Talofa!
Well everyone it has been another wonderful week in the
island of Tuvalu. It looks like our two weeks of "winter" are
over and now it's heading back into summer!
This week has been really
good. We have been working hard and we are seeing a lot of progress with
the work. We have quite a few investigators who have accepted the
invitation to be baptized! Now our only problem is getting them to really
mean it and come to church! Haha gotta love Tuvaluans:)
Our
investigator S____ is doing so good! After more than 20 years of a smoking
habit, she has quit for an entire week. She is doing great and working so
hard to quit, and she says that she feels better than ever by quitting! I
am way proud of her and all the work she is doing. I know that she is
putting her faith in Jesus Christ completely as she tries to get rid of
something she has relied on for a very long time. But it is great to see
her truly happy and smiling now:)
We have a missionary couple from Suva doing an auditing
thing here so we have been showing them around the island and helping them
out. Their name is Elder and Sister Martin and they are from downtown
Salt Lake City (like so downtown they have apostles in their ward). They
had mopeds back in Utah which was perfect because they had to rent a scooter to
get around here! But they are way funny and it has been fun having them.
This week I took the time to ask the members about the
history of the church in Tuvalu; turns out I asked the right person because he
was the first member here! So Brother Niko was born in Tuvalu and raised
on the island of Niutao. But he ended up travelling to Tonga for
schooling. While he was there he met the missionaries and was baptized!
Afterwards he went to Kirabus on a mission and was there when they built the
first meetinghouse (today the church is HUGE in Kirabus), but then he came back
to Tuvalu after his mission.
Once he was back, he talked to the mission
president in Guam and finally he sent missionaries to Tuvalu (I think in the
70s or 80s) and it has been amazing ever since! It has had some struggles
with members moving away from Tuvalu and missionaries being taken off for a
couple of years, but Brother Niko has been leading the church through thick and
thin, even if it meant having sacrament meeting in his house with just his wife
and kids. But his work has paid off, and now he has been blessed
tremendously! His kids have all served missons (his twin boys are serving right
now) and are doing well, and the church is growing here! His
example has blessed hundreds and hundreds of people especially here in Tuvalu.
Love you all and have a great week!
Love,
Elder Harris
 |
| The skinniest point on the island of Funafuti |
 |
| A bunch of member kids that we help read for our service project |
 |
| Low Tide |
No comments:
Post a Comment