Samoa

Samoa

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Getting Transfered to Tutuila

Well mommy, This week was awesome!! This last Saturday we had 10 people enter into the waters of baptism. It was such an amazing day. Let me tell ya about it.
So its a total of 3 families and they all had interviews on Friday afternoon, and were all set for Saturday to be baptized. The baptism was set for 4:30 and we had planned to take 2 of the families to the visitors center that we do in the mission office now. So we went to pick them up but they weren't ready yet so we were late to leave because of them plus the ZLs were late as well. So by this point we knew we would be pushing it but by the time the tour was over it was 4:15, no worries home is like 20-30 minutes away so we just text the wml (ward mission Leader) and don't worry about it. But apparently he thought along with the ward that the baptism was supposed to be at 4 so now we were super late... We get there and guess what the other family hadn't shown up yet... My companion changes and goes with the other ZL to pick them up but after being gone for about 25 minutes they come back to the chapel to say they're in Tuana'i and haven't come back yet... It was chaos.    
We ended up just starting the baptism and baptized the first six people, I had done 3 my companion 2 and 1 for Daley our ZL. Me and Daley had already changed out because we went first so as the font was being drained and everyone going back to the chapel my companion comes out of the house in his towel to grab his clothes hanging up outside just to hear the bishop yell at him to go back and get his white clothes back on... It was a miracle!!!!! Palauli and her kids had showed up! So they ended up getting baptized after all but by that time it was 5:30-5:45 ish... Also remember that the font was draining, well ya, thankfully god timed it all just right and the water was still deep enough to do baptisms. It was about 3 feet deep still. Lucky they're all pretty short... 
so yeah that's my crazy story for the week... God really needed us to be late this week. I'm so happy about it though and man I love those families to pieces! :) 
But my heart broke Monday night when the ZLs called and said I'm going to Tutuila... Super stoked about it but so sad because I was praying to be able to take these people to the temple... Elder Allen will take care of it though. I believe in that elder. 
I'm going to Mapusaga and I'm stoked about it. eager to see a new island and start a new journey in this new area. Plus my soa I've only heard great things about him. Elder Damuni is the name. I may have spelled it wrong though. Elder Murray trained him. 
Thats the week though mommy. Love you 
Any questions?

Friday, March 24, 2017

March 21

So uh the first pictures is me and my best friend named Pouono. He's the cutest little fart ever and his mommy and daddy and uncle and aunty and cousin will be baptized this Saturday
so we get to hang out a lot with him. Him and his little sister are just so flipping cute and their laughs are adorable. I love them so much mommy Jones. Sometimes I wished I lived in Samoa so that after the mission it would only be 5 dollars to travel to see all my best friends like Pouono whenever I wanted... But that's okay. I'll be patient and be really careful with my money because God needs me to stay in contact with all these people. Oh yeah he's wearing the top to an umbrella he found while playing near the river. :) I love him. Diana is his sisters name. :) 

The other one is the 1st counselors wife who gave birth to that baby the first few days we were here and since her husband was working really far away the morning she gave birth she got her son to run down to the chapel to have us come and give her a blessing at like 5am. Then like a week later when they fed us she had me write my name down on a piece of paper and said it was for the birth certificate of her son that just got borne... So yeah that's Robert Viiga Jones... weird huh? Especially the part where his last name is my last name... Silly Samoans... I hear they're going to change it it to Robert Jones Viiga though so that'll be good so no one thinks He's mine or anything crazy like that. ;) 


Oh my goodness do I miss all those people in those pictures you sent. I wanna go and be a part of all that stuff again! Its the best! All of them seem so growed up and big. Why did you let them do that. Halliday is getting to be quite the lady killer huh? The bus looks a lot like the plane I rode from new Zealand to here... That's so funny they got a little broken.. ;) So up to now We're still waiting to get transfer calls... Its been so long... They should have gotten out on Sunday night or Monday at some point but now Wednesday is half way over and nothing... Crazy! Tell the girls to email me about the trek and how it went. I wanna hear lots of stories about it all pretty pretty please!! :) 

This week went really well for us. We have 3 families being baptized this week along with 3 couples who we helped get married last Sunday so they can live the law of chastity and then be baptized. So yeah its been pretty crazy fun just teaching heaps of lessons and finding lots of new people. The only problem is we don't know when and if transfers are happening.... Crazy huh? But yeah we're staying happy and keeping the work moving along. :)

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

March 14



The first picture is of me and Allen after our service project planting banana trees and taro with the elders quorom for a widow. We were pretty pooped but it was a blast. Then the other one is a man and his niece when they came to church on Sunday they'll be baptized next Saturday. along with heaps of other people. God is showing us heaps of miracles over here and I'm learning tons thanks to humility patience and exact obedience. God is the best.
We had a great week. Super busy teaching heaps of lessons and working on getting people to baptismal dates be ready to accept salvation and endure forever. 
Do you have any questions for me this week I don't kow what to write about nothing too crazy happened just a lot of teaching and getting the work done. 
 Yes we were with Muaimalae Levale today and he's our ward mission leader. His birthday was yesterday so we're spending our day together today to celebrate for him because he didn't tell us beforehand. Hes a stud. Super Grateful for him because of the help he gives us in this work. :) No those pictures are from yesterday he showed us a short cut on the way to fafaga. It's soooooooo much faster. That's the importance of using members folks. :) Yes I haven't moved yet but the transfer calls should be here after Sunday so Next week I'll let you know but transfers get done on Wednesdays now so if I'm transferred I most likely won't get to email on P-day. :/ 
ummmm This week I really had trouble with being unified with my companion. He's a great guy but very childish. So this week I really learned a lot about how to keep us working together with the spirit. It only came by prayer and a lot of revelation through prayer and mission leaders. Now we seem to have a beat going... My companion is a stud though, he is very playful and not careful with his words a lot of times but his mind, and heart always refer back to the purpose and as I focus on those small and simple moments I see all the greatness he is doing for each of the individuals God has blessed us with and He is blessing us with even more and more every day because He knows he can trust us with them. We are one so we are his. :) Does that count as a story? 
We live in a mission house inside the fale sa and its the best house yet. Its on a hill with a nice breeze all the time and the house is set up really well. I love this area. :)

