FIRE ANTS!

Well I got to do my first service project last week and let me tell you, it was a blast. We basically did some yard work and they had me climb into a tree to cut some branches and long story short, the tree was infested with fire ants and they got all over me, it was pretty funny! I'm fine but they itch like crazy. According to my companion (Elder Fa' Amuli) sorry for not mentioning that before, anyways according to him we had a great and busy week. The ward we are in charge of is called "Morning Sun". Since it was my first full week I didn't know what to compare our level of service to, but he has been in this area for 4 1/2 months now and he told me how slow the work had been before I got here. We have 4 current investigators, who are never home and I have only taught 1 lesson so far, but, so far the mission experience has been so much fun. I realized throughout the week that I sounded off in my last email, although it's true that I dislike talking to people I absolutely love and value what they have to say, and I love listening. I know that throughout my mission I will become more comfortable talking to people, but for now that is the biggest difficulty that I have. The time that I was called to come, was and is definitely a blessing for many reasons. One of the greatest reasons is that its winter and "cold?" haha!!! Just kidding. But instead it's the fact that it's the holidays and people are more willing to talk to us. We actually have a card with a video link on it, so I can talk about that with them, because my thing is I just have nothing to talk about, so I am very grateful for this time of year.

 

Elder Fa'Amuli

The initiative we have, is to share an awesome video message about Christmas and Jesus Christ with as many as are willing to watch it and  to hear what we have to say about it. I'm sure you've seen it or at least heard about it, it's called "He is the Gift".

My thoughts on the video, well, it shows how great Jesus was, is and ever will be. It also shows how and why our gospel is centered on Him. Everything we have is because of Him, we know how to show love, kindness, mercy and understanding. I mentioned it in my farewell talk about how great his example is, how following his example makes us all better people. I tell people who don't believe in Him that even if you don't believe in Him, Jesus was a real person, that fact is undeniable, and His acts of love, charity, humility, patience, meekness, and overall joy help us now to understand how to have more joy in ourselves. I love the Christmas season and hope you and the family are enjoying this wonderful time of year.  I run the risk of sounding like a true missionary when I ask; If you will make the time to watch this video with the family and share your thoughts and feelings about it, you could even use mine if you feel inclined, but I know that if you do watch the video with the family and express your appreciation for Him, with them that you all will be blessed throughout the season.


I love you all so much and hope you know that I am having so much fun out here. Thank you again for all the love and support.



Here are pictures from my house.  Yep, it looks like 4 guys live here.

Added by Suzie - One of these is his house where he sleeps and one is where he eats lunch, but I can't tell you which is which.