Life in the ghetto (Tavararo - week #1)

Ia ora na tatou!

Life for me has definitely changed, with the coming of the transfer. This last week, I spent my two last days in Tubuai before leaving Wednesday for Tahiti. It was a little sad, because I grew to love everyone here so much. The investigators, the members, such a beautiful place! We spent my last night there at a young single adult activity, making pizzas and crêpes. It was awesome because Charles and John, a couple of our investigators, were there enjoying the fun. Such a good way to end it at Tubuai, and I felt I grew even closer to these two guys. Its always like that before a transfer; stronger bonding right before leaving.

With that, Wednesday morning brought the transfer to my new area, Tavararo, and I will say right now that I couldn't be in a more different place than Tubuai. Tavararo is a section of the city of Faaa, the most populated city on the island. That means that here in Tavararo, there are tons of people... tons of houses, cars, stores, just tons. In addition, they aren't necessarily nice houses or cars or stores either. The houses really are pretty shabby, normally cement or plywood walls with a tin roof, all crammed next to each other all up the mountainside. Down closer by the ocean, there's the Tahiti airport and the main road with lots of stores and roach coaches. Here you will see tons of different people; kids dancing in the alleyways, old drunk guys playing guitar and ukulele and gambling, even crazy dread locked dudes with a tattooed face pretending to have visions. I would honestly call it the ghetto, except for the fact that there are no guns in Tahiti. With that being said, I love it here! Its a good change, and it means that there are lots and lots of people who need the gospel.

My companion is Elder Twede, from Utah. He plays the piano like a champ, and he enjoys volleyball. I'm super glad to have him as my companion, because we're both pretty similar. We hope to use our piano playing prowess to maybe win some new investigators. Its gonna be awesome. We're gonna be a good team, and that's important because we got a lot of work here to do.  Elder Twede and I are really gonna start organizing things a little better here, getting to know better all the investigators and the members, and planning better with our ward leaders to find new investigators. A lotta clean up to do!

So far my time back on Tahiti has been absolutely excellent. The members of the ward are super nice, like normal. We had a baptism for two girls, Pairu and Heitiare, who I never taught but it was still a great moment to witness! And Sunday night, all the missionaries came together to do a concert for the Paea stake. The concert was absolutely amazing, and the Spirit was so strong! The plan is that the concert will come to every stake on Tahiti. I'm so excited for when that comes to Faaa, because the number of new investigators could shoot up enormously if the concert was anything close to like it was last night. Such a great, great experience.

I'm so glad to be a part of the work here on Tahiti. It really is different than Tubuai, a lot more action and a different mentality. The work is still challenging, for sure! But it is clear that the Lord is hastening His work on this island. Miracles happen here.

That's about it for the week! Next week i'll get a little more in depth about the investigators, and maybe send some pictures. Love you all, keep the faith and a faaitoito!

Elder Ball
http://mormon.org

Movin' on (Week #21 in Tubuai)

Ia ora na tatou!

I hope everybody had a good week! Out here on Tubuai, it's been a tough week. Elder Teihotu and I had some problems with health that held us up this week, so there has not been a lot of excitement. Just thought I'd say though that my time on Tubuai has come to an end. Tuesday I got a transfer call; This next week will be my last week here as I will be transferred to the Tavararo ward, in the Faaa stake on Tahiti. Its been awesome here out on Tubuai, where its calm and chill. But I can happily say that I'm ready to get back to Tahiti, where life is a little faster and energizing. After I've told everyone that I'd be leaving to Tavararo, people have told me a little about how it's like there. Two descriptions that I've heard are "ganja central" and "tough guys". Awesome. As excited as I am to go somewhere new, I'll miss everyone here on Tubuai. Ive never come to love people in my life as I have here.

Aside from this piece of news, some disappointments have come up with some amis. H----, T---- and their children have, once again, been kicked out of their house. H-----'s mom told the woman who's renting the little cabin out to H---- and T---- to kick the family out. Come on, how far do ya gotta go... so, this family of 6 is living in their car now. The whole situation is tough. Its really hard to help them out, because they don't use their money in the greatest way (drugs, booze, etc.), and its really because of that that they don't have a place to live. But for now, were just trying to help them find a place to live, and encouraging T---- to find some work. It really is sad. The church is helping them out as much as possible, but a lot of it is on their free agency as well to do more to get out of this hole. Unfortunately we haven't been able to teach them, because whenever we show up they aren't there! Its so tough to see them like this, when we know exactly how to change their life, but they aren't as serious as is necessary.

