Sometimes you hit a wall (Vairao- week #7)

Ia ora na tatou paatoa!

Alright, this week has been great overall. But like my title suggests, sometimes missionaries hit a wall. And I admit that this week was one of those weeks! After a succession of pretty action packed weeks here at Vairao, Elder Larsen and I got a little unlucky with tons of lessons cancelled, some baptisms pushed back and sickness. It felt like that we hit a straight up wall because we were building a lot of momentum the past few weeks, and this week felt like one of the slowest, progress-lacking weeks that we've had in a while. But that's alright, because despite the trials there's always some highlights in the week and hope for better weeks ahead! Its good to have a nice P-Day to recharge a little and get our heads together.

This week we actually went on splits with a couple of Priest-age young men one day, Curtis and Hitinui. It was an awesome learning experience for everyone and the young men had the chance to practice teaching and proclaiming the gospel. I went out with Hitinui, and we were able to talk to a lot of people, practice our OLB (ouvrir la bouche=open the mouth) and do a couple of lessons. It was good times, and doing splits like this strengthens the bonds between us and the members, and I hope that it helps the young men out a ton too in preparing for their own missions.

We had a couple lessons with A----- and K--- this week. Our first one was Tuesday, and we had a super lesson with them about the Restoration that answered all of A-----'s questions about where to find the truth. She and Karl dug it. Then during the split, Elder Larsen and Curtis went to see em again (sadly I wasn't there for the lesson but I wanna talk about it anyway cuz its flippin sweet). According to what Elder Larsen told me, A---- had read up to 1 Nephi 15 in the Book of Mormon since the visit just two days before and was talking about it like she was a BYU religion professor. She then asked if we had more scriptures, and when they replied yes she demanded that she have it all. Next time we plan on giving her the triple combination as well as some teachings of the modern prophets. That is what you call hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

There are always amazing things that happen in the work, despite the other difficulties that are so common in missionary life. I can say that there is nothing at all in this world quite like being a full time missionary. I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything else, and I probably wont realize the impact that they have had on my life until I return home.

That's the good stuff for this week, I love you all and keep the faith!

Elder Ball

Seeing the vision (Vairao - week #6)

Ia ora na tatou!

Its been a solid, edifying week for me, going on my 6th week in Vairao. As a zone leader it is truly a blessing to know more how to be a leader, and I learn so many things. It truly is a growing moment in my mission, reaching new horizons and capacities in my understanding and teaching of the Gospel.

First of all, we got a couple new investigators this week named K--- and A-----. A----- is one of those people searching for the truth, who have always seen the missionaries pass by and wanted to talk to them but hasn't had the chance to. She finally had the chance last week when a member coordinated a service project to build a cabin for her and her husband. I guess the Lord has been merciful to us despite our blindness and gave us the opportunity to serve them! We went to the project, fixed a lesson with them in the week and started teaching them. They really are a nice couple, with a little boy named T------. They've been deep into the Bible just trying to do whats right and following Christ. We can see good things happening with them in the future!

We also had the great blessing of the last leadership meeting with President Sinjoux. It was an awesome meeting with some inspired talks from the assistants and President. Something that he said was that we cant always be too content with our work, even when we see a billion baptisms, that we must always strive to do more and follow the Spirit and reach heavenly capacities that our beyond our own. He encouraged us to get rid of anything that will obstruct us from the inspiration and godly power of the Spirit. Its much easier said than done, but it helps us understand that we are capable of so much! I'm gonna miss President, hes a stud.

After the meeting, Elder Larsen and I had the chance to do an exchange with the assistants. Elder Larsen went out to Papeete while I stayed in Vairao with Elder Teriihaunui. It was one of the greatest learning experiences that Ive had my entire mission! Elder Teriihaunui is an exceptional missionary, and his example of following the Spirit, careful studying and truly understanding the scriptures changed my view of learning the gospel. We had some good lessons together, and he truly helped me search for the Spirit and feel more confident in my teaching. Hes way hilarious as well, he isn't afraid to tell people how it is either. We had a party together! The assistants are pretty high quality missionaries who set a standard for everyone. It motivated me to get to that point!

