
this week just felt like an eternity. Don't get me wrong. we've been having a
good time, but when we hit Friday it felt like we had been here for years. Something about this
sector just ages you; I’ll have gray hairs soon. We still haven’t found any new
investigators, but we have a few plans. Well, one plan, left.
We are going to
sponsor Genealogy Jedi for nonmembers and invite everyone. We’ve titled the
phases of our plan "Genealogy a New Hope", "DMP (ward mission
leader) Strikes Back", and "Return of the Investigators". But
seriously, we're pulling straws here. Well, four years ago last week... I kid.
We are doing a concert
right now in all the stakes around Tahiti we are almost done. We have 2 left to
go. I get to sing in a quartet, bass, so that’s pretty cool. It’s normally in
front of TONS of people, so it’s definitely a new experience. We sing lots of songs,
and there is this slideshow going at the same time behind us, so I have no idea
what it shows. It’s all the missionaries on Tahiti and Moorea that sing.
There’s this sister here that I affectionately call the crêpe lady. She’s this big Tahitian and she loves to tease Elder Smith in Tahitian. Every time we visit she makes us crêpes and you have to eat a minimum of 3, and even when you eat three she goes and makes more, even after you say Pa'ia(full). The best part was the first time we went Since Elder Smith didn’t get too much of what she was saying, she just kept funneling him more and more crêpes. Each time he would say "done," she would pour out another one and smack it down on his plate, half on the plate half on the table. Then she would tell him to "faaafaro" (straighten out) the crêpe. Then, after he had eaten 4, she sat down, looked him in the eyes, and said "Faahou Toru?" (Again three?). I was cracking up, I told him to say yes or no. She was loving every minute of it. In the end he said no (It was a good guess ;) ). We encountered her again yesterday at our faatamaraa, and she made him eat 2 bowls of ice cream. This was after she asked him if he had eaten Crocodile in Tahitian. That sister is hilarious.
Normally one or two
times a week we ride all the way into the valley to visit Christian, but he’s
usually not there. It’s ok though because it’s really nice and peaceful in the
jungle.
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| Up in the mountains where no one lives. The rock piles are ruins of an ancient village. This is still our sector, but its nearly uninhabited. |
This week I got to
water a driveway. That’s what most Tahitians do, they just stand with a hose
and let it fall on the driveway. I’m not sure why yet. But I joined in this
week, so I’m officially Tahitian. I bore my testimony in testimony meeting in
Tahitian, and most of our meetings with Bishop and the Faatamaaraas are in full
Tahitian now. So that’s good. Maybe I can hit my goal to be nearly fluent by June.
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| Same place just with all the trees that have flowers. Sometimes I think it's fall, but then I realize its the flowers on trees. |
Ok, Love you all, Have
a good week!
Orometua
Molinari
