Week Five in the MTC

So this week went by quite fast, not much happened so this might be short. I have been here for five weeks and I feel like I have lived here for all my life; its the same thing everyday and not many new things happen anymore. I'm falling into a routine and I honestly need to get out of here haha. It's good and all but I think I am ready for the real thing, to finally be immersed into the missionary life. Tahiti never felt so far away, but hey only three more weeks! I can't wait! Something new that will happen actually, I just remembered, is that we will start to learn the Tahitian language on Monday and next Wednesday a new Sister Missionary will join our small district of four boys. Hooray, a new change! She will be a solo Missionary, but she is already fluent in French and is just here to learn Tahitian with us. It changes the game because now we have to be less reckless in the classroom and prove to her we aren't just four obnoxious guys haha. I can't wait to see the difference this new addition will have on our district; we'll see. I've also made some new friends and they keep the MTC more interesting. We like to take all the plastic spoons from the dining hall and stick them on as many people's belt loops as possible... it's not much but it keeps us entertained! Also, my cousin Neil entered the MTC last Wednesday and it's always a joy to see family. He would've been in our zone because he is going to the Congo in Africa speaking French. But since his mom taught him French when he was younger he's on the fast track...*cough, cough...thanks mom!!* Anyways, things are doing better and time is just ticking down. I really can't wait to get out on the field; I can just taste it. Au revoir mes amis...

Elder Todd

                                   Happy to feel the rain

With my cool cousin Eder Neil Haparai- Hansen

Our mothers went to school together since they were little all the way until high school

Week Four in the MTC

I apologize for not updating you guys on my progress last week. A lot has happened, good and bad, but I'll save you the time and just talk about the good! So what I think is pretty awesome that happened in the last two weeks is the fact the three apostles ( Elder D. Todd Christofferson, Elder Quentin L. Cook, and Elder M. Russell Ballard ) came and spoke at devotional ( Sunday, Tuesday, Sunday) all in a row!!  I felt like they spoke directly to me; all of them had a piece of advice that I felt was especially for me. I am so grateful for all the experiences here, and as hard as it is, I see change in myself and the way I view things.

I just said goodbye to a few friends the other day who just went off to Tahiti and I can't wait to be with them again - five more weeks!! I feel like the time here goes by really quick, but it feels like eternity. It's crazy to think that for the next two years I will be serving people who I would've never thought I would and speaking two languages that I grew up with, but never thought to speak. It really is a blessing to be called to Tahiti and I thank God everyday for that blessing. I know I was chosen to serve the islands because over there someone, even if it's just one person, needs to hear the message that I have learned to teach and come to love. Someone there is waiting for me and that is the most exciting part- I can't wait to see that person's face, to see so much happiness... to feel like I changed the world for the better. The purpose of a mission for me at the beginning was to see how this journey could change my life, and it has, but I see now that the real reason of a mission isn't for me to get all the benefit from. I've found that it's for the people... for that one person that I will have the privilege to change, and to help them feel joy in their lives. That's why I serve, that's why I am here, that's why I stay when all I want to do sometimes is go home. But for that exact purpose, I stay.

 My French is coming along; it's weird to see how much I've learned in just 4 weeks. I feel so comfortable speaking; I can almost carry on a conversation. But when you finally feel like you are picking it up they cut you off and have you start learning another language from the beginning.... In a week I will be learning Tahitian, what the heck!?! I just started to feel good aabout my French and now they want to kill my brain with another language... Oh well, it is what it is!

Anyways- it's been hard, it's been fun, it's been up and down, and all of the above and more being here. But with all of that, it has ultimately been the greatest thing being out here and I can't wait to see what else is in store on this journey. 

Merci beaucoup et au revoir!

Elder Todd

   

 Me and Elder Tetauru

Me with the Tahitian flag

  Me and Elder Tetauru

     Me with Elder Tetautu and Elder Ugbah

All the missionaries that are going to Tahiti Papeete Mission

 Taking a nap in my hammock

   

More nap time hahaha!!!