We have had some great success with an inactive member. A------- last year he made a pretty big mistake and fell in that hole we like to call inactivity. For a couple months now, we've been making some visits with him and his family and have done a couple family nights with them. Its good to say that he's had the courage to go talk with the branch president and get things sorted out. We've seen some good progress with him, he's definitely more confident and humble now in searching for healing. Just another example of someone I've come to love enormously!

Not a whole lot else for this week. The normal P day activities consist of B-Ball and cleaning the house. We did just come back from some eel fishing in the river. Basically Elder Weeler took some extra fishing line, attached a hook with some bread and tossed it in the river. I don't think he was really expecting to catch something, but he came up with an eel! So were all like "do it again, bro!" Pretty good times just messing around.

That's about it! The next time i write, ill be in Faaa in a new area. Thanks for your prayers and your love, the work was great on Tubuai. Love you all!

Elder Ball

Saving Souls (Week #20 in Tubuai)

Ia ora na tatou!

This week we had the splendid opportunity to travel back to Tahiti for a mission conference with Elder Russell M Nelson, Tad R Callister, as well as Elder Pearson and Elder Tarati form the Pacific Area seventy, along with all their wives. It was an awesome week, full of personal revelation, blessings, and improvement.

Since we went to Tahiti, I don't have a lot of news concerning the area here at Tubuai. The only thing I think I can say is that last week H----- and T----- got married! And today, we ran into them to find out that they no longer live on their parents' property, but they found another place to live. They are no longer under the bounds of their parents. This is a huge blessing for them! This week, we will continue to teach them and see how we can help them. They missed us this week, we could tell!

It was a good week at Tahiti for sure. First day we had a good training meeting by the assistants. Those guys are studs, such good missionaries and spiritual powerhouses. They trained us on extending commitments, and they emphasized that we must not be shy but be confident that the Spirit will lead us in how to help them and commit them. These assistants are missionaries so powerful, they commit people to baptism in the first conversation and succeed. I don't really know how they do it, but it definitely makes me wanna be more bold! Always gotta listen to the Spirit though, and be sensitive to people's feelings, we can't go around forcing people to be baptized. Really good and inspiring meeting.

The next day, we had our interviews with President Sinjoux. Its been a while since I had a good interview with him, so it was great to talk with him. He asked me how many weeks I've been out at Tubuai, and i told him about 20 or so. He then said to me, "I think its about time Elder Ball. Expect a transfer call soon." Gulp. Not sure if Im ready to leave yet, but we shall see.

We spent our week at the missionary houses at Pirae. I slept in the same bed in the same house as my first sector, definitely brought backs some memories! We went on splits with the Elders of Pirae 1, they have some great investigators. We also had the chance to see some baptisms, one from Pirae 1 and another from my first sector Pirae 2. A woman named Wina, who I taught a few times before getting transferred, was baptized. It was a great, spiritual moment, and great to witness! It was also great to be able to chat a little bit with some of the members in the ward. It felt good to be able to speak fluently with them, since before it was a little more difficult!

Then of course, we had a great mission conference with the general authorities. I don't have enough time to discuss everything they said, every talk was solid. But one talk that struck me hard was given by Sister Nelson. She told the story of Oskar Schindler, who saved some 1000 Jews from the holocaust of WWII by hiring Jewish people into his business and bribing Nazi officials with expensive items and large sums of money. In spite of saving all these people from death, after the war he recounts that he could have done more. He said he could have sold his car for 10 more Jews. He could have sold his gold pin for 2 more Jews. He had so much more material worth to give to save lives, but he didn't. He said, "I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't!"

She then made the comparison with us, the missionaries. The only difference is that our mission, though it may not appear it, is much more serious. Its not just death we're talking about; its eternal salvation that is the question. As missionaries, our time is our money. How well are we spending it? Are we really doing all we can to open our mouths, talk to everybody and bring God's children home? Or are we too distracted by the luxuries of this island paradise? Are we serving in a manner that will please our Heavenly Father in doing absolutely all that we can? Or are we serving in a manner where we will say, at the end, "I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't"? That scared the bejeebers outta me. It totally put things into perspective for me. Our job is so joyous and really is a blessing, and it brings so much happiness and is a lot of fun. But it's serious stuff as well. This is a matter of saving souls. We are the ones who must do it, it is our mission and if there are people who could have heard us but didn't because of a lack of diligence on our part, the sin is on our heads. Doctrine and Covenants section 4 says it well; "Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

It truly has been a great week, and I learned so much on how I can be a better missionary, a better instrument in the Lord's hands. I know the Lord has called me to the work, and I know that it is His work and His church.

That's about it for this week!

Love you all, and a faaitoito!
Elder Ball
http://mormon.org

The good, the bad, and the embarrasing (Tubuai - week #18)

Ia ora na tatou!