Saturday, March 11, 2017

March 7

Holy moses do I love hearing from all of you guys but I always just breeze throuhg all the emails and then type to you. well not always but ya know I'm always thinking about what I should right you but first, DO you really get curious about all of those things? THats funny mommy Jones but I like it because Its all pretty normal now so I don't even know what to tell you thats a funny story. We're doing good though here with elder allen and He's turning into a man step by step... He's got a long was to go and president almost sent him home and still thinks it may be better for him to go home because he is childish os once he's a man then come on back... I think thats a crazy but correct idea in a lot of ways but for now I think God is just trying to teach me how to be a powerful man and teaching me a lot about patience and a whole bunch of other things so I'm happy...Just like Nelson says you know Russel, "Saint can be joyful in any circumstance" THats because we focus on the one who promises that joy. So thats what I'm doing also thats why I want all that christmas music and pictures and stuff because they make me full of joy.
Hey I liked your letter it was long and cute and lots of very interesting things happeneed in itbut Its hard to reply to all the things that happened due to thetime. its short... I love you for sending me goofy stuff like that. you're right though presidents trust is a pressure at times but a joyful pressure. Plus I've always seemed to do better under pressure anyways so I like it. But yeah people ask me about your name all the time, if I tell them e faapea; o le igoa o lo'u tina o leilani" then they say "o se samoa!?!?!? ANd their voices raise and eys get big and excited until I say no but then they get a little more happy when Isay that my grandma servedin hawaii. :) So yeah... Thats my story. We're on the lookout for a family over here in samoa. well moe specifically in letogo. We always are but I can feel like theres one two or seven families that are just waiting to hear how they can be eternal.... So if you see any families waiting just let us know but they have to be in letogo okay? :) RIght now we do have 2 families prepping for salvation on the 25th so we're pretty stoked and also the mommy of a family next week on the 18th. :) I really do love this work, I love it when we teach and they understand and they get hooked and just want to know more and then before ya know it they're converted! :) Its great! Then you just say YEP this one's ready put them on the conveyor belt wach them and then cleanse them the day after and stamp them for processing to the bishop for a place to work and a place to learn. So yeah thats the business I'm into. Its a great business because there are literally no distractions its just Christ, peace joy and conveyor belts to heaven ;) Except for sometimes the belts get jammed by the little tools we pick up and then drop on the belt with us they fall in the cracks and then boom the whole thing is jammed until we call in the conveyor belt jammed doctor guy. 
Thats a little too silly I'm supposed to be serious but I just wanna go home and be goofy with you guys already but in order to have that joy I dream of I've gotta share it with all these sould that are waiting for me. I love you mommy. Ps did I say I love faausi. Its amazing but super long process to make thats why its 3 tala. Love ya

Once upon a time....2/28

This week I decided to write Robert a story and this is what he wrote back. It made me cry.

Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived in a family that he thought was a very big family, at least until he had to leave that family to help others who need him. That boy was very sad he had to leave his big family but he just hugged them all goodbye and thought, I cannot do this but then someone with a really soft voice told him he can and so he is but he always thinks of his big family. especially in all those times when he meets new families full of mommies and daddies and chillins. He thinks they are funnny but he loves them even when they hate him and he tries to tell them how to be as happy as his family is even though they don't listen because he remembers that little sweet voice that told him he can do it. Sometimes that little boy misses his big family a lot but then he doesn't worry because that voice promises that they'll have plenty of time to do all the goofy stuff they did before and he will be happy and all the other families he helped in that far away place will be a blessing for his family.


Okay so I'm not as good at this as you are but what the heck mommy jones!!!!!! You maked me cry. 2 whole tears!!! That was intense! But man that was a fun story to read. Thanks for the little update on them chillins and everyone else. I cannot wait to show you all an FHE Samoan style. They're so fun a little stiff but we'll loosen it up to our own style. How does that sound? I'm so stoked. So guess what mom. I counted yesterday and realized I only have  like 8 months left. isn't that crazy. This thing is a bout to be over and I'm gonna cry because man its the coolest thing ever to b here serving these people working miracles but I'll cry also when I get to see you guys again. Theres a lot of emotion inside me and I get really scatter brained when I think about that last dinner with president and then the million year long plane ride back to America. It'll be insane...


 Our little talk helped me a ton to know how to better assist my companion and I feel like this week we've made a lot of progress even though it was a difficult week. Yvette did't get baptized this last satuday because her mother in law died on thursday nght and now their family is super busy preparing her burrial services which are a crazy big deal here in smaoa so the family is tigaina in prepping the services. THey're super burdened and busy trying to get itall ready is what I mean by tigaina... So that was bummer but this month on the 25th there are 2 families ready to be baptized so we've been working with them and I'm loving it plus our ward mission leasers have been a blast to teach with because they are pros at teaching its so cool .:) it really was a great week. busy, and fun. Learning alot about p[atients and the importance of always discussing things with your companion esecially when it comes to obedience. if something hapens say a prayer talk about it work it out close with a prayer and then go back to work. Its been fun. Really though I'm jsut getting super concerned lately about the mission ending before I've accomplished all that God needs me to. its a weird kind of stress... I like it htough. The mission is the best! : )