Transfers

Well the news is in everybody. I'm getting transfered to Pira'e 1 at Tahiti. Its not a big sector but the ward is really good and the house has air conditioning so that will be nice. My new companion will be Elder Jessop. I don't know where he's from but he's finishing in just 6 weeks. 

 

Not a lot has happened this week. We didn't have a lot of lessons because the vacation is still going on. We did however have a missionary activity this weekend. We planned a fireside for sunday night about the restoration. So saturd​ay we planned to go Knock on doors and handout invitations. But only two members showed up to pass out invitations. Our ward mission leader and the branch president. We went out anyways and had a good time. So sunday night we were waiting for people to show up but no one came so we decided to start and just do a quick lesson for the members who were there. But about 15 minutes into the fireside a french professor showed up. He was really interested in the message but he said he was moving to France on Tuesday so he couldn't start lessons. He accepted A book of Mormon and hopefully he'll read it and talk to some missionaries in France.

 

I'm very grateful for work. I know it's something my dad never thought he would hear from me, but being on a mission has taught me that work brings happiness into life. Idleness brings nothing. The weeks where there's no work are always harder than the weeks where you work everyday. I never want to be put into an easy sector. I want to be put into hard sectors where you have to bike all day and there's always something to do. Work is important because its the second ingredient to Faith. In James we learn that faith without works is dead. Faith is not merely a belief or hope. Faith is a strong belief in Christ that leads to works. We are blessed after our faith is shown or after we have acted. This is why work brings happiness, work is how we recieve blessings.

 I love you all!!!! Have a good week!!!

Love,

Elder Porter

A normal week!

This week was just pretty normal. Nothing too exciting happened. The weather calmed down a bit and I got my bike back so I'm a happy boy! 

 

School just ended here so all the parents were really busy this week and there was a big party on Friday that everyone goes to. Lessons here are going to drop soon because the vacation has started and basically everyone leaves the island. People go to Tahiti or other islands, some go to different parts of Rangiroa to collect coconuts, and some just want to stop lessons because its vacation...Its already starting to happen but it will get worse in July. 

 

 We did our last lesson with the adventist man yesterday. It went well but we decided it was the last time we were gonna go there. His wife gave the closing prayer and it was addressed to us. She prayed that we would see the light and that we would repent and become adventist . They laughed about it afterwards and they joked about how we were gonna get baptized. I gave a polite chuckle but in my head I was like "HA! yeah right! Maybe in...never!" they don't  understand that for me to change and deny what I know...I'd have to deny who I am and deny basically everything I know to be true. I laughed but I didn't think it was funny. We work hard to help these people and we want to see results now,  but sometimes we just got to let them go till they are ready. 

I love you all and I hope you all have a good week.

Love, elder Porter

Me, at the marina

My comp, Elder Palombo

A stormy day at the marina

Gale force winds, big men, and beach cruisers should not mix

So this week was interesting. To explain this week a little...here in the Tuamotus there's a superstition that when it rains it means that someone died. This last Tuesday, three old papis from Tiputa died which is a big deal, especially because theres only like 300-400 people there. The superstition says that after a death it rains and becomes super stormy for a week or two. And holy cow is it true!!  I've never seen more bizarre weather. For the past 4 days this is how the weather is, It rains incredibly hard for 20 minutes, then it becomes super hot and sunny for another 20, then rainy, then sunny, etc....and the Wind is super powerful!!! My legs have never been so exhausted. Beach cruisers are not built to withstand or even work against this kind of Wind. Luckily my regular bike is fixed and its arriving by boat this wednesday. 

​We had a couple of cool lessons this week. We did a lesson with the Adventist man​ yesterday. It went good. He's starting to soften and hopefully he'll recieve an answer to his prayers soon. 

We also started doing lessons with a man named Calford. He's crippled and in a wheel chair. He's Catholic and he understands the Bible amazingly so he sees the problems of the Catholic Church. His heart is turned toward God and the Lord and we have high hopes for him. We taught Moerava and Michel this week. Moerava is an investigator and she's super nice and extremely ready to get baptized. Her fiance Michel, is excommunicated but he's ready to get rebaptized. But They have to get married first. Their marriage is in july and thenthey're  going to be baptized on her birthday which is august 14. So wednesday we taught them at 6:00 and then we were going to go eat afterwards. We didn't have a lot of money so we were going to go get these sandwhiches which are alright but we've eaten them alot and as we were going to go eat, Moerava and Michel called us and invited us to eat with them at a really good restaurant. I wanted to cry because they were so nice. People here are so giving and loving.