Another week gone by, it’s been officially 18 weeks that I’ve been out here on Tubuai. Feels like it’s only been a month! This week had some shining moments, as well as some dull, as well as some glorious language mishaps.

First of all, things are still going with H---- and T----. They are seriously dedicated! Despite their poverty and their busy schedule, they still want to take time to meet with us. It’s excellent because they have scheduled their wedding for February 14 (yes, valentine’s day), but they haven’t even broken the news yet to H---‘s parents, for fear of them flipping out since she’s marrying a Mormon. This week Elder Teihotu and I taught them the principle of fasting, and how they can fast to overcome their hardships with drugs and H----'s parents. Saturday we started a fast, and the following Sunday night they agreed to talk to H----'s parents about the wedding. They made it through the whole fast, told the parents, and they turned out to be really pleased with the news! According to H---- that wouldn’t have been a normal reaction from them. Goes to show that Heavenly Father truly does answer honest, sincere prayers that are fortified through a fast. Fasting and prayer will be the way for them to trust in God. I’m so happy and impressed by their faith!

There have been some other great moments this week. On Friday we had a branch family night with the branch of Mahu, with the branch conference the Sunday after. We spent a lot of time during the week challenging the members to invite a non member to these events. I’d say about half of them kept true to their promise. There was a great turnout of investigators! The family night theme was centered on the Book of Mormon, and it was awesomely done by the District President. Even R----, one of our normal investigators, finally came to church! So cool to see so many investigators. Sadly, no one wants the lessons yet... But it’s a start! 

But as usual, there haven’t been tons of lessons. We've been spending time searching for some newbies, through the members and the door to door. We've found that we've just kinda been stuck in  routine... and getting stuck in a routine gets kinda boring. So we've been discussing possible activities and resources to find new investigators with our Branch Missionary Leaders. Beach activities, hikes, feasts, maybe piano lessons? Whatever the Lord finds the most resourceful. Gotta think some of these things through!

To finish things off, I’d just like to report the greatest language blunder I’ve made my whole mission. At the family night Friday, I was talking with an investigator, when I saw another dude investigator wearing a sweatshirt nearby. I asked her " who’s that guy over there?" And she says "Which guy?" After that I say "the guy over there wearing the... how do you say it..." and I say the word which I think means "sweatshirt". She just kinda looks at me, "wha...?" Trying to clarify, I say to her "It’s what you’re wearing right now!" because she was wearing a sweatshirt too. She continues to look at me and just kinda smiles. Unfortunately, my companion was just behind me talking to someone else, so he couldn’t help me. But the conversation ended when the dude came over and talked with us. Much to my dismay, the next morning I was just flipping through the French dictionary when I came across the word that I used to say "sweatshirt" the night before. Nope, it’s not "sweatshirt", but it most definitely means "panties". I totally mixed up the words for sweatshirt and panties. I can only imagine what that woman was thinking at the time. Gotta have moments like those on the mission, even after 9 months.

Anyway, that’s it! Glad to share these moments with you all. I love you all, and keep on living life well!

Elder Ball

No long letter from Elder Ball this week (Tubuai - week #17)

We enjoyed a quick live email chat with him this week. He is working hard and hoping to find new investigators to teach.

Stand tall, it gets a little better (Tubuai - week #16)

Ia ora na!

This will be a little short, because again it's been a little bit of a less active week. First of all, life is good with Elder Teihotu. He's a good comp and very diligent, a good teacher as well. Thanks to him I've been able to pinpoint some of my weaknesses and become a more effective missionary.

I'll start off with some good things to say before i mention the difficulties. We found a new investigator this week, who is the aunt of our other investigator C-. Her name is H-, and she lives with an inactive member named T-. They have 7 crazy, savage little children who are totally hilarious. H- loves going to church with T-.and some of the kids, and she has seen the spiritual difference between this church and some others. She and T- have such a desire to change, so much that they even scheduled their marriage in February. She wants to be baptized, plain and simple! But the thing with her is, she has family opposition... that same grandmother of C- that i mentioned in the last email? Yeah, that's H-'s mom. Shes already threatened H- that, because H-and T- live on family property, they will be rejected and thrown out in the streets if she's baptized. And because they'll be thrown out in the streets, H-'s mom will call the social services and say that there are children living out in the streets. After that, she'll take their children. H-and T-.know that will happen, cuz its already happened before. That's the situation, and I'll leave it at that. Either way, they want to learn from us, so we'll teach them, help them feel the Holy Ghost, pray for them and her mom, and they'll decide for themselves what shall be done.