Perhaps the highlight of the week would have to be Sunday night, when Elder Larsen and I put on a fireside for the members of the ward. Our goal was to have the members and us the missionaries united in the same cause, to have the same vision, which is that through combined efforts we can realize five baptisms a month (which is a goal set by the Stake in fact). We talked about how the only way to attain that goal was if new investigators were found through member efforts. So Elder Larsen and I gave a couple talks to help them know what they can do in the finding and conversion process of an investigator. We showed a couple awesome video clips, and gave the time to a member and a recent convert who was found by that member to bear testimony of the power of member efforts. It was an absolute success, and we extended the challenge to everyone who showed up to invite new amis to a ward activity and sacrament meeting in a couple of weeks and help out in the missionary lessons with these new amis. Everyone was stoked, and the Spirit bore witness of the truth. Elder Larsen and I probably gave the greatest talks that we have ever given, better than any talk in English for sure. Such a blessing to have that chance!

It was a solid week, and I'm grateful to Heavenly Father for helping us in this work and lending his power, so that we can fill the shoes of the greatest life that ever lived, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love you all, and have a great week

Elder Ball

La vie est belle (Vairao - week #5)

Bonjour tout le monde!

A solid week finished! Elder Larsen and I looked at our numbers at the end of the week and were stoked to see how well we did. We're starting to progress more and more every week, as well as the whole zone. Life is absolutely beautiful here in Vairao and Teahupoo, with beautiful weather and beautiful people all learning a beautiful gospel.

First up, we had a baptism Saturday. Surprise! We had the privilege of witnessing the baptism of Heimiri, who started taking the lessons not long before I got here. She was one of those investigators who progressed like crazy. She started reading the Book of Mormon in the beginning of May, and now shes already at Alma. She understands super well, and after receiving a testimony of the Book of Mormon, she just flew by the lessons. Heimiri was actually someone who went through some pretty difficult trials concerning her health and certain family members during the lessons. The awesome thing was that she never gave up during her trials, it just gave her more of a desire to seek Jesus Christ and His atonement. It was amazing to pray and read with her and help her on her way to spiritual and emotional healing. The baptism itself was packed with the Spirit, and I got to perform the confirmation the next day. Such a blessing to see this change happen.

We also found some new investigators, A------- and her two sons, N------- and T----. They were invited to a neighborhood family night that Elder Larsen and I put on a couple weeks ago with some other members. We gave a lesson on the Plan of Salvation and showed some Mormon messages on the topic, and we gave the amis a little card that showed the diagram of the Plan of Salvation. It happened to be the right lesson for the right people, as A-------'s husband passed away not too long ago. They were touched by the family night because they basically found out where the papa is right now. When we taught them their first lesson this week, and it went super well. Its just another example of the Lord preparing people to receive the gospel at the right moment!

Before I forget too, we had a marriage as well Saturday for a couple amis, A---- and G-------! They've been taking the lessons for a while now, and since they live together and they agreed to be married. They haven't agreed on a date to be baptized yet, but they do want to. There isn't much in the way now that's keeping them from getting in the water!

Also Friday we did a split with the Elders of Tautira who are in the zone, and I went over to Tautira with Elder Warren. We had a good time, their house is right on the beach so you go to sleep and wake up with the sound of waves. So awesome. But since I presumably know how to drive, I was the one who drove us around in this Pugeot Partner, which is nothing like the Toyota pickup that we usually drive. We went over to Taravao for a district meeting where there's tons more traffic. So over there we pull up to this intersection where it kinda goes up hill, and I get ready to go, and of course I stall the car. I laugh and start up again, get ready to go, and it stalls again. I look in the rear view mirror and see some cars pull up behind, and all of a sudden I start to get a little nervous. After stalling for the third time, I look over to the side and see some dudes just cracking up. None of this was helping, let me tell ya. I couldn't figure out why I was stalling, neither Elder Warren, all I knew was that the pickup would never act like this! I pretty sure I stalled about 10 times and the whole time Elder Warren was praying and finally with probably 7 cars behind me I succeed and jerk off into the intersection. We celebrated our success with some churros. There's another example of how the mission is a learning experience.

That's about all I can think of this week. Its been nuts. But we never stop having a good time. I love you all and A faaitoito!

Elder Ball

A weekend for the ages (Vairao - week #4)

Ia ora na tatou!!

Doing splits on bike

I am so stoked to write about my week, because it was genuinely one of the coolest weekends that I have ever experienced on my mission, maybe my life. This weekend was the 170th anniversary of the arrival of the Church in Polynesia, which took place at a stadium in Papeete. We were honored to have Elder Hamula of the Seventy there with us. It was a weekend that included singing, dancing, marching, laughing, crying, proselyting and testifying and eating and tons of other things that you could only find in Tahiti! Thousands of church members in the region came to participate, and it was something that us the missionaries were privileged to watch and take part in. I'm pretty sure most of my email will be about that!

