3 Hour Sacrament Meeting

Yesterday was Branch Conference at the Utwe Branch. It was the first time Kosrae had even heard of any such thing, so they really didn't know how to run it.  Sacrament meeting was 3 HOURS LONG!! Then we had Priesthood and RS. We talked Pres. out of Sunday School. 4 hours of church. I was about to go insane. The Footes were there 5 hours. Because of that everything she had been preparing for dinner that night  burnt and we had appointments anyway to get to. Blehh.


Sister Foote is an amazing cook. She usually tries to cook for us every Thursday when We have District meeting. Her and Elder Foote are simply awesome. They are from Texas so they've been such a blessing to have. Elder Foote always...ALWAYS greets everyone with "Hello my friend how are you?" Even if he has never met them before. Just a little taste of home I guess. Him and I get along great and I enjoy talking to him when I can. He's so goofy and doesn't try to learn Kosraean. He keeps saying he's too old to do something like that. I'm really sad that they are leaving in December. They are replacing them with Elder and Sister Wright from Mesa, Arizona but they won't get here until January. So we'll have about a month without a senior couple.


Now to the big news. Just a little over a week ago President was here and he conducted interviews. He asked us in zone conference how the Kosrae Zone was doing and we were like "like really good" and he was like thats excellent. Well last Wednesday Elder Tuitanu called and informed us Elder Mattews was getting transfered. The call came on Wed around 6pm and his flight left Thursday around 12pm. It was a major suprise. Transfer calls aren't until this Wed. We had to completely drop our plans and get him packed and out. He's going to Guam to be an assistant. So ever since Thursday Elder Madsen, Rufus and I have been a trio covering the whole island. A new Elder comes Friday and we don't know who yet. We also don't have a ZL until Wed. Its been crazzzyy.


Its so hard to tell seasons here and I cant believe it's winter. 90 with 100 % humidity each day... rain or shine... usually both in one day... 365 days a year here.  It will be weird to have Christmas in that weather.  Speaking of Christmas could you send me some more of those Danish Butter cookies, and some PEZ.  I love me some PEZ.  I am also out of Nutella.


Quote for the day comes from Gladiator
Remember "What we do in Life....echoes in Eternity!!


Elder Lapeyrouse

refreshing

Coconut Juice

Ah....island life

Favorite scripture

Zone Conference....purely amazing

"I got Platinum vision, but a tin foil touch..." (The Astronaut) - Something Corporate

 

Sooo sorry for cutting it short last week, we had a zone conference we had to go to and had to get out of here and go pick up President and Sister Dowdle and Elder Matthews from the airport. Or rather, landing strip with a building. And sorry I wasn't on at my usual time today, we went fishing this morning with Yulsin. So "I'm a little more country than that" is also in my head, but that line from the astronaut is really a thought that describes the times.

 

Firstly, I want to write everyone, but I have to do it in letters and my p-day time is very limited. I have a big stack of letters I gotta write today. So I can only e-mail family members. This kills me because I don't think my letter I sent out of the MTC ever reached Aaron and writing Jayson is going to take ages. I'm still not sure on this general e-mail to multiple recipients thing. I'll ask president about it. Apparently Kosrae zone has a bit of a problem with email. So if I could get all of your physical addresses that would be nice.  Nips it was great hearing from you, you better give me your mtc address so I can write you.

 

Alright so zone conference... purely amazing. We had some good training on teaching and listening to the spirit, and then got to role play and try it. The goal was to have the faith that in the five minutes we had, we could tell the person we were pared up with something they needed to hear after only a few questions. We then got to share what happened in the role plays. The result was a Spirit so strong you could feel it down the hall. It made us more unified and strengthened our testimonies. President then gave an awesome lesson on faith using Ammon and the brother of Jarod. It went from like 3pm to 9:30pm but zone conference was so awesome. Plus sister Foote cooked dinner. Sooo good.

 

The quote actually relates to the next day. We had our interviews with the President.  Right before President gave Elder Foote a blessing that was so in tune with the spirit it was shocking. In my interview President and I talked a little bit about myself and missionary work. It was such a good interview and really makes me look forward to the day where I can finally speak this language. So many promises and so much to do. He promised me that the things that we talked about would only come from strict obediance to the mission rules. Hence the e-mail thing. I just want to be able to do these things now. "I have a platinum vision" but the language barrier (tin foil touch) and recently this culture and "Kosrae Games" prevents it.

 

So I was reading in Mosiah the other day about King Noah and how he completely did the opposite of his father King Zeniff. King Zeniff trusted the Lord and kept the commandments and was as righteous as he could be and the Lord blessed him. He helped give his people the strength they needed to not be overtaken by the Lamanites and blessed him so much. King Noah was horrible, and basically did the opposite and basically had the "who do you think you are attitude" toward God. I was sitting there thinking "You are really dumb!" and suddenly that youtube video popped into my head "hide yo wife, hide yo kids!"  "I mean forreal" Needless to say, it was an interesting personal study.

 

So I have a few requests before I end this can someone please send me the lyrics to "Thats how country boys roll". Also I remembered "Gladiator" the other day. I would like some good quotes from that movie. Sorry this is wack its been slow and screwy here this week and my thoughts are all messed up.

 

Until next week stay strong and work hard.  We all have the calling of missionary work.

