Welcome to 2016!!! Everyone here has been telling us "Bonne Annee" for the last couple of weeks. It is wonderful. The spirit of "happy New Year's" is strong here in the South Pacific.
One of our amis, Heirani, was in an accident a couple of days before Christmas. When we went to her house to carol, she wasn't there because she was in the hospital. Thankfully this week we saw her again with some bandages. She has to heal still, but nothing too tragic. I told my family about that on Skype and asked them to prayer for her. Thank you, family, for your prayers.
For New Year's, people like to party. It is like Christmas with the food. Some roast calves and others eat seafood. Sr. Bluker and I ended up at the house New Year's Eve as we weren't feeling that well. We made a good decision. I think I had food poisoning and didn't really want to eat much after it. Being sick I took the time to call our sisters in the islands. It was so fun to talk to them. Haha. They want us to come back and do a split.
Sunday one of our members made us a spread of New Year's food. There were mussels, escargot, shrimp, and some other kind of raw mussel. I tried mussels. They were pretty good.
Saturday Mike got baptized!!! Mike is married to a member in our ward and they have a little girl. We started teaching Mike in October with Sr. Terooatea. Mike had followed the lessons before that too. There were some who told us Mike was nowhere near getting baptized then. So much happened in the last months. Mike sang in the Christmas choir and would come to church every Sunday and read the Book of Mormon. Now he is baptized.
Every time that happens, I learn a little more not to judge people. We never know their heart or desires or what God can do with them. I love seeing miracles. Like it is written in Moroni 10, "have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you nay.... Wherefore, if these things have ceased, wo be unto the children of men, for it because of unbelief, and all is vain" (Moroni 10:35-37). We can't doubt God or His miracles.
Anyways Mike being baptized took about 30 seconds, but all I could think during those couple seconds was how much he and his family would be affected by that covenant he just made. The spirit was strong.
I am so happy for him and his family. His story reminded me a lot of my parent's story. My mom was the faithful member and my dad investigated the church taking missionary lessons 4 times. I shared my parent's story multiple times with Mike. Part of the result of my parent's story is that we are an eternal family.
Also today we had the pleasure of eating lunch with the Jones. They are a couple missionary from England. That is part of the blessing of serving in Papeete. I love our couple missionaries. They are wonderful examples of happy couples in the gospel. I cannot express how much that means.
Ok, last thing is goals for 2016. I have hesitated to make a ton, but I'll share a few with you. On a mission in 2016 I plan on finishing the Book of Mormon in Tahitian and French, and to give all I have these last couple of months. Then after the mission this year, my goal is to keep the habits I learned on a mission and go to institute and school and date and spend a lot of time with my family.
Well, I love you all. Thank you for reading and Happy New Year!!
Love,
Soeur Campbell
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