January 28, 2012

Ma chere famille,

I can't believe that Elder Santos and I are officially both in the mission

field!! Building the kingdom, shoulder to shoulder. How exciting. I hope

that you feel the blessings that the Lord has and will continue to bless

our family with as we are in the field, doing this marvelous work!

Well, this week was really good. We didn't do anything wildly exciting for

last p-day, we had a picnic on top of a mountain with a BEAUTIFUL view of

the ocean, but I didn't take any pics, sorry. But oh man, I am serving in

paradise. It is beautiful here like I have never seen before. It's the

best. Also last Monday, we found a second spider the size of my had in our

house. (I think I forgot to mention the first one.) But yah. Somehow these

larger than life spiders get into our house. And. I am the spider slayer of

the gang, because Soeur Kailiponi would be fine to just leave it there. But

not me. If it's in the house, it dies. And my killing methods? Throwing

very large books at it. Cause there's something intimidating about trying

to step on it when it's bigger than the width of your foot. It's gross.

But. on the plus side, I do not think I will ever be scared of the wimpy

bugs that we have in 'Merica, ever again.

This week also marks the end of my second transfer here in New Caledonia!

And!! I'm staying in Paita with Soeur Kailiponi for at least 6 more weeks.

So I'm pretty excited about that. We get to continue working hard and being

obedient together, so I'm excited. I also finished my first mission journal

this week. So, I'll be getting a new journal today!

Tuesday, we had my first ZTC (zone training counsel), and that was fun.

President put some new rules into affect, so there will be some changes.

But all good ones. The biggest change is that for pdays, we can only leave

our sectors to do internet and get groceries. After that, back to Paita.

(or where ever you may be serving...) hah. So, we've been asking around,

members and such, what sorts of things there are to do in Paita. The bad

news; this is usually their response. "Il n'y a rien de faire ici." There's

nothing to do here. I can't say I'm surprised, cause we're out in the

boonies. So we'll be exploring and stuff for things to do. But, in the mean

time, if someone wants to google search "things to do in Paita, New

Caledonia" for me, that may be helpful. Maybs not. But it's worth a try!

Today we're doing service for a member when we get back to chez nous, so at

least we may be able to serve and gain the confidence of the members with

this new rule! It'll be good!

Other than that, we did some more finding this week. Thursday we had some

unexpected time cause someone cancelled their lesson, so we were out and

didn't know what to do. I was "leading" all this week as part of my

training. So we said a prayer. And for some reason, these appartments in

centre ville popped inside of my head. I thought it was just a random

thought, but turns out it was the Spirit! So we went to these appartements,

not really knowing what to expect. We went to check and see if Pauline was

home. (An ancien ami), but she wasn't there. So we went to start knocking

on doors the building next door. Nothing the first 3 doors. But the 4th

door we tried, a woman answered. Her name is Varigna, and at first, she

didn't seem at all interested. She talked about how the temoins always pass

and how she usually just answers the door to say she's not interested. So,

we bore testimony and asked if we could leave her with a brochure to read.

But! before we left, we asked if we could say a prayer with her/for her,

just before leaving, and she invited us to come in. We said the prayer, and

then she asked if we wanted something to drink. So she gave us some juice,

and we started to talk. She told us about her family. She has three boys,

and was recently divorced. Also, her father died in July. The whole time, I

was thinking, this woman needs the gospel! She told us some personal stuff

too. She said that she wanted to be happy, but life is hard and she feels

like something is missing. She kept saying how we looked so happy, and how

she wanted to have that joy. And that's when Soeur Kailiponi testified that

it is the gospel of Jesus Christ that could help her more than anyone or

anything else could. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that can bring her

the joy that is on our faces and in our very souls. And she began to weep.

Guys, the gospel melts hearts. It is incredible to see; and I get to

witness it everyday. The spirit was there to testify of the truthes that

had been shared. And! We have an appointment with her for tomorrow! I'm

excited to go back.

And the subject line is something that I said to one of our amis. It means

you're crazy. And I said it to one of our Yvonne's. The one that's from

Dumbea, cause we were talking to her about her bapteme, which is scheduled

for the end of this month. But she was talking about how she's not sure if

she has a testimony. But it's so clear that she does. She goes to church

every week and she knows this gospel is true. She needs to talk to her

husband though, to make sure he's ok with it. So we may be going there this

week to eat and provide moral support when she asks him.

