Transfers

So not a lot happened this week. We had a good amount of lessons and
we found some new investigators. This week will be tough though because
it's vacation for the schools and everyones leaving. We have 3-4
investigators who will be gone. We fasted with Teahi this last week. 

He was able to go 24 hours without smoking. It was awesome. 

His baptism will be next Monday. The power of fasting is amazing.

Last night I got a call from the assistants and it was for my
transfer. They told me I am going to Rangiroa!! It's part of the Tuamotu islands. My new comp 

will be Elder White who just finished as assistant. Rangiroa is the biggest
atoll in the world. An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim that encircles a 

lagoon partially or completely. It's about 214 miles away from Tahiti. 

We have to fly there. There are two branches and they're on opposite

sides of each other. The whole island of Tahiti can fit inside the
lagoon. There are only two missionaries there and I'm pretty sure
there's a boat there just for the missionaries to travel from each
side. Its the paradise of Tahiti. Its one of the prettiest islands. If you go to google maps and

type "rangiroa" and then look at in satellite mode you'll see what an atoll looks like. It's 

Crazy to think people actually live on these.
I'm so excited to leave. But I'm going to miss elder warren and the ward here.

Anyways thats about it. I love you all. Talk to you guys next week!

Elder Cole Porter

Rangiroa from the sky.

Another map of French Polynesia. I'll be in the Tuamotu islands. On the atoll of Rangiroa

Aerial view of Rangiroa. You can see how it's a giant ring of coral land surrounded by the ocean,

Both inside and out.

Righteous fury

Hey Everybody!!!

This week was good. We've had a lot of improvement in our numbers so that's awesome.

There was one interesting thing that happened this week. The
investigator that we've worked with the longest is named Tumata. She
wants to get baptized but she lives with her boyfriend they aren't married. We have invited them to
get married but they keep procrastinating. It's very frustrating. I
invited them in December to pray about it and they still hadn't done it this last
Tuesday when we met with them. So there are two techniques we could
have used...very nice flattery and pleading or....to cry repentance
and bring down righteous fury. We chose the second. We hit them with
every soul cutting scripture we could find. I love this family very
much but they are a little lazy. They both know they need to get married
so the girlfriend can get baptized. The boyfriend is a member, but he's inactive and
wants to put off marriage for as long as possible. Tumata wants
marriage but Jean-Claude made up every excuse in the book. We shot
down each excuse until he couldnt deny it anymore. So we left them to
pray about marriage and hopefully we'll see a difference by this next
lesson. Elder Warren and I brought our game faces to that lesson. The Spirit
was the strongest I've felt here. It was awesome.

Anyways, that's about it. Elder Warren and I are hoping to see high
numbers this week and we're gonna work super hard to achieve them.
We have an Awesome companionship!!!


Love you all!!! Talk to you all next week.

Orometua Porter

I love Faaripo

Hey Everybody!! Bonjour tout  le monde!!!

Everythings awesome here in Faaripo! Elder Warren and I had an awesome
week! We taught a lot of lessons and we have two fixed baptisms which
are this sectors first fixed baptisms in a long time!
The first one is with a young adult named Teahi. He came to us because
a friend of his talked to him and he became interested in the church.
He especially wanted to stop smoking. He was smoking, at minimum, 20
cigarettes a day. After two lessons and about a week he's down to  5-7 a
day!! Its amazing! He knows this church is true and we are planning
his baptism for the 30 of March.
The other baptism is for an 11 yr old named Moeata. Her mom is
excommunicated and on her way to return to the church. She has a lot of 
difficulty learning and paying attention. So It's been a challenge. Funny
story...everyone in her family
but her came to church today. We asked her mom where she was and
get this....she said...." Moeata talked back alot this week and she
wouldn't do her chores so she's grounded from church, lessons, and her
baptism......" thats a new one!!! We had to explain that even though
talking back was not good...sacrificing eternal salvation was not an
appropriate punishment. Luckily we were able to explain and
everythings good now! Her baptism will be April 4!