Tubuai dance

The activity started Friday night with awesome cultural dance and song show that was performed by the youth of each stake on Tahiti. It was awesome! There were dances performed that originated from different islands, like Tubuai, the Tuomotus, some Marquesian and Maori hakas, even some Hawaiian dances. It made me appreciate just how awesome and unique the Polynesian culture is. There truly is nothing as beautiful and intense as the culture that you find here. Even though Im a white dude, I gotta say I'm proud to be a part of the culture here! The next morning there was a pioneer activity to honor church pioneers in Tahiti as well as those pioneers in America. It was a total party. Members from every stake dressed up as pioneers, played games and just danced. Tahitian people honestly look for every opportunity they can to dance and party and feast, and this activity was just one of those examples of a good time. Totally fun to watch.

Some more dancing

Then Saturday night, we had a large fireside to honor the missionaries, past and present. There were talks given by President Tefon, the temple president, President Sinjoux, Elder Hamula as well as well as other area authorities. One of the greatest moments (maybe the coolest of the weekend) was the march that all us missionaries did to Called to Serve. Then at the end, former missionaries, us the current missionaries and future missionaries who received their call did an Olympic style march around the track. Normally you don't get too praised for your missionary work nor do you expect to, but not gonna lie, this was one of those moments where we were! As we walked around the track, I could see faces of old friends and members from my old areas waving and shouting out and all applauding as we walked around the stadium. It was surreal, its something that someone would dream about, and we were living it right there. In that moment, I could easily say, nothing beats being a missionary! It was a moral booster, you could say!

It was a great opportunity to meet with some old friends from the old wards as well. Saw some leaders from Tubuai and got to talk to them and joke around with them a bit! Even some old investigators who are now baptized! Maybe no one remembers, but one investigator that we had in Tubuai was Rohiti. When I left Tubuai, she wasn't too sure about being baptized, but she was a really good investigator who read and went to church. Not too long after I left Tubuai, she left to Papeete as well and ended up continuing the lessons there. I met up with her at the activity this weekend. I was surprised to find out that she's getting baptized next week! Word's cant describe my amazement and my joy to find that out. I could see how much she had actually changed since the last time I had seen her, and how much her faith has grown in the gospel. That's the wonder of missionary work. You have no idea how much of a difference that you make in the lives of others, and when you see the results, it truly hits you hard.

Papeete temple

I'm sure that those who first brought the gospel to Polynesia, such as Addison Pratt, had no idea how much of a difference that they were making in taking their voyage to unknown islands to preach the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm sure that they never thought that just 170 years after their arrival, more than 10,000 church members in that very country would be honoring their names and rejoicing in the knowledge of the true gospel. One way or another, if a missionary works hard, they will always make a difference, even if they do not see the results on their mission. In the end, you will always see how much of a difference you made. As said in Doctrine and Covenants 15:6, "And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father." We shall all see those whose lives we impacted after this life, and we shall rejoice with them for ever.

I am so blessed and thankful to serve in this beautiful country, to serve my God. Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures at the last fireside, my camera died and my memory card was full. Fail! But I'll send what I can. I love you all!

Elder Ball

A remarkable change (Vairao - week #3)

Ia ora na i te mau taea'e e i te mau tuahine e i te mau hoa o te ekalesia!

We had a pretty solid week this week, our best in Vairao so far. I'll start off with the fact that we had a pretty rad zone conference with a couple other zones on Wednesday. Elder Larsen and I were assigned to give a training based on the training that President's assistant, Elder Vanderholm, gave in last weeks leadership meeting. It was about who exactly we're working for, why were here, and why our manual is called Preach "My" Gospel. We are here for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and no one else, we preach His gospel and we feed his sheep. As his servants we need to emulate everything that Christ is and develop his attributes, as well as understand the impact of his atonement in our lives. It was truly an edifying experience to teach on this subject, and it truly brought me closer to Him.

What I call a beautiful day

Yet again a great view from our house

Fenua aihere, the wilderness part of our area. Too cool

As for our lessons, we taught a new investigator this week. His name is R-----, and well, simply put, he's a drug lord. He's pretty influential in that kind of business with the pakalolo (that's marijuana if you wanted to know). Before I came to the area, Elder Larsen and his old companion Elder Clark had passed by his house, and R-----, who's this pretty huge dude, called over to them and talked to them about how his brother was baptized not too long ago and completely changed his life. He wanted to know more about what we got, so this week we taught him an awesome lesson on the Plan of Salvation. The Spirit was so awesomely present, and R----- accepted the invitation to be baptized and change his life, just like his brother. It won't be easy, but i know that he'll be ready by the date that we proposed. He has already had some awesome experiences with prayer since our first lesson, and we can see a remarkable change already in his eye. That will definitely be the key!