Well, this week was good. And next week will be even better! cause Yvonne

and Leila are getting baptized this Saturday! The 2nd. And I'm stoked!!

They both are more than ready and have such faith in Jesus Christ! And I

getta give the talk on the Holy Ghost. So that should be fun!

Well, my dear family, I love you! I hope that you are doing well! Know that

you are in my prayers! Have a good week!

L'evangile est vrai!

Love, Soeur Santos

January 20, 2013

Ma chere famille,

Ey bonjour!! So this week has been quite exciting. President came to town! Which, here, only happens once every 3 months. For most missions, the mission president is there all the time, in the mission, amongst the missionaries, but for Elder Santos and I it's a bit different. And I dunno how his mission does it, but that's how we do it here. President Brewer lives in Port Vila, on another island, in another country, a thousand miles away. So! It was quite exciting. Also, because we, my district, got to spend quite a bit of time with him for this visit. Soeur Kailiponi got to drive him around, translate for him, take him to lunch at Bishop's house, our lessons, etc. It was great! I LOVE President and Soeur Brewer sooo much! And I wish that they could be here all the time. But more on that later...

Last pday we went up North en district to La Foa. And hiked a bit to this waterfall place. It was great! And beautiful. The first picture is Soeur Kailiponi and I. With the wild orchids? That we found by the falls. They smelled sooo good. And the second pic's my district!! (L-R: Elder Wilson, who's actually going to Lifou soon, so he's just been bouncing back and forth between the Elders of Tontouta and Dumbea til he gets to leave. Which will be next week. Elder Decaires-my district leader, Soeur Kailiponi-my sweeeeeeeeet comp, Elder Finau-who got here the transfer before Soeur Kailiponi and 2 before me, Elder Shumate-Soeur K's bro, I knew him in the MTC, Elder Dawdy-who got here the transfer after me, pup knows him too, and me!) So yah. Our district's SUPER young. Once Elder Wilson leaves Elder Decaires will be the only one that's been in the field for more than 6 months. But they're great! I love these people. And Kalei!! I think of you a lot when I'm with them, cause Elder Decaires is CRAZY talented at the guitar. Like, it's ioncredible. And Elder Finau can play too, he likes singing though. But yah, they'll have jam seshs every once in a while on pday. It's fun! Oh. And on a side note, I've figured out the begining of Bach's Prelude in G on guitar. hah. I'll let you know when I finish that...

But yah, the week was good. We did some cleaning too, cause President came and inspected all the houses when he got here on Wednesday. And I got to throw away a lot of clutter, which was nice. I think I used to be a packrat... But ever since this summer, when I legit got rid of 3/4s of my stuff, I get a weird thrill out of throwing everything in sight away... hah. And Wednesday is when President got here. He came to our apartment in Paita Wednesday morning and we talked for a bit. And he was like, "Now this companionship's a little bit odd, because we put two new American missionaries together... how's that going?" hah. Soeur Kailiponi and I just started laughing. Cause it's true. We have little to no knowledge of this work, the people here, the language, etc. But. We told him it's going well. Cause we're working hard and we're being obedient! So that was our first encounter with President and Soeur Brewer this week.

And then zone conference! It was Friday. And it was wonderful. I LOVE THIS WORK. And I'm so glad that this conference happened. I learned lots. And it kinda set a fire under me. I want to work harder and I want to be better. I want to find my brothers and sisters that want to learn this gospel! President talked about how we're like the armies of Helaman. We are here in the field, trying to do this work that is way bigger than us. We have been taught of goodly parents though, where we can find our strength. And if we remember that and work hard and have charity for those around us and are obedient avec exactitude (Alma 57:21), we will be blessed, and we will be able to do this work. He also talked about the nex missionaries, and how they're coming. And how the biggest job in this mission will be training. All the new missionaries, myself included, got to bear our testimonies for this conference, and he said that we the new missionaries would be training, and soon. So that kinda freaked me out but mostly just gave me motivation to work harder, speak more french, etc. It was a good day. We had our interviews with president too, and mine was about 2 minutes long. He basically just said, I just talked to your companion, you've greatly affected her and the people in your area, we'd love to keep you together for awhile, but we'll need you both as trainers, so we'll have to split you up for that. But keep doing what you're doing." Asked if I had any questions, and that was that. hah. 