Week Two in the MTC

A lot of things happened this week...so here we go. To start it off I've been having problems with my jaw lately- locking up and giving me pain -  but lucky for me, one of the members of the branch presidency is a pediatric dentist! He took a look at me Sunday and after 5 seconds of analyzing he said, "Yup, your jaw's messed up," and looked at me with a straight face like it something serious... And here I am, with a look of confusion, not realizing that it's his sense of humor and personality to make missionaries scared. But he quickly reassured me that everything's alright and said that I could take a trip down to his office so he could fix me up. So Monday morning, my companion Elder Jenkins and I take a trip out of prison; and man we were free for almost 6 hours! Upon arrival Jenkins and I, the two missionaries, walk into an office full of little kids and let me just say that I never seen a room light up with so much excitement for visiting missionaries! I mean these kids gasped and looked at us like we were heroes... It put a big smile on my face... Brother Markham (the pediatric dentist) greeted us and went straight into fixing my jaw; he decided to mold a sleep guard for me to wear during the night. The paste they used to mold this thing tasted awful! But I wasn't complaining because anytime spent outside the MTC is precious haha! The assistants even made me balloon animals and gave me stickers to put on my name tag, I really felt 5 again! It was great, and to top it off we had lunch at his house, and dang his house is huge! Other than being a dentist, Markham likes creating non- alcoholic wine. He travels around the world to find the best grapes for his wine; he's even been to Paso Robles which is interesting since it seems like nobody knows where this little town is! He gave us a tour of his house, showing us his cellar and his vineyards, and we had lunch with some of his favorite wines he's made... I've never tasted so much flavor in my life- my taste buds melted, I loved it! But by that time Jenkins and I needed to head back,  so Markham sent me off with another bottle to keep. Before I left I asked how much the apointment would cost, usually it would be $350, but he told me, "This is my favor to you; don't worry about the cost. This is a service I'm more than happy to have done for you, because the service that you will give the people around the world is far greater than this little one." And those words right there, I'll never forget them, because I'm grateful for what he did for me and my jaw, but I've never looked at the work that I'm doing in the way he described it. It was left impressioned in my head for the rest of that day. My work for the next 2 years is so important and I always knew that, but I never really acknowledged it until now. Take what I am for example: the definition of a Missionary is a person who leaves their family for a short time, so that others can be with their families for eternity. It's a simple phrase but it's so full of truth and reassurance, and I can't wait until I get to do that service for someone. So that's Monday for you! Tuesday was our devotional and man, let me just say that singing is so much fun, and I think I'm actually getting better at it! I started playing the piano more too because I feel lost without my guitar so I have to fill in its shoes with the next best thing. Wednesday we did something called TRC, which is where we teach members of the church lessons, but in French of course, and the best thing happened to me... As I walked into the building of 18M, across from me was a missionary that had such a huge impact on my life. Sorry for this tangent, but about two years ago I had the opportunity to travel to Tahiti to play basketball for my uncle's team, and one of the nights there we were having dinner and some missionaries showed up, one of them being the same missionary standing right across from me, in the building of 18M. His name is Cody Rose and at the time in Tahiti his talk with us wasn't as significant as it is now. He started talking to the team, asking us if we were serving missions and telling us some of his experiences, and I remember telling him I didn't think I was going on a mission partly because of other things that were going on in my life at the time. But he told me he had similar feelings towards a mission, and he told me his story and told me what changed his mind and like I said it wasn't much of a significant factor in my life at the time like it is now. But the story he told us that night stayed in my mind for the rest of that trip. We befriended each other on Facebook and stayed in contact after his mission, and going back to the present day it was just an amazing experience to see this man again. I have no words for how I felt seeing my friend. I broke into tears and we exchanged a big hug- It reminded me of the devotional from Tuesday night: the speaker talked about how great the worth of one soul is in the sight of God and this man was definently of great worth, he touched my heart. I'll never forget that experience, how one missionary, one soul, can be so great, and can be the influence a person needs in their life. A lot has happened this week and I'm so happy that it's Friday and that I get to share my experience with you all, I can't wait for more experiences like this to happen so we can continue to share this journey together. Until next week! Au revoir.