As I said, there have been some difficulties. C- decided that, because of his Grandma, he doesn't want to get baptized anymore. All in all, he doesn't want to start a world war, as he would say. Its been sad because he was really enthusiastic about it before. However, we've found with him that he hasn't been keeping his commitments to pray and read the scriptures, excepting our lessons with him. What we gotta do now is really help him know that through these things, he will have really powerful, spiritual experiences that will give him a testimony that these things are true. That will be the motivation for him to overcome the oppression, to stand tall despite the wall in front of him. He's been doing great with the word of wisdom, he's completely given up smoking for three weeks now. I don't know how he has done it without praying, but his willpower really is strong. We're still stoked for him anyway!

Things are all right with our other investigators. Not too many lessons this week, lots of talking with members and committing them to share the gospel with their friends, and to our dismay when we do our follow ups, not a whole lot of action done. It's been tough, but also a good experience to really encourage the members and show them how they can be a help in the Lord's vineyard. I know the members much better than before now, and things are great in terms of trust with them. Just gotta faaitoito!

To wrap up I thought I'd just bear my testimony of the love our Heavenly Father has for us. In our life, we have all sorts of weaknesses and imperfections, and as a missionary, a servant of the Lord, I've found that I have plenty. While teaching the perfect gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and bringing others to His perfect, restored church, one cannot help but feel a little imperfect. But Heavenly Father knows this, he does not expect any of us to be perfect. All he expects of us is to do our absolute best in striving to be like Jesus Christ. Through His help and His guidance and His love, we can overcome these weaknesses. The Lord said to the prophet Moroni: "I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them." Faith in our Heavenly Father and humility before Him are what it takes to overcome these weaknesses, and do our best. I know that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us, and he is willing to help us if we are willing to turn to him.

Anyway, that's about it for this week. Its kinda hard to remember everything that happened this week, felt kinda like a scramble. But with faith, hope and charity, the odds can be overcome. Things will get better! I love you all, and a faaitoito!

Elder Ball

http://mormon.org

Il fait trop beau... (Tubuai - week #15)

Ia ora na!

It’s been an interesting week. Frankly, not too much has happened in terms of lessons this past week. However, there have been some changes and there has been improvement between the full time missionaries and the members here on Tubuai.

First change, new companion! Elder Firuu was transferred to serve back on Tahiti, and I received a new companion Elder Teihotu. He arrived Friday, and since then I’ve been showing him the island and introducing him to the members and investigators. he’s from my first area, Pirae! He’s cool, he’s been on the mission for about a year now. He teaches really well, and he knows how to work hard as well. I’m pretty stoked to work with him and explode the work here together.

As I said, we haven’t had many lessons this week, as sadly we have lost a good amount of them. Like M- and M-, they left for Tahiti for an indefinite period of time. Still searching for new investigators, new people on this tiny little island who want to receive the gospel. We've found some pretty good investigators, thanks to the members! We found V-, a woman who had already taken a few lessons from the missionaries before in her life. She lives with a man who has been excommunicated. In our first visit, she confirmed that through prayer she had already received an answer and a testimony that this church is true, and she wants so badly for her and her son to be baptized. All we gotta do is help them and encourage them to pick a date to get married, and all will be well. She understands the lessons and the scriptures very well, and thanks to her member friend who introduced us, she always has someone by her side to explain things when we aren’t there. She’s a great investigator, and I’m excited for her and her faith in Christ.

Aside from that, we've really been trying this week to improve our relationships with the members and leaders of the church. This week, we successfully had our dinners in the members’ homes every day, rather than them dropping the food off at our home. It was great, we even had some investigators present during the meals! The dinners with the members are just great times to help them out with the missionary work and leave them spiritually uplifted. We've been doing our best to do some service as well, such as working a little in the taro fields of some members.

In addition to that, we've had a district training meeting with all the leaders of the district and branches, which includes elders quorum, relief society, young men etc; all for the purpose of working together in the missionary work. It was just a great chance to lay down some expectations between the members and the missionaries, and form a plan of action of what were gonna do this year and how were gonna do it. Everybody’s in it and a little more motivated than before, which is excellent. Were only hoping for improvement these next few weeks.

Our investigator, C-, is doing great as well. He hasn’t smoked pot for two weeks now! Haha were so excited for him, and he’s been feeling great too. The only problem that rests now is his Grandmother who well reject and disown him if he’s baptized... we’re really trying our best to get him ready for the 8 February!

That’s about it for this week, life is good and beautiful. A little too beautiful... the weather has been sooo hot this week, id say even up to the 100s. Nasty. Anyway, love you all, and a faaitoito!

Elder Ball

Captions: photo #1 above of sunset: à la pêche

Photo #2: Those days when you find a pig head in your freezer

Photo #3: Couldn’t pass up a photo moment like this one

Photo #4 Departure of Elder Firuu

Photo #5 Arrival of Elder Teihotu