And then the only other day I really wanna focus on was yesterday. Cause we got to be with President and Soeur Brewer all day yesterday, and it was the BEST!! I love them. So much. They are fantastic. And President Brewer is a man of God. You can literally FEEL his presence when he is in the room. I don't exactly know how to describe it, but it's incredible. He's tiny. I've got at least a few inches on him, and he is skinny, but he is incredible. And he holds the keys to direct this work on New Caledonia. He spoke in church during sacrament and Soeur Brewer bore her testimony in french! which was super cute. Neither of them speak french really, but President Guidi (president de pieu) translated for him. But the real miracle happened the third hour of church, when he met and talked to our ami de l'eglise, Yvonne. Yvonne is AMAZING. She has wanted to get baptized for awhile now, but she has been living in the same house with Robert. They have not had any relations for about 20 years now, they just stayed in the same house because its in their name and they are too poor to get a new house. We've been trying to figure out a solution, which has recently included her somehow moving out, even though she has no money. And nowhere to go. But, she is the most faithful person I know, and she has such a desire to be baptized. So, president talked to her yesterday (Soeur Kailiponi translated.) And President talked to her for awhile saying how he was so glad to meet her cause he'd heard so much about her. And he said that he'd heard about her faithfulness and honor from Bishop and from the Stake President here. He said that he could tell the faith that she had and the desire that she had to be baptized. And so, he said, "I'd like to invite you to be baptized." At which point Soeur Kailiponi and I, and Yvonne after Soeur Kailiponi translated, basically just lost it. The Spirit was strong. And I know that President directs this work here and knows what he is doing. After church, we had an interview that we translated for President too. With a 30 year old women that wanted to know if she could serve a mission. He said yes and then shared a story about how sisters even if they are a bit older, have such a great impact on this work. So she's going! Starting her papes next Sunday. I can't exactly describe the feelings that were in both of those interviews. They were incredible. 

We then went to Bishop Duperont's house for lunch with President, Soeur Kailiponi translated for most of it, but I gotta do some there too! Which was fun. I love translating! It's the best! But yah, that was the first time I've eaten at like a legit Frenchie's house. The food was beautiful! And in 3 courses. hah. I loved it. And it was nice and light. I didn't eat too much. But yah, that was fun. Translating, eating, all that jazz. And then we went to our lesson with President and Soeur Brewer to Tipanier and Asine. They are getting married in mid February and we're teaching them both. Tipanier has a testimony, and we just started teaching Asine, so he's been praying to find out. But they're great. And it was a really good lesson, and President shared some things too. The spirit. When he is in the room. Man! I can't explain it. I have so much love and respect for him and Soeur Brewer! They are the best. And after that we drove them to the airport so that they could go back to Vanuatu :( Even though we wanted to keep them forever. It was a good week. A good Sabbath. I'm sooo happy! I was DRAINED last night. Like spiritually drained. Like you know that scripture at the end of 1 Nephi 17 I think. That's how I felt last night. But it was good. 

So yah! We now have 3 amis with baptismal dates. Yvonne, Leila, (her daughter, who actually doesn't need to be baptized cause she's handicapped, but in order to be sealed in the temple she needs to be baptized,), and Yvonne of Dumbea. I'm sooo stoked! The work is moving forward. This is the Lord's work. And I am sooo happy to be here. To be a servant of the Lord, to wear my name and His EVERYDAY. I never want to not be a missionary. But it's already going by too fast, so I shall continue working chaque jour, til I'm past the point of wanting to keel over!! 

Well family, I love you so much! I pray for Heavenly Father to take care of you everyday, multiple times a day. So I know that He will. Thanks for your love and support and prayers! I can feel them on this side of the ocean. Really. Love you all!! Elder Santos!! I'm STOKED you're there!! Les Antilles!! Tear it up. Work hard, be obedient. LOVE the people. And don't worry if it's hard at first, keep the faith! LOVE you. I'm so glad to be serving with you!

Love you all!

L'evangile est vrai!