Elder Todd

Week One in the MTC

This week was full of ups and downs; I started off really strong and things were going pretty well. Being assigned the position of district leader gives me certain opportunities- I attended my first branch meeting on Sunday, which is a meeting where every district leader from the entire zone gets together with the branch president to discuss the worries and needs of each district. It was interesting to see and reminded me of the movie The Hunger Games, being called districts and everything, but overall it was really cool to see the inside scoop of things. Everything after that was great too; making it to Sunday really was worth it. The devotionals were so spiritual, and I got involved in choir and the way we all sound when we sing is like nothing I've ever felt before; it was one of my favorite days. But as all good things must come to an end this week went and turned into the hardest week I've had and it probably won't be the last. I've been feeling homesick and I've been breaking down a lot lately... It's hard; the mission is so hard. I'm awake from dusk until dawn and I haven't even had a full night's rest yet, so each day has just been making me feel more and more exhausted. Maybe it's because it's such a big change for me... I don't know, but I've been really struggling with just being here. The language and teaching while speaking French is alright but I'm just so tired at the end of each day. But I have faith that with time things will get better and with the support of so many people I know can come out of this... It's a new week and I attended the temple today; I feel pretty good so I hope I can keep that up throughout the days and nights and weeks. I know the change is what's making things so hard, except for the food, that's a whole different story. It destroys my digestive system and let's just say the results are awful... I'll get through it though. The MTC really is one of a kind. I'll just have to come to learn to love it. That being said, I hope this week goes better and I hope that next week I'll have more to write about; I've been so caught up with teaching and learning French as best I can, and my mind has just been wandering elsewhere, but I have a good feeling about this week so stay tuned! Au revoir.

Elder Todd

P.S. Here are some pictures of the friends I've made while I've been here!

Finally in the MTC

So when I arrived to the MTC I first met my companion; his name is Elder Jenkins, he's from Utah and plays the guitar too, he loves music and is writing a girl as well and that's pretty much all I know about him so far. After meeting him, we were taken to class where we met our teacher and two other Elders who are also going to Tahiti. Their names are Elder Campbell and Elder Jorgensen, they too are from Utah. I'm the only one away from home, but that's okay! We started class that day and began learning French. It was so overwhelming, but I've been picking it up... Right after class we went to dinner, and because we were new missionaries we all had an orange sticker on our name tags and literally everyone there welcomed us with, "Welcome to the MTC Elders!" It got annoying very fast and I took it off, shhhhh... The dinner was alright, not the best, but it's unlimited food and there's chocolate milk!!! I also had some of the orange juice here because I've been hearing that we shouldn't so of course I had to try it, and it was the worst decision ever. The orange juice tasted awful and I had a ton of trips to the bathroom... Never doing that again! After dinner there were some programs that were taking place in the next building which we attended; it was called "People and Our Purpose". It was very spiritual, and we were sitting in on actual investigators who are being taught from actual missionaries. We were invited to jump in and get involved in the teaching if we wanted to. I didn't but it was nice overall. After that we were sent to our residence buildings and our whole zone likes to sing a song from the hymn book in French every night, and man that was the best singing I have ever done in French my entire life- I love it! But lights were out at 10:15 and bedtime was 10:30... It's tough to adjust to. The next day was basically the same except longer because I was there for the whole day and I had to jump straight into French. I got to meet my zone leaders and they are very nice people; they informed us that our stay here at the MTC is about 9 weeks long but the cool part is that we are actually learning Tahitian the last few weeks, when I thought we weren't learning any at all! So it was nice to hear that and I'm very excited to learn. During class we were instructed on how teaching an investigator should be done and after that we learned a few French phrases and I guess today we have to teach an investigator already... and in French! There has been so much work already but I guess you have to start somewhere. I spent the rest of the day trying to pick up the language and prepare for this lesson and I actually think I can do this!! During dinner I met and made some new friends, one is from Tahiti and is familiar with my family's name; he's so funny and we talked for so long. He's in my zone as well, and is in the same residence building as I am and it's been a great time getting to know him. All the rest of the people in my zone seem to like me too, partly because I'm part Tahitian and that I'm serving in Tahiti; they think it's so amazing. I was also assigned to be the new district leader, which means I'm in charge of my district that will be serving in Tahiti- so basically I'm in charge of the three other Elders that are with me down there. It's only been two days and already I have done so much... Today is my P-Day and I was able to go to the temple and do a session. I was so tired because it was at 7:20 a.m. and I fell asleep a few times, but that's okay it happens to everyone on their first few days here. After the session we had breakfast in the temple and I don't know what it is, but the food there is so amazing that I had to get seconds!!! I will be playing soccer later and I'm stoked for that. I also have to prepare my lesson for later tonight: I must perfect my Français and speak fluently. Till next week! Au revoir.