Elder Lapeyrouse

ahhh....The gift of tongues

"Just ask him how he made it, he'll tell you faith and sweat.....go to work, do you best. Don't outsmart your common sense. Never let your prayin knees get lazy, and love like crazy" (Love Like Crazy)-Lee Brice

 

I think I'm going to start each e-mail out now with a song quote. Should make things more interesting.

 

So this week, was extremely SLOOOW. We only managed about 8 lessons for the week. There was a funeral for a Marine that had died here and our whole area seemed to go. It was also voting time for the new govenor here. Nobody was at home or they were too busy, but I do want to tell you all about a FHE we had the other night.

 

We had our usual FHE with the Charley family. (4 brothers and sisters living together in the same house hold with their 20 kids, aunts, grandparents, and I dunno, I'm lucky to have figured out that family tree as much as I have.) The oldest kid is about 13.  For this FHE we had a sort of potluck thing. Elder Rufus and I made a cake to take over there. They made some rice, another made some fried chicken, and something with clams and onions. So we get there and help them finish preparing, Kosraean reggae playing on a small radio and the kids playing cards. Their place is right on the beach so the nightly breeze was blowing in and the moon was out, cooking over a fire, sitting in a hut with a single electric bulb for light. We start and all the kids sing a song in Kosraean as Sepe played a small electic keyboard. That part was really cool. Then Analyn gave the lesson out of Matthew (or at least  I that was where she was) but it was about the second coming of Christ. Then we sang I am a child of god, they sang some more Kosraean stuff and then it broke off. They handed us plates of food and everyone sat down on the ground and ate, even the neighbors joined, and here is the best part. After that, they all moved in a circle and Elder Rufus told me that we were going to play a game. I recieved the number 15 and wasn't sure what was going on. Then they started saying  "here we go again, here we go again" and the kid who was number one went "1 to 3" then three said " 3 to 7". I started laughing because I knew what they were playing. Way back during the fifty mile trek, we had this game we played to keep our mind off the trail and to keep morale up as we were backpacking. The game we played was called "Big Booty" And at this point everyone who was on that trip is probably smiling as they read this. We assigned everyone a number and called "BIIIIIGGGGGGG Booty Big booty big booty, uhh huhh big booty" then number one would say his number and then another one "1 to 5". then the number he called would have to call his own and then pass it on so in this case "5 to 3". If you took too long to respond or act you were out. If you messed up as you said it, you were out. If you passed to a number who was already out, you were out. The last two left win, and each time some one gets out you start over with the "big booty " chant. (you can thank the high point guys at the time). The kids then  played this same game but not with the same chant. I thought that was really cool.

 

Kosraean is a real challenge at this point but I'm picking up it quickly. Already my testimony in Kosraean has grown and I  can start to adapt it to the lesson. ( ever so slightly) but nonetheless. Perhaps my favorite thing so far to say is " Nga etuh kuht enenuh la Wosasue luhn Jisus Kraist. Nga etuh la pa pwacye ac kuh ahkinsewowoyac moulasr." (I know we need the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it is true and can bless our lives.) Sap (maybe) because I had barely heard most of those words only a few times and hardly understood what they meant. But when it came time to bear testimony every word I had studied had found its way in and found its place. Its like D&C 84:85 says, he will give it unto us in the hour of need. I know that the Gift of tongues is strong in the Micronesia Guam Mission. But it will only come after diligence and much effort on our part, through prayer and by doing all we can first. I've witnessed Elder Madsen be able to give a whole lesson on the plan of salvation when he thought he barely knew it after he prayerfully thought about it. (his senior companion is currently on Guam for ZL training and were a trio right now covering the whole island.) I know the same applies to all gifts of the spirit and in and in all stages of life. Read the gifts on the spirit section out of the gospel principles manual. Its really great.

 

So as far as this place goes. Kosrae never changes. Still 90 degrees here everyday. Waters so blue, jungles thick, and I am ever so barely able to communicate a few lines with the people. But I know it will get better though fatih and sweat, and I look forward to the time it does. The island is already at 31 baptisms for the year. Last year they got 18 total. The goal this year is 38. The Pastors are ticked at us and some have threatened to kill a certain missionary who has been here awhile and is finally able to speak so well he owns them. Every missionary we have here has a fire within them that burned within the 2000 stripling warriors.. that burned within moroni. We've been told by our mission president "When hell's bells are ringing, something good's about to happen" to " be fearless" for the Lord WILL deliver you if you are faithful.  Elder Foote, (senior couple Elder) bore testimony to the people yesterday that if they help talk to their friends and neighbors and that if we keep doing all we can, we WILL see "100 baptisms a year on Kosrae" and the Spirit bore testimony so strongly when he said that I thought the room was shaking. The people here have admitted that for many the protestant church just isn't cutting it anymore. They have questions. And the protestant church doesn't have the answers. The winds are changing, the tension is high (the island was 95 percent protestant), and I know that the four of us have a great work to do, and that I must learn this language and DO WORK! In John we learn the difference between shepards and sheephearders. Theses people are starting to see through the Churchs humanitarian efforts and us walking and teaching in the pouring rain how much the Church of Jesus Christ cares for them and how Christ is their Shepard, And how these Protestant pastors are merely sheephearders.

 

Thats What this week has been to me. Its been really enpowering. I love you all and you all have this same calling to do this work. How great is your calling. KAmpare!

 

_Elder Lapeyrouse