Love, Soeur Santos

p.s. the last pic is the zone after conference. The best! I'm in yellow.

January 14, 2013

Ma chere famille,

This week was soooo good! Oh man. I have never been more tired, but I have also never been happier. This work brings PURE JOY!! It is the best. And I am so happy and blessed to be a missionary at this time when the work is rolling forward. And I LOVE that pup and Elise and Jdawg are working right next to me. Shoulder to shoulder. That we all get this amazing opportunity to invite the people in our missions to come unto Christ, and help them receive the gospel in their lives. That being said. I need pup's address. Like the field one. And when's he leaving? The 20th? I forget. Pup! The field's THE BEST!! Don't be a emo kid like I was if it's rough at first. It gets better. And fast. ish. Oh it's the best! I'm excited for you to get there and start talking to the people that you were CALLED to talk to. Also. Jdawg. I just got your letter today. But I dunno if I want to respond to the mtc, cause I dunno if it'll get there on time... So I might just send it straight to the field. Mom. Can you talk to Sister Glauser and get me her field address?

This week. we dropped off Soeur Blucker chez elle Monday afternoon. It was sad to say goodbye, cause she's THE BEST! She will be a great little mish when it's her time. She has a year and a half til she turns 19 so she still has some time to prepare. That's the first pic. We also came across some streets that are NAMED AFTER COMPOSERS. Natrually, my orch dork jumped out of my body and I had to take pics. I have a pic next to a sign that says rue PROKOFIEV. LEGIT. I was in heaven. Naturally. I'll try to mail those. Cause again. Pics take wayyy to long to attatch. After we went to the beach in Paita where theere's a abandoned old ship and we gotta explore and climb all over it. It was great. That's the second pic. It was super fun.

And the rest of the week after pday was spent doing this fantastic work! I love it sooo much! I think I hit my 4 month mark this week and it's starting to freak me out how fast time is flying. It needs to stop. Or, my other prayer is that in one of these next two conferences they announce that Sisters can stay out for 2 years if they wish. I'd be ok with that too. If you would like you can join me in this prayer too :] hah. But yah. This week, we continued lots of port a porting. I still have my voice. Which I think the Lord is preserving so that I can keep yelling Bonjour to find these wonderful people that are pret to hear the gospel!

This week we found two people that I'm reallllly excited to teach next week. Pele and Mofi. They are amazing! We met Pele and talked to her just for a bit. And she loves the fact that this gospel is so family oriented, so we're gonna go back sometime this week and try to teach her and her family. And Mofi. We found her on Saturday and she actually already ran into the Elders at Dunbea. And they already taught her lesson one. And she's super interested! We talked for a bit and we're going back Thursday! The truc with her is that we are gonna need to talk to her husband, cause she doesn't know if he wants her to meet with us. But yah. They're both great. And Mofi has 5 kids that are younger ish. So that would be awesome if we could teach all of them. That's the thing about this gospel. It's great to find and teach one person, but really, this gospel is for families. So I get SUPER STOKED when we find and when we get to teach families! We're teaching a family right now. Asine is the man, Tipanier is the women and they have a lil 7 year old daughter. They're getting married in mid Feb and they they're gonna get baptized sometime after that. And it's sooo great! I love teaching them because the blessings that the gospel brings to the family are just sooo evident plentiful! Oh it's the best. 

Also, on Saturday, we lanced the baptismal invitatino for Yvonne of Dumbea (we have two Yvonnes.) But it was so great! And she was soooo excited learning about baptism and the fact that we can actually be pure and have a fresh new start, a new life basically! Oh it was great. Just watching her enthousiam and her desire to follow Christ. These are the people I'm here for! And I love them sooo much! I have never loved anyone so instantaneously and so much! Except for you my dear family. But it's amazing! Feb 23rd. She's gonna pray about it and we have to talk to her husband. But we're going over there for dinner this week, so we'll get the chance then. The goal is for him to take the lessons, but we'll see. Miracles are accomplished by faith! Go read Elder Nash's talk from conference. It's on page 99 of the Ensign. There's a story about Ann Rowley in his talk that I read and just cried. It's soooo good! 

Also this week, we explored a bit, cause our area is HUGE. And we found Savannah! Which is a HUGE neighborhood with lots of houses that are fairly new, so the missionaries haven't been there yet. I'm STOKED. We'll probably go back this week to port a port.

