Challenges and opportunities

Trio is going pretty Boff. Could be a lot better. (Boff I believe is a French slang word. it just kinda means, it wasn’t great nor was it horrible. boff is kinda like bleh, or meh.)

I have one companion who is super motivated to work and is really obedient. and one is quiet and doesn’t talk much. President Bize sent me a message the other day basically saying, "what can I do to help you make it through the next four weeks until the transfers." I pretty much said as long as he comes to each lesson, I can still get some work done here. 

I am 100% recovered from Dengue fever. My weight is starting to go back to a reasonable place. No energy problems. One thing is eventually it would be nice to get two new pair of pants, the biking has made my thighs a bit bigger and I've already had to repair a couple of my pants. Its not urgent. but some time in the future we might want to think about that.

(October 22 is 1 year in the field) Yes at 1 year, we usually burn a white shirt that is the most worn out and/or stained. I’ve already got that shirt picked out and ready. 

General Conference is next weekend. We will go to the chapel and watch it with our district or zone. It starts at 6 o'clock in the morning, (10 o'clock your time) so we are going to do a sleep over at the Elders' house that is just next to the chapel.

Mom… I will always have a special place in my heart for funny airport stories… keep them coming. It reminds me of Jordan Bester and I at the survival camp, there is only so much you can do when you don’t have a sleeping bag. 

This week I got to do a split (switching companions) with our district leader Elder Malca, who has been on the mission for about a year as well. Super cool guy. He’s from France, a tiny village just north of Paris. Super fun guy. Funny story with him. I showed him a card game that I learned early on in my mission, we all ended up really liking the game. Sometimes we would play it while waiting for our comps to finish their emails. We couldn’t really figure out a name for it so Malca just started calling it “Goodwin." So he just says all the time "On vas jouer au Goodwin?" Long-story-short he teaches a nine year old girl who is super funny in lessons, and she loves card games and magic tricks and stuff, so Malca introduced "Goodwin" to her, and now it is her favourite game and at the end of every lesson they play a couple rounds of Goodwin with her. Sooooooo when we did the split--it just so happens that we had a lesson with this little girl. While I was introducing myself she kinda popped up and looked at Malca with a big smile. She then got the amazing opportunity to play Goodwin with Goodwin. 

Overall Reasonable week, only four weeks left until the transfer ;)

E ere i mea ohie te Reo Tahiti. 

Tahitian isn't easy...

Elder Goodwin

To Mom — MAHANA OAOA IA OE! It's your birthday, I hope you have a great day today. It sounds as though spirits are high, judging from your email. Mom, I just want to let you know that you have had a huge effect on my life. I've always been able to confide in you. I used to love coming home from hanging with friends and seeing you still awake at 1 o’clock in the morning. You are a great mother, you do the best to help those around you and you have a level head when it comes to tough situations. 

52 years and you are still goin' strong. I can’t believe how fast time passes. If there is one huge thing I've learned on a mission is, how important Family is. I Love you mom, I hope this next year treats you well. I honestly can’t put into words the love I have for you and the things that you do. Just know that you are a great mother. 

Ua here vau ia oe. Faaitoito Na roto teie matahiti!

Elder Goodwin

On vas jouer au "Goodwin"