Well somehow it’s been more than a year now. Don't really know how that happened.
This week we found 6 new investigators, I think it’s the first time in my mission I found that many in one week. One of them was a lesson from our port à port sessions on the other side of the island. The two others were..I guess port à port as well, but it was just people we talked to on our way to visit a member’s house.
4 of these new investigators were found in a single lesson, it was like I was watching a TV show or something during the lesson. It was the first lesson. So we sit down, with this guy named Tauirai Tino (changeheaven body) and we start talking and his friend comes over - we didn’t get the name- his friend is just a little bit drunk, that "I had a vodka cruiser before breakfast" kind of drunk, and he joins us in our lesson.
Of course this is your average middle-of-the-jungle, wooden-benches-outside kind of lesson. Then they start arguing about the meaning of their name, because they are cousins, then all of a sudden, the argument gets serious and the big guy Tino says, "excuse us Elders we gotta go clear this up". So he grabs the guy and brings him over to where we can't see them.
While this is going on another friend, Maui, comes along and sits down in our bench circle. He told us not to worry about it cuz they are like that all the time.
Then Tino comes back and sits down and we continue the lesson. I think this guy was talked to by Jehovah’s Witnesses or something cuz he talks about the 144,000 chosen. We counter it with John 3:16, Christ came to save everyone, and we continue. At about this time two more people come walking by - a couple- and say hello as they pass. Then all of a sudden, the man turns around and says they are going to stay as well and they sit down.
Their names are Mickey and Philemon. During this, Tino's nephew also wandered over and sat down. So all of a sudden we go from this lesson to a sermon for this group of people. Keep in mind this was all in Tahitian as well. So we talked about the first vision and Book of Mormon, and the spirit was really strong. Then at the end we fixed another time for next week. They called me Orometua-which is a title of honor here- then we left.
We got to the bottom of the hill and I turned to Elder Peterson and said, "what just happened?" We didn’t really know it was quite a bizarre, yet awesome experience. 4 New investigators in one lesson. Thank you Heavenly Father.
Other than that, we are just continuing with our tracting sessions, and praying for more miracles like that.
We've inspired our third companion, Elder Lee Chip Sao to learn Tahitian. Hopefully, he will follow through with it. Tahitian is just such a weird language anything done in it feels surreal. Maybe it’s just the fact that it’s such an oddity that white people are walking around talking about Jesus in Tahitian...That’s probably it.
That was probably the most "stand out" experience this week. I laughed quite a bit at Kirstin's Japan-bicycle-mami experience (ed. note: check out his sister's blog @ molinariintokyo@blogspot.com or use the link right over there ===> in the side bar). Sounds like she got a little taste of what the island life is like here :)
What else...
I don't really see the ward division happening. There’re too many inactives, and I feel like there are not enough tithe paying priesthood holders to actually create a ward in ANAU. Maybe a branch...? We've been port à porting there because we think the Lord will help us find his future ward leaders for ANAU since there is not enough member/church exposure on that side of the island.
Most of the OLB's (ed. note: ???) we do are with very nice people...I hope they read those brochures!!!!!
The problem is everyone was waiting for the division. Then when it didn’t happen, people got discouraged. If it doesn’t happen again I feel like the members will just get even more demotivated.
Personally, I feel like a division is something that everyone needs to work for and not just something that happens from time to time. We haven’t merited it yet in my opinion. I think everyone wants it to happen just to cut the number of inactives down. "We'll give everyone 200 and see what happens after!" My goodness, not exactly a division if you ask me.
Well...sorry I don’t mean to be negative, just realistic.
We might have transfers here soon. Well probably, because president said it’s a waste of a team of missionaries to do 3-3 (ed. note: 2 companionships of 3 instead of 3 companionships of 2). So I think the Elders of FAANUI might be going or Elder Joly because he finishes next week. Then he'll slide over one of them and transfer the other. Either way we will know this week!
Hope you all have a good week!
We are going to hike up the giant mountain today, so I’ll send pictures later hopefully.
Elder Molinari