Well my family, I love you! I hope that you're doing well! The last pic is my SWEET chaco tanline that I got from walking around in the sun. It's pretty sweet. I love it. Oh. Also I bought a recorder this week cause I need a musical outlet. So I'm gonna learn how to play it hopefully over these next couple weeks. I'm pretty excited about it. Well. Know that you are in my prayers! Thanks for your love and support! Have a good week!

L'evangile est vrai!

Love, Soeur Santos

January 6, 2013

Ma chere famille!

This week a couple things happened hair wise that make me laugh and think of home and how I used to think I have a fro... First off, I finished off my last can of Totally Twisted Herbal Essence moose. And now I fear I am scaring away potential amis de l'eglise... I bought a different kind of moose, but it doesn't do much. I woke up this week, looked in the mirror, tried to think of who I looked like, and then realized. The brunette version of Brave. It's a movie, google it. But the cartoon has red hair. (She actually reminds me of Elizabeth Tingey... a bit. hah) But yah. That's what my hair looks like in New Cal. I wish I were joking... Also, we were teaching le Plan du Salut this week, and we read the scripture in Alma 40, the one about resurrection where it talks about not a hair on your head being lost, and I just had to crack the joke about my hair and the fact that it's probs gonna take up half of the celestial kingdom. hah. Everyone thought that was funny. 

But yah, other than hair wise, it's been a good week! hah. For new years eve we had to be chez nous at 6pm. So we feted, just the 3 of us. Also, just so you all know, hah. In New Cal, and I'm assuming all European countries, the martinellies bottles are very clearly marked. (The one's that don't have alcohol.) I almost picked up a bottle with alcohol to buy, cause it looked like Martinellis... Luckily one of the Elders stopped me. That coulda looked bad. But yah, Soeur Toyon made us food, which was delicious. And we drank our martinellis and ate ice cream and went to bed and were soundly asleep at 10:30pm. Hopefully your new years was a little more exciting than mine! With the exception of pup. hah. Cause it was probably roughly the same :]

Also! There was a little cyclone this week. But it was delayed. Wednesday night was the worst of it. It was rainy and windy like I have never seen before in my life. The roads were turning into rivers. It took some places out here, but Paita was actually in pretty good shape the next day, cause we're up higher. But it was fun! I like cyclones. And the power almost went out, which was fun.

People from this week. Mama Ozoux. We do service from her almost everyweek. We just faire le menage and stuff like that. She's an inactive member. But we were talking to her this week and were talking about church and how she should come. We were kinda just joking back and forth, because apparently the last time Soeur Kailiponi and Soeur Bellais talked to her about it she said she would never set foot in a chapel again. But this week! We were talking and she said something to the effect of I'll come back someday. So! Soeur Kailiponi and I are gonna try and work with her, and that's the goal! She's great! She's super funny and nice. And just as a perk, she has a super cute little gray kitten that I getta play with when we talk. Also, during port a port this week, we ran into a Temoin Jehovah missionary. hah. Like she does the same thing we do 3 or 4 days a week. But we started teaching her a bit. She kept throwing Bible scriptures at us and all that, but I got the impression to introduce and testify of the Book of Mormon. There is power in the Book of Mormon. And I knew that I wasn't going to be able to beat her in a Bible battle, nor did I want to engage in one... The Book of Mormon is always the answer. It is the keystone of our religion. It is our invitation the the world! To know for themselves that this gospel is true. So yah, we left her with the retablissement pamphlet, and when we go back next week, I want to give her a Book of Mormon. 

I LOVE THIS GOSPEL and I LOVE THIS WORK!! It is the best. We also did a lot of inviting the members to talk to there friends and family this week too. We need there help!! It's just a little hard here in Paita, cause I can count on both hands the number of members that like here. The families I mean. But the families here are great. There are a couple families here that feed us every week. Which is such a blessing! I love the members here.

Other than that, we're giving Soeur Blucker back to her family today and I'm pretty sad about it. She's been helping me with my french! Or rather, I've been making a fool outta myself in front of her with my french and she's been helping me to improve! hah. Either way it's still good. And she's taught me some cooking tricks! She's great!

