Week 11 - A Wedding, a Baptism, and a Oui

Well, it's been raining since my last email. The rain is lovely because it makes the heat of the day way less intense, and hiking, contacting, and walking to and from a wedding become much more fun. We have a good umbrella, and Tahitians just walk around in the rain anyway a lot of the time, so we follow suit.

Yeah, we had a wedding yesterday! The wedding was for Carlos and Mairei, and it was so sweet. Their daughter, Heivei, is eight years old and got baptized after the wedding. Carlos is getting baptized next weekend. They're such a happy family! I love them.

I don't have a ton to share, but the continued story has to do with Carlos. We came to visit on Thursday to check in with how ready he was with the baptism. He told us he was so close to quitting smoking, but that that day he'd smoked five cigarettes (five sounded like a lot to me, too. Apparently he was smoking more before that, but he's been working it down). We told him that if he's going to get baptized next weekend, he has to quit smoking. So we share 1 Nephi 3:7 with him;

And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

 We promised we'd check in with him. 

Well, we call him the next day, and he said he smoked one cigarette that day. We just say we're going to keep him accountable, because the jump from five to one is huge! And so we call the next day, and he's officially quit smoking. He thanks God for the ability to be able to stop, and I know that that's the only way he could've stopped so quickly. I'm so excited for his baptism! I've only known him for two weeks, but I can tell his conversion is powerful and personal.

If I could sing for all of you, that's what I would send home right now. Soeur Guthrie and I love singing together, and anytime the day gets too difficult, we pull out our hymnbooks and sing something. The Spirit is so strong when we sing hymns, and I'm so grateful that that's another way we can bring a little more light and joy into the world. 

Tahiti is so wonderful! I don't understand every word I hear, but I'm getting super good at nodding, smiling, and saying "Oui!" whenever anyone says something to me. (Every so often, it's not something I should be saying oui to, but that's why I have a companion. She always swoops in and saves the day.)

Best wishes from the Pacific,

Soeur Sperry

(fun fact: when I first got here, all the Tahitians would roll the R in my name when they would repeat it. So that's just how I introduce myself now. They love it.)

(also, I think I'll have to send pictures next week. The wifi is being super slow. I promise I'll send them as soon as possible!)