Again, a little short on time this week, but I'll post some pictures for you all!

I love you all, and until next week!

Elder Ball

The Spirit of Radio (Vairao - week #2)

Sup! (Sorry thought Id change it up to English this week)

Its been a fantastic new week in the new area at Vairao. I'm loving every moment of it! And id like to say that it was great to chat with the fam over skype on Mother's day. I love you guys!

Alrighty, news for this week? We actually spent a lot of time out of our area, down in Papeete. We had a meeting with President Sinjoux and the assistants, as well as the rest of the zone leaders. It was a good, inspiring meeting and it always leaves us missionaries ready to get working. Had the chance to go to the temple with our ward this week as well! Its always good to go to the temple.

And today, we came back to the city again to practice driving a little bit. I'm getting better at the whole stick shift concept. I haven't stalled in the middle of an intersection yet so that's good! Pretty soon Ill have it down pat.

This week we fixed a new baptism with an investigator named A-----! He's a guy who works at the radio station and every morning he has people from different churches come to read the scriptures and do a teaching segment over the radio. Every Friday that's what we do! So eventually A----- felt the Spirit and started wanting to take the lessons as the missionaries continued to speak over the radio. So this week he agreed to be baptized June 14th! We're stoked for him and he already has a pretty strong testimony. I love that guy.

Elder Ball & Elder Larsen

I'm sorry but that's about all the time I got today. We're a little short on time but next week will be better. I love you all!

Elder Ball

The Lord likes changin' it up a little bit (Vairao - week #1)

Ia ora na tatou!

Welp, a lotta stuff happened this week. I’ll start off by saying that I got a call from Elder Wheeler from Tubuai Monday night that kind of scared me. I pick up and the conversation went kind of like this:

"Heeyyy Elder Ball! Congratulations to the big zone leader! How do you feel?"

".......what?"

"....you don’t know yet...? Ohh hahaha well, I’m totally joking, you know how much of a jokester I am!"

So that’s how I found out that I was going to get transferred. I have no idea how other missionaries found out about the transfers, but before I even got a call from President I heard that I would be transferred to Vairao to be a zone leader for the zone of Papeari. So, Wednesday I left Tavararo and headed way down south to Vairao, and here I am now!

First of all, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t miss Tavararo. That has definitely been one of the greatest times in my mission, perhaps in my life. It was a blessing to serve with Elder Twede, and it was a time to see just how much the Lord is preparing his children to receive the gospel. All in all, it was a blessed area. So of course, I’m sad to leave all the people who are making so much progress in the Gospel, people I’ve grown to love so much. But, that’s just part of the mission, getting transferred. The Lord likes changing it up a little bit.

I'll also say that I’m humbled for the chance to serve as a zone leader. I know that it will be a chance to serve the other missionaries and work closely with the stake leaders as well. We had a meeting with the stake president last night, President Tupai. He's an awesome President and he really pushes for the missionary work. It'll be awesome to serve here. All the missionaries in the zone are awesome and it's going to be a good time.

Concerning our own area, Vairao, I am serving with Elder Larsen from Idaho. I love this guy! He's one of the most humble, spiritual people, and it's great to serve with him as well. I’m stoked for the time that we'll have together. As zone leaders have several blessings. For one, we have a car, a sweet Ford pickup. Since its stick shift, I have not yet mastered it, but that will come. That makes getting around in the area a lot easier for sure! This area is also in striking contrast to that of my last. Vairao is located at the "presquile" of Tahiti, which means "almost an island". It is much less developed and much more preserved here in this area. Part of our sector consists of where the main road ends and we are obligated to go on foot out in the boonies. To get to one of our lessons there, we're also obligated to cross a river and walk on the beach and stuff. The beauty of the area truly compares to Tubuai. As for the members of the ward, I’d say about a third are recent converts; the elders before did an awesome job. They are all super strong and good member missionaries. It’s a great ward all in all. I also get the chance to play piano for sacrament meeting again.

I have a lot of things in my head and its super hard to figure out everything that I want to say! But, I’m glad that I’m here and it’s a real good area. That’s the news for this week and I’m excited for what will come next week. I love you all!

Elder Ball