Also, my worst nightmare happened last sunday. The ward pianist didn't 
show up so I was asked to play. I didn't know the first song so that
was terrible. Luckily I was able to play the sacrament hymn....but
then....disaster struck...I was sitting at the piano thinking I was in
the clear....when someone in the relief society presidency handed me a
piece of paper and asked me to play 4 songs. Apparently it was the
relief society program and I became the pianist. Needless to say that
I messed up a lot because they were all hard songs that I didn't know very well. And I haven't been able to really practice piano since my mission started. It
was so bad...I'm still scarred...but I did figure out that I should
have learned "As Sisters in Zion" before my mission.

We also got a new DMP ( ward mission leader)! His name is Eddy
Colombel and he's the ideal polynesian man. He's big, strong,
charitable, and hardworking! We are so excited to work with him!!

This week Elder Warren and I studied obedience. I learned a lot about
it but the most important aspect is our desire, our will to serve the
Lord. If we obey just because we don't want to disobey we won't recieve
the greatest amount of blessings. We need to obey because our will
reflects the will of the Savior.
In this way, we will be changed and we will put off the natural man.

Well thats about it...we're hoping for an awesome week! We want two or
three more fixed baptisms. Im really excited!!

I love you all! Thanks for all your support!! See you all next week!

Elder Cole Porter

Pictures of what a primary activity day looks like in Tahiti...

Working hard

Hey everybody!!!

I don't have a lot of time but I want you all to know that this week
was super awesome!!! Its one of the most successful weeks this area
has seen in a very long time! We found 5 new investigators and some of
them have the potential to be baptized very soon! It was such a busy
week and the most lessons we've ever had!! And This week should be equal
or even better!!!

We also had the baptism for Rarani on Saturday! She was excommunicated
and we helped her alot. The baptism was awesome and she was very
happy. I was so excited!! Her and her husband have also been helping 
us to find new investigators!

Elder Warren and I have worked super hard this week and it was amazing to
see the efforts. I hope this week will be just as good!!!

Elder Warren also gave me a haircut that my mom would absolutely HATE, but us missionaries just have to make do being our own barbers!

I love you all!!!! Thanks for all you do and for all the support!!

Love Elder Porter

Me and Elder Warren witnessing Rarani's baptism

Rarani and her husband

Food after the baptism.

New investigators!

Bonjour Tout le Monde! Hi everybody!

 

This week was awesome!!!! We weren't incredibly busy but we were incredibly productive and we got some of the best numbers that this area has had in a long time!! We found out Tuesday that an excommunicated member that we've taught for 4 months is getting baptized this Saturday! Her name is Rarani. It's not technically an investigator baptism but I'm going to count it because We've taught her a billion lessons about the Word of Wisdom and she said (and I don't mean to brag but) that we helped her overcome her smoking addiction. It was amazing to hear. Then on Wednesday we taught a giant lesson to 1 inactive member, 2 excommunicated members, and 2 new investigators!! And the 2 investigators were really interested and they agreed to read the book of mormon! One investigator is called Ismaëla and she's about 25 and she's catholic and very nice. The other new "ami" (its french for investigator) is called Moeata and she's 10 and she came to church Sunday! Then on Friday we had such a cool lesson! While on splits we contacted a man named Cédric Vidal. His wifes in the relief society presidency. So we had a lesson on friday and we learned that he's a permanent jurist in theTahitian  business court, then he teaches business classes at the university, and he's studying right now for his PHD! He's also an avid surfer and paddle boarder! At the very beginning of the lesson he told us that he's very willing to get baptized if he feels that this Church is true. He also told us he only likes mormon missionaries and he feels that our Church has blessed his family so much because his wife and daughter are members. He told us how much he loved the Tahiti Papeete Temple Open House and that he recieved the most powerful feelings in the temple! He's so prepared! We had an awesome lesson with him and then he agreed to go to Church next sunday cause its the primary program and his daughter will be in it! Elder Warren and I were so happy to here that! One of the coolest lessons so far!!!! We also have 5 people who agreed to do lessons with us this week!!!! I'm so excited!!!!

 

 

I love you all!!!! I'm so happy to be a missionary here in paradise!!

 

 

Love Elder Porter

Elder Warren, Rarani, and Me

Elder Warren, Elder Langlois, Rarani's husband, Rarani, and me