One thing I've learned on my mission is that some people have an incorrect view of repentance. Sometimes we think that repentance is for after we have sinned or for after we have overcome the sin. But repentance is a change of heart, its for people who are struggling with sin right now. A lot of people procrastinate repentance because they want to be ready or worthy, but repentance is how we change. It's how we become worthy and clean. Its our job as missionaries to teach people that the love of God is extended to all who reach out to grab His hand.  His grace is sufficient for all those who humble themselves before him. I know He loves us and that He wants to forgive. 

I love you all! Talk to you all next week!

Elder Porter

I was finally able to send one picture out...

Broken bikes are the worst!!

This week was hard and humbling!!
I had like 5 flat tires, then my bike exploded entirely, then I wrecked a members bike, and then I broke another bike that belonged to a different member!!!!  The member said it was okay...it was going to break soon anyways...we actually had to fix it so I could use it but then it broke afterwards. So then I had to send my bike to papeete to get repaired...so I'm using an old beach cruiser right now to get places, but it doesn't work right and is super hard to pedal. Then our oven broke so we couldn't eat, our power was out for a day, and a lot of our lessons cancelled. It just all kind of piled up. I prayed two weeks ago to be humbled and I think this was the Lord answering my prayer.

We had some cool lessons this week. We had another lesson with the Adventist man. It was interesting. I understand now what the scriptures mean when they talk about hard hearts, blind eyes, and deaf ears. He only sees what he wants to see. We are trying really hard to change him, but its difficult. 

We had a lesson with a man named Tiriitua. He's really really really poor!! Rangiroa is a very poor place but Tiriitua is probably the poorest person here. He can only speak Tahitian and he can't read, write, or pray. We do lessons with him because I don't believe that there's alot of happiness in his life. I've done 2 lessons a week with him ever since I got here and for the first time last Friday he told us thanks, and it was sincere. We're trying to find him some church clothes right now so that he can come to church. He only owns two pieces of clothing... jean shorts and a flannel shirt. He's too embarrassed to come to church in them so we're gonna find him some stuff. I have an old pair of church pants and church shirt that are to big for me now, but we think will fit him so we're going to see if he'll wear them. I hope he'll come to church so he can feel the love and spirit of the other members. 

This week I found comfort in the Book of Mormon. It was a hard week for me but when I read in the  Book of Mormon, a special peace entered my soul that only comes from the Book of Mormon. I'm so grateful for that book and the peace and guidance it brings to my life. I know it's true and I know that this church is true!! 

I love you all and I hope you all have a good week! 

Love, Elder porter

Other benefits

First off some big news! Elder Palombo and I did our first official weigh in! I've lost a total of 40 pounds since I started my mission and 15 pounds since I arrived here in rangiroa. Elder Palombo and I started an insanity schedule and we do insanity now 5 times a week! but I'm not giving any more updates till I leave Rangiroa. it'll be a surprise! 

So this week was pretty normal! We had a lot of lessons cancel which was frustrating but we still had some really cool lessons! Yesterday we met with an adventist couple who are very strong in the bible and for an hour and a half we "discussed" the bible and what the bible teaches. It was so much fun. They weren't contentious like other people here. It was a very fun, friendly discussion. They invited us to come back thursday. We are gonna try to get them to read the Book of Mormon. 

There was a cruise boat that came to Rangiroa and we met a lot of Americans, especially from Cali! It was fun to talk to them and some even knew who we were. 

That's it for this week. Love you all.

Elder Porter

Fugu

Hey Everybody! Hows it going? Everything's good here in Rangiroa! This week was busy and crazy fun! Elder Palombo and I worked really hard and we were able to fix 3 baptisms. We had an awesome week!

 

We had a lesson with one investigator and he wants to get baptized but he needs to get married first. Him and his girlfriend were hesitant at first and wanted to get married next year. We told him that he needs to get married as soon as possible so he can receive the blessings of baptism. He felt the Spirit really strong and decided that he wanted to get married on August 14, his sons birthday. It's amazing how the spirit can move you to action.

