2-10-2013

Ahoy there Jensens!

This area is definitely the awesomest!  Lotofago is on the other side of the island from where I was before--maybe like an hour away.  When we were driving to the area, we went through all these mountains.  I was stoked.  It felt like driving through Spanish Fork Canyon or something.  But the mountains are way sicker and steeper, but not as tall.

Our whole zone is crazy pretty in terms of the nature.  We cover the very east side of the island.  It's all like white sandy beaches and cool mountains and sick sunsets and tons of sweet stuff like that.  My area has some sweet waterfalls too--it's tight.  This is the kind of area I've been waiting to get transferred into my whole mission.  It's tight.  I'm way stoked on it.

The work is a little slow right now, but I think it will pick up soon.  Elder Faitau and I are new to the area and don't know anybody, which makes it kind of tough.  But  it's cool.  I'm stoked to still get to be companions with Faitau.  I don't think missionaries usually get transferred together very often.  Cool bones, cool bones.

There's really no investigators right now, but we got a few referrals that we're going to contact so we'll see.  Lotofaga is a small branch, but all the members are crazy strong.  So it's good--I'm stoked to be here.  Me and my comp are still ZL's, so that's alright, I guess.  It  will be cool if the zone is not a bunch of rangoes.  It's all good though.  I can't think of much else to say.  We're still just getting used to the area and the branch, etc.  The mission is tight.  I'm excited to see what is in store in the next few months.

I'll leave you with an old Samoan proverb:  "E le falulafua le niu ae falala ona o le matagi."  Translation:  "The coconut tree doesn't lean for no reason at all, it leans because of the wind."

Elder Johansen

2-4-13

Hey There!

This week has been busy, but it's been good.  News on the transfers--I'm leaving Lepale and Leauva'a and moving to the backside of the island to Lotofaga.  The great thing is that I'm staying together with my companion, Elder Faitau.  So that's tight.  I don't think that happens very often, so I'm stoked.  Faitau is freakin' cool.  Plus, he doesn't know English, so my Samoan is getting top bones.

Yeah, but this week was tight.  Our baptisms were way good.  I got to do the one for Tino, in Lepale.  Me, my comp and two other missionaries did a special muscial number--it was the sweetest.  Tino is the man.  He already wants to serve a mission.  Him and his brother, Tavita, who is also a recent convert, are going to start attending mission prep and are stoked for missions.  And their little sister, Selina, who is 16, said she wants to serve a mission too.  Their family is freakin' tight.  

The baptisms for Faani, Too and Eti in Leauva'a were also way cool.  It's been a true blessing to serve in this area.

Oh yeah, at one of our meal appointments this week, the family gave us coffee to drink.  Haha, my comp drank it first and realized what it was and he was like, "It's coffee dude!"  These guys really pranked us good.  I guess that's what happens when your area is full of weak members.  Nah, but it was funny.

Also, last night we said goodbye to our family that we've been working with--Falaniko, Lipoi, Aukusitiao, Tavita, Selina, Tagilima and Amelia.  It's been a blessing to me to be able to work with this family.  They've been prepared by the Lord for this great work and it's been awesome to see these people converted to the gospel.  These are some of the most humble, kind and loving people I have ever met.  Saying goodbye to this family was one of the hardest things I've had to do on my mission.  I've been really blessed to be a part of this great work.

The time really is so short.  I'm just trying my hardest to make the best of it and be the best missionary I can be.  I don't know what's in store for me and Faitau in Lotofaga, but I'm sure it will be sweet too.

Anyways, I'll leave you dudes with a sweet quote and perhaps some satisfaction to Dad because I am finally converted to his dislike of behaviorism:

"When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed...The Lord works from the inside out.  The world works from the outside in.  The world would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mould them by changing their environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature...Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world."  

--President Ezra Taft Benson

Get on your horse and ride,

Elder Johansen

1-12-13

Chu-Chuh Eewa there my good friends!

Not much went down this week really.  We had a bunch of meetings and stuff.  It was all just the same ol same ol.  We had our ZL meeting, which is always like literally all day.  They talk about the same stuff every month, but it goes from like 9:00 am to 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon.  The only reason it is cool is that we get sloppy joes after and then I chill with all the bros from my mtc.  Everyone from my mtc group are ZLs now, so it's cool to see those guys every once in a while.  

The work is still pretty slow.  Both our wards are way weak.  There's hardly anyone that has the priesthood.  We pretty much bless the sacrament all the time cause no one shows up.  They say the sacrament prayer like they're giving a speech.  It has all these crazy fluctuations of the voice like at the beginning, "Oh God, the Eternal Father..." you're like shouting and then when you get to "...we ask Thee in the name of thy Son..." it is like a quiet whisper.  I'm still getting the hang of it.  They incorporate the cultural stuf like that into like everything in the church.  Sometimes it's good and then sometimes it's not.  The Samoan cultural stuff is pretty strong in some villages.  It makes the work hard sometimes.  I guess it's sort of hard to explain.  It's a whole different world out here.

This week we went on a split with elders in our zone.  My comp stayed in Lepale and I went with one of the missionaries in Lemoli.  I was way stoked on it the whole time.  The work in their area is the best.  We picked up like two new investigators and taught a bunch of lessons and got a ton of referrals in just a few short hours.  It's basically cause the members are strong and willing to help out the missionaries.  Our area is just working with inactives all day.  It's cool though.

This week was sort of crazy too cause we've been getting a ton of reports about two missionaries in our zone.  We've been meeting with their bishops and speaking to the missionaries to try and help them, but it hasn't done much.  And then we found out that they had been drinking Ava Samoa with their ward mission leader and one of the families in the ward.  Ava Samoa is against the Word of Wisdom, so it's bad news.  Anyways, the mission president is dealing with their case, but most likely they'll get sent home cause a ton of other stuff has happened too.  It's a bummer.  You sort of just wish that missionaries would just be righteous and stuff like that.

But it's all good.  For zone meeting we played the Water in the Face game.  Everyone was stoked on it.  When it was my turn to go up, I made my topic, "Who is the most annoying missionary in the mission?"  And then Elder Massey, the brand new white kid, guessed Elder Faitau, my companion.  Haha, and then I splashed him in the face.  Our zone is tight.  I'm stoked on it.  My comp was all surly when he found it was him I was thinking of.  Haha, my comp is cool.  I'm way stoked on him.

Let's see...Uhhh...Our power is out again.  The power barely turned on at our house in Leauva'a, but then the next day we moved back to Lepale where there is no power and running water.  And we forgot to buy candles, so once it gets dark, we just go to bed.  So we've been going to bed super early lately and then just doing our planning in the morning.

Not much happened this week.  We're just trying to find new people to teach.  It's tough bones, but it's all good.  I'll leave you with an old Samoan proverb I learned this week:  "E le tau masina ma tamali'i," which means "With gentlemen, one does not argue about the moon."

Stay cool, 

Elder Johansen