Well family. I'm about outta time. Also, yah, my bff's famous. Soeur Kailiponi and I were doing personal study and I guess she was flipping through this month's Enseign, and she was like, hey, is this your friend? Cause Elise is all over my bulliten board. hah. I bet Becs freaked out when she saw that :] Anyways, I love you all! Know that you are in my prayers!

L'evangile est vrai!

Love, Soeur Santos

January 1, 2013

Ma chere famille, 

Ey Bonjour! Happy Almost 2013!! The french verb that I chose to use for the subject line means, no joke, "to bring the New Year in." Yes, they have a verb for that. (Thanks to Elder Grigsby for looking up random french verbs in the MTC.) There's also a verb for "to remove the pin from a grenade" in french, but I digress...

Anyways!! It was SOOO good to see all your beautiful faces on skype last week, even if it was just for a few seconds. I love you all! And it was not the same having Christmas without you. I want to stay a missionary forever, but I am excited to be with you and go caroling during Christmas again! I hope that you all had a good Christmas, since it was still Christmas eve when I called. I got some pics from Smooz, but I hope it was good for everyone else! I spent Christmas with the Guidi family, (He's the stake president here) and 7 other missionaries. It was super fun. We ate good food and played fun games! It was a Christmas well spent. And I love that there's no snow here! Smooz said it dumped in Utah this week, and I am so glad I'm not there. hah, I'm probs gonna go into shock when I get home and get back to school though. Cause this week it was superrr hot here. Like 30 to 35 degrees. And the humidity. We were a pied (on foot) for part of the week just doing port a port and stuff to try and find people, and oh man. I have never dripped sweat before until being here. Even after running my half marathon I don't think... But after walking outside here for 5 mins. It's crazy and kinda gross too. But at least it's not snowing. 

This week we did a lot of port a port cause we're trying to find people to teach. And port a port here is hilarious. I forget if I've told you, but you basically just stand on the edge of the property, cause you're not allowed to go to the door, and yell "BONJOURRRR" like a crazy until someone decides to answer. hah. It's probably one of the funniest things of my life. I laugh even today... So that's one of the things we're doing to find and teach! It's been frustrating at times, but I know that the Lord has prepared people to receive His everlasting gospel, so I just need to keep having that faith and hope. That being said, I could not be with a better companion during this time. There's been a lot of rejection this week, but somehow Soeur Kailiponi keep eachother laughing as we're walking the streets sweating our guts out. hah. And although there are a lot of people that aren't interested, we have found some people that are! My favorite from this last week, a Catholic family! I forget the nom de famille, but the dad's name is Andre. And he's great! We taught him the beginning of lesson one and then we got to pray with him and his family, he has three daughters. And it was so great! The spirit was there, and we testified and invited him to read the retablissement pamphlet and then to pray to know that it was true. And this week, that's something that's really been hit home for me. The fact that this message, the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of Le Livre de Mormon, all of it, is something that we share, testify of, and then invite others to pray to know for themselves. It's about the testimony of the people and them knowing for themselves that this gospel is true! It's not our job as missionaries to convince anyone that this is the true church. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to teach and invite and help. But if the people/the person is willing to pray and has an open mind and heart then they can KNOW for themselves. It's incredible. This is our invitation. This is what I get the opportunity to do everyday. And I've never been happier.

Well, that's about it for this week. There might be a cyclone today, which I'm pretty excited about. Also, a lot of members are leaving to go to the temple tomorrow. They save up to try and go once a year every year. That's one of the things that I love about the members here. Their dedication and love for the temple. They litterally go to New Zealand for three weeks a year and just live in the temple, because it's such a blessing in their lives. I love the temple! And I miss it. It's so important, and it's a place that we can go and worship and learn and be closer to Heavenly Father than anywhere else on this earth.

Well famille, I love you so much! I hope that you have a fantastic week!! Happy New Years! Thanks for all your love and support! Oh! And I got mail today! Mom, the package, and the one with the printed out emails, Smooz and Megs the Christmas card, and the Osorio's Christmas card! Merci a tous! I love getting mail. Oh, and Happy Birthday Bels!! I hope it's good. Aunty Pono loves you so much! Well, I love you all! You're in my prayers.

L'evangile est vrai!!

Love, Soeur Santos