 

We had a lesson with Teanuanua, an 18 year old soccer player. We had our first lesson with him 2 weeks ago. He immediately knew it was true and when we met with him for another lesson yesterday, he told us he read the book of mormon every morning and night since the first lesson. He also told us he quit drinking beer. We hadn't even discussed the word of wisdom with him yet,  but he decided on his own that he wanted to quit so he did!!! And he agreed to baptism yesterday! such a cool investigator!

 

Friday we were at the other part of Rangiroa and we ran into a German tourist. He started talking to us about things to see here on the island and then he asked us about our Church. He said he's been traveling for two years and that he lived in Bolivia for awhile so he speaks Spanish. He told us that he tried to take the missionary lessons there in Bolivia but the missionaries couldn't come to his house. The whole time we were talking to him we were talking in English. It was so difficult. I haven't spoke English in 6 months. I said "like" like a billion times. I could just imagine President Pugmire standing there and shaking his head every time I said it. He was very curious and he said that he was going to look up Mormon.organd take lessons when he returned to Germany. It was a super cool experience.

I had a phone interview with president Bize last night and he said I'll probably stay on Rangiroa until September. Partly because the work is going so great here on this tiny island and because our two investigators asked me to baptize them in August. AND partly because our two little branches need me to play piano for them every Sunday. YES, my mom was right! I can't tell you how many times I'd  start to complain about practicing piano and she'd say "Honey...someday when you're on your mission you'll be grateful you know how to play". Thanks mom!

Remember a few weeks ago how I told you one of our investigators promised to make us Fugu (blowfish) for dinner? It's a poisonous fish, but they have a secret family recipe. Well, they made it for us. It was delicious!!! Here's the before and after pictures....

Fugu before it's cooked.

Fugu after. It doesn't look pretty but it was delicious!!

Love you all!

Elder Porter

Transfers

Hey everybody! Hows it goin! Its goin good here in paradise! 

 

Elder White left yesterday for Papeete. He'll be home in Provo by Wednesday. My new comp is Elder Palombo from Spansih Fork Utah. He's awesome and he will be finishing in August and then going home. This week was awesome! We taught a good amount of lessons and we have some really cool investigators! 

 

Firstly, we had Manutea's baptism Saturday. It was amazing! The Spirit was really strong and his family is interested in the lessons now. They said is was so much better than the baptisms they've gone to before for people of other  religions. Elder White got to baptize him in the ocean. Lucky dog! 

 

We fixed a baptism with Moerava one of our other investigators. She's getting married in july so her baptism will be in august. She's become a really smart and hardworking investigator. She reads everything she can get a hold of on the gospel Library app. She even read a little bit of Preach My Gospel. 

 

Everything's going really good here. It's really cool to see people recognize the different spirit and atmosphere of this Church. Its sometimes hard for us to recognize the Spirit cause we are so used to it but people who have rarely felt it get hit with extreme amounts of joy and peace. It testifys to them that this is the true Church. 

On a different note, some of the things my family was asking about when we skyped on Mother's Day were: 

Where do you live on the island? 

We live in a little house on the more populated side of the island. We don't have air conditioning and we have to keep all the doors and windows shut tight because people like to look into our home and for security reasons. It makes our home extremely hot and humid inside! We don't have a shower inside the home so we shower outside with a hose. There's and old Chinese man that watches us, but whatever! 

How big are the branches on the island?

There are two branches, the Avatoru branch and the Tiputa branch. We have to take a boat to the Tiputa part of the island everytime we go over there. The Avatoru branch has about 100 members, but only 40 attend church. The Tiputa branch has about 20 members and 10 attend church. When we're at the Tiputa branch it's like the "LDS elders show". We bless and pass the sacrament and then we give the talks in sacrament. Oh, and I also play the piano for all the hymns. We're going to ask President Bize to send some "senior couple missionaries" to that branch to help build up the priesthood leadership.

Are you always sweaty?

YES! We are constantly wet and sweaty!! There's no avoiding it. It rains everyday and it's hot and we're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

What language do you speak the most of on the island of Rangiroa?

We mostly speak French, but we also speak Tahitian to a few people. The younger generation of French Polynesia doesn't know how to speak Tahitian as well as the older generation. What you'll find in a family is that the children only speak French, the parents speak mostly French, but also Tahitian, and the grandparents mostly (or only) speak Tahitian, with a little French. 

Those are just a few of the questions I've been asked. 

 

I love you all! Talk to you next week!!!

Love,

Elder Porter

   Me and Elder White at the airport saying goodbye as Elder White flies home to Utah!