Elder Todd

Entering the MTC

Today is the day... I finally start my journey. It has been hard to say goodbye to my family and the people I love - lots of tears have been shed- but it's time I wipe my face and get ready to walk through the doors of the MTC and officially start my mission. I would not be here without all the support I've had through the last few years, people who have helped me get through my tough times of confusion and depression. You guys have gotten me to where I am today, to the mission. I love and will miss you all; the memories we've made will last a lifetime and I can't wait to make more memories and be able to share them and the experiences I will have with you. It only gets better from here... I will not let my fear ruin living in the moment, I will be strong and enjoy every minute of everyday. Soon enough I'll be back home on the little Islands of Tahiti and each new day will bring new experiences. I'm excited for this, even with the unknown, I feel ready. My desire to serve is what has driven me and what will continue to drive me until the end. Today is my final goodbye; thank you for everything family and friends I love you all! I can't wait to hear from you guys and start writing back. I'll talk to you soon, on P-Day:) (Friday).

Elder Todd

Farewell Talk

Good morning brothers and sisters; today I was asked to speak about forgiveness and my preparation for a mission. As you may or may not know, I was called to serve in Tahiti. This is a wonderful opportunity and I'm humbled to have the blessing of serving for two years, but, as far as preparation goes, it didn't start the day I received my call. No, it started long before that… Growing up in the church, going on a mission was encouraged at a young age. I can remember singing in primary, “I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two…” It was always something that I should've sought to do and eventually it put me in the mindset that serving a mission was what I should be doing, without me truly stopping and thinking if this was something I wanted to do. It wasn't until it came close for me to have to decide what I wanted to do after high school that I started to question my worthiness, or if I even wanted to serve. I started to ask if this was something I truly wanted and I decided it wasn't for me. It didn't feel right... Why should I give up what I have now…The concept of serving didn't feel like it fit what I wanted…I thought I should follow what everyone else was doing and go to college and for a while, I was happy with this decision. I thought everything was finally making sense. I told my parents and they agreed, but quickly things started to fall apart. My happiness turned to sadness and then to depression… I was confused, I had my whole future planned out? In all of this, I had the urge to pray one day, and as I kneeled down, alone in my room, I asked God, “What is it that I should be doing?” “How come I am so unhappy…?” During this prayer, I had the prompting of a mission. But even still I doubted, thinking of how unworthy I was and how bad I was, etc. But there was a reason I prayed that day and I was not left alone to drown in my doubt. I was comforted and I realized I had to forgive myself… the part of me that fought against a mission, the self-doubt and flaws that I let hold me back. I had to realize that my own negative thoughts and the thoughts that others have placed upon me do not define my self-worth and do not make me an unworthy person. I’d like to read a scripture from (Isa. 1:18), “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” This made me think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, how He suffered for the sins of the world, for every single person, for me- so we may not suffer for our own sins. The sacrifice He made was His forgiveness to us. Every week we partake of the sacrament, to repent and to receive forgiveness for the sins we have done. He wouldn't want me to hate and punish myself for what I've done; he has already done the suffering for me so that I can forgive myself, renew myself, repent, and tell myself that I am worthy enough to serve a mission. Now that I am here, two days before my departure and being asked if I am prepared to serve a mission... No, I don’t think I am fully ready to serve a mission. But I have the desire to serve and that's the first step. Not wanting to go but going anyways ruins the opportunity for yourself and the people you could be helping; preparation comes from self-desire, not by being book smart and learning the language or being a great speaker or teacher. It starts with a desire, without that why even serve? Brothers and Sisters, I bear my testimony that if you can find that desire to serve the Lord with all your heart, might, mind, and strength then everything else will fall into place, and if you find that you are in the same place that I was and you are struggling with forgiveness, just remember why we take the sacrament. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and through repentance, He will forgive you and your sins will be remembered no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.