Week 57 - Mea Mea Raiatea

[Mea means thing. "Thing thing Raiatea". The things of Raiatea.]

We had a wonderful couple of weeks! This time leading up to Christmas can be kind of slow in some places, but we've been doing as much work as ever! We had a baptism on Saturday for a girl named Sullyvane. It was incredible - there were tons of people we didn't know there as well, and we met a woman named Rahei who wanted to get baptized a long time ago, but her family kept her from going through with it. Instead, she's been a part of the Protestant Church for a long time, but she hasn't been attending, and she shared that she really felt like she'd "missed out" on those religious experiences that she could've had before. We shared with her that it's never too late and that the kinds of spiritual experiences like answers to prayers and so on are experiences that God wants each of us to have. We offered her a Book of Mormon as we shared how much that Book has changed our lives and helped us to have these spiritual experiences. She took it in her hands and started to cry, and said, "I just don't know... What did I do to deserve this?" And I responded, "You're a daughter of God. That's all." She was incredibly touched, and we felt a strong love for her from the moment we started talking with her. She's amazing!

In other news, we went back to Tahiti this week, which was super fun! We took a plane there and stayed for two days before coming back. To state it simply, I LOVE Raiatea. Tahiti is amazing, but Raiatea is a slightly different way of life, and it was really cool to come back and see everything so green and alive! It's been SUPER rainy here - not to the point of drastic flooding like I saw at the beginning of my mission, but close. And, since we're on bike, that means we get some SOAKED Sister missionaries! It's alright, it's a pleasure to be soaked through your skin for the Lord. (I truly think that there are angels trying to send us snow, so they just send as much rain as possible in hopes that it changes. lol)

My tahitian is getting much better - I love speaking and testifying in that language because it's easy to see how much they love it when white people start speaking the language of their ancestors. So - e mea maitai roa i te reo tahiti!

In short, there's so much potential out here in Uturoa, and the Lord has been blessing Soeur Winder and I for all the dilligence and hope that we've put into this work. Good luck with the snow and the Christmas preparations at your homes - remember the true reason that we have all these celebrations, and His unlimited love for each of you.

Tons of love from across the Pacific,

Soeur Sperry

(no pictures this week - I took them, but I have no way to get them on the computer. Sorry!)